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Early Lady Anne updating


Giles
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Lastweek, for some unknown reason I bought a Roundhouse Lady Anne.  It turned out to be the earlier version  - which looks much cruder than the current type.

 

2021-08-04_09-51-49

 

 

I decided therefore to look at modifying it. I'll just replace the cab, I thought ' but the more I looked in to it, the more I realised that it needs a total rebuild so that the body and running plate/footplate are separate.

 

I've made the major cab components,  and it appears that it is only the chopped off tanks that I can re-use!

 

2021-08-08_07-32-16

 

I have a Slomo on order.

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Ah... well their first 1980's 0-6-0 version of Lady Anne - not the current version which is the Mk3. It obviously had the option of slip eccentric, as there is a notch in the chassis for it. The  present one has a much more detailed cab with hinged roof and a body that just lifts off leaving the mechanics intact (with four screws). This one requires the removal of the lubricator, gas tank etc. to take the body off, which is one of the reasons it wants sorting!

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There's a version with the same body as yours but with the cylinders that have smaller valve chests too - its important to get the right parts if it needs any repairs.  Mark 1 1/2?  They have come a long way over the years, the Silver Lady aka deluxe GTi version is also sprung.

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  • Giles changed the title to Early Lady Anne updating

Both tanks are nicely soldered to the cab (the cab is nickel silver,  silver soldered, and the tanks are brass - soft soldered). And the foot plate is roughed out in brass. It amazes me how easy it is to dismantle this thing. About two minutes to get the boiler off, one the body is off.  My 10 1/4  Bagnall is a bit more of a handful!.

 

I'm enjoying this foray into 16mm. I have always been put off by the high speed racing, as it didn't look like a realistic scale model. The eye-opener of the Slomo transforms the idea, and that these little things can perform as realistically as electric.  I quite understand locos large enough to ride behind, but not locos that neither perform realistically not perform a useful function (My opinion only!) But this technology transforms that equation

 

2021-08-11_06-39-03

 

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I've put inner sides on the tanks as it always bugs me looking over the top of the boiler and seeing that the tanks are just empty shells. I've also filled the top leading edge of the tanks. I've noticed that just about all the Lady Anne's have the open seam which screams 'etch'  which is easy enough to deal with whilst you've got no paint on it! Just a big of wire and solder, then file it back to form the edge.  I'm in the middle of PLA printing a servo mount to fit between the frames.

 

2021-08-12_05-50-32

 

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More gentle stuff..... foot plate mounting lugs fitted to body and everything drilled, so foot plate and body mow bolt together (there will be a balance soldered to the underside of the foot plate, so the screws will be hidden)

Tank steps added, and the previously open corner on the underside of the tanks filled.  Small things, but they will now cease to catch the eye.

 

2021-08-15_06-43-49
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Where we are....... there has been a lot of real work this week, which has been welcome,  but takes first place- however today was mine.....

 

The foot plate has received its angle valences  and steps (the latter carved out of 0.036"N/s by the Stepcraft)

The body has got a rear lamp iron, roof hinge assembly and a roof - again mostly chopped out by the Stepcraft as it has more stamina and accuracy than I do.....

The Roundhouse body has 'orrible slots  to accommodate their roof hinge. I have links to avoid that which work well - the only down-side being that you have to hold it open. I forgot to design it for that.......

The regulator servo is also now very nicely nestled under the floor, and we are starting to get there.

 

2021-08-19_06-22-33

 

 

2021-08-19_06-21-02

 

 

 

2021-08-19_06-20-23

 

 

2021-08-19_06-19-38

 

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Finished the fabricatiln and started painting. The boiler is now black,  as is the roof and footplate. The main body is still in primer. The whole thing will be black (Halfords enamel) which goes on quite well. It will also rub down and polish nicely, which will be important for the overall finish.

 

Before I started painting I put everything mechanical back together and steamed it for the first time just go make sure it did what it says on the packet. The gas burner is surprisingly efficient,  and the safety valve started feathering at just under 40 and doing it's job on the mark. The only thing not quite right is the regulator is blowing by a little. On the whole,  very pleased. 

Stripped it right down again for painting.

I shall replace the brass handrails with steel. Yesterday I added beading to the cab opening, which was a bit of a fiddle as it always is - but went alright.

 

2021-08-21_06-36-10
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I spent the day painting with Halford enamel (aerosol) which is surprisingly good..... all bits are painted, though I have only just started rubbing down ( then polishing of course..). I will in due course darken the motion with gun blue. 

I'm very happy with the transformation, and I think she makes for a much more presentable loco. Other jobs will probably be new buffer beams and couplings.

 

2021-08-22_06-16-26

 

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I've ordered a new boiler, as the new ones have a fitting allowing water top-up, whereas this old boiler requires the unscrewing of the safety valve to refill. Amazingly, a new boiler is about £80 or so - which I think is extremely good value - and says a lot about the simplicity of design and manufacture. I've also ordered a pair of spectacle rims,  as I only had two, not four. I shall glaze them when I've got all four fitted.

Rubbing down has been done, and the loco reassembled. 

 

New buffer beams next...

 

2021-08-23_03-54-45

 

 

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Well, the new boiler has arrived, and it's slightly different and needs a mounting bracket, so slight delay....

 

However, new buffer beams are made and fitted together with front footplate. I have also removed a number of cheese-head screws and replaced them with counter-sunk or hex.

 

2021-08-25_04-11-48

 

 

2021-08-25_04-10-03


 

 

 

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2021-08-26_06-21-17

 

And now with glazing (1mm acrylic) in the specs - though it's clean, so you can't see it.... and PLA printed chopper couplings.  I've tried to make them as compact as possible.nthey articulate, with a modicum of self-centering,  and the chopper has a bar for an un-coupling magnet.

 

The new boiler is painted and ready for fitting.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks very good.  I find with these engines that the gas runs out before the water, so topping up the boiler doesn't help. I find it near impossible to add more gas as the gas tank gets hot and the increased pressure is greater than that in the can trying to fill it.  I use a small fan betwecan runs to cool the tank down before I can fully refill it successfully.  Sometimes you can add a small amount of gas if the filling can is a full one but it invariably only adds another 5 mins of run time.

 

 

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Good to know..... thank you!

 

I've managed to sort the regulator which wasn't closing properly. Cleaning up the cone was easy enough to do with some polish, and I managed to clean the internal seat/bore by soaking  a cocktail stick in Duraglit wadding for a while, and reaming it out with the polish soaked pointy end! That worked, and it now seats perfectly.

 

The smokebox was pop-riveted on, so I drilled them out - breaking through the side of the saddle in the process (well, the rivet had done that, and my drill followed it nicely!). I then had to open that out, leaving a gaping hole, tap it M4, put a brass bolt in and silver solder it in all round. This was then sculpted back to profile. All a pain, but ok. New, tapped holes were made in a much better position to enable the bolting from the underside..... while I was at it, I was able to rotate the dart to vertical, which had been annoying me. Smoke box is now repainted. The new boiler is fitted, which was more of a faff than I was expecting, as hole centres were all slightly different etc....., but job done.

 

The gas filler valve leaks when you fill, so I've ordered a new valve to see if that cures it..

 

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Thanks Giles

 

But it's not all my fault, I blame Terry Robinson in Australia who produced the Slomo, without which a small end to end layout would not be feasible. I had previously given up using my Roundhouse locos for quite a while as their slow motion performance just wasn't good enough for me.  Out of interest, I recently disconnected the Slomo and the change in performance was staggering.

 

Other cosmetic changes to my loco are coal guard rails on the spectacle plates and some cab doors. 

 

Since the photo was taken, I have removed the rear coal bunker and now have a flat cab back like yours to slightly reduce the length of the loco further. I also shortened the chassis by removing 10mm from the front end.  The smokebox was removed and separated from its mounting plate. The front buffer beam was removed along with the frame spacer immediately behind it. The frames were cut using a fine toothed junior hacksaw.  The smokebox mounting plate was similarly reduced by 10mm. New frame spacer holes were drilled in the frames so that the frame spacer could be refitted behind the buffer beam.  New right angled brackets were made from pieces of 10mm brass angle and secured to the rear of the buffer beam. Two new holes were drilled in the side frames to secure these angle brackets to the frame to re-affix the buffer beam.

 

Here's another Lady Anne chassis with a modified Katy Body

 

1748812834_kati-annr25.jpg.b2a543235ff88fee0b7997cff2031d21.jpg

 

Elsecar 16mm exhibition is on for the 25th of this month and I will be exhibiting Hambleden there. A bit closer to home, it will also be at the Bracknell Railway Society show on 31st October.

 

Steve

 

 

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I shall put the Bracknell show in the diary!

 

I had spotted the coal-guards - a very nice touch - but I completely missed that you had shortened the front end.....

I think the saddle tank is absolutely delightful - a very nicely proportioned and good looking loco.

 

My Slomo in on September's  list, I am assured - but then it has to make it's way over here!

 

Meanwhile I very much look forward to seeing your layout end of October!

 

Giles

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Really nice work Giles.

My own experience is that my Roundhouse Billy will happily shunt and run slow without a SloMo.

The key, in my opinion, is a transmitter with a knob rather than 'flying' levers. I use the Chuffed-to-Bits unit and cannot fault its operation.

With experience you know how far to open the regulator and then wait a second or two for the steam-chest and cylinders to respond as you back off. Just like the real thing!

Thanks for the head's up about Bracknell Steve. It will be good to see Hambleden again - it was the first end-to-end 16mm layout that I'd seen than worked like a real railway and that gave the inspiration for my own layout.

 

Ade

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Hi Ade

 

correction to the date for Bracknell, it's Saturday 30th Oct not the 31st

 

Have you got a video of your Billy, I would like to see its performance without a slomo, I have yet to see a comparable performance.  I use rotary knob transmitters based on Deltang, (the same as C2B) but If I disconnect the slomo there is an immediate change in performance no matter how much I try to control the loco as you suggest.

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Hi Steve,

I don't usually take video (I think it's a multi-tasking thing!), but I'll certainly have another go.

You're right of course, I can't run as slow or perform as as consistently as a Slomo fitted loco, as there is insufficient 'mass' in the loco and train alone to absorb the fluctuating power from the cylinders. However, with practice and by using a little of the electronic 'inertia' feature of the C2B transmitter, the action of the regulator is smoothed and the response time is slowed (sounds counter-intuitive doesn't it?). I can't do the same with a 'flying' transmitter.

 

Ade

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  • 1 month later...

I've just had (and paid) the invoice for my Slomo - so hopefully that should be on its way (although that will doubtless take ages.....). I've also fitted a Chuffer, and taken the precaution of chemically blackening the top before fitting it, so it doesn't look like there's a lump of brass stuffed down the chimney!

 

I look forward to playing with it once the Slomo is fitted, and then we'll see what to do with it.....

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