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The Derby Line, Four Track LNER J6


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  • 1 month later...

Went to Spain for a while, I didn't want to come back to this awful weather, but there's nowt to do but make locos...

 

4992 Crosby Hall:-

This is an original Finney kit from sometime ago and was purchased by my client second hand. Some prep work had already been done, but like any old kit that's had the etchings exposed to air for some time, they are somewhat tarnished. I much prefer a brand new kit with shiny etchings. One thing I've noticed is that the nickel-silver seems to be very hard. It does come with some very nice Harris wheels though.
I've made a start on the frames, they won't be compensated and I elected to use Slaters hornblocks which are quicker than making up the etched ones in the kit.

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The running plate has already been folded up, it will need a clean....

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The splasher tops were a bit of a fiddle, but got there in the end. Running plate now married up with the frames.

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The firebox was pretty straight forward, I turned down some David Andrews spacers to build it. I'm just deciding what to do about the washout plugs.

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Boiler and smokebox completed. The boiler is a typical Finney development. Roll it up and it fits perfectly

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I can now reveal...………………………………….. the  answer was the Dikitriki way. The etched strips to represent the washout plugs wouldn't pass muster I'm afraid. Strips of lead flashing were soldered inside the firebox with 145. Then drilled 2.1mm by hand and not all the way through. That leaves a nice indent to drill the rest of the way 0.75mm. Short lengths of 0.8mm square brass can then be soldered in with 145 and the iron set to 220 degrees. Any cock ups can be patched with solder and re-drilled. It looks untidy on the inside, but that will be tidied up a little. Cladding bolts are mums brass lace maker pins with the heads filed to a hex. Just need to tidy the cut ends.

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I've got a good stock of spare castings from the JLTRT kits, so found some for the oil feed cover, ejector pipe supports, snifters and sandbox lids. I put the loco in forward gear as that's what it will be doing most of the time. The etching for the crank rather dictates that. The sander rodding is half etch and very flimsy.

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Thanks Richard - 

I should have fitted the top feed pipe earlier! It was a fiddle. Copper washout covers from Malcolm Mitchell, there is just the white metal fittings to put on now. I used 0.6mm brass wire for the ATC conduit, it was the stiffest wire I've ever come across... Chimney is just plonked on. Nearly there.

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I like making up back heads, with a bit of a tidy this one will be done. It's slightly simplified and I always spray the actual casting before adding the fittings. They can then be coloured as desired.- 

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I've got as far as I can with the body, its been so gloomy here I've had trouble getting a decent pic. I'm struggling for castings for the frames and other details, without Hobbyhorse and MM1 only doing a few, I'm going to have come up with some bright ideas... I need to get a decent clean up as she is looking a bit patchy...

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I'm back on the tank, whilst the Hall is awaiting parts.

 

I elected to use Griffin castings for the lubricators. They are a lot easier to make up now that fine tube is supplied to represent the outlets. I also found the castings easier to drill - they didn't seem as hard as previous ones. I still managed to make a cockup, after putting them on, I decided they didn't look quite right. On the prototype, they sit on a spacer or plinth above the running plate. So with a hot iron I levered them off the running plate, and inserted some spacers I cut out from some 1mm brass plate and soldered them back in place....messy. The feed pipes are made from 0.5mm copper wire, stretched carefully to reduce it to about 0.44mm. They are untidy, like the prototype, and because I've been mucking around with them.. They are not soldered in to the tubes.

 

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Thanks Jon - that's my OCD!

 

I remembered that Laurie Griffin does some tank stays for the Ivatt, so I bought a set of these. Unfortunately they are all the same length and slightly too long for the Stanier, so using a piercing saw I cut the arms off the bases. Soldered the bases to the tank top and drilled them through to take some brass wire that would then receive the shortened and drilled arm which had the flange at the boiler end carefully shaped to match the taper.

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Well, there's nowt to do but build trains so I'm pushing on with the Stanier tank, and we are getting there with most of the body work complete. I shall have to add some stops inside the roof to stop it sliding off! 

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Front end..

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It looks scrappy underneath, but features of note are Griffin Ivatt buffer beam brackets, Front step stiffeners on the inside. Step plates with half etched for the steps are inherently weak, so they need beefing up. Top feed pipes have to stop short to allow the frames to come out..

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I don't like whitemetal injectors, so these are Ragstone G&C 13 ones with the outlet cut off and moved and fitted upside down! Pipe arrangements seem to vary. I still manage to reverse the rear step as I cut off some of the extension pebind the buffer beam on the wrong side. There is also a little re enforcing web behind it.

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Being stuck at home means loco production will increase dramatically! Stay safe everyone.

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Thanks Jon - Blandford - 

 

I was making good progress, the Griffin expansion links fitted nicely and the radius rods can slide up and down in the slot. I also narrowed down the slotted end of the radius rod as it looked a little chunky, but this over confidence was not to last.. Tops of the combination levers are blackened to prevent solder spill.

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I then found that the expansion links would not fit inside the valence.... that resulted in some pretty colourful language. So I had to take off the motion brackets of the stretcher and re-mount them inboard by a mill and a half or so. I rivetted brass angle to the ends of the stretcher and soldered the brackets in place - holding three pieces of material together won't work... hence the rivets - made from 0.7mm brass pins.

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This also cured something else that I had noticed - looking from the top the radius rod was angled in, which looked a little odd. So something is odd about the motion bracket dimensions as I also had to widen the slots for the slidebars, but I'll live with that compromise.

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So now it all tucks nicely inside the valence. The lifting link screw is just temporary, it will be replaced with a grub screw from the inside. This enables the motion to be detached from the weighshaft and frames.

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This kit has been a case of one step forward and two back.. or perhaps I'm just getting more and more fussy!

 

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I carried out a re-work of the pony truck using 8F springs and axleboxes and made up a side control spring from a 4BA bolt with washers and bits. I also scratched up that stretcher.

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The back head is sort of done, looks a bit sparse though, it could do with a sanding valve and a few other bits, although tucked inside a fully enclosed cab, not a lot will be seen. The regulator has a casting fault, I think I'll replace it. Manifold is Ragstone, wheels are from Warren Shepherd.

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I always find sand pipes a trial, but it wasn't too bad this time, I had some left over MOK castings. I drilled them right through so that I could use one piece of wire. Brackets are always difficult They are not 100% accurate, but I used brass strip with a 90 degree twist. This then acts as a universal joint to a degree so that angle, height etc. can be adjusted. The valve gear can be put in back gear, so the stub of the reversing rod has holes that locate on that stub of wire soldered to the frames. If I was any good, I'd hook a servo up to it and have it automatically reverse off the decoder... I made the curved bracket for the drain pipes from redundant curved cab beading from the kit.

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So just some cleaning up and testing to do... and sort that wonky front step.

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Not much is outstanding on the O1, but like the Stanier I wanted to improve the valve gear, which has led to a few challenges. To make the whole motion dismountable I made the motion brackets demountable and had to modify the bracket to fit the Griffin expansion link. The radius rod was a single etch, but I found something in the spare valve gear box to make it into the split section . It is also reversible.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've managed to re-assemble the frames after painting, and pre-weathering. It always takes ages and never works first time despite making sure everything goes back in the same place. I had to go for a change of number as 63591 didn't have a roller bearing fitted eccentric rod ( there was a shortage post war ), so have gone for 63854, also of Annesley shed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm grinding along with this project in the mornings and it took ages to work out how to fit the vacuum pump - even though I have done it before. It has to be removable as the AGH wheels have the axle attached and need to go in at right angles to the frames.  With the parts I had the pump sat too low below the running plate, so I had to extend the crosshead arm. After a fair bit of cursing, I worked it out and it stands on two studs. Nearly there...

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The O1 is painted and just awaits a front number plate, it will look better once it's weathered.

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