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The Derby Line, Four Track LNER J6


dibateg
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Thanks Ian - one of my top qualities apparently when I was in full time employment!

Despite the awful weather, I seem to be making slow progress. There were one or two items that I wanted to improve on. It took a days work to fit out the frames with the wheels and pick ups. The wheels are on and off getting the right side control washers on the wheels. Making sure the rods don't hit the brake mounts etc. I added some cranks below the rear sandboxes for the sanding mechanism. The slide bar support bracket was insubstantial. It was a hefty casting on the original. So I added some thin brass strip to represent that tapered flange and drilled the slidebar support webs to accept some lengths of wire to represent the retaining bolts. The drop link had a projection on it typical of some LNER locos, but the O1 doesn't have that so it was filed off. The return cranks are nice castings, thick enough to be tapped 10BA, and they tighten up against 2 brass top hats also tapped. To me, the front spectacles don't look quite right, they have quite a sad expression. In the prototype photos, they are shallower and a little more mean looking! I also added that support bracket above the rear sandbox.

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14 hours ago, dibateg said:

Thanks Ian - one of my top qualities apparently when I was in full time employment!

Despite the awful weather, I seem to be making slow progress. There were one or two items that I wanted to improve on. It took a days work to fit out the frames with the wheels and pick ups. The wheels are on and off getting the right side control washers on the wheels. Making sure the rods don't hit the brake mounts etc. I added some cranks below the rear sandboxes for the sanding mechanism. The slide bar support bracket was insubstantial. It was a hefty casting on the original. So I added some thin brass strip to represent that tapered flange and drilled the slidebar support webs to accept some lengths of wire to represent the retaining bolts. The drop link had a projection on it typical of some LNER locos, but the O1 doesn't have that so it was filed off. The return cranks are nice castings, thick enough to be tapped 10BA, and they tighten up against 2 brass top hats also tapped. To me, the front spectacles don't look quite right, they have quite a sad expression. In the prototype photos, they are shallower and a little more mean looking! I also added that support bracket above the rear sandbox.

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And the Americans would leave it like this so you could see it was brass . Still marvel at how clean all the solder joints are. 

Richard

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I'm obsessed by cleanliness...

 

I'm on with the tender and flared ones are always tricky. With this kit the flare comes as a half etched strip, with raised beading. I use my folding bars that have a rounded edge on one side to form them. They sit in a half etch at the top of the side. I also soldered some scrap etch along the inside of the side (not seen here ) to support the top so that it didn't drift whilst soldering it in place.

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The chassis is simple and goes together quickly. I used some spares castings to beef up the adjuster. The intermediate pull rods should have clevises really.

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I always thought that all GC tenders were the same, but after studying multiple photos, realise that that's not the case. My O4/8 has an ROD tender. The O1 will have a GC tender with no pickup and low rear division plate. I wasn't sure what to do with the beading, it is raised from the half etch and looks very flat. Adding half round would make it look to high, removing it is impractical, and I didn't fancy making up new panels. In the end I resorted to subterfuge by using multiple emery sticks to round it off. From layout distance it looks fine. I didn't waste my time with the coal space and plated it over, it will have a full load.

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  • 1 month later...

Whilst I'm awaiting some castings for the O1, I've made a start on my David Andrews Stanier Tank. I'm using Slaters hornblocks

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The cylinders - for whatever reason the cylinder covers as part of the slidebar casting are undersize. So the quick and dirty fix was to make some rings from square brass bar. Solder them in place and then turn them in the lathe to the same size as the front covers.

Putting them on with 188 solder.

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Post lathe turning and checking the fit. Once cleaned up a bit more and painted the join won't notice.

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I made up the front platform, and sat and looked at it for a while, decided it was a botch job, then ended up torching it apart and starting again. Basically the etching for the front platform is too long, so the upstands stick up too much and have to be reduce by a mill and a half or so. I had to anneal it to reshape it - hence the discoloured appearance.
In the past I've made up smokebox saddles and then tried to fit the smokebox later with the risk of horrible gaps. Not this time, lets make up the smokebox, make sure the saddle fits it nicely first. Then fit the saddle to the running plate.

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Thanks Mike!

One thing to watch for when kits are designed to automatically locate parts together, is that they locate in the right place. The holes in the front of the firebox align with the holes at the back of the boiler. Unfortunately that creates a step between the two parts, the top of the boiler cladding should line up with the top of the firebox.

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So I had to elongate the holes so that the boiler can sit slightly higher. That's better!

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There are a lot of oilers around the front end, I couldn't find anything like the one that should be at the front of the running plate. The closest I could get is 3 port oiler ( which is similar to that on the preserved 3 cylinder loco ) and I'm not fully happy with the ones on the front of the tank, I might re-visit them. Boiler is just plonked on for the moment.

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Inside the cab, as designed the tank extensions are about 4mm too wide. An easy way to cover up the wheels I suspect. So these have been cut back to the same width of the tanks. Splashers will have to be made up.

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I decided to make the rear bulkhead up as a single unit to be inserted in one go. I've taken most of the detail ideas from the preserved 3 cylinder loco. Too much solder on view though....! Still a couple of bits to add.

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Reworked cab floor. There are some extra holes - I don't like sealed voids... they could be the source of trouble later.

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I've not done a build where I have had to do so many reworks. Maybe I'm become more incompetent than I already am. I struggled with the upper bunker by trying to fit the parts inside the sides and back. That's not right as the vertical panel will sit to low with relation to the top of the rear face of the bunker. They should sit on the edge of the half etch at the top of the side to provide sufficient area for the beading. So I had to take it all apart and start again which resulted in some colourful language. I used jewellers half round brass wire for the beading which looks a lot better than the flat etch. Talking of that, the cab window surrounds are also etched flat, so the visible surface has been rounded with files and emery sticks. That wonky cab handrail will have to be addressed - another rework....

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I scratched up the water valves form some rather crude return crank castings and other bits. I haven't bothered with the bunker floor supplied in the kit as I shall be putting in a pretty full coal load... and it creates yet another void. Photos are slightly over exposed, I had to use artifcial light as it was so dark from storm Brendon.. Lets see if I have enough patience to continue it today, but blown out fence panels to be repaired first today.

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I've plonked it together here. Handrail buttons are slicers of brass tube on the wire. Griffin boiler cleats, with the rear ones altered as the band just bolts to a vertical flange. I soldered the mudhole doors dome down to some scrap brass, as the flanges were too chunky. Took a curved file to the back of them to thin them down. Remaining solder on the dome covers can be polished off afterwards. I though of leaving them off and just having the exposed clamps, but wasn't sure I could consistently file 4 oval holes in the cladding. Cladding bolts from scale hardware. Reworked oilers on the tank front. I managed to solder them off and back on again from the outside. Washout plugs are Markits turnings.

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The rear fire iron bracket appears to be a forged bar with eyeholes. The best I could do was make something from copper wire to represent it... Roof is loose, but I have had a great idea about fitting it... later... The reworked oilers look less cluttered.

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That valve in front of the drivers seat will go, it's crooked anyway! I think the rear door angles should be up against the bulkhead, can't do anything about that. The battle of the bunker has been won. Boiler is loose fitted. I took off the etched safety valve bases, not chunky enough, Griffin does a suitable casting. I solder in stages and then clean up, hence the missing lifting bracket at the back of the tank. You can just see a sneaky bit of copper wire supporting the upper bunker at the back after my botch up, coal will cover that.

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On 15/01/2020 at 12:20, Michael Edge said:

Doesn't this loco have a water scoop?

 

On 15/01/2020 at 13:00, dibateg said:

I believe the water scoops were removed, post war perhaps Mike, but the domes and vents were left in place.

 

On 15/01/2020 at 23:21, Michael Edge said:

I think you're probably right, I've only built these in pre-war condition. I just looked up some photos, 42436 was very conveniently turned over in a turntable pit and there's clearly no scoop there.

 

There's a picture of 42544 taking water from Dillicar troughs in May 1956. (Locomotives Illustrated #47  "The LMS 2-6-4Ts" p24-5)

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