West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Apart from trains ... from Harwich to ... Whitemoor on the Eastern, entire trains of ferry vehicles would have been pretty unusual

 

Thurston is on the Harwich-Whitemoor route and it was the recollections of someone who used to work there which set me off on the ferry van project. We don't run an entire train of ferry vehicles, but mix in some fitted vans and other oddments. I'm told it was a B1 turn, but Steve Pearce (31A) pointed me to an Ian C Allen picture of K3 61834 working the train near Newmarket. It's about 17 or 18 vehicles, of which about half are clearly ferry vans. There are also a container in a 5 plank open, a pair of empty lowfits or conflats and what look like a series of sheeted 5 plankers towards the rear. That's the essence of the train we've tried to model. As Brian says you'd be unlikely to see exclusively ferry vehicles in a consist and the longer Continental vans and their peaked roofs and brake hutches make a nice contrast with the 17'6" 12 ton vans we were still churning out.

[jwealleans]

Some pictures taken on Thurston at York. I didn't get everything finished - I ran out of time for the transfers on the Belgian vans, but I did do four out of six which isn't as bad as it might have been. First, a prewar survivor still in the old livery (and far too clean, but that will be attended to).

 

 

Then a pair of the almost equally aged Belgian built vans of 1917, these freshly painted in the new postwar livery.

 

 

 

Finally the Bill Bedford Great Eastern composite, showing a mixture of pre and post Nationalisation livery and also needing a trip to the weathering shop.

 

 

Then some not of my making, but I thought you might like a look as they're rather nice: B2 61614 Castle Hedingham, built by Graham Varley from the DMR kit:

 

 

WD 90566, Bachmann detailed and weathered by Craig Thompson. Craig guested with us on Saturday and was kind enough to bring this along, for which we were grateful.

 

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by jwealleans

[micklner]

Nice pictures . Looking good

[jwealleans]

Something new tonight; one of those jobs that you wish you'd just said 'No, I haven't time...' A few weeks ago, the chap who services the locos on the Pilmoor layout at Ormesby said that he'd brought the last ones back, but "The N10 could do with a repaint". It's a whitemetal kit and it did - badly - need a repaint, so I said I'd do it. Quick dip in the Nitromors, stick all the details which fell off back on, spray it over and Bob's your uncle.

 

No.

 

The 'whitemetal' kit turned out to be scratchbuilt - mainly in brass - and soldered - mainly. There was a shower of bits of plastic, milliput, card, lord knows what else and to put the brass hat on it the Nitromors I was using turned out not ot be the kind you rinse off with water. Guess how I found that out?

 

It's had a month or so to dry off and this is what I'm left with:

 

 

The smokebox wrapper was glued on - or just stuck on with the paint. It came off in the Nitromors, anyway. A few bits must have vanished in the horrible sticky goo I threw out, but I ought to be able to replace those. So far I've cleaned it all up and run the polishing wheel over it then soldered the smokebox front back to the wrapper. I've also emptied the lead shot from the smokebox and put in some lumps of lead using UHU. It's drying on my WB at the moment.

 

I have a bit of a research task ahead; we've always referred to it as the N10, but the builder numbered it 238. 238, I find, was an N8. The loco had also been lettered in the Thompson style, but 238 was withdrawn in November 1929. I'll have to dig out what drawings and references I have to see what it really is and how to renumber it - Pilmoor is set in the latter half of the 1930s, so 238 is not really an option.

Edited October 3, 2018 by jwealleans

[micklner]

The front smokebox layout matches the N10.

 

RCTS Vol 9A has a photo of 1930's numbered 1711 , roughly the same as the loco with the brass safety valve,it has a vacumn ejector on the side of your photo & Westinghouse pump, shedded at Hull Dairycoates .

 

 

Should look good with a bit of work.

 

Mick

[jwealleans]

Yep, a glance through Locomotives Illustrated confirms it as an N10. I don't know what was going on with the number; I can't see one anywhere near 238. Anyway, that's a while off yet. It is a nice job and hopefully I can do it justice. A few extra detailing parts will be in order. I don't have that volume of the RCTS set, but I do have a very good pictures in the NERA book, Vol 3. Oddly, no drawing in there. I also have the 'LI' and that's without going through the rest of the library.

[Earlswood Nob]

Hello to all

The N8 had larger wheels than the N10, and consquently larger splashers. The N10 splashers had a distinct step between the top of the splasher and the top of the sandbox.

Earlswood Nob

[micklner]

<br />Hello to all<br />The N8 had larger wheels than the N10, and consquently larger splashers. The N10 splashers had a distinct step between the top of the splasher and the top of the sandbox.<br />Earlswood Nob<br />

<br /><br /><br />

 

Good points I never realised/noticed N8 5ft 1 in , N10 4ft 7in wheels the model also appears ok for the N8 non superheated/shorter smokebox if the wheels match !!

[jwealleans]

Thanks, both - I've been guided round that train of though on the LNER forum as well. It does seem closer to an N8, allowing for the proprietary chassis and what I assume is use of some conveniently handy bits. I don't have enough information to track down which N8 to build it as, so I need to get hold of the Greenie and Yeadon (if there is one yet). Something with piston valves, vac fitted, not superheated (? - short smokebox?), which might have been seen between York and Northallerton in 1938/9. I hope that's specific enough.

[micklner]

Cant help with sheds RCTS show the following in that period vacumn fitted non superheated

 

210 212 218 348 856 863

 

Mick

[jwealleans]

Slow and desultory progress on the tank, I'm afraid; too much work and good weather (meaning 'outside jobs' for some of us). Mainly Trains have also been on holiday meaning that a number of bits I would have had ready to fit haven't arrived yet. Rob P was kind enough to drop me in Vol 9A of the RCTS Greenies and someone on the LNER forum was also good enough to let me have the relevant section of Ken Hoole's book. Based on those we're going to go with the suggestion of No. 861 a loco which was at York just before the War. All this led me back to the conclusion that the piano front was indeed wrong on this loco, being one of the curved ones like a G5. I removed it and made up a replacement of 60 thou square rod rounded on one edge and two bits of brass strip profiled to look like the frame tops.

 

 

I've also added boiler clacks (these were not on the original model) and reinstated the bunker coal rails and chimney top. I may discard those coal rails and try to make some more as they've got badly bent and aren't easy to get to stick to the brackets. I notice it's also sitting nose up - I'm not sure whether it's always done that or not but it will have to be attended to. There's some packing at the front under the smokebox so I assume it's the back that's low, but we'll check that out later.

 

 

The other thing I did was add brakes. The chassis had the wire stubs for the brake hangers but no evidence of any having been fitted. I dug out some of the Alan Gibson plastic brakes and used those. I think they were actually GE, but, hey, they're all Worsdells at the end of the day. These also remove the possibility of shorting the loco out across the brakes.

 

Edited October 3, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

Almost got where we're going with the N8 now; I had a package from Mainly Trains they day after they resumed delivery - nice to see the service hasn't fallen off even if the range is nowhere near what it was. Sadly they didn't have any of the spectacle grilles I need for the rear cab windows but I got everything else.

 

 

Buffers are from the Alan Gibson Workshop, steps are altered from a Mainly Trains etch - the originals were very poor and badly bent - and I found some useful odds and sods on their Loco detailing etch as well. The sandbox lids are actually washout plugs - they're round and from normal viewing distance won't show - and I used half a destination bracket holder to make what I believe were the hingeing arrangements for the tank lids. One of the whistles had disappeared, but a shoulderless handrail knob soldered in upside down looks pretty close. Just needs vac pipes, lamp irons, those grilles and cab doors and the bits I seem to have bent straightening out and it can go to the paintshop.

 

I then felt in the mood to start a new project which has been pending for a while. No prizes for guessing what this is:

 

 

I'm going to build it as I do my coaches, with a paxolin floor and the body as a lift-off shell. The fit of the parts was very poor, especially the roof, but having it all solid should allow it to be tidied up.

 

The power unit has been on the bench since December and will be this:

 

 

After the poor experience with the one at Ormesby and Mick's comments about spuds I wanted something with enough grunt to drag all that whitemetal about. This is a BullAnt Major and if it performs as well as its smaller equivalent then I will be well pleased.

Edited September 29, 2018 by jwealleans

[gobbler]

Just read the whole thread, some exquisit models there.

 

The Bull Ant power truck jobby you got there, never heard of them, would be nice to see a comparison between these and maybe spuds & beetles

 

let us' know how you get on withem'

 

Scott

[jwealleans]

Scott,

 

Geoff (Hollywoodfoundry) posts on here - have a look at this and this. I've heard such poor reports of spuds - see Mick Bennett's thread - and the one we have at Ormesby is like a cruise missile in one direction and a three-legged tortoise the other. I want something reliable and this seemed a good option. He does articulated drives which would have powered both bogies, but when I explained what i wanted it for he said this would be adequate.

[micklner]

Jonathan

How do you fix this bogie into the bodywork . I have always wondered how to fit one and get it to pivot.?? Re the spud saga my Sentinel destroyed two with consumate ease on both occasions the nylon gears gave up the ghost after a couple of minutes. Mine now has a replacement Black Beetle bogie with brass gears much better .

Good idea re floor the thing weighs a ton . I replace the awful steps on mine with scrap etch and wire too. Never had problems with the roof on mine but its over 20 years old so the mould may have been better then.

Any idea which name you are building ? I have a 3mm HMRS decal sheet if you need it as the 4mm HMRS Version is way too big. Also the relevant Yeadon too

 

 

My sentinel build is here

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=547&start=250

 

 

 

cheers

 

Mick

[jwealleans]

Hi Mick,

 

I intend to go back though your thread again and pick up on the problems you had. The fit of my parts was very poor, but I've only had the kit a couple of years.

 

The 'batwing' on this one is free to pivot - you can't really see it on the picture above, but on the other one it was fixed. It should just bolt into the floor at each side with packing to get the right ride height. The one below is fixed but you get the idea.

 

 

I'll make a hole in the floor for it, probably shaped to restrict the swing as well.

 

I haven't thought as far as names yet. I got a decal sheet in mine which I haven't really looked at but I may take you up on your offer. I have the Yeadon to browse through when I get to that stage.

Edited September 29, 2018 by jwealleans

[jwealleans]

In a fit of enthusiasm I made up the floor tonight. It's deliberately an interference fit as the body is a bit bendy. Hopefully that will sort itself out once the roof's on, although that's just as bent, frankly.

 

Here is the floor in place inside the body shell with the hole for the BullAnt cut out.

 

 

Here it is in place - the hole will need extending to allow the unit to pivot but the fixings have plenty of floor to go through.

 

 

The ride height isn't a million miles away even without any packing or adjustment.

 

 

The unit is also much less obtrusive than you might think - they're surprisingly low inside a vehicle. You can also see how bent the roof is. That's had another layer of filler after a sanding this evening.

 

Edited September 24, 2018 by jwealleans

[ArthurK]

Yep, a glance through Locomotives Illustrated confirms it as an N10. I don't know what was going on with the number; I can't see one anywhere near 238. Anyway, that's a while off yet. It is a nice job and hopefully I can do it justice. A few extra detailing parts will be in order. I don't have that volume of the RCTS set, but I do have a very good pictures in the NERA book, Vol 3. Oddly, no drawing in there. I also have the 'LI' and that's without going through the rest of the library.

 

Sorry but that is not an N10 that you have there. The front sandbox/splashers are totally wrong for that. as someone remarked above the N10 had a pronounced drop at the rear. Therefore it can only be an N8 or an N9. There was very little visual difference between these. The overhang of the front frame was 5' 6" on the N10. On the other two had overhangs of 5'3" and 5'9" but I cannot remember which was which. Some of the N9s retained the low tanks. All the N8s were increased in depth from the original build. The wheels on your model are certainly more than the 4'7 1/4" of the N10.

 

ArthurK

[jwealleans]

Morning Arthur,

 

We had a much more detailed discussion about it on the LNER forum here and came to the same conclusion. It's now just awaiting some final detailing bits and then it will be finished as 861, which we believe was shedded at York just prewar and is therefore a good candidate to have been seen at Pilmoor.

[ArthurK]

Just give you a little encouragement here is my own Sentinal railcar. "Royal Charlotte" was one first that I remember seeing. To us as kids it was always 'Apple Charlotte' - well it was green! It was shedded at Tweedmouth just prior to WW2. Mine is totally scatchbuilt from plasticard which of course makes it very much lighter than the NU-Cast one. It was powered by a lash up motor, armature and magnet from an X04 (I think) pole pieces from sheet steel hammered to shape. It ran in this form for many years on my 16.5mm layout "Teesdale" (based on Middleton in Teesdale). Royal Charlotte was moved to Sunderland and was probably used on th run to Middleton. That is the only excuse that I need. The motor was later replaced by a 50p cheapo of the suare shape. The layout is now dismantled and the Railcar now sports a Black Beetle P4 power unit. It runs very well but hasn't yet got the cosmetic side frames replaced. Some day I would like to etch one of these.

[Rob Pulham]

Some day I would like to etch one of these.

 

 

I should think that you will have people queuing up for them if you etch one Arthur. I would love one but my good lady doesn't want me soldering white metal kits unless they are pewter. I get so much encouragement in other areas it's a small price to pay.

 

 

[jwealleans]

Ah, now, if you're going to etch up Sentinels.... any chance of the Guisborough pair (Old Blue and Old John Bull)?

 

That looks a top job, Arthur. Did you build it then glaze it? Not as daft a question as it sounds (I hope) because I'm sure 1949Bob on the LNER forum told me he'd built his Clayton from perspex and added the plastikard detail over the top.

 

Claytons... there's another thought....

[ArthurK]

Ah, now, if you're going to etch up Sentinels.... any chance of the Guisborough pair (Old Blue and Old John Bull)?

 

That looks a top job, Arthur. Did you build it then glaze it? Not as daft a question as it sounds (I hope) because I'm sure 1949Bob on the LNER forum told me he'd built his Clayton from perspex and added the plastikard detail over the top.

 

Claytons... there's another thought....

 

Never did see any Claytons But I did see both the two and six cylinder Sentinals including the last of those at Hull.

If I recall correctly the glazing was slipped in between two plasticard layers after painting. The roof simply clips into place. Unscrew the chimney and off it comes. It has a resonable number of passengers. Easy to do without the roof in place. The roof was molded on a wooden former. Cover with plasticard (20thou) then place under an electric grill until it goes all soggy. Whip it out the press it down with a block of foam (upholstery type). Takes about 30 seconds total time. The trimming to fit takes a lot longer!!!!!!! I did a lot of Gresley coach roofs this way. Don't use a gas grill for this job, my one attempt was disastrous.

I am afraid "Royal Charlotte" is a bit the worse for wear these days. Painted plasticard tends to become very brittle after thirty years and is very easily damaged.

 

If my memory is correct 'Old Blue' and 'Old John Bull' were both 'Odd Balls' rather than the 'Standard' Sentinal. I must admit to having a yen for the articulated type.

[ArthurK]

Rather than Hijack Jonathan's thread I have posted a few more bits about my Railcar on "Arthur's Workshop". There I show how strange things can happen when you want to achieve a result! Royal Charlotte

[jwealleans]

You're quite right Arthur, the two Guisborough Sentinels were a class all to themselves. I expect I will end up scratchbuilding them. Thanks for the other thread - some useful stuff there and as usual I can only tip my hat to your workmanship.