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Steve's Caledonian loco work bench


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Once again a build has reached that point where you start doing the detail jobs and four or five jobs can be swallowed up with out really seeing any visual difference. Today's jobs are those sort of jobs the first being to sand back and tidy up the filler around the tank tops and ends and get the typical Caley curve to the tank tops, it will need lots more sanding and filling but the basic shape is coming together. Job No. 2 was to cut out the new winged smoke box front plate and again this will also need more work once the smokebox door has been made and fitted and also the sandbox/ splashers as well.

 

 In this first picture you can see the new smokebox plate and some of the filler on the tank tops, you can also see the lower flatter profile of the cab top now that's been sanded down to the correct shape.

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   After this I did some work round the cab and rear chassis area. Under the running plate I drilled some holes in the running plate under the bunker and tanks and two sections of brass tube one for either side  were bent at each end and fitted to represent the water transfer pipes between the tanks and bunker. Also a section of tube was measured against the drawing then cut to size and glued to the rear of the chassis behind the bogie for the Westinghouse air tank for the air brakes, when set the ends were plugged with filler. a slight recess was cut in the center of the tank to give access to the rear body securing screw. The bogie just missis the air tank by a few thou but its a tight fit,here's a picture.

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While at the rear end the inside back of the bunker was made from 20 thou plasticard with a drill hole filed to shape for the shoveling plate and a small bit of 5 thou plasticard rolled and fitted for the curved top. Another GBL T9 back head was found in the spares box and fitted as well, the hole in the floor that you can see in this next picture will be for the hand brake stanchion when its made.

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Other duties call so that's it for today but its all coming along quite nicely and starting to look like a..... well its coming along.

    No seriously its starting to take on the feel of the original and I think will be a pretty little loco when done. Thanks for looking Steve

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Didn't fancy falling asleep in front of the TV so went upstairs to my little man cave and did a bit more tonight (Two modeling secession in one day - cant be bad eh)

 

Any way it was more of working through the long list of minor but important jobs that go towards the finished model. Job one was to fit the two steps either side on the tanks and a simple bit of plasticard was cut to act as a template that sat on the running plate and the top gave the right height for the step its position on the side being inline with the safety valve.

      In the cab the hand brake stanchion was made in the usual way of a bit of brass tube and a hand rail knob with some hand rail wire for the cross piece. This stanchion like the one on the 782 was cranked forward slightly.

   Using my last reversing lever off the fret of cab fittings it was folded up (Badly I must say still when painted you wont see that) and soldered and then super glued in the cab. The rear body securing captive nut was also super glued in place then blocked in with plasticard so it could never come loose and move and when done a closing piece of plasticard covered in the bunker and made a base to add some coal to later when its painted.

 

 Picture one shows the rear body screw and how like on the 492 0-8-0 tank I cut the air tank to give access to it, the rear bogie still needs horn guides. This is a rear view of the underside of one of my builds as there like the proverbial swan all serene up top but paddling like mad under water you see it might look nice and smooth on top but its usually a mess of odd bits of plasticard all stuck together underneath.  

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As I said in the last post the bogie to the air tank is a tight fit but the wheels do miss the air tank honest.

 

  Next picture is a view into the cab showing the hand brake and reversing lever, one of the next jobs on the cab will be the hand rails and beading. You can also see one of the tank side steps in this picture

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Final picture of the loco with the smokebox winged plate and the valve chest cover. Next job at this end will be the splashers and sandboxes.

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Loads to do but still progressing nicely don't you think. Steve

 

PS I noticed on this last picture how much of the Hornby pick up you can see under the boiler. Other than replace it completely there's not much I can do about it, the hope is as its only on one side once painted and with the air pump and splasher sat in front of it it wont stand out as bad as it does now

Edited by Londontram
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Hiya Steve, looking at how your standards have risen over the last year or two I think you will find the exposed pickup troubling. You might get away with black paint, but I think it would be worth experimenting with some sleeved wire under the chassis. If you try that before removing the phosphor bronze, maybe sleeving it to isolate, you might find a solution.

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Yeah could do but when you see sometimes some people have to compromise with bits of the motor or the worm gear exposed under an open boiler I don't think this is going to cause any great problem, its on this side in the photo only and by the time the sandbox/splasher and air pump which sits on the front of the tank on this loco I don't think there will be much of it on show and if its painted then if any one does see it they'll think its just part of the chassis.

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Afternoon at the hospital having the dressings changed and letting them have a a general prod and poke with sharp things............. Well it keeps them happy and I see it as a sort of job creation so I like to think I'm doing my bit.

 

So after that I only had time for one job today which was the smokebox door, A measure on the plans showed it to be 16mm so an off cut of 20 thou plasticard was marked out and a circle drawn with a compass as can be seen in this first picture.

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Next with the center drilled out the rough cut piece of plasticard was mounted on a dremmel and using a file and then different grades of wet and dry the basic shape was formed.

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When I was happy with it it was removed from the dremmel and finished with very fine wet and dry by hand a small piece of tube was then inserted into the center hole and trimmed flush on the back and extending out about 10 thou at the front ready to mount the door handle on later.

 

The hinges were made from evergreens rod and strips and here's a picture of the smokebox door mounted on the loco.

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So only the one job today but a significant one as the locos now got its face which always makes them look better next job will be the front splasher/sandboxes I think which is the last major job oh and the rear sandboxes as well then its just detailing jobs plus some more filler and lots and lots of careful sanding to get the finish and cover up all my bodging and sticky glue finger marks. Thanks for looking Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Looking at the to do list I still need to

 

Make and fit the front splasher/sandboxes

Make and fit the rear sandboxes

make and fit the cab beading

All hand rails and lamp brackets

Make and fit the smokebox door wheel and handle

Fit the two Furness style lubricators (From my dwindling stock)

Make and fit the coal rails

Make and fit the air brake and steam heating pipes

Make and fit an air pump

Fit couplings, screw type will need to order some of them

Make and fit some horn guides to the rear bogie

Sort out the pick ups to the rear bogie

Make and fit the tank fillers

 

So as you can see still a long list of things to do but its getting there I just hope your not finding this too repetitive as it closely mirrors a lot of the work done before on locos like the 782 class 0-6-0

                                                          Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Only a couple of little task so far today the first of which was to cut out the splashers using the cut up plans as template and once fitted the front plate was trimmed to its final shape with some gentle sanding. I'll leave the tops to the splashers until the sides have dried fully in the mean time more filler was added to various points and more sanding was done as well. Also the chassis was modified above the rear bogie with a bit of filing to make a path for the bogie pick up wires to run so they wouldn't get trapped and pinched by the cab floor. Here's a look at the splasher/sandbox side fitted.

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We've got the granddaughter after school at 3-30 for a sleep over so I don't think I'll get much else done today.

     Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Hi, I have been following your posts for a long time. Given your starting materials and available tools your models are a triumph.  Firstly you are a scratch builder - you have to design how to make your model, secondly you have a skill of realising the look of the prototype you are making.  Your models all have character. So often we read of how some well designed etchkit is assembled. The builder might be of great technical expertise but they have not had to do what you do. -  decide how it goes together, how part fits on part.  I enjoyed you latest post, the things left to do.  I suspect that engine is finished in your head before you start. You saw it in the chassis and in the plasticard and it is now coming to completion in reality. Your gift and I think it is one,  is that you have a uncanny ability to capture a lot of the real thing in your models.  Thanks for the pleasure your building blog gives me and I hope many others.

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Thank you for your kind word though I feel unworthy as I just bash and bodge away until something half decent comes out. Just to prove it here's a rare unguarded view of the underside showing how messy my efforts can really be.

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   The only job done this morning was to put the tops on the sandboxes and splashers and using my gasket hole punch two sandbox fillers were made and also fixed in place, again more filler added with the tip of a scalpel blade and some gentle sanding to get the finish I want.

Last picture of yours truly using the best measuring tool to see if the sandbox filler is in the right place - line of sight.

      I've always been a great believer in the if it looks right philosophy. 

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Thanks for looking I think I'll make the next job the rear sand boxes.

                                                                          Steve          

Edited by Londontram
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ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! You could have warned us Steve, I need a new monitor screen now................

 

You said if it looks right....

 

:-)

 

Andy G

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Today's job was to make and fit the rear sandboxes, on the real loco these should be fitted to the side of the frames but as this has a Hornby chassis which is more narrow than normal because its 00 gauge and I think Hornby liked to leave room for a lot of slop on the axles too. So I made the decision to fit the sandbox's to some supports fitted to the inside of the tank in the form of a strip of 10 thou plasticard either side extending below the tanks. The shape of the sandbox's was copied from the plans and four pieces were cut and two were fixed either side of this support strip with the gap in between filled with filler. It sounds complex and messy but its actually quite simple and the end result looks good with the sandbox sitting at the right depth from the outside edge of the loco as can be seen in this first picture.

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The only other job today was to fit some more weight inside the front of the tank right over the rear driving wheel this was in the form of two segments of tyre weights but stuck in place with Araldite and not the sticky strip that was on the weight, this was scrapped off as someone on this forum advised that the sticky strip on these weights might effect some types of plasticard. You can see the weights held in place while the glue sets in this second picture. 

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These tank weights and the bolt sealed in place in the front part of the boiler have put a lot of weight right where its needed most right over the two driving wheels.

 

When the loco is more advanced and there's less chance of them getting damaged I'll fit pipes to the front and rear sandboxes but at the moment they'd just get knocked off. The only other job was to drill out the slots on the buffer beams for the screw couplings and that's it for today.

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I had to correct a big mistake made yesterday which was the tank weights which I had left a bit to long which meant the connecting rods caught on them at each turn of the wheels, they were to well stuck in to remove so the only other course was to get the Dremmel out with a grinding wheel on and grind down the weight making sure I wore a mask and safety classes. When done the loco was test run to make sure everything ran freely and this was the first time I'd run it with the body on and I've got to say she looked quite good.

 

I sanded off the now dry filler on the rear sandboxes and drilled out the holes for the pipes and went to do the same for the front sandboxes and found I'd forgotten they were hollow and open to the bottom so some small blocks of 20 thou plasticard were cut and glued in place and when dry these were drilled out ready for the front sandbox pipes.

 

In this first picture in the center is the rear driving wheel with the weight ground back and if you look to the top just behind the buffer beam you can one of the holes for the front sandbox pipe drilled in one of the small 20 thou infill blocks

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All a bit bodge on bodge I'm afraid but it shows some of the problems that come up on scratch builds like this

 

Next job was to fit the cab beading and using my tried and tested method two strips of over size 5 thou plasticard were cut and rolled up. When placed in the cab aperture they unroll and can be glued in place with liquid polly cement being poked into the corners with the tip of a needle file the glue making the plasticard nice and soft. When dry they were sanded back to a nice even fine beading seen here in the next two views.

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In this first view you can get a better look at the top of the sandbox and splasher as well

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         Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Its official I've entered hand rail hell. The 104 tank seems to have more hand rails and grab handles than any other Caledonian loco or so it seems.

 

So far I've drilled out all the hand rail and grab handles holes and using brass hand rail wire bent up and made the grab handles for the cab side and front and the handles by the front steps, the grab rails either side of the cap door way were made from plastic rod as they had to "butt" up to the underside of the cab beading so I thought it might glue better. When the loco is painted they will all be painted a steel colour so It doesn't matter what there made from.

 

Next was the tank fillers and again just like the other locos my trusty gasket punch was used to cut out a selection of different sized circles which were built up to make the fillers, the final top ones were sanded slightly oval to match the original filler caps. The hinges were evergreens strip and the catches were plastic rod and evergreens strip as the T handle for the securing catch (Can see them lasting the test of time there a bit decalert you see)

 

last job today was to make up the coal rails with hand rail wire soldered to some nice thin strips of brass which were the frame around some frets I had in stock the center brass strip was left extended to form the rear lamp brackets. Dummy lamp brackets were added to the cab sides above the grab  rails as well.

 

Apart from a bit more filler and some sanding that's about it for today, here's a pictures of today work.

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Its fast getting to the point where it needs a blow over with some gray primer so I can have a look and see what filling and sanding is required, this is why I've left the hand rail knobs off in case I need to add more filler to the boiler area. They say a coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins and I've got to be honest with my modeling I'm rather banking on that

 

Jobs still to do are make the air pipes and steam heating pipes for the buffer beams and make the air pump its self. Thanks for looking Steve

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You could try using picture mounting board cut to locate hard brass strips for the rails-The Camden site has used this to make the shed water tower out of brass section.  When set up, Carr's 145 detailing solder is quite easy to use in an application like this.  The assembly can be bent round a former afterwards.

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I take it you mean fabricate the entire assembly then put the bends in?

Makes sense to me now it's pointed out.

Thanks.

 

Dave.

Set it up on the flat in the picture framing board, solder using 145, clean up and bend.  Locate in the bunker-I use hairgrips-and solder up.  A hot iron in and out will do the job-the aluminium grips will keep any heat away from the uprights.

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I find threading the front handrails, both round the smokebox door then into straight lines on the side, a bit beyond me. On Caley tanks, there is usually a final dipping into the front of the tank to locate and drill and keep straight.

 

Well done so far, Steve.

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Well I was going to give it a blow over with some gray primer but the chap next door decided to pressure wash his back yard and garden path and spent the next 3 1/2 hours spraying a misty spray over the fence. By the time he had finished it had turned cold and damp so I gave up on the idea for today. Mind you good job really as when doing a close examination of the body I noticed a scratch in  the boiler near the dome that was too deep to sand out so I added some filler to that so that wont be dry till later. Oh well best laid plans and all that, maybe tomorrow.

                                

    Time wasn't wasted though as I did some more Inkscape drawing on a carriage that's soon going to be ready to cut on the silhouette cutter more of which some other time.

                                               Steve

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Hello Jason that's not far off how I did it but I used blue tack to hold mine down instead of double sided tape.

         Thanks for all the tips guys and all that but I just went back to the picture pf the coal rails and had another look and I didn't think they looked that bad to be honest I was just making a general observation sorry.

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