Steve's Caledonian loco work bench

[Mad McCann]

In many respects I suspect producing your own models in this manner is easier than building a kit, given that you have almost complete control over the process.

 

Dave.

[Mikkel]

Hi Steve, been catching up. Excellent and inspiring! The best threads on RMweb are those that makes the reader want to shut down the pc and go do some real modelling. Yours is one of those.

 

PS: Er, I meant that in the positive way! :-)

Edited March 10, 2016 by Mikkel

[Londontram]

Thanks Mike.

 

Now unless your into pre 1900 Scottish steam locos and lets face it not everybody is you might not be familiar with the prototype so here's a look at a 104 tank on shed in LMS days

As I've mentioned before the 104 class was the only Post Drummond period tank loco where the cab was the same width as the tanks and bunker most having a recessed cab or cab and bunker this must have been welcome by the crew giving them a lot more room to work, because of this the air pump for the air brakes has been relocated to the front of the tank instead of in the usual Caley practice of fitting it to the fire mans side of the cab

Edited March 10, 2016 by Londontram

[gr.king]

..... a good set square seen in this picture making sure that every thing is OK before the glue has fully set.

 

.....simple construction using plasticard.

 

 

Key points. More than once I've thought to myself that a basic model built squarely and cleanly to correct dimensions (or at least all in proportion) looks far better and more convincing than a super detailed version of something that is inherently wrongly proportioned or lacking straightness, squareness, neatness of construction, or which looks like it was painted with a trowel or a yard brush.

[46256]

Steve not being familiar with your chosen prototype....however having seen numerous photos of 044 ts ...not least those as futher south in these islands.....those bogie wheels seem ...small by comparison,

 

The diversity of type ...both steam and diesel loco that fascinate us modellers..

[Londontram]

Yes that's been noted before, its almost like one of the weight supporting trolleys they have at a loco works that you see under a loco when one of the Axles has been removed for some reason

[46256]

Steve I've got the Bradford Barton books LMS locos by HC Casserley.....thank goodness he had the foresight to photograph every type of locomotive in theses wonderful islands, the Scottish types in particular....most swept away not long afterwards. Thank you for reacquaintinng us with them.

[Londontram]

Note to ones self, when gluing the boiler in place on a locomotive it might be a good idea to remove the chassis and motor so one doesn't accidentally glue the top pf the motor to the inside of the boiler making it impossible to take the body off.

 

    Yep that was yours truly, Yesterday I glued the boiler and smoke box in place and left the body on the chassis while I did it the main reason was so I could look at the stance and make sure it all sat right and looked OK. I used super glue as the ex Triang body that the boiler came from in this case is very hard and liquid polly doesn't seem to take to well,

 

  I glued it at the base of the smoke box and at the end of the boiler onto the front cab plate but as I looked at it it had a slight twist to one side and the dome and safety valve looked slightly off center so using a craft knife blade I managed to part the join against the cab front plate but leaving the smoke box end in place which by this time had set solid. After lining it up straighter I put a dab of super glue on either side of the boiler but didn't realize that some of it must have run through and stuck the top of the Hornby motor to the inside of the boiler that was until I tried to take the body off today and found it was stuck solid and took a bit of time to delicately remove the body by slipping a needle file which was the only thing long and hard enough to get on top of the motor and lever it away from the inside of the boiler.

 

Any way no damage was done and the motors fine as it was only the plastic surround on the motor that stuck, any excess glue was scraped off with a craft knife still after all that I didnt get time to anything else other than cut out the basic roof shape and some bits of plasticard for the tank tops but Wendy was calling with my tea so I'll come back to that tomorrow. Steve

[KalKat]

OOps!

[JCL]

Wow Steve, close shave. I had a rookie mistake a while back - ground back the Caledonian Single chassis without protection/removing the motor. It's not a very efficient runner if it has metal shards inside it. Luckily I had som help removing it all.

 

Here's a question, do you spring bogies? I'm trying to make sure the bogie is in good contact with the rails and was wondering if you did this sort of thing.

Edited March 12, 2016 by JCL

[Londontram]

Hello Jason. as of yet I haven't manly because I've always used RTR chassis usually old Hornby ones so mostly the bogies are on swing arms. I did do some tests with this one but found as the wheel base is so small the bogie didn't swing to far so I left it on the trailing arm. The Dunalastair's and Cardean also as they use the Hornby B12 chassis.

 

I have got an old M7 chassis which I'm doing a Caley 439 class conversion on and the swing arm bogie is atrocious on that as its a much longer chassis and as I want to add pickups to the bogie I've got a Hornby T9 bogie with the center spigot and spring mount to graft onto it so watch this space as they say. 

 

Going off topic Jason my Daughter and Granddaughter have just got back from Vancouver after attending a family wedding on her partners side, I told her to keep an eye out for you but she must have missed you. I cant see why I mean Canada - its not that big is it?

Edited March 13, 2016 by Londontram

[JCL]

Ah, this was a Hornby Caledonian, what can I say?

 

Vancouver eh? Well I was just over the water on the island. I was once asked if I could meet someone from the UK while they were in Canada. Aparently they were going to Ontario, I was in BC - it's a 52 hour (or so) Greyhound trip!

[pH]

I was once asked if I could meet someone from the UK while they were in Canada. Aparently they were going to Ontario, I was in BC - it's a 52 hour (or so) Greyhound trip!

A couple we know here in Vancouver were asked by friends in the UK if they could meet the friends' daughter who was flying to Halifax to attend Dalhousie University. They replied "Why don't you meet her yourself? You're just as close!". It is a very big country!

[JCL]

That said, when refurbing our first place, I did have to make a 7 hour round trip to Calgary pick up a couple of light fittings that had to be at the house on a particular day, so I don't help myself really.

[Londontram]

That said, when refurbing our first place, I did have to make a 7 hour round trip to Calgary pick up a couple of light fittings that had to be at the house on a particular day, so I don't help myself really.

Did you pay cash of trade pelts?

[JCL]

A winning smile and joy in my heart

 

Now then, just been onto Ian Kirk's thread and seen photos there. Is there any way you could give us a cavalcade of as many of the outstanding loco you've put together that you can muster? I think it would be a huge inspiration to us, especially those with a much reduced or missing mojo.

[Londontram]

A winning smile and joy in my heart

 

Now then, just been onto Ian Kirk's thread and seen photos there. Is there any way you could give us a cavalcade of as many of the outstanding loco you've put together that you can muster? I think it would be a huge inspiration to us, especially those with a much reduced or missing mojo.

There's not that many Jason I just tend to draw the threads out to make it seem like there is but leave it with me and I throw something together

[Nile]

Note to ones self, when gluing the boiler in place on a locomotive it might be a good idea to remove the chassis and motor so one doesn't accidentally glue the top pf the motor to the inside of the boiler making it impossible to take the body off.

 

Some cling film over the motor is the answer.

[Londontram]

Your right mate but that's me wise after the event, I always have to learn the hard way

[Nile]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I probably would have done the same thing. But together we learn from each others mistakes as well as our own.

[Londontram]

Today's job was to fully box in the tanks and add the ribs to the cab roof using evergreens micro strip. which when you look at the pictures you will see.

 

    There was also a couple of hidden jobs one of which was to start filling in the cab detail and to this end a planked floor from a plank effect plasticard was cut and added and also some weight was added to the inside of the front of the boiler and smoke box, this was done in the form of a big 9/16th AF bolt held in place with blue tack and then boxed in with plasticard this with a bit of weight added later to the forward part of the tanks will keep all the weight over the front two driving wheels. One final hidden job was to add some plasticard to the rear part of the tanks to mount the rear two sandboxes on when I build them

 

    In this first picture is the 104 tank now with the ribs added to the cab roof and the top and front of the tanks filled in, when dry I can start to curve the top of the tanks in the Caledonian style before adding detail like the fillers and hand rail knobs (To those in the know she's picked up the nick name the Chunky Monkey as along with the 782 tank the 104 is one of the widest locos on the Caledonian fleet)

 

    In the second picture she is sat with her half cousin the 782 tank, even though the 104 is an 0-4-4 tank and the 782 an 0-6-0 they both share a common boiler and the driving wheels are also the same size but in the picture you can see the difference in cab width with the 782 tank having the typical Caley recessed cab and the 104 is also a tad (That's an imperial tad by the way) longer over all with the tanks starting slightly further back than on the 782.

I've left it all to dry as I've got to pick the granddaughter up from school and take her up the shops to spend her pocket money. Thanks for looking Steve

 

PS the 104 looks like its sitting a bit high but the body is just resting in place and is not screwed down plus the camera angle when measured it comes out spot on. Also there's way to much curve to the cab roof so the sanding block will have to work on that a bit still the basic shape is coming on

Edited March 15, 2016 by Londontram

[Londontram]

Fitted the 247 development number plates I'd ordered to the 0-8-0 492 tank and managed to get a super glue smudge on one side. I tell you what I'm having a bad day with super glue today.

 

To start with I made up a simple L shaped template/guide from plasticard that when sat on the running plate and level with the back of the bunker the number plate would be in the point where the inside of the L is if you see what I mean.

   To pick the number plate up I put a small bit of blue tack on the end of a thin bit of plastic rod and touched lightly on the number plate I could pick it up and transfer it to the bunker side.......... In theory.

 

   So template in place, badge on end of plastic rod with blue tack and cocktail stick to put the slightest dab of super glue on back of number plate. What could go wrong?

 

First attempt despite several times the number plate dropping off the blue tack when picking it up once put in place with super glue on the back it resolutely refused to come off the blue tack finally getting it to stay in place with the tip of a scalpel, so withdraw the plastic rod with blue tack on and go to lift off plasticard template and guess what the number plate had stuck to the template not the bunker so as I lift off the template the number plate comes away with it to then drop off and land glue side down on a different part of the bunker and then resist all attempts to lift it off finally coming away with the tip of the scalpel leaving a glue smudge on the bunker which I've rubbed with fine wet and dry but I'll need to mask it off and give it a respray with black at some point. Number plate finally fitted by dead reckoning after several more atemps. 

 

The other side....... straight on first time with no trouble

 

   On the 104 tank I've started to sand in the curved top profile to the tanks and lowered and flattened the profile of the cab roof, with the 104 and the previous built 782 tanks sat on a section of track back to back with a set square laid across the two roofs and a spirit level sat on the top the cab heights are exactly the same.

 

   Turned around so they were front end to front end the same set square and spirit level were tried across the chimneys and it seems the smoke box on the 104 was about 1mm higher so a previous 10 though spacer/mounting plate under the smoke box was carefully removed with a fine razor saw and a 5 thou piece was cut to replace it thus lowering the boiler by 5 thou, this was glued in place with super glue and left to set for an hour with a heavy weight on it after an hour the weight was lifted off and the two parts separated the glue under it still being liquid this was all cleaned off and a tad more super glue was added the excess being remove with a tissue and left for another hour and after that the weights were lifted off and it was obvious that the super glue was still liquid so again all the glue was removed with a tissue which instantly stuck to everything including my fingers and more glue was added and any squeezing out being cleaned away with a tissue again and now I'm going to leave it with rubber bands round it for the rest of the day and see if that works.

 

   So all in all a frustrating morning (Bloody super glue)

Edited March 15, 2016 by Londontram

[uax6]

Trick with superglue is this Steve: Blow on it. The mositure in your breath helps it to go off....

 

Andy G

[Londontram]

Good news it seems to have stuck OK now. Thanks Andy I tried that tip, the wife who already thinks my love of trains is unnatural and slightly perverse after seeing me blowing rhythmically over the front of the loco is now totally convinced I'm beyond help especially after she just caught me stroking the tank top.

     Telling her I could feel a low spot that will need a bit of filler has just not washed.

[manna]

G'day Gents

 

Re- your Imperial 'tad'. An Imperial tad is the equivalent of a Metric tad and a bit, the equivalent in Imperial of a metric tad, is a Imperial tad minus a bit, Hope that's clear.

 

manna