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Steve's Caledonian loco work bench


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No, I certainly won't tell you about the Object -> Add Splasher Slots  command :)

 

A) Oh how we laughed, Hmm yes very good Jason (He says through gritted teeth)

 

Certainly looks very pretty, have you thought about going into graphic design?

 

A) At my age? are you kidding I'm a bit to long in the tooth for all sort of stuff

 

Two things about cutting, I think Andy will bear me out here:

  • there is a big difference in the properties of styrene sold by different manufacturers, and you aren't the first person to find this problem, so when you find a brand that works for you it's an idea to stick with it

A) I know but I cant seem to find a supply any where

 

Looks brilliant though, and considering you were looking to throw the computer out of the window when we spoke last, you are doing some amazing work.

 

A) Gosh yes I remember that, I really think our late night chat that time was the turning point so I've got you to thank for saving me there Jason

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  • 4 weeks later...

Right then where were we, oh yes the Conner No.1 class. So whats happened - not a lot but quite a lot. I have been wrapped up rebuilding the engine on my old Rover as my daughter has reminded me that I promised to do a wedding for a friend of hers in October. but I've still been pottering away working on drawings for the Conner No. 1 2-4-0 but I've also brought the next project forward to run along side it as work on that will benefit the No. 1 class build.

 

All the parts have been cut now for the side frames and laminated up I've also made a front plate for the Mitsumi motor and have now fitted the motor in place with a combination of super glue and no nails and even though there's no pick ups on it yet I've hot wired the motor and been test running it up and down and have been impressed with the smoothness and quietness of the Mitsumi motor.

The Mitsumi motor on the M7 chassis sitting much lower and more compact.

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A front plate for the motor made from 60 though plasticard and super glued to the motor front. This slides tightly between the sides of the chassis frame and the motor presses into a bed of No nails. After being left to set for 24 hours its not going anywhere and meshes perfectly

post-17847-0-37583900-1505240986_thumb.jpg

 

Now I said I was bringing forward the next project as it would benefit this first build. the next build will be another Conner a 76 class 2-2-2 single with an 8ft 2in driving wheel and to save the work its going to be built around a Bachmann Thomas and friends Emily which is based loosely on the Stirling 4-2-2- single.

The Conner 76 class

post-17847-0-06200900-1505242277_thumb.jpg

 

Now you can get these in the UK but they tend to fetch silly money Anything from £80 up to £240 is what I've seen on places like ebay but a friend of mine in America got me one of the American ebay for £34 and with posting the whole lot came to me for under £50 which made chopping it up more acceptably.

 

Bachmann have built this 4-2-2 as a 2-2-2-2 and instead of a front bogie the front set of wheels are given a lot of play along with the rear axle. Interestingly the second pony wheel is driven as is the big simgle driver giving I hope a better degree of "grip"  Here's a view of the underside of the Emily chassis

post-17847-0-40085300-1505242192_thumb.jpg

 

So where does this help the first build? well the No.1 class is a 2-4-0 and as the basic M7 chassis is an 0-4-0 it needs a front pony wheel. The Conner 76 class is a 2-2-2 so it needs the front pony wheel removing from the Emily chassis (can you see where I'm going with this yet?)

 

As it turns out there is a slight overhang and extension on the old M7 chassis where the original 4 wheel bogie went and unbelievable when lined up face to face the front beautifully sprung with plenty of side play pony wheel of the Emily chassis slots perfectly into this space so I'll remove it from the Emily chassis and graft it on to the M7 chassis benefiting both locos. Here's a view of them face to face with the Emily front pony wheel sat in the recess on the M7 chassis showing how the pony wheel lines up exactly with the side frame for the No. 1 class.

post-17847-0-21317000-1505240930_thumb.jpg

 

When I do build the 76 class I'll turn the Emily chassis round so the rear wheel will become the front as the axle spacing will be almost spot on and here is the first draft of the 76 class single side frame on the Emily chassis

post-17847-0-80780300-1505242144_thumb.jpg

And a shot of both the frame sides, you can see that the No.1 side frames (top) have now had the front spring detail fitted

post-17847-0-22935200-1505242137_thumb.jpg

So there we are, sorry to go on so long

                                                   Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Funnily enough I too had worked out the nice correspondence between the 76 class wheelbase and that of Emily. What has been holding me back a bit is the lack of a good drawing. I shall be watching this/these with added interest now as your ingenious ability to overcome problems is a bit of an inspiration. Thanks.

 

Best wishes

Jamie

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Thank you Jamie yes your right there is a shortage of drawings the only one being a poor one of the class when first built with the step up firebox still this does give you an idea of the side frame, splashers and some other detail the rest I've worked out from photos but as its being grafted on to an Emily chassis its never going to be 100% even with the chassis turned so I'm doing the best I can with what there is for example cap height is most likely going to be about the same as the Conner No. 1 so using some of these values you can calculate the general dimensions fairly closely

 

I'm turning the chassis around because there should be a bigger spacing between the driver and trailing wheel than the front pony wheel and the main driver. With the Emily chassis its the other way around. This will put the driven pony wheel at the back under the cab but some how I think I'd prefer it there anyway. I'm hoping this will also move some of the motor housing out of the cab area allowing me to add some detail there.

 

The only fear is the old Triang/Hornby Caley single had a tendency to pitch forward when changing speed so I'll have to watch that, maybe add some weight around the rear of the loco or even hang some weight from the tender on the draw bar. We shall have to see after all I've test run it and it seems happy running either way and the front pony wheel is so softly sprung its doing nothing for stability now so taking that off shouldn't effect it.

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little more progress this afternoon. First I cut the front pony wheel of the Bachmann Emily which once the chassis was turned gave me the chassis for the Conner 2-2-2 single seen here in the first picture with the front end with the pony wheel remove.

post-17847-0-13337800-1505334196_thumb.jpg

in this next view with the side frame in place showing that the side frames and the wheels line up perfectly the chassis having been turned by this point,

post-17847-0-27489300-1505334210_thumb.jpg

 

In the spirit of recycling the front wheel with its mounting from the Emily chassis is now the front wheel on the Conner No.1 class 2-4-0

post-17847-0-28290900-1505335256_thumb.jpg

its held in place with just blue tack at the moment but its a perfect fit and as the second photo shows with the side frame lined up with the chassis its perfectly in line

post-17847-0-36047300-1505335275_thumb.jpg

Tomorrow I'll make up a plasticard "cradle" from 60 thou plasticard and fix it permanently 

 

There has been some compromises using these chassis for example the No.1 class 2-4-0 is 1mm shorter in the wheel base of the driving wheels and the body of the 76 class single has been stretched by 3mm but spread over the whole length of the locomotive it should be hardly noticeable

Edited by Londontram
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On the Bachmann Emily chassis the front section contains the gears to make the eyes move back and forth (I must say I was very tempted to leave these on the Caledonian locomotive)

 

Once the pins holding the gears have been knocked out and the gears removed I should be able to cut away the housing which as the chassis is being turned will clear the cab area of the loco for a detailed back head etc.

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Even with just the plasticard outside frames, both engines are already oozing character!

 

Do you plan to use Emily's front end for the Connor single or is it too far off? - I have the impression that the transition from the smokebox wrapper to the cylinders isn't a smooth flowing on the Connor as on Emily, with her Great Northern 'inspiration'.

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Even with just the plasticard outside frames, both engines are already oozing character!

 

Do you plan to use Emily's front end for the Connor single or is it too far off? - I have the impression that the transition from the smokebox wrapper to the cylinders isn't a smooth flowing on the Connor as on Emily, with her Great Northern 'inspiration'.

To be honest I'm playing it by ear. I know what I want to do over all but as to the detail I tend to cross those bridges as I come to them.

 

I think your right though that even if at first glance the styles look the same they are in fact quite different so I'm thinking it might be easier to build from scratch. The cylinders on the Conner go through the frames but on the Emily they are a stand alone item for starters and there are other differences as well.

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This morning I made up the box section to extend the chassis of the Conner No.1 class using the pony wheel and front end of the Bachmann Emily. Once made it was all super glued in place and a bit of filler was added to tidy it all up the end result is a very strong front end with the benefit of full movement of the sprung pony wheel

The front extension

post-17847-0-11859000-1505475663_thumb.jpg

with the wheels fittedpost-17847-0-62015100-1505475681_thumb.jpg

 

Next job was to start assembling the outer frame with the silhouette cut sides and the front buffer beam and rear draw bar plate made from 60 thou plasticard.

 

The hard part with this was making sure it was level and square which meant breaking and resetting some of the joints a couple of times and then leaving it to set on a glass surface but it seems to have come out OK (More by luck than judgment I can tell you.

post-17847-0-07205700-1505476611_thumb.jpg

Blue tacked in place you can see where I'm going to have to shoe horn in the slide bars I'm just glad I'm building this in 00 not EM as it looks like I should have enough.... just.

post-17847-0-43590900-1505476634_thumb.jpg

Next job before going any further I need to give it a test run to make sure that new pony wheel behaves its self

 

               Steve

Edited by Londontram
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Thanks Graham

 

In the last picture in the above post you can just see how the chassis narrows slightly at the front. The Bachmann chassis on the Emily was very narrow at this point because as the Emily was built by Bachmann as a 2-2-2-2 rather than it should have been as  a 4-2-2 with a front bogie Bachmann built in a massive amount of side to side play. Rather to much for this loco so the original Bachmann chassis section has been effectively sleeved with 60 thou plasticard making it wider and restricting the side to side movement a bit but sill enough to help it on bends and points.

 

The one fear was that if there was to much movement of the front wheel it would interfere with the slide bars and connecting rods which will be the next job to tackle the aim being to get it running right before investing to much time on the body. I'm lucky as I do have a good set of drawings for this loco and thankfully the loco because of the outside frames was quite wide which at least gives one a fighting chance to get everything in.

 

A few posts back Jamie Douglas asked me if I had a set of drawings for the other Conner the 76 class single. As I said I didn't only a poor side plan and lots of pictures of it in different stages of its life but as I said I'm taking a lot of measurements from the No.1 to use on the other and the loco width will be another one as both being out side frame Conner built locos there not going to be that far out so a lot of it is just going to be common sense really.

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Top work again that man. It is really starting to take shape and what a lovely piece of serendipity that the whole of Emily's chassis is usable between the two projects.

 

I have been a Caley enthusiast all my life being born across the road from Central Station and watching all the various pugs shuffling coaches in and out across the overbridge probably sealed my fate. Moving further south still on the WCML but before the split for the Perth services and beyond meant being surrounded by the Caledonian remnants every which way,well pre-Beeching. So your offerings here are just grand. The coach alterations are also proceeding chez moi following your ideas. Being also a Triang enthusiast helps in that I have a superfluity (not what my wife calls them) of Dean clerestories to cut up and re-assemble as per your example.

 

Keep it up you give hope someone like me who cannot build a chassis (working) for toffee.

 

Best wishes

Jamie

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Thanks Jamie trust me like all my builds its organized chaos I you might notice I rarely let any one see the underside.

 

I've done some more this afternoon including test fitting a bit of tube for the boiler, like the jumbo build a few years back I used a plastic syringe as there a perfect size once they have had a wrap of 5 thou plasticard plus being clear you can see where its tight or if its touching the motor and looking at this I'm sure glad I swapped the Hornby motor for the Mitsumi one as it just wouldn't have fitted with the old motor.

 

Gosh its small, at first I was so worried that I re checked it against the drawings as I thought I might have made a mistake but no its right its just very small but then I guess that as its an 1860s design this is the size they were.

Here's the mock up of the boiler with the cab blue tacked in place just to get the feel of it.

post-17847-0-85811600-1505493719.jpg

Edited by Londontram
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Steve on a related theme trying to find plastic pipe/ tube of sufficient diameter. The plastic model range such as evergreen don't cater for 17/ 18 - 19 mm diameter...or didn't appear too. I have had to resort to sourcing these tubes from such unlikely candidates as marker pen tops...paint containers in a car scratch repair kit. I remember in the sixties reading in the modeller the use of steradent containers...everything changes but remains the same ! Best wishes brian

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Thanks I just cant get over how small these are mind you in the 1870 all they had to pull at best was about 6 four or six wheelers which means at least you can make a realistic train that's half the length of one with say Mk 1 coaches.

 

I don't know about that - those Connor singles were taking West Coast expresses over Beattock - quite a proposition even in pre-diner days.

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Sorry about the lack of reports and progress on here for the last few weeks but my time and financial resources have been diverted in another direction at the moment and will be for a while longer I'm afraid but I think it will be worth it.

 

She's been laid up for the past 18 months while my wife Wendy was I'll and getting over some operations. The head gasket had gone which was the reason I took her off the road in the first place (that's the car by the way not the wife)

 

Here's the other love of my life taken out side my house yesterday

post-17847-0-88265800-1505962200.jpg

 

Sorry to go off topic guys

                                   Steve

Edited by Londontram
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G'Day Gents

 

Rover ??

 

There was one of those tucked away in a cover car park at Kings Cross for years, just outside the suburban side platforms.

 

manna

Yes Terry a Rover and to give it its full title its a 1949 Rover P3 - 75 and its a bit of a hybrid model.

 

After the war the British car industry was in a bit of a state as all the manufacturers had been building vehicles and equipment for the war effort there hadn't been any private car production since 1940, So basically production and especially development was 6 years behind America so there was a rush to try and catch up.

 

It takes about five years to develop set up and build a new range of cars so all most of the manufactures could do was carry on building the pre war models until the new designs were ready for production.

 

By 1948 the new chassis suspension and new engine designs were ready but the new body wasn't and would be another two years so Rover took the decision to fit the pre war body onto the new chassis/engine set up giving the public at least a technical advancement if not a body one, also it would give them a chance to give the new chassis and engine an extender test in a model they could drop if they didn't work out. This was imporamt as this set up was to go under the all new Rover P4 model due out in late 1949  which would be Rovers main range for the next 15 years, also a lot of components would go into the new Land Rover due out in the next year or so.

 

So you see built as a stop gap for only 18 months she's almost the best of both worlds - old fashion pre war styling with 1950s type modern running gear which because of the Land Rover connection many parts right up to the 1970s will fit it. For example if needed engines and gearboxes from Rovers up to about 1965 can be fitted and things like water pumps wheel bearings etc are pure Land Rover so not only are the over engineered but you can get them over the counter at most Land Rover dealers. even the rear dif from a 1970s Range Rover will pretty much just bolt in which over all makes it a very easy car to live with.

 

Here's another picture of the Rover with a friends MG at a local tram museum in a nice dusk shot

post-17847-0-81320300-1506046189_thumb.jpg

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G'Day Gents

 

Dad had an old 1951 Rover 75, with cyclops headlamp, it was a nice runner, but not suited to Aussie roads, so he bought a Holden.

 

I had a 'L' reg Rover 2000, which I had for 7 years, lovely car, I would love to find another one.

 

manna

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G'Day Gents

 

Dad had an old 1951 Rover 75, with cyclops headlamp, it was a nice runner, but not suited to Aussie roads, so he bought a Holden.

 

I had a 'L' reg Rover 2000, which I had for 7 years, lovely car, I would love to find another one.

 

manna

His 51 P4 cyclops and my 49 P3 would have been almost mechanically identical the P3 being basically a test bed for the P4 some people have swapped out the 2.1lt P3 engine and gearbox for a up to 2.6lt P4 unit to give them more power and an overdrive gearbox for higher cruising speeds combine that with a Range Rover dif and you have a vehicle that is well able to keep up with modern traffic conditions. That's if you wanted to go down this path mine is a box standard 2.1lt with the original free wheel gearbox which is a handy device that once moving lets you change gear without the clutch.

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