Little Midland

[Chrislock]

Greetings.

 

I have followed various topics on here and thought I would contribute something from my work bench.

I recently took the plunge and am attempting to build a Midland Railway Johnson 4-2-2 from brass. This is where I currently am in the job, after a week or so of toil:

 

 

Power will come from a Union Mills tender I have bought, which seems to be pretty close to the tender on my Derby drawing of Nos 600 - 684.

 

A particular problem was in obtaining suitable 15mm drivers. In the end I had to plump for a pair of finescale 3mm scale wheels, which pass ok through code 55 points, and add extra spokes using strips of plasticard. The result is workmanlike rather than exact, but looks ok in context.

 

It is missing a boiler band still and needs some clean-up filing around the trailing wheel.

Having managed to slide the soldering iron between my fingers and aquiring 2 nasty blisters while trying to solder the whistle (!) I opted to superglue the chimney, dome and valve.

Otherwise it is all soldered.

 

Cheers

Chris

[nebnoswal]

Most impressive, can't wait to see it finished. What are you doing for coaches for it to haul?

[-missy-]

Hi Chris

 

That looks reallly reallly really good. Instead of using superglue you could always give low melt solder a go, its very useful when it comes to adding bits to a soldered engine. Fantastic work, Im looking forward to seeing this finished.

 

Missy

[mitziblue]

Fantastic job Chris

 

Have to admit a spinner has been on my to do list for to long now but the driving wheel has always stopped me building one but this has now pushed it once again to the front of my mind.

As Missy says low melt solder is an option for the chimney etc but it still does require a fair bit of heat to warm such a large bit of brass such as the dome, trust me been there, done it , bits fell off.

personally I would leave the boiler band off as they look over size in such a small scale and look better represented with a transfer

keep up the good work

 

Mark

[Chrislock]

Most impressive, can't wait to see it finished. What are you doing for coaches for it to haul?

 

Thanks Neb. I have ordered some clerestories from Worsley as an end solution. I am thinking to cut and shut one of my Farish chassis, as I'm not sure what there is out there. Also of course there are the roofs to consider...

In the meantime it will have to pull my old farish 4 wheelers and LMS suburbans as a stop gap.

I have just got a Stove from the NGS to see if the chassis will work with the 4 wheeler body and I think it has potential, though it may not be accurate.

[Chrislock]

Hi Chris

 

That looks reallly reallly really good. Instead of using superglue you could always give low melt solder a go, its very useful when it comes to adding bits to a soldered engine. Fantastic work, Im looking forward to seeing this finished.

 

Missy

 

Thanks Julia*. That's praise indeed coming from yourself. I'm sure you would do a much neater job!!

I have used Carrs 145 for the whole construction as matter of fact - or were you thinking of something lower? I am not especially clued up when it comes to such things...

 

**whoops and apologies for misnaming you!! I dn't know where Diana came from!

[Chrislock]

Fantastic job Chris

 

Have to admit a spinner has been on my to do list for to long now but the driving wheel has always stopped me building one but this has now pushed it once again to the front of my mind.

As Missy says low melt solder is an option for the chimney etc but it still does require a fair bit of heat to warm such a large bit of brass such as the dome, trust me been there, done it , bits fell off.

personally I would leave the boiler band off as they look over size in such a small scale and look better represented with a transfer

keep up the good work

 

Mark

 

Thanks for your positive comment Mark. Yes a Spinner would look great on your layout. I rather like your compound - where did that come from?

 

I wasnt going to bother with the other band, but you know how things go once you start...

I used some 28swg brass wire after heating it on the stove, then tried to file it down a little.

(As a matter of fact, the front boiler band came about by a happy accident.

I cut a length of ( springy) guitar wire, tacked it round the brass tube then flushed it with solder. Then after I applied a bit more heat, the wire sprang open and left a neat solder line!)

 

Cheers

Chris

[Forward!]

Hi Chris,

 

awesome model you have there! I assume the castings are N Brass? What sort of chassis are you going for under the loco? I have a Union Mills tender drive which is going behind a scratchbuilt loco body. I thought a solid chassis with a keeper plate underneath would be easiest way of providing for a free-running chassis on my model but if you're using 2mm assoc axles, I suppose you're making a fully framed chassis from pcb? Will you be using the Union Mills system for pickups split between tender and loco? Sorry if that's too many daft questions!

 

cheers for posting the pics,

 

By the way, just visited your website- I like Ashwich very much.

 

Will

[Chrislock]

Hi Chris,

 

awesome model you have there! I assume the castings are N Brass? What sort of chassis are you going for under the loco? I have a Union Mills tender drive which is going behind a scratchbuilt loco body. I thought a solid chassis with a keeper plate underneath would be easiest way of providing for a free-running chassis on my model but if you're using 2mm assoc axles, I suppose you're making a fully framed chassis from pcb? Will you be using the Union Mills system for pickups split between tender and loco? Sorry if that's too many daft questions!

 

cheers for posting the pics,

 

By the way, just visited your website- I like Ashwich very much.

 

Will

 

Hallo Will and thanks.

 

This loco is intended to run with a UM LMS tender on code 55 track. The loco is not really detailed as accurately as finescale would require - the 3mm Assoc finescale drivers for instance are way too thick, if the right diameter. The fittings are indeed NBrass.

 

As for the chassis, the subframe and mainframe are built as one unit, with the drivers and trailer wheel slotted in. I didnt build a split frame (though it may have been wise to), as the wheels are insulated from the axles, and providing the Left side wheel rims do not touch the frame, I can simply add p/u wipers to the right hand driver and trailing wheels.

Well, that's the plan anyway. There are probably better ways of doing it.

 

Hope that answers at least some of your questions.

This is my first real loco build so its been a bit of a learning curve.

 

Cheers

Chris

[RANGERS]

Inpressive stuff there, looking forward to seeing this finished

[Kris]

Hallo Will and thanks.

 

This loco is intended to run with a UM LMS tender on code 55 track. The loco is not really detailed as accurately as finescale would require - the 3mm Assoc finescale drivers for instance are way too thick, if the right diameter. The fittings are indeed NBrass.

 

 

Don't put yourself down, it looks great to me. Could the drivers be turned down so they were thinner?

[Forward!]

Cheers chris. your description of the chassis is useful. Thanks. I think it's a cracking little model, the only difference between it and a 2mm f/s one is the wheel standards. I suppose if one ever decided to go 2mm f/s in the future it ought to be possible to get the Union Mills tender drive wheels turned down to association standards (they are afterall very similar to any other N gauge diesel wheelsets).

 

Will

[Etched Pixels]

Thanks Neb. I have ordered some clerestories from Worsley as an end solution. I am thinking to cut and shut one of my Farish chassis, as I'm not sure what there is out there. Also of course there are the roofs to consider...

In the meantime it will have to pull my old farish 4 wheelers and LMS suburbans as a stop gap.

I have just got a Stove from the NGS to see if the chassis will work with the 4 wheeler body and I think it has potential, though it may not be accurate.

 

From looking at the drawings the Stove chassis is pretty close to a lot of Midland six wheeler coaches.I also seem to remember that Chris Higgs (masterclass models) has 2mm scale midland roofs in resin in his price list.

[5XP]

That's quite spectacular Chris considering its diminutive size.

 

Darren.

[nebnoswal]

From looking at the drawings the Stove chassis is pretty close to a lot of Midland six wheeler coaches.I also seem to remember that Chris Higgs (masterclass models) has 2mm scale midland roofs in resin in his price list.

 

I got in touch with Chris a couple of weeks ago. He has the roofs and has to do another run of the etched inserts, timeframe is TBA. a little birdie tell me that spare 6-wheel chassis will be available from the NGS in near future (they are on the high-seas in a shipping container somewhere between China and the UK).

[Chrislock]

Hi again Will.

Funnily enough I am a member of 2mmFS and I might have used this build as a gateway to 9.42 IF they had had the 14mm drivers in their shop, but they were out of stock with no guarantee of when they were available.

In 2mm they would only have represented 7feet dia of course, but I would have accepted that to get a better profile wheel.

As it is, I think I could convert this loco fairly easily to finescale if I chose to in the future, tender notwithstanding.

 

Cheers

Chris

 

 

Cheers chris. your description of the chassis is useful. Thanks. I think it's a cracking little model, the only difference between it and a 2mm f/s one is the wheel standards. I suppose if one ever decided to go 2mm f/s in the future it ought to be possible to get the Union Mills tender drive wheels turned down to association standards (they are afterall very similar to any other N gauge diesel wheelsets).

 

Will

[Chrislock]

I got in touch with Chris a couple of weeks ago. He has the roofs and has to do another run of the etched inserts, timeframe is TBA. a little birdie tell me that spare 6-wheel chassis will be available from the NGS in near future (they are on the high-seas in a shipping container somewhere between China and the UK).

 

I have been to look on his website but I see no mention of the 48' roofs I will need.

I have had a closer look at the Stove and it is very easy to part the body from the chassis. There is an internal ( weight?) which attaches with 2 screws from the frame itself. I notice that it has those wire tension springs which the Fleischmann has and which are very easy to lose!

Here is a pic of it disassembled alongside a Farish 4-wheeler.

To fit the Farish to the Stove chassis would involve having to remove the bottom of the coach I reckon, but the dimension are good.

 

Cheers

Chris

[Chrislock]

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon fitting handrails to the model. I couldn't face adding the 12 required knobs so just added 7 - 3 per side and one at the front! I also decided to replace the whistle which looked a bit oversized.

Still requires dome detail, but I think I will add this after painting.

Priming hopefully sometime this week. I have to experiment with my airbrush before I risk a top coat.

I don't know about any of you, but there is a reluctance here to spoil the honest, shiny brass finish...!!

Cheers

Chris

 

 

[Etched Pixels]

I got in touch with Chris a couple of weeks ago. He has the roofs and has to do another run of the etched inserts, timeframe is TBA. a little birdie tell me that spare 6-wheel chassis will be available from the NGS in near future (they are on the high-seas in a shipping container somewhere between China and the UK).

 

I was told February so that sounds like they are just a little late. Etching time once they are available.

 

Re: the 48ft roofs, you can always use a hacksaw on a longer roof.

[nebnoswal]

I have been to look on his website but I see no mention of the 48' roofs I will need.

I have had a closer look at the Stove and it is very easy to part the body from the chassis. There is an internal ( weight?) which attaches with 2 screws from the frame itself. I notice that it has those wire tension springs which the Fleischmann has and which are very easy to lose!

Here is a pic of it disassembled alongside a Farish 4-wheeler.

To fit the Farish to the Stove chassis would involve having to remove the bottom of the coach I reckon, but the dimension are good.

 

Cheers

Chris

 

Not wanting to chop-up a new Stove R, I've been collecting some old Minitrix 6 wheelers of Ebay, a lot cheaper exercise, see link to old forum

 

http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=4&t=45422

 

I was told February so that sounds like they are just a little late. Etching time once they are available.

 

Re: the 48ft roofs, you can always use a hacksaw on a longer roof.

 

Sorry Chris, I didn’t know which MR coaches you had, I’m getting the 54’ roof’s for my Worsley Works MR clerestory’s. Still in a quandary as to how to do the chassis!

[Chrislock]

I was told February so that sounds like they are just a little late. Etching time once they are available.

 

Re: the 48ft roofs, you can always use a hacksaw on a longer roof.

 

Thanks Etch.

Sorry I meant to reply to your post earlier.

I will await the etches and see what I can do.

I am also considering getting some vacuum formed in styrene.

Cheers

Chris

[Chrislock]

Not wanting to chop-up a new Stove R, I've been collecting some old Minitrix 6 wheelers of Ebay, a lot cheaper exercise, see link to old forum

 

http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=4&t=45422

 

 

 

Sorry Chris, I didn’t know which MR coaches you had, I’m getting the 54’ roof’s for my Worsley Works MR clerestory’s. Still in a quandary as to how to do the chassis!

Thanks for the link.

I have one of those Fleischmann 6 wheelers so will do the same - if I can bring myself to damage such a neat little coach!!

To be honest I wasn't sure which Worsley coach set go for. I decided I would prefer on balance non-corridor stock, as I am not planning a mainline.

Anyway, I won't get them for a week or two yet, as Allen at Worsley said 2-3 weeks.

As for the chassis I still think cut and shut is the easy answer, making up with microstrip.

I have a few coaches that are a little superfluous to my needs.

Cheers

Chris

I am also wondering whether I couldn't get some roofs vacuum formed in styrene sheet and wonder what the detail might be like.

[Etched Pixels]

Thanks Etch.

Sorry I meant to reply to your post earlier.

I will await the etches and see what I can do.

I am also considering getting some vacuum formed in styrene.

Cheers

Chris

 

The ancient Ultima ex PC Models ones seemed to use a wooden roof. I've been pondering taking the midland celestory profile down to the local chippie (no not the cod and peas type) and see if they can produce it in small volume with the machines they have given they turn out a zillion other custom mouldings for skirting boards and the like.

 

If you do try vac forming them please let rmweb know how it goes.

[Chrislock]

The ancient Ultima ex PC Models ones seemed to use a wooden roof. I've been pondering taking the midland celestory profile down to the local chippie (no not the cod and peas type) and see if they can produce it in small volume with the machines they have given they turn out a zillion other custom mouldings for skirting boards and the like.

 

If you do try vac forming them please let rmweb know how it goes.

 

That is an interesting idea: I wonder if there is a length of moulding at my DIY store which would be close in profile to a clerestory roof, which could be cut to length and sanded/ reshaped?

 

I hsd thought about curving thin brass sheet and then using u-section brass strip to achieve the correct shape, but I'll let you know how my experiments go with vacuum formed styrene, though I won't be thinking about this for a while as I haven't even got the coach sides yet, let alone assembled them.

 

By the way, what is your layout - are you building Midland in N?

 

Cheers

Chris

[mitziblue]

Hi Chris

 

Don't know why i didn't do the roof in wood as i'm a wood machinist by trade but if you look at my old thread on page 4 your see my solution My link

Mark