“WASHBOURNE”

[Donw]

The first double Fairlie was built for the Neath & Brecon in 1865, but had problems down to the inner firebox not being divided, so that with the engines out of synch, the draught went anywhere. There were only about six built for standard gauge British lines. We've just seen the first single Fairlie appeared in Ireland in 1869, but again hardly any were built for British use. The Festiniog application of double Fairlies was in 1872 and brought world wide attention, with a lot of export orders, mainly Mexico, South America, Sweden, and Russia. Sometime while this was going on, Mr Fairlie found time to put the fair Miss England in the club.

The Fairlie I shed a tear for is the one built for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway, which survived to pass through the Welsh Highland into Festiniog ownership, MOEL TRYFAN. Built in 1877 as a single Fairlie, but with a three axle power bogie, making it the first 064T in Britain. In the 1920s it was still capable of making a daily round trip Dinas to Blaenau and back. Finally it was dumped at Boston Lodge, badly in need of repairs, part stripped down, and robbed of brass fittings. In 1954, the new preservation group decided the works was cluttered up, and scrapped it. SCRAPPED IT!!!

 

The date I have for building Little Wonder was 1869 and in 1870 Fairlie had invited a lot of Engineers to see the loco in action. It was James Spooner that was built in 1872. Unless of course my sources are incorrect. My copy of the 16mmNG Festiniog Special is currently inaccessible to check.

Don

[Northroader]

Sorry, Don, you're right. I've edited the dates to conform.

[Northroader]

I always think that tale should be turned into an operetta, of the melodramatic kind, with a huge chorus at the end, where everyone forgives one another and lives happily ever after, building locomotives.

[Nearholmer]

Yes!!

 

We are well on the road to a a stage setting, so all we need is a score and some words.

 

I have often walked through this shop before

But the woodblocks always

Stayed beneath my feet before

 

All at once I'm

On the gantry crane

Knowing I'm in the ironworks where you live

 

K

 

PS: given that they ran off to Spain, there must be an opportunity for a number themed around flamenco, and a sultry night in Seville, which ought to have potential.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Nearholmer

[Nearholmer]

And, there'll be a section where a doubt-racked Robert, sorely tested by problems during initial test runs, wanders across the hills above tanygrisau, singing "guide me o thou great redeemer", to be joined at the choruses by a huge choir of slate-miners, who chime in, softly at first, but ever more strongly, as they are emerging from chapel.

 

Not a dry eye in the house!

 

K

Edited March 24, 2017 by Nearholmer

[Donw]

Oh how I would love to see that

 

Currently thinking   'When there's engine drivers work to be done to be done  the fireman's lot is not a happy one'

 

Don

[Caley Jim]

Oh how I would love to see that

 

Currently thinking   'When there's engine drivers work to be done to be done  the fireman's lot is not a happy one'

 

Don

And there would also have to be 'I am the very model of modern locomotive builder' :-) and possibly 'When I went to the shed as a very young man' with the chorus 'He polished that loco so carefullee that now he is the designer of every Fairlee!'.

 

Jim

[Compound2632]

I'm confused. I'd started thinking I must be reading the Castle Aching thread...

[Northroader]

That's the one. Now she is a little beauty. You've made a great job of the flare in the running plate above the drivers. How did you go about it? (It's one of the reasons my first loco will be a Midland tank, if and when I get around to it.)

 

Alan

Here's a shot of the underside of the superstructure:

Most of the old locos had the running plate running flat straight between or over the bufferbeams, so I cut a rectangle of brass, around .018", the length and width of the loco, and in this case add a bit extra on the length. I then do the flares across the full width of this, and concurrently bend two pieces of square section rod or tube, in this case I think 1/16", to match the side elevation to form the angles underneath, and then check all the curvature matches. When I'm happy, i solder this up, and trim off the end to the right length, then add buffer beams and buffers, mark centre line, and mark against the chassis for the holes where the frame stretchers are used to attach the superstructure. (I've left the screws in to show where these are) Then it's just a question of fixing the running plate on the chassis and marking up where clearance holes for wheels and motor go, and carving these out. The rest of the superstructure follows, with the bottoms of splashers, tanks filed to fit the flare. With larger modern locos the running plate goes up and down all over, but I leave these alone.

Edit: the running plate may need further reinforcement along the narrow strip above the frame between the wheel slots and the motor hole.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Northroader

[Northroader]

I'm confused. I'd started thinking I must be reading the Castle Aching thread...

Mum lets us go out to play together.

[Donw]

Mum lets us go out to play together.

 

We have had themes jumping threads before. I never quite expected to be into operetta though

 

Don

[Northroader]

Here's the next episode of the Double Slip Saga, dammit. I've been running test trains through, including propelling wagons, all going well, but I was finding that they needed to be rolling. If I slowed down to a shunting crawl, the loco would check on the crossing (frog). If I then gave it a bump on the controller, the cutout would trip, so the wheels were shorting at the point where the rails came closest together leaving the crossing. I've lifted the double slip out and examined it, considering what I could do, and I've decided the best course of action is to ditch the idea of a crossing with the rails insulated from each other, and do a crossing which is one electrical unit, and switch its polarity with the point throw, using a slider switch to combine the two functions. This has been my normal way of going on until now, serves me right for trying a new way, I suppose. Luckily I've got two Marcway 12degree cast brass crossings left over for an old layout, also some of their 6mm copper clad fibre glass sleeper strip, as I've been using quite a lot of that in the fiddle sidings. Now the old crossings are out, as well as the sleeper strip under this area, and the new bits in. Here's a view of one end, also showing the GOG gauge which shows up my shortcomings when looking at the flangeways.

Now I can paint it, lay it, and wire it up with slider switches and linkage. Then with any luck Robert should prove to be fathers brother. ( and it looks as if I can pop round and play at CA, goodee!)

Edited March 30, 2017 by Northroader

[Northroader]

I've just visited this thread http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/119965-uncommon-7mm-scale-lnwr/?p=2672578 (it's a LNWR site, so it's the place to be seen) where I was able to post some shots of a layout they were mentioning. As you know, I'm fond of giving examples of layouts which I like, so I thought I put the pictures here as well, with a layout plan. It's called "Alexandra Yard" created by Mr. Jim Dale, and done in 7mm scale. I saw it at the Westinghouse Chippenham MRC show back in October 1997, don't time go? It's a small goods yard site, with a run round and two sidings facing opposite ways, so plenty of shunting involved, and the sidings serve a variety of purposes. (There's also a shunting horse, which is a nice touch) I thought it was really compact, about the smallest O line I had seen at that time, well made and thought out, quite simple, and a Crewe feel to it. (Water tank, signal, yard offices, brickwork, besides loco and rolling stock) it's on two baseboards, with a barrow crossing to cover the join. I'd guesstimate that the boards are 42" ? x 18", with a fiddle yard at the one end. It struck me that the space between the loop lines was very close, which does help in keeping the overall length down, and something you can do in goods yard. The runaround takes four wagons.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Northroader

[Northroader]

Overheard outside the Castle Aching Casino:

" I hear that nice Mr. Edwardian is applying foam in unusual places"

" oooh, really???"

[Edwardian]

IMG_0957.JPG

Overheard outside the Castle Aching Casino:

" I hear that nice Mr. Edwardian is applying foam in unusual places"

" oooh, really???"

 

Or

 

That night, Colonel Flint-Knapp was determined to get to the bottom of the West Norfolk Railway's faulty Pintsch Gas Plant, but then suddenly regretted his decision to light a match whilst searching for the leak. 

[Donw]

Or

 

That night, Colonel Flint-Knapp was determined to get to the bottom of the West Norfolk Railway's faulty Pintsch Gas Plant, but then suddenly regretted his decision to light a match whilst searching for the leak. 

 

There is always someone http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1488470/Plumber-used-flame-to-check-gas-leak.html

 

In practice it would only be really dangerous within buildings in the open the gas air mixture would not reach the level of concentration to explode. Mind you finding a leak in a high pressure main with a flame would be illuminating to say the least.

My favourite was the big tin experiment. Take a large tin make a hole in the lid and one near the bottom put the hose from a bunsen burner into the bottom and turn the gas on when you smell gas light it at the top hole when burning nicely turn off the gas and remove the hose. Now stand back and wait. Do not put your head over the tin to see where the flame has gone when it disappears into the hole. 

I have found a number of gas leaks over the years. The most spectacular was a High Pressure main. The BT manhole was full of Gas across the road you could hear the gas escaping from someones water meter cover a yard away. Dropping a match there would have been interesting

Don

[Northroader]

Ooh, good, we're back on making bangs. Again, a large empty biscuit tin, this time with the lid off and a small candle burning inside. And then... no second thoughts, better not.

[Donw]

Ooh, good, we're back on making bangs. Again, a large empty biscuit tin, this time with the lid off and a small candle burning inside. And then... no second thoughts, better not.

 

The point about the biscuit tin is it shows you only get a bang when the mixture is right.

Don

[laurenceb]

The owner of a local newsagents on finding it was not making enough money tried to sell it. No takers. Gets his nephews to set it alight for the insurance. Big bang, they had splashed petrol around and by chance  had got the mixture just right (wrong) and the building was blown to pieces! 

[Northroader]

Sounds like a variation on the classic Michael Caine quote. Wasn't there something on the news recently about folks who were starting a bonfire and had foolishly soused it in petrol before lighting a fuse train? Caused quite a spectacular fireball.

Today, it being Palm Sunday, I thought I would spend the day in quiet contemplation in the loft, however, the missus had other ideas. "you're working with me pressure cleaning the patio," Ho, hum.

[Northroader]

Yes those double slips are tricky devils.

 

Don

Well, I put the double slip back in, and after some fun and games wiring it up, more testing. I've changed one of the tie bars, and done some trimming and profiling at that end, using the entry clearance bit of the track gauge. I'm fairly satisfied I've got it sorted now, which is just as well, as it's at the heart of the layout, and every movement uses it.

Moving on to the fiddle yard end, now the slips done. I was thinking of more train cassettes, but the entry is angled to clear the scenic support for the station at the front (that's the large curved piece of hardboard in the middle of the picture) As a result a single straight cassette would lie diagonally right across the space, and so I went for two sidings, which could be approached on a curve through another point. The main snag to this is access, as I'm reaching in from the end. With a long cassette I would just pick it up and turn it, but with sidings I need to do get at the couplings, so I'm considering some form of automatic very seriously now.The sidings end in short cassettes, and there's room for two spares. In addition, the line from the small station in front extends through to end on another cassette at the left, so it is possible to do a runaround move in this station using the fiddle yard. Just behind the cassettes you may pick out three switches, these isolate the fiddle sidings and the siding in the station in front. Then in front to the right of these there's a control for the fiddle sidings point through a run of rodding. The short cassettes are 12" long, which will take the wheelbase of a small (3axle) tender loco. I've inserted a piece of packing behind the end strip to give enough clearance for buffer overhang on the cassette. I think what I'll do now is cook up a diagram to show how this all fits together.

"Pink kiss' d treetop lace,

blows away fine in the wind,

springtime and cherries"

[islandbridgejct]

Nice haiku

 

Very erudite thread, this. The modelling is first class too.

 

Alan

[Nearholmer]

Yes, please, Mr Northroader, Sir.

 

I have to confes that, without a diagram, I'm having trouble getting my bearings.

 

Kevin

[Donw]

Looks good. I can see your point about access to the sidings. I must admit I do prefer 3 and screw link couplings, yes it can be rather fiddly but it relates to full size and have the advantage that they look right I hate seeing a really nicely modelled bit of stock with some odd bit of ironmongery at either end. The handed ones like Dingham are a nuisance especially with cassettes. AJ are probably the best Martin Brent used them on his 0 gauge layout , I have a jig he made to help get them right but I still had trouble and the three links were there and worked.

Don

[Poggy1165]

To my mind, one of the great beauties of 7mm scale is that 3 links and screw couplings are practical. In 4mm they were always hard work even when my eyes were younger. And in 2mm - well, the mind boggles!