New Years Resolution; finish those half made kits.

[relaxinghobby]

 

It's amazing how much hacking is necessary to get this motor bogie into the van, I think it is going to fit just about

the roof is a bit low.

 

[relaxinghobby]

 

 

Slow progress with the Crampton tank outfit.

 

Fiddling around trying to get the van body and chassis to fit around the motor bogie, I hope to use screws from inside down into the chassis fixing every thing together and holding the motor bogie sandwiching it firmly in the middle.

 

Because the wheels have been widened to 16.5 mm gauge the metal sides of the splashers had to be removed, using tiny drills and grinding wheels in my old fashioned miniature electric drill it has taken ages, maybe a Dremil would have made a faster job of it. Unless the drills are very sharp they don't touch the mazdac metal, ten times harder than working with plastic.

 

Maybe I should have stuck with the elastic band.

 

 

The chassis is almost free running now.

Edited October 26, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

 

Milk van from post 71 now painted and in service, this one is a cut down Ks 6w plastic syphon. It came in that box and was an  all plastic kit earlier ones where whitemetal ora plastic body on a white metal chassis.

 

 

[relaxinghobby]

 

Labouring on with this project trying to keep it to plan.

As its makers intended it to be a 3mm scale model I had to widen the wheels out from 14mm gauge to 16.5. The plastic wheels where gently eased out on there wire axles but the wheel tyres are very thin and slide of of the rail tops easily. The front has a replacement 00 and whilst it is a push along model it will probably be OK for a while. To allow the wheels sideways freedom I had to remove the slasher sides and a lot of grinding and drilling was needed it seem to takes ages with my little electric Expo drill, a more robust Dremel would be much better.

During the process I had to handle the metal chassis a lot and the bunker unit came off which is a good thing as it was glued on slightly crocked and I can now change its position slightly.

 

The brake van component is also resisting progress it's all a very tight fit, the top of the motor is right up against the roof, So far I can't invent a way of screwing it together so the motor bogie, coach chassis and van body can easily be separated for servicing.

[relaxinghobby]

Getting all my ducks in a row is not so easy that is lining up the individual letters transfer by transfer is very difficult

 

Look at the website www.scotishshale.co.uk to get a lot of info on lamp oil supplied by cooking it out of the Scottish shale rock for many years from about the 1860s.

 

This is going to be an impressionistic model so I've change my tankers name from Oakbank Oil to Ashbank Oil a similar smaller imaginary upstart company with offices in nearby Queen Street, I guess another part of the Glasgow business district from looking at internet pictures.

 

I've used a tanker with one large expansion turret rather than two small manholes, Ashbank Oil have obviously imported this new technology from the oil fields of Pennsylvania USA.

 

 

Trying to rub the SHELL lettering out using the Sharpie pen, slightly succesfull but was quickley wearing out the felt tip, the I tried puting the whole yellow body

into a jam jar of water and added a couple of tea spoon fulls of biological washing machine powder. Worked a treat, 48 hours later all th elettering was gone.

[relaxinghobby]

I can't leave it any longer sits on a shelf above the computer screen. The body is too tall so I took up the hack saw and started cutting.

Cut a slice off the bottom of the cab and boiler section Lowering the saddle tank towards the footplate. It stills very massive compared to a Bachmann pannier.

 

 

 

Chassis compared to a more recent Hornby one which has the short modern motor. In this model the motor was in the front, with the magnet under the chimney, now I have lower it a few millimetres there is no room for the motor. Hacksaw on.

[relaxinghobby]

Well past the point of no return with the hack-sawery. Cosulting that great source book of pre grouping prototypes GWR Absorbed Engines by J.H. Russel, near the back there are some drawings of the Neath and Breacon railway saddletanks the last one scales out to be is as long as this old Tri-ang model but not nearly so tall, so now I have a prototype to follow I can be more confident in cutting it down to a more accurate outline for my era.

 

Trying to work out where the designers at Tri-ang have stretched the body to fit over their standard chassis and motor, what comprimises did they make and where. The tanks seem too tall along with the cab to give enough vertical space for the motor I guess. So I've sawn off some slices from the bottom of each I'm doing the second slice now from the bottom edge of the cab.

 

Step by step, stop and look, wait have a think. Might be as long as an overnight or couple of days pondering.

 

 

Sketch made from the book modified to allow for the shorter saddle tank.

Edited November 22, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[hayfield]

Two locos which I started 5+ years ago

 

 

I finished off fitting the pipework, painted it and fitted a modified Hornby chassis (Mashima Motor)

 

 

Still in the paint shop, but working fine on a Branchlines chassis, now having the black and cab colour (sand) brush painted. Should be finished in two or three days

 

Both will have drivers, the Hunslet needs a thin and shorter driver owing to the cab floor. Also painting a Peco 009 version which I bought second hand about the same time painted metallic green!!

 

Plus finishing off a couple of 0-16.5 carriages of the same start date era. All for a Christmas display

[relaxinghobby]

Lager scale more room for the motors. What are the materials used and donor locos and bodies?

[hayfield]

The GVT tram has the Branchlines chassis and comes with a Mashima, the Hunslet has a standard Hornby plastic 0-4-0 chassis fitted with a Mashima, using the same gears and what looks like Milliput for a cradle. Certainly transforms the chassis and the weight makes for a powerful loco. I do have a Branchline chassis which has great looking parts and I assume will take the loco further. Having said this the tram with a Branchlines chassis is a brut to put on the rails, owing to it having skirts and an 0-4-2 chassis, runs as sweet as a nut 

[hayfield]

The GVT tram has the Branchlines chassis and comes with a Mashima, the Hunslet has a standard Hornby plastic 0-4-0 chassis fitted with a Mashima, using the same gears and what looks like Milliput for a cradle. Certainly transforms the chassis and the weight makes for a powerful loco. I do have a Branchline chassis which has great looking parts and I assume will take the loco further. Having said this the tram with a Branchlines chassis is a brut to put on the rails, owing to it having skirts and an 0-4-2 chassis, runs as sweet as a nut 

 

 

 

A splash of paint, but found that the jack should be red the roof and speedo white, still pleased with it, now need to paint the loco lamps and oil can, and give it a coat of satin varnish

 

Still its taken 5+ years but hope for us all

[relaxinghobby]

Inspired by James Harrison's GCR blog at …............ I'm having a go at this early Tri-ang monster.

At first it's great tallness and baulk was a bit disappointing more like a 5mm to the foot scale model than an 00 one but James has shown us the possibilities, it can be pruned down.

I've been busy with razor saw and mini drill to cut the sections apart to make a kind of kit I can reassemble into an earlier style and daintier looking saddle tank than in its early Tri-ang life.

 

Plastic surgery on a plastic loco in fact but will the patient survive?

 

 

1 The tank has had the bottom edges cut off up to the hand rails.

The original smoke box ( 3 ) is too fat and too low down against the tank so I've replaced it with one from a Tri-ang Polly ( 2 ) which also has a little bit of wing plates, an old fashioned feature.

 

( 4 ) Was a possibility from a Bachmann Billy/Thomas but the Polly one looked better to me.

 

 

( 5 ) Its moulded in a hard black plastic which sticks well with polystyrene solvent glue. Which is good because there was a crack stating at the back of the cab around the screw fixing hole, it was working it's way over the roof and into the top of the saddle tank. That’s all been repaired by gluing strips of plasticard over the crack.

 

6 The footplate section which Tri-ang made as a separate unit from the tank and cab has had the motor hiding sides cut off to allow the tank to sit lower.

[relaxinghobby]

0-6-0 saddle tank conversion

 

 

Body bits are trimmed enough for a loose fitting session to see if it looks at all like the drawing.

Overall it matches the drawing from buffer beam to buffer beam this is quite a long engine prototype. In the model the tank is slightly shorter and the cab is slightly longer which about even things out.

 

 

The width is a bit greater than normal at 34mm across the cab but how noticeable? In the beginning of the conversion it did not show because the model was over tall but as I have trimmed the cab sides from the bottom upwards several times bringing the height down it begins to show, it does not look to bad from above.

 

I don't want to play around with it any more so it will stay spaciously wide.

and the prototype photos show a big engine over shadowing smaller 4 and 6 wheel coaches.

 

 

Three chassis are available; the original Tri-ang the motor runs but the pick ups are is broken on one side and need to be replaced. Two newer Hornby chassis with the later small motor are also in the spares box.

[relaxinghobby]

Hoped to get the body shell all glued back together as that would be some sort of modelling progress land mark but first the pesky details of spectacle plate. The curved blacked line is a pencil line drawn around the top of the saddle tank so the position of the portholes can be marked out.

 

Then drill repeatedly bigger holes up to drill size 6mm checking the position as we go. If it seems the holes are off slightly a rat tale file can be used to make the hole oblong filing on the side you want the hole to move to, then the next bigger size of drill will recentre in that direction, hopefully.

I only had to do it twice.

The green is ink from the felt tipped pen I used to mark out the uneven shape of the new spectacle plate to fit in the jagged hole left by cutting away the saddle tank.

 

 

The holes then have strips of 10 thous card rolled up and glued in a fiddly process took ages this is why I don't like doing details so much, when the glue has set I can file them back to leave a slight lip.

 

Then check repairs to the foot plate which has had a hard life so far, the green V is where a crack was.

 

 

Couple of layers of P card glued in underneath and behind front buffer beam to stengthen the footplate.

 

 

Still got to build up the damaged area behind the V.

Edited December 17, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

 

Found the margarine tub of chassis blocks, a collection of broken and incomplete chassis I bought at various exhibitions rummage sales over the years, just because I might want them someday, or was it because their brokenness made them cheap.

 

1 Jinty chassis with Romford replacement wheels and broken coupling rods.

2 Another Jinty with Romford conversion bushes in place and a replacement finer pitch gear wheel fitted on the centre axle.

3 K's chassis, a white metal sandwich with brass sides, 28 + 33 mm axle spacing.

4 Another Jinty chassis I think but one end has been sawn of, I can't remember if I did it or I bought it like that.

5 I think it's a Triang or Hornby B12 4-6-0 ?

 

Maybe useful someday, I may use one on the saddle tank conversion.

Edited December 17, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

 

When working on a model is it possible to become a bit obsessed by it only see it in close up and not compared to a larger whole. I was doing the close up obsession with this one. More used to small models of tiny prototypes this saddle tank seems so big compared to what I'm used to, too wide at the footplate and a big cab. So comparing it to the pannier tank from Bachmann has put it into perspective not so wide or so tall and not so long. OK to keep carrying on with it.

 

 

 

The footplate is the same length as the drawing and forward of the spectical plate it is quite accurate but the cab is much shorter with a longer bunker.

I'm still fileling back the chassis to get it to fit inside the bodyshell, it going to be a close thing getting the motor in now the inside of the saddle is lower ?

Edited December 19, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

Tidying up underneath the saddle, strips of 1mm blue plasticard to make fake boiler sides and under edges of the saddle, it's all theatre just hiding a great big motor. Still need to add something between the smoke box and front of the wheel splashers.

Also to repair the front buffer beam bits of plastic are glued in, when all the cement is set hard and strong it can be filed down to match the original.

Popped up to the big supermarket this morning super crazy busy even though there is still one working day before Christmas.

The book it is proped up against is by Clare Rainer a hospital drama "Third Degree". Remember Clare she was an agony aunt and before that an old fashioned general nurse. I've only read her biography so this will be the first of her novels I've read.

Edited December 24, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

Got it running at last, I was too dumb to notice the wheels are different to the later ones of the convention of Triang, Hornby and Wren that is the electrical pickup system which is used now and seems to have been for ever set in stone. That's the convention of insulated wheels with wipers on one side and on the other all metal wheels carrying the electric current to the motor through the chassis block. This old prehistoric fossil of a toy train is from before then it has insulated wheels on both sides but was missing wipers as that side of the pickup strip was broken off. This probebly save this old loco from being worn out and played to death, although the body had been bashed about and broken in several places the mechanism is not worn out.

 

 

With new wipers installed it runs very nicely but those big flanges have got to go it only runs as far as the first PECO code 75 point then climbs up on the check rails and sets off across country.

 

 

I've used nickle silver wire 0.45mm I think, is this the best material or is bronze wire better?

Crude workmanship here but it functions. Sleeper paxolin strip trimed to fit the gap and super glued in, a couple of slithers of brass metal on the underside glued on to reenforce the joints you can't see here. And then fiddle around to get the wire soldered in place.

 

 

Posed here shunting wagons in the factory siding, its getting near to the detail stage, for instance that big motor will need hiding with my largest figures.

Edited December 26, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[Nile]

Phosphor bronze wire is better for pick-ups, the thinner the better.

[relaxinghobby]

Thanks Nile there seems to be some diversity of opinion between builders on the best material for pick up wires, some say nickle silver others bronze, I have both.

 

It will give you a indication of how untidy my workshop is or the table where I do my stuff and call a workshop. I've only just found all the parts to reassemble this tanker,the chassis and then the tank top moulding and then the big slab of steel which fits up the middle to provide ballast weight. They had all got separated under the piles of stuff, you know how it gets.

 

So here is a picture of it on the the layout between a standard oil tanker and a Jinty to compare it size. How does it look?
How's it compare to the photo on #85, it's no longer the Oakbank Oil Co I've changed the name so no one can accuse me of impressionistic modelling instead of maximum fidelity to a photo of the protoype.

 

 

The other side has an alternative identity the name Retort Co was common at the time, it must have refered to a knew advanced Victorian era technology or something? See the website on Scotish shale oil industry.  http://www.scottishshale.co.uk/


 

Edited December 30, 2018 by relaxinghobby

[relaxinghobby]

 

Another size comparison shot this time up against a Jinty. Working on the white metal fittings at the moment, the chimney looks OK just needs some flash cleaning up before it is glued in position.The dome needs nestling down.

 

 

[hayfield]

I have started using phosphor bronze wire and so much easier to use than the flat strips. Think those who are against stainless steel is because with use it wears down the wheels if used a lot

[relaxinghobby]

The nickel silver wire I've used has only had a brief test, I think it's quiet soft but easy enough to solder inplace.

 

The work done on this loco during the last few days has mostly been waiting for glue to well and truely set hard and fast, it's been fiddling around up inside the body where you can't see what’s happening in an effort trying to devise some sort of chassis mounting system. More hacksawery business trim the rear end to make a slight indent and made a square of plasticard with a hole in it, drilled a hole up through the front of the chassis block so a bolt could fit through it and end somewhere in the hollow cavity of the body. Put the square of p-card for the bolt to fit through and holding it firmly to the chassis using the bolt and whilst it is tight up against the chassis block glued more bits of card to hold the nut firmly in place and the mess of plastic them trimmed to fit inside the body. Then glue the hole thing up there adding more p-card to wedge it all in place When this unholy mess has hardened I can unscrew the bolt and release the body. The back of the chassis sort of hooks under a strip of plasticard glued inside the rear bunker.

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures show it a few days later when it has all set in place. In the lower picture you can see the shiney counter sunk hole for the bolt and some plsticarddetail above the footplate by the smokebox where I'm extending the sandboxes.

 

To end on the good note I found a copy of a drawing of the LYR saddle tanks of about 1885 etc. by Ian Tattersall in the Railway Modeller Sept 2006 and find the profile of this model is a good match for this saddle tank typical for it's era. But head on it is weirdly stretched sideways and is far too fat but the overall impression works. So as long as anyone only watches it running from the side it's a good 'un but produces some cognitive disconsonance when seen from the front especially compare to a more accurate model, or should that be cognitive incontinence?

 

Next steps are to swap those chunky great wheels for ones with finer flanges or try and file down these old Triang ones and finish adding the chimney and other details.

 

[relaxinghobby]

I'm still a bit worried about the size of the loco, is it too big for a small light railway?

This photo has helped set those fears to rest, it shows the GWR 56xx tank as a comparison towing the saddle tank to a different siding.

 

[relaxinghobby]

Gone for convert-it-to-Romfords or bust.

Taking out the old wheels can destroy the plastic insulation collars on the ends of the axles and at the centre of the wheels, which can harden as the plastic grows old and brittle as the plastic collars have in my case.

I've used a combination of axles press and nail and hammer used as a punch.

 

 

The red thing is a cheap G clamp converted into an axles press buy cuting a slot in one end, here I've used a screw form a commercail press which is for forcing the worm off of a motor shaft but that will not fit around anything as big as a wheel and chassis. The red clamp should fit the biggest of wheels in 00.

 

 

Here it's paused for photos whilst pressing the axles through the pinion gear. the nail-punch is by the old removed wheels to the right. Simply made by filling the point flat. It's placed on a bit of wood with an hole just big enpough for a driving axle to pass into it when it is punched through the wheel. The wood supports the wheel so bending does not happen.

Edited January 15, 2019 by relaxinghobby