Castle Aching

[Annie]

My immediate thought James was to drill the broken pieces to accept a couple of short lengths of brass rod to reinforce the join.  Though that might be a little more of an engineering approach than you might be comfortable with.

 

My second immediate thought was, - 'What kind of a daft carbuncle doesn't pack a model locomotive properly so it doesn't move about when sending it through the post'.

[Johnson044]

It's a difficult one. If the break is recent and clean then just superglue it back together. Good if you can because the pony casting has a representation of the underneath of the cylinders. 

 

Could you not mask off the area and grind off the remains of the white metal bit between the frames with a suitable cutting bit on a Dremel or other mini-drill? Or using a fine burr make a centre pop in the middle of the retaining pin and drill or grind it out? If you go for the first option- to cut away the white metal in-situ you would hopefully be able to get a better look at the retaining pin and see if there is any evidence of it being threaded in place (in which case you might be able to un-thread it with a pair of pliers)- or soldered and you'd get a better idea of how the pin could be got out and replaced. 

 

The main thing is to protect the rest of the loco from being covered with metal debris. You could then source another bit of metal to make another pony, maybe salvaging the cylinder detail?

[WFPettigrew]

If it is whitemetal on the pony truck beam (and is it?  That looks rather crystalline but then I have not tried to smash a beam of whitemetal in half to see how it looks inside) then as it would appear that the arm is on a hinge so can drop down clear of the rest of the chassis, if you remove a bit of the paint around the crack, you should be able to solder it back together with lots of flux and low melt solder.   

 

But if it isn't whitemetal then probably this is not going to work. 

 

In which case...

 

If it is a clean crystalline break, then it should knit together well if you offer the broken section onto the break?  If so then you do have some registration to hold it all square, in which case a smear of araldite across the break, just enough to cover, not enough to act as a buffer between the two sides, then as long as the two bits are firmly held together until the glue goes off, you may have a pretty strong joint which may not need drilling so rods can be put in, etc.  If you did the latter - or put a brass shim on, I would be inclined to use araldite again, rather than superglue. 

 

HTH - and good luck!

 

 

[Caley Jim]

Another addition would be to drill a pair of holes vertically into both parts, from the underside, and fit a couple of wire staples in them, spanning the joint, to not only reinforce the joint, but also hold the parts together firmly while the Araldite suggested by @WFPettigrew sets.  That would be the most secure way of doing that.  Getting the staples the correct size between the legs will be the trickiest part and may need a few goes to get them right.

 

Jim

[Nearholmer]

Can you grind/chop the whole of the remnant attached to the chassis out? If so, I think I’d do that, and start again by making a new hinge-flap-thingy from paxolin or brass, and fitting that. 
 

I too wonder whether or not it’s whitemetal, because that usually deforms a lot before breaking, rather than snapping like a carrot. The break looks more like the sort of failure that happens with mazac.

[Edwardian]

Thanks all. Food for thought.

 

I see what is meant by the break looking more like mazac, however, I suspect it must be white metal; it's a component in a (Stephen Poole) white metal kit. To me the break looked a bit metal fatigue in nature. 

 

I think I would need to drill out the pivot to remove. It could be a bit of a messy job with uncertain results. I would need to have something suitable with which to replace the broken component, and be confident of a means of fixing it. 

 

For this reason, and because the broken component is clearly the correct fit and designed to work the the spring installed to keep the pony truck in contact with the rails, it seems to me that the best course is to repair the component if that proves possible. 

I have never tried low melt solder and probably don't have the right iron or solder. The prospect is worrying.

 

Perhaps pinning with brass rod and araldite and a shim or staple!

[Andy Hayter]

Weren't Stephen's kits based on zinc?

[Edwardian]

5 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

Weren't Stephen's kits based on zinc?

 

Well, you tell me!

 

Could that explain the pattern of the break?

[Caley Jim]

If it's Zinc, it should be possible to solder it.

 

Jim

[RodneyS]

I have a Stephen Poole Neilson loco and that was white metal including the chassis.

 

As the break is clean you have nothing to lose by trying to glue it.  If it doesn't work you are no worse off.

 

Super glue might work but it is rather a brittle joint.  Araldite would probably be better but you will have to support it in the correct position while it dries.

 

If you are not used to low melting point solder it might be difficult to get it to penetrate quite a large lump of metal.

 

Just a suggestion, but I've had very good results on household items recently with Evostik Serious Glue.  I used to be able to buy it locally but now I have to buy it online.

It is thicker than super glue so somewhat similar to Araldite.  It is repositionable for 3 minutes and sets in two hours.   The joint is more resilient than other glues I have used. 

 

I used it some years ago to glue some 2mm clear PVC sheet to make a small showcase.

The joints are still holding together despite a lot of handling.

Rodney

[nick_bastable]

1 hour ago, Edwardian said:

 

Well, you tell me!

 

Could that explain the pattern of the break?

Zinc with care solders rather well

[Compound2632]

7 hours ago, nick_bastable said:

Zinc with care solders rather well

 

With what care? (I ask as I have some Trevor Charlton etched carriage sides and ends and am pondering the safest way to proceed with them.)

[jwealleans]

Comet do a couple of brass etches for a pony truck if they're at all suitable; LM2 and LM3.  

 

Soldering a flat brass piece on top of the break if you do repair it will give it extra strength and act as a rubbing plate for the spring.   I've also drilled either side of a break and inserted a piece of brass wire to strengthen a repair joint, but that may not be practical if the material is quite thin.  

 

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

I have some Trevor Charlton etched carriage sides and ends and am pondering the safest way to proceed with them.

 

One professional builder of my acquaintance would have suggested the bin, but most people I know who have used them have gone the epoxy route.  I have not done anything with the set I accidentally acquired.

 

[Compound2632]

3 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

One professional builder of my acquaintance would have suggested the bin, but most people I know who have used them have gone the epoxy route.  

 

Interesting; what was the particular objection? In terms of fidelity to prototype, the ones I have are very good.

[jwealleans]

13 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

what was the particular objection?

 

Mainly the material, I think, but he was quite disparaging about them in general.   It's a range which died out before I even started modelling so I've never looked closely at them.   They were mainly pregrouping and LMS constituents, am I right?

[Compound2632]

Just now, jwealleans said:

Mainly the material, I think, but he was quite disparaging about them in general.   It's a range which died out before I even started modelling so I've never looked closely at them.   They were mainly pregrouping and LMS constituents, am I right?

 

Yes, they were old when I was young. Trevor Charlton lived next door but one to my parents but to my shame I never plucked up the courage to go round and knock on his door. He was a keen cyclist and jazzman well into his 80s.

 

He certainly did do some obscure prototypes - the ones I have would never attract the attention of a kit manufacturer but will make up into a complete, if somewhat specialised, train - the Bristol-Newcastle postal train from c. 1888 to 1907.

[Edwardian]

He did Dreadnoughts. I once had three of them built.

[Edwardian]

2 hours ago, Edwardian said:

He did Dreadnoughts. I once had three of them built.

 

BTW, I still need another x3 1st compartment 70' composite if anyone comes across one. 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by Edwardian

[ChrisN]

He also did some Cambrian prototypes, but I have not sought them out.

[nick_bastable]

3 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

With what care? (I ask as I have some Trevor Charlton etched carriage sides and ends and am pondering the safest way to proceed with them.)

mainly cleanliness of the parts

[Compound2632]

43 minutes ago, nick_bastable said:

mainly cleanliness of the parts

 

As ever, cleanliness is next to Godliness.

 

As the ones I have don't have many windows, I was toying with the idea of gluing the sides and ends to a Plastikard sub-structure.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Compound2632
sp.

[Nearholmer]

34 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

I have don't have many widows

One or two is surely enough for most men.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Compound2632]

5 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

One or two is surely enough for most men.

 

Corrected in post.

[Edwardian]

29 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

One or two is surely enough for most men.

 

Ah, was it not Hoffnung with his mistranslated continental hotel brochures who said "Every room contains a french widow offering inviting prospects"

[martinT]

4 hours ago, Edwardian said:

 

Ah, was it not Hoffnung with his mistranslated continental hotel brochures who said "Every room contains a french widow offering inviting prospects"

Hoffnung yes, but his brochure suggested french widows offered 'delightful prospects'.