Bulleid bodging and other Ilfracombe projects

[PeteN92]

One side of transfers and plates down one to go. 

 

 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

[AdeMoore]

Cracking Pete, looks the business.

 Ade

[PeteN92]

Today sees me finish the conversion of my Bachmann n class to the extended frame type using the RT models etch and white metal castings. Everything was given a blast of primer and then black paint and was all then attach via super glue and given a touch up with black paint to blend it all in.

 

Before reattaching the smoke deflectors showing the blast pipes oil baths and frame extensions.

 

The loco will be getting weathered again to blend in where it had also had a change of identity. 

 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete 

[PeteN92]

Having now amassed a large collection of Bulleid Light pacifics I have found that I have managed to get a wide variety of variations on the model as Hornby have tweaked the design since release. The most modern examples of course have the dcc socket in the tender with the plug and socket with solid draw bar connecting loco to tender. Others have the older plug and hole tender connection. Some of these models are DCC ready and have the 8 pin socket in the front and some are not DCC ready at all and I have had to hardwire in decoders. Many of these variations are simple fixes after a little practice. 

 

What is a pain however is that older models do not have NEM pockets mainly on the tenders. This is a problem where I am converting all my locos to Kadee couplings and I don't necessary want the couplings to be a permanent change. I have therefore decided to modify the chassis plate on the tender and the design a 3d printed replacement NEM pocket. 

 

 

First off remove the plate that holds on the coupling and then using sharp knife slice off the moulding and stump where the old mounting was. I then use a needle file to smooth the surface down to a flat. 

 

 

I took some measurements from the model using my electronic callipers and drew out a design for the pocket on sketch up free. I also use a plain NEM pocket that I have been messing around with, to gauge the height of the Kadee coupling and adjusted to the correct height. 

 

 

1 Hour later and one coupling pocket has printed and cured. I snapped off the minimal support material and its looking good.

 

 

Kadee 19 inserted for demonstration purposes and its looking like that will be about right. Some testing will take place to ensure that it is the correct length Kadee for the job. The pocket however fits nice and snug over the chassis of the tender and the Kadee itself is nice and snug within the pocket. 

 

 

One final check using the Kadee height gauge and it looks spot on to me. Time to print a few more off and modify the the rest. 

 

Although most of my light pacifics have front pockets cast into the bogies there is one or two locos who do not have this. For those locos I will have to design slim line pocket to ensure that the bogie does not foul the body work. I shall leave this until next time......

 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete

[PeteN92]

When browsing through a copy of rail liveries I came across a picture of Bibby Line in rebuilt form but running with an original series 3 tender. The tender also has an upside down livery with the black at the top green at the bottom and boxed lining as per cut down tenders. Fair to say this unique mix was something I wanted to create. I had a word with @Graham_Muzand he replied as follows giving me a bit more insight on the photo

 

It's a 6000 gallon tender number 3347. Bibbly Line was paired to it between 25/5/56 and 14/7/56 (the picture is taken at Nine Elms.)

 

This was due to her being used for some dynamometer testing between Waterloo and Exeter. This still high sided tender was used instead of a modified one as it could between retain the cables between the loco and dynamometer car. 

 

Now getting hold of a model of Bibby Line was the easy part. The tender however would be an issue. Up until the other week we had only had the first run of Hornby's Original Merchant Navy locos and these commanded a very high price. I would be purchasing a spare just for a tender. Even now with the other versions coming out I imagine it will be a while till a spares and repairs or broken up one comes on the market. I therefore decided to stretch my new CAD and 3D printing skills to have a go at making one myself. 

 

After many hours and measuring the Clan Line tender I already had I came up with this: 

 

 

The body and the bunker itself is printed in two separate parts. Next up came the test prints and I can assure you there were a few. When it comes to resin printing it is good for detail so all of the extra bits I had added on printed out nice and clear. The downside on a large box such as this is that when curing it is prone to warping. I also had to adjust the supports and angles of the print in order to stop failures from happening. To get my final one I ended up adding supports that would keep the whole thing square while curing which would then be cut away once it was fully cured. 

 

A selection of failed and test prints leading up to the final example. 

 

Voila my completed series 3 tender. I plan to use the albert Goodall detailing parts from RT Models to add the vac cylinders, TIA tank, filling cap and the ladders and I think I may have a spare Hornby reverser handle for the front of the tender lying around. The coal bunker still needs gluing down and a small amount of filler will be need in some places where the supports took little divets out of the resin but overall I think its not bad considering its been designed and printed from the ground up. 

 

 

Cheers 

 

Pete 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by PeteN92
Image