Charlie Strong Metals (and Watery Lane Sidings)

[AlfaZagato]

I've actually seen one of those in person.   Not a BR, though.

 

To make this as exciting as I meant it, I live outside Chicago, and saw the thing in the area.   It had a Ford 'Cammer' in it.

[Barclay]

Late in their life, after the Rootes Group was taken over by Chrysler, they were branded 'Dodge'. Still, it's difficult to imagine they were ever officially sold in the US?

[AlfaZagato]

I doubt it.   Probably was sold under Rootes proper.  Also, I believe the part of Chrysler that bought Rootes was semi-independent from Chrysler Corp.

[Enterprisingwestern]

2 hours ago, Barclay said:

Late in their life, after the Rootes Group was taken over by Chrysler, they were branded 'Dodge'. Still, it's difficult to imagine they were ever officially sold in the US?

 

That was an instruction to potential buyers, not the vans name!

 

Mike.

[Ruston]

Another pit closes and another steam engine becomes redundant. Charlie Strong is always there to cut them up on site, or find further use for the working ones, until the grim reaper takes them with his gas axe.

This one is going to get far less use at Charlie's yard than I anticipated. It is of course the Rapido model. It is very good, but there's a particular piece of track, right at the entry to the main gantry crane, that has a distinct kink in it. It doesn't bother anything with 4-wheels at all and even my other 0-6-0s can negotiate it. Even if one of their centre axle's wheels rides its flanges up onto the rail top now and again, they all fall back onto the track and carry on regardless, but this one won't. It derails every time, no matter how slow it goes.

 

It's almost too well made because although there's plenty of side play in the wheelsets, the rods are strong and there's virtually no slop on the crank pins. This is good but in this case if one axle is pushed to the side, the rods take the next one with it and that's what seems to cause it to derail. The sensible solution would be to lift and re-lay the trackwork, but that would be a right faff!

 

I think the best solution will be to dispose of my O gauge colliery layout and build a OO colliery layout in its place.

[davknigh]

Dave, Would replacing the solid coupling rods with a two piece set not give the extra play needed?

 

Cheers,

 

David

[sir douglas]

31 minutes ago, Ruston said:

I think the best solution will be to dispose of my O gauge colliery layout and build a OO colliery layout in its place.

 

would you still have to wait for John to build you a U bend for it?

[cctransuk]

37 minutes ago, Ruston said:

Another pit closes and another steam engine becomes redundant. Charlie Strong is always there to cut them up on site, or find further use for the working ones, until the grim reaper takes them with his gas axe.

This one is going to get far less use at Charlie's yard than I anticipated. It is of course the Rapido model. It is very good, but there's a particular piece of track, right at the entry to the main gantry crane, that has a distinct kink in it. It doesn't bother anything with 4-wheels at all and even my other 0-6-0s can negotiate it. Even if one of their centre axle's wheels rides its flanges up onto the rail top now and again, they all fall back onto the track and carry on regardless, but this one won't. It derails every time, no matter how slow it goes.

 

It's almost too well made because although there's plenty of side play in the wheelsets, the rods are strong and there's virtually no slop on the crank pins. This is good but in this case if one axle is pushed to the side, the rods take the next one with it and that's what seems to cause it to derail. The sensible solution would be to lift and re-lay the trackwork, but that would be a right faff!

 

I think the best solution will be to dispose of my O gauge colliery layout and build a OO colliery layout in its place.

 

Could Rapido supply a spare set of rods, so that you could articulate two shortened rods on the centre crankpins?

 

CJI.

[Corbs]

Would the Judith Edge rods fit?

 

[Ruston]

17 hours ago, sir douglas said:

 

would you still have to wait for John to build you a U bend for it?

You mean the tunnel that goes out of the end of the shed and back  in? There's more chance of me plaiting sawdust than there is of JT ever fabricating that for me. I've written it off and will build something myself. It needs doing regardless of whether I keep the O gauge or build something new.

 

18 hours ago, davknigh said:

Dave, Would replacing the solid coupling rods with a two piece set not give the extra play needed?

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

17 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

Could Rapido supply a spare set of rods, so that you could articulate two shortened rods on the centre crankpins?

 

CJI.

 

6 minutes ago, Corbs said:

Would the Judith Edge rods fit?

 

Possibly. I could make my own rods, it it came to it but the first thing would be to remove the existing ones and I have been unable to do that. I attempted to remove them to gain more access to the wheels, for weathering, but found that some of the screws simply keep turning but without unscrewing. The hex heads are also an extremely tight fit in a 12BA spanner and my 12BA socket won't fit at all. They're probably metric, but they won't come out, no matter what size they are and if I screw a wheel up then that's that. It's not like a kit, where you can just get another wheel from Gibson's.

 

I have been wanting to build a OO layout, based on the coal industry, for some time and having this Hunslet could be the trigger that starts the project off. All I need to do is to sell the O gauge in order to raise some cash to pay for the sinking of the pit and to pay the railway contractor to lay a connection to the L&YR. 😊

[Michael Edge]

1 hour ago, Corbs said:

Would the Judith Edge rods fit?

 

We do have the 16" rod etch as a spare part, ours measure 23mm x 21mm.

[Ruston]

The Hunslet is sorted and will now run over the offending track. I had the wheelsets out again and took a file to the bronze bearings in order to make them slide more freely up and down in the hornguides.

 

It has also received more weathering of the wheels and rods.

 

It can shunt Charlie's Yard for now, but the wheels have been put in motion to sell the O gauge and use the proceeds to pay for a new OO layout.

[F-UnitMad]

On 06/02/2023 at 15:30, Ruston said:

the wheels have been put in motion to sell the O gauge

Can I ask where? Here, ebay or suchlike?

[Ruston]

On 10/02/2023 at 21:42, F-UnitMad said:

Can I ask where? Here, ebay or suchlike?

None of the above. The wheels of a Peugeot van are now in motion and heading for the wrong side of the pennines, with the layout in the back.

[Sandhole]

On 31/01/2023 at 19:15, Ruston said:

A BR Commer FC van.

 

That brings back happy memories of a Commer  Doormobile that Mum, Dad and myself spent a great summer holiday in , in the early 70s.
We ended up at the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway, where Dad and I ran the refreshment shed at Sittingbourne.
We camped on the Kemsley Down station site.
The van was bloody noisey and not particularly fast. She was a swine to restart when hot.
Mum revelled in driving her.
Regards,
Chris.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Sandhole

[Sandhole]

On 03/02/2023 at 13:40, Ruston said:

You mean the tunnel that goes out of the end of the shed and back  in? There's more chance of me plaiting sawdust than there is of JT ever fabricating that for me. I've written it off and will build something myself. It needs doing regardless of whether I keep the O gauge or build something new.

 

 

 

Possibly. I could make my own rods, it it came to it but the first thing would be to remove the existing ones and I have been unable to do that. I attempted to remove them to gain more access to the wheels, for weathering, but found that some of the screws simply keep turning but without unscrewing. The hex heads are also an extremely tight fit in a 12BA spanner and my 12BA socket won't fit at all. They're probably metric, but they won't come out, no matter what size they are and if I screw a wheel up then that's that. It's not like a kit, where you can just get another wheel from Gibson's.

 

I have been wanting to build a OO layout, based on the coal industry, for some time and having this Hunslet could be the trigger that starts the project off. All I need to do is to sell the O gauge in order to raise some cash to pay for the sinking of the pit and to pay the railway contractor to lay a connection to the L&YR. 😊

I have managed to resist the temptation of a Hunslet.
The engine is lovely, but I'm being adult, I have no need for one. I admit, were I to take the plunge, a Geisel ejector would be fitted to it. Just like my Agenoria 'Victory' tank.
Colliery lines immediately make me think of the North Staffordshire Railway New L tanks of my youth on the Bridgewater lines.🤣
Keep up the great work Dave,
Regards,
Chris.
PS, your Fowler sends her love. She is working alongside a Geordie Armstrong Whitworth shunting grain wagons about.
I have not repainted her, though dazzle buffer beams might be on the horizon.
C.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Sandhole

[Ruston]

Peckett W4, ex-Harboro Stone Co. in use at Charlie Strong's yard and Watery Lane Sidings.

 

[Hornsby]

With me being new to the forum and being interested in the industrial side of railways I'm so pleased I have stumbled across your Charlie Strong Metals layout build. 

The building and a keen eye for attention to detail in your layout build is splendid. This layout is definitely a food for thought.

[sb67]

Hi, I was looking at your posts about the Graphite stick treatment. I've got an exhibition in a few weeks, my first!  I want to get the best possible running but I've never really tried graphite, bought a stick a while back but it's just sat in the toolbox! I was wondering, would you clean the track at all prior to a show or is just constantly using the stick all the time enough?

 

Many thanks. 

[Ruston]

4 hours ago, sb67 said:

Hi, I was looking at your posts about the Graphite stick treatment. I've got an exhibition in a few weeks, my first!  I want to get the best possible running but I've never really tried graphite, bought a stick a while back but it's just sat in the toolbox! I was wondering, would you clean the track at all prior to a show or is just constantly using the stick all the time enough?

 

Many thanks. 

I don't exhibit, so I can't really advise on that. I only clean the track if any work has taken place on the layout, otherwise it's just the occasional rub over with the stick.

[Michael Edge]

I took Wentworth Junction to Leeds last year for its first time out, I did clean the track before (mainly because a lot of scenic work had been done) and apply graphite all over. It's been back home now for most of a year and it's still working nearly perfectly, just an occasional rub with the graphite pencil if anything does hesitate anywhere. Since I started using graphite about 7 years ago I've done very little cleaning of track or loco wheels for any layout.

[Ruston]

Pretty much the same here. I had some visitors over last Sunday, after the EM exhibition, and ran CVMR for the first time this year. I didn't clean the track or rub the graphite stick and the loco that has been kept in its shed ran out and down the line without a problem. I never clean the wheels on any loco either. When I build one, or buy one RTR, I rub a section of FY track with graphite and also rub it onto the wheels of the loco and then put something heavy in front of it to prevent it from moving, whilst letting it run against it to get the wheels nicely coated.

[F-UnitMad]

11 hours ago, sb67 said:

Hi, I was looking at your posts about the Graphite stick treatment. I've got an exhibition in a few weeks, my first!  I want to get the best possible running but I've never really tried graphite, bought a stick a while back but it's just sat in the toolbox! I was wondering, would you clean the track at all prior to a show or is just constantly using the stick all the time enough?

 

Many thanks. 

I've only exhibited a few times, but I would definitely clean the track beforehand, regardless of using graphite or not. 

[sb67]

Thanks for the comments, I will def start using the graphite stick 🙂

[sb67]

On 28/08/2023 at 16:15, Ruston said:

I don't exhibit, so I can't really advise on that. I only clean the track if any work has taken place on the layout, otherwise it's just the occasional rub over with the stick.

 

I've just realised that the Graphite Sticks come in different grades! The one I got is bone hard, do you know if that matters, I'm assuming the softer ones deposit more graphite?