Tyteford Halte

[MAP66]

A little more jiggery pokery with the chassis was required at the workbench this morning, which became evident on fitting the bodyshell. The crankpins would indeed foul against the lower valence of the body shell. This was resolved by winding them in a few more turns and gently filing down flat the excess length of the pins themselves. This was followed up by another rolling test under power and thankfully all went well.

 

I next wanted to check the ride height at the front and back of the loco, using the buffer height as a reference. This is a well designed chassis and provision is there to adjust ride height up and down at the front and rear of the loco independently. As this loco is destined to live out the remainder of its days permanently coupled up to the autocoach, it made sense to check the loco's buffer height up against the autocoach. Both vehicles just about fitted on the test track together and again, testament to High Levels design, I found that no height adjustment was necessary as the buffers lined up perfectly. 

 

An underside view with bodyshell temporarily fitted. This is before the crankpins were screwed in further and then filed down. When the brakegear is finally fitted, it will give me an idea of how and where to install the wiper assembly for electrical pick up.

 

Good chassis design meant no further height adjustment was necessary to match the autocoach.  I used the driving end of the coach to test ride height as the end which would be coupled up (luggage end) has lots of wires coming out of it, which were in the way. I think, when coupled up to the luggage end, with steam and brake hoses connected with auto coupling rod and whistle chain attached it should look the part. Well, it better had after all the time I've spent on this 🤪

[MAP66]

A few posts ago, I mentioned that a solution was required to attach the front of the chassis to the bodyshell. I keep on finding excuses to put off the brake gear assembly! In my defence, securing the chassis and body shell together securely but not permanently is important and something which really should have been sorted by now and certainly before I start dabbling with the brakes.

 

The idea I’m using is taken from a 48XX HL chassis build over on the Scale4 forum. We start by using a spare part from the kit and in my case it’s the front spacer for a 00 scale build. This is cut down to size and a nut is soldered to one side.

 

The adapted front spacer etch for a 00gauge model which is spare for my build with soldered on nut.

 

Some plastic material is filed away at the bottom of the removeable smoke box section, enough for a flush fit of the adapted front spacer. The spacer is superglued in place being careful not to get any glue on the main body shell, otherwise the removeable smoke box and boiler section will be bonded to the main bodyshell.

 

Here we have the same front spacer, showing the opposite side and now glued in place to the underside of the smoke box.

 

When the glue has cured. The chassis is offered up to the bodyshell, the rear lug is located and the front of the chassis is swung up into the bodyshell. Next the bolt is lined up and screwed into the nut, which had previously been soldered in place.

 

Nice and secure and simple to take apart again.

 

Back at Tyteford Halte again, weird to see daylight under the boiler on an Airfix model. This shot makes me think that poor old body shell is going to need some serious attention very soon.

 

 

 

[MAP66]

Well, I finally succumbed to tackling the brake gear. It was not long into it that my trepidation of taking this stage on was realised. As, this has proved to be the most testing and tedious stage of the build. Even more so than the gear box and even more so than the inside motion. This is not the fault of the HL kit, far from it. This is me, not entirely mastering detail soldering and handling small parts simultaneously.

 

In hindsight, a finer tip on the soldering iron for the in and out quick soldering technique would have been a huge advantage. However, after much fiddling, re-soldering and fettling everything to within an inch of its life… I finally managed to assembly it all and do a dry fit.

 

Some final tweaking is still necessary but overall, I think I’ve gotten away with it. Just some final soldering to do once everything is correctly lined up. Just in case your wondering, as this was mentioned earlier, the whole brake gear assembly is designed to be removable. I therefore need to ensure I don’t solder the wrong bits after all that hard work!

 

Once final soldering is complete and locating rods cut down to size, it will be removed for painting.

 

View from the underside. Locating rods for brake hangers and stretchers still require cutting down to size. Soldering is  a bit blobby on the middle stretcher, lucky its not visible! 

 

A view showing a better idea of the workings. 

 

Side on.

 

On the tracks, side on.

Next I will be looking into possible locations for installing the wipers for electrical pick up. I will be aiming for electrical pick up from both driving axles and the trailing axle.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by MAP66

[Sweet pea]

Hi @MAP66 you are doing a sterling job, well done.👍

[longchap]

Hi Mark, your perfectionist tendencies are sending you the wrong messages, as there be nowt wanting with that brake gear!

 

Well done old chap !

 

[MrWolf]

Seriously impressive work Mark, you could probably pass those pictures off as an O gauge model.

[MAP66]

3 hours ago, Kevin Johnson said:

Hi @MAP66 you are doing a sterling job, well done.👍

 

1 hour ago, longchap said:

Hi Mark, your perfectionist tendencies are sending you the wrong messages, as there be nowt wanting with that brake gear!

 

Well done old chap !

 

 

16 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Seriously impressive work Mark, you could probably pass those pictures off as an O gauge model.

Thanks Gents,

Very much appreciated words of encouragement, which have raised a smile on my previously panicked face.

[MAP66]

Hello folks, I trust you all had a good Christmas day and are still enjoying the festive Season?

 

I popped back to the workbench today as I wanted to crack the electrical pick up problem with a satisfactory solution for the wipers and where best to site them on the chassis. While looking at the chassis again, I took the opportunity to touch up the chipped paintwork around the wheels and parts of the chassis and to glue on the wheel balance weights.

 

Now here’s a thing to ponder while munching on yet another mince pie. Does anyone out there have an effective solution to prevent the paint from chipping off, which they wouldn’t mind sharing? Especially from around the wheel rims where it’s particularly vulnerable to chipping. I also found that just general handling of the chassis was enough for any raised areas of paintwork to rub off very easily. Before any painting, I had previously prepared all NS and brass surfaces by giving them a thorough wash and rinse and when dry a coat of etch primer. Still didn’t help though, the paint still comes off, even after a coat of matt varnish. I have used acrylic paints, should I be using enamel paints on metals instead?

 

Going back to the electricals, I found some pcb board, copper clad sleepers and a few lengths of phosper bronze wire 0.35mm diameter and I got to work. I found that I could glue a strip of pcb board vertically to the side frames in the gap behind the rear sandboxes. I dealt with the trailing rear wheels first and soldered a length of PB wire to the pcb strip which had a slight bend introduced to provide a little resistive tension against the tops of the rear wheels.

 

Next, the rear drivers. Another length of PB wire was soldered to the same pcb strip above the previous length and slightly below the top of the rear driver wheel. The other end of this length of wire then rests on the top of the rear driver wheels with enough resistive tension to remain in contact with the wheels through its vertical movement.

 

A different approach was required for the front drivers and I decided to fit the pick ups from the underside of the chassis. Two pieces of copper clad sleeper were glued to the underside of the front spacer, onto which was previously soldered an angled piece of pb wire. The pb wire acts on the inside edge of the inner rim of the wheel. Next, I will need to test each wheel pick up separately to see if they all perform without any issue, progress pics below…

 

Balance weights glued on and crankpin nuts  have had a drop of blue threadlock applied. Note the pcb strip glued in place behind rear sandbox.

 

PB wire soldered to pcb strip. This takes care of electrical pick up for the trailing wheels and rear drivers.

 

Closer view of underside showing pick ups for front drivers using a combination of cut down copper clad sleepers and short lengths of angled pb wire. The lower assembly is still being clamped down until glue cures.

 

 

[MAP66]

To follow on from the last post (which means I’m back in 2024 for another year of modelling – Happy New Year folks) but alas, it was not a good start for the electricals.

 

I found that the wipers for the front drivers where not a success. This was due to the pb wire being too short, meaning I could not get the required contact tension with the wheel rims. So, scrap that and turn to Plan B. Which would involve going top side again and finding a solution for attaching the wipers for the front drivers similar to that used for the rear drivers.

 

Between the drivers, I glued a small piece of pcb strip onto the outside of the side frame. Onto this, I soldered a length of pb wire with its end providing a bit of contact tension onto the top of the front drivers. From the pcb strip I then soldered on a length of wire cable back to the first pcb strip. This would now allow electrical pick up from wheels on all three axles.

 

Went to test it, more disappointment! The rear driver is now suffering from wheel slip and loss of traction. The culprit seemed to be the electrical wire connecting the two pcb strips which was preventing the driving wheels on the motor axle from being in full contact with the track. Somehow, the middle axle bushes were no longer dropping to the correct level within the horn block guides. I put this down to the tension introduced by the electrical wire either pushing or being in contact with the free vertical travel of the gearbox.

 

I was fed up fathing about with trying to resolve this, so instead I removed the front driver wipers and electrical wires and the traction improved. There is no Plan C! as this one has beaten me, so electrical pick up will be confined to the rear driver and trailing wheels and unfortunately not the front drivers as originally planned.

I decided to take my mind of this disappointment by tackling the bodyshell instead. A change of scenery and where better to start than the cab interior. It was about time I started to look at where and how to fit a sound decoder anyway and the only two space options available seem to be within the bunker or under a false cab floor.

 

Testing the false floor option first, I quickly made up a cab floor from embossed styrene sheet and trial fitted within the cab. This eliminated the under the floor option as there was not adequate room for the decoder. So, the decoder will be destined for the bunker then!

 

Start of the cab floor, the closer edge is the fire box end and the wall at the back forms one side of the bunker. The other side of the bunker is the body shell itself and when fitted together there is a void for the sound decoder.

 

Cab floor inserted, showing the bunker space available. I didn't have any proper chequer plate for the cab floor sections near the doors, so I used a couple of drain covers .

 

From this angle you can see that the motor spindle almost encroaches into the cab and a little more may need to be ground off to allow the backhead to fit. The motor is at its lowest position and the spindle still clears the floor, so that's all good.

[MAP66]

I’ve been carrying on with the cab interior and have now made a start on the back head, using plasticard and other bits. I do have the ‘Mainly Trains’ backhead MT325 which is a cast white metal part. However, the fire box doors are shut on this and I wanted them open to show the flame flicker! This maybe another foolish endeavour but so far, its proving to be way more enjoyable than fitting wipers to wheels. I’m also banking on a good coating of paint to disguise a multitude of bodges within the confines of the cab.

 

The first WIP image of my attempt of modelling the backhead with fire box doors open. The Mainly Trains cast part is shown on the left for comparison. I have adapted some MSE point rodding cranks to resemble the lever mechanism for opening and closing the fire box doors. This still needs extending upwards on the left for the handle. Still lots more bits and bobs to fabricate and add on.

 

 

[MrWolf]

I'm seriously impressed that you are having a crack at scratch building a backhead in such detail, 

It's one of those why not? sort of projects, it's the best way to improve your skills and the way forward for detailed models. If it wasn't for people having a go, we'd still be stuck with painted bits of wood.

[MAP66]

Thanks Rob, that's a nice message to read first thing in the morning, You know, my first train was a painted block of wood  with cotton reels for wheels, I'm smiling while typing this, I like to think that my interpretation of realism has moved on since then 😄 

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, MAP66 said:

Thanks Rob, that's a nice message to read first thing in the morning, You know, my first train was a painted block of wood  with cotton reels for wheels, I'm smiling while typing this, I like to think that my interpretation of realism has moved on since then 😄 

It has 😎

[longchap]

16 hours ago, MAP66 said:

I wanted them open to show the flame flicker! This maybe another foolish endeavour but so far, its proving to be way more enjoyable than fitting wipers to wheels. I’m also banking on a good coating of paint to disguise a multitude of bodges within the confines of the cab.

 

I know exactly how your feel Mark and well done for your honest humour. Your posts always make me smile 😀

 

15 hours ago, MrWolf said:

It's one of those why not? sort of projects, it's the best way to improve your skills and the way forward for detailed models. If it wasn't for people having a go, we'd still be stuck with painted bits of wood.

 

Perfectly expressed Rob and if everyone just had a go, most would surprise themselves 🫢

 

[MAP66]

18 minutes ago, longchap said:

I know exactly how your feel Mark and well done for your honest humour. Your posts always make me smile 😀

Thanks Bill,

I try and keep it light humoured where possible and its good to know that my wit puts a smile on your face (hopefully others too) 😄

[MAP66]

I managed a little more on the cab interior today, not a lot as it was high concentration stuff and I chose to stop on a high after fitting the regulator handle. Yes. it was good to give the brain a rest after todays stint, oh for a mini lathe and all the filling it would save. It wasn't all modelling though, half the time spent was hunting for stuff which I could use to resemble pipes, handles, dials and all the other gizmos and gadgets found in the cab. 

 

So in summary, at the end of todays mini session, I managed to extend the handle to the fire box lever mechanism, add a representation of the shelf above the fire box opening (the one the billy can sits on) and of course the regulator with handle. I made the regulator by filing down to shape a scrap piece of brass fret onto which was glued a shaped piece of plastic micro rod for the handle section. 

 

 

Regulator fitted, the rounded hump on the regulator shaft has a hole through it on the prototype as this is where the linkage bar is attached which then connects the regulator to all the rods and gubbings below deck and eventually back to the cab in the auto coach. I will be attempting my version of the linkage bar 🤪

[longchap]

Seems like you're doing just grand with all the gubbings above deck there Mark and thanks to BBC Radio 4 Extra, I can still get my fix of The Navy Lark here in France. Funilly enough, I used that same below deck expression only today on another forum .  .  .  small world.

 

Job's well on the way, just some gauges, pipework and stuff and then a stab of paint.

 

A fine job, crack on and have more fun.

 

[phil_sutters]

On 04/01/2024 at 00:36, MAP66 said:

 

 

Start of the cab floor, the closer edge is the fire box end and the wall at the back forms one side of the bunker. The other side of the bunker is the body shell itself and when fitted together there is a void for the sound decoder.

 

 

Cab floor inserted, showing the bunker space available. I didn't have any proper chequer plate for the cab floor sections near the doors, so I used a couple of drain covers .

 

 

From this angle you can see that the motor spindle almost encroaches into the cab and a little more may need to be ground off to allow the backhead to fit. The motor is at its lowest position and the spindle still clears the floor, so that's all good.

Would the foil packaging from pills /tablets work I wonder? Some of the tablets, my wife and I have to take, have blank sections in the strips, where there are nice squares of diamond pattern foil. How they scale out I am not sure. Different tablets have slightly different patterns. If you are fortunate enough to not need medication, maybe a friend or relative has something useable.

[MAP66]

17 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

Would the foil packaging from pills /tablets work I wonder? Some of the tablets, my wife and I have to take, have blank sections in the strips, where there are nice squares of diamond pattern foil. How they scale out I am not sure. Different tablets have slightly different patterns. If you are fortunate enough to not need medication, maybe a friend or relative has something useable.

Thanks for the idea Phil, we have tablets in the house' I'll check tomorrow to see if any of the foil can be used. If it can then that's a great tip.

[phil_sutters]

17 hours ago, MAP66 said:

Thanks for the idea Phil, we have tablets in the house' I'll check tomorrow to see if any of the foil can be used. If it can then that's a great tip.

The ones with the spaces are usually those with a week's supply on the strip - so 7 tablets 1 space.

[MAP66]

30 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

The ones with the spaces are usually those with a week's supply on the strip - so 7 tablets 1 space.

I thought this deserved further investigation, so I took a rummage through the medical supplies and found that there are subtle differences in the relief on the foil strips. Obviously differs through manufacturer and type of tablet. I found a potential candidate for the chequer plate, that being Irbersartan 150mg tablets. You can get a couple of a 3cm square pieces of foil from each strip which is more than enough for the chequer plate sections of the cab interior.

 

I was intending to make the floor again anyway, the first version was really just a trial piece to see how it would all fit together within the body shell. I will definitely need to grind more off the motor spindle to allow some room to install the flame effect led. I intend to build a tiny enclosure on the back of the fire box opening to house the led and deflect the glow into the cab.

 

Anyway, below is the foil painted up to look a bit rusty, I think it can definitely work as chequer plate in a cab interior and possibly other applications as well. When I use it for the cab, it will be a coal black colour with some gun metal dry brushed over the top. 

 

 

Thanks again to @phil_sutters for the idea.

[MAP66]

Moving on from the last post, Ibuprofen could be the answer, not just for aches and pains but also for modelling chequer plate. You are also more likely to have a packet of these in the bathroom cabinet. Grateful for your opinions, I think I prefer the foil pattern on the Ibuprofen tablet strips over the previous lot.

 

You get 3 strips in a pack, the red section highlights the useable bit which is about 72 x 14mm, so quite a bit.

 

For comparison, the first version above and the Ibuprofen version below. I have experimented with a sooty look.

 

Going back to the cab interior and continuing with detailing of the back head. I have been adorning it with further embellishments, mainly old bits of plastic sprue filed to shape. We now have the manifoldy bit which sits atop the boiler front, complete with valves but still minus the gauges. There are a couple of important assemblies still to attempt, that being the water gauge to the left of the  regulator and steam brake to the right. Both are mounted on the front of the boiler and then the various pipes can be added. I will need to paint it all first though before I add the pipes.

 

Slowly getting there!

 

 

 

[Mikkel]

This is ingenious. My outlook on tablet foil will never be the same!

 

Great idea Phil, and great execution Mark. The backhead likewise, all very creative.

 

[Schooner]

14 hours ago, MAP66 said:

Ibuprofen could be the answer

Bravo! Thanks to you and @phil_sutters both. Stealing immediately for my little box tank cab floor, which desperately needs something to hide all the evidence of bodgery!

[MAP66]

Well, I'm still in the land of sillyness by continuing to entertain the idea of modelling the backhead. I'm not quite at the stage of inserting pencils up my nostrils and wearing my underpants on my head but todays modelling stint has brought me dangerously close and I feel that the men in white coats are getting closer to dragging me away!

 

That's the silly bit over and below is how the backhead looks at the moment, as you can see my sanity was tested by attempting to model the water gauge and the steam brake. I'm still smiling though and that's the main thing.

 

The water gauge was filled with Glue n Glaze which has dried clear and before this, all the insides where given a coat of brass colour paint. For the steam brake, I enlisted the help of a couple of very small signal pully wheels. I found a better and faster technique for making the tapered handles using Glue n Glaze instead of attempting to file to shape. 

 

I am now working out how much further I can go before I add the black paint, then some pipes and then pick out all the copper and brass work...

 

The water gauge is a bit crude, but still better than the cast whitemetal one. It's not glued to the boiler front as yet as some more bits need to be added. I had a quick count up and so far there are about 58 separate pieces to the backhead which all required some sort of fettling before fitting. There's probably at least another 30 separate bits to go and then of course, the rest of the cab interior.

 

Starting the water gauge by carving out the sight glass space on two pieces of plastrut angle. Just out of shot to the right are my underpants and 2 pencils on standby.