Hunslet Engine Works in 7mm Scale

[Andy Ross]

A few more pictures 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[St Enodoc]

15 minutes ago, Andy Ross said:

A few more pictures 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That really is starting to look the part, Andy.

[Stephenwolsten]

I  was pleased to see your York photos on social media, including the GOG.  This is a very unusual project and I can see why it appeals to the crowds at Shows.   It's been interesting to follow progress over the long term and I look forward to catching up with the diorama at a future show.

[Andy Ross]

51 minutes ago, Stephenwolsten said:

I  was pleased to see your York photos on social media, including the GOG.  This is a very unusual project and I can see why it appeals to the crowds at Shows.   It's been interesting to follow progress over the long term and I look forward to catching up with the diorama at a future show.

Stephen 

 

Thank you for your comments - I should have put it on the Guild site long before when I did a I am a member of the Guild but thought it not mainstream enough for the Guild FB page. 

 

Andy 

[Andy Ross]

Since York I have been doing some tweaks to the structure - during the show the structure moved and some of the crane track went out of gauge. This was not too much of an issue as the area between the loco stands and were I did the wheeling was still ok but it was a bit annoying if I tried to run the cranes down the full length of the shop. 

 

Last weekend I set it all up higher on the trestles and pulled and pushed it all back into gauge - I also had only put half the bolts in the bases incase I needed to take it all off for painting,  but I have decided it can be painted in place and all the missing fixings are now fitted. Finishing the structure will also help keep it rigid. 

 

I also still had some issues with the doors which I have now sorted - the fix was to reduce the height of the top guides that run in the track.

 

This weekend I put another set of the wheel shop columns together from the etch below. 

 

 

There are two types - short outer ones with diagonal bracing and the tall ones with channels top and bottom which go unto the main structure columns. 

 

 

The etch is designed with sacrificial elements to enable all the components to be soldered up and maintain position. There are half etch lines at the side of the main parts and the outer section is folded until it comes off - the edges are then filled flush. 

 

 

        

 

 There are also tabs for positioning the flanges that are also filed off.

 

I have to say these are a bit of a pain t o assemble but there is only four of each in total so half way there.

 

If you want to see the display the next outing is a one day Train event at Leeds Industrial Museum on the 27th May. Details below.

 

 

     

 

Other outing details coming soon. 

 

  

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Andy Ross

[Andy Ross]

This weekend I have assembled the last four trusses for the boiler shop roof section. 

 

 

I have just positioned them for the photos and they will be fitted properly next weekend. 

There are three standard ones nearest the camera and I had to do a slightly different one for the far end that buts ups against the North light roof section. 

 

 

 

 

As a reminder I have included a picture of the jig I made quite a while ago when I made the original trusses. 

 

 

Andy

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Andy Ross

[Andy Ross]

Since the last post I have done a bit more on the structure, particularly the roof.

 

After completing all the trusses I have finished assembling the boiler shop roof. What was clear was that the original assembly I had done was not perfect with some of the trusses out of line. This was more obvious as I had the baseboard higher on the trestles. I was also concerned the spacing was not as even as it needed to be. 

 

So I made some setting tools from some small square section wood, each with groves cut in. The groves were marked in from a drawing of the set out.

 

   

 

 

So I effectively started again, releasing all the trusses to reset the spacing before adding the new ones. I also had to move a couple over to get them in line when you looked down the shop through them. 

 

 

 The first three trusses from the boiler shop end are fixed in place and this helps stiffen up the structure. The remaining section is removable I just need to decide were to cut the longitude beams. 

 

So with the trusses finished I have now taken the jig to bits and rebuilt it crudely for the four wheel shop roof supports. 

 

 

I have put one together today. You can see this held in position with the uprights. 

 

 

These may be in place for the event at Armley Mills on the 27th. 

 

Andy 

 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Andy Ross

[John Besley]

How are you going to etch prime and paint that work of art Andy?

[Andy Ross]

Hi John 

 

So the plan is as follows

 

1. Get all the structure finished before the end of the summer. 

2. Separate the removable section of the boiler shop pitched roof. 

3. Make the wheel shop roof structure removable. 

4. Mask up the baseboard top with polythene sheet. 

5. Set up gazebo in garden to use as paint booth. 

6. Using model bead blaster clean all parts in place as well as I can - Baseboard will be repositioned to get all faces (hopefully) 

7. With baseboard almost upside down spay structure with water to remove dust.

8. Remove masking with any debris etc.

9. Remask for painting. 

10. Etch prime with aerosol primer.

11. Mask up for the three different colours in turn and spray with airbrush. 

 

All this sounds a bit scary but I think this is the only way to do this. On a positive note the bottom 5mm of all the uprights will be buried in the floor so this will make masking the board top a bit easier. 

 

I am also open to any other ideas that might help.

 

Obviously when I start with this I will update on here. 

 

Andy 

[Andy Ross]

Another busy weekend on the layout.

 

I have made the last two roof supports and I have assembled all the crane track beams - just two more sets of uprights to assemble. 

 

I placed the first four uprights in place - the roof supports go the other way to how I laid them out.

 

 

I have also built another crude jig, this one is for the North lights that still need making. 

 

 

The plan is to do all the assembly in the middle section and move the assembly to either side for each end. I need to make six of these each three bays long.

I have also spent some time in the garage tidying up the temp wiring that connects the crane tracks to the DCC. There is now a multi pin plug and socket and the cable has been extended so the main DCC unit can go at either end or side of the layout.

 

With the DCC connected and it being several weeks since the last outing at York over Easter I thought it would be a good time to test the cranes. I also wanted to see if I could connect the lifting equipment to the Scunthorpe Bo - Bo Frames.  

 

I went through the box of lifting shackles etc and found four brass shackles - these come from military modellers suppliers and model boat suppliers. I think most came from a supplier in Poland. I do need to get some more. 

 

The shackles fit through holes in the top of the buffers beams and although the orientation is 90  degrees out the hooks on the lifting beams do go in - either a big link or another shackle will sort this out. As you can see from the photos these frames look good on the cranes and there is potential with a more complete loco for a set up to lower the structure onto the bogies. 

 

I also took the opportunity to see if I could get some decent phots of the structure using some foam board to remove the garage background. 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

I am at a one day event next Saturday at Leeds industrial Museum see link below:-

 

https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/events/leeds-industrial-museum/trains-trains-trains/?occurrence=2023-05-27.

 

As well as the event next weekend in Leeds,  I will also be traveling South with the main board for LarkRail on the 15th July. 

 

Andy 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by Andy Ross

[Andy Ross]

Set up today in Leeds Industrial Museum for a train event tomorrow Saturday 27th. 11:00 to 4:00 

 

[Barry O]

Do they still have a collection of LMC models?

Baz

[Andy Ross]

Yes they do. There are some on display in the room we are in. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Andy Ross

[37114]

Great progress Andy, this has to be one of my favourite threads on RMWEB at the minute.  Look forward to seeing the layout at Larkrail.

Edited May 28, 2023 by 37114
Typo

[Andy Ross]

As the steelwork is getting closer to completion, thoughts have moved to the other elements such as the floor, walls etc. and how I am gong to create these.

 

The floor of the work shop had been taking a lot of thought. As you can see from the photo of the workshop below it is a mixture of concrete and wood blocks, some of which survived for well over 150 years until the building was demolished in 1996.

 

 

We have done concrete successfully before on the tram depot with DAS, as can be seen on my 4mm Headingley Depot Layout.

 

 

But how to do the wood blocks.

 

For several months I have been debating wether it would be worth investing in a diode laser engraving /cutting machine. 

 

Last week due to the preferred machine being available new on eBay at a very good price, I took the plunge. The machine is a Xtool M1. 

 

I have already managed to produce a test piece. This uses the score function to outline the blocks and I have then used the engrave feature at two different power settings to create a slight unevenness to the surface. Once some watered down dirt paint is applied and socked in I think we will have a solution. 

 

 

I think the same will work on brickwork which we will try tomorrow. 

 

Andy 

[SR71]

12 hours ago, Andy Ross said:

 

 

 

That looks incredible. It's there a thread where I can see more of it please?

[Andy Ross]

Hello 

 

I never did a thread on the tram layout as it was all done so long ago. But there was a question on the site so I put a lot of photos up. 

 

Go to the link below - I hope it works. 

 

Andy 

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Andy Ross

[Andy Ross]

Today we have taken the floor tset piece and used some Town and Country Scenics textured Muck Paint from Squires on it and it has come out a treat. 

 

 

You can see the uneven surface a bit better now. 

 

 

I have also done a test panel for the wall at the side of the test track. 

 

 

This has come out better than I expected bit we still need to do some experiments with some different materials. 

 

 

What I need to do now is stop playing with this and get on finishing the steel work. 

 

Andy 

 

 

[Michael Crofts]

I am in awe of anyone who takes on a project like this knowing how much work is needed and how long it will take. We see lots of people start ambitious projects without understanding just how much hard work and perseverance is needed to complete them, and almost always the projects are never completed. But Andy obviously does understand what he he is doing, and how hard it will be, and he does it anyway. That's worthy of respect. I hope the support from those who read about this model and tick the "like" button helps keep the ball rolling. 

 

[Andy Ross]

I have done another panel with the laser cutter along with some extra bits that form the chimney and the gutter supports. I am still working out clearances so this will be cut again. The joins in the panels will be behind fall pipes so should not show. 

 

    

 

 

 

I was also concerned that I might not have the windows at the right hieght as this has only been done by counting bricks on photos and that assumes we have the bricks the right size.

 

So I placed the panel on the layout with a loco for comparison.

 

 

 

When you compare the footplate level to the bottom of the windows it's not far off. 

 

 

 

 

As I said in the last post I need to stop with the laser and get on with the steel work. 

 

Andy 

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Andy Ross

[Barry O]

Looks OK to me!

 

It will be fun getting the brickwork/Windows weathered to match!

 

Baz

[Andy Ross]

I have finally finished making all the steelwork for the wheel shop structure. I have placed it all in pace to see it it all fits. I have also laser cut some stands to support the roof structure when I come soldering it all up.

 

 

 

The crane tracks section have been soldered up of the layout and will be fitted tomorrow night all being well. It is taking a bit longer than expected but should all be done next weekend. 

 

On a more positive note - we have done some trials with the new laser on MDF. The manufacturer only provides parameters for plywood, so we did some digging and found some settings from another manufacturer which we tried and then tweaked to get it to work. 

 

I had already done the DXF files for the wall down the far side the erecting shop so we had a go. 

 

 

This has come out a treat and we have already got two thirds of the wall cut. 

It is only wedges in place at the moment but I am well pleased with it. This has been done in panels with the joins behind the columns. The outside join will be covered by fall pipes. 

 

Don't forget if you would like to see the progress on the layout, we are at Larkrail on the 15th July. 

 

Andy 

 

 

 

 

 

[John Besley]

This so reminds me of some of the exhibits at The Science Museum from the 1960s a cut away building showing how a building developed.

 

Awesome stuff Andy

[Andy Ross]

At last I have got all the steelwork completed for the wheel shop. 

As always with this type of structure it is difficult to put the roof trusses together and at the right spacing. I laser cut a couple of tools with groves is and this was a great help. 

 

 

I also cut an end plate which will finish the end off and support the crane tracks. It also support the end of the roof structure. AS with half of the boiler shop roof this is totally removable. 

 

 

Now this is all together it really adds to the overall structure. 

 

 

Just 3 bays of north light frames to make now. 

 

Andy 

 

 

[Andy Ross]

Some more progress. 

 

When I produced the end support wall for the wheel shop I incorporated a support for the erecting shop crane track beam. I also cut a plywood support for the opposite crane beam. This has allowed me to extend the crane track beams to the end of the baseboard along with the insulating sleeper strip and the crane rail. This now means we have the full 1.5m  of crane travel. 

 

 

 

 

This will give so much more operational options for the cranes. 

 

I have also cut the roof panels for the wheel shop. This is cut from 2mm ply and is engraved on both site. The inside is to represent the insolation panels and the outside to use as guide lines for the sheeting panels.  This is currently held in place with double sided tape.

 

    

 

  

 

The view through from the erecting shop is very convincing against originals. 

 

 

If you build a wheel shop you need wheels. As most of these are to populate the shop I decided to draw some up and 3d print them. 

 

At the moment I have done the Metre Gauge Kenya loco wheel sets and the 900mm gauge Sudan Locos. These are printed atdifferent stages of assembly to help fill the area. 

 

 

 

 

I have attached the spec sheets for these two loco types for interest. 

154 hp 0-8-0 Sudan029.pdf

 

525 hp 0-8-0 Kenya021.pdf

 

I was also having issues with the wheeling with the trailing axle with the RE4 gearbox on it dropping out after it had been wheeled. It had always been on the edge of the magnet strength. The original gearbox was made up from etches which made it quite heavy. Some time back I had drawn the casing in 3d for printing part assembled gearboxes, so I joined all the parts and added some of the details not on the original and printed the result. I have fixes this to the wheel set along with some printed file down axle boxes and it is a lot better now.

 

    

 

 

Tomorrow the plan is to get on with the last of the North Light frames. 

 

All this will considerable add to the display for Lark Rail on the 15th July. 

 

Andy