Judith Edge kits

[Ruston]

Looking good! You can definitely put my name down for one.

No frame or buffer beam weights added, I've done moulding patterns for these but many 88s didn't have them anyway.

 

You do mean the frame weights? I've only ever seen a picture of one 88DS that didn't have the buffer beam weights.
 

[Michael Edge]

I've only got a few without buffer beam weights but they do include one of the best known - BR No.20 used at Reading signal works.

[Michael Edge]

Working on the test etch for the Brush 200hp 0-4-0DE, following on from some work done at our York demo. The best known of these locos was BR D2999 and this one is being built as such. The first of these was BT91 (BP7856) built in 1958 and originally working at Orb steelworks, Newport. It is now at the Middleton Railway, masquerading as D2999.

 

 

We measured this one and also obtained some original Brush drawings showing the cut down cab on the real D2999, the kit will include both these and also a version with larger side windows. BR also operated another one of these as D9998, Parkgate steelworks had a fleet of 12 and some were supplied to a Steelworks at Skopje in Yugoslavia. Don't confuse these with the much larger and more powerful 0-4-0DEs which still work at Port Talbot.

 

 

The wheels (temporary 14mm Romfords at the moment) run in an inner frame, leading axle fixed (the drive will be on this one), trailing axle allowed to rock under a knife edge. Compensation or springing is more or less essential for small four wheeled locos like this, compensation is our usual foolproof swinging arm system. It will have Gibson wheels on shouldered axles later.

 

 

Footplate, outside frames and buffer beams were completed at York. The cab and engine casing are built up as usual on a bolted baseplate. Window beading not fitted yet on the front, I'll fit the engine casing and clean up the joint first.

 

 

The view from underneath shows that the central part of the cab floor is fitted on upward extensions of the outer frames, this allows access to the inside of the cab from below.

 

 

The engine casing is supplied flat, access doors soldered in before bending. The louvres are also etched separately and soldered into the doors.

 

 

View from the other side shows half etched lines for the corner bends.

 

[Arthur]

 

Brush 0-4-0DE!!! Looks great.

 

Cue Meg Ryan in Harry Met Sally.......

 

I'll have two of what she's having.

[Michael Edge]

More work yesterday

 

 

Next job is to form the engine casing, the short length of this one makes it very easy. I didn't anneal it - mainly because I forgot to before soldering in all the casing doors - but the centre section formed easily round some 22mm copper tube. I rarely have to resort to the rolling bars for this job, usually just finger pressure.

 

 

Checking the radius of the first bend with the casing former

 

 

Corner bends are done with fingers as well, steel bar held inside to stop the flat part bending.

 

 

Checking the corner radius

 

 

Checking the fit of the casing former with broaches through the register holes in the cab front.

 

 

and the fit of the former inside the casing. This looks perfect until you remember that there should be a gap at the bottom for the thickness of the casing base. Although we always provide a former I rarely fit them so for this test etch I'll make a note of how much has to be added to the casing etch for production and carry on with one that is .381mm too low.

 

 

At the front end the discrepancy is more obvious, I'll just take a bit off the casing front for this one.

 

 

Casing is now tacked in place at front corners and against the cab

 

 

All the joints are now completed from below after removing the cab/casing from the footplate, this looks messy but will not be visible.

 

 

The completed body unit is cleaned up like this

 

 

and must be completely flat, my bench is an old kitchen worktop which is flat enough for this purpose. This is the most critical part of building, nearly all the torsional strength of the model is here, if this isn't flat and square it will twist or bend the frames when they are bolted in. This was the main reason for adopting this form of construction many years ago, scratchbuilding diesel shunters before I went into etching.

 

 

Final check on the bench with everything bolted up, the bottom edges of the buffer beams are usually the reference faces. Incidentally the small solder tack on the front corner of the box on the RH footplate is the first time the soldering iron has been applied to the outside. I'm often asked how I get the outside of models so clean but the answer is that 99% of the soldering is done from the inside and the kits are specifically designed to enable this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Michael Edge]

Most of the body work now finished.

 

 

Some of the alternative parts shown here, different cab sides, windows and roof, also the radiator opening wasn't always in the same position.

 

 

The radiator grille mesh didn't etch out very well, needs modifying.

Does anyone know what is inside the box on the footplate ahead of the cab? BT91 (at Middleton) also has a box on the other side, I don't know what this is either, it wasn't on D2999 and I'm not sure about the others since most photos seem to be of the RH side.

[Michael Edge]

I know what the box on the RH side is now, it houses the air compressor - found it on the GA when I looked. I still don't know about the box on the LH side of BT91 though.

Test etch build finished now, just waiting for pattern making - sandboxes, headlights and control cabinet.

 

 

Posed on the test track with the next Princess for Carlisle behind it.

 

 

Back view - yes that's the Fell behind, I'll get back to that later this week. Handrails are not too difficult on this but the grab posts at the leading end will be a bit delicate, production etch may have grooves etched in the buffer beam layers to allow them to go deeper into it.

 

 

Underneath with brake gear added, this isn't very visible but it needs to be there. Steps are a bit difficult on this one, especially the leading ones which should be fitted on long bolts from the buffer beam. I couldn't see a simple way of doing this so a I added a strap from the lower edge of the frame plate. At the cab end they are right against the buffer beam so a bit easier.

Cranks are pressed on to the usual shouldered axles with Gibson wheels now. The crankpins are short lengths of 1mm wire pressed into the cranks, coupling rods retained with slices of 1mm I.D. brass tube. Looks a bit strange without the axleboxes but I've not made the mould yet.

 

 

This is how the axlebox patterns are made, finished item at the top.

These are etched layers, starting from the outside on the left. The one at the right is the back plate, with bolt heads punched out. The other four are soldered together, cleaned up and the ribs filed to an angle. This assembly soldered to the back plate, the small square goes on the outside.

[Michael Edge]

As promised I've been back at work on the Fell this week.

 

 

Axlebox pattern made and posed in place for photo. The hornstays will have to be cut away to allow the inner frames to drop out.

 

The windscreen area worked out well, the end casing top is a separate etch, a moulding will be necessary to fill in the gap at the front. Radiator and lamp brackets fitted.

 

 

 

Inner frames, usual compensation system but one axle (2nd from left) will be sprung. Wheels are Gibson Stanier 4'3" tender, right diameter and triangular rim but they shouldn't be spoked. The Fell had sprung resilient wheels, similar to the ones fitted to early AC electric locos.

 

 

The bogies are BR standard ones, sprung on central pivots.

 

 

Access to the inside of the cab is not going to be easy, I think I'll do a moulding with two seats and the large box in the middle which covered the drive shaft to the radiator fan. This will wriggle in and sit on the top of the outer frames.

 

 

Inner frames from below, left two axles are linked with beams inside the frames, right hand one rocks under a knife edge, the fourth one will be lightly sprung. There isn't much clearance between the frames - this is 00 gauge, there will be a lot less for EM and P4.

 

 

One of the biggest difficulties working on the Fell is knowing which side you are looking at in photographs - and just to make this even harder 10100 had left facing crests (cycling ferrets) on each side. When first shown off at Marylebone it had a large window in one side, this was soon replaced by a grille but I have no way of knowing if there was ever a window at the other side. No later photos show any windows at all.

 

 

[uax6]

Could the extra box on the footplate of BT91 be for the vacuum brake exhauster, seems shes now got Vacuum brakes?

 

Andy G

[Richard_A]

that fell just wow

[billbedford]

butterfingers....

[Horsetan]

Ah, the Fell finally breaks cover. That should please a few people....

[cctransuk]

As promised I've been back at work on the Fell this week.

 

WP_20160807_14_57_08_Pro.jpg

 

Axlebox pattern made and posed in place for photo. The hornstays will have to be cut away to allow the inner frames to drop out.

 

WP_20160807_14_58_21_Pro.jpg

The windscreen area worked out well, the end casing top is a separate etch, a moulding will be necessary to fill in the gap at the front. Radiator and lamp brackets fitted.

 

WP_20160807_14_57_49_Pro.jpg

 

WP_20160807_14_58_50_Pro.jpg

 

Inner frames, usual compensation system but one axle (2nd from left) will be sprung. Wheels are Gibson Stanier 4'3" tender, right diameter and triangular rim but they shouldn't be spoked. The Fell had sprung resilient wheels, similar to the ones fitted to early AC electric locos.

 

WP_20160807_14_59_10_Pro.jpg

 

The bogies are BR standard ones, sprung on central pivots.

 

WP_20160807_14_59_45_Pro.jpg

 

Access to the inside of the cab is not going to be easy, I think I'll do a moulding with two seats and the large box in the middle which covered the drive shaft to the radiator fan. This will wriggle in and sit on the top of the outer frames.

 

WP_20160807_15_01_55_Pro.jpg

 

Inner frames from below, left two axles are linked with beams inside the frames, right hand one rocks under a knife edge, the fourth one will be lightly sprung. There isn't much clearance between the frames - this is 00 gauge, there will be a lot less for EM and P4.

 

WP_20160807_15_08_05_Pro.jpg

 

One of the biggest difficulties working on the Fell is knowing which side you are looking at in photographs - and just to make this even harder 10100 had left facing crests (cycling ferrets) on each side. When first shown off at Marylebone it had a large window in one side, this was soon replaced by a grille but I have no way of knowing if there was ever a window at the other side. No later photos show any windows at all.

 

Now that's a BEAST !!!

 

Better get the GT3 built so the workbench is clear for 10100.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[decauville1126]

"Inner frames, usual compensation system but one axle (2nd from left) will be sprung. Wheels are Gibson Stanier 4'3" tender, right diameter and triangular rim but they shouldn't be spoked. The Fell had sprung resilient wheels, similar to the ones fitted to early AC electric locos."

 

Was it Mike Sharman who did custom wheels for this loco? I think my Rod Neep / Dinosaur Diesels kit (unmade) has overlay etches though. Might be worth asking Phoenix if they'll do a batch as they seem to do this for other manufacturers.

[decauville1126]

"Inner frames, usual compensation system but one axle (2nd from left) will be sprung. Wheels are Gibson Stanier 4'3" tender, right diameter and triangular rim but they shouldn't be spoked. The Fell had sprung resilient wheels, similar to the ones fitted to early AC electric locos."

 

Was it Mike Sharman who did custom wheels for this loco? I think my Rod Neep / Dinosaur Diesels kit (unmade) has overlay etches though. Might be worth asking Phoenix if they'll do a batch as they seem to do this for other manufacturers.

Forget that! I've just realised the special wheels were for the big NER electric loco that you produce (also in the  unmade box!)

[Michael Edge]

I've not given much thought to the wheels yet, I'll probably put some sort of overlay in but not much of them is visible anyway.

[Richard_A]

do you have an estimated date for the availability of this kit?

[Michael Edge]

No, we don't normally do this, nor do we take advance orders. The Fell is in a long queue and will be an extremely complicated kit - it's a long way from being a simple box as many people imagine. Next kit will definitely be the Consett A class 0-6-0PT though.

[Richard_A]

no problem thanks for the reply it looks a lot beter than the a1 models one I have

[ColinK]

Very interesting to see how the models go together. But also explains why I haven't made any exched kits as I don't have the skills - forming curves, pressing on the cranks, soldering grills etc. That Fell looks stunning.

[Steph Dale]

Mike,

 

On the 'Fell', the 'resilient' wheels you describe were only on those wheelsets connected to the gearbox - the outer driving wheels were conventionally spoked. The mechanism allowed the (sprung) wheels to move relative the (fixed) gearbox; they form part of the drive coupling.

 

Oh and when it's ready in 7mm... :-)

 

Steph

[cctransuk]

Very interesting to see how the models go together. But also explains why I haven't made any exched kits as I don't have the skills - forming curves, pressing on the cranks, soldering grills etc. That Fell looks stunning.

 

None of us were born with skills - of any sort; as in all things, we learn by our mistakes.

 

If you never try to build an etched kit, you will never get it wrong - and therefore you'll never learn the correct way to do it.

 

So - it's not a case of not having the skills, but rather the fear of getting it wrong that deters you.

 

Start with something simple / not too expensive - perhaps a pair of etched coach bogies, wagon chassis or something similar.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Michael Edge]

Mike,

 

On the 'Fell', the 'resilient' wheels you describe were only on those wheelsets connected to the gearbox - the outer driving wheels were conventionally spoked. The mechanism allowed the (sprung) wheels to move relative the (fixed) gearbox; they form part of the drive coupling.

 

Oh and when it's ready in 7mm... :-)

 

Steph

I was wondering about that, the only photos I have seen of the wheels are the inner ones and I couldn't see any need for them on the outer ones with no great unsprung weight. Looking again through photos i can see the spokes on the outer wheelsets.

[Steph Dale]

One of the biggest difficulties working on the Fell is knowing which side you are looking at in photographs - and just to make this even harder 10100 had left facing crests (cycling ferrets) on each side. When first shown off at Marylebone it had a large window in one side, this was soon replaced by a grille but I have no way of knowing if there was ever a window at the other side. No later photos show any windows at all.

 

Mike,

I had a dig around yesterday evening and I think that, as built, the loco had a window both sides. Have you been in contact with Shell for any info or photos?

 

Steph 

[Horsetan]

No, we don't normally do this, nor do we take advance orders. The Fell is in a long queue and will be an extremely complicated kit - it's a long way from being a simple box ....

 

Even though I'm not in the market for one (such an ugly engine - and wouldn't have looked out of place in Germany or Switzerland with a pantograph on the roof!), it's nice watching the kit go through the stages.