Pragmatic Pre-Grouping - Mikkel's Workbench

[Donw]

I have had the pleasure of operating both Maristow and Coldrennick Road. The lever frame in Maristow is a real please to work and the trackwork in Coldrennick Road storage yard has to been seen to be believed. I dont suppose you are in the UK much. Similarly Ian will be showing his work at the 2mm show at Chelford in June.

I think modelling a bit of Bulk road in part of the Farthing goods yard would be nice.

 

Don

[Mikkel]

If I had the time and energy, I'd be tempted to model Crediton. The Exeter and Crediton Railway was originally operated by the Bristol & Exeter, who became part of the GWR, so standards would be maintained, and the LSWR operated from Crediton to Bideford. So lots of scope for trains terminating, swapping locos etc.

 

Just read the history of this on Wikipedia. A battlefield for the gauge wars it seems, there's nothing quite like a good railway fight over gauge and territorial control!

[Mikkel]

I have had the pleasure of operating both Maristow and Coldrennick Road. The lever frame in Maristow is a real please to work and the trackwork in Coldrennick Road storage yard has to been seen to be believed. I dont suppose you are in the UK much. Similarly Ian will be showing his work at the 2mm show at Chelford in June.

I think modelling a bit of Bulk road in part of the Farthing goods yard would be nice.

 

Don

 

You're a lucky man Don! Sadly I rarely come to the UK these days, the family prefer to see the sun during holidays you see   

[Londontram]

Oh that was harsh Mikkel

[bgman]

If I had the time and energy, I'd be tempted to model Crediton. The Exeter and Crediton Railway was originally operated by the Bristol & Exeter, who became part of the GWR, so standards would be maintained, and the LSWR operated from Crediton to Bideford. So lots of scope for trains terminating, swapping locos etc.

Me too, but only got as far as doing the station and a 4-4-0 B & ER scratch built loco !

 

 

 

One day maybe ?

[Mikkel]

Me too, but only got as far as doing the station and a 4-4-0 B & ER scratch built loco !

 

image.jpg

 

image.jpg

 

One day maybe ?

 

Lovely building! Let me guess, it's from that magic closet of yours that hides a never ending stream of interesting models?!

[bgman]

Hi Mikkel,

Hope all's well with you, the station is another one from that cupboard ( if you follow my meaning!)

 

Thanks for the like, if I can help with any BG related "stuff" I'm happy to do so.

 

As ever ....... Happy modelling:)

[bgman]

Lovely building! Let me guess, it's from that magic closet of yours that hides a never ending stream of interesting models?!

Yep, I'm always in and out of the closet !!!! LOL

[Mikkel]

Detailing continues on the 1854 ST. After mulling it over I decided to order some replacement boiler fittings from Alan Gibson. The AG tank filler is more discrete and matches photos of the 1854s better. The safety valve in the kit is the low type, and while this seems to fit the drawing in Russell, photos suggest that the taller type would be more appropriate for my 1900s period.

 

 

 

Dome wars! Left to right below is the kit casting, the AG buffalo dome and a rather nice example of unknown origin from my spares box. The latter would be a good fit for the early 5-course tanks of the 1854s, but I’m modelling the 3-course tanks which had the fatter type as per the AG version.

 

 

 

The dome was polished with wet and dry. More advanced techniques are available, but I sort of like the simplicity of doing it by hand. Not sure what to do about mould lines though, they can’t be seen here but those on the sides seem to go right through?

 

 

 

Photos suggest that early 1854s (and maybe all GWR saddle tanks?) had a very discrete injector design in the early 1900s, much simpler and smaller than the later type. So I made a simple representation of this with bits of brass wire. I didn’t like the tank filler handle so removed it. I may replace it but interestingly I found a photo with the handle lying flat along the tanks, so maybe they could be tilted?

 

 

 

A couple of things bug me when looking at that last photo. The first is the gap between tanks and cab. This is on one side only, and was a necessary compromise if I wanted the rivets of the two tank sides to align correctly. I'm hoping I can carefully close the gap with filler.

 

I’m also wondering about the chimney. The SEF casting compares well with photos but I’d like a "real" copper cap. Springside do one for “Barnums, Dukes, Earls, 2031, 27xx, 57xx”, but it isn't quite clear to me whether that's the one I'm after - I think perhaps not.

 

[Norwenglish]

You're a lucky man Don! Sadly I rarely come to the UK these days, the family prefer to see the sun during holidays you see   

 

Just have to take a short ferry journey over here for sun if last summer is anything to go by

[raymw]

Mikkel, simple enough to do copper plating, for your chimney. I think it's the sort of thing you'd enjoy fiddling with.

[garethashenden]

On the domes, file away the mould lines before polishing them.

[MikeOxon]

Your attention to detail brings great results!  I've always felt that the kit safety-valve cover looks too squat; your substitution makes a huge difference!

 

Mike

[N15class]

You're a lucky man Don! Sadly I rarely come to the UK these days, the family prefer to see the sun during holidays you see   

My wife likes coming to Europe in the depths of winter so I miss the shows too.

[K14]

 

... I didn’t like the tank filler handle so removed it. I may replace it but interestingly I found a photo with the handle lying flat along the tanks, so maybe they could be tilted?

 

 

They're not actually handles, they're screw clamps to secure the filler lid & get swivelled out of the way in order to open it.

 

This image shows the arrangement.

[Mikkel]

Thanks for good info gents.

 

I have never thought of copper plating the chimney myself, and it looks simple too. Will give it a go.

 

I'll see if I can get rid of those mould lines on the AG dome with more filing. I just hope I can avoid making a flat area. The human eye can be very unforgiving when it comes to boiler fittings I find.

 

K14: Thanks for clarifying about the screw clamps, and the great illustration. I never knew they could be swivelled. Sadly I haven't been climbing around on locos enough.

[Darwinian]

 

A couple of things bug me when looking at that last photo. The first is the gap between tanks and cab. This is on one side only, and was a necessary compromise if I wanted the rivets of the two tank sides to align correctly. I'm hoping I can carefully close the gap with filler.

 

 

 

 

If you have not attached the saddle tank yet there might be an alternative option to filler. Draw around the back of the saddle onto plasticard to make a spacer piece that you could trim accurately to the curve, super glue to the back edge of the tanks and then sand back to the perfect thickness. As long as it is well pressed on the join should be nearly invisible after painting I would think. 

 

Of course if you plan to use etch primer this won't work because the plastic will dissolve .

 

Darwinian

[lightengine]

You're a lucky man Don! Sadly I rarely come to the UK these days, the family prefer to see the sun during holidays you see   

We can drown our rain wetted sorrows in "cheap" alcohol though!

[bgman]

Lovely building! Let me guess, it's from that magic closet of yours that hides a never ending stream of interesting models?!

Of course you could always use a bit of Broad Gauge rail on your layout if you fancy extending it !

 

 

And to mark the end of the line what about one of these?

 

 

The section of original BG rail was given to me by an engineer friend who was doing a survey in Torbay some years ago. When he spotted it he immediately thought of me. It was in a pile of building rubble and he asked the contractor to cut a piece off, which is the piece you see here.

The boundary marker was bought from a friend about 40years ago for the princely sum of £2.10.0p in old money !

[MikeOxon]

 .....

The boundary marker was bought from a friend about 40years ago for the princely sum of £2.10.0p in old money !

At a first myopic glance I thought it read "RAILWAY GOD" )

Edited May 21, 2015 by MikeOxon

[bgman]

At a first myopic glance I thought it read "RAILWAY GOD" )

You're eyes don't deceive you Mike.....LOL !

[Mikkel]

If you have not attached the saddle tank yet there might be an alternative option to filler. Draw around the back of the saddle onto plasticard to make a spacer piece that you could trim accurately to the curve, super glue to the back edge of the tanks and then sand back to the perfect thickness. As long as it is well pressed on the join should be nearly invisible after painting I would think. 

 

Of course if you plan to use etch primer this won't work because the plastic will dissolve .

 

Darwinian

 

Good advice Darwinian, I'll follow it next time   But the tank was already fixed in place, so instead I have been working with the filler. So far it looks like it will be OK, although you never know before the primer is on 

[Mikkel]

Of course you could always use a bit of Broad Gauge rail on your layout if you fancy extending it !

 

image.jpg

 

And to mark the end of the line what about one of these?

 

image.jpg

 

The section of original BG rail was given to me by an engineer friend who was doing a survey in Torbay some years ago. When he spotted it he immediately thought of me. It was in a pile of building rubble and he asked the contractor to cut a piece off, which is the piece you see here.

The boundary marker was bought from a friend about 40years ago for the princely sum of £2.10.0p in old money !

 

Lovely things. The boundary marker would be handy. I have neighbour who is very friendly and always cuts our side of the hedge without asking. Which is nice, except he doesn't know how to cut a hedge 

[aberdare]

Hi Mikkel

 

I have just been reading this thread through from the start as I had not been around much for a few months and I would just like to thank you for giving us such an interesting and informative one.

 

There are lots of ideas on here for me to look at in the future when time allows and I will certainly look at improving my Wills saddle tank after seeing what you have done. Oh and the boxes are fantastic.

 

Thanks

 

Jim

 

ps you will have had a sudden rush of likes too.

[Mikkel]

Thanks Jim!

 

Work and the outdoor season has reduced modelling time to a few half hours here and there, mainly spent fiddling with details on my 1854 ST build. Here's a progress report:

 

That annoying gap between tank and cab was fixed with filler (I hope):

 

 

 

I realized that the front steps in the SEF body kit are wrong – or at least, I haven’t found a single photo of an 1854 ST with such steps. So I cut and filed them from a curved to a straight edge step:

 

 

 

Grab irons and steps have been added to the tank sides:

 

 

 

Lifting rings were fashioned from soft wire, wrapped around the handle of a paintbrush and squeezed to shape with pliers:

 

 

 

The smokebox door in the kit was filed thinner, and the moulded-on door darts were replaced with Alan Gibson ones. Rivet transfers will be added later.

 

 

 

Until some time between 1903-1910 the GWR used square socketed lamp holders. I ordered some from the BGS, whose lists also include other useful items for NG modellers, eg a loco jack.

 

 

 

Here are the BGS lamp holders mounted on the bunker. They come differently sized and do seem a little long even when using the shortest ones (were they longer in broad gauge days?). But I can live with it.

 

 

 

At the front, photos from the 1900s show the 1854s with the outermost lamp holders fitted to the sanboxes, mounted with brackets similar to those on the bunker. Here the BGS brackets were clearly too long, so I shortened them and used plastic cubes instead:

 

 

 

The toolboxes in the kit are too low so I added a bit of height. The reach rod had to be thin to avoid fouling the chassis, so I used 5 thou brass sheet from Albion Alloys (thanks for the tip, Mike).

 

 

 

I tried copper plating the chimney, using the schoolboy method of electroplating with copper sheet, vinegar and salt! Good fun but as I half expected, this primitive method didn’t work and I was about to try copper sulfate when I read that acid-based copper plating doesn’t actually work with white metal. The alternative alkaline-based approaches seem a bit too complex for my taste, so I’ve given up on copper plating and will find another solution.

 

 

 

Not much left now before painting. Buffers and hand rails should do it. She needs some work with filler first though, as the tanks have some scratches that I can't seem to get rid of.