Leaderboard

Rod and I are very grateful to CK for his splendid efforts in bog making. It's a splendid rendition which has captured the look of the small building albeit rather ornate with the lovely cupola. It is believed that it's now used as an S & T store. The stops from Mike Franks are a delight and Tim's weathering is excellent. CK to the rescue as time was rapidly running out before S4um! Still a mountain of work to be done!

I usually dread fitting wheels to axles, as it can be a painful process. I must be doing something right though, because the last few locos have run very nicely pretty much first go. I tap the crankpin holes in Alan Gibson wheels, and then insert the crankpin screws carefully. There is a high-tech bit where I work out exactly how long the axles need to be using a vernier, pencil, and card (see below). I then cut and file the axles to length. I have found that inserting the first axle part way using a pillar drill keeps it nice and straight. Quartering is then achieved with a GW models quartering jig and the wheels pressed to a back to back gauge. This is when you find out if you can add up correctly, and if the axles are the correct length ... With the Ivatt, all was OK, apart from the dreaded clearance behind the cross head. I ended up filing down the bosses on the back of the coupling rods, as well as the securing nut, to give a reasonable degree (about 0.5 mm) of clearance. There is almost no side play on the front axle, so this should be OK. Apart from the wonky lubricator (sigh), this photo shows that the brake shoes are nicely aligned with EM wheels. It also shows just how far the wheels are from the frames. I did think about adding plasticard frame overlays, but I’m not convinced that it these will even be visible at normal viewing distances. Most importantly, the EM chassis runs very smoothly on DC, and the new wheels and rods look the part. Next job will be to replace the wiring and electrical gubbins with a dcc chip, then it will be time for details and paint.

Rea;;y excellent Mick - filthy yet subtle.

No, nor do I. It's too early and I didn't think it through properly.

Bog standard