Down_Under

Mine turned up this AM, perfect day to sit on the veranda, listen to the kookaburras (the laughing kind) with a coffee and have a read

Thanks for the reply. Thanks for the tips. Will give it a go. J

A question > how many times can you keep annealing / bending brass? If i have a piece of work that has been bent wrong, can I anneal it, roll it flat and start again? I've picked up a kit and a curve has been poorly formed and I was hoping that I could heat, flatten, heat and then re-roll to the correct profile?

Wanted pair of Alan Gibson F4/F5 milled frames

Bring this back on topic-ish: I kinda like the rebuilt W1 in photographic grey. Looks quite smart. Torn between putting in a preorder for version or in LNER garter blue. Was there a point in time where all the streamlined designed (A4, P2, W1) all carried blue (P2 in green) Or is the only time after the valance were removed and thus BR Green is appropriate? J

Wanted - pair or 00/EM 16 spoke Sharman 5’6” wheels as shown below if you have a pair, keen to purchase

Well mine arrived last Friday, all the way down under. No broken bits to report. first impression - imposing regarding the trailing axles - perhaps they could have gone with a proper bissel/pony for the last one, with a fixed Intermediate with plenty of side play for the middle one. J

Email from DHL telling me it’s left Blighty and due in Aus on Monday.

Me too. Looks like it might get down under before christmas

Very nice Mike, put me on the list for one of those sentinels please James

While I have a think about how to fill the slight gap between the can front panel and body side, without unsoldering everything (low melt + heat sink?). I started on the underframe. The Undergubbins- Details are sketchy and most photos are just a black shadow. But that said, there needs to be a air brake actuation cylinder, some push rods, air receiver queen posts and truss rods. Also noted in some images are some square transformer like boxes at one end. The LOR are all air braked, having a large reservoir that stored the air for the brake system, enough for several trips. This was charged at the end of a run by external sources. The only image of the layout is one that appears in CE Box’s book of one of the very first units. The units did and where modified over the years, so this is at best a guide, which is what I have used. For example, is the large air reservoir under both driving motor units or just one end? If anyone has any pictures, please post or send me a PM! For the air reservoirs, I started with 7mm OD brass tube that is 35mm in length. 10thou (0.25mm) brass strip for strapping. Queen posts laminated from 0.4mm brass scrap etch and fashioned to 34mm x 3mm x 1.2mm.

Sure am Baz. I got a good deal on EBay a while back for some partially built examples, that also included some unbuilt sections. Mike kindly supplied the drawings so that I can figure out the assembly of the remaining b pieces. Should manage a bit more this evening

Ray thanks for the correction. My first visit to Steamport was in 1996. At that time the old coal yards and overflow excursion platforms were still there, pacers nodding past every hour or so on the way to Wigan Wallgate. I vividly remember being allowed up on the footplate on a small blue industrial steam loco while it went up and down the yard and pulling levers in the signal box. The rusting ex-barry hulk out the back. Looking back it is a shame that is was allowed to be bowled over after all the work that had been put into it.

The Liverpool Overhead and associated dock railway has always fascinated me, seeing bits of it left stuck in walls or imbedded in the street was always worth the detour along the dock road travelling back from Liverpool to Southport when I was growing up in the 80's and 90's. Eventually I grew up, discovered the Judith Edge kit and bought one There is a link to the surviving modernised center car here which for a while was housed at Steamport Southport amongst the grime and decay of the ex-LNWR shed before it was lost to ASDA. The kit - what you get - It is pretty basic - the body sides, cast resin roof, simple fold up bogies and some resin cosmetic bogie sides. - scale drawings It is up to the builder to scavenge bits and pieces to build up the underframe. Before I started I spent a fair bit of time doing some research on google and I recommend a copy of the Liverpool Overhead Railway by C.E. Box. It is a good starting point. From this I drew up some drawings of the underframe layout. It is also worth noting that the rebuilt units were done over time and are all subtly different - a photo is a must. To power the unit, a 28mm WB motor bogie is required, the type and method upto the builder. With the abundance of micro motors, belt and gears available these days, I thought about axle hung units a' la the prototype. My musings can be and Mk1 version can be found here - more on this later. As far as kits go, this is fairly straight forward - it is a simple box with laminated sides. To begin with there is little structural integrity, but as the sides are added, followed by partitions, it becomes fairly solid. I have opted to build a girder style frame for the chassis from 3 x 1.5mm C section brass. I found this massively strengthens the basic chassis, but does act as a bit of a heat sink when attaching the sides. I opted to laminate the sides before attaching to the chassis - I am not sure that this is what Mike had in mind, and I think I would do it the other way round next time. What went well - the N/S solders nicely, the parts are nice and crisp - quick to assemble - a MDF base with some sort of right - angle to hold the sides is very handy - front panel is tricky - take your time and it will look OK. What I would do differently - Build the sides onto the frame / floor and then laminate - Attach the grab rails / door handles after the sides are attached With two others to build I can try a slightly different assembly method. There is still a fair bit of tidy up up to do and a little bit of filling on the front panel, it is only temporary tacked in place at present More to follow Sides laminated and ready to solder in the doors The front panel scribed (on inside) and ready to bend. The prototype has subtle rake to the front (they are not straight) Bending complete Adding the sides > perhaps next time I'll laminate after attaching the sides Partitions installed Front panel attached - temp tack soldered in place to check alignment - did I get the rake right?

Perhaps a question for @rope runner how did the likes of S&L or Oxford Ironstone receive their explosives for the quarries? I imagine they they would have required bulk at some point - was there a magazine near the main headquarters? Rail in, and then out by motor truck to the quarries or then on by internal user wagon? any photo evidence?

Hi Barclay, An alternative arrangement here > this time in P4. The rear carrying axle has been cut out (can confirm that AG didn't update the chassis etch) and a scratch built rear Bissel truck installed. This is lightly sprung, as without the trailing axle it is tail heavy. The front axle is sprung, the powered axle is ridged. The back of the firebox has also been scratch built. This is how I have purchased the engine. The only improvements are going to be a high level gearbox (the romford 50:1 are noisy and surge - indicting a tight spot) and lightly spring the actual trailing axle as it is in hornblocks. James

Thanks Barclay, I'd be curious if they worked around Liverpool or wandered from Edge Hill towards the dock system. J

Hi All, I’v just picked up one of these quirky little beasts. Lots of good information on how to compensate. The one I picked up has a compensated front axle and what looks like swinging truck at the rear. I don’t know much about them - any good references or locations of where they worked?

I have a question for the group - most of the B&G coaches have Western Region running numbers. Would these have travelled outside of the Western Region in in the 70s? (in particular the east coast). Should I be waiting for some Eastern Region numbered stock, or did the transfer to the eastern region only happen later (80's?)

Hi Jack, Is this one of Chris’ new core less motors you have used? J

Very Nice Mike. Is this one of the G-Train loco kits ? or Edge Special? Cheers James

Another vote for some compensated 8’6” bogies. Got plenty of Alexander models to repower. With the demised of the bullant I think they would be welcome. A vote for expanding the quad driver range

All types of gears and systems https://shop.kkpmo.com/index.php?cat=c21_Spur-gear---Pinions---Worm-gears-Spur-gear--Gearwheel--Pinions.html&XTCsid=nmipde9ohpnni8h7ebhguoih16

Similar site here https://modelisme.shop/epages/0d0ec28d-f13d-493d-9dc2-9fb4695e2062.sf/sec2406f69f73/?ObjectPath=/Shops/0d0ec28d-f13d-493d-9dc2-9fb4695e2062/Categories/Vis_sans_fin_et_roues_dentees

Yup, one made it down here http://www.australiansteam.com/JAB 5.htm And its still in existence! One of my favourite locomotives. Spent many a day in my youth climbing on the Cecil Raikes in Steamport. I think its amazing that two of these survive to this day.