doilum

Constant April showers have scuppered plans to mow the lawn and got me back in the workshop. Given recent discussions, I got the K class out of its case and gave it a go on my four foot test / display track. Once levelled, it managed 3 of my heavy whitemetal open wagons without too much distress. A 10% gradient produced much wheel spinning. It also managed a Gresley TPO, but I wasnt cruel enough to get out the matching coach. Given that Bamborough and Cawood would have rarely had to manage much more than a pair of six wheel coaches or four or five wagons .........

If budget is not a problem, look on the abc gears website. One of their 3 stage transmissions might get a modest cylindrical motor inside the boiler. They have a page of scaleable templates. I have only used their larger offerings with a Canon 1833 in my Hunslet Austerities and WD austerity, they are superb. The K class uses the coreless motor and multistage gearbox supplied by Slaters. The motor is located in the boiler which I made from thinwall brass tube.

You have far more "meat" on the frames than my K class. I would still drill the pilot holes for plunger pickups. At 1mm they will hardly show / be easily filled with solder, should you decide against them. My choice would be: ahead of first and middle axle and behind rear. The choice of gearbox may preclude their use or require the gear mount to be slimmed down. Given the size of the enclosed cab on Bamborough / Cawood, you might consider the partial sacrifice of the firebox door area. This will allow you to drive the rear axle with a 1622 type motor in the firebox. Strategically placed crew occupy the door openings and screen the view.

Now that is an idea worth pursuing.

To be fair, this prototype is unlikely to see huge trains. Weight and traction are more important than the grunt of the motor. Top priority is to try and maintain as much daylight as possible under the boiler. The size and position of the gearbox will dictate the plunger pickup locations so a synoptic approach is essential. A plastikard dummy chassis may prove useful and I would advise assembling the superstructure parts as a series of modules to allow trial fitting prior to the inevitable califudging.

Any ideas on the motor / gears?

Don't know if you have any, but I like to assemble the frames using threaded brass spacers through the plunger pick up holes. This gives a head up on any problems. In any case, plunger pickups are best drilled for whilst the frames are still flat. I put one wheel on an axle and locate it in it's bush in the frame. Then scribe round the outside of the rim. A pencil line shows the inside. The trick is to locate the hole exactly between them. I mark the spot with my drop rivet tool and pilot drill 1mm. This then opened up to the size that allows the bush to be firmly located but not squeezed. The MW is a particular challenge because of the skimpy frames. You may consider soldering a bit of scrap n/s behind the wheels to mount the pickups. The Bamborough featured in Model Railways in the late '70s used split frames,but that is another story.

Good work. Your skills portfolio will have benefited from the experience. There are some skillful souls who would turn a custom crankpin bush........ I think you might just get away with it as is. If you just happened to have a length of thin wall tube of exactly the right bore, you could open the oversize hole alittle more and sleeve it back to the correct size. This might require a simple jig.

Thanks for that. I am collecting information about the post war austerities to supplement the detailed history of the original WD locos in "Continent,coalfield and conservation" .

Sneaking into my first pubs, beer was 1/10 a pint. Six quid would have easily bought 60 pints. It is difficult to price beer now, tonight, I will pay £1.60 or £3.30 depending where I go. Either way, even allowing for 25% purchase tax, that A3 looked expensive.

Sorry I messed that last post. Tablet having an off day

Top work on the Aberford road. I regularly use it.

Isn't there enough scrap n/s on the fret?Hammer it out. Iff it grows, slim down the simple end with a dremel or file and solder soome scrap across the hole. Use the other rod as a guide and drill a 1mm hole as a new centre. Personally, I prefer the non engineers method of a high speed drill, but cannot pretend that I haven't done exactly the same thing once or twice or.......

If you Google "gauge o guild" and look for "newcomers" on the home page of their website, all should be made clear. A GWR 1400 class might be a good place to start.

Just had a proper look at Bamburghs wheels. Some clever balance weights will do the trick. Correct 10 spoke wheels needed. Don't forget to check buffer height which should appear "normal" with the larger wheels. MRJ issue 8 is the best resource.

Just had another thought. We are assuming that you are planning on finescale. Slaters do a "standard" (coarse) option on their wheels which allows for some much tighter curves. Peco do track to match.

The wheelbase is critical to determining minimum radius. Whilst small industrials can manage tight curves, an N2 has a wheelbase similar to a V2 and will struggle with anything less than 5'6". These are for light engines. Rolling stock complicates things. I built an A4 from an A4 models kit and Wigan Wagon Works chassis. Whilst it could manage 20 plus wagons round the 5'6" tightest curve, more than 3 coaches stalled it. My best performer wasa J25 which could pull all 50 or so wagons and manage all 7 of my coaches. Sadly this 70' roundy round didnt make it with the house move!

In some ways that's a pity. Whilst the 1/8 wheels were not self quartering, the smaller axle would have facilitated the use of one of the multistage gearboxes intended for 4mm locos. The choice of motor will dictate how you approach every thing else and needs to be an early decision. Are the wheels a correct Manning Wardle pattern with twin crankpin bosses? Have you access to some scrap lead? This little loco needs every gramme you can squeeze in. Back in a less health conscious day, I cast a weight to fill the boiler tube. The coupling rods look like an excellent start.

Should that be "Cawood"? Google Cawood & Wistow light railway. If you look on the pages regarding the new RTR K class, you will find I have listed some useful references. I took over 20 years to build Slaters K class. If I was to repeat this I would use plunger pickups. Given the space available I might try 4mm units. Just from interest, are the axles the usual 7mm items or the thinner ones produced for their K class. Good luck anyway.

Try a u tube search for "water haigh". This colliery was on the south east of Leeds. This is a slide show taken in the 1960s. Enjoy

You may have been robbed!! B&Q have a free cutting service. Push an 8x4 across to the saw and ask for four 4x2, and you save at least 50% on the price. Plus it will go in the back of a small car.

The question is: why do we want birch ply? Ignoring the answer of expensive bragging rights, birch py should have a flawless surface finish and should cut cleanly without any ragged edges. I would prioritise its use for sides and cross members as it is strong, warp free and kind to hands that pick up the layout later. The "birch ply" I bought was labelled as such and met all my requirements. My advice would be to find a good timber merchant from the internet and then visit to explain your needs face to face. They should be able to show you samples and explain any cost options. If you are really lucky they may have a shop damaged sheet or a stack of useful offcuts. Fifty quid a sheet is a justifiable expense, one hundred plus............

6mm should be fine, although I prefer to cut end boards from 18mm. I paid £45 for each sheet of birch ply but that was five years ago in God's own county. My observation is that plywood prices seem to fluctuate almost as much as petrol. I got my timber supplier to do all the major cuts within the price. Many years ago I found a woodyard selling full length six inch strips of birch ply at 50p a time. These were offcuts from a furniture manufacturer.

So you spend a four figure sum on equipping your fleet with the latest all singing sound chips and......... There I an opinion that some shows are already too noisy. Whilst each layout might try and keep their sound level sensible, the overall effect in a large hall is cacophony. Shared venues create their own issues, anybody else remember Sunday morning dancercise at Wakefield?