Ben Alder

100 degree solder - available from C&L -is far easier to work with than the 70 version as it flows - makes white metal building a far more enjoyable job.

Having tackled the smaller proposed HR tank, my attention turned to the larger one. It's M7 origins are fairly obvious to my mind , and a fortuitous Ebay purchase was enough to get the project rolling. Here is the M7 against a drawing of the tank. And on shed on its first outing, still needing a crew and one or two details sorted.

"Now I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in a previous posting but has anybody attempted to "open" the moulded closed cab doors by cutting them out ? Cheers, Chris" Yes, I posted a pic some pages back of a conversion to a HR tank with open doors. It is easily done with a sharp scalpel and a bit of care for the first pass.

Further to observations about its running qualities on C&L track, I purchased one of these locos and can confirm that the flanges do bump along the chairs, this occurring on curves, the bogie and radial being the main culprits.( These are approx 25" radius and it might not be such a problem with larger radii as on gentler sections it runs clear) I ran the engine as an 0-4-0 and the drivers tend to stay clear of the chairs through all my running lines, the only fouling happening in a couple of sidings that had tight radius access- approx 18" - Perhaps restricting the side play on the axles might help, but I suspect the rear axle need a good bit of sideplay. At the moment I am pondering the next course of action - I think that altering the smaller wheels will solve the problem, but as the axle diameter is less than normal, this will involve some destructive work - either turning down the existing flanges or opening out the axle holes to accept Romford wheelsets. Whether I do this or wait for the Hornby model is the question. It's a pity Oxford took a backwards step with their wheels as the engine runs and responds well and I'm pleased with it otherwise ( the front coupler pocket needs attention to stop the drivers lifting off the track at height differences ,but that is a minor matter to attend to and no doubt will be sorted in future batches.)

I phoned him last week and ordered, and received, some transfers as per usual. They came in the customary day or two, so they are still about.

Those flanges certainly look deep enough to reach the chairs on C&L track - surely a bit retro in this day and age...

That's what the digital camera is for - to point out our failings... It actually is a very useful tool for checking WIP as it shows up anything the eye can filter out. Some very impressive work being done here, BTW, - I just wish more would take the plunge and do some real old fashioned modelling like you are doing. Its almost like reading the RM in the sixties again!

Can you report on any progress with this problem please - is it just the bogie wheels that are maybe a problem or are the drivers hitting as well?

Looks like you are going to do my thinking for me! I don't want to build a learning curve into this project, so the more I can glean about this the better.

Very interesting and useful - thanks for posting. I am about to start a 60' version - had begun preparing the well but am temporarily distracted by another loco build at the moment, so being able to follow this will be helpful. It's not the sort of build you tend to do more than once so sharing the build is most helpful.

Maybe not imaginary, but an interpretation of a proposed Drummond 0-4-4T for the Highland Railway. This one never got further than the drawing board, but when I realised how close to it the O2 was in overall dimensions, bringing it to life was irresistible....

Missed this somehow - very interesting. Any progress to report?

Paint the screw partition colour?

Five years in our present home and I've only stumbled across this section tonight ......I am modelling as far away from most places as it gets - Thurso in the fifties in OO, along with Helmsdale, a bit further south, and feature the stock around at the time although a bit of "what if" has been applied with some HR locos lingering on in BR livery as well. They have their own thread in the layout section and can be reached via the links in my signature.

I cut the rear pocket back more or less flush with the body and drilled a hole through pocket and Kadee and held it firm with a bit of brass wire.

Thanks for the clearer image. That looks fine the way you've done it - once painted and on a layout it will not be noticeable at all to the eye. I find that when building something you focus too clearly on any small problem that crops up and assume it will be as apparent when the job is done. This of course is not the case as the project becomes a whole when finished and is seen as an entity in itself. The creator of an original always is too close and critical of their work - others enjoy it for what it is. These builds of yours are an inspiration to others and I hope encourage some more to look at a model and see what can be done with it.

Difficult to say- the boiler and splasher are so bright in the photo that any detail is lost. Can you post another pic that is less bright please. Flash needing turned off? Cheers Richard

Happened to meet him this afternoon and told him about the webpage - he's going to check this as as far as he knew everything was OK with it.

They have a Facebook page which is active - and they are currently despatching pre orders, so perhaps it is going to be updated but are too busy ATM. AFAIK it is a father and son operation so it is probably a case of one job at a time.

I have been running my one extensively since it arrived and can say that it copes with C&L track and Peco code 75 pointwork admirably, in both directions. Running is smooth and quiet, especially after a good session on the continual loop to bed everything in. The back to back of the bogie was larger than the drivers, but this was easily altered although it didn't affect transit through points at the larger setting. I always check BtoB's on any new engine - almost always one or two wheels need a tweak, and I don't see this as a major cause for concern or complaint. The bogie wheels needed a wipe to take some coating off and this makes a big difference to slow speed running over pointwork, but again is something I do as a matter of course anyway. Considering the difficulties I have had over the years trying to get 0-4-4's balanced and running smoothly I must say it has been a bold step to tackle one commercially and produce a model that runs successfully over what will be a great variety of track and radii, and I admire the design and designer that has managed to achieve this. In response to an earlier query I have opened out the cab doors - fairly straightforward with a sharp scalpel and careful light cuts. Another subject raised has been an apparent quartering problem showing in images; I suspect that this might be because the wheels are both driven and the rods are just along for the ride as the effect was quite noticeable in some pictures I took of the loco on my layout although I wasn't aware of it by looking at the engine. Possibly another case of the camera picking up too much detail..... My own interest in this engine didn't feature on its Southernness - I thought it might be capable of being altered to represent the small 0-4-4T that worked the Dornoch branch in Sutherland for many years. Unfortunately it was too large to manage anything with, but a check of Drummond's HR work produced a drawing of a planned tank with 5' drivers that never saw the light of day but which matched the outline of the O2 almost perfectly. So, some removals and additions later the never was is now a what if and ready for service. Here it is resting at Helmsdale. If you thought the O2 is small, here is my rebuild next the HR tank I thought I could turn it in to. This is an ex EM gauge one I picked up some time ago but is so well stuffed with epoxied in lead that I have made a non motorised chassis for it until I decide what to do about it.

Building the 439 is straightforward enough; getting it balanced and running is another matter and I wouldn't advise this type as a first build. The 0-6-0 will be easier although I haven't actually tackled this one, but Romfords and a gearbox take much of the hassle away from getting something going smoothly.

Yes and yes. The motor is very small but seems to be capable of pulling a load. Don't know how easy any conversion might be though. The HR engine is a Jidenco one of the Dornoch tank I picked up on eBay some time ago. It had been built to EM and ran rather badly although the body is well made. I couldn't get the chassis apart due to the shipbuilding techniques the builder had employed and he had filled the body with lead, gluing it in , which meant any attempt to clear space for a modern drive unit would have distorted the brass body, so for the moment it sits on a cosmetic chassis until I get round to tackling it. With this it can at least pose on the layout rather than linger in a cupboard unseen. 29mm from front face of smokebox to touching back of the opening. HTH

I have a cunning plan ... It was got with the hope that it could be squashed into a HR 25 but even with my flexible approach to dimensions it proved impossible. However, a perusal of Drummond's HR output found a projected 0-4-4T with 5' drivers that is almost a direct line up with the 02's outline, so it is just a question of watch this space, or more accurately, watch my workbench space. Well ahead with it and awaiting one or two castings so should be making its appearance soonish.

One or two of my Bens have suffered the same as this- a mere temporary setback, I can assure you .....