mikemeg

And then a quick check that the loco body sits squarely and properly on the chassis. It seems to !! Cheers Mike

Both mainframes have now had their hornguides/hornblocks fitted and the compensating beams assembled and fitted. A quick check to ensure that the hornblocks move freely in their guides and that the compensating beams also move freely. The separate driving wheel springs can then be soldered onto 0.5 mm wire spigots, located in etched holes at the bottom of the mainframes, for the middle and rear pairs of driving wheels. These two layer springs do look far more substantial than the single layer etches used previously. With everything moving freely, it's into the chassis jig for assembly of the mainframes into a chassis. The bolts on the brake standard brackets have all been represented by four pieces of 0.3 mm wire, trimmed to about .5 mm protrusion, prior to assembling the frames. With the chassis jig holding the mainframes fairly tightly, then soldering in the various frame spacers is made very easy. Once all of the frame spacers are fixed, then the chassis can be taken out of the jig and cleaned up,just to remove any excess solder. The pivot beam, for the front axle, is then cut from 1.0 mm brass rod and soldered into the etched holes in the front two spacers to span the front axle. Now to check that the Gibson 1/8" axles revolve freely. These High Level hornblocks are machined to very tight tolerances and the axleway often needs just a couple of strokes with a round needle file or a run round with a !/8" broach just to remove any burr and to allow the axles to revolve freely. Then onto checking fitting the various anchorages for the brake hangars. Cheers Mike

The first of the mainframes has now had all three hornguides fitted, hornblocks slightly eased and then fitted. All of the hornguides and hornblocks are by High Level Models; the front set of hornblocks are the Spacesaver variety; the centre and rear sets are the standard hornblocks. These hornblocks required almost no easing to slide freely between the horncheeks, just a few strokes of a sharp edged needle file to clear any scurf from the grooves. This chassis is being built compensated, with compensating beams operating on the middle and rear axles; the front axle will pivot on a beam parallel to the mainframes. The compensating beam is secured by an 8 BA screw, which was soldered into a hole in the mainframe and then dressed flush with the frame as to be invisible. Care must be taken to ensure that the 8BA screw is a loose fit in the hole in the compensating beam to allow this beam to rock with the axleboxes, which it does. The beam allows over 1 mm of vertical movement on the centre and rear axles, which should be enough to compensate for any track inequalities! Now to finish the second mainframe. Cheers Mike

While I wait for more supplies (stock control failed, yet again) the opportunity has been taken to assemble as many of the chassis components as possible. The articulated coupling rods have to be assembled in order to set up the chassis jig - they are shown on the photo below with an exagerated (I hope) degree of flex -, but the two layer springs, brake hangars and the brake linkage and yokes have also all been folded and soldered up. Two of the hornguide slots have been cut out in each mainframe; the third will carry a top hat bearing which is there just for locating on the chassis jig and is then replaced by a third hornguide slot, once the first two hornguides are in place. Now to assemble the mainframes and chassis. Cheers Mike

Before I move on to the chassis, a few more details have been added. I guess everyone has their own preferred sequence of doing things, when building these, but I like to add as much of the detail as I can, as I go along. So the boiler bands have been added and the brass ring, between the boiler and the smokebox has been added. This is made from 0.8 mm brass wire, filed half flat and then rolled in the boiler roller before being soldered to the end of the boiler wrapper, adjacent to the front boiler band. When the boiler and smokebox are joined with the 8BA nut and screw, the brass ring is pulled into the rear of the smokebox wrapper. The bunker handrail and tank front handrails have also been added, as has the smokebox lamp iron. As with most of my tank engine models, they hold only a very small amount of coal, in the bunker; most of the bunker space is filled with lead. The rear of the reversing lever quadrant really did protrude as the photograph shows and was strengthened by a bracket from the rear of the quadrant to the side tank, which still has to be done. Now for the chassis and this one will be built compensated, rather than sprung. Cheers Mike

With the completion of the smokebox wrapper and the smokebox fronts plate, all of the assembly on the body is now complete. I still have some detailing to do, with the addition of the boiler bands and the grills over the rear cab windows but they will be done next. I normally roll the smokebox wrapper, in the boiler roller, and then straighten the lower portions of each side of the smokebox wrapper, using a 1/8" diameter needle file stock, to form the curves between the upper and lower portions of the smokebox wrapper. The etch for the smokebox wrapper does have half etched sections to assist with forming these quite tight radii. This kit would be an excellent 'entry point' for anyone wishing to move to building etched kits. Cheers Mike

After a short delay - ran out of 8BA nuts and screws, now rectified courtesy Eileen's Emporium - two nuts can be soldered to the boiler/smokebox assembly. One nut is soldered to the boiler former, the other to the inside of the base of the fold up smokebox former. This smokebox has Arthur's normal hexagonal spacers to allow the smokebox former to be soldered up both parallel and square. An 8BA crew is then passed through a hole in the rear of he smokebox former and screws into the nut on the reverse side of the boiler former, allowing the two to be tightened up. A feature of most North Eastern engines was a brass ring, of half round section, which formed the cosmetic join between the boiler wrapper and the smokebox. This ring can now be fabricated from 0.9 mm brass wire, filed to a half round section, rolled and then soldered to the very end of the boiler wrapper. This should then fit into the smokebox wrapper, which is of larger diameter than the boiler. Screwing the boiler and smokebox assembly together using the 8BA screw and nut, squeezes this brass ring into the very rear of the smokebox wrapper, which is left around 0.5 mm proud of the rear smokebox former. First a check on the fit of the smokebox and boiler assemblies. Cheers Mike

I can't speak for Arthur, but I'm old enough to have forgotten the midlife crisis. I had to redo that, a few years ago, though mine wasn't a Citroen or an Alfa; it was an old Porsche. In fact two of them, though one was only 1/32 nd the size of the other and doesn't require new tyres, servicing, etc. But, hell, this ain't a rehearsal, so these things have to be done. Cheers Mike

Steve, I know Arthur does read and contribute to this thread so I'll leave it up to him to advise on his schedule of forthcoming developments and releases. Some of the old North Eastern classes had a very restricted geography; others a much more widespread geography, so I would imagine that in selecting prototypes for model development, Arthur would be very keen to know what likely demand there might be. Cheers Mike

Mick, Thanks for the kind words and don't worry about the digressions, I'm always interested to know what you're building or planning to build. Like you, I'm modelling a part of the railways of Hull, mine in 1950, so you can imagine what a godsend Arthur's kits are. So many ex-NER loco kits applicable to this area and, god willing, many more that Arthur will do. And A7's are an essential, in any model around Hull, at least up until their demise in the late 1950's. Of the twenty in the class, Hull had eighteen in 1950 spread between Springhead and Dairycoates. Yet more 69xxx's!! So now for an operation that always fills me with trepidation and yet, I don't know why - rolling the boiler. With the GW roller, it really is quite easy, as long as the rolling is taken in stages and as long as the final roll leaves the wrapper at the correct diameter. Tryng to 'pinch' the wrapper together, relying on the soldering to hold it against the springing pressure of an over large diameter, could lead to the joint springing apart. I normally seam solder the wrapper both inside and out, leaving space at the front of the inner seam of solder, to accept the circular boiler former. Anyway, thirty minutes after starting the rolling operation, the boiler is rolled, soldered, cleaned up and checked for fit between the tanks. Given that this is a set of test etches, that boiler is a perfect interference fit between the tanks and will sit horizontal while unsupported, testament to the quality of the design of the etches. I've also added further details - I try and do this as I go along, rather than leaving the detailing till the end of the assembly - in the shape of the reversing lever assembly, in the cab, and the front of the reversing rod assembly. The cradle, on which the model sits, is simply an open plasticard box (four pieces of 60 thou), and allows work on the body without leaning on the footsteps, which could easily deform or bend, under any pressure. Now to detail the boiler. Cheers Mike

Mick, I love the photograph of your J73. You must finish it before you move onto anything else. I bet you'd give your eye teeth for a '7mm Arthur'!!! These 'posed' photos of model locomotives aren't everyone's cup of tea but I like to see them. So, before it takes its place on Hessle Haven, a very posed and carefully lit photo of a Pacific tank loco (A6 69796), only a year or two before it met its end. And this one is a '69xxx' palindrome!! Classic Edwardian locomotive design; well almost? These things didn't look like this until their 1915 rebuild and then various LNER additions i.e. superheating, more dished smokebox door and, even then, they were almost all different. I should perhaps add that though this is a scratch built body, on one of Arthur's early trial chassis etches, Arthur's full A6 kit will produce exactly this loco (as it can produce any of the A6 variants) in exactly this state. But I digress, back to the J77! Cheers Mike

A bit more progress on this J77 with the cab rear sheet and bunker back soldered up. The coal rails have also been added and fixed into the bunker. The roof, which is formed from two layers has been rolled; I normally use the boiler roller set to a large radius roll to do this as it does give a very even curve and ensures that the two layers have the same radius and profile of curve. All of the footplate steps have also been added. Arthur provides tiny riveted fillets which fit above each of the steps. To fit these, I normally use super glue; a tiny amount put on with a sharp cocktail stick - that's another thing which I use lots of. I have tried soldering these and it can be done but holding them in place while this soldering operation is undertaken can be tricky, so hence the use of superglue. Using glue also makes for a much cleaner joint. Apart from a few details, the superstructure is now largely complete and I can move onto the boiler and smokebox. A feature of these locomotives was the unusually deep valance, which does show up on this photo. The J77's had 8 inch deep valances, against the more normal 6 inches on the ex NER tank locomotives. Cheers Mike

Arthur, It's really not a chore test building these, so you keep on developing them and I'll keep on building them. I amended the photo above, of the J73. Now it has an identity, though no couplings as yet!! But - and here's the problem with 68xxx's and 69xxx's - I've now run out of 6's and 9's on the trusty sheet of HMRS methfix (shows how old it is) transfers. Time to build a 4F - 44444! Regards Mike

The cab rear sheet has now been assembled and the locker and cab sandboxes formed up and fitted. In this kit Arthur has included a planked cab floor. The bunker rear has also been soldered up and the flare formed, though neither this nor the cab rear sheet have been fixed into position until the reversing lever assembly and the bunker coal door have been fitted. Everything here went together without a problem, testament to Arthur's accuracy in laying out the design of these etches. The cab interior detail, on these kits, just gets better and better as Arthur continues to develop and refine his range. In the background is another of Arthur's kits - the J73 - which I built a couple of years ago and which has just had its first coat of weathered black, prior to lettering, numbering and then weathering. I made quite a few locos in quite a short space of time so didn't get around to painting some of them; the modeller's curse of part finished models. Anyway, I've now resolved to finish two - usually just the pick-ups and the painting, lettering and weathering - for each new one that I start! Best intentions and all that! The J73 is 68361, of Hull Dairycoates/Alexandra Dock shed. In another posting, on another thread, I bemoaned the number of locos in the 69xxx range, which I have or am building, though somewhat tongue in cheek, for the 69xxx range of numbers contained all sorts of gems of ex North Eastern (and other pre-grouping companies) locos. Both of these are 68xxx, so the local Hessle Haven spotters can underline different sections in their 1950 Combined Volume. If 7mm Mick is out there; Mick, isn't this the very same loco that you have scratch built in 7 mm? The parallax, on this photo, makes the J73's chimney look very askew; it is vertical, honest!! Cheers Mike

Both sides of the loco superstructure have now had their cab cut out beading done and I also fitted the front tank handrail brackets while the sides were free from the footplate. The splasher tops were formed just by finger pressure and trial and error until they matched the radius of the splasher upstand, after which each splasher was soldered up. This operation does require some care, both to achieve the correct radius and to solder the splashers up square. Both sides were then tack soldered, under the footplate and the cab spectacle plate rear section was just trial fitted into the slots on the tank tops,just to check for overall squareness. All seems to be ok. I have to confess that I am a bit of a stickler for keeping the model clean, by removing any excess solder as I go. I use quite a lot of refills for the glass fibre brush when I build these models but they do photograph better if they are clean. This photograph shows that the curved ends to the valences were actually welded or riveted onto the valences, on these locos, during the rebuilding, hence the slight difference in levels of the valence. So now to complete the loco superstructure. Cheers Mike

The first of the bunker/cab/side tank etches has been cut out and the cab cut out beading formed and soldered in. I normally form this beading completely to shape, before soldering, as trying to 'push' it into the corners of the cab cut out doesn't work. For forming the corner curves, I use the handle of an artists paint brush which is the correct radius for these cut outs. After fitting the cut out beadng, then the various folds of the component can be done, fnally soldering the rear of the tank to the inside of the cab side sheet. The side sheet can then be just placed into the slots in the footplate, though not yet fixed. I still have to fill the side tanks with sheet lead to weight the loco body. Cheers Mike

Arthur, Many thanks for posting the running nos above. Hitherto I have tried to model locomotives which were based at one of the Hull sheds in 1950. In this case this is not going to be possible as none of these rebuilds were based in Hull. The nearest I can find were 68392, 68393 and 68404, all of which were based at Starbeck in 1950. As 68392 was one of the longest lived (86years) then that will be the chosen prototype. As always with Arthur's kits there are two sets of coupling rods; one set to be built articulated and an alternate set to be built rigid. Also, as always, Arthur has included separate frame spacers for OO, EM and P4 so the model can be built to any of those gauges. This build, as with all of the ones I have done, will focus on the P4 option. On this model Arthur has provided the two sets of driving wheel springs at the bottom of the mainframes as a two layer etching, which will give a much chunkier look to these components. The chassis can be built rigid, sprung or compensated, using the compensating beams on the chassis etch. Cheers Mike

Horsetan, Many thanks for this. Unfortunately all of these photos show locos with the original Fletcher rounded cab, though the photo of the J77 (68391) with a bicycle propped up on the front of the running plate is one of the quirkiest loco photos I've ever seen, so perhaps worth posting for that. No there is one; the photo of LNER No 954, at York, shows one of these rebuilds with the Worsdell cab. And, just to add to the catalogue of variations, 68391 is a Fletcher cab version with round cab windows. Regards Mike

Well, here we go again with another test build of one of Arthur Kimber's North Eastern kits; this time the LNER J77. This class was, perhaps, one of the more idiosyncratic of the LNER 0-6-0 tank classes, as they were all rebuilds from earlier North Eastern BTP 0-4-4's. So, a little history; and here I must tread very carefully, for though there were two basic versions of the J77, there were variations within the rebuilds and there were variations in the 0-4-4's from which these rebuilds were done. So, as ever, a photograph of the specific locomotive to be modelled, ideally in the timeframe of the chosen model, is advisable. The North Eastern Railway and its contractors built some 124 0-4-4's, refered to as BTP's - Bogie Tank Passenger - from 1874 to 1884. Through the production run of these locomotives, there were some obvious differences and many detail differences - shape of the cab, cylinder sizes, etc. By the late 1890's many of these locomotives were already redundant, supplanted by the more modern 0-4-4's which became LNER class G5 and by larger North Eastern tank locomotives. From 1899 - 1904 forty of the BTP's were rebuilt, at York, into 0-6-0's. These rebuilds retained the original BTP cab and were, generically, known as the Fletcher cab version of the J77. A further batch of ten BTP's were rebuilt to 0-6-0's, at Darlington, during 1907/8 with a final batch of ten being rebuilt at Darlington in 1920/21. It is this final batch of rebulds which form the basis of this model, though Arthur is also producing a separate kit to allow a representative of the first batch of rebuilds to be produced, with the original Fletcher cab. These locomotives were very long lived; the 1950 stock list shows some forty still extant, with the last withdrawal taking place in 1961. At least two of these locomotives lasted well over eighty years; 68392 lasting 86 years (46 as a BTP) and 68410 lasting 83 years (23 as a BTP). Given the various differences on individual rebuilds, this kit is designed to produce a J77 from the 1920/21 batch, with the arc profile cab front and rear sheets (the Worsdell cab), circular cab windows, external springs over the front pair of driving wheels and separate sandboxes adjacent to the smokebox . As I don't have access to the relevant Yeadon volume, which details the history of individual locomotives, I will have to be reliant on Arthur to add specific details of which locomotives were produced from each of the three batches of rebuilding and the identities of the ten locomotives from the 1920/21 rebuild. Normally, I would include a prototype picture of a specific locomotive which forms the basis of the model, but I don't have one. So if anyone has a photo of one of this batch of locos, and provided that there are no copyright issues, then please feel free to post it on this thread. So that is a little of the history of this class; now on with the build. Cheers Mike

Mick, No they're not silver but they did catch the light. No, the chassis is Comet, but to P4 spacing with quite a lot of added detail - new sandboxes, sand pipes, valves and cylinders, etc. One of the problems with the Bachmann J39, as supplied, is that there is no daylight under the boiler. This one also has full inside motion, though dummy; it doesn't work. Every time I maintain this loco, I add just a little more muck and rust but, perhaps, even more needs to be added. Cheers Mike

Mick, Seeing some of your lining commissions, especially the J39 looking pristine in its lined red, I hope you won't mind if I post a photo of another Bachmann J39, much modified and very heavily weathered to look as it might have done in 1950. Tired, weather worn and looking distinctly down at heel. I post this only to illustrate how the state of locomotives changed, from the halcyon days of the 1930's to the privations of the post-war railway. Cheers Mike

There really is only one thing to say of the squence of photos above - this is beginning to 'tell it like it was'. And, in the late 1950's/early 1960's it was simply a wonderful place. I just love these threads around re-creating the great locosheds; these cathedrals dedicated to the steam locomotive (words are borrowed but no less valid for that) which were such a joy to behold, especially on a Sunday. Ah, Semis, Scots, Patriots and Jubes, with the ubiquitous Black 5's and all the rest which made up an ex-LMS shed; lovely!! Regards Mike

These have got to be some of the best model photos that I've ever seen. I never saw the diesel depots, having given up watching the railways, long before, but I can't believe there is a better portrayal of how these places must have looked than this. As many posters have remarked, I found it hard to believe this wasn't the real thing. Cheers Mike

The biggest compliment, I can pay this layout, is that it simply 'told it like it was'. It conveyed the essence and the spirit of this place back in the late 1950's, now well over half a century ago. I know that 0-6-0's and even an Austerity ran reasonably well on the original layout, but my T1 had a problem or two. Anyway, now this lovely layout is being given a new lease of life; a lease of life which will allow us all to enjoy it for many years to come; for it's a gem! Best regards Mike PS Ian, I decided, a few weeks ago, that I would live by the sea. So now I am about to move to do just that. I had this idyllic vision of walking in the misted halflight of a spring dawn, in that place where the land meets the sea, through the sand and the surf and just watching the colours of the sky change through a myriad hues, as the sun rises over a flat, calm sea. And so I will!

These photographs just get better and better and are a wonderfully worthy testament to their represented time - summer 1958. A time when the railway was a truly wondrous place to see and when steam still reigned supreme, and it just doesn't get better than that. Cheers Mike