A.R.

Evening All, Thanks Bryan @gz3xzf; it's interesting you make that point about the steam pipes because I thought the same but upon looking at some photos of the Lord Nelson pre-smoke deflectors, the steam pipe is set back further, and aligns with the rear of the cyclinders. I am not quite sure why, so I have settled with somewhere inbetween! With regards to cylinders, I think most likely 4 as I envisage this being a rebuild of the Lord Nelsons perhaps? What are your thoughts? This evening, I have been turning some clack valves from some spare brass. I have done this in my dremel with a fine file and some sandpaper. As you can see, the parts are very small and using a dremel isn't ideal but it should do the trick! It will likely be painted anyway! Here is the spare piece of brass casting I started with: These are the first bits of the clack valves coming together: First one turned off the main section: Two finished clack valves: Two valves with boiler attachments finished: I also finished sanding back the smokebox saddle and second steam pipe and this is now complete. Next up is sanding back the firebox sides where I had to remove the wheel arches and add packing material in. Over the weekend, I will be starting to add details to the loco body shell such as handrails, copper pipes, clack valves and some other details I have noticed from the painting. On another note, I have recieved some drawings for the T14 loco project in a 1970's edition of Railway Modeller. I will be considering how to proceed with this over the next few days. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Alex

Evening, I have been working on the loco body again recently, adding the the pipes to the side and sorting out the firebox (where the splashers were). This has involved a lot of sanding and it still isn't done yet! But here are some progress photos! This how the model started, with the square bar behind the smoke deflectors. This was removed and filled with plastic packing pieces. And then covered in filler and sanded back. You can see the pipe here, made out of an old paintbrush. Still filler on show on the firebox, a job for tomorrow evening! I have sanded off lots of the rivets in the process but these will be replaced with transfers (probably N gauge ones as the model had very small ones previously). Cheers, Alex

Hi, Thanks for posting that picture, it captures the sleek lines nicely! Firstly, is it N gauge? Secondly, I am interested by the various markings/numbers it has as I don't recognise them! Any more info would be great! Cheers, Alex

Hi, I would be interested to see pictures of these if you have any or know where there may be some? Regarding the Gresley 4-8-2, I am getting very tempted to make one myself! Probably with a scratchbuilt chassis....I will have to add it to the ever growing "to do" list! Cheers, Alex

Evening All, Thanks for the comments. To answer your questions: @313201 The driving wheels will be 20mm by Scalelink. This is the closest to 5'1" that I can find! @BusDriverMan Thank you for your kind comment, you are correct. All my work is hand cut with a piercing saw and finished with files and sandpaper; the only electrical tool I use is a handheld powerdrill. Using a piercing saw is certainly not quick, but it is very satisfying when done! And to pose a question: I am thinking of ahead to the livery of the Maunsell, what colours would people suggest? I am thinking BR Green or BR Black are the only real options, but I like the bluey hues that are in the original painting! I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Cheers, Alex

Hi, Thanks Tony! That would certainly be an interesting project; was it to be streamlined? It would make for an imposing loco in model form! Cheers, Alex

Evening All, Thanks for the links and suggestions, I have reached out to the suggested sources and hopefully they will turn up some good drawings. @scots region The online drawing programme I use is called Gravit Designer; its free to use, simple to pick up and quite intuitive so good for quick drawings. @Corbs Thanks for your post and for finding the thread! I really appreciate the kind comments! I have seen your photoshop before in the Imaginary Loco thread (which is a favourite of mine) and it looks great, a really useful resource! I have managed to do a few more bits on the Maunsell project over the weekend, focusing on the motion bracket, cylinders and slidebars. This is as far as I can advance on the motion until I get the wheels (should be in the next couple of weeks). I have also primed the tender and given the loco another coat and I think the running plate is now as smooth as it's going to be. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Alex

Hi Corbs, thank you, glad you like it! Hi, thank you, you are right, I did use the drawings! This meant using a scratchbuilt chassis, Brit body etc. It was my first attempt at all of this (including Walschaerts valve gear) but I am pleased with how it has turned out. As I mentioned, Redgate and Tony really helped me get this far! I am now building another designed-but-not-built loco in the form of a Maunsell 4-8-0! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, I have recently got back on RMWeb and have just finished my first loco build (scratchbuilt chassis, heavily modified/detailed body shell). Therefore, I thought I would add my contribution to this wonderful thread! I agree with the earlier discussion about adding loco crews but I have just noted I don't have any on this loco (or any real coal in the tender) yet: a job for next weekend I think! This is my take on the BR 2-8-2 that wasn't built; many thanks to @RedgateModels for the inspiration and @Tony Wright for the excellent help guides/videos! I have detailed some more about the loco on my thread over in Kitbuilding and Scratchbuilding. Have a good evening all! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, I am looking ahead to the next project; a Drummond Rebuilt T-14 (which will likely begin alongside the Maunsell project). Probably quite ambitious, but I am planning to build this from scratch, with both the body and chassis to be made from brass. Therefore, I will need some drawings. Does anyone know if there are any drawings available? I have had a search and can't seem to find any! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Made a little progress with the front bogie this evening. Its a Comet kit and goes together very nicely. Cheers, Alex

Evening All, Thanks for your interest in the chassis @97xx, I will try and get you the details tomorrow evening. I didn't realise there was such a science behind it! I have managed to solder the axle bearing to the frames, as well as solder the frames together with the first spacers (more will be added as required for bogie mounts etc.) I also couldn't resist posing the parts together to see what it looks like. I think removing the wheel arches has made it look slightly longer which in turn makes it look quite elegant. More to follow soon! Cheers, Alex

Hi all, Thank you for all your contributions, I have found it really useful to read through all your comments around drilling holes, marking holes etc. Thanks also for the kind comments about 94000. I have attached some photos of the chassis, and one of the cab detail which, whilst not massively accurate, is scratchbuilt. Some details: Mashima motor with High-Level gearbox, 40:1 reduction Comet valve gear and cylinders The chassis has been made to go around a minimum of third radius curves (my future layout shouldn't have any less than this) This evening, I have cut the frames for the Maunsell 4-8-0 and I am pleased with how they have come out. These have simply been cut with a piercing saw and then sanded to a shiny finish and washed to hopefully aid soldering the frame spacers/axle bearings. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Alex

Evening All, I have managed to do a little more on the Maunsell footplate today (still need a name for that loco), but mainly focussed on the BR 2-8-2 today and managed to get it finished. I applied all the transfers, picked out some details with a very fine brush and then gave the whole thing a coat of matt varnish. All that's left now is some real coal in the tender and some couplings! Let me know if you'd like to see any pictures of the chassis/build/details etc. This was my first ever loco build and I am proud of how it has come out. A few lessons learnt which I can apply to the next project! I just want to add a big thank you to @RedgateModels whose original thread/blog both gave me the idea and provided lots of useful information! Attention will now turn back to the Maunsell project: next up, cutting the chassis and finishing the footplate. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Cheers. Alex

Evening all, Thanks for the advice @doilum, it has been really helpful! I managed to get on with a few jobs today; removal of the wheel arches, the first coupling rod and preparing the frames. The wheels arches were a pain to remove but after a lot of filling and cutting I managed to remove them. This left a range of gaps/holes in the footplate which I then filled with plastic cut to shape, followed by filler. This was then sanded back and repeated until a relatively smooth finish was achieved. I have now given this a quick spray of primer to highlight the blemishes which I can fill and sand tomorrow, once the paint is fully dry. Another job I managed to do was get the first coupling rod done, including shortening the necessary part to equate to an equal wheel spacing. This worked well using the pegging method described by a few people on this thread. Finally, I cut the brass strip for the frames to length, transferred the drawing and secured the frames together with nuts and bolts so that its nice and secure for cutting the frames and drilling the axles. That's all for now, more to follow tomorrow. Cheers, Alex P.S. I may change this to a workbench thread as I now have the transfers for the BR 2-8-2 so will post updates of that too!

Hi, Ah yes, I see what you mean. That should work nicely; must remember to make the coupling rods first (i.e. shorten the final third)! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Thanks @doilum, the rods actually have a very small hole (I would guess about 0.2-0.3mm) so I will need to widen them to fit the crankpins anyway. I recieved a range of items in the post today: brass for the frames, nuts and bolts, various etched parts, bearings etc. I have now removed all the details from the loco (handrails etc) and stored these safely to be reused. The loco body will now be stripped overnight and taken back to bare plastic (hopefully) ready for removing the wheel arches, blemishes and then priming. Sorry for the bad (and upsidedown!) photo. I have also experimented with how to transfer the drawing onto the brass strip for cutting. I have found that I can print onto masking tape and it works a treat. I can then peel the tape off the paper and stick it straight onto the brass ready for centrepunching/drilling/cutting. I am pleased my measurements seem to have worked out and the marks on the drawing align perfectly with the 8f coupling rods. More updates over the weekend as I cut/drill the frames etc and hopefully get a basic chassis pulled together. Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Thanks @Geoff_E for the dimensions, much appreciated. I have applied these dimensions to the chassis plan and moved the wheel centres; I think it looks just about right! I will therefore use 20mm wheels (which is the nearest I can find to 5'1" in 4mm scale). It will mean I need to adjust the 8F coupling rods I was planning to use! The earlier advice about using these as a guide for the axle holes will be key! EDIT: I have checked and the 8F wheel spacing is only 2inches shorter which equates to about 0.6mm~ so I will just adjust slightly to fit the 8F rods (see bottom drawing) - I don't think the difference is visible and it will save a lot of work, I will only need to adjust the rearmost coupling rod from the 8F set. Cheers, Alex

Hi All, I am now the proud owner of an old Bachmann model of "Sir Francis Drake" which is to be the base model of the 4-8-0 (a name for which I need to come up with...although "Sir Francis Drake" would be a fitting tribute to the base model...ideas welcome!). The body will be fully stripped down as it has a number of blemishes and glue marks etc, and details removed; some will be re-applied and others will be replaced. I can't help but think the chimney looks awfully big so will be seeking a brass replacement. Does anyone know a source of a replacement Lord Nelson chimney/other details? I will also be removing the wheel arches as I note they are absent in the painting upon which the model is based. This should leave a long, flat, rather elegant footplate. I have already put the motorised chassis up for auction as it is obviously surplas to requirements for this project. Taking onboard the interesting discussion about how best to mark the holes for drilling, I have adjusted my drawings to have small "targets" at each drilling point and will see how this goes. The grey area represents the brass strip as purchased; you can see it should limit how much work needs to be done with the piercing saw! Still waiting for a number of parts to arrive in the post but should hopefully be able to start some work over the weekend. Cheers. Alex

Hi, Thanks for the advice Michael, much appreciated. I had always assumed crosses made it easier when trying to centrepunch/drill but I will take your advice and try using small circles instead! I will try it on some scrap brass and let you know how it goes. Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Thanks for the useful advice! I think I will have to try and get a pair of those odd-legged callipers, they look like just what I need! EDIT: Ordered! Cheers, Alex

Hi, Thanks for the comments! @RedgateModels That's a good idea, I do now recall seeing you do that on the 2-8-2 build! I will give it a go and see what happens! @John Tomlinson Unfortunately, there are no drawings that I am aware of so just going by best judgement on Matthew's great painting. I am using the Lord Nelson body as a guide and basing other measurements off that. A bit rough and ready, but it should do the job! With regards to the wheels, I overlaid some drawings and found that an 8F wheel sizing seems to work quite nicely. Therefore, I will be using 4ft8inch1/2 wheels (about 19mm in 1:76 I believe) and the same wheel spacing as an 8F, but potentially bringing the rearmost axle forward so that all axles are equally spaced (see blue lines) (as per the painting) as opposed to the 8F spacing that has the rear axle further apart (see orange lines). With regards to the build itself, different parts are slowly arriving through the post and I am hoping to get started on the chassis frames at the weekend! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, I now have most of the chassis components on order and have purchased a donor Lord Nelson loco, which should be delivered in due course. I will not need the motorised chassis and will be re-selling this on the well-known auction site (if anyone is interested, however, please feel free to drop message and we can arrange something). With regards to drilling the axle holes, I have been wondering how best to align them; both in terms of making sure they are parallel to the bottom of the chassis, and that the spacing between them is accurate. I have indicated these on the diagram below: I will use a centre punch to guide the drill bit, but if anyone has any ideas or techniques to ensure the centre punch marks at exactly the required place, I would welcome your thoughts! I am looking forward to getting on with the build! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, I stumbled across this wonderful painting of a Maunsell 4-8-0 loco by @Matthew Cousins (who has kindly let me use the picture here) a few months ago and have been tempted ever since to make a model of it based on a Lord Nelson. So, I have decided to go ahead and see what I can make. The body and tender will likely be a Bachmann Lord Nelson, with a scratchbuilt chassis and High Level gearbox/Mashima motor combination. This is only my second loco build, the first having been my take on the never-built 2-8-2 BR Standard (based on the great model by @RedgateModels) which is just awaiting transfers/lining, and which followed the same basic build principles as mentioned above (scratchbuilt chassis etc.). I have started the chassis design for the 4-8-0 which will be printed and stuck to some brass strip for cutting and drilling. I look forward to posting progress as its made and hearing your thoughts. All the best, Alex

Good afternoon, Thank you for all your help and advice, it is really appreciated and goes to show what a great place this forum is! I have taken your thoughts on board and done a bit more research (McKinley Railway do a very similar thing with tail lights in their breakvans so thanks to them for a very helpful video on that!). I have come up with the following which I think solves the issues John raised re. resistors and relays. I thank you in advance for any feedback/advice! Kindest regards, Alex R