Ruston

On the final furlong now. I'm not finishing it as any of the four actual prototypes. It is now Sevastopol No.2. I'm not going to pretend that I intended for the lining to look so poor, because I didn't, but it's going to mostly disappear under a good coat of weathering, so it doesn't need to be that good. I suppose it is better to start with something good and not hide the bad bits with weathering, but it is what it is. I'm not a skillled painter but then I'm certainly not going to pay someone to do a top job on it, for me to then slather it in muck, either. The main colours are BR coach maroon and LNWR coach plum. I think that the cab needs the top half to be plum. That or put in another lined panel. Hmmm... Roof, rear springs, handrails and injectors/pipework are the constructional jobs that remain. On the electrical side is, well, everything. Weathering will bring all of the crappy paintwork together and finish it off. I really ought to make some brass spectacle rims to go in the cab windows. And a steam brake cylinder. The lining on the cylinders needs to be thinned down, or the cylinders painted plum all over.

Cheers, Paul.

I bought this from the interweb. There are no instructions with it, so I'm trying to work it out. I assume Rail L and Rail R go to the loco pickups? M+ and M- go to the motor? I need to know which to use for a Lais 870001 Stay Alive and which to use for a speaker. I'm not bothere about any of the others.

I see. The LNWR couldn't build the Leeds New Line if they weren't already running trains along the Diggle route into Huddersfield. Unless you mean the Leeds New being built by the GCR? They would already have access to Dewsbury on their own line and there would be nothing to gain by joining the MR at Dewsbury. The MR had only a goods yard there and the line that accessed it came all the way from Royston. There was nothing in between and with it running in a southeastern direction toward Barnsley, there would be no point in this theoretical GCR line running trains from Manchester, through Huddersfield and down toward Barnsley when the GCR already had access to the Barnsley area via the Woodhead line. Besides, the MR line from Royston to Dewsbury was still under construction in 1907. I suppose if, in this theoretical world, the MR's line continued as originally planned, through Dewsbury, to Bradford and connected with its station at Forster Square (to create a shortcut to the Settle & Carlisle) then it would be worth having a junction with the MR at Dewsbury. On the other hand, if the GCR had built the Leeds New then it would make more sense for traffic heading north to access the MR from that line, so you would have a junction somewhere around Heckmondwike, perhaps? You could go on and on with this nonsense. 😄 I suppose that within the railway fence it would look like the GCR line to London, with their style of architecture, same stock, locomotives etc. but within the same West Yorkshire geography and architecture as existed in reality in 1907. Possibly the station buildings could have used local stone instead of brick.

Is this the through Diggle and the Standedge tunnel that you're talking about?

I'm pleased with the progress made, this weekend. Springs made, brakes made and fitted and even some paint slapped on it. The whitemetal cast chimney looks alright in this view but it sits a little wonky when viewed from the front. I will attach it using PVA glue, so that it can be removed easily and replaced with a brass one of my own manufacture. I have a friend who can make a flycutter, like the one @Michael Edge showed earlier, and who can also make a flare jig for me. He has a complete engineering works at his disposal, so it won't be a problem for him. Lathe envy. Built in 1943, imported under Lend-lease and used at AVRO's Yeadon factory to make parts for Lancaster bombers. Still in use today.

There's something odd about those. Have the bodies been but down in height? In fact are they "proper" 16 tonners at all? The distance from the headstock to the outer spring hangers looks to be greater than usual.

I don't about dedication. I don't have a lot of choice, to be fair. There isn't anything available to buy that will suit and getting someone to design and print resin springs would cost a lot and take an age. I hate working to other people's timetables, so if it's something I can do myself then do it I will. They're not looking too bad. The prototype appears to have used 20 leaves and mine only have 14, but that's a lot more than you get on some etched kits. They're also a bit flat across the top but then the picture of Possum, at Port Kembla, shows them almost flattened out after nearly 50 years of use, so I'm not going to worry about that. The two at the bottom need their buckles but will only need one spring eye each as they will have to be cut short where they butt up against the cab. In reality there was an opening in the cab sheet, but I forgot to put that in when I made the cab and it's all too far advanced to redo that now. The next thing is to make the spring hangers.

Springs.

One side almost done. The excess slide bar material, aft of the motion bracket, needs trimming and then theres only the other side and brakes all-round to complete the chassis. And pickups. I always forget the pickups. The body is all done bar the springs. This is where I'd 3D-print them, if I had a 3D printer and had a clue how to drive a computer to do the design. I'll have to bite the bullet and get on and make them from individual leaves. Edit: Cab steps. I still need to make those. And the chimney!

I wasn't happy with those slide bars. They were a bit too chunky and also not spaced far enough apart, so I've done the entire lot again. The crosshead looks better now, too. I have to make some fiddly bits and attach the piston rod to the crosshead, which is the correct way round this time.

Sorry for the needless photo. When I looked at your original post there was one photo not showing.

I forgot about these two photos of making the crossheads and slide bars. They're still ongoing. A layer of 40 thou. engraving brass, sandwiched between two layers of 22 thou. Apologies for the blurred photo - damn mobile telephone picture! The slide bars are quite chunky but then they do appear to have been so on the prototype. I have added that stretcher that connects the bars part way along their length and through which the piston rod passes. I assume this was to help to prevent the bars from flexing as they were very long.

It will be interesting to see what you make of it. Is this the Lowca engine that you mean?

I have a load more of those Dapol HLs to weather and fit crews to, for a friend, plus one more of my own. But now it's back to Cyclops. The smokebox door is now shaped, has hinges and fixed in place. It has a cast whitemetal handwheel added. I've been hoarding this in my box of small fittings for years and can't remember where it came from. The tank now has steps and a fixing bracket and there are sand boxes on the running plate. These are solid brass, made by layering sheet engraving brass and soldering the layers using the RSU. They are in the shadow, under the cab, but the rear sand boxes have also been made and fitted, the cab rear sheet has a cover for the hand brake handle and handrails have also been added. The firebox is full of lead sheet, as is all but a space left for the DCC gear in the tank. Current weight 303g.