The Fatadder

There goes the wedding present...

Fairly sure the Bachmann model comes with tge sandbox fillers, I remember chopping them off 2220 Need to get washers for my 28xx anyway, so will try them on this as well...

Given the heat of the summer, I have next to no interest in doing any soldering. This is a bit of a problem when it comes to the need to finish a few locos that require etched chassis... As a result, I have decided to bring forward my second 2251 and use the Ultrascales that I was going to use in the etched chassis for 2220. A quick conversion later and it is now running. However it is not that smooth a runner, and seems to have very poor slow speed control. I suspect the latter is not helped by the poor quality DC controller (and will hopefully improve under DCC fitting.) I have just decided to switch DCC controllers, having recently ended up buying a second hand ZTC 511 (with the intention of upgrading it to the 611 later in the year.) After making a small profit on selling my original 511, I've ended up getting this one for about a third what the old one sold for back in the mid 2000s... Anyway, back to the point, the 511 has a DC capability (which was missing from the Powercab I currently have) and will enable a better test of this locos slow speed control. More of a concern is the jerky running, there is a bit of slop in the coupling rods (the ultrascale crankpins not being a good fit in Bachmann's holes.) Other than that there is a possibility of a quatering issue (one wheel had slipped on its axle, before I reset it and applied locktight.) Getting back to the model, It has had the BR shed code and smokebox no plate removed, along with the smoke box dart. This will now be replaced with a separate part, along with some evergreen strip for the door bracket. the large amount of flash along the boiler top joint has been carefully carved off, which will now need a touch up to blend in along with a little weathering. (If I can find which box the airbrush's paint cup ended up in when we moved, the plan is for some spraying GW green over the weekend...) It will then be renumbered to 3215 The tender still needs to be rebranded (according to rail UK introduced in December 1947, I'm unsure as to whether this would have been released to traffic with the G W R logo, the new British Railways in GW font or just a plain green tender. For something a bit different I am thinking about going for GWR on one side and British Railways on the other) Longer term, the loco will eventually get a new chassis from High Level, along with similar body mods as 2220 once that loco is complete and working...

Cutting the extra 2mm off and gluing the floor in the correct place does the job rather well Though typically I only noticed this after building the first few as per the instructions which now all need loads

Very disappointed, was on the verge of placing an order for one Moulded handrails... No thanks!

Very nice looking scene Rather glad the local shop doesn't have any gw 72s left or I'd be buying one tomorrow!!! Not much use on a dotted blue line...

Despite it looking like the hottest weekend of the year, I have been wanting to get on with some wagon building... So on the way home from work today I dropped into the model shop and came away with a Ratio LMS van, a Cambrian "Wheeler & Gregory" 4 plank PO and a Cambrian chassis kit (giving the bits to re chassis another old Bachmann model along with the missing bits for a Cambrian LMS open) This evening I have made a start on building first up the ratio LMS van, I want to have a few of these to mix up with my Cambrian ones. The horizontal planking makes a nice difference to the majority of other vans I have built so far. The kit was a bit of a pig to assamble the chassis, I think when I build another I will bin the chassis and replace with Cambrian parts! The way the solbars fit to the narrow floor doesn't work too well when you want to file back the clearances to accept new W irons! The body on the other hand pretty much fell together, constructed with plasticard spacers to hold the sides / ends together then dropping in the completed chassis unit and securing with Butanone. The roof is just placed on for the time being, (I want to be able to add more weight inside if I struggle to get it under the chassis. Next up was the Cambrian PO, I am trying to get a good mixture of different manufacturers PO designs. At the moment its all made up of Bachmann RCH designs, and a single Bachmann all steel. So its about time I start adding some variety. I like the curved ends, making it rather different to the rest of the open wagons on the layout. As usual for Cambrian it fell together very nicely (and the flat floor and thinner solbars made life simple for fitting the springing units. This was followed by another Cambrian LMS 5 plank which fell together equally nicely. Finally I have fitted the chassis bits to the Parkside LMS 3 plank and LNER lowfit mentioned in my last post. In each case I am at a bit of a blocker now, as I have just realised that the (second hand) axles I bought with some exactoscale wheels are the parallel type, and I don't have any parallel bearings to use with them. So need to decide now whether to buy new axles or buy bearings. Either way it prevents the final assembly of brake gear etc and final w iron fitting until I get it sorted. Hopefully I will be able to dig out a few spare 12mm P4 wheelsets out of some modern stock which will fit for the time being until I get some more...

Sounds very interesting Sadly can't justify the price today with a baby on the way, but I am getting rather tempted to buy a second hand 511 and the buy the upgrade when funds permit.....

I do rather miss my old 511, and if I still had it would have been tempted by an upgrade Nothing I've used since comes close to the feel of using it, though I certainly don't miss all of its bugs and other oddities.

Will be very interesting to get one in the flesh to have a good look and measure, although Jan's photo manipulation above does seem at first glance that it is the rivets which are miss placed rather than something more critical (of course that is dependent on the smoke box assumption being correct.) I think my decision is now made and I will keep my preorder, the chance find of a photo of 9018 on freight at Yatton in 1950 (so only just out of scope in terms of era) is close enough for me to justify it on the layout. Just need to work out what livery it should be in for 1947. In the photo zooming in on the tender there are some markings, but not really clear enough (to my eye at least) to work out if it has been repainted in BR and if not which GW logo. Certainly it is in Green given the clear colour contrast between the smokebox and the boiler / cab and even clearer contrast between the frames and the boiler/cab. I have cropped the tender from the original image (hopefully that is ok copyright wise in the context of the question). would be greatful if anyone else could identify (or knows of other sources which may assist.)

After spending yesterday at the Scalefour society's AGM down in Teignmouth, and taking the opportunity to pin down as many people as possible for advice on my two non working locos (5512 and the mogul), I have had a bit of success putting it into action It looks like the lead crankpin is approximately .5mm too short, as a result one of the crank pin nuts falls off very easily. this was compounded by the thread in the lead crankpin nut being partially stripped allowing it to slip straight off! The next job was to get the cross head attached to the rod, a length of 0.5mm wire was soldered into holes pre drilled into the Bachmann crosshead. the rod was then threaded onto this pin, before a small square of cigarette paper was superglue'd on the back to hold it in position. It still has a tendency to foul on one side, which will require further attention. but I am very pleased to get it working smoothly. While I was working on the chassis, I have further refined the mounts for the new lead / trailing wheels. adding a couple of brass bushes to remove any slop from the fixings. After testing I think it will now require some form of springing to ensure they both stay on the track, as the light weight has left them rather prone to derailment on the slightest discrepancy in the track (of which the layout certainly has a couple so far!) All in all, I think its coming together rather well. I think I will now focus on getting some breakgear added, along with pickups (and refitting the motor) and then I can give the layout some real test running! Edit: Now added the etched number plates

I did pick up on an old topic on these, http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/51853-Hornby-20t-wagons/ which provided the inspiration

Glad you mentioned that I had planned to use the same method, but have forgotten to actually do it A job for tomorrow...

Will sort out a couple more in my layout thread this afternoon Although as I pick up the rail and remaining sleepers from c&l after work I may get distracted by track building......

Last night I got on with the initial stages of the next batch of wagons, All of which are now waiting for First up a a Coopercraft Loco Coal open, and a 4 plank open. Coopercraft open wagons are a bit of a pain, given that Coopercraft have moulded the floor much too high. As a result I have corrected it by removing all of the ribs on the underside of the floor, then glued it in the correct position to the sides / ends. The solbars were then modified to remove the 2mm additional length on the top, getting them back down to scale height. (these have yet to be fitted, pending buying some more springing units.) Next a pair of Coopercraft Minks, I think this is the diagram V4 Low Mink though I would need to double check. While the floor design for these is the same as for the opens, it is hidden inside the van negating the problem. In fact it actually makes life easier as it means that there is no material to remove from the floor to fit the new w irons. Both have 30g of lead fitted inside the van. The next job on these is to add the rainstrip to the roofs, the solbars need about 0.6mm removed from the inner side to provide clearance to the w irons, they will also need the additional DC linkage adding which was not provided by the kit. Between the two Coopercraft Minks, is a Ratio GW van which was built last year. This has been stripped down with the chassis removed, and replaced with Evergreen channel. This now provides the clearance for new w irons, although it still needs to have the breakgear built up. Onto a couple from Parkside, an LMS 3 plank and another LNER Lowfit. As I have probably mentioned before I love how well the body falls together with a Parkside kit. But I hate how they have designed the underside! All those needless ribs which need to be removed in order to fit decent W irons! In both cases I took a large ba***rd file and filed it all away before building up the bodies as per the instructions. Finally a bit of a random job, a very old Hornby 20t (from my first trainset) which I understand is vaguely like a GW owned private owner wagon. I have tidied up the end and sides removing excess depth of moulding and refining detail where possible. a new chassis has been scratch built with some left overs from Cambrian for the headstocks, Evergreen solbar and bill Bedford w irons. I also have a spur of Parkside brake gear which will be added soon to finish it off. Not shown in the photo is another Ratio Iron Mink, not made much progress yet on this as I want to get a set of replacement wooden doors for it first... I have a couple of spare short wheelbase chassis (one steel and one wooden) left from Cambrian kits which hopefully will be used to rechassis a couple of old PO wagons from years ago. I think this now brings the fleet up to the following GWR Open: 4 finished, 2 in progress Van: 2 finished, 4 in progress NPCS: 1 finished, 2 in progress (one of which just needs bogies) Other: 1 Macaw LMS: Vans: 3 (finished) Open: 2 finished, 2 in progress LNER: Vans: 2 Finished Open: 2 finished, 1 in progress SR Open: 1 awaiting paint PO: 2 Finished, 2 more as body only awaiting new chassis, + the 20t awaiting painting and final detailing.

Strugelling to decide now as to whether or not to go for it. Given the £108 ought to be pretty much equating to a Finney bulldog which would be more useful to me... Need some more photos of different angles I think, along with some dimensions...

Finally picked up a set of LMS and LNER wagon transfers (again HMRS) and a tin of LMS bauxite paint, so finally the remaining wagons could be finished off. (finished ish anyway, they will all still need buffers and 3 link couplings First up an LMS ventilated D1832 ventilated van, and a D1986 LMS 1 plank, both have been painted in the post war brauxite livery and will be lettered up this evening. The 1 plank still needs more work finishing off the paint work inside. Next a parkside Diagram 94 LNER van (wooden ends) carrying the pre war livery, a parkside LNER open carrying the post 38 livery and a Cambrian ex Midland D1664 in the pre 38 livery. Finally a LMS D1666 5 plank (with wooden chassis) in the early livery, a Bachmann LNER van in post 38 livery, a LMS D1663 steel ended van still carrying the old LMS livery and a parkside Lowfit in LNER livery (although it is missing the "do not load with containers" branding as I have yet to source a transfer. So with that lot nearly finished, the next job will be building the next batch. (prior to which I really ought to get some more Bill Bedford wirons...) So far I have another parkside lowfit, along with a parkside LMS open. There are also a couple of Coopercraft kits for a pair of Minks and a loco coal open and a Ratio Mink. Along with some Airfix Conflat bodys and a Cambrain LMS open which need some new solbars, and a handful of Airfix cattle wagon kits awaiting conversion to GW prototypes... Plenty to keep me busy at any rate, not helped by the Yate model shop selling Parkside, Cambrain, Ratio and Coopercraft kits (meaning I normally leave with at least one). While it always takes me a while to get enough listed to make the postage worth while on an Eilieens order...

The cab roof is rectified by the etches, the new front is glued on so just need filing to match the profile. As for the firebox, its been suggested to use a Hornby 8f chopped up, though I'm unsure which version of the model is needed. Unfortunately dont have the shakleton book, unlikely to be able to justify it for a while as its a tad expensive for a single chapter.

Thanks, if you could send them that would be great, Looking forward to getting started. Did you do anything to the chassis on yours, springing etc?

Another one of those random projects which have little use from a layout point of view, other than being an interesting exercise in modelling (which frankly is the most important thing)... As with the Saint, I am pretty undecided if I will build it in OO (using the included Romford wheels) or sell them on and buy a set of P4 Gibsons. In this case I am tending toward the latter as it means the chassis can be built to the correct width! I also will need to decide if I will make a ridged chassis, for simplicity saving time and money, or go for a full CSB job making it better should I ever decide to run it. The project: Dapol Body - fit Jackson parts to correct cab front and roof, - fit wire hand rails to back of cab - detail cab interior - replace mud plugs - etched plates - trying to decide if I leave it as County of Somerset for which plates were included, or change to County of Gloucester - add missing rivet detail - replace the firebox and missing lowerboiler with Hornby 8f parts Perseverance chassis Falcon Brass tender. It is with the latter that I have started looking at today, with the awful instructions not helped by not being able to find the sheet explaining what part is which number, not liking the look of all of those but joints so I have dug out some U section brass which I am going to use to form some brackets supporting the main sections and keeping them square. We are currently expecting, so I wont solder in the house when my fiancée is at home. so hoping to take advantage of her being away for tomorrow afternoon to make a start on the soldering.....

So long as it didn't have moulded hand rails and was a sensible price I'd be interested (I wouldn't want to be paying close to the frogmore brass prices for a plastic kit)