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Dave Holt

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Blog Entries posted by Dave Holt

  1. Dave Holt
    The Caprotti Black 5 has been making steady progress over the past few weeks. I started the chassis ages ago but only since (almost) finishing the Crab have I really concentrated on finishing off the Caprotti.
    The rear sand boxes and all the sand pipes are still to do, along with the front guard irons on the bogie.
    I joined the Leamingtom MR Society earlier this year and have been able to try the loco out on Clarendon (a bit out of place on an early 1900's LNWR layout!). This has shown up some issues regarding the front bogie wheels rubbing behind the cylinder drain cocks and motion brackets/front brake hangers on tightish curves and some points. I've filed various bits away to try yo solve this but only another running trial will tell if I've succeeded.
    Here a a few photos of the current state:
    A couple of overall views, side on and front three-quarters,
     

     

     
    Rhe front platform height on Stanier tenders was adjusted to suit the class of loco they were attached to. The Comet kit platform is too low to match the cab height of the loco, so a 1 mm thick piece of plastic card has been added to get somewhere nearer the correct arrangement.
     

     
    Dave.
  2. Dave Holt
    Well, crabs are generally said to scuttle, but that's sideways, so it's not unreasonable that forward progress is fairly slow.
    Following the conversion work on the ex_GCR push-pull coaches, I thought I ought to try and finish off some part completed projects which have been sitting around for quite a while. One such is the ex-LMS Crab, which is a Bachmann body on a Comet chassis and a Comet brass tender, together with a Brassmasters detailing kit. The original idea, inspired by the demonstration version on the Comet exhibition stand, was for a quick production based on a straight forward assembly of the chassis kit for P4 gauge. Needless to say, I couldn't go through with that approach and ended up adding lots of extra details and some missing bits, all of which added extra time.
    So, in a mad bout of renewed enthusiasm, the final details have been added to the chassis and body and a bit more work done to the tender. There, the only outstanding parts are the cab doors. I've assembled the Brassmasters doors with working hinges and am dallying with the idea of springing them open but need to obtain some fine phosphor bronze wire to make the springs. A trial with 0.33 mm brass wire proved the geometry but was too stiff.
    On the loco, which sits on coil springs, I have had a bit of fun and games getting the weight in the right place. Initially, I added too much in the front portion of the boiler, causing the front driver springs to be nearly fully compressed. It was a mighty struggle to get the weight back out, having glued it in rather too well. That made things much better, especially after I managed to squeeze a bit more lead in the firebox and some under the cab roof, but after I fitted the the front pony truck, which is also lightly sprung, I found the reverse problem! Now the rear driving springs were fully compressed, so I had to re-fit part of the boiler weight and remove the lead from the cab roof to get a reasonable ride attitude. Compensation is a lot less bother!!!
    Anyway, here it is in its current state. The loco still needs overall weathering and the tender remains unpainted till the cab doors are sorted, but definite progress.
     

     
    Dave.
  3. Dave Holt
    Some time ago, I purchased a couple of ex-GCR push-pull coaches from Coachman, following his change of interest from Greenfield to ex-GWR in North Wales. These coaches consist of a 12 wheeled driving trailer, which I believe may have been converted from a steam rail motor, and a brake composite non-driving trailer, which had been converted from a London suburban all first.
    This combination of coaches was used on Guidebridge to Oldham services in the 1950's and I must have seen it innumerable times as a child because I lived right next to the OA&GB line, although I can't honestly remember them. Of course, they are not strictly appropriate to Delph (nor Greenfield for that matter). However, they could physically have run to both places, either by extending the service from Oldham or, more plausibly, from Guidebridge via Stalybridge and Mossley. Anyway, I'm modelling Holt, not Delph, so anything can run that I fancy! And I do like the look of this train.
    Of course, Coach's models were "OO" and my layout is P4, so conversion has been necessary. This has caused some soul searching and a bit of compromise as I couldn't identify a source of GCR coach bogies, but overall, I'm happy with progress to date.
    The 12 wheeler should have bogies with 6'-0" + 6'-0" wheelbase. The only bogies I could find have 6'-3" + 6'-3" so a compromise was inevitable. I started assembling some Bill Bedford fully sprung bogies and intended to fit Exactoscale wheel sets with plain bearings. I was struggling a bit to control axle side play whilst keeping the spring carriers in their slots so I had a further look at the Comet LMS bogies I had bought for the cosmetic side frames and decided I rather like the functional etched bogie frames which could be built compensated (one fixed end axle, the other end axles rocking and the centre axle free to foat - lightly sprung in my case). This also eased the fitting of the cosmetic side frames as the pin-point bearing are fixed in the side frames and do not move up and down, as in a sprung arrangement. I originally bought the Comet bogies just fro the cosmetic side frames but decided to re-use the plastic bogie frames that Coachman had fitted. I'm not sure of their provenance but they look fairly reasonable and have the correct overall length, so they look right relative to the coach underframe headstocks. I have mounted them so that the centre axles are at the correct centres and arranged for one bogie to have side bearers to prevent rocking of the body whilst the other bogie is free to rock sideways.
    The other modification is to provide sprung buffers at the non-driving end as i want the coaches to have buffer contact but still go round curves. This is slightly complicated by them having oval heads. The buffers are standard round head sprung type with etched oval overlays. To prevent rotation, I fixed short lengths of brass tube to the buffer shanks, linked by a cross wire passing through holes drilled across the tubes.
    Here's a (not very good) shot of the coach.

     
    The non-driving trailer has 8'-0" bogies which have unusually long springs, long side frames and diagonal bracing rods to the outboard ends. Quite distinctive and not commercially available any longer as far as I could establish. Following a question on RMweb, a manufacturer did offer to produce suitable but has failed to deliver so far. I had noted that the axlebox/spring castings supplied for the 6 wheel bogies were a fair representation of those used, so I decided to make my own cosmetic frames using these castings. The frames were cut from N/S with flanges, bracing rods and tie-rods from brass wire and N/S strip. The axlebox/spring casting proved to be rather fragile with the end damper/shock absorber blocks tending to break off. Some were already broken when supplied and I manged to break quite a few in cleaning up the casting. Here's some of the debris - funny that it's the RH end that has broken on every one!

     
    In the end, I managed to get eight whole ones fixed to the frames, with the vulnerable bits reinforced with a dab of epoxy on the back. Not perfect scale model bogies, but a fair representation and better than anything currently available commercially, I think.
    Other modifications are fitting of sprung buffers all round and a rigid coupling bar to the driving coach. This is a cast item with under-slung pipes. I modified it to have swan neck type high level vacuum pipes (one for the brakes, the other for the push-pull control gear) and retained one low level pipe for the steam heat.
    Here's an even worse quality photo of the coach.

     
    Now Christmas has been put back in the garage for a year and the visitors have gone home, I might get back to working on the layout again. Obviously some painting to do on the two coaches. Oh yes, and there's the slight matter of a C13 tank to pull/push them!
    Dave.
  4. Dave Holt
    It's been rather a long time since my last entry, leading to some queries if I and the project are doing OK. Well, I'm fine but the layout has been in abeyance for quite a while because I allowed the prospect of hand scribing all the cobble to over-face me and off I went on my full size restoration work. I'm still involved with that but have had a bout of renewed enthusiasm for the layout and modelling in general recently.
    As a result, there's been progress with the layout, the latest loco and some coach conversions (from OO to P4).
    On the layout, I found that the remaining areas of cobbles hadn't scribed themselves in the intervening period so I knucked down to it and finished the lot in a couple of weeks!
    The next job is to paint them. As I recall from my youth, cobble stones in the North West tended to be a pale buff colour (rather than granite coloured) and the joints filled with tar, so I am thinking of a grey/brown acrylic paint with a very thin wash of dark grey/black which, hopefully, will settle in the scribe lines - like panel lines on military models. Better try out this on some spare card before committing to the layout!
    The final arrangement of cobbles extends over two of the base-boards but I forgot to photograph the two together before I split them and put the sections away for Christmas visitors. However, I did take a few shots of the main station board, which allows comparison with the previous photos. Unfortunately, the scribing doesn't show up too well on the white card, but you can get the idea. The cut out strip next to the run round in the loop line is to accommodate two rows of wooden sleepers. I imagine these were installed to make it easier to access the chairs in case of track maintenance. Photos of Delph show these quite clearly and also the fact they were only applied at this one place. Otherwise, the cobbles go right up to the side of the rails.
    First, a couple of shots from the buffer stops:
     

     

     
    And one looking the other way. The join where the next board connects follows the coarses of the cobbles not the base-board joint. When assembled, the join is fairly neat and not too intrusive.
     

     
    One issue which has arisen is that the "ash"" ballast I used has faded from dark grey to a fawn sort of colour, so some unexpected painting will be required at some stage. Oh well.
     
    Dave.
  5. Dave Holt
    Whilst I have the station boards down on the lounge floor, with Gravy Train's superb buildings temporarily in place, I thought I might just simulate the arrival of a through local from Stockport (via Oldham Clegg Street). This service is one of the deviations I'm making from the true operation of Delph, to give a bit more variety than just the motor trains would allow.
    In this case, the train consists of Stanier 2-6-4 tank, 42551 - one of the darlings of Lees shed, with a two coach suburban train (models not yet finished - no glazing or buffers) consisting of an ex_LMS period I lavatory composite and an ex-LNWR brake 3rd. The train stops short of the run-round points, then the engine moves up to the buffers, ready to run round. Actually, this shows just how far along the platform passengers would have had to walk if this sort of train had actually run. Not much fun in bad weather!
     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    Soon the fantasy will have to stop and I'll have to get back to working on the boards to get the track wired up and operational! Still, it's nice to play a bit.
     
    Dave.
  6. Dave Holt
    In order to correct some unsightly gaps in the cut out in the cork underlay, where the goods shed fits, I have temporarily re-fitted the shed. Suitable cork infills have now been fitted. Eventually, the shed will be surrounded on three sides by cobble stones. The total thickness of the cobbled area will be roughly 4 mm so as to be flush with the top of the rails. Similar to Martin Nield's description of the typical L&Y yard arrangement in the latest MRJ, the yard at Delph (ex-LNWR) had a double row of old sleepers between the adjacent rail and the cobbled area, presumably as these were easier to lift than cobbles when track maintenance was required.
     
    Whilst the shed building was in situ, I posed a part completed banana van on the shed road to check clearance and running. All OK, i'm pleased to report. However, I'm not too sure that any part completed banana vans ever actually ran to Delph, so this may not be strictly prototypical!
     
    The event was captured on film (well, pixels, anyway!):
     

     

     

     

    Banana van just visible at the far end of the shed in this view.
     
    Back to loco maintenance!
     
    Dave.
  7. Dave Holt
    Having decided on the method for creating the large area of cobbled (setts) roadways in the yard, using mount board hand impressed with individual setts, I've spent some time hoping it might do it itself. However, nothing has happened so far and now seems unlikely to, so I've re-started work on this aspect.
    The area behind the platform end has had a framework of tapered foam-board ribs erected to give the slope up to the yard entrance (off scene) and a template made from thin card for the whole of area to be covered with setts and the immediate surrounding area.
    Because of the complex shape and the need for a close fit round the goods shed and where it borders the track, this has been made up from a rough cut spine and a patchwork quilt of smaller pieces glued on. I started using a PVA type glue intended for craft work but this has caused a degree of rippling and distorsion of the card, so the later pieces have been attached using a solid stick adhesive.
    The template will be used to mark out the two layers of 1.3 mm thick mount board needed for the roadways and surrounding areas. The setts will be impressed off the job and the surfaces painted before fitting to the layout.
    The following photos show the general result and a close-upnear the goods shed which illustrates the patchwork nature to get a close fit round the walls.
    A few small isolated areas remain across the track at each end of the goods shed, in the four foot and just beyond. These can be seen as pale grey areas devoid of ballast in the photos.
    Two general views:
     

     

     
    And a close-up:
     

  8. Dave Holt
    In the 6 weeks or so since my last entry, I've been plugging steadily away at ballasting the track, which I finally finished yesterday. It proved nowhere near as difficult as I had feared but certainly was laborious and back breaking work.
    My original intention was to use a latex based carpet adhesive to allow a bit of sound deadening but just couldn't get on with it on a couple of test panels. In the end, I used diluted PVA applied with various sized brushes, small(ish) areas at a time, then vacuuming up the excess ballast for re-use. I used C&L 2mm ballast for the running line and run-round loop and their ash ballast for the goods yard and sidings. Areas to be covered with cobbles/setts have generally been left clear.
    I'm pleased with the results so far, but it all looks a bit too neat and even, so there will be quite a bit of weathering needed to create some variations in tone and texture.
    I've also had a go at representing what appears to be some home made steps made from piled up stone blocks with concrete capping behind the running line buffer stop. I imaging these were built to ease access between the platform and the ground frame which operated the run-round poins and was located in the 6 ft, beteen the buffer stops. Parts of this structure appear in various photos of Delph in the 1950's but no clear overall view. I originally thought it was just a pile of surplus stones, like under some of the other buffers in the yard, till a friend suggested they might be steps. Some further photos accquired more recently appear to confirm the step suggestion but my interpretation may well not be very accurate. This hasn't been helped by my leaving too big a gap between the buffers and the lorry loading bank which was added to the end of the platform at some time or other. Again, it doesn't really show up too well in the photos I've got but probably covered part of the buffer stop rails, whereas on the model it's immediately behind the bottom end of the rails forming the stop. No doubt someone will point out my error if it ever makes it to an exhibition.
    Although I tried to be careful with the gluing, ballasting and vacuuming, sad to say the platorm lamps, already fitted, took a bit of a battering from inadvertant bumps. The damage ranged from simple bending, which I've corrected, to completely snapping one off at the base. This will eventually be re-attached with a brass wire peg to support the joint.
    Here are some photos of the final board to be completed, including to location of the snapped off lamp and the steps mentioned above.
     

    Buffer stops with steps added.
     

    General view from the end of the layout.
     

    Looking the other way. The location of the goods shed and extent of the cobbled road-ways can be seen.
     

    Overall view looking towards the buffer stops.
  9. Dave Holt
    I'm having a weekend away frome the layout and thoughts of further ballasting!
    Yesterday, I got fairly damp helping spruce up 35006, P&O (304.8 mm/ft scale) ready for the GWR Gala, where it's on display out in the car park (on the loading/unloading track, not the tarmac!). The weather wasn't too kind to say the least. My main job was cleaning up the valve gear and coupling rods and blessing them with Shell Ensis de-watering oil. Hope it worked - I'll find out tomorrow when I'm on footplate guide duties.
    Today, I've been to Railex at Aylesbury. A really good show, in my opinion. My favorite layout was Blackgill (sometimes featured in the layout thread section on here). I must say the standard of modelling, the detailing and keen obsrevation of railway features is outstanding. I just hope I can get somewhere near with Delph. That would be a major and most satisfying result. There were plenty of other good layouts as well, but Blackgill was the star for me.
    Back to the layout next week.
     
    Dave.
  10. Dave Holt
    Since my first post on this new loco, I've made some progress with the cylinders, lubricators and associated pipework.
    The Comet kit design incorporates the top part of the cylinders into the running plate etch with the cam boxes and reversing links mounted above. It is intended that the cylinders are attached to the chassis in the normal way. However, completed examples of the model I have seen have struggled to disguise the join line between the cylinders and cam boxes which does not exist in the real thing.
    I couldn't see why the whole cylinder/slide-bar assembly couldn't be permanently attached to the running plate mounting plate and become part of the body, providing the connecting rods can be removed from the crank-pins to facilitate spliting the chassis and body. That way, the joint line can be as unobtrusive as possible. This arrangement did present some cylinder alignment issues but I overcame these with a couple of simple jigs to ensure that the projected cylinder centre line passed through the axle centre of the driving wheels.
    Whilst access is fairly easy, I decided to fit the lubricators and complete their associated oil distribution and steam heater pipework at this stage. Normally, I wouldn't start to add this type of detail till much later in the build and after I've got the loco running but it's done now.
     
    Here we see three views of the lubricators and oil pipework. I use 0.2 mm wire for these. Still overscale but a lot finer than many people seem to use. The pipes to the left-hand cylinder and slide bar cross along the top of the frame spacer. On some of these locos, the pipes were clipped to the outside face of the front splasher. That would make lining of the splasher very tricky, so I found a suitable example (44741, a Longsight engine) which had them on the top, curved surface after it's 1952 overhaul.
    These shots also clearly show how the cylinders have been fixed to the running plate rather than the chassis.
     

     

     

     
    The cylinder lubricator (the forward one) has a steam heating supply to thin the sticky steam oil for ease of pumping. On these locos, this supply was taken from the steam lance cock on the RHS of the smoke-box. It can be seen making its way down and along the top edge of the saddle, then aling the footplate and over the splasher top to the front lubricator. To allow the boiler to be removed (for painting and lining), the pipe is split at the front of the reversing shaft bracket on the running plate.
     

     
    Finally, an overall loco shot showing my sketch diagram for the lubricator pipework. The routing was mainly gleaned from photos in the Wils Swan loco profile book for these locos. An invaluable source of information including copies of some of the key drawings.
     

     
    Dave.
  11. Dave Holt
    Faced with the daunting task of laying the ballast, I've taken a break from the layout and have picked up a loco project which I started ages ago but didn't get very far.
    It is a Stanier (Ivatt!) Caprotti Black 5 based on a Comet kit. Previously, I'd built up the basic footplate and cab, but without the splashers, and soldered the frames together and marked out for the compensation beam pivots, but that's about it. Anyway, I've knuckled down over the past few weeks and now have a wheeled chassis and footplate/boiler unit, as shown below.
     
    First the chassis from above, showing the compensation beams (twin at the rear and single at the front. This transmits weight direct to the fron bogies wheel sets, so the bogie frames pivot and slide on side bearers, without any vertical movement, as on the real thing) and the High Level gearbox, complete with torque reaction link (at the rear):
     

     
     
    A shot from underneath showing the keeper plate with the dummy springs and ash pan sides, and the front bogie (which uses various Brassmasters bits):
     

     
    A couple of shots with the body attached. There was a lot of adjustment and filling with low-melt solder to get the boiler and firebox something like. There will be some minor filling required to the firebox over the wheel splashers. The dark blotches on the boiler are where I splashed excess phosphoric flux on the castings and didn't wash it off quickly enough:
     

     

     
    The coupling rods are already made, so the next job will be to open up the crankpin holes and sort out the crankpin bushes. Then I'll find out if the quartering is OK or not. I used a GW wheel press/quartering tool to press the wheels on, but there's a pit of play between the wheel locating stubs and the axle bore in the wheel which allows some slight variation between wheel sets.
     
    Dave.
  12. Dave Holt
    The final bit of point rodding in front of the signal box has now been completed and is shown in these photos.
     
    A general view:
     

     
    and just in front of the box:
     

     
    Unfortunately, I've now created a problem with the wonderful signal box made by Gravy Train. The original had a walk-way in front which was removed because the rodding cranks and signal wire pulleys are in the way. However, there is no slot above ballast level for the rods, etc., to enter the box, so I'm faced with having to create one without wrecking the finished box. This is to accommodate the support of the inner ends of the rods going under the box, which are above the false bottom in the box. I hoped I might be able to carefully carve a suitable opening in the floor and front of the box but it appears to be made from a grade of plastic card closely related to armour plate and the front face of the box is several thicknesses laminated together. I'll have to find a way to achieve the necessary openings somehow.
  13. Dave Holt
    The signal box has been modified to overcome the problem mentioned in the previous entry. A 3 mm wide slot was gouged in the underside using a custom made chisel (ground up from a screwdriver). Slots to accommodate the point rods were then cut in the front wall - very carefully, so as not to damage the paint finish applied by Gravy Train.
    I had been rather apprehensive about hacking at a fully finished model but it proved not as difficult as I'd anticipated. Let's hope that also applied to the forthcoming ballasting!
    Here's a photo of the box in situ with the rods entering via the new slots. Presumably there would be similar openings for the signal wires, but these have not been attempted. Best not to tempt fate.
     

  14. Dave Holt
    Since my last post back in September, I've painted the remaining track and point rodding with basic colours and recently installed the signal wire posts. There's just the rodding outside the signal box to complete and then I'm faced with the slightly daunting task of laying the ballast.
    I'll be using C&L ash ballast in the yard and run-round loop and a mixture of ash and proper ballast for the main line. Photos of the real place suggest the ballast even on the running line was pretty old and contaminated with years of accumulated muck, dust and oil. The type and colour of what proper ballast there was is an unresolved question and I'm a bit undecided whether to use a pale grey (granite) or creamy (millstone grit?) colour mixed in with the ash. Any suggestions of the type/colour of ballast in the Lancashire/West Riding border area in the mid 1950's would be welcome.
    My proposed method of laying the ballast is to cover an area with loose ballast, then soak in a diluted carpet adhesive with a few drops of washing-up liquid added. A fairly common approach, I think. One concern is whether the glue will also be drawn down the holes in the board for electrical dropper and drip all over the place. Has anyone any experience with this?
     
    Anyway, here are some photos of the current state of play, showing the painted track, rodding and signal wire posts. The tops of the rails have not yet been scraped clean. The dark coloured areas along the back edge and in some sleeper bays are where there will be little or no ballast in the cess and where stretcher bars, point rodding and signal wires pass under the track.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  15. Dave Holt
    It's been quite a while since I last posted anything about Delph (or should I say "Holt"). This is mainly because there's been precious little progress in recent weeks, partly due to the warm weather making work on the layout an unattractive proposition but mainly because I've been shying away from what seemed like a difficult and fiddly task. Needless to say, when I actually knuckled down to it, it proved much less of a problem than I had anticipated.
    Anyway, a concerted effort over the past week has seen good progress and it now only remains to do the facing point lock (which straddles two base-boards) and the cranks outside the signal box.
    Here are some shots showing the main rodding run, complete with compensators, and the arrangements to get the rods across the entrance to the mill siding.
    First, the main rodding runs. In the second photo, the hole in the base-board is for the starter signal to plug in.
     

     

     
    And here, the rods pass under the track into the mill siding, seen from each side. An Alex Jackson uncoupling magnet can be seen under the middle rod.
     

     

  16. Dave Holt
    A bit of further effort has seen the completion of the FPL and lock bar with the rodding all connected and the drive to the FPL bolt also done. This means I can now paint the track on the final board and in fact, since the photos were taken, I've primed all the unpainted bits using Halfords grey plastic primer.
    Just the rodding connections into the signal box left to do; then the dreaded ballasting awaits.
    Here are some shots of the finished assembly.
     

     

     

     

     
    Aahh! Just spotted that I forgot to plug the hole in the sleeper where I had to move the pivot bar for the FPL bolt (last photo). Another little job to do before painting.
     
    Dave.
  17. Dave Holt
    A quick update following completion of the FPL lock bar operating mechanism. This includes a representation of a spring assister which helped the signalman move the weight of the bar and cushioned the bar at the ends of its movement.
    Still got the other portion of the bar to complete and the rodding from the signal box.
     
    Here's a view of the recent bits added:
     

  18. Dave Holt

    Delph - FPL lock bar

    By Dave Holt,

    Following on from my previous post on point rodding, I've now got stuck into the facing point lock lock bar. This is located immediately in advance of the king point to prevent the FPL being withdrawn if any stock was standing over the bar.
    Using information from the Scalefour Society manual and further information and photos from Robin Whittle (of Barrow Road fame) I've made good progress with my 4 mm scale representation.
    The bar is slightly the wrong proportions being a length of 0.82 x 0.82 mm Tee section but not too far out. It's mounted on wire pins set into the base board top adjacent to the rail. The pivot levers are from an Ambis FPL etch but I didn't bother with the associated support brackets as they're barely visible behind the pivots. I set the top of the bar 0.75 mm below the rail head to make sure that my 0.5 mm deep wheel flanges would be clear of it. This is perhaps a bit generous clearance as the real thing is about level with the bottom of the rail head in the lowered position. To get the bar to the required height I had to file the top of the inside chairs to 1.57 mm below top of rail and trim the bottom of the pivot levers which will be below ballast level when all is finished.
    A minor inconvenience is that the bar crosses a base board joint, so the total length (50' - 6") is split with 140 mm on one board and the remaining 62 mm on the next.
    Here's a photo of the longer section in position. Also visible (just) are the cranks for the operating rods (rods not yet done). The drive from the signal box lever is to the far (left hand) end of the bar.
     

     
    At the other end of the bar is the attachment to the FPL bolt mechanism. This arrangement meant that any failure/breakage in the lock bar arrangement prevented the FPL (and hence the point blades) from being moved.
  19. Dave Holt

    Delph - 9F visits

    By Dave Holt,

    BR 9F 92037 paid a brief visit to Delph today following major repairs. Here she is seen close to the recently installed FPL and signal detector.
     

     
    The loco last saw use at Scalefour North a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, it shed a con rod big end (due to the return crank unscrewing) which locked up the chassis at full tilt and doing a fair bit of mischief to the mechanism. The loco was stripped down and now everything appears OK, although not tried under power, in anticipation of an appearance on Robin Whittle's fabulous Barrow Road layout at the forthcoming S4North show in about 10 days time.
    Even if now fully restored, I don't think 92037 will get much use on Delph - holiday excursion perhaps?
     
    Dave.
  20. Dave Holt
    Like some sort of UFO, the goods shed has descended from space (the spare bedroom, actually) and landed in the prepared cut-out in the cork surface of the base-board. It's been there before, but I thought I'd re-fit it, just to complete the station scene.
     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  21. Dave Holt

    Caprotti valve gear

    By Dave Holt,

    In a recent blog, Tim has shown his developing model of an LMS Caprotti Class 5, and very good it looks too.
    Here are some photos of the gear I made for the similar BR Standard version. Also a sketch of how I represented the universal joints in the shafts. THe shafts and joints were made for various diameters of brass tube and rod and the return crank gear boxes were from the DJH cast brass gear I was replacing. For ease of assembly, painting, etc., I made the gear as a set of sub-assemblies held together by small 14 BA) screws. The photos were taken by Barry Norman, so I hope he doesn't mind me putting them on here. The original prints are much sharper but have lost something in the scanning!
     
     
    The assembled gear looks like this:

     
    The various sub-assemblies are:
    1) Cylinders with slide bars and connecting rods,

     
    2) Main drive shafts,

     
    3) Reversing shafts,

     
    These make up the overall assembly,

     
    The universal joints consist of a pair of interlocking "ears" filed onto the end of a length of 1.5 mm tube, mounted on a length of about 0.8 mm wire.

     
    Cheers,
     
    Dave.
  22. Dave Holt
    In my last entry, I reported that I couldn't get the signals to work and suspected some switching problem, which I assumed was due to my attempts at some limited interlocking within the control panel. This requires certain switches to be either normal or reversed in order to allow the circuit to the signal servo control board to be broken, thus clearing the signal. So, for instance, it is not possible to clear the home signal unless the entry point is set to the platform road and the FPL engaged or it is not possible to clear the yard exit ground signal if the cross-over is not set or if if the yard entry signal is already off.
    Anyway, all this arrangement was checked using a resistance meter to check the making/breaking of the circuits within the panel and all appeared OK.
    My next worry was the use of the layout common return for the sevo control return rather than a dedicated servo control return, especially when DCC power is in use because of possible traction signal interference to the servo system.
    Well, I don't really know what had happened, because without making any alterations (other than swapping two of the signal switch connection on one of the control boards which I had connected to the wrong wires from the control panel), when I tried the system a short time ago everything worked OK, even with the DCC system connected. Phew!
    I've also fitted two of the Tortoise point motors with stiffer operating wires to solve a couple of point throw issues.
    Better get on with the point rodding stool supports, cosmetic tie bars, etc., prior to painting the track on the most recent board. Than it's ballasting - something I'm really not looking forward to!
     
    Dave.
  23. Dave Holt
    After the more than slight disappointment of the electrical issues described in my previous blog entry, I am pleased to say the the problems proved not too difficult to sort out. One or two of the comments suggested it didn't sound too bad, so you were right, thanks!
    The dead sections of track were due to me not having connected them to the jumper cable to the next board! I thought I'd been very careful and systematic with the wiring, checking as I went, but obviously not as thoroughly as it should have been. Anyway, three additional wires solve it.
    I couldn't actually find a fault with the platform release corss-over and I have concluded that it is a minor operational restriction due to the way I've powered the track from the crossing units of the points. This appears to cause a problem if the cross-overs at both ends of the run-round loop are reversed at the same time. In practice, this shouldn't cause a problem and just requires the operator to make sure the platform cross-over is returned to normal before completing the run round process. Since this cross-over is operated by a local ground frame (released from the signal box), any engine using it would have to wait, once clear, for the fireman to return the crossing to normal and lock it, then walk back to the loco and climb on board. This pause gives sufficient time for the signalman to change the other end of the loop before the loco moves off to complete the run-round.
    I still can't get the signals to operate, so a bit more investigation of the switching arrangements will be required.
    At least all the track is now powered and all sections accessible. Phew!
    During test running today, I was pleasantly surprised that my ex-LMS Crab 2-6-0 was able to successfully negotiate the very tightly curved mill siding - which is more than can be said for the BR Standard Class 2, 2-6-2 tank, whick derailed the pony trucks. Too striong side control springs, i think.
     
    Dave.
  24. Dave Holt
    Today I had a visit by friend Dave Clarke, who has weathered some coaches for me and we took the opportunity to assemble the whole scenic section of the layout, using the plastic trestles I bought recently. This allowed all the boards and control panel to be connected up and an attempt at running for the first time. A number of unexpected issues were found so the outcome was rather mixed. Part of the run-round loop and three sidings were completely dead on two boards, despite previous careful checking for continuity. I fear that a period of fault finding lies ahead.
     
    Still, we managed to run some locos and stock over part of the layout, so all was not lost.
     
    After moving some furniture and assembling the boards, the first job was to scrape the paint off the rail heads on the main station board prior to trying to run anything. The following photos show Dave doing the scraping and an overall view of the assembly.
     

     

     
    Dave had brought a sound fitted Class 24 and this is seen near the coal drops and also at the head of an arriving excursion train. This is made up of some of the coaches Dave has weathered. He's done a nice job and I'm very pleased with the results - mainly ends, underframes and bobies. The body sides were kept fairly clean on this type of stock.
     

     

     

     

     
    Then it was the turn of my Stanier 2-6-4 tank, No. 42551, to haul the train. A bit more in period!
     

     

     
    Finally, having run round its train (we had to cheat with a bit of finger power over the dead section), the train departs, passing WD 2-8-0, No. 90671, which is standing on the coal drop road, held by the miniature semaphore ground signal.
     

     
    Good fun playing trains for the first time, but a bit frustrating with the problems.
     
    Dave.
  25. Dave Holt
    Those who have followed previous blog entries will know that I have not yet started the support structure for my Delph based layout. As a result, although I have placed individual boards on the (suitably protected) dining table to work on, any attempts to connect several boards together have involved having them on the floor. During a recent visit by Tim V, we managed to connect all four scenic boards, but this entailed moving the table and a coffee table out of the way to make enough space. All a bit of a pain.
    Recently, I have worked on individual boards with them balanced on top a two dining chair backs. A bit precarious, but this has the advantage of raising the board surface to a less back-breaking height and also leaves the table free for its intended purpose! Then a thought struck.... Why not use trestle legs as temporary supports? Similar in height to the chair backs but more stable and leaving the chairs free! So, three pairs of plastic trestle have been accquired and found to be just the job. I haven't tried assembling the whole thing on these, yet, but a couple of sections have been connected so that a couple of loose rail ends could be re-soldered at the board joint. This assembly is shown below:
     

     
    Over the past week or so, I've been fitting the cosmetic chairs to the soldered tack (mainly points, but also some plain track) on the board with most of the station throat point-work. There feels to have been millions of them, even though I've cheated by only applying the chairs to the visible side of the rails to halve the number required.
    In order to fit them, any part of the brass rivet protruding beyong the foot of the rail has to be ground completely away. I used a small grinding disc mounted on the end of a flexible drive shaft to do this - very laborious and causing one or two of the soldered joints to break, needing repair before the chairs was fitted. Each chair moulding has to be cut in half and the cut ends trimmed back to allow the half chair to fit right up against the side of the rail. The chair halves were then attached using a strong plastic solvent (Plastic Weld). I used Exactoscale chairs because they do a wide range of chair types, which helps try to represent the various types of chair present in bull-head rail pointwork. The photos below show the results of my efforts:
     

     

     

     

     
    The next job is to fit cosmetic fish plates at all the rail joint positions. There are lots of these, as all the siding track-work is supposed to be 30 foot rail. Where electrical isolation is required, I'll use the Exactoscale plastic versions and otherwise, Brassmasters etched brass plates. Then it's point rodding supports and the facing point lock arrangement.
    Still lots to do, but it's coming along.
    I hope to have a trial running session next week. If it accurs, I'll post a further item and photos.
     
    Dave.
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