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Dave Holt

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  1. Dave Holt
    My painted and weathered Crab was returned home this afternoon and very nice it looks to me. The apparent strange angle of the front steps in the last photo I posted which raised comment was, happily, an optical illusion or due to barreling of the camera lens.
    Here are some shots of it parked in front of the Jubilee.
     

     

     

     
    Now to fit the DCC chip and front AJ coupling. I'll have to try to source the correct shed plate - Farnley Junction, 55C.
     
    Dave.
  2. Dave Holt
    Except for the buffer heads and final finishing, my Brassmasters Jubilee in now structurally complete, ready for painting, except......
    More problems have arisen, so it's currently a series of ups and downs.
    Final assembly and attachment to the tender has confirmed that the fall plate(s) will have to be omitted or heavily modified. As modelled, they probably work fine with the Stanier 4000 gallon tender, but with the Fowler 3500 they are too wide and long. This results in them jamming under the cab doors and contacting the filler plates that surround the brake and water scoop columns, preventing any angular movement of the tender relative to the loco to follow curves. I could trim the fall plates to miss the filler plates, but that would still leave the cab door issue. I'll have to see about that.
    I've previously mentioned the DCC chip problems and partial recovery and I confidently expected coupling of the tender pick up wires to the loco would help improve the loco response, but it hasn't really improved matters, so, presumably, it's not just a pick up issue. What is worse, is that now everything is connected, electrically, I seem to have introduced a dead short in the reverse direction only. Since it shorts one way but not the other, the short must be due to some movement withing the pick up arrangements, possibly due to the loco suspension. There doesn't seam to be a mechanism for the problem to be with the tender pick up arrangements, so I'll have to investigate the loco. At present, the motor is only constrained from movement by the (quite stiff) connecting wires and I've noticed that the front brake blocks are perilously close to the wheels, so they will be my first bits to check out. There isn't a lot of clearance between the brake hangers and the rear wheels of the bogie, so any stretching of the front brake pull rod will have to be done very carefully, so as not to transfer the problem!
    The other area to look at is contact of the wheels inside the splashers. Perhaps when the loco pushes the tender, the draw-bar forces tend to push the rear of the loco slightly to one side, causing the drivers to touch inside the splasher. Mind you, for that to cause a dead short, something on the other side would also have to be touching at the same time.
    Isn't fault finding so much more of a challenge that building in the first place?
    Anyway, here are three shots of the loco before it comes apart to investigate the above issues. I've even temporarily fitted the front number plate (45701) and shed plate (26A - Newton Heath). Unusually, my chosen loco remained at this shed for nearly its whole working life, returning after works visits.
     
    Side on
     

     
    traditional front three quarters view
     

     
    and, finally, a rear three quarters view.
     

     
    Dave.
  3. Dave Holt
    I've previously posted about my ex-LMS Crab model, which uses a Bachmann body on a much modified Comet chassis with a Comet tender. The previous photos showed it with the un-painted tender but it has now been painted and lined, the number changed and the whole thing weathered by good friend David Clarke. Here it is more-or-less complete.
     

     
    Since the photo, the odd bend in the brake ejector pipe has been improved by correctly locating the vertical pipe through the hole in the running plate.
    Front AJ coupling to make and fit, then conversion to DCC and coal in the tender.
     
    Dave.
  4. Dave Holt
    Phew! I'm pleased to say I've managed to partially recover from the recent set backs described last time.
    First, the replacement illuminated magnifying glass has arrived and is ready for use, so at least I'll be able to see the jobs in hand!
    This morning I got out the mini drill with a rotary burr and ground away more of the inside of the Jubilee resin firebox such that it now fits over the motor whilst missing the whistle. Getting the front fixing screw in before the new lamp arrived was a tricky task but accomplished on about the tenth attempt.
    On Saturday, I thought I had better check to see if my DCC control system was working at all by trying out one of my existing DCC locos on the test track before starting to rip bits apart. That worked OK, so I then tried the Jubilee chassis again, using the default address 03 and, lo and behold, it worked - rather spasmodic - but at least it moved, proving that the chip is not completely dead. I think the issue with the loco now is pick up related so I need to get the tender pick ups connected to the loco and see if that improves the running.
    However, the failure to change address suggests that there is a problem with the programming aspect of my DCC power unit or the way I have it wired to the track. Further investigation is needed with possible replacement in the future.
    Dave.
  5. Dave Holt
    Yesterday was just one of those days. A little progress with the Jubillee but a series of set-backs, sufficient to make me want a few days away from it!
    The progress was in successfully cutting back the rear edge of the cab footplate to clear the front of the tender, fitting the fall plates and some guide pins that hold the pivoted tender doors in place whilst allowing movement on curves. I also fitted the whistle to the cab front, although that bit leads into one of the set-backs.
     
    In anticipation of the painting and weathering of the loco, I have been refreshing my memory of the necessary assembly sequence and found that the motor must be attached to the gearbox before fitting through the footplate/cab, then the motor wiring attached and finally, the boiler fitted over the motor, plugged into the cab front and fixed to the smokebox saddle from underneath. I also needed to find a suitable space for the DCC chip - not easy as the resin boiler is packed with lead sheet to give tractive weight and balance on the locomotive springs.
    I had dallied with connecting the motor up for DC operation initially and fitting the chip later. However, I decided to fit the chip straight away as I have had the loco running successfully on DC previously. In the end, I was quite pleased with the motor/chip installation, although the soldering wasn't my best after struggling with bits coming adrift when I added the next wire. These photos show the arrangement without the boiler. The tender is not coupled in the first shot and fits closer to the loco than illustrated.
     

     

     
    The first set-back came when I tried to programme the chip with its proper address (5701) which involves first setting CV29 to accept four digit addresses. On doing this, after swatting up from the various instruction manuals, I got an error message. Furthermore, the chip appears to be totally unresponsive despite trying both the new address and the factory default address of 03. Now I'm not sure if there's a chip fault - nether had any previous trouble with the Digitrax DZ123 type, before, or if the problem lies in my Lentz DCC control unit or throttle. Further checking of wiring, etc., is in order before I rip the chip out.
    The second set-back resulted from fitting the whistle as this now prevents fitting of the boiler till I've ground away loads more of the inside of the firebox. Previously, the boiler just squeezed over the motor with the back end clear of the cab front. Now, with the whistle protruding from the cab, the boiler has to be about six or seven millimeters further forward, to clear the end of the whistle and the thinned down firebox sides no longer coincide with the motor body. Oh well, out with the rotary burr.
    The final set-back was the disintegration of my illuminated magnifying glass that I need to see what I'm doing. The mazac castings that grip the lens/light unit broke, causing the lens to fall down, suspended only by the power cable, luckily without hitting anything but effectively ending any use of the unit. A smaller, cheaper replacement has been ordered but will take a week or so to arrive. I do have an Optivisor head set, but find it hard to get on with and also a lack of bright illumination to see the detail in my modelling room.
     
    Hopefully, all these issues will prove no too difficult to overcome, in the end.
     
    Dave.
  6. Dave Holt
    Contrary to my last blog entry, the sand pipes proved not to be the only outstanding work. I realised that I had not represented the drive to the mechanical lubricators. On the Caprottis, this takes the form of a triangular swing link driven by a return crank on the RH driving wheel. Whilst I had provided the mounting bracket under the foot plate, I hadn't really thought out how to represent the mechanism or how to actually fix it to the loco structure. This proved to be rather more testing than I would have wished! Unfortunately, the parts provided by the kit didn't replicate the full size version accurately enough for me, so whilst I did use the drive rod (which I had to lengthen), all the rest was scratch built.
    As with my BR Standard Caprotti, I made no attempt to make the final drive to the lubricators work, just the lower part of the swing link.
    My initial attempts were quite successful and I had the pivot mounting soldered to the loco bracket and the swing ling made up and pivoted in the mounting. The drive rod was stretched (by combining sections of two of the kit parts. Then things went horribly wrong and I nearly gave up.
    In trying to open out the bottom holes in the link, the whole assembly came adrift from the loco. So much for my soldering quality! Well, access for the iron tip was very restricted.
    Next, when trying to solder the pivot pin for the rod in the bottom of the swing link, I managed to not only solder the whole lot solid, but the swing link itself partially came apart. Half an hour cooling off was needed before I could face trying to rectify it all and recover the parts.
    Needless to say, I was rather more careful the second time.
    Anyway, after all that, I have managed to get it all on and working, giving a satisfying waggle of the link as the wheels go round.
    Here's a photo of the finished arrangement. If you look closely, you can just make out the splice in the drive rod near the swing link end.
     

     
    Still got those sand pipes to do. Then it's ready for painting, I think.
     
    Dave.
  7. Dave Holt
    My Caprotti Black 5 is now complete except for the sand pipes, which are awaiting so custom etched support brackets. So, whist I wait for them, and inspired by a recent discussion on RMweb about Jubilees, I thought it would be a good idea to dig out my partially completed Brassmasters version. I started this loco at least 15 years ago and put it to one side when I reached a minor sticking point with a cosmetic detail. Up till that point, I had a strict policy of not starting a new model till the current one was complete but broke my rule and started something different - a BR 9F, I think; although it's so long ago I can't really be sure. Ant way, numerous locos have been built since but the Jubilee never came back out of the box till the last week or two.
    I was pleasantly surprised how far I had actually got and the loco has now been completed except for the builders, number, shed code and name plates - 45701 Conqueror. The tender, a Fowler 3500 gallon type, is less advanced, being the basic structure. It also had a slightly low ride height issue with the continuous springy beam suspension - probably caused by a modification I had made to the kit design - and which I am currently working to correct.
    Here are a few shots of the loco as it stands. The resin cast boiler has turned a much darker shade over the years, ot it's the result of lots of handling with grubby fingers.
     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  8. Dave Holt
    A further trial run took place on Green Street, prior to an operator training session. This showed that the mods I'd made had not really solved the problems with the front bogie, which still derailed on some pointwork and reverse curves.
    To try to effect a cure, fairly drastic tweaks have been carried out. The front end of the cylinder drain cocks has been bent outwards slightly and the support brackets filed to wafer thin. To give clearance to the rear truck wheels, the slide-bar supports have been cut away using a small slitting disc in a mini-drill. I'm not really sure why this has proved necessary since the prototype wasn't similarly cut away, but it appears to have solved the bogie problem and isn't too obvious unless you look for it. I also found that one of the pickups was touching the ash pan intermittently, so some coats of super-glue were applied to both components and allowed to dry to a hard film (making sure the pickup wasn't fixed to the ash pan!
    Following these mods, the loco was free wheeled trough various bit of point-work on Holt, including the tight track leading into the mill siding, without any derailment of the bogie wheels stopping rotating. So far, so good.
    Today, yet another trial run on Green Street confirmed that the latest mods appear to have solved the problem. There was a derailment issue on a particularly severe reverse curve through a double slip where sometimes the front bogie axle took the wrong road and other times it didn't. Perhaps some lubrication of the bogie side bearing pads (after painting) would enable the bogie to slide sideways more easily.
    Anyway, I'm sufficiently encouraged to carry on with the remaining details now the running has been proved.
    Dave.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Dave Holt
    I've now completed the modifications to the two coaches (apart from the AJ coupling at the loco end) and have painted the new bogies and also the coach underframes. Probably at bit of weathering on the sides, ends and roofs, when I set up my airbrush - warmer weather allowing work outside or in the garage, I think.
    Here are the coaches in their current state.
    First, the brake composite non-driving trailer:
     

     
    and the 12 wheel driving trailer:
     

     
    Dave.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Dave Holt
    Not a huge amount of progress since my last post. In fact, I didn't do any modelling at all over Christmas and New Year, but have got back to it in recent weeks.
    I had marked out the areas to be cobbled onto 1.2 mm thick mount card using the templates illustrated last time and since then, I've embossed about a quarter of the area needed and cut out some of the shapes to fit round the track and goods shed.
    My original intention was to paint the surface before fixing to the base-boards but have got a bit carried away and have now fixed the first section in place. So much for plans!
    The land form levels were built up with layers of card so that the final surface is level with the platform at the end of the station building and slopes down to track level in the yard area. I used a centre strip of card to produce a bit of camber in the main roadway, although this probably isn't as pronounced as it was on the prototype.
    Close observation of the photos just reveals the cobble stone embossing, but hopefully this will be more apparent after painting.
     

     
    The view looking at the end of the platform. The later addition of the brick-built loading platorm now stands at the correct height. The cut-out nearest the camera is for the gable end and back yard of the station master's house.
     

     
    A more general view.
     

     
    The area round the goods shed is only partially embossed and is not yet cut to final size or fixed down.
     
    Dave.
  15. 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:
     

  16. 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.
  17. Dave Holt
    I've been doing some further work on the Dobcross bridge/tunnel which forms part of the scenic break at the exit to the fiddle yard. Recent work has been to add a section of curved wall alongside the steep lane going over the bridge. These days, it is almost completely obscured behind brambles and other thick undergrowth but I imagine it was fully exposed to view at the time the railway is set (mid to late 1950's). It appears in a photo on page 23 of Larry Goddard's Delph to Oldham book.
    Following construction and installation of the new wall, the stone-work has been painted. The above mentioned photo (unfortunately undated) shows that the stone was not completely blackened, as was common around Oldham at that time, with the mortar generally being a lighter colour than the stones. This has necessitated a different technique to the other stone structures. These had been painted a stone colour followed by matt black, which was partially wiped off after a few minutes drying (as recommended by Gravy Train). This is very effective for rough stone but results in the joints being black. For the bridge, the black has been applied by dry brushing over the stone colour, tending to leave the mortar the base stone colour.
    The different stone effects are the nearest commercial embossed plastic sheet to the various types of stone-work on the real thing. I suppose individually engraved stones (a la Geoff Kent) would have have enabled a better representation but I can live with the result I've got.
    Here are some photos of the result, previously seen only in grey primer.
     
    First the "Delph" portal:

     
    The lane side wall, including the new curved section:

     
    The "fiddle yard" portal (and the end shown in the L.G. book):

     
    There may well be some further weathering but the bridge can now be fixed in position and the cess ballast touched up against the walls of the bridge.
     
    Dave.
  18. 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.
  19. Dave Holt
    After putting this off for ages and some fairly inconclusive test pannels, I've bitten the bullet and started laying ballast. To ease into the process and learn on the job, so to speak, I've chosen the easyest board first - the one with the single track approach, some of which disappears into a deep cutting and long over-bridge/short tunnel to hide any disasters!
    I've used C+L ash for the cess and 2 mm scale light grey for the track. Originally, I intended to use a rubber based carpet adhesive to provide a bit of give in the track-bed, for sound deadening, but that's one clear result from the test pieces. Perhaps I'd kept the adhesive too long, but it just didn't work for me, so diluted PVA has been used. Doing the ballast after track laying allows electrical testing of the track and trial running whilst adjustments and additional connections are easier, but it does result in a rather laborious process for ballasting as the glue has to be carefully brushed into every individual sleeper bay, in short sections, and the ballast sprinkled on whilst the glue is still wet. The section shown was done over 2 days, allowing other domestic activities and drying time between application and vacuuming up the excess for re-use. I bought a small, hand-held vacuum specifically for this!
    I'm quite pleased with the results, although taking the board out into the garden today for the photos revealed a number of bald patches, especially on the ballast shoulders, that I hadn't spotted in the house. I'm not sure whether to patch these up with more ballast or just rely on disguising them when the track is finally weathered.
     
    Anyway, here are a few shots of the finished result (taken this afternoon in the back garden), seen with and without the over-bridge structure.
     
    Looking towards the station area, without the bridge:

     
    Looking away from the station area, without the bridge, including the buffer stop at the end of the run-round loop head shunt:

     
    Operating end of the FPL:

     
    Two views with the bridge in place:

     

     
    Now to the station throat board. I think this will take a bit longer!
     
    Dave.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
     

  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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