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Dave Holt

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Blog Entries posted by Dave Holt

  1. Dave Holt
    It's been a little while since my last entry about the BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2 tank. This has now been painted and lined and is in the process of being weathered by my good friend David Clarke.
     
    Whilst this is underway, I've been doing a few slightly different things, for me, anyway.
    First, I've assembled a Lanakshire Models tender sprung chassis and fitted it to a Brassmasters outer frames and footplate unit to go under a Bachmann ex-LMS Fowler 3500 gallon tender, destined for a Crab.
     

     
    Secondly, I've fitted injectors and associated pipework to a part built (by someone else) ex-LMS Stanier 8F. This is a Hornby body on a Comet chassis.
     

     

     
    I also finished off and fitted the front pony truck, which has a sprung axle and fixed rubbing plates, as per the prototype.
     

     

     

     
    Having completed this work, I decided to start my own next project which is a fully sprung Penbits chassis for the Bachmann EE Type 4 (Class 40) diesel. So far, I've assembled the two bogie frames, complete with the axle carriers, and the front truck frames. The kit is fairly complex but very well thought out and produced. Everything has fitted well with no adjustments except to get smooth movement of the bearings in their frame slots.
    Of course, with two bogies to build, everything is doubled up compared with a steam loco chassis, so I'm trying to progress both, one step at a time, and trying not to mix up the bits between them!
    Here are the two bogie frames and pony trucks, set out in their correct relative positions.
     

     
    One of them has the bearing carriers located in the frame slots which, unusually, open to the top of the frame sides.
     

     
    and the other without.
     

     
    Dave.
  2. Dave Holt
    It's bee a while since my last post, mainly due to lack of photogenic progress - and that hasn't changed really. However, I have made some steady progress with the wiring of the station board (board No. 4 in my scheme of things). This is now complete with the jumper cables, plug/socket for connection to the control panel, which will be mounted at the end of this board. Due to the position of the panel relative to the bulk of the pointwork and signals, lots of the wires just run from one end to the other but makes the wiring look more complex than it is. Nevertheless, there's certainly plenty of it under this board! I've tried to keep it all as neat as possible.
    There are two jumpers to the panel, one terminating in a 25 pin plug, the other in a 25 pin socket - not that there are 50 wires, just more than the biggest plug i could obtain (37 pins). The following under-board shots show the tag strips with wires attached to the outer ends from the board and the inner ends to the jumper cables. The cables can be seen clipped in their transport positions, tucked out of harms way.
    There may need to be a separate ribbon type wiring and plugs to carry the loco number describer info from the cassette fiddle yard to the main panel display - I think you need something like this when driving DCC locos from hidden sidings (loco address and forward/backward info)
     

     

     
    In order to gather some scenic information, I visited the remains of Delph station yesterday to measure up the roadside retaining walls and try to get a feel for the types of trees/bushes, leaf colours, etc., as i intend to set the layout in April/May time. It's sad to say that the whole station area, with the exception of the station building, has been decimated since my initial visits. I was fully aware that a housing estate had been built on part of the goods yard and in the coal drops area, but I hadn't appreciated just how much collateral damage had been done to the old infrastructure. All quite sad. Still, some very useful information and photos were obtained, which will be a help later in the project.
     
    Cheers,
     
    Dave.
  3. Dave Holt
    I thought it was about time I got back to some modelling. My arm/shoulder is still recovering, but i have sufficient movement to use small tools, etc., without over stressing it.
    So, I decided to fit the DCC chip as part of the finishing off process. This required separation of the chassis from the body, taking care not to damage the paint or weathering. That's not to say some minor touching up will be required by the time I've finished. The chip used is a Digitrax DZ126, the current nearest to the DZ123's I've tended to standardise on in all my recent locos. The (spare) lighting wires were cut off close to the encapsulation, just leaving the four traction related wires. Actual fitting was very easy as I had already fixed four copper-clad pads to the side of the gearbox, one each for the two pick-up connections and the motor terminals. In the temporary DC operation, short bridging wires linked the relevant pads to connect the pick-up wires direct to the motor. It only took moments to un-solder the bridging wires and connect the appropriate chip lead. The chip will just rest freely inside the boiler/smokebox when the loco is reassembled.
    The photo below shows the attached chip and chassis.
     

     
    Dave.
     
  5. Dave Holt
    I'm slowly working through the remaining details needed to finish the body on this model. The current work has been on the push-pull vacuum control valves and steam pipes and the vacuum brake ejector. On these locos, these items are quite distinctive and are a major visual feature. Unfortunately, the items provided in the kit leave much to be desired, needing a lot of fiddly work to get anywhere near the right look.
    The cast steam pipes and push-pull valves were grossly out of proportion. The only useable portion was the vertical steam pipe cover and even that was a millimetre too short - hence the 40 thou plastic packer. The horizontal portion was too long and the valve body just massive. A replacement valve body was fitted and the gap filled with low melt solder. Various drain pipes and the actual vacuum controls remain to be fitted.
    BR standard locos were fitted with a Gresham & Craven SSJ brake ejector mounted on the LHS of the smokebox. This was quite different in appearance to previous ejectors fitted to LMS and GWR locos and, again, the kit item just wasn't right. In fact, I'm not aware that anyone supplies a good representation of this item and this is the third I've scratch built so far. In total, there are 22 component parts in the ejector assembly so it would have been more sensible to use the first as a pattern and have castings made! Anyway, another ejector has been made. On this loco, there is the added complication of the discharge pipe having a 90 degree bend to avoid the steam pipe cover.
    Initially, I tried to make the pipes out of tube so I could have joints aligned with brass wire but I found the tube just kinked and flattened at the bends and in the end I had to use a single length of solid wire. This made getting the two right angle bends the right distance apart rather difficult.
    A great deal of adjustment, fiddling and not a little cursing was involved to get it all assembled into position. Despite the struggle, I'm fairly pleased with the result. The steam supply pipes (and blower pipe), which run along the top of the side tank are still to be done.
    A couple of photos illustrate the parts described.
     

     

     
    Dave.
  6. Dave Holt
    Well, it's cooled down somewhat recently and I've finally got down to a bit more modelling after nearly two month hiatus. The final details still outstanding were the lamp irons and fixing the smokebox front.
    I actually did the latter a couple of weeks ago during the hot weather and failed to spot that some Araldite has squeezed out and covered some of the rivets round the top half of the wrapper. I have been worrying about what to do about this and had come to terms with leaving it for fear of damaging the white metal casting. To help this decision, I painted the local area matt black to see how it might look on the finished model. However, today, I tried a stiff fibre-glass brush to remove the paint and noticed the Araldite seamed to also partially rub off. I also noticed that the residue of adhesive in the mixing lid had set to a sort of rubbery consistency rather than hard as glass - perhaps i didn't use quite enough hardener? Anyway, this prompted me to try scraping it with the back of a scalpel blade which resulted in the excess peeling away, leaving the cast rivet detail unharmed. A bit of good fortune on my part.
    The lamp irons are another custom etch from Rumney Models, which fold up to represent the correct pattern of irons for the smokebox top and bunker rear. They're rather fiddly to do and have a tendency to ping off into the far corners of the room. I needed five but lost two to the carpet or somewhere. Luckily, Justin had etched seven irons in a set so I was just able to get all that were needed from one etch.
    After fitting the irons, I have reassembled the body and chassis so that the speedometer drive could be bent back into the correct shape, having been moved during handling.
    I'll leave it for a couple of days to let everything cure before cleaning up ready for it's trip to the painters.
    Here are a few shots of the assembled loco.
     

     

     

     
    And the other side, with the front plates and door handles temporarily fitted.
     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  7. Dave Holt
    Yes, I have made some progress with the Standard 2 tank, but it seems to be at a glacial rate. Various details have been added but it has also involved re-fitting bits I've managed to knock off (probably not very well attached in the first place) or having to move existing parts that interfered with new, additional items and in a couple of cases, removing new bits because they prevented re-assembly of the whole thing. Definitely a case of two steps forward and one and a half back!
    Some of the newly added parts are custom etchings very nicely made by Justin Newitt of Rumney Models, based on my fairly rudimentary sketches. Thanks Justin - they fitted beautifully. There are still some more parts to come, including a replacement cab roof, but the ones fitted so far are the wheel balance weights, brackets which support the push-pull vacuum actuators and the tank support straps.
    The push-pull apparatus is now completed, as best I can, including most of the associated piping and a representation of the electrical jumper cables, front and back. The only parts of the original kit which have survived are the vertical leg of the outside steam pipes and the vacuum diaphragm actuators mounted on the smokebox sides.
    Parts still to do are the top, front and the bunker mounted lamp irons, fire-iron holders, lubricator drives and the cab roof. The smokebox dart, number and shed plate will be fitted after painting (by David Clarke). I might need to do a bit of filling and sanding on the drop sections of the footplate at the front.
    Here are a few photos of the current state of the loco. I also need to re-fit the speedometer drive which I managed to break off during handling of the body.
     

     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  8. 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.
  9. 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:
     

  10. Dave Holt
    The sea-side holiday excursion which departed Delph (Holt) last week behind Jubilee 45701 returned today with its load of happy holiday makers, refreshed and ready for the mills to restart next Monday. On this occasion, the train was hauled by ex-LMS 2-6-0 Crab, No. 42713. The train has run almost to the buffer stop to get the maximum number of coaches alongside the platform. Once all the passengers have got off, the loco will push the stock back, clear of the cross-over, run round its train and depart empty stock, as recorded in these photos:
     

     

     

  11. 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.
  12. Dave Holt
    Having recently completed three larger types - a Crab, Jubilee and Stanier Caprotti 5, all potential holiday excursion locos but not really true to prototype, my thoughts have shifted to the next project. I have two part built Class 2, 2-6-2 tanks, one Ivatt and a BR standard type. In real life, these were used on the regular push-pull passenger trains in the last years of operation, in the mid 1950's.
    Both are in running condition but incomplete. A state they've been in for umpteen years whilst I've messed around with larger, generally inappropriate locos. . in terms of detail, so I've decided they really must be finished off before I start anything new.
    Each is in a different state of completion but on balance, I decided to work on the BR standard version first. Work has now started - given a boost by being housebound by the recent snow and freezing weather.
     
    The loco consists of a modified DJH body mounted on a Comet chassis. Initial work has been to finish off the chassis by adding the dummy driving axle springs and mountings, the brake gear, ash-pan and hopper operating gear and the sand pipes. The valve gear assembly and the two pony trucks were already completed, so only the body remains to finish off. The main issue with this item is that the kit is 2 mm too short in the cab area. Unfortunately, the loss of length (why do they make that sort of mistake?) is distributed in front of the cab windows, in the cab opening and also behind the cab opening. Correcting this accurately was just too over-facing, so I opted to cheat by simply stretching the cab opening to give the correct overall length. Of course, that means the cab roof no longer fits - Oh hum!
     
    The photos below show the current state of the major component parts, as described above.
     
    First, the chassis. Since the body kit is designed to include the front and rear sections of the main-frames, I opted to keep this arrangement, so the main chassis finishes at the front of the cylinders and under the cab, behind the steps and sand boxes. To permit assembly, the brake gear is split into two sections and is removable to give access to the pony truck pivots. There is a removable keeper plate which incorporates the dummy springs and sand pipes (the rear sand boxes are part of the body). I deliberately fitted the dummy springs inside-out as they are etched with a small number of very course leaves whereas the real things had 12 or 14 fine leaves which probably can't be seen in the gloom and at normal viewing distances, unlike the crude etched lines.
     

     

     

     
    Next we have the body, which is in two parts - the footplate, tanks and cab section and the boiler. A certain amount of detailing has already been done, especially below the tank and cab sides, but these parts now represent all the work needed to finish the loco off. This includes the push-pull gear, front end pipework, lamp irons, tank fillers and restraining bars and that dratted cab roof.
    First the footplate/tanks/cab assembly:
     

     

     
    and the boiler:
     

     

     
    Next we have the completed cylinder and valve gear assembly, which also includes the motor torque reaction links to stop the motor/gearbox trying to rotate round the axle. Also in this shot are the pony trucks:
     

     
    The pony trucks were made from Brassmasters etches. However, on the 2-6-2 tanks, one of the trucks (the rear one on the standards, but generally the front one on the Ivatts) was of the swing link side control type rather than the spring side control type represented by the Brassmasters etch. This was done by modifications of some of the etched parts and some scratch built parts. The difference in appearance of the two is shown in the final photo:
     

     
    Hope that lot is of some interest.
    There will be a short break from this project to get the track cleaned on the layout, ready for a visit by a group of friends next week.
     
    Dave.
  13. Dave Holt
    Hope you all had a good Christmas and are ready to celebrate New Year in whatever way suits you!
     
    I recently collected the platform sections and other Delph (well, Holt, actually) related buildings from Gravytrain, following some minor repairs, additions and modifications. Peter was very keen that I fix the platform sections down to the boards to avoid any further warping of these long, thin plastic card structures - so I have. I'm a little concerned at their vulnerability, especially the lamp standards, during handling and storage for the remainder of the build process. However, too late now!
    I used Evo-stik contact adhesive, allowing it to fully dry, especially on the underside of the platform to minimize the risk of damage from solvent fumes, before positioning the platform sections and weighting them down with substantial steel weights borrowed from the P&O (35006) restoration project I'm also involved in.
    I'm quite happy with the horizontal and vertical alignment of the two sections (split at the base-board joint), but have ended up with a slight gap at the joint - certainly not as tight as the dry run - but it was quite hard to get the exact position and once the glue surfaces touched they grabbed hard and no adjustment was possible. Anyway, it's not too bad.
    The following photos (not the best quality, unfortunately. Also, please excuse the Christmas card background!) show the fixed platform with the station building and signal box placed loosely in position. They won't be fixed till much later.
     
    First, some overall views which also show that the point rodding and stretcher bars, local to the platform, have been painted.
     

     

     

     
    Here's the platform joint mentioned above.
     

     
    Finally, the signal box. The wall at the rear of the platform extends to the box and actually carries on as far as the mill coal unloading bay - yet to be built.
    Recently, I've been having some more detailed thoughts about the mill and it's relationship to the station and the gateway in the platform wall. This has revealed that the track plan is not as close to scale as I originally thought. Seems that a few inches have been lost somewhere along the line (sic). As a result, the unloading bay is too close to the end of the platform. With my original plan to replace the mill with something much more aesthetically pleasing, this didn't matter; but now I've decided to stick to a representation of the actual Bailley's mill, it means some further adjustments will be required. The opening in the platform wall aligns with a doorway in the mill and this will now have to be in a different place along the mill wall than it should be. Still, it's not Delph - see the station name board - so I suppose I'm free to make the necessary changes without altering the overall impression of the place.
     

     
    Dave.
  14. Dave Holt
    By moving some of the furniture, I was able to assemble all four scenic boards for the first time, today. Still on the floor, naturally, as the support structure is not yet built.
    The occasion for this event was a visit by Tim Venton (Tim V), of Clutton fame, following his visit to the Midland Model Engineering Show nearby. Tim kindly helped with the removals work and assembly of the layout.
    Attached photos show the results - looks impressively long for a single line branch terminus.
     
    Two overall views, first from the station end and then from the fiddle yard end:
     

     

     
    This closer shot of the station shows the approximate location for the control panel - right at one end so the operator doesn't block the view!
     

     
    Dave.
  15. Dave Holt
    Nothing very photogenic recently but some good progress has been made.
     
    I decided to break off from the coal drops whilst I pondered the access steps from the lower to upper levels. In the mean time, all the droppers have been soldered to the rails and these have been connected together, as dictated by the wiring diagram & schedule, by means of under-board bus rails (bare copper wire supported on brass screws) which run roughly under the track position. Later the busses will be connected to the tag strips at each end of the board. The inter-board connectors will also be connected to the tag strips.
     
    I'm intending to use a common return system to reduce the number of cables, but there's still quite a lot of wires, especially on the station board where the control panel will be located.
    I must say, the appearance/neatness of my wiring isn't in the same league as some of the other entries I've seen on RMweb recently. Definately no photos, please! - A case of out-of-sight; out-of-mind?
    Nethertheless, using temporary jumper leads I was able to power up the Tortoise and swith the point and also run a loco on every length of track on the board (the track over the coal drops will not be powered, as locos were not permitted, so there's no need). All very satisfactory and positive.
     
    Now it'sback to the coal drops or cosmetic chairs on the point.....
     
    Dave.
  16. Dave Holt
    Phew! Superb weather but rather too nice to be stuck indoors doing any modelling. Even now (ten past eight), my modelling room is uncomfortable as it gets the sun all afternoon and evening. So, I've been mainly out in the garden reading and having my meals al fresco. Looks like this might carry on for a few more days.
    However, I did make some further progress with the Standard 2 tank before it got so hot. Using the second batch of custom etched parts from Rumney Models, I've made the cab roof, lubricator drives and fire iron rests. Still got some lamp irons and the shed/SC plate mounting to go, then it's complete. The roof is just temporarily clipped in place and will not be fixed till after painting, glazing and fitting the crew. This latter is a bit of a dilemma. As a push-pull loco, it should have driver and fireman in the cab when loco first but only the fireman when pushing (as the driver is in the driving trailer coach). I'll probably go for the two on board.
    I took the loco body out into the garden and took a few shots showing the new parts, hence the strong shadows.
     

     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  17. Dave Holt
    Today, a construction worker engaged in reinstating the railway at Delph station site discovered a tortoise buried beneath.......
     
    OK, in a slight break from the coal drops (awaiting more plastic supplies), I decided to mount and connect the first point motor to the TOU on the only turnout on this board. On fitting and attaching the droppers from the switch blades to the pre-made TOU I found that the blade opening at the tips of the blades is slightly over the scale 4.5". I think I'll live with this (hard to correct anyway, without making a new set of sliders) as it's better to have a larger than smaller gap for running purposes. I then fitted and connected the Tortoise point motor with the blades/TOU and motor drive set in the mid-stroke position. I then adjusted the throw of the actuator to give a fairly firm pressure in the closed position. Being the first time I've fitted on of these, I'm not sure how to judge the correct amount of over-travel at the motor (how much bend there should be in the actuating spring steel wire at full throw). Advice on this from experienced Tortoisers would be welcome.
     
    Here's a couple of photos of the under board installation.
     

     

     
    The motor is mounted on an Exactoscale adaptor plate, which in turn is screwed to a mounting pad fixed under the board. All the motors are set along the back edge of the boards, clear of the track above.
     
    The operating rod from motor to TOU passes through a mouse-hole slot in one og the strengthening ribs under the board. This connecting rod is actually a length of rail from some Peco "OO" flexi-track purchased specially for the purpose at the recent Leamington show. P4 friends operating Amlwch took great pleasure in taking a compromising photo of me carrying said track in it's distinctive bag. "Traitor" was one of the words used.....
     
    Dave.
  18. Dave Holt
    Have laid the track across the coal drops for the layout. The deck beams are obeche strip spaced at 20 mm centre-lines. The track uses Exactoscale functional bridge chairs fixed to the wood using Plastic Weld solvent. For added security, there are brass locating pegs at three places along the length on which the chairs plug and the last two chair positions at the base-board joint are soldered to brass panel pins for strength. Had a minor setback when after all was fixed, I noticed I'd put one of the chairs on back-to-front, so the key was in the 4 foot! Luckily, it was on the rear track, so with a bit of scalpel work i managed to make the visible side look like an inner jaw and no-one will be able to see the lack of a key on the far side of the rail! I only found my mistake when I slid the track gauge along and it bumped over something!
     
    Final fixing will be left till I've added the decking, hand rails, etc and also done the cosmetic parts of the drops area and cell dividing walls/support pillars.
     

     
    View of the whole deck section with rails attached. The extension along the front edge supports the decking walk-way and hand rails.
  19. 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.
  20. Dave Holt

    Delph - Trial assembly

    By Dave Holt,

    Now I've got all three boards with track laid at home, I was able to assemble the three together for the first time on the lounge/diner floor - after moving a bit of furniture and a rug! The three sections together are just over 12 feet long, with another scenic board (as yet without track) to take the line off to the fiddle yard (at the far end, in the photos). Current work includes fitting the point motors, TOU's and Alex Jackson uncoupling magnets under the boards, together with trimming some rail ends at the board joints, opening up some rail joints for rail expansion and electrical isolation purposes and cosmetic rail joints at the appropriate positions (these latter cut into or through the rail head but not right through the full rail section). Then it's on to the wiring.
    I think I will get three of the support boards made up, so i can have the boards at a good working height. Kneeling on the floor isn't doing my knees any good, despite use of a foam kneeling pad (intended for gardening!).
    Photos show the three boards assembled on the floor.
     

     

     
    Dave.
  21. Dave Holt
    Friend, David Clarke, has weathered two more of my locos. These have been built some time and were painted and lined by Ian Rathbone but never weathered. As passenger locos and, in the case of the Fowler tank, something of a pet at Lees shed, they have been give only a lightish dusting so as not to obscure the hand lining (with cream line!). I now have no excuse not to complete the Fowler by cab glazing, coal and a crew. Oh, and fixing the cab roof on a bit better than two blobs of bluetac. The Standard 5 Caprotti is already finished. It makes an interesting contrast to the ex-LMS Ivatt type recently shown on some previous posts.
    The photos were taken by Mr Clarke.
     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  22. Dave Holt
    As part of the scenic work for the station board, the right-hand wing wall has been completed. I'd cut the stone facing pieces from Wills sheets some time ago but have now completed the wall by assembling the two pieces and adding the capping. The assembly has been painted using the sooted stone technique explained to me by Peter Leyland - paint the basic stone colour all over, when thoroughly dry, paint matt black and wipe off using kitchen roll with a vertical action.
    This new angled section of wall is on the station board whilst the remainder of the coal drops is on the adjacent coal-drop board. You can see the joint in one of the photos, just below the edge of the coal drop deck. Overall, I think I've managed to match the colouring across the joint and then gradually have less blackening progressively along the wing wall where less dirt and coal dust would have been flying about.
    Behind the wing wall and then along the front of the goods yard, there is an extended low retaining wall holding back an embankment. I'm debating the best way of producuing the retaining wall - which is curved in both plan and in the vertical plane along its length and has an appearance which is not replicated by any of the embossed/printed products I can find - and also the embankment itself. For this I'm hovering between some sort of closed foam material and wire mesh with plaster bandage construction. Any thoughts and suggestions would be most welcome for both the wall and the embankment.
     

     

     
    Cheers,
     
    Dave.
  23. Dave Holt
    Complete, that is, except for the signal control units and their local 12v DC power supply units, which I haven't got, yet.
     
    After months of putting it off, I finally knuckled down to wiring up the station throat board with its numerous turnouts and diamond crossing - by far the most complex in terms of electrics. Photos below show the under board wiring on this board.
     

     

     
    However, methodical work and constant continuity testing seems to have paid off as only very minor re-work was required. One heart stopping moment occurred when, having more-or-less finished, I realised I'd run a great bundle of wires right over the space reserved for a signal sevo motor, despite having remembered to keep the area free from electrical track droppers. Fortunately, I was able to divert the offending wires by cutting a slot in part of the base-board support rib, as shown below. It looks a bit odd, but the prospect of having to modify the whole bundle of wires was just over facing! Originally, the wires just ran along the bottom of the member with the lightening holes.
     

     
    Once completed, I checked track feed continuity with a small meter and then conected the power feed from the control panel. In order to do this, all the boards have to be connected as the panel feeds into the station end board and the track power is passed alonf the boards to the oposite end where it connects to the track. Initial power up showed that some of the point position LED's and several point motors needed their polarity swapping - a simple job. Otherwise, my methodical approach seems to have paid off as everything works as intended. This was confirmed by running locos over all tracks on the throad board in both DC and DCC modes from both the main panel and yard controller sockets. I did find that on DC, the loco ran the opposite direction to the switch on y hand-held Pentroller, so the track feeds from the panel and facia sockets have been reversed.
     
    The test session is shown below. A general view of the boards connected together, two standing on edge and the station throat board flat so locos can be run and a shot of the control panel with the point LED's illuminated.
     

     

     
    These tests also confirmed that the sharply curved route into the mill siding can be negotiated by a variety of locos, without any shorting. My Stanier 2-6-4 tank and WD 2-8-0 are seen on the board. The WD is on the curved siding link.
     

     

     
    Not everything was perfect and a few minor (I hope) issues need to be resolved.
    1) Both my Ivatt and BR Cl 2 2-6-2 tanks derailed their rear trucks on the point blades when reversing out of the mill siding. With the cross-over reversed, the trucks went up the head shunt whilst the driving wheels took the correct route over the cross-over. Might havr too strong side control springs on the trucks.
    2)Neither end of the double slip is thowing over properly. The springy operating wire on the Tortoise motors isn't stiff enough to move two sets of blades with the required travel. Hopefully, this can be solved with some thicker steel wire. I believe that 7 mm modellers do this with Tortoises, so if anyone knows the details. I'd be very pleased to receive advice.
  24. Dave Holt
    Finally got fired up again today and went over to the work-shop to retrieve two more boards for equipping with point motors, AJ uncoupling magnets and wiring. Based on how long it took to wire the first board, I expect to re-emerge some time next year!!!
     
    Took the opportunity to trial fit the coal drop deck with the boards assembled. This revealed the need for a bit of trimming to length which was done. Unfortunately, there's been a slight warping of the main timbers, so this will have to be sorted on final attachment. That explains the slight vertical misalignment between the deck rails and the siding rails at each end, visible in the photos. Some rail ends also had to be cut back to avoid them touching at the board joints.
     

     

     

     

     
    Dave.
  25. 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.
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