Captain Kernow

Lovely stuff Mikkel, four minutes well-spent, and CTMK also thought it was wonderful!

Hi Kelly, I'd have thought that your 18w iron would be a good place to start with soldering brass, provided you aren't planning to solder huge areas. On the other hand, a 25w iron could give you that little bit more 'oomph'. There are others on here more qualified than me to comment on irons. What I use is a variable temperature Antex iron, with a small dial on the handle to control the temperature. I actually use the Antex iron to solder whitemetal as well, provided the bits aren't too small and/or too thin (in which case, glueing may always be the recommended course of action). Carrs 145 (marketed as 'detailing solder', I believe) will actually be OK for a lot of applications (well, I use it a lot for all kinds of things, not just 'detailing', and it works just fine). The higher temperature solders do, however, allow you to make joints which will then (in theory) sustain a further, lower-temperature joint close by, using the 145. You will get various suggestions for flux, but I use Carrs Green label for most applications, except whitemetal soldering, for which you need their Red label. One tip when soldering brass to whitemetal is to thinly tin the brass surface first with 145 or 188 solder, then use the 70 solder to join the whitemetal to the brass. Brass strip can be got from Eileens with no difficulty, or from modelshops with a 'K&S Metal Centre' or similar. Bits of whitemetal are a bit more problematic if you are looking to purchase some, probably easier to ask folk on here it they could send you odd bits lurking in the bottom of their kit boxes. Many kits supply alternative parts, so after building your chosen loco etc., you are sometimes left with spare bits of whitemetal. Same goes for bits of brass off-cuts - you might as well ask the good burghers of RMWeb to send you a few bits they don't need any more...

Yeah, but if you don't ask, you don't get....!

Just a quick entry, this, because I have to get back to the hair shirt.... I managed to dismantle the Bachmann chassis for 82044 and found, after some cleaning and careful re-assembly of the side rods only, that the problem was in the valve gear. The basic 0-6-0 chassis ran reasonably well with wires directly soldered to the motor and the valve gear and cylinders removed. I found one of the connecting rods quite badly bent and twisted. They are of very hard metal, so it could not have been careless handling on my part. After that, however, and having had a long, hard look at the way it is all so loose and just wobbles all over the place, I decided that I wasn't going to do any more with it, so it has been discarded in favour of the modified Comet option. So, I am currently building a Comet 76XXX chassis, with extensions soldered on the back, and have spent most of today doing that for one of the side frames, carefully modifying it so that it fits the Bachmann body. I'm not quite there with it yet, however, as more major surgery is necessary to the Comet chassis around the cylinder area. I've built the cylinders and slide bar assembly already, because that really has to be in the right relationship to the body before much more is done to get the chassis running. I had a spare Mashima 1620 round can motor and DJH 50:1 gear box, which I'm using for the project as well.

Well, even though (like Pugsley), I'm not that bothered by the current 33/0 (I mean, it passes the Captain's 'Black 5' test... ), I am sufficiently tempted by the prospect of a green SYE example and have sorted out a 'shared purchase' with someone else. Full marks to RE for doing this. On the other hand, I'm extremely put out, dismayed, really upset and have wailed and gnashed my teeth a lot, over the fact that they haven't bothered to consult Somerset & Dorset enthusiasts, in order to get the correct numbers for the many 33s that worked regularly into Bath Green Park up until 1966....

I've not had very much modelling time lately, for various reasons, and what time I have had, has been devoted to weathering the Bachmann chassis for 82044. Tonight, I thought I would give it a good running-in on my circle of Lima track, which I keep specially for the purpose. Prior to the start of running in, the chassis did exhibit signs of jerkiness, especially in one direction, but, ever the optimist, I hoped that this would improve with some running. However, after 90 minutes of continuous running in both directions, it hasn't improved one jot and after a while and with a bit of experience, you can start to tell which locos will improve with running in, and which won't. Unfortunately, this chassis falls into the latter category. I even test ran a couple of examples in the shop when I bought it and chose the better of the two. I do try to buy R-T-R locos from a local shop, for precisely that reason, but any proprietor's patience is going to wear thin if I make him go through a dozen boxed locos until I find one I'm satisfied with. This particular chassis will lollop along reasonably happily at a scale 40 - 50 mph, but when it comes to slower speeds, especially starting away or slowing to a stop, the jerkiness returns with a vengence. As it happens, I have another Bachmann Standard 3 tank, and the chassis on that does run marginally better, but it's still far from perfect. I had intended that 82044 would be a relatively quick loco to do, prior to some other jobs I want to do on 'Engine Wood' and it's rolling stock in time for Railex at Aylesbury this coming May. So, what to do about it? I don't want to just pack it all up and 'walk away', because I really don't like leaving anything unfinished. I suppose I could dismantle the errant chassis and try to find the source of the tight spot or jerky running. Alternatively I could use the chassis from the other example (which is destined to have a P4 chassis at some stage, anyway), but would have to start with the weathering all over again, and I can't guarantee at the moment that this one won't bed in to my satisfaction either. On the other hand, I do have a Comet 76XXX chassis, plus a suitable motor and gearbox in stock, plus the right wheels, so I am now sorely tempted to build and modify that to fit the 82XXX. I almost can't face dismantling the Bachmann R-T-R chassis. I know others have done it, but I feel that I would be better off spending the time building the brass chassis for the loco instead. I'll have to have a think about it. I do wonder, though, why it is that so many of the Bachmann steam-outline R-T-R locos that I've bought in recent years are such indifferent runners, even after an attempt at running-in. I know we've had discussions like this on RMWeb before, yet it's just so frustrating when it happens again...

Lovely job there Tim. You haven't changed the bogie wheels, have you?...

Thanks for the tip, Graham, I'll look to get a set for my Wilton... (which CamRail did you visit, btw, I'm usually there and can't recall you visiting?....)

That's looking really good!

Excellent John - now where's that '60s band posing in the arches? Will a Wainwright 'C' eventually be seen plodding over the viaduct?

I think your collection of modified buildings as you've shown them, has much more character than the Medstead building, nice though that is. A canopy might make the difference to the Medstead building, though - it's the individuality that's going to make it stand out.

We should at least, I suppose, be grateful that Meldon Viaduct is still with us, when you consider other metal viaducts we've lost, such as Belah on the Stainmore line, or Crumlin, Walnut Tree etc....

Good effects with the soot on the boiler, Tim, in the latter days I suppose it's a wonder that they got cleaned at all. The soot is especially noticeable given the overall shade of the livery, which does seem to accord with colour photos in books that I own, too. I really like these locos, but I find it easier to justify a Class 17 over the Somerset and Dorset than one of these beauties, odd that...

Hi - I've just read this, with the Testors already drying in the railway room!! Well, I'll check the photos I have, but what I tried to do was have the lion facing the direction of travel - I thought that was the general rule... I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me with the photo in the HMRS book, so I put a '3' up for the power classification - still, the weathering will obscure that in all likelihood, and the Pressfix definition isn't what it might be.. I've now replaced the lamp brackets with WR ones and glued some of the detail in place. As regards running, she's not as bad as some Bachmann locos I've bought over the last few years. There's no binding when running with no load (I've tested her with wheels in the air and wires soldered to the motor leads). She will get a thorough running in on a circle of track before going into exhibition service. I don't tend to shunt with 2-6-2 locos, especially not passenger types, and especially not on BHR, due to the sharp curve onto the light railway. However, there is still the run-round movement of the 1805 Bristol TM to Engine Wood local to consider, and I plan to have 80244 sharing the duties at shows in future with 82041...

Nice-looking little loco, Chris. Interestingly, I also have one of those kits to build... The Wrenn chassis are very easy to re-wheel, by the way. 1/8" axle holes already, Romfords will drop straight in. How about enhancing it still further with some nice Alan Gibson replacement (Universal) coupling rods?