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PGC

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  1. PGC

    Some more videos

    By PGC,

    Since uploading the first two videos, I have now uploaded more, some of which show my J15 (No, it's not a Hornby one! :-) ) and N7, as well as other members stock including the club J15 (No, that's not Hornby, either! :-) )
     
    I hope you enjoy.
     
    Phil
     

     

     

     

     

     

  2. PGC

    Some videos

    By PGC,

    At the East Anglian model railway exhibition over 14th and 15th March, 2015, I had the opportunity to take some videos of the layout, two of which show locomotives that I have built (but not quite finished yet!).
     
    The first video shows my J17. It is built from a Stelfox kit, powered by a Mashima 1224 motor through a High Level gear box at 54:1. I have yet to add crew and cab glazing, two faults that are quite obvious when watching the end of the video! At the start of the video, there is also a quick clip of my Y7 0-4-0T that was being used as a shunter in the exchange sidings and appears in earlier blog entries..
     

     
     
    The second video shows my E4 which is built from a NuCast (ex Stephen Poole) white metal kit. The chassis, however, is built from Alan Gibson milled brass main frames with a Mashima 1024 with a flywheel motor driving through a High Level gear box, again at 54:1 ratio.
     

     
    I took the videos on my 'phone, so the quality is not bad, but it's not as good as it could be if I had taken in on a proper video camera. One of the results of the exhibition was 5 invites to future exhibitions, so I will be taking a video camera to those and see if I can get some good video footage.
     
    I hope you enjoy the videos, I certainly do. Not that I'm biased! :-)
     
    Phil
     
    Edit added 27 March 2015
     
    In view of the comments from other RMwebbers, I have now uploaded unstabilised versions of the videos so you can see the difference the Youtube stabilisation function makes. I would welcome comments on whether it's worth stabilising the videos or not.
     
    Thanks
     
    Phil
     

     

  3. PGC
    I hadn't realised it's been so long since I last posted an entry. It's not as though I haven't been doing a lot, I have, but I just haven't recorded a lot to put on here. Apologies!
     
    In earlier posts, I have put up pictures of the BR (ex GER) E4 2-4-0 that I've been building from the Nu-cast (ex Stephen Poole) kit. It's now nearly complete - the only work left to do is put balance weights on the rear driving wheels, complete the front coupling (the hook's in place, the rest isn't!), weather the loco then coal it and it will be finished. I've put some pictures below. The greatest compliment I've received so far is someone who should know better asking me if it's an Alan Gibson kit!
     

     

     

     

     
    As well as almost finishing the E4, I've started weathering the J17 but haven't got any pictures yet. I've also nearly finished a Gresley 51ft Pigeon brake and ex GNR all third articulated set. I've also started building a PDK kit for a J19 which I will take some pictures of and add to the blogshortly.
     
    Any questions feel free to ask, and if you want to see the E4 live, it will be running on the Mid Essex MRC layout Blackwells Brewery at the St. Neots exhibition on March.
     
    Phil
  4. PGC
    Now that the Y7 has been built, it's time to get it painted, an area of expertise I'm lacking in. I bought the Tony Wright and Ian Rathbone DVD on how to paint and weather and watched both parts. I don't have a spray facility such as Ian's so worked on a similar method to Tony's, ie out of doors. I washed the loco in Precision Paints pre-paint metal cleaner then sprayed it with their single pack etch primer. Following this, I sprayed a single coat of Halfords red primer then, once dried, sprayed with Halfords Satin black.
     
    I brush painted the chassis with Precision Paints single pack etch primer then matt black and attempted to dry brush the coupling rods with matt black. Once the paint had dried I used Fox Transfers numbers and logos to give the loco an identity.
     

     

     

     

     
    Next job is to have a go at weathering. I have a J15 that was built by John James and he has weathered it to look exactly how I think a work-a-day loco would look. I will attempt to get the Y7 to look like this. Another learning curve!
     

     

     

     

     
    I know the Y7 paint finish isn't perfect, but buoyed by the success of the work I had a go at painting a J17 that I'd finished building. I used the same method as the Y7 and on the whole, I'm happy. There are one or two small blemishes that I've touched up using Humbrol number 85 paint - the identity has again been given with Fox transfers and the next step is weathering, again, to look like the J15 above. I've spoken with John, he also uses Halfords Satin black and this is what he painted the J15 with, so I reckon have a fair bit of work to do!
     

     

     

     

     

     
     
    All in all, I'm happy with how things are progressing, and I hope you find this interesting. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
     
    Phil
  5. PGC
    Hello all
     
    It's been a long time my last post on this blog. I went through hellish times at work last year being suspended as the Acting Head Teacher wanted to try and get rid of me, so my modelling mojo disappeared. However, we now have a new Head Teacher who's supporting me and life generally is far, far better, so my modelling mojo's reawakening and I'm building stuff.
     
    In the previous posts I've put up items about a layout based in Norfolk - this is a long term project so nothing has happened since, but I also have a small layout in the planning that's purely industrial and I've been building some stock for that.
     
    The latest loco to come from the shops is a BR ex LNER Y7 0-4-0T from a Pocket Money kit. This is a kit that Jim McGeown of Connoisseur Models used to produce from scaled down artwork for his 7mm kits and I believe it's no longer produced.
     
    For me, it is vitally important that my models run well, so I've used a Porterscap gearbox (they're no longer available,but you can get similar from high Level kits) with 80:1 gearing, a Mashima 1015 motor with flywheel. The wheels are from Alan Gibson's range, as are the clack valves and whistle. I think that's all the bits, but if you want to know anything about the model, please feel free to ask.
     
    Regrettable I didn't think to take many photos of the build, but here's the few I have got.
     

     

     

     

     
    Last night I spent a few minutes with the last finishing touch, the lamp irons, so now the loco's ready for the paint shop.
     

     

     

     
    And finally,
    takes you (hopefully!) to a YouTube video of the loco running up and down the only test track I have at the moment which is on my, currently, rather untidy and messy work desk. My better half has told me to use the desk in our spare bedroom as my modelling bench so I'm in the process of putting up shelves etc. to get everything arranged so I be a neat and tidy worked (that will be a first for me!). 
    My own digital camera is with my step son at the moment, so all the pictures of the loco and the video were taken on my 'phone, so aren't necessarily of the best quality, for which, apologies.
     
    Phil
  6. PGC

    A new layout

    By PGC,

    As I've said elsewhere, I'm a BR (ex GE) modeller who currently lives near Bishop's Stortford but is looking, in the future, to move to Norfolk.
     
    For some time I've been harbouring an idea to build a layout that contains a portrayal of one of the most distinctive buildings on the North Norfolk Coast, Burnham Overy mill.
     

     

     
    At the moment I don't have a large space to build a layout (it's my 8ft x 4ft shed that also has to store a lot of music - my other passion is choral music and I run a choir for which I have over 130 sets of music with 30 copies of each set, so a lot of paper!) so it's been designed with future expansion in mind. The picture below shows the track plan for the first board which is 4ft x 2ft.
     

     
    The first thing I did was to get some paper and make a template to the baseboard size, then I drew out the trackplan to make sure it all worked, which it does. I've also made a cardboard mock-up of the mill to makes sure the size is proportionate to the layout. The picture below shows this.
     

     
    The picture below shows the mock up for the mill with a wagon that I used to make sure the size was right and shows you the size of the mill and layout.
     

     
    I've already got the framework for the board - my club had a spare frame made from 3" deep 6mm ply from an old layout and they readily let me have it for a small donation to the clubs coffers so some space could be cleared in the clubroom. I've also got the board for the track bed cut out so a start has been made! Now all I need to do is cut more bits of timber so the track bed can be attached to the frame - I need a depth of about 4" below the track bed to allow for the water flowing under the mill and bridge etc.
     
    When I next do some more work on the layout I will post an update.
     
    Phil
     
    PS - When I previewed this entry prior to posting, the pictures didn't appear - I hope they do when I actually post it. If they don't, I'll edit the entry to get them in.
  7. PGC
    Well, time has moved on and I've done more work to the carriage. However, the earlier post didn't show a picture of the chassis from underneath, so here's one.

    The picture shows the end wheels mounted in the W irons, and pivoted. The rods that comes from the end "trucks" (is that the right word?) and slot in to the middle W iron are what moves the middle W iron sideways when a curve is encountered.
     
    The Brassmasters Cleminson chassis may seem a complicated means of giving the coach a chassis that gets it round a curve, but some people (OK, why try and be discrete! - Bill Bedford, who has attached comments to this blog) obviously doesn't realise that when the chassis is being scratchbuilt, as this was, it's so much nicer to have a kit that goes together easily, with good instructions, and that fits the wheelbase. On that basis, this is a good kit and I'd recomend it to any one else who wants to make a 6 wheel vehicle.
     
    I took the coach down to the club and tried it on the layout. I was very happy - it runs very well indeed. The only problem was that as there are no couplings currently fitted, I had to push rather than pull the coach, and in one place it buffer locked, but as there are no buffer heads in the body, this wasn't a total surprise.
     
    I've now added all the under chassis detail, except I haven't put a representation of the drive belt for the dynamo. This will be made from a strip of paper curved and glued round the dynamo end once I have dunked the chassis in a mix of either dilute milk of magnesia or soda crystals to neutralise flux that may be lurking.
     
    I've also added the torpedo vents on the roof, the axle boxes, and I've drilled the holes for the jumper wires on the ends. I think that's all, but the pictures show the results of my efforts.


    Actually, looking at the pictures makes me very happy - I've created the steps from bits of square brass soldered behind the solebars, then I added a small piece of brass that created the backplate of the step and lastly I soldered the step itself on. All this was done by use of heat sinks (made from the very soft sprung metal clips one can get from a hair dresser), a clean and hot iron and lots of flux!
     
    Well, the bits left to do now are:
    The jumper wires. I've got Comet white metal ones but the bottom sits in a housing in the coach and I have to make these from small pieces of brass,
    The hangers and springs for the axle boxes. Again I've got cast white metal ones from Comet, but trying to work out how to set them right and fix them to the coach has so far given me a headache, so I've decided to leave them for the time being.
    The rain strips on the roof - I'll use micro strip.
    Lamp irons on the ends.
     
    I think that's about it - then I can start painting the coach. The livery is going to be unlined maroon, and that's about as far I've got with this apsect so far. That's for the future!
  8. PGC

    In the beginning...........

    By PGC,

    This is the first time I've ever posted a blog, so please treat me gently!
     
    For various reasons I haven't done any serious modelling for 7 or 8 years, but I've recently got back to modelling and wanted to build something a little different.
     
    I looked throguh my pile of kits and discovered, squirreled away at the bottom, some Comet sides and ends for a Thompson 6 wheel passenger brake van.However, it's not a complete kit for the coach, just a set of body components.
     
    In a masochisitc moment, I decided this would be fun (!) to build so started looking around for bits such as axle guards, roof, underfame details etc.
     
    One of the first things I did was find photographs. For this, the Paul Bartlett site http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/paulbartlettsrailwaywagons was a great help, and I found a few other pictures using Google. I also bought an Isinglass drawing so I had an idea what I was dealing with.
     
    I then started hunting down bits and pieces and working out how to make the chassis so the coach would go round curves!
     
    I'm sure that most people reading this will realise of course, that my major problem would be getting a 6 wheel vehicle to go round a model railway curve. Modelling in EM as I do, the minimum radius of any layout the coach runs on SHOULD be 3 feet, but that's still a lot tighter when scaled up to prototype dimensions than the standard minimum radius the real vehicles would go round.
     
    To get round this, I bought a Brassmasters kit for a Cleminson chassis. This pivots the end axles and connects them to the axle carrier for the middle axle in such a way that the middle axle slides to the outside of the curve. I hope that makes sense!
     
    In the further hunt for components, I discovered a Comet alloy roof moulding at John Dutfield. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was actually avery close match to the profile of the roof in the drawing, but as the ends were not to the same profile it meant I would have to do some filling between the end and the roof - not something too difficult to overcome!
     
    So, to the start! I decided to make the chassis out of double sided copper clad paxolin and cut a piece that seemed to be about the right size from the sheet I had. I am very lucky to have bought many years ago a Minicraft drill and pillar drill mount - I laid these on their back, put a slitting disc in the drill and with some pieces of wood glued and screwed to roughly the right height, I had a sort of circular saw table that allowed me to cut the paxolin relatively easily. This is a tool that I am going to refine further - it helps to make life easy and safe at the same time!
     
    Once I'd cut the paxolin, I marked both middle lines on the chassis base so I would know exactly where to line up the baseplate for the Cleminson chassis.
     
    The next step was to make up the Cleminson chassis kit. Fortunately, the Brassmaster kit is so well thought out - it makes up easily to a whole variety of wheelbases and as far as I can tell, will work for any 6 wheel vehicle model produced. Certainly I will be buying another in the future and trying the chassis on a 6 wheel milk tanker.
     
    Having followed the instructions with the kit, the chassis went together very easily and once soldered to the paxoling, gave me a free running chassis. I was very happy!
     
    The next stage was to build the body. I am very lucky to work in a school that has a very good DT department, so I asked the technician to make me a piece of ply with 2 sides raised up that were exactly 90 degrees - I pinned one side and one end to this jig and soldered them together, I then did the same for the other side and end, then soldered the 2 components together and ended up with a square body. I had already decided that I was going to fix the chassis at low level to the body, so I then glued the roof on using Devcon plastic steel - this also acted as a filler for the gaps between ends and roof. I put this to one side and left it for a few days so the plastic steel could set hard.
     
    The next step was to solder some L shaped stretchers to the ends - these stretchers have nuts soldered to them for fixing the chassis. I then drilled holes in the chassis that screws could go through to fix the chassis to the body.
     
    Somewhere along the line my measuring had obviously gone wrong - the body didn't sit correctly on the chassis - it was skew whiff longitudinally. I pondered for a while how to fix this. I cut some small pieces of brass from spare etch, drilled holes in these, then drilled the holes in the chasis over size (which gave me flexibility to align the chassis correctly within the body). I then put the brass piece on the bolt, the bolt through the chassis in to the body fixing nut, made sure the chassis was aligned correctly and soldered the small piece of brass to the chassis. I now had a chassis correctly aligned to thew body, and it started to look like a coach!
     
    The next thing to sort out was solebars - I found some brass channel in my stock, and also some fine section T shape brass - I used this to make the running step in the solebar.
     
    Having got the body this far, the next part was the detailing. The Comet sides, fortunately, had holes marked for the door stops, hinges and handles and handrails, so I marked these out and soldered short lengths of 0.7mm wire for the door stops and lengths of 0.33mm wire for the handles and hand rails. I wondered about how to make the hinges - then had the bright idea of using the Comet etch of T door handles - these look like hinges as you can tell from the attached photo that shows the side with the hinges done (they're not
    all put on yet!)
     
    One of the characteristic things of these carriages are the plate style W irons that the axle boxes slide in - Comet very thoughtfully include these in the etches, and I'm soldering them to the insides of the solebars, although they're not in the final position just at the moment as something else has gone awry with my measuring!
     
    I've attached a couple of photos that show the coach at this stage - since taking the pictures I've added the chassis underfarme details using Comet components. The things still to do are:
     
    Finish the hinges
    Jumper wires on the ends
    Lamp irons on the ends
    Torpedo vents on the roof
    Rain strip on the roof
    Coupling hole plates on the buffer beans.
     
    There are 2 strengthening gussets at each end on the real thing that locate the body to the chassis - I'm not going to replicate those on the model (call me lazy - you're right!)
     
    Once I've done these, I'm going to bath the coach in something (either dilute milk of magnesia or soda crystals) to neutralise any residue phosphoric acid flux, then I'll paint it in unlined maroon livery.
     
    I hope you've enjoyed reading this so far - it's been fun for me and has really started my modelling juices flowing - I'll post some more details and pics in a little while.
     
    Phil

  9. PGC

    Like buses.........

    By PGC,

    Just like buses, you wait ages for a blog entry and then another one comes along rather sooner than expected!
     
    I've been doing some woodworking over the last few days and now have a completed baseboard with track base on it. I've added a few pictures to show how it looks at the moment and if you look at the pictures of the layout plan, you can see how it will all work.
     
    Next job is to buy the track for which I'm going to use SMP with phosphor bronze rail and their point kits. While I wait for the bits to be delivered I will get on with some more work on locos so you may have to wait a bit for another entry, but you never know, there may even be another one just round the corner, rather like a bus!
     
    This shows the layout from the opposite end to the fiddle yard. In time, I can add another board at this end and then the single track (to the left of the track base) can continue to another fiddle yard giving 8 feet of scenic run.

     
    This view is from the front of the layout and shows the space I have to model the river going under the bridge.

     
    This end of the layout is where the fiddle yard will be. It is intended that the fiddle yard will be a sector plate that will have one fixed track to allow for shunting but will also accommodate cassettes so that trains can be changed. The idea's in my mind - I've yet to sort out exactly how to build it. Once I've done that, I'll post another entry.

     
    I hope you like the pictures - if you have any questions, please feel free to ask away.
     
    Phil
  10. PGC

    And yet another entry!

    By PGC,

    It seems like it was in a far distant era that I posted my first blog which was about my Thompson 6W PBV. I published two entries - the first on this link and the second on this link.
     
    Since the postings, the wagon sat in a box with nothing happening until a few weeks ago when my modelling mo-jo returned and I started work on various models. In the time since, I have completed the build of the coach and painted it, as you can see form the two pictures below.
     

     

     
    The next step is to buy some transparent plasticard for the glazing and cut two long strips that will fit inside the top windows along the sides. In the prototype, the end windows have vertical bars on them, so I will cut a piece of transparent plasticard and then draw the lines using a very thin tipped overhead projector pen. Since the photos were taken, I've added buffers, I also need to add couplings and vacuum pipes and I think the build will then be finished after which I will number the coach and then weather it.
     
    Once I get more work done, I will take some more photos and add them to the article.
     
    Before I get on to the weathering, I need to buy myself a spray booth so I can spray indoors - I'll be buying the one that Eileen's Emporium sells. A friend has one and speaks very highly of it, so that's good enough judgement on the booth for me. I won't be able to buy this before November, so the weathering will have to wait until then, but as none of my stock is being used at an exhibition until next May, that's not a problem for me.
     
    Once the coach build has been finished, the next projects in the pipeline are the build of an E4 2-4-0. I've already written a few bits about this on this link, but since these pictures were taken I've added some more detailing such as front springs, chimney, dome, safety valves, whistles and clack valves. I need to add brake and sanding gear to the chassis and handrails to the loco, then the loco is virtually complete and I can start on the tender.
     
    You'll notice I typed projects in the plural, that's because another couple of projects I have on the go are a High Level chassis kit for an ex L&Y Pug, and a coach that was an Airfix suburban coach a long time ago, but I've cut the sides out and added etched sides from Comet for an ex LMS Brake third.Again, as progress is made, I will take some photos and upload them here.
     
    Well, that's all for now - I suppose I'd better leave work, go home and do some modelling!!!
     
    Phil
  11. PGC
    This entry to my blog doesn't have any pictures, not because I haven't got things to take pictures, of, but just because I haven't taken any yet!
     
    The latest instalment of the J17 is most frustrating. The loco has taken a very long time to build; I started it some 15 years or so, and it was the first chassis I'd tried to build using compensation. Some of the quality of my workmanship was sadly lacking in the skill department, so the chassis didn't really run as well as I'd liked - it ran forward OK but wouldn't run backwards properly.
     
    When I looked closely at the chassis, there was quite a lot of play in the bearings, to the point where the driven axle could move backwards and forwards, even though the bearing itself was soldered in the chassis! As I'd used MJT detailed hornblocks (in case, prophetically, I needed to take the chassis apart!) I've taken the bearings out and replaced them - I've now got to put the wheels back in and get it running sweetly.
     
    As well as swearing at the J17, I've been working on the E4 that I've been building and have started building the tender. The loco itself runs sweetly enough but there's quite a bit of detailing work to do - I will take some pictures of that and post them in the next entry to this blog.
     
    I've also started putting transfers on the Thompson 6W PBV - I've tried both HMRS Pressfix transfers and Fox - I personally prefer Fox as they work so much better for me. The instructions say to put a drop of washing up liquid in warm water - having done that, the transfers are very easy to get off the backing sheet and slide in to place. Again, I'll take some pictures shortly and post them here.
     
    The last thing I've been working on is a Gresley 51ft non-corridor pigeon brake van. This is an Ian Kirk kit that I've had in the store for some time. I've used MJT compensated bogies and I've added one of their turnbuckle underframes. I've also used some of their etchings to add door steps in the solebars and the guard's ducket to one side (No, I don't know why they only put the ducket on one side - if someone can elucidate, I'd love to hear your theory), while I used Dave Franks (Lanarkshire Model Supplies) buffers and vac pipes - they're very good quality and I'll definitely be using them again. The model is now built (finished last night) and ready for the paint shop - again I will take some pictures and post them here shortly.
     
    I'm really pleased to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying my modelling at the moment, so there should hopefully be another update to the blog shortly.
     
    Happy modelling!
     
    Phil
  12. PGC
    In my post of yesterday, I promised some pictures of the Gresley full parcels brake (Pigeon brake) that I've been building, so here they are!
     

     

     

     

     
    In the background of this picture can be seen some of the other projects I'm working on.

     
    The partially built white metal bodied loco is a Nu-cast (ex Stephen Poole for people who can remember that far back!) BR ex GER E4 2-4-0.As I model in EM, I had to carve away some fairly large chunks of white metal to allow the wheels and coupling rods to fit - they do now! Unfortunately, I carved a little too much metal in places and wasn't sure how to fill the holes. In an attempt to give me a backing for filling the hole, I superglued some 5 thou plasticard strips in, and it seems that the superglue reacted with the plasticard and moulded it fill the holes for me. I think this is very lucky, and I'm hoping that when I get tot he painting stage, the filled holes will not show.
     
    As the chassis for the kit was one of the typical 1980's affairs of armour plate thickness brass side members with screw in spacers, I bought some milled mainframes from Alan Gibson and soldered these together with Comet spacers to produce the chassis. The wheels are Romfords as provided with the kit and the motor is a Mashima 1020 with flywheel driving through a High Level Roadrunner gearbox at 54:1. The chassis is compensated on the three point principle with the rear axle fixed and a beam between the front pony truck axle and the front driving axle. I have deliberately set the pivot point of this beam at two thirds towards the pony truck so the weight distribution will be two thirds on front driving axle and one third on pony truck axle. All wheels have pick ups from .35mm phosphor bronze wire and the chassis runs rather well, even though I say it myself! Next step, the tender, which I started on last night and have had to work out a few problems, but I'll be doing some more work on it tonight.
     
    As well as the E4, you can also see a Heljan Class 15 - this needs detailing and dirtying. I bought a glossy finish loco as it's the only one I could find that had no yellow warning panels on the ends, so the finish needs toning down a little! That will wait until I've got my spray booth up and running, which will be a few months yet, but there's no hurry as the loco's not needed until next March.
     
    You can also see the Thompson 6W PBV that I've mentioned elsewhere - I have finished the glazing and just need to number the opposite side, then weathering's the next step, which will also happen later in the year.
     
    The last two photos were taken when the club (Mid Essex Model Railway Club) took our layout, Blackwells Brewery Company (available for exhibition, should anyone be interested!), to the recent Northampton show. I must admit to a touch of nepotism here, as the locos are all mine!
     

     

     
    In the foreground is the Y7 that appears elsewhere in my blog entries and is finished apart from coupling links, weathering, painting of cab details, coal, driver and fireman etc. The green loco is a High Level RSH kit that depicts Birkenhead - the real loco was built for Birkenhead power station although I believe it never worked there but was sold instead to Kew power station where it worked until being sold in to preservation. If I've got these details wrong, please feel free to correct me!
     
    The red loco is also a High Level kit for a Hudswell Clark Coronation class loco while the loco poking it's front out of the engine shed is the J17 that had disgraced itself so was put on static display for the day!
     
    Phil
  13. PGC

    More E4 progress

    By PGC,

    With Sally, the better half, visiting her sister in Scotland for the week, I've been able to get to the modelling bench a lot and have made use of this time. Last night I started putting together the tender body for the E4. Being a white metal kit of old heritage, there will be a lot of filling and messing about to make things as good as they should be, but that's part of the joy of kit building!
     
    When I built the chassis for the loco, I compensated it and wanted to do the same for the tender, so I ordered a pair of milled frames from Alan Gibson. When these arrived, I compared them to the side castings that include the axleboxes etc., and the wheelbase is different. Needless to say, the milled mainframes are correct! This was a little bit of a set back and I wasn't sure what to do.
     
    After a little thought, some whisky, a little more thought, some more whisky, some sleep (whisky induced!) and some more thought, I had a brain wave (whisky induced? If so, back to the bottle!). Would the white metal chassis block have the same wheelbase as the castings? Theoretically Yes, and after checking a definite Yes. OK, I'd use the white metal chassis block, but how to get compensation?
     
    To go with the Gibson frames, I had some MJT detailed horn blocks that I was going to use. These horn blocks include a plate with a hole for a bearing etched in, should a solidly mounted axle be required, so what I've done is solder the bearings in to the plates, cut away some white metal on the rear axle holes and stuck the plates in so the bearings allow the axle to sit at the correct height. I've then increased the depth of the slots for the middle and front axles and used the white metal retaining plates to hold the axles in the slots, with the axles sliding up and down in the slots.
     
    The next job will be to solder a wire across the rear of the loco mainframes as a draw bar and arrange for the loco to tender coupling (which will be solidly mounted on the tender) to sit on this wire, so transferring some of the weight of the tender on to the rear driving wheels to aid adhesion (as though, with a white metal body, the loco needs it!). I will then add some springs to the tender front and middle axles to keep them on the track.The theory's good - and so far it's holding up practically as well!
     
    In this photo, you can see the tender chassis with the body as currently completed behind.

     
    Here is the tender chassis turned upside down - it you were wondering what I was talking about with plates, bearings etc. added to the rear axle, you can see these at the right hand end - hopefully this clears up any confusion.
     

     
    This is a picture of the front of the tender - I don't know why you'd be more interested in this than the back (which I haven't got a picture of), but you are!!!!!!
     

     
    And here are a couple of pictures of how things are at the moment.
     

     

     
    In the background of the last picture, you can also see a couple of other projects I've got on the go - to the right is an ex Great Nothern section articulated all third. This is an Ian Kirk kit that I picked up second hand and partially built for £5. I've added MJT compensated bogies and truss rod underframe, and I've got some MJT cosmetic white metal bogie frames to replace the Kirk plastic ones so the bogies have some weight on them.
     
    To the left is a Weltrol (I believe Bachmann) that has been dirtied and I've added a boiler as a load, I'm now putting in chains etc. to hold it down, for which inspiration I'd like to thank Jonathan Wheelans. To go with the Weltrol I've also got a Trestrol kit from Macgeordie of this parish that, when built, will have a load of sheet metal plates, and to go with these wagons I've also got a DS kits Lowmac to finish that will carry a ships propeller that I bought from a model shop somewhere - the intention is to make up a nice little cameo train of low loader wagons carrying materials that would be used in the construction of a ship to a ship yard.
     
    Well, I hope you enjoy what I'm doing, I'm certainly enjoying doing it!!!!!!
     
    Phil
  14. PGC
    It's been a few months since I last posted anything, if you've been waiting for another entry, apologies.
     
    I titled this thread about a deliberate mistake. Well, I got the tender chassis the wrong way round. In reality, the wheelbase of the real thing is 6' 6" + 6' 0", whereas I thought it was the other way round. Once I'd discovered this error, I had to work out how to turn the chassis round, which eventually I managed. I've also had to find a different way to fix the chassis in to the tender body, which I've also done. Needless to say, as I'm bodging a 1980's kit together, there have been no instructions and I've had to work out bits and pieces, but I feel as thought I'm getting there.
     
    As you can see from the pictures below, there's not a lot of work left to do to finish the model - cab and tender handrails, rear guard irons, fall plate etc. so all small details, and of course, these are the bits that take the time to work out, but I feel as though there is a definite light at the end of the tunnel.
     
    Phil
     

     

     

     

     
    If you're thinking the front buffers are wrong, perhaps they are. The loco I'm modelling, however,is 62785, the last of the E4's, and I have a photo of the loco at Cambridge in 1958 which shows that the buffers are definitely not the group standard that are on the tender. I had a set of Kean Maygib Midland coach buffers (No, I don't know why I had them!) in my box of spares that are very close to the buffers on the loco in the photo, so that's why I've used them.
     

     

  15. PGC

    At last, another entry!

    By PGC,

    If you have been waiting for an update to my blog, apologies for the length of time it's taken to put one up. As a quick précis of my recent life, I was suspended from work on 4th March and after a long (6 month) time my suspension was lifted by the Governors (I work in a school, but as Network Manager, not a teacher) and I returned to work on 17th Sept. Since then I've been pre-occupied with getting life back to normal and have hardly done any modelling. Hopefully this is just about to change!
     
    So, to this update. I've not done anything dramatic to the layout that I call Brancaster Mill, so I thought I'd put up a few pics of the locos that I've got to operate the layout. At the moment the layout will be goods only, but I've got plans for extensions in the future that mean I will be able to run passenger trains as well.
     
    The first loco is a J17 built from a Stelfox kit. The building of the loco is finished, it now just needs painting after which it will be numbered 65582. I include this to show people that I'm not a cheque book or R-T-R modeller. Although I don't mind going down those routes, I also enjoy building stock and want to prove I can do just that! The loco has a Branchlines 50:1 gearbox with a Mashima 1020 motor and flywheel and pickup on all wheels (tender included). Although I'm biased, I reckon it runs rather well.
     


     
    The next loco is a Heljan Class 15 - I was going to buy a Dave Alexander kit but Heljan then produced a R-T-R model of such high quality that I didn't have to! The only work I have done so far is convert it to EM using Alan Gibson wheels - a very simple job. As the layout will be based in 1958 which allows me to mix steam and diesel, I need diesel locos that don't have yellow warning panels, and this high gloss version is the only one that I could find. In time it will be de-glossed and weathered to look like a loco that works for its living.


     
    The next loco is a Hornby Class 31 - also converted to EM. As with the Class 15, it also needs to look like a work a day diesel, which it currently doesn't!

     
    The last loco is the classic GER steam workhorse, a J15. This one was built from an Alan Gibson kit by John James of Liverpool. It was built for a friend and came to me by a very roundabout route. John is a loco builder of the highest calibre who has built an N7 for me (it sits in front of an Ian Kirk Quintart and looks rather nice, even though I say it myself) - these locos give me the standard that I aim for, both in terms of running quality and finish.
     


     
    The last loco I have for the layout is a Bachmann Class 24. At the moment it's been converted to EM using Alan Gibson wheels but it's missing some glazing as I've started putting in Laser glazing. I will also put in some Extreme Etching grills, fans etc. in and weather it. I'm also tempted to try one of the Penbits sprung chassis, but the Bachmann chassis runs so well I'm not sure it's really necessary.
     
    Well, that's the locos I've currently got, I hope you like the pics. As for the layout, I hope to give an update a little quicker than the last one!
     
    Phil
     
    PS - If you're curious about the background for the pictures, I've used the plan for Brancaster Mill and the pictures are taken where the track will, eventually, go over the river on a bridge.
  16. PGC

    So close now

    By PGC,

    In my previous post, I showed pictures of the E4 in ex works condition, without means of propulsion.
     
    In view of the loco being used on "Blackwell Brewery Company" (an EM layout of the Mid Essex MRC that's appearing at the St. Neot's show over 14th and 15th March 2015) I spent a little time tonight adding the propulsion fuel and making the loco look as though it's been working in the real world, rather than living in a shed. There are now 2 jobs to do and I ill then declare the loco finished - the first is to finish the front coupling and the second is add the fire irons in the tool tunnel of the tender. After all, although the fireman is obviously looking after the most important job of the day, getting the cuppa sorted, he does have a real job to do!
     
    For those who look at the pictures and wonder what the stock is behind the loco, the two carriages nearest are a 51ft Gresley Full Brake (can't remember the diagram, sorry!) from a Kirk kit and a Thomson 6W PBV from Comet sides with scratch built chassis based around a Brassmasters Cleminson chassis kit. Both will be at St Neot's, should you want to see them.
     
    Behind the kit built stock is the R-T-T stuff - some Hornby Gresley and Thomson coaches. And Yes, they will look the part once weathered!
     
    Phil
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  17. PGC

    A new start

    By PGC,

    As you'll see in other entries on my blog, I build models of BR ex GER stock, and as the E4 and J17 are now virtually finished, I've started on a new build, a J19 (I've just edited this entry, I originally called the loco a J17. It's not!) 0-6-0 tender loco.
     
    As you can see from the photos below, I have used a High Level gear box (Road Runner +) at 60:1 ratio. The motor is currently a Mashima 1620 although I may change it for a 1624 or 1630 I have available. One of the things I dislike is seeing motors or gearboxes intruding in to cab, under boilers etc. With the modern range of gearboxes, I believe (although I would be happy to be proved wrong!) that you should be able to hide the motor and gearbox away, and this is why I have mounted the transmission the way I have. The one difficulty with this is that I have had to make a bracket to hold the gearbox in position when the body is mounted on the chassis, and it's fiddly to fix in place now, I dread to think what it will be like when I've got brake gear, pick ups etc in as well. However, that's my problem and as it's me who's created it, I'll live with it!
     
    Oh, and if you want to know whose wheels they are, all I will say is that the proprietor of Precision Paints and I are members of the same club.
     
    Phil
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  18. PGC

    A frustrating evening!

    By PGC,

    Last night I was at the club. We were titivating BBC (Blackwell Brewery Company) for the St. Neots show next weekend (14th / 15th March). With all the layouts we currently have under construction, we don't have room in the clubroom to keep the layout permanently erected so this was the first chance I have had to run the E4 and the J17 on the layout. Frustratingly, they didn't run perfectly! The J17 suffers mysterious short circuits, which shouldn't happen so I will have to find out what's happening today and rectify the trouble. Otherwise, the loco runs as I expect it to, very slowly and smoothly.
     
    The E4 doesn't get round the curves without derailing. Last September, at the Mid Essex show, an EM layout allowed me to run the loco and it was fine, since then I've added the fall plate between loco and tender so I suspect the inability to get round curves now is because the fall plate is restricting the movement. This is easily sorted with a file and then touch up with a bit of black paint, so I now have two more jobs for the workbench today that I didn't expect.
     
    However, frustration can always be tempered with good news! I also have a Lima Class 20 and a Heljan Class 15, both of which have been converted to EM and ran very well, the Lima Class 20 in particular as it now has the Ultrascale produced worm gear and wheel. I will be taking some video at the show of the loco running and then will be posting this to the site, if you're reading this and interested, you can read more about this conversion here and Ultrascale are prepared to produce the gears for other modellers. Other jobs I have to do on the workbench today are to fit the detailing both locos and also flush glazing for the Cl 20. This won't be the end of the work on the Cl 20, however - it currently has headcode boxes and the early locos didn't, so I will have to remove them. As Tony Wright says in his thread, for some of us, the joy of railway modelling is making things, and this is definitely very true for me!
     
    Another frustration is that I have to re-apply the numbers to the Gresley 51ft full parcels brake that I made from a Kirk kit. I had numbered it, but then when I got it home, discovered the numbers had rubbed off in transit so this time I will varnish the coach once I've reapplied the numbers and before I do anything else. That's an easy matter to fix, but just annoying I have to redo a job!
     
    The last frustration was pointed out by the rivet counters at the club last night. Bless them! I have purchased a totem sign for the Saxlingham fascia that I will be redoing shortly, and thought the blue I'd ordered was the correct one. It turns out I'd ordered the Scottish region blue, so I'm going to have to reorder that or move the location of Saxlingham 400 miles North. I don't think Norfolk will be very happy with that so I'll just have to swallow my loss for being stupid!
     
    Hey ho. At least I'm on my own today, so the volume control on the music is heading clockwise!
     
    Phil
  19. PGC

    Welcome to my new blog

    By PGC,

    Working in IT as I do, you'd think I would understand how blogs work. Well, I don't! I understand how networks and hardware work but I don't get involved with the software side of things so blogs are an unknown to me. Having been reading through other blogs, I've realised that the blog I've already set up isn't really the most wonderful blog so I've decided to set up a new blog that links to all the articles I've posted in the past about what I'm working on and where I can post new entries of what I'm (slowly!) working on.
     
    I have one other blog that started showing the build of a Thompson 6 wheel passenger brake van - to see that, follow this http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/956-thompson-6w-pbv/
    link.
     
    Being an EM modeller sometimes causes troubles with clearances and I also have a posted an article that initially asks a question about how to remove white metal from the inside of an BR (exGER) E4 2-4-0 that I've started building. That article can be found here http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/74517-white-metal-body-mods-not-an-invite-for-gok-wan/
     
    I hope this blog is of interest to other members and that it provides inspiration and ideas to help other modellers on their way. Please feel free to make any comments.
     
    Phil
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