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Bob, Yes - it's probably worth a retrospective of No. 8, so here we are, first in pictured in 2008 - Farish Chassis and Body with Ballantine wheels, by then it had been like that since about 2001/2002... Next to when the RT Models etch had appeared, with a better cab back and etched steps, I also decided to add balance weights to the wheels. Internally a coreless motor replaced the Farish iron cored motor and it had had a new paint job... Then the last one with the Farish body - now sporting an association chassis - Finally, the road eventually not taken due to the appearance of the EFE model - a much modified (partly on account of gluing it back together after dropping it with the 3D print being so brittle...) 3D print from Shapeways, with added detail from the RT Etch, handrails, new footplate and buffer beams from the association chassis etch... What made me decide to put the chassis under the EFE body was a combination of things - frustration with the body, particularly the brittleness of the print, a conversation at York with Mick Simpson on the possibility of using the association chassis under the body, and the availability of an EFE body where the chassis had donated bearings to my other conversions. Around this time there was also another possible path, that thankfully Jerry Clifford talked me out of by pointing out I'd might as well make a full replacement chassis for all the hassle it would have been, of attaching association chassis side-frames to an EFE chassis block. Once I'd embarked on the EFE body/association chassis route, it didn't take me long to decide it was the right path to take. I still have the 3d print body as it was left so it may yet gain a dummy chassis and appear on a model scrapline somewhere... Cheers, John

So, what has been on my workbench this last few weeks has been NCB No. 8, which is now finished. I brought it along to the Derby Expo on Saturday and Anthony Yeates was kind enough to photograph it along with the competition entries - As opposed to the J94 that I entered for the Ballantine Quaich, this one was an experiment in using an association chassis, which I'd previously built for a Farish body and then tried under a 3d print body, to see how it compares with the converted EFE chassis AND to also complete what has been an over 20 year saga to model this particular loco. In the end I thought the other J94 which was a converted EFE chassis just edged it on performance so that was the one that got entered. I started off with a conversion of a Farish chassis using the old Ballantine conversion wheelsets, this then had a updated body with the RT Models etch used to detail it, then a replacement associaiton chassis, then an attempt at a 3d printed body and finally the EFE body has the result I always wanted. The loco is HE3776, as No. 8 it spent the early 70s in Staffordshire before moving to Bickershaw where it was in this livery up to 1977. After that it was painted bright blue and renamed 'Bickershaw' before being renumbered to No. 7 and painted green. It was then preserved, though I believe it is under overhaul at present.

Nick, That's rather glorious that - I have, probably a few months down the line, the prospect of a LMS tender but this time black with red lining! Also having once, long ago, done a BR Lined black fowler tender to a long sold on N Gauge Crab I do have a sense of how fiddly lining up the bits of transfer can be! Cheers, John

Jerry, Yes, I rather like them - they do indeed look like the sort of thing used on Guitar FX boxes! Cheers, John

I'm running them on 24V AC - Gaugemaster's instructions suggest between 18 and 25V AC, so it's within the operating range for the magnet.

Has anyone got any good recommendations on good push-to-make intermittent contact pushbutton switches as a replacement for the ones supplied with SEEP uncoupling magnets? The ones supplied by SEEP aren't that robust as the plastic base comes away eventually with use, so anything of metal construction would be preferred. Cheers, John

Latest instalment in my EFE Austerity body on an association chassis and we're almost ready for final painting. The chassis fit has been pretty much finalised, with the footplate sitting level on the chassis. I put some plasticard spacers in at either end to make sure it sits level, with screws at both ends to secure the body to the chassis. Running is fine, I've added some lead in the firebox and around the motor in the tank. I've not fitted couplings yet so not had a chance to gauge haulage, it feels lighter than one with the EFE chassis, testing will tell but certainly enough to haul a few minerals back and forth. The plastic handrails can break with a lot of handling, so I replaced most of the handrail knobs with the brass ones I've got, I'm sure the association etched handrail knobs would be a good alternative here. The cab glazing has also been removed, but one of the EFE spectacle plate etches pinged off never to be seen again whilst trying to remove it to straighten it up. So, replacement spectacle plates in the shape of the Shawplan Extreme Etchings Class 40 Horn Grilles have been fitted. I've used other 4mm horn grilles for this purpose before and these are just the right size! Replacement glazing will be fitted to the front, probably cut from clear plastic sheet of some sort. I'm thinking I'll keep the rear spectacles unglazed as that seems the case on the prototype I'm modelling. Jobs remaining before painting are fitting a lubricator to the footplate, replacing the buffers with turned brass ones with larger heads, filling in the holes in the buffer beams, removing the cab doors and fitting a bit of plastikard to the back of the firebox to the gears aren't exposed to the cab. Couplings will be fitted after painting! In the next instalment I'll post some pictures of it broken down into the component parts which should show how the motor is fitted and connected to the chassis. Cheers, John

SO - having done some more on the 3D Printed body, including having to put it back together after it dropped on the floor and the bunker came off, I eventually put it on the chassis and despite lots of fettling it still rode way too high, also I was not happy with the cab side opening, which was just, compared with an EFE body, just wasn't right. At all. Therein lay the solution - I had, as it had donated some bearings and various other things to get my previous conversions going, an EFE body with a duff chassis. A bit of comparing showed that the gears lined up nicely with the firebox and, after trimming out an opening in the footplate and trimming down the tops of the chassis frames, it'd fit. Also, at York, Mick Simpson had asked me about the feasibility of using an association chassis under the EFE body. So basically, that's what I've done - This view should show both the cutting I've done to the footplate and the bits I've trimmed off the tops of the chassis - Finally, another view of them fitted together - To get the gear to run freely I've had to both widen the aperture in the footplate in the smokebox area a little more, and also chamfer the bottom of the insides of smokebox moulding. I also removed the moulded sandboxes from under the footplate and the two pillars for the self-tapping screws to secure the EFE chassis block and keeper plate. A hole for a 12BA bolt has been drilled through the footplate, and a 12BA nut will be soldered to a small piece of nickel silver to secure the chassis to the body. A little plastikard packing just inside the buffer beams will ensure it's all at the right height. The EFE motor is mounted too high to engage with the gears, so it is being replaced with an association 6mm coreless, probably mounted on a cut and filed down association 3d print motor mount. The wires will be routed down to connect onto the PCB under the cab, and some lead weight will be added in the tank to make up for that lost by not having a cast chassis block anymore. Cheers, John

To quote Magnus Magnusson, "I've started, so I'll finish" - so I'm back working on the 3d printed Austerity I started last year before getting waylaid by the release of the EFE one! I'd had a lot of problems with the 3d printed footplate warping and breaking, so I decided a new one made from a combination of plastikard with a nickel silver overlay was needed, using bufferbeams from an association chassis etch. I'll also be adding the reverser. The loco being modelled has larger than average buffers, so LMS 18" ones are fitted, a lubricator is fitted to the footplate and I've put some lamp irons on. The chassis is also having some work on it, with the coupling rods removed for a repaint. Next is fitting some lead weights in the saddle tank and smokebox, adding an impression of the boiler backhead and sorting out a cab floor, gluing the body back together with Araldite and then priming and painting. John

Bob, Yes - I've done similar on my J94 and on my Panniers, flooding the fluted side with solder and having that in the inside of the layering. I'll be making one of my usual jigs from a few cut off track pins in a piece of scrap MDF, it looks like I'll be able to use the rods as a guide to marking up the MDF for pre-drilling the holes for the pins. I can then solder the cut rods back together on the jig and they'll all be nicely aligned. Cheers, John

Yes - I'll be doing a cut and shut on the 3-205 J94 rods for mine too. How did you cut them prior to soldering them back together? As both sides need to be shortened I'm going to be leaving one layer as long as possible for strength. Cheers, john

That's rather nice that, the wiggly tin roof over the garage (?) end seems particularly effective. Way back in the day (talking 20 years ago) Southport MRS had an N Gauge layout of the Saltash & the Royal Albert Bridge that I helped operate at a few shows. The first few times it was shown, it was exhibited with the fiddle yard at the front with the idea that people would look at the bridge across the fiddle yard or from either side. I don't recall that working too well so it soon reverted to a conventional format with the bridge at scenic section at the public side. Also, it had the chain operated ferry going back and forth beneath the bridge, propelled by black nylon thread rather than a chain attached to an electric motor. I suspect, though, this earlier layout is long gone by now. Cheers, John

That looks excellent that - I'm going to be returning to my one shortly, using some association wheels based on some tips I've had from @Nigelcliffe especially around the axle at the short bonnet end. Ta, John

Now pretty much as finished as I want it to be in time for this weekend's Chapel En Le Frith show where I'm demonstrating my finescale wares, is J94 68012 - It will be getting weatherboards next and a weathering, however for now it's been round the test circuit a few times and ready to go. Cheers, John

Progress has been slow on the layout itself, as time has been taken up on a couple of other projects - one of which has been my EFE J94 Austerity conversion to make 68012, one of the stalwarts of the final years of the line, and it is now almost finished... Couplings need adding, and coal needs adding in the bunker, before decisions are made on weathering. The real thing also had weatherboards added to the cabside, current idea is that they'll be fabricated from microstrip.

John, Firstly on the Cab roof, I'd look at doing a new one from a piece of Nickel Silver, it worked well on the last Farish Body conversion I did. The nickel silver was from some scrap etch I had and I needed to have a double thickness of it. The roof vent hatch was made up from some other bits of scrap. Haulage wise my chassis, under a Farish body, seemed to manage 15+ wagons round my test circuit without issue, it'll be interesting to see how my 3d print replacement body for the chassis measures up, I am effectively cladding the saddle tank with lead sheet, together with weight in the smokebox and bunker so it should be OK. My EFE conversion hasn't been haulage tested yet but tests with an unconverted one on my test circuit had it hauling 6 Mk1s, which I think is a bit more that I've experienced on the real thing with one on the East Lancs. It seemed to perform well, even when tasked with restarting after 'herding' some escaped cattle along the line to a suitable gate where a farmer was waiting. Cheers, John

Bob, On the rear windows/spectacle plates, how did you cut the rings for them? Was it from a piece of suitably sized tube? Cheers, John

It almost looks as if it's a nearly stowed tarpaulin to drape onto the tender in inclement weather, perhaps?

Bob, Yes - it's too early to 'Jump the Buck' on this one as there's just so many possibilities - from what I remember Iain Rice took at least two issues of MRJ to go through all the variants... Cheers, John

Bob, I've actually tried this myself with DGs many years back when running my DG-fitted freight stock on a non-magnet fitted club N Gauge layout, in this case I used a dental scraper type tool that I'd acquired from Eileen's or similar originally for the purpose of lifting standard N Gauge couplers, and with care this could be used with the DGs. I think one with a longer bit of wire turned at the end would have been better for DGs. Cheers, John

An actual documented case of Paxo being a 'Rooster Booster' !

Chris, I'd need to check on commonwealth bogies as I don't think I've needed to replace the wheelsets in any of them, however for Mk1s using the BR Mk1 bogie, also for the LMS Stanier Coaches, 15.2mm axles fit fine. For the BT10 bogies used under later Mk1s and also Mk2s the 14.2mm axles are needed. CCTs I'm not sure of but I think they're also 15.2mm too. Cheers, John

I'll be interested to see what you go with pushbutton wise - for now I actually went with the button supplied with the SEEP uncouplers but I have had one fail mechanically on me. I too feed the magnets off of 24V AC - previously I had used DC but was warned I risked permanently magnetising the iron core. Old Mill Wharf is going to end up with 3 or 4, all switched by the one button so I'll want to go with something more up to the job. Cheers, John

WIlliam, Dapol 33s use pinpoint bearings - they are a variant of the chassis originally designed for the 26s and 27s which also had pinpoint wheels. As far as I know the only other Dapol diesel locos currently in circulation with non-pinpoint axles are the Class 66s, with these being retooled so I suspect the chassis will be updated at the same time, and the Westerns - as the prototype had wheels with inside bearings! Cheers, John

Oh aye, that J94 is looking good - as it happens my converted EFE one is also going to be 68012! The 3d printed body to go on my chassis is due to get finished too. As for the 4F tender I managed to use pinpoints a la Dapol Diesel conversions on the tender on mine - however I do have a generic 13+13 chassis kit or two in case I decide to go that way. Seeing how you've done the PCB though is probably how I'll do it on one such chassis to go under an old white metal BH Enterprises Fowler tender on the back of a Crab. Cheers, John