halfwit

Paint stripping - probably best to get as much of the old paint off as possible. Just in case its too thick or it reacts to the new paint. Its wise to apply primer as well, primer will show up any imperfections in your bodywork as well as providing a good base for the topcoat. I use car aerosol primer, most are acrylic and should be ok on plastic.

Along the top of the bonnet theres a metal channel which the bottom edge of the bonnet doors slots into (the bonnet sides hinge upwards) to hold them in place when opened. I represented this on the models with a strip of .030" x .010" plastic with a slot cut down its length with an Olfa type cutter. A pic; Thanks to Ruston for info on this. Axleboxes were carved from 3 x 1.5mm plastic strip. On the OOn3 loco they could be fitted straight on but on the EM loco they had to be thinned due to the lack of clearence between the frame sides and the wheels. I found it easier to make the boxes for the EM loco from the same material as the n.g. loco and file them down rather than use thinner plastic. Another pic; Also seen attached inside the frames are the axlebox adjusters, represented by the red plastic rod, which are used to move the axleboxes backwards and forwards to tension the drive chains. The axlebox detail is quite crude but in my defense they are mostly hidden by the axlebox gaurds and when finished will be painted dirty black.

Theres a couple of good photos in 'Industrial Railways of the South East' by Michael Messenger showing the bonnet top strip. Found and photographed another 48DS today - another one missing this strip. Will appear in the gallery soon.

Thanks Ruston. I have that book and often refer to it, still managed to miss that strip though! I'm off this afternoon to try and track down another 48DS to photograph. I suppose I should have climbed on the footplate of the Irchester loco but I thought that the bonnet top would be plain. I'm sure theres a lesson in this... Paul.

I've just been looking through my photos and I can't see anything like that on the Chasewater loco (the only one that I clambered onto the footplate of) nor do I remember seeing anything on there at the time. Removed perhaps or a new bonnet top? Otherwise I would have modelled it! Would it be possible to post an image of the strip into a thread? Or in a PM? I thought that you could post an image in here but I can't figure it out! Paul.

Sandboxes have now been added to both locos. For the standard gauge loco I used 3 x 1.5mm plastic strip with a rectangle of .030" plasticard glued to the top for the filler cap. Once the glue set hard the cap was shaped with a needle file to give the angled top before the sandbox was superglued to the footplate. Its easier to glue the top to the strip before its cut to length. It is 3mm high (not including the cap), dimensions taken from the Chasewater loco. A pic (white plastic doesn't photograph very well!); Note the strengthening fillets behind the buffer beam, filed from scrap fret. The narrow gauge loco has different sandboxes, this time made from 3 x 3mm plastic strip. Note the angle at the bottom edge; I haven't fitted filler caps yet, these are round, 3mm dia., with a handle cast in. I'll add these later when (if?) I find a suitable etching. Last night the standard gauge loco tried to abscond by jumping off the workbench which resulted in both rear corners of the roof getting dented. The LH side I managed to straighten but the RH side rear corner is still a bit dented; However, the real things took a battering on the roofs as well as these two pics show; So I think I'll just leave it as it is! Next jobs are fitting the steps and making and fitting axleboxes (what look like axleboxes are actually gaurds).

Who needs a layout? All my locos live in a display case in the dining room! They do occasionaly come out for a run on a length of track though... But then I'm mostly a loco builder. As far as tools go, buy the best that you can afford. Saves replacing an inferior tool later.

Sounds like an interesting project but I think you'll need to beg, borrow or steal a camera to keep us updated!

Thanks. Sandboxes have been made for both locos and will be added next. I also need to make up some axleboxes and add some brakes. Not sure what you mean by bonnet door rest strips - more info please! Paul.

For the radiater and fuel caps I used some handrail knobs soldered in place but not pushed all the way in so part of the shaft is still showing, as in the photo; Then the top of the knob was cut off with Xuron cutters and filed down to form a cap; The roof was first annealed over the gas hob. Then I clamped the edges to a 2mm drill in a Hold And Fold to form the outer bends. A similar sized drill was used on the opposite side to even out the clamp angle and stop the roof being 'spat out' by the clamp; The main curve of the roof was formed with a suitable piece of bar (actually the handle of my scraper) rolled on my thigh. Once I was happy with the shape, which took a bit of trial and error, the roof was held in place with an elastic band, tacked, checked then soldered up. The hole in the roof for the exhaust was drilled from below, the drill being passed up through the hole in the bonnet top. Then the exhaust was soldered in place. I used 1mm thin walled tube from Squires. Still some minor detailling to do but the're nearly finished.

Window pillars - I had a similar problem with the Steelman Royale. The problem is the Hold + Fold, there is a weak spot in the (otherwise excellent) design. When holding brass it grips on the 'innermost' edge, leaving the 'outer' edge, the one nearest the fold, unsupported. This is because the aluminium top clamp is at an angle, think of an open clothes peg. Most of the time it isn't a problem. The solution is to pack the other part of the clamp with scrap brass fret so it clamps evenly. If the above doesn't make sense catch me at an exhibition and buy me tea and I'll try to explain it a bit better. With diagrams. And arm waving.

More work has been done on the pair. The n.g. loco now has its bonnet fitted and I've fitted the reinforcement strips to the botom of the frame sides, these were cut from .008" x .040" brass strip (from Eileens Emporium) and sweated in place. On those the axlebox gaurds are soldered, first by tinning the back of the gaurd then sweating in place. I left a tag on the gaurds to give me something to hold with self gripping tweezers to make positioning easier. A couple of pics; This made life a lot easier. I've also made up the steps. I soldered them up using 188 degree solder planning to fit them to the frames using 145 degree, however after struggling with the first one and managing to unsolder the steps I've decided to fit the rest with superglue. You can see one step fitted to the EM loco below. The buffers on this one are Gibsons with the base filed from square to rectanguler. Handrails (.5mm rod) and sandpipes (.7mm rod) are now fitted to both locos. Door handles are .33mm brass wire. The white blocks on the EM chasis are for mounting the brake shoes which are from a Peco 'Fitted Stock Set' accessory pack, picked up from an exhibition. Not quite the right size or pattern and made from a bendy plastic which is proving difficult to glue... A pic of the EM body and chassis; And a shot of the n.g. loco in its current state, note the plates between the top of the bufferbeams and the bonnet front and cab rear; Holes have been drilled in the bonnets of both locos for the exhaust, which will be 1mm thin wall tube, and the radiater and fuel tank fillers.

A brass bracket should be easy to fabricate, either an elongated 'n' shape or a flat piece supported by brackets either end. See my Steelman Royale chassis to see how its fitted to that. Or if you can wait until I finish work on Sunday (I'm at work right now) I'll send a more detailed photo or a sketch your way. Nice job by the way. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/428/entry-2690-judith-edge-steelman-royale-handrail-ride-height-and-sandbox-lids/ Edited to add link.

I've finally started soldering together the bodywork for the narrow gauge loco. The frame sides, bufferbeams and footplate are made from .016" brass to measurements taken from the Irchester loco. The frame is 12'9" long by 5' wide on the n.g. loco, the standard gauge loco has frames 11'4" long by 6'10" wide (measurements taken from the Chasewater loco). The cab and bonnet dimensions are the same on both locos, which are featured in my gallery. A scale rule proved very usefull when marking out the brass. Here's a photo of the frames soldered up; Note the shape of the bufferbeams. And now a shot of the n.g. and EM locos together, the cab of the n.g. version has now been soldered on; The bonnet was formed by first annealing then tack soldering one side to the front then rolling the main piece around on the workbench, tacking as I went. A 4mm drill was used to help form the radius where the top and sides meet. Everything was checked for square as I went along. I'm sure theres a better way of doing this. Note that the side/top piece is slightly wider than needed meaning that the bottom of the bonnet needs filing after soldering. A pic; I really must work on my forming... The chassis for the n.g. loco is on the bench now being fitted up and run in.

I really must visit this one, I've spent a lot of time in the area (I was in Llangollen on Saturday, funny where work takes me...) but never managed to find the time for a ride on the railway. I have sat on the river though on a kayak instructer course and watched trains go by when I was supposed to be concentrating on my coach.

Here's a drawing of the chassis frames. Apologies for the quality! The chassis sides were made from .025" brass strip, chosen over .016" to make filing easier and for a larger bearing area for the front axle. Spacers for the EM loco are Gibson and for the the OOn3 version I made my own from strip, 7.5mm wide. Bearings again are Gibson and are only fitted to the rear driven axle, small bearings on the OOn3 and large bearings on the EM version. (Gibson do 2 sizes of 2mm bearing). Note the compensation bracket, this is fitted between the frames on the centre line. I soldered it in before the front axle holes were slotted. It was made slightly too large, then filed down until the axle just touched it to set the ride height. The 7mm dimension from the frame top to the axle centre line was a bit of a guess, if anything it was slightly too small becouse I figured that it would be easy to add a shim between the chasis and body if the loco sat too low. Seems to be ok though. The wheelbase is set at a prototypical 21mm. Before I started cutting metal I made a paper template to test the design and make sure that the gearbox would fit. Just to recap the motor is a Mashima 1015 fitted with a Mainly Trains 1/2dia. flywheel driving the rear axle through a High Level Slimliner Compact+ 54:1 gearbox. A Mashima 1020 would also fit if the flywheel was left off and the shaft shortened. Even though the 1020 would be more powerfull I wanted smooth running so I went for the smaller motor and flywheel combo. Axles are 2mm silver steel from Squires and wheels are Gibson 10mm disc. Today some brass arrived in the post so the OOn3 version now has a footplate, but more on that next time.

The bat loco on the left ('Ted') is based on a Keef K series diesel loco. Not sure about the one on the right although it looks fairly German. As for the origins, what are they made from? Saltford Models (long disapeared) used to make 16mm kits which comprised of a few w/m or resin castings, motor, gears, switch, wheels (usually white metal) and battery box and a drawing so you could make up the body (and sometimes the chassis) from plasticard. I know they did a Keef loco along with the usuall Ruston and Simplex designs. Incidentaly I have an etched brass Saltford Keef loco in 009, one of only 20 made, waiting to be built.

I like the 'daylight' under the chassis, the mech looks to be pretty un-obtrusive, which I feel is an important part of the look of the loco. Would it be possible to have slightly over-length axles, so conversion to EM would only involve pulling the wheels out to gauge and not removing the axles from the mech? Just a thought... I've already started saving up for his one.

Thanks Paul. The bodies are A1 Models, I'm using the fully enclosed cab option (2 different cab sides are supplied). On the n.g. version only the A1 cab and bonnet will be used, the footplate, frames and bufferbeams will be scratchbuilt from brass. Paul.

I replaced the pick-up wires on the EM chassis this afternoon with longer wires which apply less pressure to the rims. The old wires were too short and stiff and prevented the front non-powered wheels from turning. Thanks to Buffalo for the tip (a pint is owed). Here's a photo of the new revised pick-ups; If only my electrical soldering was as neat as my brass soldering... And here's a shot of the loco on my test track, actually a piece of old bent C+L, in the kitchen. The running is now much improved, nice and slow, and hopefully will get even better as weight is added. Note the test weights... The next job is going to be making up the bonnets and starting on the n.g. footplate. Paul.

Thanks Nick. I was thinking the same thing about the length of the wires. I suppose I'll have to re-do them, just to see if we're right. Doesn't bode well for the n.g. version...

Well I've got the EM chassis running. Here's a photo of the motor and gearbox combo; The motor is a Mashima 1015 and the gearbox a High Level Slimliner Compact+ 54:1 reduction. The same set-up will be fitted to the narrow gauge version when I send of the 1/8 bore gear and bearings and swap them for 2mm bore (I ordered the wrong spec...). Here's a pic of it fitted into the frame; The motor is mounted on a piece of bicycle inner tube. For pick-ups I've used phospher bronze wire, .315mm dia. However this has caused some trouble. I've set up the pick-ups to run on the edge of the flange, a tip taken from Guy Williams scratchbuilding book, which works well on the driven axle but unless caused too much friction on the non-driven front axle, preventing it from turning. A bit of jiggling put things right but perhaps brass wire might have been better. Anyway another piccy; Once I've got the EM chassis sorted then I'll set about the narrow gauge version. I've also started on the bodies. The EM loco will be built pretty much as the kit intended. The frames and cab are in one piece now, the bonnet will be added once I've cleaned up the soldereing around the cab sides. The cab for the n.g. version is also done. A photo; I spent some time at the weekend photographing and measuring 48DS', a standard gauge one at the Chasewater Railway and the n.g. one at Irchester Railway Museum (thanks to both concerns) and will download some detail photos into my gallery in the near future. Now I've got some measurements of the n.g. frames, which are longer and narrower than on the standard gauge locos, I can start on them. Paul.

One wheelset, the rear axle. It's not going to pull huge loads but I can live with that. I reckon you could build a chassis with a geartrain to drive both axles but thats a job for another day/year/decade.

I made up the frame spacers for the n.g. chassis today. These were made 7.5mm wide so the gearbox will just fit in. The overall width of the frames is 8.9mm. Wheels will be set to 10.3mm back to back. I've had to work all the dimensions out myself so it could all be completely wrong... To compensate the front axle I soldered a piece of brass between the frames for the axle to pivot on, most people use a piece of rod for this. The brass was cut deliberatly to tall so I could file it down until an axle just touched it, to set the ride height. Then the axle holes (no bearings remember) were slotted using a needle file to give the required travel. If this sounds like a bodge, well it probably is. However the locos will only ever see light use, unless I go mad and build a layout... Anyway, a photo. Narrow gauge chassis on the right. It might work, it might not. Next job will be fitting the motor and gearbox. Paul.

Missy - a 2mm scale 48DS! I would really like to see that! Alcazar - your right, the article was called 'Creating Havoc'.