Fen End Pit

I made a small purchase from Hattons this week which then pushed me forward to finish one quite old project. I'd found a picture which shows a B1 shunting at Clare so started looking online for the options to produce a model. Hattons had a secondhand one which was advertised as 'warped drive wheel and imperfect box' for a very reasonable price. Given that I can't get hung up about the state of the box and would rewheel to P4 anyway I decided I couldn't pass it up. I have also written off for the Dave Bradwell B1 chassis and some wheels from Alan Gibson. What has this got to do with the J39 I hear you cry... Well I had built the Dave Bradwell chassis kit for the J39 some years back, it is driven via a motor in the tender driving the rear axle through a universal joint. The kit includes an excellent chassis for the loco but I'd not really had any luck with the tender chassis. I had never got the motor sitting properly and had never got the functional chassis, prototype chassis and tender top. To my shame blu-tac was involved. As you might have seen on this blog I have been working on a chassis kit so I had some bits of test etch left over from one of the versions which I was able to 'cut and shut' into the correct wheelbase. I finally got around to putting the BR emblem on the tender and finally added an Alex Jackson coupling on the back. So now I can feel less guilty once the B1 bits arrive. David

Nice grubby J15 you've got there. David

That mechanism looks very effective. Am I reading the photographs right and you use a magnet on the servo arm to drive the signal mechanism? David

As I hinted in one of my previous blog postings I wasn't entirely happy with the windows in the station building. Some were ok (usually the ones I'd shot in photographs) but others were a bit iffy. I'd been slowly developing the process and the cut files for the laser cutter. This picture shows versions 1, 2 and 3 from left to right. Version 1 was a single 1mm cut with the detail engraved on the top. The single thickness made for a lack of relief that I didn't think gave adequate depth for the sash. Version 2 used two layers of 1mm MDF, engraved some detail on the front but also used the second layer to give space for the rear sash pane. This looked a lot better but I didn't get the design in the correct space to fit the glazing material. This made glazing really difficult and my choice of glazing material didn't help as it was quite thick. It didn't stick very well and I tried to resort to super glue which then caused white crazing in the glass. Version 3 now has a much better recess for the glazing, I also found that I could laser cut the acetate sheet which I purchased from the Model Shop in London. I managed to get the setting such that I could just gently pop the glazing sections out of the sheet. The biggest problem was that I would pop the windows out and then immediately lose them. I also chose to start making the windows in some supplemental frames and leave these frame on the main sheet. This meant I didn't have to wrestle finding all the individual bits in the bottom of the cutter and I could more easily spray the windows. So now I managed to make up lots of replacement windows, the glazing held in with PVA which dries clear and doesn't spoil the glazing material. The windows were painted white with the very edge of the frame painted in the same light green as the down pipes. One of the key things I wanted to achieve was consistency, I wanted all the windows to be equally good so that they will all match. I've also been doing so work on the good shed artwork. This is a difficult exercise in laser cut brickwork, particularly around the buttresses at each corner. I tried just cutting out the parts for one corner to see how it might come out. The base wall is 3mm MDF, the bulk of the buttress is 1.5mm and the plinth is 1mm. All need different allowances for the interlocking bricks, I cut these over-length so I can then sand them back to match. I still need to allow a little more for the thinnest section of the buttress. I gave it a quick coat of brick red followed by my usual treatment of Wilco fine filler and Vallejo grey wash. The result shows I'm on the right track (I hope). Some good progress. David

Hi Alan, Killybegs and Dave. Looking at the photographs I couldn't see any evidence of any junctions on the stench pipe. The pipe might be a larger diameter than the down pipe but I'm not entirely convinced. Keep safe everyone. David

Hot Dog, Jumping Frog, Albuquerque. Very nice. David

He can't tell us about the secret project as he'd have to kill us afterwards. It is worth persevering to get the BLtouch working on the Ender-3, it makes bed leveling so much easier and the use of 9 points on the bed to generate a 'mesh' which then allows for slight warping on the bed is a great help. All the best David

I did a bit of 3d modelling in CAD this weekend and produced some rainwater goods. This included some of the castings that hold the pipes onto the walls, some spouts for the bottom of downpipes and some hoppers for where one pipe goes into another. I also drew up some chimney pots and some suitcases, just for the laughs. They came out pretty well on the Anycubic photon. The holes in the drain components were drawn at 1.3mm and drilled out easily to fit some plastruct rod of that size. These were made up into various downpipes I needed. The east side of the building has a downpipe for the gutters and a stench pipe, the later goes up through the roof. On the other side has a pipe down the corner of the wall which joins on with the guttering from the lower part of the roof. I had to remove the guttering I'd attached to the lower section because I realised I'd made the overhang too long and it prevented the downpipe from fitting in. I'll fix this in a bit. There is also a downpipe for the lower section which goes down the wall of the toilet block. The windows still haven't been glued in yet as I'm still not I'm quite happy with them which is why the front of the waiting shelter isn't quite vertical. As you can see the chimney pot got stuck in place too. David

I managed to fix the broken guttering and reseat the building in its location. You can still (just) get a camera into a position to take a photograph.

Thanks Rob That looks rather nice too. David

The road side of the station building at Clare has a glass awning over the entrance door. Looking at the pictures this had a timber frame under the glass and a thin leaded layer on 3 sides of each pane only on the top. The main glazing bars were cut in 1mm MDF and drawn at 1mm wide but probably cut down to about .8mm. The top layer was in thin card and was extremely fragile when it came off the laser cutter. In this picture I have just positioned the awning, the brackets, which were also laser cut were super-glued to the brickwork. This side of the building faces away from the viewer and is only 5 inches from the back of the layout so it is going to be very difficult to get this view when the building is planted. The only really annoying mistake was that I dropped the roof and broke one of the gutters. I have applied filler to make a repair but I'm really cross with myself for creating a mess I need to fix. I need to make a couple of notice boards (and posters) and get down to working on the down-pipes. Keep safe folks... David

Hi Tony Actually there is a little block of black plasticard just behind the bufferbeam, it just doesn't show up in the photograghs. which sets the height to match my gauge. David

So I managed to put the chimneys onto the station building and don't they make a difference! I had made myself more work by cutting the holes in the roof based on the plans I had of Lavenham station from Jas Millham. It turns out that Lavenham had considerably more ornate brick work than Clare and the bases of the chimneys were quite a bit large. I don't know if this was the local builder interpreting the plans he was given differently (trying save money on his contract?) or if they might have been rebuild later after some kind of fault as I have no earlier pictures that give any detail. Anyway I managed to fill the holes in and add additional slates to hide the crimes. Today I cut and added the two skylights, one which I believe lit the stairwell of the station master's house, the other was over the sheltered waiting area. I still have the doors to do and a load of work on rainwater goods This all gave me a good excuse to re-do the reenactment photograph I attempted back in October only this time using the right DMU and the right Station building. Disusedstation.org shows... Fen End Pit shows I also need to do a lot of work is the garden. Trying to work out from a distant aerial photograph how to arrange and plant up the garden is an interesting project. Lots of fruit trees and a whole range of busch vegetables to plant. This is turning into a bit of a minefield because you hit issues such as soil type and the fact that I bought some tomato plants only to be told that in 1957 you would have to have planted tomatoes under glass! So lots of fun to be had.. David

It never ceases to amaze me that my lasercutter can both crunch through 6mm ply for baseboard construction and do super detail work in 1mm MDF. I'd been asked to help with a 4mm narrow gauge Irish project the station building had rather impressive arches over the windows. This needed not just very fine cutting for the mortar lines but also some engraving to shape the bricks around the arch. These little beasts are 18mm across and cut in 1.5mm ply. I also made up the chimneys for my model of Clare station building. The parts for these were also extremely fine. Again I am extremely pleased with the result. Bear in mind these rascals are only 32mm tall and the smallest is 8.5mm x 6.5mm. Now I have been looking at the photographs of the prototype and I can only see a single chimney pot, what would the top of the chimney have looked like where there was no pot? Should I just put in a divider for the different flues? David

Thanks Richard, but I can't claim any credit for the quality of the Hornby molding. Regarding AJ couplings I am not doing anything too radical, I've never got on with the idea of pivoting them and just stick fixing the other end of the sprung wire to the far end of the wagon. The only thing I did pick up was the use of a 'pulling post'. The idea is that you place a vertical strong wire behind the buffer beam (just off centre) and then bend the AJ coupling around it. When the coupling is tensioned it pulls against 'pulling post' meaning that the force is applied at the front of the wagon rather than the rear. It also doesn't matter too much if the final fixing position isn't exactly on the centre line because that isn't where the force is being applied. David

I finished off my P4 conversion of the Hornby horsebox. It is a lovely model and I am very pleased with how it looks. The original W-irons were filed down to wafer thin and then I stuck a set of Bill Bedford sprung W-irons behind them. I purchased some of the new Lanarkshire models Jackson coupling droppers and fitted these. I've always hated trying to make droppers for Jackson's as I never seemed to be able to either bend iron wire to the right shape or solder iron wire to the sprung guitar string . These etches fold over the coupling wire just in line with the coupling hook, an iron link is added under the etch which is what is attracted to the uncoupling magnet. The finished dropper is discrete and looks very good. I also made some more progress on the station building. I 3D printed a load more guttering and stuck these onto the bargeboards. I looked at the few colour photographs I have of Clare and it appears that the ironwork and the windows surrounds were a light green colour, a slightly lighter version of the colour used on the beams of the signalbox. Next up will be the chimneys and the skylights. (yes I have got to retouch the bottom row of slates)

Have 'they' explained how they are going to stop trains at a Cambridge south station without reducing the number of trains running between Cambridge and Shepreth Branch junction? It seems to me that unless you increase the number of tracks then you have a allow for trains to stop on the mainline and this would have a knock on effect of decreasing the number of paths. David

This was the Scalefour society frame rather than the MSE one, the handles are steel turnings and the rest of the lever is nickel-silver. I think you need a fairly aggressive flux and as much lead in the solder as legislation will allow. David

Following on from my 3D printed brakes for sprung coach bogies I slightly modified the model to fit on a Bill Bedford sprung W-iron etch. This was for a 14mm diameter wheel. I printed them in batches of 5 so I can break one per wagon! They fit quite nicely over the W-Iron. I've been thinking that the Scalefour society might try the tag line 'Taking nice OO gauge models and cutting large holes in them'. At least that is the case with this Hornby ex-LMS horse box I've been working on! I've still got to actually stick the new sprung W-irons in place but it is currently able to roll along with a bit of springing. I'll post more once I have things glued up and re-assembled. David

Hi Dave Regarding edging strips, I've thought about it but although I've had plenty of derailments I've not have any catastrophic plunges (yet) or indeed anything close. Stock which comes off tends to stay upright. You are right about the wood section of the station building, I made the drawing the same size as the gab between the two main parts of the building and didn't allow for the quoins. I just need to sand about .5mm off the ends! thanks for the nice commends David

I put up brief video of progress on Youtube. Lots of fun playing trains.... David

Hi Robin I'm using the 8'6" bogies for Gresley bogies. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't fit on any of the BB units. The one thing that is fixed is the 14mm wheel diameter. David

Hi RMweb experts Does anyone know how to take a Hornby LMS Horsebox (R6728A) apart? I want to convert one to P4, a step which may well involve removing the plastic W-irons and replacing them with a sprung brass one. I can't see any screws and wondered if there are some magic tabs anywhere? It is a lovely molding and I really don't want to bog it up completely! thanks David

Over the last couple of weeks I've been converting some Hornby coaches to P4. I've been using my favourite sprung bogies from Bill Bedford/Eileen. The hardest bit with these though is the brake blocks as I find metal etched brake blocks too likely to short out on the wheel tread when I bend them! (probably my own fault). So I thought I'd have a go at 3d printing an alternative to see how it might work. It wasn't too hard to model up and I printed the result on my Anycubic Photon. I did two batches of 5 because I knew I was bound to break at least one. The supports to the bottom of the brake blocks clipped off easily with side cutters and the rest of the part saws off the base easily. The parts fitted pretty well, I needed to file one end slightly to clear the spring supports at the end of the bogie. I'd designed them to superglue easily onto the bogie. I've since modified the 3D model which should avoid this in future. Final step will be some constructive surgery on the original Hornby bogies which are actually very nice castings which can be chopped apart and fitted to the etching quite easily. I've posted the file up on the Thingiverse at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4171453 Let me know if you can suggest any modifications or improvements David

Very, very nice... David