Fen End Pit

The second test etch for the Easichas for the Hornby J15 arrived via Brassmasters. Once again a superb etching job by PPD. Most of the mistakes from the first etch were corrected, though there are a couple of minor changes to be made based on actually putting this together. I've also been putting together the instructions and one of the other Brassmasters has been attempting to follow them! I'm really happy with the way the basic chassis goes together and very pleased with the fold-up brake gear design which makes the brake hangers and brake blocks very easy to assemble. The chassis, coupling rods and brake gear went together well, I need to allow a gnat's* more clearance between the brake shoes and the wheels but that is easily corrected on the etch. The half-etch detail parts for the brake pull rods worked well to. The tender chassis needs some changes but I was able to make these physically with a piecing saw and virtually on the CAD drawing so that at least I was able to put it together to track down any other problems. The main loco chassis can be assembled and tested for rolling away from the Hornby body which is great for checking wheel quartering, clearances etc. The rods across the chassis for the brake gear get removed later allowing the brake gear to be removed and the wheels to be dropped out. The tender chassis is sprung with 'Continuous Springy Beams' and runs very nicely. I need to adjust the spring support points as the unit currently runs about .5mm low, but that is an easy fix on the drawing. The chassis disassembled nicely for priming and painting and all went back together again afterwards. I'm very pleased with the result which will be on the Brassmasters' stand at Scaleforum on Saturday. David * that is a British Standard Gnat, a little more than a smidgen but less than a bit.

Fen End Pit will be there... Looking forward to it. David

Just a note to say that Fen End Pit is out and about at the Mid-Essex Model Railway show in Shenfield on Saturday Show Details Look forward to seeing some of you there. David

There is a nice series of videos on Youtube from 'Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels' where he collects a 48DS and gets it working on the MSLR. start at David Barham

A day trip out in Norfolk culminated in sitting by the River Yare at Reedham with a beverage of choice. The swing bridge was open to river traffic and it was a quiet and peaceful evening with nothing to disturb of peace except bird song, the clink of boats in their moorings and a rather unremarkable band setting up for their gig in the pub. The bridge started to close and maybe ten minutes later an even more unremarkable 158 or such unit trundled over heading to Norwich from Lowestoft. Finishing my drink we strolled down towards the bridge which stayed closed waiting for the Lowestoft bound service in the opposite direction (where would we be without OpenTrainTimes). A few minutes later and our ears were full of the full blown thrash of a pair of 37s - ah bliss! what trains ought to sound like.. Who needs a Flirt with a strange power/gubbins wagon in the middle when you can have 3 coaches with English Electrics finest on either end? Of course, knowing that this wonderful sight had gone to Lowestoft meant that we could reasonably expect it to come back and so we settled in to enjoy the sunset. The bridge opened for part of the wait too. Network Rail really need a new red flag it was looking decidedly tattered. Then at the appointed time we could once again hear the distant roar of the pair of locomotives which sounded as if they were revving up to climb over the bridge. And then once more there was silence.. What I wonderful way to spend an evening. David

The prototype J15 had 15 spoke 4'11" wheels. Unfortunately the nearest available from Alan Gibson in a 4'11" 16 spoke wheel or a 4'7" 15 spoke. Gibson sells a pack of the 4'11" 16 spoke wheels with 2mm axles as a conversion set for the Hornby J15 (which has 2mm axles) and on reflection the 4'7" really does look noticeably too small to me. The Brassmasters' sprung hornblocks come available as 1/8" or 3mm bore so my decision to use the conversion pack wheels meant I also had to use Gibson's 1/8 to 2mm bushes (part # 4M68). These soldered into the Brassmasters' hornblocks without difficulty and were a good tight fit. The Gibson wheels were of the design which doesn't have the crankpin hole fully molded/drilled - you just get a small dimple. The chassis will only run smoothly if all the crankpins are vertical to the wheels and the same distance from the centre of the axle. This is something which is pretty hard to achieve with just a drill in a pin vice and not much easier with a pillar drill unless you make some kind of jig. The jig just consists of a stub to mount the wheel on, this needs to be sliding fit so slightly smaller than the final axle size and an arm which has a hole through which the crankpin hole can be drilled. Using a bit of square tube means that the drill has two points held in place and will therefore drill at the same angle each time. Not very original or pretty, but functional. The shim on the right supports the wheel on its flange rather than it being supported on the plastic boss. Having made the jig I got 6 wheels fitted with crankpins. They may not be perfect, but if they are all equally imperfect things should at least run! I managed to get the wheels, bearing, extra washes to reduce sideplay and the original Hornby drive gear into the GW wheel quartering press and squeezed together. This is always a job I loath and it seems to always have a high 'F' factor but to my amazement I ended up with only slightly wobbly wheels. I've got to say that this is one of my least favourite jobs in locomotive construction! The coupling rods assembled together nicely with the joint being made using little rivets from Markits. The final rod pivoted easily but had no play in the joint. With the wheels in the chassis the crankpin holes in the rods were opened up with a broach to be just a fit for the Gibson crankpin bushes and amazingly the rods slid onto the crankpins and aligned well. One of the advantages of this type of chassis design is that you can assemble the whole unit as a rolling chassis and check for binds before fitting back over the original chassis block. I'm afraid I lost count of the number of crankpin nuts I Iost on the floor! The unit fitted nicely over the chassis block and because the Hornby tender can work temporarily with just a set of P4 wheels dropped in I was able to provide pickup to the motor via the tender to test the chassis. There are a few corrections to be made to the etch, at the moment the frames foul the footplate at one end so the body won't fit on quite correctly but getting something to move under its own power is always good for the motivation. There is a little clip on Youtube at https://youtu.be/QbPApw3bIyQ David

Well over a couple of years ago I asked my friends at Brassmasters about the possibility of them producing one of their EasiChas range of kits to fit the Hornby J15. These chassis utilize the original motor and chassis block put provide a method to fit EM or P4 wheels with some springing. The design has now covered a range of prototypes including various LMS, GWR and LNER locomotives. I have produced artwork for some of the Brassmasters range in the past (point rodding components and the original etched windows for the Scalescenes building range). These friendly 'non-commercial' arrangements have been great, I get the etches I want for my modeling and Brassmasters get an additional item to add to their range. I should probably have expected the response I got - 'go on and produce some artwork then'. I got a fair way through the design process with the help of the prototype drawings from the Great Eastern Railway Society, the CAD drawings for the 4F EasiChas from Brassmasters and a set of digital calipers run over the Hornby model. Progress was going quite well but was stalled somewhat (phantom understatement here) by a cancer diagnosis and eight cycles of chemotherapy. As a result I told Brassmasters not to expect anything from me. Fortunately the chemo did a good job and I was able to pick the project back up again, albeit slowly, to the point where the first test was produced last week. As with all test etches (the clue is in the name) there were a number of 'oh you idiot' moments where I realize that my drawing wasn't exactly what was in my head! This explains the strange missing bits of the brake assembly! Also, sometimes when you start to put things together, you find that some ideas were over-complex and/or difficult to build. In this case the reverse folds on the chassis etch were just too hard to bend. Still there were enough good parts to be able to start assembly on the locomotive chassis and I have now got as far as making the main chassis with the hornblocks and axles in place. I'd included a couple of two different designs for the coupling rods on the etch so I could see which was easiest to assemble. I think the version with just two thickness of nickel-silver will probably be what I go with. I like the fact that you can leave the tabs in place and bend them together which means that they stay put while you solder them together. Hopefully I should be able to get some P4 wheels into the chassis over the next day or two. A revised drawing for test2 is almost ready incorporating lots of changes based on what I've learnt so far. Thanks to the Brassmasters guys for their support and encouragement, particular to David Burton who has been having to deal with an email inbox full of dumb questions. I'll post more as the building progresses and announcements about the availability will be made via the Brassmasters website http://www.brassmasters.co.uk/index.html David

Ok, so I have made some signals before, but these have always been 'modern' ones with tubular posts. Clare has lots of upper quadrant signals but most of these were just replacement of the old GER lower quadrant signals and reused the existing tapered timber posts. These posts are available from various suppliers in white metal but I've always had a nightmare reliably sticking on the various fittings and soldering white metal is for those more skilled than me. I decided to see if I could draw up and 3D print a post with most of the fittings already attached. I've modeled this in a 3D CAD package which allows 'parametric modelling' and assemblies so that I can easily change the height of the post or add additional lamps and fittings for additional arms. I was concerned about the strength and stability of the resin, while I can get away with a slightly bent post but didn't want anything that the S&T department would worry about. I decided to try adding a 1mm hole in the model vertically down the post into which a length of wire could be inserted after printing but before the final curing. I tested this out on a test print and the result was surprisingly strong. I can deflect the post by about 20mm in any direction (with a reasonable force) and it will spring back to the vertical. The wire is extended through a brass base and then onto a tube which can be used to mount the signal in the baseboard. The brass base gives something sold to solder the bottom of the ladder to. The brass fittings are from Model Signal Engineering. The 3D print has a 1mm hole where the arm pivots which is sleeved with a short length of thin brass tube. The balance weight arm is pivoted on a length of .45 nickel silver wire which passes through some holes in the 3D printed bracket. Because of the wire passing through the post I printed the finials separately. The original GER spikes seem to have been replace by simpler cabs by the 1950's. ( and my first attempt at modelling them make them look a bit to fat. I've used a modified version of my 3D printed servo mount for uncoupling magnets to drive the operating wire. The signal wire has a tiny magnet on the end which is attracted to a magnet on the plunger on the servo mount. The result means that I can detach the signal from the board and the linkage will re-establish itself when put back. Currently the servo is being driven by a MERG 'Pocket Money Kit' which means that the operation isn't quite as smooth as it might be. I'll replace this with a MERG Sema4 (the same board as the Servo4 but with different firmware which allows bouncing) at a later date. I've put a short clip on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL25V_41VDE This ~120mm tall signal is getting near the limit of what my Anycubic photo can print. I should be able to do the starter and slotted distant signal the same way. David

There were several systems in this area of the fens. Going east from Shippea Hill were a bunch of lines operated by Chivers. Going the other way was a system on the land owned by Hyam's, also on the other side of the river Lark was a system running over Hasse Fen. All these are marked on Rail Map Online David

One of the photographs I have of Clare shows a row of bee hives on the bank next to the line. I modeled a bee hive up and printed them out on my Anycubic photon. Bear in mind that these are 6mm x 8mm, so pretty damn tiny. I need to paint them but the row looks the part I think. No I am NOT going to produce 4mm scales bees! David

The Wissington railway terminated just across the road in two sidings. I can't see any evidence that it ever extended across the road. Coal and later oil would have been delivered by barge rather than rail. David

This is one for those of you who fancy building potato or sugar beet railways, or maybe a drainage board line taking clay to strengthen a bank. I took these pictures a good few years back during an afternoon driving around the fen. Some of these magnificent buildings are still standing though most of the engines inside them have long since gone. First up is Hundred foot bank, near Welney. Like several of the engine houses you have a tall central section which originally housed a large beam engine. The lower brick section nearest the camera held the scoop wheel while the section on the other side was a boiler house. The extension at the end with the large door is later addition which would have housed the diesel replacement for the steam engine. Stretham Old Engine is very similar and still contains the preserved beam engine. The end of the extension needed a fair bit of buttressing to stop it from falling over! The rear of the extension is distinctly more utilitarian than the original building. I think it is fair to say that the modern replacement station which is adjacent to it doesn't quite have the same presence and the automated weed rake doesn't quite have the same attraction as the Ruston 10RB drag-line it would have replaced. Again at the other end of the spectrum is this tiny pump which I'm afraid I don't have a record of the location of. It contained a single electric centrifuge pump. On the A10 just north of Brandon creek are this pair of engine houses. One had been converted into a house at this time but the other still contained an engine and pump. I used the other engine house at this location as the basis for a building on my 7mm narrow gauge layout 'The Works' several decades ago. Along the old bank between Littleport and Ely was this old engine house. The road had a distinct bump where it went over the main water pipe. The chimney had long since been taken down and capped but the building still housed a pump. On the River Lark near Prickwillow is this little group of buildings At this site there was still an old boiler. Last of the pumping station photographs is this one of the engine house at 'The Overfall' on the road from Ely to Queen Adelaide along the river, this was where the original route of the River Ouse turned towards Prickwillow before the new cut direct between Ely and Littleport cut off the corner. This engine house has now been demolished but there is still a modern pump at this location. Finally there is a wonderful collection of farm buildings behind the museum at Prickwillow. This is the one I based the new engine shed on Fen End Pit on. The curved end has this wonderful lattice beam structure. I hope you enjoyed that quick drive around the fens. David

Thanks Dave, that is really useful and matches the GER prototype information I can find pretty well too. Time to singe the fingers again I think. David

More soldering of tiny little cranks, lengths of .45mm wire, given last week's heat a fair amount of sweat and the occasional tear. As I've said in a few posting the rodding routes were rather interesting and changed during the station's life, so they jump backwards and forwards across the tracks in quite an interesting way. At the end of the platform the route jumps from the platform face to in between the lines of the loop. This involves four rodding runs turning through 90 degrees. A take-off leads to the catch points on the coal siding. The rodding run follows the middle of the loop all the way to far side of the river crossing. Just before the bridge one rod connects to the coal siding point so only three rods cross the bridge. One rod drives one end of the loop before jumping across to the other side of the tracks. The other two runs follow. The rodding then follows the far side of what was the original siding which has since been removed. I'd like to weather the ballast line of the old route of track to show the ghostly remains of old sleepers. Still a lot more to do, I need to connect up the points and work out the best way to construct the facing point lock. That is going to be a new level of fiddliness. David

Yes, this may come back to bite me but I felt it was easier to brush a little ballast under the rods and then flood in some ballast glue than it was to have to excavate holes for the point rodding stools, particularly along the platform face. We'll see how it goes! thanks David

I think that most the compensation was done by changing the direction of the movement as the rodding changed angle rather than by in-line compensators. I can't see any in the runs as far as the prototype photos I have. David

I've made a start on the point rodding for Clare. Before anyone asks this is NOT functional! It has been great fun trying to work out the rodding runs from photographs as they changed over time at the Cavendish end when the coal siding was realigned. The prototype was built using round rod rather than the more modern square section - typically I had bought a load of .5mm square brass wire from Eileen! I've used cranks from Brassmasters and rodding stools from DCC concepts. These rodding stools are hand-cut in purest platinum by a zen hermit hiding in a cave in the Himalayas* and cost an appropriate amount. The lead-out from the signal box was made up as one unit and sits in the hole in the platform face. I've still got to put in the wire runs for the signals but most of these just go straight across to the face of the opposite platform. The platform isn't stuck down yet so there is still a bit of a gap. Just as the run gets to the baseboard joint it takes a 90 degree angle to jump to between the tracks in the loop, however one of the rods also goes straight on as it operators the catch point on the coal siding. The run then continues between the tracks until just after the river bridge where it jumps back to the far side of the original siding's alignment. This will mean in my timescale that there is a space between the running line and the rodding where the siding used to be. Please bear in mind these photos are pretty cruel enlargements! * actually I think they are molded in Delrin or a particularly hard plastic. It has been quite easy to cut out one of the central wheels to make a 1-rod and 2-rod stool. I have also purchased some of the Woodland Scenics static grass which seems to be quite a bit less 'shiny' than some of the other brands (I'm looking at you Peco). I've tried adding some using a layering glue aerosol. The result is better but I obviously still need to do a lot more varieties of texture before I'm done. You can see the difference between the area on the far side of the track and that nearest the camera. Must get the hoover on the track again - I just used the little dust buster with a sock over the end to pick up most of the loose fibres. I've found one nice photograph which shows a row of beehives along the bank where the track is. These were obviously only positioned there once the siding had fallen into disuse. I wonder whether they were tended by a railway man? David

I made a few more changes to the model. I added a tube to give a bit more guidance for the 'plunger' The result works fine and prevents the risk of the plunger slipping out of the plaststruct tube. David

I must have been unlucky/stupid as I had lots of cheap push buttons fail over time on a previous layout. I also didn't want to have to provide another separate supply to each baseboard just for the magnets. David

I'm using MERG circuit boards. A CBUS CANACC8 board switches the inputs of a SERVO4. I've not had any trouble with wires connections from the SERVO4 to the servo of about 2' David

I designed and printed a servo operated uncoupling magnet for the Alex Jackson couplings I'm using on my P4 layout. Many people just use an electromagnet to do this but I don't really like the current these draw and get worried about them burning themselves out if left on for too long while you shunt wagons over them. One solution is to use a permanent magnet and move it up and down so it that it attracts the coupling (or doesn't). As usual there were a few iterations in the design to get the sizes right but I managed to get a design that worked in the end. I used a short length of styrene tube in the design as this is smoother than trying to print a tube and results in less friction. As I already have all the infrastructure to control servos under the layout fitting the device was very simple. The operation can be seen in this Youtube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sM5U8yVQs Now I can waste hours shunting in and out of the coal siding. David

I just turned down an offer from Dakota to attend an exhibition in Sherringham in August. I had quite enough bookings for this year already. It seemed strange to be inviting layouts this close to the date. I was also concerned about the lack of information about other exhibitors, insurance ( particularly based on recent events), expenses etc. etc. I only found out about the politics after the turning down the offer and didn't have any regrets. David

Not much happened on the Stour Valley over the past couple of weeks as I slowly prepared for the East Anglia Model Railway show in Kettering. I was invited at comparatively short notice to fill in for another layout. Several of my usual crew weren't available but I was luckily able to persuade (press-gang) KH1 and Nawty Quay to come and help out to bolster the team. Thanks also due to John and Michael for their help too. Over the period of a couple of weeks I was able to work through each baseboard and check things were working ok and I also took the time to finally complete the Ruston LAT which I began about 3 years ago! The LBT had been finished off way back when, but the LAT had sat taunting me with its unpainted plastic for several years! The chassis block was painted with a black and the body work with a mix of red (matt 60) with a touch of brick red (matt 70). I painted a rust and a primer layer and masked these before painting the top coat and then peeled back the masking to give the somewhat battered paint finish. The 'after-market' exhaust was 3D printed, quite a lot of these locomotives were fitted with external exhausts as the original silencers rusted away or just to get the exhaust up and away from the driver. I also 3D printed some engine covers, complete with some rather nice louvers. It makes a nice contrast with the yellow LBT. Entering revenue earning service at Fen End Pit the loco proved to be reliable and was a welcome addition to the roster. The rather laid back driver was a 3D print off the Thingiverse, I tried a white metal 'Perfect People' person but he was so heavy that the springs on the chassis bottomed out! The layout worked well all weekend, very few issues and, with a crack team of operators (!) we seemed to entertain the crowd. Thanks to the St Neot's club for the invitation and for putting on such a good show. The organization and venue were excellent and I would thoroughly recommend the event as both an exhibitor and visitor. Thanks again to the operating crew, I couldn't have done this without you, hope you enjoyed yourselves. David

Glad you liked it. We had a lot of fun operating it and are looking forward to tomorrow. David

That is a smashing photo, thanks I'll add the telephone on the back wall when I do the desk. David