5050

If they are 'rather' old then the plastic may well be brittle. A new set of Markits wheels is probably the best option. Easy to fit, self quartering and all metal.

Wouldn't a P4 one be more accurate?

Hopper looks great. How long did it take to build and weather it?

Easy is, well, just to easy................................

There's always a first for everything Probably end up a dirty 'steel' colour, they're already chemically blackened. I'll experiment with some Humbrol Metal Cote I've acquired from somewhere - but never used . Yet..................

Couple more things added. First the pickups from 0.33mm nickel silver wire bent to shape and soldered into very fine 'U' section brass which adds a bit of support and makes them marginally easier to attach to the pick-up 'plate'. Temporary wire sheathing 'nuts' still in use until I decide what to do about the controversial issue of 'to paint or not to paint' wheels and rods. And after a rummage around in my stash of potentially 'useful' bits I have found a horn which I've attached to the cab roof. You can also just make out the soldered connection between the horizontal and vertical cab handrails. Next is finalising the size and shape of the glazing bits I made at the start of the build and also the cab fittings. And then painting..................................... Oh, and I hooked up the motor to the pickups, a bit of light oiling - and it runs beautifully. Major relief..........!

Thanks for the info. I missed it as I looked in the 00 section rather than 00-9. Is there sufficient clearance for a 4mm standard gauge loco to pass under?

Bachmann Wagon Hoist? Not seen that before. Looks to be a usefull item. Any details you can provide please?

I admit that I do it the other way round with the tube on the brake hanger and the wire in the frame. The tube I use has a 0.45mm bore to fit 'handrail wire'. Never thought of reversing the design, might try it next time I build a chassis that needs removable brake gear.

Now doing some more work on the chassis and decided to thin the coupling rods down a bit by milling them thinner. Still need a bit of tidying up and filing. Was a bit over-enthusiastic with the right end of the top one but once it's painted (?) fitted and dirtied it'll be OK. I now need to fit the brakes and tackle the pickups which I always find a bit awkward with small wheel locos.

A bit more finished this morning - the handrails. Not much to say that hasn't already been said about the knobs so I won't say anything Rails 'stuck' into the knobs with a dab of superglue, one end being fitted flush and the other end snipped off and filed back with a mini-file once the glue set fully. The horizontal ones below the cab side windows were a bit different. The end next to the vertical rail centre knob is attached to it. I presume the real one has 3 holes in it. Rather than stick it and hope it stays put I tinned the end of the wire and with a small dab of flux, a hot clean iron and a bit of trepidation, I soldered the end to the knob. Seems to have worked! The bonnet top panel and the 'mushroom' were chemically blackened as I had some on a Q-Tip from blackening the wheel balance weights. Next question - do I paint the wheels in the body colour (probably corporate Blue) or leave them Black? And how about the coupling rods? None of my other industrial 'creations' have had wheels and rods painted.

I've got one of those - but it's such a lovely etch that I've considered framing it rather than build it1

Not bothered about the Stukas per se - but I like your avatar. He went like a Stuka yesterday didn't he?!!

Rub steel tools against a strongish magnet and they'll be perfectly adequately magnetised for what we do. I find that magnetised tools can be a nuisance too! The Tacky Wax tip is good. I've used it when trying to fit screws into Mashima etc. motors to attach them to gearboxes.

Well, at least we can correctly count the number of wheels on a loco - including the tender.................

Send Ruston a PM. He's the Main Man for this. I've just used what he provided - and it works.

That seems to be good news. I used the 'modified' kit ones for the bonnet and decided that they are still to long for the cab so have gone with AG short ones. They're all still much to big compared with photos of the prototype but I'll have to live with it. To anyone who comments negatively - Rule1 applies!

Yes, it has a flavour (or flavor) of an Alco RS2/3 about it.

I bet Top Gear would have a go!

I've realised that it may be some time before I need to place a biggish order with Alan Gibson so have decided to use the HRK's supplied - but not as delivered. I've reduced the diameter of the heads and the 'shank' by holding them in the drill chuck fitted to the headstock of the lathe in place of the 3-jaw chuck. This allows a finer 'hold' to the tails of the knobs, runs more accurately and doesn't have big chunks of metal (in the shape of the jaws) flying around in close proximity to my fingers! I used a small flat file to reduce the head, only pressing lightly, and a small square file to reduce the shank and attempt to remove the taper. When I fit them I will 'countersink' the holes in the body with a 1.6mm drill so that the 'collar' fits flush with the surface. On the cab with the etched sheets I will have to live with the collars as the etched holes are a bit big and the material is to thin to countersink. Here is a reduced one alongside an original. Was it worth it? A bit out of focus I'm afraid but, even with the macro setting on the digital SLR, I have difficulty in focussing close up.

I wonder if a chassis from an American small Bo-Bo switcher (SW11 style) would fit the 'Double Dock Shunter' ? I've got a couple of them 'spare' and they MAY be P4-able by changing wheels and axles.

Lucky old you!! You should have finished it to use on Braynerts Sidings.

There you go David, get one while they're still warm!

Some progress to report. Not a lot (as someone used to say) but reasonably significant I think. Firstly, the body. The 2 air tanks under the footplate have small (0.45mm approx.) holes moulded in the ends to take the pipes that are reasonably apparent when viewing the prototype. I'm surprised that no mention of these is included in the instructions. After cleaning out the holes with a short length of 0.45mm wire I bent some 'pipes' up, using photos as a guide. The nearside rear one had a 'valve/tap' fitted soldered up from a couple of bits of small bore brass tube and a bit of wire as a handle. The tail ends of the pipes were stuck to the inside edge of the footplate. The bonnet top had an air intake filter 'mushroom' added, made from a short dome head brass screw with a piece of suitable thickness brass scrap soldered into the slot and filed smooth. Not all versions of the loco have these but I like the appearance so Rule 1 applies! The bonnet front handrail is fitted using Gibson short knobs rather than the overlarge/overlength ones supplied with the kit. Still to big going by photos but I'll have to live with them now. I decided that I would like the cab to have a better representation of the control desk which, going by the photo Ruston posted on his 'Everything You Need to Know etc.' thread, is only approx. 1/3rd the width of the one moulded into the kit body. To achieve this I measured/calculated/guesstimated it to be around 13mm wide and marked it as such. With a small (1mm) drill I drilled around the edges of the outer 'segments' and, using a very small knife edge file, filed into the first of the holes near the edge. Very quickly the whole of the unwanted section broke away along the drill holes and I could then file the edges smooth. The actual control desk was made as a separate item from 20thou plasticard with dials etc. (positioned using the photo mentioned above) sliced from assorted diameters of old kit sprue.. It's still be be painted. This drops onto the truncated section of kit 'desk' and will be stuck in place after painting the interior. There are some control handles that are fitted into the ends of the desk made from pins etc. Wheels have been fitted to axles and a preliminary fitting to the chassis has resulted in a (thankfully!) free running unit. Rods will be filed down a bit and possibly shaped a bit more as they have quite a distinctive shape. The chassis was test fitted into the body to see what it all looks like! And then positioned on my photo-plank for a bit of 'atmosphere'. You will see that bonnet side and cab handrails are not yet fitted as I positively refuse to use the ones supplied. However, I have run out of Gibson Medium ones so these will have to wait until a reasonable sized order can be placed to make it worth while ordering. In the meantime finalising the chassis etc. (brakes, sandpipes, painting, running-in etc.) will keep me occupied! Has anyone else (apart from Ruston) started building one yet??

This site has been mentioned on the Scalefour Forum and I thought it may be of interest here. Lots of interesting ideas for motors, gears etc. I'm sure some of them would make useful ingredients for kit and scratch built chassis etc. https://www.sol-expert-group.de Look in the 1:87 modelling section for an extensive overview of the motors etc..