Corbs

The heresies continue on the workbench this evening.... Fiddly lining on the 'peacetime' side done. Just letting it dry before doing the 'austerity' side and refitting the handrails.

I think they are separate, sure Dave can answer though.

The rebuilding of another loco has freed up some Pug components so I can work out how to put things together. Here it is with the pug wheelset. The Alan Gibson wheels are a tad smaller, but I may have issues with the drive gear fouling the kadee magnets. More testing needed.

Yes it's brilliant stuff, definitely one of the better plastic glues. I had a eureka moment a while back when I had managed to let the glue solidify in the metal part of the applicator. Previously I had tried to trim it down with mixed results, but in this instance I just held the soldering iron to the metal tip for a few seconds - hey presto! Clear again! Much nicer than some of the cyanoacrylate stuff which makes my eyes sting and sticks everything to my fingers.

Right, the electrotren chassis replacement has been superb. No.5 now runs better than ever. I may recycle some bits from the old chassis to try and get my little 'Par' style Bagnall up and running. Just waiting on some extra long Kadee NEM couplings to see how much I need to modify the rear socket. For my main NWR project, one of the favourity characters of the books was Duck (or Montague), a GWR 57xx pannier tank. He'll get his own history write-up at some point, but I decided I could not have him in his home colours once he had been purchased. So a colour change was called for! Waiting for the paint to harden before I plunge into lining and lettering but I quite like it so far. I think he deserves a copper cap like the other NWR locos, though...

Marvellous! I think RedgateModels of this parish was the best interpretation of the 8MT so far, as he used the correct sized driving wheels, which made a big difference. Your spin of doing a Caprosti version sounds excellent. Did you see 92220's Caprosti Std. 5? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/99006-br-caprotti-crosti-standard-5/

This shot from the floating harbour website shows a little of the route towards Canon's Marsh. http://www.bristolfloatingharbour.org.uk/images/landscapes/

Looks great!

Use Dettol. Stinks but gets the job done without melting it. Brake fluid is very corrosive.

I belieeeeeve it is here my chum http://www.falconbrassworks.com/details.php?code=WK206

Thank you. I think the VCT one needs updating as I don't think it's been out of service for a single season in 40 years!

Hello, I am looking for information on GWR TOAD No. 17391. It's a 20T van now located on the Bristol Harbour Railway at M Shed, where I believe it has been since 1978 (I think it was at the preservation effort at Radstock before this?). At some point in its life it's had some crash damage repaired. One corner has had a spacer welded in, and the vertical metal braces are tilted back. Does anyone have any details on its past life before preservation? I would be very grateful if so!

Same as yours! It's 8F chassis and cylinders, with the valve gear from the 4MT, and the cylinders mounted in the same position.

Why would it benefit? Having a driving wheel with weight on it means that the loco has more adhesion and less likelihood of slipping. If you have a carrying wheel with lots of weight on it then it's a dead weight and doesn't contribute to adhesion. As I understand it, this is one of the principle factors in 4-6-0s being better at starting trains than 4-6-2s, as the weight of the firebox is being used to help grip.

Steam Highlanders? Hmm looking at it again now I kind of hate it, the perspective is off and the proportions are all wrong! The S100 and 15xx based ones are failed attempts, although I do like the final version I did.

Trying to get back into doing some modelling. The FR K2 is on hold until I can remember to pick up the phone during daylight hours and order some gibson wheels (unless anyone knows of somewhere I can order them and just click a button to do it without having to talk to another human?). The Ratio coaches need some seats making. So... time to rip something apart. The long-suffering Pugbash, TK&F No.5, has been a guinea pig for lots of experiments, but has never really run well, partly due to being bodged over and over again, partly the shortcomings of the pug chassis. I'd been mulling about changing the chassis. A while ago, I panic-bought several Electrotren shunters purely for the chassis. The other 2 TK&F locos both use them and I like them, they are quite no-nonsense, robust things. This means changing the loco from a 2-4-0T to an 0-6-0T, the original was meant to be something like a stretched version of the Dübs 'General Don' or 'Clevedon' as used on the WC&PR, the three coupled axle version is more akin to some other locos, like the Lambourn Valley Railway 'Earlswith', built by Chapman and Furneaux: or the Hunslets on the Padarn Railway or this thing It may remain a Dübs though, not yet made up my mind! A significant amount of material needed to be removed from the underside, including a large amount of lead some genius decided to stick in the boiler. The old haggard chassis on the left. The Rx will be reused. Posed on the new chassis. Some more fettling to get it to sit right is needed, then I can relocate the couplings, add frame extensions, yadda yadda yadda.

The squat-ness is reminiscent of the LNER and Southern Atlantics I think! Not quite imaginary but a photoshop request from another forum so I'll stick it up here:

Ah that's interesting, on this one I ended up moving the rear bogie back and extending the bunker so I wonder if that would work in model form (as the two images I blended together are different scales). The water tank was also extended to give it only 1 curve 'up' rather than 2 as on the Std.4

Looks cracking!

Think this has been removed now and I've updated the pics. Ah, like the way the Class 700 were rebuilt with long smokeboxes when converted to superheat? I have now shortened the smokebox and updated the images above. Aye I wanted it to retain 'standard' features with the bunker, but the J94s had extended bunkers fitted so at least there is precedent. The coal capacity is so small without it. Thanks mate I like this one. The other 2 that came before are quite out of scale but this one feels better.

A cracking pic from Geoff Plumb on the Lickey and 92079 at rest a few years earlier.

Does the one Rx control the forward/backward, left/right and up/down all together?

Is that the diaphragm looking thing? If so I can remove it. Thanks, I'lll have a look for pictures of cataract type power reversers. So just to confirm - do I need to remove/replace anything to get rid of the superheater?

Thanks! It does take time but I hope every time I do it I get a bit better. Here's another version taking on board some of the operating requirements of the 08/Z etc. Front steps added. Boiler shortened again and cab extended forward. Tanks cut down and with sloping front so the crew can see the buffers. I'm afraid I don't know what a power reverser looks like so I haven't been able to incorporate one. Ditto removing the superheater. Overall the length is still about the same as Victor and Vulcan, should be more within the weight limits than the oversized one from yesterday. and the long tank version for the sake of completeness......