Duncan's 7mm Workbench - Connoisseur 4F Tender Cab

[Guest Isambarduk]

"... so does anyone know where I can get such items?"
 
Failing all else, you could talk nicely to me :-)  See here, for an example:  www.davidlosmith.co.uk/GCR_Humber.htm#Buffers
 
David

Edited July 12, 2016 by Isambarduk

[John R Smith]

All very nice, David, but what on earth are "buffer planks"? Buffer beams or headstocks, surely?

 

John

[Fastdax]

"... so does anyone know where I can get such items?"

 

Failing all else, you could talk nicely to me :-)  See here, for an example:  www.davidlosmith.co.uk/GCR_Humber.htm#Buffers

 

 

Thanks David, and your turned buffer heads do look very nice!

 

After I posted, I found these on Ebay and I've ordered the 13mm ones:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321452151320?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=510348167692&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I'll post the results of trying to use them as overlays to the supplied buffers, as was the case on the prototype.

 

If it all goes TU, I'll be in touch.

 

Duncan

[ian@stenochs]

All very nice, David, but what on earth are "buffer planks"? Buffer beams or headstocks, surely?

 

John

John,

 

Buffer Plank goes way back to the early days of railways when the buffer beam was indeed a plank of, quite thick, wood. Oak was frequently used and it was often sandwiched or 'fliched' between two wrought iron plates.

 

The metals available at the dawn of railways were more limited in their variety and properties from that now common place. Steel was only just being developed. Cast iron was commonly available but will not withstand bending forces unless in very thick, and heavy, slabs. Wrought iron will take bending forces but was not available in thick enough plates. Wood reinforced with wrought iron made strong but relatively light Buffer Planks.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ian.

[Guest Isambarduk]

" ... what on earth are "buffer planks"? Buffer beams or headstocks, surely?"

 

Well, John, many technical treatises on steam locomotives refer to them as buffer planks, and the two railway mechanical engineers that I knew called them thus, so I have 'always' done the same. 

 

To me, the term headstock refers to the same element on wagons or coaching stock and buffer beam is the term used by railway modellers, although I believe this is the term used in reference to diesel locomotives (but, forgive me, I could well be wrong in my understanding of the term buffer beam - although I do know what one is!).  

 

David

[Guest Isambarduk]

"I'll post the results of trying to use them as overlays to the supplied buffers, as was the case on the prototype."
 
Good plan, Duncan! 

 

This is exactly what I did on my model of Airedale (the first of the Hunslet the 15" class), built from​ the exceptional kit by 85A Models.
 

 
See: www.davidlosmith.co.uk/HunsletAiredale.htm for more details of how I did it.  It's relatively straight forward but I think you'll find the drawing pins are a bit 'chunky' without some thinning down.  Yes, do let us know how you get on.
 
David

[Fastdax]

Sanding Pipes and DCC Electrics

 

Here are the two rear sanding pipes with support brackets (in brass shim) and steam pipes (5A fuse wire).

 

 

The sand pipes are all on here, together with a bit of PCB soldered across the bottom of the chassis and 0.3mm phosphor-bronze flange wipers made up, with a coil to add some springing.

 

 

Eventually this loco will have DCC sound, but for now I attached a basic DCC Concepts TS4SAP decoder + stay-alive that I happened to have lying around unused. Red-and-black - to the track. Orange-and-grey - t'other way.

 

 

I added the footplate and a bit of weight in the form of some solder and a pin chuck. After a bit of tweaking, it runs nicely in both direction (minus any valve gear at the moment).

 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[Fastdax]

Body

 

While the chassis is stripped, cleaned and painted, I made a start on the body.

 

Here, the cab front (with window surrounds) and sides (with cabside beading, tank-stop beading and some handrails) have been added to the foot plate. Rivets have been bomped out.

 

 

You can see the 4mm hole I installed in the cab front to allow a firebox-flicker LED to be added behind the backhead.

 

 

So far, the fit of the bodywork etches has been very good, with minimal decusping and fettling required.

 

Edit: I just noticed that the left-hand cab top seems to be a bit mangled. I'll have to tweak it back into shape before the cab rear and roof go on.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[Fastdax]

Not much progress for a week as I've been sweating in Malaysia on business. Now back home and I hope to press on a bit with the Deeley dock tank or Offerston Quay over the next week.

 

In the meantime here's a video of the chassis, which had been sprayed with grey U-Pol Acid Etch #8 primer, then black Vallejo acrylic Surface Primer, attached to the body and running-in on the rolling road - backwards and forwards. The motion has been for a bit of a dip in Carr's nickel-silver black to give it a bit of colour ready for weathering. The loco has to be balanced on top of a roller or the sandpipes will drag. A heavy box and a tin of paint either end of the loco keeps it in place!

 

At speed step 20 (out of 28) it draws about 80mA, which isn't bad.

 

 

Sorry the video is a bit dark.

 

You can see that the boiler and smokebox are in place. I'll post some more pictures of them when it's next disassembled.

 

Duncan

 

[Fastdax]

As mentioned over on my layout thread, I took delivery of a green Dapol 08 with late BR crest and wasp stripes.

 

Offerston Quay uses Dingham couplings, so I decided to bite the bullet and convert the 08 to use Dinghams. I thought I'd document my findings here in case it's useful to anyone else contemplating a similar modification.

 

At the cab end of the loco, here's the unmodified set-up. The plastic coupling hook is retained by a small spring which hooks through the back of the coupling bar and wraps round a small brass post set into the chassis.

 

 

There seems to be some rubbery glue on the brass post, but a bit of careful pulling with tweezers got the spring unhooked and removed. The coupling can the be withdrawn from the buffer beam.

 

One thing that is immediately noticeable is how long the links are in this coupling. I guess Dapol wanted to avoid buffer-lock by having a sizeable gap to the next wagon when pulling stock over reverse curves.

 

 

I wanted to re-use the Dapol screw-link coupling as a cosmetic addition to the Dingham (as shown here), so I sprung the legs of the upper link apart, which allows the centre section to be removed. The upper link is then passed through the coupling bar and also removed.

 

Only the springiness of the upper and lower links keeps them in place on the screw section.

 

 

The hole in the Dapol buffer beam is much wider than the etched nickel-silver Dingham bar and allowed the coupling to slop around sideways as I initially tried it in the hole. So I added a coupling plate from the Dingham etch, but to the back of the buffer beam. There's just enough room to get one in and hold it in place with a little aluminium clip (while checking for squareness) before loading a cocktail stick with a small drop of Roket Hot CA glue and touching it to the edge of the plate.

 

 

I had to cut the Dingham coupling bar's length down, to fit in the gap in front of the brass post.

 

I found that the Dinghams, as supplied, protruded from the buffer beam just the right amount to be level with the buffer faces (as instructed) without either cutting them down or packing them out.

 

 

 A bit of spring and a brass ring holds the new coupling in place.

 

Once the right way up, the Dapol screw-link coupling could be snapped into the small cutout I put in the top edge of the Dingham coupling.

 

 

At the front of the loco access is a bit tighter. A skinny set of tweezers and a long, thin "mosquito" forceps are the weapons of choice here.

 

This is with the tiny spring removed.

 

 

Like at the rear, I glued on a n/s plate to locate the new coupling and retained it with a spring and brass ring.

 

You may notice the c0ck-up I made here - I accidentally got a drop of CA glue on my finger and then touched the underside of one of the air tanks!

 

Pulling my finger off left a nasty fingerprint (and a small patch of skin). I will have to try to smooth this down and cover it over with some weathering crud at some point.

 

Annoyed at myself!

 

 

Anyway, here's the finished item, at the rear:

 

 

... and at the front:

 

 

They work OK when propelling a light load, but the very soft Dapol buffer springs do allow the buffers to compress when propelling a heavy load to the point where the Dinghams stick out further than the buffer faces. This has caused failure to auto-uncouple using the electromagnets (as the 08's loop is too far into the next wagon's latch), so I may have to consider toughening up the buffer springs or fixing them rigidly. I'll run it for a while first to see how much of a problem this is.

 

This mod should be reversible if I ever wanted to revert to the Dapol couplings. It would mean prising off the n/s plates behind the buffer beams but at least the outward appearance would be as original afterwards.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[66C]

Hi Duncan

 

Instead of modifying the buffer springs, have you considered using the shorter hook and loop provided on the Dingham etch?

 

Regards.

[MarshLane]

They work OK when propelling a light load, but the very soft Dapol buffer springs do allow the buffers to compress when propelling a heavy load to the point where the Dinghams stick out further than the buffer faces. This has caused failure to auto-uncouple using the electromagnets (as the 08's loop is too far into the next wagon's latch), so I may have to consider toughening up the buffer springs or fixing them rigidly. I'll run it for a while first to see how much of a problem this is.

 

This mod should be reversible if I ever wanted to revert to the Dapol couplings. It would mean prising off the n/s plates behind the buffer beams but at least the outward appearance would be as original afterwards.

 

 

Hi Duncan,

This is great, many thanks - I went for the informative/useful option on the ratings, but really wanted to click clever/craftsmanship as well!  Im currently all three-link at Marsh Lane, but the new layout will have covered storage areas and sidings that can be reached to put something on/off the track, but not good enough to couple, so I'd just about decided on sprat & winkle auto couplers, but I'm keen to find out all I can (both fitting and operation) about all the various types at the moment to reach a decision, so would be interested to hear more on your outcomes with the buffer springs.

 

Rich

[Fastdax]

Thanks Bill and Rich.

 

I investigated the buffers a bit more and came up with a reversible solution to make them work with the Dinghams.

 

As far as I can tell, the Dinghams are designed to work best with fixed buffers, as the coupling hook should be level with the buffer faces but should never protrude beyond them.

 

So I have made the 08 buffers rigid as follows.

 

First I wiggled one of the front buffers gently, to see how it was fixed on. It turns out to be a simple push-fit over a boss on the plastic buffer beam, held by a dot of rubbery glue.

 

The buffer shank is a nice brass tube with the buffer and its spring captive in the business end so there's no danger of bits flying across the workshop! The back of the buffer spindle inserts into the hole in the end of the plastic boss when the buffer is pressed, so I tried a packer piece to fill in the hole and stop the buffer moving into it.

 

 

Here are the tools and materials. The important bit is the plastic filler rod. Mine was 2.3mm diameter and came from an assortment pack of Evergreen rod and tube. So long as it's less than the 2.75mm internal bore of the hole in the boss, it should be OK.

 

 

The length of the bit of rod is fairly critical and should be 2.4mm. I made mine by cutting off a slightly longer bit, then jamming it onto the end of a ubiquitous cocktail stick (other brands won't work as well ...) and gently filing whilst rotating the cocktail stick slowly, to get a reasonably square end.

 

 

Take it slowly and file both ends until 2.4mm is achieved.

 

 

Then simply put this bit in the hole in the buffer beam and push the buffer shank fully back in place. After I was sure it was going to work OK, I put a tiny smear of contact adhesive in the end of the buffer shank before final fitting.

 

Do make sure the buffer shank goes fully home against the plastic buffer base on the buffer beam.

 

My buffers now do not retract when pressed. There's maybe 0.1mm travel and the 08 can propel a heavy load and still auto-uncouple from the end wagon when required.

 

This modification should be fully reversible by removing the packing pieces. Just don't glue the buffer shanks on too well!

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[Fastdax]

On 06/01/2017 at 13:55, 66C said:

Instead of modifying the buffer springs, have you considered using the shorter hook and loop provided on the Dingham etch?

 

I did consider this, but the trouble is that if the buffers compress, the tip of the hook will be well behind the buffer faces and will therefore fail to couple or uncouple because the loop will be in the wrong position in the latch.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax

[Fastdax]

Deeley Dock Tank Resurfaces

 

I can't believe it's been just over a year since I last posted an update on the construction of the ABS/Zero Zephyrs 0F Deeley 0-4-0 Dock Tank!

 

Well it floated to the top of the pile recently, after much distraction getting track, pointwork and signals installed on Offerston Quay's high level.

 

I assembled the right-hand side motion and set it to running in, shuttling back and forth on OQ's high-level track, which can be run under computer control. I think that's the chassis completed now. It has a base coat of black and the motion is made a bit grubby with grease stains and partly-cleaned-off black.

 

To progress the bodywork, I decided to fill the side tanks with lead before sealing them shut. The lead came from old roof flashing (from my own roof, I hasten to add!). I bashed it generally flat (lump hammer, garage floor), cut into 108x20mm strips with tin snips, wire-brushed all the grot off, then sandwiched 6 together and gave them a damn good squeeze in the vice. This produced a fairly tight block of lead which just fits inside a tank:

 

 

After I did the same for the other side, I could solder the tank inner walls in place. Even in this state, with boiler and smokebox but without any other fittings, the loco weighs 880g. I don't think I'll need any extra weight adding.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[N15class]

That's probably more than heavy enough. I like compensate and try and keep the weight down my little G6 is lighter and seems to perform OK.

 

Looks as though you are building it to a nice standard.

[Fastdax]

Steps and Buffers

 

I soldered on the four steps and reinforced them using my usual method of a bracing "L" of 1.6mm brass rod affixed with great globs of solder. This allows the body to be sat on the steps without them bending sideways. This picture is prior to cleaning with fibreglass scratch brush and Barkeeper's Friend.

 

Prototype photos show that this loco (41528) had the edges of its rear steps turned up (by 1962), but only the corners of its front steps turned up. So that's what I did.

 

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm trying out brass drawing pins for the 22" buffer faces. These have 13mm solid brass heads, but a steel pin which needs to be snapped off with pliers.

 

 

I ground off the "pip" on the back of the heads with a grindstone in my Dremel:

 

 

I attached the turned steel buffers supplied in the kit to the brass overlays with JB Weld.

 

 

After cleaning up on wet and dry, I filed a small flat on the centre of the new buffer head, as prototype photos show that the buffer head overlays were often a bit crumpled in the middle. It's a bit hard to see it in this photo.

 

 

The invaluable source of info for this loco is Midland Record No. 27, which has many detailed photos and works drawings.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[Fastdax]

Getting There

 

I made up some cab details, including cast backhead with additional valve handles and copper wire for pipes. The "rabbit hutch" in the left-hand tank rear extension is the coal hole. The back few feet of that tank is, in fact, the bunker.

 

 

The whitemetal chimney supplied is the earlier type, with a flared base. As I'm modelling 41528 in its later years, it should have a "bent washer" (i.e. flat) base flange. I attempted filing the casting to remove the flare, to leave the thinnest flange that I could. The result isn't perfect but more prototypical than before.

 

 

The chimney is now epoxied on, together with the dome and some other tank-top details. The injectors, safety valves and whistle are in place and their control rods go through to handles in the cab.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[Fastdax]

New Wagon

 

As a quick birthday project, I built a Connoisseur Lowmac that I scored off eBay for £30 including Slaters wheels.

 

 

It was a fairly quick and definitely enjoyable build.

 

I made all the lashing rings work (i.e. movable) and fitted the usual Dingham couplings.

 

 

Some lead flashing under each end boosts its weight to 180g.

 

It's now awaiting acid etch primer and paint but I'll do some shunting with it first to make sure all is OK.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Fastdax
Reinstating photos.

[sir douglas]

180g is bit unnecessarily high isnt it?

[Simond]

180g is about 14.8 tons.

 

I'd have guessed around 12 or so, but can't find anything quickly to confirm or correct this.

 

Certainly above the G0G guidelines, but that's not an issue

 

Best

Simon

[jim.snowdon]

The weight of model wagons is simply whatever it needs to be to run happily. With the exception of farden railway operators, most wagons need less weight than people, including the Guild Manual, imagine; I do not ordinarily add any weight to any of mine, plastic or metal, and they all run happily on our club's layout.

 

Jim

[Fastdax]

180g is bit unnecessarily high isnt it?

 

Gauge 0 Guild guidelines are 1g per mm. The Lowmac is 195mm over the buffers (I'm never sure whether to measure over the buffers or just the headstocks) but 180g is about in the right ballpark.

[Fastdax]

Also, I deliberately made this wagon a bit on the heavy side for the following reason:

 

I usually like to add compensation to my wagons, but with the Lowmac it would be quite difficult because of the limited space underneath and the sloped ends above the axles. My usual method of using a rocking inboard bearing carrier would not work.

 

As it turned out, this model has not a lot of torsional rigidity. I.e. it twists easily. With a reasonable weight above the axles, it's happy to raise or drop a wheel by about 0.5mm whilst keeping the other 3 on the track. This provides a rudimentary compensation and stops it rocking on my dodgy trackwork!

 

This is why I added the lead weights under the ends and not under the middle where glued-on lead strips would stiffen the wagon bed.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Fastdax

[N15class]

You can have internal rocking compensation. I've done it it needs to be made though it needs a triangular shaped mount and shallow rocking beam.