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An update to follow when time and photography allows regarding a new building to sit at the end of the shed.  Meanwhile, back to the Engine House.  This is still Work In Progress.

 

The quoins as first attached:

 

IMG_3160.JPG.bc23fcdf4b8d46486655ee1cd261148f.JPG

 

Once the 'sharp blade' has done its work tidying up and adding 'texture':

 

IMG_3158.JPG.b947a65e0b81d1037f1c358f52d12494.JPG

 

Finally, a gentle run over with the curved back of a tapered half-round needle-file so as to soften the work of the blade:

 

IMG_3162.JPG.4a7db677237c1de9513fbca72bb3fcf5.JPG

Edited by Chris Williamson
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Construction of the new building to sit at the end of the shed is all but complete and the exterior has been primed, along with the shed and the big chimney.  The Engine House is still WIP and will be for a while yet.  The new building was needed to hide the small piece of 2" x 1" that anchors the plywood surround at the corner.  I'm not quite sure of it's true purpose in real life: a wagon lift or a covered shaft, perhaps?  Anyway, it's the sort of structure often to be seen in quarries and on mine sites.

 

You can see two of the screws holding the 2" x 1" in this view:

 

IMG_3181.JPG.4ac99bf524612804d1d5538bd64f0a6e.JPG

 

A more general view:

 

IMG_3204.JPG.5f5cb1b67edee37cbc05e2f9b3bb9b70.JPG

 

And a view of the setting within the mine workings:

 

IMG_3196.JPG.ac7bcbdde60f904bc21162910b3671f0.JPG

 

Edited by Chris Williamson
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The expletives that were associated with the activity of mocking up this frame are unprintable!

 

IMG_3230.JPG.7f9c478a884c6a29e24178d1c96134d9.JPG

 

There were too many angles and clamps to manipulate at one time with only one pair of hands.  Anyway, the exercise eventually allowed me to determine the shape and size of the structure I was looking for.  On reflection, life would have been so much simpler and a result achieved far more speedily if I'd only thought to make a cardboard template or two first.  Another learning exercise.  More to follow in the next few days...

Edited by Chris Williamson
Photo restored but unable to download in the correct orientation!?
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  • 2 weeks later...

The prototype build of the frame in the previous post proved that the cross-member supporting the ends of the walkways was too short.  So, frustratingly, a rebuild was required.  At least the railings could be salvaged as a single entity:

 

IMG_3248.JPG.34d5057a780cd519c7b39152eab1c923.JPG

 

Since then I've been working on the timber cladding for the otherwise open end of the Engine House structure above the Bob-Wall.  This also proved challenging.  As made up, the width of the beam assembly didn't leave a great deal of room , either side, for the remaining elements.  The opening around the beam needed to be wide enough to accommodate its weather screen and allow clearance for movement.  And then there's the two doors, one opening onto each walkway.  It's taken a while to put something convincing together as well as adding some of the finishing details to the beam itself.  This is the current state of the build.  Further work is required.

 

Front on:

 

IMG_3262.JPG.bd6781ad68ea2464617b06177854eaf4.JPG


From the operators side:

 

IMG_3258.JPG.c2cf321e2cb31b9fb9a4d1024e77484b.JPG

 

Edited by Chris Williamson
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  • 2 weeks later...

I had thought to literally ‘motorise’ the Engine with something suitably geared driving a cam connection.  An on-line trawl didn’t return any likely sources for what I had in mind.  The 009 layout, Pen-y-Daith, built by Mike Buttell, appeared in Railway Modeller some while ago.  That led me to buy my first copy since about 1981.  Flicking though it again recently, I was drawn to one of the small-ads at the back that then led me to an oscillating server controller: 

servo for model railways (heathcote-electronics.co.uk)

Both the speed of operation and the two end points of the throw are programmable as well as a switchable function to allow continuous oscillation!  Arrived here last week.  Testing now underway!  Sorry, the short video clip I took exceeded the 10 MB limit, so it's a photo only here, unless, following an edit to this post .... 

 

IMG_3285.JPG.f072bdcfbca4fe70540a4a6d97097209.JPG

 

... You want to follow the link here to the clip uploaded to YouTube:

 

 

Edited by Chris Williamson
1. Heathcote link and Test Video Clip added. 2. Photo restored.
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Still thinking about the best way to mount the servo for the Beam Engine.  Meanwhile, Christmas brought this:

 

IMG_3287.JPG.9c96d67ed5dd3a2c6ee420490e1e39c2.JPG

 

I'd previously seen this kit in photos in Chris Nevard's blog.  When I'd first taken an interest, Scale Link listed it as being discontinued.  However, a recent Google search for photographs of the original Racecourse Colliery mine - I'd been researching a scratch build - turned up  the Scale Link catalogue showing the kit as available once more...

 

Craftline Models Canal Boats & Accessory kits.1:76 (OO)-scale (scalelink.co.uk)

 

As the kit contains a good number of ancillary details, in the form of white metal castings and brass etchings, I thought I'd take a chance on it fitting the intended site.

 

So first off, a carboard mock-up taken from the drawings with the kit:

 

IMG_3291.JPG.5f4372de7409fe847d1a2fd5499ac14f.JPG

 

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As I suspected it might, the frame proved just a little too large, in plan, for the space available on-site.  However, with a bit of modification - truncating the left-hand end of the frame as seen in the first photo and the right-hand end of the frame as seen in the third photo - everything will fit, albeit this is going to be a very crowded scene; though the few surviving photographs of the Foxdale Mines do appear to suggest this isn't far off the mark in reality.

 

And so to work, cutting and gluing:

 

IMG_3290.JPG.09bfff9a250c7a15c758071f226a9845.JPG

 

I'll keep all the frame legs full length to aid assembly and perform the requisite surgery to suit the site once complete.

 

Edited by Chris Williamson
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The construction of the kit differs from the original.  Something I wish I'd spotted before starting.  The original appears to have been built as three sheer legs, with timbers added to link them once erected.  In the interests of simplicity of construction, the kit builds the two sides flat, as the previous post.  This does affect the look of the completed frame.  Retrospectively, I've attempted a few minor modifications in an attempt to rectify this.

 

Progress so far:

 

IMG_3308.JPG.c0e354dee207d3549f17e00b45700da1.JPG

 

The wheel still needs to be glued in place and I've yet to shorten the legs to allow the completed frame to fit the intended site.

Edited by Chris Williamson
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  • 3 months later...

 I've been greatly distracted by supervising the construction of an extension to our bungalow since the New Year not to mention re-roofing the entire building.  The good news is that I'll get the small spare room for the railway at the end of it all, whenever that is...

 

Meanwhile I had the opportunity to do a little modelling yesterday.  Having failed to find anything suitable, I'd been pondering how to construct a large hoist wheel for the frame at the end of the Engine House walkways. Inspiration came suddenly when I remembered an empty plastic tube which had a suitably thick wall.  More hours spent on a tiny detail.

 

IMG_0044.JPG.7f9d1b8b1031e32ea35f728cf5074463.JPG

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  • 2 months later...

The 'Great Distraction' continues.  However TT fortnight has seen something of a lull in building activity on the house.  That's given me some opportunity to pursue an activity that will become the subject of another thread in due course...

 

Today though was dry and sunny enough to allow the motorbikes and camera helicopters to be noisy outside while I did a little priming with a rattle-can in the garage.

 

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The scratch built  large hoist wheel has finally been mounted in scratch built bearing castings and can now be appreciated in its final position.

 

298008540_IMG_0254Cropped.thumb.jpg.9b34daf500e211b45fd26a973b33b0ef.jpg

 

And a (rather poor) view of some painting previously completed and some still underway.

 

670456841_IMG_0256cropped.thumb.jpg.64e24f8160b99d3e9ac01be294e760a9.jpg

Edited by Chris Williamson
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  • 4 months later...

And still the 'Great Distraction' rolls on, the Domestic Authorities now being concerned that it might not be over by Christmas...  To add to that, I've been floored by Covid for over 3 weeks and, while I'm on my feet again, its effects are not going way in a hurry.  So, for some light and occasional relief:

 

I joined The 009 Society early last year.  One of the perks of joining was a free members' exclusive single plank bolster wagon kit.  I built the body and then stopped to think.  A couple of Nine-Lines kits I'd previously constructed hadn't gone well.  One ended up three-legged and one with the pinpoint bearings set too tightly to turn freely.  The issue, to my mind, is with the need to fix the solebars to the underside of the wagon at the same time as fitting the wheels.  The challenge is to both ensure that everything is square and level AND that there's just the right amount of play in the bearings before the solvent has set.  I found it a well-nigh impossible task.   Post-Covid, with time to reflect, I thought about attempting to apply a technique I'd previously used in constructing a wagon kit for my 15mm IoMR.  Obviously a much larger scale.  Could I repeat in 4mm scale on such a small wheelbase?

 

First step was to very carefully drill out the pinpoint bearings in the solebars and fit brass top-hat bearings.  There's just and only just enough material to allow that to happen.  I worked slowly opening the holes out by no more than 0.2mm at a time, very delicately using a small round needle file for the last fractions of a mm.

 

The second step was to cut and fit stretchers between the solebars.  Fitting the top-hat bearings had narrowed the space between the solebars and so the lugs on the underside of the floor would set them too far apart.  I determined the width of the stretchers by holding everything together and measuring.  Easier said than done.  I glued the stretchers to one of the solebars and set aside until set solid.  It was then possible to offer up the wheels and the other solebar to check the fit. The stretchers were then trimmed to suit and the remaining solebar stuck in place.  The assembly could then be checked for level - all four wheels in contact with the rails - and squareness.  Once set solid, the chassis could be tested on the track.  Turned out there was still a little too much slack in the bearings for my liking.  However, the benefit of this construction allowed me to cut one of the solebars from the stretchers and very carefully remove a fraction of a mm from each.  Repeating the assembly resulted in a perfect fit.  The wagon body could then be stuck down onto the chassis, Greenwich Couplings added to packing pieces under the floor and the remaining kit details added.

 

Chassis Assembled; slots cut for Greenwich Coupling fitting; locating lugs on underside of floor trimmed to suit chassis assembly.

 

573629959_BolsterWagonChassis.jpg.cc3eba6c2dfa07ab709a0f5b5078f8df.jpg

 

You can't have one without a second!  As part of my subsequent order, I also purchased some other Society kits.  More on those another day, but for now, to say I've been very impressed.  If you haven't already, then go on, join The 009 Society!  It's worth it just for the kits.

 

1949914920_BolsterWagonDetails.jpg.2819990a02d669b2d4ae44575bb927f6.jpg

 

Bolsters fitted.  The uprights you have to supply yourself.  I've used some 1.6mm dia steel rod.  Some spare rail makes up the load; I've got some chain I must dig out to secure them.

Rattle-can spray priming still to come, followed by painting.

 

264214078_BolsterWagons.jpg.d204706d695e4d7ce49399b5e5972b06.jpg

Edited by Chris Williamson
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19 hours ago, Mike Buttell said:

Nice to see you back tinkering away. 
one of the most bizarre places to engage in a conversation about model railways must be on the Calf of Man, but good to see you both there. M

Great to see you too Mike.  As ever, you can't go anywhere on the Island without bumping into someone you know or being seen by them!

A film you might like if you haven't seen it:

 

The Northern Lights - BBC Alba archive film footage 1969 - YouTube

 

A modern intro (with subtitles) to an old b&w film.  Puts our boat trip into perspective.  Well worth a watch.  No railways here.  But I gather some Rock lights had cable tramways.

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Tinkering - Part Two

 

I love tinkering.  I much prefer it to having to complete a substantive task.  Such things are better left for another time or day. 🙂

 

Next up, The 009 Society Open Wagon kit by Colin Ashby.  The kit is beautifully moulded with the absolute minimum of flash and very crisp details.  There's a range of options on parts for the brake or brakes.

 

The Top Hat bearings are too large to be fitted.  However, it is possible to fit waisted bearings if they are first set in 30 thou plasticard packers.  I drill four x 2mm dia holes, chop into four pieces and then use a drop of solvent to set the bearings into holes.  They are then best left for at least a day to set solid.  At that stage the excess can be trimmed as the two examples on the LH side of this photo.

 

1043667211_OpenWagonbearingspacers.jpg.8ab18c40022ecec46726b3da86c4f374.jpg

 

The inside faces of the solebars then need the raised, moulded, bearing surrounds to be removed with a sharp blade. and a pilot hole to be drilled using the point of the moulded bearing as a guide.  In this photo all the bearing packers have been trimmed, and the top solebar has been trimmed and is being drilled.  The bottom solebar is still in its original condition.

 

538703664_OpenWagonsolebarprep1.jpg.ab17bbec9f0756d5f7d4748516332b9a.jpg

 

A 1.5mm dia drill is used to open out the back of the axleboxes so as to take the bearings. With care, it's possible to do this without running the drill out through the front face.  Worst case, a little plastic filler will hide any over enthusiasm with the drill.  The bearing, mounted in its packer, can then be stuck in place.  if the packer has been trimmed sufficiently there should still be daylight between the top of the axlebox and the underside of the solebar.

 

815216206_OpenWagonsolebarprep2.jpg.0fbdc93fbf818a639270aaec16aeaeb1.jpg

 

All four bearings fitted.

 

317029730_OpenWagonsolebarprep3.jpg.13a51eadc396c81e2033bedf4e214ad4.jpg

 

Stretchers added to one solebar.

 

1916970107_OpenWagonsolebarprep4.jpg.cce8a5e73e0e862a177a19ccae85e997.jpg

 

I replaced the plastic Peco wheels supplied with the kit with the equivalent metal wheels from Dundas.

 

999960182_OpenWagonwheels.jpg.46e0ed589976ebe0d5bbb80ba25a879a.jpg

 

 

Edited by Chris Williamson
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The Joy of Tinkering - Part 4

 

Well and truly Tinkered (apart from the need for a little filler and a bit of a clean-up) and awaiting progress to the Paint Shop.  Construction of The 009 Society Open Wagons completed.  A joy to build.

 

2068778624_OpenWagonsx2.jpg.55638a5e5f2eac1b5df02855601893b8.jpg

 

Why have one when you can have a rake of three.

 

Open Wagons x 3.jpg

Edited by Chris Williamson
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Tinkering - Part 5 Prelude.

 

One other tinkering project has been on the back-burner for a while now.  I've made progress in fits and starts over some months on a Dundas DM29 4-wheel coach kit.  But having fitted couplings and thinking the result lacked a little something I was inspired by the likes of Nile's NG Modelling to go a bit further and add some extra details.  Having got so far, I still felt something was lacking.  A browse of the Roxey Mouldings website provided the answer and the order duly arrived in the post today.  I needed some door handles.  The handrail knobs are for an experiment aiming to solve a soldering problem on another project in another thread.

 

Coach Door 'T' Handles.jpg

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Tinkering - Part 5, Act 1.

 

Having got this far with the Dundas DM29 4-wheel coach kit, I did feel the moulded door handles were a little underwhelming.

 

1096254453_DundasDM29withouthandles.jpg.43c3c99691fe29440a19edbe7ea0f3d0.jpg

 

Hence the very lovely Markits 'T' handles.  The original moulded handles have been removed with a sharp blade prior to fitting.  A little more cleaning up is required prior to priming.

 

1849157849_DundasDM29withhandles.jpg.f863d1a30ca73814d9fcec07b381aeae.jpg

 

The detail on the handle is truly exquisite!  I'm just sorry that this is the best my camera could do.

 

1512711232_DundasDM29handledetail.jpg.1e370938ed008bc23a60affaa4820d0b.jpg

 

I've another DM29 and a DM28 still to build.  I'm going to be interested to see what the complete rake looks like and if I'm them tempted to build some more.  Who knows, I might even look at attempting a 'Pairs' bogie version?

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Tinkering - Part n+1

 

Wet Autumn days are the perfect excuse for endless Tinkering!

 

A start on the next DM29 with lessons learnt from the first:

Make sufficient notes regarding locations of additional details that they can be replicated on future builds;

The above includes noting what locations were used on the Bill Bedford handrail jig used for bending and drilling;

Add the wire rails, door handles and end steps prior to assembling the coach body - it's far easier to measure out and mark locations as well as to fit;

Use 0.45mm dia wire for the rails rather than 0.5mm dia;

Care is needed applying solvent.

 

Lessons learnt that should be noted for the next build: Add the end seats prior to attaching the second coach side but fit the centre seats after attaching the second coach side.

 

222510142_DundasDM29endSteps.jpg.b170d87739d1a1d647c93bb9d23086f5.jpg

 

 

1212061472_DundasDM29Construction2.jpg.d0ea96d2063fd46bfe6a66586f354edc.jpg

 

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I don't like permanently fixing rolling stock roofs in place.  To get round this, I've been constructing a frame to the internal dimensions of the stock in question and attaching the frame to the roof.  The difficult part of this is locating the frame onto the roof in just the right position.  This is best achieved in-situ, but care is needed to avoid sticking the roof and frame assemble to the body at the same time.  It's only just occurred to me that Blutac is the perfect solution to this problem.

 

1025447504_DundasDM29roofdetail1.jpg.0ae6bd54050e38db35cc70aa1c2b477a.jpg

 

 

1546521025_DundasDM29roofdetail2.jpg.b5ac0335c279173e43eede240a3a6c53.jpg

 

 

434270873_DundasDM29roofdetail3.jpg.154a4303834a62f8dd16f0b3d631ad49.jpg

 

 

690105641_DundasDM29roofdetail4.jpg.175574ba9b6ddafea380584403ce1e18.jpg

 

 

1312960841_DundasDM29roofdetail5.jpg.5cae9e5f03468dbf24569bc8b698300a.jpg

 

 

1679108923_DundasDM29roofdetail6.jpg.5b35730403dcee4fd6797c56217d2612.jpg

Edited by Chris Williamson
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On 27/10/2022 at 11:57, CameronL said:

I've never seen a railway coach fitted with airbags before.

Given the standard of driving and particularly shunting, the Independent Inspector's interim report on the line mandated the fitting of airbags to all passenger carrying stock.  Obviously, these have to be tested as part of the construction process! 

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