417 Class 2-4-0

[Caley Jim]

With the front buffers, dome, chimney, lamp brackets and front axleboxes and springs fitted it's starting to look the part.

 

 

Regarding the lamp brackets, CR locos only carried lamps high on the cab sides and in front of the chimney (and centre top of the bunker or tender for traveling in reverse).  The photo I have of 426, however shows the 'bow tie' route indicator mounted on a bracket on the top centre of the front buffer beam.  It usually sat on the bracket in front of the chimney and had another bracket on it to carry the lamp.  One or two other photos of 2-4-0's appear to also show this bracket on the buffer beam.

 

 

That's it pretty much ready to paint, although there are a couple of things I want to make up to get painted at the same time, though they won't be fitted until later.  There's also lots of other bright metal parts to make and fit after painting.

 

Jim

Edited March 31, 2022 by Caley Jim
Reload photos

[Caley Jim]

Limited progress during the hiatus in the forum.   I stuffed as much lead in and around the gearbox as I could, plus a little in the boiler, but only as far forward as the sandboxes, but made the error of not checking the running after each bit had been fitted, assuming that if the body went on without any resistance and I could turn the wheels via a screwdriver inserted into the slot in the worm shaft, all would be well.  When I did try to run it, all was not well!  There was a very stiff spot which had been there slightly before, but not nearly as bad and had been gradually 'running out'.  Eventually I discovered that this was due to the lay gear not being quite square on its muff and as a result one side of it was rubbing slightly on a piece of the lead.  Taking a few shavings off with a sharp knife cured it.  I also found that the springs I had made to electrically connect the loco and tender were a wee bit too strong and were causing derailments on the 18" radius curve on my test track.  They were replaced with ones made from 8thou p/b wire (the originals were 10thou).  Running is now much better, but I'm not sure what its load hauling is going to be like.  Not a lot I suspect due to its low adhesion and the weight of the motor, capacitors etc. in the tender!

 

The brake gear for the loco has been fretted and carved out of 1mm brass, with wire added for the pistons and a length of 'H' section brass attached at the rear to fit into the slots in the frames.  Just about visible between the wheels:

 

Clearance between the coupling rods and the brakes is the usual 2MM standard - i.e. somewhat less than a cats whisker!

 

Painting has started - 2 coats each of lake and blue applied so far - and in between waiting for them to dry the Westinghouse pump has been made up, turned from brass in my mini drill with pipes added from copper wire.

A rather cruel enlargement - bear in mind it is only some 6.5mm tall!

 

Also made up is rather rudimentary backhead cut from a piece of lead sheet (for more weight) with fittings from wire and scrap etch frame and some little rectangles of glazing material for the water gauges.

Last night I painted a generous coat of gloss white onto some strips of Sellotape stuck to a tile in preparation for creating the lining.

 

Jim

[Caley Jim]

Slow progress, partly due to  lining being a slow process requiring each area to be left overnight for the varnish attaching the lining to dry before further handling, and partly due to other things taking up my time.  This is the current state of play.  It's far from perfect and the end of the front buffer beam needs redone.  The corners of the lining remain to be touched in with a brush as do the curves on the tender frame cut outs and that for the crosshead.  Other bits of the paintwork also need touching up where it has worn off through handling (chimney, cab-side lamp brackets etc.).

 

The various other fitments have been put together, clack valves and injector control valves and their pipes, whistle, cylinder lubricators and valve tail rod covers.

 

Jim

 

[Caley Jim]

With all the bright metal parts fitted, the spectacles glazed and couplings fitted, coaled and crewed, she's ready for the road!

 

By no stretch of the imagination perfect!  Some of the lining on the edge of the frames got damaged and distorted and my attempts at repairs leave much to be desired, but it's as good as I can manage these days.  2ft rule, and all that, applies.  I do think, though, that I've captured the character of what is a rather neat little loco IMHO.

The area under the front of the boiler looked rather open from some angles, so I soldered in some thin strips of etch edge to represent the eccentric rods.  Not visible in the photos and no attempt at accuracy, but they prevent there being something of a void there.

 

THE END!!!

 

Jim

Edited April 26, 2022 by Caley Jim

[Dave John]

Very fine modelmaking as ever Jim. 

[Caley Jim]

Thanks, Dave.

 

Just as a PS, here's a shot of her along with my earlier built of 98 class No 108.

 

 

Jim

[queensquare]

19 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

Thanks, Dave.

 

Just as a PS, here's a shot of her along with my earlier built of 98 class No 108.

 

 

Jim

 

A delightful pair Jim - and a proper colour for engines to boot!

 

Jerry

[Ian Morgan]

4 hours ago, queensquare said:

 

A delightful pair Jim - and a proper colour for engines to boot!

 

Jerry

 

Why would you want to boot engines?        Oh, I see.

 

16 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

 

THE END!!!

 

Jim

 

No CR on the tender of this one then?

 

[Caley Jim]

32 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

No CR on the tender of this one then?

No, Ian.  the photo I have shows no lettering on the tender.  This seems to have been quite common at the time, but random, in that members of the same class can have the tenders lettered or not.

 

Jim 

[bécasse]

4 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

No, Ian.  the photo I have shows no lettering on the tender.  This seems to have been quite common at the time, but random, in that members of the same class can have the tenders lettered or not.

If a loco is not going to work off its own company's lines why would that company need to spend good money emblazoning the tender with the company name. Remember, this is a Scottish company (that served Aberdeen) that we are talking about.

[Caley Jim]

1 hour ago, bécasse said:

If a loco is not going to work off its own company's lines why would that company need to spend good money emblazoning the tender with the company name. Remember, this is a Scottish company (that served Aberdeen) that we are talking about.

The company name was cast into the numberplate, in an arc above and below the number, and the front buffer beam caried the letters 'C.R' to the left of the hook and the number to the right.   I doubt it was an economy measure - look at the level of lining these locos had!

 

The CR was run by Glasgow merchants and entrepreneurs, not like the parsimonious NB, which was run from Edinburgh, a city of accountants and lawyers!😀

 

Jim