Tullygrainey

Yes David. One of the attractions of modelling the BCDR too!

Since posting the above I've had a rethink about the crossheads, or maybe that should be I actually gave it some thought. Instead of bolting the connecting rod behind the crosshead, the end is now slotted into the space between the front and rear faces of the crosshead and a 14BA bolt run through both, thus creating a bit more clearance and making it less likely that the con rods will clout the crankpins on the front wheels. Got there in the end.

The Countess's chassis got a coat of paint before the wheels went on. It rolls nicely under finger pressure with no tight spots. Rods next, then an hour or two spent chasing a tight spot which predictably appeared when the last crankpin nut was tightened down. Just when I thought I was home free! The outside cylinders/slidebars/crossheads are probably the trickiest part of this build, both making them and getting them to work properly. I'm half way through that battle. Each crosshead was cut from two thicknesses of 16 thou nickel silver to get front and back matching. This is the kit of parts half way through the process. Cylinders from 8mm outside diameter brass tube, slidebars from 1mm square brass rod. The bits of scrap etch soldered to the slidebars are there to keep them equidistant until they're soldered into the cylinders. Connecting rods have a 14BA bolt soldered into one end. These go through the crossheads. Piston rods are 1mm brass. they'll be trimmed to length eventually. Now to unite cylinders with chassis and get the whole caboodle working. If I recall, it needs three hands. Alan

That looks really well. A fine job on the lining. Can I ask what you used for that?

I'm a current member of the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association so I've just finished reading your original articles on the Association website. Inspirational stuff David! It's a great scale/format to work in, giving plenty of scope for flights of fancy as well as the considerable satisfaction to be derived from taking a ready-to-run model and making of it something completely new and original. You struck a very believable balance between prototypical reality and modelling imagination with that layout. And that oast house is a triumph of patience and perseverance, as well as a masterpiece to boot!

Didn’t notice the balance weights but the rods are certainly upside down

When you reflect on it, the range of materials and techniques available to us has expanded hugely over the last decade or two, perhaps giving the lie to the often voiced opinion that the hobby is in decline. Interesting, and exciting too, to speculate how things might continue to develop over the next decade or two. So long as it doesn't result in AI-driven 3D printers producing complete layouts in response to a sentence typed into a computer by the modeller. That would be the end of the hobby as we know it! Even then, I'd like to think there'd still be a few of us occupying our own little time warps, making stuff from raw materials.

Wonderful! Like your Irish layouts, it really projects a sense of place with its array of typical buildings. I think if I'd just seen the pictures unattributed, I'd have recognised it as your work.

Just perfect!

Some more progress on a chassis for the Countess of Antrim. Frames separated and ready to be assembled. Those funny triangles of brass shim are representations of the firebox, visible through the cutouts in the frames. I find getting the first frame spacer in straight and square is always a challenge requiring a number of goes and I haven't settled on a good way of doing it yet. It's all set squares and clothes pegs and verbal blandishments. Etched kits often have tabs and slots to help the parts go together accurately. No such refinement with these hand hacked bits! Spacers in, front, back and middle. Guard irons added. Ready for hornblocks. Poppy's jig does its stuff. Hornblocks in. Compensation beam fitted. A chassis sitting nice and level. Yay! The gearbox I chose for this one is a High Level HiFlier+. The etch is up to High Level's usual high standard - beautifully crisp - and goes together nicely, given bit of patience and care. The articulated final drive carriage means the motor can be pushed forward into the Countess's boiler leaving the cab free. A little jewel. IMG_2986.MOV

Looks good. Best of luck with this. I'll enjoy watching it develop.

Very important. A lesson I learned the hard way!

All you've ever wanted to know about building chassis but were afraid to ask...

You're absolutely right David. The top of the hornblock cutout in the frame is the more critical one. The received wisdom is that it needs to be 4mm above the horizontal axle centre line. The width of the cutout is less critical. The High Level hornblocks I use are 5.5mm wide across the fences which guide the square bearing. I usually aim to make the cutout not less than 6mm wide, 3mm each side of the nominal centre point of the axle, to give me some wriggle room when setting up the chassis For setup, the connecting rods act as jigs to get the wheelbases right and the extra width in the cutouts allows each hornblock to be adjusted sideways as required. In this respect, it's a more forgiving process than building a rigid chassis. If you've drilled your axle bearing holes in the wrong place for a rigid chassis, it's difficult to correct it. Latterly I've used a Poppy's Wood Tech jig for setting up but the London Road Models jig axles work just as well.