Tullygrainey

Thanks Phil. I must admit it has a special place in my affections too. I hugely enjoyed building it. Alan

Time for The Stone Yard to come out to play again. Currently getting spruced up for an appearance at the Glenabbey MRC exhibition this Saturday 20 June 2026, 10.00 -16.30 Glenabbey Church, Ballygraigy Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, BT36 5ZZ Alan

Time for ThreePee to get a workout on the rails Clattering through some Peco three-way points without falling off... IMG_5205.mov ... and stretching its legs at Kirley Junction. Thanks Kieran. ThreePee at Kirley J.mov Scrubbed up and ready for primer.... .. et voilà! Nearly time to go to its owner Patrick @Patrick Davey for top coats. I'll refit the chassis after that's done. Alan

Still having to remind myself to check this corner of the forum. Delightful. Just oozes atmosphere.

Hope not Patrick. Maybe your postman will just leave it on the doorstep. I have a plant pot on my doorstep for mine to hide parcels behind.

Agree absolutely David and all of them interlinked so changing one thing affects other things and you're never quite sure what the root of the problem actually is. You can spend whole afternoons going round in circles. There always seems to be a low point when everything you try seems to make things slightly worse. Why do we do it? Well... there's the challenge - "I won't let this little brute beat me" but also the satisfaction of looking at a nicely finished, smooth running, hand-built gem and thinking "I did that!" It can be hard though to remember that when the little brute is fighting you tooth, nail, hornblock and coupling rod. My current little brute, Patrick's 4-4-0 PPs, has decided to behave itself again after a frank and prolonged exchange of views during which it was shown the big hammer. Smooth, slow running restored in both directions. Long may that continue. IMG_5172.MOV Now, where did I put the rest of it....

I think it’s been a catalogue of things, among them wheels out of true and a possible bent crankpin. Anyway it’s performing better now so I’m about to tiptoe quietly away for now. many thanks for the support lads

Not silly at all David. Yes they are. They were painted in situ though I've just now taken them off and re-fitted them. That's an interesting thought. Worth a try. I originally spacered the back axle so there was zero sideways movement. I've now taken the spacers out to allow it a bit more freedom. It seems to have improved things a bit.

The geartrain looks pretty clean and with the final drive grub screw loosened, it runs like a sewing machine in both directions. Can't see anything rubbing and yes the motor is fine. Thanks for the prompt response gents. Appreciated. I put the rods back on and I think one is coming up tight at the same point in each rotation. Thought I'd sorted all that. It may be because some of the wheels are very slightly out of true so the crankpins bind on their bearings. I'm not keen to ream the rods too much more. There's already a fair bit of play. A wheel out of true could account for the odd behaviour on the rollers.

ThreePee, having behaved impeccably up till now, suddenly developed a stutter going backwards. I am at a loss to understand why. This is it on the rollers, coupling rods disconnected and this is the driven back axle. Anyone any idea why it's doing this? Doesn't do it going forwards. IMG_5167.MOV

Thanks for this. It does seem they need very careful handling. Hope you can get your 08 sorted with new rods.

In between times, I've been dabbling with my Kirtley project using bits of the old K's kit as a starting point. With all the messing about, the original wheels were getting looser and looser on the axles calling for drastic measures. The live ones are soldered to the axles via the shorting spiders. The insulated ones were reamed out to allow a standard 1/8" axle bearing to be epoxied in and these were then soldered to the axles. A new set of Gibsons outside cranks were fitted to replace the ones that I managed to split. It'll never be a great performer with its wobbly wheels but at least it does run. IMG_5008.MOV It's been painted and weathered now. Still needs buffers and a crew but it's just about finished. However, when I was setting it up for some photos, I discovered that one of the new cranks had split! I was so careful this time, easing them out with a broach and bevelling the rear before fitting them. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Anyhow, with another superglue repair, it still runs but it's probably one for the display cabinet. Here it is in all its glory. Alan

Nearly there Patrick. Not too much longer I hope

ThreePee now has some loco brake rigging. Strictly speaking loco and tender should have matching pull rods behind the wheels as well as on the outside but the space between frame and wheel back is tight and with sideways movement and tilting on the loco's leading driving axle, it seemed like a recipe for trouble with a high risk of short circuits so I left them off. A view of the underside where I store my spare solder. There's not much space in the loco for additional weight but I managed to squeeze some into the boiler above the driving wheels and there's a bit between the chassis frames too. The bogie also has added weight. The tender has lead in body and chassis. Because this is a live chassis build, loco and tender need to be isolated from one another. After experimenting with hook and loop, I ended up with this paxolin bar (a bit of pcb with the copper filed off) with a hole at each end fitting over 12BA bolts soldered to the respective chassis. Then it was time for the DCC installation. Chip and stay-alive are from Layout Concepts (formerly DCC Concepts with the bits still branded with the former's name). The big black thing labelled Zen in the middle is a control board linking chip to stay alive. It avoids the need for soldering and makes it easier to change the stay-alive for one with a different capacity but it's another, quite bulky item that has to be stowed somewhere. Swings and roundabouts. In ThreePee's case, it's all going into the boiler. The 8 pin plug was dispensed with and the unused wires trimmed back. Everything was wrapped up into a tight if untidy bundle and the relevant connections soldered. Trials on the rolling road looked promising. Patrick @Patrick Davey intends this one to be No. 74 so the chip was configured accordingly. IMG_5145.MOV Slow running is looking good - a tribute to that High Level gearbox/motor, a good chassis design and those nice big Markits wheels. ThreePee Chipped.mov Time for the whitemetal castings now. Alan

That's spot on David! A great build and a perfect weathering job. Every inch a hard-working, well used engine. And a good runner into the bargain! Ticks all the boxes. I know what you mean about inspiration. It's so easy to lose heart, and interest, when things don't work out so I'm glad this one has come good. I hope you're planning the next one. Onward and upward.