Tullygrainey

Another little bit of progress - that tricky bit in the middle between the cab and the engine casing. Tricky to guess the shape, because the photos of the prototype don't reveal much, and tricky to make too. There was a fair pile of brass filings by the time it was finished Added some doors and drilled a few holes for handrails too. There's no doubt you can get nice crisp edges using brass. It's been a joy (mostly) Onwards and forwards Alan

Thank you Mike. If I'm honest, I spent at least 3 years thinking about this one

Thanks again everyone. Have to say I'm pleased with how this is going so far. Yes, there's definitely a house style about the Harlandics. Each one seems to be a slight variation on the same theme. With the possible exception of the other BCDR diesel, the bogie no 28, though even it had side 'tanks'. I'd be brassed off if I wasn't making progress Patrick. I'll see myself out Alan

The cab parts went together pretty well, with the help of an engineer's square, Blutack, masking tape, clothes pegs and anything else that might help to keep things in place whilst the solder went in It's beginning to look like something at last Alan

Phew! Engine casing done. It wasn't just the brass that got sweated. Used up my remaining stock of expletives on this one. It's got a very slight twist but the designer said it'd do. 0.010" brass sheet for this, annealed in a gas flame before bending. Next up - the Ikea cab flatpack Alan

Perfect solution! Much better than trying to blend platform into woodland. Those bricklayers are a speedy bunch Alan

Thanks everyone for all the positive comments and encouragement. Alan

Some more bits of the jigsaw. two layers, tack-soldered and cut together, then separated. Piercing saw earning its keep. Also that nice Vallorbe file that cost the same as a chicken dinner Alan

Some progress this last week: My original idea was to build the bodywork for No 2 from plastic card. However I decided to make the running plate in brass for the strength that's in it. Having managed that, I intend to carry on using brass where I can manage it though I think it'll be a case of using the best (easiest) material for the job at each stage. I suspect this will be a multi-media production. There might even be sticky-backed plastic in here before we're done. Anyway, some photos... Running plate,- 0.015" brass sheet Buffer beams - double thickness of 0.015" brass sheet Valances: 1mmx1.5mm brass right angle section Some bits for a framework for the bonnet.. Should be a laugh skinning this Onwards with burnt fingers, Alan

Now that's an ingenious approach which had me examining all my files closely.. and realising what a desperate state they're all in. Shocking! I'll keep this one in mind. Many thanks. Alan

One problem I foresee in building bodywork is louvres, with which D1 is well endowed. Not sure how to approach this. I've searched on-line for suitable etches but haven't found anything. I've got some Archer 3D resin decals but not enough of the right size to do the job. All suggestions gratefully received. Alan

It runs!! Forwards AND backwards. (If it hadn't, I'd have just tiptoed quietly away ) The non-driving wheels are skating a bit rather than turning but some weight and maybe a bit of tweaking of the pickups will sort that I hope. Pickups are 31 SWG phosphor bronze wire. One advantage of this one has been - no faffing around with crankpins and quartering So... have to build a body now. What could go wrong! Alan Diesel D1.mov

I can't remember now where I first encountered Iain Rice's writing but I know that I always enjoyed anything he wrote. His Wild Swan book "Locomotive Kit Chassis Construction in 4mm" encouraged me to try kit building for the first time and guided me as I stumbled along. He wore his knowledge and experience lightly and his light-hearted writing style was always eminently readable but also packed full of information and good practical advice. He was a huge guiding influence on this hobby that gives us all so much pleasure and satisfaction. Thank you Iain.

A coat of paint on the frames. Axles and final drive gears in, wheels on. The gearbox turns the driving wheels smoothly (Thank you Chris @ High Level). Time to fit some pickups. PCB pads epoxied to the frames ready for these. The moment of truth approaches Alan

Reading about this build has been a real pleasure and truly inspirational. And what a wonderful finished model. Exceptional! I've learnt a lot. Thank you Eoin Alan

Pivot for the compensation beam in place across the frames. Brass tube, 1mm ID, rotating on 1mm brass rod soldered at one end. Managed to avoid soldering the whole thing up solid The compensation beam will go in once the wheels are on. Wheels are a little larger than the prototype's 3' 7" but were the best match I could find. Rolling soon, I hope Alan

Some photos of the bearings going in. Starting from the fixed bearings already in place, the coupling rods came into play again to keep things parallel. The rubber band kept the rods located on the ends of some temporary pinpoint axles while the soldering got done. The spring trapping the horn blocks in place came out of a biro pen, if memory serves. Will it work? We'll soon know Alan

Thank you, GSR800 & Mayner for all the suggestions. Much appreciated. However, the fitters on the early shift signed off on the job before I managed to read this thread. The brass fillets for the centre axle are in! "I am not convinced that you will need to patch the center axle cutouts & form oval axle holes, the combination of the High Level gear carriage and subframe will maintain the axles in their correct position." Now that I think of it, you're undoubtedly right John. The centre axle surely doesn't need 2 sets of bearings. Belt or braces, not both Alan

Ha.. it was all going too smoothly wasn’t it. Had to go belly-up at some stage... Setback the first: There isn’t enough clearance between the chassis frames and the gearbox sides to fit hornblocks on the middle axle. The designer has been severely reprimanded and told to make more use of his measuring devices in future, instead of winging it like he usually does. Not wishing to remake the chassis frames, the fitters considered: a) narrowing the gearbox extension - not really feasible b) reversing the bearings in the hornblocks - end result too wide for the back-to-back on the wheels, so... Their solution is to solder fillets of 0.015 brass across the hornblock cutouts with oval holes filed to allow ordinary bearings to move up and down a bit. Not very elegant but hopefully effective. Maybe hornblocks were over-complicating it. However, there’s plenty of room for them on the third (sleeping partner) axle so we’ll fit them there anyway. Tomorrow Onwards and sideways, Alan

High Level Spacesaver hornblocks with 2mm bearings. The etches fold up and a little folding tab locks the whole thing together, no soldering. The tab then locates up against the top of the chassis cutout to automatically get the height right. Clever stuff! A little polishing of the bearing surfaces helps things along if they seem tight in the hornblock though sometimes the legs of the hornblock can get misaligned in either plane causing the bearing to jam. A little bit of gentle tweaking usually sorts it. Alan

Versatile stuff, those coffee stirrers

Fixed bearings in. The High Level gearbox is designed for 2mm axles. OO spacers from Alan Gibson soldered in. Frames assembled. Doing this on a sheet of glass helps keep it straight. Trial fit of the gearbox. Looking promising. Travelling hopefully , Alan

Thanks to everyone for all the information and encouragement. To reiterate what Patrick said recently, as a support network, this forum works really well. Thank you for the GA drawing Killian. Lots of information there and a chance to gauge relative proportions, which is very hard to do from photographs. Those are beautiful models Patrick. The bar just got quite a bit higher. No pressure then More soon, Alan

That's really helpful. Many thanks! Alan

BCDR No 2 has outside frames but because there are no outside cranks or coupling rods, the axles on the model don’t need to pierce these and they don’t need to be structural. They can be merely cosmetic and the chassis frames of the model will hide behind them. The intention here is to make a chassis with one powered axle in fixed bearings and the other two axles, one also powered and one just along for the ride, floating on hornblocks, with a compensating beam between them. Having said the loco has no coupling rods, the first thing I made after the gearbox was two coupling rods.. well, just rough strips of nickel silver really, with pilot holes drilled to match the wheelbase of the High Level gearbox. They allow the frames to be marked up and drilled and they’ll be used later to position the hornblocks and get the whole thing square (he said with confidence). Frames were tack soldered together for drilling and cutting... .. and then separated, ready for frame spacers and bearings. Not the best piercing saw work I've ever seen but it should be all right because the hornblock positions are adjustable. Onward and upward, hopefully Alan