Galteemore

Nice piece of work there.

Thanks Eoin - I’d forgotten about that! My dad was a friend of Drew and I saw the layout in operation c1977. But at the age of six I didn’t have the wit to spot a small tank! What I do remember is the noise of clockwork at speed. I also remember that the layout dominated the house. We are talking holes in the wall ....!

As a member of the Gauge O Guild, I can rootle around the electronic archives of their publication. In the early 70s the late Drew Donaldson, whom I can just about remember, wrote some articles in his inimitable style regarding his clockwork empire. In one piece he refers to his plan to build an SLNC small tank. Given that Drew’s interests tended to lie in the southern direction, this was a new one on me. Does anyone know if he actually built it? thanks, David

Great work Tony. Impressive work in bringing it all together. Modelling a real place brings certain challenges but you’ve really captured the look of Omagh ( I speak as one who spent much of his childhood poring over my dad’s 1960s Derry road photos and his collection of Irish railway books...

I do like this one .....

Thanks Eoin - I tried the tissue paper and it worked! Loco cruises up and down nicely - albeit with sparks flying off the pickups! I suspect the p/b strip is shorting off the chassis. I’ll possibly replace with wire ones....short vid attached. Many of the problems associated with this loco are down to a single factor - the decision to regauge after the chassis was built and squared off. I didn’t want to disrupt it by removing and refitting the bearings that I had solidly soldered in, so packed out the difference with washers, which I will now adjust. The main driving axle was more complex, being a tapered fit on a tapered axle - and Slaters don’t supply the tapered axle in 36.75....I got a friendly engineer to make a new axle and he did warn me that it would require a bit of permanent fixing in the final stage of construction. In retrospect I should probably have just built the loco to 32mm gauge and sold it! After all, Shakespeare’s Titania is a proud fairy who gets her comeuppance.... But for all her quirks, she is a genuine Irish loco, with that distinctive MGWR cab and smokebox door, so a fitting way to start as an Irish modeller. It has also been a very useful test bed for techniques I can use again. Let’s just say, though, that any future loco will have at least 2 driven -or certainly coupled - axles ! IMG_1215.MOV

She’s back together. All the pickups are delivering power and the motor turns over. The only remaining problem is the single driver. The wheels are a press fit on the axles and one of them refuses to press home. So although the loco is on the rails and nicely balanced, only one wheel is actually doing any work. So the little beast just sits there with one wheel spinning. Loctite should sort it. She is already loaded with more lead than a Chicago gangster’s vocabulary so adhesion shouldn’t be a problem once both wheels turn!

Titania went on the bench tonight for stripping down. Two axles off, motor and gearbox off. Reamed out the bearings with a 4.8mm parallel broach to ensure smoothest possible surface. Solder/repaired the spring and laminated a strip of brass on top to reinforce the joint. Took off some sticky pickups and replaced with finer gauge p/b strip. Hopefully this will do the trick!

Yes, here’s that pic of 409. Shenanigans is right...the unusual numbering font, apparent right hand running, and deflectors made me think I was looking at a French loco at first!

Inspiring to see some examples of real old school modelling here. Also fascinating to see how various GB locos can be subtly altered to give the Irish look. I saw a photo in Clements/McMahon of the unique 400 class loco that got a huge Lemaitre chimney and smoke deflectors - looked a bit like a Fowler Scot!

Nice work there, always satisfying when a project draws towards a close and you get a sense of what the hard work has achieved! Handsome locos they were and yours is looking suitably purposeful.

Thanks Eoin - that’s a very helpful illustration! Starting with a single wheeler probably wasn’t the most sensible choice for my first ever loco build but on the plus side I’m learning a lot. The rear axle slides as you suggest so I hope that some kind of spring arrangement as you describe will resolve the issue. Another plus is that I have actually seen the loco running - with all the wheels touching the track and taking power. So I know that it isn’t hopeless!

I spoke too soon! Through repeated testing and adjusting since the chassis was built earlier this year, the bracket in question has weakened and tonight it snapped - you can just glimpse the bright metal to the right of the gear wheel. Too late to tackle tonight. But will strip the loco tomorrow and clean the joint area with a fibreglass pencil before soldering back together....I did also use the opportunity of having the loco upside down to stick more lead over the front axle so hopefully when all does go back together it will work better....thankfully I know at least one other builder - who is incredibly skilled and can make such beasts as 8Fs from scratch - who has really struggled with this little kit!

Thanks David - it does indeed pivot on that axle. The rear carrying axle is movable on a springy brass bracket meaning that small adjustments can change the downward pressure on the front axle.

Just a quick update. I tried a little fettling of the bearings and have taken some pressure off the pickups. I also gave her a cab floor made of lead! A small roll of lead has also been araldited inside the white metal boiler backhead. This gravity enhancement has helped a little and she seems a bit more responsive now. Just as well she’s only intended to handle a brace of 6 wheelers at most! And I know the rear buffer is missing - thankfully I know where it’s gone!