murrayec

The September Train & Model Fair Date;-

I think it's going to be an oil squirter too, better make a shroud for it or it will mess up the backhead controls! Eoin.

On the final stretch now! After assembling the chassis and giving it a test run to adjust the coupling rods the driver and fireman turned up to lend a hand. After checking the fit of the fireman he was then epoxied onto the body-to-chassis fixing bracket, a LED cab light was also fitted. A bit of masking tape is placed over the LED to dull and yellow the light. About 100 grams of lead weight was chopped up- sized to fit on the inside of the body. The main weight being centred over the back axles. Weight epoxied in. The final problem- fitting the chip and wiring in there somehow.......... I did have a video of the loco running on the test track but my phone's memory card had a bit of a melt down and it was lost, along with other stuff ''Backup you phones'' Eoin.

Eventually I got all the parts out of the sheet. First up was the steam valve crosshead frames, the parts were folded up 90deg and a soldering jig was turned up from aluminium stock. The jig slots into the valve bore, the crossead parts are clipped on both sides and butted up against the brass valve part. Soldered. Both done. These are the hangers to hold the end of the slide bars on the main crosshead- one is ready for soldering. Hangers soldered up and test fitted to the chassis, the slide bar end will be held in the hanger which is not folded yet! I first need to assemble the crossheads and conrods to check alignment of all these parts. The parts for the main crossheads - including 4mm dia NS bar for turning up conrod sleeves and two 2.8mm wood nails to make the conrods. Parts folded up, sleeves turned and nails cut- the extensions on the slide head is a alignment jig to hold the conrods while been soldered into the crosshead. The holes in the main cylinders need to be opened up to 2.8mm dia, so the slide bars had to be de-soldered from the cylinders to allow for this. Crossheads clamped and soldered. Jig bits removed and parts cleaned up. Testing fit, all is OK, but have to make a decision on the slide bars now. These were made from a bit of NS track! Now that I have them removed I think proper slide bars should be made- back to the drawings....... Eoin.

Painting continues;- Loco and tender body parts sandblasted. Etch primed. Undercoated and colour started, there's going to be some complex masking to do the black on these parts! Tender chassis springs painted. Starting to assemble the loco chassis, first is to install some lead in the ash pan under the motor. This is done with 10x11x1.7mm sheet lead stacked, which will be epoxied into the pan in front of the gearbox. The one with the hole in it is for the bottom of the stack to allow for the captive nut which holds the electrical pickup board on the underside....... Eoin.

@DanT That's going to be a hard one! The grills on the 071 are a circular pattern not the usual square mesh type. One could replace both with brass wire mesh- at least they will match? https://themeshcompany.com/product-category/product-type/?yith_wcan=1&product_cat=brass+wire-mesh Eoin

@Horsetan Oops! yes 6'-7'' wheel diameter is correct;- I refereed above to old notes I made many moons ago! I went back to my drawings this morning and checked it...... Eoin.

@Horsetan According to the info I have gathered the crankpin throw is 356mm / 14'' as confirmed above, the wheels are 1917mm / 6'-3'' diameter and the crankpin is in line with a spoke. The coupled wheelbase is 2214mm / 7'-3'' x 2604mm / 8'-7''. Alan Gibson Ref 4878S driver wheels are the closest, they are slightly larger at 6'-6'' but have the right amount spokes and 14'' crankpin throw, the crankpin is in line with a spoke, and one also get a 22.5mm long axle in the packet. Eoin

@Horsetan Ken is away at the moment, I believe he was in touch with the IRRS drawing chaps who were preparing a booklet of drawings for the 800 at that time, but unfortunately that has been on hold for a few years now! I believe Ken was waiting for this booklet or some preliminary scans of the general arrangement drawings as he was going to contribute to the final booklet. I spoke with the IRRS drawing man last summer about the 800 booklet but alas there is no movement, as he is based in the UK and gets little opportunity to visit the drawings here and complete the current/previous works- he does hope to get back at it sometime, he is also aware that we few are interested in the 800 drawing publication..... When Ken returns he should be able to respond on progress of his drawings. Eoin.

The August Fair Date;-

ESU DCC & Lokprogrammer has built in smoke control for ESU, generic, and Seuthe smoke generators, which handles when one wants the smoke to happen. Eoin

It's kind of Walschaerts' without the Expansion Link and something funny with the Eccentric Rod front connection to the Combination Lever! - I don't know the history of these models but generally they were designed in Germany with assistance by Mr Greenly for the British market, so maybe a German version of Walschaerts' Eoin

Yes, that's a good idea, I have one of those motors and will give it a try the next blasting session Eoin.

Sand Blaster Hopper Upgrade;- The hopper I made for the blaster (see above), had a problem with supplying a constant stream of sand. This was due to the hopper outlet being done through the bottle lid which caused a backup of sand on the flat ledge of the lid and allied with the small bore of the outlet the sand stopped flowing! So a hopper with a better outlet was required...... A €10.00 water bottle, a small kitchen funnel, a cnc'd ply mounting bracket and a few fittings. This bottle has a lid on top which is better also than the last idea- easier to replenish with sand! The base of the bottle is cut out, the ply bracket is sized to take the funnel and the bottle on the routed ledge, which are both epoxied in to make a seal. A hose clip is used to fix the outlet fitting into the bottom of the funnel with the aid of a short length of 12mm dia hose shoved onto the funnel outlet. Up and running and it works far better, there is still a restriction where the feed pipe goes through the cabinet side! But when one lowers the gun inside the cabinet the sand does flow through. I may make another mod by running the pipe down through the lid, but this requires a mod to the lid and there is not enough time in the day...... These parts took about 30 mins to blast at 60psi, it does take time as the gun is only air brush size, the large blaster would damage stuff like the brake gear and anything delicate on the chassis- note the axle bearings are sealed off so the sand does not get in there. Eoin.

Motion brackets, valve gear and brake gear cutting;- When cutting the parts from .45mm nickel silver sheet, in error I set the cutting passes for wood and not for metal, within a minutes the last 2mm endmill tool I had in stock was dulled. After resetting the cutting passes for metal things progressed poorly, as this was the only tool I had- things had to be left running! Overheating caused the sheet to come unstuck from the machine bed and this caused distortion, intermittent cutting, and a massive burr on the cut edges. Nerve racking time, but the tool and the sheet of parts survived, just a bigger clean up required. Chisels, knives and the mini drill being used to get the parts out. A lot of fettling to do........the joy of modelling!! Eoin.

The chassis is eventually painted;- Parts being sandblasted. Everything ready to start a painting. Etch primed & under-coated. Top grey coat & lacquered. The backhead was painted satin black, then the brass fittings were epoxied on and finished with a coat of lacquer. Final assembly to come soon....... Eoin.

The July Fair Date;-

Staying with the artillery theme! Just completed a 1:35 6 Pounder Anti-Tank Gun;- The kits amo boxes really suffered! so I made my own from folded up brass, also I made the amo from 2mm brass rod on the lathe. I need to make a mounting plinth with some detail and a perspex cover......... Eoin

Painting continues;- The chassis, cylinders, brake gear and backhead were sandblasted and setup for painting. Etch primed and undercoat. Satin Black. The loco wheel tyres were hand painted satin black before the masking was removed. A bit of off white being dabbed into the gauge faces on the backhead. The Merlin name plates and manufactures plates are mounted on upside down masking tape for painting. Painted. Then sanded down with wet n dry paper with plenty of water, now ready for a bit of lacquer. The backhead with water gauges, pipework and hand-wheels epoxied on, now just needs the regulator handle stuck on and then its also ready for a coat of lacquer. Eoin.

No, that's the first thing I checked. When they were holding up the roof I wondered if they were from the Bray & Enniskerry line!! Wouldn't that have been a find, but alas their to modern I reckon.... Eoin