murrayec

Hi To follow up on the Class C chassis here, as mentioned on the 'Class A' thread;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/3921-Class-A?p=61132&viewfull=1#post61132. I have now assembled a test set-up chassis and ran it through a bit of testing;- [video=youtube_share;t0OIScr3i7s] Video of the first test run of a chassis for a Silver Fox Class C loco kit. PCB board with two Tenshodo motors, 66gms steel weight and Kadee 146 couplers. Total weight at 162gms. A powerful little engine, works very well under this analogue test. The slow running is great, it can pull the 4 Cravens around radius 2 bends with full buffer lock! I have not tested full speed yet, but up at 3/4 throttle is scary- at scale the speed is up to ramming the driver back in the seat with his mouth starting to take on that balloon shape like a fighter pilot in full 10gs dive! The wheels are still 14mm, I'll change them when DCC-ing the motors and installing the bogie frames. Eoin

Hi Dave Great track plan, looking forward to playing with the storage crane. And cant wait to see the servo points control system in action, it will revolutionise the DCC points control and save on the costs. Bring it on.... Eoin

Hi David Yes an interesting looking engine. Life is strange- I was looking through a railway book the other night and noticed this engine in the background of a photo, its fly-wheel, circular door and narrow cab caught my eye! Then I see your post today... Eoin

Hi Paul Yes both flavours will be available, the spud motors have to have the internal pick-up removed and the motor wired for DCC- I do this if required. Some shots of the 'C' ECMCHAS! coming together;- A few wires and a little fettling on the buffer beam and off to the test track Eoin

Hi All The following is the report I mentioned earlier; Myles Tierney has had a number of conversations with Nora Owen whom represents the group supporting the move to the Casino, from these discussions the following is understood; 1. The issue of the location at the “Casino” in Malahide of the model seems to have been finalised. 2. Outstanding legal and other matters regarding the model have been resolved apparently. 3. The planning of a new building (5,000sqft) on the site to house a layout is under-way. It has been suggested that consultation and input from committed railway modellers would be welcomed regarding the actual layout and generally. Now would be a good time to contact your local councillors [if you live in Fingal] to press for this consultation. Other interested people should consider contacting their local T.D.s and express support for such consultation.” Eoin

oops! wrong link above, should be this;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/content.php/302-CIE-J15-0-6-0-Drawings Eoin

Hi All A late happy christmas to all and the best n better for the new year I got the SSM CIE Ploughvan & Wickham Inspection Car Kits from Chris... Dave I knew what you were saying Eoin

Hi All I picked up a copy of 'Scratch-Building Model Railway Locomotives' by Simon Bolton, from Diarmuid (DermoBookman) at the last Bray Show of 2014. Interestingly the author uses a J15 locomotive as the main example throughout the book, the loco is not dissimilar to our J15, and with a bit of drawing modification one would have a fantastic set of instructions to scratch build a J15. The book only deals with the build of models with a slight introduction to the tools used- soldering technique and painting is not included, although in the construction soldering hints are suggested, and when not to- recommending using glue. Great pictures and easy to follow text with a lot of tips n tricks. Definitely a very handy addition to the model building reference bookshelf and perfect for a novice teetering on the edge of opening that etched kit-bought 10 years ago, and melting solder. Irish J15;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/content.php/327-DSER-NO-15-%28RPSI-no-461%29 Eoin

Silver! I love the silver ones Eoin

Hi Great stuff Kirley, keep the photos coming, I'm keeping notes for- I'm getting a few of these as christmas presents- cant wait for christmas! Eoin

Hi Dave Yes, it will be available as a kit or RTR, made to order for those interested, the chassis design will fit (with adjustments) the Class A, B, C & 121- all projects on the design workbench!! Will I put you down for 10 Class A units?? Eoin

Hi aclass007 Her is a shot of the present situation- design and parts decisions stage;- A collection of parts from Branchlines, Nairnshire Model Supplies, Dart Castings, Studio Scale, Keen Systems and the Kinvara-Train man. The drawing is a mixture of the SF model and the CIE drawing- the two do differ! there is a slight difference in the drawn length and quite a difference in the height of the body on the CIE drawing compared to the SF body. And as mentioned above the bogie sides on the SF kit are a bit long. I am very busy building the Green Things at the moment so only find time late at night to develop this up, though with the drawing worked out for the chassis, work will be commencing soon in the new year and I will post a thread on progress. Note on the drawing;- the Tenshodo motors fit under the chassis and the chassis fits nicely into the SF body up against the resin quadrants in the corners of the moulding, this will allow for a slip in pocket at one end of the body for the chassis and a screw at other to hold it all together nicely. I'm using Kadee NEM couplers and socket, but because the buffers stick out a bit so will the coupler! So I'm trying to fit a Keen Coupler Plate to the chassis to allow the coupler to lengthen on the bends. Otherwise I will have to use the Kadee 146 Draft Gear Box type off a brass drop bracket soldered to the chassis. Eoin

Hi aclass007 Her is a shot of the present situation- design and parts decisions stage;- A collection of parts from Branchlines, Nairnshire Model Supplies, Dart Castings, Studio Scale, Keen Systems and the Kinvara-Train man. The drawing is a mixture of the SF model and the CIE drawing- the two do differ! there is a slight difference in the drawn length and quite a difference in the height of the body on the CIE drawing compared to the SF body. And as mentioned above the bogie sides on the SF kit are a bit long. I am very busy building the Green Things at the moment so only find time late at night to develop this up, though with the drawing worked out for the chassis, work will be commencing soon in the new year and I will post a thread on progress. Note on the drawing;- the Tenshodo motors fit under the chassis and the chassis fits nicely into the SF body up against the resin quadrants in the corners of the moulding, this will allow for a slip in pocket at one end of the body for the chassis and a screw at other to hold it all together nicely. I'm using Kadee NEM couplers and socket, but because the buffers stick out a bit so will the coupler! So I'm trying to fit a Keen Coupler Plate to the chassis to allow the coupler to lengthen on the bends. Otherwise I will have to use the Kadee 146 Draft Gear Box type off a brass drop bracket soldered to the chassis. Eoin

Hi All I'm building a few Silver Fox Class A & C loco kits and going with Tenshodo bogie motors, two of them, and pcb fabricated chassis. On the first kit the bogie side hubs are at 34mm cters so I'm going with 35mm wheelbase Tenshodo with 12mm wheels. I did notice the difference on the CIE drawing- wheelbase at 8'-0'' (32mm) but decided to stick with the model size- can always change on the next one, though also involves making new bogie sides. The Tenshodo motors sit under the chassis needing no cut-out except a hole and brass fixing plate soldered underneath, whereas Blackbeetle bogie motors are taller and need a chassis cut-out- otherwise the floor has to be raised to mount BB under the chassis. To me this is a far simpler way to do the chassis than cutting up an existing one. WB35 Tenshodo cost around £36.00 at Branchlines plus £6.00, for a set of 12mm BB wheels, and a bit of 1mm pcb board 300x200mm sheet €20.00 This system will be used for Class A locos also- with the mod of an extra axle in brass frame and pin-point bearings. The third axle will have no drive its, just cosmetic for the Co-Co bogie. Eoin

Hi Eiretrains I just took an order on Sunday for a CIE Livery Dart no. 8101 with a dummy 141 as per the photo for optional attachment at the front. Eoin

Hi All Thanks for the great comments, you support really helps, especially for encouragement on the late nights in the workshop. Eoin

Dave aah!! a master at work- very impressed with the delicate grip of the scalpel, the angle of attack and the precise placement of that supporting finger on the top of the box. This must take years of concentrated practice- top of the box off to you. Eoin

Hi All I got the bell-crank components cleaned up and assembled to show it off at the MRSI O Gauge Guild meeting today, both were good fun- thanks guys for the invite and been looked after with sandwiches and tea. Good to meet Warbonnet to. To my amazement the whole assembly worked, a few small adjustments will be needed but it proves the drawings, and it will actually work! The bell-cranks are fixed with a brass BA screw through crank-pin bushings housed in a milled aluminium bell-crank head mounted on the chassis behind the steam cylinder. The drive rod to the wheel is BA bolt fixed, this bolt runs under the chassis to the inside bell-crank and the rod is fixed between on a brass bushing. The tie-rods are steel riveted onto the bell-crank ends and BA screw fixed to the cross-head- this allows for the whole assembly to be dismantled when in the service shop or the painting department. The location of the drive pin hole on the Slaters wheel had to be adjusted by 1.8mm toward the hub and the existing filled with epoxy. The cross-head rods are 1mm steel rod, so is the con-rod with broached out BA bolts to replicate a big end- if I can call it that? With that test done its now time to consider the brass chassis, the weight on the plastic is distorting things a bit, the only thing holding this back is the furnace & boiler! I would like to mock them up on the plastic chassis first to see what implications they have on it. Here are a few shots of the work- the gaffer and crew are also been introduced! Eoin

Volume 1 = http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2346-murrayec-s-Projects?p=47583&viewfull=1#post47583 Volume 2 = http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2346-murrayec-s-Projects?p=50850&viewfull=1#post50850 Hi All Just got a chance today to solder together the bell-crank, tie rods and drive crank for one cylinder on the Hibernia test model, I'm setting up one side of the bell-crank drive system to check sizes and work out the bushings, bolts fixings and the cross-head construction. Here is a few shots You can see how they were soldered together here;- Eoin

I was asked a while back to do a tutorial on Sweat Soldering and here it is;- The first photo shows the majority of items I use for soldering brass, it’s not all, but there is certainly items here you can make do without. Main Items;- Temperature control soldering iron. Selection of tips for the iron- (note;- keep certain tips for white metal solder only, don’t mix them) Solders- 180deg, 145deg, and 70deg lead for white metal. Flux 12% Phospheric Acid & Distilled Water with a dash of Isopro Alcohol. Soldering board- a piece of MDF with 90deg hardwood shoulder, grid marked out in 10mm squares and integral clamping system- easy to make and very handy. Aluminium heat sinks, where one needs to control the temp of work the piece. Many clips, clamps and stuff to hold things- stainless or aluminium is best, it won’t stick. Dinkey hair clips are very handy, slim, cheep and can be easily modified for the job at hand. Selection of needle files- smear with baby powder ’creates a friction-free layer to reduce the effects of rubbing and chafing’ and only use them for soldering. Scratch pens- fibreglass, brass, and steel. Emery paper- selection of grades. SS dental pick. Selection of timber sticks to hold items down- lollypop, cocktail, cuticle stick, all have a use- the timber clamps on the soldering board are from lollypops! Rare earth magnets and a small sheet of steel- good for holding large brass parts down while soldering, but not good letting the steel iron go near-!! Container of water for washing parts in. Caution;- Soldering is hazardous to the modeller’s health, the solders one use have a high lead content, and the phospheric acid fumes are not good, so a well ventilated work area is required. I use a laboratory type extract and filtration system, one expense I felt was a must when working with silver solders on the bigger models. And remember- Hot!! Soldering This photo shows the work area- keep it simple and clean Sweat Soldering This next photo shows what we are going to solder, the bell-cranks, drive rods, and the upper link rods for one cylinder on my O Gauge project ‘Hibernia’. This job is called laminating, fitting multiple parts together to give scale thickness. The Hibernia is here;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2346-murrayec-s-Projects?p=47583&viewfull=1#post47583 Etched parts have a cusp edge and I etched the holes under size, these will be cleaned up after soldering, after soldering the parts are substantially stronger for this work. The edges will be filed down square and holes broached or reamed to size. Next check for fit- see if the parts will fit each other. Use pins, wire, or cocktail sticks through the holes to check fit, if needs adjust parts as necessary with files n stuff until they fit. Next is to clean the parts thoroughly, I use the scratch brushes on a piece of MDF in a lid from a container. Holding the item with sticks, clamps, or tweezers trying not to touch it with fingers- not to contaminate it with greasy paw print. The plan is to coat the mating faces with as level a layer of solder I can get, the solder can be cleaned up if needs be with a file, then apply flux to soldered faces, clamp the items together, apply the iron again until the solder melts and sticks the lamination. Remember to that metal clamps will act as heat sinks so use timber if possible. So next, set-up the parts for soldering, have the appropriate face facing up, held somehow or a tool at hand for this. The appropriate solder- these parts I call two-stage soldering items, they’ll be soldered now but may have items soldered to them later, this calls for 180deg solder now and setting the solder iron at 200-300deg, later I can then solder with 145deg at 150-200deg setting on the iron without the laminations falling apart. I use a small round bit on the iron for this, as the parts are quite small and will take the solder quite quick. Don’t forget to have the water-dampened sponge to wipe the iron tip on, regularly. Apply the flux with a small paint brush to the items generously, trying not to flood the holes with flux- the solder will run to where the flux is, so one does not want to fill the holes if possible. The holes on these parts are tiny so they will fill anyway. Next we first give the iron tip a clean- stick it in the flux for a sec and wipe off on the damp sponge, then apply a small blob of 180deg solder to the iron tip and put the iron tip to the parts, lay the iron tip on it’s side on the work, the heat will run through the solder into the brass and the solder will run anywhere the flux is, the flux will hiss like mad as it burns off. Hold it there for a while, while the part heats up and then the solder will flow. When the solder is running move the iron tip along the part and try and get it level. If more solder needs to be applied remove the iron tip and apply another blob of solder and put it back on the work. Use the iron to apply the solder; don’t feed solder in from the wire to the work. Leave to cool down, give them a good wash in water- no paw prints. Always wash the parts at each stage, don't leave soldered parts unwashed the flux will keep eating away at the it. Clean up the solder if required, we want it to be roughly level- no big blobs and the like. Next apply flux to the soldered faces, try not to get flux on the exposed faces, as in the like of the Bell-cranks we don’t want solder on the outside spoiling the 3D quality and would be a nightmare to clean up. If things go wrong and one need to start again- flux the work, apply a small blob to the iron tip, apply the iron to the work and when the solder melts use the scratch brush with extended bristles to flick the solder off the work. Clean up with files and emery paper, scratch pen and start again. I also use a solder sucker to do this, but the nozzle is large on these and they cannot get in everywhere, but are fine on flat stuff. The clamps on the soldering board are great for holding stuff while doing this- a third hand. Once the parts are fluxed bring them together and clamp them in position. Use pins and sticks to line them up through the holes as done before to check fit. If the holes are blocked with solder, remove with drill bit in a pin vice by hand. Check the edges are flush and clamp it, and then grab the iron, wipe the tip in the sponge, solder blob it and put it to the clamped work. With these small parts running the iron tip along the edge with the solder melting and running in the join does the job- when the solder melts it shows a lovely shiny silver surface, watch that move along with the iron tip. Re solder blob the iron tip if needs be, going the whole way round the work edge until- it’s done, sweated together! If you apply the iron tip with solder to the work and nothing happens do add more flux, again careful not to flood holes or detail on the parts. After a while you will notice one is getting it right, flux in the right place, right size of solder blob, apply the iron tip in the right place- wham a silver streak runs through the work only where the flux was placed- Expert! Try not to apply to much solder this time, one just needs enough for the heat transfer through the solder on the iron tip to melt the solder in the laminate. Also too much solder may flow out onto a surface we don’t want it to. Another option for heating the parts to sweat them together is with a small blowtorch, using a long metal tweezers to clamp and hold the work in the flame until the solder melts and runs. That part is done and needs a good clean in water with washing soda, and then it just needs the edge cusps to be removed, edges squared, and the holes to be set to size. See the edges are filled, the solder is in between the cusps of the two laminates When working on soldering the most important thing is to regularly clean the iron tip, the transfer of heat is through the solder contact with the tip and the work; a dirty iron tip will insulate the heat from the solder, as will a dirty work piece, that’s what the flux is for. The solder blob will not stick to it and there is no chance or a messy chance that the solder will run in the work- blobs everywhere and lots of cleaning up to do. A soldering board is a very handy thing;- it gives a raised level to work on, this allows one to lay the iron on its side without obstruction of your hand, higher is better. Using a board or a block of timber allows the work to be moved around for access- nothing worse that joy-rigging the work on the bench and then realising one cannot get at the joint to be soldered, on a board one can just spin it around. Also having a 90deg shoulder is a handy must for soldering. Clean all tools and items used – the flux is active for a long time! The next photos are the other parts going together;- and last a shot of the laminated parts soldering complete In case you are wondering- the sheet under the parts is an off cut from a kitchen Fry Sheet- takes the heat and nothing sticks to it! Hope this helps Eoin

Hi All Here are a few photos of the new digital electrical system. All the leads are now connected with Micro connectors for easy build and dismantling, the sets can now be dismantled to separate parts without the need of soldering iron. The digital loom has an 8 pin connector for chip instillation. Also the photos show the new etched brass bogie system I’m now making, all new DARTs will be sporting these. They are a bit easier to make than the old bush type, but they come into their own with pinpoint bearings- great running from the start where the bush type had to be run-in to achieve the good running- needing some tweaks and all! The last shots show it all coming together and together- ready for a little run and its off to it's new owner Eoin

Hi All I have voted for prepay as I think it is a very good idea, but the reality of this is a different thing- the Irish modelling funding crowd is just not big enough to enable a manufacture to produce the goods like your talking here of the MM models, or the price for an individual model would be very high. I do not speak for MM, and do not know fully the manufacturing system they use- but the brunt of the costs in making a model is in the;- model design, tool design, tool making, and model prototyping- that would also include royalties for both, copies of the design and copies from the tools. The cost of an MM model in the shop is controlled by quantity, a specific number of models manufactured over the whole run is the key. Manufacturing can be done in steps- ie;- different livery, which can help to limit the expenditure to stage costs as that model line progresses. But the design, tooling and prototyping costs have to be paid up front and this means the return investment is over the whole run, the initial models could be calculated as been very expensive but it is controlled by- there is a few more 1,000s to come! So prepay is a very good idea but one will have to accept a higher cost than a MM model in the shop eoin

Hi irishthump Looks stunning, I like to spooky shed- it's levitating! Eoin

Hi Liverbird81 Thanks for you comments and support I look forward to the time your collection stretches out South Eoin

Hi All Wheels have been set in motion, a report will follow in due course. Eoin