Mol_PMB

Thanks Rob, that's good to know you have an emergency stash! Whilst tidying up the machine shop (shed) after making my jig, one of my wall decorations out there has reminded me that I still have some more diesels awaiting attention too.. I acquired this in an ITG fundraising drive a couple of decades ago - I think the money went toward saving 124.

Thanks! It's finished now. This photo shows an EM axle (not yet cut in half) and how it sits in the slot: The axle can be held in place with the straps secured by 6BA bolts. This photo also shows how the square end fits in the slot of the smaller moving blocks. This allows the parts to be pressed together while ensuring that they remain square. The width of the central block also sets the back-to-back. It has taken a full day's work so I hope I use it more than once or twice! But I do like making things, and whether it's a model or a jig there's a lot of satisfaction in producing something that works. I'm sure you find the same. As well as the J26 I have kits for the G2 and J15 in the stash. I seem to have a total of 10 EM gauge axles of this type (i.e. 1 spare for those 3 locos). I also have some spare axle nuts and 'deluxe' crankpins. I'm wondering whether to try and stock up some more before they vanish for ever. Now, are there any other Irish steam locos I might want to build in future? They would probably have to be scratchbuilt probably with a custom etch. Answers on a postcard...

4'6.5" and 3'9"

Steps in machining the jig. Using a 4mm slot drill, make a rebate 10mm x 8mm x 3.5mm deep in the middle. This will locate the sleeve if an oversize sleeve is used: Using a 2mm slot drill, create a slot 3.2mm wide and 3mm deep to take the axle: Clamp the moving blocks into position. I had a 1.5mm end mill which was the only suitable tool for the next stage: Cut slots 1.5mm wide and 2.5mm deep in the moving blocks: Then in tiny increments, widen the slot each side until the square end of the axles will just fit into it: Once I've had a brew I think I'll drill and tap 4 holes in the top face of the main block to assist in holding the axle parts in the slots during the axle assembly operation.

One for the larger scale SLNCR enthusiast: https://ebay.us/m/s55rFE @Galteemore

Less than £250 for a O gauge Peak, with an extra 10% off for the first order. Crazy prices! I paid more than that for an 03 shunter several years ago. https://heljan.com/products/class-45-0-br-blue-unnumbered-o-scale I have no need for a Peak on my O gauge shunting plank though.

A couple of hours machining after work and I have got this far with my jig. There are some more operations to do yet, hopefully tomorrow. The large block will be slotted 1/8” wide so the axle is a snug fit. The smaller blocks will be slotted 1/16” wide so the squares are a snug fit. The idea is that the axle parts can be set up in the tool and then pressed together by squeezing in a clamp.

Excellent - many thanks for the update, sounds good. I look forward to building some more 6-wheelers. I've already acquired a stash of castings for buffers, axleboxes/springs and other oddments.

Just wondering if there’s any update on the progress with these? My main interest is in the MGWR 6-wheel coaches.

And to you!

In the interests of balance, I should add that the bilious green thing ran very well, pulled plenty of people and the driver was clearly enjoying himself. But for me, the Royal Scot and the two Britannias were superior models. My photo of the other Brit was badly timed but it captured the look of a working loco very well:

A slightly damaged but presently cheap A class, a bit of weathering would sort this out: https://ebay.us/m/83gwZ0

I did think it was an unusual shade of mid chrome green! Also, for a railway where the locos were highly standardised, this somehow combines a load of standard features into something that looks completely wrong!

Here’s another 071 to watch… https://ebay.us/m/PFAMnc The tippex liveried ones seem to come up on eBay fairly frequently but the other liveries seem scarce, hence why I was pleased to bag a supertrain one. Maybe there will be another batch in future but I hope the IRM C class comes first.

Well I’ve been out walking for a couple of hours in the sun while my mind thought about an axle assembly jig. I think I’ve worked out a design I can make on the mill with materials in stock, and will set both the length and squareness. On the way I passed the local model engineers’ track where 5 locos were in steam giving rides. But now i have fallen into the pub to quench my thirst, so no machining for me tonight. Tomorrow maybe.

Very nice! Thank you. I’ll see what I can set up in a similar way, might have to borrow some bits off a friend. If that fails then I know who to come to, to do it for me!

After a few hours of hewing the metal, I have achieved the following, seen in cruel closeup: High Level hornblocks and CSB tags are on order, and there's still a fraction of a millimetre to file off the hornguide slots to enable me to fine-tune their postions. I still need to fire up the CSB spreadsheet and work out where the spring fixing points should be, and drill for them. Hopefully not somewhere in fresh air! Speaking of fresh air, after the weekend's storms it's a lovely sunny day outside now so I'll stop work and get out for a walk in the sun instead.

Yes, that is a fallback option. Though Gibson don't make the correct style of wheel. Another option is to bore and sleeve the wheels I have, to fit a plain 1/8" axle. A lathe job but perhaps no more difficult than the axle modifications.

Thinking about axles. I think making new, longer, square-ended Romford style axles is too difficult. To modify and extend the existing axles, two solutions spring to mind: The first is simpler and will work for unpowered axles in hornblocks. The second requires some lathe work (I don't have a lathe but I have friends that do) and would work for powered axles, and doesn't require hornblocks. I would need to make at least one of the second type for this project. I see the bigger challenge as assembly, to get the squares aligned with each other and the back-to-back spot on, and then to hold it all together. I have experience of this with extending pinpoint axles by cutting and sleeving, and have found that if the fit is too tight it's very hard to get the length spot-on, while if the fit isn't tight enough then they rely too much on the glue and may not be perfectly straight. With the loco axles there is also the challenge of the squares. It's worth noting that the square sections are very short, I think 1/32" (less than 1mm) so there's not much space to clamp or support the parts on those squares. OK for alignment but not for applying much force. I did wonder about milling a flat on the body of the axle, making part of it a D shape, before cutting it in half, but I'm not convinced that really helps. The D sections would have to avoid the hornblock and gearbox bearings and would therefore probably end up in the area of the sleeve which wouldn't achieve the desired effect. I think the answer will be to make the parts a snug sliding fit, set them up in a jig, and then to apply some locitite to the joint. Better ideas would be welcome!

You’re a braver man than I to tackle that valve gear in model form. It’s bad enough to get right in full size! Sidhe is coming along very nicely!

I'm presently reading the book 'Engines and Men - Irish Railways: a View from the Footplate' by Jack O'Neill. Books of steam-age footplate reminiscences are ten-a-penny in GB, but Irish examples are scarce and this one is well written and interesting. It contains a chapter describing the working of fair specials, and from it I got a much better appreciation of how the sleeping cars were used. I've photographed a few of the relevant paragraphs from within this tale as I think they are a useful addition to this thread of sleeping cars. These aren't consecutive paragraphs - if you want to read the full story then you'll need to buy the book! After an evening in the local pub... next morning...

I now have a few hours of work with files, drills and piercing saw ahead of me... I have reinforced the rods with a strip of nickel silver between the two halves, hopefully this will work and not be too thick at the middle crankpin. The sideframes are tacked together ready for some filigree work.

That makes my eBay purchases last week (£515 for the pair including postage etc) look like a comparative bargain!

You should be able to. I don't think the link has been sent out yet - it's normally a couple of days before. Hopefully @Richard EH will post it here when it's available, if not I'll copy it here once I have it.

Taking advice and inspiration from Alan's parallel thread (and using a similar mix of masking tape and wood offcuts to make simple jigs), I have now assembled the footplate. Adding the steps to the valances, best done before attaching them to the frames: Adding the splasher tops to the footplate. I made new splasher tops 4.5mm x 17mm from thin brass. The inner edges of the splashers are then 18.5mm apart, i.e. just less than the 19.2mm back-to-back so the wheels should be concealed. My etch is a bit over-etched and the coupling hook surrounds had almost etched away to nothing. I replaced them with better ones from an etch of miscellaneous wagon details available from Wizard. Here's the assembled footplate: And with the body attached with its 3 bolts: There are many more details to go on both sub-assemblies, but it's starting to look like a J26.