Alan's Workbench

[David Holman]

 All down hill now, Alan - it is only cosmetic after all!

 The chassis is a beauty - wish I could be that methodical, because it clearly pays dividends. Lovely stuff.

[Tullygrainey]

First attempt at pickups failed. Phosphor bronze wires bearing on the wheel flanges at right angles were too short and stiff. They caused a bout of stuttering and hiccups and also interfered with the action of the hornblocks. Take two, with the wires a bit longer and bearing on the wheel treads worked much better. There'll be just enough room to fit a (plastic) brake lever in there too.

 

First run under its own steam. OK...  electricity.

 

 

[Galteemore]

14 minutes ago, Tullygrainey said:

First attempt at pickups failed. Phosphor bronze wires bearing on the wheel flanges at right angles were too short and stiff. They caused a bout of stuttering and hiccups and also interfered with the action of the hornblocks. Take two, with the wires a bit longer and bearing on the wheel treads worked much better. There'll be just enough room to fit a (plastic) brake lever in there too.

 

First run under its own steam. OK...  electricity.

 

 

Well how satisfying is that ?! Well done!! Now it’s interesting what you say re the stuttering effect of the pickups. My little JT shows that on occasion (eg at Tolworth show ) and that could be the cause…..I might have a closer look at your solution  

[Tullygrainey]

3 minutes ago, Galteemore said:

Well how satisfying is that ?! Well done!! Now it’s interesting what you say re the stuttering effect of the pickups. My little JT shows that on occasion (eg at Tolworth show ) and that could be the cause…..I might have a closer look at your solution  

Quite possible David. I find it takes me a while to get a good balance with just enough pressure on the wheels to make sure of good contact but not so much as to cause drag. It's very difficult to establish if lumpy running is due to intermittent contact or too much pressure causing tight spots. Hope you can pin it down on your JT. 

[David Holman]

Very neat. Pick ups are a pain at times (along with brake gear), but loads more space in 7mm broad gauge. Have to keep reminding myself you work in 4mm...

[Northroader]

Lovely smooth runner. I’d be tempted to hook your pickup over the crest of the flange, so it rides with any wheel movement, and won’t get any crud off the tread.

[Tullygrainey]

A running plate for No.6.

More often than not, I would make a running plate from a plain rectangle of brass or nickel silver with a hole cut in the middle to clear the motor and gearbox. No. 6 is a bit trickier than that. Its running plate has profiled sections to clear the crankpins and a change of level just ahead of the front driving axle.

Photo: Coakham, D., The Belfast & County Down Railway, Colourpoint, 2010

 

Making this required a different approach and It took me a while to come up with a solution. Effectively, rather than starting with a rectangle and cutting a hole in it, I started with the hole and assembled separate bits round it. 

 

The profiled sections were made from 6mm wide brass strip shaped by hand round tubing of an appropriate diameter. These were the first things I made, a while ago now, to make sure I could do it, otherwise I wouldn't have gone any further with this one. The valances are 1mm square brass rod, annealed and shaped to fit the running plate. Other bits are cut from 15 thou brass sheet. Everything got soldered together using clamps and guidelines on the heatproof block. Against all the odds, it finished up pretty straight. 

 

Superstructure next.  No.6's appearance changed often throughout its long career and it ended up looking quite different from the photo above. Among other things the cab roof was lengthened, a tender weatherboard came and went and it was finally given a Belpaire firebox, new boiler and reshaped cab in 1943. There were changes to the tender too. I haven't decided yet which version to model - probably the easiest one 

Alan

[Horsetan]

As built, no.6's cab is very LNWR in style 

[David Holman]

Tasty! A corporate like that is not easy.

[Galteemore]

18 hours ago, Horsetan said:

As built, no.6's cab is very LNWR in style 

It was a common feature of Beyer locos of the era. The SLNC tanks, for instance, would not have looked at all out of place beside a Coal Tank or Claughton. Gorgeous work as always Alan. You could eat your dinner off that workbench of yours btw ! I bought a set of Vallorbe files in a Black Friday sale to encourage me to keep a tidier ship - I don’t want them going rusty from spilled flux and general careless with corrosives….

Edited 2 hours ago by Galteemore