Tales from the carriage shops

[Mayner]

Final assembly of the Ks/650 Class 2-4-0s

 

 

In a way I prefer the GSR grey to the satin black of the MGWR version.

The GSR Y boiler version appears to has a much more massive almost overstuffed appearance compared to the round topped boiler versions although the boilers were similar dimensions and pitched at the same height above rail level.

 

[David Holman]

Lovely work! The proportions look great and everything is 'square', as it were. This all brings out the character these locos had.

 All black locos can look a little underwhelming compared to the gleam of etched brass or nickel silver, though they soon come to life once highlighted with a little light weathering, or even just the addition of red buffer beams, number plate etc

[Mayner]

Finishing touches to Aurora 34 & 650, Arrow 33 has returned to the works for mechanical assembly and a partial re-paint, basically she was a mock up for the black livery for No 34 on a borrowed chassis in the last photo, fortunately a set of wheels to complete No 33 & decals for 650 arrived from the UK just before the international postal service went haywire with Covid 19 restrictions. I ran into problems getting paint to stick to the Markits wheels and ended up de-greasing and etch priming the wheelsets before painting and sealing with clear cote for final assembly.

650 recently overhauled, vacuum pipe, front coupling hook, tender toolbox and coal load added. The tender top is removable to access a DCC socket. I managed to kink the handrail when setting the loco up for the works photos & the firebox wrapper is sitting down slightly at the cab.

Sunlight playing on part of the smokebox, boiler and toolbox.

Like the GWR the majority of MGWR locos were driven from the right hand side, Atock locos had an unusual solid (wooden) reversing wheel.

34 Aurora in the final MGWR black livery, the number 34 on the splasher side is part of a half etched overlay, as it would have been extremely difficult to produce and affix separate numerals in 4mm scale.

The makers plate is engraved with the details of a full sized plate, just about visible under a strong magnifying glass.

 

34 drivers side, handle of reversing wheel just about visible, the canopy cab appears to have been built for speed rather than comfort with very little protection for the crew

34s tender is modeled without coal rails like the majority of K Class tenders in MGWR days, I managed to mislay one of the tender toolboxes between  completing the loco and taking the photo. I must add vacuum pipes to the tenders they look rather bare.

After ballasting the 2-4-0s are capable of hauling 21 4w IRM wagons on the flat without slipping a big improvement on the November 2019 Test run.

I cast ballast weights with Woods Metal or Cerrobend a low melting point alloy with a large weight in the tender and smaller weights in the space between the motor and mainframes and in the lower part of the boiler between the motor and smokebox.

Edited April 1, 2020 by Mayner

[Galteemore]

Lovely work, Mayner. The grey paint on 650 is spot on.

[Midland Man]

Love the canopy cap on the Aurora.Is 650 Clonsila?

[Mayner]

On 4/2/2020 at 12:58 AM, Midland Man said:

Love the canopy cap on the Aurora.Is 650 Clonsila?

650 was No 13 Racer 655 was no 29 Clonsilla

[Mayner]

Having finished Aurora and 650 I though it was time to finally finish the test build of 52 Class GSWR No 1 starting with the loco brake assembly.

1st job was to drill out the pin holes 0.7mm for the brake hangers and 0.5mm for the brake shoes, despite the pin chucks struggled to grip an 0.5mm bit despite using the smallest size of collet, pin holders, I eventually used a thin slip of paper as a shim to secure the bit!

The GSWR used an unusual double hanger arrangement on the 52 Class which was a bit of a challenge to design,

Brake hangers as removed from fret on left, spacing washers folded over and brake shoe removed from hanger on right.

Assembly jig using 0.7mm wire drilled through hanger into hardwood block, small drop of oil on wires to prevent soldering wires to hangers during assembly.

Hole for 0.45mm wire for securing brake hanger drilled into hardwood block (do not oil wire!) brake shoe and second brake hanger threaded into position. Brake shoe soldered to hangers once correctly positioned and surplus o.45 wire trimmed off.

I then removed one of the 0.7mm pins in turn before soldering  the ends of the two brake hangers together, then cleared out the hole with a 0.7mm drill or a tapered broach.

The brake stretcher bars and pull rods fitted together without a problem, there is sufficient space below the gear wheel when using a High Level Gearbox to bring the ends of the pull rod together below the brake cylinder position.

I have not soldered the hangers to the top pivot wires as I prefer to assemble the brale gear as a separate sub assembly to allow the wheels and motor to be removed for maintenance or painting.

I accidentally sent a superseded drawing to engraver which omitted the fairing that hides the leading sandbox and fills most of the space between the trailing bogie wheel and leading driver, I will form this part in the traditional way with a piercing saw and files of the test build. Despite a few anxious moments the loco brake gear fitted together without any problems, next stage is to assemble the tender brake gear and add complete detailing of the loco and tender before completing mechanical assembly. 

[Galteemore]

Beautiful work as ever - my avatar approves!  I’d be interested to hear your philosophy on weighting re 4-4-0s, Mayner - Guy Williams talks about using the tender not as a passive thing tacked on the back, but as an active part of the locomotive’s adhesion system....

Edited April 10, 2020 by Galteemore

[Mayner]

Getting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, tender brake gear and final detailing.

Another simple assembly jig to achieve some form of consistency in fitting the brake shoes to the hangers.

 

Short piece of 0.45 wire drilled into block to pin shoe to hanger. One piece of 0.7mm to hold hanger in alignment & 2 short pieces of 0.7 to hold shoe in correct position while soldering.

 

3 sets of brake shoes and hangers and pull rods awaiting assembly. The pull rods were drilled 0.5mm before being removed from the fret.

Assembled chassis.

Although the kit is designed to use the SSM tender, I designed a new tender chassis to simplify weight transfer from the tender to the loco and beefed up the tender pull rods slightly to simplify assembly.

The brake gear supplied with the SSM J15 is very fine and had experienced difficulty in assembling the brake gear on a loco several years ago.

Assembling the kit to 21mm gauge with EMF profile wheels I was able to incorporate the distinctive double pull rod arrangement. Its best to omit the inner pull rods and fit the outer set to the tender body if  you work in OO or use RP110 profile wheels.

The brake gear is designed to be removable for painting and maintenance, with the hangers a push fit at the top with the bottom stretcher bar retaining the gear in position.

Tender sub assemblies, the tender springs will be fitted after I have painted the tender. I drilled on spring 0.5mm as a template for drilling holes in the side of the tender, then use the original as a template for drilling the other springs, 0.45mm pins and axleboxes  are retained with 100° low melting point solder.  The large holes in the frame spacers arose as a result of an error in the tender CAD work.

I went mad and modelled the tender brake shaft and linkages to the pull rods, barely visible in 4mm unless the loco and tender are uncoupled. LHS tender handrail and handbrake wheel to be straightened up.

Tender tool boxes are from lost wax castings from a 3D printed original.

 

Cab interior with splashers and reversing wheel fitted, cab floor and backhead to be tidied up when I complete mechanical installation. Valence and steps on fireman's side needs straightening.

 

Posed portrait. Fairing between training bogie wheel and leading driver to be fabricated. Crankpins will be trimmed flush with nuts as part of final mechanical assembly

[Galteemore]

Mayner - that’s fantastic work. You’ve really captured the grace of the original.

[Angus]

1 hour ago, Galteemore said:

Mayner - that’s fantastic work. You’ve really captured the grace of the original.

I couldn't agree more, stunning! 

[Midland Man]

Amazing peice of work can't wait to sea more.

[David Holman]

Gorgeous. On my list to do in 7mm scale. One day...

[Mayner]

Completed well nearly! a second OO gauge 2-4-0 No33 Arrow in late MGWR condition. I originally assembled the locos as one of the final test builds for the kit in Oct 18 and decided to motorise the loco in OO.

Hopefully I will get around to motorising the second test build as 663 and assemble a 21mm gauge chassis for Arrow at some stage.

Before the arrival of larger locomotive the 2-4-0s usually double headed the "Mails" between Broadstone and Mullingar and regularly double headed heavy excursion trains in GSR & CIE days.

 

I think I prefer grey to black for steam locos!

 

[Midland Man]

Lovely models reminds me of the late LNWR. Keep it up.

[jhb171achill]

10 hours ago, Mayner said:

Completed well nearly! a second OO gauge 2-4-0 No33 Arrow in late MGWR condition. I originally assembled the locos as one of the final test builds for the kit in Oct 18 and decided to motorise the loco in OO.

Hopefully I will get around to motorising the second test build as 663 and assemble a 21mm gauge chassis for Arrow at some stage.

Before the arrival of larger locomotive the 2-4-0s usually double headed the "Mails" between Broadstone and Mullingar and regularly double headed heavy excursion trains in GSR & CIE days.

 

I think I prefer grey to black for steam locos!

 

Both are do-able, of course - the MGWR stopped painting engines green in 1918, and used black; though a large number started into the GSR era still green...and at least one of the G2 class managed to be repainted black by CIE in the last few years....

Personally, I prefer grey too, even though it could hardly be described as colourful! Even a CLEAN 071 nowadays, to my mind, looks fine.

For years, 186 and 461 were painted black at Whitehead for the sole reason that the volunteers working on them didn't like grey......"the man with the paintbrush in his hand" rule, of course. Been there, dunnit.

[David Holman]

Black for me. Guess it the old rule of liking what you grew up with, so make that weathered black.

As for the locos - lovely work!

[jhb171achill]

Sadly, I belong to the era where the only steam engines I ever saw in use in Ireland - anywhere - were so neglected and filthy they could have been painted lime green, tartan and fluorescent pink underneath the grim, oil, coal dust and rust, that nobody would have been any the wiser! 

Seeing immaculately polished working steam in Austria, South Africa, India and other places in the 1970s was a tonic! I footplated an Austrian loco on the now-closed Grunberg branch, and the driver had WHITE overalls; they stayed white throughout the journey. You could have eaten your dinner off the footplate floor....

Sorry to veer off topic.

[Midland Man]

Just now, jhb171achill said:

Both are do-able, of course - the MGWR stopped painting engines green in 1918, and used black; though a large number started into the GSR era still green...and at least one of the G2 class managed to be repainted black by CIE in the last few years....

Personally, I prefer grey too, even though it could hardly be described as colourful! Even a CLEAN 071 nowadays, to my mind, looks fine.

For years, 186 and 461 were painted black at Whitehead for the sole reason that the volunteers working on them didn't like grey......"the man with the paintbrush in his hand" rule, of course. Been there, dunnit.

654 Clara was painted black by  CIE and was a clean a RPSI engine should have been preserved.

MM

[Mayner]

I am finally getting around to the mechanical assembly of 52 Class No1. The supply of small Mashima motors appears to be drying up so No 1 is being fitted by a small coreless motor supplied by Chris Gibbons of High Level Kits, the loco will have my usual arrangement of a High Level Road Runner+gearbox should she get to strut her stuff on the main line. I decided to fit conventional wiper pick ups to the loco rather than my usual arrangement of "American" style pick up through the loco and tender frames with the wheels shorted out on one side. The Alan Gibson loco driving wheels are quite spindly and I didn't want to risk a wheel running off true as a result of fitting fine brass wire between the wheel hub and axle.

Chassis with driving and bogie wheel sets set up for final assembly & coupling rods ready to be opened up with a broach to fit the crankpin bushes. The cylindrical object on the left is a 21mm gauge back to back gauge bought from TMD the predecessor of Studio Scale Models many years ago.

The loco mainframes in the background are for a 551 Class (Midland E) 0-6-0T , I assembled and painted the chassis about 4 years ago, but has been dismantled for painting in GSR Grey, the chassis was originally painted in Railmatch Weathered Black my original match for GSR grey, but does not match the grey matched from a sample of GSR paint.

 

I decided to fit a mounting plate for the power pick ups using a pieces of scrap nickle silver mounted between the frames above the ash pan, with 10BA bolts for securing the actual pick up plate. 

I tapped two holes in the plate 10BA with a tap mounted in a pin chuck.

Bolts screwed into the plate then soldered in position before fitting to chassis.

Pick up mounting plate soldered to frames with solder fillet

Underside of frames showing fixing bolts for pick up plates, these will be trimmed to length when the pick up are fitted.

I originally assembled the loco with a compensated chassis with a fixed rear and rocking leading axle, unfortunately the hornblocks and axles were slightly out of square.

I un-soldered the hornblocks on one side and re-aligning the hornblocks using an assembly jig and coupling rods to ensure that the chassis does not bind.

Something from the Dark Ages

Possibly my last scratch built loco 567 dating from the late 1980s, the body is in plasticard on milled brass main frames. 

567 formerly Ln Class  Duke seems to have been the prototype for rebuilding the Midland Standard Goods, but although considered a success no further members of her class were re-built and the loco was withdrawn as non-standard following the Milne Report in the 1940s. Like the prototype my model of 567 included parts from an older locomotive in this case the mainframes, wheels and motor intended for a Dundalk Newry & Greenore 0-6-0ST, I originally planned to build a DNGR tank using the body from a GEM Crew Special Tank and a set of Alan Gibson milled main frames. I abandoned building the DNGR tank as it would have been easier to scratchbuild the loco than re-build the GEM kit as a 21mm gauge Irish loco. 

I assembled 567 in plasticard as I was living in a shared falt at the time that was not exactly conductive to kitchen table metal working.

To a degree the chassis was almost "state of the art" by the standards of the time with beam compensation, Magib wheels and an Anchorage DS10 motor with a cast brass gear cradle, unfortunately she did not run very well a combination of the limitations of the materials and my assembly, though she looked reasonably like an Midland engine of the Post WW1 era.

Visually the biggest drawback was the need to cut a chunk out of the boiler and ramp the cab floor to fit the motor and gears

Despite loosing some bits and pieces 567 has stood up remarkably well with little evidence of parts warping or twisting or joints failing. In particular the laminated running boards with their 3 ply construction have held up very well with little warping or distortion.

The question at this stage is whether to leave her in a display cabinet and build a new loco from scratch or renew the loco in classical Midland fashion like by renewing the loco in motoring parlance by jacking up the number plates and incorporating all the re-usable components into a new locomotive just like the real Duke or 567.

 

 

[Mayner]

On a totally different topic I had intended to improve the presentation of Keadue the narrow gauge layout that lives in the office by fitting a lighting pelmet. The area above the layout was originally set up to display models on tiered shelves, but is now needed for other purposes, the tiered shelves have in turn been used to form the pelmet.

"Country' section linking station and fiddle yard.

Station section with storage above.

I decided to try 3M LED "Cool White" lighting strip to see if it is effective for taking pictures and captures the washed out lighting effect of a typical "soft day" ion the borders of Roscommon, Sligo & Leitrim

I tried a 500mm section in the area between the loco shed and the corrugated iron store.

Photo with camera on automatic exposure with strip lighting on.

Same scene and exposure settings from a slightly different viewpoint lights off!

Close up 8L on the turntable.

I also bought a 324mm 48 LED linkable light strip for comparison but at 280 lumens may be a bit overpowering.

 

[Mayner]

Slight change of plan a 5m LED flexible light strip was simpler to install and easier on the pocket than buying several 324mm strips.

The new light strip is brighter at 970 Lumens but is not over whelming for normal viewing, and provides adequate illumination on a dull day or when the room lighting is off.

Its now possible to achieve a reasonable depth of field in a photo using a tripod without additional lighting.

The swans have returned to the waterway and the photographers have pulled up to take a picture of the passenger special!

More Tralee & Dingle in atmosphere than C&L, I am planning to develop a farm entrance scene here with more elaborate gates and semi low relief farm buildings on the back scene.

[popeye]

That's much better and has a more even spread of light.  

 

 

[David Holman]

Looks good to me. Have been using cool white LEDs for several years now and they replicate a cloudy day quite nicely, while warm white creates the sunshine.

 Love the roadside section - iconic C&L, or any number of other roadside sections for that matter!

[Mayner]

And now for something completely different.

I have been planning to build a model based on Kiltimagh station since I first explored the Burma Road nearly 40 years ago, measured up the station house, signal cabin and shelter in 2003 and carried out a further survey during a holiday in Ireland and the UK two years ago.

I thought the signal cabin was a good place to get to grips with a new medium laser cutting with Yorkmodelmaking producing the parts to my own artwork.

 The cabin structure was cut & engraved from 1mm MDF. The plastic parts from Rowmark a laser engravable plastic.

Drawing the brickwork in Flemish bond like the original particularly at the corners was an interesting exercise, as I last detailed this type of brickwork while studying construction technology at Bolton St Tech over 40 years ago.

I had originally planned to use slot and tab construction but ended up mitering the corners which gives a much more effective brickwork effect.

They always say prepare for the unexpected! The MDF panels were originally cut to a larger scale which was not noticed when packing the parts, but the problem quickly rectified. Now I will have a large scale cabin to complete but that's another days work.

Cabin awaiting final assembly. The brickwork was spray painted using a red oxide car primer, stairs, trim and windowframes with Tamiya aerosol paint.

The stairs was designed with individual threads that slot into an inner string. 

Rowmark can be cemented with an ABS adhesive or superglue, styrene solvents have no effect.

Its planned to clad the (plasticard) roof with Yorkmodelmaking slate paper.

Working out the allowances for laser cutting was an interesting exercise, but the windows fitted the openings a good sign.

The front windows are in two parts with a sliding sash at each end.

The fit of parts was generally good but I ended up with an open joint between the window frames at the staircase end.

 

I mislaid some of the MDF chimney parts and will probably build the chimney using Wills Scenic Sheet Flemish bond brickwork. Stair treads to be picked out in a dirty grey.

I have a Springside signal box interior somewhere with a suitable frame and ETS apparatus. I am not sure whether the interior brickwork was unpainted or painted.

The next more ambitious job is the station building with its distinctive glazing bars, I will probably build the station using Wills Scenic sheets on a ply subframe, I have a stock of cement render sheets & stone quoins.

 

 

[Galteemore]

Looking forward very much to this. My family holidays to grandparents in Dromahair c1980 were not exactly Bacchanalian beach extravaganzas, so to escape the confines of the farm, my dad (who had travelled the length of the Burma Road on freights) took us on ‘closed line safaris’. Thus we saw the SLNC remains regularly, (the trackbed at Soxline curves was about 1/4 mile away)  but I especially remember Tubbercurry and the northern reaches of the Burma Road.  Circa 1980 the line was slumbering almost intact -and really fired my imagination at the age of 9. Interesting to note that the WLWR felt the line could be worked by 4-4-2Ts.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Galteemore

[Mayner]

13 hours ago, Galteemore said:

 My family holidays to grandparents in Dromahair c1980 were not exactly Bacchanalian beach extravaganzas, so to escape the confines of the farm, my dad (who had travelled the length of the Burma Road on freights) took us on ‘closed line safaris’. Thus we saw the SLNC remains regularly, (the trackbed at Soxline curves was about 1/4 mile away)  but I especially remember Tubbercurry and the northern reaches of the Burma Road.  Circa 1980 the line was slumbering almost intact -and really fired my imagination at the age of 9. Interesting to note that the WLWR felt the line could be worked by 4-4-2Ts.

There is a tenuous family link with the area my father was born in Kiltimagh though the family left the area during the 1920s when my dad was in his early teens. I first saw the signal box when we drove over the level crossing on our way to a summer holiday in Enniscrone, it was one of those memorable holidays with my first sights of Lough Gill, the beautiful beaches on the Erris Peninsula and the wild & desolate North Mayo coastline and a Lone Star OOO gauge push along Union Pacific diesel and a circle of track from the Ballina Woolworths.

I spent the best part of a day exploring the remains of the line in 82 while returning to Dublin from holidays in Donegal via Ennis! I had just got a fairly new relatively high powered car checking out the majority of stations on the Limerick Sligo line except oddly enough for Tuam!

A section of the Southern Yard remained at Collonney South although long disconnected from the running line, Tubbercurry station was being gutted out for demolition in connection with the town byepass, Kiltimagh was derelict though someone had painted the level crossing gates at both ends of the station.

The WLWR appears to have preferred tank engines for working passenger trains on the lines North and West of Limerick with a pair of 2-4-2T  13-14 for the North Kerry & a pair of 0-4-4T for the Tuam-Claremorris extension and the 4 4-4-2T for the Sligo Extension. The GSR regularly operated a return Limerick-Abbeyfeale passenger train with an ex-WLWR or GSWR tank loco until the service 2was discontinued presumably during the "Emergency"

The 4-4-2T appear to have been a bogie version of 13-14 rather than a completely new design having the same tractive effort, cylinder size and presumably boiler as the 2-4-2T.

Though the GSWR D19 & D17 4-4-0 that took over passenger workings in GSR days would have been similar in performance. When opened there was a daily Tuam-Sligo passenger train and return working in addition to a Sligo-Limerick mail train in each direction. 

Another puzzle was why an engine shed and turntable was provided at Tubbercurry as it was not a terminus, though it would have been useful for fairs on the northern end of the line and avoided paying the Midland for using the facilities at Claremorris during WLWR/GSWR days.

[David Holman]

Fascinating and looking forward to seeing things develop. Signal boxes are always awkward things to build, so taking advantage of what York Model Making now offer is certainly food for thought. Is it still scratchbuilding? Absolutely! What we are starting to see now though is a quiet revolution in embracing modern techniques like laser cutting. Still a lot of skill and planning required though so the challenge is in learning these new techniques. Results speak for themselves!

 As for the Burma Road, already salivating. Always been drawn to these sorts of railway and interesting to learn about the Atlantic tanks. Have at least one more slot for a early 1900s loco and been considering one of the Sligo 0-6-2Ts, but a WL&W 4-4-2T would also be tempting.

Edited October 18, 2020 by David Holman

[Mayner]

I was tempted to have a go at building one of the SLNCR 0-6-2T as a teenager but ended up building on of the "Large Tanks' out of re-cycled cans on a  re-wheeled Triang Princess chassis a good reliable runner despite the crude appearance.

I seem to have begun digging deep into my collection of un-finished projects and hopefully clear enough space to start building an Irish Broad Gauge Layout starting with two relatively straightforward projects.

High Level RSL saddle tank.

I bought the kit when I was going through a "British Industrial" phase and completed most of the assembly while on holidays in the United States/travelling to New Zealand in 2004. 

Completing the loco was low priority as I did not have a suitable layout and problems I created for myself during the assembly. I had to replace the connecting rods as I drilled the holes in the original oversized and ran into clearance problems between the leading crank pins and back of the crossheads 9 pistons. I replaced the Gibson driving wheels with Ultrascale a better quality wheel with a superior crankpin system.

First priority is to replace that yellow paint, some industrial locos were painted in high-vis colours during their final years including a RSL tank, but in the end a traditional red, green or black would look better!

Boiler and saddletank awaiting sandblasting after stripping in a bath of acetone.

There are some dents in the saddle tank though the model otherwise appears sound.

Component parts with saddle tank and cab and running board sprayed with a dark grey etched primer.

I forgot to strip the underside of the boiler!

TMD MGWR E Class

I found this kit as a "bonus" as part of a job lot of part built TMD & SSM kits I bought at a UK exhibition about 20 years ago, I started to assemble the kit several years ago as a second "Midland Tank" to run alongside my model of 553 which I originally bought when the kit was originally released in the early 1980s and upgrad3ed about 10 years later.

I assembled the loco in late GSR/early CIE condition with riveted smokebox from my own etch, built up chimney and ross pop safety valves.

556 awaiting final assembly. Motor is a Mashima 10X20, Gearbox is a Branchline Multibox from my stock of parts wheels are Gibson on extended axles cut to length and faced off on a lathe for 21mm gauge.

I usually use a wheel press for assembling "push fit" wheels like AGW or Ultrascale, but was unable to do so in this case as I had Lockset one wheel on each axle during an earlier test assembly.

I "quartered" the wheels in the time honored fashion by setting the cranks on the leading driving wheels at approx. right angles by eye before pushing the "loose" wheel home on its axle, then setting the cranks on the second wheel set in a similar manner, adjusting the angle slightly on one axle if necessary  using the leading pair of coupling rods to check that both wheel sets ran freely without binding before pushing home on its axle.

Then repeating the process for the final axle.

While I normally use a 10BA bolt to secure the coupling rod and crankpin bush in position with Gibson or Sharman wheels, I used Markits threaded crankpin bushes for the leading and trailing driving wheels on this loco to prevent the crankpins striking the loco footsteps.

An almost complete 556, power pick-ups, couplings and ballast to be added.

The number-plates are brass and were supplied with the original kit. The GSR apparently picked out the edges of the whitemetal numberplates in straw or light yellow rather than polished whitemetal.

[David Holman]

Lovely stuff!

[Mayner]

The paint shops were busy in recent weeks with the RSL saddle tank. After considering a number of different liveries including Black, Dark Blue and Crimson Lake  the workshops settled on red (from a Ford aerosol) to match the companies Austerity 0-6-0ST and the preserved example Isabella https://www.eorailway.co.uk/enthusiasts/rolling-stock/isabel/ though with a less complex (cheaper version) of the livery.

The main components laid out for assembly, one set of driving wheels swaddled in masking tape.

I first spray painted the loco in maroon and left of a week for the paint to cure before masking with Tayima tape before spray painting the running plate, and other components black. I then gave everything a coat of clear laquer and left to cure for a day before starting the final assembly.

Chassis with most of the wheels fitted, showing inside valve gear and compensating beam.

I usually build sprung/compensated locos with all axles running in removable horn blocks, but assembled this loco in the traditional manner for a compensated loco with a fixed rear axle.

Chassis with cylinder crossheads and motion bracket & lower boiler sub assemblies fitted. Everything is designed to slot in place, though I seem to have mislaid the brake gear during the 16 years the loco has spent in storage1.

 

Loco with cab running plate and saddle tank test fitted. There are a number of dings and dents in the tank as I over annealed the saddle tank wrapper when I initially assembled the loco. The handrail needs to be straightened on one side as I managed to damage it while removing the masking tape.

The kit was designed for the cab, running plate and saddle tank to be assembled as a single unit, I am planning to modify this to bolt the saddle tank to the cab with some form of latch fixing in the smokebox.

I managed to destroy the original coupling rods by boring out the holes oversize during the initial assembly and had to make a replacement set of rods which will be fitted at the next stage of the assembly.

[David Holman]

May have been 16 years in the making, but worth the wait, for sure.

Edited December 7, 2020 by David Holman

[Mayner]

Still on the unfinished projects thread another step in finishing off some coach projects.

I started the luggage van several years ago when I had the etched brass frets but no castings and completed the assembly when I received a batch of castings about 12 months ago. 

The model is finished with Tamiya AS12 "Bare Metal Silver" aerosol and is awaiting decals a final coat of clear finish glazing and door handles. After a lot of trial and error I found the Tamiya Bare Metal Silver the most effective way of reproducing the CIE 1950s silver livery both in terms of appearance and durability.

I started building a pair of SSM GSWR 6 wheelers a couple of years ago intending to use planked plasticard for the compartment partitions. The project stalled when I ran out of planked plasticard, then discovered the idea of forming the partition by laminating three layers of plasticard together with the planking facing outwards would not work for the Brake 3rd was not going to work due to the resulting thickness of the 3 layers of plasticard, so I ended up making the partitions and floor from .030" plasticard.

The partitions were spray painted with a Tamiya yellow to reproduce the cream colour of the prototype partitions the seating red. I seem to have mislaid the seating for the other two compartments since I started to assemble the coaches.

Fitting an interior to an SSM non-corridor coach can be challenging as the interior has to be fitted & assembled in-situ as its not really feasible to fit the interior as a separate sub assembly due to the body design.

Fitting the seating in the end compartment was bit tricky with the transom and captive bolt for fixing the roof in the way.

I first fitted the floor and glued the seats at the end in place (superglue) before fitting the 1st of the partitions in place on the slot and tab principal.

Second row of seating glued into position while fitting the partition!

Fitting the remainder of the floor and partitions was basically a matter of progressing from one end.

I will need to source some more seating possibly along with some more GSWR 6 wheelers to go with my 52 Class.

The soldered joint to the captive nut that secures the roof at the van end failed so I fitted a 10BA bolt instead before re-soldering the bolt and supporting bracket in place, luckily the heat from the soldering did not damage the paint on the visible side of the roof.

Roof bolted in place. I will treat the paint damage with a "gun black" and probably re-paint the roof before fitting final detailing, decals and galzing.

Re-assembled Bk3rd one compartment now with seating. 

The coach is supposed to be in late GSR condition, painted with an automotive spray can possibly a Ford  red.

556 passing the signalbox with a mixed on the test track.

The loco actually works but I still need to sort out couplings which will be B&B rather than the Kadee  I once used as standard on 21mm gauge stock. The B&Bs are more discreet and look less incongruous than Kadee's on 19th Century steam locos and rolling stock.

[David Holman]

Great work John and as ever, not just fine models, but historical detail too. Never knew the coach partitions were cream, while that looks to be a classic train for the J26.

[J-Mo Arts]

Just come across this thread and some really excellent work! That tank engine is charming!