David's Workbench

[Northroader]

Real craftsman works there, doing the outside frames, cranks, and so on, that’s a great achievement, and the finish demands a lot of subtleness, and looks great.

[David Holman]

Thanks folks - as you can see, it has been a challenge, making a lot of it up as I go along, especially that chassis! The lack of components to create a 7mm scale, 21mm gauge, outside framed chassis proved the major stumbling block - that and a similar lack of info on outside framed chassis generally in my preferred scale. And I did look, honest!

 Continue to find it remarkable what is out there though, like the Worsley etches for the body while special mention to Roger Cromblehome for sending me his CAD drawing of the chassis, without which am not sure I'd have even considered the project.

 Hopefully, I now know enough to tackle the Kerr Stuart 4-6-2T, which is the only other Swilly loco that will fit on my turntable. Got an outline drawing and a good selection of photos, but if anyone knows of anything suitable, by all means let me know!

[David Holman]

 As an alternative to battling the Barclay, decided it was time to address the new uncoupling system. Kaydees and rare earth magnets have worked quite well, but Swilly and Donegal stock couplings sit higher and Kaydee No 5s are no good. Their S scale version would probably  work, but needing to be imported, the cost looked prohibitive. Hence am trying tension locks and will adapt them both to work with Dingham electro magnets and look more like narrow gauge 'chopper' couplings - more of the latter later.

 First job, having bought the magnets from the Gauge 0 Guild stores and some push to make switches from my local model shop,  was to decide where everything would go & how to put it all together. Considered trying to fit the switches into the existing mimic panel, but space is already tight, so cut out space for a second panel next to it. Then had to decide where to site the magnets, which are pretty much where the permanent ones were.

 Wiring it all up was, for once, fairly painless - just needed to add a 15v socket for the magnet power and a separate set of wires, plus a  pair of 9 pin computer plugs. However, a small part of the process involved reversing a Tortoise point motor to make room for the magnet just outside the train shed. Simple enough? You'd think so, but it became a real case of the south end of a north facing horse.

 Turning the motor through 180 degrees sounds straightforward, but it reverses the terminals and combined with it being half a crossover and both motors operated from the same switch, it really was an accident waiting to happen. Three days of trial an error later, I finally discovered this evening that the issue was not the motor terminals, but the double pole-double throw switch on the panel that needed reversing...

 One of these days I'm going to convert to battery power!

 Photos show the undersides of the boards, with a ridiculous number of wires beneath. I put tag strips between switches, plugs and fittings, keeping a careful records of where each wire connects to/from. Hence it doesn't matter what colour wires are used - you just look up where they start and finish. The clothes peg holds a cable connector

 The others pictures show the new panel and some of the magnets. Needless to say, the latter still need to be cut down to sleeper height.

[David Holman]

Couplings

 While it would have been nice to have authentic looking 'Zamzoodle' chopper couplings, for one thing they are quite expensive and for another seem to have been unavailable for quite a while. However, when you look at photos and drawings of choppers,, in essence they are very similar to slimline tension locks, which are readily available and much cheaper. Indeed, with friends at the Chatham Club often converting stock to Kadees, there is a plentiful free supply.

 

 The main differences are the shape of the hook and the large buffing plate - in lieu of ordinary buffers. The latter is fairly easy to resolve: a circle or rounded square of brass/plasticard suffices and the size seems to vary. Hooks seem to vary too, but all have a forward/upper extension, presumably to help the crew lift it when uncoupling. This works in my favour, because to make tension locks work with an electromagnet, I am fixing a piece of iron wire [paperclip] to the dropper on the tension lock, which extends back under the wagon. When the magnet is activated, it pulls this wire downwards, lifting the hook & hence uncoupling takes place. However, when the magnet is deactivated, this wire tends to leave the hook in the upper position, but by adding a piece of brass strip to the end of the hook [shaped to look like the prototype], balance is restored and the hook drops down again.

 The other thing that is needed, is a U shaped piece of wire to go over the iron wire, to keep it parallel to the rails stop it going too far and fouling the track. Nickel silver or brass is best, for obvious reasons.

 So far, have fitted a hooked tension lock to Railcar No10, with just loops on the trailer. It is intended these two will only work as a pair, so when the railcar is turned, there will always be a hook and loop together.

 Interestingly, photos often show this on the prototypes. In my case, the use of a turntable for locos and a turntable fiddle yard rather complicates matters, but have worked out that by using an 'exchange' wagon, with hooks at both ends, it is possible to remarshall a mixed or goods train without two hooks getting in each others' way. Early days, with some refining still required [mostly around the shape of the hook], but the railcar-trailer works fine, so hopefully no reason for the other stock to work as well.

[Galteemore]

What a delightfully elegant solution. Which would - mind cogs turning furiously - work just as well in 5.5mm scale where RTR 00 chassis are often used …..

[gibbo675]

Hi David,

Your idea with the couplings is excellent however may I suggest a slightly different basis for the couplings that may be adapted in a similar way.

These are Fleischmann HO gauge couplings that give a more prototypical look, not cheap but you may be able to find similar for a better price:

https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/fleischmann-6527-spare-coupling-with-rivet-and-slot-fitting.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmOm3BhC8ARIsAOSbapU85nypr0KYajguwPUoVMeM9jdm5DKb8-Z5qzl1uvGA6YoDNxnFo-YaAp95EALw_wcB

Gibbo.

2 minutes ago, gibbo675 said:

Hi David,

Your idea with the couplings is excellent however may I suggest a slightly different basis for the couplings that may be adapted in a similar way.

These are Fleischmann HO gauge couplings that give a more prototypical look, not cheap but you may be able to find similar for a better price:

https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/fleischmann-6527-spare-coupling-with-rivet-and-slot-fitting.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmOm3BhC8ARIsAOSbapU85nypr0KYajguwPUoVMeM9jdm5DKb8-Z5qzl1uvGA6YoDNxnFo-YaAp95EALw_wcB

Gibbo.

Here is an ebay listing for fifty, including postage it may be worth a punt:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/395509034378?_skw=Fleischmann+Ho+Couplings&epid=2255554900&itmmeta=01J91681Y5CA1GDTYY2JK4RVWB&hash=item5c162ced8a:g:~IkAAOSwS9Rma-lo&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlAMHzk%2Fr6ofwNBEPaVe70Uk0BhJICuxyHneAKfg3Zj5M40mtX4ZTKf5bbinHvhjKc8wBcjl4TY4WjJ3%2BC79uXH%2BnPy%2BcoDY2kkfw36t6D14S8fZHFnjSiNp6086Lbccn0U9dC0tA%2B7VWTGNF6kP6FQwNUqQJCrvsmFZi54rBr7nS73%2FxmO9x%2BzRNGLGHuVAhampYShCVQlmgM0s8BQevpmnb5yqYDQREc0pgv8VLNCdQEEYEQMMZz1y0WLJip5RmE%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5KfoKbIZA

Gibbo.

[David Holman]

 As a sojourn from recent activities, the workbench has become cluttered with large buildings for the Chatham Club layout. Called 'North Circular', it depicts a North London avoiding line, following the approximate route of the road of the same name. A double track, 0 Gauge oval, there are no points [apart from the storage sidings], but a lot of scenic features, designed to act as a backdrop to passing trains around its 10m x 4m footprint. The layout is due to appear at next year's Chatham Show in July, so I've taken it upon myself to create a section with a selection of warehouses and factories, plus a small canal basin.

 Inspiration comes from the Metcalfe card kitts, loosely scaled up to 7mm. The whole layout is very much built 'to a standard', making use of brick and tile paper, plus commercial window frames.

  I use 5mm foam board for the basic structure, varying the height of each storey from 8 to 10 feet. The overall shape of sides and ends are drawn and cut out out, then the pieces temporarily joined with masking tape, to check how each one fits on the layout. Once satisfied with this, the pieces come apart for window and door openings to be cut, followed by reassembly using triangles of thick card to brace the internal corners. Brick paper [downloaded from the web and printed at home] is then stuck to the foam board with pva. I cover over the window openings and then cut in afterwards, folding the paper inside. Things like brick lintels and stone window ledges, along with large corner stones help relieve the otherwise plainness of the model.

 

Window frames are die cut ones from 'Purple Bob'. At around 50p each, they are less than a third the price of York Modelmaking ones and come pre-coloured too. The roof is made from mounting board, covered with slate paper [same as the bricks]. Gutters and soffit boards are a single piece of 2mm plastic sheet with one edge rounded off with a file, while drainpipes are 2.5mm square section plastic rod.

 Below is a larger warehouse, awaiting brick paper, windows and so on. Must admit, I haven't spent hours and hours on these models, but as said earlier, they are built to the same standards we've used on the rest of the layout, so hopefully everything should blend in well together. Also shows, to new/inexperienced members that with a little effort, it is easy to produce you own models. Cheaper too.

 Am tempted to suggest we add a third conductor rail, as it ought to be possible to use it to enable my broad gauge stock to stretch it legs. One day maybe!

 

[David Holman]

 A few pictures taken down the Club last night, showing how the warehouses are coming together. The biggest was certainly a trial of endurance, because although the basic structure is simple, there are 44 windows, each requiring a hole to be cut out, then a sill, lintel, frame and glazing, along with wrapping the brick paper around the inner walls. Literally hundreds of separate pieces and actions.

 The other warehouses are on a smaller scale, while there is also a 'north light' small factory.  As you can see, the buildings are either side of the double track railway, with a small section of canal running through the scene too.

  Another possible project emerged last night too, with the opportunity to acquire a 7mm scale Ixion Hudswell Clarke contractors 0-6-0T. Have long thought one might make a worthy conversion to 5'3 gauge and it is certainly a very nice model - never mind RTR steam locos for the Irish scene being as rare as unicorn droppings.

 As you can see, there are no splashers to worry about, so it is mostly a case of can the wheels be moved out from 28mm back to back to 34mm?  The answer to that is not initially, but the axles are 1/8th inch, so it should be possible to fit new, longer ones. An alternative idea is I have a set of Slater's Manning Wardle style wheels of the same diameter, which also use the same diameter axles.

 So, certainly a possibility, but what about prototype fidelity? Well, the Green Book has two options, namely Classes 299 and 300 [see below].

 Both of these were built by Hunslet, but for 299 especially, the similarities are significant, though it does lack a clear coal bunker. Little locos like these were used by contractors when lines were first built and a few actually stayed on to work the smaller lines afterwards. Some actually got taken on by the mainline company and in the case of 299, even got an official number, while others [in best Sligo Leitrim fashion] just had a name.

 Ideally, I suppose, livery ought to be lined back [maybe with WL&W style lining], but for my early 1900s period on Northport Quay maybe the contractors red livery could yet prevail for a couple of years?

 Thoughts welcome!

 

[David Holman]

The last two buildings for the Club layout are now largely done, so will post some pictures later of them all in situ.

 Looking at my stock prior to Tolworth, have decided to pass on the Ixion Hudswell Clarke. Although a very nice model, needs eventually trumped wants because I already have seven locos for my 1900s period and only five tracks in the fiddle yard! For the uninitiated, shown below are WL&W 0-6-0 Shannon, MGW 4-4-0 Wolf Dog and E class 0-6-0T, GS&W 2-4-2T and 101 0-6-0, plus a Hunslet 0-4-2T and Sligo Small Tank.

 However, the ultimate deal breaker was the main gear on the middle axle, as [being nylon] I am far from confident that I could remove it without damage. Also realised that I do already have a little contractor's loco sitting on the shelf. My very first 0 gauge loco, it was made from an MTK kit [I think] about 30 years ago and has [sadly] mainly been used to practice painting and lining since then. One day, I must build a new chassis for it and give it a good makeover too.

 

[Galteemore]

Interesting David, and I do like that MTK loco. I have had a long look at making a Slaters MW 0-4-0T into the SLNC ‘Faugh a Ballagh’ but decided that it was far too much trouble! 

[David Holman]

Built that Slater's kit back at the end of the last century (!) and very nice it was too, but that was narrow gauge, of course and being such a tiny engine AND with outside cylinders, not sure I'd want to do one in broad gauge. Their MW 0-6-0T was equally nice and being inside cylinders would be a much more tempting proposition, assuming prototype fidelity of course...

[David Holman]

Schull and Skibberish...

 A while ago, I sent off for one of the Alphagraphix card kit bargains - namely a complete Schull and Skibbereen train. Loco and three coaches for just four quid. I kid you not, a whole train, in 7mm scale at that. Ok, so it is just four sheets of printed A4 card, but as a starting point, these kits have much to commend them.

 Why Schull and Skibbereen you ask? Well, having sold my two Clogher Valley bogie coaches, it occurred to me that I could create  a S&S train to go with my CVR 0-4-2Ts, as part of my Donegal/Swilly re-imagining for Finotnagh. Recently came up with a new name for it too - Swilybegs. Killybegs is of course one of the Donegal branches, so a version on Lough Swilly has, for me, a nice ring to it. As for a Schull tram, as mentioned a while ago, a further, independent, branch north from the shores of Lough Swilly to Milford, Carraigart and Downies could make sense - especially if we assume the Potato Famine was not as severe and likewise the subsequent depopulation. Works for me, anyway.

 For a change, decided to have a go at one of the coaches this week. Just plastic sheet and strip for the body, sitting on a Parkside 4mm wagon chassis. As a relief from chasing prototype fidelity, it can be quite enjoyable to do a bit of free lancing. One reason is that you can use formerly unwanted items like door handles from the scrap box. Another is not worrying too much over perfect dimensions.

 The photos show the first coach with a CVR loco in what could well be the tramway platform on a revamped Fintonagh/Swillybegs.

 

[David Holman]

 Several weeks with much ado about very little! 

 Far too much faffing around with NPQ after Tolworth, but most of it has been fettled & I suspect I will just have to live with the foibles of the track work - that or put in an order to Marcway for two new Y points, but I really want to get on with something new. 

 Testing NPQ threw up a fresh issue with the Deutz G class shunter which suddenly lost traction. Traced the problem to the Delrin gear train, where both spur gears had worked loose on the axles - probably a result of too much oil. Fixing it was a pain, requiring the chassis to be completely stripped down and cleaned before reassembly. Fingers crossed, it seems ok now.

 This morning, wasted a couple of hours trying to get the signal mechanism repaired, but looks like it will required a complete rebuild, for which I need to send off for some more piano wire for the wire in tube linkage. Still, need some more for my narrow gauge couplings, so all is not lost.

 After all that, NPQ is back on the top shelf with Fintonagh's baseboards on the main beams so I can get back to new stuff. Sod's Law struck again though when I discovered the turntable wasn't working. Similar problem to the Deutz, but this time the motor had worked loose from its housing. Turned out it was only glued in place, so with a bit of Evostick, it didn't take long to fix.

 Having considered Ramelton and several other options for the Donegalisation of Fintonagh, the name 'Swillybegs' is currently favourite, being a direct crib of Killybegs, but sited on Lough Swilly, somewhere in the Rathmelton area. Rather than mess around with the back scene, have decided to work on the front edge of the layout. By adding some more 6mm ply to the front framework, I can create a short section of quayside [similar to NPQ], while the front siding will be cut short and a tramway platform installed in its place. This will represent a line from Downies and Carrigart using my two CVR tank engines and coaches based on the Schull and Skibbereen.

[Tullygrainey]

Looking forward to watching the transformation of Fintonagh into Swillybegs. Perfect new name!

[David Holman]

Been working on the front edge of Fintonagh/Swillybegs, stripping off the foliage & beginning the change to a quayside. Much of the work involves the application of DAS modelling clay. A bit like doing a building, you first put down a layer of PVA, then press on pea sized balls of the clay, smoothing them out so there is an overall depth of about one millimetre. Once dry, this is then sanded level, after which comes the laborious process of scribing in all the setts and stonework.

 Sanding creates a lot of fine dust & this is not something you want to use your domestic vacuum clean on. For years, I've used cordless car vac, but the motor bearings were sounding extremely knackered, so was pleased to find a replacement in a basic Goblin hand held model. Mains powered, at just £25 from Asda it is less than half the price of rechargeable models and a lot more powerful. Even if it only lasts a couple of years, it will be worth it.

 Have also finally got round to finishing the first Schull & Skibbereen coach, which is shown below sitting by the mock up of the new tramway platform.

[Mol_PMB]

Beautiful model of Blackwater too!  

[GSR 800]

Wonderful, can't wait to see the quayside develop!

[Galteemore]

How exciting! I can see some interesting operating sequences developing out of this one. 

[David Holman]

Been working on some rolling stock again. A Donegal 'red wagon' has joined the fleet, built from plasticard & based on the Alphagraphix card kit. The chassis is a suitably chopped etch intended for 4mm scale. Not sure if the wagon load will end being the one depicted, as much will depend on what Railcar 8 can pull. Which reminds me - must get in touch with Mark Clark as it is now at least six months since I gave him the bodywork in the hope of a working chassis...

 Next come the other two tramway coaches. Based on the Alphagraphix card kits from the Schull & Skibbereen, have increased the width of these two to 6'6 as the 3rd class coach looks a bit narrow at just 6'. One is a passenger brake van, the other a first class coach, now downgraded to a third, but retaining smoking and none smoking sections.

 Plasticard all round for these, including the chassis which are doctored Parkside ones - a real bargain at less than six quid.

 Speaking of bargains, have been looking for some detailing bits and pieces to furnish the quayside. Some more fish boxes from Skytrex have been joined by a dinky set of crab and lobster pots from Scenic 3D.

 3D prints, they were less than a tenner [including postage]. Apart from some fancy etching, can't think of a better way to produce such things other than learning lace making & they paint up well too.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Very nice work!

I agree 6' carriage width seems too narrow - even the old Ffestiniog coaches are wider that that, and the FR is a 2' gauge line with a famously tight loading gauge.

I like the developing shellfish business - I hope the journey time to the big city isn't so long that they start to whiff a bit!

[Tullygrainey]

Those coaches are shaping up really nicely David. Neat work with the panelling.

[David Holman]

Well, the little Tamiya drill has proved its worth in drilling holes in plastic for hand rails, though it will work even better when I get some sharper bits.

Anyway, certainly helped me move the tramway coaches towards completion. Couplings needed [still to grasp the nettle here], but painting and lettering finished today, along with roofs and interiors beforehand, including some cheap and cheerful Peco figures.

 Lettering is Fox and the crests are LMS from and old SMS transfer sheet. Use the crests for my Donegal stock too, though for the West Donegal Tramway, have put them upside down. The crests also nicely cover up the Clogher Valley logo on the loco.

 As you can see in the photos, work has begun on the fencing for the tramway platform.

 

[Tullygrainey]

Every one a gem! Such a pleasure to see this develop.

[David Holman]

 The work I did over Christmas, drawing out coaches and wagons on plastic sheet, ready for assembly has got me on a bit of a roll, so after the three tramway coaches and red wagon now comes a Swilly van. No ordinary four wheeler this time though, it is Bogie No7, which was constructed on a coach chassis.

 The drawing, to 4mm scale, and photo come from J C Boyd's lovely album on the Swilly, so the bit over Christmas was to rescale things to 7mm, producing two sides, two ends and four pairs of double doors. I also scribed on the planking and cut out the two windows openings in the guard's door. These are all on 1mm thick/40thou plastic.

 On Wednesday afternoon, it only took a couple of hours to assemble these pieces on a floor of 80thou plastic, adding the vertical strapping as I went along from 60x80 thou strip. Recently, I've taken to using Plastic Magic to weld pieces together. For me, it is a nice compromise between rather powerful stuff like Mek and the lighter, but still smelly D-Lemonine. The bottle is less easy to knock over [so far!] and also comes with a handy brush. One downside is that Plastic Magic is quick to evaporate, so you have to work quite quickly, but a strong joint is made in seconds and you get less in the way of finger marks too.

  It may not have taken very long to put the main shell together, but detailing is another matter. There is a fair bit of strapping, which also needs riveting, so the GW press has earned its keep again on 20x80 strip.

 I always find guard's duckets fiddly things to do & forgot to do a cut out in each side [not for the first time] which will need a bit of remedial work, but they are shaping up ok.

 Another potential hurdle is/are the ten louvres [four each side, one each end] which can be a real pain to get looking neat. Tried an internet search in the hope that some enterprising 3D printing whizz had come up with something, but not yet, as far as I can tell. What I did turn up was a short article in MRJ 285, where master modeller Laurie Griffin had used Evergreen 'siding' sheet. In my part of Blighty, Evergreen stuff is getting ever harder to source - and indeed plastic strip generally - but managed to find some on line, so put in an order.

 While waiting for it to arrive, I can still be getting on with the bogies and under frame [Alphagraphix castings], while the doors and roof still need doing too. The intention is that the bogie van will be paired with another brake third and provide the train for the Kerr Stuart 4-6-2T when the Worsley etches eventually arrive, while in between there is still the harbour scene to dabble with too.

[Galteemore]

Fabulous David. That’s a mightily impressive van! Vote for Plastic Magic from me too - useful stuff 

[leslie10646]

Even though it's narrow gauge, that looks great David.

Mick Rawlings of Ballyconnell Road fame - the man who models while driving an Artic - gave me a method for doing louvres.

Basically to do the layers as a a little ledges at 90degrees to the side and only slope the top one. Never tried - too complex for me..

Of course, that's probably what you're going to do?

[David Holman]

Should have known Mick would have a solution! However, not sure it would work at twice the scale. That said, making triangles might...

 Evergreen 'sidings' sheet is made to represent overlapping boards, as per on clinker built ships hulls, so hopefully it can just cut a section and fix in place. 

[Northroader]

Two widths of plastikard strip, built up side by side alternate on a flat surface in a long length, and slightly tilted. Then when it’s hardened off, rub the front face and the back face with a file, and clean the grooves out. Then cut lengths off as needed.

[David Holman]

 The bogie van has been put to one side for now, while I wait for some 3d printed louvres from fellow Chatham Club member Neal, so finally decided I had to grasp the nettle of...

COUPLINGS

 Been brooding on this for a while - the idea being to make slim line tension locks work with Dingham electro magnets and then alter them cosmetically to look like narrow gauge chopper couplings. The photo below shows just a small part of my trial and [mostly] error work this week.

 Making tension locks work with a below baseboard electro magnet is relatively easy. A piece of iron wire [paper clip] is soldered to the dropper on a tension lock hook. The more challenging part is refining the set up so it works efficiently.

 Tried various fixing points and lengths until I found that [for 7mm scale/21mm gauge] a shallow, inverted U shaped wire approx 21mm long is about right. A selection of parts is shown below.

 Unlike standard tension locks, I only need a hook on one end of a vehicle, with just a plain loop at the other and indeed, just loops on locomotives. The hooks have been 'jiggled' so they line up centrally.

 As the picture above shows, this now means the pivot point of the hook is fairly central - and thinking about it just now, the wire could probably be made slightly shorter, as [despite appearances] it does, just, balance. However, to add a bit more weight to the hook end, I've soldered a small piece of staple to the hook 'arm', which both disguises the joggle and gives just enough weight to make the hook drop drop by gravity.

 Was pleasantly surprised to find that the Dingham electro magnet, the pole of which is an M4 bolt, has quite a wide field of influence - around centimetre, which hopefully will make sighting uncoupling spots easier than the 3mm 'window' the rare earth magnets I'd been using with Kadees.

 Fixing the new tension lock assembly to my stock has proved a bit of a pain, as the nylon like material doesn't much like any sort of adhesive. Cyano is just about ok, but takes a long time to go off, while neither plastic cement or solvent will touch it in my experience. I think I'll probably need to beef up the joints with 5 minute epoxy, though not until after I've done plenty of testing. One thing I have found was, as expected, the need to add a narrow U shaped piece of wire around the staple wire extension to stop this hitting the track when the magnet is activated.

 The biggest problem I've had has been trying to replicate the appearance of the the chopper coupling's buffing heads, which look like the mock ups below.

 Trouble is, trying to fix these to either the front or rear face of the tension lock buffing beam serious limits the space required for the hook to latch on. Am seriously thinking of not bothering at all, after multiple attempts to fabricate something, not least because, for practical reasons [including my own sanity] whatever is made needs to be simple. Current thinking is to have the buffer head fixed to the top and bottom edges of the tension lock: halfish circle below and two quarterish circles above. However fixing them is another matter!  I'm wondering if I epoxy two pieces of micro strip [probably 40x60] behind the tension lock bar, I can then fix the curved pieces to these with solvent. Watch this space...

 Anyway, have done some of my Donegal stock and, fingers crossed, this seem to be working well. The system doesn't allow for delayed uncoupling [like Kaydee, AJs etc], while the fact that I turn locos on the layout and the whole train in the fiddle yard means there will have to be clearly defined shunting moves to avoid two hooks [or two loops] meeting up.

 As the photo shows below, the staple wire is nicely hidden most of the time and even when pulled down by the magnet is behind the wheel, so all in all, pretty unobtrusive.

 Doubt if this is an original idea, but feel it could well have its uses in 4mm scale, though tension locks are not exactly prototypical in 12 inches to the foot...

[Tullygrainey]

The sort of job that would try the patience of a saint David but worth the effort if you can make it work. Frequent tea breaks will preserve your sanity.

The Donegal formation looks the business. Such an appealing livery.

[Galteemore]

Great and elegant solution. That little photo essay summarises many hours of effort and frustration I can imagine …….

Edited Thursday at 21:37 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Nothing much to report, other than trying to make the cosmetic part of a chopper coupling has proved very frustrating. Cyano will stick to nylon type plastic, but the pieces are so small and ultimately not really that visible. Hence have decided to cut my losses and only add details to a few key items such as locomotives.

 The first picture below shows a detailed close up of a coupling on a Donegal railcar trailer. The second is the Barclay 4-6-0T while the third picture shows the same loco [with detailed coupler], alongside a wagon with just an adapted tension lock.

 Nuff said, methinks...

 

[Mol_PMB]

I can see your point. The tension locks aren't so obtrusive in the larger scale.

Whilst the back end of the railcar looks very convincing, I can see it must be a right pain to do. I wonder if it might be better as a one-piece overlay in thin brass?

Incidentally, have you seen that Accurascale have introduced a transparent tension lock coupler on their latest GB release?

 

[Galteemore]

That looks terrific David, although I appreciate the effort involved. Sounds an ideal thing for a 3D printing mod

[David Holman]

Transparent tension lock? Interesting!

Was talking to Andy Cundick at the Canterbury show today (he was in Llanfair & Welshpool mode and very fine too). He showed me his DG couplings, which work extremely well and maybe I should have gone down that route, but with a supply of free tension locks from the Club, plus their close similarity to narrow gauge choppers, it seemed worth giving it a go.

  Have tried thin brass but it adds thickness to the front bar, making latching of the hook tight.

 Tension locks are a surprisingly complex design, with the subtle curve of the front bar, small ledge for the hook to go over and so on.