Getting things running

[Mayner]

I have had some progress and a few setbacks with getting the narrow gauge up and running but at least I seem to be moving forward.

 

I have two Donegal railcars, four CIE steam locos and a little Bemo tractor the only reliably. The locos, railcars & were assembled from kits about 15-20 years ago.

 

I was going to fit one of the railcars with a Bull-Ant but decided to try and persevere with the original Fleischmann Picillo N Scale drive.

 

Fitting the Bull Ant would have required some work and the old whitemetal body mouldings seem to be getting brittle and may not survive the re-build.

 

 

 

Brand new Bull Ant diesel shunter perhaps?

 

 

Donegal/IOM Railcar This was built from a whitemetal kit dating from the 1970s 20 years ago, cracks appeared two of the cab window pillars when I started to do some work on the body to fit the Bull Ant, one of the cab sides then broke away from the roof, the joys of superglue assembly.

 

The main problem with this car has been the wheels so it may be simpler to buy some better quality wheelsets.

 

I decided to concentrate on the steam locos and managed to get the two Hunslets nicely, they both made it from the station to fiddle yard and back and actually managed to pull a train without a derailment:banana:

In the 195os the old C&L had really clapped out locos and stock but the track had to be in first class condition for the many coal specials

 

 

No 8 Queen Victoria based on a 1950s colour photo Built around 1996 painted and weathered with a Badger airbrush railmatch dirty black, not sure what I used on the smoke box, matt varnish finish. The bogies on these are a bit tempremental, combination off design, plastic centred wheelsets and my track.

 

In must build a cradle to protect the paint finish while working on what are now fairly old models.

 

In this case I have replaced the original wheels with a set of Parkside OOn3 wheels, and altered the bogie pivot to the classical trainset swing link arrangement. Now de-rails in only one spot, probably a combination of tight a radius and a track fault.

 

The biggest on going problem is getting all rolling stock wheels up to standard and sorting out the couplings.

 

Its impossible to determine whether a problem occurs as a result of the vehicle or track unless all the wheels are to a set standard.

 

I have started to replace the worst wheelsets with Parkside, most of the wagons were supplied with loose wheels and axles which you had to fit yourself, many of which do not run true.

 

I used kadee N scale couplers but coupling is not reliable mainly because of excessive sideplay with kit built stock. It may well be a matter of first sorting out the wheels and sideplay before looking at the couplers.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Mayner

[Kirley]

O the joys of kit built stock but still looking good.

[islandbridgejct]

They're very nicely built.

 

I didn't know the bull ants used a rubber drive. Any idea what happens when it perishes?

 

Alan

[heirflick]

john, lovely work! could you post up more pics of no 8 please? shes a real beauty!

[Glenderg]

john, lovely work! could you post up more pics of no 8 please? shes a real beauty!

 

Well said, and can I ask for some closeups of the wagon behind her? It looks like one in an old B & W photo of Achill a loooong time ago.

[Mayner]

john, lovely work! could you post up more pics of no 8 please? shes a real beauty!

 

Some soft focus shots Seamus;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The models are based on photos in Irish Railways in Colour a second Glance 1947-70 Tom Ferris.

 

There were a lot of detail variation between the C&L 4-4-0Ts both locos were sprayed with Railmatch Weathered black No 8 finished with a matt varnish No 2 satin.

 

The Kits were supplied complete with motors wheels and gearing a mixture of whitemetal castings, brass and nickel silver etchings and cover most of the detail variations between the 8 locos.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Mayner

[Mayner]

They're very nicely built.

 

I didn't know the bull ants used a rubber drive. Any idea what happens when it perishes?

 

Alan

 

There is an option of a geared or rubber band primary reduction, It uses an O ring rather than a rubber band & spares were supplied with the bogie. I am looking at using the bogie under either a Clogher Valley or Ballymena 0-4-2ST loco.

 

The narrow gauge wagons were more modern than they looked dating from the early 1900s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SSM MGWR & GSWR Convertibles this type of wagon lasted in service until the late 1950s

[islandbridgejct]

Beautiful work as usual.

 

Funny to think that when the convertibles were withdrawn they weren't much older than the Tara wagons.

 

Alan

[Mayner]

Beautiful work as usual.

 

Funny to think that when the convertibles were withdrawn they weren't much older than the Tara wagons.

 

Alan

 

Its even odder that the GM diesels outlasted the more modern GSR, GNR & NCC steam classes.

[Horsetan]

....Donegal/IOM Railcar This was built from a whitemetal kit dating from the 1970s 20 years ago....

 

I wonder if this was one of the kits for CDR nos.19/20 that were produced by Anbrico. They were the only kits available at that time for this last pair of CDR railcars, and did not replicate the real thing's articulation between driver's cab and passenger section - they came as one fixed unit. Unbuilt ones have commanded large sums in the past.

 

The Anbrico railcar was relatively short-lived in production, and we had to wait about three decades before Worsley Works brought out its own etched kit for 19/20.

 

.....I didn't know the bull ants used a rubber drive. Any idea what happens when it perishes?

 

For more details on the rubber band / O-ring drive idea, click here

Edited September 11, 2012 by Horsetan

[Mayner]

I wonder if this was one of the kits for CDR nos.19/20 that were produced by Anbrico. They were the only kits available at that time for this last pair of CDR railcars, and did not replicate the real thing's articulation between driver's cab and passenger section - they came as one fixed unit. Unbuilt ones have commanded large sums in the past.

 

The Anbrico railcar was relatively short-lived in production, and we had to wait about three decades before Worsley Works brought out its own etched kit for 19/20.

 

 

 

Yes its built from an Anbrico kit originally built in OO9 more or less in accordance with the instructions with a Fleischmann Picollo 0-4-0 steam loco power bogie rather than the Anbrico whitemetal version. I rebuilt the car as an articulated unit about 20 years ago with a re-gauged Fleischmann diesel shunter chassis as a companion for a Backwoods Railcar 14.

 

I had a nasty surprise during the latest re-build the whitemetal castings appear to have become brittle and easily damaged.

[Horsetan]

.....I had a nasty surprise during the latest re-build the whitemetal castings appear to have become brittle and easily damaged.

 

That's interesting. Sounds a bit like plastic after exposure to UV / sunlight over many years.