My 7mm scale 1950s workbench

[Galteemore]

Yes we all owe Roger a huge debt. I wouldn’t have started this project without his range. His brass kits also have some clever little features such as simple compensation devices.

Given my own predilection for Connaught, I’d probably have taken an MGWR 0-6-0T  instead if he’d still been making them. But this is a lovely little thing and in its rebuilt form looks curiously like an MGWR 2-4-0 G2 round the front end...

 

Anyway, in my little scenario, the Cork lines cascaded their stock to Connaught in the late 50s....look out for another West Cork loco in the build queue ...

 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Galteemore

[Galteemore]

Eight wheels touching the rail. Not easy to get there but it’s a nice milestone. Reaming out the bearings to 4.8mm has also helped the axles spin a little more easily although the front and back are still a little tight. The wheels have the classic Slaters patina beloved of kit builders - I have since cleaned it off! 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

 Always a good feeling to know the chassis of a loco kit is going well!

[Galteemore]

Thanks David! More progress tonight. I decided that the Alphagraphix motor mount wasn’t doing it for me. It’s meant to act as a cradle for the motor, and an aesthetic ash pan. But it makes access to the motor very tight (I have already had to Dremel off the rear shaft). And once the brake gear is on that access will almost vanish! 
 

So tonight I took out the cradle - including the front axle bearings. I used my Hobby Holidays chassis  jig to resolder in new bearings, and will cut up the cradle in due course,  to reuse the ash pan as a merely aesthetic feature. The jig is a cracking device and I had mine specially built to 5’3”. It includes a rolling road - the main reason I went for this jig in particular. For some reason, none of the local clubs have a 36.75mm line on their test track so a rolling road is vital when you’re a small layout man like me.

Tonight was chassis work.  It’s moving but there’s a small tight spot on the rods. Just don’t know how to pinpoint it...if anyone’s got any tips I’m all ears! The motor jumps as it hits a sticky bit and in one direction it is much more obvious....

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Eoin's probably the man for this, but tight spots when adding coupling rods are pretty common. Indeed the only time  I don't get them is when scratch building a chassis when the rods are used to drill out the axle holes in the frames - hence everything lines up. However, two axles are easier than three and it is probably just as case of reaming the coupling rod holes a little at a time until they turn smoothly.

[Galteemore]

Thanks David. Looking at it again, I suspect that part of the issue may be that I haven’t tightened up the nuts on the rods beyond what my fingers can manage, so there is probably too much lateral movement in the system still. Nor was the gear dead centre on the axle - as you know better than I, making a 32 mm kit up as 36.75 allows a lot of empty space between the wheels! 

I am awaiting a 12ba nut spinner so I can tighten the rods up properly and then see where we are. I think the problem, if it persists, is on the rear RH crankpin. So some gentle fettling may happen...but it’s been reassuring to see that we are almost there on the chassis. 

Much as I’d like to simply crack on, I am going to pause here and make sure it’s totally right before going on to stage 2. I’m also awaiting plunger pickups which Roger recommends. An opportunity to work on the layout while I’m waiting, I suppose!

Edited October 26, 2019 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Sometimes a brief pause while you are winning is a good idea. Still fancy that it will be the coupling rod holes that need opening a little. I've only ever used a pair of fine nosed pliers to tighten crankpin nuts, with a dab of nail varnish, not pink though, to hold them in place. More of a pain for mean are the Slater's wheel nuts. Find that the allen key doesn't always tighten them fully and before every show now I check for wobbly wheels.

[Galteemore]

Thanks David — am sure you’re right. Do you use a round file or reamer to open the holes?  I like the nail varnish idea. Much of my modelling in recent weeks has consisted of loco fettling so the rod hiatus was a good chance to try out some other techniques....track panels after a meths bath a la Iain Rice. Spot the sleepers that need resoldered..,
 

[David Holman]

A round file works best for me, but no reason why a remember shouldn't do the same.

[murrayec]

Hi Guys

Use a broach to widen out a hole, if one is careful and work it from both sides the hole will stay on centre, a reamer is for setting a specific size hole and is designed to cut a very small amount of metal after one has drilled a hole very close to the required size- if you force a reamer it will break or damage one cutting edge which will give an incorrect size when used later!

Eoin

[Broithe]

Modeller's broaches, of this type, have a very fine taper, covering a full range of (small) hole sizes. They enable a very precise diameter to be achieved and the pentagonal cutting edges leave a very nice surface finish.

As @murrayec says, it's best to work from both sides where possible, for the best result.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Broithe

[murrayec]

and more tools;-

Roxey Mouldings do a nice set of nut spinners 16BA to 8BA with a nicely machined brass handle, I made the other aluminium handles. The heads do need to be screwed on tightly or use thread lock as when unscrewing a nut or bolt the head has a tendency to unscrew itself! nail varnish would work also- I see David doesn't like pink so how about blue with metal flake!

The Expo Tools spinners are a pain- the socket is to deep and those little 16 & 14 BA nuts get lost in there- do get the Expo BA spanners though.

The tool to the left is an allen key for Slater wheels, a tuned up stick of aluminium with a cut off key forced in the end and Loctited, with the cross bar one can get the right torque and the screw taper locks- the problem with the 'L' allen is it twists n bends and most people give in before the taper locks!

Eoin

 

 

[Galteemore]

Thanks everyone. I have some proper engineer’s broaches as shown so hopefully a smooth running chassis is only a few strokes away ...

[Galteemore]

Low relief factory for Rosses Point. 1930s rough concrete affair from De Valera’s industrialisation campaign. Very loosely based on my childhood memories of the button factory in Manorhamilton. Scratchbuilt from 1mm card with various add-ons. Not quite as dirty as the photo appears !
 

Good reason for freight flow -  wool arrives in from the western seaboard and finished ganseys go out! 
Complete with factory runabout - an Austin A40 I mauled about a bit...I chose this rather than an A35 as it gives me a wider time window! 

 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Galteemore

[jhb171achill]

Love the worn-weary looking van!

Many vehicles on layouts look too toy-like because they're so shiny!

I remember those vans - like all pre-1975 vehicles they tended to rust WAY more than today! My mother's 1967 Morris Minor ended up very shook looking........!

And there was no NCT then, so bald tyres and cracked headlights were seen more frequently!

[Galteemore]

Thanks JHB - went further than I’d intended as removing the transfers left a few scars. Basic idea is Gordon Gravett’s albeit executed with less skill! Just a general tone down makes a huge difference such as dark grey matt tyres. Washes and dry brushing over the ‘chrome’ give more of a patina than the raw plastic can. It’ll be at the back anyway so should look ok from a distance and add a gentle splash of colour! 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Galteemore

[Angus]

Hi Galteemore,

Both the van and building look great.

I'm glad to see the van getting some work. As jbh171achill has said too many layouts have well weathered rolling stock, great buildings with a nice colour tone then ruined by a garish out of the box car or van. Yours fits in well. 

[David Holman]

Guessed it might be a la Gravett. Few do it as well, so well worth emulating. And very nicely it has turned out too.

 So many of these die casts are really good models hiding beneath a layer of bling, so a bit of work like this brings them to life. Can't see from the photos if you've done the 'filing a flat on the tyres' trick yet, but of all Gordon's tips, that is the simplest and really makes the model 'sit' as per prototype.

 The building is not bad either...!

[Galteemore]

Thanks gents! I will file down the tyres before final placement - top tip as you say. One of the main things I am trying to do with this layout is keep a fairly consistent colour and shade palette, with the intent that everything blends in together. We’ll see how that works as the layout develops!!

[Galteemore]

Decided to replace the mock up goods shed with the proper building. Started at lunchtime today and managed good progress. My usual modus operandi for scratchbuilding - starting with Alphagraphix Glenfarne  kit as a drawing. 1 mm card shell with SE Finecast stone overlay. DAS clay quoins. Plastic strip etc accessories. Basic mockup structure in the background! 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Galteemore

[Galteemore]

Got a resin rowing boat for Rosses Point and painted it up to look suitably wrecked...will hopefully add a nautical air as I haven’t got room to model a shoreline...more foliage to add yet

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Galteemore

[Edo]

Terrific!

[David Holman]

Certainly doesn't look like a resin casting!

[Galteemore]

Thanks gents. All part of a work in progress to (a) disguise an ugly bracket at the front of the layout and (b) to help mask the fiddle yard exit. The normal convention is a bridge or tunnel, but a railway bridge spanning 4 tracks wouldn’t fit with the topography of the town, and such a feature would look odd anyway in such a railway backwater - it’s not the Cork main line! So a few dodges will be employed. This is the first - a fisherman’s shed (of which we only see the rear) with an abandoned boat and other aquatic detritus. Other disguises are in preparation...the shed needed a bit of thought as it’s right at the baseboard edge and fulfils a semi-structural role. So it’s made from ply and covered with DAS to replicate the rough render one sees in some parts. More bedding in to do yet...

Edited January 12, 2020 by Galteemore

[PorkyP]

I wouldn't be taking that boat out on the water if i were you!...

[Galteemore]

Enough civil engineering at Rosses Point - it’s time to face the mechanical engineering again. After putting it off for months I got out the cutting broaches and the 2-4-2T chassis of the F6. The rods were off and on again numerous times, gradually shaving tiny amounts of thou off the surfaces. But finally she seems to be running ok..quick shunt down the harbour branch. The hesitancy has more to do with the capricious single wheeler rather than the chassis! Hopefully the build will progress now .....

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by Galteemore

[Galteemore]

After much headscratching, the F6 chassis is done I think! Brake gear and pull rods, buffers and automatic Lincs coupling installed. Will trim rodding when I have conducted a second check that the wheels fit! There was a dummy ash pan included as a motor cradle which didn’t work for 36.75mm gauge. So I cut it up and just kept the sides, adding a bit of 3d relief to make it look as chunky as the original. Bodywork can start now. And some nice research material came in the post....

Edited March 5, 2020 by Galteemore

[David Holman]

Looks like a fine start.

[Galteemore]

The curved Inchicore running plate beloved of the GSWR is a beautiful thing - until one has to replicate it! Much twisting and bending of metal and a loco superstructure emerges. Much as I’d rather have the nice cast number plates, my CIE timescale demands the rather ugly steel slabs on the tank sides. One half of loco done - I’ll do the other tomorrow hopefully...

[jhb171achill]

That is a very fine piece of work indeed!

[Galteemore]

The classic McDonnell/Ivatt  Inchicore style cab takes shape....lots of tidying up to do yet...it was lots of ‘fun’ fitting all the handrails and curving the cab into shape... 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Galteemore

[Midland Man]

Lovely engine 

[Galteemore]

One of Mr Bulleid’s triangulated underframes. Suppose I’d better put something on it but am just liking its shininess for now! 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Galteemore

[Midland Man]

Looking good Builled made some interesting things for his time.

[leslie10646]

A, Mountain Man, that's the trouble with brass - it looks so nice that you don't want to cover it up!