Much doodling at Earlswood

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Tom F
LNER A3 4-6-2
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by Tom F »

Hello Earlswood

Would this be a C7/2 or a C9?
I'm looking into doing a prewar period for Leaman Road, so I will be watching this with interest. :)
Tom Foster
Modelling the North Eastern Area of the LNER - 1935-1939
auldreekie
GER D14 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton'
Posts: 330
Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2012 1:42 pm

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by auldreekie »

I too am keen to know. I confess to not having had a clue what it might be....


auldreekie
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
I have been doing various little jobs while consuming a vast amount of sport on TV.
I have chopped a couple of Clerestories, one produced was a 5-3rd/3-1st composite from two Triang bodies.
The four remaining 1st compartments and the brake end remaining from this conversion were used in another experiment.
First was two 1st compartments, the a 3rd compartment left over from previous butchery, then another two 1st compartments, followed by a small length of a scrap brake end, and then another brake end.
The fancy grab rails, door handles, and a line of beading were ground away with a suitable tool in the minidrill.
Several windows were filled in with plasticard, and other door windows made larger, with compartment windows made narrower with 1mm plasticard rod.
brakecrop1.jpg
I took a pic while waiting for some filler to dry, and plucking up the courage to drill/file out the toplights. Then the ends will require some attention.

The long boiler NER project is waiting for a spot of tender conversion, the first attempt resulted with it sitting too high compared with the loco body.

Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
Slow progress this week, as it’s rather warm and I have been spending a bit of time at my G/F’s.
I drilled and filed out toplights for the doors, made large duckets, and fitted the beading to the ends. I superglued strips of 5thou plasticard between the brass wire beading as solvents tend to make a mess out of thin plasticard.
I sprayed the rough tag bodyshell with primer, to show where it needs filler and rubbing down, as there were so many colour changes that it was difficult to see where it needs attention.
brakecrop2.jpg
The toplights and large duckets probably show what this coach’s origin is meant to be.
If this conversion works, then next coach will be easier to build and be of better quality, and I may end up with a rake of them.
Whilst the final product will not have cost as much as Hornby latest offerings, it is surprising how much it will end up costing:

Body £3.00
Bogies £6.50
Wheels £5.33
Vents £2.50
Gas lamp tops £2.50
Gas tanks £1.25
Brake cyl £1.25
Door handles£2.20
Buffers £3.50
This totals £28 already with more to be spent, but I enjoy it, and I can say: “I did it my way”.
Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
I have been refurbishing some old Kirk coaches that I found at the back of a cupboard a while ago.
I do not like using self tapping screws to hold the bogies, for everytime you remove and replace the bogies, the screw cuts a new thread and after a couple of times, the fixing screw has to be glued into place making bogie fixing permanent.
I have been drilling out the bogie fixing holes in the Kirk floor and threading them 6BA. The recommended tapping drill is 2.3mm, but that’s for metal, so I’ve been using a 2mm drill.
I then reamed out the hole in the Kirk bolster and placed two 1/8th frame bearings back to back in the hole, making sure they were a loose fit, but not sloppy.
bearing03.jpg
I then put a 6BA screw through the bearings, and screwed it into the fixing hole in the Kirk floor. As long as the total length of the bearings is greater than the thickness of the Kirk bolster, the bogie will pivot.
bearing02.jpg
One can file the bearings down to reduce play, and one has a bogie mounting that shouldn’t work loose, and can be removed and replaced at will.
I shall have to get some 2mm bearings and ream out the hole to fit the 6BA screw closer.
Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
After some discussion and advice from senior members (in experience not age) of this forum on fixing W-irons. I have started building a GER six wheel brake as described in Tatlow’s LNER wagons.
I cut a sheet of brass to match the base of the body. I inscribed a centreline and marked the centre of this. Then it was drilled out along with a W-iron bracket. These were bolted together and the bracket soldered to the brass sheet.
Then a length of 0.9mm wire was threaded through the bracket and spacers added (4x10BA nuts gave the correct length) and the two end w-irons added. These were then soldered to the brass sheet.
GEbrakecrop1.jpg
Pinpoint bearings were soldered to the W-irons and the 0.9mm wire threaded through the W-irons and brackets. The wire was not fixed at this stage as brake shoes have not yet been fitted and lengths of 0.33mm wire are needed to provide an element of springing.
GEbrakecrop2.jpg
The body is basically a box of Slaters planking plasticard backed by 0.5mm plasticard to give some rigidity.
Several lengths of brass Tee strip were cut and the ends filed down at a slight angle. Six were superglued to the body and four lengths of rivet strip were superglued in between the Tee strips.
GEbrakecrop3.jpg
Now for a short interlude before doing the other side, while my eyes recover from the strain of working with magnifying glasses.
Earlswood nob
auldreekie
GER D14 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton'
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by auldreekie »

Luvverly...


auldreekie
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
An accident happened last night as the chassis runs so freely that it rolled off a level table and bounced, bending a W-iron in the progress.
I took the decision to add fillets of solder to the inside of the bend of the W-irons, where the half etched fold is.
To do three chassis and a total of ten W-irons took a little bit of time and I had just finished reassembling the W-irons when the postman arrived with a packet containing brake-shoes etc.
Three chassis later (ten W-irons) and I finally started in fitting handrails on the GE brake.
GEbrakecrop4.jpg
Now for a short interlude before fitting the end door rails, while my eyes recover. The good thing is that the 14mm W-irons have arrived and I’ve ordered the wheels, so building the NER six wheel birdcage brake can start soon.
Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
The finishing bits for the GER brake arrived a few minutes ago.
While I have been waiting I have started a NER six wheel birdcage brake.
I rapidly learnt some lessons.
1) Don’t make a sandwich between clear acrylic plastic and plasticard. When the fixing solvent dries the parts separate, and if you flood it with solvents the plasticard warps.
2) Study photos of the required model carefully. Don’t assume that the brake van had half height doors, because other railways fitted them. The NER veranda only had a removable rail.

I made a floor frame from 2mm brass strip, made a floor from 2mm plasticard sheet, and fixed 1mm brass at the corners for the end posts.
After three attempts I finally cut out the pieces needed for the brake body, using superglue to bond the plasticard to the clear acrylic.
NEbrakecrop1.jpg
The pieces of the body were superglued together, and the body lodged on the floor to take the pic.
NEbrakecrop02.jpg
Now to start the window frames of the “birdcage” and the roof, before I disappear to the rugby club for a pint or three.

Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
I read with interest about Atlantic’s P1’s performance and how it improved with added weight.
I decided to carry out a few experiments. I don’t own any RTR wagons (only a few scratch built examples) and don’t have a layout to test the loco’s pulling power, so I improvised by getting locos to push white metal tenders up a very slight incline and noting the weight pushed. None of the tenders used have proper chassis as those with a chassis have had tender pickup added.
As a reference I used an untouched Bachmann O4. This loco pushed a max of 1100g. If one assumes that an open RTR wagon weighs 35g, then the O4 can push 31.5 wagons.
I then tried my Little Engines T1 which has a Mashima 1628 driving through a High Level 108:1 gearbox and weighed in at 320g.
This loco pushed a max of 1700g, which is the equivalent of 49 wagons.
Then I rested a 230g weight on the top of the boiler to bring its total weight up to 550g. The T1 would then push 2600g, which is approx 74 wagons.
I did try other locos, but none could match the performance of the T1.
I would like to point out that I am not angling for a run off against Atlantic’s P1. My T1 doesn’t like corners and it’s so slow (deliberately) that everyone would nod off as it completed a circuit of the smallest layout. I really must modify the single coupling rods into the hinged versions to improve the loco’s flexibility. The T1 only just manages a large radius point (5ft?), and my spare room (where I’m planning a layout) is only 12ft by 10ft.

Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
I have started building a couple of kits from my roundtuit shelf.
The first is a Little Engines A6 and the second is a DJH A8.
The A6 is being built as per kit so there’s nothing special to show.
The A8 is to have a few differences to the standard kit, so I have taken a few pics of the construction so far.
The DJH frames are akin to the K’s nuclear proof brass frames so I decided to build a new chassis.
Firstly, I looked at the drawing and decided to use a High Level Hiflier 40:1 gearbox with a Mashima Can motor. I used the template available from the High Level website. The configuration that I chose was driving on the front axle to leave room for a flywheel and cab detail.
I marked on the chassis drawing where I would like the frame spacers to be.
LNER_A8_plan.jpg
I cut a foot long strip of brass and soldered to two pieces together.
I scribed a line at axle centre level a looked to solder one of the coupling rods to this line to give a template for drilling the pilot holes for the axle bearings.
Difficulty No1: The DJH coupling rods are made for a 6’9+6’9 wheelbase loco not the 6’6+6’6 needed for the A8. This meant that I had to mark the centre line where the axles should be and drill the holes.
I then started filing the frame cutouts for the bogie wheels etc.
There is a temporary halt to proceedings as I’m about to be hauled, kicking and screaming, to visit the step-grand-daughter.
LNER_A8_crop2.jpg
Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
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Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
Modelling has been slow over the last week. Computer problems and time spent sorting out cupboards consumed most of the week. Now with a new mouse and change of hard drive (thank goodness the old one was backed up), the computer is OK and it amazed me to find old instruction sheets for kits going back to my first kit (J39) of 1970. I thought they had been lost when I moved twelve years ago. I am one of those modellers who used to take the instructions out of a kit long before I started building the kit. I guess this why so many second hand kits come without instructions.
The A8 chassis looked good until I soldered it together. It didn’t end up straight, and rather than have the A8 travelling along the track crabwise, I attempted to straighten it by twisting. However, I bent the chassis beyond repair.
I have cut a new pair of frames, carefully, with my last two strips of brass, as I won’t have anymore until I visit the model shop.
LNER_A8_crop3.jpg
In the background you can see a mock-up of what will follow the A8.
Now to strip the paint from a Dean Siding’s L1. I hadn’t noticed that the grey primer wasn’t smooth and when I sprayed it with gloss black the tank side looked like corrugated cardboard.

Earlswood nob
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

G’day all
I had a constructive morning and have made progress on the A8.
The frames were given a semblance of shape.
LNER_A8_crop4.jpg
The axle holes were then reamed out to accept a bearing. The frames were fitted together using Comet frame jigs. I have drilled a thick section of brass at various wheelbase distances which is then bolted to the frames/jigs to ensure that the chassis is straight.
LNER_A8_crop5.jpg
Spacers were soldered into place, and two long hand made spacers soldered either end of the chassis.
LNER_A8_crop6.jpg
Wheels were fitted (borrowed from B16 chassis as they have crankpins fitted), and a High Level Hiflier 40:1 gearbox assembled. The gearbox bolts onto the motor and was fitted to the front driving axle.
LNER_A8_crop8.jpg
I have decided to fit a Comet bogie pivot which moves the bogie forward in relation to the main chassis as it enters a bend. This will hopefully reduce the likelihood of bogie wheels striking the inside of the cylinders.
To make this easier I am not going to use the DJH body attachment point above the bogie, but move it towards the rear. This should make it possible to separate the body from the chassis without removing the bogie.
Now to make some coupling rods.
Earlswood nob
mick b
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 3727
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 4:43 pm

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by mick b »

If it goes wrong again 52F Models do a nice looking etched chassis for the A8.
earlswood nob
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 1666
Joined: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:23 am
Location: Surrey

Re: Much doodling at Earlswood

Post by earlswood nob »

Good morning all
I agree 52F do a nice looking chassis, but at a nice price. Fifty six pounds fifty would be a trifle expensive for me. The chassis so far has cost me more than fifty pounds less than that. Gibson universal rods will take it to nearly ten pounds.
Whilst I do not model on a shoestring, I am concious of the money I spend. I have recently bought three kits which were all under fifty pounds. Even at less than fifty pounds; wheels, motor, and gearbox take the price to over one hundred pounds.
I model for enjoyment in my retirement, to occupy my time, and to keep me from spending all day at the pub.
I can understand why a lot of modellers bash RTR models into their desired prototypes. It's a lot cheaper to base a model on a RTR loco than to build a kit.
Earlswood nob
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