Atlantic's works: Portable layout - Scenic details next

[Atlantic 3279]

With a bit more detail applied:

[S.A.C. Martin]

Looking the Bee's Knees Graeme!

I'm fascinated by the valve gear and cylinders build. Superb craftmanship, this is going to be a very handsome beast when complete. For the record, I prefer the new chimney, it does seem to anglicise it more than the previous J39 chimney.

[52D]

Whilst on the topic of yanks can someone point me to an OO S160 model.

There isn't one.

There is a DJH HO/1:87 kit for the S160, but that's all.

Hence my very slow scratchbuild. Mike Sharman / Sharman Wheels produced the correct driving wheels for it, and I was very very lucky to buy a complete P4 set before the business closed down.

Thanks Horsetan

[wehf100]

Just spotted the figure in the Cab. Is he HO? Even so, that is one big machine!

Will

[Atlantic 3279]

Yes, he is HO. I'll have to do something about the crew, and their seats, which are a bit too high up for OO, as I suppose is the cab floor which I cannot conveniently lower. A bit of deception is called for. I think the crew may finish up being cropped off at knee level, sitting on very low seats!

[Horsetan]

Whilst on the topic of yanks can someone point me to an OO S160 model.

There isn't one.

There is a DJH HO/1:87 kit for the S160, but that's all.

Hence my very slow scratchbuild. Mike Sharman / Sharman Wheels produced the correct driving wheels for it, and I was very very lucky to buy a complete P4 set before the business closed down.

Thanks Horsetan

The S160 tender underframe is, so I see, a framework of U-channels and I-beams, with two pivots for each of the bogies. Bogies themselves can be adapted from one of the wagon bogie kits offered by Cambrian - the design is almost identical to that which the S160s had. You can get away with using scale 2'7" Lowmac disc wheels since this is (just) within the wear allowance; the real things were 2' 9" disc.

[wehf100]

Here's a nice postcard showing the demise of one of GCRs Baldwin 2-6-0s. Haven't seen the unfortunate loco from that angle before. Thought you might find it mildly diverting. Cab detail inspiration??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BROCKLESBY-RA ... 500wt_1287

Will

[Atlantic 3279]

Beware! As of this afternoon the beast is alive. The novelty twin cylinders and associated appendages are bonded firmly in place and everything runs sweetly - no binding, knocking, catching or scraping. I'll try to chuck a couple of new pieces of upper running boards onto it tonight and grab a picture to show something approaching the final look of the monster. Next session I can start hacking lumps out of the overly long bogie tender and try to make it look like the version sketched in the drawing of the Baldwin. I've already removed the "privvy" or whatever it was of the top of the tender......

[S.A.C. Martin]

Sounds good Graeme - is there any chance of a video, like you did with your 4-8-2, please?

(I keep going back to the 4-8-2 video - the way it moves is rather hypnotic, and it just looks so right, almost as if the class actually existed).

A good question. The answer, for everybody who may be interested, is that GN2 is waiting patiently for bespoke etched valvegear parts, and the delay is no bad thing as I have a lot on my plate at present. Once the etchings are proven by test assembly. I'll remake some of the moulds which have suffered as a result of turning out A2/3 parts, try to write up some instructions, and then it should be all systems go.

Excellent - I am preparing to make a start on my build, the battered St. Gatien turned up, as did the NRM Scotsman model which is providing the chassis and tender (I didn't want to paint an apple green chassis or tender!). Looking forward to seeing how the etched parts turn out.

[Atlantic 3279]

I'll see what I can do on the video front in due course - that's an idea that had crossed my mind too Simon.
Fitting running boards has turned into a more time consuming and awkward job than I had hoped. Between the firebox and smokebox, in order to match the drawing, the boards must fit largely at the height of the joint betwen the upper boiler and the lower "motor cradle" boiler fill-in piece. The boards must be attached to the upper boiler piece as they of course continue onto the firebox and smokebox sides. I couldn't see any viable way to drill holes for mounting pegs into a separable joint line or close to the lower edge of the upper boiler piece (too much risk of breaking through to the edge itself), and I couldn't attach anything across the open bottom of the upper boiler piece - the motor has to go in and out through that aperture. I certainly couldn't leave the whole mid-section of running plate un-supported.
After a bit of head scratching I found that I could employ the holes for the pegs for the original running boards, even though these are 2-3mm higher up. I sawed and filed slots in the surface of the boiler, descending vertically from those original holes down to the lower edge of the boiler casting. I then bent pieces of stiff brass wire into compact Z shapes. The upper stroke of each Z goes into the hole in the boiler, the diagonal stroke lies in the descending slot in the surface of the boiler, the lower stroke projects out to support the running board. In order to get a reasonable fit in the peg-holes in the boiler I used 0.9mm wire, which took a long time, with much cursing, to shape into the compact Zs! In hindsight it would have been easier to plug the original large holes, re-drill them to a smaller diameter and use slimmer wire to form up the Z brackets .
With luck, a picture of loco plus one loosely fitted running board will follow shortly.....

[Atlantic 3279]

Including a rough composite image to try to show both upper body and undergubbins adequately lit by poor ambient lighting but not burnt out by over exposure!

[Saint Johnstoun]

Sounds great Graeme. The 'Privvy' on top of the tender was for the brakesman who was there to observe the rest of the train (freight of course). Some locos had a second seat behind the fireman's in the cab that served the same purpose.

[S.A.C. Martin]

I tell you what Graeme, it is the plausibility factor of these "never was" locomotives that really cements it for me. The running plate looks natural amongst the rest of the design, and it certainly looks British. Still "odd" in so much that nobody has ever seen a "real" one before, but distinctly British in its outline now. The 4-8-2 has a similar affect on me, it looks "odd" because seeing a stretched A4 in that vein is alien to me, but still all the same very plausible and somewhat "right".

These conversions continue to be absolutely fascinating. You must have a go at a book one day, even if it's not a print but an eBook of some form. There's a lot of modellers out there who would love to read your work, I am sure of that.

[mick b]

Well done , turning out really nice.

[45609]

A good question. The answer, for everybody who may be interested, is that GN2 is waiting patiently for bespoke etched valvegear parts, and the delay is no bad thing as I have a lot on my plate at present. Once the etchings are proven by test assembly. I'll remake some of the moulds which have suffered as a result of turning out A2/3 parts, try to write up some instructions, and then it should be all systems go.

Excellent - I am preparing to make a start on my build, the battered St. Gatien turned up, as did the NRM Scotsman model which is providing the chassis and tender (I didn't want to paint an apple green chassis or tender!). Looking forward to seeing how the etched parts turn out.

Although I'm behind on my personal schedule for getting these parts done I'm pleased to report that the following artwork will be heading off to the etcher tomorrow. Don't worry about the low res quality of the picture. It's done that way for obvious reasons. This is the test etch for the A1/1 vavle gear & brakes, A2 valve gear and smoke deflectors for both. I still have to complete the design for the smaller detail parts but that is well on the way.....

Cheers....Morgan