West End Workbench

[Woodcock29]

A wonderful train - thanks for sharing this Jonathon.

I run similar trains on my layout here in Adelaide and am currently building a passenger train of D&S GN stock - starting with 6 wheelers.

Woodcock29

[jwealleans]

Thank you for your kind words. I'd like some GN 6 wheelers, hoping Danny reissues some in a future list.

The G7 van is now in primer and ready for delivery.



Just for Mr Middleditch (and anyone else who likes to see the busy bits):



The pull rods didn't seem to fit either set of holes so they went where they were easiest to solder up. I can't remember what I did with them on the last one I built and I don't have pictures of the underneath of them.

Primer for the 4 wheeler as well and I'm not on my third attempt at a roof which fits.



So to a new project tonight. I still have some GN Atlantics awaiting the paint shop, so to go with them I decided to refurbish my Z/C7. This has run since I acquired it - here it is last summer on Grantham:



As you can see, wartime black and post 1946 number, so it had to be taken in hand. Doing some reading, I settled on 706, the first C7, mainly because I have pictures of it at Grantham and also showing both sides. Further reading indicated that by 1936 it had lost the Westinghouse pump and the steam reverser and had been given a replacement tender from a Q6.

First things first, the paint had to come off.



I was going to put my usual Mashima 1420/High Level Road Runner Plus to replace the now unreliable open frame motor, but the gearbox wouldn't fit between the frames. I had to order a Highflyer, which as luck would have it arrived today. I've also been cutting material from the top of the cylinders to try to raise them as high under the running plate as possible, although they'll never be able to be completely accurate.



I would probably have replaced the tender chassis anyway as I think those old whitemetal tenders with the wheels running in the sideframes are more of a drag on the loco than anything else. Knowing that the tender had been replaced, however, and with one which was quite visibly different, I decided the whole thing had to go. Arthur K kindly obliged with his 4125 gallon self-trimming model. I built one of these for the Raven A2 some time ago and they go together with Arthur's customary accuracy of fit. I don't have any 15mm wheels, which I'll have to acquire at Spalding, so the chassis is just the frames and spacers put together, but the superstructure is going together nicely.

[LNER4479]

Ooh - that's looking like that's gonna be rather tasty, is that

Look forward to seeing it develop.

[Atlantic 3279]

Is the cab roof sitting down sufficiently?

[jwealleans]

Got the tender about as far as I can tonight. Like everything of Arthur's I've had it's been a pleasure to build - everything just fits and all you have to do is enjoy putting it together. I shan't fit the brake gear until I have the correct sized wheels and some of the castings won't go on until it's painted and lined.



It's sitting slightly high against the loco because of those oversized wheels: here it is with the one I made earlier:

Is the cab roof sitting down sufficiently?

It is slightly high at one side, but that side of the cab was also skew. I've persuaded it square, but no lower, this evening.

As long as it goes under the bridge, she'll be fine.

[52D]

Just searched my small collection of NER Atlantic pics alas none of your required number.

[jwealleans]

Thanks for the thought, George, it's appreciated.

I've done some body work on the C7 - by 1935, the Westinghouse had been removed as had the steam reverser. They were also festooned with lubrication pipes. I've added a few but more need to go on once it's painted. New reversing rod from brass strip, lubricating pipes from copper multistrand wire.





In parallel, I've stripped the paint from the last of the C1s I had to update. I don't know what anyone else has found, but I have had no luck with Precision aerosols - they always clog irretrievably after two or three uses, no matter how carefully I follow their advice on use, cleaning and storage. Having bought a couple of Doncaster green ones, I'm getting as much ready for the paint shop as possible before starting them so we end up wasting as little as possible.

4444 has been on this thread before:



... and here with the paint and a fair bit of my detailing work removed.

[earlswood nob]

Good morning all

There are several pics of C7 706 in Yeadon Vol 31.

There is a pic of 4444 in Casserlaey & Johnston's Locomotives at the Grouping vol2 with small cab numbers.

Earlswood nob

[jwealleans]

Morning EN,

It was the fact of pictures of both sides of 706 - one at Grantham - which made me settle on that one.

4444 is under consideration. I may move to 4401, which was a Grantham loco, depending on what pictures I can find.

There's a better picture of 4444 in one of the LNER albums, but it's in the pre-1928 livery and still has the older safety valves.

[Pebbles]

Good to see the deeper valancing on your current build of Arthur's 4125 tender.

[jwealleans]

We aim to please.

[jwealleans]

Making progress with the painting. I seem to have painted an inordinate number of wheels today. I always think this livery looks rather sombre before all the lining and lettering goes on.



I have decided that the C1 will be 4401 when complete.



I also spent some time getting the new drivetrain for the C7 working. This is a Mashima 1420 on a 40:1 High Level Highflyer. It sits nicely up in the boiler. The flywheel must have slipped before the Loctite set, but it's not moving anywhere now. I'd have liked it closer to the motor.



The coupling rods were very sloppy, so I soldered washers to the rear of each hole, using my Masterchassis jig to get the spacing right, then I fettled them out again to the point of smooth running. I can't run it with the body on until I cut the pins back and solder on the washers, but there's some work to do round the cylinders and front bogie before we reach that stage.

[earlswood nob]

Good morning all

I try and use flywheels on all my chassis.

I'm not sure there is any improvement as a result of using a flywheel. The smallest locos that I own (Y7 &Y8) are too small for a flywheel, but run smoothly, even over the bad joint that I have on my test track.

However, until I'm convinced otherwise, I will continue using flywheels.

An idea I had for dealing with oversize holes in coupling rods is using the Romford "De Lux" crankpins which have collar which screws onto to the crankpin. I haven't has to use the method yet, but it might be an easy solution.

Earlswood nob

[drmditch]

Thank you for the underside of the G7. I must try and find some better bogies for my version. It's interesting isn't it that these were vacuum braked and Westinghouse piped.

Please may I ask about the provenance of the Z. Is it DJH? I hope you manage to get an adequate clearance for the bogie wheels and cylinders. At least, if you don't, it will be prototypical. There's an interesting comment in Ken Hoole's 'The North Eastern Atlantics' regarding Zs entering Darlington Station with the leading bogie wheels locked and skidding!

Now back to the reconstruction of my railway. All I've done so far is lay the track for Bishop Auckland - or rather the three hidden storage sidings that will represent the same!

[jwealleans]

My pleasure, David. I didn't know they were only air piped - knowing Scottiedog models around 1930, I'd usually leave the air braking gear off.

The Z is indeed DJH. I have a plan for the front bogie, based on a suggestion I was given some time ago. If it works, I shall share all in due course. For the moment the wheels need to be painted and the cylinders reunited with the rest of the frames, then we can start to see whether it's sound.