Atlantic's works: Portable layout - Scenic details next

[Atlantic 3279]

I'll try to return in more detail to the valve gear adaptations. I didn't post up an account of exactly what went on as I slogged through it on late-May Bank Holiday Monday whilst not in the best of spirits regarding other aspects of life - there was too much experimentation, cursing, despair, and eventual relief (not by that stage jubilation you note ) crammed into that day to make key-stage photography a viable activity.

[Atlantic 3279]

With front steps and buffers loosely plugged in to the resin mods, a quick further trial on this morning on my Bardney-esque layout, and on some Toytown track, seemed a good idea:

With the unaltered Bachmann steps pegged into holes as close as possible to the back of the bufferbeam, the rims/flanges of the leading bogie wheels were just tending to rub the lower rear corners of the steps when running through a nominal 3 foot radius curve:

If more clearance were required for certainty of good running, or if tighter curves have to be negotiated, a number of options arise.
1. The upper part of the leading edge of the backplate of the steps could be trimmed back to allow the steps to be mounted as far forward as on the real thing, but one locating pin on the top of the steps would then be lost and the fit would be less secure.
2. The steps could stay where they are, but a "nibble" could be taken out of their lower rear corner.
3. The steps could be omitted entirely.
ORRRRR.....
As the image below shows about 1mm still available between rear bogie wheels and cylinder fronts on Toytown 2nd radius track, then the bogie position could be fiddled with again (still possible) to shuffle it back by up to 1mm. Either a mis-match with the frame cut-outs over the wheels would have to be tolerated, or the frame overlays could also be fitted slighly to the rear of the true position so as to match the bogie:

What would the Copley Hill shedmaster prefer?

[S.A.C. Martin]

Personally speaking, I need reliable running, so the final option of the "frame overlays could also be fitted slighly to the rear of the true position so as to match the bogie" would be my preference.

But it really is good to know all the options, and to be frank, does show up the much maligned A2/3 design as being perfectly viable in 4mm for a major manufacturer.

Although one hopes not quite yet, so Graeme can get his money's worth out of this superb transformation. I will certainly be looking to fund another A2/3 for my loco stud after this one

[wehf100]

Would it look silly if the steps were brought outwards a little more? Or would they then hit platform faces?

[Atlantic 3279]

I will be turning back to the procedure for modifying the valve gear in due course, but in the meantime I can show a little more progress with the body modifications. The resin running plate extension is now epoxied to the main running plate at a lap joint, the firebox rea piece is epoxied on, as too the smokebox extension ring. At the rear of the running plate I have made sure that the dropped section behind the S curve, below cab and firebox, is truly parallel to the plane of the upper section of running plate when under no tension, and to ensure that the rear chassis-fixing screws don't pull it down into a droop (a problem that seems to plague factory finished A1's and A2's) I've put some 10 thou packing pieces on top of the screw locations. Thr rear of the running plate now sits level with the tender soleplate, but the steps on the rear frames are still too low. I cannot sort that anomaly out without a major chassis rebuild as I did on my older A1 to A2 conversions. I have also transplanted the fittings that sit behind the smoke deflectors. A little careful tweaking and levering near to the fixing points with a screwdriver blade pops the metal fittings free of the glue that holds them in their sockets. New 0.6mm holes can then be drilled 5.5mm forward of the old ones and the fittings re-planted. I've also drilled the running plate and the lugs behind my resin smoke deflectors so that these can be attached using tiny 0.9mm wood screws, catering for the option to later remove the deflectors and substitute etchings or other replacements.

Excuse the blob of Blu-Tac in current use as a temporary means of attaching the cab.......


Hi Will, the steps could move out a little more but would then show from the front outside the ends of the narrow buffer beam, which is not prototypical. CORRECTION ADDED 21/6/11 - I've just double checked and found that the steps are already in contact with the back of the curved-down piece of valance immediately behind the buffer beam, so any notion of setting them wider apart appears to be wishful thinking.

[Atlantic 3279]

Joints in the running plate and the firebox have now been fully blended in, and the cab permanently attached to the firebox. This required just a little to be filed off the lower rear edges of the firebox extension in order to get the cab to sit truly upright. I had obviously over-comepensated in my resin castings for the rearward leaning tendancy of the Bachmann cab, making mine initially lean very slightly forwards instead . Handrails are now on the cab and the smoke deflectors, so all is looking very A2/3 ish now .

[Atlantic 3279]

Alternative boiler fittings arrived in the post from DMR today. The "double stovepipe with beading" chimney unfortunately required prolonged and delicate work with a small square file in order to straighten its "flat" sides without destroying the beading. The "as delivered" shape had a gently bulging curve to the sides, as seen from above, making it almost elliptical in plan, and not as I understand these chimneys to have been. I think "running track oval" is the correct shape. Filing of the base to get the front and rear of the chimney to sit level was also necessary. While filing and sanding off the sawn stump of the old chimney I was also able to smooth and level the joint with my resin extension ring for the smokebox.
I also received a later type double chimney, which I plan to use on another loco, and a round dome, which unfortunately is not suitable. It is simply too big, especially in the matter of height (despite some heavy filing of the curved base). It might suit an L1, but not an A2/3. I think my best bet for a round dome now may be via an impression and resin copy of a dome on one of my Gresley A1s, or my P1. Perhaps if I am going to do that, then I ought to take an impression of my "trued up" double stovepipe also, as that may save me some trouble in future. Whilst this may almost amount to plagiarism with respect to the DMR item, I must say that I would be delighted to buy more from that source if they were going to be spot-on as received......

These two pictures also show to some extent that the joint in the running plate is now very discrete after filling, filing, wet-sanding and primer coats. The deflector handrails are there in close-up too, and now that these unavoidably over-scale rails/knobs are present, the top curve-inwards of the deflector plates (which I made deliberately subtle to match drawings and photos) strikes me as something that might have been more convincing at this stage had I deliberatley exaggerated it on the plain deflectors

[Saint Johnstoun]

Now looking very ET - well done Graeme.

[S.A.C. Martin]

I could quite happily live out my insomnia this evening looking at that photograph. She really is a thing of beauty Graeme - I know I said this about the W1, but I do believe this IS your best conversion to date. It's so utterly convincing. 60500 is alive!

[davidwest]

Got to agree very good

[coachmann]

Stunning conversion and I like that resin front end. As one who has consistently "asked" the proprietory boys for a Thompson A2-3 (it's the best looking of the lot)) since the days before chat forums, your loco really does whet the appetite. BR green?

[Atlantic 3279]

Thanks for the kind words again. Yes, this one is destined for BR green but I'm not painting or keeping it. I now fancy a BR green one myself (anathema to a 1930s LNER modeller really, but may be handy if I get roped into helping a friend to exhibit his next layout). That loco will probably be the next build, to see if the job really does fall together easily now that I think I've found answers to all the problems by means of this first loco. I'll try to time my progress carefully so that I can give an idea to others of how long it might take them to do it, or what they might have to pay me to do it for them. I'll stick to a diagram 118 boiler so that only the cab and firebox extension require green (blended in) patch painting, plus a panel of lining and some numbers. The black bits at the front will be no hardship to paint. Whether or not I do the valance properly in green too remains to be seen.

By the way, does anybody have reliable evidence of the kind of lamp irons carried by 60500 ET in the fifties, when I presume it had lost its axle-driven lighting set, but was yet to receive a later type boiler and other details?

[S.A.C. Martin]

BR green?

No accounting for taste!!!

Given it's heading for 56C, I'll happily take my share of the blame for that choice!

[mick b]

RCTS simply states laterly removed by BR no date given. Thommo and Airborne only had four section boiler plates not five as the rest of the class. It was changed to five at a again "later date" presumably when a dia 118 boiler was fitted.

Lovely model well done

[Saint Johnstoun]

See photo on page 145 of Irwell's Book of the A1s & A2s. Looks as if normal lamp irons had been fitted by then.