West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Thought I hadn't dreamed it; after 1909 there was a set for summer working from Scarborough and Whitby to KX; BFK, FO, Kitchen 3rd (what's the correct abbreviation for that?), TO, TK, BG (all Scarborough): TK, BCK (Whitby).

There was a parallel GN set provided for this working.

In modelling terms I'd be tempted to suggest that Whitby portion as coming from/going to wherever my railway happened to run. Might give an opportunity for attaching/detaching as well.

[jwealleans]

I've been able to add bits and bobs to these coaches over the last couple of weeks and now have them to the stage where they're in primer in the airing cupboard as we speak.

This was the state of play earlier this evening. I have added the steps on one bogie but I will need to make some for the other. The underfloor castings I dug out of the spares box - they're mainly Comet. I've also fitted my usual BB couplings for corridor coaches. The third has had the spring wire replaced as well - Arthur wasn't sure whether he'd use 10 or 12 thou, and I noticed even before I added the castings that the coach was sitting at the top of the slots, so I beefed it up from 10 to 12. You can see this in the last set of photos I posted.



The bogie castings and buffers came from Dan Pinnock. Arthur did supply some castings for the body to solebar brackets, but he had nowhere near enough so I simply made the rest from Evergreen strip.



The side above shows the cast brackets.



Roofs for these will be cut down Kirks, which also turned up a couple of days ago and are already being butchered. I took them down to the club on Monday night and ran them round successfully, which is always encouraging.

[All thumbs]

Thought I hadn't dreamed it; after 1909 there was a set for summer working from Scarborough and Whitby to KX; BFK, FO, Kitchen 3rd (what's the correct abbreviation for that?), TO, TK, BG (all Scarborough): TK, BCK (Whitby).

I am guessing - RKT?

[jwealleans]

I think you may well be right, AT.

Today I decided was a day to myself. So, with a day to myself, the cold clearing up and a vast pile of unbuilt kits.... what else can you do?





I opened the box at 08:25 and it was in the airing cupboard drying after all the soldering was done at 16:30. It's not complete - roof isn't on, there's some lumpy solder to tidy and I need to make/find a new spring damper to replace the one which bounced off into oblivion - but it's more or less there. Happy Christmas to me.

A peaceful Christmas to all my readers and the very best in all your endeavours for 2012.

[Robpulham]

Lovely job Jonathan, I have a similar plan in mind.

I had a bit of a "Connoisseur" Christmas, having received half a dozen of Jim's wagon kits and a Y6 tram engine for Crimbo. So in true Pulham fashion I have started on an LNER 8ton Refrigerator van with a view to trying to have it complete in the next 2 days.

[jwealleans]

Cheers, Rob. Be nice to be able to get some of Jim's kits in 4mm again... I was bemoaning their absence with someone just the other week. Still, we can get things like the above so we aren't too hard done by.

Today I picked up another long-stalled project and worked almost through it. I've had a J71 conversion kit on the bench since I was doing the J73. I had the body out to reduce the bunker size, which I did in November sometime. I'm not sure whether the cab dimensions on the model are wrong, but the distance from the rear of the cab door opening to the bunker back is now 9mm, as it should be, but it still looks too big to me.



You can just about see the white marks where I used plastic to fill the scar left my my cutting.

I've also cut off the front splashers here as they need replacing with a larger set.

This body had been damaged, hence my choosing it for the project. I think it must have been dropped as the front buffer beam and running plate in front of the smokebox were cracked and the front steps were missing on both sides. The MT pack includes a buffer beam overlay which I reckoned would strengthen the front enough.



Part of the body kit has been applied here; splashers stuck on, buffer beam overlay applied (there's another one at the back) and the boiler section to fill the Mainline cutout inserted. I haven't put the cab floor in and won't until I have the motor/gearbox fitted as there will almost certainly need to be some cutting. That crack at the front is quite obvious now.



Chassis made up - very straightforward - and shortened slightly to deal with my body adjustment. The etch is nickel-silver and quite thick; I had trouble bending some parts to 90 degrees and one of the smaller parts of the cab assembly broke while I was bending it.





Here it is fitted with temporary wheels and posed next to a Wills J72 I acquired at Wakefield for £20.



Finally with brake gear and more body detailing. I'll leave it until tomorrow now and then scan some photos; there are bound to be things I've missed. Sandbox fillers and operating rods leap out, as do the water tank vents which had been broken off. The brake gear was the first part of the etch I had doubts about; either I've done something clumsy or the pull rods are slightly different lengths, so setting the shoes up at en side left them all at odd angles at the other. As these are not the final wheelsets (I have some W&Ts to go on, but I expect they'll need the B to B modifying like the set I did for the J73) and I may have to do some cutting to get the drivetrain and pickups in place, I've left them as they are for the moment. As you can see from Bill's buffer height gauge it also sits low at the moment; partly due to the wheels which must be slightly small but it may need packing up once the chassis is complete.

I'd recommend this to anyone considering one; what you see has taken me a very easy day and will probably occupy the best part of another once you take into account making the High Level gearbox, faffing about with wheels and brakes, pickups and the like.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Looking good, and I reckon the Wills engine was a snip!

Just one thing - is that brass effort on the track a buffer height gauge?

If so, where do I get one?

[jwealleans]

I'll excuse you because of the lateness of the hour:

Code: Select all

As you can see from Bill's buffer height gauge 

I don't know whether you'd get this from Bill directly or Eileen's, but I'm sure a brief perusal of their websites will enlighten.

[Bill Bedford]

Just one thing - is that brass effort on the track a buffer height gauge?
If so, where do I get one?

Yep, you get them here:-
http://www.eileensemporium.com/index.ph ... t&Itemid=9

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Thanks all. I'm lacking in beauty sleep at the moment anyway. A rotten combination of diabetic hypos (once in a blue moon) and nerve relater pains in my foot (nightly - going for a scan tomorrow.)

I'm



zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[jwealleans]

BTW, BB, I agree the J72 was a snip. It's EM ATM, but I intend a Comet chassis for it in due course..

Had to do the socialising thing yesterday, but did get some time in the workshop before anyone noticed I'd gone:



I replaced the lost spring damper with one pinched from a Coopercraft bogie.



These have had the interiors painted (what a bugger of a job that was - another argument for having lift off bodies or removable interiors). I've also cut down and stuck together the roofs as you can see and the now need a healthy dose of the GK treatment to get those invisible joins he specialises in.



I need to measure up a drivetrain for this and then get on to Dave Alexander for steps and a safety valve cover. I think the ones for his G5 ought to do the trick. Looking at photos I couldn't find one with those tank vents, so they'll be filled and filed off. The handrails are in the wrong place so I can still get the cab off.

[Atlantic 3279]

I'm glad to see one of these J71 conversions being done. A friend of mine has mentioned the idea of doing one several times, but has never taken the plunge. I've sent him a link to this thread to see if he can be nudged into action.....

Your envelope arrived safely by the way JW - I can't remember whether I confirmed previously.

[jwealleans]

Glad to be of service, Graeme. This will probably stop now until I obtain the other bits. Mike Meggison has done one on RMWeb as well - not a detailed explanation but answers to the questions I posed him. His is P4 and has a very low-ratio High Level box in it. I'm waiting until RMWeb bursts back into life to remind myself what he used. I gather that's unlikely to be today.

You did let me know it had got there, thanks.

Edit - as per Arthur's correction below.

[2002EarlMarischal]

Nice work, and good to see a new version of the humble tank engine!

[ArthurK]

Jonathan

Nice to see those coaches with the roofs on. Yes painting interiors isn't easy. I usually spray mine, then with the paint dry mask off the interior and spray the outside.

One minor point Mike Meggison models in P4, not EM.

ArthurK