West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

As Ian says, the AF is an old story and I have quite a few in the stock boxes. The A, on the other hand, apart from the pretty dreadful Cambrian moulding, hasn't been available before.

As it happens I spelt out how I do the chains on RMWeb yesterday, so here, by the miracle of copy and paste technology, is the secret: The chains are based on the Roxey Mouldings load shackles and hooks, 4A130 and 4A135. From the container end, there's a small etched eye (4A135) which I use to replace the moulding on the plastic container. Through this goes a ring of .33 or .45 wire (just wrapped round a drill and cut). Onto that is threaded the 4A130 shackle, with a stub of wire soldered to the other end. The stub of wire goes into a hole drilled down a 3mm length of 1.2mm plastic rod to represent the shock absorber and is superglued. On the other end of that is one of the hooks from the 4A135 etch, which is also soldered to a stub of wire which is glued into a hole in the other end of the rod. On the side of the conflat I remove one of the moulded rings and replace with one made up from thin copper wire. If you bend this up towards the container, thread the hook through it and then allow the whole lot to set, you can then bend it down and tension the whole thing up. They look silly if they flap about when the wagon is in motion. In the photo above it looks as if the far side right hand hook has pulled out of the plastic rod and allowed the whole lot to sag slightly. I'll have to have a look at at that.

[mossie]

Hi Guys

Thanks very much for the information and the step by step guide for making the chains and braces.

Regards

Richard

[jwealleans]

Something different last evening: the Thurston L1 is unwell and awaiting a replacement motor. It is unlikely to be back in service in time for Folkestone. I have one which was in the pile for future use on Wickham Market, so it's been brought forward a little. I've already renumbered and recrested, but a flick through Yeadon confirmed that it also needed a Westy.



New handrail as the prototype takes a wide swing around the pump on locos so fitted. I've put all the Hornby bits on and also added extra pipes front and back. Weathering has been started, so once these bits are painted that'll be the next thing.

Does anyone know how you get into the cab on these to fit a crew? I can see clips and glue underneath but I don't want to start prising blindly.

Another little job for Folkestone, some more headcode discs. A GE feature and something I've done before, but we keep losing them. I've made up 2 packets, 24 in the past, and we were down to 3 at Butterley. These are really SR ones so the top and bottom etched bits are cut off. I solder a small piece of tube up the back to fit them to the locos. With a bit of tacky wax they ought to stay where they're put and they also fit over scale width lamp irons, which saves changing them.

[mick b]

Re the L1 I gave up trying to find a way in on mine. I covered the Cab doors with tape (to protect them from the glue) and added glue to the figures feet and placed them inside using tweezers through the door opening. Take it slowly and hold in place until the glue "bites" , fiddly but not impossible.
Surprised the motor has gone pop ,much mileage ? nice looking Loco.

[jwealleans]

The club one is an ABS kit, Mick and has been around longer than I have. It has a 1024 which I think has just reached the end of its natural life.

[Atlantic 3279]

Good opportunity to put a better, gutsier can-motor into it.

[mick b]

Quote

. I've put all the Hornby bits on and also added extra pipes front and back. Weathering has been started, so once these bits are painted that'll be the next thing.





A good build then !!!!!!!!!!!!!! looks like Hornby to me . If its a kit surprised it has a cab floor too

[Atlantic 3279]

I think the meaning of JW's reply was that the old, failed, club loco is from the ABS kit.

The loco he is now adapting is a different kettle of fish.

[mick b]

mmmmmmmmmmm re read . The advice re figures was still for Hornby motor was a side issue anyway

[jwealleans]

Graeme has it - 67706, the club loco, is an ABS kit and 67738, mine illustrated above, is a Hornby purchase. It came from a 'sell them very cheap' website which was highlighted on here one morning - if it hadn't been so cheap I might not have bought it as it has a stepped running plate and was also weathered and late crest, neither of which I really wanted. The first L1s in East Anglia were the earliest Darlington built series with the curved running plate.

I did some fiddling with 67706 this morning and it may not be as fatal as we thought - assiduous cleaning has brought it back to life, although we'll need a loaded test to be sure if it's fit for Folkestone and I am not going to the club tonight. I'll give it a thorough service and see what it does next Monday. I have also found a spare 1024, second hand, so there is the possibility of changing it if I need to. I did think about a different motor, but (i) it's not mine and (ii) the 1024 it has has done sterling service, so there's no reason not to keep it simple and do a straight swap. It pulls 3/4 non-corridors and a PMV on the layout and has done so capably for a number of years. The 1024 is a highly underrated motor IMHO - that almost-O4 we had on that coal train at Grantham last time has one in it and it dealt with those no problem.

If I get time this evening I'll post photos so you can compare the two locos.

[mick b]

You have to go to the 14(16) series to get better the 12 series are poor.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... app=forums

[earlswood nob]

Afternoon everyone
I think the 1024 is a great little motor. Branchlines do a data sheet on motors and the 1024 has over 80% the power of a 1620, but twice that of a 1224.
Earlswood nob

[jwealleans]

Geoff Baxter of Hollywood Foundry has done a page on RMWeb about motors and came to the same conclusion. The 12 series aren't up to much and you might as well use a 10 series. Those two Sentinels upthread only have 1020s and they'll pull enormous amounts.

As promised, here are the two L1s, ABS at the rear and Hornby to the fore:



67706 was built by Malcolm Hine a number of years ago. Things are looking up for it, actually; it occurred to me to examine the carbon brushes this evening and I found nothing to report. Nothing at all, in fact. So a new set have been fitted and that seems to have helped even further. It's now back in the box until next week.

This has also been across the bench:



I fitted a new motor earlier in the year and managed to wire it up backwards. Now corrected. It's a B17 variant you don't often see (B17/3?) with the vacuum tank high on the back of the tender. This is a right mongrel, being a Hornby body on a Comet chassis with a Dave Alexander tender with the top largely scratchbuilt. At the time I built it (2005-ish) it was the best way to a decent B17.

[jwealleans]

Something for St J now - a colleague in the Ely club has sent me links to the following photos showing Ferguson tractors being transported. Some are going by road:

http://www.stilltimecollection.co.uk/de ... usson.html

http://www.stilltimecollection.co.uk/de ... usson.html

The most interesting for me was this one, showing both road and rail loading.

http://www.stilltimecollection.co.uk/de ... usson.html

I think you can see a Lowfit beyond and below the crane, with two tractors back to back and the rear wheels interlocked. I can't see whether that works or not now as I've lashed all mine into place.

There's no date on these but maybe someone can tell from the registration plates? The tractors seem to have the exhaust routed along the side of the gearbox casing and I don't know when they changed to the upright pipe, although I believe it was fairly early in the production series.

This Stilltime collection is new to me but looks to be very interesting and much better catalogued than the NRM/Science Museum photos.

[Saint Johnstoun]

Thanks for that - The Vulcans date from late 1951. The vertical exhaust was an optional extra normally fitted by the dealer. It is nice to see the TE20s loaded back to back on the Lowfits as this was the way I remember seeing official photos of them - sadly I never managed to get copies of those particular views.

I would add that many Fergies sold second-hand seemed to get vertical exhausts - when ploughing with a tail wind the horizontal one tended to dispense TVO fumes on the driver!