Make do and Mend - Keeping going

[52D]

Drmditch do you have an alternate view of the posters? a lady I know runs holiday homes in the old Warkworth station and shes always pestering me for quirky NER or LNER inspired stuff in relation to Warkworth.

[drmditch]

Most of the posters I use are taken from the NRM website. You can occasionally find others by 'googling' as appropriate.
I just 'cut and paste' them and shrink to fit my models.
(I hope this counts as single copy 'private study' for copyright purposes!)

If your friend wanted to use them for advertising it would probably be best to ask the NRM about arrangements.

Link - Here

[drmditch]

First post of 2014, so I hope everybody has a good and positive year.

[drmditch]

As there a number of brass kits in my storage boxes, I thought it might be helpful (and cheaper) to try a scratch-built vehicle as a learning tool. I might, in hindsight, have chosen an easier prototype.

The NER A2/LNER MAC L Machinery wagon does look nice, and a plastic model was actually my first attempt at scratch building. Despite re-working it, it is never going to be right, so I thought it would be worth trying it in brass.

Well, it is certainly a learning tool!

I’ve used two main thicknesses of brass sheet, and embossed the rivet detail onto brass shim that I’ve had for ages and have no idea to replace when I’ve used it all.

I scanned the drawings in Tatlow Vol2, and those by J Joseph in RM Feb 2004. The two are subtly different, but the RM ones seem a better match to the side frames in the photographs.

After some trial and error, I printed off the scanned image to scale, cut out the side-frames, and stuck them to the brass with PVA. This made cutting and shaping much easier. Detail was added with a ‘normal’ solder, and assembly was planned to use a low melting point solder.

The deck and side members were cut and bent up from thin sheet, and I had two attempts and there are still errors to be corrected.

My major error was in the engineering design. Assembly was difficult, and had to be entirely re-worked twice. I should have worked out a design based on the original!

There are many people on here who are far more experienced than I am with brass, but in case it is helpful, here are my conclusions so far.

1. Cleaning, a good flux, and a clean iron are essential.
2. Good design, so structures can be bent, assembled, preferably bolted, and then soldered. The bolts can be temporary.
3. Design using sub-assemblies. I only used three main sub-assemblies, and it should have been more. This allows soldering to be quick and avoids heating up the whole
structure too much.
4. Make jigs as required. I use blocks of wood and MDF, but I should have made a better jig for the main construction
5. It takes more time than working in plastic. I always rush too much anyway, but with brass it is essential to cut, jig, and solder cleanly and accurately. I suppose
that because brass is harder, you have to take more time working it.

Anyway, that’s it so far. I might have a break making something easier before this gets finished.

(I did put a separate query ..here.. about whether the side struts should be rectangular or round in section. Unless someone comes up with better information, I’m going with round!)

[drmditch]

The brass and soldering work is done, now back to glue for the details, especially the axleboxes and springs.

This is taking a long time!

[drmditch]

Complete (except for painting, couplings etc) , and I have learned a lot!

I could have done better, but I'm not going to start again. The detail parts for the brakes and rigging were much easier to make and fit than was the basic structure. Probably comes back to my design again. Moral being, make a sketch before cutting metal!

[will5210]

That looks remarkably good for a first effort to me!

[drmditch]

That looks remarkably good for a first effort to me!

Thank you, but as said above, it could have been better. Whereas with plastic one can create strong joins and add detail easily, with brass a good engineering design with sub-assemblies is essential. One thing I did get right though was planning when to add the detail (especially the embossed rivets) and what temperature solder to use. It was just the main assembly I got wrong!

[drmditch]

Completed Lowmac, but still struggling to find a suitable load.
Shame about the couplings!

(Trying to find information about Steam Ploughing/Traction/Rollers being transported by rail..... here)

[drmditch]

Here is an NER G7 van I made a long time ago.

It would be more useful on my railway at the moment if I re-liveried it into pre-1936 LNER livery, although perhaps it's Vacuum braked and Westinghouse piped condition wouldn't have overlapped with the LNER livery for very long.

Tatlow V2 and the NERA express have photographs, but all in either in one of the NER liveries, or post-1936 LNER. Does anyone know of any other pictures?

[drmditch]

After taking so long on my brazen adventures, here is a quick project as a recovery!

Mr Tatlow's works are always a mine of inspiration, and for many years Triang/Hornby made vans of 16' x 8' nominal dimensions. I think this one started of as a promotional vehicle for Beatties. I did cut out and inset the sides (after some repairs) although it might have been easier to throw them away. I have a lot of spare old Mainline/Bachmann 10' underframes (see higher up in this thread) and it is possible to salvage W irons and axleboxes from them. (Usually only two per underframe, so as to avoid the moulded-on brake levers).

I cut them out and file off the top web; file the axleboxes flat to a suitable angle; and cut out and fasten a suitable axlebox cover. Then they can be used rather like the Parkside mouldings.

For this GNR 16' van, the plastic roof profile matches well, although it has needed some repairs.
The braking systems seem a little complex. I intend this one to be a piped version, as on Volume 1 Page 42. It appears to have both wheels on one end braked, but it's difficult to work out from the photograph. Are there any GNR experts who could help?

[earlswood nob]

Evenin' all
I like the look of the van.
I hadn't thought of converting RTR stock.
I bought Tatlow I & II, and they're brilliant books, but so many temptations.
Earlswood nob

[drmditch]

Completed GNR 16' Van, and in less than two weeks!

I have tried to interpret the photograph to get the brake right. There is only one brake shoe, on the side shown. I have made a representation of a 'reversing' linkage on the other side, to give RH levers, presuming that this vehicle would have been so altered by the time it got it's LNER livery.

Does anyone know of a source for GNR Ribbed Buffers?

[will5210]

Van looks excellent! Lanarkshire models do a good range of buffers.

[drmditch]

Van looks excellent! Lanarkshire models do a good range of buffers.

Thank you again. I've used Lanarkshire's products before. The NER G7 van above was refitted with them, as were a couple of other vehicles I haven't dared to post on here yet. However, I haven't seen the kind of ribbed buffer casting that the GNR used in their range.

I can't quite work out how to make them either, and would be grateful for any advice.