West End Workbench

[Atso]

Thanks for the additional picture of the Q2 Jonathan! I've got a bit of a soft spot for those and have the Union Mills N gauge one in my collection even though it is a tiny bit out of period for me!

That A8(?) looks fantastic as well. Hope you, Graeme or Tom will take some videos and photos of all these fantastic creations in action!

[jwealleans]

The A8 is for Ormesby, Steve, but I'll try to get some video of it when I take it back down there. I believe photography for Grantham is being taken care of.

This evening the two C1s have been on running in turns at the club after servicing last night. One of the other Ormesby chaps brought in a D11 for me to give some minor attention to as well. The colour balance isn't great, it's taken with a phone, but you get the idea.



I tested them with the teak set I've been building. The WSM one (right) showed the limitations of an old and probably quite tired mechanism and only managed 5 of the 6 (I had to remove the RF). The K's one (left), freshly fitted with a Mashima 1428 and Highflier 54:1, put a smile all over my face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSwUnAvkvZc

That's quite a heavy set and it played with them. A very clear illustration of the way motors and drivetrains have come on.

[jwealleans]

It seems to have been loco carnage in the north country in the last few days, although I haven't (yet) taken a saw to this:



The liberal use of glue on this loco extended to the chassis as well and the motor had almost been built in. It took quite a bit of separating, but we're there now. I've made up the new drivetrain tonight as you can see top left. It's the same 1428/Highflier 54:1 combination as is in the C1 and was destined for the other C1. It will do in here for now and may then be replaced as I think I have room for a larger (longer) motor in the B16.

My parcel from Mainly Trains arrived commendably quickly as usual so I've been able to add the final handrail to the teak TK.



I meant to post a picture of the FK alongside it last time I updated: there's quite a contrast between the clean lines of the end vestibuled coach and the older one with many more doors.



That last picture also shows up the smoking/no smoking markings very well. These are available from Precision Decals - I've mentioned them before and thought everyone knew about them, but learned this week that some people didn't. They're very good, if a bit fragile. I need to have a session adding the missing ones before these coaches are complete.

In the same spirit of 'not everyone's thought of/knows about that', here's how I've made up coal loads for tenders for those locos which are missing them.



The O4s, for example, have had the cast load removed and a lead weight planted inside the tender. I've then cut a plastikard rectangle to fit the coal space and moulded the shape of the intended heap on top with polyfilla. This is them sprayed black and crushed coal applied in the usual way with PVA.



Whoever gets that middle one will wonder how he upset the shedmaster as it's a right heap of nutty slack, but it still looks better than the moulded one. A spot of blutak will keep them in place.

Finally, for Tom's benefit, this is the NER/LNER 52' CCT as formerly produced by Roger Chivers.

[Tom F]

Finally, for Tom's benefit, this is the NER/LNER 52' CCT as formerly produced by Roger Chivers.

Thank JW
So this is the larger one of the other three they used to produce.

Is the only difference with the others the actual length?

[mick b]

Nice coaches JW

Tom, louvres on the NER version have a look here for for a pic of mine at bottom of page

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=125

Not the easiest kit to build.

[jwealleans]

The shorter LNER version is on p 49 of this thread, Tom. They do all have a family resemblance.

[earlswood nob]

Good morning all
I personally think the Mashima 1428 driving through a High Level gearbox is difficult to beat for 4mm locos. I find the combination as smooth as a Portescap and a lot cheaper. I'm also told that Portescap gearboxes can get noisy when worn.
The Mashima 1830 will fit inside some large bodies, (e.g. rebuilt W1, streamlined P2), and provide awesome power at a slower speed.
Earlswood nob

[auldreekie]

For all that you say, that B16 looks to have the makings of a very decent locomotive.


auldreekie

[LNER4479]

It seems to have been loco carnage in the north country in the last few days, although I haven't (yet) taken a saw to this:



The liberal use of glue on this loco extended to the chassis as well and the motor had almost been built in. It took quite a bit of separating, but we're there now. I've made up the new drivetrain tonight as you can see top left. It's the same 1428/Highflier 54:1 combination as is in the C1 and was destined for the other C1. It will do in here for now and may then be replaced as I think I have room for a larger (longer) motor in the B16.

Ooh, that new drivetrain in the B16 sounds just the job; look forward to seeing it purr round the layout.

Love the coach views. I know what you mean about the cleaner lines of the TK but there's something about the non-end vestibule, turnbuckle underframes that just 'do' it for me (maybe because all the RTR offerings tend to be later steel angle type).

Finally, re tender coal, something I experimented with recently was using a small block of polystyrene as the basis for the coal load. Once stuck down I then just picked away at it, a 'bobble' at a time until I had the desired shape then painted it black (before sticking the coal on top). The 'individual lumps' effect of the polystyrene prior to gluing the coal on was semi-convincing in its own right.

[Tom F]

Did you get to the bottom of the B16s problems?

[jwealleans]

Yes. Visible extreme right of the picture. I don't know if a winding failed or what (the magnet still feels OK) but it only worked intermittently even with wires applied direct to the brush holders, so it had to go.

[earlswood nob]

G'day all
Making lumps of coal from polystyrene chips seems laborious.
I scrounge the odd lump from my visits to preservation lines, but remember to take a plastic bag.
On return home, I put the lump in a small plastic bag, hit it with a hammer and sieve the results.
One small lump lasts for ages and the staff always seem pleased to chat to another railway enthusiast.
Earlswood nob

[Tom F]

Nice coaches JW

Tom, louvres on the NER version have a look here for for a pic of mine at bottom of page

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic. ... &start=125

Not the easiest kit to build.

Cheers Mick....that is trip down memory, good old RMweb.
That Raven A2 looks very nice!

[jwealleans]

that B16 looks to have the makings of a very decent locomotive.

Thanks, AR. The paint job is dog rough when you get up close, but it will get a proper strip and rebuild with solder in due course. As long as it lasts the weekend at BH, it'll do for now. We placed it next to Tom's PDK one last weekend and the height difference all seemed to be in the arc of the cab front and roof, so it might be fairly straightforward to correct.

Tom, if you do follow up any of these Chivers CCTs, make sure you read my or Mick's thread on building them as there are some errors in the kit which you can correct - there's an article in MRJ by Peter Tatlow which goes over the details. I wasn't aware of the article when I built the 52' one but I imagine it shares the same fault as the other two.

EN, I don't think 4479 meant he was making coal from the polystyrene - just using it to form a heap in the way I've used the polyfilla.

[earlswood nob]

G'day all after the black clouds turned north for London
The Halfords filler primer is only available in yellow, which put to rest my wondering why people chose yellow for primer.
I do like the No Smoking decals, as I didn't realise they existed.
Perhaps I misunderstood the tender coal technique, but I shall continue using real coal.
I think the Raven A2 always looks good with the 8w tender. I shall put a spare Wills tender on mine when I get around to building it.
Earlswood nob