West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Duckets are indeed included, as is pretty well everything else as far as I can see - roof, with all holes for topgubbins in place, door handles, some bits I'm not sure about yet... I have four skylights in stock courtesy of 51L and some old fashioned high torpedo vents. The kit predates Bill's foray into 3D printing otherwise it would probably have been complete.

[jwealleans]

Some progress on the PBV but no photos - I'll do one tonight after I've fitted the roof.

I've been busy with last minute preparations for BH - including this (poor photo on a phone).



Running trials for the C1 which, it transpired, had had a gearbox problem. One of the intermediate shafts in the HighFlyer box had moved out of its locating hole at one side and was running at an angle. It has to be said that it didn't affect running forwards at all and we only found it when running backwards through pointwork. I thought I must have forgotten to Loctite it, but the spacing washer was very thoroughly attached to the shaft, so it had either failed or not run into the right places. It needed a thorough test in reverse, therefore, once sorted, but having removed the rear coupling in order to fit a Kadee, reverse running was the only available option. Here it's also testing some parcels vans with recently sprung buffers round 3' curves.

[earlswood nob]

Good morning all
I, also, seem to be having problems with High Level gearboxes. They seem to evaporate and vanish into the ether.
I ordered three last summer, and can only remember using two of them, but there are none left.
I shall have to order some more as my current projects seem to all be stalling due to lack of gearboxes.
It's a shame that Barrow Hill is so far away from deepest Surrey, I'm sure that I would enjoy it. However, it's an old rugby playing schoolfriend's funeral/wake on friday, so I will not be in very good condition to travel so far on saturday.
Earlswood nob

[jwealleans]

Well, here we go. Nothing to do this week except pack the thermals and thermos. This has gone about as far as it will until I receive buffers and axleboxes although I may have found someone with a drawing in case I've missed anything major.



It's a nice little kit to build, but knowing at least one reader has one for future work, here are my thoughts on it after building. The one piece hinges Bill puts in (which also give you a tumblehome profile) are a great idea, but in this kit they were too long. I don't think they'd allowed for the overlap of the two part sides. No great issue, just cut them in two. Put the buffer beam overlay onto the end before you build up the body or the little folded tab on the end of the sides will interfere with getting it seated properly. Possibly as a result of that, I had to file back the ends of the chassis so it would fit behind the buffer beams and allow the body to sit down.

The sides and solebars are all etched together and slide down over the chassis which is another very good idea. I was looking at putting some sort of securing bolts in there, but the screw couplings I will fit will hold the two parts together. There's a roof, which I wasn't expecting but which is very useful for positioning the roof fittings. The torpedo vents, incidentally are from Exactoscale.

I ended up with a hole at the bottom of the ducket when I fixed it. I'm going to try one of Graeme's resin ones on the other side.

There are a few extra handrails and lamp irons to fit and it will be done.

Bill, if you are reading - the two discs with the central holes are gas tank ends? There's also an etched plate with an 'A' which I guess should go on the solebar somewhere but I can't see on drawings of this or any similar vehicles. Where should that go?

[will5210]

That looks beautifully neat!

Out of interest, do you spring/compensate all your goods stock? I've been building a few Parkside wagons recently as the instructions intended, but I'm wondering whether to build everything sprung from now on. What are your thoughts? (if you don't mind me asking)

[MikeTrice]

Can I ask who's the roof vents and gas lamps are?

[jwealleans]

Will, I spring very long vehicles or scratchbuilt ones. I use Bill's springing units or Mike's (MJT) interchangeably. Bill's have the advantage of fitting more closely behind solebars if you haven't a lot of room. MJT inside bearing units are invaluable if you have a kit built wagon which has gone a bit wrong (often a WM one where the axles won't go square to the body) but you don't want to chop the W irons off. If you need to spring everything then I'd look at the track, not the stock.

Mike - the gas lamps were loose in a drawer but they're probably 51L. The vents (nice, aren't they?) are Exactoscale 4CX201A on here.

[MikeTrice]

Yes, the vents are nice. Thanks.

[jwealleans]

Well, I was so pleased with that Howlden 6 wheeler that I picked up the next vehicle on the pile and thought I'd have a go at that as well. This is also a Howlden and also by Bill, a D 129 Composite.



I've just about applied all the bits you get in the kit here and spent a couple of evenings making the roof. There's a cornice on these so I shall apply a piece of Evergreen strip which will hide the small gaps and inaccuracies. After that it's detailing bits and an interior.

I put some of the underframe equipment onto the PBV and here it is posed with the slightly larger diagram which D & S did.

[will5210]

Will, I spring very long vehicles or scratchbuilt ones. I use Bill's springing units or Mike's (MJT) interchangeably. Bill's have the advantage of fitting more closely behind solebars if you haven't a lot of room. MJT inside bearing units are invaluable if you have a kit built wagon which has gone a bit wrong (often a WM one where the axles won't go square to the body) but you don't want to chop the W irons off. If you need to spring everything then I'd look at the track, not the stock.

Mike - the gas lamps were loose in a drawer but they're probably 51L. The vents (nice, aren't they?) are Exactoscale 4CX201A on here.

Many thanks

Will

[jwealleans]

I should have said 'spring or compensate', since the MJT units are rocking rather than sprung.

[jwealleans]

I had quite bit of time at the bench this weekend and got on with a few jobs.

I've been repairing one or two wagons from the Thurston shunting stock which had been damaged either at shows or (more likely) in transport. These grain vans had the Geoff Kent treatment some few years ago including the riveted strip at each end of the roof. This was done using an etched strip from (I think) Alan Gibson and it had lifted and caught on something. Now I'd use Evergreen strip and Archer transfers.



With care building and the extra detail Geoff recommends these make a nice model. They are both compensated as the short wheelbase makes them very prone to derailing when shunted if they're rigid. The detailing is mainly handrails, bits around the roof doors, better buffers and hopper operating gear. I see we have a handwheel missing on the left hand wagon as well. I'm looking forward to seeing the Bachmann BR hoppers after years of resisting invitations to lengthen a Dapol one or two.



The Howlden has had undergear and trussing and is now awaiting roof adornment. I don't have enough vents or lamps and so I've ordered some from the ever-helpful Dave at Roxey Mouldings. These need to be the high, pregrouping torpedo vents rather than the lower profile ones the LNER used. Both this and the 6 wheeler have also had buffers fitted. I use the Wizard Models L & Y sprung buffers (LYRC025) - the stock is too long for GNR, but the shape is similar and they come with the oval buffer head which is required.



This Kirk conversion to ECJS has been seen before on here, but that nice Mr King provided me with some clerestory castings instead of the rather unsatisfactory arrangement which I had before. Here I've grafted two together to make a long enough roof (see where the vent spacings become irregular) and stuck one side section back on. It's curing before the second one is applied. I think this may appeal to Graeme - the side sections look to me to be cut from Triang Thompson roofs.



Finally, I'm seeing the owner of this next weekend and thought it might be nice to have something to bring with me. This is from one of the most recent batches of D & S kits, a D 87 Milk Van. Went together very nicely, doors are a bit fiddly, roof fit is awful. That's this week's job. It's now drying off before the last bits are glued on.

[Atlantic 3279]

Anything that turns part of a Thompson into part of a item of true elegance* has to be a good thing.

I was surprised to see that you appear to have used only the central clerestory sections of the roofs. Cutting these sections out and then joining on new side pieces must have been a bit tedious. Would the fit have been too awkward, or the overall width wrong, had you made use of the whole of the roof?

*As an "aside" there's a lovely caption to a picture in March Backtrack, referring to all-maroon coaches as being the last "grown up" livery on Britain's Railways, before the hue-mongers got to work. I tend to agree, teak being far better still of course. The ghastly splashes of gaudy colour from a child's paint box do nothing for railway liveries.

[jwealleans]

Would the fit have been too awkward, or the overall width wrong

Both and the height was out as well. The Hornby roof is much shallower and flatter than the one here. The central sections were exactly the same width, though, so it seemed clear what needed to be done. There's some filling along each side (the second side section went on last night) and then it will be put aside until the body moves forward. There seems to be a world shortage of Hornby 14mm wheels at the moment so I haven't been able to build the bogies and get on with the rest of it.

[jwealleans]

This week, while waiting for bits, I have mostly been building a pig-ugly coach.



I like these matchboard vehicles, they're so awful they're really eyecatching. This is a D 111 Lavatory 3rd. A number of these were transferred to East Anglia in the 1930s and this one will run on Thurston and Wickham Market. I have a couple more ex-NER coaches to make up so we have a choice of non-corridor stock to run.