James' workbench- ex-GC locos and stock in OO

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Very nice, looking forward to see what you do with them

manna

[James Harrison]

Some intriguing models that you have acquired. Looking at the C13, I think that the cab roof might need reworking before you put a new whistle in place - it looks rather flat and doesn't have the distinctive shape to it. Overall, I think you could get away with running the trio on any GCR layout.

I found an Ian Beattie drawing for the C13 and C14 yesterday- the roof does look more pronounced in the drawing than on the model. Methinks some surgery is called for. It's funny how getting one detail like that wrong can make the difference between a convincing model and a caricature.

G'Day Gents

Very nice, looking forward to see what you do with them

manna

Thanks! These models will be forming part of the 2015/16 build programme- unless I decide to move them up the queue. The B2 will just be a repainting exercise (I think the structural issues I refered to earlier are just a screw which has come loose). Having found last night that "City of Lincoln" ended up in GCR green in 1922 the hunt is on now for appropriate nameplates.

[James Harrison]

Meanwhile work starts on the Gorton neverwazza mogul.

The first thing I have to do was cut 7mm off the firebox of the D11 boiler to get it to fit the 43xx frames.

I was then able to remove more metal (from the firebox top and the front end of the boiler, and the underside of the smokebox) to get it to fit over the motor in the 43xx (a massive metal lump...) By cutting away most of the firebox top I could seat the boiler almost 1mm lower- now it'll be case of fitting a piece of plastic sheet over the hole!

So, in any case this is what I have at present (just loosely fitted together)...



I have decided to retain the 43xx running frames as I feel it unlikely that given the aesthetic treatment Robinson gave his designs c.1910-1921 that the loco had it been built would have seen the light of day with a flat running plate and individual splashers, perhaps more likely it would have had a family resemblance to the D10s, D11s and B2s. Hence my finished model will ultimately have a raised running plate over the drivers and a continuous low splasher (this last much akin to the B7s).

[earlswood nob]

Afternoon all
On building three were given green livery (423/5/8)and three black (424/6/7). The black engines were repainted GCR green before grouping. They were given LNER green until the WWII economy black in 1941/2.

Earlswood nob

[James Harrison]

Thanks for the livery info! Typically the one I want, being odd man out, didn't see GCR green until almost the very end (August 1922). I think therrfore that the B2 will go into GC green and my next D10 will be GC green with 'L&NER' on the tender. These early & transitional liveries are intetesting!

[James Harrison]

Meanwhile work continues on the neverwazza!





Since last time quite a lot has gone on. The new boiler has been firmly fixed into the running plate (twice, as it happens- the first time I then dropped the model, and broke it).

I took a tracing of the Robinson cab cut-out from a drawing of the B5 class in one of my books of loco drawings, and then transferred it onto the cab sheets, which I then filed down to the new shape.

New splashers have been fabricated from 0.5mm plastic sheet- I've followed later Robinson practice in having one long splasher rather than the layout shown in the book which was an awkward combination of early (individual splasher) design and later (long splasher) work.

The cylinders have been altered too- usually I just buy these in as spares from Bachmann but at about £15 a pair they get quite expensive. This time I decided to have a go at altering the original cylinders- this decision was influenced not only by price but also by the fact that to fit entirely new cylinders would have been just as much work as to alter the existing ones. So I set to work. I had to cut away the tops of the cylinders, then file down the backs and remove a fair bit of material from the inside faces. Then on the chassis little lumps of cast metal had to be removed. Then I had to ue some plastic channel to reinstate the passageway for the piston rod, and then when I refitted the altered cylinders I had to fix a little pice of plastic sheet above them to get a good positive fixing.

Now the next big job on the loco is to sort out the new front frames.

[James Harrison]

Considerably further on with the Gorton Mogul now...



I've added a new smokebox saddle out of plastic sheet, and I then used the same material to extend the tender sheets up by 6mm to get closer to the Robinson design. New buffers have been added- cheking through my spares box I found a complete set of Robinson oval buffers which have now found their way onto the model.

The only major bits left for the loco are footsteps and handrails- of which more anon pending experiments later this week- the focus is now shifting to the tender.

[James Harrison]

I think with the Gorton Mogul that the finish line is coming into sight. Here is the model after a second coat of matt black paint:



Work still to do on the model basically runs to lining (for which I'm going to attempt a new method- I'm going to scan the model onto my laptop, then use photoshop to trace around the outlines, then print those lines onto waterslide paper- this is just waiting on a copy of photoshop, the special paper and varnish) and handrails (another new method to try- 15amp fuse wire which should hopefully be a bit more maleable than my previous attempts in plastic rod or brass wire).

In other news, I've acquired another member of the 'waiting to go through the works club'...



... A Great Central 'Immingham' class locomotive. I actully built one of these from a Hornby loco not so very long ago, but particularly the area around the cab has always struck me as being off in some indeterminate way. My plan therefore is to use this model as a master to build a replacement cab for my first B4, then repaint it into LNER lined green and give it etched brass 'Immingham' nameplates.

Finally, for a change a model that will have absolutely nothing done to it whatever:



My Bachmann 'Pom Pom' arrived! I'm very pleased with it- and I'm equally pleased to note that the pair of Pom Poms I built last year are just as good as it (so neither of them need replacement to match)...

[James Harrison]

I've pretty much gone as far as I can with the mogul until I can do the lining (which is waiting on decal paper and varnish).

In the interim I've begun my next project which is converting a Triang 2P into an ex-GCR 11B (LNER D9).

Now what I have done to start this off so far has been to remove by means of a scalpel, file and sandpaper all of the moulded handrails and steampipes on the boiler, file a 3mm gap at the rear of the boiler barrel to provide space to insert a fillet from the firebox of a spare 2P body to lengthen the firebox to proper length and cut away the cab roof extension to the rear of the 2P cab.

Photos later, I hope...

[S.A.C. Martin]

The mogul is rather convincing. The Gorton lines and GCR looks very much captured.

Have you seen Graeme King's GCR Baldwin neverwazza? A very powerful looking and rather handsome beast in a similar vein.

I must say it's nice to see such devotion to a particular railway and heritage in this vein.

[James Harrison]

The mogul is rather convincing. The Gorton lines and GCR looks very much captured.

Have you seen Graeme King's GCR Baldwin neverwazza? A very powerful looking and rather handsome beast in a similar vein.

I must say it's nice to see such devotion to a particular railway and heritage in this vein.

Thank you! I think it is one of my best models yet (then again, I say that after every model...)

I recall reading Graeme's build of the Baldwin neverwazza a few years ago- I agree, a very nice-looking machine. Interestingly, Gorton at around the same time had a go at designing something similar- both locos are illustrated in George Dow's Great Central, volume 3.

[James Harrison]

I've finally managed to get a few photographs of work so far on my small-boilered D9.





Work carried out so far consists of the following:

1) All detail removed from the boiler and firebox.

2) A 3mm slit was then filed into the boiler barrel right in front of the firebox.

3) A 3mm fillet of a second 2P firebox was then inserted, and once the glue had set it was filled and sanded.

4) Model filler was used to fill the holes left behind when the boiler fittings were removed.

5) The running plate was sanded down flush with the cabsheets from the rear of the cab to the front steps.

6) New cabsheets and splashers were cut from 0.4mm plastic sheet (this thickness has a nice slightly transparent finish, so I could trace directly off the Charles Reddy drawing).

7) From my spare 2P body the cab front was removed, filed down and then inserted between the new cabsheets. This extended the cab by 6mm to the front.

8 ) A piece of 0.4mm plastic sheet was gently curved between my fingers and then smothered in solvent and fixed down to the cab roof. Once the solvent had dried I held the model over a candle to further soften this piece and co-erce it to take up the curve of the cab roof. I then gave it another dousing with the solvent.

[James Harrison]

Back to the mogul for the final bits- lining and handrails are done!



Having waited a week for parts so I could do the lining as a transfer, I got frustrated with the method after about half an hour, and lined it out by hand with a paint pen and ruler.

On the other hand; my attempt at using fuse wire for the boiler handrail worked a treat. Unfortunately I found that the 15amp wire was too thick to fit through the handrail knobs, so had to use 5amp instead. This I think looks too thin and flimsy; next time I'll try to get hold of some 10amp or 13amp wire instead.

[earlswood nob]

G'day all
The mogul looks pretty good.
The wire that I use for handrails is the Gibson 0.45mm brass wire.
I've no idea what the equivalent is as fusewire.

Ealrswood nob

[James Harrison]

Thanks!

So far on my engines I've tried

- various gauges of jewellery wire (brass?) which came coiled up and didn't want to uncoil;
- Hornby steel wire, which came as a straight length and didn't want to bend;
- various plastic rods (good for straight lengths but sags over time, fairly difficult to get it to take a small curve and hold it);
- 15 amp fuse wire (too thick to fit through the handrail knobs);
- 5 amp fuse wire (very maleable but too thin).

I've just ordered some 0.45mm straight brass wire- I'll use this on the D9 and see how I get on. Fuse wire is easy to use but the difficulty is finding an appropriate gauge of wire- it seems that anything between 5 and 15 amp wire is as rare as hens teeth.