Small things today. I was investigating whistles, but inevitably the eye strays. I noticed something about the cab handrails. I ought to stop looking at photos, because I keep finding things. Actually, what I really should do is deeply study photos
before I start the job!
Now, I had blithely installed turned handrail knobs for the horizontal rails in front of the door openings. That’s not what was done on the real thing. So, out came the knobs, and I was left with holes far too big for the 0.7mm wire I will use for the handrails.
The real thing, I think henceforth to be known as RT to save typing fingers, had bent rails with small circular plates. I started out by soldering some scrap etch behind the cab sides to cover the holes. I’d drilled said holes 1.2mm to take the knobs, and luckily I have brass rod of the same diameter in stock. Rather than drill right through the plates, I fitted the rod in the hole and applied solder. Happily, things were firm, so I clipped the rod off as close as I dared. As I set about cleaning things up, I realised I didn’t need to file the rods down to the actual cab side. Leaving them slightly proud meant I could simulate the RT's plates, which would only need drilling out to take the wire handrail.
Only later did I think I could have used suitable brass tube stock for the job.
Still, it’s done now. Happy with that. So, whistles.
The RT has a triangular bracket, bolted to the firebox crown and through the cladding, which supports the whistles. I let the noggin think about how to replicate things in a way that was relatively simple to achieve. In the end, I drilled a hole through the firebox, soldered in some wire as a support, then fashioned the triangular bracket from scrap. With a little fiddling, the cast whistles were fitted adequately.
Before anyone says, yes, the whistles are the right way round and did have straight pipe runs into the cab front sheet. I’ve checked numerous early photos and they all show them in this order, rather than the usual way. Later in life, the whistles were swapped around to the more familiar order, and might well have ended up with the characteristic swan-neck pipework and shields.
I suppose I should contemplate those tank top baffle plates now.