A West Midlands Works

oldravendale

Western Thunderer
I used car detailing tape on the "K", but this is now difficult to get hold of since go faster stripes have gone out of fashion. However, if you can get hold of it I have to say that it works very well. I have a roll.....

B
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
The build of ex LBSCR locos is nearing completion with the E2 having reached this state.
Loco 21 220119.JPG
and
Loco 19 220119.JPG
While the E6 has reached this stage
Loco 11 22011.JPG
and
Loco 13 220119.JPG
A roll of car headlight tape has been purchased from H**fords and will be used for the boilerbands. Both locos are still awaiting final detailing and hopefully the missing/alternative castings can be sourced at the Bristol show.

Now where is that rebuilt West Country?
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
It has been some time since I posted any news about my latest West Country build. The model took a back seat while the two ex LBSCR tank engines were built. I bent one of my own rules by advancing the build of the E2 thereby delaying the build of Crediton.
Loco 3 030219.jpg
At last the boiler and smokebox have joined the running plate and cab. I had trialled slightly longer self tapping screws to fit the resin body to the cab etc. but found the long screws were stressing the casting in a couple of places, principally at bottom of the firebox to the cab. Shorter screws were acquired courtesy of Finney 7 and all is now well. The smokebox has been glued to the resin body using Araldite and once cured the smokebox was soldered to its saddle. This has now been partially detailed with castings for the outside steampipes glued in place. The castings have a groove for the deflectors to sit in, but I took a leaf out of the MOK build instructions and cut off the sections which are outside of the deflectors. Once they are in place the remainder of the castings will be put in place and the rather rough cut will be hidden.

Fitting the etches is almost finished and now the detailing can start in earnest.
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
How time flies. Crediton has reached the stage where the end of the build is in sight. The frames etc. have been sprayed and the valve gear should be added soon, then proving trials on Heyside can commence. The basic frame has already been tested and fortunately there were only a few tweaks required however under its own power I feel sure a few other issues will come to the fore.
Loco 9 210319.JPG
Plunger pick-ups are fitted to the engine and two of the tender axles have wiper pick-ups to aid current collection. Once satisfactory running is achieved the loco will be off to Paul Moore for him to work his wonders with the spray gun.

The E6 0-6-2t is now back from having the sound chip installed and it will soon be off to its owner who will complete the numbering etc.
Paint 2 260219 (1).JPG
Likewise the E2 0-6-0t has been completed, running trials passed and it is now with Ian Rathbone for him to paint.
Loco 19 220119.JPG

So now work is concentrated on building a David Andrews Fowler 2-6-4t with limousine cab. The construction is very similar to Peter Dunns build of the Stanier 2-6-4t from the same stable so I'll not post the build in any depth. Suffice to say I have and will continue to crib some of Peter's ideas, they are far better than mine! These photos show progress to date, the frames on the chassis jig
Frames 1 100319.JPG
the basic frames
Frames 5 190319.JPG
the frames and running plate
Running plate 2 190319.JPG
Now to start building the tanks and press out all those rivets!
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Roger,
Been looking forward to this one. Please post as many pics as you can. LMS Locos profiles no. 3 covers this class.

Looks good so far, but taping instead of soldering the coupling rods will never catch on. Haha. ;)
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Hi Peter,
Ah you can't beat red insulation tape for holding rods together!:) Seriously though, this is my method of ensuring the handed parts go back into their correct place on the loco. The drivers side is left plain and might account for why rods fall apart:D.

Anyway I now know what a riveter on the Titanic felt like, here are the before and after side tank etches, simply hundreds of rivets to push out
Side tanks 210319.JPG
Photos can be cruel and I can see some of the rivets will need a second go to achieve the desired result. I think the drivers side will wait until tomorrow.
Cheers
Roger
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Roger,
I guessed the tape was to mark left from right.

How are you punching the rivets, with a rivet press or by hand? I have the GW rivet press and on my Stanier tank I used the 4mm anvil. The reason being that with the 7mm anvil it did not leave a gap between the closely spaced rivets, when I practiced on the rivets on the fret. I could have used the 7mm anvil on the wider spaced rivets, but then they would not all match. On the prototype they are all the same size I believe.

Cheers,
Peter
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Hi Peter,
I also use the GW rivet press with the 4mm. I found the 7mm anvil gave rather big rivet heads, fine in some locations but I was looking for something "finer" if you get my drift hence using the smaller anvil. Also the big anvil would have distorted the small rivet points
Pressing out all the rivets on the Fowler was quite a task, going boss-eyed quite often. At first I was a little disappointed with the early rivets but now they look a lot better after a number were revisited. Photos will follow of the progress today.
Regards
Roger
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
OK more photos of the build of the David Andrews Fowler 2-6-4t.
Frames 7 190319.JPG
The underside of the frames. The majority of the brake gear is in position but has yet to be finally soldered in place. At the request of the client wiper pick-ups will be fitted.

The bogie
Bogie 1 260319.JPG
The pony truck
Pony truck 260319.JPG
Minor tidying up still to do mainly removing fitting lugs on the bogie.

These two photos show the tanks installed on the running plate. Taking a lead from PAD's thread I have fitted as much of the detail to the tanks and running plate as possible before the boiler goes into place. Oil pipes from the two oil pots on the front of the tanks are still to be fitted.
Tanks etc 1 260319.JPG
Tanks etc 3 260319.JPG
The lubricators and steam pipes will be fitted once the boiler and smokebox are in place. Similarly final detailing of the tank tops will then be completed. A problem of my own making is that I forgot to solder in wire spigots for the tank straps. This job is on the to do list for today.

Finally a photo of the basic cab interior
Cab interior 2 260319.JPG
The floor and backhead casting are only in place for show. Very minor alterations to the floor are required before the "front" of the bunker will fit into the slots in the floor.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Looking good Roger.
As the kits like the prototypes, have so much in common, you could probably drop the body of mine onto your chassis and get a perfect fit.

Did the backhead casting come with the cut outs, or have you done that yourself? I think you cut the Stanier backhead on your model, but I'm sure the tank extensions inside the cab are too wide. I opted to narrow the tanks and cab floor on mine. I doubt it can be seen when the roof is on, but what the heck.

I'm not getting any opportunities to build at the moment, so you will be forging ahead.

Cheers,
Peter
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Hi Peter,
The backhead casting did come with the cut outs. You are right in thinking the tank extensions in the cab are a tad too wide but it was less than 1mm overall so I opted to relieve the floor and the backhead cut outs.
The bunker is now on after another "orgy" of pressing out rivets. A start has been made on fitting the interior of the bunker but lots still to do. Currently the body is in the "wash" so there might be a few more photos later today.
Regards
Roger
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Roger,
I think you miss understand. I believe the tanks are in the region of 4mm too wide and should match the width of the tanks at the other side of the cab front. If the casting came with cut outs, then it is in my opinion incorrect as it should be whole all the way to the cab floor, as in the Stanier version. I believe that David Andrew's has compromised in this are for some reason.
20190318_213802.jpg

Both the Fowler and Stanier 2 6 4s are a nightmare on rivet street! The GW tool does make it a lot easier and you don't end up with banana etchings. Looking forward to you next set of photos.
Cheers,
Peter
 

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Hi Peter,

Thanks for your photo and the greater clarity regarding the tank widths in the cab. If I'd have looked properly at the drawings in the LMS Profiles book on these locos I should have twigged. I will speak with my client to see what he would like me to do.

Yesterday after giving the riveting tool another "hammering" I built up the basic lower bunker parts. Before putting the rear of the cab into place I detailed it as getting into the confined spaces and cleaning up afterwards would have been a nightmare. Inside the bunker there are curved walls and these had to be formed up (a rolling bar job) and soldered in place before the bunker sides could be put in place, a floor has yet to go into the coal space which will hide all the inside soldering.
Bunker 1 270319.JPG

I then put the driver's side of the lower bunker on and tack soldered it in place followed by the fireman's side. After detailing the rear of the bunker it too went into place. The etches are truly superb with the rear corners being half etch. They are so accurate the whole assembly just slotted into place first time.
Bunker 2 270319.JPG
Bunker 3 270319.JPG
Overall the bunker/cab rear is a complicated structure, that said this is proving to be a very satisfactory build.
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Hi Roger,
On the Stanier I found it easier to put the bunker floor in first and then the back and sides. The Fowler is a different shape so may fit differently. Hope I haven't caused you any issues on the backhead. One thing that is correct on the Fowler is the orientation of the large inspection covers in front of the tanks. Hinges at the rear corresponds to the drawings in the LMS Profiles. If those on 2500 are a one off, then I've got them wrong on mine.

I built one of Fowlers from the JM kit some years ago. Not a bad kit, but I would say the David Andrew's kit is far superior.

Cheers,
Peter
 
Top