Nick Dunhill's 7mm workbench.

[Nick Dunhill]

Hi All

Just about to embark on 2 Finney T9s but after that a DJH W1. These are some patterns I have made for the latter. They are Gresley pattern hornguides (designed to accept a Slater's hornblock,)springs and hangers and the spring hangers that are also brake trunnions. They are going to Laurie Griffin at Telford this weekend to be cast and made available to all. (Handy with the Hachette A4 imminent!) For my part I get castings at cost!





Nick

 

[Compton castle]

Great stuff, watching with interest

 

[Steph Dale]

Nick,
That's interesting; is the Finney, Hobbyhorse or Ragstone stuff not to your liking?
Steph

 

[Nick Dunhill]

Hi Steph
Finney's hornguides are etched, a bit 2D and lacking in detail. Hobbyhorse are dummy whitemetal ones for use with a solid chassis and Ragstone don't do them to my knowledge. There are plenty of generic ones but I wanted authenticity.

I sense you type 'interesting' with a hint of disapproval?

Nick

 

[Steph Dale]

Hi Steph
Finney's hornguides are etched, a bit 2D and lacking in detail. Hobbyhorse are dummy whitemetal ones for use with a solid chassis and Ragstone don't do them to my knowledge. There are plenty of generic ones but I wanted authenticity.

I sense you type 'interesting' with a hint of disapproval?

Nick

Naw, I just know I wouldn't want to be re-inventing the wheel. In general if someone already does the parts I need I don't go to the trouble of recreating my version. I quite like the Finney versions of the hornguides as they're etched; they'll suit my Brighton Atlantics very nicely!
Steph

Oh crud - slight feeling of impending doom - I use Finney hornguides an awful lot. Never mind buying kits from him I can see I'll have to order a lifetime's supply of flippin' hornguides before he retires...

 

[Steph Dale]

Actually Nick - shouldn't those hornguides use rivets rather than bolts? Normally a few bolts would be used to retain the hornguide while it's aligned. The hot rivets would be used to secure it to the frames (they won't subsequently move). Often the bolts used to provide the initial securing would then be removed and replaced with rivets, but I believe Brighton (at least) may have left the bolts in place to provide an indication of a shifted hornguide or to help if repairs or recovery were necessary.

Steph

 

[Nick Dunhill]

No Gresley used a type of coach bolts to secure hornguides to chassis (as drawing above), not nails like the Southern.

 

[adrian]

Hobbyhorse are dummy whitemetal ones for use with a solid chassis and Ragstone don't do them to my knowledge.

I can't see the horn guides themselves in the Ragstone component list but he does appear to have all the other bits, springs and hangers etc. listed.

 

[Steph Dale]

Nick,
Hehe - actually it's funny you should say that; I've just been flicking through my (mostly shocking) pictures of Flying Scotsman's frames at York and there's a shed load of bolts in there, including on the hornguides as you say.
It just makes me wonder why; rivets are so much stronger and rather more permanent...
Ironically, Scotsman's frames have on the whole proved rather shorter lived than the bolts though.
Steph

 

[mickoo]

Ironically, Scotsman's frames have on the whole proved rather shorter lived than the bolts though.
Steph

Probably something to do with it having the heavier 107 boiler for many years, several A3s later in their lives carried the 107 and expired shortly thereafter with cracked and damaged frames due to the extra weight of the 107 boiler.

She now has the correct weighted 94A boiler fitted (2011) from Salmon Trout so the frames might last a little longer

Ohh, and those castings look very tasty and as Adrian mentions, I thought Ragstone did some of the parts already as I was just about to get some for the A1.

 

[Compton castle]

I expect the W1 will be a fun one Nick, I expect you will be scratch building a fair bit. Mind you if it turns out anything near to the princesses who ever it's for will have a master piece and a proper one not like the RTR who have commandeered the name.

 

[Ragstone Andy]

Nick,
That's interesting; is the Finney, Hobbyhorse or Ragstone stuff not to your liking?
Steph

Hi Steph, (and Adrian)

Well the W1 is unique, and based on Nicks drawing (which I am assuming is the beast), the bits are a bit of a mix of A4 & A3. The springs are 3'6"A1/A3 (the A4 was 4') but the vacuum cylinder's are mounted front an rear a'la A4 (A3 was side by side at the front). There's also the matter of the connecting linkage and second shaft which requires (a second set of) modified spring hangars, the first set might ne different from A1/3 as well. On the plus side, the hornblocks look standard, but i don't do them (as Adrian correctly observed!)

Regards

Andy

 

[Steph Dale]

Thanks for pitching in Andy; as I've already proven in this thread I know bog-all about locos built in Apple Green country, I just knew that that you did some bits for the LNER pacifics!

Steph

 

[OzzyO]

Hi All




Nick

Nick would it be possible to put up the drawing showing the middle and rear wheels as I'm interested to see how all this brake gear works.

A nice bit of pattern making. On the horn guides it looks like you have incorporated the sloping front face, but I do hope that you have kept the inside faces parallel (I know that you will have).

Hope to see you on Sat.

OzzyO.

 

[alcazar]

They look lovely patterns.

How did you get the W1? It's not in their range, the only ones I've ever seen are ready-built on ebay for top £££££

 

[Nick Dunhill]

Mr Alcazar, I think the kit has been languishing in someone's collection of unmade stuff for a while. It is a DJH offering.

The patterns are suitable for an A3, except that you don't need the rear middle trunnion/hanger because no rear brake cylinder. Perhaps I will make a 4' spring then you can do the A4 too, although what's a mm or three between friends? The front bigger hanger/trunnion is the same on all pacifics. The idea is that you cut off any unwanted 'plain' hanger, re-drill the hole and mount the desired trunnion/hanger. The hornguide is of course a standard Gresley item and common to loads of LNER locos, (and I thing that is the most commercially useful bit to Laurie Griffin. Remember it has to be worth his while spending the tooling costs!) Ironically the top portion of the hornguide on the W1 is cut off!

For you Paul:





See you all over the weekend.

Nick

 

[OzzyO]

Thanks Nick, that clears that up in my head.

 

[Ragstone Andy]

I can't see the horn guides themselves in the Ragstone component list but he does appear to have all the other bits, springs and hangers etc. listed.

Adrian
yes, 4ft & 3ft 6in springs, front hangars brake cylinders etc but not the hangars for the rear shaft or hornguides
Regards

Andy

 

[TheSnapper]

Andy

Great to see you on here!

Tim

 

[Compton castle]

I can't remember if I posted this before Nick, but for any who hasn't seen it here's one of Nick's superb Princesses that he recently completed