On Heather's Workbench - Premier Line Backwaters

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I'll come up with a better thread title at some point.

After the tale of three Colletts, I have a pair of LNWR third class coaches on my bench.

They have an interesting life story. Chowbent Castings produced the LNWR M57 motor driving trailer in both 4mm and 7mm scales (I have the 4mm one unbuilt as a shelf queen), and also made a matching all-third trailer. The 7mm scale pair, having been acquired by Best Beloved back in the mists of time, were destined to run the pull-and-push motor train on one of our Linfords layouts, coupled to an ex-LNWR 0-6-2T Coal Tank. BB made a valiant start on the kits, but for some reason put them aside while another project came to the fore. Before he had the chance to return and complete them, health issues intervened, and the partially-constructed coaches languished in their boxes.

Eventually, it was decided we should liquidate our stocks of kits and models that were otherwise never going to be completed, and we had a fairly massive sale through the ScaleSeven Group. Monies raised went on other hobbies, and a lot of interesting kits and bits found new homes, including the LNWR pair.

While visiting this year's RailEx, I was showing progress on the Colletts, when the LNWR pair's new owner asked if I might consider completing the part-built coaches. We agreed a price, and there we are: the world turns in mysterious ways.

So, what have I in store with this pair?

IMG_6532.jpg

Well, as you can see, they're both almost there. The underframes have been built, the bogies are virtually complete, the bodies are constructed with most details added. I need to work on the interiors, repair and replace the odd bit here and there, fit and detail the roofs, and paint them.

IMG_6537.jpg

Unlike the GWR triplets just completed, railway interests in this house encompass the LNWR, LMS and BR periods, with special attention on the railways around North Buckinghamshire. From our library, you can see I have some driving cab interior detail, some reasonable detail shots of exteriors, and plenty of information about the parent company, especially about the LNWR coach livery of the pre-Grouping period.

Having assessed the box contents, I made a list of bits that were obviously needed. Many of the detail castings had become lost, for example, so they need to be replaced.
  • Today, I ordered from Gladiator Models the following:
  • Two pairs lost wax brass screw couplings
  • Two sets of lost wax brass LNWR coach buffers
  • Two sets of low vacuum pipes, which can be modified for steam heat pipes
  • Four sets of high vacuum pipes, for the motor fitting gear
That'll be enough to at least let me complete the underframes properly. For the pipework, I've opted for Gladiator's cast brass pipes with the springy "bags", with a view to the possibility of semi-permanent connections between the two coaches.

One thing I will have to do is remove all the commode handles which Best Beloved diligently fitted to each compartment. The client would like these coaches finished in LNWR "plum and spilt milk" livery, which includes a fair degree of panel lining. Fitting that round the handles will be impossible, so off they must come.

I'm hoping to start work on these in the next week or so, once the package from Gladiator arrives. This ought to be an interesting build.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I'm very impressed. I ordered the Gladiator bits online yesterday just after lunch. The packet arrived today, less than 24 hours later. Now that's what I call service. Fox are not far behind, bearing in mind they probably make an ordered transfer set on receipt of the order, rather than having it in stock; even so, I've not waited more than three days.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
It's been an odd week, with some other "real work" getting in the way of my workbench activities. Be that as it may, I finally made a start on these LNWR coaches today.

I thought I'd ease into the job at hand by cleaning and assembling the Gladiator Models screw-link couplings and the buffers.

IMG_6607.jpg

The couplings are cleanly moulded lost wax brass. On each sprue you get the hook, two shackles and the turnbuckle as a rigid moulding. Also in each pack is a pair of springs and split pins. Very little cleaning up was required beyond careful filing back sprue cut-off points and running a broach through the shackle pivot loops to give a nice floppy fit.

I found the brass used to be a little on the soft side, so care was needed while cleaning things up.

IMG_6611.jpg

The assembled couplings look neat and tidy. I'll organise a dip in the chemical blackening later.

On to the buffers, again from Gladiator.

IMG_6614.jpg

This was a bit more of a challenge. First, the castings are nice, but had a huge chunk of sprue blodged around the end that fits into the buffer beam. This needed some careful cleaning back with a minidrill and carborundum disc, henceforth referred to as the "whizzydisc". Before cleaning up, the chalky sand-like stuff needed cleaning out from the inside of the housing.

The heads are nice turned brass items. The first snag, if it can be called such, was the shanks are 2.3mm diameter, which means the housings need to be drilled for a nice clearance fit. Of course, I have 2mm and 2.5mm drills, and my first attempt was to drill through with the latter, with the aim of leaving a slightly sloppy fit.

Again, the brass used is a little soft. I think it has a higher copper content than some other makers use, if the greenish gunk left on my hands after working with things for a bit is anything to go by. Even clamping the buffer housing nose down in the Proxxon pillar drill vice, the drill wandered off slightly on the first casting to be treated. Luckily, it was not enough to be a complete disaster, but it caused me to rethink things a little.

In the end, as already mentioned, I ran a 2mm drill through to clear the housing tubes of burrs and so on, then spent a while running a suitable taper broach through until the turned heads were a smooth sliding fit. I plan to spring the heads using wire fixed to the etched floor.

IMG_6615.jpg

Thoughts turned next to fabricating replacement buffer beams to replace the cast whitemetal kit ones. I'm replacing the buffer housings because the whitemetal ones have been damaged or miscast. Removing and cleaning up will take almost as long as fabricating from scratch, so I shall dig out some suitable scrap etch and have a think about how to fit the new buffer beams on to the existing chassis.

While my brain cogitates over that, the next step will be to remove the commode handles and take a good look at the bodysides. An oddity of these etched sides is there is no etched line where the doors drop below the waist panels. These will need to be scribed in, which adds its own little conundrums as the sides and ends are now a single unit.

Still, a start has been made!
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
The assembled couplings look neat and tidy. I'll organise a dip in the chemical blackening later.
Those casting do look rather tidy. Please offer us a "before" and "after" comparison of the blackening process along with the process etc.. I ask because getting a decent "black" with brass castings is something that eludes me as yet.

regards, Graham
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Hi Heather isn't it a shame that no on seems to supply steel couplings

It is. Oddly, three-link couplings have been steel for a while. Screw-links, though, seem to be almost exclusively cast brass or nickel silver. Exactoscale make - used to make? - working steel screw-links in 4mm scale. I wonder if they might be persuaded to consider 7mm versions.

Anyway, once blackened down, they'll look enough like greasy steel to please most people. :thumbs:
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
As requested, here's my technique for blackening brass castings to resemble steel.

IMG_6617.jpg

First up, the tools. A couple of sheets of paper kitchen towel, a pair of surgical clamps, bottle of Birchwood Casey Brass Black. Each assembled coupling was given a quick scrub with a brass scratch brush to clean them up a bit, then each was clamped and dunked.

IMG_6618.jpg

Being an impatient sort, I prefer to dunk in the neat solution. I know others might prefer to take the long haul, by diluting the solution in a suitable container and leaving castings to marinade overnight. I don't have that kind of patience.

Clamping the coupling by the end that'll be lost under the coach in the surgical clamp (bent wire, tweezers, or other suspension methods are available), I immerse the casting in the solution and gently agitate for about 10 seconds or so.

IMG_6619.jpg

I knock the dunked coupling against the top of the bottle to get rid of excess solution, and place it on a sheet of kitchen towel.

IMG_6620.jpg

A quick dab to blot excess solution, and I leave it to air dry.

IMG_6621.jpg

There's a distinct blue to the casting at this stage, but leaving remaining solution to air dry lets it sort of steep and soak into the metal. After a while the casting gets a lovely matt black finish.

IMG_6622.jpg

Four couplings "steeping".

IMG_6623.jpg

After about 1o or 15 minutes, things are dry enough that a quick rub over with a brass suede brush will bring up a shine. In this case, things are left looking a bit brown, so I dunked the couplings for another 10 seconds or so.

IMG_6624.jpg

After blotting, air drying and a quick scrub over with a nylon mop in the mini drill, these look suitably steel-like to my mind.

Now to repeat the process with the buffer housings and heads. :thumbs:
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I started assessing the M56 driving trailer for remedial works.

IMG_6628.jpg

This is the driving cab end. As you can see, I need to scribe the panel lines in for the doors. The commode handles are the wrong shape, and will have to be removed anyway before painting. There's a bit of a gap where the end doesn't meet the side.

As the original owner had intended these models to be in late LMS ownership, he'd begun adding later fittings to the coaches. He'd scratchbuilt the intercoach lighting connectors, but I have had to remove them because they weren't fitted until after the Grouping.

IMG_6629.jpg

I'm a bit disappointed by the quality of the soldering. I know most of this will not be visible inside the coach, but I want to see if it can be tidied up. I need to fabricate all the partitions, and this area will be filled with details of the driving controls.

IMG_6630.jpg

More blobby soldering. I'm toying with the idea of making false interior panels for the compartment sides. These will add a little depth to the etched sides, and give the impression of the interior panelling when viewed through the windows.

IMG_6631.jpg

The underframe. I've already started cleaning up here. I need to work out the brake linkages to the bogies, and resite the dynamo so the bogie will actually fit!

IMG_6632.jpgIMG_6633.jpg

This is the dynamo casting. Most of the body components are designed to be bolted together for ease of painting.

IMG_6636.jpg

The battery boxes need a panel on the reverse side. Most of the underfloor is complete, with just a bit of tidying up to do.
 

Bob

Western Thunderer
Excellent stuff. Another thread well worth watching and extremely well illustrated.

More please!:D
 

dltaylor

Western Thunderer
Hi Heather,
Great idea to hold the parts with surgical clamps while dunking in the metalblack; removes the fear of dropping them into the bottle!
Thanks, Dave.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
The interiors are vexing me. As both coaches are essentially a third class non-corridor, there's about 16 identical compartments to make up. This set my brain box worrying away at things.

My first thought was to scratchbuild drop-in compartment units in styrene. Perfectly do-able, and something I'd probably do if these coaches were for my own purposes. It's a time-consuming and repetitive job, though.

What about a brass etch? Well, yes, again, possible, and quite cost effective. Would the material be thick enough to give the depth of material I want to show? Hmm.

Laser cutting. Now, this seems to have more mileage. For a start, it would be possible to cut the shapes, give some detail to the inside of the doors, and slot the things together quite quickly.

So, today's task is to research laser-cutting plastic material. I've got a list of likely suppliers, so that'll keep me occupied for an hour or two.

I know the Guv had laser cutting equipment, but does anyone else on WT have the facilities?
 

adrian

Flying Squad
So, today's task is to research laser-cutting plastic material. I've got a list of likely suppliers, so that'll keep me occupied for an hour or two.

I know the Guv had laser cutting equipment, but does anyone else on WT have the facilities?
I don't have a laser cutter but we do have a Fablab in Manchester. That has a laser cutter which the general public can use, a colleague at work has used it to laser cut frames for his model aircraft. They were very helpful and encouraging, they also had a large bin of material offcuts which he used to experiment on. There is another one in Cambridge http://makespace.org which is a bit closer to you.

There's some interesting machines in these Fablabs, CNC millers and routers, vinyl cutters. Just need to find the time to visit!
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I don't have a laser cutter but we do have a Fablab in Manchester.

Interesting.

I am happy to go down a commercial route for this project. It is being paid for, after all.

Currently, I am considering York Modelmaking and - gasp! - JLTRT. I will call Laurie tomorrow for a quick chat about what they can offer. There is some logic to favouring the latter, too. They acquired the Chowbent 7mm range some years ago, and the idea of producing suitable internal fittings might prompt them to resurrect the kits at some point.

I must admit, I like the use of new technology in our hobby. It opens many possibilities, if you can learn the required skills. Sadly, I could never get my head around designing objects in three dimensions on a two-dimensional screen.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Somewhat slow progress on the M56 today.

First, I measured up a bufferbeam casting.

IMG_6637.jpg

There's enough info to fabricate brass versions. Careful study of the few photos I could find of the real thing tells me there are two lamp brackets on the beam, just inboard of each buffer. I've also noted there seems to be some kind of hook behind the beam onto which the coupling is hitched to keep it out of the way.

One of the problems with LNWR motor train coaches is there wasn't a specific diagram. What happened was if a need arose for a set of coaches, they were converted from existing rolling stock. This means that although I am building a diagram M56, there's no guarantee the kit is based on a real coach. Indeed, the only good photo of a diagram M56 in Jenkinson's book (An Illustrated History of LNWR Coaches) shows a coach where the luggage doors I see in the kit aren't there. I am therefore working to build a model that makes a good stab at representing an LNWR motor train driving trailer, based on an all-third brake of diagram D285.

IMG_6638.jpg

I've also been cleaning things up after removing the door handles and grab rails. They were superglued in, so it only needed some gentle pressure with pliers to ping them out. The tee-handles have been set aside for reuse, but the commode handles will be replace with proper cast ones.

IMG_6640.jpg

I've been trying to work out from photos whether the driving compartment was closed off from the luggage compartment. As it was a guard's compartment, I suspect it may not have had a compartment wall, though I can find no proof either way at present. As you can see I've also scribed the doors into the lower panel.

Going back to my earlier posts regarding laser cutting, I've found a local company that I will call. It would be convenient if they can do what I want, since they're almost right on my doorstep.
 

Les Golledge

Active Member
Hi Heather,

It would be worth investing in a set of number drills or metric equivalent. With careful use of drills a close tolorence hole can be made which is almost equal to a reamed hole, taking your 2.3mm hole start by drilling out with a 2mm drill as you did then drill 2.1mm followed by a 2.2mm drill, next use a 2,25mm drill followed finaly by a 2.3mm drill. Because the drill bits only remove small amounts of metal there is virtually no wander and you end up with a hole that is so close to 2.3mm as to be a reamed fit. This method can be used on any size of hole even up to 10mm as all you do is choose drill bits that are in sequence steps.
Hope this helps in future.
Regards,

Les.


On to the buffers, again from Gladiator.

This was a bit more of a challenge. First, the castings are nice, but had a huge chunk of sprue blodged around the end that fits into the buffer beam. This needed some careful cleaning back with a minidrill and carborundum disc, henceforth referred to as the "whizzydisc". Before cleaning up, the chalky sand-like stuff needed cleaning out from the inside of the housing.

The heads are nice turned brass items. The first snag, if it can be called such, was the shanks are 2.3mm diameter, which means the housings need to be drilled for a nice clearance fit. Of course, I have 2mm and 2.5mm drills, and my first attempt was to drill through with the latter, with the aim of leaving a slightly sloppy fit.

Again, the brass used is a little soft. I think it has a higher copper content than some other makers use, if the greenish gunk left on my hands after working with things for a bit is anything to go by. Even clamping the buffer housing nose down in the Proxxon pillar drill vice, the drill wandered off slightly on the first casting to be treated. Luckily, it was not enough to be a complete disaster, but it caused me to rethink things a little.

In the end, as already mentioned, I ran a 2mm drill through to clear the housing tubes of burrs and so on, then spent a while running a suitable taper broach through until the turned heads were a smooth sliding fit. I plan to spring the heads using wire fixed to the etched floor.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Thanks Les. That's a sound idea. I'm letting resources build up a bit, and then I shall invest in some new tools - and drills will be high on the list. :thumbs:
 

Les Golledge

Active Member
Hi Heather,

It's an idea which I picked up many years ago, one that I have made use of on a number of occasions. It's a simple idea but it works very well. With the 2.3mm hole you wanted even drilling 2mm first followed by the 2.3mm bit will give a better hole than drilling with 2.3mm only but the best finish is drilling in steps. Drills can have a slightly offset centre when sharpened so by using a finished size drill to make the complete hole the drill will most likely wander and make the hole oversize.
Regards,

Les.

Thanks Les. That's a sound idea. I'm letting resources build up a bit, and then I shall invest in some new tools - and drills will be high on the list. :thumbs:
 
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