A West Midlands Works

[Scanlon]

This morning I started building the Seven Models Crosti 9F which is a commission build. Slow progress understandably with only the side rods built up and one frame side tested on the chassis jig. The side rods are constructed from three sets of etches and built into a sturdy structure. All the bearing holes needed slight easing out to accommodate the standard Slaters bearings.

An interesting problem has arisen in that the rear two axle positions needed to move back by up to 1mm each . This problem did not arise with either the 2884, Britannia or the Duke which came from the same stable. The kit allows for both compensated or rigid frame and I'm building the latter. Tomorrow I plan to erect the frames so watch this space.

 

[dibateg]

Watching!

 

[Scanlon]

Today has seen further progress on the frames. Generally they built up very well although three etch overlays for each spring did make me wonder if I had the will to live. The work was worth it because in the end decent "chunky" springs have built up and given this area of the frames a lot of strength.

and the rear view

The entire assembly was built up on the chassis jig to ensure all was square. There were no problems with any of the frame stretchers although there was some difficulty with the drag box area. The instructions were brief and at first I made a complete mess of this important area. The etches are a series of folds including rivet detail. Following the instructions resulted in not being able to get the rear plate to fit correctly.

Out came the Ted Talbot books on the BR Standards, essential for any build and I noticed the suggested etch rivet strips were in the wrong orientation. The gas axe came out and everything was carefully salvaged and cleaned off. I decided to take off the rivet strips, refit all the major structural etches, get them square and then refit the rivets. This approach worked. Wheels, motion and cylinders next?

 

[Scanlon]

Further progress with the Crosti over the last couple of days.

All the work has been devoted to the wheels, motion and cylinders. The former were no problem at all, I use 10BA bolts for the crankpins with Gladiator threaded bearings. One side has been shorted out as the loco will have "American" style pick-ups. With the wheels in place the rods were tried on and fitted quite well. Revolving the wheels identified the rear two sections of the side rods on the drivers side were binding but a few strokes with a file quickly resolved the issue and a free running chassis resulted.

The cylinders proved to be a problem as the front and rear etches were pulling the frames inwards. When the cladding was added this accentuated the problem even more and it has taken quite a few hours to get them to go into and out of the frames without straining anything. The slidebars built up very well and went into place first time on either side. So this afternoon I wired up the motor and ran the loco in GW fashion as shown above. Apart from a tiny click on the left leading crankpin to the back of the crosshead there are no issues. This one issue is my fault as I forgot to create a recess on the back of the crosshead for the bolt, self inflicted wound I think. At presents there is a lot of sideplay in the rear three axles and some of it will have to come out otherwise the brake gear will be compromised.

More next week.

 

[Scanlon]

Just out of the shops,

The AWS gear is additional to the kit and was made up from parts supplied by Ragstone and Martin Finney. Windows to clean then off to the Tony Geary works for the dirty look!

 

[Ressaldar]

Hi Roger,

great stuff, definitely needs the dirty look and a set of crimson liveried Birdcage stock on a hop-pickers special heading for Tonbridge behind it

cheers

Mike

 

[dibateg]

What motor/gearbox are you using in the Crostie Roger?

 

[Scanlon]

Now one of "Gods" engines is away for weathering my workbench is devoted entirely to the Crosti 9F. This week it was build the tender

This is a standard Acorn product although Dave Ennis has provided some alternative etches for the coal space. The biggest problem was creating the top curves and I used rolling bars to start the process. Thereafter a succession of different sizes bars were employed. Still a few areas to straighten out but they can wait until next week.

Next week it will be back to the engine frames and there is quite a lot of work to do on them before I can say I'm happy. However some bodywork might get done towards the end of the week.

 

[Scanlon]

The engine frames are now ready for trial running to see if any more side to side clearance is required. No problems arose on my short test track which has a 6ft radius reverse curve but a trial on a layout is called for to prove the point. To keep up momentum I have started work on the engine body.

The very nature of the Crosti locos means a normal running plate is simply not possible. The driver's side is conventional but the fireman's side has large gaps to accommodate the huge gubbins associated with the chimney and exchange from the preheater. Consequently the entire structure is akin to juggling spaghetti . To overcome this I have soldered a stout brass wire across the gap to give some stability during handling. All the etches have built up easily although I had to adjust the frames to body fixing point under the bufferbeam which was about 5mm too far forward. In addition the etched running plate supports for under the bufferbeam area had to be repositioned to ensure they were actually doing the job they are designed for. Both these changes are very minor issues.


A major issue identified by Dave Ennis in his instructions is the opening for the firebox needs to be widened out by 2.5mm on each side. A scale drawing is provided to assist the modeller. Previous experience with the Britannia and Duke kits tells me this area will have to be eased even further to allow the firebox into the running plate.


Providing running trials are successful it will be back to the frames and installation of the brake gear, not a job I'm looking forward to. The kit has cast brake blocks but I am concerned they might cause a short as the loco will be DCC fitted. I have a set of plastic brake blocks if this proves to be the case.

 

[Scanlon]

The loco frames did not pass their running trials, Shims need to be taken out from the second and fifth axles and another trial is planned for next week subject to the layout owner agreeing. This increased flexibility is bound to impact on the brake gear but that is just one more problem to be solved.

With work on the frames temporarily halted I started to build the body and have just finished the firebox and smokebox. From memory the Britannia and Duke fireboxes built up fairly easily but this one has been a chore. The basic interior builds up very well and made a square frame onto which the outer skins can be fitted. The problems arose with the mudhole doors on the lower corners at the front of the firebox. To create the recesses at all the door positions including on the firebox shoulders there are two additional etches behind the outer skin. This creates a very deep area, no problem up high but at the lower corners the frame had to be ground out to accommodate this new depth.




I will not solder up the fingers to create the curves at the front of the firebox until the boiler is built and in place.

The smokebox was fairly straightforward, it is just the ugliest thing I have ever constructed. For a while the build diagram had me quite confused until I realised it was drawn from the join with the boiler looking forward, I'm used to diagrams looking from the front. Such a simple soul so easily confused!!!


Now for the bit in the middle.

 

[Scanlon]

Hey Tony and Brian, 9F's rule!

Well the bit in the middle is slowly going together. The boiler on these locos is a nightmare for the modeller.

As you can see from this photo there are depressions under the boiler which are formed of various laminates plus mudhole door castings. All of these have to be curved to the inner diameter of the boiler etch. This etch comes pre rolled but the deep etched line on top of the boiler tends to give the boiler a look similar to Spock's ears! Furthermore this etched line makes the boiler quite fragile during the build-up stage and just to make life even easier the large cut-outs on the underside of the boiler makes this area very susceptible to deformation. Are you keeping up?

Fittings have been added as it is much easier to solder them in place before the boiler is finally sealed. There are three clack valves on the locos and the leading ones will have lagged delivery pipes. I'm open to suggestions as to how to create these. I plan to use 1.6mm copper wire and have thought of using heat shrink material to replicate the lagging. The rear clack on the fireman's side is connected to the live steam injector and will have 1.3mm copper wire.


As you can imagine I was not looking forward to sealing up the boiler and initially it still had the Spock look. There is a substantial ring in the rear of the boiler and once in place this rounded off the firebox end very nicely. The front is held in place by a ring inside the back of the smokebox. The instructions state this can be a tight fit and I was expecting a fight. But no, it went together beautifully.

The photos show this assembly lined up with the firebox but not yet soldered onto it. The large whitemetal casting required minimal fettling to accept the boiler and the two units fitted together with very little extra work. To put the firebox into the rear of the running plate has required me to remove all the strengthening originally put in for stability. Now I'm fighting with a running plate which currently has no sign of being supported anywhere. I'm sure this will change.

The preheater is half etched and pre rolled. I am looking for a suitable piece of dowel to allow me to solder it up. More to come.

 

[dibateg]

Roger -
I make my lagged pipe by winding copper wire through a form of mitre block, with a Stanley knife blade at an angle. As you wind the wire through it cuts a groove. I thought I had a photo of the procedure, I shall try to find it!
Good work on a very hefty assembly...
Regards
Tony

 

[Steph Dale]

Roger -
I make my lagged pipe by winding copper wire through a form of mitre block, with a Stanley knife blade at an angle. As you wind the wire through it cuts a groove. I thought I had a photo of the procedure, I shall try to find it!
Good work on a very hefty assembly...
Regards
Tony

Tony,
Okay, I think I can visualise how that'd work. Can't quite work out what the 'form of mitre block' looks like or how you actually manage to hold the tool, wire/rod and knife with only two hands, so I'd welcome the photo too!
Cheers,
Steph

 

[Scanlon]

Thanks Tony for the help. The problem is the lagging on these delivery pipes is very hefty hence my thought to use heat shrink.


The lagging is not the usual asbestos tape, hence the thought to use thicker material.

 

[dibateg]

It's not my idea - I think I copied it from PAD on RMweb, here is a demonstration shot set up during breakfast. The copper wire is 'wound' through the slot using the 'lever' bent up at the end and using medium hand pressure on the Stanley blade. Different angles of cross cut can vary the pitch of the winding mark.


Here is the end result, and it saves the time of cutting strips of masking tape and winding it on.


Here is the painted finish on the topmost of the three parallel pipes - from a photo taken by Richard Lambert on one of my Ivatts.


Regards

Tony

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for the advice, now to find some wood!

Roger

 

[Scanlon]

The frames have past their second running trials although a little more side to side clearance on the trailing axle would be preferable. Unfortunately increasing this would interfere with the brakegear so having taken advice from better modellers than me will leave things as they are.

Hours have been spent building up the motion brackets. Some kits have castings but those in the kit are made up of tiny etches which take an age to clean up, get the angles right and then solder, that is if you can get an iron into them! Both brackets took about three hours to build and another two hours getting them in position. Despite being built up correctly the driver's side was leaning towards the cab so some fettling was needed, the fireman's side was right on the first attempt. Very frustrating but they are now on the frames and I’ve lined everything up using set squares to ensure verticals, horizontals etc. As you can see the running plate is already wonky and I plan to solder some stout wire on the underside to get it level again. Fine on this side but impossible on the other!



Today a start was made on the brake gear which I was dreading. However it proved very simple to install and only the pull rods still have to be fitted. Soldering up the brake hangers is tricky. The locating pins on the leading and trailing sets are easy to get at but the other three sets are very close to the compensation beams, or in my case the inner rigid chassis plates. I tried soldering on the inside but have ended up soldering them onto the frames from the outside and a lot of cleaning up will be now take place.

Now the leading brake stretcher is in place I have found it interferes with the frame of the pony truck. A little filing of the deep side section will be necessary to ensure the truck remains firmly on the rails.

 

[Scanlon]

A productive yet frustrating week has seen more progress on the Crosti. The brake gear has been finished and I have added a DJB casting to the front of the pony truck to improve its look and to give more weight to it. The minor interference between the frame of the truck and the leading brake stretcher on the engine was simply dealt with by removing a little of the web.

The major task has been to finish the main build of the boiler and firebox. These photos show the general arrangement of the boiler and preheater


These pictures were taken before boiler bands and other minor detailing was added to the firebox. Construction of the preheater was time-consuming and rather fiddly. The preheater itself is a half etch and transmitted heat very readily, too readily at times as solder melted everywhere but eventually it formed-up. It is held in place by two frames, the leading one is quite complicated to construct whereas the rear one is a single plate soldered into the boiler. The instructions say the frame under the smokebox will need easing out to get the preheater in place. This was an understatement and quite a lot of filing was required before it went in. Here is the final result

Next week will hopefully see the cab in place and maybe some of the pipework in place. Detail around the smokebox is largely by huge whitemetal castings and these will require a lot of attention to make them fit snugly.

 

[Dikitriki]

Well, it seems to be sitting pretty nicely Roger.

Looking at the proximity of the pre-heater to the frames, not a lot of room for error.

Richard

 

[Scanlon]

Some time has passed since my last post but the Crosti is slowly taking shape. In truth I'm finding this loco heavy going, probably because it is so alien to anything I have built before. I have spent a week collecting a number of books as photos of these locos are essential compliments to the build instructions.

The cab was assembled quite easily although the fireman's cabside etch required considerable work to get it into position. Once soldered up there remained a small gap between the angled front of the cab and the roof. However, the main part of the roof is a fine nickel silver etch overlay and this covered almost all of the gap requiring just a tiny blob of solder to fill the remaining hole.

On the engine the last boiler band in front of the cab was added followed by the dome, chimney and the main steampipe. All these castings were a challenge nevertheless being unique to the kit there was no option but to use them. The dome and chimney required more solder than I would have liked to get them to “meet” their respective locations. I did remove some metal but only so much could be taken out. I hope the paint job will mask the deep joins. On the main steampipes I had to grind out a lot of white metal to get them to fit snugly. There were huge gaps or should that be cavities at the firebox end of them, so now there is a lot of filler in them.

The brass cover just behind the cast main steampipe is supposed to be a flush fit to it but there is a gap. I will take it off and add some scrap etch to create the right effect, also it should meet the boiler and you’ve guessed, it doesn’t. I’ve also fitted the ejector on the preheater. So I’m getting there.

Otherwise this week has seen a major advance on the frames and the driver's side is now complete, tested and runs very well.



Generally there have been no problems building the various parts although the etches for the fireman's side union link were damaged and I ended up making a completely new one.

Hopefully tomorrow will see the frames finished and then it is back to the engine body, oh joy!