A West Midlands Works

[Scanlon]

Work continues on both the auto coach and my S15. The auto coach has reached the stage of being a basic body. The second coupe and luggage compartment have been installed and everything tacked in place. This photo shows the driving end
As built the rear passenger and luggage accommodation had the same body profile. On rebuilding by the GWR the doors to the luggage compartment were inset and I needed to modify the kit to suite. Fortunately there are alternative non driving end walls and to maintain the body profile of the tiny luggage compartment the spare etch was used.

Now to strengthen the body build and solder everything solid, currently it's a bit wobbly followed by a good clean up! This photo shows a trial fit of the roof.


The S15 has seen a lot of work in the past few days. Despite having built the frames on the jig I needed to spend a little time on the coupling rods. Initially a crank pin was found to be out of true but the frames would not roll with any degree of ease. Opening out some of the rods quickly solved the problem.

Work then started on the cylinders, bogie, motion brackets and brake gear. Unfortunately work on the cylinders has come to an abrupt halt. The cylinder castings needed tidying up and drilling to take piston rods and valve rods. While one set drilled perfectly the other was made of far sterner stuff and a drill broke off within the casting and could not be removed. I should have checked all the castings earlier but found one set was completely deformed and was covered in a black deposit, the front cylinder cover on this sprue was 2mm smaller than the other. What to do?

I sent an email to Dave (Genghis) and Trisha explaining I obtained the kit from Geoff Stratford just before they bought the business from him. I asked their help enquiring if I might be able to buy a complete set of castings to enable the model to be built. Within 12 hours Trisha replied saying they would source the parts and provide them free of charge. Now that it what I call service, thanks.

The bogie has built up perfectly, very simple construction with a robust centre pin and side to side control. Similarly the motion bracket assembled easily and then I turned my attention to the brake gear.


The instructions said to refer to the enclosed disc for guidance on how to install the pull rods etc. but it was missing. Fortunately I still had the one from the original build. Generally the assembly is straightforward except the brake piston and crank are fitted between the leading pull rod. The written instructions make no reference to this. The brake cylinder supplied in the kit did not fit on the plate designed for it and in fact rubbed on the leading axle. My trusty spares box provided a slightly smaller cylinder which has proved to be a perfect fit. The photo shows the trial fit of the brakes.

 

[Scanlon]

The Taff Vale Railway auto coach is progressing quite well. A minor hick-up occurred in that the client provided materials for the underframe in accordance with the instructions. Unfortunately the U channel specified for the solebars was 3mm too big, Metalsmiths came up with the correct solebar material and construction could begin. Considerable measuring and trial fitting was necessary but eventually one side of the frame began to appear.

followed by

Buoyed on with this success the basic structure was formed up and then test fitted to the body. Inevitably slight modifications were necessary and then the whole construction was soldered up with the use of set squares to ensure everything was true.

Since then bogies have been trial fitted, the body strengthened and handrails fitted onto one side, the other side will be completed next week.


30827 has also moved on and is now starting to look like a locomotive. I was surprised no one commented on the bogie wheels, this idiot ordered the wrong ones, 4ft vice 3ft 7". Now I have to find a Southern kit that requires 4ft bogie or tender wheels.

As normal the running plate and cab were built up before the boiler assembly was tackled. Construction was straightforward unlike Peter Cross's issues with the "kit" he is fighting.


The basic boiler parts were relatively simple to construct and assemble, the only issue was with the smokebox outer wrapper which was 1mm too short. I have filled the tiny gap with 0.5 wire but as you can see the saddle is work in progress. Fortunately 80% of the filling will be hidden behind the smoke deflectors and outside steampipes. Some detailing has also taken place.

True to form the new castings for the cylinders arrived within two days from Gladiator. Hopefully next week will see a start being made on the cylinders.

 

[Peter Cross]

Looks easier to build than the S15 I am doing.

Lovely work. I follow the progress with interest.

 

[Scanlon]

Peter,
Thanks for your comments. I'm watching progress on your S15 with interest!
Roger

 

[Scanlon]

I have managed to grab a few days to continue building the S15 and am deep into the detailing. The engine has now reached this stage

Please excuse the blutack, it's holding the gudgeon pin in place temporarily!

Generally there have been few problems, the usual cleaning up of castings both whitemetal and lost wax. I also decided to fit cast lamp irons rather than use the etched parts provided in the kit.

The majority of the work has been concentrated on detailing the cylinders. Once everything was drilled and cleaned up the real work could begin. The design of the kit relies on the slidebars forming the link between the cylinder block and the motion brackets. I do not believe this is robust enough and before any work was started I built a frame between the two elements. The photo shows the resulting construction using pieces of scrap etch plus some small U shaped channel for additional robustness. With the body in place you would never know it was there.

The entire assembly can now be lifted out of the frames without distortion to any part. With the strengthening in place detailing of the cylinders commenced. All the castings are nickel silver and soldering was a joy. Setting up the slidebars was predictably tricky, well it is on the real ones too, but slowly working through everything has resulted in a fine job. With the connecting rods in place everything has been tested and the one tight spot eliminated.

Later this week I hope to fit the deflectors, detail under the running plate and maybe get the motor and additional pick-ups on the tender fitted.

Alongside the loco there has been more progress on the auto coach.

The body and underframe are now almost complete. As an experiment the lower steps fitted to the bogies have been installed differently, one with 0.8mm brass bar, the other with thin brass strip. The latter has proved not to be robust enough and will be changed out for 0.8mm bar.

All work will now be concentrated on the roof. The coach has a most unusual roof vent layout and unfortunately there are no drawings of the modifications made by the GWR. The smaller passenger area has four equally spaced vents on the roof but the larger section has pairs of vents but not equally spaced. There are two poor photographs and thankfully the client has agreed to make up a template for the location of all the shell vents rather than leave it to me! Phew!

 

[Scanlon]

The auto coach is almost ready for painting although I am still awaiting the template for the position of the shell vents on the roof, hopefully this Sunday.




The majority of this week's work has concentrated on the roof. The material specified for the four rain strips was far too large and after checking a 7mm Churchward vehicle it was decided to use 0.7mm brass wire. Before any work could start four internal roof ribs had to be made from scrap etch, I used the luggage end as the model for each curve.

The rain strips were then tacked in place,at the ends of the coach the lower one is about 2mm off the gutter and 7mm off the gutter at the middle point of the roof, the upper one is another 7mm higher. These measurements were taken from the line drawing in the Wild Swan "Great Western Auto Trailers - part 2". The roof is quite sturdy now and the outer ribs are a very snug fit on the ends. The photos show I have to do a little more tidying up on the rain strips.

The long handrails at either end of the vehicle are quite a feature of these coaches. Unusually the ones on the driving cab end are over the left and right hand windows so I presume the driving position was positioned centrally.

There is no lamp iron on the rear of the vehicle as it always operated with a dedicated trailer. Also unlike other auto trailers there is no gong on the driving end.

30827 has seen some progress with deflectors and other detailing fitted. This weekend might see more work on the frames and injectors.

 

[Scanlon]

Jet lag combined with two days operating on 82G at Telford has not been conducive to getting back to the workbench. Being invited to operate 82G was a pleasure and spirits were bolstered even further when Warren delivered my D1 in freshly BR lined black with a little weathering. It would have been good to try the loco while at the show but the wheels required cleaning so her maiden run in black is still to happen. This is 31749 in all her glory.

S15 30827 is almost ready to be stripped down and thoroughly cleaned prior to painting. Excuse this grubby shot!


I was unhappy with the beading on the tender even though I had used a smaller gauge wire than provided in the kit. It still appeared much too chunky and discussions while at Telford prompted me to purchase some half round brass section, the original wire was removed and the new fitted giving a much more satisfactory look. A day has been spent installing the motor and pick-ups. The engine is fitted with Gladiator plunger pick-ups while the leading bogie on the tender has been fitted with wipers on the flanges. A thorough running-in session has revealed the bottom slipper on the left hand crosshead needs just a little easing.

Otherwise the boiler backhead is the major outstanding piece to be built up, sanding pipes need to be installed and drain cock pipes fitted. The valve gear will be installed once the frames have been painted.

Next on the workbench will be a GWR Aberdare. The owner purchased the loco from the G0G E&T stand and it requires some TLC to bring it up to date.

A new chassis will be built, the cast wheels replaced by Slaters wheels as they will not negotiate the owners pointwork, dummy inside valve gear installed and the fittings replaced courtesy of Finney7 and Laurie Griffin. Finally the tender will be replaced with an exROD variant to reproduce one of the last locos based at Stourbridge Junction shed. You might ask why not build a completely new loco, well the build is quite good and square and the tender fitted to the loco will be used behind another engine. More to follow.

Alongside this rebuild will be a Stanier 2-6-4t from the David Andrews stable for use on Heyside. Joy!

Lastly it was good to meet so many Thunderers at Telford. From comments elsewhere it is obvious we all enjoyed ourselves although most of our wallets and purses are somewhat depleted!

 

[demu1037]

Aberdare? You need a severe talking to from Keith

 

[Scanlon]

Agreed!
R

 

[Scanlon]

4701 is now finished and has been painted. A little work was required once it was returned to me and shortly it will be away to its new home.


Similarly the ex Taff Vale auto coach has been sprayed black, chocolate and off white where appropriate. The owner will be applying the cream, lining and transfers.


S15 30827 is currently in the paint shop.

Work is now concentrated on rebuilding and upgrading the Aberdare. The loco is from the Mega range and had been well built but as mentioned before, was fitted with Walsall wheels which will not go through the owners pointwork. A new set of frames has been acquired from Redcraft Engineering and built up but they have proved to be too narrow and the pony truck cannot move from side to side. A phone call to Redcraft and replacement stretchers will be collected shortly.

With the frames set aside work started on the ex ROD tender and the internal frames and much of the brake gear has been built. Studying old photos of the locomotives has revealed the ex Great Central tenders did not have water scoops so this has been left off.

The engine body has been stripped of its paint, this is the before look

and after

After a very thorough wash I could see huge quantities of solder everywhere. Mickoo has referred to soldering standards and I can honestly say the old paint job had successfully masked everything. To clean up the body I’ve used five Dremel wire brushes of differing sizes removing excess solder, remaining paint and other extraneous matter. Despite their being expensive I use these wire brushes because they remain very good until the end, other brushes will only polish after a while. I don’t know what solder the previous builder used but it was hard. With the body clean I could see what needed to be done. A firebox side has been re-soldered to the frames, the cab roof is now correctly positioned with no gaps, the outside frames have been re-laminated where required but there is still quite a lot to do.

The Aberdare's were rather spartan in outline however quite a number of detailing parts are necessary. From my spares box I have located the following

In addition springs and lamp irons have come from Laurie Griffin and the correct chimney acquired from Finney 7.

 

[Dikitriki]

You have been very productive of late Roger! I'll bet your glad to see the back of the autocoach, but it's a very interesting vehicle that has turned out well.

I like the 47xx too, though keep that a secret between us please. A deceptively simple loco I think, I'm looking forward to having a go at one of ours sometime.

Richard

 

[Dog Star]

I like the 47xx too, though keep that a secret between us please. A deceptively simple loco I think, I'm looking forward to having a go at one of ours sometime.

This is not the first time that you have admitted a penchant for Swindon's Night Owl.... Have you found the details of the GW Freight Service which ran - only once every four years, in late February - over the Oldham Loop?

 

[Overseer]

4701 looks very good.

The editors of Railways For All in the 1930s apparently liked the class as well because they included this-

I can see the attraction, but I think I can resist the temptation.

 

[AJC]

The small tender 4700 is paired with in that picture gives it an air of a Greenly/Bassett-Lowke production which I quite like. It's interesting how out of scale it looks to the coaching stock too.

Adam

 

[Scanlon]

The rebuild of the Mega Aberdare continues and virtually all the original detailing parts have been replaced by new ones. I think the only original items are the steam lance valve, vacuum pipe and the buffers! However the work has been worthwhile as the appearance of the loco has greatly improved as I hope these photos show



I acquired 7mm drawings of the locomotive and found the original etches were true to scale. Upon close inspection I realised one of the boiler bands was not required and of course yours truly removed the wrong one, so had to retrace his steps, replace the one taken off and then removed the one nearest to the safety valve bonnet. Both bands on the boiler were part of the etches so were ground off, not an experience I'm intending to repeat. An awful lot of work with various grades of emery paper was necessary to achieve a smooth boiler finish.

As for the springs I was not looking forward to them and was right. These items took the better part of 4 hours to build up and get in position. As you can see I ensured angles etc. were correct by building each spring on the drawing.

The problem came when I soldered everything together, fine while on the drawing but on the loco, no. Soldering such a fragile set of fittings to a big hunk of brass required a lot of heat so the springs fell apart. Never mind each one is now in place and cleaned up.

While the engine is generally straightforward that cannot be said for the tender! The basic box built up very easily, i.e main footplate, rear and both sides, then I went into a fog. The etches are supposedly for a GWR tender, but the instructions are for a GCR tender and they are completely different. Fortunately along with the engine drawing I acquired a 7mm drawing of the GWR variant plus a photocopy of an article with three photos from MRJ . As supplied the etch for the coal space is not wholly accurate so to cover up this anomaly it will be filled with coal. The trouble was it was overall 3mm to big to even sit inside the basic body. My Dremel quickly cut off the 3mm excess and it now fits perfectly. The rear flat plate was also much too long and I had to remove about 13mm to make it fit properly. There was no rear coal plate or etches for the fire iron "tunnel" so these have been made up from scrap etch.

The axleboxes are slowly being constructed, each one being made up of 6 parts! Most of the whitemetal detailing items have been replaced with appropriate GWR lost wax castings. Lots of cleaning up yet to be done.

The S15 is nearing completion and has undertaken running trials on Heyside in this condition

The trials identified issues with the bogie which have been addressed. Outstanding work is on the boiler backhead and applying transfers. The loco will be in 1959 condition with the small "cycling lion" on the tender. Once done it will go away for weathering.

 

[Scanlon]

The Aberdare is now in the paint shop having successfully passed running trials on Heyside. The motor and gearbox are probably original to the build which I estimate was about 35 years ago, and it has that coffee grinder sound. That said it runs perfectly and very smoothly. Currently the owner is considering a quieter modern gearbox and motor. While he is doing that the loco has entered the paint shop.

My S15 30827 has at last gained her identity,

The boiler backhead has also been built up, a little tidying up to do and not as neat as some others I have seen on this site but it will do.

Overall I am more than happy with the end result of the build. The Gladiator kit built up very nicely and anyone considering an S15 will be delighted with the results. Shortly it will be away for weathering.

Now where is that Stanier 2-6-4t?

 

[mickoo]

Roger,

Nice models, question, what red did you use for the buffer beams, it's a nice even colour so I'll guess it was airbrushed?

MD

 

[Dikitriki]

The Aberdare is now in the paint shop having successfully passed running trials on Heyside. The motor and gearbox are probably original to the build which I estimate was about 35 years ago, and it has that coffee grinder sound. That said it runs perfectly and very smoothly. Currently the owner is considering a quieter modern gearbox and motor.

The owner has been persuaded to fit a Finney7 gearbox.....provided you are happy to dismantle the outside cranks etc. It is a Mashima 18/33 you have in there isn't it?

Richard

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Mick and Richard,
The bufferbeam is painted in Humbrol satin red number 174. I do not have an airbrush, this has been brush painted. I use white as the undercoat and then give two thin coats of red.
As for the gearbox, I'm awaiting instructions.
Regards and thanks for your support.
Roger

 

[Scanlon]

The GWR building spree has reached its current end although I understand another loco from that stable could be in the pipeline. For now I am returning to the SR, BR Standards and LMS and it is one of the latter's locomotives I have started to construct. Last year David Andrews introduced his kit of the 2 cylinder Stanier 2-6-4t and this is the subject of my latest build.


The brake gear has concentrated the mind and has greatly slowed up progress. However I have now mastered all the etches and castings and should complete the job later this week. Probably the most taxing task so far has been locating the fillers for the middle sand boxes, visible just above the connecting rod otherwise it has been a straightforward build so far. Looking at the body etches there are hundreds of rivets to press out! Now that will slow down progress.