A West Midlands Works

[Scanlon]

Readers will not be surprised to learn that with the beading soldered in place on the tanks that another discrepancy came to light with the etches. With the beading in position on the driver's side it turned out to be 1mm higher at the cab than that on the bunker!!!!! Out came the measuring stick, the main tanks including beading were identical, well almost. However the driver's side bunker was 1mm shorter by the door than on the other side. By judicious use of the gas gun the beading on the bunker has been eased up to match that on the tank, phew.

Considerable marking out has been required for various pipes and operating rods on the boiler. None of these items are included as the kit is sold only as the LBSCR air braked version. When these locos were fitted with vacuum brake equipment a steam takeoff just behind the dome on the fireman's side was installed together with pipework and an operating rod. I used a spare GWR bottle valve for this purpose drilled through at 90° to the steam supply to represent this fitting. On the driver's side the ejector pipe has been created and installed. With these fittings completed the chimney, dome, tank fillers, safety valves and whistle have been put in place.

and

It is important to refer to photographs for the position of the whistle. Originally the whistle was on the cab roof but in SR days it was put onto the boiler. A few engines were fitted in later life with a boiler from a redundant I2 4-4-2t and had the whistle relocated just in front of the cab. 32105 along with the majority of its sisters had the whistle on the safety valve casing.

Work on detailing the cab is frustrating but considerable research is on-going to build a decent representation. Fortunately in the Bradford Barton book "Southern Steam in Works" there is a photograph of 32101 in Brighton Works without its bunker or rear bufferbeam showing the cab quite clearly. Unfortunately it shows how woeful the etches and non-existent fittings are. I have had to extend the cab floor and put false backs onto the parts of the tanks that are in the cab. I still have fresh air in locations I'm sure should be filled with something and currently I’m frantically scouring books to find a solution.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Originally the whistle was on the cab roof but in SR days it was put onto the boiler.

To bring it within composite loading gauge I suspect.

When these locos were fitted with vacuum brake equipment a steam takeoff just behind the dome on the fireman's side was installed together with pipework and an operating rod.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the 'quart into pint pots' whilst installing the vacuum gear into the cab as well as the Westinghouse pump governers etc.

My Terrier was bad enough.

 

[Scanlon]

At last this little engine is starting to look like the machine it is intended to be. There are some similarities with other pre-grouping 0-6-0t's especially the products from Derby. I decided the fresh air locations mentioned in the previous post would not have been on the originals and tiny pieces of etch have been soldered in position to close the gaps.


The air pump is supported on its own bracket on the front of the right hand tank. A piece of etch has formed the lower part of the bracket and a WD type handrail knob used to represent the union for the steam supply. Under each tank extension handrails have been fitted and the steps put in place. The latter are flimsy etches and have been "beefed-up" with the addition of scrap etch behind them. The steps under the cab are further strengthened by the addition of injectors and associated pipework.


The kit only provides two sandboxes for the front of the locomotive. A trawl through my whitemetal spares box has provided a pair of BR Standard sandboxes which are very similar in shape and size to the LBSCR type. These have been fitted behind the cab steps further filling the space between them, the injectors and the frames.

The smokebox door has been detailed using lamp irons from the Finney7 range. For completeness these have also been used on the buffer beams and bunker. From the 1920's the coal rails on the bunker were plated to avoid coal loss. I intended to use phosphor bronze strip to fill the voids but ended up using spare boiler band material instead. The cab roof has been formed and is kept it in place by clips fore and aft on the centre line of the cab. Under each water tank long air tanks have been made up from brass tube and put in place with three clips as per the prototype.


In the absence of a decent boiler backhead I have chosen to use an NMRS Models J6 backhead. This has a very similar layout to the E2 complete with backhead clacks and a steam heat valve. With a loco crew in the cab this "foreigner" will be less noticeable.


The list of "to do" items is getting smaller but there are still about eight detailing items to complete. This model will never win prizes but at least the sows ear has been turned into a kind of silk purse albeit with the odd patch here and there.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

This model will never win prizes but at least the sows ear has been turned into a kind of silk purse albeit with the odd patch here and there.

It looks like what it supposed to look like well done - more patience than I have. One of the batch numbered 105 to 109.

Personally I would have replaced the dome and the Westinghouse pump. The dome supplied doesn't quite look right compared to the photo in your earlier post #358. It appears slightly tapered (but this could be the lighting) and I think it should be one of the fatter Brighton domes used on class C2X - but not the cut down version. Looking at photos of the E2 in later SR and BR days I also think the Westinghouse pump needs to be the larger version. On my (dare I say Roxey?) E4 and Terrier I replaced these with Westinghouse pumps from the Laurie Griffin range.

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your constructive criticism and yes I will replace the Westinghouse pump. As for the dome , well no one does a suitable replacement so it will have to stay unless someone has a C2X dome spare.
Roger

 

[Overseer]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your constructive criticism and yes I will replace the Westinghouse pump. As for the dome , well no one does a suitable replacement so it will have to stay unless someone has a C2X dome spare.
Roger

It would be a shame to spoil the loco with a misshapen, incorrect dome. From photos I think the C2X dome is a similar shape but larger and on a larger diameter boiler so that option may not work. If you have a decent drawing or the dimensions and some more photos I could turn one for you, provided you can wait until after Christmas. It would only take an hour or so to fly cut the base, turn to shape and file the flare around the bottom.

 

[Scanlon]

Thank you Overseer for the offer to turn up a dome for me. Having checked the dome against the 7mm drawing I have it appears to be accurate although very slightly tapered towards the top. To double check I have had a Russell drawing scaled up to 7mm and again the casting as fitted seems fine. So I will live with the whitemetal offering but thanks once again.

The loco is now almost ready to go away for painting but I have one major issue still to resolve, where is the reverser situated? Apologies for this poor picture which shows 32101 in Brighton works in 1956

copyright H.C. Casserley

32101 was fitted with a lever reverse and it is difficult to see where it was located. To make matters more complicated 32105 the subject of my model had an air assisted screw reverser. Is any "Thunderer" able to tell me where it was located and maybe have a photo?

Most of the last detailing parts have arrived and are fitted. The air, vacuum and steam bags are from Connoisseur Models but I'm still waiting to hear from Laurie Griffin about the Westinghouse Pump. In the cab the side tanks have been extended by 12mm in line with the Brighton photo and now the handbrake is in the correct location. Other than the reverser and fitting the plunger pick-ups the model is finished and here are the latest photos, the next ones should be of it painted.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

32101 was fitted with a lever reverse and it is difficult to see where it was located. To make matters more complicated 32105 the subject of my model had an air assisted screw reverser. Is any "Thunderer" able to tell me where it was located and maybe have a photo?

I'll trawl through my Brighton books when I get home to see if anything turns up.

 

[Scanlon]

With work almost completed on the E2 which is for my own collection, I have commenced building the next commission. This is another ex LBSCR loco, an E6 0-6-2t and the kit is from Albion Models and marketed through Roxey Models. In 2009 I built two of these little locos and this is my model, oops just noticed the pony truck is off the rails!

By coincidence my client has also requested that his model carries the same number.

Construction of the frames has been straightforward although some of the slots for the frame spacers required slight opening out. Three sets of spacers are provided in the kit allowing it to cater for all builders up to S7 scale. I soldered two spacers onto each side frame and then soldered everything up square on the chassis jig.

From previous experience I knew the etched brake equipment built up simply although since my first builds the upper hanger supports have been replaced with castings. Unfortunately the castings were somewhat brittle and I had to replace the leading sets of hanger supports with nickel silver rod.

My standard wiper pick-ups on the flanges have been installed and thoroughly tested and I just have to add the balance weights and tidy up the crankpin nuts and the frames are finished.


Now to start on the body.

 

[Scanlon]

It is that time of the year to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Thanks for your support throughout the year.
Very best wishes
Roger

 

[Scanlon]

Now the festivities have been and gone I had hoped to get back to building the E6 but a bout of flu or something very similar stopped progress until now. The Albion kits are almost as easy to construct as the old Airifx plastic kits as I hope these photos show.

Apart from cleaning up the pips this construction was very simple and everything was square. Then work could start on the bunker and cab

excuse the poor cleaning!

Unfortunately I managed to solder the cab front slightly off centre and when it came to putting the tank sides in place there was a gap on one side. Almost all the etches are fitted accurately using slot and tab but for some reason the cab front relied upon the eyeball and mine is not the best! The cab front was removed, cleaned up and then with one tank side temporarily in place it was soldered in the correct place!

To ensure the tanks were in the correct position the boiler and smokebox assembly was built up. This has now been installed and boiler bands fitted. The tank tops have also been put in place as has the coal rails on the bunker. Tonight the loco looks like this

and

This photo has identified an issue with the leading boiler band so I'll have to deal with this minor problem.

Now to start the detailing, the majority of the castings are very good, including the Westinghouse pump but fittings including the injectors,brake valve and safety valves have yet to be sourced.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

oops just noticed the pony truck is off the rails!

Aah.... Being a 'Brighton' man shouldn't it be a radial truck....

This photo has identified an issue with the leading boiler band so I'll have to deal with this minor problem.

Photos are often cruel. It appears the boiler bands are rather prominent for a LBSC loco. Is this as a result of the brass being too thick?

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for your comments, they are always useful. The boiler band material is rather thick but I used it on my own model and after painting they do not appear to be so prominent. Here's hoping!!!!!
Roger

 

[P A D]

Aah.... Being a 'Brighton' man shouldn't it be a radial truck....

Hi Roger,
Nice work as allways.

Looking at the photo of the chassis without the wheels, it looks like the rear wheels just run in the slots and move from side to side on curves. I assume there is also some vertical movement, that can be controlled with some simple springing if needed. Not exactly prototypical, but if it looks the part on the rails and performs OK, why complicate things.

The Finney LNER locos have the radial truck and it works fine. Better on my A4 since Richard gave me the heads up on using two side acting springs, instead of one in the centre. However my Acme A4 has a simple pony truck and that works fine also and on the rails you can't tell the difference visibly. Ok, apart from the far superior Finney castings on the outside frames.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Peter, your observations are correct as I was following my original build, not altogether a good idea. Although this simple method works and my own loco has never derailed it does allow excess side to side of the "radial" axle and occasionally there was a tenancy to shorting out. To overcome this I have put insulated washers behind the wheels. Your note prompted me to rethink this build and have built and installed the radial truck and can now say this a true Radial Tank.

The etch was slightly oversize side to side and has had to be adjusted. Initial trials on the test track showed the firemans wheel was slightly lifting off the track when in reverse but this has been resolved by adjusting the control wire. As there are no horn stays to retain the truck in place I have soldered wire over the horns to keep everything in place.

 

[Steph Dale]

Roger,
Can you take a shot of your chassis straight down please? From the angle shown it appears that your radial truck arcs the wrong way. ??

Steph

 

[Scanlon]

Hi Steph,
Photo as requested, have I got it wrong???????

Just followed the instructions but then a lot of people in WW2 said that too!

 

[Steph Dale]

Hehe, yep, it's wrong; turn it around or you'll be taking several entertaining diversions via Derailment Town...

And that hasn't been a meaningful defence since 1948, but I guess you knew that.

Steph

 

[Scanlon]

True!

 

[Scanlon]

OK, the radial truck is now in the correct orientation, thanks Steph. Thank goodness for the eagle eyes of WT readers because otherwise I'd be in all kinds of trouble.

In post #392 Yorkshire Dave commented on the thickness of the boiler bands and over a libation I discussed this further with Ian Rathbone. The result is they are gone and tape will be used. Rest easy Dave.

The build of the E6 is now well into the detailing stage. Just about each engine in the class was different so it is essential to work from photos. Fortunately 32417 lasted along with 32418 right through to December 1962 and they were often used on enthusiasts specials, so plenty of photos exist of them. These photos show the loco today and prior to cleaning. All the whitemetal is glued in place and I'm allowing 24 hours to cure properly.

I have a list of 15 things still to do on this little machine and each time I look at it the list gets longer.