7mm Finney7 - Drummond-boiler Adams Radial

[Steph Dale]

The next step was to build up the front end. Martin is at pains in the instructions to make sure you're clear that the front of the jig must not be soldered to the footplate. There are a variety of ways to achieve this, as the photos show I used a strip of paper to keep the soldered components clear of the jig.

The front frames have three options, I went for the SR 1930 frames, but there are two other shapes as well. The front footplate between the frames requires riveting and folding. I strongly suggest you do the rivets before the folds; I didn't and ended up with an unnecessary extra job of straightening/flattening the footplate before it would fit properly.

The three parts will fit together 'dry' in the running plate; the frame parts fit with a satisfying click when pushed in from the front. Once it's all together and aligned with the front edge of the running plate I spotted round with a few blobs of solder. Once happy with the positioning I sloshed a load of flux around all the joints and ran round with the iron, pulling the solder into all the joints and folds. A quick go over with a fibreglass brush removed the traces of solder that were left after the iron had done its bit and we're done:



Bufferbeams and toolboxes next.

Steph

 

[Steph Dale]

Well, here's today's update as promised; bufferbeams and toolboxes.

Front bufferbeam, largely devoid of rivets. It sits just proud of the footplate level so positioning needs some care. As before, it's just a question of patience, the parts fit well. Soldering was much as before with it tacked in place and then the solder reflowed with a nearly dry iron. As such the joints are uniformally soldered and this front end is now a very strong assembly, even with minimal solder visible:


The rear bufferbeam is almost completely riveted. Referenced to photos, there are a few around the coupling slot which aren't required and I made sure I didn't rivet through the marked positions for the safety chains. Unlike the front end this is tacked and seamed conventionally from behind. In both cases the bufferbeams are fully prepared before fitting, riveted (as applicable) any holes opened up and couplings (I'm using CPL ones) checked for fit:


Actually, that might be easier to see from underneath:


I've also done the toolboxes. As Martin suggests these are assembled separately for fitting after the model is painted. Martin suggests fitting the lids, hasps and (yes, really) padlocks with glue after painting. I decided to assemble them as complete units (the padlocks don't appear to have been used during BR days). The hole in the bottom is to allow washing water to circulate, let excess flux out and perhaps let liquid lead in:


The two wire lugs in the base of the toolboxes drop into holes etched in the footplate, like this:


I've actually done a little more; the slidebar covers are assembled and but they need washing and cleaning up before being photographed.

Steph

 

[Steph Dale]

Today's update sees me to the end of the first page of bodywork construction, a minor milestone!

Slidebar covers were made up separately from the running plate, like the toolboxes, they have holes in their bottoms (as, indeed, do I):


In previous photos you can see the holes under the locations for the covers. With the cover held in place I spotted through the holes with an iron to tack them in place. Job done and with no cleaning up:


The splashers now make an appearance. They're built up in-situ and I'll be honest and say I had my moments with them. They're always a bit of a bete noire for me and I tend to fuss around them for a good while before getting to the 's*d it' stage and soldering them up in a small collective act of blind faith. Speaking of blind faith, you'll note the smear of solder on the right hand side of the photo; guess which loco doesn't have tank front handrails...:


I think I'll have another go cleaning up around the sander, but other than that they're fine. One trick I used to position the sand levers is worth commenting on. They're positioned with a 1/8" rod (well, yeah; it's a drill), which sets height and angle in one shot:


So that gets us to the end of the first page. Which looks a little like this:


I've got a couple of things I'm pondering for the next stage; there's a great opportunity to create some space in the bunker for the DCC decoder and it's power pack, I just need to work out exactly how.

Steph

 

[Steph Dale]

Intermission.

While I'm scarfing my butties I thought I'd quickly show the next set of DCC-related mods. On the left, the bunker area of the running plate has been drilled and had tubes let in. The smaller ones towards the rear are for the speaker; they allow the wires to run down inside each edge of the footplate to the boiler. The larger ones are for the motor and pick-up wires to reach the decoder, which will be positioned in the bunker. On the right, the top of the bunker has been modified to fit a 8BA nut under the water filler. If I'm honest I'm not sure I'll need it, but if I do I'd rather it was fitted now than trying to modify things when the loco is complete. Should it be required the water filler will be modified into a sort of a screw, but I think there's a more elegant solution on the way...:


I've also sorted the sanders on the splashers. The assembly was removed, cleaned up and returned to the model. Much better:


Now back to the main feature...

Steph

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

On the left, the bunker area of the running plate has been drilled and had tubes let in.

Do the tubes project under the bunker floor as well? Why tubes? Why not just have small grommets in the holes or use washers for rims.

Looks like the decoder will be mounted to the body . Are you going to use a subminiature 4 pin plug and socket for the power and motor wires?

 

[Steph Dale]

Dave,

No the tubes don't project down below the floor. The tubes are de-burred at each end - it's just a way to reduce wire chafing.

Yes, the decoder will be in the body, actually in the bunker. In terms of connecting it up it's more likely to be a pair of 2-pin plugs and sockets to connect to the motor and pickups; that way I can keep the male/female parts oriented the right way to avoid the potential of short-circuits across the decoder, but I'll see when I get there.

Steph

 

[Steph Dale]

The next page in the instructions covers the cab back, bunker and details.

First job is to solder the fire iron brackets on to the inside back of the cab:

And then assemble that onto the bunker, before fitting the beadings on the cab rear panel and bunker. The beading for the bunker has small marks for the coal board brackets to drop into, these need cutting and filing to clear before fitting. It's at this point that I realised I could make a very simple insert for the bunker to cover the decoder's space and act as a floor for the coal load; there'll be more on that in due course:


The panel over the cab locker and sandboxes is then made up with a plethora of details, including the sander handles, handbrake, sand fillers and locker details:


And finally assembled into the cab rear. Those little solder blobs on the sandbox fillers have already been removed!:


That's quite an impressive array of details and the injector water valve handles aren't on there yet; they go through the cab floor so will be making their appearance in a little while.

We're nearly at the moment of truth for both the decoder space and for the new boiler. But first I need to work out when's the easiest time to fit the cab floor.

Steph

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

A silly request I know, is there any chance of a top down photo of the bunker (so I can see the decoder space) and a photo of the underside of the running plate?

I've noticed most, if not all, loco construction photos are always taken from above. When I'm building locos/stock I'm always picking it up to view my work from all angles - upside down and inside out .

 

[Steph Dale]

Dave,
Yep, fair question, so here you go.

Top view through bunker:


Underneath at the bunker end, showing tubes and screw holes:


And, as a bonus, a construction photo relating to earlier phases. This is after the second go at doing the splasher detailing, when I'd remembered a simple trick. To position the sanding levers the 0.8mm wire was soldered into the bottom of the splasher. I could then drop the detail part over the end of the now fixed wire and solder it from inside. Much easier than trying to do everything at once. You can also see how the slidebar covers are attached to the running plate with a simple blob of solder:


Steph

 

[warren haywood]

See you haven't gone for the Dikitriki cubed blue tack method which I belive suits the squares of the cutting mat much better

 

[Dikitriki]

Yeah, but it's a pretty damn good sphere

 

[Steph Dale]

Warren,
I can't get hold of any of his quantum solder either...

All,
Today has been a fiddly day - wire, fiddly pieces, small drills and many different sets of pliers. Yes; it's handrails time:


The smokebox has had more details too; blower valve and some of Laurie Griffin's SR lampirons. The latter are used because they're a good bit stronger (although chunkier) than the etched ones on the fret - it's a case of choosing what will work better for you. My locos get carted around and played with a fair bit, so it's an easy choice for me:


On the back of the smokebox there's a choice of either the cover (left, provided in both the Finney7 versions of the Adams Radial) or a detailed view of the smokebox/boiler/tubeplate angle (right, included in the Drummond-boiler version):


The riveted version of the smokebox/boiler/tubeplate angle is etched in two thicknesses and so it was time to see which one was required. Yep; time to test fit the boiler. First up, the original kit part to establish where and how it all fits together. Looks neat, I'm happy with that:


And then, by way of a comparison, the riveted version. I found the 'thick' version fitted my model best, you'll still be best off if you check before committing. To say I'm pleased with the way this has worked is an understatement:


So, as you can see from the photos, the full set of new parts have now survived contact with the original kit. Considering the technical risks involved in reverse engineering someone else's design I'm exceedingly pleased that everything fitted so well.

Steph

 

[7mmMick]

Hi Steph,

I know I've ticked 'like' periodically as and when I have chance to catch up but here I felt the need to comment also. I really like the Drummond smoke box/boiler set up. I have seen NER loco's, late in life with the rear of the smoke box exposed like this, something I've never seen seen modelled before, excellent work I'm looking forward to seeing your build progress,

Mick.R

 

[Steph Dale]

Mick,
Thanks for that, it's a nice detail I'm pleased to have done and very glad it's worked out so well. I don't think it's all that common, but examples of several of the Southern classes ended up like it by the time they were withdrawn. It's a detail I'll ensure is included in our future Adams loco kits.

Oops; cat, bag...

All,
In other news the boiler is now fitted to the loco. I deliberately didn't show it above, but here's how the test fitting was done: A spring clamp at the cab front and a screw through the front. Once clipped in and the boiler is rotated for the firebox sides to align, the whole assembly is checked for flatness and that the cab front is truly upright:


One quick word, and a couple of photos, on the cab front. You may remember me mentioning ordering some small-bore tubing, well the first of it has been used to provide handrail mountings and details for the injector steam valve and whistle operating rods. It will also help when fitting the blower handwheel as it can now be made a separate part and fitted into the tube after painting:



So once the positioning is confirmed it can be soldered. Blobs to attach the back ring of the boiler to the cab front, a seam over the splashers and blobs on the front platform; the latter are then reflowed by applying a very hot iron under the platform. I did have to tweak the positions of a couple of the handrail knobs to get them straight, level and in-line, but it was a simple job as they were already fitted and pretty close to where they should be. One thing I'd like to have done was put a blob of solder on the screw joining the smokebox to the boiler, but I couldn't get the soldering iron in through the front of the smokebox. I'll try again later with a smaller bit and higher temperature when I have the chance:


Here's a shot around the front of the smokebox, showing another little detail and use of that small-bore tubing. The handrail has been replaced with tube to allow the blower valve rod to step down where it enters the valve itself. Another one of those things you don't see modelled very often. Looks like I've got a little more cleaning up to do around the blower valve:


It's starting to look like a railway engine now. I'm just wondering whether I need to build the chassis to establish clearances around the cab/splashers; if following the instructions it'd be built before starting on the body. I also need to finish off the smokebox by fixing the boiler-smokebox screw and putting the mounting tube for the lubricator in place; then I can load in a heap of liquid lead.

But, there'll be a pause on this for a little while, as I work to get it into production.

Steph

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Steph

Came across this on t'interweb. Any use for details? Copyright as shown.

 

[Steph Dale]

Hmm, a bit - it's one of the 1930 rebuilds isn't it (straight frames down to the bufferbeam), but that's definitely got an Adams boiler...

Any idea when the picture was taken?

Steph

 

[adrian]

Any idea when the picture was taken?

and where - it's a wonderfully evocative photo - the guy in the middle with a flat cap, cigarette and waistcoat!

 

[daifly]

and where - it's a wonderfully evocative photo - the guy in the middle with a flat cap, cigarette and waistcoat!

Comparison with contemporary photos show that it's taken in Eastleigh works but, as to date, over to Steph!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Judging by the attire it could be early 1950's as all but two are wearing caps. If it was pre-WWII then I would suspect caps would be worn by all.

 

[mickoo]

If it helps, that bogie to the left looks a bit like a Light Pacific one.