Genghis's WR builds

Genghis

Western Thunderer
I've got a 47xx in the stash to do shortly, so watching this with interest :thumbs:

Far be it from me to offer you any advice but I would say to anyone that I wish that I had completed the smokebox/boiler/firebox assemblies and joined them before committing the firebox to the footplate. It is a very long beast and the smallest of errors in firebox location are amplified by the time you get to the front end. As it happens I was lucky and the miss was minimal: if I don't tell anyone nobody will notice the minor twist that resulted. I still kick myself as I should have realised there was a potential for this to happen.
The other minor issue is that the steampipe castings are too short. I couldn't get them to line up properly and only when I compared them with the drawing did I realise what was amiss. A washer at the footplate interface resolved that though.
You'll enjoy the kit though.
 

Genghis

Western Thunderer
While Trisha is taking oodles of cash at Bristol today (wishful thinking: the show hasn't started yet) I feel a bit better after my sojourn in hospital with kidney stones and have returned to the chassis. Up to this point I hadn't spent any time getting everything to whirl around or to and fro as appropriate (other than a quick check that it would roll with the rods on).

I have spent some time working out how the motor will fit, and I have an idea for the pony truck, but before all that I spent time to get the side play control washers in place. There is very limited clearance between the crosshead and the front coupling rod boss, so the side play has been limited as much as possible.

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I found that occasionally the rolling chassis would jump as something interfered with something else. A great deal of detective work showed that it was the con rod hitting the lower slidebar. If the driven axle moved sideways then the recess at the end of the slidebar didn't align with the plane that the con rod was moving in and it would cause a momentary bind. The solution was to make the recess slightly larger, restrict the side play on the driven axle and ensure the con rod big end was in the correct lateral place. I did this by using a hex faced tapped 10BA crankpin bush with the head inside the coupling rod and length adjusted so that it was just proud of the coupling rod which was secured by another hex faced reduced bush. The con rod was slipped over that and secured with a round faced bush cut to length. Good job I have a stock of these !

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The result is a free rolling chassis.

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I now need to fit the motor mount and final details (injectors, sandpipes, axlebox oilers) then final cleaning and spraying. I'll cut back the excess crankpin lengths when all is finally assembled.
 

Genghis

Western Thunderer
Done!

It's a big so and so, but despite that I couldn't get the supplied Buehler motor, flywheel and gearbox to fit in any orientation so I swapped out for an ABC/Maxon combination. It manages the test track:a pair of Peco points forming a cross over.

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I decided not to cut back the crank pins and fix the bushes in case the painter wants to strip the chassis.

Next up: something smaller!
 

Genghis

Western Thunderer
Just a few photos to finish off this build.

I was confused by the instructions that indicate that the ATC shoe fits under the front frame spacer: it doesn't. It fits behind the buffer beam.

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Some handrail tweaks needed!

Similarly the pony truck attachment was a bit of a mystery. Guide wire fits under the head of the pivot screw. I used a bit of tube as the pivot and retained with a 6BA nut. I have no idea what the pony truck compensation beam is supposed to do.

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Finally a look at the plumbing. Could do more but I think it will do.

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Next job: clean the workbench!

David
 
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