Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Adrian,you'll struggle to find any evidence of a station anywhere near Modbury - the station is all a figment of my imagination
however the road that runs along the back of the layout does represent what is now the A379.
2mm Modbury
- Thread starter Ian Smith
- Start date
however the road that runs along the back of the layout does represent what is now the A379.
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
This weekend (9th & 10th Sept) Modbury will be at its first public exhibition at the Swindon Steam Festival at the Steam museum in Swindon. Also present in 2FS will be Niger Ashton's Llangerisech and Mick Simpson's Callaton. Obviously there are many other layouts and attractions too.
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Well, Modbury survived its first public exhibition over the weekend!
Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera to Swindon, so only took 3 photos on my phone of Modbury all weekend :
First an overall shot of the layout on Saturday morning before the punters arrived with Steve trying to learn how it all works
A Plymouth bound passenger heading into the station
A Newton Abbot bound cattle train (being hauled by a somewhat out of period 45xx borrowed from fellow 2mm modeller Andy Carlson for the weekend - thank you Andy!)
Ian
Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera to Swindon, so only took 3 photos on my phone of Modbury all weekend :
First an overall shot of the layout on Saturday morning before the punters arrived with Steve trying to learn how it all works
A Plymouth bound passenger heading into the station
A Newton Abbot bound cattle train (being hauled by a somewhat out of period 45xx borrowed from fellow 2mm modeller Andy Carlson for the weekend - thank you Andy!)
Ian
john lewsey
Western Thunderer
Superb Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Steve managed to take quite a few photos of the layout, and has kindly put them online here : Modbury 2FS at Swindon 2017
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Dave, it was good to be able to put a face to a name! Thank you very much for your kind comments.
Thank you, John
adrian
Flying Squad
Stunning - this one especially you'd be hard pushed to peg this at 2mmFS
IMGP2529 by Stephen Croucher, on FlickrI must have missed this one at some point but looks like another award winning loco in the pipeline.
IMGP2567 by Stephen Croucher, on Flickr
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Thank you Adrian. As often happens on 2FS layouts at exhibitions that midland engine is a visitor to South Devon. It's one of Jerry Clifford's lovely creations. A midland/S&D 4-4-0 of some description also had a run too.
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
I've finally made a little more progress with my GWR Buffalo saddle tank. The outside frames have at last been fretted and filed to shape!
Once the buffer beams have been fabricated these will be soldered to the footplate. The outside frames have been formed in 0.006" nickel silver, CAD artwork of the frames with the rivet positions marked on being printed on self adhesive label and attached to the metal so that the rivets could be formed with a "drop riveter" and then the metal carefully fretted and filed to shape. The first photo shows the label still attached to the top frame, the lower frame shows the outside with the formed rivets.
The next photo shows the same with the almost complete chassis. The chassis has been milled to shape from 6mm square brass with a 1mm thick strip attached on one side. Once the profile (and other cut-outs) had been milled, the pair were bolted together with a separating strip of insulation tape between them to insulate both halves of the chassis to facilitate the split frame construction generally used in 2mm modelling. Perhaps not obvious, but the bolts joining the two halves of the chassis are in tapped plugs in the main chassis block to preserve the insulation.
The motor is one of Nigel Lawton's 8mmx16mm ones, and the connecting wires will be shortened at some point later in the build. A 2 stage reduction drives the rear wheels and a small steel flywheel shaped to clear the worm gear sits on an the extended motor shaft supported in a small ball race.
Ian
Once the buffer beams have been fabricated these will be soldered to the footplate. The outside frames have been formed in 0.006" nickel silver, CAD artwork of the frames with the rivet positions marked on being printed on self adhesive label and attached to the metal so that the rivets could be formed with a "drop riveter" and then the metal carefully fretted and filed to shape. The first photo shows the label still attached to the top frame, the lower frame shows the outside with the formed rivets.
The next photo shows the same with the almost complete chassis. The chassis has been milled to shape from 6mm square brass with a 1mm thick strip attached on one side. Once the profile (and other cut-outs) had been milled, the pair were bolted together with a separating strip of insulation tape between them to insulate both halves of the chassis to facilitate the split frame construction generally used in 2mm modelling. Perhaps not obvious, but the bolts joining the two halves of the chassis are in tapped plugs in the main chassis block to preserve the insulation.
The motor is one of Nigel Lawton's 8mmx16mm ones, and the connecting wires will be shortened at some point later in the build. A 2 stage reduction drives the rear wheels and a small steel flywheel shaped to clear the worm gear sits on an the extended motor shaft supported in a small ball race.
Ian
Brian McKenzie
Western Thunderer
Ian,
Do you place an insulating bush in the 1mm thick strip, where supporting the ends of the gear shafts? Or are these shafts 'split-shafts', as done for axles?
-Brian McK.
Do you place an insulating bush in the 1mm thick strip, where supporting the ends of the gear shafts? Or are these shafts 'split-shafts', as done for axles?
-Brian McK.
adrian
Flying Squad
I'm sure Ian will correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect they are "split shafts" for the gears. It is a common 2mmFS solution, the 2mmFS shop supplies acetal insulating bushes for gears
Shop 3 list
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Brian,
As Adrian has said I have employed the standard 2mmFS method of "split shafts" held in an insulating bush (or muff). The wheels also have "stub axles" which are held within muffs too. All of these axles (both wheel and gear shafts) are running in phosphor bronze bearings in the brass chassis.
I haven't got a suitable early photo of my Buffalo chassis, but my Metro tank employs a similar method (albeit without the phosphor bronze bearings). Here is an exploded view of my Metro chassis :
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
In among a variety of other things on my workbench at the moment is this GWR 6 Wheel Full Brake coach. It is a diagram V13, and is one of a set that I drew up and had etched by PPD a couple of months ago. This one (for a little variety) will have oil lamps.
The body still needs the G scroll handrails to be fitted to the luggage doors, the door handles, and a vertical brass bar handrail on the guards compartment. It also needs the handrails on the step end to be made and fitted and also the covers that sit near the oil lamps that were used to plug the holes when the oil lamps were lifted out. The door furniture will be the etched N Brass fittings like I used on my 4 wheelers, and will be soldered on next (before painting), and once painting is complete will be scraped back to bare brass before varnishing.
The roof is sheet nickel silver as the rooves I had drawn up are marginally to narrow - I forgot that the sides sat outside the ends, so when I measured the arc of the end (for the width of the roof) I didn't allow for the extra 0.5mm for the thickness of the sides - DOH! On the next one I might try soldering 2 lengths of 0.3mm wire along the edge of the roof and sanding flat to broaden the width - You live and learn
The chassis has only just been started, as the foot boards, and brake detail all need to be added yet. For this (experimental) chassis, the centre set of wheels will be housed in U slot inside bearings which hopefully will allow the centre wheels to slide across the chassis to allow easier negotiation of curves - I expect to have to add a small phosphor bronze wire to bear on the centre of this axle to keep the wheels in contact with the rails (although the U slots should not have much vertical movement).
Ian
The body still needs the G scroll handrails to be fitted to the luggage doors, the door handles, and a vertical brass bar handrail on the guards compartment. It also needs the handrails on the step end to be made and fitted and also the covers that sit near the oil lamps that were used to plug the holes when the oil lamps were lifted out. The door furniture will be the etched N Brass fittings like I used on my 4 wheelers, and will be soldered on next (before painting), and once painting is complete will be scraped back to bare brass before varnishing.
The roof is sheet nickel silver as the rooves I had drawn up are marginally to narrow - I forgot that the sides sat outside the ends, so when I measured the arc of the end (for the width of the roof) I didn't allow for the extra 0.5mm for the thickness of the sides - DOH! On the next one I might try soldering 2 lengths of 0.3mm wire along the edge of the roof and sanding flat to broaden the width - You live and learn
The chassis has only just been started, as the foot boards, and brake detail all need to be added yet. For this (experimental) chassis, the centre set of wheels will be housed in U slot inside bearings which hopefully will allow the centre wheels to slide across the chassis to allow easier negotiation of curves - I expect to have to add a small phosphor bronze wire to bear on the centre of this axle to keep the wheels in contact with the rails (although the U slots should not have much vertical movement).
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
Over the last couple of days I've returned to building another coach. This one is a GWR diagram U28, a 6 wheel composite with a central luggage compartment, and a clerestory roof.
It is one of the set that I drew up the artwork for and had etched by PPD. So far I have built up the main body and added the clerestory to the roof. Unfortunately, when I designed the etch I forgot to take account of the fact that I had designed the sides to fit outside the ends which meant that I had made the main roof slightly too narrow (not by very much but enough to not have any over hang along the sides). To attempt to rectify this fault, I simply soldered two lengths of 0.3mm brass wire along the edges of the roof before I rolled it.
The etch started off like this (one of the underframes can also be seen to the right of the photo) :
After a few hours I now have (the step end) :
and the non-step end :
The next stage will be to add the door handles and G scroll handrails (from an N Brass etch), turn up and fit the gas lamp tops (and the gas feed pipe - only one for my period), and the step end handrails. Then it's on to the underframe...
Ian
It is one of the set that I drew up the artwork for and had etched by PPD. So far I have built up the main body and added the clerestory to the roof. Unfortunately, when I designed the etch I forgot to take account of the fact that I had designed the sides to fit outside the ends which meant that I had made the main roof slightly too narrow (not by very much but enough to not have any over hang along the sides). To attempt to rectify this fault, I simply soldered two lengths of 0.3mm brass wire along the edges of the roof before I rolled it.
The etch started off like this (one of the underframes can also be seen to the right of the photo) :
After a few hours I now have (the step end) :
and the non-step end :
The next stage will be to add the door handles and G scroll handrails (from an N Brass etch), turn up and fit the gas lamp tops (and the gas feed pipe - only one for my period), and the step end handrails. Then it's on to the underframe...
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
As a break from trying to increase my coaching stock, over the last couple of days I've been trying to progress my Buffalo Saddle Tank. Primarily making the footplate, buffer beams and assembling those complete with the outside frames that I'd previously fretted out.
A piece of 0.010" nickel silver was cut for the footplate, and a pair of buffer beams fretted, filed and drilled from 0.018". After a little measuring to establish how far in from the footplate edge the outside frames needed to be (so that the extended axles projected through them, and also so the outside cranks didn't catch on the frames). I ended up with this ...
Before the rear buffer beam was fitted, I decided to mark out the cutout to accommodate the motor and wheels. I then proceeded to fret out a hole for the motor/gearbox, and once happy with the size of said hole progressed onto cutting out further extensions to that hole for the wheels - in retrospect it might have been better to have fitted the rear buffer beam before all this cutting and filing for additional strength as I had to re-solder the outside frames towards the rear of the footplate. However, after an hour or two ...
And when temporarily bolted to the chassis, I checked to make sure that no binding occurred. The temporary nuts will be replaced as the body build progresses by having separate body components which will house the fixings - the saddle tank will have a threaded hole under the smokebox and the bunker will also be a separate component. The plan is to have the footplate and cab front as a component that will be "trapped" by the saddle and bunker parts.
The next job will involve venturing out to the workshop to turn up some splasher front/tops (assuming that I have some brass bar out there of suitable diameter!)
Ian
A piece of 0.010" nickel silver was cut for the footplate, and a pair of buffer beams fretted, filed and drilled from 0.018". After a little measuring to establish how far in from the footplate edge the outside frames needed to be (so that the extended axles projected through them, and also so the outside cranks didn't catch on the frames). I ended up with this ...
Before the rear buffer beam was fitted, I decided to mark out the cutout to accommodate the motor and wheels. I then proceeded to fret out a hole for the motor/gearbox, and once happy with the size of said hole progressed onto cutting out further extensions to that hole for the wheels - in retrospect it might have been better to have fitted the rear buffer beam before all this cutting and filing for additional strength as I had to re-solder the outside frames towards the rear of the footplate. However, after an hour or two ...
And when temporarily bolted to the chassis, I checked to make sure that no binding occurred. The temporary nuts will be replaced as the body build progresses by having separate body components which will house the fixings - the saddle tank will have a threaded hole under the smokebox and the bunker will also be a separate component. The plan is to have the footplate and cab front as a component that will be "trapped" by the saddle and bunker parts.
The next job will involve venturing out to the workshop to turn up some splasher front/tops (assuming that I have some brass bar out there of suitable diameter!)
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
More GWR Buffalo Saddle Tank progress...
An hour or two out in a very chilly workshop (I didn't think I'd be out there long so neglected to put the heater on!), and I have some embryonic splashers ...
To make "splasher discs", a piece of brass bar was mounted in the lathe chuck and the outside diameter turned down to 10.5mm. A hand graver was then used to start a large blind shallow hole in the faced-off end, into which a small boring tool would fit. The hole was then enlarged so that it projected 0.075" into the end of the bar, and gave a wall (splasher top) around 0.008" thick. A parting off tool was then used to separate the "splasher disc" from the end of the bar so that the "splasher disc" was some 0.090" thick.
The splashers themselves were then cut from the splasher disc (2 from each disc), an arc line being marked across the disc and a fret saw with an 8/0 blade used to separate the arc and produce a complete splasher. A few careful rubs on an emery board neatens up the cut and makes sure the upright of the splasher sits perpendicular to the footplate.
The image below shows the first two splashers plonked temporarily on the footplate ...
Once soldered in place, I will file/sand the back edge of the splashers a little as I have made them very slightly too wide (on purpose I should add - better too wide than too narrow!).
Ian
An hour or two out in a very chilly workshop (I didn't think I'd be out there long so neglected to put the heater on!), and I have some embryonic splashers ...
To make "splasher discs", a piece of brass bar was mounted in the lathe chuck and the outside diameter turned down to 10.5mm. A hand graver was then used to start a large blind shallow hole in the faced-off end, into which a small boring tool would fit. The hole was then enlarged so that it projected 0.075" into the end of the bar, and gave a wall (splasher top) around 0.008" thick. A parting off tool was then used to separate the "splasher disc" from the end of the bar so that the "splasher disc" was some 0.090" thick.
The splashers themselves were then cut from the splasher disc (2 from each disc), an arc line being marked across the disc and a fret saw with an 8/0 blade used to separate the arc and produce a complete splasher. A few careful rubs on an emery board neatens up the cut and makes sure the upright of the splasher sits perpendicular to the footplate.
The image below shows the first two splashers plonked temporarily on the footplate ...
Once soldered in place, I will file/sand the back edge of the splashers a little as I have made them very slightly too wide (on purpose I should add - better too wide than too narrow!).
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
After a week in not-so-sunny Somerset, a little more progress on the Buffalo ...
The 6 splashers have all been cut from the "splasher discs" that I turned up, and with the help of half a wooden clothes peg and a cocktail stick have been soldered into position on the footplate. Rather surprisingly, I didn't need to resort to any industrial language as an aid in fitting them (or perhaps I'm just getting a little more patient in my old age).
The springs that sit outside the splashers on top of the footplate are from my custom etch, and are a 3 layer affair in a little frame to keep them all aligned while they are soldered together. Hopefully, I will be able to solder them in place without disturbing the splashers or de-laminating the little devils!
A paper cab front has also been drawn up in CAD, printed and cut out, and tried in position before I use it as a pattern when fretting/filing metal. If it gets a bit warmer in the next couple of days, I'll get out in the workshop and turn up the buffers and shanks in steel and the buffer housings in brass.
I've still got to add the upper cab step, and file bit of a cut-out in the edge of the footplate just above those steps.
Ian
The 6 splashers have all been cut from the "splasher discs" that I turned up, and with the help of half a wooden clothes peg and a cocktail stick have been soldered into position on the footplate. Rather surprisingly, I didn't need to resort to any industrial language as an aid in fitting them (or perhaps I'm just getting a little more patient in my old age).
The springs that sit outside the splashers on top of the footplate are from my custom etch, and are a 3 layer affair in a little frame to keep them all aligned while they are soldered together. Hopefully, I will be able to solder them in place without disturbing the splashers or de-laminating the little devils!
A paper cab front has also been drawn up in CAD, printed and cut out, and tried in position before I use it as a pattern when fretting/filing metal. If it gets a bit warmer in the next couple of days, I'll get out in the workshop and turn up the buffers and shanks in steel and the buffer housings in brass.
I've still got to add the upper cab step, and file bit of a cut-out in the edge of the footplate just above those steps.
Ian
Ian Smith
Western Thunderer
A little more progress on the Buffalo Saddle Tank ...
The buffers have been turned up, although each buffer housing needs to have a small square of 0.004" soldered to the buffer beam end before they can be fitted to the buffer beams. The housings will be soldered to a patch of 0.004" and a square area around them cut out rather than trying to fiddle small 2mm squares into place!
A start has been made on the cab. The basic shape being cut and filed from 0.008", with skrawked verticals on the inside of the corners so that it could be bent to a half cab front and sides unit. Indeed the skrawker was used to cut the whole basic shape out - skrawked half way through then the metal carefully bent back and forth until it snapped away from the main sheet, the edges being made good with emery boards and files, thus preserving my dwindling stocks of fret saw blades
Strips of 0.004" were then soldered into the cab side cut outs, and filed and sanded back to leave a beading proud of the flat cab side sheets. Tails of the 0.004" strips being left protruding at the bottom of the cut-outs onto which the cab handrails will be soldered later in construction.
To allow the saddle tank assembly to be a bolt on component later, a 12BA clearance sized hole was drilled in the cab front and saddle tank rear former, and a 12BA nut soldered in place within the tank. A couple of shots showing the cab and saddle tank temporarily attached.
Finally, a couple of shots of the tank cab assembly plonked in place on the footplate - she's starting to look a little bit more like an engine now - the chimney (turned in phosphor bronze) is similarly just plonked on for effect.
Hopefully, in the next couple of days I'll get the springs attached to the outside faces of the splashers and the cab front soldered in place on the footplate. And all being well the buffers will go on squarely too!
Ian
The buffers have been turned up, although each buffer housing needs to have a small square of 0.004" soldered to the buffer beam end before they can be fitted to the buffer beams. The housings will be soldered to a patch of 0.004" and a square area around them cut out rather than trying to fiddle small 2mm squares into place!
A start has been made on the cab. The basic shape being cut and filed from 0.008", with skrawked verticals on the inside of the corners so that it could be bent to a half cab front and sides unit. Indeed the skrawker was used to cut the whole basic shape out - skrawked half way through then the metal carefully bent back and forth until it snapped away from the main sheet, the edges being made good with emery boards and files, thus preserving my dwindling stocks of fret saw blades
Strips of 0.004" were then soldered into the cab side cut outs, and filed and sanded back to leave a beading proud of the flat cab side sheets. Tails of the 0.004" strips being left protruding at the bottom of the cut-outs onto which the cab handrails will be soldered later in construction.
To allow the saddle tank assembly to be a bolt on component later, a 12BA clearance sized hole was drilled in the cab front and saddle tank rear former, and a 12BA nut soldered in place within the tank. A couple of shots showing the cab and saddle tank temporarily attached.
Finally, a couple of shots of the tank cab assembly plonked in place on the footplate - she's starting to look a little bit more like an engine now - the chimney (turned in phosphor bronze) is similarly just plonked on for effect.
Hopefully, in the next couple of days I'll get the springs attached to the outside faces of the splashers and the cab front soldered in place on the footplate. And all being well the buffers will go on squarely too!
Ian
