7mm On Heather's Workbench - CCT Hangover

[Heather Kay]

After a bout of illness, I felt it was best to force myself to rest over the Christmas and new year break. I had made plans to work on some personal projects over the holiday, but in the end the rest did me a lot more good. Of course, getting back into the swing of work again is proving troublesome, not helped by various domestic things that conspire to disrupt this short first week of 2017.

I have decided to make a start on a personal project. I hope it will be finished before the year is out! I decided to start a new build thread for it, even though I did one for exactly the same vehicle some time ago. The thing is, this time, because it's for me, I'm trying to really push the boat out on this JLTRT BR Mk1 CCT.

The upperworks of these vehicles are fairly basic. I am tempted to install some interior details - at least those that might be seen through a grimy window. The underworks, though, are pleasingly fiddly. This is where most of the work will be concentrated. The JLTRT kit gives a good solid ground for some nice details.

The vexed question of finish arose before I cracked the box open. I thought it would be nice to fit the steps to this build. Those who care about such things will know the steps proved vulnerable to damage, and were eventually removed altogether. With steps, I would have the choice to paint the vehicle in full BR lined maroon. That would, though, potentially affect resale value if I decided to part with the finished model in the future. Digging around Paul Bartlett's site for inspiration, I happened upon a hangover: a blue CCT with the steps, around 1968.

BR 4-wheel CCT revenue and departmental NOV NPV QQW QQV QPV QRV | W94559 CCT [1]

Perfect.

The plan, then, is to build the CCT, upgrading details and fitting S7 wheels. I considered some form of suspension, but I think there's too much major surgery required.



I've spent a while fettling the various castings. It was fairly obvious some of the castings could be improved upon. The dynamo, for example, will be replaced by an ABS casting which is correct for the prototype underframe I'm working from. The handbrake lever casting will be replaced by a modified Ambis etch. The lever guide, however, is a bit of a problem. The cast kit item, on the left of the group in the photo, is the right shape, albeit a bit chunky. It could be thinned down a bit. Rummaging in my Bits Box, I was seeking some Ambis etched parts to give me a ratchet. I couldn't find them, but did find some ABS wagon parts which might be adaptable. I'm still considering how to bodge things together here.

Other details I plan to include are the steam and vacuum pipe runs along the frames, plus as many of the safety loops as I can reasonably install. I am looking forward to releasing the Detail Demon on this build!

 

[Dog Star]

I am looking forward to releasing the Detail Demon on this build!

Oh, yay! A go-for-it build to entice and entwine. Suggestions:-

1/ please provide words and music on fitting flush-ish windows;
2/ think about interior lights controlled by DCC... maybe even with a function-only decoder hiding in the battery box;
3/ provide vac and steam pipes which connect to adjacent vehicles;
4/ BRUTES with tabloid loading.

Such fun!

 

[Heather Kay]

Oh, yay! A go-for-it build to entice and entwine.

Suggestions:-

1/ please provide words and music on fitting flush-ish windows;

That won't be a problem. Well, it might be. The kit seems to have shipped sans glazing, but I have alternatives here.

2/ think about interior lights controlled by DCC... maybe even with a function-only decoder hiding in the battery box;

Um, no. I don't have the technology or the knowledge. As is my habit, though, I shall leave the roof loose so perhaps a future owner might decide to go there. The cast boxes, which need backs made up, don't actually have much space in them, to be honest.

3/ provide vac and steam pipes which connect to adjacent vehicles;

That should be achievable. I note I will need to source or fabricate a suitable vacuum pipe parking bracket. I'm quite happy with the cast bits as supplied, though.

4/ BRUTES with tabloid loading.

Perhaps not this time.

Such fun!

Let us hope so.

 

[richard carr]

Heather

You really should spring it, if you need some help to get some better horn blocks and W irons I'm ready to help

Richard

 

[BrushType4]

Do you want me to post you any glazing?

 

[Ian G]

Connecting Vac & Steam Pipes.
Slaters have fittings on there vac & steam pipes to connect to each other.
For my vac pipes I glue a bit of brass rod into the spring at one end leaving the other clear, on the clear end of the wagon I have a pin on the wagon fitting, connecting long rakes of vac wagons this way makes propelling easier as you don't get buffer lock on tight curves.
I have photos inside a CCT at Quainton about 20

Ian G

 

[Ian G]

From Slaters website

7210 Locomotive and van vacuum pipes [Pair, working] £6.36 £7.63

7211 Steam Pipes [Pair, working] £6.36 £7.63

Ian G

 

[Heather Kay]

You really should spring it, if you need some help to get some better horn blocks and W irons I'm ready to help

Interesting. Thanks, Richard. I'll drop you a line later.

Do you want me to post you any glazing?

Now, you did help out on the other build, to great effect. You probably still have the information for that on file, but I do worry there may be variation in the body side production. Leave it with me for now.

I have photos inside a CCT at Quainton about 20

I seem to recall you offered your photos on the last build. This time I would be most grateful for them. I don't mind if you want to share them in this thread.

As for the Slater's flexible pipes, I shall consider them. I'm not sure how many people end up joining them up in trains, if I'm honest. They're a right faff, from personal experience, and liable to damage during connection operations. Having looked at various photos, the steam pipe is rarely connected in a train - especially later in service life, when CCTs were lumped in with various NPCS vehicles on parcels and papers duties. I was intending to fit the cast pipes with the attendant storage chains. Perhaps I should fit the brake pipes as flexible. Another thing to consider.

Thanks chaps!

 

[Ian G]

For my dogfish I used the pin in one end of the spring it works very well when propelling as the buffer springs are a bit to strong.

Ian G

 

[Dog Star]

... I'm not sure how many people end up joining them up in trains... ... Perhaps I should fit the brake pipes as flexible.

I agree with your comment regarding steam heat hoses being not-connected in parcels trains. As for vacuum bags, I have been thinking about miniature rear earth magnets within a simplified hose coupling - the downside of this idea is that the vehicles become polarised in respective of north/south orientation.

 

[Heather Kay]

I have been thinking about miniature rear earth magnets within a simplified hose coupling

Again, something I have considered. It does, however, also rely on adjacent vehicles also being fitted with magnets. There would be little point fitting magnetic pipework to this model, if it never had the chance to mate with similar vehicles!

 

[Dog Star]

... It does, however, also rely on adjacent vehicles also being fitted with magnets. There would be little point fitting magnetic pipework to this model, if it never had the chance to mate with similar vehicles!

Since many RTR are produed in the Far East then a suitable response might be:-

"Every journey starts with the first step".

After all, you could be about to lead the way.

You really should spring it...

I agree, this offers an opportunity to show how stock can be built with wheels interchangeable between FS and S7.

 

[Simon]

Pointless pontification aside, I'd have thought that springing or at least some sort of compensation would be necessary on such a long wheel based vehicle running with scale wheels.

Unless it's just going to sit on a shelf and do nothing, which would be a shame and rather seems to miss the whole point of railway modelling as far as I can see.

Simon

 

[Heather Kay]

Aside from my test plank, I no longer have an operational layout to play trains on. This is a legacy of deciding we, that is Best Beloved and I, weren't really going to be able to build anything sensible in the time left to us. Instead, I have been concentrating on the building stuff for other people side of things.

Springing/suspension is definitely on the cards.

 

[Bob Reid]

The upperworks of these vehicles are fairly basic. I am tempted to install some interior details - at least those that might be seen through a grimy window.

Grimy windows or not Heather, I'm not sure you would see an awful lot! All they contained (apart from the occasional car, B.R.U.T.E. and/or newspapers or parcels) when empty was a set of wheelbar's and eight shelves.

Just some points you might want to consider with this build (or ignore of course, whichever takes your fancy);

- When the eight shelves were folded up in service they blocked the view into the interior on all but the centre window. When folded up you see a (scale) 2.3 mm gap between the two (in your case) grey shelves 9.6 mm above the bottom of the bodylight...

- The Vacuum pipe hung below the top of the underframe by 10.2 mm a nice bit of 1.5mm brass rod is perfect for the size! The Steam pipe sat fractionally higher at 8.8 mm below the top of the underframe however don't forget in BR days they were heavily insulated and that basic 2" diameter pipe, grew in size with insulation at all but the pipe clips to a good 5" in dia.!

- How about an open droplight - the biggest gap it could open to was 12mm below the top of the droplight aperture. File off the existing bar and add a new one to top of the lowered droplight....

Hope this is food for thought!

 

[Heather Kay]

The photo I linked to on Paul Bartlett's site shows the shelves folded against the windows as you say, Bob. It also shows a droplights down, which was something I thought I would replicate.

On the last build I did I cheated and fitted the vac and steam heating gubbins into holes in the headstocks. This was mainly to ensure they were robust. As I plan to include the underframe pipe runs - the routes of which I am still tracking down - I'll need to fit the connections in a more prototypical fashion.

 

[Ian G]

Here are a few for starters

 

[Ian G]

Lots more if needed inside and out

Ian G

 

[Heather Kay]

Cor, thanks Ian!

That should be enough though for me to be getting in with.

I will admit to wondering if one of my storage boxes has an old Oxford or Corgi that might become entombed...

 

[John Miller]

Aside from my test plank, I no longer have an operational layout to play trains on. This is a legacy of deciding we, that is Best Beloved and I, weren't really going to be able to build anything sensible in the time left to us ......

What a refreshingly rare and pragmatic view to take on what is, for most people, an enormous 'Elephant in the room'.

I think there would be far fewer unfinished projects floating around on the 'net, if more relatives and friends would stop giving such bad advice as - "Oh! you don't want to worry about that yet" and "You've got years ahead of you, just go ahead and do it!" .....