7mm On Heather's Workbench - the only one left

[Heather Kay]

Simon, thank you for that idea - filed for future reference - and apologies for the delay in responding. Radio silence was mainly due to not having a lot to report that hasn't already been covered in depth on many another thread!

I tackled the loco frames. I admit I don't like steam loco frames. To be fair, I haven't many to my credit, but I always seem to approach the subject with some degree of trepidation. I think it's my generally pessimistic world view. If I think about something, and expect the worst, when it all works out fine it's a definite bonus. If it doesn't work out well, then I hadn't expected better!

Part of the issue with this build was the additional complication of wiggly bits inside the frames. I know they're designed to be pretty much idiot proof, but it was still a worry. Would it all fit in there, bearing in mind the issue recounted some pages back of the wrong sort of slide bars? So, figuring out the inside motion, checking clearances and making a rolling chassis was my goal this week.

First, I tackled my other bête noir, Araldite. My mistake in the past has been to use the wrong sort. Being impatient, I rather take offence at having to wait a day for something to set. I have the same feelings about Milliput, which is also a two-part epoxy. Having had generally poor experiences with the sort of Araldite that's dispensed from a double-barrelled syringe affair, I invested in some proper old-fashioned tubes of the stuff. It was also the lengthy setting variety. My target? Crankpins in the various wheels for builds on the go, and attaching this build's tender body to its floor.

Colour me surprised when it worked as it should! Things seemed to be looking up at last.

Back to the frames, now I had wheels to which I could fit coupling rods…

Having managed to attach the half-etched NS overlays to the already constructed carcass without turning it banana-shaped, it was time to fit the cast hornguides I had half-inched from the 8750 build (being constructed as rigid, you might recall). Obviously, they didn't fit the slots in the frames, so I spent most of Wednesday carefully filing them out. All kinds of things could have gone wrong at this point, but by some miracle I managed to keep things aligned so the cast bearings slid up and down with an axle in place. I forgot to mention that I was doing this stage because I needed at least the leading and centre guides temporarily fitted so I could begin to work out what, if any, clearances were to be had for the internal gubbins.

With hornguides tacked in place with low temp solder - each was marked with corresponding marks on the relevant frame slot, in case there were minor differences in my bodging - I could partially dry assemble an eccentric on the centre axle, and fit the connecting rod. With little fettling, the cast rod parts are a nice friction fit, so no solder was harmed at this stage. My aim is to have the centre axle fitted with all the internal motion including the crosshead so if needs be it can be dropped out of the frames as a single unit.



You may recall the included slide bars and crossheads in this kit are generic items really meant for outside cylinder locos. The slide bars, in particular, I deemed very wrong for this model, although to be fair others have built this loco using the provided parts without issue. Obviously, correcting the overly long slidebars might have a knock-on effect with the throw of the connecting rods, soo this was another thing I was on the lookout for. I haven't mentioned how I'm dealing with slide bars, yet. They're still in the prototype stage, but they do seem to be a working solution. More later.

The crosshead casting needed quite a bit of filing down. As supplied, it wasn't possible to pass the crosshead through the motion bracket, which would be needed if the assembly was to be demountable. Being inside the frames, I felt I could sacrifice a bit of the cast detail on what would be the outside face on an outside cylinder loco. So, I thinned down the main connecting rod bearing and bolt detail, and took a little off the cast oilbox. This made a nice just-about-fit through the motion bracket. Things were looking up. To cut a long, and somewhat rambling, story short, I found I didn't need to remove anything from the hornguides on the front axle. I might just file a small notch, just to be safe, but for now no further surgery is required.

How about getting this perisher on wheels? Right-ho!



There you go. Now, I am going to put it down to fluke, because the suspension scheme worked, the axles were true, the frames rolled sweetly at first attempt, and only needed two coupling rod bearing holes gently opened a snitch to give a reasonably sweet chassis. I needed a lie down after that, I was so surprised!

There's still a lot to do. There's a ton of detailing, motorising the thing, and working out the demountable underslung spring castings. I set myself a goal of having the frames on wheels by the end of the week, and I managed it.

While I'm here, have a chuckle at the following. As I am replacing the supplied slidebar castings, I needed something to plug holes in the back of the cylinder block. I also needed something to guide the piston rods. I decided I could repurpose the castings so they fitted inside the cylinder block. It needed quite a bit of butchery, and the soldering is not of the highest order, but it worked. Not quite right, I admit, but it works.



From above, what ought to be lost inside the outside cylinder casing on a larger loco is on full view. There are two pairs of slots for the slidebars. Originally these are etched items, but I've found some brass stock that's almost exactly the right width that will serve for new bars. I have a couple of alignment issues to deal with, but that's for another time.



From below, you can see the remains of the cast detailing, plus brass tube guides. I won't win any prizes for the way it looks, but I am considering a cosmetic representation of the cover plate and drain cocks to plug this area. You will note temporary bearing stays, which stop everything falling apart until I get the proper springs organised.

I think that will do on this build for a while. Another build beckons.

 

[Heather Kay]

Hoo-ha! Nearly two months! Anyway, some progress to report.

I set myself the target of getting the pickups wired up on the tender, and getting the loco chassis powered up. It didn't quite go according to plan.



First up, the tender. The stray plug on the right is for the DCC gubbins later on. Another plug disappears to the front for loco connection purposes. I aimed to be neat and tidy, and more or less achieved what I wanted. Happy with that, I turned to the loco.



I spent a while yesterday trying to work out how to wire up the motor. I know how to wire it up, obviously! What I mean is trying to work out where and how to run wires in the frames. At this stage, it's highly likely the loco won't have any current collection capability, mainly due to the inside wiggly bits making it awkward to hide wiring. I've worked out I could fit wipers to wheelsets two and three, and as I like to collect electricity from as many wheels as possible, I think that will be okay. While trying to work out the wiring runs, it became painfully obvious I should fit the cast springs and hornkeeps, and the firebox bottom. The latter would need quite a bit of surgery in order to fit around the springs. Anyway, after futzing about for ages, I settled on a scheme which, importantly, lets me detach the centre springs to let the axle with all the wiggly bits drop out. It's not quite Dikitriki standard, but I successfully drilled and tapped for 12BA countersunk bolts to hold the centre springs. Phew! The other springs are soldered on, since those wheelsets will be removable by the simple expedient of taking off a wheel.

So, two days in and I've failed to motorise the loco chassis, but done a ton of other bits and pieces instead. Perhaps motorising tomorrow, then.

 

[Heather Kay]

Still not motorised! Instead I was sidetracked by what comes in the kit for the firebox bottom/ashpan. I carefully folded it up, then attempted to fit it. After much surgery, it fitted around the cast springs. It would need some remedial work to plug gaps, but it was in.

Then I looked at the real thing.



While the kit etched part is probably a faithful reproduction of the shape it ought to be, looking at the real thing you can't see much of the bottom of the firebox at all. I guesstimated about six inches show below the frames, and there's no real shape to it. I could just as easily have soldered some strip along the inside of the frames and be done with it.

So, out came the hacked about etched part, and out came the piercing saw and various measuring implements.



That's about what I see on the real loco.



The gearbox is an ABC one, which is mostly hidden within the frames. The kit affair probably allows for other gearbox designs which may be lower in profile.

Right, so with the motor installed again, and literally lashed up while I ponder a better strapping arrangement, time to get some wiring in there.

 

[Heather Kay]

In my ongoing pursuit of avoiding the actual wiring up of the motor in this model, I've been contemplating joining the loco and tender together. I think there's enough "give" between the pair to help it negotiate something approaching the client's somewhat unreasonable curve demands.

However, I do need to organise the tender buffers. The kit has generic JLTRT cast brass jobs. I need something sprung.

Now, I have a couple of leftover 4mm buffers that could be repurposed. One pair are possibly Maygib sprung coach buffers, whitemetal bodies and steel heads. They might be adaptable with some hacking about. Otherwise, I have some brass turned heads, but I'd need to make up suitable bodies. Finally, I have a set of assembled brass and steel sprung buffers, probably intended for LMS wagons or similar.



I've let the braincell run over the options, but I've not come up with something I'm satisfied with. The whitemetal bits seem to be the most amenable to adaptation, and do sort of fit the available holes. So, I open it to the floor: any ideas, particularly about how I might construct a working sprung buffer using the brass head?

Thanks.

Now, back to wiring up the motor. No, really.

 

[Heather Kay]

Close. There's a good reason why I normally contract this malarkey out to people who know what they're doing!

I've spent the morning cleaning up and fettling the eccentrics, valve rods and straps. There's smooth movement to be had everywhere, so I reckoned it was time for a dry run assembly before I commit to fixing the eccentrics to the axle. It shows I was right to allow the axle to drop out easily, as it looks like it'll all need assembling on the bench - attempting to locate the valve rods on the eccentrics is akin to juggling bagpipes!

Before I flight tested things, I've decided to stop.

Oh, by the way, I did power the motor up yesterday. Wipers on driver's, though, well, that's another matter. I rather think the only pickup will be tender-based.

So, more thinking about slide bars before I call it a day properly...

 

[Heather Kay]

Baby steps. It's one of those weeks, where I'm finding it a little hard to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

After having done our weekly grocery shop, and performed our civic duties at the polling station, it was time to attempt the brake rigging.



Despite having a drawing, I wasn't entirely clear about how the brakes were connected to the vacuum cylinder under the cab. I therefore set about fitting things together from the front of the loco. The brake hanger shafts went in, plus tube spacers so the printed hangers and shoes went on consistently in the same place. Quite how this arrangement can be made demountable at a later date remains to be seen, but I suspect recourse to PVA will be favourite. For some unaccountable reason, the loco braking is less detailed than the tender, but I shall put that down to them being separate kits from which the modeller mixes and matches to make the combination required. I'm still pondering the safety chains. I don't have anything in stock, so if twisted wire doesn't look right I'll be doing some jewellery shopping!



With the main rigging assembled, time to figure out how it's all attached under the cab. The drawing I have, plus the incredibly useful photos of the loco in preservation, have been perfect. They have, equally, shown me that various parts are in need of replacement or surgery. The slack adjusters, for example, are too long by nearly 10mm, and the brake cylinder lever is also rather too lengthy. Some cutting and shutting looks to be in order. I wonder which loco these parts are meant for? Presumably, something further up the food chain, like a Castle or King. While I'm complaining, the cross bars are also not quite right, but I'm prepared to overlook that.

Depending on the outcome of national events, I may or may not get to correct and assemble things tomorrow. If you don't hear from me, I'll probably be safely resting in a padded cell. Send tea and cake.

 

[Heather Kay]

Well, well, well.



It's all been in, out, in, out, shake it all about, umpteen times over the past few days. Yesterday I bit the bullet and assembled the cranks and straps with the axle. Some trial fitting, more filing, and some mild swearing later, and it actually rolls without any serious binding issues. There's a slight bind, but I hope some running in will cure it - I can't actually see what is causing it, despite scrutinising closely from all angles.

The proof in the pudding will be to refit the motor, coupling rods, and trying it under power. Before I do that, I think it might be wise to get things painted. I supposed I should take it all apart again, then. How many times will that be? I've stopped counting!

 

[Heather Kay]

Thanks for that tip, Steph. Happily, the more I roll the chassis in and down the easier it becomes, so I'm confident whatever is binding will bed in eventually - or something will fall off!



Feeling somewhat light-headed from e experience of something actually working (or it may be the pollen) I decided to sort out something that's been bothering me for a while. Just a low level kind of bother, but the cast brass top feed pipes were actually too short to reach the holes in the running plate. I chopped off the pipe, leaving the flanges, which I drilled out to take some copper wire of suitable dimension. These can be fitted properly once the various main components have been painted.



Finally, a shot to remind me that although there's a way to go yet, I'm quite some way towards completion after all.

I ought to sort out a "to do" list, because I keep remembering odd little things that should be attended to. Unimportant stuff, like loco to tender coupling, injectors, sand boxes, those sorts of insignificant details.

 

[Heather Kay]

Progress has sort of stalled a little. I blame watching paint dry - on the inside motion and inside frames.



I got a base coat of matt red on most things last week, and to ensure it dried nice and hard for a couple of gloss top coats I attended the ScaleSeven Group AGM up in the Midlands over the weekend. Happily, paint didn't gum up the works, so I've started applying the top coat in stages. The inside of the frames is in a similar state. The odd castings are from rummaging in the Bits Box for suitable sandboxes to go under the cab. Thereby hangs a tale, which I'll cover in a moment. The other bits are the injectors, the layout of which I am trying to divine from the photos.



I don't believe - and I stand to be corrected - the 2251 class was built with sandboxes for the rear wheelset. The drawing I have doesn't show sandboxes or associated gear under the cab. However, the remit here is to build 3205 as she is preserved, and it's fairly obvious there are sandboxes. The Bits Box gave up some castings, and I added filler necks from brass tube and odd bits. The fly in the ointment is the preserved loco exhibits access holes in the lower step back that align with the injectors as fitted today. The kit has holes where the injectors ought to be. I fear I missed this detail earlier, so I am lumbered, as it were. My assumption is sanding gear was fitted at some point in the loco's service career, or possibly once it entered preservation. While in GWR and BR service, working mostly chimney first on trains, front sandpipes would probably be sufficient in most circumstances. Working in preservation, where the likelihood of being able to turn the loco and tender is rare, rear sanding would be a useful modification.

I wonder if anyone can fill in the history for this mod.



With the sandboxes installed, I could make up and fit the lagged steam pipe along the driver's hanging bar.



Another job done. More paint next, then to consider the injectors and representation of the plumbing.

 

[Heather Kay]

With the help of Pink Floyd turned up to eleven, I made some decent progress on the details today.



The sandboxes came off (low temp solder anyway) and I plugged the step holes. I found some thick-walled brass tube of just a shade larger than the original etched hole. I soldered some 0.9mm brass wire into the end of the tube, managed to clean up the end so it was flat and square, chopped a short bit off and bunged it in the hole. Plenty of solder from behind, and a little filing later and you wouldn't know… save for the lack of rivets, of course. I'll replace them with Archer transfers or blobs of PVA before I get to the paint stage. New holes were drilled to better match 3205.

Before refitting the sandboxes it seemed sensible to consider the injectors.



For once, the kit castings actually looked like the ones on the real thing! I drilled them out to take some 1.2mm brass rod, which I annealed so it could be formed. Previously, I've used copper wire, but I felt brass would be a little stronger in this situation. The feed water pipes will probably be trimmed off a little shorter in due course. The injectors are soldered into slots Dremeled into the main frames, and supported by the pipe that disappears up into the cab. The drain pipes are attached to the injectors, but not to the bottoms of the steps. This allows the chassis to be taken out without major bending and stretching. I find myself quite pleased with the finished result.

The sandboxes have since been reinstated behind the steps, at which point I felt I'd done enough for the day - and it's been a bit of a warm one, too. Tomorrow, I shall make the list of things still to do, and think about reassembling the chassis with the motor and gearbox so I can see if it still runs!

 

[Heather Kay]

I'm still here. Just.



Most of the loco underframe is painted now. Then I realised I hadn't allowed for fixing the brake rigging safety chains. So, out with small drills and I made holes through the frames in suitable places. It would've been better if I had done all this beforehand painting, but that seems to be the way I work at times.

The tender frames already had holes, of course.

I still haven't worked out how to best attach the reverser reach rod in order that the running plate and frames can be separated. I'm hoping something will become obvious a little further into the joining it all together and making it go process.

This ought to be the final week on this build, and I had hoped to be a little further on that I've managed. Life, inevitably, seems to insist on getting in the way. Tomorrow, for example, I shall be under the tender ministrations of a dentist having a session of root canal treatment and bank account depletion.

 

[Heather Kay]

Ugh! Glacial progress, not helped by more Real Life.



Between bouts of paint drying, today was about wheel balance weights. I spent a while cleaning up the etched ones, only to find they were not quite like the real thing. I ended up making replacements in black styrene. I'm currently applying filler to the backs of the wheels, which is the white stuff.



The motor and gearbox went back into the loco frames. Once the wheels are done and painted, I will refit the internal gubbins, fit the coupling rods and set the frames running gently in on the rolling road.



I fitted the tender brakes and rigging.



The safety chains look okay - at least there's something there now. The challenge will be doing the same on the loco so the brake rigging can be safely unclipped for maintenance purposes.

Keep plugging away. It's all we can do, sometimes.

 

[Heather Kay]

I declare this build as finished as it can be until the electronics have been breathed on. After that, it'll be into the paint shop and final details.



I felt there was something missing on the firebox. I then remembered it was the whistles. On the real loco, there's a support affair under the whistles, so I cobbled something out of a spare casting that looks about right.



With the shiny boiler fittings placed for effect, and the roof posed because I want to leave it loose so I can fit all the cab details after painting, and the tender not actually coupled, or the loco brake rigging not installed, it still looks like a 2251!



The inside motion went back in without complaining, so it's had a drop or two of clock oil to help it along. It now runs very smoothly. Over the coming weeks, before I can get it to the electronics department, I'll run the loco up and down my various bits of test track to give it some exercise.

So, there'll now be a hiatus on this build until almost the end of the year. Time to pick up the pace on a few other lingering Bench Queens, I think.

 

[Heather Kay]

3205 was returned to me at Reading. While I'm reliably informed I can run the loco on a straight DC setup and it won't break the electronics, I think I'll err on the side of caution and keep volts and things clear for now. As it's the start of a new year, I've made up a list of things that need doing with the idea that - weather permitting - I will be in a position to paint this critter and get it finished and ready for its journey to the other side of the planet. Rather worrying is the length of the list, but it is mainly little jobs and sorting out odds and ends.

I'd better find the box with the remaining bits in it, then.