TFW’s workshop

[Yorkshire Dave]

The film crew, made by Richard Wilson, have been re-instated, providing a live video feed to the front of the layout…

Just come across one of my dad's photos taken on 6th October 1951 from the train on the North London line looking north with the end of Frederica Street on the top right. Alas four years before the 1955 film and Mrs Wilberforce's house at the end of the street.

For the record (as written on the reverse of the photo) Steinheil f2.9 1/100 f6.3 weather fair.

 

[Tim Watson]

That Is a fascinating picture, Dave, thank you. The height difference from Frederica St is slightly more than I thought, but we are still too high, because of the shortening of Copenhagen Tunnel on CF. Mrs W’s house was built over the top of the boundary wall, our one might need another couple of butresses…

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

The facial surgery on the Raven 4-6-2 class continues with the hinges and door straps. Getting these parallel and in the correct place is challenging, but there are dodges that can make the process simpler.


A piece of steel shim was stuck to paxolin sheet with super glue to make it easier to cut out the door straps with a fine piercing saw.


Having cut out and filed the straps the exposed hinge ends were bent over the hinge pin, a central saw cut represents the top and bottom of each hinge. The hinge pin was then soldered in place with high melting point soft solder.


The steel shim was separated from the paxolin using a scalpel blade and notched on the fit surface at the ends of the straps with a piercing saw. The square steel on the left acts as a handle.


The door and straps were tinned, held in place with a clamp and ceramic tweezers, heated up with a very hot iron and lots of flux to fuse the components together. Using nickel silver for the door made it easier to solder and allows the centre boss to be polished as bright steel.


The sacrificial handle was removed by fatiguing around the saw cut; bending it backwards and forwards until it snapped off.


The little door knob was added by drilling a 0.2mm diameter hole and a short length of nickel silver wire. The next job will be the central handle, lever and lamp iron.


A slight modification to the door sealing ring was, I think, worth it.

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

The final components for the door were the dart spindle, round tightening handle and positioning handle. The round handle and spindle were turned as one (actually from an old carbon steel dental bur). Forming the handle and Initial reduction of the spindle was by using a graver but finishing to 0.3mm diameter was by careful use of a file.

The handle was made from steel shim and filed to give a tapered round section.

The assembly has been temporarily fixed in place with contact adhesive.

The top lamp iron will be incorporated into the handrail knob as it would be too vulnerable in isolation.

Boiler fittings will probably follow; when these are made the whole lot will be permanently fixed with 24hr epoxy resin.


Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

After some pretty intensive metal hacking it is quite therapeutic to turn to something different, with a channeling of the inner ‘Bob Ross’. Especially appropriate as this is the back scene to the MRC’s Putnam HO layout set in up state New York. No real mountains or little cabins though…

The back scene is a fairly small part of this scene, but it let’s the viewer think they are seeing more than they are.


Tim