The Heybridge Railway, 1889 to 1913

[Richard Gawler]

"Failure is success in progress" - Albert Einstein

This sounds like a good apprenticeship and a fine career - the tasks were suffiently stretching to bring mistakes, but they could be rectified. I didn't take a photo of the original white metal chimney but it had a rather roughcast look all over it. I think my failure lead to a better replacement.

 

[David Waite]

As part of my apprenticeship and making mistakes was part and parcel, our instructors then showed us how to rectify them, because most of the mistakes had been made by others before us and even as experienced craftsmen we still made mistakes. If we mucked up on something new, we would have a chat with others at break time, to see if anyone had done something similar or various ideas were bounced around to try and come up with a workable solution.

Sounds familiar it could be me,
But no one talked shop at SmokeO if you did you would soon be put in your place.
David.

 

[Richard Gawler]

22. Firebox

I had intended to leave building the firebox until after I had installed the r/c equipment (not yet purchased) and the wiring. But I realised, there is not going to be enough free space inside the firebox to fit anything beyond the wires to the motor and perhaps a little lead. So I have built the firebox.


I annealed the middle of the firebox wrapper (dark straw, traces of blue) to help get in into shape, and formed it over an offcut of 22 mm water pipe. This photo shows the wrapper before I soldered it onto the firebox base, so there shouldn't be much stress in here.


The firebox wrapper is a better length than the smokebox wrapper, and the fit of the spectacle plate is really good.

The firebox should have a generous radius around its edges front and back to represent its forged construction lagging. If I formed this radius "to scale" I would end up with only solder making the edges of the firebox, with the brass parts 1 or 2 mm apart, bridged by the solder.

Thinking about how difficult it would be to add a fillet of solder or even a thick brass wire inside these joints, and how difficult a joint failure would be to put right, I decided to put only this minimal radius into the thickness of the wrapper. I hope this doesn't sound like too much of a cop out, but the firebox is strong this way and there are fresh problems to solve.


The safety valve cover is a brass casting and it cleaned up really well in the lathe. I tidied up the top in the lathe too.


The fit onto the somebox wrapper is okay, though looking at this photo I wonder if I can thin down the flare a bit.


The completed firebox was too wide to fit between the rear springs so I thinned down the springs to suit.


And now I have a fresh problem: there is not enough room to install the quadrant for the reverser.

The space between the coal bunkers is 30.5 mm while the width of the firebox is 25.8 mm. This leaves 4.7 mm total space giving a gap of 2.3 mm on each side. Yet the quadrant is 3.4 mm wide.

The bunkers are secured by screws but moving them outwards will make the loco look wrong. At the moment I think my best bet is to omit the quadrant altogether and save it for a model where it is more conspicuous. Or (possibly) remake the inner side of the right-hand bunker to add the missing millimetre+ of space.

 

[spikey faz]

Re: the quadrant issue. Could you not separate the two sides of the quadrant, file down the spacers a bit and then re-attach the sides. Maybe also thin the sides of the quadrant a bit as well.

Mike

 

[Phil O]

Firebox cladding is usually around 3 inches away from the firebox to allow for the insulation, in cases where space is restricted, the cladding would be cut back to make clearance for such things as quadrants or other operating equipment.

 

[Richard Gawler]

At the moment, the lever for the reverser is 1 mm thick. This is a perfect fit into the slot in the quadrant, though a scale 44 mm thick seems rather a lot for a lever.

If I ignore the quadrant for the time being, I can temporarily install the lever using a pin to locate its pivot in the hole in the firebox. When I do this, the weatherboard obstructs access to the handle . . .


I am wondering whether these locos really had this right hand bunker. I mean, the spaces for the quadrant, and to reach the handle, and to maintain the mechanism, would all be a lot easier if there was no bunker this side.

Though maybe, if the lever was a little shorter, a little thinner and, as Phil (@Phil O) points out, the firebox lagging was cut away here, everything would just about squeeze in.

 

[Osgood]

You should have put the dent in the back of the bunker

 

[Richard Gawler]

The firebox wrapper is a better length than the smokebox wrapper, and the fit of the spectacle plate is really good.

Hmm. I am trying so hard to describe good things about the kit, I seem to be writing nonsense.


The cab front (on fret) has a cut out to make room for the reversing lever; the weatherboard (spectacle plate) I have used does not.

I have browsed through some prototype photographs. I suspect (though I cannot expect to prove this), no class F ever carried a weatherboard this shape

 

[Richard Gawler]

I can imagine three options:

Option A
Keep the weatherboard; open up the right hand bunker, move the reverser outwards and call the result a non-standard loco.

Option B
Remove the weatherboard; cut a rebate into the firebox cladding to take the quadrant. Make a new weatherboard from the half-cab or even provide no cab at all.

Option C
Leave the model unchanged but omit the reverser. This isn't really an option for me.

My class K ‘Blackwater’ has a weatherboard and I do feel, the class F should have the same or less – to help to emphasise the minimalist and dated nature of the railway.

 

[Rob R]

Richard,
Are they the only 2 weatherboards in the kit?
Mine is a different shape. I may have had a few tweaks (it definitely started as an etched item, the specticale holes have the etched surround).
I remember adding the upright posts with seperate wire "rivets" but I can't recall if I completly reshaped it.

MW883 of 1883. Samuel Williams, Dagenham Dock (from "Steam Locos in Industry" David and Charles 1967 copyright the original holder).


Rob

 

[Richard Gawler]

Yes, only these two weatherboards were supplied, along with parts to build an enclosed cab like the Wantage Tramway loco.

I want to try to make a weatherboard like the one on MW883, using the one with the fold-over lip as a basis. Thanks ever so much for the photos.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Richard,

Can you create a cut out for the reverser in the weatherboard and reinstate the beading with scrap etch?

 

[Rob R]

There is no beading on 883 or "Sharpthorn" which makes the job a bit easier.


Don't forget the ventilation slot between the firebox and the weatherboard.

 

[Richard Gawler]

I pondered cutting a rebate into the weather board but concluded it would look a bit odd. So I have cut it off and I am modifying the cab front to make a new weather board.

 

[Richard Gawler]

And gone to Sainsbury's for a breakfast before the build becomes totally soul destroying. Fitting the first weather board was a waste of time.

 

[Richard Gawler]

The ventilation slots would look cool.

 

[Rob R]

And gone to Sainsbury's for a breakfast before the build becomes totally soul destroying. Fitting the first weather board was a waste of time.

Not a waste of time -
another segment of the learning curve.

 

[Richard Gawler]

It was fortunate I could discard the first weather board. Attempts at melting the solder with most of the firebox standing in a dish of water to preserve the rest achieved nothing. So I cut the weather board into strips and broke them off one at a time.

 

[Allen M]

Option C
Leave the model unchanged but omit the reverser. This isn't really an option for me.

Hi Rochard
If I remember correctly I cut of the bottom of the reverser and soldered in a pin that slots into a hole in the firebox. It can't fall out when everything is assembled.

The front end is also a cheat being only a bit of wire but can't be seen behind the tool box on Sankey.

Keep going, you will get there.

Regards
Allen

 

[Richard Gawler]

Not a waste of time -
another segment of the learning curve.

Keep going, you will get there.

Thanks.

With two completed class F models, one examined in my hand and one in a glass case and both in photographs I can hardly capitulate now.


Nearly half way on the cab to weatherboard conversion. The piece of wire is my guide for filing the radius around the window frame. Funny colours here from my phone camera while charging the DSLR.


This might have been a bit tedious, but hardly difficult. The curve on the top could have gone a little higher.

I am having second thoughts on the air vents. I can understand having them for a cab, to blow steam out of the way, but I am not so sure with a weatherboard? They will weaken the model too - I used 188 degree for the first weatherboard and it was quite shocking how the pieces just snapped off after I sliced it up.