Tom Mallard’s Workbench L&B in 7mm scale, CR 828 in 7mm, GWR Saints in 4mm

[Tom Mallard]

Quite an exciting milestone (at least for me) as the main parts of the loco bodywork come together. It is not soldered up or screwed together yet, so some gaps may shrink a bit around the firebox and in any case these are covered by an angle. Quite pleased now with how the firebox shape has the subtlety of the prototype, but it will look different again with the clothing bands on. All the little representations of the screw heads are in place on the top.

Best regards

Tom

 

[S7BcSR]

I wish I had taken a photograph of the LMS Compound on the S7 stand at Railex, it was absolutely stunning and well ogled by quite a few visitors not to mention those on the stand.

Congratulations Tom, I wish I had 25% of your skill.

Rob

 

[LarryG]

I still see the MR as something special even after seven decades, although not quite in the same class as the GWR. I achieved the next best thing to riding on a Compound by cabbing one of the last remaining 2P 4-4-0's , and on a passenger train at that from Bury to Rochdale. I was only an eighteen year old Passed Cleaner, but boy I felt like a king. The modelling on this thread is engineering of the highest order. Glad I found it.

 

[Tom Mallard]

Thanks for the comments - they are very much appreciated.

The battle continues... I've attached the firebox/boiler/smokebox assemblies to footplate and cut away the valence jig. I would have liked to make the boiler/smokebox detachable if only for painting and detailing purposes, but again this approach has fallen by the wayside - mainly due to not thinking hard enough about it when the model was being designed and partly due to the angle between boiler and splashers. The boiler bands are scale thickness, cut from 2 thou brass shim with a scalpel!

One picture in particular shows the interface between frames and footplate. The overlap is quite convincing. It also shows I was forced to remove the reversing shaft and the top part of the bearings as the operating arm impinged on putting the body onto the frames. Careful use of the resistance soldering iron made this quite straightforward, but I was still fearful of the bearings shifting. It can all be reinstated during final assembly.

After checking my drawings, and looking at photos numerous times I found that the handrails on the cab rear are tapered. They are fashioned from clock pins (which are an excellent source of such items and made of nice free machining nickel silver) of the correct size, cut to fit each gap with a spigot and socket to align upper and lower parts. Little turnings make up the widened top and bottom portions with the upper bracket fabricated as required.

I've established the valence and steps for the tender, and put the beading along the cabside and tender top. I don't have a rolling mill, so these are formed from etched strips with a convenient groove down the middle. I solder the flat workpiece onto the edge of some sheet metal, clamped it between my bending bars in the vice, and then profiled it using files and emery paper before removing and cutting/forming to shape. It seems to be successful and repeatable but a bit labour intensive.

Time for some fittings (and everything else).

Best regards

Tom

 

[Tom Mallard]

In agreement with the client, I have made the main boiler fittings out of nickel silver, just for the look of it more than anything else. As per the prototype the dome thins to an edge and the chimney a more pronounced step down. The safety valve base is based on a machining exercise on my BCA jig borer using the head tilted to the right angle and the rotary table used to describe the curve at the end. The flange is just 4 thou N/S with the rivets embossed afterwards.

As a first, the chimney actually has hex headed bolts, which I am assuming will be invisible under paint... Another first was to fly cut both chimney and dome seats on the BCA too. This is quite nice compared to previous attempts using my lathe tool post to mount 4mm scale fittings in as I didn't have to bore all the way through for the dome.

The smokebox door blank is turned from a lamination of two sheets of N/S to get the right thickness. A shallow pilot hole was made in the back to center a mandrel without piercing the face of the door. This was replaced with a small spigot to locate on the smokebox. Work on the cab interior also commenced with the floor(s) and splasher/seat boxes but this is much less interesting.

Best regards

Tom

 

[Tom Mallard]

August has flashed by, and it's still not done. Fortunately, and in my view, perhaps the back of the project has been broken.

I've added adjustment screws to set the wheel axlebox height on the tank/inner frame assembly. Small phosphor bronze springs keep pressure on the axles. The scoop and reversing shafts have been made, and the weigh shaft for the water scoop. All these bits are fabricated, including the bolt heads and so on as required. Axle keeps and cosmetic axle boxes have been added to frames. The tender axleboxes were a donation from Tony Reynalds some time ago.

The brake pull rods and guard irons have been cut. I'll have to add some sort of boss to the pull rod pivots, and also make the link rods to the brake shaft which have turnbuckles on.

Next I'll add more to the body work.

The last picture gives an idea of where I have got to, but also highlights that little in the way of pattern making or decorating as I tend to call it, has taken place. Since it was taken I assembled all that I had of the engine, and modified the final drive of the ABC motor and gearbox unit to allow the tapered pin of the wheelset to be inserted. I was also dismayed to find that the bore of the requested insulated bearing was incorrect (I have no idea how this was possible as the bore of the final drive gear was correct) and was forced to sleeve the bore down to the correct 3/16".

I hope those who were able to visit Telford over this weekend had an enjoyable time and came away inspired or tired or both.

Best regards

Tom

 

[Tom Mallard]

Done brake gear, and designed and made the buffer bases and heads. There is six parts per buffer including the spring. These will be self contained, which is somewhat taxing to arrange, but better in the long run.

Brake gear is quite a good representation with full relief on the hangers and rods, but took so long to do! The whole set is removable by undoing a screw at the top of each hanger.

I put the springs into the chassis subframes and have made captive the axleboxes so when the body work is on it should float along the track.

I should make a pair of coupling hooks I think, and the frame stretchers that go on the lower part of the frames.

Handrails, lamp irons and a few details on the floor of the footplate and front of the tender (toolbox hinges) to do.

Best regards

Tom

 

[LarryG]

Oops, those Tender steps should be behind the running plate angle, not on top of it....

 

[Tom Mallard]

Oops, those Tender steps should be behind the running plate angle, not on top of it....

View attachment 111418

While that is certainly true for a regular Deeley tender, the one attached to 1051 is rebuilt from a bogie tender and for some reason has the steps in front of the running plate angle, among other quirks. It just makes the model that bit more interesting, but also harder to research...

 

[Michael Osborne]

Tom, what changed your mind about the motor / gearbox combination. Was the Sid Stubbs gearbox not suitable ?

 

[Tom Mallard]

Tom, what changed your mind about the motor / gearbox combination. Was the Sid Stubbs gearbox not suitable ?

Hi Mike,

I would like to have used the wonderful Stubbs gearbox, but found small problems with packaging and impingement with some features, on top of which I still had to make or source a suitable motor coupling to it. The ABC motor/gearbox and their ilk are a simpler proposition albeit far less interesting or historic. A shame overall.

Best regards

Tom

 

[LarryG]

While that is certainly true for a regular Deeley tender, the one attached to 1051 is rebuilt from a bogie tender and for some reason has the steps in front of the running plate angle, among other quirks. It just makes the model that bit more interesting, but also harder to research...

I can see why it was done if the angle was set in slightly further than 'normal' on the rebuilt bogie Tenders, but I have yet to come across a photograph. It is certainly an interesting find Tom.

 

[Tom Mallard]

Dear viewers,

thanks once again for taking the time to look over here.

Some nice little details have brought the tender bodywork to a point where only a few larger items are needed and I intend mostly to cast these in brass or nickel silver. We will have to see how this pans out in 7mm scale as I only have experience of getting 4mm scale fittings cast until now.

The lamp irons have been made following my usual protocol of folding a piece of material (in this case 8 thou N/S) onto itself and soldering up to create a lamination which can be formed into the quite complex shape and with a bit of filing afterwards is quite a good representation of the 3 widths and 3 depths of the prototype.

Tiny ferrules live at the root of each grab rail, probably showing up a bit more when it's painted.

Does anyone here have a clear idea of the orientation for the filler base? I think maybe the chain should be attached at the back and not the side as currently positioned.

In the end I plan to attach the tank to the footplate using screws as a sop to painting. Or I might just use solder as it's quicker - we will see.

Best regards

Tom

 

[P A D]

Utterly stunning!

 

[Dog Star]

The lamp irons have been made following my usual protocol of folding a piece of material (in this case 8 thou N/S) onto itself and soldering up to create a lamination which can be formed into the quite complex shape and with a bit of filing afterwards is quite a good representation of the 3 widths and 3 depths of the prototype.

Your method reads as if the result has strength and purpose... please can we have a drawing to show how you have folded the strip?

 

[adrian]

Your method reads as if the result has strength and purpose...

A little reminder of an alternative method which IMHO provides all the strength and purpose required.
Very Little Gravitas Indeed*

 

[Tom Mallard]

So, for Dog Star, I've drawn out how the lamp irons were made. Hope it's useful.

But I like Adrian's approach more... Silver soldering is something I almost never do but makes plenty of sense for some types of part, so I should look into it some day.

Re. Lamp iron scribble, the forming should be fairly self explanatory, but there's plenty of finishing and profiling to remove undesirable outside folds and so on. The cuts either side allow the first bend to sit within the foot. Embossing the rivets comes very early, and so they aren't squashed a little tongue of material is used to form the return bend against of the lamp support bit.

Tom

 

[Tom Mallard]

It's been quite a while since much attention has been paid to the frames (They were being inspected along with the rest of the engine whilst the tender took shape). Now all the numerous brackets and steps are being added, and next will be the brakegear with its slightly unusual arrangement.

The sandbox behind the front steps is fabricated: - alternatives of machining or casting were considered but attaching details to a machined lump or casting could have been awkward, and the lead-time for casting interfered with progress.

The ashpan/grate assembly is removable and is likely to be used to constrain the gearbox in one way or another. It won't do to have the gearbox clonking about and preventing torque reaction based rotation is to be avoided.

The brackets themselves are troublesome to emboss rivets on once formed, so the angle was relieved after forming and then reinstated afterwards. Seemed quite effective in the end. I didn't go for combining brackets with overlays of riveted strips as I wanted good integrity and a certain appearance.

Best regards

Tom

 

[adrian]

That does look good.

Silver soldering is something I almost never do but makes plenty of sense for some types of part, so I should look into it some day.

The brackets themselves are troublesome to emboss rivets on once formed, so the angle was relieved after forming and then reinstated afterwards. Seemed quite effective in the end. I didn't go for combining brackets with overlays of riveted strips as I wanted good integrity and a certain appearance.

You know what I'm going to say! If I said sorry for sounding like a stuck record then I'd be lying. Not making any apologies but this sounds like another potential task for silver soldering. Put a straight line of rivets down a sheet of n/s silver solder a plate perpendicular along the line of rivets then cut to shape.

 

[Tom Mallard]

That does look good.



You know what I'm going to say! If I said sorry for sounding like a stuck record then I'd be lying. Not making any apologies but this sounds like another potential task for silver soldering. Put a straight line of rivets down a sheet of n/s silver solder a plate perpendicular along the line of rivets then cut to shape.

Yes! Show me what to do, what to buy, etc. Or was it on your link? The kit required looks simple but there's lots of choice out there Adrian so a preselected list of materials would be nice. Heatproof stuff too like tiles - what's the favoured source for this?