Great Central Railway Class 5A Tank Engine - LNER/BR J63

Discussion in 'Loco Builds' started by Rob Pulham, Nov 2, 2020.

  1. Andy_Sollis

    Andy_Sollis Staff Member Moderator

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    Understood.
    :thumbs:

    Wasn’t sure if your or a customers.
    Coming on nicely!
     
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  2. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Andy,


    Today’s model making session saw the replacement side created. I still need to solder it in place but I am going to fit a few other bits first. It would have been much extra work to add all the tabs so it will need a little more care to fit some parts in place without the help of the tabs but most kits don’t have tabs on these particular parts so it should present too much of a problem.


    IMG_0001.JPG

    Edited. to add that the basic rectangle was cut with my guillotine and the shapes/cab opening cut with a piercing saw fitted with a no 6 blade (very fine). I cut close to but not quite on my scribed line, then filed to final shape with various files and small drum sander in my mini drill.
     
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  3. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    I am pleased to say that the replacement side has been a complete success and even in bare metal, if you didn’t know I doubt that you could tell that it wasn’t original.

    Each side has a couple of ovals representing works plates so I used some off cuts to file up a couple of replacements and soldered them in place before fitting the side. I took measurements of the side that I had taken off to get the correct placement.

    IMG_0001.JPG
    IMG_0003.JPG

    Before finally soldering the new side on I fitted the front and rear of the cab and the cupboard on the cab and their overlays.

    Once they were all in place, I added the beading around the cab opening. Although I am sure that I used them last time I failed miserably to get the beading to slot onto the tabs in the cab openings. In the end, I filed them off and did it as I would have if there had been no tabs. Using the opening as a former I pre-bent the beading to shape and them with the aid of self-locking tweezers soldered them in place. I will have to revisit one of them as while taking photos this morning I noted a couple of small gaps that need filling.

    IMG_0002.JPG
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  4. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Progress has been slow this weekend, but a mystery has been unravelled.
    You may recall that when I started the footplate, I couldn’t find two out of four part 60’s? Well today I found them…

    I started yesterday’s session by rolling the boiler and it mentions using part 52 to ensure that it’s round.
    This is the drawing of part 52

    GP Models J63 etch layout part 52.jpg

    I found it amongst the remaining bits of etch and tried it in the boiler all was well.
    Then I started to assemble the inner support frame for the boiler using the diagram below and photos of my previous build.

    Boiler former drawing.jpg
    J63 Build 001.JPG

    In my previous build I hadn’t used part 52… so I started questioning why not.
    Although I obviously hadn’t worked it out before due to lack of experience it quickly became apparent that there was something wrong with part 52.

    Part 52.jpg

    The photo above shows both sides of part 52 as etched. Although it’s one piece when you check against the drawing snip above it should in fact be three parts, 52 and 2 x part 60 (the missing parts). It looks like when he drew the artwork Garth Patrick got these bits on the wrong layers and the bit’s that should have been etched though have been half etched on one side and the outer ring which should have been full thickness has been half etched on the back making the part completely useless. I contemplated cutting the ring out with the piercing saw but I obviously managed without it on my build so could on this. As it happens in my spare etch box I found a semi circle the correct diameter which I will attach with a couple of bits of scrap to support the firebox end of the boiler tube.

    Photos to follow once I have done it.
     
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  5. Andy_Sollis

    Andy_Sollis Staff Member Moderator

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    Oops.
    One good reason why I’ve never explored photo etch
     
  6. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Hi Andy,
    it's an easy mistake to make but one which should have been picked up at test build and given that it was drawn in CAD (AutoCAD in this case) an easy one to correct although it would have meant the cost of a new photo tool.

    If I was intending on supplying kits as as Garth did, I would have had to have corrected the art work. To me it seems a little short sighted when the kit is so good overall.

    There are enough kits still on the market with errors in them from hand drawn art work which would be a much bigger job to correct and to a degree I can understand that sales from the revised kits may never justify the work involved. That said word gets around about bad kits so not correcting errors really doesn't benefit ether supplier or customer in the long term.
     
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  7. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    This morning I added the semicircle of spare etch attached with a couple of small bridging pieces made from scrap etch.

    IMG_0001.JPG

    IMG_0002.JPG

    I had already rolled the boiler but hadn’t soldered the seam so that was done next and then I realised that the two slits which allow for the curve out of the smokebox base the fit the smokebox saddle hadn’t quite etched right through. A simple task to cut down it with the piercing saw once the seam was soldered. But equally had I noticed it before rolling the boiler I could have done it in the flat with a blade.

    IMG_0003.JPG

    There are some tabs on the ends of the inner frame at the firebox end but I can’t see any corresponding slots in the cab front, so I think I will have to cut those off to get it to sit in place correctly. But that will be a task for next year when I resume.

    IMG_0004.JPG

    IMG_0005.JPG
    ]
     
  8. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    I am not sure where last weekend went as I had hoped to achieve a bit more on this build but sometimes that’s the way it goes.


    First off I cut out the Diane Carney number plates with a no 6 blade in my piercing saw and filed them to final size. Not knowing for certain whether the actual plates had a rim around the beading or whether the beading was in fact the edge of the plate I left two of them with a rim and asked Brian which he preferred.


    Diane Carney Plates.jpg


    Then I soldered the boiler to the formers and fitted it to the body. The bottom edge of the boiler section that fits between the tanks has three tabs either side which fit into corresponding slots on a fold out on the inner tank sides. What a fiddle it was to get all six in the slots together. I hadn’t slept well on Saturday night and in the end, I had a snooze before my brain was clear enough to get them all in place.


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  9. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Modelling time has been a little sparse just lately, we were fortunate to be gifted a fair quantity of topsoil from a neighbour’s garden which is to be used to level off or reduce the slope on our front lawn and initially I was wheelbarrowing it in.
    I would never have moved it all manually in a timely manner, so the gent doing the groundworks offered to use his digger and dumper to bring it round to our house. Now it all needs to moved away from the dwarf wall so that the wall can be built up higher and then finally levelled off.

    20210126_114646.jpg

    I have managed to do bits in between and I have got the plunger pickups ready for installation and also prepared all the brake parts ready for fitting. I felt that the brake spreaders were a bit on the flimsy side so I used some of the scrap etch to double the thickness before fitting the clevis’s.

    IMG_0001.JPG

    Although I never thought to take a photo of them, the layers that make up the brake shoes and hangers come tagged together in small outer frames which can be placed over each other and gripped as one, to allow the parts to be soldered together before cutting out the individual brake hangers complete with shoe as in the photo above.
     
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  10. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    I can recommend artificial grass as I've recently done Rob, then you can sell the lawnmower and have more modelling time!:avatar:

    Keith.
     
  11. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Hi Keith,

    We do have artificial grass at the back of the house which is north facing and up steps so I don't need to take the mower up.

    The problem is that the front is a big area and would cost a fortune to do in artificial grass (the fence is 35 meters long). Besides I bought a new mower mid last year and Chris would kill me if I suggested getting rid of it....
     
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  12. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    With mojo fully restored in between going for my Covid jab I cracked on and got the brakes assembled and soldered in place. I left the crankshaft from the brake cylinder loose for the moment just in case I do find a way to fit the brake cylinder.

    I made up a couple of adjusters from some telescopic tube, filing the larger pieces into hexagons to represent nuts at each end.

    GCR Class 5A - Brakes.jpg

    Next up is fit the sand pipes then to work out how best the motor will fit with the body on. The latter should tell me whether I will be able to fit the brake cylinder after all.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2021
  13. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    Just catching up on this build, impressive, very impressive

    Paul
     
  14. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Thanks Paul.
     
  15. paul blythe

    paul blythe Full Member

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    These locos are a favourite of mine. looking forward to seeing the progress looks good so far
     
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  16. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    I managed to get the sand pipes fitted and then moved on to fitting the motor to the chassis and testing within the body.

    On this there is good news in that I should be able to squeeze in the brake cylinder albeit that to avoid the plunger pickup I will have to fit it to the rear of the frame spacer instead of the front but at least it will be there.

    Then there is bad news. Brian has provided a really nice ABC motor/gearbox unit. Sadly, the kit is designed for a can motor with simple gears mounted to a frame spacer. The motor gear box will fit into the boiler area no problem but where it does cause an issue is that it interferes with the rear brake cross beam which I think I am going to have to cut

    IMG_0001.JPG
     
  17. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    Is it possible to make a replacement cross beam with a slight crank in it just to clear the gear Rob?
    Keith.
     
  18. Rob Pulham

    Rob Pulham Happily making models Staff Member Administrator Feature Contributor

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    Hi Keith,

    I think that I might just get away with cutting a notch in the cross beam rather than cutting it right through. I will need to make sure that I restrain the motor though. That's going to be the starting point at any rate.
     
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  19. Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    You can always solder a suitably sized strengthening wire across the beam to reinforce it after cutting the notch, once it's painted it'll never be noticed anyway.
    Keith.
     
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  20. paul_l

    paul_l Staff Member Administrator

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    Oooooo a gearbox in the nude, where's that cold shower :facepalm: :avatar:

    Of course I could give the gearbox a new home - at no charge to you either just out the kindness of my heart :avatar:

    Paul
     
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