Another kit to build! (Keysers 'T9'.)

This pic gives a better idea of the problem. As can be seen, with both bogies in an offset position as on a curve, clearance between the two is a problem.

Attached files

 

The tender is now pretty much complete, and (aside from one missing set of brake shoes) is at least beginning to look the part. Hopefully, the absence of a set of brake shoes will be less noticeable when all is fully painted, but I can't see any other way around this problem.

Attached files

 

So now, I've turned my attention to the loco itself. Although motor and gearbox were already fitted together, I needed to assemble this to the chassis, fit and quarter the wheels, then attach the connecting rods. When examining the drive axle gear cog, I noticed that the previous kit owner had broken off one side of the locking grub screw.......not helpful, so I had a look around and managed to find another. During assembly, it was apparent that this locking screw had not reached the axle it was supposed to lock, and had seized in the thread.....another problem! Removal proved impossible so I had to resort to cutting off the protruding head, drilling another hole through the gear boss to the axle, and using a drop of Loctite thread locking fluid. Time will tell if this approach is successful! Anyway, with motor and gearbox installed into the chassis, I duly used my wheel quartering and press tool to fit the driving wheel sets, then attached and fixed the two connecting rods. Next I superglued the supplied 'circuit board' to the underside of the chassis, and soldered in two phosphor bronze pickup wires, bending to suit, so as to collect current from the backs of the driving wheels, Finally, two wires from pickups to motor, and it's ready for a test run on the rolling road after some initial lubrication. Heres the chassis ready for pickup and motor wires.

Attached files

 

.......and now another problem has surfaced! With chassis fitted into the loco temporarily, I decided to have a look at what (if any) Kadee coupling arrangement there might be space to fit at the front of the loco. Dropping the front bogie into place, it was obvious that there was no room for the bogie itself to pivot on corners! That might be ok for a stationary model, but I want to run this loco,- close examination revealed there was no way I could alter or cut the chassis or body to allow pivoting room, and anyway, the front bogie wheels were tight up against the rear of the buffer beam in the 'straight ahead' position, no chance of room to turn the bogie........there must be some dimensional discrepancy with this kit as against the real locomotives! Anyway, the only way I can see to give 'pivotting room' to the bogie is to try a smaller wheelset, so an order has duly been posted to the Alan Gibson Workshop for 10.5mm and 12mm wheelsets (the originals are 14mm) and I'll have to see how this could give me the necessary space for the bogie to move. Maybe the previous kit owner had already 'sussed out' the snags I'm now finding, and decided to pass it on to someone like myself with very little white metal kit building experience. However, I'm determined to find a way through the snags and make a decent model out of it, DCC it, and use it on my layout. This pic shows the chassis and body underside, illustrating the lack of bogie pivotting space. To be continued when I receive the replacement wheelsets.

Attached files

 

Well, the Alan Gibson wheelsets have arrived, and I've fitted the 12mm set to the loco's front bogie, loosely screwed the bogie to the loco, manually pushed the loco around my tightest curves, and all seems ok. There isn't much clearance between wheels, body and buffer beam rear, but there IS enough (just!). That being said, here's a pic of the loco front bogie with replacement smaller wheels fitted, original kit supplied wheels either side, so you can see the size difference.

Attached files

 

.....and here with bogie fitted to the loco, enough clearance to go around my layout, but still not sure if the model as a whole looks right with the slightly smaller wheels (scale 3ft diameter). I'd be grateful for honest comments as to whether it looks ok (or not, as the case may be) before I proceed much further. I'm still having gearbox problems in securing the driving axle gear to the axle, and have to source a slim and gentle acting spring (bit of biro spring maybe?) to push the front bogie downward and hold it in contact with the rails. If the concensus of opinion decides the bogie doesn't look right, then it looks like I'll be refitting the supplied bogie wheels and making it a static model, which I'm reluctant to do.
All opinions welcomed.
Keith.

Attached files

 

Fair enough Guys, and thanks for the candid opinions, I knew this 'work-around' was questionable, so it looks like 'plan B' is a non-starter, back to the drawing board! The original wheels are up against the rear of the buffer beam at the front, rearmost pair of wheels are only just clear of the main chassis frame, hence there is no room for the bogie itself to turn on curves, and only just clearance in the 'straight ahead' position. As supplied, there is no spacer (about 5mm would be required) to go between the bogies mounting point and bogie frame, and the likelihood of filing off material at either end to create clearance for the wheels is, to say the least, virtually impossible. Creating a spacer is the easy bit, finding clearance to turn the bogie without fouling on chassis or bufferbeam is something else altogether.........having said that, I'll look at the problem again, and see if there's anything else I can do. It's almost as if the bogie frame itself is too long......wonder if I can make up a slightly shorter (say, 3 or 4 mm) wheelbased bogie frame in brass sheet, that might give me the clearance I need........Hmmmmm!

Keith.

 

In an attempt to solve clearance problems on the front bogie, I did some 'fettling' of the area directly either side of both the bogie wheelsets, which did help very slightly, but the real problem area is the front bufferbeam, which the foremost pair of wheels butts directly up against, even in the straight ahead position, as below. At this point, I had already removed the bufferbeam, so temporarily propped it in place for this pic, to show the problem.

Attached files

 

With the beam out of the way, it was possible (just!) to get enough bogie movement to allow the loco to negotiate a slight curve, but there seems no way I can get enough movement with the bufferbeam attached. That being the case, and short of any other helpful suggestions, I intend to sideline this project for the time being as I have other projects demanding my time. It's likely that, when time permits, I'll complete the loco, remove the motor (which will doubtless come in useful elsewhere) and just park it up as 'scenery' in the locoshed area on a straight length of siding. I'm convinced that there is something amiss in the scaling of this loco from the originals that has resulted in this problem, but hopefully the whitemetal kit scene has improved somewhat since these earlier examples. Pic below shows enough clearance with bufferbeam removed.

Attached files

 

After much deliberation, I recently 'resurrected' the T9 project, and have now completed it as far as I'm going to. I ordered a Hornby T9 front bogie from 'Peters Spares' in the hope that it might give me slightly more clearance, but to no avail, so persevered with the supplied one. It became obvious that, in it's present form, it was never going to be a 'runner', as there just wasn't enough front bogie clearance to allow it to go around ANY curves, let alone mine, so I removed the motor (I can always use that for something else!), primed and painted both loco and tender, and fitted a smokebox numberplate (30301) and number transfers from 'Fox Transfers', but have not bothered to line it out, reason shortly to be revealed. Anyway, below a pic of the completed loco lined up against the Hornby example, and you can see that the Hornby has more detail, including the inner valve gear below the boiler, whereas the kit just has an empty space.

Attached files

 

So I decided to use the loco in a 'Cameo' scene, outside my loco repair depot, with painter/signwriter alongside, doing his bit with the brush, hence lining out "in progress!" The tender on the Hornby version, despite being the 8 wheeled version, does not have pivoting bogie's, but a fair amount of sideways wheel play which allows it to go around curves, whereas the kit version has two pivoting bogies, but no room for a full set of 8 brake shoes (only 6). Since the Hornby tender bogies don't pivot, there's a full complement of 8 brake shoes visible.......I guess it's all about compromises!
Having now done all I intend to this model, I'm in the process of accumulating chassis, kits and parts to do at least a couple of resin bodied loco's, these being the 'Golden Arrow' models G16 and Maunsell diesel shunter, with a possibility of doing the 'Z' Class loco if I can source another 8f chassis. This is all so that I can gain more experience before I embark on my 'GT3' kit, which stands me at around £250 before I make a start.
Keith.

Attached files