Learning by trial and error.. StanB's work messy workbench

Just toned down the lubricator pipework.. looks so much better !


all I need now is to acquire/repair some more passenger stock!

 

Hi Rob
The BG is one of few passenger stock vehicles that I have that isnt in a bad way: It only had one bogie needing replacement which I've borrowed off a Gresley BG that is in poorer shape.. I'd put money on it being an Ian Kirk version, being plastic throughout.

I'm tempted to repaint it .. currently in Maroon, its set a little late for my chosen period.. I was thinking Carmine, but your appears to have been brown? tempting ( although the afore mention Gresley is in teak, so when I restore that one I'll try not to damage the paint finish too much).

I've also got a Mk1 CCT.. built to the primer stage the model has been bouncing around for the last few decades , apart from a few bent parts, is quite restorable. I'm tempted to do it in blood and custard even though this wouldn't be correct but it will blend in with the rest of them.. There's a Mk1 BSK that needs work , and I've separated a cavalier Stanier TK into its major components for reassembly and repaint, so will do that next... assuming I don't get side-tracked into another loco project!

its a shame about the fate of your model though,

 

Was going to hold off until I'd finished installing the glazing and cab details (as much as they are - I've only got a back head and reverser to put in) but rather liked this pic of her stabled next to her Westernised sibling ... I'm hoping I've been successful in creating a workaday, but looked after engine, as Most of the Pics I have of Darlington A5's suggest they were fairly well kept



apart from weathering her, today was spent getting her running again after painting, and tweaking the springing on her bogey and pony truck so she keeps most of her weight on her drivers - I may yet need to do some more tweaking, or add some more weight but I can do that later.

With only her drivers being used for pickup, she definitely needs a stay alive to cope with the undulations in my track so I'll get one asap to hang off the Zen she's currently got - I did test her with the Zimo out of Nellie and will get a Zimo with sound into her as soon as I can , with that big boiler theres plenty of room for a big speaker and stay alive ( the tanks have been used for added weight)...

I really should de-westernise that ROD now shouldnt I?

 

Thanks Rob, I had heard something similar at some stage and was wondering what happened to (say) the ex NER stock, being painted Lake under its original builders. Good to know so I have that as an option for the Thompson - Carmine would be very bright!

I also have a 50' (ish) full brake too that appears to have been painted to represent this finish too. I quickly reassembled one of the bogies this afternoon to get it running again, but it does need some minor repairs and touch ups so its good to know what is a reasonable paint to use.

 

I suspect it was more to do with the practise of swapping individual vehicles out on sets, so being painted "teak" for the "premier " sets would have made them match the rest of the set. The older, secondary sets weren't worth the extra cost: no doubt the plan was to replace the older vehicles, especially 4 and 6 wheeled types far quicker than ended up being the case: I've seen pictures in early BR days of ancient arc roof, and clerestory vehicles still being used on secondary, and local services!

 

A pleasant surprise..

 

Thanks Paul.

Its good to know that The Ace renditions are not unbuildable!. The A6 looks quite reasonable, if not perfect but will definitely fill the void when I get around to it.

There's an Ace D20 up on Ellis Clarke at the moment - had a few issues but doesn't look irredeemable .. the biggest visual I can see is the Spectacles seem to be slightly too high. Interesting there's a "scratch built" D20 also up for grabs at Steamline.. interesting comparison

 

With the A5 basically complete I did have every intention of doing some rolling stock- I've a Stanier TK that is in pieces needing a strip back, reassembly and repaint but for some reason I wanted to continue the loco builds. During my earlier kit builds, I have pilfered the odd component to complete what is on hand - the backhead to my G5, for example is nicely installed in the N9, and I've been known to grab the odd bit from others as well... This basically means of all the kits I have that I feel confident to build, only the B16 and 4F are 99% complete.

... and unstarted...

I would love to start my new Q5 , but it needs quite a few parts , and I really should get wheels for it ( although I do have a set of cast wheels intended for an ROD that I could use if I ignore the crankpin location!), and of course I have the G5 to build as well as the afore mentioned B16, 4F and 2P...

then there is this...


Ladies and gentlemen.. may I introduce you to the Granddaddy of the gladiator J25, the O7 original. As can be seen some work had been done a very long time ago ( I'm guessing early 80's) with the basic assembly of the frames and tender done, so maybe it is time to complete a multi person multi decade build!.

I considered putting a JH motor with a 25:1 gear box into her, but I'm going to see if I can resolve the issues I had when I initially tried the 1833 I bought for the N9 and use that ( I suspect I didnt fold up the Roxy gear box quite square enough and was having meshing issues, which is why Nellie ended up with a Portescap) ...

yesterday was spent repositioning the coal rails, as I felt they had been fitted too low, I also had to construct a replacement for the rear rails as they had disappeared. Today I fitted the brake gear and epoxied some pcb to the chassis for pickups .


The bracket for the toolboxes, buffer bodies and part of the brake standard were also fitted, however my attempt a scratch building and soldering in a coal board ended in failure - I may simply make one in plasticard and glue that in when I put in a false floor to hide the body securing nut

almost ready to start gluing whitemetal bits down, a job for next week!. How much extra detail I will apply is difficult to assess, While I can use the Piercy J27's tender as a guide, I've noticed a few differences ( brake rodding for example) so that may not be quite as accurate as it seems.. and of course apart from the Photo's I've found on Flickr and Rail online, I dont have any really good references ( instructions are less instructions more notes to aid construction!) ..

All good fun

 

lol. I have to admit the 0BA's are interesting - I left one in place on the N9 and bushed the front one down and am debating whether to do the same on the J25. Being already assembled I'm stuck with the 0BA's on the tender, and will keep the Draw bar with the big bolt as well..

was off from work today, so I finished the pickups, brake standard and lamp irons on the tender, and epoxied the axle boxes on. That's when I found the backing plate for the topmost lamp iron! oh well...

I'll need to fashion up a square reinforcing plate to go around the coupler and glue down the toolboxes/ tank filler then its ready for primer

I've started assembling the cab and marked out the firebox cut on the boiler - I'm a little nervous about cutting it as I need to draw centre lines along the top, and location holes for the handrails... - as you probably know the original kit boilers were turned and my lathe isnt big enough to mount the boiler to accurately draw a centre line, so a fudge job with squares it is! At least I dont have to put boiler bands on!

Pics will follow next time!