Yorkie's Connoisseur 4F build

Sure Toto, it may be interesting to find Robs take on using 12BA pins for this loco, maybe Mr Pulham will be along at some stage.

 

Apparently so the LMS painting spec stipulated buffer beam red, the buffer beam red used by BR was a slightly more orange and lighter shade.

 

Thanks Mark... I bet it won't be long before you have a go at doing an engine yourself.

 

Now a bit of luck happened today whilst checking to see if Slater's plunger pick ups would fit without undoing all the brake harnessing and guess what folks it did.... yippie because the Slater's pick ups are smaller and finer than the NRMS counterpart ones. Well that was a boon and I started to make up the wiring and opted for individual wires to each pick up as from experience sometimes feeding the circuit in a loop prevents the spring returning properly. I glued the plunger cases into place with cyano and will add a small blob of Araldite to the backs to dry overnight.

 

To be honest Paul I'd hazard a guess and say the inner frames would be full of caked on dry grease and smut, there would be too much oil for rust to build up so I'd weather the red down with sooty black and grime.

 

Next job was to finish coat the wheels into black then once dry the wheelsets were refitted and the coupling rods reattached with the gear drive installed on the rear axle, the front wheelset has had a spacer attached to the outside face of the bearing to reduce lateral sideplay which could cause the coupling rods to bind. It is important that the centre wheels have some free sideway movement. The motor has been mounted so I can see where to set the copper clad in the firebox space, I can then complete the wiring and test the motor and pick up contacts.

 

I can see the chassis is not far off now once the motor is wired up, I can then get the touch up paint out. Tender pick ups next.

 

And here is the obligatory pose shot, actually the loco body allows for plenty of clearance space around the motor and wiring so I'm happy on that score.

 

Not sure yet Paul, the same situation exists on my NSR New M class loco and those wheels miss touching the splashers, I guess its about eliminating side play. I'm going to drop back onto the body this week so I'll be able to say what needs doing if anything... its the centre splashers which would need insulating because those wheels have lateral side play to assist in negotiating tight curves.

If insulation is needed then my money goes on black nail varnish as its harder wearing and won't rub as easily.... could be a case to go Goth... never mind Whitby is just 50 minutes up the road.

 

Thanks for the informing response Rob which is most interesting and helpful, regards to how I did the job what I didn't elaborate upon was the details of the process. On the instructions which come with the Slater's wheelsets their advice is to countersink the pin head flush into the wheel and apply an epoxy such as Araldite to "bed" the crankpin, once this had cured and the pins set true in the wheel I then glued the base of the bush onto the wheel removing all surplus adhesive once cured. The bush will sit true as the tophat end makes full contact with the wheel front and the glue effectively (with all contact surfaces properly prepared) forms a weld, obviously the crankpin must have been set true and not at a jaunty angle as can happen. The trick I realise was to set the bushes on the pins so that their spacing is equal to the distances between holes in the coupling rods, the loco has no flat spots on rotation of wheels and I see no undue stress from potential binding exerted on the crankpins. I totally get that 10BA is stronger than 12BA but the weakest part of this composition is the actual plastic which forms the wheels I would think.

I agree that in instances where rod clearances are restricted and on driving wheels fitted with return cranks a 10BA fixing is best due to strength, rigidity and easy of fitting, Walschaerts valve gear locos spring to mind as do 8 or 10 coupled locos where additional strain is exerted on the forward crankpin connections.

 

Focussed a bit more towards getting the boiler and smokebox done, I think if I'd build another 4F then I wouldn't tin the overlay detailing wrapper for the smokebox before sweating in place as this causes a dislodging where care has to be given to keep the wrapper aligned with the front face... that's just my opinion thought.

Anyway here is a side on view of the job so far, the smokebox connecting ring is next to go on followed by the front and rear boiler bands. Note the offset in height between the boiler and smokebox.

 

And an offset view showing the relationship of how the boiler needs to meet the smokebox. I shall make the ring from soft copper wire as I found 0.9mm brass rod was inflexible.

 

Grief that's some dedication Rob... I've just been having a play with some wire have been thinking about the best way to do the job.

Well hey I think I'll rise to this challenge and do the same too...1mm soft copper wire will fit the bill do you think Rob?