Finney 7 Adam's T3 4-4-0

P A D

Western Thunderer
I received my order of 1.2mm NS rod so replaced the originals which were from the curved length of NS rod supplied with the kit. They weren't 100% straight and I'd cut them too short, as as the back of the stroke the ends were inside the stuffing gland.
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On the main handrail I took a leaf out of Dikitriki's book and added the smokebox section first. The lengths that run along the boiler are fed in through holes in the cab and then passed through the pillars up to the ones on the sides of the smokebox. On on the right hand side there is a valve rather than a pillar.20190716_185417.jpg

Here's how the hand rails are fed into the pillars through the cab front plate. They will be trimmed to length and fitted after painting and secured with a dab of super glue.
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The rear steps are on a spacer that is supposed to fit loosely on top of the frames at the rear. The injectors and pipework are also fixed to this spacer. When the body is placed on top, the three units are bolted together. I didn't see the point of this and it seemed a fiddle when removing ghd chassis from the body, so I opted to solder the steps, spacer and injectors etc to the underside of the cab. The supports for the feed pipes were part of the rear chassis spacer, so I cut them of and fixed them to the drag beam, with a piece of waste etch. They need a bit of filling to hide the joint.
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The front steps are fixed to the slidebar bracket as per the instructions.
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The cylinder wrappers and draincock were added at the same time.
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Here they are in place
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T'other side.
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And some views of the current state of play. The housing for the rear end of the reversing rod has now been added.
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A broadside with the left handrail in place. Looks like the oil pot bracket has taken a knock.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The addition of the sandpipes completes the chassis for now apart from adding the pick ups.
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Back on the body the reversing rod was made up but has only been temporarily fitted.
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The main boiler castings were fettled up and trial fitted. As is usual with Finney castings, the fit is excellent and they will be epoxied on tomorrow.
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The reversing rod, support bracket and crank are removable as a unit, being slotted into the cover at the rear and located on the pivot at the bottom of the crank at front. Midway, the support bracket is soldered to the rod and slots into the splasher. They can be secured with glue after painting.
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The reversing rod is half etched and very thin (@0.3mm). I felt that it would be prone to bending during handling so I soldered a length of spare NS etch to the rear and fettled it up. It is now of similar thickness to the crank and when glued in place will be far more robust. The sandbox fillers have also been added behind the crosshead inspection cover and the hole above is for the clack valves.
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Cheers,
Peter
 
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P A D

Western Thunderer
Next up the clack valves. These needed about 3mm removing from the bottom before fitting the pipe. The main handrails and reversing lever removed from the model are also shown.
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A test fitting of the clacks showed that they would be a loose fitting on the sides of the boiler which is quite thin and would need a good dollop of epoxy to secure them after painting. Not good really, so I drilled out the holes and added a length of tube across the boiler into which the lugs on the clacks could locate. I added the tube over length and then cut it back with a slitting disc, grinding wheel and then filed and sanded smooth. I had to remove the handrail pillars above the tube to facilitate dressing them back. As can be seen, the safety valve casing and dome base had also been epoxied in place at this time.


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Here's a view before the tube was fitted, with the dome and chimney ready for fitting. To strengthen the joint between chimney and smokebox, a short length of tube has been epoxied into the base.
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I used the jaws of the vice to ensure the tube was fitted square, having previously faced off the ends of the tube in the lathe. The hole in the smokebox was opened up with a tapered reamer to fit the tube.
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Here the main fittings are on the boiler and smokebox, along the the clack valve and reverser. The stud on the clack is a nice firm fit in the tube whilst still being easy to remove. It will only need a drop of glue to secure it after painting.20190718_193716.jpg

And a view of the fittings on the other side. The smokebox and cylinder lubricators have also been added. I spent a lot of time getting the dome casting as smooth and "grain free" as possible so it looks like a part fabricated from sheet as on the real thing, not a casting.
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With the lamp irons in place I then added the smokebox door, dart and brake pipe. The cylinder lubricator on the right hand side can also be seen.
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With its "face" on it is now starting to look the part.
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The front footsteps are quite proud beyond the edge of the running plate and I see that I have bent the right hand side one. I'll add a strengthening strip from waste etch to the back of both of them. The mark at the base of the chimney is smeared epoxy which I will remove tomorrow when its has fully cured.
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Here's a view of the bracket/rear footsteps that I decided to solder to the rear of the body, rather than have it a loose part screwed between body and chassis. The supports for the feed pipes to the injectors were on the rear chassis spacer but I cut them off and fixed them to the drag beam on the body with a couple of lengths of waste etch
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Finally, a quick trial slotting the footplate in the frames. I'm not sure how that works out with the rear driving wheel splashers but we'll see how it pans out. To be honest, I'd rather it was soldered to the body and if that's possible, that's what I'll do. I think that the Portescap gear box will fit after all,without the need to file the compensation beams or the edges of the gearbox. It's a couple of mm clear of the cab front plate, so I should be able to angle if back slightly and fix it so it does not come in contact with the beams.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Lovely build Peter - with each one your work seems to get even cleaner - if that's possible!

Regards
Tony
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Many thanks Tony.

It's not a clean as it looks. I'm still using too much solder at times and spending too much time cleaning up.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The cab splashers were made up and some of the details added before fitting.
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The injector operating levers are prone to being bent, so to avoid them coming loose during straightening I made them overlong inside the splashers and soldered them to the rear face.
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Here they are soldered in place. I have fitted the cab floor to the splashers rather than between the frames as per the instructions. To accommodate this the edges need filing back about 1mm to clear the frames which protrude into the cab.
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The operating rods for the whistles have been soldered to the cab front and just locate into holes. This allows the whistle manifold and piping to be removed to aid painting and lining.
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Here's the whistle manifold and vacuum ejector steam cock which is also detatchable along with the clacks and reversing rod. The manifold has been drilled and tapped 12BA and is held in place with a bolt inside the firebox. The stub on the steam cock has been tapped 10 BA and is held by a nut inside the firebox.
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And screwed to the firebox.
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Here's a view into the cab showing the back plate in place. It need filing either side to clear the splashers and at the bottom to clear the frames. I overdid it a little for the frames but6 the gaps will be hidden by pipework. I see the right hand injector operating lever has taken a knock.
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At the front end the buffers have now been fitted.
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Some further views with all the removable parts in place. I have added the second lubricator which I overlooked earlier to the smokebox as well as the white metal covers above the cylinders on the running plate.
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The buffer heads needed drilling for original Adam's condition and are only placed fof the photo.
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As with the main handrails and cabside handrails, the vertical rails at the rear of the cab side sheets are also loose for removal before painting.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
I have now completed the detailing apart from the hooks and chains on the buffer beam, but they will be added after painting so can wait.

In the cab, the handwheels for the steam manifold and blow down cock have been fitted and the back plate made up. The back plate can be painted off the model and glued in place at the end after glazing.20190726_172157.jpg

Here's the right hand oil pot and piping. I see I missed rubbing down the scrape marks on the boiler behind it.
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These are the "loose" parts (apart from the hand rails, whistle/steam manifold, vacuum ejector steam cock and coupling hooks/chains) that will be added after painting.
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I made a start on getting the pick ups on by adding a mounting plate to the frames made from a spare spacer part.
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And the PCB mount has been cut ready for the phosphorus bronze wipers. The motor just clears the compensation beams but I will grind off some extra clearance later.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
I always chamfer the edges of PCB mounts I install in locos to ensure I can see an insulated edge. From the photo it appears the copperclad may short on the motor casing.

Thanks Dave.

It was the last thing I did and it was just quickly screwed on for the photo, but the copper does look to be touching the motor.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Following the heads up from Yorkshire Dave, I chamfered the rear edges of the PCB to avoid contact with the motor. However, when I came to add the wipers I realised I had drilled the hole for the screw too near the front edge so it got binned and new one was cut. Here it is with the wipers added. I didn't need to chamfer the rear edges with this one as ig is now well clear of the motor.
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After spinner the wheels for an hour each way on the rollers, she was ready for her first run under power on the rails. PVC tape needed to be added to the inside of the cab splashers to avoid shorting on the rear wipers.
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And the first "steaming".

With the pick ups sorted, the remaining details were dealt with. At the top the safety valve lever, which will be added before painting. The back plate, cab dials and reversing mech will be painted separately and added after the cab has been painted. Below is the main coupling as originally fitted along with the safety chains.
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Below are a couple of views of the cab with the back plate and reverser in place.
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Apart from a good clean up and strip down for painting, that's the loco done with. Next up the tender which hopefully I can complete before I go on holiday.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Today I gave the pick ups a tweek to tidy them up and replaced the right side handrail which I had cut slightly too short. After that I stripped it down and gave it a good clean up. Here's a cab view showing the replacement hand rail. The hand wheel for the blower valve was underneath the adjacent pipe, when it should be further out.20190802_195424.jpg

Before putting it away until the fender is built I added all the loose details for some photos.
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The coupling hook needed a blob of blue tack to keep it in place.
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Those levers on the cab splashers are very thin and prone to bending easily. I've given up straightening them until after the paintings done when there will be no further need to fiddle about in the cab.
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After painting, the cab dials can be glued over the half etch bases on the front plate and the pipes routed to their relevant holes on the castings.
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I was quite surprised to find that on the running test on the rails, that it negotiated not only the 6ft curve shown in the video, but also the sharper 5ft radius without any signs of shorting or the bogie wheels stalling due to to touching the splashers.
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I've made a start on the tender and have assembled the frames and spacers. Not much to show from that so I didn't bother with a photo.

Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
The tender chassis is now almost completed. Just a few feed pipes to add. As you would expect with Finney 7, it all fits together very nicely. I drilled a couple of holes in the tube for the compensation to allow for lubrication.
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And with the wheels in place. One wheel fits on tightly and the other is a loose but firm fit so they can be taken out again. The loose ones will need a drop of Loctite to secure them fully after painting. I see the right rear one is not pushed fully home.
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The drawbar pin is located upwards which is unusual and I'm not sure how the loco and tender will be coupled.
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As you can see it works fine without the tender tank and fitting the pin downwards would not match up to the draw bar height on the loco. We'll see how that pans out.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Next the frames which are a separate sub section.
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The chassis slots under a ledge at the front and is secured at the rear by a single 6BA screw.
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The frame cross members are threaded through the apartures and the punched rivets then locate into dimples in the frames.
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And with both in place.20190807_220424.jpg

The buffer stocks have been soldered in place and the heads will be added after painting. They are secured with a small washer soldered onto an extension from the shank. It's necessary to file a flat on the washers so that they clear the frames.
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I'm leaving the cast axle boxes and springs off, to be glued in place after painting, as they will be black and the frames green.
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Here's a view of the tender front buffer beam. The pin for the draw bar can be seen in the slot, but I've no idea how you are expected to locate the pin in the hole. Some modification will be required to facilitate coupling up.
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And a view with the loco.
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Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Many thanks JB and Ian.

Moving on to the tender tank I added 2 strips of waste fret on the inside over the grab rail holes and then drilled through. This is to provide more surface area to glue in the grab rails after painting.

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Then it was a rivet fest on the tender top, before making the folds and adding the rear storage box.
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The sides, back, front and top plates are then fitted to the base. There are two further storage boxes at the front and with these and the rear one, I drilled some holes in the top plate before fitting them. This is to allow them to drain after washing.
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And a view from the front. The instructions suggest adding the padlocks after painting but I don't think it will cause any problems to add them at this stage.
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Here's a view of the tender rear with the grab rails and brake pipe inserted. As with the grab rails, the brake pipe will be inserted after painting and the area by the hole has been increased in thickness with waste fret to accomodate that. There is another storage box to be added to the left hand side of the tender. This piece is a white metal casting and will be epoxied in place. Anybody know what all these storage boxes were for?
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And finally a couple of views with the loco.
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I have increased the size of the slot in the tender drag beam and it is possible to couple the tender to the loco. However, it will be more difficult with the tender front buffers added so I may still have to modify the draw bar and ddawbar pin.
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Next the curved coping at the top will be added and then I will complete the cleaning up of excess solder before adding the remaining details, but it's already looking like a tender now.
Cheers,
Peter
 

P A D

Western Thunderer
Pete,

It's worth checking those tool boxes against photos - penny to a pound you won't need all of 'em...

Steph

Thanks Steph,
I'll leave it off until clarified. Any idea why they would need 3 metal tool boxes plus this 4th wooden one?

Cheers,
Peter
 
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