7mm Finney7 West Country - 34023 Blackmore Vale

[7mmMick]

Back to it in the New Year. I must try and find more time to post progress. We left the build here on the cab construction. I did push further with that and with the wheels in the frames, the cab and casing sat together Blackmore began to take shape. From my bench my in progress models sit at eye level, which helps both motivate and allows me to glance again and again to make sure all lines up properly. I kept looking at the lone loco and thought things didn't look right, so I decided to crack on with the tender........

4500G Tender in Original condition ( minus the TIA system as this was long gone by 61' )

I'm using the Finney7 inner tender frame to carry the Slater's insulated horn blocks. It's a straight forward fold up job and takes only a few minutes to get together. Here's the basic frame;


The two cross members are tacked on, located by a slot and tab for accuracy. Because i'm using the 5/32 axle tender wheels I needed to make the brake gear removable. I used some 1.2mm brass tube to make a spacer for each brake hanger and the brake gear just simply pings in and out. It looks a simple set up but there's quite a bit of work here getting all the alignment just so and building up the components from many laminations !

Next, horn blocks and wheels. I've fitted the Finney7 etched overlays, which ( In my unbiased opinion ) are excellent and really enhance the look of the wheels. Once fitted the brakes are popped over;

I haven't got around to fitting the 12Ba bolts and springs to the inner frame but this is not a big job. Just that to do and split the axles, add pick up wires and it's all done. Next I moved onto the main frames. I've strayed away from a blow by blow account as it's almost a straight kit build. The one thing I did do was take @mickoo up on his advice and make the rear buffer beam removable, so that the captive buffers can be added post painting;

Remembering to drill out the tank base before going much further so that there's no fit issues later;

The completed frames. Again there's lots of small etched parts here, especially the rear, where it's all going on. Lots of fabrication needed but well worth the burnt finger ends and fibre stick shards in the end;


And finally the inner and outer frames together;

Next job was the tender tank........

 

[7mmMick]

The tank was a straight kit build. The build process advises building up the rear, centre and forward bulkheads and hopper first. This needs to be absolutely bang on so everything else fits just so later when the sides go on. It's well worth taking your time here and double and triple checking. The forward bulkhead has lots of small etched parts and pipe runs. The kit allows you to build this in the flat, which is much easier. I left off a couple of pipe runs and fitted them later, I WISH I hadn'tI still have the remainder of the tender coal space slacking pipe to fit and can't wait ;

A bit more cleaning up needed around the coal chute.

@Dikitriki gave me some great advice for adding the tank sides. The kit advises fitting the vertical strengthening ribs after the sides are on. DO NOT do that, fit them before hand as it makes life a million times easier as you're working on the flat and it's straight forward. I wouldn't fancy fitting the ones between the coal space and the tank side once the sides are fully fitted!
The tender back. Fun and games indeed with the .45mm conduit for the electric lighting. I broke more than one drill bit drilling out the lamps and the junction boxes. How the carpet monster didn't gobble up the junction boxes is beyond me as they're tiny and if they ping from the pliers they're gone forever. There's a neat little jig for the ladders, which at first glance looks a pain but in reality is straight forward, with the help of some blue tack ( other brands available )





A bit more cleaning to do here yet. So put all the lot together and you have an almost complete tender for Blackmore Vale. I just need to add the cab doors, Window frames (post paint), slicing pipe and sanding pipes;

Oh and polish those steel buffers!!

Now back to the loco as it now has something resembling a tender to pull!

Mick

 

[mickoo]

Nice clean work, looks like I'll have to try harder

A bit late now but the two drain holes in the rear well deck are not holes into the water space, they're drains and I recall are tubed through the water space and empty below onto the track, I didn't find out until too late myself and then couldn't effectively solder the tube to the underside effectively.

 

[P A D]

Superb Mick!

Much cleaner than Mickoo's shabby W1 build.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[7mmMick]

Nice clean work, looks like I'll have to try harder

A bit late now but the two drain holes in the rear well deck are not holes into the water space, they're drains and I recall are tubed through the water space and empty below onto the track, I didn't find out until too late myself and then couldn't effectively solder the tube to the underside effectively.

Not sure you can try any harder on the clean build front mate. My pictures are tactically taken, I still have plenty to scrub up yet.
Do you have any pictures of the tank top area mate? Will adding the tube be visible once painted? I did wonder where the drain holes went to?

Superb Mick!

Much cleaner than Mickoo's shabby W1 build.

Cheers,
Peter

Cheers Peter, with your builds, @Dikitriki + @mickoo I have a high bench mark to reach

 

[mickoo]

Can't find my source info that notes it's a tube and the best top shot I have is at an oblique angle on Winston Churchill.



You can just see the tube inside, it's more noticeable at the bottom. This is from 92 Sqn, you'll have to excuse the washed out quality, it's the only way I could get enough light in there post processing to show the drain. It's just in front of the nearest gusset that the electrical conduit runs through.



Normally the drain holes do go into the tender water space, the Bulleid is as far as I know, not the norm; many preserved tenders don't have this feature any more.

MD

 

[P A D]

Hi Mick,
A different tender I know, but the drain on the 6000 gall tender on Canadian Pacific ran down through the water space and exited below the tank via a short length of tube. Why it still had it when I photographed it at Loughborough some years ago, I have no idea as it no longer has any raves and water on the tank top just ran over the edge.

I note that the tender rear plate has a slight curve at the top edge, but I'm not sure if the tank top plate has. As far as I know it should have, so that water ran to the sides when the raves were on and then flowed away down to the rails via the drain pipe.
Cheers,
Peter

 

[7mmMick]

Cheers chaps, all is clear now. I'll debate whether to fit the tube or not. I think the bottom section is more visually prominent than the top for modelling purposes,

Mick

 

[P A D]

Hi Mick,
Just for interest here's a shot of the 6000 gall tender on Can Pac. Just above the rear spring towards the front shackle is where the pipe exits. In this a case a small shoot has be added no doubt to direct the water away from the spring??? This was taken at the Mid Hants but I also have one taken at Loughborough earlier that I can't find. That was of the other side and I think it just had a pipe and no shoot. In R J Harvey's book on the Merchant Navies (Locos in Detail), the pipe is shown on the drawing of the 6000 gallon tender when cut down, as is the drain on the top. The smaller tender drawing don't show either. Interesting.
Cheers,
Peter

 

[7mmMick]

Thanks for the photo's chaps, still pondering whether to fit the drain pipe or not?

As promised back to the loco. The frames are well on the way and I got to the stage where I needed the basic body structure together to make sure everything fits and especially to get a good join where the casing meets the cylinder covers. To get to that stage the front end needs to be on and the cab. So firstly the later style front end is fabricated and detailed as a separate assembly. Also fitted is the AWS gubbins which comes as a separate kit for the later BR locos. I especially enjoyed forming the top cover and then fitting it. It's made from 5 thou brass and requires a sharp bend to lip over the front, lots of burnt fingers and tiny bits of filling required here and there.


The lighting conduit is thankfully still through the frame holes and not across he footplate as some had. I spent time forming the coupling hook on the front buffer beam and straightening every time it got bent. Only to remove it as the AWS plate replaces it! The bottom part of the deflectors are not yet fully fitted as I think they'll still need minor adjustment once the assembly is permanently fitted to the casing.

You can see the two holes where self tappers hold the footplate to the casing.

In the background I have been pushing on with cab detail and have fitted the roof vents and exterior detail. The roof vent is cracked open as the enclosed Bulleid cab needs some fresh air on those warm Cornwall afternoons. The cab light castings are now Lost Wax and not White Metal as they were previously.;

The footplate strengthening webs are also complete, along with window gutters and i've made a start on the cab door fixings;

It's a bit grotty under there, but just tarnishing I promise A couple of shots of the body taking shape. I couldn't resist cleaning up the smoke box door and putting it in place for now.


This is as far as the body needs to go for now. Next onto finishing off the frames as that's where the majority of the remaining work is needed. Once that's complete body detailing can commence,

Mick

 

[P A D]

I couldn't resist cleaning up the smoke box door and putting it in place for now.

No point in having big boy's toys if you don't play with them!

Lovely Mick.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Lovely work Mick.

Should have given him a face.... looks happier now....

 

[7mmMick]

I'd have gone for the end of steam sad face as he looks stripped for spares mate oh I mean
Copy right is Robin Summerhill link to Flicker;

Weymouth Town station Saturday 8th July 1967

 

[djparkins]

I'd have gone for the end of steam sad face as he looks stripped for spares mate oh I mean View attachment 97495
Copy right is Robin Summerhill link to Flicker;

Weymouth Town station Saturday 8th July 1967

I joined that train at Bournemouth - everyone packed like sardines in the first coach. My most vivid memory of the actual journey was the smell - not of steam, but of scores of sweaty 'gricers'! The early-evening trip back was more enjoyable. They let three of us ride in the front van of a parcels train [a maroon GUV IIRC]. Motive power was a Std. Five I think. We all got out at Bournemouth feeling we'd had exceptional value from our five & sixpence day returns! Did the sheds later that evening, then home on the last bus.

DJP/MMP

 

[7mmMick]

I joined that train at Bournemouth - everyone packed like sardines in the first coach. My most vivid memory of the actual journey was the smell - not of steam, but of scores of sweaty 'gricers'! The early-evening trip back was more enjoyable. They let three of us ride in the front van of a parcels train [a maroon GUV IIRC]. Motive power was a Std. Five I think. We all got out at Bournemouth feeling we'd had exceptional value from our five & sixpence day returns! Did the sheds later that evening, then home on the last bus.

DJP/MMP

Fantastic, a memorable day indeed for both good and bad reasons. I would have loved to have been there and lived those days, well apart from the cramming in next to the unclean

Mick

 

[djparkins]

Fantastic, a memorable day indeed for both good and bad reasons. I would have loved to have been there and lived those days, well apart from the cramming in next to the unclean

Mick

Actually Mick I was also on it one week before that - with 35003 'Royal Mail' as I recall. That journey was notable for the 'essence of gricer' aromas as well. It was interesting that only two years earlier in 1965, when almost every working on the Waterloo-Weymouth route was steam, no one took an awful lot of notice. That was the best time, and I was out riding on trains almost every weekend!

There were also incredible sights to be seen at Bournemouth [Hurn] airport. Bristol Mk.32 Superfreighters, DC-3s, Doves, Herons, Viscounts, Heralds, Dragon Rapides, Austers + the Fleet Requirements unit with their all-black Sea Hawks, and visiting Canberras, Scimitars and Sea Vixens.

I really felt I had no time to go to school, and to see any military aircraft you had to go on a weekday. This involved taking the occaisional 'sickie' and biking over to the airfield. I then had to 'forge' a note from my mother for the next day. My attendance record no doubt helped make me the man I am today!

DJP/MMP

 

[7mmMick]

Actually Mick I was also on it one week before that - with 35003 'Royal Mail' as I recall. That journey was notable for the 'essence of gricer' aromas as well. It was interesting that only two years earlier in 1965, when almost every working on the Waterloo-Weymouth route was steam, no one took an awful lot of notice. That was the best time, and I was out riding on trains almost every weekend!

There were also incredible sights to be seen at Bournemouth [Hurn] airport. Bristol Mk.32 Superfreighters, DC-3s, Doves, Herons, Viscounts, Heralds, Dragon Rapides, Austers + the Fleet Requirements unit with their all-black Sea Hawks, and visiting Canberras, Scimitars and Sea Vixens.

I really felt I had no time to go to school, and to see any military aircraft you had to go on a weekday. This involved taking the occaisional 'sickie' and biking over to the airfield. I then had to 'forge' a note from my mother for the next day. My attendance record no doubt helped make me the man I am today!

DJP/MMP

It's hard to believe that all those lost sights at both Waterloo and Bournemouth Airport existed as they are now all long gone. I think if i'd have been around then I would have been throwing sickie's too. What a time to have witnessed, excellent life experience which I'm not sure can be replicated today. Although I have a good friend who is a massive KLM fan and flies all over the world to visit airports when his wife thinks he's at work A Modern equivalent I guess.

Have a look at the below on Youtube if you get chance. I have it on in the background whilst working on Blackmore Vale ( who briefly features ). There's a great sequence showing Royal Mail at her best, a trip down memory lane;

Cheers

Mick

 

[Peter Cross]

Now that's really strange, I've just finished watching that video in the last hour.

 

[2-Bil]

Hello Mick--------Theres a "front end" image on David Christie Flickr Steam Railways from the 60s album (page 2) of Blackmore Vale in 1964 .The conduit runs to the lights are different to how you have them on your very excellent build.With batteries in place conduit runs varied quite a bit.Tonys Weymouth is a case in point.Hope this of use...................Regards....etc....

 

[AJC]

Hello Mick--------Theres a "front end" image on David Christie Flickr Steam Railways from the 60s album (page 2) of Blackmore Vale in 1964 .The conduit runs to the lights are different to how you have them on your very excellent build.With batteries in place conduit runs varied quite a bit.Tonys Weymouth is a case in point.Hope this of use...................Regards....etc....

Do you mean this one?

Unmod. WC 34023 Blackmore Vale departs Salisbury. Aug'64.

There are quite a number of pictures (including early preservation views) of 34023 in this particular gallery so it might not be! By the by it's quite easy to cut and paste the URL from the web browser, even on phones and saves a lot of ferreting about.

All best,

Adam