7mm On Heather's Workbench - Aintree Iron: an Austerity adventure

[Heather Kay]

Heather, it looks like your making a lot of work for your self moving the cylinders out

No, you're absolutely right. I've spent the morning shaving down the leading bosses, back of the cross heads and the crankpin nuts. I am very nearly there without having to move the cylinders apart.

Of course, I need to rejoin the two halves! D'oh!

I'm really looking forward to repeating this exercise with a 4-6-0 that's lurking in my queue!

 

[Heather Kay]

So, where are we? Well, as reported yesterday, I very nearly succeeded in getting things to fit behind the slide bars and crosshead. I stitched the cylinder halves back together, but a smidge wider apart, and that literally gave me a fag paper's breathing space. Rather than fettle more, I let things fester a while, pushing the rolling chassis up and down the test track to convince myself things really were not hitting other things. I then tried it with power, and it still seemed to be working.

So, now I'm back at the bench after some Thursday morning shopping chores, and I plan to fit the coupling rods properly. The second axle, as Paul pointed out should be a flush nut, the third axle has the cranks and gubbins - a story to come - and the trailing axle can have one of the CPL crankpin nuts. I know they're GW pattern, but they will pass muster under their obligatory coat of oily gunge.

Then, I suppose, I should set about the rest of the waggly bits.

 

[Jon Fitness]

I'm really looking forward to repeating this exercise with a 4-6-0 that's lurking in my queue!

Ah, I was hoping you'd be really looking forward to repeating the exercise with the Fowler dock tank lurking in your queue next (runs and hides!)
JF

 

[Heather Kay]

Ah, I was hoping you'd be really looking forward to repeating the exercise with the Fowler dock tank lurking in your queue next (runs and hides!)
JF

Ha! Yes, that particular monster has been missing in action. Perhaps it might be worth digging it out and spending five minutes shuffling the bits in the box before it goes back in hiding.

 

[Heather Kay]

Right. I'm about to put this thing back in its box as I'm after flight testing it.

I am very close to being able to fit the motion. I found I needed to file the angled end of the bottom slide bar so it didn't get struck by the connecting rod on the upswing. Both slidebars now just get kissed, in the luvvie "mwah, mwah" style, which is about as far as I'm happy with.

One of the problems with building working scale models is tiny working dimensions on the real thing don't translate to tiny working dimensions at 7mm to the foot. Compromises have to be made, and it helps if the manufacturers design for the compromises and don't expect it to be ALTRT.

I thought it would be an idea to trial fit the rest of the waggly bits to check for fit.



Nothing is permanently fixed at this stage. The rear part of the motion bracket is a good interference fit, which helps the slotted link stay in place. I've not fitted the eccentric cranks - which are incidentally cast to accept a suitable tap so they screw on the crankpin, which is nice - in this view as I think the cast eccentric rod may have to be substituted for the etched version. I'm not happy that it has to negotiate several angles at once in several planes, so a thinner specimen may help.

Several things are awry in this picture. First, the radius rod is back to front. Look at any photo of the real thing and you'll see the big forked end has the scalloped side outward. Sadly, as I found out early on, this is impossible to do with this model because the whole thing would seize up on the motion bracket. It barely misses the bracket as it is. It strikes me - ho-ho - the radius rod isn't long enough because the valve crosshead is sticking out the back of its slide.



Now, obviously the radius rod will be held up by the reverser link. It really does seem the radius rod isn't long enough. I know I moved the motion bracket back a small amount, but I wouldn't have thought it would have caused this much discrepancy. Can anyone give me dimension for the length the rod ought to be?

I'm open to injections of wisdom. I am not lugging the object to Kettering tomorrow, though. While it's fairly robust, I don't want to risk damage in transit at this stage.

I'm seriously thinking I'm better off sticking with building rolling stock and inside-cylinder locos! I reckon this monstrosity will be stuffed in its box to stew, and I'll either carry on work with the above decks detailing, or pick up something else for a bit. If I don't seem to be smiling much at Kettering, you'll know why!

 

[Heather Kay]

I think that answers my question. The cast rod is about a scale foot short!

So more undoing work I've already done. I shall be discussing things with Mr JLTRT tomorrow, and I shall bring this up. It's a bit of a faux pas, and I wonder if they're being cheap and using a casting from another kit which isn't an eight-coupled design...

 

[Steph Dale]

Heather,
Looks to me like a classic mistake of picking up the wrong dimension and /or making an assumption at the pattern-making stage.
'measure twice, check thrice, cut once' as the saying goes...
Steph

 

[dibateg]

Of course it could be completely the wrong part in the kit!

 

[OzzyO]

JLTRT only do three locos with outside valve gear, the WD, Royal Scot and crab.

About the best way that I can think of to extend the rod would be to file a step of about 15 thou deep in the back face then cut the rod in two through the step, then using a bit of N/S/ strip extend the rod using the step to fit the strip in. Then using some scrap casting sprue file up to fit in the gap in the front face solder in place and clean up to match up with the front of the rod. Using the scrap sprue should give you the best colour match.
Or you could just use the etched rods with some bits of scrap etch to pack them out a bit.

OzzyO.

 

[oldravendale]

JLTRT only do three locos with outside valve gear, the WD, Royal Scot and crab.


OzzyO.

Alarm bells ringing!!! I have a JLTRT Royal Scot with the super detailing kit and AGH wheels to build (one day). Will this give similar problems, because I fear that may make it beyond me?

Brian

 

[richard carr]

I have to say that it looks far too short Heather, may be the etched version is the correct length. Fortunately if it isn't it is not too difficult to lengthen it. I had that problem with the DJB BR standard class 3 tank engine the radius rod is too short and needed to be extended by about 3mm.
If you know that its an easy fix its when you don't that you waste hours trying to work out what is wrong.

Richard

 

[Len Cattley]

Hi Brian the radius rod is to long on the detailing kit so needs shorting. Hope that helps.

Len

 

[oldravendale]

Hi Brian the radius rod is to long on the detailing kit so needs shorting. Hope that helps.

Len

Thanks Len.

D'you think that the radius rods for the Austerity and Royal Scot became mixed up in the designing thereof? (Can't blame DJB for the JLTRT problems, can we?)

Brian

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Alarm bells ringing!!! I have a JLTRT Royal Scot with the super detailing kit and AGH wheels to build (one day). Will this give similar problems, because I fear that may make it beyond me?

Brian

I have'nt found any problems with the JLTRT Scot other than the usual ones of altering the very nice 0 gauge castings to fit S7 frame widths but that is my choice and not a fault. Here is a quick snap of my rh cylinder assembly still under construction.

Happy modelling.
Ian

 

[oldravendale]

I have'nt found any problems with the JLTRT Scot other than the usual ones of altering the very nice 0 gauge castings to fit S7 frame widths but that is my choice and not a fault. Here is a quick snap of my rh cylinder assembly still under construction.
View attachment 41647
Happy modelling.
Ian

I have to say that looks gorgeous, Ian. Dunno when I'll start building again - 9F to complete, A3 to paint and LBSCR "K" started - with another Finney A3 started too. That photo enthuses me to to make the Scot the next project.

However, we've decided to move house so the last four weeks have been spent clearing sheds and lofts. Loads of stuff going on ebay (no railway stuff!) and five large storage boxes full of unmade kits packed and ready to go when we eventually find a buyer. Ridiculous! I collect kits like other people collected train numbers.

I'll still be as opinionated as ever until the tool box comes out again, but no pics for a while. Armchair modelling gives no satisfaction whatsoever!

Brian

 

[Heather Kay]

I'm looking forward to the Scot now, so thanks for that feedback Ian.

I have been asked for a clearer image of the discrepancy on the radius rod.



I don't think that needs any words. I did mention it to Laurie on Saturday. I will let him see this as proof. It's always possible this has been corrected, bearing in mind the provenance of the kit I'm working with.

Remedial work is under way. This includes:

• Fettling the slotted link to let the radius rod slide up and down.
• Thinning the laminated radius rod so it clears the motion bracket.
• Thinning the combination lever so it doesn't foul the slidebars.
• Thinning the back of the eccentric rod fork joint so it doesn't clobber the connecting rod.

Can I just say how much fun it is wheedling all this waggly stuff in and out of the motion bracket for testing?

Anyway, fireman's side is now more or less acceptable. Now to repeat the whole exercise on the driver's side.

 

[dibateg]

I think I have had to do many if not all of the things on your list Heather on locos that I have built in the past. I guess it is because the clearances on the real thing are pretty tight and don't scale down easily. It was nice to see you at Kettering.
Regards
Tony

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Hi Heather,

I have been working on the Scot for a while now but keep getting diverted back onto my first love of the Sou' West. There has been nothing wrong with the kit and everything has fitted very well. The instructions don't really help though! I spent a fair time on altering the castings to fit the proper width frames but the valve gear has gone together without too much trouble. I have used the cast valve gear which is very good and looks the part. The front crank pin clearances is very tight and I counter bored the coupling rod and turned a flush pin which is held in the wheel by a slotted nut screwed in from the back of the wheel. The wheels are Slaters turned down and fixed to telescopic axles. Clearances are tight but enough without moving the cylinders. Some day I will get back to it.

I have been watching your Austerity build closely as Ken is also building one but in S7. He has finished the tender and the frames are erected. I turned his wheels a while ago but they have only been test fitted. The cylinders on his kit are a one piece resin casting. Like me he gets diverted, moves forward too, and is building a nuclear flask train! Enough rambling, keep up the good work.

Happy modelling,

Ian.[/QUOTE]
ack Ian. [/QUOTE]

 

[Heather Kay]

Thanks for that Ian. I'm looking forward to kicking the build off, once I get all the outstanding parts!

The WD has had the brake shoes and pull rods fitted permanently, and the sandpipes that were removed to avoid damage have been reinstated. After an initial daub with paint, the chassis is now taking a short sabbatical while I get some other work moving again.

When I'm in the mood, I shall fit the cylinders and valve gear, and fit the running plate. Because the hornguides are designed without keeper plates, there's no way the wheels will come out without major disassembly of the whole loco. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just progress with the build. I'm afraid the client will have to deal with breaking things if the model needs it.

 

[Heather Kay]

As usual, I plan to do one thing and end up doing something else!

I have been steadily building up base paint layers on the frames and wheels, with a view to some basic weathering before the gear makes the first two wheelsets hard to get at. I thought it might be a good idea to join the loco and tender together so I could refine the length of the connecting wires.

Because I'm using old 4mm sprung buffers between the tender and loco, I found the gap was too large. So I adapted the buffer castings to make them more like the supplied kit solid castings. I still couldn't quite get the drawbar to reach without seizing the combination solid.

Lengthening the drawbar holes into slots would mean a sloppy connection, rattling about when rolling along, so the only option seemed to be to lengthen the drawbar etched part.

I split the part at the loco end, sweated a strip of scrap etch from the underframe fret to it and drilles out the loop again. In all, I stretched the drawbar by about three millimetres.



As you can see there is now a slight gap between the buffers and the loco rubbing plate, but this is one of those compromises one has to live with in order to get such a large loco round a six-foot radius. With the fall plate on top, this won't be all that visible. Now I can begin to sort out the interconnection problem - oh, and reinstate the loco brake cylinder and associated fittings under the cab!