Peter's Workbench a Urie S15

[Peter Cross]

I made a start with the tender bogies. These as per the instructions lock the wheels in place very early in the build. I do not like this I like to be able to remove them.

So following the example of how the Dukedog bogie is assembled I did some modifications, I built the inner frame as a syand alone unit. Be very careful opening up the bush holes or they will wander, they are etched at about 3mm.



A sample of the tab and slots, to my mind better not to have them. It is a pain to fill the gap and not loose the rivet detal cleaning up. Anyway the outer parts of the bogie soldered up nice and square. I added a support each end to carry the nut and inner frames.




The whole lot fitted together well. So much easier when it comes to painting.


I also made the frame for under the tank. This was straight foreward until the fitting of the bogie pads. These are designed to fit flush with the longitudinal frame members, but the cross ways ones are full height so need the centre filing down. easier to do before assembly.




Yes I know I have the frame the wrong way around I was just checking clearences. it is sitting about a millimetre low which is good easy to pack to the correct height.

 

[Peter Cross]

The instructions say it is best to hnag the brakes on wires. Well easier said than done. There is a hole each side for the rear brakes but it should have a bracket to hold the other end of the shaft about inline with the wheel flange. No mark or hole for the front brake hanger. Firstjobwas to mark out and drill holes for the front hangers. There are no bottom cross ties so these were made. I want the brakes to be detatchable, not quite so easy as one hanger is on the inner frame and the other on the outer. For now (it might stay as it does not look to bad) I have put the rear hangers on a tube that runs across the back of the bogies. This is held in place with a wire through the centre. The front are soldered on short tubes that clip to the wire tha's in the frame.




Next up was the footplate. I started off by tacking the buffer and drag beams in the half etched marks. These were soon removed as the valance and the subframe did not fit. Quick check against the drawing shows they should be further apart. This then all fitted together nicely. I am not sure now though about the shape of the buffer beam, the join between it and the valance does not look right.

There is little in the way of brake gear. Two etched pull rods to go between the non existant cross ties, and they are too long. I decided that the big hole in front of the front bogie needed filling. I made a pair of mounting plates to take the cylinder and the cross bar for the levers. This attached to the inside of the subframe.

 

[Peter Cross]

Following on from above I made a simple vacuum cylinder and fitted it to the support. I did find out the longitudinal frame members are a little toofar apart I can live with this but I moved the brackets to the footplate and set them at the right width, with the cylinder mounted between.



Next bit that needed sorting was the bogie pressed up to the cylinder. Now I should of remeber this from a previous tender I had built. The problem was also there at 12" to the foot scale, the bogie stretchers are not straight, they are recessed towards the centre. To solve my problem without remaking the bogies, was the deft use of the file to make some clearence. If you can spotthe cylinder has a slight flat on it when the right way up, I will change it all.



I also made up the levers for the cross shaft. The two small cranks are the brake pulls and the u shaped gate hinge looking thing is the link to the brakes. the last one is to the vacuum cylinder and sits between the gate hinge.



Thats it for today or should I say yesterday. Updates may be a bit erratic for a while it was mother inlaws funeral today, so we are having a change around father in law is coming to live with us rather than us with him. Neadless to say he needs my work room as it is down stairs and I am moving up.

 

[Genghis]

Sorry to hear about your mother in law.
David

 

[Peter Cross]

Sorry to hear about your mother in law.
David

it was expected bit no less traumatic for the inlaws.

 

[Peter Cross]

Here is the brake rigging. I made a load of strips with three holes one to take the pull wire and when folded into a U the other two take the fixing pin.
The pin in front of the brake adjuster will be fixed after painting with a drop of superglue. The same goes for the rear bogie pull rod pin on the top of the compensation lever behind the adjuster. This is a bit fiddly to get to, but makes the bogies into to units and easierto deal with.








There is enough slack in the front joint if I do not glue it up solid, for the front bogie to pivot. The rear pull rod is flexible enough to allow the rear one to pivot. I would image if the curve is too tight it would apply the brakes.

Now after all this work what can be seenwhen your noseis pressed onto the base board. Well not very much but will look goodif ever it got derailed.





I see the rear cross tie needsabit of adjustment, and I think I need to sort out at least the rear bogie rear brake moutings they are quite visible. Better do some cleaing up to it is looking a little scruffy.

 

[Peter Cross]

I have not had much time at the bench lately. But today I managed to fit the cylinders and solder together the slide bars and the motion bracket. It all took a little fettling as none of the parts are as supplied in the kit or are scratch built. Each slide bar is made from three pieces of the nickel sheet to make them look more like the prototype which look quite heavy. The motion bracket is also scratchbuilt due to the one in the kit only held the top bar. The cylinders and motion bracket both have been lowered in the frames by about 4mm from where they kit put them.


I need now to sort out a fixing point for the motion bracket. I also fitted the footplate supports Again these are not as supplied. No photo as I forgot. I also made a start withthe brakes, the hangers and shoes are ready to go together, there are bottom cross ties for the loco. But non of the rigging looks as though it will be of use. Especially as there is a large horseshoe tie with the adjuster at one end, between the brake shaft and the first crosstie.

Next is to finish the brakes and cylinders. Then I ought to do the valve gear and get it all running.

 

[Genghis]

Well done that man!

 

[Peter Cross]

I did not think fitting brake gear to an etched kit could take so long. The rigging is scratch built as the parts as the parts in the kit were not right, although they could of been used.



This shows the brake shoes and hangers. Also the footplate supports. You will note the front one needs a little modification to clear the wheel and possible shorts.











Now we can see the brake cross shaft and mounting plates these I made along with the three levers on it. Not sure where the cylinder came from but it fitted. The pull rod and adjuster linking the brake shaft to the front crosstie was all made.









The completed brake rigging. Still a bit of tidying up to do but I think it looks right now.









And for all the effort what will you see? Not a lot as this will be behind the bogie wheels.The brake shaft is loose and will only be fixed on final assembly so the brakes can be removed. It also needs shortening.









Finally I have assembled one of the crossheads, It still needs a piece to take the union link and a nut for the connecting rod fixing. Now just need to get the other one to look same. Trying to keep 8 bits from falling apart whilst adding more is always fun







You will of noticed that the wheels have been backened and the crank pin screws added. I was hoping to try it with the coupling rods but the brakes took up a lot of time. The balance weights have also been blackened ready for glueing on.



Well thats it for now more soon hopefully

 

[Peter Cross]

2 days 10 hour days at the house and I only managed about 2 hours at the bench. I feel sorry for our builders, as I keep a close eye on them and get to see their mistakes as or before they make them.



Back to the progress not a lot but we are heading in the right directing. I started by blackening the nickel balance weights, these were then glued in place on the wheels.



Next up was the forming of the cylinder wrappers. These are a bit unusual in that there are parts that need to be wrapped around the valve piston castings. Here's a couple of shots with them in place before fixing.









Once the covers were in place, i fitted a small diameter tube for the valve rod to run in. The castings were then soldered over this. I still need to make something that looks like the piston glands. There is also a frame to hold the expansion link to be made. I have not got myhead around this as yet, the parts in the kit do not match the drawing so I need to check the length of the radius rod before I start altering things.








It looks Like a I ave a littlle fettling to do to get the footplate to site properly. It is almost there, beginning to look right.




Holiday here Thursday so no work till Friday at least.

 

[Peter Cross]

Here we go with a bit of an update.

First of I assembled the valve gear but sort of had a mojo failure and could not get on with the expansion link mounting.


To try and get back into the swing of the build I decided to do some work on the body, the thought being if it starts to look like a loco I may be able to go back to the blank bits later.
I started by cutting discs to suport the boiler as only one was supplied. The boiler and fire box went together very well, just a little trimming to get the front tapered section to fit. I had to extend the front of the tapered section so I did not get a butt joint to the smokebox. The smokebox needed quite a bit of work. Firstly the diameter was to large. It was also too high. The front diameter was reduced by just over a 1mm, and the whole lot was lowered by about 3mm.





I alsosorted out a few bits on the footplate. The drag beam had been made to the same width as the buffer beam, so was to narrow. You can see how much needed adding in the photo.


I added the expansion link cover, and made the splasher type thing that runs along the lower part of the footplate.



It was on with making the new cab sides, adding the beading and spectecles to the cab front, these were moved up very slightly.




Not something I have done, I am not sure what this smokebox door is for, but it certainly does not fit the S15, not only is it too small it is a Urie one. Where I need a Maunsell one to go with the Maunsell boiler 30503 was fitted with at the time I am basing the model on. There was neither the smoke box door or safety valves for it.

 

[mickoo]

Coming along nicely now.

I admire your patience and attention to detail, if it were me it'd be sat on a shelf by now or back in it's box under the bench.

Mick D

 

[Peter Cross]

Well, more progress, I am sure I saw a snail pass me today.



More work on the cab, the floor and seats are in, not as designed but in. No pictures as I forgot.



The cab roof was next, this took sometime as it was scratch built, as the one supplied is to short as soon as you make itthe right shape. I jused L and T sections on the roof these were very carefully put the the rollers to curve. It looks an ood shape in the photo, but It is OK in real life.






I have tacked everything in place to check their fit and the fit of other parts as we progress. Castings are just place to give me help in keeping the mojo happy.









I then turned to the tender top. I think it is meant to put a radiused corner each end of the sides, an area is half etch to aid making the curve, and then the front and rear fit between. So we do the first side to see how it all goes. This is where the mojo climbed onto the top of the cupboard, just out of reach.



This is where you find the front and rear are full width. The front actually sits behind the curve quite nicely, the platform will need to altered slightly but is far easier to do than make the front the right width. Next you find the side is the right length without putting a curve on the end.











Now the mojo has fallen down the back of the cupboard completely out of reach. I carefully straighten the rear curve. I tack the four parts to the footplate to see the fits and to see what I can do.



I found some suitable tube, cut it to height and solder inside the tender, Then it was easy to shape the outside to the right profile. I will need to sort out the curve to the top but thats for another day. It's not good having to many exciting things happen in one.









Here you can both sides one done the other still to be completed.








Things that will need sorting in the future found today. Coal dividing plate remade and moved forward. Slot for fixing is behind the coal plates. Tender top needs adjusting so the self trimming is the right shape, probably new sides to the coal space. The smoke deflectors are too long and too tall, to fit the loco I have built.

 

[oldravendale]

Interesting stuff, Peter.

These kits are a real challenge, are they not?

My (currently stalled) build of an LBSCR K and reported previously on WT has gone through the same tender forming exercise - in fact almost identical, except that I cheated and used filler to finally form the curve. The reason was different, though. I couldn't produce the sharp curve needed on the corners due to the half etching, intended to help but the wrong size for the sharp curve needed.

As with yours, it came out OK in the end, but it's an inordinate amount of work!

Brian

 

[Steph Dale]

There's a perverse logic to this, in that it makes it much easier to draw the part(s), but of course leaving (too) much to the builder. And it doesn't help if it's not mentioned in the instructions. I note the 'J' tanks have a comment to the effect of 'file the corner to a radius' for the bunker. Of course, it's a 6" radius so there wouldn't be much left of the corner (or back, or sides) if you took this approach.

Peter,
In some ways it a help - you now have a very good location for the tender top, where you might not have had before.

Steph

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

Interesting stuff, Peter.

These kits are a real challenge, are they not?

My (currently stalled) build of an LBSCR K and reported previously on WT has gone through the same tender forming exercise - in fact almost identical, except that I cheated and used filler to finally form the curve. The reason was different, though. I couldn't produce the sharp curve needed on the corners due to the half etching, intended to help but the wrong size for the sharp curve needed.

As with yours, it came out OK in the end, but it's an inordinate amount of work!

Brian

Brian & Peter,

The railway I model is very badly served by the trade, especially for loco kits, but actually I am quite happy about that for the very reasons you are both having with an indifferent kit. I have struggled with kits in the past and sympathise with you about the time needed to sort the inadequacies such that it is much easier, and quicker, to scratchbuild.
As I model in S7 most kits need work to correct the dimensional faults that 0 gauge dictates, which I am happy to work round, but correcting design faults is a step too far. Well done with what you have achieved.

Ian.

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi Peter,

I think this is an unbelievable effort on a despairingly bad kit.

I have taken the liberty of copying below a follow up comment you made on RMweb, which I thought was one of the most brilliantly hilarious things I have read:

''I think William designed this to cover every southern loco. You pick your prototype select the parts that may fit. Then make the rest.''

Richard

 

[Peter Cross]

Interesting stuff, Peter.

These kits are a real challenge, are they not?

My (currently stalled) build of an LBSCR K and reported previously on WT has gone through the same tender forming exercise - in fact almost identical, except that I cheated and used filler to finally form the curve. The reason was different, though. I couldn't produce the sharp curve needed on the corners due to the half etching, intended to help but the wrong size for the sharp curve needed.

As with yours, it came out OK in the end, but it's an inordinate amount of work!

Brian

Yes they are, but they keep the grey matter working. I have built a few ofthe ace kits,some are worse than others.

I have been watching your build. The K is one of my favourite locos, a bit out of place for my LSWR based layout plans.

 

[Peter Cross]

There's a perverse logic to this, in that it makes it much easier to draw the part(s), but of course leaving (too) much to the builder. And it doesn't help if it's not mentioned in the instructions. I note the 'J' tanks have a comment to the effect of 'file the corner to a radius' for the bunker. Of course, it's a 6" radius so there wouldn't be much left of the corner (or back, or sides) if you took this approach.

Peter,
In some ways it a help - you now have a very good location for the tender top, where you might not have had before.

Steph

Steph, It is a very 1970's way of getting radiused corners, before they realised you could do it with a casting. I soldered many a wire inside the front of fireboxes to give enough meat to file them to shape.

I was very careful to get the tubes the right height just for that purpose.

 

[Peter Cross]

Hi Peter,

I think this is an unbelievable effort on a despairingly bad kit.

I have taken the liberty of copying below a follow up comment you made on RMweb, which I thought was one of the most brilliantly hilarious things I have read:

''I think William designed this to cover every southern loco. You pick your prototype select the parts that may fit. Then make the rest.''

Richard

No problem, glad you found it amusing.