7mm Yorky D's LT - Wagonery tales from the Met.

[Yorkshire Dave]

No worries about the hijack me ol' cobbers. Gist gunner get on with the fair dinkum build .

Onwards....

Attention remained with the cabs and the fitting of the interior detail. If you are building or intend building a Met Bo-Bo now is the time to consider the cab interiors or at least make provision to simplify future retro fitting once the remainder of the body has been completed and the false roof installed.

So........ I decided to make the cab interior as a sub assembly for easy removal and installation - mainly for painting.

Firstly the four cab body retaining bolts were shortened so they do not interfere with the false floors.

Two false floors are provided in the kit and reference is made to these in the both the kit and cab interior kit instructions. These were also narrowed slightly in accordance with the instruction to fit easily within the cabs.



This is the underside of the false cab floor and a 3 mm hole has been drilled for the brake stand spigot.


The brass strip was soldered to the cab base as I did not have the correct height/width strip in my scrap etch pile for the edge soldered to the false floor. The edge needs to be the same height as the cab body mounting nuts.



Cab details soldered to the false floor. Afterwards the spigot on the brake stand was filed flush with the underside of the base as is interferes with the footplate mounted body retaining nuts.

The interior sub assembly was trial fitted



Hey presto.... one cab interior.


One thing I hadn't considered is how the cab fittings on the left interfere with the tower LEDs I was going to use. This caused a rethink and I'll now use surface mount LEDs on the inner end of the light with 2mm diameter clear acrylic rod as the lens. More on this will come later.

I'll also summarise my amateurish approach at trying to simplify the build for myself as a 'hints and tips' towards the end which may or may not assist.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

As one who played a small part in the design of this kit I'm very happy for you to spell out my mistakes.

As far as I can see there are no mistakes in the kit. It's a case of having decided what I required for the model and designing them into the build (rather than deciding and trying to retro fit after the event!) whilst thinking outside the triangle to make the build easy for myself.

The Met Bo-Bo is enjoyable as there is no work required, other than removing the cusps, to make pieces fit! Apart from thinking about modifications to simplify the build before wielding the soldering iron.

It is also known among a few I do not get on with brass kits and recently built a couple of coaches to regain the skill and some confidence, after the ordeal of the Met ballast wagons, before attempting the Bo-Bo.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Remember this from earlier.... after much running in it was still a bit noisy.

However, there is nothing absolutely wrong with this drive truck as provided in the kit but I wanted something a bit quieter and with less faffing around to get the gear mesh spot on.



It now looks like this.....

For a Rolls Royce solution I ordered and received a Finney 7 'power' and 'remote' 13:1 gearbox. No constructional photos as they were made up as per the comprehensive instructions. This shows the application in a 9'3'' wheelbase with an 1833 motor.

This is the 'remote' gearbox end.


And the 'power' gearbox end.

View from below. I soldered two plates of lead to the the lowered brass angle cross braces. 'Remote' on the left and the 'power' on the right.

The 'power' without the truck mounting bracket.


And likewise the 'remote'.

View from above - 'remote' left and 'power' right.

The constant velocity (CV) joint made up from neoprene tube and a ball bearing (I had this material in stock from earlier projects but a CV joint kit is available from Finney 7).

The motor and 'remote' shafts were cut back to around 7 mm. Overall there is 17 mm between the back of the motor and the front of the gearbox. This is probably the shortest wheelbase (9'3'') you could get away with using an 1833 motor. Wheelbases shorter then 9'3'' will require a smaller motor such as an 1824.



The only downside to using these gearboxes is you do have to enlarge the hole in the footplate in one direction by 10 mm. I chose to mount the 'power' end towards the centre of the loco as not to cut into the cab area.

This of course allows the part of the hole in front of the mounting bracket to be plated over making it less obvious if the cab doors were modelled open.



The other benefit is you can lower the truck mounting bracket by around 5 mm. Look at the space here and how the motor just sits proud of the footplate. I'll be considering how I can lower (and hide) the truck mount to minimise the impact in the cab.

 

[simond]

Dave,

I’m struggling with your use of the word “amateurish” in post 300.

Most/many of us are amateurs in the sense of “not professional”, but that doesn’t mean “not good”...

Atb
Simon

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

It's only 'amateurish' in my viewpoint as I do not have a fully equipped workshop with all of the 'magic' machinery to make jobs easier .

 

[Peter Insole]

'Tis a funny thing Dave, and I know it is a matter of taste, but we all seem to expend so much effort to silence our motors and gears, while a Met Bo-Bo is exactly what it is: The real thing had massive electric gubbins driving through whopping great gears!

I seem to recall that when standing on the platforms at Mile End, I could actually hear the old Q Stock accelerating away from either Stepney Green or Bow Road! They didn't 'alf 'owl! All those years ago it was probably regarded as an absolute racket by most people, but in my juvenile and impressionable ears it was pure music!

The modern stuff is more akin to a softly sung lullaby, rather than a whisky soaked baritone, belting it out on the corner of Sauchiehall Street?!!

More noise the better then?

Pete.

 

[Scale7JB]

It's only 'amateurish' in my viewpoint as I do not have a fully equipped workshop with all of the 'magic' machinery to make jobs easier .

I feel your pain!

JB.

 

[Oz7mm]

Dave

I recorded Sarah Siddons a few years ago with a few to doing a sound project. I'm afraid I never got round to it but passed the sound files to John Gymer at YouChoos who I hope will do a sound project, probably for Zimo chips. However, Peter Insole is right, the gears in Ken's bogies do a passable impression of the real thing.

John

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

It does seem crazy by eliminating noise only to reintroduce it via a sound file. And the daft thing is I can hear it in my head what it should sound like - whining and grinding gears....

 

[oldravendale]

They weren't called "Growlers" for no reason.

You may remember that I have one of these in the stash as well, Dave. I discussed a sound file at some length with Ken de Groome. In his view a sound file true to the loco when in service is very difficult. Sure the gear sounds can be reproduced but things like compressors have changed significantly and although this is now a heritage loco at the time the remainder of the fleet was withdrawn this was a working test loco and many changes were made.

That's not to say that it isn't worth trying.

I'll always remember seeing them hammering non-stop through Wembley Park and swaying significantly as they entered the station through what was, at the time, somewhat dodgy trackwork.

Brian

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Following the repowering the drive truck mount was lowered by 5mm. A false floor will be made up to cover the areas in front and behind the drive truck mount.



The doors, body sides and the cosmetic truck frames were made up as per the instructions.

And now for some deviations.

A piece of scrap etch was used to beef up the joint at the base of the single doors between the cab and body.


Instead of using the fold up etch provided to form the angle section soldered to the base of the inner bodysides I used 4mm angle brass.

I also dispensed with the lower cross body retaining stretcher as this will interfere with the speaker I'm planning to install and any internal wiring looms. Instead I added some scrap brass to the angle and drilled and tapped them for 1.4 mm machine screws.


The same was done for both cabs. The 8BA nuts will remain as they support the cab detail floor.


As mentioned earlier the trucks were built as per the instructions and I used the intended nuts and bolts to secure the brass cosmetic frame cross members. Once completed I drilled and tapped new central holes for 1.4 mm machine screws.

The reason for all this is the 1.4 machine screws I'm using are steel and therefore can be held with a magnetic screwdriver making them easy to insert. Furthermore they are discreet and take up less space. The the nuts and bolts are fiddly to install unless you have two pairs of hands, takes several attempts to do up and are prone to launching themselves into orbit.

A note about the truck brake rigging.

Posed on a Peco set track curve.

From above

And by the way the axle bearings have been replaced.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Further progress has been made in the shape of the solebar details being added as per the instructions. Fuse box supports, buffers, MU jumper sockets, pipework, cab steps, coupler pockets (they did have small buckeye couplers!) and the shoebeam supports on the trucks

However, the above buffer beam MU sockets were not used as they were removed from the locos during the 1950's. And as is my want I sprung the buffers individually rather than used the method as supplied in the kit which uses the coupling hook spring and a bar.

Springs are not provided for individual buffer springing so I raided my spare springs box and fortunately found four which were suitable. In order to prevent the oval buffers repositioning themselves into odd angles I soldered some short lengths of 3mm I beam to the chassis and rely on the flat of the nut to maintain the buffer position. They are temporarily held here with paint and some canopy glue. They will be held in by thread lock once the loco has been painted.


Another solebar detail in which the instructions suggest is formed of bent wire is what appears to be the current collection cable fitting as illustrated here on number 10 from Brian's (Oldravendale) thread An Unusual Collection.

And so... I need to acquire some black or brown 0.5mm I/D silicon carp rig tube. The orange on the pipework is car headlight repair tape wrapped around to simulate the pipe supports.


Archer Decals rivets will be used once the model is primed and the number solebar rivets at the end locations shown depends on which loco you choose to model. Sir Ralph Verney has a different number and this is also illustrated on No. 10 above. In addition the style of cab steps varies between locos.


And something to tantalise....






I have ordered LT nameplates for No. 3 Sir Ralph Verney as this is the loco I'm modelling. The roof has not yet been fitted as access is required to install the lights. An ESU Loksound decoder is on order for which I have requested the headlight functions to display (by scrolling) the correct headcode for the various Met destinations viz.


Other details to complete are: Truck safety chains (again visible on No.10 above), lamp irons, vacuum and air brake hoses, louvres and windscreen wipers.....

 

[Scale7JB]

Dave, that's looking magic!

JB.

 

[oldravendale]

I love it, Dave. You are giving me a super level to achieve when I get round to mine - but that's behind a Q1 and a King Arthur. (and possibly an A3, but I still have the wrong boiler).

I like the use of fishing gear for the detail. I'm an angler, but I'd never have thought of that.

Brian

 

[warren haywood]

Might be an idea to whip those handrails off, don’t arf get int way when you line the panels
I know through experience

 

[7mmMick]

Looks lovely Dave, looking forward to seeing it at Telford

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Some details added which are not provided for in the kit...

But firstly what I thought related to current collection is actually related to the tripcock. To illustrate this I have cropped and highlighted the area from a photo on from t'interweb. The pipework is for the tripcock mechanism is mounted behind the shoebeam. Only the tripcock lever is visible under the shoebeam. This is the A end truck and the locos always operated with the A end towards London and the D end towards the country. I'll have to study more photos to see if there ever was a tripcock on the other side of the locos as so far all photos do not show one.



So on my model...

The other details not provided for..... The MU hoses

Current cables from the collection shoes

Something I forgot to add to the MU sockets before mounting them - MU cable trunking.

And on the buffer beams.

 

[Scale7JB]

How didn't I notice that, of course it's the tripcock hose!

In theory all locos with tripcocks would have one on opposite corners.

JB.

 

[Arun]

There is a long thread on the G0G forum which relates to tripcocks and their positioning. Pretty much every powered driving vehicle had one on its offside - because the trainstop and its actuating arm - which the tripcock hits in the event of a SPAD - are in the six foot as opposed to the four foot or the cess. Thus there ought to be another on the contralateral side on the other bogie on any double ended or reversible rail vehicle.

When I designed the masters for Ken's bogie sides etc., this pipework was not included with the bogies because I had already produced masters for tripcocks [and their associated pipework] for his "E" and "F" class Met tank kits.

In any event, any current collection cable would presumably have to be routed via the rather obvious collector shoe fuseboxes visible on the bogies and in the case of the negative return rail, in the midline at the front and rear.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Many thanks Arun - I have studied the photos again and I do need to install the tripcock on the D end truck together with the Westinghouse tripcock pipework on both trucks.

Engineer of this parish has been providing me with excellent information regarding the tripcocks.