A West Midlands Works

Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
The Stanier 2-6-2t is now in store pending painting and final installation of the valve gear and a DCC chip, so my attention has turned to the build of the DJB Standard Class 3 2-6-2t. This is for a former work colleague and is the first tank locomotive I have built from this former kit provider. I enjoy these kits because when finished they provide an excellent representation of the prototype. That said they are not the easiest but having built two Standard 4 4-6-0's and two Standard 4 2-6-0's I believe I might have the measure of them. I'd like to build a Standard Class 5 if I were lucky enough to find a kit for sale at a reasonable price! Hint!:rolleyes:

Construction of the frames has been quite straightforward with no hidden problems. My chassis jig ensured all was square before finally soldering up all the components.
Frames 2 040215.JPG
From previous experience I knew slidebars and crosshead would foul the side rods unless the motion brackets and cylinders were packed out from the frames. For this loco I needed to pack out each fitting by 1.2mm! To ensure the cylinders were still within the running plate I built it up and undertook some trial fitting. Fortunately the cylinder etches also require slight modification as the sides are much more vertical on these locos than on other classes, thankfully they do fit under the running plate, just.;) So with the cylinder cladding fitted they look just right! I have reached this stage
Frames 8 070215.JPG
I am quite surprised at the speed of this build so far but I'm sure something will trip me up.:rolleyes:
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
They say pride leads to a fall and that is exactly what has happened to this build. Yesterday I planned to start building the tanks and bunker only to find the incorrect etches have been supplied in the kit which is probably 15 years old. The tank and bunker etches are for a Cl.4 2-6-4t and bear no relation to the Cl.3! :rant:I am awaiting instructions. Watch this space.:mad:
 
demu1037

demu1037

Western Thunderer
Time for everyone to check their stock of unbuilt DJB BR std 4 kits to make sure they have the right chassis ........

First port of call - somewhere in darkest Shropshire??
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Due to circumstances beyond my control I have had to start building my MOK 76XXX, well you do don't you!

As usual I find the instructions intimidating but once I have got to grips with them I find very little difficulty with the assembly process. The castings are exceptionally good and require the minimum of cleaning up. The locomotive will be 76026 with a BR2 tender and I have started on the latter to ease myself into the build.
Tender 2 100215.JPG
Assembly of the inner frames and brake gear was quite straightforward, there was just one tiny etch I could not find but eventually it turned up. The basic tender body was slightly more problematic and led to my first mistake. The floor of the body is made up of two laminates and early on the instructions said they could be soldered up, which I did. When I came to fit the inner structure for the coal space the tags would not locate. Much head scratching and for a while I pondered whether to shorten the tags and use them purely as locating points. Then the penny dropped, delaminate the two parts of the floor and start again. You should only solder up the floor parts AFTER the coal space is in place!

The tank sides are formed of two chunky whitemetal castings which required the very minimum of cleaning up in accordance with the instructions. I was not looking forward to fitting them as the booklet goes into pages of recommendations as to how to approach this task. Having removed the flash I tried the castings in place and never looked back. I used 100⁰ solder with my iron set to 200⁰ and all worked well. There are eight soldering points under the tank sides and the upper edges can easily be reached from inside. Just a little tidying up around the cab front has been required. The castings and etches are so good the join between the coal space and tank top is near perfect. The tender has now reached this stage
Tender 1 120215.JPG
and the rear
Tender 2 120215.JPG
The axleboxes and springs are made up from 5 individual castings and a start has been made on cleaning them up. This developing into a very enjoyable build.
 
Ressaldar

Ressaldar

Western Thunderer
dibateg said:
After all those DJBs and Transport Age's this should be a walk in the park for you!
Click to expand...

or even starting the next MOK kit by now:thumbs:

great work Roger, I'm looking forward to seeing the photos of the completed loco - weathered of course, running on the test track at Kettering.:cool:

cheers

Mike
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Back from my hols. and some progress has been made on this build.

The tender is now almost finished, just water filler handle, vacuum and steam heat to add, the buffers having been prepared but the springs and heads put aside. The axleboxes and springs were much easier to built than first suspected. Probably the most difficult part to assemble was the rear ladder but an excellent etched frame greatly assisted the assembly. This is a BR2 tender so the complication of a water scoop has been avoided as they tenders were supplied without this fitting. The BR2A is a different baby.Tender 6 280215.JPG
Work has commenced on the engine and the basic frames and the boiler have been tackled so far. The frames built up wonderfully and the entire structure was checked to ensure all was square before any soldering was undertaken. I need not have worried. To get to this stage was about two days work, see below. I am following the build instructions quite carefully and consequently jumping about from area to area. The frames in their current state are used as the jig for the basic engine body. At a later stage detailing of the frames will resume.

Build instructions for the boiler seemed a bit over the top but proved to be spot on. With the very fine and thin etches I quickly found myself trying to plat treacle so quickly retraced my steps and did as I was told!:rolleyes: The smokebox assembly was straightforward but the boiler was tricky. The instructions said the boiler etch to firebox casting might need easing and this proved to be the case. Using the copper wire to pull the boiler into shape saved a lot of work.
Boiler 1 280215.JPG
This stage took about 4 hours to achieve. The smokebox and boiler etches require rolling before starting work. The boiler bands have been put on, again following instructions and some of the boiler detailing is in place. The dome has yet to be fettled prior to fitting. The mounts for the running the plates are also fitted and these took a bit of working out to get the orientation correct. With this work out of the way a start has been made on the front framing and smokebox saddle.
Bolier & Frames 280215.JPG
Tomorrow I shall start the cab, running plate and probably detail the firebox casting. What a delightful build.:)
 
Steph Dale

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Roger,
Do the BR2 tenders really not have a water scoop? I'm just intrigued as to why the water tank would have a dome if that was the case?
Any thoughts, anyone?
Steph
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
dibateg said:
Are the insets for the clacks castings Roger? Soldered from the inside presumably.....
Click to expand...
Hi Tony,
Yes they are castings. Perfect fit first time, just a ribbon of solder on the outside edges to hold them in position then a good fillet of solder on the inside.
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Steph Dale said:
Roger,
Do the BR2 tenders really not have a water scoop? I'm just intrigued as to why the water tank would have a dome if that was the case?
Any thoughts, anyone?
Steph
Click to expand...
Hi Steph,
Looking at the Ted Talbot books on the Standards in Volume 1 it states the BR2 tender had scoops fitted if required. I should have been slightly more specific, the SR had no use for scoops, they were a liability if someone was to lower the thing thinking it was the handbrake! My loco is 76026 which was not fitted with a scoop but all the paraphernalia associated with it i.e. dome was still there.
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
Progress with 76026 has not been as smooth as I had hoped. An issue with the firebox raised its head and it took some time to resolve. I'm very grateful to Andy Sharp at MOK for all his help. Suffice to say fitting the boiler to the firebox/cab assembly presented problems. My concern at fitting the boiler bands so early in the build was well founded as the one adjacent to the firebox had to be taken off and later refitted. However all problems have been resolved.
IMG_2576.JPG
The cab took a day to build. Given the difficult angles presented by BR Standard cabs the internal structure went together very easily. The kit provides two etches for the final overlay and I chose to use the slightly larger one in case my soldering was not up to par, fortunately all was well. With the major components for the engine now ready it was time to assemble them. The replacement firebox was tacked in position having made sure it sat in the frames properly. Once fully satisfied and with equal measurements on each side of the front of the cab I soldered it on, then fixed the assembly in place using the two 10BA fixing points under the cab. The smokebox is located on four spigots on the saddle and with this in place I had a slight gap between boiler and firebox but the firebox was slightly high in the frames. Using clamps the firebox was lowered into its proper place and with another on the smokebox the gap became negligible. I glued the boiler in position leaving it to cure overnight, the next morning the clamps were removed and all was well. The engine body now drops in and out of the frames perfectly.

With my heart rate returning to normal I turned my attention to fitting the running plate and detailing the front fall plate and bufferbeam. The instructions say the running plate is very fragile, well it is, mine fell apart. In fact I think this helped installation. The fit was perfect although fiddly to get the running plates to locate on the supports on the boiler. As the front drop plate had separated itself I decided to add all the steps before fitting it. I'm glad I did as the two steps under the smokebox would be the devil to solder in place. To round off the day's work the smokebox door was detailed.
IMG_2585.JPG
Detailing work has stepped up a gear and the ejector, blower and duplex valve are now in place and piped up. The trunking for the three pipes along the boiler consists of a neat frame attached to the boiler with a wide U channel for the cover. Fitting required cutting into the boiler bands to ensure a snug fit to the boiler. The cylinder drain cock actuating valve has also been fitted along with the chimney and dome. Still lots of cleaning up to do!
IMG_2586.JPG
It's starting to look like a loco!
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
As much as I love BR Standards I have to have a "fix" of SR locos every now and then and brought out three of my Maunsell Moguls for a bit of TLC and a complete rebuild of pick-up arrangements for one of them.
IMG_2588.JPG
and the rear view from the cabs
IMG_2591.JPG
31906 is a 3 cylinder U1 built from various ACE kits plus cylinders and valve gear courtesy of Iain Young from his W class kit. 31866 is a David Andrews N class kit, no more to be said, fabulous. 31616 is the U class mogul from the same stable, just as fab! I built the loco a number of years ago using the American method for current collection. I am slowly changing out any of my locos energised by this method for my own version of wipers on the flanges.

Last week the weather was quite warm and still so I managed to get some spraying done.
Paint 120315.JPG
The Crosti has had a first coat of black while the Stanier tank has had a coat of etch primer followed by a second coat of standard primer. Will the weather be kind and allow me to continue spraying next week?
 
OzzyO

OzzyO

Western Thunderer
A small point but you don't have to use a standard primer on top of the etch primer. You can also get etch primer in black and other colours.

OzzyO.
 
Scanlon

Scanlon

Western Thunderer
OzzyO said:
A small point but you don't have to use a standard primer on top of the etch primer. You can also get etch primer in black and other colours.

OzzyO.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice. I used Halfords etch primer which showed up a few areas that needed filling. The second spray was to prove I'd filled where necessary. I didn't know you could get etch primer in other colours would you tell me who makes it?
Roger
 
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