Building the MOK "King Arthur"

[oldravendale]

Slip of the fingers, young Dale - or a bit younger Dale. Anyway I knew what I meant...... They don't allow me out much any more. Fortunately I have a nice box of crayons. They don't allow me anything sharper.

And whatever you ask the answer's going to be half past two, as usual.

Brian

 

[Genghis]

Thanks David. I wonder if they are difficult to cast or, more likely, the market is so small that production is simply not worthwhile.

Brian

The Northstar Southern locos are consistent sellers so it may we’ll be worthwhile looking into doing this.
David

 

[oldravendale]

Well, it's a thought, David. Let us know if you decide to take it further. May be a bit late for this loco but if I ever get to building an S15....... (bearing in mind that I have approaching sixty kits including wagons in my stash. It's impossible that all will ever get built.)

Brian

 

[oldravendale]

Just an update.

Starting to add the extraneous bits and bobs.



Brian

 

[oldravendale]

I'm quite close, at last, to having a complete loco. However, there remain some issues to resolve. One of those, surprisingly, is what to do about fitting the draw bar between loco and tender. The drawbar is provided in the kit but the instructions are sorely lacking. Clearly one of the spacers in the loco and another in the tender are in the right place and have the right size holes but there's no positive fixing. One of them has captive nuts but nothing to attach to them. In fact further examination of the etches found another two etches which probably go together (tabs all line up) and then fit the loco spacer with some adjustment possible, but again there's no positive fixing and no instruction. I could phone Dave Sharp but would rather try to resolve this myself.

I may simply make the loco to tender attachment by using the drawbar, drilled through and fixed with nuts, bolts and a big washer. That remains very much a work in progress.

The backhead and fall plate have yet to be done but these seem to present no problems and are not apparently lacking any parts.

The other major consideration is pick ups. Now there's every reason to say that I should have thought that through before starting, but I normally arrange pick up from the tender via split axles. In this case, because of the compensation assembly which I didn't want to change, this is not possible. There's no clearances anywhere on the tender to allow fitting of PCB and pick ups to the wheels, so it's going to be down to pick ups on the loco. As a reminder this is the chassis.



And this is the "business area".



My thoughts at the moment are to mount the PCB on the frames inside the wheels and take the pick ups over the top and to the backs of the wheels. That'll be my next challenge.

Otherwise a few gratuitous shots of the loco and tender together. (The tender is riding a bit high at the back as the brake gear is held on to the rear bogies with screws which need shortening and are fouling the underside of the body). Those lamp irons on the smokebox door need to come off and be tweaked and the smoke deflector on the left side is not quite sitting down properly - the footstep needs moving out by a gnat's crochet.



I'm not quite ready yet to lay out the bits for the Rebuilt Royal Scot but it's not so far away!

Brian

 

[Steph Dale]

Dad,

I'll give you a call a bit later, I think I can see a relatively straightforward way to get pick-ups in place.

Steph

 

[oldravendale]

That sounds like a good plan, Steph..... we'll talk this evening.

 

[simond]

American pickups using the tender bogies?

alternatively DLOS’ floating spring (as modified by me ‘cos I’m lazy) on the drivers?
(but that will require wheels off and drilling holes in frames - Pix in my Duchess thread on t’other channel)

it’s a handsome beast.

Atb
Simon

 

[oldravendale]

Ah, Simon - I'd not thought of American pick up. I've used it successfully on my Black 5 so well worth consideration.

I have already thought of the DLOS floating spring. That's not discounted yet, although there's not a lot of room with regard to various compensation beams etc - nevertheless it may be possible. In fact I've already sketched this out as I may have to buy some suitable size plastic tube if I go ahead with it. Wheels and round and round and up and down stuff will have to come off again anyway as I've yet to fit the balance weights. (That's my own fault for not thinking ahead but it'd be helpful to have a reminder in the instructions).

Helpful stuff, Simon. Thank you.

B

 

[oldravendale]

The task for this afternoon will be to try to sort out the drawbar. Here's the problem:

There's no instructions for this bit of the assembly. The drawbar is identified. The two bits of etch are not identified anywhere. However, as you'll see later on there's really only one place they will fit.



As far as I can make out this is the location for the drawbar on the tender. That 'ole which looks so huge is actually the correct size to take the drawbar, but with no positive fixing.



This is the loco drawbar position. Again a big 'ole but with captive nuts so must be designed to take a supplementary part.



Here's the two etches over the location (I think) from on top with the drawbar in its nominal position



And this is from underneath with the two etch parts held in place by will power. The idea of the etches being screwed in place is to allow a bit of front to rear adjustment. This is not dissimilar to the Q1.



I think I may drill through the drawbar and use the previously mentioned nut/bolt/large washer to hold the drawbar in place.

It has occurred to me that the design may be such that the drawbar should simply hook in place with no permanent fixing.

I'll check the left over etches to see if there's anything looking as though it could be associated with the tender.

Brian

 

[SimonT]

Brian,
the arrangement you have is similar to that on the 9F. Again there was a measure of working it out for your self involved.
Simon

 

[oldravendale]

Seems a standard, then, Simon. Big washers and screws I think.......

B

 

[SimonT]

The big bolts go through the collar at either end on the 9F

 

[oldravendale]

Thank you Simon.

That'll work perfectly in the same way on the N15. (That's a "King Arthur" to you, but you'd not know the difference. It's a bit like an up market - but early it has to be admitted - "Castle". "Pendennis" is, I have to admit, quite elegant. "Clun Castle isn't. )

Nevertheless, in view of your assistance here I'll put that aside for a while.....

Brian

 

[oldravendale]

Drawbar now sorted. screw and large washer......

On another matter, we're well served by the trade, are we not? Not only have I received great help over the "Royal Scot" nameplates, but yesterday I realised that I'd forgotten to buy couplings for the "King Arthur". I sent Paul and Michelle at CPL an email at 15.15 yesterday. At 16.41 I had a reply to say that the couplings had been posted!

Magnificent.

Brian

 

[oldravendale]

They think it's all over - well, it's not yet!

I'm on to the backhead, and have been for a few days.

Top row, left to right: Backhead casting, regulator handle (referred to as throttle arm in the parts list) with "throttle gland", two sight glasses (neither had a full set of handles due to being miscast so locations had to be marked out and drilled and suitable size wire soldered in place to replace those that were missing), four oil boxes - there's no fixing spigot on these and neither are they marked up for drilling points for the pipework - see below, firebox door assembly, again with no positive locating spigot. Bottom row: Steam fountain and operating wheels, large gauge with casting underneath referred to as "Valve Fitting" - is this a reducing valve? - another "Valve Fitting" which I know from the drawings I have is the ejector with operating wheel, small gauge and underneath that the right hand side interior cab side gauge (not referred to in the instructions at all but obvious from drawings and photos of the cab interior).



In normal fashion all these needed drilling out to accept pipework. The back head needed holes drilling to accept the mounting spigots, present on everything except the oil boxes and firebox door assembly. All positions for the spigot mountings present on the castings are marked which should have made the job straightforward except that the one for top of the right hand site glass was not marked so had to be marked out and drilled. The very top hole in the mounting plate on the backhead casting, shown drilled here, is for the whistle operating rod/arm/string. I know not which and there is nothing obvious on photos or drawings. Frankly if no-one can suggest what this should be I'll ignore it - it'll be lost in the gloom at the top of the cab anyway and you'll not tell anyone, will you? Let's just keep that between ourselves. The oil boxes are a prominent feature of these back heads and there's no location at all identified for these.

This is the provided info. It's helpful insofar as it shows where the castings go, even though the casting on the right hand side is upside down, but there's no pipework. I really don't know whether it's reasonable to expect the backhead photo or a drawing to show the pipework layout but it is one area where info is usually rather limited and it would be helpful to show a suggested layout. The precise location of the firebox door assembly isn't marked on the backhead either.



This rather grotty section of a photo of the backhead shows the oil boxes. It appears from drawings that these are pretty much as existed on the locos in service - ie they are not an addition in preservation, nor do they appear to have been relocated. The holes to take the pipework have had to be marked out and drilled on each one, then those pipework connections made (see later) which took me most of yesterday afternoon.



So, having drilled out the mountings for the pipework I then cut (using the old rolling the tube under a Stanley knife trick) some 1.0 mm x 0.5 mm brass tube in to short sections to represent the mountings which will be enhanced (I hope) with the 16BA nuts to bodge something which I hope won't look a million miles from the real thing....... but then again, who'll see all this in the deep dark recesses of the cab anyway? Are we all mad?



Finally there are two really nice 6-way oilbox castings with no advice about where they go and nothing obvious in the photos. These may well not be fittings for the cab anyway. Suggestions about the probable location on a postcard to me at the home for deranged model builders, please.



So..... more to do but actually quite close to the end point. Pick ups have been fitted to the chassis which is currently stripped but will be reassembled for final testing. All in all a very satisfying build and a beautifully thought through kit. My small whinges about the instructions and particularly the back head have to be considered in the light of so much that is really positive and everything really does fit. I'd have struggled a bit without some reasonable previous kit building experience but don't let that put you off. Dave Sharp is the most helpful chap to talk to if you end up in a blind alley and I didn't have to call him at all about constructional issues on the loco as application of a damp towel to my fevered brow resolved anything about which I was initially doubtful.

I rate this (along with the Q1) very highly.

Brian

 

[oldravendale]

I've just been sent some more drawings. That casting I called, somewhat doubtfully, a reducing valve, is a sight feed lubricator. Stupid boy!

B

 

[Steph Dale]

I've just been sent some more drawings. That casting I called, somewhat doubtfully, a reducing valve, is a sight feed lubricator.

Yep - and it's the wrong way up! The steam manifold ('fountain') is probably a bit too high as there's no space for the whistle striker/lever, which should be above it.

The firedoor is a bit chunky - d'you want me to see if I can dig out an etched Finney7 firehole to replace it? They're all much the same! @7mmMick very helpfully posted a photo of one in his M7 build, here.

I can't see where those 6-way oil pots go at all. There should be four 2-way oil pots on the backhead, feeding the axlebox slides and bearing for the rear axle (two outer ones) and the axlebox bearings for the leading and middle axles (two inner ones). The leading and middle driving wheel hornguides are lubricated from small 2-way oil pots on top of the splashers.
The hydrostatic lubricator oil lines go one each side of the boiler down to the base of the smokebox and thence to the cylinders. They're grouped with the oil pot lines mentioned above, so there should be a group of three leaving the cab on each side, which split off to go to the driving wheel bearings and smokebox.

It's like watching snooker on a black and white telly this, isn't it? 'For those watching in black and white, the pink ball is behind the red'...

Steph

 

[oldravendale]

Thanks Steph. Helpful comments, although I'd mentioned above that the sight feed lubricator is upside down! I'll concentrate on the two way oil pots and ignore the six way - they'll come in useful at some time, I'm sure! I also believe that the 'ole for the steam fountain is actually about right. It's a question of what I use (or don't) to represent the whistle operating lever/string/rod...... Is it just a rod coming out of that top hole? However, if you have an etched Finney7 firehole door I could have at the moment it'd be appreciated. I can then at lest do a comparison of the two and see which looks better.

Regarding the pipe runs alongside the boiler I'll check my photos to see whether I need to add these..... if so it's another delay to completion.....

Much appreciated stuff.

B

 

[Steph Dale]

The whistle is operated by a striker; one of the fittings carried over from Drummond locos. You push it to get the whistle to sound. It has a short lever and loop attached to the top of it; attached to the loop is a cable which runs over a pulley in the cab roof and then to a pull handle inside the cab roof. Here's a Flickr link which shows the cable/handle...: IMG_5260
And here's one showing the striker/lever/loop assembly: Great Central Railway Thurcaston Leicestershire 29th May 2016

Any good?

Steph