Dan's S7 Workbench - 7028 Cadbury Castle

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
SNV33055.JPGSNV33056.JPGSNV33058.JPGSNV33059.JPGSNV33060.JPG Monday 8th February 2010

Hi chaps

Well, who remembers this thread from another forum then? Built from a JLTRT/Mitchell kit, it originally started life as an OF model, but a few months ago (unhappy with the appearance of the very visible Western wheels), I took the plunge and decided to go over to Scale 7.

Having really only started the chassis, I wasn't sure whether to continue the build in OF and flog it after completion, or whether to convert the fruits of my labours so far to S7. Well, I decided on the latter and hope to continue illustrating the build on here (and maybe bringing some of the previous stuff over too).

Just as a quick taster, a couple of months ago, I went to the Reading Trade Show and made the aquaintance of Christopher Makepeace. He was the chap who re-profiled my Western wheels for me and very kindly offered to do the same with the Castle wheels (which I just happened to have with me on the day!).

A few days later, Postie came a-calling and this is what was in the Package....
[attachment=4:12oh9og5]SNV33055.JPG[/attachment:12oh9og5]
[attachment=3:12oh9og5]SNV33056.JPG[/attachment:12oh9og5]

I think you have to agree, they look a little tasty now. Shame I have to do the balance weights all over again though...!


Yesterday, I decided to work on the S7 bogie and here's how it's looking now....
[attachment=2:12oh9og5]SNV33058.JPG[/attachment:12oh9og5]

Edit: A couple more pictures that I wasn't able to include originally....
[attachment=1:12oh9og5]SNV33059.JPG[/attachment:12oh9og5]
[attachment=0:12oh9og5]SNV33060.JPG[/attachment:12oh9og5]
The compensating beams are from my own etches. The Slater's wheels I'm using have 3/16" axles rather than the recommended 5/32" ones and the holes in the compensating beams as supplied were too small to accept the 3/16" bearings and could not be opened up sufficiently due to a lack of metal around the holes!


Next job I think, will be stripping down the chassis and rebuilding with S7 spacers - stay tuned. :cool:


Regards

Dan
 

28ten

Guv'nor
Dan's 7mm Workbench - 7028 Cadbury Castle

Good to see this going again :D the chassis could be a major job. I know I did the same with the 14xx F/s > S7 >F/S >S7 (yes twice) and its staying S7 now :lol: :lol:
 

Jordan

Mid-Western Thunderer
Dan's 7mm Workbench - 7028 Cadbury Castle

I was looking at that heap of wheels and thinking there's too many there for a 4-6-0...

...forgot about the tender, didn't I..??


D'OH !!! :roll: :oops: :oops: :oops: :lol:
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
Jordan said:
I was looking at that heap of wheels and thinking there's too many there for a 4-6-0...

...forgot about the tender, didn't I..??


D'OH !!! :roll: :oops: :oops: :oops: :lol:


Funnily enough, when I ordered some S7 axles from Slater's, I forgot about the bogie and only ordered six axles instead of eight - I had to get some more at the recent Bristol O gauge show.... :oops:


Regards

Dan
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
28ten said:
Is the compensating beam working?

I dare say somebody has made them work, but mine are just soldered-up solid, as per the instructions. The front axle is fixed and the rear axle pivots around a central rod, with the obligatory vertically elongated bearing slots. :)

Regards

Dan
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
I found a little time for some modelling yesterday and decided to strip down the Castle chassis and rebuild it with S7 frame spacers.
Here's the old chassis and new spacers....
[attachment=6:2c3fzdir]SNV33115.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]
[attachment=5:2c3fzdir]SNV33116.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]


This was never going to be an easy job, so it was out with the slitting disc....
[attachment=4:2c3fzdir]SNV33117.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]


Then the blowlamp....
[attachment=3:2c3fzdir]SNV33118.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]


After a cleaning-up session that seemed to go on forever, the parts are ready for re-assembly....
[attachment=2:2c3fzdir]SNV33119.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]


The frames and new spacers are all soldered together and it's time to fit the compensating beam....
[attachment=1:2c3fzdir]SNV33121.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]


Using some Metalsmith hornblock alignment jigs, the hornblocks have been positioned and tack-soldered in place....
[attachment=0:2c3fzdir]SNV33122.JPG[/attachment:2c3fzdir]
Once I can find the crankpins ( :oops: ), I'll fit the coupling rods to the wheels and check for free running. If everything's OK, I'll flash some more solder around the hornblocks and can then re-fit the frame overlays. :)


Regards

Dan
 

Attachments

  • SNV33119.JPG
    SNV33119.JPG
    181.3 KB · Views: 126
  • SNV33122.JPG
    SNV33122.JPG
    188.4 KB · Views: 129
  • SNV33121.JPG
    SNV33121.JPG
    175.9 KB · Views: 129
  • SNV33118.JPG
    SNV33118.JPG
    220.4 KB · Views: 130
  • SNV33117.JPG
    SNV33117.JPG
    203.5 KB · Views: 127
  • SNV33116.JPG
    SNV33116.JPG
    176.6 KB · Views: 128
  • SNV33115.JPG
    SNV33115.JPG
    214.9 KB · Views: 131

28ten

Guv'nor
Dan's 7mm Workbench - 7028 Cadbury Castle

Dan :wave:
an easier way, is to put it in the oven on a baking tray and let it come up to temp, then give it a sharp tap and everything comes apart :thumbs: as you can tell i speak from experience :headbang:
Im suprised you didnt spring it while the frames were apart :scratch: :lol:
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
28ten said:
Dan :wave:
an easier way, is to put it in the oven on a baking tray and let it come up to temp, then give it a sharp tap and everything comes apart :thumbs: as you can tell i speak from experience :headbang:
Im suprised you didnt spring it while the frames were apart :scratch: :lol:

Having got a couple of fingers in the path of the blowtorch flame at one point, the oven idea sounds pretty good to me (and yes, it did hurt - a lot!).

I never really thought about springing it to be honest, but I'm used to having a compensated chassis, so I just opted to re-assemble it as before.
I still have the insulated hornblocks you sent me, which would have been ideal if I were fitting split-axles, but I really can't face making any more of those for the foreseeable future, so I'll probably pick up power from one side of the loco and the opposite side of the tender. :)


Regards

Dan
 

28ten

Guv'nor
Dan's 7mm Workbench - 7028 Cadbury Castle

Dan Randall said:
[quote=""28ten"":v4ul7bax]Dan :wave:
an easier way, is to put it in the oven on a baking tray and let it come up to temp, then give it a sharp tap and everything comes apart :thumbs: as you can tell i speak from experience :headbang:
Im suprised you didnt spring it while the frames were apart :scratch: :lol:

Having got a couple of fingers in the path of the blowtorch flame at one point, the oven idea sounds pretty good to me (and yes, it did hurt - a lot!).

I never really thought about springing it to be honest, but I'm used to having a compensated chassis, so I just opted to re-assemble it as before.
I still have the insulated hornblocks you sent me, which would have been ideal if I were fitting split-axles, but I really can't face making any more of those for the foreseeable future, so I'll probably pick up power from one side of the loco and the opposite side of the tender. :)


Regards

Dan[/quote:v4ul7bax]
That is so last century :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
I managed a bit more work on the Castle today. Having found the elusive crankpins, I was able to fit the coupling rods to the wheels and check the chassis for free running. I found a bit of a tight spot on the front right hand crankpin, so the tack-soldered hornblock was removed and repositioned. Once satisfactory running was achieved, all the hornblocks were properly soldered to the chassis.

Having done this, it was time to refit the rivetted frame overlays, which all went rather well. Because the S7 frames are wider than before, I had to take some metal from the inside faces of the motion bracket, which being Nickel Silver, was extremely tough and tedious to file, but I got a nice snug fit in the end. :thumbs:

Having given everything a good scrub with a toothbrush and some "Shiny Sinks", I thought I'd temporarily bolt the front frame extensions in place and position the bogie underneath to see how it all looked. Here are a few pictures of where the chassis is at now....
[attachment=3:c1s7vgb4]SNV33124.JPG[/attachment:c1s7vgb4]
[attachment=2:c1s7vgb4]SNV33125.JPG[/attachment:c1s7vgb4]
[attachment=1:c1s7vgb4]SNV33126.JPG[/attachment:c1s7vgb4]
[attachment=0:c1s7vgb4]SNV33127.JPG[/attachment:c1s7vgb4]
This is pretty much where things were before I defected to S7 (apart from the missing balance weights!), the difference being that this time, the bogie is almost finished. I'm glad to be back to this stage again and now need to crack on with the slide bars, cylinders and so on. I'd quite like to get the chassis pretty much finished before I get stuck into the footplate and upper works, but it all depends on whether or not I have enough willpower!

I'm also aware there's a Western knocking around in the cupboard that still isn't finished, so maybe it's time for another session on that? :)


Regards

Dan
 

Attachments

  • SNV33124.JPG
    SNV33124.JPG
    198.1 KB · Views: 115
  • SNV33125.JPG
    SNV33125.JPG
    181 KB · Views: 111
  • SNV33126.JPG
    SNV33126.JPG
    197.8 KB · Views: 112
  • SNV33127.JPG
    SNV33127.JPG
    187.3 KB · Views: 111

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
lancer1027 said:
The Castle is coming on a treat Dan :thumbs: I am always looking forward to progress reports on your Western :drool:

Thanks Rob - I am keen to get the Western finished, so I'll try and make some more progress on it soon and post the pictures as and when. :)


28ten said:
You got that back together quickly :eek: :D :thumbs:

It didn't take that long really I suppose. The hardest bit was finding the courage to saw the old chassis in half - there's no going back after that! :lol:


Regards

Dan
 

Dan Randall

Western Thunderer
28ten said:
I cant remember, are you using a resin boiler or the brass?

Hi Cynric

I'm using the brass version, as supplied. The boiler and smokebox were rolled some time ago after a friend lent me his rolling bars....
[attachment=2:y2ld8qv6]SNV31356.JPG[/attachment:y2ld8qv6]
[attachment=1:y2ld8qv6]SNV31357.JPG[/attachment:y2ld8qv6]
[attachment=0:y2ld8qv6]SNV31365.JPG[/attachment:y2ld8qv6]

That double chimney really does it for me.... :drool:


Regards

Dan
 

Attachments

  • SNV31356.JPG
    SNV31356.JPG
    184.5 KB · Views: 91
  • SNV31357.JPG
    SNV31357.JPG
    193.7 KB · Views: 89
  • SNV31365.JPG
    SNV31365.JPG
    191.3 KB · Views: 90

28ten

Guv'nor
Ahh good :thumbs: the resin looks a bit clunky to me. its a shame the boiler bands are etched though :scratch:
I want one.....
 
Top