1/32 Dikitriki's German Gauge 1 - BR 44

[Dikitriki]

Hi,

I'm still tinkering with the BR 44, and I thought it merited it's own thread. As I find time, I shall copy earlier construction posts from the general German Modelling thread.

I've been looking at the tender. It's a pretty decent model, but there are a few things that can be done to improve it.

Buffer beam stirrup foot steps
Steam heat pipe (at least that's what I think it is )
Proper screw coupling
Brake yokes
Coal space 'greedy boards' to increase capacity

I have found it quite difficult to source detailing bits - partly an ignorance and language problem on my part, and partly because the after-sales market does not seem to be as developed as I am used to in British outline 7mm scale.

However, Dingler market through Ebay.de, and I finally managed to communicate with Hegob who are doing me some castings.

I've been working on the brackets for the greedy boards recently.

Cut out, central fold line scrawked and drilled for fixings:


And installed on the tender bunker:



I shall be using wood for the boards which will be stained. I've got a bit further along, but no photos as yet.

I am also proposing to properly weather the model (a la Becasse), notwithstanding the fact that it is live steam. How that works long-term remains to be seen.

Richard

 

[Dog Star]

Nice and clean work, what have you used for fixing the angle to the tender body?

Graham

 

[Richard Spoors]

Hi Richard, there are a few bits and pieces on the www.KM-1.de website under "zubehor" followed by "zurustteile" then click the "details" button on the "messingteile" page. Or the direct link Messingteile

They too take a while to reply and quite a few pieces are out of stock.

Hegob are slow, but worth it in the end. Mr Obst used to manufacture beautiful 0 gauge rolling stock, but today his main business is track in both 0 and 1.

Spur 1 Werkstatt is another source. loco spare parts

When do you plan to have the first boiler test?

Cheers

Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

Nice and clean work, what have you used for fixing the angle to the tender body?
Graham

Hi Graham,

They are rivets (pack of 100) bought because they might come in handy someday from Just the Ticket test1417105415923 at Kettering I think. The bunker part of the tender is plastic so I wanted a mechanical fixing. It took an age to saw/file out the moulded base for the coal, and I now have to make a drop in coal tray as I need access to the R/C on/off switch.

Hi Richard, there are a few bits and pieces on the www.KM-1.de website under "zubehor" followed by "zurustteile" then click the "details" button on the "messingteile" page. Or the direct link Messingteile

They too take a while to reply and quite a few pieces are out of stock.

Hegob are slow, but worth it in the end. Mr Obst used to manufacture beautiful 0 gauge rolling stock, but today his main business is track in both 0 and 1.

Spur 1 Werkstatt is another source. loco spare parts

When do you plan to have the first boiler test?

Cheers

Richard

Hi Richard. I knew about the KM 1 spares, but not the Werkstatt; thank you for the information. I have had a quick look and the Werkstatt site is the answer to a few prayers, not least the Indusi magnets and brackets. I may end up putting on more detail than originally anticipated - there's a surprise.

I am a bit nearer the first steam test. I did a test of the R/C a couple of weeks ago to find it didn't work. I eventually discovered the transmitter crystal was not the same number as the receiver crystal. I got that sorted, but only one of the two servos is responding properly. I'm not at this stage sure whether there is a fault in my rewire of the tender (undertaken so I can separate the tender body from the chassis, and the whole of the tender from the loco) or whether the servo is dead. I do at least have a carry box now, so once the servo issue is cracked, I can transport it somewhere to fire it up under expert supervision.

Cheers,

Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

As a postscript to the above, I have now ascertained that it is one of the servos that is not working, and not some defect in my rewire. So there will be a further delay before I can steam test it.

Richard

 

[mickoo]

I found Werkstatt the other day and book marked them, some very nice stuff in there.

Also found these on Ebay the other night, I think they are steam heat pipes.

Dingler 1 Paar Heizkupplungen Spur 1 aus Messing

Also found these for my photo plank, my Danish grandfather owned a planteskole business, rough translation = plant school or what we call a nursery, always plenty of these lying around from projects for us kids to play with

700 Pflastersteine Granit grau Spur 1 Maßstab 1:32 1:35 Diorama Zubehör Ladegut
800 Beton H-Verbund Pflastersteine Knochenpflaster Maßstab 1/32 1/35 Spur 1

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi Mick,

You're right about the steam pipes (Why steam pipes on a 44?).

I have already installed them on the tender, and very smart they are too. They can also be 'hooked up' to the step.







Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi,

I've finished the greedy boards - bar painting and staining.

All the brackets are glued and pinned, and the wood strips engage in the pins on that part of the brackets above the bunker.



I know which wooden strip is which. I hope the marks survive the staining



All in place on the bunker.



I now have to make the removable coal tray.

The replacement servos have just arrived - I'll see if I can find time tonight to replace the defunct one.

Richard

 

[jamiepage]

Lovely work, no doubt about it.

 

[mickoo]

I thought I'd replied to this last week, appears I did not

I think most German steam engines are steam heat fitted, the 44 was used on passnger trains, mainly where the big wheels of the 01 and 03 didn't have an advantage, I.E. hills.

I seem to recall that the hoses easily clip on and off and dimly recall seeing racks of them at the end of German and Danish stations. So if a loco turned up without one fitted, they just clipped one on and sent it on it's way. I had a quick look over the weekend in my image library and as is the law of sod, cannot find pictorial proof of these racks.

All looking very nice and having released some funds now find myself potentially looking at either one Spur1 steam engine or two diesels (V160 or V200)

 

[Steph Dale]

Mick,
I don't know about having racks of them on stations, but they certainly did on sheds. The fitting seems to have been used as a general steam supply and could be used for de-icing, steam raising, electrical generation, stationary train heating, cleaning, etc, so most locos had the steam fitting on their buffer beams.
Don't forget that the BR44 was a pure freight loco, and their use on passenger trains was comparatively rare. They also couldn't run faster than 40km/h (iirc) tender-first so one of the fittings on the front buffer beam would be a touch superfluous if it was only used for train heating.
Steph

 

[Richard Spoors]

Just checked my copy of "Die Lokomotiven der BR44" and BR44's had steam heating pipe connectors on their front buffer beams in both east and west post war. Photo copyright H. Obermayer.

Cheers

Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

Yippee! yeeha! yahoo!

Both servos are working, R/C in full ticketyboo order.

Next is the steam test.....gulp.

Richard

 

[Dikitriki]

Hi

I think the steam test will have to wait until a quiet time spring next year. I'm still tinkering with the tender....

I mentioned that the pipework under the cab is plastic both sides. Absolutely useless given the weight of the loco and the difficulty in handling it. I consider myself fortunate that although broken, I at least had all the bits. I grafted some hard nickel silver bar onto the back of the pipework, and soldered pins to it which will engage in the holes in the drag beam. It will make it much stronger, though still a little too delicate for my liking.





I have also sprayed the bunker of the tender and the supports for the greedy boards and attached the boards. They need more stain to further darken them.



Finally, I have made a coal tray that's a snug fit in the bunker. By getting rid of the moulded one, I have made access to the wiring and batteries rather more straightforward.



and dropped in place....



Cheers

Richard

 

[Steph Dale]

Richard,
I have to admit that my H0 scale version(s) tend to have the plastic details replaced in such vulnerable areas too. At one stage I was a dab hand at separating out all the unions and fittings, drilling them and threading them on suitable diameter wire...
Steph