Finney7 Princess Coronation Build

Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I have to admit some trepidation at taking on this kit, but having built two MOK kits I felt reasonably qualified. The good news is that Tony Geary and others have tackled the kit and they all say the parts fit. That in itself is a major advantage!

I have nearly finished the Type 1 (de-streamlined) tender but ran out of beading (by 1 centimeter) but now I have the necessary beading inside the box containing the kit for the locomotive so the tender should be completed and primed within 2 weeks. I plan to start the loco soon but first there will be a visit to the Birmingham Science Museum (Thinktank) next Tuesday morning to see my prototype!

Heck, I'm a Brummie who grew up in the Jewellery Quarter so there is only one Big Lizzie or Semi I could possibly model. 46235 City of Birmingham. I first copped it while trespassing inside Crewe North Shed, but my real love affair started when it arrived at the Science Museum on Newhall Street and as that was on the way from the centre of Town to the family business on Legge Lane, and the entrance was free, well, who could possibly resist.

Over on the Gauge O Guild forum there has been a slight remark that 46235 should not have been preserved when 46245 was destined to the scrap merchant. Londoners needed to try harder says the Brummie in me, and I am married to a Londoner! All the photos I have found of 46235 during the BR years show that is was well looked after at Crewe and there must be a good reason why BR offered this loco to its home city rather than others to theirs. Though I have no idea quite why this did happen. There were plenty of other Cities that could have petitioned to have the one City to be preserved, but they didn't.

I am slowly accumulating a rake of 8 ex-LMS Sidelines coaches to form a train behind 46235 that would emulate the "unofficial" Birmingham Scot. I have 5 so far in various degrees of build and these will be described on a separate workbench thread.

Don't expect a blow by blow account - I will show results rather than procedures unless asked - as I have found that sitting at the computer slows down my productivity - but isn't that happening the world over?

Best regards, Paul
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Don't worry, there will be photos, I have just the lens for the job too, a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8, though for quick updates the iPhone works as well. The latter hides the solder better!

Paul
 
LarryG

LarryG

Western Thunderer
I photographed 'Birmingham' running light from Rhyl to Llandudno Junction for servicing in 1964 shortly before withdrawal....A typical blurred box camera shot! But I think this is the only reason it has stuck in my mind over the years. A lad of my age and tendencies will have more reason to remember 'Athol' because of Hornby Dublo. Anyway, I hope construction goes smoothly from now on. As for 0 gauge coaches, each one took me a week to built and paint, so building a collection is not going to be a speedy job.
 
P A D

P A D

Western Thunderer
Paul,
CoB is not in the best of locations for photos. If you want details on top of the boiler, there is an upper viewing area, but makes sure you have long lense or zoom on your camera. The right side has a viewing platform at running plate level which is great for all the lubricator detail, but you can't get shots of anything below. The tender is set back from the loco so you can get all the cab and tender front detail.
Cheers ,
Peter
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
On a parallel thread on the GOG forum there has been a lot of interesting and sometimes conflicting information about the exact length to which the cosmetic restoration was taken. I won’t summarize this yet because I will be at Thinktank on Tuesday and will check things out for myself. Anyway, my plan is to replicate my model based on the as preserved condition when the locomotive arrived in Birmingham and there is plenty of photographic evidence available that it looked very smart.

Paul
 
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Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
I visited the Birmingham Science Museum today and took as many photos as I could of City of Birmingham 46235 as I thought necessary - about 70. The green painted surfaces show two distinct shades - a bluish green and a yellowish green. The latter includes the cab sides which show no evidence of ever having a yellow stripe even though there is photographic evidence that they did. So some repainting was done but I tend to agree with those who have said that Crewe did not do a complete paint job (the city apparently refused to pay for such a repaint).

I stuck my camera inside the front frame and grabbed a flash shot of the inside motion. It appears to be coated in grease (it is said that rust inhibitors were applied before the loco arrived at its first museum location).

I will be showing some of the photos in the course of the build.

Paul

PS It is half term and the museum was very busy by noon when I left. I have to say, though, that the locomotive was not visited that much and then only by children with their grandpas!
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
One thing that really came out of my detailed look at 46235 was the tender beading. I got it all wrong! At the time I used my experience of other kits, mostly Fowler tenders, and assumed that the beading sat across the edge. It doesn't, it sits on the side of the edge:

DSC_5521.jpg

So, as I have already done one side, it will have to be removed and re-soldered in the right position. The original soldering was difficult, the proper location will be a lot easier to do! This just shows the value of being able to crawl all over a locomotive, though I am sure a lot of heritage renovations can be misleading for the prototype strict modeller!

Notice the apparent two tone green painting on the rear of the tender!

Paul
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Suffering from insomnia I just discovered Mickoo’s thread on the County and the Princess Coronation. It would appear we are at the same stage of construction of the latter but I rather think my build will be an amateurish production by comparison! I plan to do my best and, after all, I don't have a lot of experiece, having started my first brass 7mm kit when 70 years old. My patience to get things 110% right doesn’t exactly exist.

The good news, though, is that the tender kit, at least, is going together very well, only my own lack of knowledge of the prototype (now rectified after Tuesday’s visit to see 46235) causing problems with the beading.

When I return to France I will post some photos of the tender, warts and all, but here is a photo of the mis-applied beading to one side:

39F97080-A9C3-447D-AF27-7DA710A72F8E.jpeg

It was quite difficult getting that beading to line up, it’s almost a shame to correct it!

Paul
 
mickoo

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Paul it looks like, and from your text description, that you have applied full round beading to the tender edge. As you know by now its actually half round beading on the outside and covers the little indents for the rivets.

The kit comes with nickel silver half round which is quite hard to form bends. On my County I used a softer brass from the jewellery trade, it has a trade name which I cannot recall and I got it off ebay. It's good stuff, stiff enough for the straight bits but pliable enough for the curves, I'll look it out tonight for you. I bought a 1m test piece and then went back and bought 10m more.

To make your life easier in the future when adding full round beading, don't add full round to the edge as you have done, add two half rounds to each side, I know it seems like twice the work but it's probably four times as easy to do and get straight.

MD
 
Dikitriki

Dikitriki

Flying Squad
Mick, Paul,

The beading is supplied in some sort of soft copper wire from memory. However, I use half round brass for pretty much the same reason as you do, and I suspect we will switch in due course.

The tender of CoB has no beading on the inside - at least in the coal space.

Richard
 
mickoo

mickoo

Western Thunderer
Richard, the commission tender is nickle silver, I'll check the second tender (mine) I have tonight, it may be a simple packing mistake in one box.

The replacement I use is brass but not half hard, it's slightly softer. I'm sure it's an alloy as one form comes with silver in and the other with gold. Both are a few pence more than ordinary brass but it works so much easier and for me that's money well spent.

Just checked my Ebay orders, it's jewellers brass and it's soft, the trade name is nugold.
 
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Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Thank you all for giving the good advice. Unfortunately I am leaving for France for several weeks on Saturday and cannot get to the Jewellery Quarter before then. If only I could have known when I was in Town on Tuesday! The beading in my box looks and feels like nickel silver and the extra piece I ordered to be put in the loco box two weeks ago is the same.

My David Andrews Compound's design was what led me astray! Looking back I did wonder why the rivets were pushed out toward the interior of the tender!

I can confirm from my photos that the tender beading on 46235 is indeed one sided.

DSC_5589.jpg

Paul
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
Richard, the wire I have still looks like nickel silver! It doesn't bleed copper when you cut into it. I am sure I can bend it to follow the edge of the tender in the way it was intended. Off to France Saturday night and then a quick wedding anniversary celebration in Lyon. The car is packed with stuff for the railway room and that includes the Princess Coronation loco kit.

When I get back I will take some photos of the tender, including the before and after shots of my beading. Now I have photos, I can accurately model the piping on the rear of the tender, just a little different from the official plans, etc.:

DSC_5566.jpg

The tender front looks very similar to the various engineering drawings I have.

The motor gearbox combination is also being sourced. The only items left to buy now will be the DCC electronics.

Paul
 
Focalplane

Focalplane

Western Thunderer
At 4 am this morning, being wide awake I went down to the railway room and took the beading off the first tender side. Guess what, after being removed the nickel silver look had changed to copper look! So much for the metallurgy knowledge handed down to me in my genes.

So I defer to Richard, it is copper!

I started to clean up the side ready to apply the beading back in the right place, using various new wire brushes, etc. I had bought while in England. The Dremel brand ones look to have been an expensive waste of money, though they did the best job.

Paul
 
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