On Heather's workbench - four wheels on my covered carriage truck

Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
As a break from some of the longer builds, I thought it time to get some quick jobs across the workbench. If nothing else, they help the cash flow and provoke my interest.

This is supposed to be a quick build of a JLTRT BR Mk1 4-wheeled CCT. It's for a commission, and will be supplied to the client in painted but unlettered and unweathered condition. It'll be blue, which will no doubt please some folk hereabouts!

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There are six main resin mouldings for the floor, body and roof, and a couple of small bags of brass and whitemetal castings, plus an etch. This was the situation after some fettling and chemistry.

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It doesn't take long to get the thing on its wheels. Some of the holes in the floor need easing for the cast pegs to fit neatly.

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As I call a halt on today's play, the electrical gubbins has been installed, and work has begun on the brake rigging.

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The vee-hangers for the handbrakes are in, as are the vac cylinders. What is lacking in the instructions - unsurprisingly - is a clear idea of how the vacuum and handbrake systems are linked to the pull yokes. I've looked at all the images I have, and can't work it out, so if anyone has a clue it would be most useful right now!

The biggest issue I've encountered with this build is poorly cast brake shoes. I shall have to deploy the pillar drill to open out the holes so I can fit the etched yokes. Otherwise, fingers crossed, it seems to be going together nicely.
 
richard carr

richard carr

Western Thunderer
Heather

I have 4 of these and I find they run better if you make one of the axles rock, its easy to do as the kit has nice working axle boxes. A piece of angled rod soldered to a brass plate that slides under the axle so that it has 0.5mm rock on either side.

Richard
 
Dog Star

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
That vacumm cylinder cross-shaft is going to take some work, especially with those intermediate hangers and split bearings.

Go Heather Go.
 
richard carr

richard carr

Western Thunderer
Heather

You can its not really noticeable when its all together and weathered.

I'll post some pictures of my finished ones

Richard
 
Ian G

Ian G

Western Thunderer
I have photos inside one of them in preservation if you are going to detail inside.

Ian G
 
Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
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Thanks to Brian's photos and a raid on the Bits Box the fiddly knitting is pretty much there. It may not be 100% accurate in every detail, but it isn't a million miles off.

The battery boxes are cast with open backs, so I've glued some styrene sheet over them. I've got to fit the brake and steam heat hoses, and spend an hour or three fettling up the couplings, but then this can get a dose of paint.

I'm looking forward to the simpler bodywork.
 
Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Thoughts turn to the roof, usually the most visible point of our models.

The kit allows for eight ventilators, staggered in pairs. A photographic survey shows most CCTs were either built with or ended up with four set along the centreline. The question arises of the spacing used for four vents, because it doesn't seem to be equidistant along the roof.

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcct/h2ef83759#h2ef83759

At first blush there seems to be an offset to one end, with a general bias to the left end when viewed from the battery box side. There are exceptions to this, of course. Using roof panels, vents seem to be on panel numbers 2, 5, 9 and 13.

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These panels coincide with ones that would have had vents if all eight were fitted, interestingly. I'm not going to drill anything just yet, preferring to sleep on my assumptions, and in the vain hope someone reading this might have a clue!
 
Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
The next thing to exercise the leedle grey cells is how on earth to make the main windows flush like the real thing.

Here's what the supplied glazing looks like.

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Ouch. That's pretty much a scale three inches.

Options are to carefully mill the rebate to within a micron of the outer face, or to see if I can persuade a fellow WTer to see if he might be persuaded to have a go at some proper flush glazing. ;)
 
Heather Kay

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
I've measured up the window apertures for Phil to work his magic. You won't be surprised to learn no window is exactly the same size. I also have to do a bit of guesstimation to drill out for the door handrails, as there are no moulded dimples in evidence. While I'm at it, the end door latch bars also need fabricating.

I neglected to photograph the underframe details from below. Partly this was because I am a little embarrassed by some of the bodgery on display under close scrutiny. I can't help that, so here is what I did.

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The pull rods from the vac brake cross shaft disappear into the vicinity of the brake yokes. Likewise with the handbrake rods. The levers are cast ones from the Bits Box, from spare bits of JLTRT brake rigging. Safety loops for the yokes are from the kit etch, while those for the long rods come from scrap etch. It all kind of more or less resembles the layout of the real thing.

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I also added a scrap etch brace bracket for the bottom of the brake guide to the axleguard. I'm still considering a dynamo belt, but I am not considering the brake and heating pipe runs. ;)
 
BrushType4

BrushType4

Western Thunderer
Heather, the underframe details look great. Once its painted black, weathered and on the track all those missing details only you know about will not be noticed at all. Even in a glass case as a museum piece, one will have trouble to find the missing bits you know about. :thumbs:

PS Like your brass Built by Heather too. Not sure that was prototypical though ;)
 
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