7mm On Heather's Workbench - Prairie ago-go

Phil O

Western Thunderer
Hi Heather,

Glad to hear the embuggerance has been sorted and you're back to work.

The prarie is looking good.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
It always seems the way that I begin to make something approaching progress, then get rather diverted by something outside my immediate control.

So, Wednesday came and went without any bench work at all.

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Today, though, things are moving on. The basic smokebox saddle is in place. I need to roll the actual saddle parts, and consider whether using cast detail for the fixing bolts. I marked out and drilled pilots for the grab rail on the front deck. While I was there it seemed right to fit the bracing strut plates and the pony spring bell housing.

If I’m getting the rolling bars out, the boiler parts and roof should be high up the list as well. Before we know it, 4567 will be recognisable as an engine!
 

Ressaldar

Western Thunderer
If I’m getting the rolling bars out, the boiler parts and roof should be high up the list as well. Before we know it, 4567 will be recognisable as an engine!

Hi Heather,

great work as usual, before long you will be warming up the paint pots ready for the final lap.

Glad to see/hear that you are well on the mend from the nasties.

Stay safe and well

Kind regards

Mike
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Thanks Mike! We just need the world to return to something more like normal and we will be alright again!

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Well, that went better than expected. Something to do with the right tools and sort of knowing how to use them I suppose. I need to wrestle with fitting the formers so thing hold shape better. I will also give serious thought to the splash panels fitted between the tank tops and firebox/boiler before I fit all the fiddly bits.

I am now exhausted. I think I’ll tidy the bench and put some tools away, then go for a sit down.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
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Well, that feels like definite progress. The boiler parts now have their formers in place, and the front section is joined up and ready for a slight radius to be formed around the door edge. There’s some fit issues on the tank tops, but most of those will be covered by the splash plates I need to make. Quite how to attach the smokebox to the saddle remains to be worked out. Current thinking is a hole at the bottom of the 'box into which I can drop low temp solder or epoxy resin to attach to the saddle.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Today, I planned to make current collection my goal. Instead, I’ve been distracted by fettling the cylinder and motion fit, and attempting to reconcile vacuum pumps.

The problem is, as recounted in a previous build, the pumps are moulded base about apex. The mounting bracket is the wrong side, leaving nothing with which to attach it to the bracketry. I find the pump alignment is way off where it should be, of the order of three millimetres inboard, meaning all kinds of shenanigans to get things to fit, align and generally operate.

So, rather than throw the whole thing against a wall, I am leaving it to fester in the hopes something will arise to fix the multiple problems.

Sadly, I rather doubt anything will work, so the only option left will be to not fit the blasted thing at all. :headbang:
 

Phil O

Western Thunderer
Heather, did you fit the vac pump to the previous 45xx, I seem to rember that you had a problem with that one, but I can't rember if you found a way out.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Heather, did you fit the vac pump to the previous 45xx, I seem to rember that you had a problem with that one, but I can't rember if you found a way out.

I did. I ended scratching a cylinder body, and I’m not sure it was as good as it should’ve been.

Anyway, I let the braincell worry at things and it seems to have found a solution. Not ideal, as the pump is still too far inboard compared to prototype photos where it is very close to the valance. I managed to cut a slot along the casting, so the crosshead pump rod will slide easily, and made a new bracket from brass angle that more or less holds things in alignment. I’ll get a photo in a minute.

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The rod is still over length, and has a bow to it from my careful mishandling. I’m going to swap it out for NS wire. The slidebars seem to be at an odd angle, so that’ll need addressing. Sometimes I wonder why I start these things!
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
I'm at the same point on the 47xx, a pump and zero means of affixing. Mine (Finney7) has a long slot in the bottom, I think you're supposed to fit it to the underside of the footplate and then cut a slot in the front end to allow the rod to go up inside the slot when the footplate is fitted.

In that instance mine would be too high so some sort of bracket will need to be forthcoming to lower it a mm or so.

Regarding Heathers conundrum, I think I would of cut the stub extension arm off the cross head and retained the cylinder blobby bit at the top, then soldered a replacement extension arm from scrap metal to the rear of the crosshead....but longer, then refitted the round blobby bit back on top.

Bit of a faff but the piston rod would of then been much higher.

Anyway, keep at it, it is coming along nicely :thumbs: if everything fails then shout some Viking at it, doesn't fix anything, just makes you feel better :p
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Right, now where were we?

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Hooray! We have all eight wheels fitted and rolling! For some reason, I was expecting the cast trucks to give me no end of problems. To be fair, initially they did. I had to drill and ream out the side plates to take a standard Slater's axle. I ended up making a little drilling jig to clamp the piece, and then three passes with slightly bigger drill bits each time. Well chuffed when it worked, and now all I have to do is work out sensible mountings for the trucks to the chassis crossmembers.
 

Heather Kay

Western Thunderer
Progress in the prairie has been intermittent. In fact, I’m not sure what I’ve actually achieved this past week or so.

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I've begun to assemble details around the chassis. The brake weighshaft and handbrake operating gubbins went in. Because of the distorted trailing truck pivot point, the poor old brake cylinder had to be amputated. Just the operating rod and lever remain. I did try to retain the cylinder, but because it interfered with pony swing, no amount of chopping and filing would work.

I then spent a while cutting the brake hanger parts from their various sprues, and then drilling and fettling the holes. Having cast metal brake shoes isn’t ideal - and I still hope I might be able to get 3D printed ones - but for now I’ve trimmed the shoes back as far as I dare and will insulated them with either thin styrene shims or a smear or epoxy resin.

I think I am now in a position to finally consider wiring this blasted thing up.
 
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