7mm The Derby Line - Rolling Stock

dibateg

Western Thunderer
As requested,
here is an inverted shot of the Fairburn. Below running plate level the kit is pretty dire. It was probably ok 20 years ago or so when it was introduced. So there are some massive changes to be performed. MOK Standard 4 Cylinders and motion bracket - all modified to suit a Fairburn. At least the cylinders now look the right size and the motion bracket is in the right place! How many made up ones have you seen with ridiculously long slidebars 'cos DJH but the motion bracket too far back? Griffin slidebars, crossheads, steps, cylinder drains and buffer beam brackets. JLTRT buffers, springs from somewhere I can't rememeber.
I 'm just setting out the rear frames, the shape is completely wrong, so I shall make new ones. So it's just a glorified scratch build again. It will look better with the wheels on, but the balance weight glue is setting!

DSCF3940.JPG
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Lovely job on the K3 Tony, this class is a favourate of mine and all that buggering about you did has been well worth it IMHO. She'd look cracking on a Hull fish train. If you tackle it yourself will it be fox's lining ? :bowdown::thumbs:

ATB Mick
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
As requested,
here is an inverted shot of the Fairburn. Below running plate level the kit is pretty dire. It was probably ok 20 years ago or so when it was introduced. So there are some massive changes to be performed. MOK Standard 4 Cylinders and motion bracket - all modified to suit a Fairburn. At least the cylinders now look the right size and the motion bracket is in the right place! How many made up ones have you seen with ridiculously long slidebars 'cos DJH but the motion bracket too far back? Griffin slidebars, crossheads, steps, cylinder drains and buffer beam brackets. JLTRT buffers, springs from somewhere I can't rememeber.
I 'm just setting out the rear frames, the shape is completely wrong, so I shall make new ones. So it's just a glorified scratch build again. It will look better with the wheels on, but the balance weight glue is setting!

Tony, I didn't even get that far with mine and sold it before I got much further than knocking a couple of parts out of the frets. Added to which it was just a few months late for the layout (IIRC they didn't turn up on the Central Section of the Southern until '51).

A shame really. If someone made a decent kit that covered all the (many) variants they'd probably do quite well as the prototype was popular, widespread and relatively long lasting...

Steph
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Hi Steph -
I think you might have done the right thing - but now I've got this far! Trouble is the DJH kit is well established in the market, and that doesn't make it an attractive proposition to another supplier.
I've replaced the rear end frames as they were completely the wrong shape and added rivit detail. The etched steps were woeful, so I fabricated them up from nickle silver strip and 3x1mm angle from Eileens for the steps. The middle step is supported by a 0.6 wire running underneath it and through holes drilled in the side frames. The sieve box is a Griffin Ivatt one and the injector is a modified HobbyHorse Duchess one! I fabricated the outrigger and injector bracket from scrap etch. Two evenings work to get these details done, so this project is taking up an inordinate amount of time.
So next, is the other injector, the rear steps ( they are not in line with the buffer beam, but set behind it ). There is nothing I can do about the lip above the rear buffer beam ( it should be higher ), I wish I'd spotted that before I'd started.
The I have to work out if I can make the oval buffers working, possibly by cutting some sort of slot in the underside of the buffer housing...

DSCF3957.JPG

Regards

Tony
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Oh - ATB Mick
Lining :- Fox if I do it myself, you'll also be heartened to know that the loco will be 61974 - a Hull resident! She was at Colwick before that.

Regards
 

7mmMick

Western Thunderer
Oh - ATB Mick
Lining :- Fox if I do it myself, you'll also be heartened to know that the loco will be 61974 - a Hull resident! She was at Colwick before that.

Regards

Absolutley, 53A all the way :)) The fairburn is coming on well by the way,

Mick
 

Steph Dale

Western Thunderer
Hi Steph -
I think you might have done the right thing - but now I've got this far! Trouble is the DJH kit is well established in the market, and that doesn't make it an attractive proposition to another supplier.

Then I have to work out if I can make the oval buffers working, possibly by cutting some sort of slot in the underside of the buffer housing...

Tony,

I'm sure I'll live without one until MOK or similar turn one out - for a start I've got a couple of older and prettier Brighton tanks to build first (Marsh's glorious 'J' class 4-6-2T). Oh and stopping the buffer heads turning? You could try fitting the loco with the gussets behind the bufferbeams. If you space them the width across the flats of the nut used to hold the buffer heads/shanks, that'd stop the head turning. I recently managed it, strangely enough on a loco with normal buffer heads. All due apologies for the shoddy camerawork...:

IMG_8256_1.jpg

Steph
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Thanks Steph, very neat, unfortunately it won't quite work on the Fairburn as there is the Griffin re-inforcing bracket there - but food for thought... I must confess my ignorance of the J class, but I'm sure Heyside Roger will enlighten me!

Tony
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
At last it's starting to look something like a Fairburn!
There is really just the motion, buffers, brakes, pipework and sundry detail to finish - apart from getting to actually work of course! From this - you can see how much better the front end looks, with the correctly positioned motion bracket and proper size cylinders...

DSCF3961.JPG
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Thanks Rob -
just the valve gear, brakes and tidying up to do now - then I have to get it running. There are a few compromises I've had to live with. The front end relationship is up the creek somwhere to I've had to extend the running plate by 2mm to get it to balance. I've a feeling the boiler is slightly too long and that the smokebox diameter is slightly small. A days work on Friday saw all the pipework completed and the rear buffer beam area finished. The back end looks so much better with a proper bogie and the bracket behind the buffer beam. Anyway - nearly there...
DSCF3965.JPGDSCF3966.JPG
 

dibateg

Western Thunderer
Thanks Guys -
The Derby Line is my intended model of West Hallam on the GN line from Nottingham to Derby. It's been in the planning stage for a long time. I have the building, but not the time at the moment, although there are background tasks taking place to bring it closer, going on.

Cheers

Tony
 
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