Dan Randall
Western Thunderer
Mmmm, must get at least one of these when funds allow! Nice work Tony. 
Regards
Dan
Regards
Dan
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Lovely builds Tony
They are very tempting but definitely out of my modelling area so my kit mountain shall remain as it is for now.
They are very tempting but definitely out of my modelling area so my kit mountain shall remain as it is for now.
alcazar
Guest
I understood that they were originally designed with those very wagons in mind? Certainly the build by Simon Varnam of a Catfish showed them.
I for one would pay more....
This is a nightmare!
That is not the case, as I have taken the trouble to explain above - but I realise I don't know as much about my own range as you Jeff!
OK - lets try again. I did a test fret of them for the Tank Wagons/Catfish & Dogfish - some people got them as an 'extra' but they have all gone now - anyway, the kits would need quite a re-design to be sold with them 'as standard'. I wish I'd never done it though due to all the confusion. Little did I know that builds of them would be put on the internet other than Simon Varnam's - and if you read the text on his site, he is at pains to point out [as I asked him to] that these were not supplied in the kit.
The first wagon to have them as part of the kit and be designed around them was the Glass Truck & all subsequent kits will have them if appropriate.
Anyway Jeff - Happy New Year - and remember- I'm always happy to charge you more that the RSP for anything we sell!!!
Regards,
DJP
MMP
Old Buffer
Western Thunderer
David,
I thought you had sorted all this regarding the springs after you gave me a b*********ing.
Alan
MOK 8F Build
Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
I'm hazarding a guess at a MOK 8F. How'd I do?
I quite fancy one of those myself; a Willesden loco for the Norwood trains...
Steph
dibateg
Western Thunderer
Spot on my friend!
A build I'm looking forward too.
Now here's a blast from the past ( look away now David Parkins! ), my old heavily reworked PWP, class 20. Now coming up for disposal at the Bristol show... I've replaced it with Heljan disc code ones, as they are more suitable for my early 60s era...
A build I'm looking forward too.
Now here's a blast from the past ( look away now David Parkins! ), my old heavily reworked PWP, class 20. Now coming up for disposal at the Bristol show... I've replaced it with Heljan disc code ones, as they are more suitable for my early 60s era...
alcazar
Guest
Woops, sorry, my bad.
I do now remember getting told they weren't on general release, nor for those wagons, when I asked for some for my Catfish.
Can we assume that they MIGHT be made available as extras at some time in the future, a bit like Slaters now DO with their sprung W-irons for some kits? Then people who don't feel confident can have the cast springs, and those who wish to try, or who do feel confident can have them.
It would be a shame if they were no longer available for future Cat/Dogfish wagons, sice they can be made to fit.
Not nagging, but you know me David, I have an absolute horror of stuff that was available, then disappears....
dibateg
Western Thunderer
It was really nioce to meet everyone at the Bristol show, and inspired - I have moved on wth the 8F now working on pickups - which I always hate. More of those later.
Here are the frames and cylinders under construction. If you are building one of these, the rear compensating beams need some extra filing to clear the ashpan! Otherwise they will not move fully. I made a mess of getting the tabs off, so some heavy work with some emery has removed the worst of the marks...
I'm just getting used to a new camera - so a grabshot!
Here are the frames and cylinders under construction. If you are building one of these, the rear compensating beams need some extra filing to clear the ashpan! Otherwise they will not move fully. I made a mess of getting the tabs off, so some heavy work with some emery has removed the worst of the marks...
I'm just getting used to a new camera - so a grabshot!
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Looking good Tony, I haven't got quite that far....
dibateg
Western Thunderer
I have been slogging away at the pickups. They are Gladiator style, with some ideas gained from Clive Teale. A double sided piece of pcb is used with a 2mm hole drilled through. One side is countersunk to clear the copper clad away from the 4.5mm length of brass tube that is used. That side is soldered to the frames. The tube is soldered on the inside and a phosphor bronze spring is made to bear on the 1.5mm brass pin that acts as the plunger. A telescopic piece of tube is placed over the pick up tube to hold it in place whilst the pcb is soldered to the frames. The gap between the tube and the frames can just be discerned in the picture..
Dan Randall
Western Thunderer
Looking good Tony. Those slidebars and crossheads look a bit tasty!
Regards
Dan
Those slidebars and crossheads look a bit tasty!Regards
Dan
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
Thanks for the description of these Tony, I have some for the WD when I get to it and having bought them I would like to use them - Although I am trying the American(? shorting out wheels on one side of loco and opposite on tender) method on the 8F and if I make a success of that I may change my mind.
dibateg
Western Thunderer
Hi Rob - as the Gladiators ones come, they do not have the tube guide, and I found the plunger was too loose in the pcb.
I'm not a fan of the american system either, it halves the number of pick ups, and creates 'live' loco's, all, I think unsuitable for DCC operation, where you want as many pick ups as possible and the least chance of a short.. So all my loco bodies are 'dead'...to avoid touching shorts and the possibility of coupling up to something that might just be live!
Cheers
Tony
I'm not a fan of the american system either, it halves the number of pick ups, and creates 'live' loco's, all, I think unsuitable for DCC operation, where you want as many pick ups as possible and the least chance of a short.. So all my loco bodies are 'dead'...to avoid touching shorts and the possibility of coupling up to something that might just be live!
Cheers
Tony
Steph Dale
Western Thunderer
Rob, Tony,
Frames can be insulated from bodies with simple and easy materials like masking tape, Fablon ('sticky-backed plastic' of Blue Peter fame), PCB and/or nylon screws. This applies equally to American or split-frame chassis. Mind you, I hate plunger pickups and don't always manage to make wiper pick up either effective or suitably discrete.
I now use split axles on all my stuff; using insulated bearings, rather than electrically splitting the frames (well most of the time anyway). Rob, on your WD you'd get equally good pick-up as American if you just put split axles on the tender using something like Slater's 7960 hornblocks. My MOK Q1 (a wet-weather project that's been ongoing for a year or two) has had it's tender chassis modified to take these and they'll be the primary pickup. With inside motion, an outside lubricator drive amd no running plate to hide things, I couldn't think of a better alternative.
And yes, you're right 'live' locos are a bit of a hiding to nothing. Just a couple of thoughts...
Steph
dibateg
Western Thunderer
THanks Steph -
I like the idea of split axles and insulated bearings, I might try that on the tender.
A quiet Sunday on-call saw the pony truck ( went together very nicely ) made up, and the motion compontents laminated, cleaned and polished. Wire to represent the corks was also added...
The chassis is taking shape very quickly, considering I am chief cook at the moment..
Jointing the coupling rods was a challenge, and I used 2mm brass tube. I managed to solder 2 up solid and had to undo and remake them. I tried with a steady hand, credit card slips and the tiniest smidgen of solder.. The excess tube was then carefully cut away with a piercing saw.A pice of 1mm brass was fed through the tube and soldered and represents the securing nut...
I like the idea of split axles and insulated bearings, I might try that on the tender.
A quiet Sunday on-call saw the pony truck ( went together very nicely ) made up, and the motion compontents laminated, cleaned and polished. Wire to represent the corks was also added...
The chassis is taking shape very quickly, considering I am chief cook at the moment..
Jointing the coupling rods was a challenge, and I used 2mm brass tube. I managed to solder 2 up solid and had to undo and remake them. I tried with a steady hand, credit card slips and the tiniest smidgen of solder.. The excess tube was then carefully cut away with a piercing saw.A pice of 1mm brass was fed through the tube and soldered and represents the securing nut...
Old Buffer
Western Thunderer
That is looking very good, far too many wheels for me though. I know I may be teaching granny how to suck eggs, but, have you tried chemical blacking the bits you don't want solder to stick to? I find it works perfectly.
Alan
Alan
Rob Pulham
Western Thunderer
That sounds like fun Tony another one to bear in mind.