Finney7 Princess Coronation Build

[Focalplane]

Sometimes my stupidity knows no bounds. Working on the front of the outside cylinders I forgot to notice there is a white metal casting representing the front valve chest. So remedial work took up much of my time at the workbench this afternoon. The white metal is in place but will now get in the way of my ham fisted soldering of the remainder of the parts. Was it really necessary to introduce a white metal casting in the middle of so much fiddly soldering, I ask myself? (No answers necessary!)

Anyway, onwards to the rear of the cylinders and the slide bars. One side has been fettled and fitted except for the cylinder casing wrap. The crosshead moves nicely which is a relief. Photos later after I clean up!

 

[Focalplane]

A positive post with photo:



Looks like the next job will be the cylinder wrappers. As they say around here "bon courage".

Paul

 

[P A D]

Hi Paul,
That's a nice touch adding the valve rod support inside the cylinders. Is that in the kit design or something of your own? Something to file away for future use, as it is too late to add it it to the Stanier 2 6 4.
Cheers,
Peter

 

[Focalplane]

It's in the kit design. I have yet to install the valve rod but I am sure it will be beneficial.

 

[Focalplane]

I worked up courage and fitted the cylinder wrappers:



Every time I work on this module one or both or all four of the slide bars work loose. I need to complete the motion to hold them in place. Tomorrow's target.

During the course of today I uploaded most of my City of Birmingham prototype photos here.

 

[Focalplane]

I think I may just look upon this build as a practice for a second one that will have benefited from all the small errors I seem to be making. Trouble is, though, that by the time I might start a second one I will have forgotten about all the things I should be doing better.

I have been struggling with the valve gear and motion today. I will continue to struggle tomorrow and maybe well into next week at the level of progress.

Ignore this post, it's late and the politicians have denied me an hour of sleep tonight - Spring Forward and all that.

 

[Focalplane]

Continuing to struggle this morning but I think I am getting somewhere. We will see. I know that if push comes to shove I can lay the project to one side and pick up another started but incomplete kit; there are enough of them lying around! To be honest, though, I don’t like failure, I normally switch projects for other reasons, such as waiting on supplies or simply through boredom. I can see that belonging to a proactive club is a good thing but the only club I know these days is WT so it is hard to walk into a club room and exclaim “help” and expect a miracle when someone walks over and says “let’s have a look”.

It’s my choice to live in a Gauge O desert but there are times when I miss the company of like minded modellers. I look at the diary of meetings and realize that I will miss most of them except, hopefully, Telford at the end of August. Normally I have looked upon Telford as a once in the year shopping trip. Ths year I may reverse my priorities and visit the demonstrators and layouts and keep my wallet firmly in my pocket.

Hmm, we shall see.

 

[Focalplane]

Well, it needs cleaning up but I have finally got the two modules (cylinder and motion) in place and the slide bars as well. The crosshead is a tight fit at the moment but I prefer it that way. This has been a battle of wills over the weekend and I finally decided to take a long hike this afternoon and came back refreshed and ready to finish the task. It isn't perfect by any means but it feels solid and hopefully everything else will fit in around it.



Incidentally, take a look at the top hat bush in the background, the odd one out! Just as well I decided to use hornblocks!

The 10BA screws are not working too well - the thread in the nickel silver stretchers has stripped in two holes out of 8. Eventually I plan to solder them in place but not until I am sure I should.

Right, next job is to clean it all up and check the soldering for any poor joints. Then more can be done with the valve gear.

 

[Focalplane]

Just finished with the stainless steel (INOX) cleaner, it does do a good job. Afterwards I left it on the kitchen sink drainer to dry with an appropriate tea towel beneath!



Tea towels seem to last a lifetime - this one was purchased on July 4th, 1995, when I took this photo of a BB pacific storming up the "Alp"! I was visiting the UK from Texas and knew nothing about new laws concerning trespassing on railway property. The photo subsequently won first prize in a competition in Houston, Texas!



The loco is in fact 34105 Swanage masquerading as 34051 Winston Churchill.

 

[Focalplane]

I think I just talked myself into adding the Finney7 light pacific “spam can” to my wish list!

 

[Focalplane]

I continued working on the motion parts today and made good progress. But I have a constructive comment to make about the Finney7 instructions.

More precisely, it would be very useful to know what is NOT in the box that will be needed during the course of construction. By this I don't mean motor, gearbox and wheels. What I do mean is that certain tools and components should be to hand during the course of construction.

A few examples:

• 16BA nuts for the bogie
• 10BA and 14BA taps for various fixings on the chassis (I had neither at the outset)
• 14BA washers for the valve linkage.

This latter item came out of the blue this evening. I know that 14BA washers "should be in everyone's toolbox" because they are always getting lost and of course when the instructions say you will need four of them, well, my stock is down to 2 , at least I thought it was but I can't find them. It will take a week for a pack of them to arrive here.

So, a page listing the required tools and any extras that an average kit builder might not have to hand would be very useful!

I will order the washers tomorrow and meanwhile borrow some from Slaters wheelsets for a future kit. I hate to do this because bits and pieces so often disappear from opened packets, never to be seen again.

Paul

 

[Focalplane]

I have temporarily stopped work on this model. On the whole I am really enjoying working on it but I think my "mojo" needs a break. I have picked up another stalled locomotive project and it is surprising how this has improved my outlook. It's a David Andrews' Castle chassis, nearing completion.

 

[Focalplane]

The motor/gearbox arrived today from abc gears. I have put it to one side for now. Once the double oval track is laid down for Moor Street Station I will get back to loco building. At the current rate of progress this shouldn't be more than a week or two, maybe three.

 

[P A D]

Lucky man. I'm still waiting for my two.

 

[Focalplane]

After a long break from loco building I have re-acquainted myself with City of Birmingham's tender. The three constituent parts have been sprayed black (the tender body will later receive its coat of BR green). Then perhaps I will make a start on the valve gear; as Mickoo told me at Telford - simply solder one part to another, one join at a time. There is also the footplate to consider.

By the way I did receive my motor/gearbox assembly from abc Gears so there is now the possibility of running in the basic three axles plus connecting rods.

 

[Focalplane]

A year has passed and, not surprisingly, nothing has happened to 46235. However, I am now back in France and all the "started but not finished" kits are being sorted out and are ready to load into the car to be driven to England, the new location for the rolling stock and loco construction bench. I am only taking locos (and just one coach) this trip because there are other non railway items to be carried as well.

 

[Focalplane]

Nine months ago the above post was written! Well, the Princess Coronation managed to move up the priority ladder and is packed for the journey north. No idea yet as to when the boxes will be re-opened, but at least I have just read through the preceding 7 pages and can remember where I left off. That’s not a bad start.

 

[daifly]

Nine months ago the above post was written!

Ahem! Maths?
Dave

 

[Focalplane]

Ahem! Maths?
Dave

That’s the problem with a certain virus - I feel a whole year disappeared here in France, just when I was really getting to grips with the freedom retirement brings. And another non-subject beginning with B didn’t help.