Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
Can you not adapt the hangers to take the Slater's 7159 plastic brake shoes ?.....more work I know.
Col.
7mm On Heather's Workbench - Prairie ago-go
- Thread starter Heather Kay
- Start date
Can you not adapt the hangers to take the Slater's 7159 plastic brake shoes ?.....more work I know.
Col.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Is it that obvious?
I’m just fed up with locos all round, really. This is the last one, bar a few jobs which don’t need quite so much metal bashing, and I need to just push on and get the perishing thing off the bench and out of the house.A good plan. I’ll bear that in mind. I just wanted to get the blocks set up so I could see where to fit scrapers and wipers. If I’d built the frames as rigid, I don’t think there’d ever be an issue, but with the two leading axles wobbly there’s potential for spitzensparken und der staggerenstopz.
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
You hid it so well.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
It doesn’t look all that pretty, but it runs under power. At last. Extra wiring will allow for later electronics, I hope.
Another step done, so back to detailing stuff.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
It’s fairly obvious I’m not enamoured with this build. Building locos became a chore, and is the main reason I’ve not taken new loco commissions on.
Current collection is by phosphor bronze strips, soldered to copperclad fixed to the outside of the frames. Being fixed high up on the frames, under the running plate, hopefully they won’t be too obvious once coated in paint. That red wire in the left looks like it’s not attached, but it definitely is!
From underneath, you can see more bodgery has been applied. The final drive gear is large, and needed a slot hacked out of a frame spacer. That affected the rear pony pivot. I was planning to use 4BA nuts and bolts for the ponies, but I’ve had to resort to the kit pivot castings. They’ll work okay. The issue wouldn’t arise if I had chosen to drive on the centre axle, but that would have knocked out using the compensation system. So. Many. Compromises.
The plan for today is work out a simple motor restraint. If that works, then rejig the vacuum pump mounting bracket. If I haven’t thrown my toys out of my pram after that, then time to work out the sand boxes and injectors.
Current collection is by phosphor bronze strips, soldered to copperclad fixed to the outside of the frames. Being fixed high up on the frames, under the running plate, hopefully they won’t be too obvious once coated in paint. That red wire in the left looks like it’s not attached, but it definitely is!
From underneath, you can see more bodgery has been applied. The final drive gear is large, and needed a slot hacked out of a frame spacer. That affected the rear pony pivot. I was planning to use 4BA nuts and bolts for the ponies, but I’ve had to resort to the kit pivot castings. They’ll work okay. The issue wouldn’t arise if I had chosen to drive on the centre axle, but that would have knocked out using the compensation system. So. Many. Compromises.
The plan for today is work out a simple motor restraint. If that works, then rejig the vacuum pump mounting bracket. If I haven’t thrown my toys out of my pram after that, then time to work out the sand boxes and injectors.
Last edited:
simond
Western Thunderer
's funny, I feel just like that about coaches. They're as big as a loco, typically need more & fiddlier paint than a loco, take a considerable time to build and you need lots of them for every loco...
the compensation motor thing is just silly, unless there was another style of compensation planned and provided for in the kit. Should not have to fight the designer to build a working model.
hang in there!
Simon
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
The kit, as far as I can tell, was always designed to be driven on the rear axle. Seems nuts to me, but I think Mr Mitchell expected the chassis to be built with compensation rather than springs. It’s of that kind of vintage, anyway.
Pecking away at my List of Things To Do.
Injectors. Generic brass castings come in the box, and after some intense peering at shadowy photos I realised they were more or less actually correct. A little rearrangement of one of the cast pipes, and reinstating a copper one for the drain, and we are good to go. The real ones are slightly set further inboard, but I reckoned the extra help and protection of the steps were worth the slight compromise. Simply blob soldered to the floor, and the copper drain pipe then formed to sit along the bottom step.
Oh, yes, I made up and fitted the steps yesterday. The cab steps are shy of several rivets, and I formed the rather obvious kink back between the lower pair of steps, and added some scrap etch reinforcing behind. It’s nice to see things beginning to actually hang down from the hanging bars!
Still trying to work out the rear sandboxes. As ever, no two engines are the same, with two distinct flavours evident in photos. Of course, the parts supplied don’t quite match the engine I’m trying to simulate, but that’s life.
Pecking away at my List of Things To Do.
Injectors. Generic brass castings come in the box, and after some intense peering at shadowy photos I realised they were more or less actually correct. A little rearrangement of one of the cast pipes, and reinstating a copper one for the drain, and we are good to go. The real ones are slightly set further inboard, but I reckoned the extra help and protection of the steps were worth the slight compromise. Simply blob soldered to the floor, and the copper drain pipe then formed to sit along the bottom step.
Oh, yes, I made up and fitted the steps yesterday. The cab steps are shy of several rivets, and I formed the rather obvious kink back between the lower pair of steps, and added some scrap etch reinforcing behind. It’s nice to see things beginning to actually hang down from the hanging bars!
Still trying to work out the rear sandboxes. As ever, no two engines are the same, with two distinct flavours evident in photos. Of course, the parts supplied don’t quite match the engine I’m trying to simulate, but that’s life.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
This batch of locos seems to have been fitted with sandboxes hung from brackets, which are prominent in front of the cab steps. Whitemetal castings of the brackets are provided, as well as etched parts. Not being convinced the whitemetal brackets would be strong enough, I needed to find a way to fix the brass parts in place while still being capable of supporting the cast whitemetal sandboxes themselves.
Taking my cue from the cast brackets, which had tiny angle strips on the back where they attach to the box, I used yet more scrap etch to make little brackets that support the etched part at the front and attach firmly to the floor out of sight. The cast boxes can now be low melt soldered in place when I’m ready.
Finally, pleased with that. I think a celebratory lie down is called for so I can recover!
Taking my cue from the cast brackets, which had tiny angle strips on the back where they attach to the box, I used yet more scrap etch to make little brackets that support the etched part at the front and attach firmly to the floor out of sight. The cast boxes can now be low melt soldered in place when I’m ready.
Finally, pleased with that. I think a celebratory lie down is called for so I can recover!
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Something’s a bit squiffy. I’ll see if I can straighten the brass bracket another time. All in all, though, I am satisfied.
There’s not much left to detail below the running plate, unless I’ve missed something bleedin' obvious. Attention inexorably returns above decks to the tank tops, bits around the front end, and the cab. Wish me luck!
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
jonte
Western Thunderer
Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
freelance7
Western Thunderer
Coming on nicely, Heather.
Paul
Paul
paulc
Western Thunderer
I think a lot of us do Jonte . I also like the fact that Heather seems to have the same sorts of problems with a build that most plebs do but usually finds an answer , again like most of us do . Keep up the good work Heather .
Cheers Paul
LarryG
Western Thunderer
A camera is a builders best friend. I have lost count of the number of times I have been forced back to a model because the digital eye has spotted my deficiencies! Canopy posts are the darndest to get perfectly upright from all angles. The Prairie's step should be an easier fix. These locos always looked a bit bare around the lower quarters.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Thanks for the encouraging words, folks! Sometimes, the fact I have to overcome obstacles or hindrances can be quite enjoyable. I’m still glad I decided to stop taking on locos though.
Today was mostly about the fiddly nonsense under the front part of the boiler. Sandbox lids, operating mechanism, and the gloriously Swindon solution to avoiding having outside valve gear. The latter has suffered from the Art of The Bodge, mainly so it clears the frames neatly. I’ve also worked out how to fit the steam pipes, fettled the top feed casting to make it easier to install pipework, and stared long and hard at photos to try and work out what needs adjusting on the tank tops.
Today was mostly about the fiddly nonsense under the front part of the boiler. Sandbox lids, operating mechanism, and the gloriously Swindon solution to avoiding having outside valve gear. The latter has suffered from the Art of The Bodge, mainly so it clears the frames neatly. I’ve also worked out how to fit the steam pipes, fettled the top feed casting to make it easier to install pipework, and stared long and hard at photos to try and work out what needs adjusting on the tank tops.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Handrails today. It’s surprising just how long they take. Still working out the tank tops.
Heather Kay
Western Thunderer
Yesterday, in between screaming into the void and trying out a new face mask on unsuspecting shoppers in the supermarket - always ahead of the curve here! - I reworked some of last week's efforts. Brackets and steps were adjusted, thinkboxes engaged on how to illuminate a single headcode lamp without needing to run a live cable or two, and a list of things to complete was added to. Oh, and I've worked out the order of tank top holes, but there appear to be spare orifices, the function of which currently eludes me.
There’s one, nearest the cab front. The other is for a lifting bracket. There’s a similar mysterious 'ole up by the filler cap. Not a scooby. *shrug*
Anyway, while I ignored holes, I added the whistles bracket and fitted some nice cast mud hole covers - then remembered I need to make the angled strip at the front of the cab that goes round the firebox cladding. *facepalm*
There’s one, nearest the cab front. The other is for a lifting bracket. There’s a similar mysterious 'ole up by the filler cap. Not a scooby. *shrug*
Anyway, while I ignored holes, I added the whistles bracket and fitted some nice cast mud hole covers - then remembered I need to make the angled strip at the front of the cab that goes round the firebox cladding. *facepalm*
