Wagons , engines and supplier links.
A second L&Y 6-wheel brake van is now built, and has been primed after the photo was taken. Minimal instructions, bits that have to be made and adding brake rigging makes this kit a challenge. I'd forgotten just how long the first one took to build.
Employing my exemplary photographic skills, the latest outputs from the spray booth get a test run behind the 02 - whih can just pull this little lot.
The HTO hopper is now done, complete with matt varnish. The second one will be getting a more severe weathering. This one will be getting a load a some point. The working leaf springs on this wagon still work after painting, which is nice. The 5-plank is my first go at representing the mix of paints/lack of paint these wagons had in their final days. Transfers to be added then a final going over with 'dirt' before varnish. Two more 5-planks to finish painting, and the three 13t steel opens are awaiting the imminent arrival of new soldering iron tips.
With the 5-planks awaiting the arrival of paint, I've moved on to a trio of BR/LNER 13t Steel Open wagons. After a lot of picture starting I decided that the way the instructions say to make the tops of the sides, folded over with 0.7mm rod soldered underneath doesn't really represent the prototype. I'd made two bodies before reaching this conclusion, so for the third one I removed the 2mm or so fold at the top of the sides - by clamping in folder and waggling. This has a reason, waggling them off rather than cutting leaves a trace of the half-etch. I then soldered on 1mm brass rod to the 'front' of the remaining half-etch which looks right - the inside goes up the back of the rod leaving the rod overhanging as per the photos. Well I know what I mean. The top one is the instructions version, the lower mine. Now to re-do the other two.
The door slams provided are of an interesting shape, so I made brass ones for scrap etch
The horsebox has been put to one side until I can find some buffers, so on with a trio of fitted GWR/BR 5 plank opens, diagram 1/034. The general construction doesn't get much simpler.
This has been another 'interesting' kit, most things didn't fit or go where the instructions said - even the photo supplied is of a different horsebox! I have found one photo that is the correct one and worked from that. The brake rigging is based on the sketch supplied with the instructions, I made the trees myself because the only supplier of them is ceasing trading at the end of the month so figured I'd better learn... I nearly abandoned this build, but it's probably going to come out looking something like the prototype.
The LNER hoppers are now painted, awaiting transfers and weathering. The working leaf spring on the farthest one still work after painting, moving them a few times during drying seems to do the trick.
After a lot of faffing I got he 02 running well enough to warrant investing in a Zimo decoder and stay-alive. It's now a nice running with a good slow crawl, so all the effort was worth it. Hopefully I can sort the lights out next.
With the sale on after the changes at Heljan/Accurascale an 02 at £149 seemed like a more sensible price than the previous c. £300. With my experience of the Heljan 03, a strange random running issue and the disappointment of not only there only being two out of four lights working each end, but the 'shunting' lights being directional (they shouldn't be) and at the wrong end I pondered a lot about whether it would be a good idea. Meanwhile it went out of stock, so, thinks I, that's that. Then one came back in stock - it's a do-or-die moment, despite knowing the lights were still only two out of four. So I did. Hummm.
Finally! After a few weeks of applying Microsol get get the transfers to mould round the ridges and bumps on the containers they have doen so. Well, very nearly, no further progress was being made so I suppose this is as good as they get. Two more to go, but I'm thinking 'Door-to-door' livery as the transfers are somewhat easier to deal with. And cheaper...
It turns out I don't need the bearing carriers form the Slaters kit after all. Some 'squares' of brass, with rivet strip attached, and a bearing pushed through from the back provides a suitably sliding arrangement to allow movement for the springs to flex. I had to flatten two sides of the bearing to get it into the slot in the axle guard, which provided an added bonus of preventing the axle box trying to rotate - always a problem when doing working springs. So far it's all going well. Too well...
The list follows - click 'Read More' above.
This was a very expensive impulse purchase. It has no real function on the layout except to be a Western, my favourite engines back in the day, blasting away from Westbury towards Lavington with a fast or 41 tipplers. Back then I longed for Hornby to do one, in the end giving up waiting and buying a Trix HO one. The different size was an issue, but it ran so much better the my Hornby diesels. Anyhow, I was in a position to buy something that would serve as a reminder of an expired relative - so I bought the thing that they would have hated the most. Fitted with a ESU sound decoder, cab lights and 'professional' weathering it set me back £860. It took months of searching literally every day to find a blue one, they were real hens teeth at the time. Buffer lock means it can't pull anything, so it's completely pointlessly goes round in a circle on it's own now and again. The 'professional' weathering included the cab windows - it needs a white stick to see where it's going. Sigh. Not falling for that one again.
This started out as a Sentinel in BR Engineers livery, but it had a bent axle so went back. For whatever reason, I replaced it with this. I like it, it's cute and it's got a glowing firebox. It arrived DC so as I'd gone DCC I added an Imperium decoder - love the way it goes in through the smoke box door, very neat. However, it ran like bag of nails, a complete pain in the posterior. Much dissembling, cleaning, checking and re-assembly achieved nothing. More in hope than expectation I switched off DC operation with CV29 and bingo, it runs beautifully - very nearly as the 08. Why it is seen at Soddingham is long and complicated story, but who knew BR never quite eradicated steam.
Soddinham's first RTR engine, supposedly the only one needed in the original plan. When lockdown struck and the idea of a sort of working diorama happened I decided an 08 was the way to go. I actually wanted a BR blue 4-lamp 08 xxx version, but at that time blue ones were few and far between, so here it is. I was stunned how well this ran, under DC never mind DCC. Well done Dapol. I like the sensible maximum speed too. In all the years I had a train set, I never had an 08 because the Hornby one was naff with the inside frames. It is fitted with a Zimo sound decoder with stay-alive so I can play lights with it, but I never use the sound any more, I'll not be bothering with it on any future engines. Too expensive for a start! This engine is a pleasure to use, it just goes and with the DCC settings for acceleration and braking is fun to 'drive'. Nice.
It took an awfully long time to find one of these at an affordable price in this specification - I'm a bit fussy about what I wanted. It has a Zimo non-sound decoder with stay-alive so it should run beautifully like the 08. Only it doesn't. When it does run it runs beautifully, but then it will suddenly start going all stoppy-starty, despite the stay-alive, then for no apparent reason will go ok for a while. I've taken it to bits many times, all is clean and the pick-ups contact the wheels perfectly. It displayed this behaviour with an Imperium decoder too, so it's not a DCC thing. Since everything I can see or clean is in good order I'm thinking it might be a motor issue, but then it behaves sometimes as though it's only getting power from one axle even though it isn't. Also, the lighting... you can't have white directional front/red rear like Dapol's 08, all you can have is shunting lights at back relative to the way you are going. i.e. no front lights. For the full asking price that's pretty piss-poor. Had I paid full price for this I would be a very dis-happy bunny. As it is, despite being my favourite engine, I rarely use it - it's too much hassle. I'm beginning to realise why the previous owner sold it I think.
Where I get suff from
Create Your Own Website With Webador