Building a B12

[choralc]

Brilliant before. Even better now.

[Go_West]

Now we are getting to the end of what seems to be a very long build and there’s still a few things to do before the painting of the model.

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One job is the tender wheels these were Hornby live steam A4 type and needed to be spokes but keep all the electrical contact details.To change the look of these wheels they were set up in the lathe and the centre bored out then some all metal Hornby tender wheels that I had the right size were machined down in size and the centres bored out large so that they would be a press fit in the recess in the now machined live steam wheels.

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The Hornby live steam wheels before and after the centres were machined out

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On the left the Hornby all metal tender wheel before the machining starts.

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Once the 2 parts were pressed together then they were put back in the lathe and the front of the wheel was machined down to the right thickness job done. All I had to do now was refit the wheels back on there axles and check they were all running true.With all the wheels in place the tender looks better and the wheels will still handle the large electrical currant needed to run this type of model steam engine.

[Go_West]

Next inside the cab.As I said some time back what I like to see is a cab with a crew working away keeping the engine working and steam pressure up not parts of the engine that control the working of the inner most parts and so I had to redesign the servo motor and its gear box to free up space in the cab.

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You can see in this picture the back head supplied with the kit was a solid casting and this was not going to fit as I needed a hollow shell type back head to use as a cover to hide the motor from view inside the cab.I made this new back head from thin sheet brass and fixed to it some brass gauges and pipe work along with the fire hole doors and levers.

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Fitted in the cab it don’t look too bad even if some of the hand wheels look a bit big.The crew are fixed in place by a small screw as I may need top take them out for painting and anyway glue never lasts long with the heat generated by these engines and they might just break loose and fall out the cab.

I know of a fireman long gone now that was working on a steam engine with a new driver and from time to time the driver would look out the cab side and check on his train once when doing this he turned back to speak to the fireman and he was not in the cab! What had happened the drive thought had he fell off the foot plate while taking a leak or what ? he looked every where in the tender down the track then through the front cab window up by the smoke box was the fireman knelling down on the running board making out he had a bow and arrow and firing arrows at the driver.

[96RAF]

I trust you had all those gauges calibrated Ken.

Absolutely splendid detail. Don't be fooled by the pictures people the real thing is a quarter the size shown if that.

Great story about the bow and arrows - classic gotcha - must have had a great repartee in those days twixt the crews.

Rob

[RB51]

Fantastic - a shame in a way that you have finished it. Grandad would be a very pleased man I am sure. Thoroughly enjoyable thread and the last video I could watch all day. What's next Ken? R-

[Go_West]

Rob

I was on the foot plate of an engine at night time and it was as they say in these parts of North Devon "black as a bag" you could not see the gauges only when the fireman switched on a torch could you see them clearly so on my engine it's not that important if they work! didn't the West Country engines have electric light for there guages.

When I do the last video of the finished engine I will try to find this foot plate at night and you will see (or not see)  what I'm on about. I did paint the tender wheels last night and this blue colour I think is a bit unreal and it might end up looking like a plastic toy just a face on the front is all it will need.

have ordered the transfers and brass plates for 1501 which will not arrive till after Christmas but this plate could be changed if grandads old works number is ever found. Then Roger B as you say that will be the end of a project that I thought might never run which took me into the early hours writing and taking pictures of parts of the engine so should get to bed earlier than have been In the past.

must look to see if I can find or make a nice glass type case for it to have on display.

[96RAF]

This may help Ken

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/railway-workers/

Rob

[Go_West]

Hi Rob

just had a look on the NA but I never know what I'm supposed to do as most of the things I look up seem less than helpful but after saying that I have sent them an email with the areas I'm interested in and hope they might just point me in the right direction but could take 10 days to get back to me and then there's Christmas so  we will have to wait but thanks Rob.

[96RAF]

Ken

I got a hit list of almost a thousand George Sims based on Blacksmith and either Stratford or Swindon in the refined search but obviously you then need to subscribe to bring up any detail of any name and I couldnt even thin it out on extra names your grandad had or his year of birth etc.

Lets hope your direct contact with the agency pulls up a result and you can get a one off buy package Rather than by subscription.

I happened to hit on an uncle of mine on my mothers side in forces war records archive, after whom I now realise I was named, when they lost him to war. This uncle having the same three forenames as me with mums surname rather than mine, so I sent off for his service record, feeling somewhat humbled by it all as I had no idea he even existed, such was the way families tended to play things close to their chest in days gone by. Why didnt they tell us our history.

Rob

[Go_West]

Hi Rob

It takes time to sreach records and it sounds that you are trying to track a family member and when we should have asked the questions when people were still alive we didn't and now there gone we wished we did.

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This is my grandfather death certificate and I now see his name was Ernest George Sims but like many family's I think he was always called George so that don't help for a start but as you say the search package by them at a fixed cost might be the way to go.

[Go_West]

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Well the turkey is in the oven and the brass body is in the thinners for a clean getting ready for the under coat paint you might just see that the wheels splashes and cab frame windows have been polished as the finished engone in 1912

[Go_West]

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The wooden floor in the cab was made from a small plywood section which would complete the cab area.

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Before the paint work starts its worth looking at an old picture of the engine it seems to have a lot of lining out from the tender to the loco.I think it was said that the blue paint job came from an earlier engine that was ordered to take Queen Victoria on a special function and the powers that be at the GER said it would be a good idea to repaint the engine royal blue for this occasion and so from that day on when possible engines were painted blue until the first world war when paint was less available and only basic transport needs were required.

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Some under coat was applied and in very thin coats and left to dry. 

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Once the under coat had dried some blue gloss enamel paint is applied then the blue will be masked and black paint for the cab roof and smoke box sprayed on..Gloss paint never looks good to me but is used as the lining out transfers stick better to a gloss finish than a matt finish and once the transfers are in place and dry I will spay over the complete body with satin varnish so sealing in the transfers and dulling down the paint finish I have done this in the passed and it has worked well as these engines get hot and oil and water could be a problem with transfers lifting.

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Next to paint is the tender which will be finished in the same way as the engine, the wheels have already been painted but will need to be lined out later..

[96RAF]

Not a colour scheme I am keen on Ken but it is what it is and correct for the loco at the time so press on with the good work.

 

For blues I prefer the Tornado scheme, but personal choice.

[Go_West]

I agree with you it's a bit blue and will make it look more like a toy than a model but it might improve with the lining out and satin varnish?

or it could just peel off on the first steaming.

[RB51]

The lining out looks to be very detailed - I trust you have steady hands 😉 R-

[Go_West]

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Yes Roger as a kid when making plastic kits the paint was never that good all I wanted to do was get the transfers on and so with this engine the transfers I hope will not be a problem on the boiler but they seem to be every where on the wheels and the tender chassis so not looking forward to that bit. I have removed the paint from the brass window frames, wheel splashers and reversing rod so just the lining out to do.

[Go_West]

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Above is a picture or all the main parts and painted in what I think are the correct colours and areas and we are now getting close to the end of a long and sometimes problematic build as this has not been the easiest of jobs breaking new ground in 00 gauge.I hope Hornby didn’t mind my wondering into the past at times and using there server space with drivel and so just to add a bit more and taking about painting my father told me of a painter who's job it was to paint signal posts he was not the brightest and to do his job he had a bike and would ride to the signal along the track which needed repainted, on his bike was a box with paint and brushes and cleaner.He would paint the signal and some times when finished would also paint his bike and ever time my father saw him his bike was a different colour.

[96RAF]

Looking good, now for the fiddly bit Ken

Have you got the glass case on order yet?

Rob

[Go_West]

Hi Rob

i did look for a case but none took my fancy so I will have a go and make one today maybe.

[96RAF]

Fish tank technology Ken using silicone corners or if you are good at plastic welding or vacuum moulding a seamless perspex one.

[Go_West]

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How about perspex 3mm sheet need a wooden base 

[96RAF]

I like it...

[Go_West]

yes im still battling on and would like to draw a line under this rebuild in the next few weeks but a

problem has now reared its ugly head this that no one makes lining out transfers for the GER or though having said that there is one man making just the buffer beam numbers and the G E R for the tender which I bought but this engine like other engines of the GER back in the 1900 have a great deal of lining out paint work none of the top transfer people do not do the GER company but fox transfers have told me that they are working on transfers for the GER but wont be ready till August and even then no doubt they will not make them for a specific engine just the basic logo and lettering with minimum linings. That means I will have to have a go at making my own along with etching some brass plates for the cab side.

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This is the number for the engine and the one below is for the tender these can be printed on clear film in an ink jet printer and with photo sensitive film stuck to some thinpolished brass sheet reproduce to then be dunked in some ferric chloride.

As for the engine the GER society have sent load of info on the lining out and colour so armed with this I will have a go and see what turns out.

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This is what I have so far all this is just part of the engine lining out next will be the tender It takes time to get the size correct and to cutting them out will need a steady hand.

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i start by drawing them out on the PC and print them on plain paper once they fit ok i can print them on a blank transfer sheet which will need varnishing to stop them getting damaged later.

 The old way of doing lining was a sign writer job a true skill but they did use transfers for the more complicated logo’s and numbers back then.

[96RAF]

You've got yourself a job there Ken.

I admire both your skill and tenacity.

 

I heard a story about a sign writer who lined out cars and they would only let him do it in the afternoons after he had been down the pub for a few bevvies to steady his hand. It threw out the production line a bit but he was obviously worth the disruption.

Rob

[Go_West]

hi Rob

yes i think i need a drink after this weekend read on

 Making the engine brass plates. 

I have spent the best part of this weekend trying to make the engine plates from my art work for 1506 and things have not gone at all well nothing seemed to work out as I wanted and so I have sent off for some different photo sensitive spray paint and see if this works any better.

having said that this is what has taken place.

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The photo sensitive film which I had is stuck to the brass sheet and the black and white film is placed on top.

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Next it needs some ultra violet light and I have a light box for this for about 20 seconds.

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Then some developer in a tray and a few seconds in this as in the picture and you see the image start to appear.

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But a closer look shows that there are defects in the printed image not good enough to be etched.

Then while watching TV I thought I might just do a search on the internet on my ipad for this engine number 1506 and found that this engine had been in a crash and scraped?

On 12 July 1913, locomotive No. 1506 was hauling an express passenger train which collided with a light engine at Colchester, Essex the driver of the light engine could see what was about to happen so he opened up the regulator in an attempted to get out the way but could not stop the crash this was due to a signalman's error. Three people were killed and fourteen were injured. The brand new locomotive was so severely damaged that only its boiler and tender were salvaged.In light of this the art work will now be redone and 1504 the new number used.