Leek & Manifold Kitson 2-6-4T

[tedp]

Thanks, all, for your kind words and interest. I'll try and reply to all of them.

Brian - I'm sorry to hear the radio control thread doesn't make much headway. Problem with electronics is you cannot see what happens to them and one mistake can be final. I know because I have experimented a lot with electronics. I would say carry on and don't let yourself be discouraged.

Peter - you're absolutely right about chassis building which often is a trial and error business. There is almost nothing I tackle which turns out right first time. The main thing is not to get discouraged as the principles involved are very simple.

Airbrush vs brush painting - don't overestimate the finish. It's the semi-matt varnish that fills in the dips in the surface. But apart from an undercoat or track painting I never use spray paint. Spray painting can produce an excellent finish though, in the hands of someone familiar with it. It's just something I never mastered.

Paul - the most difficult thing in a kitbuilt loco is the chassis. I would start with a simple kit that doesn't need a heavily modified chassis. Filling in the gaps of a whitemetal kit takes some care, but I'd say just try it - afterwards you'll be confident to tackle something more complicated.

David - just like you I modelled cab interiors right from the start. I think it adds something extra to each model, particularly if you can easily see into the cab. Here is my first one of 1969:



Anyway I'm glad you liked this thread. I have been in touch with Tom Dauben about a transcript for the 009 News, but that wil need some whittling down, I'm afraid!

PS what's next on the build list? I'm not yet sure whether to tackle what I have in mind directly, but if I do it will be quite a break with this thread!  ;)

[Tigger]

Airbrushing vs Hand-brushing!  If only I had the time to improve my airbrushing.  My problem is that I do so little that it's a major exercise to set up, which is a shame as it's generally recognised that the air-brushed finish I achieved on 'Sir Theodore' is the best paint job I've done.  Plus, at the Ally Pally show LAST year I bought a lovey little compressor that hasn't been out of the box! :-[

That's a nice piece of cab detail, Ted.  I'll admit that in the early years I missed a major trick because 'Owain Glyndwr' has a vast empty shell of a cab with no detail - something I aim to rectify because the roof was dislodged after an accident and is only retained with blu-tac pending cab detailing.  The two 'Russells' are devoid of cab detail but by the time I got around to 'Argyll' I had a spare Airfix Pug backhead available and 'Lew' was fully detailed using a works drawing.  'Cackler' also has a fully detailed backhead, mainly because someone once said there wasn't enough room and it couldn't be done! ;D

Peter - Ted's right; if you need to build up your confidence then start with a kit that calls for little or no modification to a commercial chassis.  That way you know you'll have a chassis which will work and can concentrate on the body.  That's how I started, with the GEM Douglas and Dolgoch kits and the later Chivers Vale of Rheidol loco.  Even now I shy away from handbuilt chassis, partly because of impatience and partly lack of experience and the time it'll take me to build one.

Ted - as for the next project, I still have the rail-mounted crane to finish (the staff are getting ever more recalcitrant about manually handling heavy loads on and off the flat wagons) and there's a Chivers baby Hunslet which has taken me about 20 years to not finish!  Plus there's a Windle tram loco crying out for lining, glazing, naming and finishing.  And there's plans for a dining car which I've wanted to build for years...

As far as an article for the News is concerned, great idea - you have all the material there - just needs a bit of cut 'n' paste editing!

I think I've managed quite enough thread drift although as the L&M story is just about done I think I can justify it!

[tedp]

I expect there will be more cutting than pasting, David!

I had intended to take the loco to Expong, but yesterday I was done in by a virus, so regrettably I had to call the trip off at short notice.

Wednesday I had cleaned the entire layout and today I tentatively ran a few trains before retiring to bed due to jelly legs. The Kitson proves to be a reliable runner. I had to file a little off the rear bogie as it slightly lifted the drivers off the track on one curve, interrupting the power. I had it going up and down the main line with an empty coal train (19 vehicles in all) and it copes very well apart from a few slips on the gradient out of Dunalistair.

The lineside at the colliery proved to be more difficult. I had to hack chunks of coal waste (coloured plaster) out of the surface to allow the deep cylinders and motion bracket of the Kitson to pass. Soon I'll be satisfied enough to put the loco to work on the Dunalistair Mail to show off its good looks, or possibly a mixed service as it looks like being an excellent loco for shunting.

One thing I find, which is similar to Atlantic, is the ease with which the wheels pick up dirt. I think the rigidity of the etched chassis causes the wheels to lift off the track more easily than those of a mass produced chassis. Therefore power pick-up is less reliable and a speck of dirt is enough to cause trouble. The Minitrix 2-6-2 will keep going through an inch of muck but the wheels on that have a little freedom to tilt laterally.

[tedp]

Whilst many of you have been enjoying yourselves at Expong, I have been playing trains.

Here is the promised video of the completed loco being run in on coal trains.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT4S34vtZis

;)

[Krizzy]

Ted

A super video, well filmed and the use of sound outstanding. The sound editing fits in very well with the train running down the line to the harbour. Your L&M loco does not look out of place in a Scottish setting. In fact it looks just right. A model loco very well done and thanks for sharing your experience of building it with us on the forum.

Roger

[tedp]

Thanks Roger. From you, being an expert loco builder, that is real praise!

[tedp]

To complete the work for today, here is a longer video (without live steam sound) showing many more operations involving E.R.Calthrop.

The loco is now taken off the coal trains and replaces Robert the Bruce on the Dunalistair Mail. The 'Bruce' is a very smooth runner but due to a problem in the transmission it is terribly noisy, so it is due for heavy overhaul. In addition I want to do something about that rear bogie.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this last video - there will be no more for some time to come!  ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4EtQB_SSqo

[MickT]

Outstanding pair of videos Ted. Thanks very much for taking the trouble to make these whilst some of us were slaving away on duty at Expong!  ;)

The 2nd video is a super update of the C&DR in general as well as showing that the Kitson is a perfect replacement on the Dunalistair Mail turn. It looked good in the shots alongside the big Garratt as well. The only criticisms are that firstly the video was much too short and secondly, I am now already half a day behind with the Expong photo report!

I'm pleased to see that you appear to be recovering from that nasty virus. Best to lay off the salted herrings and advocaat for a while.....................

Mick

[Tigger]

I'm going to go away and cry now.

Ted, these are two wonderful videos of the C&D.  Many thanks for taking the time and trouble of filming and sharing them with us.

I'm incredibly impressed with how quiet the L&M loco is.

Sorry to hear you were laid low Ted, especially as you'd been making the effort to finish the loco for ExpoNG but at least you've been able to share it with us.

For my part, yesterday was spent looking over Buccabury for its next exhibition and this afternoon I've been working on the Minitrains crane.

I have yet to clean the wheels on the L&TR locos but at least it's getting run now - averaging half an hour a night.

Thanks again!

[tedp]

....
I'm pleased to see that you appear to be recovering from that nasty virus. Best to lay off the salted herrings and advocaat for a while.....................

Mick

No I won't - they're excellent disinfectants!   ;D

Thanks for your kind remarks, Mick and David.

[James Bradley]

As I have Meridian models L&MVLR kit, I was thinking of mounting it on a Graham Farish 08 shunter chassis and using RT valve gear. Any advice/warnings that I ought to be aware of?
James.

[Elmgate]

I have just finished converting the 08 chassis with RT standard cylinders, single slide bars, etc. I found that the coupling rods should really be broached out to fit fully onto the cranks - not just on the smaller face of the pins as would be so if you do not enlarge the holes. This way, you at least have the maximum clearance behind the crosshead. Try to ensure you use the original Bachmann/Farish crank fastenings particuarly on the crank behind the crosshead for the same reason. I replaced the pins provided by RT with brass dressmakers' type. These are easier to solder when making up the crosshead/connecting rod joint. Whichever pins you use (and you need these longer ones in the crank with the connecting rod big end) thin down the heads for both clearance and looks. I did not enlarge the holes on the connecting rods, so they sit on the smaller face of the cranks. I used the small washers supplied with the rods between the coupling and connecting rods - also where I had to use a pin rather than the original 08 pins.

These are my general findings - I have not had experience with the assembly of the Walscherts valve gear, which I understand uses small crushable rivets for the joints, so can not comment on this. The web site says that the cylinders are "coming soon". I suggest that you wait for these first, as the setting up of the crosshead/slidebars and cylinders should be done together.

[James Bradley]

Thank you. :)
James

[tedp]

I wonder about the robustness of the Farish cranks for such a heavy model. Since I haven't yet built a loco using the same chassis, can anyone shed light on this? I would in any case remove as much weight from the rear end as you can. I would cut out the entire centre from the footplate at the rear and replace it with styrene. Similar to what I have done, replace the cab roof and the bunker backplate. The rear buffer beam can be replaced as well.

The Walschaert gear by RT models is very fiddly to assemble, but it's worth trying for looks. I understand that they now produce the valve gear fret to a greater thickness from the one I used. The rivets included don't crush very easily, as I found out to my dismay. In the end I soldered them and ground off the excess from the back.