Leek & Manifold Kitson 2-6-4T

[tedp]

Yes it surprises me as well, but it never was a problem. I have at least 6 locos with unprotected LEDs either masquerading as headlights or hidden in the firebox. In addition there are several LEDs in structures, lighting up stationary boilers and station canopies, and they run off straight 12V AC, with nothing but a 1K resistor in series. These are lit rather less often, but they would have gone long ago if it was a problem. It may shorten life expectancy though - something that cannot be measured.

[tedp]

Anyway I have moved on and done some work on the superstructure. I decided to use the whitemetal cab front and back, but the bunker rear was made of laminated styrene sheet. Getting the shape right was quite ease as I simply took a set of pliers and bent the styrene, bit by bit. Then I made an overlay using the same 0.4 or 0.5mm material and fitted beading using microstrip.





Adding a little weight at the back (the cab front and back) made me decide to tackle the balance problem. I looked at the thickness of the footplate, which is 2mm solid whitemetal, and decided removing some of that would help. So I took a power drill and set it at a slow speed. Using a very sharp 2.5mm drill I made some holes, then drilled out the three under the bunker to 5mm. The row under the tanks and the cab was cut through using a slitting disc set at a low speed, then I broke out the metal and filed the remainder flat.



I reckon I took between 5 and 10g of whitemetal from the footplate behind the wheels, which more than compensates the weight of the cab front and back. I weighed in the loco and found that of its 160g, about 55g rests on the front wheels. That is about the same ratio I have in 'Atlantic', which has run for 13 years. The holes in the footplate will be blanked off with thin styrene.

Now all that is left it making up a removable styrene roof, filling some gaps and fitting final details. Then the can of car body primer will be unearthed!

To be continued.

[tedp]

Here is the latest stage in completing the model. The roof was laminated from three pieces of styrene, with a 0.3mm piece sandwiched between two 0.4mm pieces to capture the double roof of the prototype. I started fitting various whitemetal details - I'm leaving the handrails till after painting. The Centre Models/Meridian body kit is very detailed, though it's funny that no interior details are included, but then the motor protrudes into the cab so I will have to compromise.

Here are the latest photos of the model, which I think looks rather good with the West Clare van:







To be continued...

[gtmspyder]

Very nice Ted, will you be painting it yourself?

Regards,

BrianT.

[tedp]

Thanks, Brian - yes I will paint it myself, but I'm not yet sure about the livery. Primer first, I'd say. Also, handrails and anything else brass will need to be added after painting.

[tedp]

Having received a scan of the livery details from Tom's book (thanks Tom) I am rather attracted to the North Stafford livery. But nothing's certain yet.

I added some more detail and had some trouble getting the cab steps in place which fouled the bogie on my sharpest curves. Some filing of the bogie and the back of the steps cured that. Also, I fitted the vacuum tank and the vacuum pipes, and one or two details still lacking. The handrails, as I said before, will be left off till after the paint job.

I just ran the loco over the entire layout, hauling a coal train. Due to the foul state of the track I had some trouble to begin with, but a bit of work with the track rubber and the wheel brush took care of that. Note that the tiny limp can be clearly seen. It seems to be unavoidable in a home-built chassis....

Here is the result (video).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQMDG2hqzA

And a few photos showing the extra detail.







Apologies if the photos seem to repeat those made yesterday, but I think these are rather better. Also, note the patches of filler on the bunker and the cab front to hide a few gaps!

[tedp]

Loco in primer

Today I removed the body, blanked off the headlight and the pickups, and spray painted the body using a can of car body primer. The styrene parts proved to be up to it. The chassis was painted by hand in a slightly different colour of grey which I had in the box. No problem really since it is only needed as primer.

Here is the result. Note a few corners on the castings that need cleaning up which you only see after painting:

[Tigger]

This is looking superb Ted!

I really must dig out my Kitson body and drop it on the eight-coupled chassis I've got as per Roger Christian.

[tedp]

Thanks, David. Roger's eight-coupled beast isn't bad either! But will it fit through the tight clearances on your railway...?   ???

[Krizzy]

David

Do stop going on about my 2-8-2 L&M locos, you are making me blush with embarrassment. They pale into insignificance compared to Ted's marvellous model. If I remember I will take one to the convention to compare.

Roger

[Tigger]

Probably not Ted!  Which is why the body is in one box and the chassis is in another and the twain have'ne met yet!  I was actually quite surprised that the big Hunslet got through with the roof vent raised!

THEORETICALLY the tightest clearance, the bridge hole at Llanmynach (also the most awkward to rebuild or I'd have done it by now!) will take the Kitson but I think everyone will have to breathe in to get it through as I'm convinced that there's less clearance on the country side than there is on the town side!

That's what you get for building a railway with nothing but Egger, Joueff and GEM TR locos for reference!  It was pure luck that the isolating sections in the loco shed were cut with an Egger western loco and tender in mind or none of the big 2-6-2 locos would fit.  As it is, I have to be careful about the order they are shedded or they won't pass each other.  Charlie Insley said he'd never seen such a small 2-road shed!

Sorry.  Bit of thread drift there...

[Tigger]

They look the part, Roger, they look good and they're a possible way to have one of my favourite locos working on the railway (loading gauge permitting!)

That said, I wonder what a 2-8-0 or 2-8-2 Lynton loco would look like...

Sadly I'm not going to get to the convention.  The timing clashes with my 7

[Krizzy]

David, so long as you don't give yourself a hernia !!

Roger

[tedp]

They look the part, Roger, they look good and they're a possible way to have one of my favourite locos working on the railway (loading gauge permitting!)

That said, I wonder what a 2-8-0 or 2-8-2 Lynton loco would look like...

Sadly I'm not going to get to the convention.  The timing clashes with my 7

[MickT]

That said, I wonder what a 2-8-0 or 2-8-2 Lynton loco would look like...

Sadly I'm not going to get to the convention.  The timing clashes with my 7