A head above the parapet

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Lord Colnago
Posts: 403
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A head above the parapet

Postby Lord Colnago » Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:17 pm

I have been pondering the wisdom of putting my head above the parapet for a little while and have finally decided that the pros outweigh the cons, so here I am. I felt that it was about time that I joined those other committee members and officers who have been brave enough to show us what they do and that its not all work and no play at Committee Towers. I have been inspired and entralled by the work posted by others on this forum and just as heartened by the helpfulness and encouragement that they have received from their fellow members. I am hoping that such help and encouragement will inspire my own modelling and in doing so raise my standards at the same time. I have noticed that not much gets past our members' beady eyes!

The biggest problem preventing me from taking the plunge earlier was one of my own making. I had wanted to wait until I started a fresh project and then go through it step by step. My problem is that I always seem to have several things on the go at once and as soon as one is finished, off I go on the next. In this imperfect world then, it seems pointless waiting any longer and so I suppose the way to go will be to deal with each of my current projects as I go and maybe put any new ones into a subject of their own.

I do have a thing about wagons and nearly always have some on the go, currently a pair of Justin Newitt's excellent chassis, but I also need something to pull them. In this respect, the current project is a Dave Bradwell LNER 3500 gallon tender to go behind a J39 with one of his chassis kits under it. I built the chassis so long ago that I can't quite recall when that was! It then disappeared under the pile of other projects and was forgotten. Anyway, it has re-surfaced and with a little work will soon be up and running again. I designed it to have a tender drive and am currently looking at how this will fit into Dave's tender kit.

A few photos are included to give you a flavour of things and show you where I am with things to date and I'll take them on from there. Hope you enjoy it.

143.jpg


Just to start things off on the right note, spot the mistake! I'll show you how I untangled myself from this mess when I've had the chance to photograph the results. This is one of Justin Newitt's BR clasp brake chassis and suffice it to say that having spoken to Justin, I'm not the only one to make the same mistake!

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To prove I can do it when I put my mind to it, here's one that's almost complete. Great fun and just what the hobby should be about.
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Tony W
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:42 pm

Re: A head above the parapet

Postby Tony W » Wed Dec 04, 2013 12:15 am

Nice one John, whats the view like above the parapet? I'm not sure where you're going to fit an AJ Coupling in all that lot though. ;)

Tony

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Lord Colnago
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Re: A head above the parapet

Postby Lord Colnago » Wed Dec 04, 2013 10:38 am

Hi Tony,

Fitting AJs in amongst that lot isn't a problem as I won't be doing it! I may well run fixed rakes with AJs on the outside only, in which case, I very much doubt that there will be any clasp brake chassis at the outer ends. Anything for an easy life.

John.
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Lord Colnago
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Re: A head above the parapet

Postby Lord Colnago » Wed Dec 04, 2013 11:12 am

As promised, here is a picture or two showing how I sorted out the error previously shown. The central rigging piece referred to below hasn't yet been fitted to this one but it does give a clearer view of what I'm talking about and yes, I did make the same mistake twice! I must have been having a really bad day.

The first thing you need to do is un-solder the four inner brake shoes along with the yokes between them. You also need to cut through the central brake rigging just short of the inner rigging points on the W-iron assemblies at each end. This is a very delicate etching and easily breaks. In fact one end did break on me but as its hard to see it and equally hard to access it once its back in, I left it well alone and I'll live with it. Then comes the delicate bit. You need to cut out the whole area between the W-irons with a piercing saw. Turn this piece through 180 degrees and run a piece of 0.8mm (I think) wire through the V hangers and the appropriate bit of the rigging, in order to assist alignment. Cut two suitable pieces of angle iron to fit against the solebars and between the W-irons. Tin everything and solder it up, touch solder the central rigging piece where it had previously been cut. Remove the alignment wire and re-fit the brake shoes and yokes. It all looks a bit untidy but it saves the day and is infinitely better than the alternative of throwing the whole thing away. Mind you, its probably better not to get it wrong in the first place!
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143.jpg


The last photo shows what things should look like.
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Rod Cameron
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Re: A head above the parapet

Postby Rod Cameron » Wed Dec 04, 2013 2:04 pm

Useful stuff John, even though I'm not a wagon man myself!
Rod

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Lord Colnago
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Re: A head above the parapet

Postby Lord Colnago » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:06 pm

A very nice man has pointed out a silly mistake in my last posting. I managed to put the before shot in instead of the after one. Try this one instead.

077.jpg
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