A quick update on my 14XX refresh / refurb project
Having had good weather I've been outside and away from the modelling room, so slow progress. However, I thought I'd post a few shots of the loco with body nearly done: the battery box RH rear, footplate area pipe work, vacuum pipes, couplings and smokebox number still to do. RH toolbox gone as per prototype. Lion facing forward both sides also as per 1463 in 1960 from David Lockett's photos.
Left side rear view
14XX-99pcdone-3QLRvw.jpg
Right side front view
14XX-99pcdone-3QRFvw-2.jpg
Chassis still being worked on, the brake gear and sand boxes will not be fitted and repainting won't be done before it runs smoothly. The issues identified thanks to reader's hints are: (1) rods not quite the right length, possibly too long. This is being carefully checked and worked on, it is certainly better but not yet perfect (2) The driver axleboxes were too slack in the hornblock guides (the 'basic' pattern) and could both twist and (aargh) move back and forth. I obviously was too entusiastic with making them move freely, filing the slots too much, and setting the guides too far apart when soldering them in when making them. This is an obvious source of poor running as the slop caused the rear drivers to rock and jump during motion, and the twisting hornblocks locking in the guides preventing the flexichas system working too. This has been fixed by taking the slack out by packing the hornblock guides for the time being, there is now no slack movement, (the blocks are being 'pushed back' by a shim at the front edge, allieviating problem (1)!!). A bodge and really the hornblocks need replacing but that means stripping everything and starting again, eventually I'll have to do that). (3) The axleholes in the axleboxes for the rear drivers were over sized too, again over-enthusiasm with a taper broach - I've replaced the boxes and now no slop. (4) The drivers by now were really loose on the axles with so much dismantling / reassembly and quartering checking so they've been replaced too - I had a spare set of 14XX Gibson wheels (5) the flexichas pivot between rear drivers and rear carrier wheels is too far forward (a subject of many other threads ...) so it is all too easy with the torque to the front drivers for the whole loco to subtly topple (only very slightly) to the side enough for one of the leading drivers to loose contact with the rails, a recipe for erratic running and derailing, worse when running forward. More lead in the body and moving the pivot point back is being investigated ... plus the rear end of the flexichas beam needs to be bent up at bit as the rear of the loco still sits a bit high and the footplate is not level.
With so many errors it is a miracle it ever worked at all. It did at first, but the chassis has seen a number of changes (aka heavy rebuilding inc changing gearbox, motor, pickups) that have involved shoving and sawing that probably caused some distortion since it was first built and I also blame heavy handling on my part ....
(yes a new chassis might have been quicker but its out of my budget right now ...)
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