HR53 Lybster construction complete

Lybster's "Drummond" backhead

Cab interior details are creatively reconstructed from what little information can be glimpsed in photos or derived from Peter Tatlow's drawing of the engine after rebuilding by Drummond in 1901. There may have been more to the backhead than I've modelled but viewed from outside the cab I think it looks the part as you'll see in the next picture...

Cab interior details.

The hinged cab doors can be open or closed, the curved topped rod behind the door holds it in position by locating in a hole in the footplate. The hinges are mounted slightly proud of the side sheet on a slim strip of n/s to enable the door to function. In the bunker is a removable block of Milliput to which the coal will be added later.






Lybster construction complete

Lybster will be painted in Drummond II plain livery in which she ran on the Wick and Lybster Light Railway from the opening of the line on 1 July 1903 to withdrawal and scrapping in 1929. A suitable driver and fireman, based on a photograph taken of the engine with its crew posing on the footplate sometime after 1917 are under construction.

Lybster ready for the paint shop

 

The circle of rivets behind the smokebox, along the edges of the tank top saddle and round the chimney are from Archers' Surface Details. They are relief transfers, easily applied and seem to stand up well, the success of this experiment remains to be seen after painting, however I'm sure they'll be better than no rivets at all which was the alternative.


Lybster performed well on the Carlisle club layout recently and hauled a respectable train, so I plan to take her through to the painting stage now. I don't want the engine to join the other neglected projects standing in the sidings of despair despondently wondering when their turn to be painted will come.

HR53 Lybster 1890-1929 (rebuilt1901)

HR d.16 Wagon and d.29 Van

Brake operating levers are on both sides, though the brake itself is only on one side.

The HR d.16 Drummond wagon is complete and ready for the paint shop. I made some improvements and adjustments to the kit and remade the brake gear as it was over-etched. I cut away the corners of both axle trays to allow space for the buffers to work properly and also cut a slot to accommodate the spring of the draw hook which improves matters. The end profile of the wagon was improved by making a new buffer beam and soldering a piece of square section behind it on the ends to give the beam its depth. I mounted the end part of the wagon on the new buffer beam and ensured that the end planking lined up with the side planks. I tweaked the position of the end stanchions to allow the four little bolts that flank the draw plate to sit comfortably between them.

The view above shows the rocking axle and its tray which has had material added beneath it to correct the wagon ride height. Adding a millimetre to the rocking axle end rather than subtracting at the other end also adds a little much needed space between the solebar and axle in which the springs and axlebox fit, clearance in this area is tight to say the least. The rocking axle tray is held in place by a rod which fits tight along the tray and is soldered to the upright prongs of the rocking pivot which protrude through the tray.





Lochgorm Kits HR d.16 Drummond open wagon

Buffers and couplings have been removed to chemically blacken separately. The wagon has been cleaned and degreased with cellulose thinners, a process which is done outside in the open air. The next stage is a coat of Halfords' aerosol acid etch primer.

Lochgorm Kits HR d.29 Covered Van

With care and a little modification the Lochgorm Kits' d.29 van builds into a good scale model of the prototype. The buffer beams were too wide so I made new ones, flush with the van sides and added safety chains, CPL screw couplings and a draw plate to match. One pair of the inverted "U" shaped plates which are fastened to the sole bar above the axleboxes was wrongly positioned. I found this out when I used the plates as a guide to the position of the axles, the van took on a decided asymmetrical aspect. I countered this by grinding off all four plates and replacing them with a new matching set from an AMBIS etch that I fortuitously found in my spares box.

Rather than use the rather complicated rib and stringer roof former supplied in the kit I added a cross wall to the van interior to brace the structure then thickened the roof with 1mm square section and soldered it in place. I can't see any need for it to come off anyway, there's nothing inside!

Recent Projects.

My desk with Lochgorm's D16 wagon amid the debris of construction

Two Highland Railway wagons have occupied me since Christmas both of which will be featured here on my Blog as soon as construction is complete. The wagons are Lochgorm Kits' D.29 Covered Van and D.16 Open Wagon, the latter can be seen with most of the brass-work complete on my desk above. Neither of these are easy kits, there's a lot of fiddling, adjusting and scratch building to do before a real scale model is achieved. A copy of Peter Tatlow's recent book, "Highland Railway Carriages and Wagons" is a great help along with a scale drawing. Work started on these wagons 26/12 and they should both be complete, assembled that is, later today 13/1... three weeks hard work!

Lybster at CD0GG

HR 53 Lybster on the CD0GG layout.  

I added as much weight as possible to HR53 before her outing at the club running day at CD0GG on Saturday. Though she performed creditably she proved not to have the hauling power of my little LNWR 2-4-0T Chopper Tank which romped round the layout with six full size coaches, a feat that Lybster could not match, she simply didn't have the traction, the wheels revolved but there was no forward movement! I noticed that in reverse however, that is running in effect as a 4-4-0, her performance was noticeably better, so there's still some work to do to improve matters.

Construction is almost complete though I've not finished the cab doors, sand pipes and the brake rods and linkages which I've taken pains to construct even though much of this detail is masked by the cab steps. Then there are more rivets which I plan to add with Archers' surface detail transfers, I hope they're as good as it says on the packaging...

Lybster Tank...a question of weight.

HR53 "Lybster"

I took these photos of HR53 as I was assembling  her ready for the monthly Running Day at the Carlisle club yesterday. I was however disconcerted to discover that her tractive effort was rather feeble. I know that my rolling stock is mighty heavy... nevertheless I'd not expected that a four truck train would be beyond her! Though the motor whirred and the wheels went round, nothing was moving, I didn't want this embarrassment at the club, I wanted her to make a good showing, so I spent the rest of the evening experimenting with various lead weights in various positions and found that weight was needed up front. I packed a roll of lead into the boiler, 125g in all, and matters improved. Another similar weight, experimentally carried over the buffers, had even more effect, so though I was only able to add the weight in the boiler I had at least found the solution. Ultimately, in addition to the weight in the boiler, my intention is to pour "liquid lead" down the chimney into the smokebox to get weight over the front driver.
On the day, at Carlisle, she performed very well despite carrying only half the weight I plan on adding, effortlessly cruising round the layout with a creditable ten wagon train.

HR 53 

The backhead and cab interior detail is at an advanced stage as is the superstructure. I've modelled one of the tank top water fillers which will serve as a pattern from which I'll make a mould next week to cast out its companion. The brake cylinders, which sit under the footplate between the rear bogie wheels, will similarly be cast from a silicone rubber mould in the workshop.

In the unlikely event of there being anyone else out there who's making a "Lybster" and who would like castings of these items... they will be available, just give me a ring or send me an e-mail.

Running Day at CD0GG

Today on the Carlisle club layout Yankee Tank HR54 complete with "Heroes of the Footplate"crew, having disgraced herself on two previous attempts to make a circuit of the layout, performed impeccably, hauling a train of ten laden goods wagons. 

The station and scenic section of the CD0GG club layout provide a fine backdrop to Pete's Yankee Tank despite the rather anachronistic BR rolling stock. 

HR54 in action today.

Lybster Backhead

Backhead for HR53 Lybster.

Lochgorm Kits supplied the etches that make up the basic shape of the backhead, the castings are from LGM's "Jones" backhead set. There's little information available to work from, photos that show part of the cab interior are tantalisingly blurred so the model is a reconstruction based on minimal evidence. I think there should probably be a driver's brake valve in there somewhere but I'm really not sure and there's no room for it anyway!