The Duchess is rotting!

A strange title to this post but as I hinted yesterday I now have first hand experience of what is termed as mazak rot. Many die cast parts to models are made out of this alloy. Unfortunately, unless the manufacturing process removes all the contaminates they do, over time, start a crystallization process which makes the casting swell and become brittle. There is a more technical description on Wikipedia - click here.

In the case of the Duchess of Sutherland the keeper plate which keeps the wheels in the chassis has this rot. It caused it to swell, bend and when I tried to straighten it, shattered into several pieces! Oh dear as I said or possible words to that effect!

A spare part would be a good way to solve the problem but an internet search revealed spare keeper plates are as rare as rocking horse droppings and as I don't have a 3D printer or the skills to CAD a new part that option is out - for the moment anyway. So out came the Gorilla Super Glue and I glued the parts together. It doesn't look pretty and wont last but it is hidden away and allows me to see if the loco runs fully. 

Whilst I let the glue harden I cleaned up the wheel rims, the axles and the chassis mounting points and lubricated them.

Whilst I was at it I also checked and adjusted the back to back measurements on the wheels.

With the 'repaired' keeper plate back in place the body was reattached and the tender added and the loco tested. After a somewhat stuttering and sticky start it actually ran reasonably well. 

The tender mounting point to the loco needs adjustment but I was impressed enough to think it is worth spending a bit of time and money to try to deal with the keeper plate problem. I may well end up making one from sheet brass or similar if there are no spares out there. Stay tuned on that one.

On My Last Great Project the first baseboard support has had four of its six legs added and things appear to fit together and line up - so far anyway!

As my wood butchery skills are questionable I have added these adjusters to each leg which means I stand some sort of chance on getting things level when these are installed in the Man Cave. Unlike the Duchess I hope that I won't be dealing with any wood rot on these in the future!

  

Dealing with a Duchess.

Whilst any self respecting Duchess would steer clear of dealing with me unfortunately the Hornby Duchess of Sutherland locomotive has no choice! So I started dealing with her tender behind! I better clarify that in that it is the tender drive that actually powers her. 

The motor did not want to run when placed on the track and even with the loco itself coupled up to complete the electrical circuit there was nothing. So without wasting time the tender body came off to reveal the motor.

The two metal ballast weights at either end were taken off which allowed the motor to be removed.

The motor is one of Hornby's pancake type similar to what Lima used. They are generally fairly robust so it was not until I removed the plastic cover to find this.

The commutator and brushes were covered in an oil/grease mix which unsurprisingly stopped electricity flowing as it should! Out came some cotton buds and IPA or rubbing alcohol as it used to be called and all was cleaned. Back together the tender was connected to the main loco chassis minus the loco body and surprisingly there is a light bulb on the front that I did not know about until it illuminated. A good sign. 

The tender motor certainly ran but there was something wrong with the chassis. It just did not want to move! Time for a close examination. Taking the keeper plate off the bottom of the loco chassis revealed a very bent piece of metal.

Just bend it back flat would be most peoples initial thought and mine too. However I was soon going to experience first hand something that I have read of and seen on videos many times and dreaded ever finding in my models. More on that tomorrow in my continuing story of dealing with a Duchess!

 

Train spotting on a strike day!

After over a week of sickly cats, who are now seemingly getting better, I made Mrs. Woody and myself a sandwich and we had a drive out into the countryside to consume said sandwich. Mrs. W likes to overlook a bit of pleasant scenery whilst eating a sandwich which I can fully appreciate as well. However, what I cannot understand is that whilst eating she reads her Kobo. However that is good for me as over the years I have developed an ability to choose from various locations that provide a pleasant view of scenery and also of railway lines therefore enabling me to do a bit of train spotting. Today we returned to a spot that had previously yielded trains on an almost 5 minute interval. Today nothing for the first 25 minutes. One train goes by and then another 25 minutes before another by which time sandwiches have been consumed and it is time to move on. It was only listening to the radio news broadcast on the way home that the unusually few train numbers was explained by the fact that it reported that today was a strike day on the national railway system. Only I could go train spotting on a strike day!

Back at WMD HQ, nourished by my sandwich and with Mrs. W settling into the sofa for some prime time TV, I returned to the Hornby Open Cab GWR Pannier that needed a new motor. Having that delivered yesterday meant that it didn't take too long to put it all together and it was running wonderfully. That is what I would have liked to have reported but it did not quite work out that way!

Having put the wheels back in the chassis it was evident that there was a bind somewhere. Whilst pushing the un-motored chassis along the workbench once every revolution the wheels became difficult to roll. It was not the coupling rods directly causing the problem - they just were not aligned correctly because the quartering on the wheels was out of sync. In very basic terms, the coupling rod on one side of the loco has to be at the 12 o'clock position whilst on the other side is at the 3 o'clock position. If there is a wheel out the coupling rods bind causing the loco to stutter on each revolution of the wheels. I found the culprit and normally it would need some persuasion to come of the axle to then be realigned. However, in this case, it more or less fell off which may explain why the quartering was wrong. 

Putting it back onto the axle in the right orientation, some super glue now holds it in place. To get the distance between the wheel rims to the right dimension I used a 'back to back' gauge. A bit like feeler gauges for car spark plugs, my gauge should just be able to slip between the wheel rims if they are correctly spaced. Whilst I was at it I checked the other two wheel sets and found them a little tight. A bit of gentle persuasions and levering with a screw driver got them right. 

Putting it all back together and onto the track it runs well. It will never be up with todays locos with coreless motors, but it will run slowly and through most points. Result! At least I know I can always spot this loco on my layout any day - even if it is a strike day!

Things are looking better!

The WMD HQ fleet of cats are hopefully showing signs of getting better but still some need hand feeding in the two in one out game as I feed them cat biscuits by putting one at a time in their mouths.

I did manage to finish the last baseboard frame for my revised Last Great Project. It has the dropped section where viaducts will be installed which has caused some head scratching on measurements but hopefully it will be right!

The post today brought the new motor for the Hornby GWR Open Cab Pannier which hopefully will bring that loco back to life. Just need to find time to fit it however hopefully things are looking better with the cats so maybe I will get the opportunity this weekend. I might also get to finish the Foden tipper which is so clear to see now I have cleaned up my work bench!

Prediction correct!

I ended yesterdays post about sickly cats and the house being turned into a vomitorium saying I would probably be giving the house a thorough clean today. Well that prediction proved correct! The steam cleaner came out at 7am and by the end of the day I had created a vista of cleanliness downstairs. Even Mrs. Woody was impressed! Just upstairs to do next!

All that cleaning probably shamed me into tidying my work bench which was slowly disappearing under parts of models and rubbish. I must admit it was getting to the stage where I was loosing things on the bench but a half hour improved matters! I must admit I felt better for doing it. If only all the cats were better too but we are making progress - slowly.

I would post a picture of the before and after of the workbench but for some reason that is beyond me the photos will not upload! Oh well! Me and technology. Hopefully it works tomorrow!

Update - I found a way to make it work!

Repetitive Strain Injury!

No model making or related matters for me today. A bit of a busy few days have gone by with much of my time nursing the sickly WMD HQ fleet of cats who appear to have picked up something that they are sharing with each other. At times the house has been more like a cat themed vomitorium but with some vet visits, a few tests, some pills and a now empty wallet I am hoping that the corner has been turned. I hope so for my sanity. So far I have hand fed over 700 cat biscuits to the two most sickly cats who refused to eat. They like to play the two in, one out game which makes that 700 biscuits feel more like over a thousand! The things we do for our pets! Mrs. Woody says I am so good at the hand feeding that it would not be right for her to take over from me! I think she just wants to avoid the Repetitive Strain Injury that I seem to be developing from this task!

Given no model making time I did spend a few minutes searching down a spare motor for the Hornby Open Cab Pannier tank I featured a few posts ago. That should arrive soon but I think I will be looking for more spares for some more locos pulled out of the gift box I got given last week. 

First off a rather nice LMS express loco the Duchess of Sutherland. This looks to be a 1980s Hornby model with what was not the most reliable drive train. The motor was in the tender and the tender wheels were driven. It had the advantage that the moulding of the locomotive itself did not have to be compromised to get a motor inside but the tender drive was not the most reliable or powerful and many modellers found them disappointing. I can not comment on that yet as for some yet to be determined reason this model is a non-runner. However it is such a nice model that it deserves some TLC so when I have a chance I will dismantle it and determine what is wrong.

The second loco is an earlier model from Hornby of the Class 37. Still carrying its pre TOPS number it would not in real life have been in the blue livery for very long having been repainted from the green that was common place during much of the 1960s. The model dates probably from the early 1970s as the power bogie only has 4 wheels, not the 6 that the real loco had. I have no idea why Triang originally did this and Hornby continued it but they also did it with their class 31. It is a dirty model but has a certain charm even though just like the Hornby Duchess of Sutherland it is a non runner so I will need to investigate! In the meantime a few photos posed on my terminus model which looks 1970s so suits it well.

Hopefully the Vomitorium issues will be ending but I need to do a thorough house clean so I can see that being tomorrows task - Can you get Repetitive Strain Injury from polishing? I don't think that Mrs. Woody would belive me even if you did!

Detective work!

Sometimes you have to play at detective to find the cause of a problem. I was going to finish the last baseboard frame today but something just did not look right. Placing it on my slabs which I know are level the frame had a twist. Trying to twist it did not have any affect. one piece or possibly more were not true and straight or one of the joints was at an angle. I discounted the joint possibility as a quick check with a carpenters square showed that my mitre saw had cut all the joints true and at 90 degrees. It was then down to detective work to determine which wood was no true. Literally this was a case of unscrewing everything and then putting it back together and seeing what the effect was as each piece was refastened. Eventually I found that one of the side pieces was twisted. It showed itself at the last joint where a twist of a few mm was enough to affect the rest of the frame. The picture below shows the problem.

Going into WMD stores I found some old timer of the right size and cut a new piece to replace the twisted one. There is still a slight twist in the frame which I now know is due to the other side piece which came from the same length of timber as the other piece. Oh well tomorrow should see another piece cut and everything flat and level. Hope I detect the end of this baseboard project approaching!

Some more progress on the baseboard frames for My Last Great Project. The last frame is half built complete with a dropped are where the viaducts will go. Much head scratching and back of envelope calculations to get to this stage but hopefully my calculations and measurements are correct! 

Looking through the gift box of old model railway stuff that I got last week I found this rather nice GWR open cab Pannier.

I thought that this would be a great runner only dating back from the 1980's. However on the track nothing - not even a buzz of a stuck motor. Time to investigate. This is serious dismantling!

I traced back through the parts to find that the motor was not working which was strange given how well it looked. Putting some power to it it would turn a third of a resolution and then stop. I took it apart and cleaned the commutator.

Back together still no different. Then I looked more closely. What I actually found was that one of the wires to an armature had broken (see the photo below) meaning the motor would not run and probably never will as it is next to impossible to repair - for me anyway!

Time to start searching the internet for a replacement!

The season draws to a close!

I was at The Rocks by Rail Museum today where we had the last Driver for a Fiver event of the year. Just one more event in a fortnight and we close for the Winter. WOW! That all went quick! Today we had an unusual high number of visitors for an event so close to the end of season which was great and there many smiling faces and some lovely complimentary comments.

Back at WMD HQ I had some time servicing the Triang 3F Jinty. I had a bit of a surprise when removing the body to find that there is a syncrosmoke mechanism fitted. This was a novelty that Triang used on some locos. Basically a small container with a heated wire has a small quantity of oil poured into it through the funnel. The wire heats the oil which smokes and there is a mechanically driven mechanism that then emits puffs of smoke just like a real steam engine. Unfortunately it is not just like a real engine, but as a kid it was great fun! I need to find the right oil to test whether it still works - I am sure I have some in my stock of useful stuff!

Moving back to the job in hand, there was a broken pick up and a wire that came off in my hands, so some brass strip and soldering solved those problems.

Broken pickup to the right of the picture.

Repaired pickup and new wire .

The wheels were cleaned with an initial wash of rubbing alcohol and cotton buds and then a brass wire brush. The motor brushes were removed and the commutator on the motor cleaned before the also cleaned brushes were reinstalled. The couplings were bent and misaligned so they were straightened with some pliars. After that a quick wipe over of the body itself removed most of the grime but it could probably do with a wash in some water and detergent.

One coupling off and awaiting to be straightened.

The chassis serviced ready to be reunited with its body. You can see the amount of dirt and filth that was removed from the state of the cotton buds.

Back on the tracks it runs smoothly on plain track even down to a reasonably slow speed without hesitation. However it still has problems going through the points due to the coarseness of the wheels but I will live with that as I do like this model. Just need to do something with the transfers but that is for another day.

Back in time!

After yesterdays gift of various bits of model railway rolling stock, I managed to have a look through some of it today. It is like going back in time for me as I remember as a Child the delight of the red boxes that Triang and Hornby model railway stuff came in. You would walk into the local model shop where there would be shelves upon shelves of the boxes awaiting purchase from your pocket money. Not that the pocket money amounted to much. I recall getting something like 15 pence a week but that was in the days when a comic was two and a half pence so I guess it was all relative. However given that a simple wagon was about 75 pence it took a while to save up for something like that and a locomotive was a Christmas present if lucky! Oh those were the days!

However moving back to reality there were some interesting locos in the box. Most of the stuff has lived a hard life and was obviously played with and shows it but that was its purpose in its day. One or two bits are probably too far gone to save but most can live a second and perhaps less stress life with a little TLC.

I did find some locos that I have always wanted. The first is the 0-6-0 3F Jinty. One of the earliest locos that Triang produced and still it appears in production until recently although somewhat more refined and detailed then in its earliest incarnation. This particular one dates probably from the 1960s given the mechanism and the steam roller type wheels which were designed for a course toy like track system that Triang sold in those days. I tried it on one of my layouts. It lives - just! With a bit of prodding and poking it ran although it stutters which can probably be solved with a good clean and service. It does 'jump' over the point frogs but that is down to the coarseness of the wheels. The body needs a clean and possibly new transfers if I can find some. You can see the crudeness of detail by the fact that the cab is filled with the back end of the motor but I still love it!

The second loco for this blog is the Hornby Hymek. A model of British Rails Western Region diesel hydraulic loco which existed along with the Westerns and Warships. It was a mainstay in the Hornby catalogue through the 1960's and 1970's and was a loco that many a young model railway modeller wanted - including me! Well now I have this and crude as it is compared to the modern release by Heljan I still love it and no parts fall off like the more modern detailed models! Placed on the track it runs without prodding but again could do with a clean and service which I will do at a later stage. In the meantime here are some pictures of it.

More interesting stuff to come!