John Morgan
Steam Traction
Hi Coal Fired fans,
I was so pleased with my coal fired D.J.B. Edrig that I completed about two years ago I began to have a think about putting together a new kit. I didnt want another Edrig nor did I want a Ragleth, so what else was on offer from Accucraft to fit the bill?
A Mortimer came to mind but what about the coal bunker on the back of the cab. It would have to be removable to clean out the boiler tubes. Would the firebox door drop down to place coal in the hole and the side water tanks would have to be cut down to fit. What were or are going to be the pitfalls?
Well I have made a start. The attached photos speak a thousand words.
Problems that I have had so far. Well not that many, fingers crossed as I am still in the build.
First off the chassis build is as straight forward as the Edrig so no problems there. Most of the puzzling comes from fitting and adapting the body to fit.
As far as the body of the Mortimer goes I found it easier to keep the saddle tank and the cab fixed together as one when trying the trial runs fitting it over the boiler. The first thing I noticed was the saddle tank is a tight but not impossible fit over the boiler with the boiler wrap supplied by D.J.B. in place. Without the boiler wrap its a far better fit and the safety valve bonnet fits better as well. I may discard this from the build. With the saddle tank over the boiler in a position where the original tank filler cap goes to line up with the blind boiler bush fixing and the cab fixing holes lined up with the holes in the running plate, the front of the saddle tank is just short of the rear of the smoke box. Not a lot but I think I may get away with it! I had to make a new fitting to allow the original saddle tank to screw into the boiler bush. The removal of the bunker from the cab was easier than I thought. I used a mini disc cutter to cut through the metal on the bottom of the cab on both sides. Then using slight wiggling motions I lifted the back bunker up and down till the solder joint at the top of the cab came adrift. Now this solder joint is not very good and it comes apart, or at least it did for me without breaking off the head of the rivet on the outside of the cab. So far so good. The back sheet of a coal fired Edrig is almost touching the cab sheet and so it is on the Mortimer so it had to be moved back a little. Also a cut out in the back sheet of the coal bunker was needed to drop down the firebox door enough to get coal into the firebox via a cranked shovel. This cut out again was done using a mini disc cutter. The bunker will be tidied up towards the end of the build. The coal bunker/cab rear has to be fixed to the footplate and cab roof. The bottom fixings are rivets soldered into position and fix into the drilled holes in the footplate floor. Not a lot of room as can be seen but it is secure. The top of the rear bunker/cab will be held in place by a strong mini magnet fixed in turn to a small plate of steel on the cab top rail and another piece of right angled steel soldered to the rear under side of the cab roof. The roof will be in place when the rear bunker/cab is offered up to the back of the loco. Well thats the plan. The side water tanks are going to be about 50 percent smaller than those in an Edrig. I have cut them down ready to solder but still have them to locate etc.]
I was so pleased with my coal fired D.J.B. Edrig that I completed about two years ago I began to have a think about putting together a new kit. I didnt want another Edrig nor did I want a Ragleth, so what else was on offer from Accucraft to fit the bill?
A Mortimer came to mind but what about the coal bunker on the back of the cab. It would have to be removable to clean out the boiler tubes. Would the firebox door drop down to place coal in the hole and the side water tanks would have to be cut down to fit. What were or are going to be the pitfalls?
Well I have made a start. The attached photos speak a thousand words.
Problems that I have had so far. Well not that many, fingers crossed as I am still in the build.
First off the chassis build is as straight forward as the Edrig so no problems there. Most of the puzzling comes from fitting and adapting the body to fit.
As far as the body of the Mortimer goes I found it easier to keep the saddle tank and the cab fixed together as one when trying the trial runs fitting it over the boiler. The first thing I noticed was the saddle tank is a tight but not impossible fit over the boiler with the boiler wrap supplied by D.J.B. in place. Without the boiler wrap its a far better fit and the safety valve bonnet fits better as well. I may discard this from the build. With the saddle tank over the boiler in a position where the original tank filler cap goes to line up with the blind boiler bush fixing and the cab fixing holes lined up with the holes in the running plate, the front of the saddle tank is just short of the rear of the smoke box. Not a lot but I think I may get away with it! I had to make a new fitting to allow the original saddle tank to screw into the boiler bush. The removal of the bunker from the cab was easier than I thought. I used a mini disc cutter to cut through the metal on the bottom of the cab on both sides. Then using slight wiggling motions I lifted the back bunker up and down till the solder joint at the top of the cab came adrift. Now this solder joint is not very good and it comes apart, or at least it did for me without breaking off the head of the rivet on the outside of the cab. So far so good. The back sheet of a coal fired Edrig is almost touching the cab sheet and so it is on the Mortimer so it had to be moved back a little. Also a cut out in the back sheet of the coal bunker was needed to drop down the firebox door enough to get coal into the firebox via a cranked shovel. This cut out again was done using a mini disc cutter. The bunker will be tidied up towards the end of the build. The coal bunker/cab rear has to be fixed to the footplate and cab roof. The bottom fixings are rivets soldered into position and fix into the drilled holes in the footplate floor. Not a lot of room as can be seen but it is secure. The top of the rear bunker/cab will be held in place by a strong mini magnet fixed in turn to a small plate of steel on the cab top rail and another piece of right angled steel soldered to the rear under side of the cab roof. The roof will be in place when the rear bunker/cab is offered up to the back of the loco. Well thats the plan. The side water tanks are going to be about 50 percent smaller than those in an Edrig. I have cut them down ready to solder but still have them to locate etc.]
