FREELANCE GARRETT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

ebay mike

ebay mike

Retired, but still hoarding. (GOF)
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As it was a nice sunny, warm day here at the Norfolk coast I thought I'd do some trials with my latest project. It's nowhere near finished yet and much of it has yet to be fixed to the other components so there was a certain amount of 'falling apart' during the short runs. The loco has no known full-size origin - all I wanted was something different and unusually substantial to pull a decent length train despite the fact I don't have a huge amount of track laid. It will be obvious from the photos the basis is two Bachmann Baldwin Big Haulers (in fact I've used parts from three). I had a couple of ropey examples in the garage, plus a battery one which donated several parts. I doubt there will be any super-detailing undertaken (my days of painting fruit on 'N' gauge market stalls have long gone) as my eyesight is not what it used to be, but I will be more than happy with 'an impression'. The finished product will have two standard Bachmann sound systems - fed from each of the powered chassis' with the intention of generating an unbalanced 'chuff'. Power pick-up will be via all 12 driving wheels and linked by wires under the boiler unit. In one of the photos you should be able to see the firebox/grate assembly has been slid forward exposing two telephone sockets which, compliments of Poundland are central to being able to plug both power units together. Lighting will be by LED with white headlamps being reverse polarity joined to red tail lamps for automatic reversal. The stretched superstructure has acquired a quite pleasing 'built in Great Britain' look about it from the wealth of plasticard and assorted bits and pieces from the junk box. I hope to add more info and photos when time and progress permits. Unfortunately(???) I still have a job so spare time is at a premium. I don't appear to have been a member long enough to attach my photos here so you'll have to view them in the My Garden Railway section of the Photo Galleries under the label HVR (it's on page two)
 
I think you can attach photos as soon as you register. Try clicking on the paper clip on the toolbar when you create a post.

Rik
 
Hi Rik. There was no paperclip showing anywhere. I wanted to post some pics in the Coffee Lounge a couple of weeks ago and came up against the same problem. Only been a member since early December so got a few weeks to go before the 90 day exclusion zone expires. Mike
 
Hi Ian. I did wonder what you were up to when you asked for some Bachmann wheels and axles the other day. I didn't have any to spare but may have other parts. What else might you need? Mike
 
It's fundamentally a standard Bachmann unit. I prised off the cab and cut two slots just forward of the backplate and mounted it in the same fashion as originally used. The rest was padded out with bits of plasticard and a generous helping of P38 (or was it P45?) body filler from Wilco. The base plate is 2mm plasticard with plastruct I section girders cut and shaped to fit. There's a steel and aluminium spine running underneath just to give it a bit of strength as the motor units ran at slightly different speeds when first tested and I didn't know what sort of stresses might be incurred. As it is the power consumed by the combined units has reduced speed to a much more sedate pace and the expected wheelslip appears unnoticeable. The domes are handmade (and it shows), the funnel is the orginal (cut down) with a plasticard saddle. The smokebox door is a modified original and no longer opens. Additional pipework is 5 amp ring main cable (the black one) as it is both rigid and flexible. The cab is actually made from two of the same - you can still see the join and plasticard half doors have been added. How far have you got with your project? Mike

Good question. How did you do your boiler? Yes thats what the pony truck was for!
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Success. Photos below to whet your appetite.
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That's an impressive beast Mike - I bet you're pleased with it (I know I would be if it were mine) - how do you handle it to get it on or off the tracks?
 
ebay mike said:
Hi Rik. There was no paperclip showing anywhere. I wanted to post some pics in the Coffee Lounge a couple of weeks ago and came up against the same problem. Only been a member since early December so got a few weeks to go before the 90 day exclusion zone expires. Mike
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I hadn't realised there was a probationary period for newbies. Must be something Paul and Lisa included in the rebuild of GSC.

Edit: Sorry - Just scrolled down the messages and seen that you've now fixed it. Very nice looking beastie BTW

Rik
 
Wow!! That is certainly a beastie. It looks well weighted, does she pull well (oooh er missus) as there are certainly plenty of contact points with the rail. A really fine build.
 
a mighty impressive beast,looks fantastic,a real credit to you:thumbup::bigsmile:
 
Jealous...........it's bigger than mine.

Should look awesome when finished............

here's my tiddler........ :bigsmile:

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Hi Mick. It's actually in three pieces just to make things easy. Think of it as two locos with a bridge in between. I'll try and take some more photos and all should become clear. There is a steel pivot on each tender unit and a couple of plates with holes in on the boiler bit. It literally just drops on and the weight holds it in place. The grate/firebox is a 'box' which slides in runners. The object is to enable a connecting cable from each unit to be plugged in to the telephone sockets hidden beneath the cab. That way I can ensure a common pickup feed and transmit the sound generated by the rear unit to a second speaker located beneath the smoke box. The sound unit in the front tender is wholly situated inside the water tank which has been left as open as possible underneath to let the sound out. I wanted some simple solutions to what originally appeared to be a profound difficulties. As for pulling power - I have no idea yet. I initially tried mounting a coupler to the buffer beam but due to the loco's length it went way out of gauge when traversing tight bends. It will go round radius 2 without too much difficulty but couldn't cope with attached stock. I am now exploring two options.

1. Either attach the coupler to the pony truck which may entail strengthening the pony pivot and uprating the spring to ensure it stays firmly on the track.....

or 2. using a heavy duty steel wire frame pivoted just forward of the front driving axle with some sort of 'loop' around the pony pivot to prevent fouling and a coupling attached to the very end. I've no days off for a while so there will probably be little progress over the next couple of weeks. Mike
trammayo said:
That's an impressive beast Mike - I bet you're pleased with it (I know I would be if it were mine) - how do you handle it to get it on or off the tracks?
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That looked a treat James. One question - the rear LGB type coupling - was it attached to the buffer beam or the pony truck? Mike
Midwalesstokie said:
Looks good. I built something similar a few years ago which I've since sold on.
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