LMR 57 Lion (Titfield Thunderbolt)

[Keith_1]

WOW! keith, this is another completely awesome build. Got caught up and now sitting in front of the computer, coffee in hand, watching the progress. This is a great build.

Thanks Paul,

It is great to hear from you again.

Take care and all the best

Keith

[Keith_1]

Hi All,

Pretty HAPPY today. I have been worried about the clearances between the wheels and the smokebox (thanks Handyjack), that may have made it very difficult to fit the wheel splashguards in place. Well my fears were justified. I assembled the locomotive with all the parts made so far. Smokebox wouldn't fit - foul with wheels. But, I have now modified the smokebox. It now fits, good wheel clearances. Should be no problems with the splashguards. May need to modify or remake the external leaf springs (see how we go, but not a big hassle - just a few days more work). Fitted the brass rings to see how they look. Happy with them. The boiler wooden cladding still needs to be stained. I have a nice appropriate colour stain for that later on.

All is good

Regards

Keith

first assy1.jpgfirst assy2.jpg

[Dalboy]

Looks great with the bands on. Was a mistake on the plans that caused the problem with the wheels and smokebox (I got the name right this time Keith)

[Keith_1]

Looks great with the bands on. Was a mistake on the plans that caused the problem with the wheels and smokebox (I got the name right this time Keith)

Derek

Not sure whether it was the plans or me. The plans are for a live steamer in 3.5 inch scale. I have modified and upscaled for my locomotive (perhaps my calc's were wrong) anyway it has come up OK. The bands are just sitting there at the moment. Have to stain the boiler and then seal it.
Watched "Flog It" on TV yesterday. Saw the Lion in the Liverpool Museum in the background. You are lucky over there with your museums.

Take care

Keith

[artme]

Wunderbar Keith!!

I find it interesting the way the leaf springs are the exact opposite of how we see them today.
Theses days the springs are mounted below the mass of the object.

[Keith_1]

Wunderbar Keith!!

I find it interesting the way the leaf springs are the exact opposite of how we see them today.
Theses days the springs are mounted below the mass of the object.

Arthur,

Yes, but they do have a compression spring between the chasis and the wheel bearing ? The trailing wheels however have the leaf springs below the mass weight.

Thanks for your comments.

Regards

Keith

[Keith_1]

Hi

Hope everyone had a great Australia Day

Did some work yesterday and a bit today on the Lion. Working on the wheel splashguards which was one of my main concerns on this locomotive because of the tight space between wheels, springs and the smokebox. It worked out OK.
Assembled the loco partially and worked out dimensions of wheels and splashguards. I used 70 X 35 pine as my top section of the guard. Cut out with bandsaw and then used spindle sander for the internal section cleanup. Used 3mm MDF as the side cover.

Had to modify the external springs so the will fit. Only done one so far. Still got 2 splashguards to make. Painted 1st coat of the two I have made and place in position. Eventually these will be riveted into position. Another few coats of paint to go and the have a go at pin striping the top and bottom sections side plates in yellow. Haven't done pinstriping in paint before so should be interesting.

Have a good rest of day.

Keith

Splash Guard Blanks.jpgSplash Guards.jpg

[bairdy380]

This is some of the most amazing work I have ever witnessed!

[Keith_1]

Thanks for your comments Bairdy.

On Monday I said I was going to do some pinstriping with paint on the splashguards and that it was something I had never done before. Well it remains that way. Never pinstriped in paint.
Instead I used Gold Leaf. I thought the gold would look better and shinier than paint - it does. BUT what a pain in the proverbial to use. Still need to mask up. Normal masking tape is no good on the face of the splashguard. You need to have something that is not sticky whilst setting up. I used the clear covering for school exercise books. Kids are men now so don't need it for them. I cut out the section and then minor modifications of the masking material until I was happy that it was even all around. Then removed the backing and adhered it to the face. Used normal masking tape for top and underneath the splashguard. The you need to use a gold leaf size (adhesive) and allow it to go tacky. You need to use cotton gloves with the gold leaf, otherwise the static electricity in your body makes it unworkable - it flies around everywhere. You the sit it on the tacky size and use a soft paint brush to smooth the gold leaf out. Leave it to dry for 45 minutes and then remove the tape. The gold leaf needs to be sealed quickly or it can be peeled off. I used a satin clear to seal.
Think it looks OK.
A person in Canada has contacted me asking how big is the loco. I took a photo with my trusty can of VB Gold (still unopened) to allow people to gauge the size.

Regards

Keith

Gold leaf1.jpgGold leaf2.jpgGold Leaf3.jpgGold Leaf4.jpgGold Leaf5.jpgLocomotive size.jpg

[artme]

Bloody marvelous Keith!!!

[Handyjack]

You must have lots of patience to be working with gold leaf. It will no doubt increase the value of your model.
We are all keenly watching this build.

Looking very realistic.

[Keith_1]

You must have lots of patience to be working with gold leaf. It will no doubt increase the value of your model.
We are all keenly watching this build.

Looking very realistic.

Thanks mate.

Artificial gold leaf, but only microns thick. Terrible stuff


Regards

Keith

[PLD]

Keith, you are a very talented man, that is for sure. I couldn't even begin to think of how to do some of this building, let alone accomplish it. Really appreciate you sharing your talent. The project is looking awesome.

[Repliconics]

Really wonderful work Keith.
Lion just keeps getting better and better by the day!.
The finish you've got on the paint just looks spot on mate.

Cheers
Trev.

[Keith_1]

Hi All,

Work in Progress on the stack transition piece from the smokebox.

I cut the bottom flange section from some pine. First cut with bandsaw and then I used the spindle sander to get the correct contour of the smoke box. Then followed that contour for the top of the flange. Turned some pine to the inside diameter of the PVC pipe fitting, then machined the other end to 12mm to fit into the flange. Drilled and glued this round section to the flange. Machined up the PVC fitting to the contour of the flange, then drilled and fitted rivets to it. Araldited the PVC to the wooden "spigot". Once assembled it allowed me to do a rough sand and then apply filler to fill any small gaps. I will give a smooth sand tomorrow. I think the flange may be a bit bigger than prototype around the smokebox. Will check out and do a bit of research.
Either way - it is starting to look a bit like a locomotive

Regards

Keith
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