aire valley railway series

7/21/2019 Aire Valley Railway series

1/61

R ILW Y

MOD

ELLER

SIMPLE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

See page 8

SCRATCH BUILD YOUR STOCK


2/61

R A

I L W Y M O D E L L E R

wy

f th

e

onth

IRE V LLEY

A

aylor describes his 00n3 layout

Engine

No.

2.

Anne: on down cattle

special ~ p p r o a c h i n g Highbank

HE Aire

Valley Railway is a three

foot-gauge railway situated

some-

where in England

and runs from

Salt

a small seaside resort, to the village

Narrowford

some thirty miles inland.

main

industry

at Narrowford

is

, with sheep farming

the only

other

industry.

The

ra

ilway's only passing place is at

little

market

town

of Moorhead

,

is ten miles from Saltaire

and

from Na rrowford.

There

arc a l

ot

d

ai

ry

and

cattle farms a round

Moor-

T he land between

Moorhead and Nar

is

sparsely popu lated moorland

o

nl

y a few scattered hamlets

sheep

farms.

Happily

the railway gets

over this section , including

granite.

as

the only road

over

the

is a

dirt

road

and

impassable

many

s in a year.

There arc

two steam passenger trains

daily between

Saltaire and ar

the morning train from Saltaire

the

afternoon

train from

arrowford

The

passenger service

the

more

populated districts

of

and Mo

orhead is augmented

by

rail-buses.

for

layout

s no permanent site

could be

gi,en

to the layout it has been constructed

sections, each capable

of

being trans-

ported by one

person.

The

sizes

of

th.:

sc

sections will be seen from the track plans,

the largest being 5ft.

6in.

x 2ft.-

rath

cr

ungainly but manageab le.

Bas

eboard

s

The

two sta

tion sections

arc

const ructed

of

well-battened

{in.

plywood. 1 favoured

{ in. ply because it is reasonabl e in price,

is easy to pin or screw a nd wi

ll

hold them

when inserted.

The

big disadvantage,

of

course, is noise, but with the combination

of

foam rubl1er

trac

k

under

l

ay and

low

na

rr

ow

-gauge speeds this probl

em

is not

too acute.

Tmck

With one

exception all track

and

po int

work

is Wrenn

TT

. T he excep

ti

o n is a

pair

of

Gem

TT

points forming

a cross

over

in the loco yard.

These

G::m points

make

this

a few inches

shorter

than

Wrenn

- a

big

consideration when space is

at

a

premium.

Saltaire section

Probably

this section is the most in

teresting. as

here

we

ha,

c the small har

bour i th

its freighter, the

ay Cookl .

and

fishing

'esscl.

the

Rhoda Marr and

dockside buildings (in

low

relief). includ

ing a warehouse, a fish dock.

and

the

Smugglers Arms, a rather foreboding inn.

These

buildings. along with all

others

on

the layout.

arc

scratch-built.

The

low-relief

building in the main st reet

(Moorhead

Lane), the butchers, the post office, etc .

have been given names of

their

counter

parts in the real Saltaire.

f

we cross the river to the railwav side

and wander

down

to

the loco yard ,,:c

ill

find

it

reasonably well

equipped. with

a

workshop (in which near-miracles arc per

formed). a line

for the rail

-buses. th::n the

engine shed and coal stage road . This ~ o l

stage is rather novel, as the hand

cram

:

wh ich is used

for

coaling the locos a l

so

r

eac

hes

over

the river,

and

by means

of

a

coal barge

ti

ed

up

here

the coa

~ ~ a g e

is

replenished , the coal bar e in its turn

be ing repleni shed via the

fr :

ighter.

The

sta tion bui ldings. loco shed,

work

sho

p a nd goods shr ' arc built

of

the usual

ba l

sa

wood

and budding

papers. Slates

are

put

on in individual rows

and

all

build-

ings have g

utter

s. fall pipes and a

share

of

broken and

open

indows.

Passenger platforms

both

here and at

Moorh.::td

only

come

up

to rail Jc,cJ.

The

track

layout at Saltaire

rna\ seem

rather

unusual. but was

adopted

because

it maJ c full use of space a\ailable ith

out

o,crcrowding.

/ec1ricity Power

is

supplied by

a

Ham

mant

&

1\ 1organ .\linor unit and

is a

normal

two-rail suppl}. There is

nothine fane\

electrically except

perhaps

the fc::ds to t h ~

dead ends. There are five of these s::ctions.

and

the normally

dead

rail

of

each

sc:tion

is wired

to

a

copper ri ,

et

on

the control

panel. The dead rail is

made

Ji,e by apply-


3/61

96

8


4/61

R I L W Y M O D E L L E R

gine

No. 4 Arthur,

with

8.50 from Saltaire taking water at Moorhead

on

a busy fair day . The merry-go-round

and Fe rris

wheel

can be

cle

arly seen in this

photogra

ph.

g a pencil switch (a loudspeal-cr exten

ion plug in my case) to the required

The pencil switch must be co nnected

the same output socket of the co ntroller

th

e line in which the dead end breaks

made.

Point operation.

All the points

and

the

signals

at

Saltaire

are

worked from a

ever frame (home made)

by

piano wire

through spring curtain runner.

section

This section was constructed in much

sa me way

as

Saltaire. E xceptions and

vidual items

at

Moorhead arc as

fol

ows.

Point operation. Points

are

held in nor

position by rubber bands and

are

changed by being pulled with carpet thread

running through sma

ll sc

rew eyes as

su p

pli ed with the

sp r

ing curt ain wire. T he

rubber

bands and ca rpet thread wo rk a

small mechanism made on the same prin

ciple

as an ordinary door

bolt.

Bacl.ground scenery. There are no

low

relief buildings

at

Moorhead : instead the

back-drop is the Oiltcczi v illage

square

scene, in front

of

which th

er

e is a market

fair complete with market stalls and a

merry-go-round

and

Fe rris wheel, both

of

which

are

working models. The showman s

traction engine

of

the Yesteryear series

and about four

dozen va rious makes

of

people

complete

the scene.

Centre section

This is constructed by the open-top

meth

od. which seems to be

the

best way

when rolling

scenery

is

e q u i ~ e d

Items of note on the section are a work

ing water wheel and tunnel mouths

of

timber (the company ran a

bit

short

of

cash here).

One

face of H

ope

H ill. through

whi::h the tu:1ncl is bored. is supposed

to

be rock.

This

rock face has been built up

of

.. slag'' retrie\cd

from

the domestic fire.

Notes on ~ b l e

This

is the proposed timetable when a

fourth section is built. Meantime. a modi

fied service is in operation between Saltaire

and Moorhead.

Th

e proposed timetable requires three

engines in

steam

and the rail -buses. Trains

run in the order

of

the seq uence numbers

shown.

T IMETABLE FOR ORDINARY WEEKDAY

NOT FAIR

DAYS

OR SATURDAYS

U P

T RAINS

SEQUENCE. N

o.

I 4 s 6

ETY.

:OPPERI

I

12 IS

I

LASS

OF

TRAIN

RAIL-BUS MIXED

GOODS

RAIL BUS PASSENGER RAIL BUS PASSENGER

{

En inc

from ngine from

Engine ex tran

From siding

to

shed.

Shunt shed. Shunt From siding to Encint ex train Encinf ex tra in From siding to No

. 10 from

platform yard.

Attach

yard and m ke

plad

orm No . 7

No.

3 from

pltform shed.

need

only

NOTES

Before

journey

wagons or

up

tr-ain

lor shed

convey

mini

Conveys mails

Narrowford to Moorhead

mum pau.

stock

tr-ain

SALTAIRE dep.

6.00 a.m. 8.50 a.m. 10.20 a.m. 11.05 a.m.

12AS p.m.

3.35 p.m.

5.10 p.m.

I

7.30 p.m.

{ '

6 ~ 0

a.m.

9.30 a.m. 11.00 a.m. liAS a.m.

1.25 p.m.

p.m

. 5.50 p.m.

8.10

p.m

MOORH

EAD

Water

dep.

9.35 a.m. 1.30 p

.m.

4.20 p.m.

NARROW FORO arr. 10.50 a.m. 2.45 p.m. 5.35 p.m.

Remain in up

Sh

unt

yard,

Shunt Moor- Remain

in

up Shunt

quarry

En&ine to shed

Remain

in

up le ave coaches

NOTES

After journey

platform then en&ine to he.ad yard. then platform then engine to

platform

in up platform

(

shed

co nm No

. 7

shed


5/61

R

L 96

o

ti \

cs

is is a subject on which I could \\Tite

. Once the bug of loco construction

bitten, one feels as though one cou ld

ut for ever ; but a line has to

somewhere or there wi ll be more

than

other

rolling stock.

The

joy

pleasure of putting a completed home

on

the track

for the

firM

time

watching her roll away under the

of

the controller is

just

great,

and

gers burnt with n so ldering iron or

with

a piercing saw

arc

forgotten

moment when she gets under way.

A list of A.V.R. locos is g1ven below,

brief notes on each one.

No. I : Anthony,'' 2-4-{) tan ... Chassis

from Tri-ang standard TT 0-6-0

assis. T inplate (Oxo t in) body. A bi t

~ p c c d y for

narrow gauge if

one

is

on

the controller.

No. 2:

A nne,

0-4-0

tank.

1 in plate

from scratch. Frame

and

cylinders

arc

of

wood. Main

arc

secured

to

spacers by number

screws. T ri-ang motor, 12mm.

dr

iving wheels, modified form of

schaerts valve gear.

Thi

s engine is a

runner

and will crawl

for

ya rds at

s than scale ,,aJI..ing pace

under

h:tlf

No

. 3: Aud rey

,

0-4-4 Ya nl..cc "

tank. Chassis built from scratch,

in

the case of this engine the chassis

s the boiler, smoke-box, cylinder

in fact except the cab.

This

cab forms the " body " and

removable to get at the

Romf

ord

Ter

motor. The cab is of card and is fully

and gla7cd .

No.

4: Arthur, 2-6-0 tank. A free

of the T rallee and Dingle

o.

Chassis scratch built,

Romford Terrier

. 12mm.

diameter

wheels.

This

is the

V.R

:s

first six-coupled loco,

run

s as nicely

and

is by far the most powerful.

Everyday domestic items

have

been

in the construction

of

these locos,

as pins 101 uses), large diameter

screws for domes, empty lip

for boiler

and

smoke-box (steal

Engine No. 3, " A udrey, a t

coaling Hage. This view is

ta

ken

from the

rear

of

th e lay

ou

t

an

d sh ows

that

bo

t h sides of

the station build

ings are fully

modelled .

a full

one

at your own peril), " Dinkic "

curlers

for

con rods, plastic knitting

needles and brass curtain rail, to mention

just a few items o t forgetting our old

friend the Oxo tin.

The

only

other

motive power not yet

85

mentioned

arc

the rail-buses os. 101 and

102.

Maude

and

Derek.

These are

based on the C.D.R.J .C. railcars 9

and

10 .

o. 102 is a dummy vehicle.

and

except

for wheels, axles

and

axle-guards is

cntirel}' made of wood and card. as is the

TIMET BLE FOR ORDIN RY WEEKD Y

DO W N TRAIN S

SEQUENCE

No

.

2

I

3 7 9

10 13 14 16

CLASS OF TRAIN

RAIL-BUS

I

PASSENGER GOODS

I

RAIL-BUS MIXED

I

RAIL-BUS

I

MINERAL

I

PASSENGER

I

Encine

ex

train En

cine ox train

En

ine ex tratn

Encno

from No

. 4

from No. 8. a ~ t a c h No. 15. atw:h

NOTES

e.efore

ourney

shed shed. attach

loaded hoppers milk nns

from

I

W OOJ

for tO brake coods shed tO

Satu.re

r tran

U ~ '

NARROWFO RD

dep.

~

8.15 a.m. 3.00 p.m.

5.

25

p.m.

MOORHEAD

~ r r

9.30 a.m. 4.

15

p.m.

6.40 p.m.

dep.

9.35 a.m.

11.50 a.m 1.30 p.m. 4.20 p.m. 6.00 p.m. 6.45 p.m

8.30 p.m.

SALTAIRE

arr.

10.15 a.m. 12.30 p.m. 2.10 p.m. S.OO p.m. 6.40 p.m. 7.25 p.m.

91 0 p.m.

leave train in Position aoods

Shunt hop/rors

Dispose of milk

loop. onclno

to

waaons. encine

to

d...-k

s

Inc. vans after un

To

sidlnc Encine

to

shed train No

.8

To sidlnc

to

shed To sidinc encine to

shed

loadinc. encin e

NOTES

fter iout nty to shed

Encine ex train

No .

3

shunt

wacons leh '

loop


6/61


7/61

96

ODELS

D A Naylor

y o

th

ese aoorking sc enic f e

atures

be

built

be taoeen n oo and

th

e

y and aoou/d form t l acCeJJtable

esen

t

for

lrty erulwsillst

HE models arc powered with identical

motors. These are Mabuchi type 15

D.C. motors made by Tokyo Scientific

Limited

and are so

ld by

most

model

toy shops at 3/ 6 for type 15, which

quite ample for

our

needs.

The

normal

is

1.5 and

a single-ce

ll

battery will

for weeks. Fig.

I

shows the battery

and

connections. Before soldering

y leads check the polarity

of

the motor

that the model does

not

run the wrong

are

D.C. motors and

re

versible.

lead from the motor goes,

of

,

to the

other swit

ch

terminal. I pre

the

switch

to

be

of

the push-button

If

like me, you refuse

to

throw old

echanisms and the like away you

ha

ve quite a collec ti

on of

gears, etc.

motor-cars have also been salvaged

pu

sh

-and-go gears, and wheels minus

fo r pulley wheel

s.

Ordinary

rubber

re fine

for

driving bands. If a thin

odd-sized driving band is required I

my

own

from

elastic thread (very

knot

band th

e required size, pull

and cut

of ' the

surplus thread as

as possible. One last

about

rubber band dri ves. I

ha

ve

not

necessary

to ha

ve them

, particularly on the mitial drive [rom

motor.

Any of

these three models could

be

a simple static model but mechan

them lifts them out of the ordinary

and

this type

of

gimmick

oves quite a hit with the ladies and

visitors.

Th

ese notes

are

therefore

on the mechanical side, although

will be found

of

the fairground

1 W TERM LL

Th

e building itself is constructed similar

to

a ch

oco

late

bo

x except that the lid fits

inside the base. This base is

tin.

ply and

carr

ies the works

and

lower wall.

The

lid

or

mai n part

of

the bui lding is tailored

to

fit into the base,

and

is

of

all-card con

struction.

I

used this lid-in-the-box method

as the base

could

then be bedded into the

contours of the ground. The building can

be finished as desired- stone, brick, all

timber, etc. Mine is half-timbered and

Fig.

2

will explain a

lot

better than words.

I omit

measurements except base size,

which is 95mm. x 115mm.

Fig.

3

shows one side

of

the wheel.

Two are

required,

and

twelve spacing

pieces.

Glue

the spacing pieces

on

to

one

285

wheel first, then the second wheel to

the

spacers.

The

hole

for

the

shaft

should

be small enough to make the shaft a push

fit,

and

a

spot

of

glue will

then

hold

the

wheel in place.

The

sma ll stone island in

the

river car

ries a post which is supposed

to

have a

shaft bearing. Howev

er

, tllis is a dummy

and all bearings

are

inside the building

and arc

made from

strip

metal

about tin.

wide bent

at

right angles. Fig.

4

is a plan

of the mechanism.

One

final

po

int which I snail correct

when time allows.

There

should be a small

weir

and

sluice

to

make a mill-race for

the wheel.

At th

e

moment

my mill

is

de

pendent

on

the state of the

ri \

er.

To

find s ~

posi tions step rovnd

r c u m h ~ r c

c : e : tw

ic

e wi

r h

compass

su at w 1ut Start socond

l i

me

round midw

y

bC twttl"'

any two

o

thcz:

f ir.st ~ e t o f

m rks

Spacer 12

r

qui

rcd

X ~ ~ ~

X

Glue X c gcs

to FIG 3

Not t

se

al

FIG 4


8/61

86

SAWMILL

The

mill will be clear

from

the

photo

Tbe

shed over the saw bench has a

wall

round

three sides ; the rear

boarded up to roof height and also has

unglazed window.

The

roGf is sup

by timber posts of

in

. square

The

creation to the

right of

the

bench is designed to carry away saw

is duly ba gged

in

the

hut

dernea th. The framework

to

the left

f

the roof is instead of a

crane;

there

a central

rail

(like curtain railway)

a pair of chain blocks

for

This continues over the rail

sidings and is used to unload railway

T h ~ base for the sawmi

ll

is a piece of

in. ply, 12in. x 4in. It is best to start by

saw in the required position

building the bench rou

nd

it (F

ig.

5).

addition to the obvious slot in the

en

ab

le

th

e saw

to

be worked

slot will be required for the log-working

m , and this

shou

ld be immediately to

rear of the saw bench.

I

took

a risk and made the

saw

bench

rou nd the saw. f the rubber

needs replacing it will

have

to be

elastic thread.

Taking

the under

mechanism

step

by step (Fig.

shaft A is driving direct from the

, the pulley is two

of K's

8mm.

this shaft to the saw at

B.

A drive

also taken to pulley

C

(ex toy car

is plastic and a push fit on the

On the same shaft is a ten-tooth

(D), which drives the final 72-tooth

E. Bolted

to

this gear is

crank

F. A

B.A.

nut

is soldered to the end of this

inch from the centre and con

arm G is pivoted by means of a

B.A. bolt.

It

is this arm which finally

" carriage " carrying the log.

think the photograph plus the sketch

of

and runners

will

make

matters

I realize that

it

is un]jkely that anyone

repeat

this gearing. I

cannot

myself,

could construct a similar mechanism

other

gears, etc., that arc to hand.

was fortunate with gear E. It has a

and is free on its shaft (Fig.

. However, F ig. 8b shows how

the

crank can be attached to a normal re

ing shaft.

Final ly, attach the log (a reasonably

{-in. or so in diameter) to the

arm

after cutting a slot in it

saw is supposed to be cutting

(Fig. 9).

The

log can be adjusted by

ending the

arm

as required

so that the

will run

through

the

saw without


sawmill. Facing

page:

the fairground.

Th e l

ower photographs on

each page show

the mechanisms.

FIG 5

7 - I rt duction on

sow

Apprac

216-1

roduttion

on o g ~

3. FAIRGROUND

The baseboard for this model is once

again

in.

ply 12in. x 3in. (the 12in. keeps

popping up, as

the

baseboard battens are

at 12in. centres). Decide where tbe models

arc going to be placed, bore a hole in.

diameter where centre

of

merry-go-

round

is to be

and

cut a slot

about

t in. x

tin.

im-

FIG 8b

{

dio wi

re:

at mm ctntn s

\ lor

rollers

FIG9

2

==:::1.

t t ~ ~ t t r

_:j

Arm About

2'2

mediately to one side of where the Ferris

wheel is to go (Fig. 10 . It will be best if

this slot is on the non-viewing

or

least

viewed side of the model.

Once again I think

the

photograph will

help here

,

and

F i

g.

II

will help in fixing

the merry-go-round. The shaft carrying

the crown wheel and the merry-go-rou nd

is the or iginal rear axle of a toy

lorry

with the wheels removed and the crown

wheel forced down to one end.

The

small

gear wheel is also on its original shaft,

and where the pulley is now was the fly

wheel of the lorry.

As regards the actual construction of

the merry-go-round, the exploded draw

ing (Fig. 1

2

will explain far better than

a dozen pages

of

writing. It will be seen

that it is a series of cones and discs ; 'tbe

numbers arc measurements in millimetres.


9/61

96

eo ;>

22

1

lhock pap

or

j

o n ~

- ' - = : Thi

xtt s

ion

;q

: -- ~ ~ s e ~ ~ ~ ~

Strin

o r

wir t r ng to

l'Nck

paper

=17. Hardboard disc

22

cone

Q

strcnglhen joint

- as in Fig

The side-f rames for the Ferris wheel

the shape of a letter A. Two arc re

and should be erected as in F ig.

3. M ake

sure

the frames

arc square,

as

twist will make the wheel foul them.

to

bear

in mjnd is not to be

put

the cross

supports

higher

shown,

as

they will only foul

the

cha irs.

The wheel (Fig. 14) is also built up

two identica l halves.

They

arc made

card, and 1 wou ld recommend thin

1

Half size

FRO

NT

Pvlley_:astic car wheel push f i l on shaft

87

30 nrn

die d

is

c of hard board

Tt i

s

d1s.c

corrit s

th m.rrry

go-round and the

shall 1$

a

c J > ~ fll

3 pullcy

ex

specdo

wh ite card as sold at any good stationer s.

1

fi

nd the chair pivots (pins)

stay

put with

out gluing.

After

the wheel has been

drawn

out on

card

th

e hol es for these

pivots can be punched with a pin of the

size to be used

for

the pivot. but do this

before

cutting

the

wheel

out.

then

the

card will not split.

Any burr

on the

other

side of th e card can be rubbed down with

fine glasspapcr. Six chairs are r

equ

ired to

the dimensions shown in Fig. 1

4.

As the

chairs revolve they

have. of course,

to

remain hori1

onta

l,

and to attain this

two things a r c

necessary: ( 1) the

footrest is a piece

of 2mm. x

I

mm.

brass bar, and be

ing well bclo'' the

Ha

lf sin

FIG 10

FIG II

centre of gravity wi ll keep the chair level

provided (2) the holes in the chair sides a rc

fre e. Once again it will be best to punch

the holes before cutting the sides

out. but

with a larger pin than the pivot pin.

Any passengers (bra ve

people ) shou

ld

be glued in position

before

the wheel is

mounted

in the frames. To

stop

the chairs

binding o n the sides of

th

e wheel. washers

shou

ld be placed on the pivot pin on

either

side of the chai rs. I made my own

from

sof

t wire formed into little loops like

chain line.

The final dri,e to the wheel is through

the slot in

the baseboard

to a pulley on

the wheel ax le (in my case it was the last

of the four plas ti c car wheels). On the

rea l thing the wheel itself acts

as

a .huge

pulley, but due to the

nature

of the con

struction of the model I did not deem it

wise

to

follow this.

CHAIR

t ..

7 ....

,-

}

1

6 _J.

. .

2x

l

brass bar

Not

to sca le

FIG

14


10/61

58

{f :('TI BEJSOWERED

~ P I N

SINGLE GI/ID CROSSHEAD

r ~ r v r

,(PER PLAT

FIG

I NOT ro SCALE

FRAME

FIG

2 Nor ro

SCALE

MAIN

0

A S H = t l ' A N

I ;

BAR S : BEND

LP

SOWER

RIVErS IMITATED

BY

INDENTING WITH PANEL PIN

SJPAN

FRAME

l

1

I

u:

0 0

WASHER

FRETTED

FROM

SHEET

ALL PARTS BRASS

FIG 3

CAB SIDES

HA

LF

SIZE

FIG

SA

I

EJ

R A I L W A Y

M O D E L L E R

CAPO X ~ T

< ; ~ S TS

FORAXUS

SI.OT FOR 8 84

PIVOT

BOLT

f IG4

FOOTPLAT

FITS

INTO SLOT

IN

OVERLAY

FIG 58

L ~ o : : : : c : : : : : : : : : = Q . ~ I ~ } o 1j ' ' ,., WOO OR

em

KEEPER

PLATE

COWCATCHER IN LEAD WITH PINS CAST INTEGRAL

FI/LL SIZE

Pf /M.{ ;;L f / J f ro

MAINFRAME


11/61

963

UDREY

4 mm scale fr

ee

-lance

Forney loco

for D. A Naylor s

Aire

Valley

H prototype, a 2ft.-gauge loco, on

which tllis model is based attracted my

with its low-slung boiler, its commodious

cab and the flangeless rear driving

s. This was the first time I had come

s a four-coupled loco with flangeless

vers, and I presumed (having no further

on the subject that the bogie

ck must

have been on a central pivot

side play. I tried to follow this up

the model,

but wi

th

out

any success, due

the Rangeless wheels running off the rails

Sin. curves

of

my railway.

In order to preserve the " dayJjght under

" look

of

the engine the main

n a

way from previous locos, and Fig. 1

the main frame and component parts.

ss curtain rail was used for all these

s except the ash pan, which

is

made

an Oxo tin. The brass bars soldered

he keeper plate are to prevent

-down movement of

the

as the depth

of

the main frame is

ore than the axle diameter.

12

B.A. screws

ls were used for driving wheels.

upper clamping bar

fo

r the motor is a

o f flat brass the sa me length and

as the lower bar, with corresponding

8 B.A. screws.

Gear

meshing can

adjusted by packing under the front end

f the motor, which in this model is a

ord Terrier. "

The superstructure was started by solder

the smoke-box to the boiler (fortunately

an empty brass lipstick case of the

ght diameter in the scrap box for the

). T he smoke-box is Oxo tin. T he first

irds of the boiler is lled wi th a solid

hunk of lead (to cou nterbalance the motor),

last third of the underside is cut

The

is soldered to the ash-pan and the

end of the boiler to the cab plate. The

footplates " over the wheels were then

in place. The smoke-box is sup

a " saddle ; this was cast all in

with the cylinders (my usual wood

no good, as weight was

required forward).

The

mould was fretted

of

wood,

and

J must admjt the casting

required some judicious filing. All necessary

Audrey

on

shed

ho l

es

were drilled after casting. A 10 B.A.

screw holds the front end together, pass ing

through the main frame, sad dle a nd smoke

box.

The

chimney stem was then soldered

to the smoke-box (sec Fi

g.

2 to this stage).

What space was left in the box was filled

with lead and the door was added. The

lamp is wood with brass fittings, the venti

lator a used ball pen, the lamp-glass rim a

section of brass tube, and the glass a stone

from an ear-ring. I was lucky wi th the

c

hi

mney top, it being the stop button

oiT

a

discarded a l

ar

m clock- a few to uches with

a swiss file while being turned in a h

and

dr ill finished it off.

The

bell was lik

ew

i

se

turned in the hand drill

and

the bracket was

fretted from sheet brass. Fig. 3 shows the

make-up of the dome.

The bogie trucks, outside axle-boxes and

sp rings, etc., are on ly dummy ones built

up out

of

wood and card. The truck is

shaped up from a piece

of

brass (Fig. 4).

The wheels are K's 6mm. ones on Peco

lns

ul

axles, kept in place with card keeper

59

plates glued in place. A

st

rip

of

celluloid

clamped between the main

and

auxiliary

frames bears on top

of

the truck to assist

its road-holding.

The card

cab

was constructed on the

bread-and-butter method, each side being

built

of

three thicknesses

of

card

plus a

fourth layer

for

the panelled sides. The two

outer layers arc identical, but the centre

layer is furt her cut away to accept celluloid

windows, as the cab is fully glazed. Fig. SA

se ts out one side; F ig. 5B shows how tbe

fr

ont

end of

the cab is held in plac

e i t

is

secured in the rear by a No. 0 wood screw

pass ing through the rear

of

the auxiliary

frame into a block o f wood glued inside the

bunker.

The

roof is laminated from three

pieces

of

thick paper on a wood former.

if a quick-drying glue such as " Durofix "

is used, the roof can be held on the former

with the fingers until the glue sets.

l shall be only too pleased to give any

further information or clarify any point if

a letter

is

sent via the Editor.

Audrey minus cab, showing

the

arrangement of the motor.


12/61

964

_AUGE LOCO

y D

A

Naylor

EFO

RE starting

the

subject

of

narrow

gauge loco modelling, I would like

to

that

had any such models been

on the

at

a price to su it my

pocket

when I

to the

narrow

gauge I do not think

would have bothered to build any locos

However, I now find the shoe is on the

foot,

and

if the market was flooded

narrow-gauge locos I would still prefer

The

second thing is

that

I am a model

I know nothing whatsoever

about

heory

or

practice,

so

please, you

,

bear

with me, because ri

ght or

litt le narrow-gauge

scratch which

do

work, and

and

perhaps these notes will help

bitten by the

narrow

-gauge bug

at

a loss for a loco.

required

The

undermentioned is a list of tools I

found meet my needs. Even if you had

purchase them a

ll at

once the total

cost

that

of

a

custom

Vice (preferably fastened

to

a board

som

e

. x

Si

n.

in

size; the board can then

be

amped to any

hand

y tab le, etc.).

Hand

dr

i

ll (th

is will also act

as yo

ur l

athe

small items when clamped

in

the

Piercing saw with dozen fine

and

dozen

edium blades.

Sma ll tack hammer.

Steel ruler (in mm. and inches).

Round-nose pliers.

Pin v

ic

e.

view o f

Anne's

chassis.

A ire Valley Railway 04 0T Anne.

Selection

of

drills: 3/64in., T -in., 3/32in.,

t

in

.

l

do not

use number drills,

and

anything

between the sizes mentioned I open

up

with a

r

ound

swiss

fi

le.

Swiss

fi

les, rou nd, flat

and

tapered in

section.

Small screwdrivers.

Point

ed tweezers.

Soldering iron.

A darning needle mak

es a nice scriber.

I do not

think this list

is

too

formidable,

and

many modellers

wi ll

a lready have some

of

them.

These

notes are aimed

at

the general

co

n

st

ruction

of

a 4mm. scale 12mm. gauge loco

rath

er

than

the building

of

a specific engine.

Driv

in

g wheels

I like to start right

at

the bottom with the

wheels,

and

if

3ft-d

iameter wheels are all

right there

is

nothing better than wagon

wheels (K

s

also supply 6, 8

and

JOmm. brass

wheels r

eady for

pressing on Peco

ln

sulaxles).

IG

I

m

i

I

heel sc(tlon

T he wheels, after ,

be in

g

ca

refully removed

from the

ir

axles, should first be

dr

ill

ed

for

the

co upling-rod pins, and a simple j ig will ensure

that all the ho l

es

are the same distance from

the cen tre (

Fi

g. I

);

this distance should

be ha

lf

the cylinder stro ke and the drill size fo r the

coupling-rod pin is l/32in. I shou ld point out

that

non-bushed wheels are best, as I will

show when the wheels are ready for thei r axles.

If

you ca n so lder,

add

the coupling-rod

pins n

ex

t, us ing a domestic pin which is thi

ck

enough to need t

app

i

ng

home with a h

am

mer ;

cut the s

ur

plus p

in

off, leaving ab

out

3mm.

prot

ruding beyo nd the wheel rim.

Tf

you ca n

not so

ld er

leave these pins u

nt

il late

r.

If th

e wheels are n

ot

suit

ab

le fo r lnsu laxles

take

the

or

ig

in

al steel axle a nd press

one

wheel

back on to it.

The

next job is to fix the wo rm

wheel on to the dri ving axle (K

s

supply a

worm wheel to s

ui

t lnsulaxles, 1 am informed,

but ot

her makes can be made to fit by bushing

wi th

br

ass tube, etc.). N ow t

ake

the second

wheel

and

drill the axle hole to 3/32in. Beg,

borrow

o r steal a plastic knitting needle a

bit

larger in d iameter th

an

3/ 32in. Put a length

of

this needle in the vi

ce and,

us

in

g 3/64in.

drill in the pin vice, dri ll a hole

in

the

centre

of

the needle for a depth just exceeding the

thickness

of the

wheel.

This

hole

must be

central-have

half

a

do

z

en

goes

if

necessary

and do

not despa

ir if

the first

one or

two are

not right.

When

enough

bu

shes have been

drilled (two for a four-

coupled

loco

and so

on), tap them gently

into

the axle hole.

t

will

help

if

the back

of

the wheel is s

li

ghtl y

counter

sunk

and

the plastic bush slightly tapered.

If

it

seems too tight a fit open the hole

of

the wheel

a bit with the round file. When the bushes

are

in

the

wheels open the 3/64in. hole a bit

and

press

the

axle

on

to

the

wheel, once again

in

the vice. When

ga

uging

the

wheels check for

a back-

to

-

back

meas

urement

of JO.Smm.

rather

than tr

y

to gauge

12mm. over

the

flanges.

To

finish the wheels,

cut off

the surplus

axle, but, unless you

ha

ve

an

other axle

of

the

same diameter for checking the size

of

the

axle hole in the main frames, save

one

surplus

piece.

If the axle holes are a ll right for Peco

ln

s

ul

axles press the wheels on to these in the

vice, ensuring

that the

wheels

are as near

quartered to 90 deg.

as

you can.

The chassis main frame

t

is in the making

of

the main frame that

1 have broken away from

no

rmal practice,

as

the spacing blocks are

of

wood.

The

side

fra mes are made o f brass

cut

from curtain

rai l- this is

abo

ut l /32in. thick

and

a bit

eas ier to work than the usual

T

in. stuff.

Fig. 2 shows stage

one of

the side frames for

one

of

my eng ines, an 0-4-0 tank. All

five

holes in eac h frame

are

T -in. diameter,

but

the ax

le-holes

wi ll

probably require opening

up; do

this

bit

by

bit

and keep test i

ng

with

the bit

of

surplus axle.

Note that

the frames

wi

ll be

sc rewed to the wood spacing blocks

with

tin. No. 0

wood sc rews

and

that these

sc rew holes

must

be staggered.

Fig. 3 shows the next stages

in

shaping

up

the side frame, a nd it will now be clear

that

the keeper-plate method has been adopted.

Stage 4, Fig. 3, shows the cut-away frame

ready f

or

the motor. T he size

of

this cut-away

w

ill

depend

on

the

type

of motor

used,

but

go

gent

ly

on

the cutting away, as while you

Under vi

ew o f

Anne's chassis.


13/61

2

always cut a bit more away you cannot

any back. It is, of course, assumed that

drive is

to

the front axle. Now we come

the wood shaping blocks. What kind of

use? I think any close-grained wood

very hard wood

will

do. We can also

out balsa and plywood. The Iauer would

right if we were just going in from the

id

es, but as

we

shall also be going into the

from

the top

and

bottom as

well

ply is

First of a ll, then, cut the wood about

frames ; this will

it to a handy size for reducing to correct

will be dependent

the actual thickness of the two side frames,

course, and the sum of these items together

be about 5mm.

or

.75mm. less than the

. 1l1c next

is to true up one iong side and one short

to 90-dcg. angles (see Fig. 4). These

screw the side frames

to

the spacer

One frame only shown at ea ch stoQe

0

: > ~ a o t two cut

owoy

shod

td

portion

lt v

t l with

bottom of o.dt nol

a.

c

:=J

c

t h ru

Cut ond f li t

oxl rholu into

slots

block (see Fig. 5), using ..tin. 0 wood screws

and first drilling pilot holes with the 3/64in.

drill. When both frames are secured to the

spacer cut the surplus wood away with the

piercing saw, using the frames as a guide, but

be careful not to cut into the frames.

After removing the side frame the spacer

block can be divided as shown in Fig. 5 and

the centre portion discarded.

The

keeper plate is a lso of 1/32in. brass.

It should be made the full width of the chassis

and as long as from X to X (sec Fig. 5 again).

The

plate requires three holes drilling in it

(Fig. 6a). Two are for attaching it to the

spacer blocks and the centre hole is for bolting

the insulated wheel contact strip to the keeper

plate and to the tag to the insulated

motor

brush. Fig. 6b should make the method

of

auaching and insulating clear. If the wheels

are mounted on Peco Jnsulaxles a pair

of

con tact strips

will

also have to bear on the

other wheels, but these can be bolted or

FIG S

~ ~ s k

fiG

6A

Fits Into

hole

kee per plo

\1

Kuper pi ot t

~ u l o t t

woshtr

1

Co

ntact

st rips

0

R I L W Y

M O D E L L E R

Side and end elevations for

the free-lance

0-4-0T ..

Anne

of the

Aire

Valley Railway.

This

is

a fairly typical ex

ample of a

side-tank contrac

tor's

locomotive

wh

ich could

well be found in the stud of

any small narrow-gauge line.

Drawing full size 4mm . sca le

for

00n3

gauge.

soldered direct to the keeper plate. t is also

advisable to bond the keeper plate to

one of

the frames if lnsulaxles have been used.

Mount the motor next. The type of mounting

will depend on the motor used. Those with one

nut fixing will probably have to

be

attached

to

a metal bracket, which in its turn can be

screwed into the top of the rear spacer. In my

own model I have a Tri -ang gauge mounted

sideways on t

op

of the chassis

and

the drive is

via a jack-shaft. The rear mounting was bolted

to an L-shaped bracket which was screwed

to

the rear spacer.

The

front mounting

is

difficult to describe

in

words, but Fig. 7 may

make it clear. If this method is adopted there

is no need to make a motor cu t-away in the

side frames. 1 may have been lucky dropping

on a

motor

with

both

pole pieces bored. I

cannot say whether just the one-side fixing

would be all right, but I would strongly advise

against trying to drill a pole piece.

Next come the cylinders. 1

prefer to make

~ 1 = : = J

Contact strips

FIG 6a

four - s u toxt

1& '12

BA

bolt

tubo

FIG q

3

FIG 4

A o

I brocke t som e size

as brush holder Is mode

for

other

pott

pl t t t

lltw oxtt nd

td

flbro brush

holder

bo It od

FIG 1

Cui

l ~ s u l o t i o l g

wo.shel

Co

~ ~ r o

Crosshtod


14/61

R Y 1 9 64

of wood, as this makes them easier to

pe up and drill

and

?rovides insulation

in

st

a dead sh

or

t via the loco's motion.

stick to just coupling rods

d pretend the loco has inside valve gea

r.

. 8 shows side and front elevation

of

mes and underside view.

I t l tink these drawings wi ll be self-explan

and

we now con e to the last item for

hassis, the coupling rods and crosshead

nnec

ti

ng rods. 1 make mine from Dinky

rs. 1

will

not enlarge on just what these

turous th ings are, but they can be obtained

m any ladies' hairdresser or wife/mother/

e

r/sweetheart. My wife has now gone over

ic ones. However, fret the rods

out

th the piercing saw. 1 find it best to drill the

fi

rst and then

cut

the rods out.

The

he holes in the

co

upling

ds should,

of

co urse, equal the wheelbase.

rill the holes l/32i n. and open up if necessary

th the round

fi

le. The length

of

the cross

d con necting rod shou ld allow the cross

stop 2mm. or 3mm. short of the

nder.

l f

we are of the

so

ldering school we shall

hers about 2mm. in dia

and drilled l/32in. These can also

me out

of

D inky curlers. Fig. 9 shows

operation

of

so ldering the rods to the

l

s.

The notepaper washer

is

torn away

ing. At the crosshead end the

nhead

is

on the outside

and

the connecting

soldered to it direct.

For the non-soldering boys who have no

ns

in

the wheels Fig. 10 shows how to go

. Personally I have used this method only

ce, and as yet the pins are showing no signs

working loose. The main thing is to watch

at the holes are not too slack or too tight.

the pin goes right home from one gentle

hammer, obviously it is too

k.

On the ot her hand we

do

not want

to

use a sledgehammer.

Before replacing the wheels in the frames

ld be provided with Insulaxle washers,

le whatever kind of axles have been

To

get the washers on the axles when the

ls are already on, simply cut through

one

(F

i

g.

I

0).

nd

l c s - r ~ l

out to

t

he vi t _-

sut motor

,.... :

~ . . .

Vol ont t ra l cut rou

Qh

and

fihd

down

after c u t t

IG II

~ r o s s

or copper Oh

tr

svcatcd on

t

ross or copptr tube

ic _Soldrr fi ll

et

U S n \ o

8ross dctu con

be

mod

t from

lorCjt brou sere..,

./ .

Cob front or rcor

Copprr

or brass copped Chllnncy s

Brou ...o hrr or disc s ..cottd to

cob

shtt

l

ot

A.

Fr

rl


15/61

July 1964 Volume No 15


16/61


y

of th

onth

NETHER

TARN

Diesel loco No.

5

0

empty bogie hopper

train 0

the viaduct. The r

ea

r vehicle is

maid-of-all-work, brake va11 workmen s

or farmer s accommodation plus horse

box or cattle wagon.

R ILW Y

A Naylor describes

th

e new station on

his

00n3 narrow

ga

uge layo

ut

4 BOUT the same time as the article on the A ire Valley Railway was

t published in the April 1961 RAILWAY MODELLER the hidden Siding

was completed. After about twelve months in this form it was

that

the

ot

her end

of

the line should be built. This was felt to

a must, as the railway is self-conta ined

and not just

a B.R. branch

T he hidden siding section was extended to make

it L-shaped

and the

section joined on to the end of the L, making the layout

Up to this time the railway had been on exhibition three times, and

the Jack

of

a continuous run was fe lt. Storage space was the greatest

adding further sections. After some thought it was decided

o scrap the L-shaped secti

on

(which was all bits

and

pieces anyway).

A new oblong section was built (this contains the sawmill). On one

of

the older sections a new junction was laid, and to complete the oval a

our-foot

l

ong viaduct was built. This viaduct occupies only four

square

inches when stored. must add that it

is

the butt of funny remarks at

xhibitions, as the arches do not reach the floor.

T his work was completed in time for the Leeds 1962 exhibition

and

is how the line now

sta

nds.

Before going any farther I would like to make a

point about

exhibi

tion

s.

T here

is

quite a difference between a model railway which is built

for permanent exh ibition and one which an enthusiast runs fifty-one

weeks a year at home and one week a year at an exhibition . At home

one usually operates the line from the front, but the customers who

have paid their cash quite rightly expect a clea r view. With this thought

in m ind the controllers

are

detached from their normal positions

and

hung

at

the rear.

J

n addition, if one refers to

the

plan

of

the line this is

h

ow

it is set up for home use. However, when

at

a s

how

exhibition

junction comes into its own. I think most readers will agree that the

little extra work and expense involved is worth while.

Along with the change in the model A.V.R. the fict itious history has

cha nged as fo llows. The A.V.R. was or iginally only ten miles long, i.e.

the section from Saltaire to Moorhead. The line was built to serve the

agricultural areas between and around these towns. There was also

so

me mining

around

Moorhead, which helped to

add

to

the

railway's

traffic and accounts for the four-wheel h

opper

wagons. Several years

after the A.V.R.

had

been running large mineral deposits were dis

covered near the small village of Nethertarn (the name Narrowford

was a print ing error). A co mpany was formed to mine these minerals

and the best method of transporting the mineral to the railhead at

Moorhead was looked into.

The

outcome was the extension railway,

which was built by the min ing company and handed over to the A.V.R.

to work, the agreement be ing that the A.V.R. should maintain the line

a nd keep

one

engine

and

the bogie hopper wagons in N

E R

colours.

The

li

ne was built as cheaply as possible; traffic is worked by staff

and

ticket.

There

is no

bl

ock,

but

trains

are

signalled by

G P O

telephone,

which is much cheaper than maintaining twenty miles of poles and wire.

Back to fact again. The section which

is

part of the continuous run

has been built by the open-frame method on 2in. x I in. timber. The

sawmill has been ab le to come into itS own now

and

the head-shunt

of

Moorhead

sta

tion also serves as the mill siding. One item the ladies

li

ke

on

th is section is the

ch

urch with

the

wedding

group outs

ide having

tl1ei r ph

otog

raphs taken.

The Ncthertarn section

is

t in. ply on 2in. x

I

in. framing. It measures

5ft. 6i n. x Ift. and shows (as the Ed itor has often pointed out) how

Th e absolute end.

Loco

No. 4

Ar thur

shunts

some

hopper

wagons

und

er the

mine

trestle. In the background cattle are

sh

unt

ed

into wagons.


17/61

Y

964

7

the whole loco

stud

gathered around Nethertarn shed. The reason? A directors meeting in the Railway Arms

and

these gen

tl

e-

wanted

to

inspect the locos.

low

a view across Nethertam platform down the main street.


18/61

Vlodvct

L Lt 1 crouit g

S" Station b


19/61

Y 1964 73

railbuses approaching the new junction (compare with photograph on page 82 April 1961 RAILWAY MODELLER, and the scene of a

ent disaster. The collages, damaged beyond repair on rewming from an exhibition, /rave been bumed out.

scene at the sawmill. This is a working mo del described in A short passenger train headed by Anne trundles past Nether-

1961 RAILWAY MooELLER, which has now found a tom

e

tam church just as

the

local photographer records a

happy

bridal

watermill and fairground at Moor/read were also described in scene. Tire line on wltich the train is running is the

Ex

hibition

issue. Branch."


20/61

th

ire Valley

Derek Nayl

or

Railbuses

and

diesel loco at Saltaire shed.

LEFT: 040 diesel

meclza ical

No 5.

RIGHT:

Rai/buses 101

and

102.

e charm of inte

rnal combu

stion

the time this article was being pre

bit of argument in

on Steam versus Diesel. I

intend

to join in this battle as

there

is

to be said for both sides. As far as

narrow gauge is concerned, the

seems to be replacing the steam loco.

preserved narrow-gauge lines (Talyllyn,

etc.) in the main stick to the steam

Indeed,

in

the case

of

the Talyllyn,

written into the constitution.

Even

of the lines use a diesel loco for work

. My own diesel is normally restric ted

to

ht working.

railbuses have a charm all of their

own

.

narrow-gauge fans I know admit to

s towards the type of vehicle

in this article. Mention should be

of the

railway

in

the British Isles

best possible use of railcar

- the County Donegal. The whole

by or for this railway are fascinat

The

last railcars the company obtained

in use on the Isle of Man Railways,

as they are, they still have a hold

me.

Beyond these shores railcars are

or

were

must be made of one oddity

its own turntable round with it

Light

Railways). However

it

was to the

S.A. that the Aire Valley turned for the

and somewhat ill-assorted pair of

They are based

on

American Railroad

anything seems to go.

Number

103 is based

on

a Brill Railcar.

104

is an obvious conversion from a

vehicle.

arch 1966

Diesel lo

co

number

5

Air

e

The chassis of the loco is off a Rokal 0-6-0

tank engine. This was obtained as a ready-to

run steam engine as a hard-wearing chassis

for exhibition work. I never liked the steam

outline of this engine, it being obvious, to

me anyway,

it

was

TT

standard gauge.

I had seen several narrow-gauge versions

of the Airfix Drewery. Most of them were the

Airfix body as designed on a Triang TT

bogie,

with

side skirts added.

The impression I got after building one of

these diesels for a frie.nd was

that

the loco was

Paper w rapped round

and glued

to screw

o

5s c

hi

mney

too large for narrow gauge. Another kit was

obtained, and after cutting the Rokal chassis

down as

much as possible, a start was made

fitting the kit to the chassis. This was a case

of

cut-try-fit- cement. The bonnet has been

cut down considerab1y. The cab is still quite

large since

it

was fitted over the mechanism.

Two

of

the buffers are cemented in the centre

of the buffer beam. Four scale coupling hooks

(two came from

the

friend s kit) arc cemented

where the buffer should be. (Sec Fig. for

attaching body to chassis.)

The

loco still

lacked something. The final touch was to

remove

the

front wheels and

put

them on

the

centre axle. The flangeless wheels were then

cut

down to outside cranks and

put

on the

front axle.

The

truth

is this model is

just

a

bit

of

kit

bashing but has produced a

neat and

very

useful loco.

The r ailbuses

The railbuses

1

01 and

102

were among the

earliest vehicles to be built for the Aire Valley.

They are based on

the

County Donegal rail

cars

9

and

10. In

general the chassis design is

similar to Fig. 3. The rear axle guards are

attached to the chassis with nuts and bolts

instead of

the

frame being tapped. The wheels

are

K s 10mm.

brass ones on Peco insulaxles.

On the powered unit

(1

01

)

there is a phosphor

bronze pick to each wheel, tl1ose on the left

hand

side being soldered

direct

to

the chassis.

The

motor is a Romford

Terrier.

(Note Fig. 6

and the way the bonnet has been built up

bread-and-butter fashion. The

thin

card

overlay covers all the joins.)

Body work follows the general wood and

card method. The sides are laminated from

two layers

of card

with a centre layer

of

celluloid.

The

non-powe.red

unit

is similar

except there is no chassis. The axle guards are

screwed direct to the plywood floor with

number 0

wood screws.

These

Railbuses are permanently coupled

so no vehicle can be coupled between them.

Neither

is there means

of

attaching a vehicle

to the front of either bus.

The

Railbuses 103-104

are

th

e

la t

est

addition

to

the railway s rolling stock. As

said earlier

they

are based on American logging

77


21/61

nternal

combustion

on the ire Valley

Railbuses 101

102

Railbuses 103 104

2s

?

Scale

4mm-1ft

1o

15

2L

2 0 S b E

'*'i

F ' 9

b:a::l55- =='

Diesel loco

No

5

End

elevation:103 Rear elevation:

102


22/61

ad pra

ct i

ce. Hav

in

g seen

pho

tographs

drawings

of them

I

just

could not resist

. They have

not

been copied slavishly. I

ul

d point

out

they a

re

useful as well as

. F

or in

stance,

the

early morning

RAILWAY

MODELLER, 1961) had

to

steam working within a few days.

train conveys

the

early

morning fi h to

. Passengers complained

(not that

a

should take any notice

passengers complaints) when the fish

velled inside the buses. The porters

struck

en they had to load it atop and the pas

still were not happy with

their

luggage

of cod

and

haddock. The railbus

reitored

with the

fish conveyed

lorry

or in

a fish

tub

between

the

two.

should also be possible for these railbuses

work the proposed

branch

Hne,

any odd

t vehicles being attached in between.

The non-powered lorry is

pretty

straight

in

construction. The cab is built up

lmm.

ply

and

a balsa wood roof. This

was carefully carved and sandpapered

to

Fig. 2 for a plan of this chassis.)

imitation engine is built up

from

a block

wood. Bits

and

pieces

are

added for the

ld,

distributor, plugs, fan

and

etc. The radiator is a section cut

an Airfix model. A front view

of

this

travelling gives the impression

OecrC8 1ng lengths of

card gl

ued

struction

of

lea f springs

is tiptoeing along

due to the

inside frames.

Re Fig. 4

and

the use

of

a glass bottle.

This

than using wood dowel as stray glue

get the same hold on glass.

The

rear

wheels

of the

powered

unit are

TT bogie wheels which include

the

on the axle. The motor is

Triang

XT60

which made

the

whole

and

transmission quite cheap.

The

rear

as described for

number

The front bogie is a different matter,

spHt a.xle

and

insulated frame

employed.

The

wheels are

6mm . ones mounted on half a steel axle.

two half axles were then pressed into a

ood block--6'

.

.

'

;

6 onnet of 101

arch 1966

Ori II tap -L.L...L rv

10BA

for

bogie

pivot

16 SWG brass soldered to rail

2 Chass.is

for

N01Q4

3

0 Front of b

o,dy

5 Miscellaneous details

rube of plastic. The two phosphor-bronze

springs (see Figs.

5a

b) which really do

act

as

sp

rings pick

up

the

current through

the

brass

rubbing

plates (

Fig

. Sc .

One

spring goes

direct

to

the

frame while the other goes

to

the

insulated

bru

sh.

Thin brass plate s.oldered

to st iffen

rea r of carry rear axle

~ R e a r

axle

Cut from brass curte n rai l

8

Dri ll tap 12 BA

.

;.--:;;:

Chassts drtlled

12

8A

c ear

B Top

v i w

or

;u u 2 BA

C Bogie deta il s

Fig. d explains method of attaching front

end of body

to

the chassis.

the

bonnet being

part of the

chassis.

The

four railbuses

are

supposed

to

be petrol

driven. hence the title to this article.

Railbuses 103

a d

104.

79


23/61

blocl s on the Aire

alley

erek Naylor

shows

you how he added

op

erating interest

his narrow gauge

railw

ay

December 1954 issue of

Model Railway

ws contained an interesting article by the

e John Ahern ent itled " T

he Madder

Valley

bric

ks".

Ever

ything

abo

ut

the

article

from the title onward. However,

there was

no

room

on

my then

stand

ard-gauge

po

rt

able layo

ut

so

the

article was filed both

literally on

paper

and figuratively in my head.

M eanwhile

the

narrow-gauge

bug

had

bitten.

The

standard gauge was scrapped and

/;-.- . f.:J'

muc crrlkcr _:,:::} .

' 0 hCJ :>P'" I Cement sik>

G .. .- I O ffiC : ; ; ' . ./Donkov .

1

.J 1

Bloc l

vcr

F

g

3baseboard I

the Airc Valley Railway, a 3ft.-gauge line,

emerged. T his layout was still

portab

le

and

there

was still no room for the br ick-works.

When

I finally found a pe

rmanent

site for the

Aire Valley it was realized a brick-works

would not be able to be incorporated.

The

space re quired was just too much.

A

new

position

at

work found

me

within a

few

hu ndr

ed yards of

wh

at

might

be described

as a poor man's brick-works", but is in fact

known as a clinker block works, and is very

compact indeed.

The

products of this works

arc also known as breeze blocks.

In

house

building they are only used for inside walls

with

the

result they are rarely seen when the

house is complete.

I f

you drill a hole in a wall

for any reason you will soon know whether

it is brick or breez block

under

the plaster

The

basic ingredient of the block is waste

clinker

from

mill

and

factory furnaces.

Water

an

d a small amo

unt

of cement are added

and

mixed

th

oroughly. A female mould

about

twice the

depth

of the finished block is filled

level with the mixt

ure,

then the male half of

the mould press is brought down and the

mixture ta

mped

solid. As the reader

can

perhaps imagine these blocks are churned out

by the hundreds

and

arranged in stacks to dry.

Before starting a description of the model I

would just add that the clinker supposedly

used in my plant comes from another process

ing plant (still on the secret list) a

f w

" miles"

down the line, thus providing extra traflic for

the railway.

Main Construction

When construction

of

the model was com

menced it was decided it was worth making

into a working model. The motor is one of the

small Jap 15-30V. This motor and those of

three

other

working models are powered by

their own

12V D.C.-controlled power unit

with the control knob suitably set. T he gear

train for working

th

e mixer is out of an old

alarm clock. It was screwed to the underside

of the baseboard after the position of the

clinker hopper and mixer had been determined.

The

hopper was the first item to be con

structed. Fig. 1 shows this at the stage where

the mix

er

had

been added.

The mixer

drum

is simple enough. The

mixer paddle is just a piece of shim brass

soldered to the centre boss of one of the alarm

clock gears from which the spokes and teeth

have been removed. This boss has its own

shaft and brass bearing, the latter is cemented

into a hole drilled in the base of the mixer

drum

.

Thi

s sketch also shows the mechanism for

operating the hopper door.

Thi

s working

hopper door was an after thought to add the

working interest. Not shown on the sketch so

as not to complicate matters arc the retu

rn

spring and stop. The stop is just a piece of

wood so positioned to prevent the lever

returning too far after the passage

of

the cam.

T he purpose of the return spring speaks for

itself. "

Railw ay Model l

er


24/61

The

sides

and

front

of

the lower

part of

the

legs

are

covered with card,

and

the

slides

out

for maintenance.

to tlus front piece are some odds

ends of balsa wood and wire whlch

epresent the mould press.

The

shambles

shelter was built

up

from strip balsa and

material.

The

cement silo is a pretty straightforward

and needs

no

description.

Just

one point

hould be mentioned.

There

is

no

automatic

of

getting the cement from the silo to

mixer.

Th ere

is instead a platform

or

joining the two over whlch the

by wheelbarrow.

All the

equipment to

the left

of

the

hopper

s fictitious.

f

I may refer again to the proto

it

will explain why. 1) To the rear of the

hopper is an artificial slope up to

the height of the mixing drum .

Th l

s is

enough for a tractor witl a hyd raulic

scoop

to

dump its load in the hopper.

2)

The

mixer and tamping mechanism are

petrol engine bcllind the mixing

As the former is too

modem

for

my

etween-wars layout

it

was decided

to

install

donkey engine

in

the model

to

do all

he work.

The

vertical boiler is a lipstick case

and

pieces were

oldered or cemented on to represent gauges,

irehole door, etc.

Though

I cannot

take

redit for the idea I can

suggest the

Matchbox

The model i posicion 11 the layout

U derside of model showi g motor drive

and

geari g

ex

old

alarm clock

3 The model ouc of cite layom with drive

showing underneath

4 The prototype in all its glory

April1968

horse fire-engine boiler could be used.

The

same can be said

of

the cyli

nder,

crosshead

and

flywheel assembly.

These

could be purloined

off the

Airfix

Rocket or

Pug

Kits.

Mine

was

built

up

as in Fig. 2. Note the connecting rod

pin goes through the slot cut along the back

of the crosshead guide. The latter is also cut

away

at

the front

to

expose the crosshead.

The

connecting rod i s a section of a pin hammered

flat at both ends.

The

ends are then filed to

shape

and

drilled.

The

flywheel is a

K'

s Smm.

dia. brass wheel with the flange

cut

off.

The

complete cylinder assembly is soldered to a

brass plate whlch is

in turn

screwed to the

baseboard.

This

plate also acts as one bearing

for the flywheel shaft.

The

other

end of

this

shaft has a simple L-shaped bracket for a

bearing. A pulley on the shaft takes the drive

from the motor as in Fig. 3.

The crane has been squeezed into a very

cramped site. In theory the clinker is loaded

in small 4-wheeled tubs, hauled

up

with the

crane

and

after being

swung

over

the hopper

a

bottom

door in

the

tub

is released to

disc

harge

the contents.

Bits and Pieces

The old half of

a mould can be seen

propped

up against one of the she lter uprights. To the

left of the donkey engine are stacks of blocks

drying out or waiting shipment. Also in

evidence are plenty

of

pallets as

the

blocks

are

withdrawn from the press

on

these.

The

prototype office is a wooden one

but

I

made

mine from breeze block with a false front

and

corrugated-iron roof.

A final square touch is the lettering on the

signboard.

Painting

Very

dull

indeed

but

what

can

you

expect?

The

whole model was given

one

undercoat

of matt

black.

It

was

then

gone over acain

in

varying shades of grey. The cement silo is a

very dirty yellow. Boiler and corrugated iron

are dirty silver. Various parts of the ironwork

and ll the

g

round were given a thin streaky

wash of

bumt

umher poster paint.

There

are

two bright contrasts at either end.

The

office

door, door-frame and window-frames are

green

and

ilie flywheel

rim and

connecting rod

bright

red. The clinker is represented by finely

cr

ushed coal, liberally scattered about.

Co

nclusion

On

a

branch

line

or

narrow-gauge line ilie

plant

makes a useful industry to be served by

a private siding.

The

model need not

be

a

working one.

For

myself

I

like modelling

in

general

and

models s

uch

as this allow the

non-

railway outlet some satisfaction and at the same

time produce

somethlng different

and

usef

ul

for the model railway scene.

107

3

4


25/61

alley-

s

interesting additions to

n3

stud

last rolling-stock article "On

the

Aire

(

RAILWAY MODELLER,

April 1966)

the

somewhat motley collection of

combustion motive power. I hope tlus

e did not give the impression that the Aire

management was abandoning steam.

the I/C units,

gat

hered under one

for

the

article,

had

been

built

over a

of several years.

Aire Valley attended its last exhibition

Since that date the layout has

complete rebuild in a

site,

the

converted loft of

my home

.

ly hope it won't be long before

the

rebuilt

can be desc

ribed

in

the RAILWAY

While most modellers normally

own layouts, i.e. baseboards, track

buildings (either from scratch

its), those who, like myself, build their own

must

be considerably less

numer

mention this as I wonder if

other

model

the

same as myself. That

several years of building or rebuilding a

modelling tends tO get a little stale. To

staleness.a change of modelling

In

my case

th

ese two items

of

power

provided this change.

Con

n of the steam rail-car

wa

s started

the

painting of No. 5 " Aire" was

. This was in January 1969 and it

please our editOr that at least one

took heed

of

his editOrial for

that

th

In all

the

two items took ju

st

over

to build.

No.5 "Aire"

me

very

much if

keen narrow

recognise this locomotive for

it is intended to be.

It

is

an attempt

at a

nable ( ?) though not super-detailed

of one of the 2-4-2 compound loco

for

the

Ballymena

on Larne

Northern Ireland. Fu ll details

of

lo

co

motives can be found in some

of the

books.

In

particular there

M.

Paterson's

Ballymena L

n s

.

I used a

published in the August 1965 issue

Model Railway News.

It is sufficient to

here that the prototype has always been

favourite

3ft

.-gauge locomotive. For me

have very graceful lines

and

yet still have

of power.

What

our American cousins

ld ca

ll

a " high step

per".

Some of these

were rebui lt with larger boilers

an extended rear bunker. The rear pony

s replaced with a 4-wheel bogie. This

Builder's photograph of No. 5 Ai r

e

.

Chassis of

No.5

A-ire .

1

970

totally transformed these engines and

tO me

they became real ugly ducklings.

Construction was

star

ted with the coupling

rods.

These

were fretted with a piercing saw

from Dinky curlers (nei

ther my

wife

nor

daughters use these nowadays,

but

they

can

be

persuaded to get them from Woolworths .

After drilling coupling pin-holes in one it was

used as a jig for the other and the axle-holes in

the main frames. T he latter are fretted from

brass

curtain

rail. The two

end-members

for

the

main frame are also

cut

from

curtain

rail

but

two or

three

times longer than required.

These

were then soldered

up

in a somewhat

crude jig as in Fig.

I.

The wood spacing piece

was drilled to match the axle-holes. The axle

could then be checked for correct levels before

soldering up. The excess length

of the

end

frames allowed

the

squareness of the frames

to

be checked with a steel

rul

e and was cut off

after soldering up.

Fig.

2

is a side-elevation of the main frames

showing additional brass and other spacers.

These

were

added

after soldering up

the

four

main

frame units. One

may

question the

wisdom of soldering

other

substantial pieces

tO

an

already

so

l

dered

main frame. My only

dodge is to wrap the already so ldered joints

with an absorbent thread (from an

old

towel

and keep it wet duJiing soldering operation

s.

The

Tri-ang XT60 motor

has been used. The

Tri-ang

worm was discarded

and Romford

40 : l gears used. The

sadd

le for the

mo

t

or

front is just a length of brass tube over a lOBA

screw. T he left -hand frame is drilled to clear

lOBA and countersunk

fo

r this saddle screw

and

the two lOBA screws securing the

Tufno

l

block. The right

-hand

frame is drilled a

nd

tapped lOBA.

The driving wheels are Romford 15mm. dia.

ones which make them a correct scale

3ft

. 9in.

I used four insulated wheels as they both look

better and

make b

etter

electrical contact. The

insulation was broken

down on

two of

the

wheels

by

drilling a

;h

in. hole in

the

insulating

strip in

the

back of

the

wheel and inserting a

section of a pin.

The cylinders are

my usual

wood ones

and

in the

case

of

this locomotive

the

right-hand

cylinder

is

larger

than the

left. The cylinders

are drillad and bushed with brass tube for

the

piston and ' lve rods. The crossheads are

filed from brass. D ifferent size pins were used

for piston and valve rods.

The

rest of the

valve gear (which is in

permanent

mid-gear) is

cut

from

Dinky

curlers. As for soldering

up

valve gear, well you can

either

do

i t or

look

for a locomotive you like with inside valves I

used the wet-thread method to

stop

parts

already

so

ld

ered

from becoming unsoldered,

and I also used paper washers between bits of

valve gear being soldered. T hese washers leave

some free play

when torn

away after soldering

and help

tO

s

top so

ld

er running

into

the

wrong

places.

One

distinctive feature of these locomotives

is the splashers over the dr iving wheels. They

were one of the

worst

items to overcome. I

had

just decided to leave them

off when my

friend

Ken Gorre

ll called (

Ken

also took the photo

graphs for this article) to see progress on

the

layout. He was aghast at my decision and so

reason took hold again. In fact they were very

easy to make. Some very

tlun phosphor

bronze s

heet

was used

and

the si

mp

le jig in

Fig. 3. The finished splashers were Araldited

to

the

main frame

s.

45


26/61

Wood spacing piece (discarded

afte

r soldering)

mounting

plate

Frames

Hardboard pinned

to

ply

0

m

rd Slot exaggerated

clarity)

\

P l y

used

as soldering base

Saddle for

motor

front

Axles

Plate for attaching body

\

Tufnol block fo r insu lated pick up

Ph

osphor bronz e sheet

c

1

t

phosphor bronze st

rip

edge tinned

Splasher

filed

to shape

[ )][]]

=ilrlST

Brass tube push fit over ax le

Electrical

connec to rc

Triang

TT

TirP in through

; ~ ;hD....

' ' .

.

Ta

pped 12BA

(Wheel omitted from this side)

4 Ha

lf axle

Shaped to f it

smokebox

[ ] ] rl,

b =

[b So ' '

JJ


27/61

Chassis of No. 105. Note the coach pivot pin,

also the slight .forward tilt of the motOr This

had to

be

done to clear the worm. The collection

skate at bottom left was a tempo1ary affair.

While painting the side-frames some paint

fouled an a;

e

and insulated it.

The

pony truck

wheels are

K's

Smm. dia.

brass ones

on

Peco

Insulax

les.

The truc

ks

themse

lves are once again from curtain rail

with card

overlays for springs, axle-boxes,

etc

.

These pony

trucks are

qu

ite light. I

thought

they

would

need

weighting,

but

this has

not

been necessary

and

they run very

smooth

through pointwork.

The body is

pretty

straightforward, being

constructed mainly from

Oxo tin

. A couple

of

old tips

worth

mentioning

again

are

as follows:

1. The

round

front spectacle frames are a

thin section

of

brass

tube

.

These

were sol

dered to

the cab front

sheet and

then

the

tinplate fretted

out.

2. The same applies to the oblong rear

spectacle frames

and the

side-s heer frames

except these were soldered on

with ju

st

the

outer ed

ge

shaped. T he brass

fra

mes and the

tinplate

were

th

en fretted our

roget

her.

The

dome

is

shaped

from a large brass

s

cr

ew. T he worst part to shape

bein

g the

flare. You

cannot descr

i

be

how

it is done,

you

just have to have a go

I

was lucky

with

the

chimney, it

aire valley railway series

Documents