The RHBR fleet

Keith S · Post by **Keith S** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 5:10 pm

What's that I can see in front of the cylinders on your engine? Do you have drain cocks installed?

Your Millie is certainly looking more grown-up every time you post a picture. The little details really add a lot to the locomotive.

LlanpwllBrynwyn · Post by **LlanpwllBrynwyn** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 7:36 pm

Really is nice to see basic RH and Accu locos beings personalised. Really makes them unique and stand out. To top it off it is fun to do too, I know I had a lot of fun detailing my Ragleth.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Fri Aug 10, 2012 10:47 am

Keith S:73657 wrote:What's that I can see in front of the cylinders on your engine? Do you have drain cocks installed?

Your Millie is certainly looking more grown-up every time you post a picture. The little details really add a lot to the locomotive.

Thanks, I'm probably going to stop with detailing for now, I think I've got a good balance now and I don't want her to look to 'fussy' if that's the word.
A previous owner fitted taps onto the cylinder ends, they don't really work as draincocks but they do make Minnie more interesting to run.

LlanpwllBrynwyn:73661 wrote:Really is nice to see basic RH and Accu locos beings personalised. Really makes them unique and stand out. To top it off it is fun to do too, I know I had a lot of fun detailing my Ragleth.

I'm happy with her, plus I'm pleased that I've done the repaint & detailing myself. The only thing that I want to do to her now is paint the wheels, but I'm not keen on removing the rods to do so.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:43 pm

Well the water top-up is finally sorted and she decided to throw up a new problem! While running her on blocks I discovered that the RH cylinder was loose. I'd always assumed that the steam emitting from her right side it was merely a minor steam leak. Both cylinders have been tightened using pliers. I really would have thought that bolts would be preferable for fixing the cylinders to allow them to be tightened after a good few years of hard graft.

laalratty · Post by **laalratty** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:25 pm

The cylinders are bolted on, but use hexagonal socket screws that need an allan key to tighten, Roundhouse supplied me with this allan key when I got my Millie I seem to remember

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 3:25 pm

With another running day coming up I've been keeping myself off the streets building another MOD open wagon, patching the paint on the IMR G Van, and completely repainting the pair of bolster wagons I won of ebay last year into the same grey as the opens and the G Van. The only minor problem with them is that the load fell to pieces earlier this year and I haven't found/built a replacement yet.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 6:18 pm

With the water filler sorted and the cylinders tightened that would be the end of Minnie's problems wouldn't it? No!

Once again the regulator lever is working loose on the shaft, which has been 'grooved' over the years, still she'd be boring if nothing ever went wrong!

It serves me right though, I didn't take any other locos or major tools with me, problems were inevitable!

Minnie stops for a top up

The repainted bolsters, white tyre walls are the must have livery add-on this season!

Minnie gets stuck into a heavy aggregate train, probably not the wisest thing to do with an unreliable regulator.

Steven.T · Post by **Steven.T** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:57 pm

Good photo's, was it busy today?

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:32 pm

Thanks, it wasn't very busy. There was only 1 loco running on the raised track and a handful on the ground level line, I think the poor weather forecast meant a lot stayed at home. The 32mm line was fairly busy though with around a dozen locos running at some point in the day.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 1:13 am

The RHBR's aggregate traffic is booming (see previous photo) and to cope with demand a Brandbright bogie open and an IP Darjeeling Cleminson open are under construction. Plus I picked up a tatty Brandbright open for a mere £10, which has already been stripped down pending a repaint into IMR inspired light grey. Speaking of decisions inspired by the IMR, I've also purchased an IP freelance luggage/guards van which will replace the short van currently used (which I might sell on) The only project that has made significant progress though is the luggage/brake which is already in the paintshop into something similar to the IMR's current red & cream livery.
Offler should be in one piece again soon, the reason his chassis has had a rather long sojourn in Lancashire is that I was dumb enough to not include a return address when I sent it, hows that for stupidity!

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:46 pm

I've finished the luggage/brake van, it's nowhere near perfect but I'm happy with it, and it's got glazing!

Unusually for my stock some thought has went into the number, the IMR's brake vans went from E.1 to E.10 so a 2ft gauge branch could well have had an E.11.

That photo shows that the numbering could do with some attention...

The Cleminson is now the centre of attention, I've got some doubts over the couplings with regards to strength & height, but it'll look good hauled by the revived Offler.

SapperAnt · Post by **SapperAnt** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 9:49 am

That looks lovely. Great paint finish!

IrishPeter · Post by **IrishPeter** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:24 pm

williamfj:72542 wrote:As I've mentioned on another thread I've been keeping myself busy with the construction of a Brandbright 3 comp panelled coach. While most of the exterior is nearly finished I've only just started on the interior. The livery is based very loosely on the livery used by the IMR in the 1990s. Once this one is done there is a Directors Saloon and brake coach to see to.
It still needs some painting but you get the impression of what it'll look like hopefully.

The compartment partitions & inner walls are only loosely fitted for the photo. The solebar needs another coat once the side is on.

Loch was maroon from 1978 until her 1996- 2002 rebuild.

The Lake and off-white carriage livery was recurrent on the Isle of Man.

Manx Northern Railway 1894-1905
Isle of Man Railway late-20s and 30s
Isle of Man Railway c.1985 to about 1999

The IMR used a dark chocolate brown and off-white livery from 1876, when it appeared with the first bogie coaches, through to 1914.

Peter in AZ

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 5:49 pm

SapperAnt:75493 wrote:That looks lovely. Great paint finish!

Cheers, flash has an annoying tendancy to show up imperfections, the cream/red separations are a bit fuzzy, but any attempt to clean that up would probably end in disaster!

IrishPeter:75513 wrote: Loch was maroon from 1978 until her 1996- 2002 rebuild.

The Lake and off-white carriage livery was recurrent on the Isle of Man.

Manx Northern Railway 1894-1905
Isle of Man Railway late-20s and 30s
Isle of Man Railway c.1985 to about 1999

The IMR used a dark chocolate brown and off-white livery from 1876, when it appeared with the first bogie coaches, through to 1914.

Peter in AZ

Thanks for that, I had a feeling that Loch was maroon for a while. One day money & experience permitting I'd like to line Minnie myself in IMR stlye. I know that DJB do IMR lining, so maybe a job for winter. On that coach I didn't paint enough of it cream, so the fiction is that it's in an earlier variant which was blasted for being too dull.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:32 pm

A running day today went well with no problems from either loco! It was pretty quiet today with around 10 locos on the garden railway during the day. Minnie ran very well, pottering around with at least 2kg of rocks in a pair of open wagons, the G van & E.11. The 2nd hand Brandbright open I picked up at Elsecar is 45mm gauge, despite me stripping it down, cleaning and painting the wheels it never occurred to me to check the back to backs! River Ankh is running well, a despite trying to deafen everyone luckless enough to be near it! River Ankh's haulage capacities are more impressive than I remember, dragging Minnie's train from one yard to another when Minnie ran out of steam. The Cleminson needs tinkering, the middle wheelset barely touches the rails and River Ankh can't haul it. I did fire Minnie again just to take the Cleminson from the bottom yard to the top yard. There aren't any pictures worth seeing as my phone's camera is seemingly foxed by the outdoors.
Is it normal to go to fire up a loco just to get it and a wagon to where you want it to be?

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 11:21 pm

The bonfire night steam up went well, Minnie didn't go wrong and there were only 2 derailments to boot! A nice big parcel from Brandbright arrived yesterday with the parts I needed to finish the bogie open I started after the Elsecar show, that wouldn't have been too taxing if I wasn't building an IPE freelance 2 comp coach at the same time, but thanks to an early morning today I've got them railworthy, but they do need tidying up to some extent.
Running Minnie in the dark proved to be challenging, the problem of making the train visible was sorted by strapping my headlight to the Swift Sixteen box van which created a new problem, checking water & pressure levels but she didn't run out of steam or blow up so I'd say it was a success!

The only pictures I've got are of my own stock, I haven't got the hang of taking photos and controlling Minnie at the same time.
The fresh out of the works open, finished at 9 running at half 10!

The entire oporational RHBR carriage fleet, again the numbering is based on the IMR N for narrow (for the IMR) gauge and the other N's (The Cleminsons) ran to 51.

Minnie sets off with a typical mixed train

Minnie's on her way to Whitby, despite being on a circular line in York!

Something about this photos works for me, possibly the trees in the background

Showing off her draincocks rather well, along with the headboard I made using scraps, the other side says "SPECIAL" I'm thinking of adding a lamp iron to the top of it & making more boards.

Minnie laid up after the RHBR shut down in 1962, still with the destination headboard on her smokebox.

I was surprised at how well this worked,

Lets see, out of gauge, doors unable to open, vacuum pipes not coupled,, loose coupled propelling on main line, vision obscured, blinding light, another classic RHBR working!

With another running day in a couple of weeks thoughts have turned to reviving Ivy, although I looked at her earlier this week and put it away immediately!

Steven.T · Post by **Steven.T** » Sun Nov 04, 2012 10:04 am

ingenious headlamps indeed!
The last bonfire steam up I had my 5-inch gauge railbus out with propper headlights, on in the dark, now that was fun!

Shame I couldn't make it last night, was looking forward to running in the dark.

Were the little lanterns not bright enough?

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Nov 04, 2012 10:46 am

The brass base fell out of my headlamp some time ago, I did mean to get another one but I keep forgetting!

Steven.T · Post by **Steven.T** » Sun Nov 04, 2012 3:39 pm

Ah right, that doesn't help!
I know the batterys have gone in mine, but I can't find any small enough to replace with!

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Tue Nov 20, 2012 3:32 pm

Well the last running day didn't go as well as the others have done; the G Van is falling to pieces, one of the Cleminson's couplings broke, while being coupled I might add, although there was a strong air of inevitability about that and Minnie's water gauge is becoming adept at forming air bubbles and needs a clean anyway.
Those relatively minor problems aside Minnie ran superbly, hauling 4 rocks in the opens along with the resin van & 2 coaches, who needs an all bells & whistles r/c coal fired tender loco eh?! ;)

That (with the two coaches) is her limit, she would often spin when getting them moving from stationary. And her safety valve is lifting!

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