Garden Railway Forum

Finally on it's wheels. It's a long way from perfect, and there are still a few details to add, but I am pretty pleased with it.

And so you should feel very chuffed with it! It looks great! Very reminiscent of the original Bagnalls which were quite unique.

Rik

Certainly for a first-time build you have achieved something special, it looks right and well thought out. This should inspire you to do more now.

That is looking good Tom, you should be pleased. I'm sure you will enjoy running it, knowing it's all your work.
Grant.

Nice build Tom. You have done really well for your first scratch build. Your next one will be even better now you know what tiny mistakes you made, there aren't many though are there.

A really fantastic achievement mate.

Thanks for the positive comments everyone. I am really chuffed with it actually. Made a few mistakes along the way - and I'm not at all happy with the paint job - but I'm pleased with the loco all the same. Inevitably I feel I could make a better one now!

Remaining jobs include adding details such as a coal load for the bunker (I'm using a broken up cork for this). I've also discovered that the in-cab controls are extremely frustrating to operate, despite the removable roof, due to the tiny cab (the prototype must have been a real squeeze for 2 people - perhaps they ran with a single person crew?). After a bit of thought, I've splashed out on a 'Loco Remote' unit - a form of remote control operated via smart phone, which I though sounded interesting. I'll keep you all updated on my experiences with that.

If anyone's thinking of having a go at a project like this, my advice based on my novice's experience, would be - absolutely go for it. The prototype is pretty simple for a beginner, and the little Phil Sharples chassis lends itself to it really well (despite having solid wheels rather than spoked ones - if I was worrying about such things!)

Looks great. Not sure I've ever seen a Sharples chassis used with connecting rods. Looking forward to seeing it at the head of a train.

After a bit of time on the shelf I decided one of the aspects of the Bagnall I wasn't happy with the connecting rods set up. These consisted simply of straight rods sliding into slots in the cylinders - exactly the same as they do on my 00 gauge Hornby Caledonian 'pug'. The choice prototype had the advantage of sand flaps covering the motion, which meant I could hide this arrangement. At the time of starting this project, the thought of constructing my own motion as simply too daunting.

Subsequently though, I decided I'd give myself the challenge of creating working motion for the loco. Once again, I more or less followed Rik's technique for constructing these from brass tube, rod, angle and strip. Here's the result so far. My soldering work might be somewhat sloppy (some of this will eventually be hidden by plasticard decoration) but... it actually works!

Well Tom, that's a very good effort, in fact excellent.. People worry to much about how their soldering, I do for one. But if you don't try it you can't get it done......


WELL DONE AGAIN.......

That'll tidy up nicely, Tom. A bit of filing will soon smooth everything down. I also wrapped the cylinders on my Sharpie with thin plasticard, plus adding a disc with Cambrian bolt heads at each end.

Rik

Thanks as always for the encouragement, guys. It is nice to have somewhere to share what I've been up to.

The other major alteration I am making is to add radio control, using the 'locoremote' system. I have nothing against cab control, but found that, due to the small, enclosed nature of the lock's cab, the controls were simply too hard to get to. I've tested the system, which utilises your smartphone as the handset, and initial impressions are it works well. Whilst a proper radio control set up with a dedicated handset is no doubt much better, for a low-cost alternative, it seems decent.

Finally, my intention is to add the firebox lamp and a working head lamp, which I never got around to previously.

I've been impressed with the level of fine control which the locoremote system provides. Would be interesting to see if it's possible to use the RX with some sort of knobbed tx.

Rik

Here's a few pictures of the (almost) finished loco, back on its wheels, with the home-made cylinders and connecting rods working nicely. I've also added a working headlamp and a nice coal load for the bunker (actually a ground up cork from a wine bottle, seem to have a plentiful supply of these for some reason!). The loco-remote system is also working nicely, albeit a proper handset would be nicer, but for £30 it's a decent little system. The chip itself just about fits inside one of the side tanks.
Still got a few details to add, including a driver from IP Engineering (who requires painting) and the pipework on the front part of the boiler (no idea what that is called, sorry), and to paint and add the buffers.
As amateurish as it is in many ways, I still look at it and think 'wow, I made a locomotive!' Which is pretty satisfying. After cutting my teeth on this project I reckon I could do a better job a second time around. I've got an old Novo 0-4-0 chassis knocking around which I'm thinking about having a go at building a scratchbuilt, steam outline body for. Perhaps a saddle tank of some kind. Anyone got any prototype ideas?

Tom85 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:43 am After cutting my teeth on this project I reckon I could do a better job a second time around.

For sure, practice and experience work wonders.

Tom85 wrote: ↑Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:43 am I've got an old Novo 0-4-0 chassis knocking around which I'm thinking about having a go at building a scratchbuilt, steam outline body for. Perhaps a saddle tank of some kind. Anyone got any prototype ideas?

Plenty of narrow gauge saddle tanks to choose from.
This link will take you to my build of a Manning Wardle based on drawings in SMT back in 2015.
https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... it=quintus

Thats a superb scratch built Loco Tom. Well done.

Excellent!!

Rik

No suggestions come to mind, but that lamp is a nice touch.

That looks great, I'm very impressed!

Re suggestions for the next one, if you're working with a novo chassis that would suggest stocky and four-coupled - how about something along the lines of the Corris Falcon locos? Or a shortened, 4 wheel version of Statfold's Harrogate Gas Works Peckett?

Andrew.

A great build Tom, should inspire you to many more I hope.
Grant.

Looks great, would love to see a video of it running! I was impressed with the loco remote system as well, but agree a dedicated handset is preferable