"Calloway", a Roundhouse Bundaberg Fowler Rebuild
Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2021 8:14 am
Back when Roundhouse announced their Bundaberg Fowler in 2016, I put my name down for one. Not long after, I lost my job and had to withdraw my place in the batch. By mid 2020, I had some money left-over from my caravan rebuild, and a chance look at Anything Narrow Gauge's website, revealed a reasonably-priced R/C Bundy for sale. Initially, I put it out of my mind, but I also knew that wouldn't last long.. Several weeks later, a very large and well-packed box landed on my doorstep.
Besides some black paint crudely brushed onto the wheels and cylinder ends, and Accucraft choppers fitted, the loco was effectively brand new.
Those who know me here, will know this loco won't stay standard for long. Quality-of-life operating mods, detailing and weathering, will be along the lines of that done to my Innisfail Fowler "Victoria".
10/06/2020
Although the as-yet unnamed loco was well down the workshop queue, I couldn't resist doing something now. Being no fan of Millaquin Sugar Mill's signature spark arrestor, Different sizes of diamond chimneys were drawn 1:1 scale on paper, and tested against the loco to determine the dimensions, to which I'll be hacking down some 2" aluminium bar. The R/C gear was removed, and swapped for manual equivalent parts from a mate, whom was converting one of his locos to R/C.
22/06/20
After much head-scratching and a few machining sessions, the bottom half of the chimney was about done. At the time of writing this a year later, I've yet to finish the chimney..
07/05/2021
With this loco's turn in the queue finally come 'round, I started by re-shuffling the controls for ease of use. The pipework was annealed, carefully using a wet rag to prevent any solder joints from melting. This allowed the lubricator to be raised, so that it no longer protruded under the footplate where the ashpan cutout will be. I'll drain it with a syringe, as I do on "Victoria".
The gas pipework was reworked so that the valve is accessible through the driver's-side doorway, as advertised. When I got the loco, the valve was an inch inboard of the doorway and pointing straight backwards, requiring removal of the roof for every gas adjustment. That simply wasn't practical.
Speaking of driver's side, another of "Victoria's" mods was repeated, moving the reverser over to the correct side as-per the prototype. The reversing linkage will be modified to suit.
I've been focusing on a laborious batch rollingstock project lately, but really need to get back onto the Bundy, soon. I'd like to have both (and more) completed by year's end, and half the year's already gone! I've since stripped the cab's paint, and taken delivery of suitable name and worksplates..
Besides some black paint crudely brushed onto the wheels and cylinder ends, and Accucraft choppers fitted, the loco was effectively brand new.
Those who know me here, will know this loco won't stay standard for long. Quality-of-life operating mods, detailing and weathering, will be along the lines of that done to my Innisfail Fowler "Victoria".
10/06/2020
Although the as-yet unnamed loco was well down the workshop queue, I couldn't resist doing something now. Being no fan of Millaquin Sugar Mill's signature spark arrestor, Different sizes of diamond chimneys were drawn 1:1 scale on paper, and tested against the loco to determine the dimensions, to which I'll be hacking down some 2" aluminium bar. The R/C gear was removed, and swapped for manual equivalent parts from a mate, whom was converting one of his locos to R/C.
22/06/20
After much head-scratching and a few machining sessions, the bottom half of the chimney was about done. At the time of writing this a year later, I've yet to finish the chimney..
07/05/2021
With this loco's turn in the queue finally come 'round, I started by re-shuffling the controls for ease of use. The pipework was annealed, carefully using a wet rag to prevent any solder joints from melting. This allowed the lubricator to be raised, so that it no longer protruded under the footplate where the ashpan cutout will be. I'll drain it with a syringe, as I do on "Victoria".
The gas pipework was reworked so that the valve is accessible through the driver's-side doorway, as advertised. When I got the loco, the valve was an inch inboard of the doorway and pointing straight backwards, requiring removal of the roof for every gas adjustment. That simply wasn't practical.
Speaking of driver's side, another of "Victoria's" mods was repeated, moving the reverser over to the correct side as-per the prototype. The reversing linkage will be modified to suit.
I've been focusing on a laborious batch rollingstock project lately, but really need to get back onto the Bundy, soon. I'd like to have both (and more) completed by year's end, and half the year's already gone! I've since stripped the cab's paint, and taken delivery of suitable name and worksplates..