Plumbing

Himself has been working on adding detail to the boiler unit of 143.

Various pipes, manifolds and whatitsnames have been bent and soldered into position but - most importantly - not before the holes for the handrail knobs were drilled.

The chimney is just resting in position for the moment but has been turned down at the top to lose a lot of the flare on the original casting.

There are also various cylinders and rods and levers which live beneath the boiler which have been attached as well.

He's been paying very careful attention to research pictures because many of the things these pipes connect into are in different places compared to sister engine 138.

Kit Building

Occasionally I get asked if, as well as manufacturing resin wagon kits, I could supply them as ready-to-run models, which I don't mind doing - for a price, of course..

So that's what I've been up to this past week while Himself has been plugging away on the new Garratt build.

This time the client is looking for a pair each of my B and NG-Y ballast wagons.

I cast the parts last weekend, cleaned off the flash and now I'm in the process of gluing them together before adding the brass detailing parts which come with the kits.

If you fancy having a go at building one yourself for your fleet may I point you in the direction of the Narrow Planet shop who keep my range of kits in stock.

Outline Vision

143 is starting to take on that iconic Garratt shape now it's got to the stage that the three parts can be posed together.

While psyching Himself up to tackle the valve gear on the rear power unit (see what I did there?)  he's been working on forming an ashpan beneath the firebox which more resembles the one on the locomotive as it's currently running on the Welsh Highland.

At this stage the boiler unit and its frames are just resting on the ends of the power bogies and haven't been connected, nor does it have any pick-ups fitted so there hasn't been any test running yet.

Hopefully that won't be too far away once the Walschaerts is in place on the back end.

Front And Back

More detail has been added to the bunker and tank on 143.

Himself has attached the sand boxes on the front and what I presume is the battery box which sits beneath the lamp bracket which he has added in styrene.

A nice little detail is the thingies (I can't be more specific that that such is my lack of knowledge) which hide under the hoods on the front footplates.

Our own design of vacuum pipes have also been fitted now.

Work on fitting the valve gear to the rear unit continues...

It Runs!

So here's what you've been waiting to see!

The first power bogie of 143 is finished and is being tested.

Doesn't it run beautifully?



I could watch that all day!

Gottle Of Gear

Lots of people find the idea of building a brass locomotive kit intimidating: I know I certainly do.

One of the things that would most certainly give me nightmares is Walschaerts valve gear, so I find this picture Himself sent me of one complete set ready to be installed on an NGG16 power unit quite astonishing.

I am not mechanically minded at all.

In fact I don't mind admitting that I struggle to following what all the bits pieces are doing when they're cranking around and jiggling back and forth.

All I know is that I'm in awe of both the people who design the etches and those, like Himself, who can put it together.

I can't imagine it will be very long before this is fitted on the power unit and ready to be tested.

Watch this space......

Fixtures And Fittings

It can be a bit of a bore casting lots of repeat parts like tables and chairs, but it doesn't half make it quicker when you come to fit them.

In the space of half an hour the latest superbarn, 120, had its full interior in place.

The only bits left to make are the tip up single seat at one end and the half glazed partitions at the vestibules.

Then I'll be handing it over to Himself where it will join the queue of carriages waiting for brass roofs.