Sunny Sunday (7) - short mixed train ....

 A short mixed train run today...

LocoWorks - GVT Loco (2) - wheels !

 I had a spare LGB Otto 0-4-0 chassis, which is just suitable; valve gear and rods removed...

and some extra bits cut off to fit it under the loco...

Increased the length of the slot in the bottom of the loco to accommodate the chassis....

The chassis positioned - nice fit and room for the running weight inside the loco's boiler

about 8mm of wheel and con-rod show, when the chassis is in place - not that visible when it will be running (the con-rods could come off if necessary) 

LocoWorks - GVT Loco (1) - sizing up ...

 Out of the project box for a look and to take measurements to see what chassis I could buy that would fit in the space available...

While out the box couldn't resist doing a couple of quick jobs. First removing the old SM32 chassis guides form the base plate.

Next stick back on the chimney and other loose bits with superglue....

Once I've got a suitable chassis I can get on with work on the loco body.

Sunny Sunday (6) - tipper wagons....

 Baguley RC diesel and tipper wagons out for a run today... industrial look...

Sunny Thursday ..

Yesterday I went round to a friends house for a garden railway running session, lovely late afternoon and early evening and a nice selection of trains...

My Bagnall 2-8-2 with L&B stock train had a good long run round .....

While trains were running, a live steam loco was being tinkered with and left to run-in for a while.

A long train, USA style,  snaked its way around .....

LocoWorks: Bagnall Refurbishment (2) --- ready for service

Just before heading to the paint shop I did one more test run on the garage layout - a mysterious squeaking noise occurred while going round curves. The problem was traced to the cow-catcher; the bottom bar was rubbing on the rail top. I removed it and replaced it with a wire bar a bit further up - no more 'Mr Squeaky'

While doing the painting I mixed some green colours to get a near match to the loco's body colour. I used this to paint the wheels and the sand boxes which has greatly improved the look.

Sunny Sunday (5) - Tram loco with goods trains... .....

After doing some gardening jobs, it was nice to sit on the garden bench and relax watching the train running round the layout...

LocoWorks: Bagnall Refurbishment (1) --- the changes

 The Bagnall 2-8-2 tender loco..

Looks good from far, but up close there are lots of things that aren't quite right, so I thought it was time to get these sorted out with a little refurbishment; while doing that I am going to make any changes that are needed so that I could fit it with battery powered remote control.

The Tender

The back of the tender top was not well fitted, so I removed it and put some extra supports - plenty of room inside for the batteries and RC electronics...

The top part cleaned, repaired and sanded to remove some old paint lumps... (the original maker made use of some 'to hand' bits for parts, on the back of the tender - the two upright 'post's are the tops of knitting needles and the small dome the plastic top from a tube of carpet tacks)

a splash of paint and a bit of satin varnish; the top fits in nicely and stays in - lifting out if needed (no need for any fixings).

The Loco

Taken apart; the main part of the loco body is fine; just the underframe section being a bodge up and the way the chassis is fitted to the body is to flimsy. The lead and trailing bogeys need some work too.

Somehow the hand-rail wire got out of the holder, holder carefully removed and easy to fix...

Cosmetic cover up at the front for a repair done previously to hold the boiler/smokebox on properly...

a repair to the cow-catcher...

When I first acquired the loco, to get it running I had to hack the underframe leaving a bit of an uneven mess, so cover-up added to give a nice straight edge.

New profile done for the front bogey surround...

New profile done for the trailing rear bogey surround...

The lead and trailing bogies, some repairs done (well made by the original builder out of plasticard and a couple of bogey wheel sets)

I fixed up the outer facing parts to give a better profile and have them looking similar....

I've removed the scratchbuilt spring detail and added some axle box castings to give them a more chunky look...

Two small uprights added to the centre of the under frame to help hold the chassis in position

the cosmetic upgrade to the sides of the under frames finished...

The cab end needed tidying up...

a single piece of thin plasticard added with a gap for the coupling ... thats better ....

The prototype had a visible spring above the front lead bogey, so I've added one to each side

Some sand boxes to be painted an stuck on...

Out in the garage for a run test....

The lead bogey catches on curves, in my tinkering I've reduced the clearance - so a small shim has been  added to provide suitable clearance.

The loco is off to the paint shop...