Tender wheel parts

The tyres for 1120’s tender have been plopping unceremoniously onto the lathe bed for the past couple of weeks. I had thought to make them in two batches – one per truck – but wound up getting several extra tyres and wheels out of one blank, albeit not enough for the whole tender. In the […]

XTool first cut

Like every cool toy they advertised when I was a kid, the new laser cutter came “some assembly required.” It took a few days to reach the top of the to-do list, and when it did, the straightforward task took a good hour or more. Strangely, the instructions get you to the point of downloading […]

The Images that Draw Us

In the silent auction of Ken Chivers’s estate almost forty years ago, I won the book, Fairy Tale Railroad, the story of the Mohawk and Malone Railroad in upper New York State. As my modelling interests matured, the danger of modelling New York dissipated and the book was a candidate to re-home. It was nearly […]

Another new tool

A huge box just landed on the front doorstep, and inside was my “Congratulations on your new job and on selling that Lego” gift to myself. It’s an XTool D10 laser engraver; it should be powerful-enough to cut 1/4″ plywood, but I’ll probably cut a lot more board and 1/8″ ply. Stand back! And here: […]

Christmas 2022

I have a few minutes to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. I hope you have all found some time away from your modelling benches and with your family or friends in this dark month (dark for most people). My family happens to celebrate Christmas, with a tree and gifts and turkey and everything. I […]

Engine Truck for GTR 1120

As with many commercial models, the engine truck for the Spectrum 4-4-0 is just along for the ride. It plays no role in supporting the cylinders, and doesn’t even guide the driving wheels into corners. Effectively, it is its own vehicle, shackled to the front of the frame. Consequently it needs to be as heavy […]

Switch Lock Proof of Concept

I struggled a little with the supports for the switch locks, but finally got an acceptable print. It went together exactly as expected, and with a cobbled-together key, it almost works. Certainly the idea of a magnetic lock seems to be workable; the only miss was the amount that the mechanism rotates given the key. […]

GTR 1120 as a 4-4-0

The crank pins are an easy press-fit into the drivers, and thankfully, I didn’t need to remove the rear drivers to insert them. Then the connecting rods and the main rods dropped into place with almost no fanfare, except that I need to get a 1.3mm nut driver for 0-80 screws. Holding my breath, I […]

GTR 1120 as a 4-2-2

Once The Last Equipment Cradle was put together, soldering the wires that capture the rear wheels was delicate but not difficult. I dropped the engine on the rails, and was immediately disappointed by the results. I expected it to be slippery without the connecting rods, but I didn’t expect the front drivers, the only drivers […]

The Last Equipment Cradle

I can’t believe I’ve been balancing models on their roofs for my entire life. Several manufacturers offer foam cradles, but I’ve always felt it was something I could make myself. Then I didn’t. For years, no decades! Well, no more. And since it has taken me so many years to finally make my own cradle, […]