Project Steeple Cab

[cabbage]

The G3S has started stocking the white metal chairs again. My sleepers are made from Mahogany and Horse Chestnut -the traditional woods are Oak and Red Cedar. Cliff Barker sells "plug ins" that you can bond his chairs to -to fit them to drilled holes in the sleepers.

I did not know the "Electric Railway Museum" existed.... Four of my loco are not "sparkies", a Golsdorf, a Peak, the Fell, and the Heilmann. I will have to persuade someone to take me there!!!

regards

ralph

http://www.electricrailwaymuseum.co.uk/

[IanT]

I think you may have misread one of my recent postings Ralph, as although I have a stainless steel tender that may have been TIG welded, I don't have a TIG welder myself.

I have used it briefly (I did a welding course and used Manual Arc, MIG & TIG) but found the most useful tool [for the small projects I had available at that time] to be oxyacetylene welding/brazing. Unfortunately, for "own-use" O/A rental is very expensive (and also a bit risky to store) so I'm using a propane burner {Bullfinch 404} that can SIF-bronze small steel fabrications. Not quite O/A but still very useful. We discussed this subject earlier this year if anyone wants further detail....

I didn't know w/m chairs were back in stock (maybe missed it in the NL) but that is good news as I may need a few more shortly.

John - re Paint - I think a good metal primer is still useful and Halfords car sprays are certainly a convenient option. If you were really keen on colour accuracy, then for most railways (& periods) Precision Paints are  a bit expensive but still the 'go-to' people - even in our size. I suspect that for your Steeple Cab, Halfords will have something close enough though.

I didn't know about that Coventry Museum you've mentioned either, so must try to get up there and have a look sometime next year. Good recommendation.

Anyway, it sounds like a very interesting project John and please keep us informed of your progress.

Regards,

IanT

[Doddy]

The Electric Railway Museum is well worth the visit, and also the adjacent Aircraft museum with the Vulcan bomber and other jet and propeller driven aircraft.

The CEGB's Spondon steeple cab is quite delightful, especially in its pre-privatisation yellow livery with black chequered warning panels.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geoffspages.co.uk/raildiary/emidsodd_htm_files/110.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geoffspages.co.uk/raildiary/emidsodd.htm&h=533&w=800&tbnid=SL8SywZOnjTDDM:&docid=jIlnWBmetVhGFM&ei=DWsjVr-MJML4UKHpiagO&tbm=isch&ved=0CEsQMygkMCRqFQoTCP_GgILfy8gCFUI8FAodoXQC5Q

[Geoff Nicholls]

and this Geoff thinks you've chosen the right prototype as well. The G3 soc will almost certainly have a track at the AGM in February, where you can try out/show off your efforts and exchange ideas. So that gives you something to aim for.

[jamiepage]

Steeple cabs are attractive. I sketched out an idea for a G3 model of the Hellingly Hospital loco a couple of months ago. It's as close to a whimsical fiction as one can get and yet still be prototypical. Probably too twee to be attractive, it will however be fun to build.
Having said build, in fact Peter Spoerer made up the electrics for me; and his chassis probably only needs new axles and re-wheeling, plus coupling rods to finish.
The symmetry of the body panelling has made it easy to lay out a few plasticard patterns ready for pantograph milling some NS sheet which is to hand. The tiny size helped of course, and it really is tiny. 74mm wheelbase, 134mm overall body length.
Overhead pick up will be cosmetic only, although a sparking effect could be introduced.
   
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1YVh61LaS4

I do look forward to seeing progress with your model.

[John_R]

IanT a see your problem with bottle rental for the home user. However there are companies that allow you to buy the bottle around £70 and just pay for refills. This makes it doable for limited use and could be a shared purchase within a club I guess. Do not get me stated on the cost of BOC bottle rental !

Pleased to hear my proposed first model meets approval of the board. It's such a characterful little engine and I think good for a first time model. Also pleased to see I have managed to recommend a little known gem of a museum that could be useful to members.

[John_R]

I have now got the basic layout of where everything is going to go in the garden. Her indoors has been consulted regarding re planting of certain areas and even agreed that the garden will look better for it !!!!!!!!! For the trackbed as it is going to be raised by 2 1/2 foot to 3 foot I am considering using decking boards as they are of a decent thickness and supposedly treated so in theory should last. Any thoughts on using these before I go and buy a load and start to build ?

[Peaky 556]

John
Using decking boards seems a radically good idea. Something new out of the straight-jacket mould that we seem to have here of sheet timber deck covered in roofing felt. I have no doubts the latter does work, if the felt is kept in good nick.
One question, will you be leaving the top of the boards exposed so that they can be treated with the fashionable decking sealers and preservatives? I'm sure you can get pretty pink and holly green! One word of caution is to test out the effect of these chemicals on your chosen sleeper material. Proper wood sleepers will of course enjoy it, but not sure what will happen with plastic GRS or Cliff Barker sleepers.
Keep us posted.
Regards, Tim

[cabbage]

Tanalith treated decking boards do work well as track bed. My original 16mm railway used them painted green by "public demand"... The PECO SM32 track had no problems with "Cuprinol" paint. What you have to remember is that the treatment takes some time to "come out" of the boards -thus they will be heavy and wet. Use a compound called "End Seal" on all the cut edges as this renews the treatment -failure means rotting ends... Be careful about using power tools on treated timber as the treatment is copper based and wet wood saw dust will be rich in copper -your nice saw will rust rapidly unless well washed and oiled!!!

The sun deck in front of the summer house was going to be pained Lavender Blue -as is the floral arch in the lawn. "Sugar Pink" and "Violet" were vetoed by the male majority. But she got them elsewhere in the house...

regards

ralph

[John_R]

Decking boards it is then. Nice and cheap at the builders merchants at this time of year due to people not doing too much decking in the winter and the builders merchants don't realy want to store them over the winter. So a sizeable amount have been ordered to collect on Tuesday along with metposts and fenceposts.
I don't intend to use roofing felt on them but was thinking along the lines of hot bitumen then after fitting the track warm the bitumen and apply suitable stone as ballast. Is this feasible?
I guess as I am new to this I am thinking of things that are not going to work as opposed to the tried and tested methods hence so many questions and I apologise for so many of them. Just want to get it right and not have to go back on things too much. Yes I am going to make a lot of mistakes along the way but I am just hoping to minimise them.
Many thanks for your encouragement.

[cabbage]

The track will melt if it has plastic sleepers. Try the trick that I am planning on using, SBR adhesive and granite chippings.

http://www.cliffbarker.talktalk.net/Miscellaneous.html

By all means hot melt roofing felt to the bare boards -but not thereafter....

regards

ralph

[blagdon]

Erm... I thought this topic was about constructing a Gauge '3' Steeple Cab?
John, are you planning to have any overhead trolley wires? even if only dummy they would add authenticity to a layout, particularly in an industrial siding system.

Ian the Gauge '3' Pirate

[John_R]

Yes it is about a project steeple cab but I would also like some advice in the planning stage as I am new to this as I stated in my posts. I do not realy want to make too many mistakes if I can avoid them. Maybe this is not the forum for me then ?

[Doddy]

Yes it is about a project steeple cab but I would also like some advice in the planning stage as I am new to this as I stated in my posts. I do not really want to make too many mistakes if I can avoid them. Maybe this is not the forum for me then ?

Personally, the Steeple Cab project is of interest to me, and I find that subject matter directly related to that core project enhances my reading interest.

Unfortunately the narrow mindedness does creep in from time to time reading some posts.

I may never build a steeple cab but I am more than interested in finding out how others do it.   

[John Candy]

This topic is headed PROJECT Steeple Cab and is in the "Join a project" board category, not the loco construction category.

The topic is about a PROJECT named "Steeple Cab" and not specifically about loco construction, therefore the discussion is NOT off-topic in my rule book!

Possibly a new topic in the "Track construction" category would attract more responses to track questions but there seems to be no shortage of advice being given here.

John Candy