7mm The Derby Line - Rolling Stock Gladiator Crab

[dibateg]

Thanks Dave - or I was too lazy to attach 40+ ventilater hoods!

Thanks Peter, the Crab is a background project, and I've been busy with other stuff over the past month or two, with the railway taking priority. But the gloomy weather has facilitated progress over the past couple of days, with me tackling the hated task of adding the sand pipes! I used modified Griffin Sand traps and short lengths of brass tube for the sand pipe unions. The clearances were a bit tight for the wheels with that rhombic casting and the valve guide support, so some grinding was called for..

 

[P A D]

Looks like all the paint has fallen off mine!

Yes, I had to do some grinding on the valve slide support. If you are using Slaters pick ups you'll need to grind some metal off the sides of the forward brake cylinder, or maybe thin down the nuts on the plunger to avoid contact when compressed. Mine was already painted when I found out, so it was a bit scary getting in there with a cutting burr sphere in the mini drill.
Cheers,
Peter

 

[dibateg]

I prefer to have my pick ups in the horizontal plane relative to the axle - the exception is the rear driving set, where the motor gets in the way..

I wanted to be able to get a speaker in to the smokebox, so I've hollowed out the front of the fierbox ( that made a mess ) and cut access holes in the boiler formers...

 

[dibateg]

And then it looks like this after soldering up...



The cab floor seemed a little short at the front end, so I added some extensions to support the splasher castings:-

 

[LarryG]

From any angle, the LMS 'Crab' was a beautiful loco. That said, the rides I had behind them were almost always sluggish.

The door vents on LMS flush sided Period II and III coaches started to be removed in the blood & custard era. Stanier's coaches, while looking modern, were not known for their rust-inhibiting qualities.

 

[Dave Holt]

Tony,
That's looking very neat and tidy and coming along well.
There does look to be something not quite right with the front truck. The top of the truck frame, just visible above the wheel flange, should be horizontal but looks to slope in the photo. Perhaps the pivot mounting need to be lower or packed to lower it?
Dave.

 

[P A D]

Dave,
Just had a look at mine and the truck is level. I didn't need to pack the pivot point or lower it. Perhaps it's just some distortion in the image but I'm sure Tony will comment.

Tony,
Any thoughts on the width of the boiler bands? They look on the narrow side and will perhaps create problems applying the lining (Fox in my case).

Cheers,
Peter