Paycar possibilities?

Thankyou all for your kind words and encouragement. I still need to figure out the valve motion and other comtrol/braking (if any of the latter) for the loco - thats why I'm concentrating on the car body. If nothing else, I'm (hopefully) learning from my errors. This is the first time I haven't done a (simple) working drawing - relying on my original mock-up and pics - and I do regret not doing so!
 
A little more pottering around - finished the climbing bars on the cab portion. They look a bit heavy (which they are really - 1.5mm thick) out of scrap wire and have just made the step irons from scrap TV arial, veneer pins and some raised head pins to fasten them on after I've painted them. Came in for cuppa and the sky has brighted up - so its back out there! Oh - some pics..

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So I've been busy today. The climbing stirrups, steps, or whatever they're called are now fitted and the railings on footboards are made and fitted too. I made the stanchions from some aluminium wires, flattened the first 6mm by hammering on the vice's anvil and then wrapping the flattened bit around the top rail. Superglue holds the rail tight. Also found the torch lense on the bench after tidying up so the rear headlamp is next on the list for completion (but not today).

I've noticed that the pics reveal enlarged holes where the climbing bars are fitted - couldn't see these with the naked eyes (well not my eyes anyway:rolf:) so some more bits of filling required. C'est la vie!:rolf: .....

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See you are sharing our soft rain then Mick :impatient:
But the paycar isn't suffering.... looking better with every posting :admire:

Regards
Rob
 
Sharing:rolf: I thought we were keeping it all to ourselves! It was dry 5 mins before I took the pics:rolf:
 
I haven't been idle this last couple of days - just short of time! Anyway I made the rear headlamp which just slots over a piece of balsa wood. I might put a couple of small pins in so it doesn't come off in transit. Pics .....

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Apart from some minor filling and sanding (and electrical connections to make), plus tidying up the paintwork, the car body is more or less complete. Both lamps will be gloss painted and I might redo the lettering again. Then it comes down to detailing and painting the loco.
 
That's a mighty lamp Mick - I wouldn't get that through my tunnel... unless it has a Blackpool ballroom organ lift built in..... :laugh: Keep up the good work !

Rob
 
robsmorgan said:
That's a mighty lamp Mick - I wouldn't get that through my tunnel... unless it has a Blackpool ballroom organ lift built in..... :laugh: Keep up the good work !

Rob

H'mm - you may be right there Rob - I'll have to measure clearances on the trailer layout (bridge and tunnel!). Its hard to scale it from the photo - it looks to be half the height of the car body but I may be wrong (again) - I'll try and find a pair of dividers and have another look. I could lower it about 5mm above the lense. I must admit it looks a little tall (well a lot tall really).

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I've just put a ruler to the screen image and the body is approx 120mm high and the lamp approx 53mm so I have got the proportions wrong. Mr Razor Saw?:rolf:
 
I'm feeling pretty guilty now Mick - didn't mean to create work for you :rolleyes: sure you'll be able to get the opportunity to respond on my Camel Back work...... but I have to say you've given me an idea..... Now that I've truncated the smokebox I've got to find a way of hiding the smoke unit blower fans.... maybe in a big headlamp :thinking:

Best wishes
Rob
 
Hi Ross - I'd never noticed, it just seems like a an ordinary (but large) headlamp. It did as much running in reverse it seems as it did normal. The only other pic I have copied from the internet (when the steam railmotor was in active service) neither proves or disproves your theory. Here is a slice from the photo showing the lamp.

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Its all large pixels unfortunately. The lantern was lined out and decorated. Sometimes more can be noticed in an un-enlarged pic. There is a third photo on the net (quite small) when it was decommissioned that shows nothing on top of the roof - and I think the thumbnail drawing that has been posted was taken from this last view.
 
Rob - the only person creating work for me is myself! Without people's comments and observations I would be totally making a pig's ear out of it as you cannot always see what other observe until its brought to your attention.

I originally concluded that the lantern was around half the height of the body and this stuck in my mind. So when I made the lamp I measured from the bottom of the solebar to the crown of the roof instead of the EDGE of the roof. Further, more accurate measuring this morning reveals that (the actual proportions) the body side is 2.15 x the height of the lantern. My effort made it nearly 17mm too high.

I'm trying to scale it down (made the cuts) but I'll have to alter the depth too. At least I can drop the tails of the lampholder through the roof - which I couldn't with the front lamp. Onwards and .....
 
Well managed to remove 13mm in total (nearly a foot) off the lantern. Primed it ready for some sanding down. Looks better I think..

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ATABOY Mick! :thumbup::thumbup:

Rob
 
Its been another of those weeks and I'm beginning to think I've met my Waterloo with these lamps. I printed some side panels for them both, cut them out and glued them on, gloss painted them and then didn't like what I'd done. Then I made some more and glued them on .....

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I now think the loco's lamp is much too big even though it corresponds with the drawing. Fed up.
 
They look pretty good Mick - would suggest that spraying with 'Dullcote' (US product imported into UK - Google**** search for UK supplier) might work well in future projects, it leaves a pretty realistic dull waterproof finish :thumbup: - I use it to seal my ink-jet decals before soaking and sliding and then again when in situ. :clap:

**** this 3 can special deal sounds a fair price - I'm ordering some myself :bigsmile:
http://www.ngtrains.com/Pages/Misc/miscellaneous.htm < Link To http://www.ngtrains.com/P../Misc/miscellaneous.htm

Regards
Rob
 
A bit late for this project... what I get for not paying closer attention :o:

These are the photos I've managed to collect on the Vulcan locomotive part, they might help the next fellow.
This is sister unit San Gabriel. I include it because it's a fairly clear photo of the motion
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Another Vulcan 2-2-0, the Vacaville. The company built two 2-2-4 steam cars and three 2-2-0 locomotives.
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The locomotive bit, before the carbody was added
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Drawing fro CP discussion group
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Flea - allegedly was converted later to a tender locomotive, sent to the museum in Sacramento... and buried for fill.
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I think these were already references, but they're large and clear
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not Vulcan, but another way to have a steamcar on R-1s.... Cumberland Valley's Jenny Lind
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trammayo said:
I now think the loco's lamp is much too big even though it corresponds with the drawing.

I'm not so sure, Mick. When you look at the front lamp's proportion it looks basically OK; perhaps the rear lamp looks bigger because it's mounted on the roof, with nothing else near it. On the front it sort of blends with the chimney so doesn't look so monolithic. Headlamps on 1860s-era locos were enormous. I suppose they needed a large reflector to magnify the flame of what was otherwise a domestic oil light.

My only thought would be that the hood over the lamp's chimney looks a bit wide and helps to make the whole thing look even taller. If narrowed a bit, would that help? Silly, fiddly job, though!
 
MANY THANKS MIK! They are still useful to me. It is interesting to note that the "Flea" named the NAPA originally (for the Napa Valley) had several owners and the car body may have been rebuilt while its sister was converted as you say. The Vulcan Works pic is a real gem! I find them most interesting indeed - thanks for posting:thumbup:

I have copied the top photo off your thread but I'm still not 100% sure as to how the valvegear was driven!
 
Giles, thanks for your reassurance - do you mean the front headlight chimney shield?

In the photo (the one Rob posted first) the roof lamp is bigger than the front. In my attempt to get the former proportionately right (to the height of the body) it has actually ended up slightly less taller than the front!

If I stand 3 or 4 feet away (:rolf::rolf::rolf:) it doesn't look bad - but it is niggling me. I pared nearly everything down when it was obvious that my first attempt was OTT, but left the shield as it was. It shouldn't be too hard - a sharp knife to prise it off and some snips to prune it!
 
Certainlyb the chimney shield on the car section - it's so prominent. Can I suggest, before you take things apart, just touch in either side of the shield with a little black paint; it might help you to make the decision whether or not to file it thinner, or not. If not, thenm it's easily repainted.
 
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