Rewanui - a 1940 West Coast NZ layout in 1:64

[Peter_T1958]

Such assembly jigs are well known among others by Frithjof (fspg2)! But NOT in that tininess!!!

Superb 

[Ray Dunakin]

Marvelous work! I'd go nuts trying to make one of those, much less 38.

[Hauk]

Great work, very inspiring!

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

Thanks guys

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

I see Russ is getting fractious about low post volume, so:

The locomotives on the Rewanui branch were a select group as the centre braking rail meant that clearances restricted availability.  At the very least cowcatchers needed to be cut away and brake rigging modified.  To be practically useful a centre rail gripping brake also needed to be fitted.

In my 1940 period the available motive power was 2x We class (featured early in this thread), 2x W class 2-6-2 tank locos and 3x Wa class 2-6-2 tanks.  In reality the Wa class were relatively rare at Rewanui as they tended to work the nearby Roa incline which had similar constraints.

The three Was were interesting from a modelling perspective as just about any conceivable detail difference was exhibited between them. They even had different valve gear arrangements, two with slide valves and one with piston.

I etched the parts for these locos some time ago, and the urge finally took me to put one together.  All nickel silver soldered up (although some parts are just clip/press fit at this juncture). This is Wa217, one of the slide valve engines that featured a unique extended cab.  This is the result of a couple of days poking the trusty Weller around.  No clever soldering technology here (though I'm not averse to it when the need arises)

The prototype image is from WW Stewart.

[finescalerr]

Lawrence, your skills seem somewhat adequate. Is modeling just a hobby for you? Does creating sophisticated miniatures in some way reflect how you earn your living? Every time you post something I find myself reeling in stunned disbelief. Even your photography is satisfactory. -- Russ

[Bill Gill]

Lawrence, Like Russ I'm awestruck with your craftmanship. (The choice of loco ain't bad either).

[Hauk]

Very fine work!

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

Correction: I enclosed the wrong prototype pic in the last post (my fault for clicking thumbnails instead of reading filenames)

That was W 192 - still an interesting and favourite loco, but not the subject of the post.

Here's Wa 217. 

The two Ws were NZR's first home built locos.  The subsequent Wa's were very similar but had slightly larger driving wheels.  While the overall dimensions were basically the same, the details make for an interesting collection.

Russ: I've modelled in a semi commercial way for many years.  Semi-commercial in that I do what I want and sell off kits and parts to anyone who is like-minded. The market for etched Wa kits is very small but does justify and fund the development costs.

Hauk: I'll modestly allow that I do have some skill with a soldering iron but much, if not most, of the clean look is due to the etching design which for the most part allows soldering in inconspicuous areas.  There's a lot of slot/tab and fold up meaning many 'joints' don't need soldering at all.

[Ray Dunakin]

Your work is remarkably neat, and those prototype locos are very cool!

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

The Wa 217 build is moving along.

Here it is with more or less all the major etched parts fitted.  I've also added the tank patches in brass. It's still placed subassemblies too - not fixed together.

The chassis design is split frame, 3 point compensated.  The frames ends are modelled as part of the body.  The compensation beams have cosmetic springs attached and pivot in the same location as the real thing (although the beam design is very different).  You can see the ends of the M1 retaining screws at the pivot point, yet to be cut back. The wheelsets will be fitted with 6mmOD ball races that will be able to move vertically in the horns.  Electrical insulation is by PCboard strips.  I had these made in China, milled to width, etched and solder coated very cost-effectively.  I 3D printed chassis set up jigs to get everything nice and square and true.

All the digital patternwork for the castings was done some time ago and some castings are on hand.  However a few bits are unique to this loco and I've had some new ideas recently, so the full casting set will be a way aways yet. Businesses commonly shut down for summer/Christmas here, so it will likely be late January until there is much progress.  I do have the wheel castings on hand, so these can be worked up.

I could (and have previously) made all this from scratch from sheet stock.  I find it much more relaxing to do all the design (correction/redesign/fiddle/redesign etc) on the PC and use external contractors to do the mundane stuff.  I then have a relatively relaxing time at the workbench assembling parts that fit and work.  It doesn't always go entirely smoothly, but on the whole it's enjoyable. 

[finescalerr]

On the whole, it's also enjoyable to see your progress. -- Russ

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

'On the whole' because I'm not immune to the odd cussing session provoked by burnt fingers, errant solder, and similar :-)

[Bill Gill]

Lawrence, burnt fingers aside, that's terrific work.
I'm curious, could there be any long term electrolysis between nickel silver and brass?

I'm on a coastal shoreline, everything is damp and often salty, so corrosion is common.

[Lawrence@NZFinescale]

I doubt it Bill

Nickel silver is essentially brass with added nickel.  It's been used for many years to build locomotives and nobody has reported such problems.  When you consider that the nickel silver will be in electrical contact with solder, bronze castings, brass detailing, copper wire, steel screws, stainless steel axles and lead ballast at least, the brass will be the least of it I imagine.

I'm able to use steel rail and tyres here, so I don't envisage any issues at all.