Lister Construction Continues

Despite no news for a while, I continue to make progress on the Lister  Rail Tractor. I have been fitting bolt heads, an assortment of small brackets and gear box details.

In addition, the parts needed to finish a running model locomotive is finally on their way to Denmark. Due to unfortunate delays in production of some of the electronic components the wait has been quite long. But then again, I would have been too busy with other things to use them even if they had arrived earlier.

Having studied drawings and prototype information I decided to completely sand away any bolt heads on the side frames. I should have done so while the frame was still unassembled. New bolt heads were fitted according to drawings and photos. I used sliced hexagonal plastic lengths picked up by the tip of a sharp knife blade, carefully dipped in a pool of AC-glue and placed on the model. I had marked up each bolt head's position with pencil in advance. Additional bolts were placed on the end frames and top corner reinforcements.

All details sanded off one of the frame profile.

Bolt imitations glued on with AC-glue.

The top of the bonnet was supplied in the kit as two white metal parts. As I had narrowed the bonnet slightly and as white metal parts were very thick and clumsy, I replaced them with a homemade part cut from nickel silver sheet. I bent the rather hard nickel silver over a former made from wood and the kit parts. I made a few dents in the bonnet as on the Dutch Lister I use as inspiration for my model.

The bonnet during construction. I still need to figure out how to mount oil and petrol tank. The floor is drilled to take a SPDT switch and recharge socket.

Current status on my first 16 mm scale locomotive. 

...and a look at the Dutch Lister that serves as inspiration. My model will not be a scale model of this prototype, but share some of its distinguishing features. Photo: Arnound Bongaards.

Traction Engine Finished

Being slighty embarrassed by my lack of progress lately I have speeded up my work and the traction engine from Hansen haulage contractors is now finished. I took it out in the garden for a quick photo session that nearly ended in disaster. We are currently plagued by heavy winds in Denmark and as I have not glued wheels and axles, the traction engine suddenly took off, propelled by the wind. Luckily I managed to catch it just before it rolled of the photo plank!

Hansen's old traction engine parked in the road side.The driver must have gone for a brief pause in the woods.

Most of the basic colours was applied when I mentioned the traction engine in the last post and I basically only needed to apply weathering and the small details I had fabricated. I had applied subtle tonal differences in the base colours from the start to reflect the different types of impact smoke box and cab area are exposed to. I added some chalk deposits around valves with the air brush. I followed up with small streaks of thinned white oil paint. Picking up the air brush again, I dusted the lower parts of the traction engine with light earth coloured road dust, adding a little gloss black with brush on the threads ot the brake gear to simulate grease.

Weathering in progress. I have air brushed rods, motion and the area under them with gloss varnish to simulate the shine of an oil soiled environment.

 Apart from the small tool box, I made a coal shovel from brass and a cut down tooth pick and added a piece of cloth from copper foil postioned on the forward/reverse control handle. The cab floor was supplied with a small pile of ash and dirt in front of the fire box door, weathered with pastel chalk powder. Worn metal surfaces were touched with a soft pencil, minor scratches around the cab area was made the same way.

While the driver is off the engine the cab can be studied. The gauges are printed paper discs flooded with gloss varnish. Wheels, handles and seat chipped with chrome and air brushed with gloss varnish to represent wear. The chopped up remains of someone's old shed is positioned for starting the fire.

A view from above. How someone came to fit a seat from a Ransomes engine on a Garratt is a mystery. Perhaps a driver's favorite seat having followed him from an earlier engine?

The driver is back in the cab. He seems to be making his mind up if he really wants to put the engine in forward and drive off. As my only 16 mm scale figure it has to perform every task needing a human shape.

Slow Progress

Well, it's been a February with a lot of deadlines at work. Articles, tenders and exhibitions to prepare and finalize. Also some projects on the 1:1 scale vintage railway HVB, where I spend some of my spare time, have been swallowing up time, too. Still I have been able to sit at the work table now and then, but have precious little to show.

Since last post every part of the traction engine has been painted. Mostly black and dark grey, but  brass, copper, gun metal and red were used as well. Weathering is now in progress. Some of the equipment to be fitted to the engine is also in progress. I hope a small selection of hand tools and personal belongings can make my traction engine look like a 'living vehicle'.

A small wooden tool box for the traction engine. The box is built from scraps of wood. Currently it is slowly filling with tools, wire and rags.

Recently I have finished stage 2 of my great 1:35 scale clear-out. Currently I have no more 1:35 railway models for sale as a few have been saved for exhibition purposes on a narrow gauge vintage railway along with my 1:35 scale modules. There are still a few road vehicles on the sales list, though. I'm also beginning to drag out all the kits I have had stashed away in boxes in the loft. There is a few original 13'eme Dragon 1:35 Pechot wagons among the unbuilt kits. Write to nystrupgravel@gmail.com if you are interested and I'll send a list.

Parcel almost ready for send-off. All the locos and wagons I had made wooden boxes for, presented no problems and all have arrived at their new owners undamaged. I was more worried about this particular parcel, that contains several rather flimsy road vehicles with open doors, direction markers and exhaust pipes. To cut down on transit damage I had packed models in several smaller sub-parcels. Still, not every model arrived without damage. Damage, that fortunately has been reported as repairable.

As a sort of Christmas present HVB received a new Schöma loco. After a short proces HVB took over the ownership from the old owner and we arranged the transport. The loco has run under its own power within the last 15 years, but has a different gauge (785 mm rather than 700 mm). Time will show if the gauge can be changed.

The 6 ton Schöma 2867/1965 will soon touch the rails. It will then be pushed into the narrow gauge industrial railway 'gene bank' building. The loco will reside here until it can be properly exhibited or restored and put into use. Photo: Hans-Henrik Schönthal.