Due to the fact that is will probably be at least a year before I have an operating workshop, this project has been handed back to the client who will complete the build.  Hopefully I will get some pictures of the completed engine to display here.

The Finney kit for the 3232 Class 2-4-0 is the basis for this model.  It comes in a box that will not hold the completed model, as does the associated tender.  A "proper" box is therefore essential to protect the finished engine.  The instructions come as an A5, unbound, booklet and are quite comprehensive.  There is an excellent drawing for an early and a late period engine and exploded diagrams for the chassis.  Had there been similar diagrams for the body, I think it would have made the job a little easier.  Finney kits are considered by some as "fussy" or over complex.  However, I would rather have a "fussy" kit that goes together and fits than an unfussy one that requires lots of extra work to make it fit.  So far all the parts have fitted very well and the design has proved to be good, once one has got used to how the designer thinks.  Not having built a Finney kit before, it is proving to be an interesting journey.

This engine, No: 3235 is being built as the motive power for a complete GWR train for a friend.  The chassis, shewn here part completed, goes together well.

I had already turned up the Harris wheels and here they are temporarily fitted in to get the ride height right
I intend to modify the chassis so that the driving wheels can be dropped out and avoid using telescopic axles, though the front carrying wheels has one.     Back to top

For information on turning cast iron wheels go to Wheel Turning.

The footplate goes together nicely but do read the instructions carefully, particularly if contemplating not following the given order.  Later, the central section will be cut out to allow the chassis to fit.

The lamp irons are interesting.  The two behind the buffer plank are part of the sub base for the footplate.  However, the ones over the buffer plank need to fitted as separate items (part 80).  The instructions call for them being fitted very late in the order of construction.  There are slots in the overlay but they do not match in size the corresponding holes in the sub base.  Fitting them after the buffer plank is soldered in would, I think, be very difficult.  I did not notice this until I had soldered up the sub base and overlay or would have cut out spaces for them.  I used a piecing saw, very carefully, to open the holes in the sub base, soldered in parts 80 and then filed back the overlap where the buffers plank will go, as in this picture.     Back to top

The instructions suggest fitting the small splashers first and then fitting the tops.  I found it far easier to bend the tops to shape and, after having  filed the cusps off solder them to the fronts.  If the splasher front is held down firmly a small block of wood suffices to hold the top into place while soldering with the RSU probe behind.  This picture shews two complete and two still to finish.  A very similar procedure can be followed for the large splashers as shewn below.  The difference between the two is that there is a piece of scrap etch under the splasher front to raise it so that the beading overlaps the front.  These things are matters of personal preference of course.

After all this careful work I discovered that I had soldered the tops of the splashers on the wrong way round as can be seen in the picture below.  Check and dry run and check again as I ought to have done.

The smoke box is built around an inverted box.  I added a piece of carefully measured scrap at the top to ensure it stayed square while fitting the wrapper.  The completed smoke box together with the chimney was then temporarily bolted in place on the footplate.

The instructions suggest building the cab up in-situ on the footplate.  I opted instead to build it as a separate item using a steel square, magnets and the steel base plate of the RSU to ensure squareness.     Back to top



One shot shewing the completed footplate assembled, and the other with the smoke box bolted in place.  The excellent copper chimney was fitted early while it was easy to get it lined up correctly.

The boiler, once carefully rolled, fits around a couple of formers.  Some modification will be required to ensure it fits over the splashers neatly.

The boiler and smoke box are meant to be bolted together and to the footplate but soldered to the cab.


This strikes me as a little odd and I shall try to modify it so that it is all bolted to make painting easier.

I have also yet to come up with a method of retaining the driving wheels so that I can use solid axles instead of the telescopic type.  In the meantime work continued.....


The safety valve needs to be removable so that it can be polished.  After clearing out the hole of burnt wax I used a piece of brass rod turned down to just fit. Drilled and tapped it 6BA and then soldered the plug into the hole in the safety valve.  A couple of washers soldered on to the bolt ensured that when tightened, the unit would be a tight fit on the curve of the boiler.     Back to top

The dome needs similar treatment but this time a piece of nickel silver was cut and filed to shape to fit, drilled and tapped 6BA and a washer soldered on to the bolt.  It similarly holds the unit tight against the curve of the boiler.  Both the safety valve and dome were carefully shaped by rubbing against 240 grit paper wrapped round a piece of suitable diameter rod.

Here are the parts bolted in place.




The drive problem was solved by changing the drive to the front drivers, bending up a bracket cut from the frame spacer and soldering an 8BA nut to it.  It was then a simple matter of filing up some brass rod to fit across and hold both axles in place.  it should be I hope fairly self-explanatory from these two pictures.  It has the advantage that the compensation pivot did not have to be disturbed.  The top of the frame spacer was ground down to a convex shape to allow the motor to lie flat inside the boiler.  The springs will now also need to be fitted to this rod.     Back to top

Having got the motor fitted the time had come to test it out on the rolling road.  Now attention could be focussed on arrange for the boiler/firebox, smoke box and can assembly to be separate components capable of being taken apart for painting and maintenance.  I utilized the mounting holes for constructing the Belpair firebox as a guide, drilled through the firebox end plate and soldered in a couple of 6BA nuts.  You can see how it goes together in this picture

With the cab finally soldered in place the boiler, smoke box, dome and safety valve cover were all bolted together to check for correct fit.

All this work had to be taken apart once it was realized that the splashers inside the cab were far too wide. Even so, the floor needs to be made narrower.  So the cab was carefully removed and the splashers filed down to a more appropriate width.  It is all a compromise unless one us building and engine to S7 standards or one that never needs to go round typical 0 Gauge curves.  I have not yet complete solved the problem but will probably make the inside splasher sides from plastic to prevent shorting.     Back to top

THE TENDER
While I normally build the tender first (to get it out of the way) this time I had elected to start with the locomotive but the time has come to get on with this part too.  It is a separate kit and comes in its own box, which will not hold the finished vehicle.  The instructions are quite comprehensive but it is necessary to read them through a couple of times, especially if one has built other variations of this type of tender from different manufacturers.  Each designer has his or her own way of doing things and it makes sense to figure out their individual methods before launching out with the solder.

Having the read the instructions I promptly decided to go my own way.  I used to think that this sort of behaviour from reviewers was simply arrogance but once one has built a number of different kits one recognizes that, provided the basics are followed, the instructions are really a guide to "doing it my way" (provided one is prepared to own-up to any cock-ups of course).

I began as I often do by using the trusty Leaky press to push out all the rivets and bolt heads in the parts I would be using, during a local club night.  This kit makes at least six different versions of the 3000 gallon tender so one must be sure one knows which version to build so that the right parts are chosen, there a lot of them.  Martin has done considerable research but the builder still needs to do some work here.

I next began to fold up some of the major parts:
Here they are: from left to right, the three parts of the chassis, the footplate and the main body foundation.  So far, nothing has been soldered, simply checked and folded up in readiness.     Back to top

The chassis is very different to anything I have built before.  The two outer halves are temporarily bolted to the well tank so that the wheels can be aligned.  For this one needs special axles with 2mm extensions to fit the holes for which bearings are provided.  It rather looks as though, once the wheels are fitted, they cannot be removed because those side pieces need to be soldered together and the bolts removed.  If, like me, one is using the "American" method of pick-up, make sure all the work necessary has been completed before taking this irrevocable step.  In this case, the backs of the wheels on one side have been painted with Electrolube to short them out.

The wheelbase for this tender is compensated but, not designed to throw its weight on the back of the engine.  This is the compensation beam fitted to the brass tube that revolves around the fulcrum.  Each opening has been chemically blackened so that, when the brass rod fulcrum it swivels on is soldered into the well tank sides, it does not seize up.

Once fitted the ends of the pivot rod are filed down smooth.  This needs to be carefully done because there is a line of rivets close by that can be easily damaged.

The body has now been temporarily fitted to the base and the etched top soldered on and trimmed to size, the water scoop fountain cover built and the early type of rod tensioners fitted on the axle box mounting plates.

Next job is to bend the flared sides to shape and fit around the body, followed by organizing a running chassis, when the proper axles arrive from Slater's.






The flared sides were simple enough, I took the precaution of annealing the tender sides sheets before starting work.  The fingers at the corners will be filled with solder and filed to shape later.




Slater's excellent service soon provided the correct wheels and axles and so the chassis was bolted together with the wheels fitted on their 2mm extension axles.










The next stage is to solder the two sides and well tank together before removing the bolts.  Once done, removing the wheels would be a major undertaking, so getting the chassis right at this stage is critically important.  It runs well and is level so the next thing is to modify it so that I can take it apart for painting and maintenance.  This was achieve by drilling six holes at 10BA, soldering nuts in place underneath the chassis and bolting the sides to the well tank using countersunk bolts.  Now it is possible to remove the wheels should the necessity arise.  Both ends also needed shorting to allow for the extra strengthening I had used in constructing the tender footplate.     Back to top