Gareth Thomas' NLR Park 0-6-0T goods tankThis is based on a Branchlines chassis, and Gareth used a homemade jig consisting of three correctly spaced holes drilled into a piece of plywood with a drill press. London Road Models axle alignment jigs were inserted into the holes and, one axle at a time, replaced the rigid bearings with High Level hornblocks. The jig was also used to assemble the two frames with their spacers. The loco has a High Level RoadRunner+ 54:1, with flywheel. 60 years of CSBs – there's nothing new under the sun...We throw mathematics and modern technology at our CSBs nowadays, but here's an extract from an article on a 7mm LB&SCR Terrier in the December 1954 Model Railway News by M G Foster. It's an underslung arrangement with only two frame fulcrums, with sawcuts in the hornblocks for the springs. The builder noted "the actual springs were obtained from an old watch". Steve Duckworth's Caledonian Class 812Steve Duckworth managed to squeeze (just!) inside motion into this chassis with the use of High Level spacesaver blocks. (The inside motion is dummy.)
Mike Smith's PannierA full description of the fitting of a CSB to the High Level Models chassis kit can be found here. David Knight's Caledonian 812 class 0-6-0This is from a Caley Coaches Kit, and uses High Level hornblocks. The motor is mounted vertically, and there is sufficient space between the springs for the High Level gearbox sideframe. The torque reaction link is neatly fitted to the middle frame spacer. More details of this build can be found on this Scalefour webforum thread. 7mm 517 0-4-2TAn S7 build of a JLTRT (ex-Malcolm Mitchell) GWR 517 0-4-2T kit by 'Ozzyo'. The CSB over the drivers is a symmetrical 3-fulcrum. Fulcrum support posts on both the frame and the blocks are the long Markits WD type.
James Moorhouse' Pannier chassisJames' High Level Pannier chassis with 'spacesaver' hornblocks and Markits short WD handrail knobs. The brass wire is temporary, to test the frame spacer clearances. In P4, there is adequate room for the gearbox between the standard hornblocks. For the front axle, the spacesaver hornblock was necessary because of the, yet to be installed, inside motion (the clearance designed in the kit for the front axle is too small for a standard hornblock plus carrier etch, but okay for a standard hornblock without a carrier etch attached.) Bryan Wolsey's split-chassis 1FAn otherwise conventional CSB 0-6-0 except that this one is split-axle. The frame spacers are gapped double-sided copperclad (Maplins) held in U-section brass (Eileen's Emporium) attached to the frame sides to strengthen the edges and provide a better surface for soldering. Frames are Craftsman etched nickel-silver cut out for High Level hornblocks (the 'spacesaver' variety being used on the driven axle), and wheels are Gibson brass-centred on split axles. This chassis will be featured in a forthcoming issue of Scalefour News, where Bryan will reveal how he prevents those frames shorting to the metal body. Brassmasters 3F tenderHere's the Brassmasters chassis for the Bachmann 3F tender, with the beam mounted outboard of the inside frame. The internal half-etch aperture of the 'wrap-around' carrier is shaped in a slight crescent, ensuring the beam contacts the carrier only over a short length.
Dave Franks' LMS tendersFeeling that magazine gauge conversion articles often gloss over the subject of tenders, Dave produces tender kit etches himself under his Lanarkshire Models Supplies brand.
Tender frame lengths are often a problem area with CSBs because there isn't much room fore and aft of the front and rear axles respectively. Dave's WD tender CSB chassis kit (which includes guard irons and tender steps) fitted inside a Bachmann WD tender body. The Ivatt chassis: David Knight's J72 0-6-0In this Bill Bedford kit, the bearings move vertically within guides bent out from the frame. The bearings are not attached to the beam, but simply bear up against it, the frame fulcrum points being clips bent out from the frame. To prevent the blocks falling out of the frame, the cosmetic spring etches can be soldered to the bottom of the frame or attached with 14BA bolts.
Paul Willis' J15 0-6-0This is an Alan Gibson chassis fitted with High Level hornblocks and carriers. Paul used shoulderless Gibson handrail knobs for frame fulcrum points, setting them with the aid of a piece of guitar string threaded through the HL carrier tags. With the HL preproduction carriers, the distance from the beam axis to the inside of the frame is approx 1.75mm. For information on the Youtube cookies you might receive if playing this video, please read the privacy policy and cookies page before you play it. David Murrell's G2 0-8-0This Brassmasters chassis is fitted with London Road Models hornblocks and carriers. On the driven axle, the inside face of the LRM bearings was relieved to provide clearance for the High Level gearbox.
Lateral space for CSBs and gearboxes is often at a premium, even in P4. The London Road Models carriers adopt and facilitate a liberal approach to the lateral placing of the beam. Allan Ferguson's 4-4-0This uses Markits handrail knobs fitted to the inside face of Brassmasters' blocks. In plan view, the beam is not quite in a straight line, there being a small lateral displacement of about 0.3mm owing to the width of the hornblock face, but this doesn't affect the intended vertical operation of the beam. Adrian Cherry's Jinty in 7mm scaleThis Scale7 Jinty is being built from a Connoisseur kit. The cast hornblocks are Fourtrack (now available via Meteor Models), and the etched steel rods are from Slaters.
Dave Franks: Standard tank, Fairburn tank, J52, 8F
Preferring to use round parallel bar instead of the traditional handrail knob, Dave made his own fulcrum pillars from 0.9mm diameter wire drilled in a jig. These pillars were later made available in 1mm diameter from Markits, and named 'WD' after a batch of War Department locos Dave was working on at the time. (See here for an illustration of the WD knobs.) Dave's J52, above and left, built for Retford. An advantage of parallel knobs is that they can be fitted through a hole in the frames from the outside to any suitable depth, enabling the CSB wire to be kept straight in its plan view. The Fairburn chassis uses Markits handrail knobs for the frame and homemade 1.0 x 0.5mm strip pillars for the hornblocks. The plunger pickups have soft springs and very soft wire. Wheels are Ultrascale, valvegear is from MRJ. In this narrow-frame application, the High Level hornblocks have been reversed to face through the frames, with the outside of the bearing thinned to suit. The Markits WD long pillar requires a little clearance arc in the hornframe. Dave's Fairburn tank doing the corny old 'sleeper trick', and included here just to show CSB loco wheels are capable of doing what they should be capable of. (If track is that bad though, it should be fixed.) Nearing completion, Dave's 8F, with Markits WD handrail knobs both through the frames and on the bearings. The 0.5mm thick frames and are set at the maximum width allowing for plunger pickups (Gibson). The valvegear is a much-modified MRJ fret and the wheels are Ultrascale. Nick Allport's Hudswell ClarkeBecause the kit's chassis frames had cutouts in awkward places, Nick soldered some plates on the inside to mount the Markits frame handrail knobs. Clearance holes for the CSBs were made in the frame spacers prior to assembling the frame. The Gibson bearings slide in hornguides taken from an old Perseverance chassis kit, the corners of the bearings being rounded slightly to prevent them catching on the sides of the 6mm frame slots. The loco uses 0.012" guitar string beams, the lower photo showing some temporary brass wire to keep everything in place. to be continued © Russ Elliott
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