It was my first mistake! I should have thought a bit more; the rivets would have looked much better if they had lined up. As it was, the rivets on the angles happen to coincide with the edge of an angle strip which is across the rear outer edge. This meant careful filing to cover the rounded heads. Hopefully, this won't spoil things too much as it is hidden between the driving truck and the rear of the engine.
There is a great deal of this angle to fit, much of which is on both sides of the frame and the whole lot is riveted together with these 3/16 rivets, all of which have to be cut to length with a hacksaw. I did make several mistakes for some of the angles are 3mm beneath the frame top while on the other side of the frame they are level. All requiring accurate drilling and riveting of the three parts.
The front buffer beam and the two gussets are riveted into place. This being a well tank, means that the space between the frames now has to be turned into a watertight compartment. The plates let in are of 3mm thickness which might sound excessive but this will make welding much easier. This part of the water tank on the original was much simpler but the addition of a front pony truck has complicated things.
One big mistake I did make was to make the watertight cover which goes over the inside of the coupling - only I didn't need to make one! The inside of my coupling is not inside the tank, so after careful welding I then had to cut it off! One of the problems when adapting someone else's drawings.
The original 'Romulus' has a frame length of 48" and I have extended that by 3-1/2", partly to help the wheel arrangement and partly to cater for the pony truck but mostly for the appearance.
As can be seen from the pictures, the wheels are quite large, rough and an awful lot of work is required AND there are six to do. Weighing 8-1/2lbs each in this state. Not my most favourite material. Note the castings for the axle boxes. I have bought continuous cast cast iron bar in the past and milled it down to squares as I have done with the pony truck, but because of the size, it was cheaper to buy the castings. It also saves a lot of work.
Whilst I waited for the castings to arrive I got on with the pony truck as I had to make sure clearances were correct before welding in the water tank plates. I've had two slices of 5" diameter steel bar cut so that they can be turned as wheels. This underside view shows how the truck pivots. The other picture shows the two, bronze rubbing blocks and the side control springing. I've sprayed it with car cellulose paint as once fitted, it's difficult to get at to clean and remove any rust which might form on the steel plates. As it is, it is difficult to get at to lubricate.
This last picture shows the completed truck ready for fitting. The wheels are fixed with Loctite.