After completing the construction of the side tank bodies, I sealed the insides with fibreglass and resin. I defy anybody to make a neat job of this! Good job it's not visible. I completed the tops adding the filler caps which match the main one on the well tank.
Making the curved section fit was the hardest part. I haven't fixed them permanently in place as
I need to see if the tanks leak. I can't do this until I've set up the balance pipe system.
The right hand side tank has the tap to supply water to the injector. I used another lever ball valve and made up the
unit shown in the photo.
The filter being fitted to one side. This looks a bit short, but it is the maximum for the
limited space. The second photo shows how I mounted it in the bottom of the tank and the extended handle. A tight
squeeze and full use made of plumbing elbows.
The top of the tank is in two parts, so that I can get to the tap unit if necessary.
I made the right tank top
with matching filler cap but decided that the coal bunker looked a mess. If I'd thought about it, I would have made a
steel section to fit the square opening, but as it is, it's made up of pieces because the angle gets in the way. On
top of that, all the inside of the rivets show.
They'll probably not be so intrusive once painted. Anyway, I've made
a hinged cover which no doubt did not appear on full size narrow gauge. I'll give it a go and if I don't like it I can
always easily remove it at any time.
I couldn't be bothered to make a hinge, so I took an old door hinge and cut it down and soldered it to the plate. I gave
the edge a wavy shape to disguise it somewhat. I'll have to see what it looks like after painting.
One of the problems
I have is that the right hand tank just fouls the reverser reach rod which has caused the tank to turn out slightly.
Whilst on the subject of problems; I've just spotted that one of the washout plugs, which has to be removed annually, is
directly behind the reverser bracket which means dismantling each time to get at it.
I finished off the tops of the side tanks and cleaned them up so that they are now ready for painting. Having done so, I thought the lid I'd made looked awful so I've removed it. What a waste of time! I cleaned up the rivet heads inside the coal bunker and replaced the hinge bar with a piece of brass and fitted it inside the water side. I think it looks quite good now. Black paint on the inside will disguise a lot.
Because I've altered the original design of the tanks, I've had to add a bracket to the inside of the tanks for the
spectacle plate to bolt to. One thing I wished I'd done on my other engine was to make the cab easily detachable
so I'm making sure this engine will. I've begun the cleading using carpet underlay felt which is about 1/2" thick.
I've used it before and it does a good job. Hard work to cut the holes in but stays in place using masking tape. I
am going to cover the felt with paper and cooking foil before I cover with the outer brass layer.
One thing I've
noticed is that this added thickness has made the reverser very close to the boiler cleading and since it fouls the
washout plug, I'm going to move it. I'll have to make alterations to the reach rod and there will be a hole left in
the footplate, but rather than make a new one, I'll use the hole to let the pipework through. If there is too big a
gap, then I'll make a cover plate.
Where to split the panels and look good was not easy. The steam dome is 4" diameter with a 6" cap. Rather than cut a
hole in the panel 6" diameter to let the cap through, I made it just over 4" and split the panel into two parts. The
join is obvious at the moment but the screws will be inside the steam dome cover and what's left of the split will be
hidden under the boiler bands. I rolled the two parts but when it came to the third front part, it was 1/2" too wide
to go in my rolls! I've struggled to bend it but I can feel parts which are a bit flat so I'll have to borrow some
bigger rolls as the flats might not show now but they will when the paint goes on.
