The “fall plate is (I think!) the footplate between the locomotive and the tender.  This clearly has to move up and down, and even on a model some movement will be necessary.

In the MOK kit the fall plate is an etched rectangular plate with the grip etched onto one side.  There are cutouts for the hinges, which were assembled onto the cab sub-assembly earlier.

There were no instructions as to how to fit this part.  There is a second matching rectangle with no surface grip.  Both have a half-etched edge, but it is far from clear how this could be used.  I didn’t use the second plain etch.  I curved the etched plate (as seen above) and decided to hinge the plate by attaching a tube to the underside and using 0.5mm wire through the hinge-brackets.  I couldn’t find any small tubing in my scrap-box, but a U-shaped piece of brass channel made a better substitute.

So I soldered a 35mm length of the channel to the edge of the fall plate, and then filed the rear edges of the plate to resemble the fall plate seen on p76 of the “Locomotive Profiles” book of the Stanier 8F (IMO an essential acquisition if you are going to make an accurate model).

The picture in LP shows two fall plates, not one, so accurately to represent this appearance, once I had soldered the brass channel in place, I used a piercing saw to separate the two halves (well, actually not quite separate them, but create that appearance).

I then added the “hinges” by sticking paper squares onto the fall plate with cyano-acrylate glue.

I then threaded the 0.5mm wire through one hinge on the rear of the cab assembly, then through the channel on the fall plate, then through the other hinge.  Easier said than done!

I then cut the wire just the right length to fit between the cab side etches.

This gave the right appearance (I hope) with some flexibility to flap up and down.

I had an excellent day playing cricket yesterday.  Actually, it does’t sound much, 11 runs, but it was very good, for me.

I opened the innings for our side – facing the first ball – with a target of about 112 I think.  We had an opening partnership of 43, off about the first 15 overs (out of 35).  We weathered the storm of their opening bowlers, and not only could I defend, but this innings for the first time I managed the transition from pure defence to starting to attack.  I managed to pick the bad balls and hit them, whilst picking the danger balls and defending.  A few really good shots gave me confidence.  A nice square cut for two (I was disappointed it didn’t reach the boundary, it was hit cleanly but along the ground) and my first four.  Actually I have this vague recollection of accidentally edging a four a couple of seasons ago, but that doesn’t count.

Nick was there to see me bat, and says it looked good.  Even Dave Hadden, who is a very harsh critic, said that I played some good shots.  When I was out, it was to a pulled shot which went up in the air and was caught, but by that stage we had laid the foundations for what proved to be a successful run chase, and I either needed to accelerate the scoring or get out of the way of someone who could.

So I was pleased.  Ridiculously pleased.  Even several of the opposition (a really good bunch of blokes from Glenmore Park, many from “the subcontinent”) said I had batted well.

So what had changed?  Actually in some respects I think it is that I hadn’t been practicing so hard, and so in a bizarre sort of way didn’t feel quite the same pressure to show results!

I can hardly walk today, though, for my aching muscles.

Now in some respects I am very pleased with my progress, but in other respects quite distressed and appealing for help!
I have finished the tender, with reservations – it doesn’t run as well as it should and needs to!

As you can see, it looks OK (given that it isn’t painted).
However even on my S-shaped test track it de-rails: there is a compensation mechanism which should allow there to be free movement of the rear four wheels almost independent of each other but this doesn’t seem to work completely effectively. If it did, the six wheels would all be always in contact with the rail. However the front axle seem to be able to have one rim off the rail, and so with the small S7 flanges, it de-rails. Adding weight to the front end of the tender makes no difference.
I had been so careful …. !
At every stage of construction I had run the tender chassis up and down behind the locomotive and it ran without problems. However at the some stage it becomes necessary to put it all together, take a deep breath and solder it up in such a way that it cannot be taken apart to adjust it.

By the time I had the water-scoop parts and the split-axle pick-up components all crowded together, it looks like this:

Click to enlarge

I dread having to unsolder it and take it all apart again!
It looks so good.

However looks aren’t everything, and unless additional lubrication of the moving parts frees up the mechanism and allows it to run over uneven track, what else can I do?

I (David) have just returned from a trip to England, and to Paris – the latter destination was to attend an Interventional Cardiology conference, and no more needs be said about that.

The trip to England started with the rather sad event of attending the celebration of Aram Rudenski’s life.  He died last year and David his partner had arranged this celebration of all he did and achieved.  Aram had, indeed, done a great deal.  He was probably the brightest person I will ever meet in terms of raw intelligence.  I am proud that he considered me a good friend.  Even during his long and often distressing illness he always asked about me and my family, taking a great interest in the boys achievements and joy in their successes.  I had not realised some of his abilities, or at least the magnitude of his abilities.  He turned down an Open Scholarship in mathematics in order to study medicine at Cambridge.  He still was awarded a First, even after only doing the final year in maths.  his DPhil. was awarded for mathematical modelling of diabetes, and remains the cornerstone of that form of analysis of the disease.

On a more cheeful note, I went walking in the hills of the Lake District again.

With younger brother John, we climbed over Burnmoor to Eskdale, from Wasdale.  A very wet walk.  I was calf-deep in the bog at one point!

We also went on a walk around Malham Cove, the three brothers.

Also we went on a long train ride over the pass via Bethgelert from Caernarfon to Porthmadoc in Snowdonia.  This was on the Welsh Highland Railway, restored now to carry tourists over that journey, and truly spectacular it is.  We were hauled by one of the last Beyer-Garratts ever made.

45 out of 45

99.95 (maximum possible 99.95)