This month I've started to assemble the rolling chassis I'm building for a friend's tinkerbell. I have all the parts ready, it's just (ha! just. . .) a matter of assembling them. So, in a couple of days work, the frames are together, the wheelsets are in, the cranks quartered and the coupling rods are on. Next week (hopefully) the assembled cylinders will go on, followed soon by the motion plate, slide bars, crossheads and connecting rods. At that stage, it can go to its owner, who wants it by the end of the year.
The fairlie has also seen some progress - I have completed the reverser (which I ended up shortening a bit so that it would fit comfortably under the regulator handle), and machined the brake and reverser shafts. I also had the handbrake wheel laser cut - Tal has just a wheel, no handle on it, which is good for me because I'm using a handbrake cable to be flexible on to the bogie, and I don't want people to be able to over tighten it and stretch the cable. Hopefully this lack of handle will mean people can't over tighten it. This had a bit of machining done to it to round off the edges. I have also welded the sandpot base on to the front of the tank.
I got the flexible steam pipes for her from Pirtek. Unfortunately, when I measured up on the chassis there wasn't as much side play available for the exhaust pipe as I'd like, so I've had to dis-assemble the live steam feed to the cylinders, and order some more parts so that I can move it an inch further left. She should never go round corners that sharp - but I don't want any problems.
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