Building a Ten-wheeler
Plates occupy Jan-eric in this month’s episode of his 7¹₄-inch gauge loco build...
Our locomotives had their road number, class designation and the maximum allowed speed prominently displayed on the side of the cab, in a very distinctive typeface. Fortunately, I found the exact design in a book about old steam locomotives, so I could scan and print it on paper in the correct ⅛th scale size. Then, doing some fiddly work with a sharp knife, I cut out the letters and made a stencil that I could use to transfer the lettering to the cab.
Some years ago I had tried using ordinary spray paint with such paper stencils, with rather poor results – the thin paint spread uncontrollably under the stencil, destroying the shape of the letters. It may work in full scale, with larger-sized text, but even a spread of only a few tenths of a millimetre on letters not much higher than 6mm is very unsightly indeed.
So this time, I ‘dabbed’ some thicker enamel paint onto the cab wall through the stencil, using an almost dry brush. Then, I used a very fine watercolour brush to fill in the somewhat weak, mottled letters with the same paint, slightly diluted with paint thinner. The result can be seen in Photo 164. This was of course very exacting work, needing a steady hand.
Adhesive or rub-on
Another method is to use adhesive plastic letters, or ‘rub-on’ transfer letters of the Letraset type. The latter need a protective coat of special varnish, since they scratch easily. Plastic stick-on letters are more durable – they can be bought in stationery stores or, if no suitable size, colour or style can be found, cut to order by companies specializing in sign manufacturing. You need to choose a typeface from their catalogue, or pay extra to have a custom style.
Applying such self-adhesive letters is easy, since they are usually delivered on a waxed sheet that keeps them in the correct alignment as they are transferred.
On the side of the cab in Photo 164, you can also see the engine’s road number, ‘999’ – which was the actual number of the last locomotive built in this Ten-wheeler class, in 1939. These numbers are made of 2mm thick metal, but not of brass as they were in the full-size prototype – instead they are stainless steel! I had them laser-cut at the same time as the stainless plates for the tender tank were cut, and of the same material.
Having them made from brass would have caused extra expense, so in order to turn them more yellowish in colour, I heated them with a propane torch (note: before attaching them!), until they adopted the straw-yellow colour you are familiar with, if you have ever hardened and tempered drill rod. This made them look almost like brass! They are epoxy-glued to the cab side.
Photo 165 shows the cab attached to the running boards. Only four wing nuts are needed, one in each corner. The nuts are completely hidden under the running boards. Also note the sliding doors in the rear of the cab – opening them, as in
“Having them made from brass would have caused extra
expense, so in order
to turn them more yellowish in colour, I heated them with a propane
torch...”