Yet another Waverley build - LNER 1947

[Eddy Matthews]

I've used Mecanno chain a few times, and have to say that it's not that good.... It tends to jump off the sprockets on a regular basis, no matter how well you try to line them up!

Stuart told me about another company that he got his chain and sprockets from for his Connaught build, and they are superb - http://www.motionco.co.uk/chain-sprockets-c-21.html

Yes they are dearer than Mecanno, but still reasonably priced in my opinion....

Regards
Eddy

[Talisman]

Hi Richard,
Your sponsons look very neat.
Re - Chain

Squires also do a plastic chain but i have never used it so couldn't comment on it's suitability. (Top of page 376)

I would also recommend motion co.

If you decide to persue the Meccano route let me know as i have acquired a small mountain of the stuff lol

Regards,
Kim

[sandystrone]

Come now Eddy,

 I've built 10 model paddle steamers all powered by Meccano chain and sprockets, with no trouble at all.

Walter's WAVERLEY has been sailing on Meccano chain since 1972
                                                                                            Sandy

[Mercury]

Hi,

Still fettling the sponsons -I've cut out and marked out ply decks to go on top of the sponson which makes up the small gaps on the sponson hull join. The decking on the sponson has changed a lot over the years but originally I think it went right out to the deck edge. Interestingly there was a waterway along the top of the hull separating the sponson decking from that on the hull. This should make it easier to mask the slight gap between the sponson and the hull. Saddly my accurancy is not good enough for perfect fits as yet.

A couple of pictures posted below.

On unrelated topics I found some fantastic pictures yesterday on the Ballast Trusts pages on flickr. They have posted about 250 pictures from the Dan MacDonald collect including some good paddler shots. They have a great shot of the 1878 Claymore - probably the most beutiful ship ever to sail the West Coast. One of my personal holy grails is to find a set of plans including hull lines for one of the fiddle bowed passenger ships such as Davar, Kintyre, Kinloch, Claymore, St Sunniva (I), St Nicholas etc. I have a GA for the Davar and know of rigging plans for the Claymore and St Sunniva but have new found hull lines as yet. As most of these ships were built prior to 1890 perhaps this isn't surpirsing.

Also for any fans of Para Handy there is a reading of the first book now available on i-Tunes. It's complete and unabridged - 4 1/2hrs for £6 or so. Perfect for modelling to on a cold drech winters night!!

Ramble over.

Regards,

Richard

[djcf]

Hi Richard,
Coming along nicely! As far as I can remember from doing my Waverley I think the waterway you mention, at the hull egde/sponson area, was covered by some sort of thin metal plates...I assume to stop people tripping up...sure I have pics of this somewhere, will have a look.
Clark

found this

[Mercury]

Great - thanks Clark.

Yes I can see the wide cover plate in this picture. I think it is currently painted silver - will look during the summer.

[Talisman]

Clark,

Perhaps the most glaring one is the fact that it shows 11 paddle vents rather than the 8 on the ship as built. Either this was a change in the original design or the Inglis Drawing office wasn't much cop! As 8 was always the NB /LNER standard this is a bit of a mystery. Anyway - other Waverley builders beware!!!

I don't think inaccuracy is uncommon or limited to Waverley or Ingils... I have had to re work a lot of drawings before production work can begin.  One of the worst drawings i have seen had the Paddle wheels drawn the wrongway around not to mention the other defects... yet a perfectly suitable vessel was built from the drawings.

It would be interesting to step back in time and see what & how the actual builders dealt with the drawings. ,,,,,,, to be fair & in respect to them , they didn't have the computer advantage we have. I can only imagine their might on occasion have been some colourful language in the communication's ...

As a point of interest, the hull lines for the Waverley as supplied by Waverley may well have originated from one of the old members of the Model Steamer Club ( Mr. J. McNulty snr.)
I have all but given up my personal search for the original Builders lines for Waverley as I suspect they may have been lost as with so many drawings..... Thank goodness for the likes of Paddle Ducks for keeping history in the present....
Regards,
Kim

[derekwarner_decoy]

  ....as Talisman says....

"It would be interesting to step back in time and see what & how the actual builders dealt with the drawings"

How true Kim........oh to be a fly on the wall not only in the loft....but also the plate shop

Remember the lines/Drawings created in the loft were full size....then taken to the plate shop....but no... not used as templates  ...but simply as reference to create the marked out hull expansion shapes on the real plate

We may have computers now to re-create these steps....but we as an engineering society/group have lost the fundemental skills of creating or building these structures from first principals..... .....Derek

[Mercury]

I'd guess to be fair the drawings we tend to have now are General Arrangement drawings. These would not have been used to build the ship but are really a record of overall design of the vessel. During the build process of any construction project many detail changes occur and it is notoriously difficult for these all to be captured in the final As-Built drawings as everyone is more interested in getting on with the next build.

[Mercury]

Finally managed to get sanding sealer from my local model shop although it took about six weeks for them to get it delivered as they don't keep it in stock. Also managed to get some clear resin for the windows so have to get them in this summer before the resin goes off.

So I'm now starting to prepare the hull for painting. One question I'm trying to resolve is the half round moulding on the hull at promenade deck level. In pictures from 1947 there is a brown line but it is not clear if it was a moulding on just painted on. From the fifties to the rebuild it was removed and the hull was just white and in 2000 it was replaced as a moulding which it remains today. Does anyone know if this was a moulding when the ship was built or was it just a painted line? I have a suspicion it was painted on with a moulding on the paddle sponsons only.

[Walter Snowdon]

Dont EVER be stuck for sanding sealer.  A very old aeromodellers trick was to mix cheap talcum powder with clear aircraft dope and you have the sanding sealer you had to wait for!. It works a treat. Walter.,

[Talisman]

Hi Richard,
I'm almost sure that the moulding was only present bellow the bow and stern Fairleads (P&S) and around the Sponsons. So the brown line would just have been painted on between  these points ? (good news, given the price of half round styrene )
Regards,
Kim

[djcf]

hi Richard,
This is the only pic I can find at the moment to show the moulding going right round the hull...its a bad scan but should show the moulding when she was coated in red lead in 1947/48 winter.
Clark

[djcf]

Also found this, confirming the moulding did exist till the mid 50s. As Kim says they left the sections of moulding at the fairleads aft and the mooring bollards forward for some reason??

[Mercury]

Thanks guys - this very clearly answers the question. I'm pleased she had both mouldings all the way round as I think this lifts the hull. Not going to be cheap to buy the half round however...