We are offering on a very limited scale copies of the name and works plates.
Please click on the link below for the brochure on how you can make a significant donation and receive either a name or works plate copy as a reward for your donation.
The brochure is in PDF format to be read by acrobat reader. If you don't have the reader you can get it here...
Last summer I promised Name and Works Plates cast from the originals as reward for significant donations. Only now are we getting to the point where they are close to being delivered and there is a saga to why its taken so long. But first, a genuine excuse - if you follow FR happenings you will know that the two teams working on Blanche and on Merddin Emrys are in fact the same people. Last September we discovered that Merddin was going to need new tanks and that Christmas and New Year was the only time to do the work. That gave us three months to design the tanks, order the material and plan the job. Then Christmas and New Year we were building the tanks and have been working on them since. We took our eye of the Blanche ball but we back on both jobs now.
That's a bit boring and nothing like a saga so here goes.........
The plan was to take the nameplate and works plate of the engine and to use them as patterns for casting new ones. We hit a snag, they won't come off! The works plate has never been off as far as we know and is very firmly fixed in, no one has the bottle to try and remove it. Back in 92 Blanche got a new saddle tank identical to the old one in every way except the dimensions. One of the less significant effects of this was the curvature not matching the curved back to the nameplates, this was got around by spooning a load of fibreglass filler on the back of the nameplate before screwing it into place. Filler was extruded all around and wiped to a nice fillet. Again no one has the bottle to try to take them off.
Time for plan B
A rubber mould that's what we need! Whose daft idea was that? Well, mine actually. I use them to make resin copies of model railway parts and this is only about 50 times bigger than any that I do. No Problem? Not much
Attempt 1
Make wooden frame to fit around the plates open at the top. Fasten them to the side of the engine with silicon sealant bought from builders merchant, tell him what I want to do he sells me the ideal stuff. Plan the job for a weekend when we're in Wales for three days in an attempt to combine two stages. All goes to plan, boxes siliconed into place supported with some gaffer tape on Friday morning. Squirt sample of silicon on to test piece so we can check its gone off. Sunday afternoon test silicon has gone off so its back to Glan-y-Pwll. Prod the silicon on the engine, yes its firm. Mix the silicon mould rubber in 1kg batches and pour into the mould boxes. Just as we're doing the nameplate on the fireman's side we can here dripping from the works plate on the drivers side. Stop pouring rubber and go look. Its leaking al around the edge and slowly the box is sliding off the engine.
What went wrong? The sealant had only skinned and not cured right the way through. All we can do is leave it for the moulding rubber to go off so we can peal it of. Back to the drawing board and our next trip to Wales.
Attempt 2
Same boxes, different silicon sealant and only an ordinary weekend visit so no chance of doing it in all in a weekend. Mess claenaed up and boxes refixed to the side of the engine. All we can do in one weekend, this time the silicon will get three weeks to cure.
Next visit we call at GyP on our way home to pour rubber. Name and Works plate half filled without problem. Return to top up the nameplate when half inch from the top it starts to leak around the bottom seam. There is no stopping this stuff it gets everywhere. It can't be because the sealant hasn't cured, its had more than enough time. Initial fears are that the silicon sealant and the silicon rubber mould are reacting with each other. A rethink is needed/
Ding! The penny drops
I have a EUREKA moment as I drive home. Its got sodde all to do with the silicon's reacting. I had just poured 4 kilo's of rubber into a box held in place by some bath sealant. Its too heavy. Hope I'm right.
Attempt 3
Same again. Tidy up the mess and stick the boxes on with bath sealant. Three weeks later insert wooden props below the boxes to support the weight and pour another four kilos of rubber into the nameplate and two kilos into the works plate.
Leave for two months!
Well it was only supposed to be a couple of weeks but then a combination of the Merddin work and the day job getting in the way I didn't get back to GyP until after Christmas. However, SUCCESS. we have two rubber mouldings of the plates now all we have to do is cast some patterns.
Resin Casting.
In its simplest form you mix resin and hardener 1:1 stir well and pour it in the mould. Couldn't be simpler, sadly it isn't. That much resin would cost a bomb, Mixed all at once it would generate that much heat it would catch fire and the back of the nameplate isn't flat. Following some technical investigation we used a 25% resin, 25% catalyst and 50% inert filler mix. We poured 90% of the nameplate in one to get it flat backed and then cast the curved bit in a number of small pours tipping the mould a little each time.
So what happens now
As it type in late April I have resin masters that need just a little tidying up work so they can go to the brass foundry. I aim to get them there later this week. The plan is to do a test casting of each and to make something off them on the FR stand at RailFest. Shortly after that we should do the ones for all those that have pledged money.
I warned you it was a bit of a saga but were getting there.