Just returned to modelling after a pleasant trip to New York. Interesting times over there!

In my last entry I mentioned how construction of the Mainly Trains 4 wheel GWR coach chassis was proceeding well. I spoke too soon.

I had completed the chassis and coach ends but the problems started when I tried offering the Ratio coach sides to the chassis and ends. It was immediately obvious that the ends sat too high and as a result the sides were actually clear of the coach floor, the instructions do make a passing reference to possibly having to cut off and raise the bracket that sits on the coach floor. The problem I had though was that to ascertain the correct height of the ends meant the sides and roof had to be fitted and then there is no way to access the brackets. I eventually decided to cement the ends and roof together locating the ends as a guide to ensure the sides and roof set in the correct position.

The bottom of each end bends up to form the bracket through which nuts are soldered. Screws can then be fitted through the coach floor into the nuts holding the whole assembly in place. I cut off the brackets and soldered some brass sprue higher up the end, the 8BA nuts being soldered over the convenient holes in the sprue. It could be that when finally located in place the new bracket may not rest on the floor but hopefully this won't be a problem, the screws are certainly long enough.

The next problem was fixing the ends in place. On the Ratio kit the sides sit over the ends. The instructions aren't clear on this point but as the MT ends are wider than the Ratio ones the sides must fit inside them rather than over them. I was concerned that it would be difficult to align the ends and the coach sides so decided to solder some L shaped brass section on the inside of the ends in the correct position; the sides would then butt against them rather than be pulled in. The sprue I used for the bracket was also bent so that it would again hold the sides in the correct position lower down. These additional butt joints also give a better bond for the araldite.

I hope the photograph of one of the ends illustrates this. It's not a neat job as I wanted to ensure there was no possibility of the bracket breaking away but it's all on the inside anyway. The photo also shows the sides and roof as cemented together

This evening I araldited the ends in place using several elastic bands to hold the ends tight against the sides. It looks as though this has worked, the very thin brass used for the ends helps. The pieces of L shaped brass also ensured the ends were flush with the sides.

One final note, I pared off all the handrails and door handles and will use some of the etched ones in the kit.

The MT chassis kit is designed for many types of GWR 4 wheel coaches and as a result needed more modification than I expected. I'm also a little concerned that I may have problems with the join between the sides and solebar. The sides should overlap the solebar slightly but they seem a tighter fit. I've filed the inside of the sides down which I hope will do the trick.

I will look next at the Shire Scenes sides which might be a little easier as I can solder these in place. One thing I can say though it is a lot more complex than I envisaged.