BSC River Don Works

[Arthur]

Very nice Dave, good to see some early progress. I like the idea of scratching through the RTR finish to get the 'rust' in. You're obviously not finding that the acrylics dry to quickly to work with.

 

Limestone, by rail, 16t minerals I would guess though it needs to be dry when used so possibly sheeted? Same with the sand, that definitely has to be dry before it's cast into. So I guess that would be covered too, though I've no evidence to prove it. I was brought up very close to Gardners Diesel engines and their, much smaller, iron foundry had sand delivered in bulk road tankers.

[Ruston]

Thanks, Arthur. What about using sheeted 24-ton (Dia. 1/162) hoppersfor the limestone? I'm sure I've seen pictures of those in limestone traffic. It would allow the use of another wagon type and I'm a sucker for rusty BR wagons.

 

I've also had an idea for making a Dia. 1/004 pig iron wagon. The frames and brake gear look to be almost identical to that of Dia. 1/180 Ironstone tipplers. So I could use the chassis from the Hornby tippler (Unfortunately the Bachmann version has the wrong brake gear - most unfortunate because it's about six quid cheaper than the Hornby version!) and scratchbuild the pig iron body from plasticard.

[Enterprisingwestern]

Very nice Dave, good to see some early progress. I like the idea of scratching through the RTR finish to get the 'rust' in. You're obviously not finding that the acrylics dry to quickly to work with.

 

 

 

I "discovered" this stuff, slow drying, plenty of working time and looks the part. AK503/504, light and dark rust are the ones best for wagon weathering, temporarily unavailable from AK, but plenty elsewhere.

 

http://www.ak-interactive.com/ecomm/?acc=Catalog&IDCat=826&idc=3

 

 

Mike.

 

Edited to include link!

Edited January 16, 2014 by Enterprisingwestern

[Fat Controller]

Thanks, Arthur. What about using sheeted 24-ton (Dia. 1/162) hoppersfor the limestone? I'm sure I've seen pictures of those in limestone traffic. It would allow the use of another wagon type and I'm a sucker for rusty BR wagons.

 

I've also had an idea for making a Dia. 1/004 pig iron wagon. The frames and brake gear look to be almost identical to that of Dia. 1/180 Ironstone tipplers. So I could use the chassis from the Hornby tippler (Unfortunately the Bachmann version has the wrong brake gear - most unfortunate because it's about six quid cheaper than the Hornby version!) and scratchbuild the pig iron body from plasticard.

If you're willing to kit-bash (and it appears you are), then get Parkside to supply the necessary bits from their 26t ore tippler kit; they supply sprues at something like 75p or £1 per sprue. This comes with the vac-fitted 8-shoe underframe; some Pig Iron wagons were fitted with this, but without the vacuum cylinder.

I thought both Bachmann and Hornby used the 4-shoe 'Independent' brake gear?

[Adam]

I thought both Bachmann and Hornby used the 4-shoe 'Independent' brake gear?

 

They do. The Hornby version is the more accurate in that it has both the tiebar and correct brake levers. It has the 'lightweight' W irons which are right for the 1/004 (as you say Brian, the Parkside chassis is right for the 1/007) The tiebar is easy to add to the Bachmann version, the levers are a bit of a fiddle; been there, done that. 

 

Adam

[Ruston]

If you're willing to kit-bash (and it appears you are), then get Parkside to supply the necessary bits from their 26t ore tippler kit; they supply sprues at something like 75p or £1 per sprue. This comes with the vac-fitted 8-shoe underframe; some Pig Iron wagons were fitted with this, but without the vacuum cylinder.

I thought both Bachmann and Hornby used the 4-shoe 'Independent' brake gear?

I've been looking at the Parkside website and it looks as if their 26-ton tippler kit is the 10ft. wheelbase flavour so I'm not sure it fits the bill.

 

Meanwhile...

 

I dug this out of storage. It's in need of restoration, not to mention a good clean of the wheels.  It's a DJH class 02 but some Yorkshire Diesel-Hydraulics of a very similar type were built for industry. I may even have a bash at converting the appearance to that of a Diesel-Electric. Well, I can't have a Sheffield-based layout without a Sheffield-built loco, can I?

[Talltim]

This looks very good, you work far more quickly than me, it will probably be finished before I finish building boards. Mind you, my laptop is cleaner...

[Osgood]

.....Mind you, my laptop is cleaner...

 

I believe it is called 'weathering'.........its all the rage you know. 

[Ruston]

I've made a start with the wiring.

 

And I've been hacking wagons. A pair of Dia 1/161 24-ton Iron Ore hoppers will be used for limestone traffic. But first to remove that annoying baseplate on which the hopper body is mounted!

With the body now mounted directly to the chassis and the supports reattached it will now be repainted in a shade of grey that is less green and weathering added. I've also come up with a method for making removable tarps for these and the sand wagons.

 

Next on the agenda for the baseboards will be drilling holes for whatever method of uncoupling I end up using. I was considering the new Peco point/signal motors to somehow raise/lower an uncoupling ramp but I'm having other thoughts now. What's brought this about is the accidental purchase of what are shown on the packet to be Bachmann DMU couplers. I picked these up thinking they were the usual wagon type tension lock thingies but although they fit in the pockets of Hornby and Bachmann wagons they are very different. They have a steel loop that drops over a raised plastic lip on the opposite end. So I'm wondering if a length of steel wire was soldered on they could be operated with electromagnets under the baseboard, as on N gauge couplers and so there's less to go wrong and nothing sticking up between the rails... Here's a link to the items I mean

[Shadow]

They look similar to the Dingham style uncouplers

 

http://www.dingham.co.uk/4mm_coupler.htm

[Jon Gwinnett]

 

Next on the agenda for the baseboards will be drilling holes for whatever method of uncoupling I end up using. I was considering the new Peco point/signal motors to somehow raise/lower an uncoupling ramp but I'm having other thoughts now. What's brought this about is the accidental purchase of what are shown on the packet to be Bachmann DMU couplers. I picked these up thinking they were the usual wagon type tension lock thingies but although they fit in the pockets of Hornby and Bachmann wagons they are very different. They have a steel loop that drops over a raised plastic lip on the opposite end. So I'm wondering if a length of steel wire was soldered on they could be operated with electromagnets under the baseboard, as on N gauge couplers and so there's less to go wrong and nothing sticking up between the rails... Here's a link to the items I mean

 

They are standard European couplings, used on just about all continental stock, ( and widely replaced by Kadees, Profi couplers or Roco close couplers etc).

 

I'm sure if you want more there will be modellers like me who dabble in European stock who would be happy to pass them on for the price of the postage!

[5050]

They are standard European couplings, used on just about all continental stock, ( and widely replaced by Kadees, Profi couplers or Roco close couplers etc).

 

I'm sure if you want more there will be modellers like me who dabble in European stock who would be happy to pass them on for the price of the postage!

I can't get any of my continental couplers to couple up with each other.  How and why they've lasted so long on the market beats me! Cr*p.

[Ruston]

That doesn't sound good, Paul. Maybe I'll just stick to tension locks then.

[Jon Gwinnett]

Kadees are well worth a try if you haven't used them before? Don't bother with magnets unless the track is inaccessible, just use a bamboo skewer and twist, the act of uncoupling slows running down and makes it more like the real thing. Plenty of examples in the USA & Canada section...

[Ruston]

Thanks but I'm going to stick with the tension locks. They're a lot smaller than when I last did OO and as the loco will always be at the same end I'm having just the rear with a coupling and on the wagons I've removed the hooks from one end.

 

It's slow progress on the layout itself as it demands time and a dedication to tackle it and keep going so I can only really do it at weekends, whereas I can dabble with wagons in between work. So... I've built a Dia 1/004 Pig Iron wagon.

The body is scratch-built from plasticard and sits on a Hornby 27-ton iron ore tippler chassis. I managed to find two at £9.00 each - a saving of £6 on the list price. The tipppler body isn't wasted and now sits atop a Bachmann 16-t mineral chassis that I got off ebay for a couple of quid. This is to be an internal use only wagon (in box in background).

 

And here's the Sentinel all done.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Arthur for kindly providing the transfers and the inspiration for me starting this layout after seeing his own BSC-liveried Sentinel.

Edited January 22, 2014 by Ruston

[Arthur]

Glad to see they went to a good home! Looking good Dave.

 

I do like that pig iron wagon.

 

If you are intending to add some pigs to it, they would, by 1973, be machine cast like these in the left foreground and in the plate wagon. Compared to the old pig bed cast ones they are relatively flat.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10419662884/

Edited January 22, 2014 by Arthur

[Ruston]

About what size would the pigs be, Arthur? At the moment I'm wondering how to make wagonloads of them and I reckon that making individual pigs from plastic strip would be incredibly tedious so I think that making a pattern is the way to go. But I don't want to go the the expense of buying resin casting stuff so I don't know what to make the moulds from, or what material to cast them in.

[Arthur]

Let me get back to you on the size Dave, I think I've got some actual dimensions somewhere. I'll be interested to see what method you come up with.

 

Just a thought about the pig iron wagon, should it have a steel floor? They could be loaded hot.

[Ruston]

Thanks, Arthur. According to Trevor Mann's British Railways Unfitted and Vaccum-Braked Wagons they had a planked floor. This is also shown in the diagram that appears in Don Rowland's first half million book. It's the Dia. 1/005 wagons that were for hot pigs and had a steel floor that sloped toward the centre line.

[Fat Controller]

About what size would the pigs be, Arthur? At the moment I'm wondering how to make wagonloads of them and I reckon that making individual pigs from plastic strip would be incredibly tedious so I think that making a pattern is the way to go. But I don't want to go the the expense of buying resin casting stuff so I don't know what to make the moulds from, or what material to cast them in.

You could do the older-style pigs by using bits of plastic sprue, cut to length with a pliers- this would give the tapered ends.

[Arthur]

Info on Pig Iron Dave,

 

Machine cast pigs are typically 24" x 10" (across the base) x 4" high and weigh around 100lbs. They are 'flattened' to speed cooling and so that they readily drop out of the machines moulds.

 

They have a deep groove across the centre enabling them to be easily broken in two. By setting the rate of flow into the moulds it's possible to partially fill them such that two smaller pigs are cast, one in each half of the mould.

 

These machines were in use in the 1920's and the last casting of pig iron into sand beds was probably in the 1950s, just possible some small plants carried on into the 1960s.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Arthur

[jonas]

If you want to keep the tension locks and improve the look of your loco, you can attach some wire across the buffers for the wagons hook to latch onto?

[Ruston]

Today's project has been the building of a Palbrick A (conversion from a 13-ton fitted medium goods) for the carrying of refractory bricks for re-lining the electric arc furnace in the foundry.

The body is all plasticard and plastic strip/section on a Parkside chassis.

[5050]

Today's project has been the building of a Palbrick A (conversion from a 13-ton fitted medium goods) for the carrying of refractory bricks for re-lining the electric arc furnace in the foundry.

Palbrick-001.jpg

The body is all plasticard and plastic strip/section on a Parkside chassis.

Not the easiest wagon to build!  I think I did a drawing of one in a Modelling Railways Illustrated magazine early 90's?.  Geoff Kent has a couple of nice scratchbuilt ones.

[Ruston]

I've got something to run! After an almighty battle with the 3-way point, a faulty point motor and a faulty Peco switch housing (on the same 3-way point, which made it all the more difficult to trace the problem!), I completed the track and point motor wiring and ran the Sentinel. I've got more wiring to do for the uncouplers (only bought one so far to test the system) before any ballasting or scenics can begin.

 

At the moment I'm using an old Gaugemaster hand-held controller, powered by some old 16v AC transformer that I got for a quid. I may go DCC at some point in the future as the layout is wired in such a way it can be easily changed.