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The LCDR brake van brake gear construction continues slowly

SRman

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Having found the correct SECR grey I gave the ex-LCDR brake van a quick coat. The grey is darker than I thought it would be and seems to resemble Great Western wagon grey fairly closely. The paint will have to be touched up as construction proceeds but it is nice to get an idea of what the final appearance will be like.

 

LCDRVan11cropped_zps2eddfb22.jpg

 

I have now commenced fitting the 'wooden' brake shoes, adding them to the rigging already started last week. I have only done one side as this is extremely fiddly work and I was getting tired and clumsy as work progressed! The brake shoes are not yet fastened to the floor so look a little uneven in the photo. While the metal parts are being soldered together, the upper parts have been passed through holes drilled in the plastic floor and will be araldited into place when I am ready.

 

LCDRVan12cropped_zpsbeb05a4e.jpg

LCDRVan13_zps8ba47b8b.jpg

I intend adding a thickness of plastic inside the brake blocks.

 

After the brake gear is finished, the next thing will be fitting handrails and footboards, glazing, then finish the painting and add transfers. It shouldn't be too long before it is complete. :)

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Colin parks

Hi SRman,

 

The brake van is coming along nicely and looks the part next to the loco. The 'antique' brake gear arrangement is interesting.

 

I did wonder if you could set the couplings back a little more. I have found that if the coupling bar's leading edge is set just 0.5mm forward of the buffer heads, the wagon should negotiate 3ft radius curves without buffer-locking. If the bar is set 1mm forward of the buffers, 2ft radius curves would be possible.

 

It's up to you of course, perhaps there is no clearance to do this on the brake van's chassis.

 

I do like looking at models of unusual prototypes being built.

 

All the best,

 

Colin

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SRman

Hi Colin. Sorry I missed your comment earlier. I agree with what you say about dstance from the coupling's leading edge to buffer face although with tighter curves I tend to allow a millimetre or two to avoid buffer locking. As the photos show, this installation clearly exceeds that by a considerable margin!!

 

It would be possible to move the coupling mounts only slightly further back. The axleguards are part of a boat shaped etching which takes up a bit of the chassis space on either side of each axle. Addtionally, I have opted to use the compensation unit which means that the coupling mount cannot be attached touching the pivot or etching as it would then interfere with the movement.

 

The upshot is that I have mounted them as far back as I dare. I want to get hold of some shorter couplings (I think Bachmann make them) to reduce the distance from buffer face to end of coupling bar.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Jeff.

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