My photo alongside might look similar to the final one in my previous post but is, in fact, the result of a complete re-build, in an attempt to correct at least some of the mistakes I'd made!

I'd already found some of the problems in trying to adapt real drawings to an 00 gauge model, in that the wheels fouled the diagonal members of the chassis. Then, when my grease axle boxes arrived from 'MJT' (after 15 days and well within the 21 days maximum), I found that there was insufficient clearance underneath my solebars for the springs to fit. In this context, 0.25mm might as well be the proverbial yard, when something doesn't fit!

So, a few lessons learned -

1. don't try to build 00 models without thinking about the compromises needed to accommodate 'narrow gauge (4' 1½")' wheelsets

2. test-fit bought-in parts before final assembly

Fortunately, I had stuck the model together with 'UHU' glue, which softens in boiling water, so a short immersion was sufficient to break everything apart. Before I realised that, I noted that everything was, in fact, pretty well stuck together.

I then fixed the axle boxes and springs to the W-irons before starting re-assembly of the chassis, without the diagonal support timbers. The stanchions and iron fittings on the solebars had remained in place, since I had used superglue for these, so the next step was to attach the sole bars to the W-irons, ensuring sufficient clearance for the springs. I soon found that my diagonal chassis members were not the only thing fouling the wheels - the 'Mainly Trains' W-irons were designed for scale wheelsets and the cutouts for the wheel flanges did not extend far enough inwards to accommodate 00 wheels! I used a diamond slitting disk on my mini-drill to open out a slot for my wheels. Now I could use 4' diameter Mansell carriage wheels (actually 'MJT' inserts in 'Bachmann' standard wheels).

After re-building the chassis, I refitted the deck between the vertical stanchions and got back to where I was at the end of the previous post 🙂  I added some additional details below the solebars, using shaped strips of plastic card, then I painted the solebars in GWR carriage brown and picked out all the ironwork in black. A useful tip, if you use paint in glass jars, such as 'Railmatch' paints, is to wrap some plumbers' PTFE tape around the threads for the cap. This makes it easy to remove the caps again later and solves the problem of broken plastic caps!

I sprayed my 'Victoria' carriage, described in an earlier post, in red primer and placed it on the deck for a photo, to show the look of the assembly.

The prototype vehicle has two cross-bars, mounted on a pin rail below the main hand-rails, to secure the carriage in position. I decided to fashion two tapered bars, to represent the prototype bars, out of the ends of some cocktail sticks. I expect I shall 'pass' on the iron bindings, though I may try a line of black paint, when I have the bars in position. This will have to wait until I paint the top-coat on the carriage and place it into the correct position.

I followed up @buffalo's suggestions for the brake gear and then noticed that a photo of an early horse box (Fig.19 in Russell's GW Coaches, Part 1) showed no brakes but a vacuum through pipe. So, for the time being, I have decided to adopt this style. One of the nice things about scratch building is that you can add as much or as little detail as you like at the outset and then, providing the basic dimensions are correct, can add more details later.

In the end, it seems surprising to me that such a 'simple' little vehicle could have caused so much trouble. I suppose that is partly down to my eccentric method of construction but it's all part of the learning curve and I'm getting ever closer to completing my 'Special' train 🙂

Mike