The brake shoes, v-hanger and buffers have gone onto the underframe since the last blog post. The V-hanger and brake shoes are part of a huge collection of whitemetal odds and ends that I bought off ebay several years ago. The buffers are (I think) from a Slater's Midland Railway wagon kit. I just need to work out what I'm doing for the rest of the brake gear. I'm keen to find the rest of the collection of whitemetal bits, as I recall that I had brake levers there. If you're wondering why I cut up the brake gear from the first posting, it was because that casting was for an 8'0" wheelbase underframe, and this one is a scale 9'0". In hindsight I could have modified the design to suit, but I only realised this after I had glued the axleguards to the timbers.

After dealing with the brake gear, I'll need to add nut-and-bolt details to the sole bars as they are looking a little bare. I should probably also add the plates that go with the coupling hooks. Chances are that the plates will be some plasticard and the bolt detail will be made from brass lace pins. Most timber underframes had horse-shoe shaped plates for the three central bolts for the W-irons, but I've seen plenty of photos where they've just bolted them straight to the timber frames with large washers to spread the load. Until I start home-etching all these tiny detailing parts, I'll be just making them from whatever suitable bits and pieces I can find. If I had a small lazer-cutting machine I would probably cut them myself from card, but I really couldn't be bothered getting the equipment and learning to use CAD to draw the parts.

I have not installed the links for the couplings. I was unhappy with the supplied ones, so I shall be making new ones from wire, using a pair of round needle-nose pliers that I have. The first two links at the hook are always brass and the final link is made from steel, usually from a steel guitar string. This is so that I can use a fine pick or tweezers with a magnetised tip for coupling and uncoupling.

Just on the underframe timbers: I found that there is in fact a large amount of scale strip wood available for 7mm O scale. The frame members are scale 12" x 6" timber, which was incorrectly marked as "HO scale 24" x 12" scale lumber."