Jump to content
 
  • entries
    41
  • comments
    137
  • views
    15,791

GWR 4 wheel coaches - further photos


JDaniels

572 views

blog-0745470001483646305.jpg

I haven't yet worked out how to attach a photo to a reply so in response to Mikkel's comment I attach a photo of the inside of the first almost completed coach.

 

Unfortunately my camera and lens is better at landscapes than close ups but I hope this shows how I tackled the fitting of the body to the chassis. The folded tabs on the ends are no good as using these means that the ends, and consequently the sides, sit on top of the floor. I cut these off and made my own tabs out of brass sheet bent to an L shape. The shorter side is held against the ends with the longer side resting on the floor. When the position is correct, i.e. the ends and sides are just overlapping the floor, the shorter side of the L is soldered to the end. In retrospect the angle of the "L" could be a little more than 90 degrees to accomodate the slight tumblehome on the ends. The steps on one end don't help in getting a good fit between the new bracket and the end but I filled the gap with some scrap brass.

 

Having accomplished this I then turned my attention to the holes for the screws located at each end. These had already been drilled through the floor so it was a simple matter to mark the position of the holes on the bracket, drill through the bracket, and firmly solder the 8BA nuts on the top of the bracket. A good tip in the instructions was to use cocktail sticks to locate the nuts through the holes which avoids soldering up the threads.

 

I hope the photo and the explanation clarifies. I hope the finished coaches justify the huge amount of time and expense incurred in contrsucting them.

  • Like 1

3 Comments


Recommended Comments

  • RMweb Gold

Thanks very much for sharing this John. I appreciate your paving the way for the rest of us. I think it will be worth it in the end - although that's easy for me to say of course!

Link to comment

Thanks very much for sharing this John. I appreciate your paving the way for the rest of us. I think it will be worth it in the end - although that's easy for me to say of course!

Mikkel, you haven't seen the cost of having the professional paint job! From experience though I know that particularly where lining is concerned a proper paint job really lifts a model.

 

One point worth mentioning is that Dart Castings now do the correct size springs for these coaches. I hadn't realised it until I read the Dart Castings guide but the springs supplied with the Mainly Trains kit, and for that matter the CSP / Haye Developments kit are too short. The very comprehensive guide states that the springs should be 6ft whilst the MT ones are 5ft 6in and the Haye Developments ones only 4ft 6in. I've not done any further research on this but would have thought it should be realatively easy to swap the incorrect springs for the new Dart Castings ones.

 

Yes it's also good to see a new use for a cocktail stick!

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...