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Bristol Barrow Road - Empty Mineral Train

barrowroad

Entry posted by barrowroad

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To the north of Bristol Barrow Road shed and Lawrence Hill Junction there is an incline on an 1 in 60 gradient to Fishponds Station in the NE of Bristol. The gradient starts at 1 in 89 immediately under Barrow Road Arches, which is the road which bisects the shed yard. The working timetable limits the number of wagons descending this incline to 30. With this in mind I have just finished converting 15 Bachmann 16T minerals to P4 to add to some Parkside wagons to give a rake of 30.

Here is a video. I will give details of the conversion later.

https://youtu.be/oUMnIFhPAL8 

 

As promised here are details of the conversion using a Bachmann 16T mineral as an example. 

This photo shows a completed wagon fitted with P4 wheels. It is one in the rake of wagons in the video.

 

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The principal tool used for conversion is the Knowle Wagon Works - 2mm Brass Bearing Tool.

In this photo the tool is bottom left.

First remove the 00 wheel sets followed by the couplings.

Then remove the body  by unscrewing the two self tappers on the underside.

The photo shows the selection of tools and items used for the conversion. Shown are four flangeless bearings, two 26mm pin point axles plus a back to back gauge, file tweezers and a chisel knife.

The Brassmasters gauge at the bottom is to ensure the axles are square and level.

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The first task is to remove the two ribs at the back of the W Iron using the chisel knife. You will also need to remove plastic below the ribs in order to gain width for the replacement P4 wheel sets.

Next drill out the holes in the rear of the wagon W irons. This task is done using the Knowle tool. You will need to measure the width and depth of the bearings you are using and set the drill in the tool using the grub screws and the allen key. 

This photo shows the rear of the W Iron after the plastic has been cut away. It also shows a new bearing fitted after drilling.

 

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The Knowle Tool in position for cutting deeper bearing holes in the W Iron. The tool can be turned using fingers, a tweezer or an 8mm spanner. 

 

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Once all four holes have been drilled out insert the new bearings and hold in position using the two 26mm pin point axles. 

If you have the depth correct the W Irons should be parallel and vertical. Use the Brassmasters gauge to set the axles ensuring they are square and parallel.

70727982_IMG_20190601_105911066(768x1024).jpg.5ada9122ee8ce0182d4033e0d10e0718.jpg

 

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Once satisfied use a dab of Butanone to fix the bearings in place.

 

Refix the body to the chassis and fit the P4 wheels after checking the back to back using the gauge. You may need to file some material off the brake shoes to gain clearance.

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  • RMweb Gold
Brinkly
  • RMweb Gold

Very good sir! Looking forward to the conversion.

 

Kind regards,

 

Nick

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barrowroad
14 hours ago, Gordon A said:

Someone has been pinching your buffers.;)

 

Gordon A

 

Well spotted Gordon. The Parkside kit still needs sprung buffers to be added whilst most of the rest of the train needs painting and weathering. The train was on test to see if it would successfully negotiate the gradients and curves on the layout. I'm targeting 30g per wagon as previous attempts with 50g wagons was limited to around 20 wagons before the 4F started to struggle. The Bachmann 16T minerals in the video currently weigh 22g, whilst the Parkside kits weigh 13T; 16g for the 21T.

 

Tim, As you say P4 does work. Only the first 6 wagons are compensated using MJT units all the rest are converted to P4 using the Knowle Wagon Works tool to cut into the plastic W irons in order to fit Gibson non waisted bearings and wheels. I'm pleased to say these wagons seem to run well without any compensation. 

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Tim V
8 hours ago, barrowroad said:

 

Tim, As you say P4 does work. Only the first 6 wagons are compensated using MJT units all the rest are converted to P4 using the Knowle Wagon Works tool to cut into the plastic W irons in order to fit Gibson non waisted bearings and wheels. I'm pleased to say these wagons seem to run well without any compensation. 

Agree there, a lot of the wagons on Clutton were not compensated, so long as they were pulled, they stayed on the track. Just don't try pushing them!

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  • RMweb Gold
Brinkly
  • RMweb Gold
2 hours ago, Tim V said:

Agree there, a lot of the wagons on Clutton were not compensated, so long as they were pulled, they stayed on the track. Just don't try pushing them!

 

I challenge you there Tim. These are all ridged wagons converted by me running on TT2 over an A5 cross over.

 

 

 

This isn't sped up either!

 

Regards,

 

Nick

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Tim V

Lucky ...

 

I couldn't get them to reverse successfully, so I just used compensated wagons on the reversing train!

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JeffP

Very impressive Robin. Three locos on shed and the roof gone...must be close to closure.

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barrowroad
12 hours ago, JeffP said:

Very impressive Robin. Three locos on shed and the roof gone...must be close to closure.

 

The roof needs painting and weathering.  A busy weekday on shed - all locos are out [ well in the storage sidings:-)

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barrowroad
3 hours ago, Killybegs said:

Does that mean the roof is nearly finished Robin, in which case you have been a busy lad.

 

I've decided not to add any other parts that need soldering so the next task on the roof will be to spray it. The brass, as you know, has started to tarnish.

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