ScottW

Point taken and subject heading changed as suggested. Keep the posts coming, we can all learn and gain encouragement from each others progress.

The planks were scribed using an Olfa P-Cutter. I bought mine many years ago from Squires, they are still available at a reasonable price. Simply scribe between two points using a rule as a guide. Despite its claims it does produce a very small burr which can easily be removed by rubbing a piece of wet & dry over the surface. I use 600grit, using it wet as it prevents it from clogging up. When you scribe the floor planks the floor will naturally bend due to the number and closeness of the planks. To alleviate this problem simply scribe a number of lines on the underside of the floor. The sizes you quoted are indeed what I use but don't forget that this is S Scale. I have never built a 7mm wagon but for 4mm scale I would suggest using: 30thou - sides, ends & floor. 60thou - headstocks. 2x 30thou - solebars. 5thou - ironwork. 15thou cubes - bolt heads. With regards to the ironwork on the solebars, etches can be purchased from the S Scale Society. MJT did produce an S Scale version of their rocking W irons, the etch also contained extra detail for the solebar/headstock ironwork. If you are modelling in 4mm scale I believe etches are available, I know Mainly Trains use to produce an etch for all the headstock/solebar detail but since their demise I don't know what happened to it.

As stated in my last post, work commitments have been getting in the way of any progress. The only modelling I can be guilty of lately is of the check book variety. A few weeks a go this little beauty arrived on my doorstep. It was built for me by a friend and fellow member of the S Scale Society. Laid down by the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway in 1866, but subsequently completed by the North British Railway, the prototype survived well into the 1900's. The locomotive is believed to have been made out of reclaimed material and originally carried flat sided pannier tanks with a flat top that met above the boiler. Being rebuilt by Matthew Holmes in 1888 a new boiler was fitted topped with a saddle tank identical to those fitted to the Neilson pugs (LNER class Y9). The original weatherboard cab was also replaced with an overall cab similar to those fitted to the Drummond 4-4-0T's. With it's large 5' 0" driving wheels the locomotive worked passenger trains around the Glasgow area until it's withdrawal in 1907. The drawing used in the models construction was provided by Euan Cameron who also very kindly gave permission for me to post a copy of his colour drawing of the locomotive.

Thanks, Paul. Unfortunately work is getting in the way of progress at the moment.

Vol. 2 issues 3 & 4. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone wanting to have a go at scratchbuilding their own wagons. It was this article that got me started. Over the years I have tweaked the techniques to suit my own style of building but they are basically the same. When I started in S Scale there were a number of things I was hesitant about. The thing that stops us from having a go is the fear of failure, We keep telling ourselves that we can’t do it and so we don’t, because that’s the easy route to take. Over the years, especially back in the early days, I had many false starts and for a while I flicked back and fourth between 4mm and S. One day I took a long hard look at my modelling as I felt I wasn’t achieving anything except half made kits. I decided then that I was going to make a serious go at S Scale. All the things I was hesitant about I would have a go at. If I failed, and I did, I would pick myself up, learn from my mistakes and have another go. Yes it can be disheartening when we fail but nothing beats the satisfaction you get when you have reached your goal.

Jim, PM sent.

Thanks, Jim. With the use of microstrip, scratchbuilding a wagon IS just as easy as building a kit. The downside is it does take a little longer but the bonus is you can build something a little bit different, not to mention the immense satisfaction you get from building something from scratch. Years ago Simon de Souza wrote a two part article in the magazine Model Railways Illustrated. If they can find a copy I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone thinking of having a go.

The wife and I have been away for a few weeks with the dogs. Sadly the weather was a bit of a washout and we didn't get out as much as we would have liked. Being prepared for such occasions I had with me a few basic tools and some pieces of plastic to keep me occupied. Manned with only a few tools I kept things simple and began working on some NBR 3 plank open wagons. When scratchbuilding a wagon my preference is to begin with the base. The base is probably the least bit interesting part of a wagon so I like to get it out the way early. The headstock is 80thou thick Microstrip with the solebars being made up from two layers of 40thou thick Microstrip. A single layer of 40thou Microstrip could be used but the thicker width gives more meat for the spring castings and brake pivot to be glued to. I like to add as much detail as I can to the sides and ends before making up the body. I find it easier adding the detail with the sides flat on the cutting mat. The bolt heads are represented by slicing slithers off the end of a piece of 20thou plastic rod. Plastruct plastic rod is best for producing bolt heads this way as it is more pliable than other makes like Slaters. Slaters 20thou plastic rod is quite brittle and has a tendency to fracture when sliced. Once the basic body is made-up I install two lengths of thick Microstrip that are just a fraction longer than the inner width of the wagon. They are not glued in place, just held there by the pressure exerted on them by the wagon sides. As the solvent starts to dry it starts pulling on the sides of the wagon causing them to bow inwards. These two strips force the sides out and helps prevents them from bowing inwards as the solvent sets. I will keep them in place till the time comes to paint the wagon. Still got some detail to add but it's beginning to look like a wagon. Home time tomorrow. Due the miserable weather I managed to make good progress on a few wagons consisting of a drop side wagon and three fixed side wagons. I think my two dogs would have preferred better weather and a little less progress.

I totally agree with Simon's comments, I'm sure there was no malice intended and the remark was completely tongue in cheek. I must admit, I thought it was quite witty. I certainly hope you don't give up on your thread, like so many, I look forward to reading your updates. So much so that it encouraged me to start my own thread. Enough said, getting back on topic, the little pug looks superb and I can see why you were persuaded to part with some hard earned cash. Although how does this fit in with the LNWR?

Continuing with the brake gear theme I have made progress on the private trader wagon. This particular wagon is a Bent Colliery Coal Co. wagon which is believed to have been reconstructed from an older dumb buffer wagon c1904. In it's original condition the wagon would have carried the typical Scottish style brake gear but on it's reconstruction Morton style brakes were fitted. Here I have used a brake gear etch provided by the S Scale Society, it is designed to fit on the society's 1907 RCH wagon kit but can be bought separately as a stand alone etch. The etch comes in a number of layers which are easily aligned together by the use of locating holes on the etch. Because the WB on my private traders wagon was smaller than that of an 1907 RCH wagon I had to cut down each layer of etch. To ensure the brake hangers were correctly spaced apart I marked on a piece of wood the wagons WB. Here is the etch all soldered up. To ensure the brake hangers remained correctly spaced once removed from the etched frame I soldered a scrap piece of brass along the top of the hangers. This scrap piece of brass also helps when gluing the hangers to the floor of the wagon. Next I fitted the V hangers to the solebar of the wagon. A piece of Microstrip is glued to the solebar to help add a bit of strength to the inner V hanger. Unlike the Caley wagon, which used MJT W irons, these W irons are a new addition to the S Scale Society's stores. They were designed by a fellow society member and are based on the W irons used on Scottish wagons. Being slightly narrower than the RCH W iron they are more in common with those used on pre-grouping wagons. And this is how it looks when completed. Self contained buffers were also fitted during the wagons reconstruction. The closest thing I could find that looks like the originals were Slaters 4mm scale Dean/Churchward/Armstrong locomotive buffers. Although designed for a 4mm locomotive they look about right on an S Scale wagon; possibly a little on the large side but a compromise I am happy to live with.

A little progress to report on the Caley mineral wagon with the fitting of the brake gear. Like a lot of the early Scottish pre-grouping wagons this consisted of a single brake block acting on the one wheel. Here I have used Bill Bedford's Highland Railway brake gear etch which has been re-scaled for S and is available through the society. As the Highland Railways wagon brake gear was slightly different to that of the Caley the etches were modified by adapting the brake hanger and adding my own brake block . The brake hanger is a little on the short side and needs packing up with a little piece of 40thou thick Plasticard. On the prototype the buffers were not a standard Caledonian design which resulted in the headstocks needing to be slightly thinner than usual. To represent this I have used 60thou thick Evergreen Microstrip for the headstocks where as normally I would use 80thou. The buffers are 4mm scale, which I believe may have originally been produced by Romford. You can still buy them from Markits but I bought mine from the late Richard Hollingworth at Parkside. They are over scale for 4mm but about right for S. Not truly prototypical in shape but after painting and viewed from a couple of feet away they look okay. The W-irons on this particular wagon were re-scaled MJT etches bought from the S-Scale Society, but sadly no longer available. Again, wheels and coupling hook castings were purchased through the S Scale Society.

No mod cons like that for me, I use a home made cutting jig: I have glued a piece of 20thou thick Microstrip onto piece of 60thou Plasticard, which then acts as a back stop. I butt a piece of 5thou Plasticard sheet up against the back stop. A piece of thicker commercially produced Microstrip, the same width that I wish my strip of 5thou to be, is placed at each end of the back stop to which my rule is butted up against. Then simply cut a strip off. I'm sure you get the gist from the picture. :-)

Hi Simon, As with Jim, I also use Evergreen. Evergreen don't produce 5thou Microstrip so I cut strips to the required width from a sheet, which they do produce packs of. I also think using DL-Limonene helps when securing the strips as it is less aggressive than other solvents. In S Scale, as well as 4mm, I believe it is quite common to use 10thou thick Microstrip to represent wagon iron work. In my opinion it doesn't look too bad when modelling an open wagon but on the side of a van, where the iron work can be a little narrower in width, it looks too thick and chunky.

This thread has been started to document projects going through the works. I will try and post regular updates but unfortunately work and life events do get in the way from time to time most of the time. If any other S Scale modeller in the community is working on something then please feel free to post your progress here. To kick the thread off here are the two wagons currently on the workbench. They were started a few years ago but were put to one side as I worked on another, non S Scale, project. The bodies of both wagons were built from 40thou Plasticard with 5thou plastic strips, of various sizes, used to represent the iron work. On the left is a Scottish private traders wagon whilst on the right is a Hurst Nelson built Caledonian Railway mineral wagon.

Thanks for the update, the layout is coming on and looking superb. Loving the Long Boiler Goods. Your progress is putting my own efforts to shame and made me realise I must really pull my finger out. Keep up the good work, scott

Very nice indeed, Sir.

Thank you, Mikkel for your kind comments. I find modelling in S Scale very satisfying. Despite being only slightly larger than 4mm there is a feeling that models have more mass to them.

Over the summer months I managed to complete the private trader wagon. Scott

It's always nice to see one of the Scottish pre-group companies represented.

Plasticard.

Thanks Simon. You may remember these wagons as I brought them along to Scaleforum many years ago when the S Scale Society was guest society. I still have three mineral wagons to paint which were built shortly after these two.

My recent modelling activity has been centered around the painting of two NBR 4 plank dropside wagons. These were scratchbuilt almost seventeen years ago and were my first S Scale wagons. Having sat in a box all these years I thought it best they were finally finished. I must try harder on my build time. Scott

The scratchbuilt private traders wagons are now complete ready for the paintshop. This particular wagon is based on an R Y Pickering prototype that was built to the Caledonian Railway's Diagram 22 design.

Two years have passed since posting progress with my three S Scale Caledonian Railway wagons. Having experinced some disastrous effects with the matt varnish I was using at the time I had thought the wagons were doomed but, after being cleaned up and weatherd, I'm quite happy with the outcome.

Over the last few months work has been progressing on a 4mm North British Railway Wheatley 2-4-0. 4mm is not my chosen scale but this particular locomotive is being built for the East of Scotland 4mm Group's layout Burntisland 1883. Eight 2-4-0's with 6' driving wheels were built in 1873 by Thomas Wheatley. During the course of their life they underwent many changes and this particular model represents #428 which, during Dugald Drummonds time in office, was given a Drummond/Stirling rounded top cab and the addition of wingplates to it's original smokebox. The model has been built from an etch produced by two group members. This particular etch being designed not as a kit but more as an aid to scratchbuilding. Provided on the etch is the original Wheatley style cab so for this particular model, with its rounded top cab, a new cab had to be scratchbuilt.