The Bigbee Line Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 Funny how some of these firms were tucked away. Rail-head de-icing fluid was produced at a plant in Haltwhistle, between Newcastle and Carlisle, which also made similar products for airports. Another niche product I've had the displeasure of dealing with.... Warmed up in the tanks and delivered piping hot to the third rail.... When cold its very thick and syrup like... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 I have been hankering after the use of card for wagons, having built a couple of ERG wagons on OO many years ago. I have a stash of the card that is used for bordering pictures. Being as impatient as ever I tend to have a mental period where the ideas are mulled over. These centred on the use of a wooden core, with scored sides, treated with paint / shellac. With a thought of using insulation tape for the corner plates and strapping. Here is version 1. Can has one coat of humbrol and the 3 planks on the right have been sanded down roughly in the direction of the grain. Does it look like wood? Comments please... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I think the sanded ones look best. It looks like quite rough painted wood to me. Have you read Jim Read's PDF on building card wagons? If not, send him a nice PM and ask for a copy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Ernie, I suspect this is a matter of subjectivity. I've been experimenting with natural wood floors on my wagons: P1010003 by John Kendall, on Flickr This is a Dapol BR open. The colour of the floor as delivered was cream. I would have used coarse sandpaper to raise the grain. I airbrushed some earth and black to tone down the cream. I then used rust powder (to highlight internal metal that might have rusted and stained the wood). I also used umber and black powder at random. I think it looks pretty good. Another, later iteration: P1010001-003 by John Kendall, on Flickr This is the Parkside SR brake. I scribed the interior planks, raised the grain with coarse sandpaper and painted with PollyS concrete, but of course any cream will do. I then used Tamiya Panel Lining paint to bring out the details. The floor of a brake would be scuffed and worn but not filthy. HTH John 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 14, 2017 Author Share Posted September 14, 2017 LIMA Cut and Shut Having a few Lima Minfits I've been browsing to try and find articles of 'doing them up'.... I didn't find as much as I thought..... I resorted to a comparison with a Lionheart version. The Lima is lacking in height, is too long overall and has a slightly narrow door. The body was cut into 6 portions; two very thin sections will be used to fill the missing door section and the remainder shaved to form some filler for the various gaps. I have a cunning plan to give the extra height.. The body could do with being a touch wider, but not bothering with that. Here is the body with one end already off and the next slice being scored ready to be cut through: The various pieces have been assembled with a new 20thou floor liner for alignment: With the Lionheart 'master' sat on top... . 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 17, 2017 Author Share Posted September 17, 2017 (edited) A few thoughts We had a day out yesterday. As we are on holiday my scope for modelling is somewhat reduced. However I did take the Lima body and a few tools. I have decided to have a concerted effort to re-use, re-cycle everyday waste in modelling. A couple of cakes were put in one of those expanded polystyrene folding boxes, usually used in fish and chip shops. I took a couple of pieces back to try out as filler with a little solvent. Cutting off a strip and laying it over the area to be filled. The application of a small amount of solvent soon shrivels it up into a thick jelly. More thin strips can be layed on to to use the volatility of the solvent. After allowing to dry overnight the still slightly soft surplus was sliced off with a new Stanley blade. One of the disposable knives was handy as a length of several blades can be used (gently) to reach the areas that a normal blade cannot reach. Obviously a very sharp blade requires CARE. Here is the body after the first application of filler and a rubbing down with some wet 'wet and dry' I was thinking that the conversion needs to be as simple as possible. As an alternative to the 5 cuts. used on the brown body. Maybe more cost / time effective to make 2 cuts, one in from each end. Then turn a piece round to create a new full width door. Making new side stanchions on either side of the door, these can be full height. The corner stanchions can be extended, the end stanchion that taper can be shaved off and replaced as a whole. Looks like 2mm needs to be added at the bottom to give the additional height. The end door can have the bottom cross bar that joins the securing pins, lowered and widened up a bit. Then 2mm lower extensions can have the joins disguised as welded repairs. Here is my Microsoft Paint illustration of how the cuts will be made on the next body and how it should look, proportion wise. Edited September 18, 2017 by The Bigbee Line 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 18, 2017 Author Share Posted September 18, 2017 Not much modelling today. A drive to Porthmadoc and a trip on the Welsh Highland Railway. Very impressive, then the added bonus of finding a model shop in Porthmadoc. That yielded some Evergreen HO scale 6 x 8. The Evergreen was used to form the downward extension. Some plastic tops from drink cups yielded small pieces of flat styrene that were used with some of the 6 x 8 to extend the side stanchions downwards. A little oversize, but will file nicely to size. . I think it's almost there... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 WARTS and ALL When taking pictures of on-going works it shows the progress in a 'warts and all' manner. In real life nothing looks as bad as in the pictures, but it's a useful tool. The current bashing exercise is a case in point. This picture shows one of the corners. The camera on the iphone struggles with the white of the Evergreen Strip. I think my limited holiday tool kit needs the assistance of an emery board from Linda, maybe some nail varnish would double as filler..... Here's the underside. I have a Cooper Craft built up 9' wheelbase underframe to use. If I can fit that (might try and find a self tapper today) I can start adding the below floor level items; gusset plates, hindges etc. This is a close up of the door, in need of more filling where the join has some porosity. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 We had a great day going up Snowdon. Just collected a couple of cup tops.... When we go back, just had time for a bit of filing and a test run with the cooper craft chassis.... More by luck than judgement it fits a treat into the 'hole' created by the styrene downward extension. Here are a couple of comparison shots with the Lionheart model... . Need to sort out the headstocks and some buffers. Quite pleased with this. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sf315 Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 Hello Ernie Very interesting what you've done with the Lima body. Top marks mate. Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 Hello Ernie Very interesting what you've done with the Lima body. Top marks mate. Steve. Thanks Steve, I've got plans for the underframe.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 BODY SUPPORTS At the botton of each side stanchion is a T section that supports the body. I suspect it goes the full width of the body, but I've never knowingly looked.... Here is a close up from one of my 1980's pictures: As these will be painted black and weathered I used some re-used styrene from a drinks lid in a suitable black colour. Here as a dry run in position. Some more fabbed up waiting to dry when they'll be trimmed to length The underframe has been sanded along the edges so it slips in nicely, with locating strips to position it. The T section body supports will be fixed to the underframe, allowing its removal if required. Not sure if there's any advantage in that. We'll see how that one goes.... The headstocks off the CC underframe will be trimmed for length and cemented to the body. I did wonder whether to fit vacuum brakes, will need to research that one... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Ernie, I think it's great that you're making this Lima pigs ear into a silk purse. I am puzzled however, about what diagram of wagon you are aiming for. The RTR wagon that you showed earlier is, I think, a Dapol BR dia 1/108. Because of how you have arranged the brakes on your model, it looks to me like an LMS dia 2134. (I built the Parkside 1/108 kit a few weeks ago converting into a 2134.) These were ordered in 1947 and delivered to BR in 1948. The bodies of both are very nearly identical with the exception that the 2134 had bottom doors and the 1/108 didn't. This meant that the 2134 had to have independent brakes on both sides with no cross shaft. The 1/108 had Morton brakes on on side with a cross shaft and lever on the off side. (I'm just finishing a 1/108 built from a MMP body and Peco chassis (long story).) The tee supports were, I think welded to the sole bar and supported the body overhang via the stanchions. Amazing what you learn when you build kits. HTH. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) Ernie, I think it's great that you're making this Lima pigs ear into a silk purse. I am puzzled however, about what diagram of wagon you are aiming for. The RTR wagon that you showed earlier is, I think, a Dapol BR dia 1/108. Because of how you have arranged the brakes on your model, it looks to me like an LMS dia 2134. (I built the Parkside 1/108 kit a few weeks ago converting into a 2134.) These were ordered in 1947 and delivered to BR in 1948. The bodies of both are very nearly identical with the exception that the 2134 had bottom doors and the 1/108 didn't. This meant that the 2134 had to have independent brakes on both sides with no cross shaft. The 1/108 had Morton brakes on on side with a cross shaft and lever on the off side. (I'm just finishing a 1/108 built from a MMP body and Peco chassis (long story).) The tee supports were, I think welded to the sole bar and supported the body overhang via the stanchions. Amazing what you learn when you build kits. HTH. John John Thanks for that. I can easily remove one set of blocks. What number series were the 1/108s. Ernie Edited September 21, 2017 by The Bigbee Line Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 To get a 1/108 you need to reverse the brakes, look at your RTR model - make sure you get the correct side. There were ~ 250,000 wagons built. Numbers were all over the place. The MMP fret I have has etched plates for the following examples: I have: B77480, B80285, B84198, B254270, B553887, B560792. I found Paul B's collection extremely useful. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Did a bit more this evening. The headstocks and buffers from the Lima wagon were cut off and fitted. This prototype / type tester will be a 'knock about' wagon for playing with. It is good enough, the next one will be quicker, and easier (hopefully). The under stanchion, support gussets have been added. The door straps and hinges have been added from various pieces of strip etc. The GW label box and the round holes in the solebar will get sorted... The brake push rods will also get sorted... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 Back home after a week away.. Yesterday we went on a trip that had been postponed from May. The Atlantic Coast Express to Exeter with Clan Line up the front. In 1966 I went on a school trip that involved joining an ex Waterloo Boat Train to Weymouth. Not sure what was on the front, but we did see a few pacifics at Bournmouth Central. So yesterday was my first knowing trip behind a Merchant Navy. 12 reasonably loaded coaches and no diesel on the rear. I was surprised by how effortless the run was, good acceleration with only the slightest hint of slipping. I presume the big chimney and multiple blast pipes take the edge off the exhaust. We came back via Taunton so ran up Wellington Bank, effortless. Anyway, back to reality... In my last post I'd fixed the underframe to the body. Previously I had set it up so the wheelbase was symmetrical in relation to the door. I then got confused by the brakework (The donor underframe had the push rods set as either side brakes, so I'll have to swap the push rods whatever...) and turned the underframe, not noticing that I'd got it the wrong way round..... So first job this morning was to try and get it back out. Luckily it wasn't too difficult, phew... With a little cleaning it's back in the 'right way round'. If I get time I'll swap the push rods today. Exeter had a model shop, so had to make a call. Restricted myself to some weatherning washes, some Railmatch grey for the Mineral Wagons, and some Plastruct T section for the gussets under the side stanchions. I know this goes against the 'recycling' ethos, but it's maybe a little more robust.. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 24, 2017 Author Share Posted September 24, 2017 Today was mainly spent in the garden, picked a box full of runners and a cabbage to go with the Sunday Roast. The prepared 2 - 8' x 4' raised beds, what to plant.......... Anyway I digress. The brakework on the wagon removed on one side and on the other has been re-aligned and a start made to add the pieces of T section plastruct. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Well Autumns here... gets dark early.. Hopefully the silk purse is almost finished..... from... to this, today saw the gussets replaced, more door detail added, the chassis evened up slightly and some brake levers fitted.. This needs some soft focus... don't look too closely.. I actually had my 'desk' reasonably clear today. It is topped by various sheets of glass, either shelves or glass doors. I was able to test the underframe to check it was square. There was a very slight rock. The two low corners had the solebar separated from the body and some packing inserted until is was nice and solid, no rocking. Then the slots patched over. I need to make a couple of brass door bangers, the little triangular fillets under the top section on the sides, fit some couplings, then weight up to about 5 oz... Then a first coat of paint, maybe by Friday... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 26, 2017 Author Share Posted September 26, 2017 Couldn't resist the first coat of primer, quite pleased with the effect. Quite enjoyed the ride with this one... I think the underframe needs to be a black grey mix rather than pure black. Need to get the couplings on first and the door bangers... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 26, 2017 Author Share Posted September 26, 2017 Mmmmm waiting for the paint to dry, might as well start Minfit2, with a few time savers. Here are the first cuts with a circular saw in the mini drill. The sides were scored outboard of the inner uprights. Here are the two parts after a little clean up. Now with a false floor added to space out the parts. With the false sides... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 Had a funeral on Wednesday, then a visit to Cardiff in Thursday, not getting home until lunch time, then more work......... Just had time for 5 minutes in the workshop, cutting some evergreen to add the extra height to the body. I have a wagon with what looks like a Slaters underframe to use as a donor. The side frames were stripped from the body and inspected ready for assembling onto a subframe. The wheels fitted were very coarse scale, so intended swapping with a set from a Parkside Kit. The axle ends on the parkside wheelsets were too big.... I might have some in the odds and ends box with thinner ends will need to find them tomorrow, or swap the brass bearings out. Things are never simple. So far this conversion is well under 15 minutes... If anyone has use for coarse scale O gauge wheelsets, send me a PM 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 30, 2017 Author Share Posted September 30, 2017 Question - When is a door not a door. Answer - When it's a jar...... Wrong, when its made from the lid of a cup... Other than the evergreen section to form the main stanchion and cross piece between the 2 doors, everything else is made from re-cycled styrene from drink cup lids. Available mainly in white, but occasional black... The door and bits was about 20 minutes work.... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 30, 2017 Author Share Posted September 30, 2017 And there's more.... Found a set of wheels that fit the brass bearings, they're very heavy and I've given them a clean up and coat of paint... The donor underframe was split into 4 and some flats of plasticard added to make getting them fixed without falling over easier. Then just time to make up and add the side stanchions to the remaining door. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 (edited) Todays main task has been moving a washing machine and starting the installation of a dishwasher, plus jobs in the garden, when it dries up a bit.. In between time I've made a start getting the underframe assembled. One axlebox needed a repair. The actual box was missing, but I'm making a replacement like the boxy rectangular boxes often seen. A piece of second hand styrene was drilled, some clear plastic film slipped in place to stop it all getting stuck solid, and the front cemented in place. When nice and dry a cosmetic front piece will be filed up and fitted. The solebars and their little 'feet' were tested for fit within the frame under the body. The wagon sat a little low so a sheet subframe is in order. I like that method. If I can get that finished I can add the support T section etc. Edited October 1, 2017 by The Bigbee Line 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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