LNER Triplet Restaurant Set

[Darius43]

I really enjoyed building this kit so I dug another out of the stash.

 

 

 

 

 

I still need to make and add the handrails (for this and the Restaurant Triplet) and make the interiors for the Restaurant cars.

 

 

Cheers 

 

Darius

Edited April 17, 2019 by Darius43

[Darius43]

Handrails formed from brass wire and installed in pre-drilled holes.

 

 

 

 

 

Only 24 more to make and attach...

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

All handrails attached.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers 

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Back to the Triplet - 1st Class Restaurant Car interior constructed using Southern Pride seats and plasticard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curtain material in preparation...

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

Edited April 21, 2019 by Darius43

[Darius43]

It’s curtains...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Bucoops]

Fantastic work!

[gobbler]

Super stuff there.

 

Do like your wire bending jig......never seen that before, where did you stumble across that??

 

Scott

[chris p bacon]

Its a Bill Bedford Jig available from Eileens Emprorium.

 

https://eileensemporium.com/index.php?option=com_hikashop&ctrl=product&task=show&cid=2562&name=handrail-grabhandle-bending-jig-4mm

 

They're handy although I still bend by hand for some.

 

[MikeTrice]

On 22/04/2019 at 07:30, Darius43 said:

 

 

Can I suggest something that will make a big improvement to your coaches. If not possible for these then bear it in mind for future builds.

 

The battery boxes on the prototype are around 1'1" thick however the Kirk kits only supply the front face so they need thickening with styrene. Secondly on the prototype the boxes are inset 1' behind the solebars and there is a diagonal strap present which is easily added from styrene. Hopefully this photo will illustrate this:

 

Note also the additional steel angle section that can easily be added from styrene strip.

[Darius43]

16 minutes ago, MikeTrice said:

Can I suggest something that will make a big improvement to your coaches. If not possible for these then bear it in mind for future builds.

 

The battery boxes on the prototype are around 1'1" thick however the Kirk kits only supply the front face so they need thickening with styrene. Secondly on the prototype the boxes are inset 1' behind the solebars and there is a diagonal strap present which is easily added from styrene. Hopefully this photo will illustrate this:

 

Note also the additional steel angle section that can easily be added from styrene strip.

 

Thanks Mike - I’ll have a go,at modifying the coaches later this week.  Very useful photo.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Battery box modifications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With thanks to Mike Trice.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[MikeTrice]

Well done, a great improvement. However note from the photo that the cross beams tuck right into the angle between the horizontal and vertical sections of the trussing:

 

The boxes themselves rest on longitudinal beams parallel with the truss bars. The following photo is of a shorter vehicle so there is less gap between the battery box and cross beam. Yours will have a bigger gap which is correct:

 

Even if you do not make these changes, just thickening the battery boxes has improved them considerably.

[Darius43]

Representations of angle section cross beams and bracing added.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Centre Kitchen Car battery boxes modified.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[MikeTrice]

Brilliant. Hope others agree.

[Darius43]

17 hours ago, MikeTrice said:

Brilliant. Hope others agree.

 

Thanks Mike.

 

Battery boxes to all three coaches now modified.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[davelester]

On 24/04/2019 at 21:07, MikeTrice said:

Brilliant. Hope others agree.

I certainly do! And I can only hope that my efforts are as good.

 

However, before the topic dies, I have a few details questions for all of you, since I have both a Comet and an RDEB (1938) triplet set in the to-do pile.

 

First up the angle irons. I had thought that these were 3"x3" L sections, but Mike's photos seem to show that we are looking at 3"x3" solid sections -- at least for the verticals, the horizontals and the outside slope-y bits. This would be at variance (I think) with the white metal sections now sold by Dart Castings under their MJT range. Obviously this is with regard to the 1938 set, because as Mike points out, the earlier sets were on truss rod under frames.

 

Mike's drawing of the truss rod under frame is also available from Dart Castings (Code 2980, £5.00). I'm assuming that there is very little difference between that drawing and the under frames under a 1928 triplet set?

 

Mike has also posted drawings of the kitchen roof ventilators on these vehicles -- either here or on the LNER forum. But the 1938 set will have "monsoon" ventilators for the Stone's PV system in the dining cars. I'm assuming that these might still be on top of the 1938 buffet vehicle, if not, does anyone have any detailed photos/drawings of such things?

 

The T8 dynamo under all Gresley restaurant cars can probably be fudged, but it'd be nice to know the principal dimensions, if anyone knows?

 

Finally, to complete the 1938 set, I am going to need 10'0" bogies. I've found one photo in John Crawley's "LNER in Focus", page 53 attributed to Leslie Hanson (of the Coronation in Waverley), which shows the steel casting reinforcement over the top of the horn block cut out. But neither this photo, not the drawing posted by Bill Bedford on LNER forum show the rivet layout clearly. Of course its possible Rupert has solved this problem for me by providing the bogie side castings with his kit, but this is not the way he's done the Silver Jubilee set, which requires the constructor to buy in a number of cast bits-n-bobs.

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance, and apologies to Darius for piggy-backing on his wonderful thread.

[MikeTrice]

I will attempt to answer some of your questions.

 

For the rigid trussing the sections are generally 3.5" * 3.5" * 0.5". One some underframes the horizontal trussing is 3.5" * 4" * 0.5" and yes they are "L" section not solid.

 

There will be some similarities between the underframe drawing and those under the 1928 triplet set however there will be differences especially in the positioning of dynamos and underframe fittings.

 

Monsoon vent? Sorry don't have measurements:

 

Here is a drawing of the T8CS dynamo as fitted to the triplets. Note the odd placing of the truss rods on the cross section:

 

Does this drawing of the 10'0" bogie help?

 

[davelester]

2 hours ago, MikeTrice said:

 

 

Thanks, Mike.

 

I think I now have no more excuses left!

[gazman424]

Mike,

 Can I just thank you for your contribution to this, and many other threads. For someone whose only memories of Gresley coaches in service is limited to the odd Departmental examples, your willingness to share your encyclopaedic is very much appreciated!!

 

Gaz.

[Darius43]

Finally got round to building an interior for the remaining restaurant coach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

Edited May 19, 2019 by Darius43

[Thane of Fife]

Evening all

 

It's a superb build of the Kirk triplet.

 

However for the purist there are problems.

 

The 1924 set had recessed doors.

 

The 1928 set was as the build, but with turnbuckle underframe.

 

The 1938 set had angle iron underframe, but with a longer kitchen car.

 

Thane of Fife

 

 

 

[Darius43]

1 hour ago, Thane of Fife said:

Evening all

 

It's a superb build of the Kirk triplet.

 

However for the purist there are problems.

 

The 1924 set had recessed doors.

 

The 1928 set was as the build, but with turnbuckle underframe.

 

The 1938 set had angle iron underframe, but with a longer kitchen car.

 

Thane of Fife

 

 

 

 

Just as well I’m not a purist.  I just enjoy building models.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Thane of Fife]

 Hooray for you Darius

 

I have used your line; "I just enjoy.........." many times when people ask why I build kits rather than buy today's excellent RTR models. 

 

There is something very satisfying about looking at  model and saying to yourself; "I built that myself".

 

Moving on; I will miss Kirk kits, when my stock is exhausted. They are easy to build, and with a little effort can produce a very detailed model.

 

Malcolm

 

 

[Ian Kirk]

21 hours ago, Thane of Fife said:

 Hooray for you Darius

 

I have used your line; "I just enjoy.........." many times when people ask why I build kits rather than buy today's excellent RTR models. 

 

There is something very satisfying about looking at  model and saying to yourself; "I built that myself".

 

Moving on; I will miss Kirk kits, when my stock is exhausted. They are easy to build, and with a little effort can produce a very detailed model.

 

Malcolm

 

 

 

Needless to say there are times I regret parting with this range especially now that it looks as if it is gone for good and wonder what mods I might have made by now if they were still mine. They would be needing another home by now anyway - I can't go on for ever and am enjoying the extra time off that I now have.  Just as well so many were produced at the peak of production so there are still SH to be found. Paying over the odds on e Bay for something that I sold for £4.60 (including the 15%VAT) in the 1980s is hard for a Scotsman but I have given up waiting for Coopercraft.

Tongue in cheek: when stock exhausted you could always go O gauge as I am still producing the O gauge range! I kept the O gauge ones to give me something to do in semi-retirement and having seen the fate of the 4mm have not tried to sell this on.  I intend just to keep producing for as long as I am able and/ or customers still want them.

Always glad to hear that people have enjoyed my kits makes it all worthwhile.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian