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Mynydd y Ddraig - a Banger Blue 009 project


CloggyDog
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Despite having 2 Ikea-LACK-based micros under construction, I've already started the advanced planning for another, my first ever foray into NG Modelling.

 

This will be largely based on the VoR and Devils Bridge station (though probably a mirror image version) and inspired by this pic from the Newton Abbot Railway Studies website:

 

06983-Three-Vale-of-Rheidol-Trains-in-De

 

Yes, I know it's banger blue. :P  I can't ever recall seeing a blue-era VoR layout on the show circuit or in the comics.

 

Should upset a few steam purists, I hope  :D

 

I've never even contemplated a 009 layout before, so am rather in the dark regarding stock. Locos I know I can get kits for (whitemetal body on a Minitrix 2mt/BR24/BR64 chassis) and there's some VoR rolling stock available in kit form, albeit the earlier coaches. Worst case I'll use the closest-looking stock and wing it.

 

While I'll likely use Peco's 009 track for cost/availability reasons, I'd be open to suggestions of alternatives as I know Peco's rail section is a tad chunky.

 

The Lack upon which Mynydd y Ddraig will be built is 110cm x 26cm, plus a fiddlestick off the station throat end. I'll obviously need to compress the platform (and therefore train) length, but I think I can still capture the feel of the prototype.

 

 

Edited by CloggyDog
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A number of people have used the Dundas VOR coaches and turned them into open coaches.

 

The 4 wheel open wagons are available and there was the odd cattle wagon (Nine Lines).

4 wheel brake vans still available. (wooden sided).

Someone also produced the Hafan open wagon.

The more modern coaches produced by Chivers have long been out of production.

Stan.

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Santa (well, Shelley in disguise) has kick-started the stock I need and the plain 009 track is on order (to join the Peco points I won cheaply on ebay a wee while back), so I'll be making a proper start the layout in the coming weeks, using one of a number of 110cm Lacks I have to hand. ;)

 

IMG_20201225_115612.jpg

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It's been a wee while, but while I ponder H0 motive power solutions for Dounreay, Mynyndd y Ddraig has been temporarily set up to test the trackplan and see what the stock capacity might be (loco + 4 + van), where the clearance points and allow some general tweaking/fettling of the plan.

Plastic wriggly tin sheet and other bits on order for the buildings and I need to make a fair quantity of trees (something else I've not done before).

IMG_20210621_231622.jpg

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30 minutes ago, CloggyDog said:

It's been a wee while, but while I ponder H0 motive power solutions for Dounreay, Mynyndd y Ddraig has been temporarily set up to test the trackplan and see what the stock capacity might be (loco + 4 + van), where the clearance points and allow some general tweaking/fettling of the plan.

Plastic wriggly tin sheet and other bits on order for the buildings and I need to make a fair quantity of trees (something else I've not done before).

IMG_20210621_231622.jpg

Bit too "Modern Image" for me. :locomotive:

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22 hours ago, CloggyDog said:

It's been a wee while, but while I ponder H0 motive power solutions for Dounreay, Mynyndd y Ddraig has been temporarily set up to test the trackplan and see what the stock capacity might be (loco + 4 + van), where the clearance points and allow some general tweaking/fettling of the plan.

Plastic wriggly tin sheet and other bits on order for the buildings and I need to make a fair quantity of trees (something else I've not done before).

IMG_20210621_231622.jpg


Be great to see how this progresses - the VoR in blue is how I remember it from a childhood visit (seemed normal to me at that age).  
If I might just share a word of caution to avoid problems further on:  you may be fully aware of this of course, but just in case, the point in the goods yard looks like one of the short / Setrack ones with a 9” / 228mm radius.  They’re the ones I use, but some of the new longer wheelbase r-t-r 009 locos are only designed for a minimum radius of 12” and might have problems shunting the short stub siding if you get one at any point.  Hope it’s OK just to mention it.

I like the plan - the gentle curve through the platform looks great.

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Drafted up sides for the 'new' VoR stock and cut them on the Silhouette.

I used the BR weight diagrams and refined them in Silhouette Studio.

2 brakes and 6 seconds, plus ends and droplights all in 10 thou plasticard. 2 A4 sheets, so just under a quid for the lot. These will go on the Dundas VoR coach chassis. 

IMG_20210723_222524.jpg

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One thing I found with the old DM10 compared to the DM13 chassis version was that the bogie centres were different. The old DM10 has bogies centres of 89mm, DM13 85mm. The prototypes were 22 feet so the correct figure would be 88mm.

Both figures may have changed since though as my kits were bought in the early 1980s.

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7 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

One thing I found with the old DM10 compared to the DM13 chassis version was that the bogie centres were different. The old DM10 has bogies centres of 89mm, DM13 85mm. The prototypes were 22 feet so the correct figure would be 88mm.

Both figures may have changed since though as my kits were bought in the early 1980s.

Thanks for the tip Bernard, you are quite correct so the Dundas underframes haven't changed in the meantime. 

 

So in the end I made a simple underframe of 60 thou, with Evergreen 3.2mm C channel solebars for the test build, using just the Dundas bogies.

 

I think it looks okay. Seats next, then a roof. 

 

IMG_20210724_182444.jpg

Edited by CloggyDog
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A couple of questions for those more familiar with 009 than this novice:

 

1. are scale (or near-to scale) Chopper couplings available? The 'Bemo/Peco' loop/latch don't look particularly attractive to my eyes and I'd prefer to use something more prototypical if I can.

 

2. are 4mm etched number/name plates available for the VoR trio?

 

My google-fu seem to be broken on both subjects, I've tried various search terms and na-da... :( 

 

TIA!

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32 minutes ago, CloggyDog said:

A couple of questions for those more familiar with 009 than this novice:

 

1. are scale (or near-to scale) Chopper couplings available? The 'Bemo/Peco' loop/latch don't look particularly attractive to my eyes and I'd prefer to use something more prototypical if I can.

 

2. are 4mm etched number/name plates available for the VoR trio?

 

My google-fu seem to be broken on both subjects, I've tried various search terms and na-da... :( 

 

TIA!

 

1.  Not as far as I know.  The only successful scale chopper couplings I have seen have been in 7mm scale and above.  Whilst not prototypical, some 009 modellers use ordinary 'N' gauge couplings, which are a little more discreet than Bemo/Peco type.

 

2. I can't find any sets of plates, but Light Railway Stores do GWR style number plates, and if you can get them details of the nameplates, I'm sure they will be able to make them up for you.

 

https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/number-plate-styles?page=1

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On 23/07/2021 at 23:39, CloggyDog said:

Drafted up sides for the 'new' VoR stock and cut them on the Silhouette.

I used the BR weight diagrams and refined them in Silhouette Studio.

2 brakes and 6 seconds, plus ends and droplights all in 10 thou plasticard. 2 A4 sheets, so just under a quid for the lot. These will go on the Dundas VoR coach chassis. 

IMG_20210723_222524.jpg


Hi there!  These look great.  I’ve only just tried plasticard for the first time, so am still learning about it.  I note you’ve used .010” thou for these.  That seems very thin (1/4 mm). Do they need reinforcing to keep them straight (and hold up the roof)?
Keith.

 

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10 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:


Hi there!  These look great.  I’ve only just tried plasticard for the first time, so am still learning about it.  I note you’ve used .010” thou for these.  That seems very thin (1/4 mm). Do they need reinforcing to keep them straight (and hold up the roof)?
Keith.

 

 

Hi Keith,

 

each side comprises 2 layers of 10 thou, laminated using d-limonene (Mek or other liquid poly cements should work equally as well, with care - 10 thou is easily distorted/melted by stronger solvents) - I clamp the 2 layers between steel rules while the limonene goes off, helps keep everything flat. So my sides are effectively 20 thou (½mm)

 

The 60 thou floor helps at the bottom of the sides and on the test build I also put a 5mm-wide strip of 10 thou (an offcut from the cut-out sheet) along the top edge. 

 

I'll take some more pics later (after work) to show more detail. 

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15 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

The name and numberplates are in the old King's Cross Plates range, available through the GCR Society. Though the names were applied by BR in 1956 they're listed in the GWR section.

 

Thanks Bernard, ordered a set for no. 8 last night. In stock, should be going in the post today. 

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*blows the dust off*

 

I've decided that Mynydd y Ddraig will be my winter modelling project, so I've started prepping the Lack with EVA foam sheet and gathering the track components together. 

 

I had built the key structures last year - the Wills 'Tin Tabernacle' modified for the station building and a store/shed made from their wriggly tin sheet. I still need to make the water tower. 

 

I've also been busy building more coaching stock, 3 more Thirds, 2 Brakes and another summer open to give me a core fleet of 8, forming 2 rakes. A second loco body, this one a 3D print, joins the Chivers kit-built one. And some freight/PW stock from various sources. 

 

I have a show deadline of mid-February 24 to help focus my time and energies 😉

 

IMG_20231117_145954.jpg

Edited by CloggyDog
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On 25/07/2021 at 15:51, CloggyDog said:

A couple of questions for those more familiar with 009 than this novice:

 

1. are scale (or near-to scale) Chopper couplings available? The 'Bemo/Peco' loop/latch don't look particularly attractive to my eyes and I'd prefer to use something more prototypical if I can.

 

2. are 4mm etched number/name plates available for the VoR trio?

 

My google-fu seem to be broken on both subjects, I've tried various search terms and na-da... :( 

 

TIA!

Tramfabriek now do chopper couplings for 009 http://tramfabriek.co.uk/couplings.html

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46 minutes ago, 92912 said:

Tramfabriek now do chopper couplings for 009 http://tramfabriek.co.uk/couplings.html

 

Thanks, I had seen those, though the price is a little off-putting at nearly £6 per vehicle. 

 

I did find a seller (Custom 009) on Facebook who does a 3D printed Chopper. Perhaps not as fine as the Tramfabriek ones, but acceptable enough for me, reliable and my whole fleet equipped for little over a tenner!

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The photos I forgot to add yesterday... 🙄

 

The white Lack is the baseboard, with 2mm black eva foam sheet pva'd down. The black Lack is helping distribute the weight of assorted heavy things whilst the pva goes off. 

IMG_20231118_112206.jpg.7108d90cdb95c8a5bbe84e6a01112a59.jpg

 

A productive evening saw the coaches built and seating fitted, just the extrenal details (hinges and handles) from microstrip, then a coat of primer. I need to get a couple more roof mouldings from Dundas, along with bogies for the next couple of coaches (another Third and 2 summer opens) 

IMG_20231118_112357.jpg.312e7d490aa50f13e567d2902ff596b0.jpg

 

And the buildings, with the 2 main structures and a Pagoda hut I'd forgotten about. I'll need to sort a water tower and the footbridge to straddle/hide the fiddle exit. 

IMG_20231118_112135.jpg.344538ffb2c8a7722c84f9043bc8003b.jpg

Edited by CloggyDog
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