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Bachmann (Wisbech and Upwell) Branchline


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Hello! This is my first ever post here, so feel free to tell me if I'm doing something wrong.

 

Yesterday I went to the MMRS Christmas Model Railway Show and bought a nice Bachmann Branchline Class 03 diesel, and plan to turn it into an example from the Wisbech and Upwell tramway. I will have to hold off on that until Christmas, but I will update with progress as it continues.

image.png.0dbd90f863bdf4f6b7b292152560b53e.png

An example of what I'm doing with it

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Welcome aboard! Posted in the right place too, which is something that many more experienced participants don't always manage. (This one at least.)

 

No need for delay, you can have a go (or three) at rendering the openwork of the 'cowcatcher' without the loco. Can be difficult, that type of detail...

Edited by 34theletterbetweenB&D
to add a missing word and parentheses
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A Bachmann 04 body can be adopted to fit the new 03 chassis, largely needs a new fixing block gluing to the inside of the cab end along with a bit of Milliput on the 03 chassis wheels and they can be easily made to resemble 04 wheels. I would suggest selling the 03 body on ebay and acquiring an s/h possibly non running 04 for its body. Ideally someone will bring out a new 04 as the 04 is a tweaked tooling of the Mainline 03 body and if you start trying to align handrail knobs with the body side details from a photo you will quickly appreciate its not entirely accurate as an 04.

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Does it matter that much?

 The poor chap might be put off before he even starts.

 

 Let him get established first he can go for the level of detail and authenticity when he's ready.

 I would guess 90% of people on here do or have at one time run a loco on a line that wasn't 100% correct. 

 There's even sections on RMweb for fictional locos and companies so using an 03 instead of an 04 to get your self going is hardly the crime of the decade though no doubt some will see it as so

 

 Such is the nature of this hobby 

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First a Mainline 03 running as a 04. It was a conversion kit (Craftsman I think) but with a bit of modelling it can be done in plastic card.

 

1561695323_IM(30).jpg.be66975b7ded5e0a030ff818be0bb5ec.jpg

 

Next a selection of tram locos, all Dapol kits, mounted on Bachmann/Mainline 03 chassis or Tri-ang Nellie chassis.

 

001a.jpg.bfd75b83e022bc4a4df3395af1d06aff.jpg

Left to right, a Wisbeach tram, a Yarmouth tram and an Ipswich tram.

 

Side skirts made from plastic card, the cowcatchers from micro strip. 

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One that has rolled over like a good boy to show how I done things.

 

If you see a layout called Friday Bridge, my mate Dave has the Wisbeach and Yarmouth trams on loan. Please ask him if you can inspect them.

 

There is another alternative, the Vulcan/ Alan Gibson white metal kit, that comes with the correct cab, the side skirts and cowcatcher. Both mine are poor runners and built as non-tram locos. No idea where the skits and cowcatchers ended up.

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On 09/12/2019 at 10:50, dud spud said:

Hello! This is my first ever post here, so feel free to tell me if I'm doing something wrong.

 

Yesterday I went to the MMRS Christmas Model Railway Show and bought a nice Bachmann Branchline Class 03 diesel, and plan to turn it into an example from the Wisbech and Upwell tramway. I will have to hold off on that until Christmas, but I will update with progress as it continues.

image.png.0dbd90f863bdf4f6b7b292152560b53e.png

An example of what I'm doing with it

Hi Dud

 

All the best in converting an 03 to an 04 tram.

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9 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Hi Dud

 

All the best in converting an 03 to an 04 tram.

Hello, and thank you! I won't be making many modifications aside from side plates and cow catchers. Thanks to everyone for the advice however.

image.png.450a0300e4c339da9a5e890996dbf7bf.png

Recently, I saw a modification to this Hornby 0-4-0 to make it look akin to a tram.

It had the cab of this one:

image.png.8e138b67a862726903471d8c92d8167c.png

And it had cow catchers, side plates and an exhaust added.

It looked something like this (apologies for the crude edit):

image.png.06a79094886ab81b52d21130c4c685c8.png

I was wondering if anyone else on here has tried that?

Let me know if this isn't the place to post this.

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I certainly wouldn't be worrying too much about the wheel patterns, as you can hardly see them under the skirts!

 

Many moons ago I built my first etched brass loco, a Craftsman J70, the steam loco that preceded the diesels on the Tramway. It runs with a 2 axle Tenshodo Spud, the wrong number of axles, but you can't tell.

 

Good luck for a model from one of our most iconic lost railways.

 

John.

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Following this thread with interest. I bought the parts in the photo intending to fit the skirts, cowcatchers and cab side parts to an Airfix/Dapol 04 kit and fit to some kind of chassis but couldn't think of a satisfactory way to attach the brass parts to the plastic parts. Maybe I will use them as templates to fabricate parts from plastic card and strip.

 

W&U parts.jpg

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16 hours ago, John Tomlinson said:

Good luck for a model from one of our most iconic lost railways.

 

John.

Thank you!

14 hours ago, Tony Davis said:

Following this thread with interest. I bought the parts in the photo intending to fit the skirts, cowcatchers and cab side parts to an Airfix/Dapol 04 kit and fit to some kind of chassis but couldn't think of a satisfactory way to attach the brass parts to the plastic parts. Maybe I will use them as templates to fabricate parts from plastic card and strip.

Have you tried Bostik? It has worked for me in attaching metal to plastic in the past.

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One thought about your Vulcan version is to add small blocks of plastic strip to the lower sides of the running plate, glueing with a strong plastic solvent. These will help increase the adhesive area for your brass/ plastic joint with the side skirts.

 

The cowcatchers look as if they need to be formed prior to adding to the model, and you may find that when you have the right shape that application of a thin layer of solder to critical parts helps strengthen the sub-assembly.

 

I wonder as well how feasible it would be to solder up the skirts and cowcatchers as a sub-assembly in the form of an oblong, which should be quite strong, and then attach this to the plastic running plate and ends? I don't have this kit, although I do have the Impetus kit for same, which I've been treasuring for years until I feel my soldering skills have reached a suitable level!

 

John.

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5 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

From memory the Vulcan/Alan Gibson side skirts are 1 or 2 mm longer that the running plate of the Airfix/Dapol 04, that is why I didn't use them. Which is right I cannot remember.

Yes, I found that out about 1/2 hour ago! I hadn't brought them together for a comparison before now, the skirts don't align with the Bachmann 04 (split chassis) either.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Current state is as follows:

- Side plates fabricated from card off-cuts

- posed with temporary cow-catchers until I figure out how to make them properly

I am unsure as of how to remove the black paint previously slapped on by the previous owner. It seems to rub off when it is on a smooth spot, leading me to believe it's some kind of poster paint. The livery underneath is BR green, which I would love to keep it in if possible.

Any suggestions for paint removal and cow catcher fabrication? I would just make some out of brass strips, but I have none left.

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I managed to get hold of a couple of pairs of cow catcher etchings from one of the traders on here. He added them to a sheet of etches he was producing, and I know others have asked him since. I think it may have been Narrow Planet - it certainly was a producer of narrow gauge products.

 

Stewart

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