RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 10, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) I've taken quite a fancy to 6 wheel vans lately so I thought I'd have a go at the 6 wheel fish vans. The first of these six wheel vans were built by the LMS just after the end of WWII during 1946 and 1947 under Lot 1428 to diagram D2115. Two further Lots, 1445 and 1509 were built under BR ownership in 1949. The van numbers for each Lot were 50 vans in the number sequence 40200 – 40249 followed by 50 vans in the sequence 40250 – 40299 and finally a further 40 vans numbered 40300 – 40339. All of these vans were built at Wolverton. The first Lot of vans had LMS style lettering and were labelled FISH, Vans from the second batch, although built under BR were labelled in the later style LMS lettering but were marked as X-FISH denoting a higher traffic status. Later, and of course at any repaint, the vans received standard BR numbering with the number preceded by the letter M. Later an additional letter M was added after the number as well. The vans were built to passenger stock standards, measuring 31’0” over the headstocks with a 10’6” spacing between the axles. They had a screw coupling, were vacuum fitted and had a steam through pipe. Six wheeled vehicles were officially banned from passenger trains after 1959 and with fish traffic diminishing many of these vans ended up in departmental stock. According to the Essery and Jenkinson book, some were still in service in the 1990’s. This is a picture of the first test build which came out better than expected, the first one usually ends up in the bin!! The body is pretty straightforward, just the usual basic shell with a central partition for strength. The doors on these vans are quite a prominent feature so I have made them up from three layers. The inner and centre section have an opening in the centre so it can all be soldered up from the back. The doors can be lined up using the holes for the handles and the door rollers to make sure it is in the correct place. I'll post more photos as the build progresses. Ian Edited September 25, 2022 by macgeordie Scale clarification as 4mm 8 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 11, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 11, 2020 A bit more done, doors, rivet strip and door latches in place. Handles and corner strengtheners fitted. Body corner stengtheners and door stops in place. The main parts of the body are now complete so it will be the chassis next. Ian 5 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 12, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) Most of the chassis is now complete, it is basically the same as the one I used on the Thompson BZ and the Palethorpes van. It's a Cleminson truck principle and it has worked well so far so I didn't see any point in changing it. The solebars and overlays in place with a gap between the solebar and the Axleguards for the springs and J hangers to fit into. The centre axle is sprung and the two outer ones rotate slightly as the van takes a curve when the centre wheel unit moves from side to side. Next stage is fitting the van roof and lots of little detail parts but that will have to wait till next week as I'm off with the layout to Jarrow Perth Green exhibition tomorrow for the weekend. Ian Edited March 12, 2020 by macgeordie 11 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 17, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 17, 2020 Roof now in place along with the rain strips. The van is almost finished now, I gave it a coat of #8 etch paint today so it is almost ready for the livery to be applied, possibly tomorrow. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 20, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2020 I managed to get the chassis and roof painted but not the body livery colour so it is just in 'Photographic Grey' I'm going to order the etches for those members who have requested one of these on Sunday so if anybody else wants one of these, please pm me before Sunday evening. Ian 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Zero Gravitas Posted March 20, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 20, 2020 Forgive me if this is a really stupid question - but is the fish van 4mm? If you did say so (and you probably did) then I’ve certainly missed it... Thanks in advance! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 20, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 20, 2020 Yes it is 4mm scale. It’s in a tag below the title but it isn’t obvious. I’ll ammend the title to make it clear. Ian 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Zero Gravitas Posted March 21, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2020 Thank you - you have a PM! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted March 24, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) I have just had an email from the etching company and they have had to stop production due to the Corona virus due to social distancing regulations. In view of that I can't say when I will be able to supply the kits which members have requested from me. At a guess I would say it will be at least 6 weeks rather than the usual 2. My apologies gents but it is out of my hands. Ian Edited March 24, 2020 by macgeordie Typo error 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Zero Gravitas Posted March 24, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 24, 2020 No worries - in the overall scheme of things, this is a long, long way down the list of things about which to be concerned! And it’ll be something to which to look forward when we come out of the other side. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted April 2, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted April 2, 2020 Final livery now applied, I just need to finish the weathering , the forecast is for warmer weather so I'll do it on Sunday. 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iak Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 Well that will be another future purchase then... A very splendid looking beastie Ian, will look nice in a varied rake of fish carrying stockage. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium macgeordie Posted April 5, 2020 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) Nice warm day today so I was able to get the weathering done:- Close ups can be cruel in 4mm scale, but I think that has come out quite well. I think a little dark grey on the vac pipe and the steam pipe might look better though. Next project is a Gresley BG to diagram D45. I've just finished painting the test build so I might start a thread on that soon. Ian Edited April 13, 2020 by macgeordie Typo rectified 8 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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