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Adventures in O gauge - First Class kits LNER 8 shoe open merchandise wagon


Boris
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Cheers Boris. Having worked with them myself Boris both for BR and in Preservation and having ben unable to find any images of them the wrong way round in BR days (not that means an awful lot - just the photo's I can find) I was struggling to understand when they came to be like that!

 

However as you say - it's your coach. And a good one you picked to!

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Boris

 

I made a start on m pair of bogies last week and made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. I did notice though that the springing of the bogie comes from the phosphor bronze etch and is nothing at all to do with using either the cast main springs or the actual springs. I will post a picture of them later today.

 

I have to say that the bogies are a joy to build the parts go together just perfectly

 

 

Richard

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Boris

 

I made a start on m pair of bogies last week and made quite a bit of progress over the weekend. I did notice though that the springing of the bogie comes from the phosphor bronze etch and is nothing at all to do with using either the cast main springs or the actual springs. I will post a picture of them later today.

 

I have to say that the bogies are a joy to build the parts go together just perfectly

 

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard

 

If you wouldn't mind posting a picture or two, I'd be very interested to see how the springing arrangement goes together, compared to mine which are fixed and use the castings.

 

Boris

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Welcome to another meeting of insomniacs anonymous, a night of sleeping with SWMBO doing her world renowned Sherman tank impression has led to a surge in underframe progress during the small hours of the morning. All underframe detail parts have now been added, these include the battery boxes, distribution boxes, regulators etc. A small amount of work has also been undertaken removing blobs of errant solder that had escaped previous attentions.

 

The only jobs left to do now on the underframe are the headstock details, bogie and dynamo belt fitting and painting. Painting however will be left until everything else is done just in case I find a bit that I have missed reading further on in the instructions.

 

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Unfortunately my digital camera is quite old and is not in the hands of a skilled operator as I would love to be able to show you the fine detail on the battery boxes and the other nickel silver detail parts.

 

(Time now at 74 hours - and seeing that photo full size has shown me another errant solder blob)

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Boris

 

Here are 3 photos to show how the springs work, the springs are the phosphor bronze etch I have cut 2 of them out from this etch

 

 

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The springs get folded almost in the middle there is a small notch in each side that marks the fold line, they are then inserted into the sideframe, there is slot for them where the axle box fits, you can see it clearly here

 

 

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Finally there is picture with the ax;e box and leaf spring in position, the idea is that the top of the axle box presses against the spring allowing about 1mm of movement to the axlebox stops.

 

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So it should still be possible to spring your bogies, they will run better if you do and this method is very quick and simple to apply

 

 

Richard.

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Boris

 

Here are 3 photos to show how the springs work, the springs are the phosphor bronze etch I have cut 2 of them out from this etch

 

Finally there is picture with the ax;e box and leaf spring in position, the idea is that the top of the axle box presses against the spring allowing about 1mm of movement to the axlebox stops.

 

 

So, thinking about it, most of the compensation must be through the extra play included when the bolster is sprung later on in the assembly? Interesting, but I think I'm going to stick with my unsprung bogies at the moment, for the time being anyway.

 

Anyway, those are looking really good, best of luck with assembling the brake gear!

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Boris

 

The bolster isn't sprung at all as I will be using the cast springs, the springing comes from the weight of the coach body causing the phosphor bronze strip to press down on the axle box so that if you come to a dip in the track the PB strip pushes the wheel down onto the track, simple but very effective, most wagon springing systems work in the same way.

 

 

Richard

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Having never built one and not being an engineer of any great note, but a sliding whitemetal bearing in a knife edged brass guide is a recipe for disaster long term I would think, especially with the weight of a 7mm coach?

 

These castings are almost pewter. We put about 5% lead in to help limit the feed sizes - but the metal is very hard indeed. Plus, the vertical movement is perhaps .5mm. Given these factors, I hardly think that enough wear is going to occur, even over several years, to give any problem at all.

 

David Parkins,

Modern Motive Power

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The bolster isn't sprung at all as I will be using the cast springs, the springing comes from the weight of the coach body causing the phosphor bronze strip to press down on the axle box so that if you come to a dip in the track the PB strip pushes the wheel down onto the track, simple but very effective, most wagon springing systems work in the same way.

 

Ahhh, the plot thickens, I was asking about the sprung bolster, because, as you know they come with useable coil springs. My mistake. The whole area of putting working springs on things is a bit new to me, I've only built the glass truck with working springs, they took a bit of setting up, but the effect was definitely worth it. I tend to be a little bit more of a luddite and go for a wheelset on a rocker arrangement. However, most of my stock tends only to run fairly short distances on shunting layouts and the like, so I can get away with being lazy.

 

And I can vouch for the axlebox castings being tough, having had to drill 8 of them out to accept the bearings, it's tough going with a pin chuck.

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I've got the underframe totally finished off tonight, all underframe and headstock detail has now been added. Springing the buffers was achieved by placing a line of spring steel behind the shank and soldering on, these now work, although they are a short throw, as I tend to shorten these things slightly. As I have no feeling at all in my hands I find the little bit of extra room between vehicles means I can couple up without quite as much hassle. The vac bag has a fully detailed head, and can be fitted/removed from the dummy as per the real thing, right down to the slot and lugs having to be lined up correctly, although fitting is helped by a piece of rod that slides through the centre of the dummy!

 

I have changed the steam bag from the one supplied, the supplied pipe was of the same design as the vac bag, and unfortunately try as I might I couldn't get it to hang correctly, and the texture of the spring is wrong for a steam bag anyway. Vac bags being ribbed and steam bags being smooth(ish), so I substituted a length of rubber tubing for an air hose as a replacement and this gives the right texture and shape. Rather than let the pipe hang I have added a length of wire from the back of the headstock to represent the retaining hook. There are a couple of ways of retaining steam bags, including lengths of chain or a 3 part hooked rod, the wire looks close enough for the latter.

 

Last job will be to fit a feed wire from the dynamo at some point, most likely after the post finishing clean and before the pre-painting clean.

 

I have posted one general shot, one close-up of details and one headstock picture.

 

(Time now at 81 hours)

 

(DELETED - and reposted to remove errant photo of cat rather than headstock - and photos cropped to remove background clutter)

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Some more forward progress has been made despite forced marches to Tesco/Iceland and other domestic activities. This part of the build is quite heavy going as there are myriad small parts that all have to be fitted to both ends before you even start on the body sides themselves. First off you fit what is basically a blank end which holds the body together and provides a mounting for multiple other parts and overlays. The initial overlay goes over 3/4 of the inner and has to be perfectly aligned, hence the use of bits of bent wire through the various holes to get the alignment right.

 

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I've also attached a photo of later in the build with some of the lower door detail starting to be added, I do need to remove the solder which will be done as soon as I get some more refills for the fibreglass pencil. The end door weather strips have also been added around the outer edges as has the lower door detail web and the hinge details and securing plates are just starting to be added. On the plus side, the body is now much more robust with both ends affixed.

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(Build time now at 87 hours)

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After 3 days of modelling and micro-surgery all details and overlays have been added to one end of the coach. The last photo in my previous post shows the bottom door part way through fitting out, all hinges, straps and retaining brackets/pins have now been added along with door stops and lamp brackets. A nice feature of this kit is the chain securing the door retaining pins, complete with cut down brass pins through slots in fine brass castings. Next job is to fit the upper door strap and hinge detail, this comes from quite a large web etching which has to be aligned so the various holes in the end are still properly aligned, door hinge straps are then attached to the body as part of this etch. Bolt head overlays are then added, to give some depth and the correct profile to the door hinges, along with 2 more pin and loop sets. The final part is the door latch bar, which is detailed nicely with guides, and a nicely shaped operating handle, this sits correctly in a body top slot, and a slot in the bottom door.

 

I really need to get some more fibre glass refills as this is starting to look very rough.

 

Next 3 jobs are a)wash and b)other end.

 

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(Build time now at 96 hours)

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Not much to really report at the moment, aside from stating the obvious, that fitting out the other end of the GUV continues slowly but surely. I have also bent up the interior set, had a trial fit and am in the process of fitting security bars to the windows a couply at a time whenever I get sick of working on the body end. I have finally got round to getting some refills for the fibreglass pencil and have given number 1 end a bloody good clean and it looks a darn sight better for it. As a confession, I use powerflow flux because I find it easy to apply and remove, held under a running hot tap and gently rubbed with a paint brush. Also the Carrs stuff is banned from the house following an accident where a small child managed to get into the locked modelling box, open the childproof lid, and then spill red label all over the kitchen floor!

 

It also helps that when SWMBO wants plumbing work doing the powerflow is handy for that, and I cna sneak it into the trolley in Homebase saying it is for the plumbing work.

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In the interval between my last feed and waiting for the opportunity to laugh at those who have been caught being as silly as me, I have pressed on with some modelling. The lower door on number 2 end has been fitted out and I am going to fit the large upper hinge set etching tomorrow. In the meanwhile I have had a play with the interior again and finished fitting the security bars to one side. I have also washed up again and cleaned all the excess solder from the part of the etching that sits against the outer body side. Now, the inner etching is designed to be a very snug fit indeed, the instructions citing tolerances of 0.008", which is the width of the glazing material so all spikes and solder must be removed as far as possible from the interior and exterior faces.

 

Exhibit A would be one of the windows post barring and cleaning up.

 

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Exhibit B is a general shot of the interior etch, as the roof is removable as one piece I am going to fit a lighting system and battery so you can actually see all the effort I will have gone to making the interior look decent.

 

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I've had a good look over the emerging GUV at the club tonight and it really is a nice bit of work.

 

Took my camera along as Boris was complaining about his and took some photos.

 

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Thanks for those photos Paul, they make it look almost half decent!

 

As you may have gathered, both ends of the GUV have now been fitted out and I have moved on to the external body sides. To fit are chalkboards, bump stops, door hinges and tie back loops. Aside from the chalkboards, all of these parts are truly tiny, but I have found fitting has taken less time then I thought once I started a system. For example I have been round and fitted all of the door hinge etches, and am now working my way round fitting the bump stop etches. Many of these surface detail etches then have additional details added like door hinges or brass rod to represent the rubber bump stops, or door handle fittings, so progress is going to be nice and slow. In addition because of the fine tolerances of the interior etching, the internal surfaces effectively have to be totally flat and smooth, something I am tackling at the end of every second or third modelling session.

 

I have uploaded a photo of some of the hinge bits and a finished bump stop (I am completely assembling a sample of each of the bodyside parts to see how they go together first) - doors also need grab rails and interior bars fitting as well as glazing cutting (but not fitting at the moment).

 

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I have seen cast bump stops - Laurie Griffin does them Boris.

 

I am enjoying watching your build - I built BR models etched GUV some time ago, which came out well, though not has ultimately comprehensive as the MMP one...!

 

Regards

 

Tony

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I have seen cast bump stops - Laurie Griffin does them Boris.

 

I am enjoying watching your build - I built BR models etched GUV some time ago, which came out well, though not has ultimately comprehensive as the MMP one...!

 

Thanks for that Tony, I've had Lauries catalogue on the computer for ages, but I've only just looked all the way through, and sure enough, right at the bottom, more bump stops and door handles than you can shake a stick at! I'm going to persevere with the etchings for now as I think, with a bit of attention from a file, they give the correct profile for mark 1s.

 

This GUV certainly is finely detailed, with the interior set, I have decided to add some form of coach lighting so you can actually see what I have spent all this time putting together.

 

Boris

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A little bit more progress has been made over the weekend, I now have all the brass etches fitted on one side (bump stops, hinge plates, handle plates, tie loops, chalkboards and label clips) and most fitted on the other side. I've made up the T handles and door bar arms, this wasn't as hard as I thought as they are just a piece of brass wire soldered to the back of an etched part, I cheated a bit and soldered the wire on whilst the handles were still attached to the fret as it stopped everything making a break for freedom (the carpet) whilst everything was being fastened together. Brass rod has also been added to the centre of bump stop etchings to give the required depth, chalkboard mounts and overlays have also been fitted, all I am waiting to do now is add the cast door hinges.

 

Little more progress has been made on the interior at the moment, as I have been concentrating on the exterior fittings, just using the interior for test fittings occasionally to make sure that everything that protruded through from the outside has been filed back flush properly.

 

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Apologies for the awful photo, my camera really doesn't like doing detail shots, and it makes it look far worse than it actually is.

 

There are also some really good GUV details shots here.

 

(Time now at 142 hours!)

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Aside from buying bugles and frightening small children, some progress has been made towards the eventual goal of getting this GUV to run with the DPU and the Stove B. I have filed off all bits and pieces on the inside of the outside of the body, and finished off the outside of the inside. The next job is to prepare the roof for eventual fitting. This is where things get interesting as the roof is attached to a pair of dummy ends, to which captive bolts are attached to fasten everything together, these dummy ends will have to be a perfect fit inside the body ends otherwise the roof will be of a comedic shape. Firstly the roof has to be detailed, which is to say all vents, rainstrips and guttering/cantrail strips have to be added. The cantrail assembly is what effectively hides the join between the roof and the body and locates the roof, via a series of cunning slots, correctly on the body itself.

 

I have attached a photo of the finished interior, showing window bars (one is a bit bent, but so are the ones on the prototype), door locking bar and securing chains. Some editing has been done of the picture to remove the peculier orange hue that the camera seems to add everytime I ask it to zoom into something. As the interior is effectively finished, I am going to prime it and place it to one side for safe keeping for a while.

 

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