Obbekaer & Ribe Skibbroen - P87

[Middlepeak]

A slight deviation this afternoon for my regular Wednesday modelling session with friends.

 

This time I delved into the unfinished projects box to apply glazing to this coach, which started life as an etched kit all too long ago.

 

I liked the design of this, which has the sides formed of three separate layers of brass - the inside panelling, a spacer layer and the outside panelling. The individual windows, cut from 0.5mm acrylic, can be slid in from above. The toilet window is frosted by scrubbing the inside face with a glass fibre brush.

 

 

A few details need adding to the chassis before final assembly. C22 will be coupled to the large Triangel to form the second local passenger train for Obbekær's next outing at the Cambridge show in September.

 

Back to the Litra N now ..... !!

[RayF]

Exceptional modelling! The figures are great too. Where are they from? Modelu??

[Middlepeak]

Ray,

 

Combination of Modelu and Preiser.

 

G

[Middlepeak]

C22 has finally rolled out of the RGVJ workshop this afternoon, nearly two decades after it was purchased as an etched kit from a Danish manufacturer long forgotten. Just AJ couplings to add, then it can take its place in the second local passenger train behind Triangel M4.

 

 

I'm getting to the point now where I almost have too much stock for the layout, but I do need to get back to the Litra N and finish that!

 

G

[Middlepeak]

A slight hiatus in posting, partly because of our appearance at the Cambridge show in September, which went well. I normally like to have one or two new items completed for every exhibition appearance, so with one show finished, thoughts immediately turn to the next one (Tonbridge in February) and what can be finished for that.

 

The skinnebus has been the reliable mainstay of local passenger traffic for a number of years. It's always operated as a single unit, although the prototype could operate with a driving trailer or various options of 2-axle baggage or mail trailers, known as "Rumpegeder".

 

 

So the basic bodywork is taking shape on the workbench. 20thou and 40thou plasticard in the main, which builds up into quite a sturdy structure. The wheels, like those on the skinnebus, are turned down N gauge wagon wheels. These were kindly provided by Brian Harrop many years ago - he must have guessed that I would want to build a trailer at some stage!

 

 

More later, hopefully with news of further rolling stock developments!

[Middlepeak]

A little bit further on, with the main body carcass now complete with steps, handrails and marker lights.

 

I've also started the roof, which because of its compound profile is made of seven layers of plasticard, each cut from templates generated by my CAD drawing.  Shaping it accurately is going to be a difficult task. I will probably cut some profiles out of nickel silver sheet to check that I've got things right.

 

 

The other question is whether the chassis should be rigid, compensated or sprung. Given that the wheelbase is only 40mm, I may start with the rigid option and see how that performs.

[Mikkel]

Never thought I'd see one of those on RMweb! I assume the Ribe crowd have informed you that "rumpeged" means "bumgoat?" 🙂 

 

It's looking very good. That's a clever way of doing the roof, though challenging as you say. I'm sure you'll succeed though! 

[Middlepeak]

Hej Mikkel,

 

Thank you for that insight into Danish / English translation - it's certainly defeated Google Translate!

 

The layered roof copies the method that I used on the C22 coach, only in that case I used ABS plastic, largely on the advice of Gordon Gravett, who used it extensively when creating his Reseau Breton railcars for Pempoul. The problem this time is the complex shape around the ends, where you're not only dealing with a curve to front and sides, but also a very shallow point to the end panels.

 

I started the profiling this afternoon, using a scraping motion with a scalpel blade. It seemed to work, but after 5 minutes I was covered in white bits of plasticard that looked like a very bad dose of dandruff! I'm off to the Uckfield show tomorrow, so I'll continue the experiment next week.

 

And I'll chase up the "bumgoat" reference when I'm in Ribe in November!

[Mikkel]

I can well imagine those bits of plastikard all over. And later when you get to the sanding it will be plastic dust, which I consider one of the less pleasant aspects of our hobby.  I've started having a wet cloth ready when I sand and file plastikard - a quick wipe of the workbench and some of the dust is captured so that I hopefully inhale a little less of it. My feeling is that it actually captures more than the hoover, though I use that too of course.

 

Bumgoat is a fun expression but I've never been able to find out what's behind the nickname. I can see how a small railbus could be seen as a "goat", but not sure where the bum comes in!  "Goatbum" would have been more intuitive!

 

Edited October 21, 2023 by Mikkel

[Middlepeak]

Roof done, so I can start thinking about the chassis, such as it is - in reality just two axles running in inside bearings.

 

 

As I think I said before, I'll have to think whether the axles should be solid, compensated or sprung.

 

Maybe a coat of primer awaits, while I think that one through!

[Middlepeak]

Maybe "chassis" is too technical a term, but here it is. I went for compensation in the end. "Simples"!!

 

[Middlepeak]

A case of - spot the difference!

 

 

Having spent some considerable time masking up the trailer and spraying it, I find that I don't have a colour match with the Skinnebus!

 

Sadly the latter was painted many years ago and I don't have a record of the shade of red used. In more recent times I standardised on a tin of Precision GWR China Red for coaches and diesel locos , but that's obviously not right. The skinnebus fleet was often painted in a more orangey red, so I'll have to go back to the model shop for another search and do some test sprays.

 

Further thoughts on couplings have suggested that magnets will be best, as the two vehicles will be permanently coupled for service through Obbekær and turned in each fiddle yard. Turning at the terminus was often the case on the prototype, especially in the summer, as a headwind helped to supplement the meagre radiator in keeping the engine cool!

 

Moral of the story - keep a record of how you do things and which paints you use!

[queensquare]

Great work Geraint although that trailer does have the look of a caravan!😊

Jerry

[Middlepeak]

44 minutes ago, queensquare said:

Great work Geraint although that trailer does have the look of a caravan!😊

Jerry

 

Probably constructed in a very similar way Jerry - costs mattered in them days, just like today!

 

[Middlepeak]

Some sad news to relate in that my friend of many years Ian Thompson, who was in many ways the other essential ingredient of the Obbekaer project, has passed away after what was a very private battle with Parkinson's.

 

Ian and I first got together around the Millenium, when I was first having ideas of a Danish layout and a dabble with p87. Looking back through my records, I see that we both participated in a p87 demonstration at Scaleforum in 2001, when Obbekaer was little more than a test track with no pretentions of being a fully scenic layout. That started a friendship which was to see him providing a lot of the input on the rolling stock for the layout in the early years, with his creations of the RGVJ's two steam locos being the highlights for many of the exhibitions we attended.

 

Ian's Mallet Tank, a regular performer on freight trains through Obbekaer.

 

Regular exhibition attendances started in 2008, and over the years have included a number of the major shows in the UK, as well as two trips to the Netherlands and one to Denmark. Ian also became firm friends with my contacts at the Ribe club, who had provided me with much of the background and inspiration for the model.

 

A 'team photograph' from Scaleforum 2013. Ian (2nd from right) with friends from the Ribe Model Railway Club, who joined us for the weekend and invited us back to Denmark the following year.

 

Even after his diagnosis, Ian kept up his contacts with the Obbekaer team, and I'm very pleased to say that he managed a day operating with us at Scaleforum 2022, despite the impacts of his condition beginning to show. The last time we saw him was at the Biggleswade show in February of this year. 

 

We will always remember him as a modeller of exceptional capabilities who dabbled in many scales but always turned out some beautiful pieces. He was also a quiet but sociable type with a wicked sense of humour, all of which made it a pleasure and an honour to be his friend.

 

Ian operating at the Uckfield show in 2015.

 

I'm pleased to say that his Danish models may soon be returning to the Obbekaer fleet, so we will be able to enjoy the products of his skills for some time to come.

 

Geraint

 

[Patrick SPF]

Geraint

 

Very sad news indeed, Ian supplied many of the axle boxes on my HNJ stock many years ago

 

Patrick

[Re6/6]

Geraint, I'm so very sorry to hear of Ian's passing

[Brian Harrap]

Sad news indeed, Ian was such fun and always had a friendly word.

[Middlepeak]

A bit of a fallow period in modelling terms, but for a very good reason as I've been spending quite a bit of time decorating the new railway room in the hope of having it finished by Christmas. Both Obbekær and Friden will have permanent homes then, and playing trains can take on a new meaning.

 

In the mean time, the RGVJ has been indulging in the second hand market again. The PW department has long expressed the need for a better inspection vehicle, so management has secured a small diesel-engined beast from Austria, which now looks quite smart in the RGVJ livery. Sadly it's not big enough to carry all the tools of the trade, so the team also has a Litra TA one plank open which it can propel to site, and as you can see, platelayers Sven and Claus prefer to travel 'al fresco', sitting on a pile of sleepers in amongst their paraphernalia.

 

 

Little was needed to convert the Lilliput trolley, apart from new wheels, but the TA is scratchbuilt with a brass chassis and plasticard body. A quick raid of the 'odds and sods' box provided the load, along with some etched tools from Severn Models. Sven and Claus are from Modelu's excellent range.

 

 

Not to be outdone, the parcels department has now completed the painting and lettering of the rumpeged, which is posed here with the skinnebus. I just have to sort out a means of coupling them, given that the skinnebus is fitted with fixed cosmetic couplings at each end. I'll wait for some divine inspiration before I contemplate that little problem!

 

[Mikkel]

Excellent!

 

PS: The spelling Sven does exist in Denmark, but by far the most common spelling here is Svend 🙂

[Middlepeak]

Tusind tak Mikkel!

 

Sven and Claus are named after two friends of mine in Ribe, and Sven does spell his name like that!

 

Best wishes,

 

Geraint

[Middlepeak]

Sven and Claus were out early this morning to do a track inspection before next weekend's Tonbridge show. A quick call at the station, where the station master and his colleague seem intrigued by the latest addition to the RGVJ's motive power. Riding on the flat wagon is certainly a novel way to see the South Jutland countryside!