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Modelling the M&CR's branch lines in EM gauge


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Thinking ahead to the next one as there are two more in the stash, as well as making a former for bending the sides and back, I might tin the underside of the tank top and cut some access holes in the tank floor to enable me to tack solder it from underneath and then seam it from above. Then again like travelling to Camelot, I'm concerned that this might be a silly idea...

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When I said no more scratchbuilding of 4mm pre-grouping mineral wagons, I was of course thinking of only building kits in the future. A recent trip back to Cumbria found me in the ever excellent C&M Models in Carlisle where I spotted a reasonably priced Oxford Models NBR 8T mineral wagon -  a cheap'n'cheerful way of building up the through mineral trains from Scotland that ran over the M&CR ? Conversion to EM involved fitting MJT W-irons and Wizard axleboxes & springs, Wizard brake levers and plenty of etched brass bling from the Mainly Trains [now Wizard] etch. The frankly poor weathered paint finish was very stubborn and survived two baths in Mr Muscle but it should be covered up by a coat of Halfords primer. All in all, a nice wagon and easier than wrestling with the old MWCo kit (of which I've several in the cupboard).

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13 hours ago, CKPR said:

When I said no more scratchbuilding of 4mm pre-grouping mineral wagons, I was of course thinking of only building kits in the future. A recent trip back to Cumbria found me in the ever excellent C&M Models in Carlisle where I spotted a reasonably priced Oxford Models NBR 8T mineral wagon -  a cheap'n'cheerful way of building up the through mineral trains from Scotland that ran over the M&CR ? Conversion to EM involved fitting MJT W-irons and Wizard axleboxes & springs, Wizard brake levers and plenty of etched brass bling from the Mainly Trains [now Wizard] etch. The frankly poor weathered paint finish was very stubborn and survived two baths in Mr Muscle but it should be covered up by a coat of Halfords primer. All in all, a nice wagon and easier than wrestling with the old MWCo kit (of which I've several in the cupboard).

20230516_201030.jpg

You do realise that the representation of the end door hinge is a figment of someone's imagination.  How that could possibly work is beyond me (and others).  The hoop should go right over the end spar, the latter having a metal plate on top at that point.   You can see how it should be in this CR example.

 

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Jim

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35 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

You do realise that the representation of the end door hinge is a figment of someone's imagination. 

 

As far as I can see, the work of imagination is to suppose that the hoops terminate in hinges on the top of the end rail. But without a good inside view or drawing, one would be fogged. Neither Tatlow Vol. 3 nor Hooper's Wagons on the LNER No. 1: North British are particularly illuminating on this. But it doesn't look to be too hard to correct with a sharp blade and a bit of wire.

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Shameful confession time - I was aware of the issues with the end door hinges but had got a bit fed up of tinkering with wagons as I was also refurbishing a batch of S/H O gauge  7 & 8 plank wagons for 'Seahouses'. If I recall correctly, the MWCo kits have a more correct representation of the end door hinges.

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Yes, that is the 0-4-2 reduced to its constituent parts,  or at least the footplate and tender. The discrepancy in width was bothering me and whilst it doesn't really show on the 0-4-2T and the 0-6-0, which are quite chunky engines, comparision with the Cauliflower made the 0-4-2 look out of proportion. I thought I'd try cutting it down to the correct width before marking out a new footplate and it seems to have worked. Even reducing the width of the buffer beam was straightforward, albeit the rear plate fell off in the process. Just need to solder it all back together and then on with the splashers, etc.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Let's just say that the 1947 Oakwood Press book on the M&CR by Jack Simmons is readily available S/H for about half the price of the new one and leave it at that.

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A bit like our elderly diabetic cat Fred, I'm still plodding along and have actually made some progress with the M&CR engines, the Special DX (i.e. I've finished the Webb tender and decided to build the Special DX before the Cauliflower) and the bren gun carrier. Photos to follow in the next few days.

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As promised, some pictures first of No.7. I think I'm on the last lap with this engine as she only really needs the steps fabricating, various fittings secured with epoxy, rods fitting and then the motor wiring up [as per all my tender engines to date, No.7 is 'American system'].

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As for No.3, there's actually more work been done than is perhaps obvious. I reassembled the narrowed footplate and then realised that the front buffer beam was all wrong. Fair to say that these M&CR double buffer beams are starting to do my head in ! Going by the photograph in "Rails Through Lakeland" of No.3 at Bassenthwaite on the CK&PR, her front buffer beam was just a normal if deep rectangle without any curvy bits. And this after I narrowed the original one. I then discovered that the tender side frames for No. 3 were different to the ones I'd originally made when the tender was destined for No.20...at this rate, I'll have most of the  parts in stock for the second attempt at No. 20. 

 

Update: I'm looking to get a proper Rotring techical drawing template in order to mark out the new tender sideframes.

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Currently betwixt an overnight stay in A&E at the start of the week and an out-patient angiogram at the end of the week and determined to finish painting a brace of LNWR opens. I'm also pondering going over to auto couplings, at least in part, and I'm considering Marc D's "Flippems" (I liked the look of Dinghams but these are obviously now unobtainable). Better modellers than me in the CRA have attempted to persuade me of the merits of AJs and I've got the wherewithal in the form of jigs, etc. Alas, the cluttered undersides of my wagon fleet, some of it nearly 40 years old, probably precludes fitting them. 

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2 hours ago, CKPR said:

these are obviously now unobtainable

 

If you did want original Dinghams, these are soon to go on sale from the Scalefour Stores.  Not that I am wishing to detract from Marc's reworking of them. 

 

But more importantly, wishing you a speedy recovery. 

 

All the best

 

Neil 

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Well, I managed to finish off the LNWR and NBR wagons on the workbench and I'm going to have a go at completing No. 7 this weekend. But wait, what madness lies on t'other side of said wagons ?! In my defence, I used an unopened PC Models Sheet M13 LMS wagon insignia (methfix), so whilst I may be in the wrong, like the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, I am definitively in the wrong. The blank side of the NBR wagon is, of course, due to my lack of LNER lettering [forgetting about stash of Slaters NER 20T hopper kits with their ever so useful lettering sheets]

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It's marked down as a repair before entering service and auld Dugald Kirkpatrick, the 60 year old junior wagon painter, has had his weekly pay docked by 2d for his lack of due respect for the company's property.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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