Any one know what diagram this Caledonian 6 wheel van is and other Silhouette builds

[Londontram]

My Caledonian wagon book is on a long term loan to a friend who's working away so have frustratingly no access to it at the moment. I was given a 6 wheel plastic van kit by a friend which needs some restoration and a repaint but although its reported to be Caledonian I don't know the original diagram or build date.

 

    Its a 00 scale model of a 27ft x 8ft plank effect double door good van. Its on a six wheel chassis and is of the style that the Caledonian built just before WW1 I've started rubbing it down ready to respray but the wording on it is (Hand painted) and says "C R" with below that "C & O road" (Callender and Oban most likely)

 

   It has simple brakes operating on one end axle only and these are also made from injection molded plastic. Here's a picture of the van in question. So any idea of the original diagram but also any one know who might have made the kit?

                               Thanks Steve

 

 

Edit for spelling

[Caley Jim]

Steve,

 

The vehicle in the wagon book which most closely resembles this is shown in a photograph on p281 and is described as a tool van, one of two pairs of emergency and tool vans built in 1921 for Perth and Motherwell, on the standard 30ft long 18ft wheelbase underframe.  The photo shows it as DM354625 lettered 'MOTIVE POWER D^PT/DAWSHOLM'.  It has long vertical handrails either side of each pair of doors and one down the left hand edge of the right hand door in each pair.  There are also horizontal handrails between the doors, a continuous footboard at the lower edge of the solebar and another just below the axleboxes.  There is a toplight just outboard of the doors and another three between the doors, the caption stating that the latter were boarded over according to the drawing.   The caption draws attention to the two windows in the end and the boxes for re-railing ramps between the wheels.  The tool vans were to drawing 21111 (orders M27 & 28) and are described in a section of text on p280 headed 'Vans Built After The Diagram Book'.

 

HTH,

 

Jim

[Londontram]

Hmm thanks Jim if it is based on this then its way outside my 1905 time period, Its an injection molded kit and there seems no provision for end windows so its either a poor copy or a bit of a free lance model or not even Caledonian at all.

           It was a gift from Tony Brenchley who threw it in with some minerals wagons I was buying off him at the time. shame if its not a genuine van as I've already cloned it with the silhouette cutter (For personal use only may I add)

 

   I must get my Caley wagon book back I feel naked without it, note to ones self stop lending books out.

 

Edit add I think off the top of my head I know which van your referring to is it the one that ended up on the former Highland in LMS days?

[PeterR]

Hi,

 

Possibly the C&O Road Vans (P165 refers to them with a Diagram of them) overall length 28 foot, 6 wheeled, 8 feet wide. Built to Dia 91 in 1908. They were Westinghouse fitted and ran at the front of the train.

 

4 of the were built

 

Yours Peter

[Caley Jim]

You're right, Peter.   I had missed these.  Also missed the fact that the tool vans were vertically planked.  They're still too late for Londontram's period, though, having been built in 1908.

 

Jim

[Londontram]

Thanks Pete your a star at least I know its real now as to the date Jim well I do run a pretty loose ship and really work to a period from about 1900 to 1910 centering on 1905 so I'll be quite happy to run these 1908 built wagons. Today I put together the sliding center axle its a bit of a bodge but seems to work ok and is a lot cheaper and more simple than a full Cleminson chassis. I've got about four 6 wheelers on the go two being ready for paint the idea being to get them all ready for paint so I can get the air brush out and do them all in one go. As well as the original and cloned road vans I've built another 6 wheel full passenger brake from cutting and shutting the brake sections from some old Triang clerestory's but also a fully scratch built 6 wheel CCT to diagram 83. Here's a picture of the underside of the CCT showing the W iron arrangement of one fixed axle, one slding axle in the center and one rocking axle

I'll take a photo of the top side tomorrow and post it on here

[Londontram]

Been playing around with the Silhouette cutter again the idea being I can draw and cut the parts for a basic Caley goods wagon and although this example has its faults (most of which have been altered on the production drawing) its a test build of a first cut of a Diagram 15 four plank goods wagon, the W irons are Comet the wheels Hornby 12mm spoked and all the other fittings like axle boxes and buffers are from Wizard. The hope is now I've finalized the drawings I can run off a rake relatively cheaply, I'm also to the same ends working on the drawing of a Caledonian 10 ton box van too.

 

Edit - the hand brake for this test build is home made as I found I'd run out of stock but for the production build they will also be Wizard supplied ones