S7 scratch building

[Western Star]

On 27/09/2021 at 13:01, airnimal said:

So I have started on another dumb buffer lime wagon. This one is a 8 ton one for Joel Carrington lettered for Buxton Lime Works. But he was a resident of Oldham where he had a depot but I am not sure if he owned a quarry in Buxton or just obtained his lime there.

Given that Stephen has asked about how the load was carried / packed...  I think that one needs to understand what was being carried - did Joel buy limestone from the quarries and then crush/burn the mineral in his premises near Oldham or did he buy "lime" in a processed state from a lime works near to Buxton.  Limestone does not need generally to be sheeted as the rock is likely to be processed at destination, burnt limestone must be kept dry and so would be bagged and sheeted during transit (or as bags in a cottage roof van).

 

regards, Graham

Edited September 28, 2021 by Western Star

[Compound2632]

40 minutes ago, Western Star said:

burnt limestone must be kept dry and so would be bagged and sheeted during transit (or as bags in a cottage roof van).

 

It's the bagging I'd like positive evidence for, given the limey condition one usually sees of wagons in lime traffic and the use of dedicated lime sheets, worn underneath a regular wagon sheet, at least as I understand it:

 

 

[Embedded link to catalogue image of Midland Railway Study Centre Item 28784.]

[Andy Hayter]

If they were using paper valve sacks (invented in 1898 and patented 1908) then these are renown for slight leakage at the valve*.   Prior to that I am unsure what you would use - woven hessian seems unlikely, sewn paper sacks might be a possibility.  However loading and unloading bulk lime would have been a very hazardous activity even in the days when safety considerations were much lower than today. 

 

*cement is currently sold in such sacks and the light grey interior of the boot area of my car is testimony to their leakage. 

[Compound2632]

See here: http://buriton.org.uk/history/buriton-lime-works/

 

"From the ‘draw floor’, the burnt lime was loaded into a barrow and each barrow weighed before being loaded into open railway wagons waiting below.  The loaded wagons were then covered with tarpaulins to keep out rain and atmospheric moisture which would have slaked the lime.  A couple of trains per day would call at Buriton Sidings to take the lime away and to deliver the anthracite coke breeze.  The mainline engine would push wagons into ‘the gully’ (the lower part of the limeworks) although the engine itself could not go into the gully."

 

See also the Craven Lime works, scroll down to the photo of information board headed "The Hoffmann kiln": https://www.visitsettle.co.uk/craven-lime-works.html.

 

Both these clearly state the lime was loaded directly into the wagons, not bagged in any way.

 

Apologies to Mike for this digression.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Compound2632

[airnimal]

There is not a lot of progress on this Joel Carrington lime wagon and what there is, is more disappointment. My mind has not really been in the right place over the past week or so. I had another biopsy last week and the procedure was slightly different than last time. I had it in another part of the Hospital because where I had it done last time had been flooded  since then. They also changed the anaesthetic from tablet form to injections which was quite painful considering where they were. I have been very tender for the past week which doesn't leave one in a great mood for modelling.

Never mind it's done now so just waiting to find out what they have found.

We also had the grandsons for the weekend which was fun but hard work. 

 

When I looked at the wagon I was not happy that I had got the door opening the right size. I dont have a proper drawing to scale of this wagon so I am using the ones of similar wagons with a bit of guess work thrown in. I decided to sketch the letters on the side to see about the spacing when I realised that the door opening was to wide.  I had used the drawing with a 4' 2" door instead of one that was 3' 6" so that the letters were never going to fit the space. 

So I removed the side by cutting the old ones away and making new one of the correct size. 

This was the day after Hospital which may have accounted for my not being in the right frame of mind because I glued one side of the new parts on upside down. Trying to remove the faulty side was met with a broken side. As yet I haven't found the will to make a replacement. 

 

I did think I might go to the Scaleseven event in Somerset this weekend but with the fuel situation as is I have decided that this could be problematic. So I will stay at home and finish the dreaded dec..............

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by airnimal

[airnimal]

After a good night sleep I woke up feeling better and without any pain which is a blessing.  

We have the grandsons on a Wednesday and with the weather being bright and sunny we went to the park picking conkers.  So when the little one was having his afternoon sleep, I had an hour in the workshop and replaced the broken side. 

 

The spacing on the door looks a lot better after I drew with a pencil how the letters would sit on the sides. With a renewed pair of sides I think I will continue with the build unless I find anything else wrong with it.

[airnimal]

My good lady has gone out for coffee and cake with one of her friends, so I took advantage of the situation and decided that the workbench was more attractive than the dec....................

 

So I have started to put the ironwork on including the interior diagonals which come out the bottom on the solebars.  I will put square nuts mostly on this wagon rather than hexagonal ones because I believe it was probably built by a local builder and not one of the big wagon makers. It was also probably built in the 1880's when most private owners used square nuts.

[airnimal]

Progress is very slow on this wagon but have done a small amount this morning with the end stanchions and the coupling plates.  And lady luck has shined on me because on the photograph I am working from show a large oval builders plate unde the centre of the doors. Looking through my bits box I found a pair of  W.H. Davies  works plates from 1880. They are the same size as my photograph so with a bit of modellers license i am going to use them. No 1 rules ! 

 

I have also done a very small amount of dec.............. to keep in the good books if that's possible.  

[Regularity]

7 hours ago, airnimal said:

to keep in the good books if that's possible.  

I believe that is possible, at least theoretically, but whilst I have frequently* found myself in the good books, I have never managed to stay there.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Regularity
*I say frequently, I really mean, once in a while…

[airnimal]

Sadly the Joel Carrington wagon has gone to the breakers yard. I was not happy with the build or the progress and with the mojo being absent I decided that this one wasn't going to make it. 

 

But I have had a very good weekend away with my better half travelling on the Welsh Highland  Railway.  My sister and her partner who treated us to a trip recently on the Great Central  Railway, treated us again to join them in the Pullman coach for a round trip from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.

We were pulled by one of the Beyer Garratts which failed a couple of miles before Porthmadog. After about a hour we were rescued by one of the small diesels which dragged into Porthmadog. So the return trip was made  by one of the double Fairlie's and the another diesel to Rhyd Ddu where we changed again to another of the Beyer Garratt's for the run into Caernarfon.  So the round trip was by 3 steam engines and 2 diesels which was brilliant. The Welsh HIghland did a very good job what could have been a disaster under the circumstances. 

 

When the mojo returns I hope to get back in the workshop again as well as finishing the dec.............

Edited October 17, 2021 by airnimal

[Mol_PMB]

I’m glad you enjoyed the trip on the WHR even if it didn’t go quite to plan. The Garratts are impressive machines but are complicated and not as reliable as the Fairlies. We rarely seem to have a spare working Garratt to cover for failures and repairs. 

 

Upnor Castle saved the day again! That little diesel loco has definitely earnt its keep over the years - it’s nearly 70 years old now. 

 

Hopefully the modelling mojo will return again soon and I look forward to seeing your next wagon project. 

Mol

[Regularity]

That observation coach looks eerily familiar…

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Regularity said:

That observation coach looks eerily familiar…

 

Well, I hope the lady with the hairgrip isn't a follower of S7 modelling on RMWeb. She might not be happy.

[airnimal]

Compound 2632, the lady with the hair grip is my sister and she is sitting in the best seats because she paid for the whole trip for everyone, bless her. The other lady is my better half and neither are on RM web.

 

Rather than start a new build I am revisiting some of the half finished projects from the past. First will be a couple of brake vans from my own kits. These are left over bits at the end of the run because I had a couple of sub standard parts that needed using up. I have run out of certain etch parts so I am trying to find alternatives to use instead . One body has the doors cut out so that they can be glued in the open position. I have several photographs of these vans with the doors open so it will make a change from the others. This one is going to be a proper mongrel  made up from lots of bits from the spares box including wheels with different  axles and the wrong W-irons but they hopefully won't be noticed behind the axleboxes and footboards. I need to find some brake wheels for the veranda. I think they are 2' OD with 6 spokes.

[Compound2632]

32 minutes ago, airnimal said:

Compound 2632, the lady with the hair grip is my sister and she is sitting in the best seats because she paid for the whole trip for everyone, bless her. The other lady is my better half and neither are on RM web.

 

@Regularity is in the clear then.

 

34 minutes ago, airnimal said:

Rather than start a new build I am revisiting some of the half finished projects from the past.

 

Always good to have a supply of unfinished projects to fall back on. That's why so many of mine are unfinished...

[chris p bacon]

3 hours ago, airnimal said:

Compound 2632, the lady with the hair grip is my sister and she is sitting in the best seats because she paid for the whole trip for everyone, bless her.

 

Any chance of swapping sisters ?.......

[Regularity]

6 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

@Regularity is in the clear then.

You think I was concerned?

[airnimal]

Moving on with these brake vans I now have glued the doors in the one which has them slightly open. 

One side is open quite a way and the other side just a small amount.  

There is still plenty to do but I am not in any hurry to finish them. I still have plenty of dec............ to do. 

 

On 22/10/2021 at 17:16, chris p bacon said:

 

Any chance of swapping sisters ?.......

Afraid not. I am proud of her for she has led a fascinating life leaving home at 16 to follow a passion for horses and show jumping which she did for about 12 years. Then she took up gliding and then sail boarding and wind surfing before scuba diving. She became an instructor in scuba diving and opened her own diving school in Fiji where she lived for a few years before doing the same in the Seychelles. There she met a archaeologist who was finding exhibits for a private museum in Houston in Texas. 

She then lived in Houston for many years from where she crewed ocean going yachts around the world. In her late 40's she returned home and went to university to study computer engineering. She obtained a first class degree and then met Mike her partner through sailing.  They then spent several years sailing all over Europe in Mike's boat before Mike got cancer. They now live on a farm in Cornwall where Mike restores classic cars, vans and lorries and she does photography. They both take part in car rallies in there 1930's MG. 

[Regularity]

I think the whole of Stockport is proud of your sister! 
What a wonderful life story.

[airnimal]

I have finished the paintwork in the first bedroom so I hopefully have earned enough brownie points to get the afternoon in the workshop. I can't start the other rooms just yet because our eldest daughter and husband / grandchildren are coming tomorrow.  

 

So I have started to add the brakegear before I fit the footboards.  I have cleaned up the castings and soldered a length of angle to the bottom so they can be screwed to the floor. This makes painting so easier. 

[airnimal]

Added the first footboard with pillars cut from .7mm nickel wire. I filed the ends before bending at right angle taking care not to cause a break at the fold. It was fairly easy to tack solder the first leg and get the hight right before soldering the other pillars. 

[Schooner]

It's impossible not to smile when catching up with this thread These breaks are exceptionally fine models (add them to the list!), and a real joy to see come together.

 

Thank you for sharing!

[Guest WM183]

On 25/10/2021 at 15:24, airnimal said:

I have finished the paintwork in the first bedroom so I hopefully have earned enough brownie points to get the afternoon in the workshop. I can't start the other rooms just yet because our eldest daughter and husband / grandchildren are coming tomorrow.  

 

So I have started to add the brakegear before I fit the footboards.  I have cleaned up the castings and soldered a length of angle to the bottom so they can be screwed to the floor. This makes painting so easier. 

Truly gorgeous work, wow. Where are the axleguards and the brake bits from, if I can ask? The brakes in particular seem impossible to locate.

[airnimal]

WM183, thanks you for comments regarding the castings. All the casting for this brake van were made  from masters by myself. The body is a one piece resin casting and all the others are in brass. This model was produced to satisfy 3 friends who wanted me to build them a couple of vans each. Instead of scratch build the same van many times ( I wanted a couple for myself ) it was easier to make a limited run and sell the surplus on privately.  I didn't intend to make any money from kits as long as I broke even. There are a few castings spare if anybody wants the few remaining parts. PM if you are interested but there are only a few left. 

[MarcD]

Lucky escape. That's how I started it could have been a slippery slope. 

Marc