Midland Railway Gun Barrel Wagon

[Darius43]

Built today from the Niu Models 3D printed kit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very well designed kit that was a pleasure to build.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[TangoOscarMike]

I don't see this kit on the Niu Models web site - can you tell us any more, about the kit or the prototype? I imagine this is a naval gun barrel. If so (or if not) where was it made, where was it taken?

[Darius43]

It was “advertised” on the Niu Models thread in “Smaller Suppliers” last year.

 

More info here.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Mol_PMB]

Interesting, and a very nice model. It's reminded me of the very short bogie flat wagon on the right-hand edge of this photo, which I had been trying to identify some time ago. It's not the same as the gun barrel wagons you've built, but perhaps it was built for a similar purpose.

Mol

 

[Darius43]

The Flickr photostream linked to that photo has some fascinating pictures of Manchester docks - thanks for posting.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[cctransuk]

14 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Interesting, and a very nice model. It's reminded me of the very short bogie flat wagon on the right-hand edge of this photo, which I had been trying to identify some time ago. It's not the same as the gun barrel wagons you've built, but perhaps it was built for a similar purpose.

Mol

 

 

Were there not some short armor plate and / or ingot wagons of that type?

 

CJI.

[Mol_PMB]

10 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

Were there not some short armor plate and / or ingot wagons of that type?

 

CJI.

Thanks, quite probably. You have prompted me to look in the diagrams books and I think it's actually the very first type shown in this book:

http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/SpecialVehiclesBIssue.pdf

I don't have a full set of wagon books to search, but the LNER 55 ton 'Flat T' pictured in the older Tatlow LNER Wagons book has features in common with the slightly longer but very similar wagon listed on the second page of the diagrams book.

Sorry to Darius for the thread drift!

[Compound2632]

 

 

 

Embedded links to Derby official photos DY2894-6, entered in the photograph register on 9 December 1906 so probably taken in the week preceding, at Derby Registers page of Midland Railway Society website. The captions there state that this is a 56 ton gun. Looks like you need one of @k22009's lovely etched nickel silver kits for a D333 traction wagon to complete the train! Note that one of the D328 armour plate wagons has oil axleboxes while the other has the Ellis-type grease axleboxes.

 

MR Traffic Committee minute No. 35,186 of 13 August 1908:

 

Fittings for wagons for conveyance of heavy guns.

 

The General Manager reported an arrangement come to by the principal Railway Companies with the Admiralty Authorities under which six sets of trucks and fittings suitable for the conveyance of 65-ton guns will, on three days’ notice, be available for use by the Department in case of emergency for the conveyance of such guns by the Companies’ railways subject to certain conditions including the obligation to pay a retaining fee of £20 per set of vehicles and fittings per annum.

               Under the arrangement the Midland company are to find two sets of vehicles. One of these sets is already supplied with suitable fittings, but the other is not. It was, therefore, resolved that fittings be provide for the latter in accordance with the plan produced, at an estimated cost of £85, and the matter was ref to the Carriage and Wagon Committee.

 

The C&WC referred this on to the General Purposes Committee, which had the power to authorise the expenditure, as duly noted at the subsequent C&WC meeting.

 

So I suppose the pair of armour plate wagons in the official photos are the pair noted as already set up.

 

The MR Wagon Diagram Book, which was prepared c. 1913/14, lists the numbers of all 24 of the D328 40 ton armour plate wagons built (to four lots between 1882 and 1897). The Special Wagon List of December 1913 shows three of the wagons as forming a gun truck set. So I suspect that most of the time the other 21 wagons ran normally as 40 ton trucks, only being set up as a gun truck pair as required. 

 

Having seen the photo of the kit parts, it's possibly worth having just for the sake of the armour plate wagons - the gun set conversion being after my c. 1902 period! I shall have to look at some drawings. Is it known whether Niu Models made use of the original drawings for the D328 wagons in the Midland Railway Study Centre Derby C&W Drawing Collection, or is it just done off the diagram and photos?

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

Thanks, quite probably. You have prompted me to look in the diagrams books and I think it's actually the very first type shown in this book:

http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/BRBDocuments/SpecialVehiclesBIssue.pdf

I don't have a full set of wagon books to search, but the LNER 55 ton 'Flat T' pictured in the older Tatlow LNER Wagons book has features in common with the slightly longer but very similar wagon listed on the second page of the diagrams book.

Sorry to Darius for the thread drift!

 

That's the one - diagram 3/001.

 

Genesis produced a 4mm. scale whitemetal kit - which I subsequently found is over-width! I must get round to correcting the model.

 

CJI.

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Having seen the photo of the kit parts, it's possibly worth having just for the sake of the armour plate wagons - the gun set conversion being after my c. 1902 period! I shall have to look at some drawings. Is it known whether Niu Models made use of the original drawings for the D328 wagons in the Midland Railway Study Centre Derby C&W Drawing Collection, or is it just done off the diagram and photos?

 

Going off this idea. Comparing Drg. 1203 for the D328 40 ton armour plate truck:

 

 

[Compressed scan of Midland Railway Study Centre item 88-D0037]

 

with the photo of the kit parts:

 

 

it is unfortunately evident that the model's representation of the platform framing bears little relation to the prototype. Easier to start from scratch, I think. Rather a disappointment, given how visible the platform is, even with the timber gun barrel supports in place - see the middle of the three photos I posted. All the manufacturer had to do was ask.