Building an N gauge coach kit

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

 

That looks very good.

 

I’ve got a pair of these under construction and the body and chassis are basically complete. I am now at the detailing stage and wondered what you have used for the gangways on the ends.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[DavidK71]

8 hours ago, PaulCheffus said:

I’ve got a pair of these under construction and the body and chassis are basically complete. I am now at the detailing stage and wondered what you have used for the gangways on the ends.

 

I've used cast whitemetal gangways from Etched Pixels, part UM202 from https://www.ultima-models.co.uk/catalogue/comp-ends.html. Someone probably does a 3D printed gangway but I'll use up my stock of the metal ones before looking into that.

[wellseasoned]

Has anyone any news on what the future may hold for the E.P. products?

 

[Sithlord75]

The 2mm Association has been having discussions to obtain parts of the range - not sure which parts - which it is felt is most useful to their members.   Exactly what state those discussions are in I'm not sure.

[wellseasoned]

On 14/02/2023 at 13:12, Sithlord75 said:

The 2mm Association has been having discussions to obtain parts of the range - not sure which parts - which it is felt is most useful to their members.   Exactly what state those discussions are in I'm not sure.

Thank you for that info' Sithlord75.

I am in the 2mm association. They have a range of carriage building parts, that has been steadily increasing in the couple of years I've been a member. I await the outcome of discussion/negotiations with interest.

[wellseasoned]

It's all very quiet on here, so I'll try to kick start things.
Has anyone heard what is happening with the Etched Pixels range?

If, and I hope it's not the case, the range fades into history, who is left doing the etched carriage sides and associated bit and pieces?

Nothing in my latest 2mm association magazine which arrived recently.

[Gareth Collier]

Not sure about the carriage sides but Alan mentioned the white metal parts should become available from P D Marsh and/or 2mm SA.

[wellseasoned]

The recent and forthcoming carriages from Farish are now teetering around the £50 per carriage.  Yes, some big retailers will offer the 15% discount but they have still become expensive IMO.  

I really hope that somebody takes on the etched sides from E.P.  It would also be good if those who have retreated from the production of etched sides in N, were to consider some limited runs. Maybe they could test the water to see how much interest is out there?

[Sithlord75]

I’ve a mate out here who is drawing me some etched coaches for ems - he’s done some horse boxes already for me which can be seen in the 2mm forum.  They’re LNWR and LMS types.  1:152 for the LNWR and 1:148 for the LMS.  If anyone is interested I’ll ferret out the info to post which diagrams I sent.  Links to the HBs are sort of in my signature block.

[65179]

13 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

I’ve a mate out here who is drawing me some etched coaches for ems - he’s done some horse boxes already for me which can be seen in the 2mm forum.  They’re LNWR and LMS types.  1:152 for the LNWR and 1:148 for the LMS.  If anyone is interested I’ll ferret out the info to post which diagrams I sent.  Links to the HBs are sort of in my signature block.

 

Sounds interesting, what are you and Bruce planning Kevin?

 

Regards,

Simon

[Sithlord75]

Hi Simon,

 

Basically I'm looking for coaches for St Albans - so LNWR Suburbans and a Driving Motor (D345, D112, D187, D289 and M33 - some I think used to be done by Etched Pixels) and the LMS ones are essentially the Period II/III replacements (D1734, D1735, D1784 and D1790).  The LNWR ones will go on the bogies from Shop 2, the LMS ones possibly on Shop 2 LMS bogies but will primarily be aimed at using the Farish LMS bogies as they'll be N gauge owing to the locos being N and there being a bit of local interest from my N gauge modelling mates.  

 

Not sure of timelines - Bruce is presently designing the Victorian Railways coaches he is needing for his layout.  When I get some of the VR coaches I'll post details of building them here - haven't actually built coaches to date so will be keen to get some advice.  

 

Cheers

Kevin

 

Addendum - I know Worsley Works does some of the diagrams listed in 3mm.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Sithlord75
Extra info.

[Ian Smeeton]

Allen is pretty good and very happy to rescale for N/2mm, and remarkably reasonably priced.

 

Worth dropping him an email for info.

 

He works on building coaches using the Comet methodology, so it is worth while looking for their instruction book (available a a free PDF download.)

 

Regards

 

Ian

 

 

[65179]

16 hours ago, Sithlord75 said:

Hi Simon,

 

Basically I'm looking for coaches for St Albans - so LNWR Suburbans and a Driving Motor (D345, D112, D187, D289 and M33 - some I think used to be done by Etched Pixels) and the LMS ones are essentially the Period II/III replacements (D1734, D1735, D1784 and D1790).  The LNWR ones will go on the bogies from Shop 2, the LMS ones possibly on Shop 2 LMS bogies but will primarily be aimed at using the Farish LMS bogies as they'll be N gauge owing to the locos being N and there being a bit of local interest from my N gauge modelling mates.  

 

Not sure of timelines - Bruce is presently designing the Victorian Railways coaches he is needing for his layout.  When I get some of the VR coaches I'll post details of building them here - haven't actually built coaches to date so will be keen to get some advice.  

 

Cheers

Kevin

 

Addendum - I know Worsley Works does some of the diagrams listed in 3mm.

 

 

I'm not well up on my LNWR diagrams, are they all arc/cove roof stock?

 

Simon

[Sithlord75]

Arc roof Simon.

[DavidK71]

Earlier this year I made another coach from custom etches. I've always liked the variety of GWR's restaurant and sleeping cars, with myriad diagrams, none of which ever seem to have been made in quantities of more than a few. Presumably those responsible didn't believe in standardization ... anyway, I've always found them interesting. Some years ago I did a Hawksworth J18 sleeping car, which I'm still pleased with, but perhaps its most striking feature is also a problem: the huge six wheel bogies it runs on. They look great, but the coach is definitely curve shy. I've always wanted a GWR sleeping car that would go round a reasonable curve, so looking through Russell's Appendix 2 I settled on W9092, a composite sleeping car built originally as a toplight, renovated in the 1950s, and (rather wastefully) scrapped some time in the early 1960s:

 

As ever, this is based around a Masterclass Models 2mm coach, originally a C32 third. Given that the only photographs of it I could find were in Russell, there are a fair number of guesses in this, especially on the roof. But it's unlikely that there's any more evidence out there! I also made a few mistakes in the etch - those grab handles aren't in quite the right place on the corridor side, despite repeatedly measuring such things. Still, it was a fun experiment.

In case anyone is interested, attached is an SVG file giving the etched sides, and also the templates I made for the roof and corridor partition: W9092.svg

Edited October 15, 2023 by DavidK71

[wellseasoned]

DavidK71,

Really nice to see a post on this forum after such a long break. You have once again made a lovely job of this sleeper.

Does anyone know what will/has become of the E.P. etches and castings?
Ray of BH Enterprises has sadly recently passed, so the future of these etches may not be safe.
Could we maybe be down to the offerings of Worsley works in the future?

[Nig H]

4 hours ago, wellseasoned said:

DavidK71,

Really nice to see a post on this forum after such a long break. You have once again made a lovely job of this sleeper.

Does anyone know what will/has become of the E.P. etches and castings?
Ray of BH Enterprises has sadly recently passed, so the future of these etches may not be safe.
Could we maybe be down to the offerings of Worsley works in the future?

Hi,

 

I am the Product Development Officer for the Two Millimetre Scale Association. When I heard that EP was winding down, I contacted them to ask what would happen to the range of products. The end result has been that the range is being divided up between the Association and P & D Marsh. The latter have been granted permission to use the EP white metal moulds they possess to sell castings in their own right, if they so wish. The Association has received some parts (plastic and white metal) and will sell these in its shop. Some parts have been sent to the NGS, and more will be offered to them soon.

 

Details of EP etched parts are to be sent to me soon, and I and the Association Sales Officer will decide what we want to do with them. The Association also has the moulds for various plastic roofs and plans to sell them via its Shop.

 

So, some of the range will end up with the Association,  some with P& D Marsh, and some with the NGS.

 

Nigel Hunt

 

Product Development Officer

 

 

Two Millimetre Scale Association

 

 

 

 

[wellseasoned]

This is really heartening news.

I am a member of the 2mm Association which is a bonus.
Purely as an example, a number of people have previously expressed an interest in the Hawksworth sleeper etches. As far as I can make out they haven't been produced in a long while.

I got into building carriages as looking into my crystal ball around 5 years back, I could see the Farish offerings creeping up towards the £50 RRP, and they are very nearly there.

This price tag could inspire others to try their hand at making a carriage. Therefore the continued availability of etches and castings is really good news.
 

Thank you Nigel for passing on this positive news.

[Nig H]

19 hours ago, wellseasoned said:

This is really heartening news.

I am a member of the 2mm Association which is a bonus.
Purely as an example, a number of people have previously expressed an interest in the Hawksworth sleeper etches. As far as I can make out they haven't been produced in a long while.

I got into building carriages as looking into my crystal ball around 5 years back, I could see the Farish offerings creeping up towards the £50 RRP, and they are very nearly there.

This price tag could inspire others to try their hand at making a carriage. Therefore the continued availability of etches and castings is really good news.
 

Thank you Nigel for passing on this positive news.

Hi,

 

Please don't expect the full EP range to re-appear. As I said, I don't know what etches might be produced. The artwork/tools for some of the range may not be re-usable, and we may decide that some items are of low interest so not worthwhile producing.

 

Concerning white metal castings, we have limited stocks of certain items that we will sell in the Association Shop. When these are gone, customers can ask P & D Marsh to produce items from the EP moulds they possess. They have agreed to consider such requests. The Association is unlikely to produce any white metal castings as we don't possess the moulds, nor do we have the manpower to undertake the work.

 

The Association produces etches for certain items that EP cast e.g. battery boxes, and has also produced 3D print versions of items such as coach roof ventilators. We may use these methods to fill some of the gaps in the EP range, but again, it depends on having manpower to undertake the work.

 

Nigel Hunt

[Jondi]

Is there any word on the future of the EP etched brass coach conversion sides? I think I read earlier in this thread Alan saying that the artwork was with PPD. I am looking for Gresley SFO sides, and probably more.

[Jollibob]

Someone will have to clarify me with this as I only very briefly read the post.

There was an post on N Gauge Forum, just recently explaining what's happened. Most items have been sold to the 2mm Society and there was someone else but I can't remember now. Sorry.

 

Rob.

[PaulCheffus]

3 hours ago, Jollibob said:

Someone will have to clarify me with this as I only very briefly read the post.

There was an post on N Gauge Forum, just recently explaining what's happened. Most items have been sold to the 2mm Society and there was someone else but I can't remember now. Sorry.

 

Rob.

Hi

 

P&D Marsh have some of the white metal castings. 
 

Link to Alan’s post on the N Gauge Forum

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?msg=824860
 

Cheers

 

Paul

Edited February 24 by PaulCheffus

[Etched Pixels]

The artwork (Etched Pixels, Ultima, some older stuff inherited by Ultima) is now with the 2mm SA long with some etch stock. Please give them time to get a handle on it, there is a lot of stuff and it isn't always arranged in an obvious fashion. The Gresley overlays for Minitrix are now with the 2mmSA and they are one case the artwork is laid out in a fairly logical manner, although there are a lot of sides on the sheet and not always in the proportion that would be best!

 

 

 

[Etched Pixels]

On 15/10/2023 at 13:53, wellseasoned said:

This is really heartening news.

I am a member of the 2mm Association which is a bonus.
Purely as an example, a number of people have previously expressed an interest in the Hawksworth sleeper etches. As far as I can make out they haven't been produced in a long while.

 

 

Just catching up on some of this. The Hawksworth sleeper is an awkward one. The parts are on a sheet that produces lots of other Hawksworth stuff that nobody wants and one side of the original has significant errors so there is a replacement side on another sheet of stuff that is unrelated. It's probably one of those that is easier to redraw with modern tools and just use the bogies and underframe parts.

[Jondi]

Glad to hear there's hope for the etched conversion sides. I'll just have to be patient--and join the 2mm association!