Nile's kitbuilding bench - Midland 1377

[Spitfire2865]

Weirdly enough, that half and half car is pretty accurate for small railroads. Though rather than half boxcar, more like half caboose. Could be used as a runner for a crane, storage for MOW, or a host of other random uses.

[Nile]

That's the idea Trevor, a sort of multi-purpose car. Tichy Train do a kit of a similar car in HO standard gauge, they call it a boom car, to go with their crane.

[Nile]

On with the show, this is what it looks like with some paint on.

 

 

Because there less room inside for weight I glued some bits of lead to the underside of the open end.

 

This car has extra truss rods. The inner ones may rub against the wheels, but they are flexible, so it might not be a problem. I'll find out later.

 

Some transfers added.

 

 

To make best use of them I filled the body with nuts up to the windows and fixed them in place with PVA.

 

The staining at the right is from a screw blocking a hole (for the coupler).

 

This is the finished model.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Nile

[Nile]

Not long to go now. Here's a photo of the three MoW cars together.

 

 

But a train needs a caboose. For this I've dug out one of my older models, it was printed in the Nylon material (WSF) so the finish isn't as good. It started out as a scale model of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad's caboose no.1, which was converted from a boxcar and retained the sliding door on one side. I've replaced the original narrow cupola with a wider one to give it a more freelance look. The handrails and ladders were already fitted, they just needed painting.

 

 

I'll try and take some more photos over the weekend.

Edited December 18, 2022 by Nile

[Nile]

Things went well over the weekend with the MoW train running on Toad Creek station.

Here is the complete train, hauled by the loco I also took along.

It's a Westside brass model, the only thing I've done to it is add a crew.

 

The MoW cars and caboose.

 

Later the cars were parked in the rear siding, the work crew having a break.

 

The reefer also got to run, in another train.

 

[Nile]

Back to modelling things this side of the pond. I recently bought some Peco wagon kits.

 

This is the contents of the OO kit.

The tank body has a large weight in it, the wheels are Gibsons, an improvement over the plastic ones of years ago.

The kit goes together well and has some interesting features. The buffers are sprung using a rubbery plastic thing behind them. The axlebox-spring units are also made from this rubbery plastic, allowing the springs to actually work. They can move up and down in the W-irons, which are made of blackened steel.

The brake gear is a multi-purpose moulding and needs parts removed to suit the required wheelbase.

 

When it came to the final stages of assembly I found the supplied brass rods to be pretty useless, having been bent to fit the box. my attempts to straighten them failed, so I replaced them with some plastic rods I had lying around.

[Nile]

These kits are designed to use Peco or tension lock couplings, there is a mount for them under the buffer beam. I found that this was at just the right height for a NEM362 socket, so I glued one to each end with evo-stick.

 

A Kadee work just fine in it.

 

The finished model doesn't really need painting, although it could do with a bit of weathering.

[Spitfire2865]

How do you feel the springing works? Well? Or poor?

Ive always been interested by the Peco approach but never got around to finding one to buy.

Looks a pain to fit 3 links but doable.

[cctransuk]

How do you feel the springing works? Well? Or poor?

Ive always been interested by the Peco approach but never got around to finding one to buy.

Looks a pain to fit 3 links but doable.

 

Even back in the 1960s, when I bought the TARMAC open wagon, I was exceedingly impressed by the smooth running of the Peco chassis.

 

I suppose that the almost friction-free running of nylon wheels in nylon bearings, plus the very effective springing imparted by the polypropylene springs / axleboxes, was a world away from Hornby Dublo 3-rail mazak wheels on steel plain axles running in tinplate bearings!

 

A product of their time, and the over-rounded end to the tank on their tank wagons looks a little unconvincing to me, but the chassis certainly still passes muster.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[2750Papyrus]

My Dad and I saw the first Peco Wonderful Wagon kits at the MRC show at the Central Hall, Westminster in the mid 50's when they were introduced.  At this time, many goods were in short supply so it was a while before he was able to buy two - Hickling and C & G Ayres -  yellow, and green/yellow at a time when wagons were grey or brown. 

 

They were expensive at 7/6 (37.5p!) when HD and Trix were charging in the region of 4/9 for an open wagon but brought a new level or realism compared with tinplate, and also introduced pin-point bearings as well as the (soggy) springing.  The printed, embossed sides eliminated the need for painting and several of the wagons were also available in "weathered" condition, a long time before this was widely adopted and discussed in the model press.

 

Over the years, I have managed to collect most designs courtesy of Ebay and occasionally run a "heritage" train, though the running qualities of the nylon wheels are not great.  The last time I looked at a Peco catalogue, the only complete kits still offered were the tank wagons but the last series of printed sides and chassis were still marketed separately.

[Nile]

I'm finding the springs to be a bit stiff. I have to push down on the wagon to see any springing effect, and it's not a light model with the tank full of weight. Maybe the W-irons and axleboxes need some fettling to improve things.

[Nile]

Moving onto the tank wagons' bigger brother, my first O gauge kit. The size takes a bit of getting used to, but the parts go together well. Some ejector pin marks need filling, nothing too serious. This is the body assembled.

 

It has the added bonus that it can do this, without any ugly over-scale hinges.

Edited December 20, 2015 by Nile

[Nile]

And now for the chassis. I thought that if built as per the instructions the buffers might not stay level and end up at odd angles. To keep them straight I added some brass tube inside the buffer body.

 

When assembled I found a small gap between the buffer beam and floor at the opening end. I re-enforced this joint with some micro-strip.

 

The coupling and buffers are sprung a bit of steel wire.

 

The completed assembly.

Like the OO wagon this has working springs made from rubbery plastic. And also like it they are rather stiff and ineffective as supplied. But by trimming 0.5mm from the ends of the springs I found they work much better, like proper springs. The brake levers don't have to be glued in place, meaning they can be moved up and down their guides, another nice touch.

[Spitfire2865]

Next step is to cut out the brake rod moulding and make actual brakes.

The wagon looks great. Cant wait for paint.

[57xx]

How do you feel the springing works? Well? Or poor?

Ive always been interested by the Peco approach but never got around to finding one to buy.

Looks a pain to fit 3 links but doable.

 

Personally I think the springing is poor. I had one of the Peco coal wagons in my yoof (late 70's), it was great for prodding with a finger and thinking "wow look it goes up and down!" but the springs are way to stiff and the wagon too light to have any real effect. The buffers might have been ok were it not for using tension locks on the wagon. As you noticed, the chassis does not lend itself to 3 links easily so rendering the buffers another gimmick.

[Nile]

With the addition of paint the appearance of the wagon hasn't changed much, it's still very grey.

Far too grey in fact, this will need some weathering. Think of this as the starting point, when it was new. The first thing I need to do is paint the insides a rusty brown colour, as that seems to be the normal colour of them even when the outside was clean and rust free.

 

Here is a close up of the brake lever guide, the lever can be moved up and down and left in any position.

 

And here is the reason for me building this kit.

I couldn't resist this little beauty when offered a small discount.

I also have a brake van to build, but before that it's back to 4mm scale next.

[Knuckles]

As you've all been so nice I'm going to spoil you with some more eye candy. It's time for some scenic photos.First just the loco.tt1_63.jpgtt1_64.jpg Next with some coaches.tt1_65.jpgtt1_66.jpgThese are Ratio suburbans. I have five of these coaches I bought already made, the bogies are falling apart but I found enough intact for these photos. And now with some other Midland locos, as seen on my other workbench topic.tt1_67.jpgtt1_68.jpg And that's it, or so I thought. When going through the kit leftovers I found something I'd missed, coming up in the next exciting episode!

I've been reading this thread with much interest, your modelling is top notch and it's clear you are no n00b. That midland engine is simply gorgeous and my solder fingers are itching to get at the etch again. I got a nice Craftsman Models A5 awaiting a build so sooner rather than later hopefully.

 

Great job!

[PenrithBeacon]

I converted a Peco 'Pixton' PO wagon to P4 thirty odd years a go using Studiolith compensation units and wagon wheels. The combination of the Peco springs and three point suspension worked well, but then it was working on Heckmondwyke's perfect trackwork.

 

Still got the wagon upstairs somewhere it hasn't required to run for decades.

 

Regards

[Nile]

Time for a reboot, there have been enough wagons for now. I've been tinkering with some coaches for some time now, and it's time to show you what I've made.

This all started a few years ago when I bought a Slater's 6 wheel Midland coach kit (OO) from the Coopercraft stand at the Chatham show. These complete kits are no longer available, but most of the plastic parts are. In theory it should be possible to make up a complete coach using these parts, and others, even if it involves some scratchbuilding. This is what I set out to do.

I initially bought enough parts to make one coach - ends, sides, roof, and springs/axleboxes. I didn't bother with the floor or internal partitions as they can be made from plastic card, using the parts from the complete kit as masters.

 

The sides and ends are built around a piece of 30thou plastic card cut to match the floor from the kit.

 

The solebars are Evergreen strip bought cheap in a Hobbycraft sale. They just happen to fit perfectly.

 

Internal partitions made from more 30thou plastic card using the kit part as a guide.

 

Test fit inside the body.

 

The structure is quite flexible until all the partitions are in.

 

Ratio seating glued in place. These are a bit taller than the ones in the kit, I'm not going to worry about that.

 

Next, the chassis.

 

[Guy Rixon]

Looks good. I notice that you didn't include the rebate for the glazing when you made your partitions. Are you planning a different method of glazing?

[Nile]

I'll use one piece per side per compartment, rather than one long strip per side.

[Nile]

For the chassis I chose the Brassmasters Cleminson chassis kit, as this provides the W-irons and brake shoes that I am missing.

 

This is the made up unit, before the baseplate is glued to the underside of the body.

 

Here the coach is sitting on its wheels, nice and level.

 

Compared to a Ratio coach the ride height seems about right.

 

The centre W-irons were glued to the inside of the sole bars, then the axle box/spring units were glued to the bottom of the sole bars, lining up with the axles.

The buffers aren't quite right (Gibson GER type) but were cheap and good enough for me.

 

The final hurdle is to work out how to do the footboards.

[Jol Wilkinson]

It is worth using a buffer height gauge to check ride height s. The standard is 14mm (3' 6") above rail level.

 

You could make your own or buy one (Brassmasters and the Scalefour Society both sell them).

[Nile]

I just checked it with a steel rule, exactly 14mm, thanks Jol.

[Nile]

I decided the best way to work out how to finish this model was to build the Slater's kit, as this would show me where all the parts needed to go. The chassis works on the same principle as the Brassmasters, but differs by the use of inside bearings throughout with fixed W-irons.

 

 

A test fit after the W-irons were primed.

 

 

The brake gear is bit more detailed/complicated. I've built it in such a way that the yokes can be un-hooked to release the wheels.

 

 

Another test fit.

 

 

I found that the pinpoints on the outer axles hit the W-irons on tight curves. To cure this I replaced the axles with 2mm steel rod (High Level gearbox leftovers). The centre axle wasn't a problem.

 

 

There are supposed to be fold over tabs to retain the axles. Due to an artwork error they aren't attached to anything, so I've replaced them with some brass rod soldered to the axle guides. They can be removed easily if needed.

 

Edited December 18, 2022 by Nile