Light entertainment

[Neil]

When Hornby announced the Peckett I put my name down for one, just because it was so irresistible.  I wasn't quite sure how it would fit in with any of my plans but it's not the first time that I've bought something attractive without knowing how it would all end up. More than a few years ago a trio of Hornby PO wagons were bought because they were blindingly cheap and because they had well applied, attractive liveries. However I didn't start putting two and two together until my mate Martin gave me a bright red, Dublo, train set brake van. From the side it resembled a NE van with the steel ducket perpetuated on the BR builds, but I reasoned that if I chopped out this section it could look a bit freelance light railway.

 

 

Here the body has been cut and spliced with filler applied to make good the join.

 

 

Of course the underframe needs shortening too. I decided that I'd make it represent a wooden solebar jobbie too, the overlays helping to disguise where it had been cut and shut.

 

 

New footboards were fabricated from Evergreen strip. Time I thought to see what the beginnings of the light railway train might look like.

 

 

The van was painted and weathered, the garish finish of the PO wagon toned down too.

 

 

I started to cast around for other suitable items. A further Hornby PO wagon was weathered to match, the Peckett was introduced to the paintbrush too and passenger accomodation came from a repainted GBL Liverpool and Manchester carriage fitted with inside bearing wheel sets and again treated to some weathering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Neil]

Finally, for the moment, a project that has stuttered on over the past couple of years has made it to a near complete state. 

 

 

The basic ingredients are a Hornby four wheel carriage and a Playcraft HO brake van chassis. Both have been chopped and filled.  The carriage body has had the roof lowered by a couple of mm by taking out a strip above the upper panelling and filing down the ends to match.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Neil

[Neil]

Time for some more freelance nonsense. Some time ago I picked up a Triang Hornby 6w milk van thinking I might combine it with a chopped up Thompson brake 2nds to make a BZ. In the end I choose not to go down that route but no matter I'd only spent three quid on the van. A few weeks ago I spent another three quid on a K's GWR full brake body from my favourite stall on Machynlleth market without being sure what I'd do with it. Now I've always been partial to the Derwent Valley Railway so eventually the penny dropped and I offered the body up to the chassis from the milk van.

 

 

 

Looking at the top of the chassis it seems as though something else may have been planned for the chassis otherwise why the detail moulded above where the axleguard assemblies fit?

 

 

I had to create new ends for the cut down body as the originals didn't part cleanly from the sides. No matter it wasn't a long job to cut replacements from 40thou plasticard.

 

 

 

[BernardTPM]

Yes, the planking on the top is curious. The only real drawback of that chassis is the excess height. The little blocks that support the outer axles can be taken off and it will still run OK, but that only addresses about ¹/₂mm of the 2mm excess height. If the curves aren't tight the solbars can be extended downwards and the bufferbeams lowered. I'm looking at this route for a Tri-ang-based Thompson BZ, but I'll have to keep the overlaid solebars thin to get round Super4 1st radius (it is supposed to be a 'train set' layout).

I do wonder whether the linkage Hornby put in underneath to pivot the couplings was really worth the effort, but the diecast axle units are rather nice in themselves.

[RedGemAlchemist]

Ah! I detect new freelance! Always welcome.

The Peckett looks very smart with your new stock! Any thoughts for other locomotives?

[Neil]

Yes, the planking on the top is curious. The only real drawback of that chassis is the excess height. The little blocks that support the outer axles can be taken off and it will still run OK, but that only addresses about ¹/₂mm of the 2mm excess height. If the curves aren't tight the solbars can be extended downwards and the bufferbeams lowered. I'm looking at this route for a Tri-ang-based Thompson BZ, but I'll have to keep the overlaid solebars thin to get round Super4 1st radius (it is supposed to be a 'train set' layout).

I do wonder whether the linkage Hornby put in underneath to pivot the couplings was really worth the effort, but the diecast axle units are rather nice in themselves.

 

You're quite right about the excess height Bernard, your suggested solution is ingenious but I've decided that I can live with the height as I think I can ameliorate the tippy toes look by the addition of footboards. You'll see from the shot of the underparts that I've removed the linkage and arranged some bits of black plasticard to retain the sliding centre axle assembly. Freed from the friction of the bars linking the axle to the couplers it now slides far more smoothly than before.

 

 

I've also substituted modern Hornby wheel sets for the plastic horrors the donor van came with. On the body I've added missing framing at the ends with sections of microstrip.

 

[doctor quinn]

The layout of the planking on top rang a bell - 6 wheel Denparts wagon? Unfortunately I can't find a pic to link to only a old thread that refers to them http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64100-denparts-wagons/

 

Nick