31A C & W

[31A]

This picture again shows the Brake Third assembled, and with ventilator hoods added (from brass strip) above the double doors.

 

 

It also shows the cast whitemetal outer end.  These coaches had smooth ends, so I’ve filed all the panelling detail off.  Pictures do, however, show that there was a piece of vertical beading just inside the edges, and I’ve represented this with copper wire, soldered onto the whitemetal and then filed flat (it appears to be flat in pictures).

 

Also on the ends are the lighting control jumper cables.  I’ve not found any commercial items that represent these very well - etches are too flat, and castings difficult to attach and vulnerable.  So I made these by drilling a 0.5mm hole through some 1mm brass rod and sliding a small washer over the rod, to represent the junction box on the coach end, with the actual cable being some thin copper wire passed through the hole in the rod and the whole lot soldered together.  The rod is then soldered into a hole in the coach end.  The receptacles for the loose ends are just brass strip soldered flat onto the coach end - on reflection something like 1mm square would give a bit more ‘relief’ to these.

 

The picture also shows the slight discrepancy in height between the Southern Pride sides and the Comet ends - I’ll have to fill or otherwise disguise this when I fit the roof.

 

The asbestos fingers having not yet fully developed, I felt like a bit of plastic modelling for a change and made up the battery boxes as units from plastikard, which can be glued under the floor at the painting stage.

 

 

Hoping to save myself a bit of work, I’ve made up interior units by adapting Replica Railways BR Mk1 SK interior mouldings.  There was still quite a bit of work to do, but on the whole it probably has saved a bit of time!  The picture shows the interior for the Corridor Third, with an original moulding behind.

 

 

 

 

 

[31A]

Not much progress to report with the Twins lately; the metal work is largely done and I’m waiting for some better weather so that I can get outdoors with the aerosols and get some primer on.  There may be quite a wait!  I’ve made a start on fitting the plastic (51L) roofs to match the bodies, but am awaiting torpedo ventilators from Mike Trice’s Shapeways shop.  I usually use MJT white metal ones, but I’ve read that the 3D printed ones are smaller so I’m keen to give them a try.

 

Meanwhile, I discovered a quicker way of adding variety to the coaching stock fleet - it’s called Monk Bar Models shop.  This Hornby BSO arrived from there recently, and has been given some light treatment.  I painted the seats and table tops, and the roof.  The sides have been given a couple of coats of Klear, which has really ‘lifted’ the maroon, and the underframe weathered.  The biggest job was replacing the gangways (which are easily removed) with MJT brass and folded paper ones.  While the gangways were off, I carved off the lamp irons moulded onto the ends; I believe these were only fitted to a few early Mk 1s, but they seem to find their way onto most RTR models!

 

 

I think it scrubs up nicely and compares well with the Bachmann ones I already have; I realise other opinions are available, but I think the glazing is much better, with less prismatic effect around the edges of the windows.  On the other hand the moulded handrails are a slight negative, and the brass security bars printed inside the brake van windows are a bit ‘bling’!  I’m sure they could be polished out and replaced with wire, but having broken off and had to repair one of the long steps on the underframe when dismantling the model, I don’t feel inclined to do so again. 

 

[Neil]

I like the look of the Mk1 Steve, the sheen on the sides does look like painted metal. Some time ago I remember seeing stuff online about how the formula for Klear had changed and was less suitable for our purposes in the world of model railways. Have you got a stash of the old formula or is the new stuff just as good? Could I add a supplementary question about the glazing; did you take it out or manage to treat the sides with it in place. Finally (and I'm afraid I'm all questions this afternoon) I noticed that you're using modern tension lock couplings on the kit built wagons and vans. This is something I'm struggling with at the moment as getting a simple and consistent mounting procedure eludes me. Is there a simple method or set of components I should be taking a look at? 

[31A]

Hi Neil, thanks for the compliments!

 

Not sure about the new Klear; like you I have read of it but haven't needed to get any as I still have a bottle of the 'old' on the go.  I had to decant it into a plastic milk bottle a few years ago after the original split, but it doesn't seem to have suffered.  I didn't take the glazing out, just applied the Klear to the sides, missing the windows as best I could but if you do get it on the windows it doesn't seem to harm them.  In the past, with coaches with smaller windows ("suburban"-type coaches) I've just painted it over the whole lot.

 

On the coach above, the first coat didn't really cover completely but the second gave the kind of finish I wanted; a third would have given a higher gloss, which I sometimes do if applying waterslide transfers.

 

Couplings; yes somewhat reluctantly* I do use tension locks.

 

I tend to favour Bachmann ones but don't usually need to change Hornby ones; Heljan and Dapol ones are normally scrapped.

 

On kit built wagons I usually use the NEM Mounting Blocks in the Parkside range, together with Bachmann coupling / NEM pocket sets, which just glue beneath the floors.  Sometimes the mounting blocks need packing downwards to get the right height, or a Bachmann coupling with a cranked shaft may be more appropriate than a straight one.  If they work out too low (unusual) the mounting ribs of the Parkside block can be trimmed off.

 

For bogie vehicles with metal kit bogies I usually make a metal bracket which can be bolted or soldered to the bogie frame, with an 8BA tapped hole then the screw mounting Bachmann couplings can be screwed to them; again, downward packing may be needed.

 

On RTR vehicles, I usually find I can shorten the NEM pockets and the shanks of the couplings by typically 2mm (Bachmann wagons and Hornby coaches) or up to 4mm (Hornby wagons), which brings the buffers close together without causing buffer locking when propelling.  4mm per wagon (2mm each end) adds up to a significant difference in length of (say) a ten wagon train!

 

* "Reluctantly" because I use them out of pragmatism rather than from choice, as all modern RTR comes fitted with them.  From choice, I'd prefer the Hornby Dublo / Peco knuckle couplings, for appearance and reliability!

[Neil]

Many thanks for such a comprehensive reply Steve, it's much appreciated. I've had a look at the Parkside mounting blocks, they look to be a neat and simple proposition even if I need to shim them down from the floor in some applications. I'll be putting the suggestion for bogies into the memory banks as that's something I'll be tackling in the future as all my bogie stock currently runs on rtr bogies. It's all a bit of a learning experience at the moment having come from years of using three link couplings.

[46444]

Just caught up with this this thread.

 

Great modelling Steve and plenty of inspiration.

 

Duly added to my followed topics...

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[31A]

Thanks both.  There has been a hiatus over the holiday period, but I hope to be able to report more progress with the articulated coaches soon!

[31A]

Back to the Articulated Twins after a bit of a hiatus.  The coach bodies and underframes are nearly at the painting stage now, which I won't be able to do until some better weather comes along as I use aerosols in the back yard.  In the meantime, I thought it would be a good idea to get the roofs as nearly done as possible, not least to avoid handling the bodies too much after they've been painted, whilst getting the roofs to fit.

 

I've used the plastic moulding for Gresley 61'6" coaches available from Wizard Models - I think it is now labelled as a Comet product.  Obviously, it needed to be shortened and squared off at the 'articulated' end, and the outer end needed trimming slightly to match the cast bow ends.  Having shortened it, the moulded rain strips were no longer in the right places, and needed to be removed.

 

A peculiarity of these coaches is that the ventilators above the compartments were offset towards the compartment side, by 1ft. from the centre line.  As far as I know these were the only Gresley style coaches with this feature, but this arrangement was also applied to the Thompson stock.  The notes in "Historic Carriage drawings" imply that this only applied to the Composite coaches, but pictures from above clearly show this was the case with the Bk 3rd / 3rd twins as well; from pictures it appears that the ventilators above the brake section and the toilet compartments remained on the coach centre line,

 

I seem to have got a 'thing' about oversized ventilators, the more so perhaps from seeing the neat mouldings on the recent Hornby and Bachmann LNER coaches, so I thought I'd try the 3D printed torpedo ventilators from the Mike Trice Shapeways range.  These are indeed very fine; I managed to break the points off one in trying to adjust its position in its hole, entirely due to my own ham fistedness.  Evostik seems to stick them into their holes quite nicely.

 

Below is the roof of the 3rd perched in place and with some of the detailing complete - ventilators, rain strips and destination board racks.  The roof in the foreground will be for the Brake 3rd and so far has just been shortened and had pilot hoes drilled for the vents.

 

[Mallard60022]

Looks brillo to me old bean. I'd forgotten now tidy that method of Dest'n Board fitting looks; thanks. need to check if SR stock had the same sort of arrangement.

Just out of interes (well maybe?) I found the Wzard/51L roof moulding a tad shorter than the old Comet white ones which I think were actually the Kirk product, but I might be wrong?

Phil

[31A]

I'm not sure to be honest, Phil.  The mouldings I used were packaged as 51L, but the other day I think I found them on the Wizard web site under "Comet"!  They seem more 'pointy' at the ends than I remember the Kirk ones to be - the bowed ends needed shortening slightly and rounding off to match the cast ends of my coaches - both the ones in the above picture have already been adapted to fit.

[31A]

Afternoon all!  As you can see there hasn't been much to report for several weeks!  The bad weather has held up several projects, waiting for suitable conditions to use aerosol paints in the back yard, and as usual there seems to have been a seasonal lack of mojo.  Anyway, some brighter weather in the last few days has improved the mood, and the articulated twins creep nearer to completion.  It will soon be a year since I took the first photos of these!

 

 

As you can see, the underframes and bogies are painted, and the bodies have received a coat of red oxide primer over the etching primer, prior to applying the maroon.  I thought I'd do a trial assembly before applying the final paint.  I was surprised to see how much the lower sides had bowed inwards with handling (the upper parts are reinforced by the brass angle and now the roofs) and there was quite a bit of bending outwards needed to get them over the 'upstands' on the Comet underframes.  Once fitted of course, these will keep the sides straight.

 

A quick push around the layout revealed that I will have to make one of the articulation brackets again, slightly longer, as I seem to have been a tad optimistic regarding the gap between the vehicles and they derailed as the bodies conflicted at one point on the layout.  I'm sure they didn't do that before!  Also, there seems to be a slight mismatch of heights at the centre which needs sorting out.

 

The battery boxes are separate units made from Plastikard and will just be glued under the floor.  Likewise, the interiors which are obviously not fitted yet.

[Mallard60022]

Smart looking set S.

P

[31A]

At last, and over a year since I took the first photos, I'm very pleased to say the Articulated Twin is finished!

 

 

 

 

I think it's turned out reasonably well, despite various setbacks and frustrations on the way.  I think I'll have a break from building coaches for a little while now!

 

[Mallard60022]

You can't sit back now Steve as I have discovered that I need an Ar$tic Roll for SOSJ.

Bl##dy fine looking job and I really hope folk realise how much fettling and injunfewity went into creating some of the parts.

Starange that the enarest coach in pic 3 looks like a GWR Hawksworth (washes mouth with carbollock soap)

Lovely.

Phillipus 

[31A]

You can't sit back now Steve as I have discovered that I need an Ar$tic Roll for SOSJ.

Bl##dy fine looking job and I really hope folk realise how much fettling and injunfewity went into creating some of the parts.

Starange that the enarest coach in pic 3 looks like a GWR Hawksworth (washes mouth with carbollock soap)

Lovely.

Phillipus 

 

 

Thank you Phil!  Cussing, swearing and personal injury was also involved.  I'm sure I'll feel better after a little while.  Mr. Hawksworth must have recognised a good thing when he saw it.

[Mallard60022]

Thank you Phil!  Cussing, swearing and personal injury was also involved.  I'm sure I'll feel better after a little while.  Mr. Hawksworth must have recognised a good thing when he saw it.

I am reminded to dig out some of my Hawksworths to admire how carp the curtains are!

Phil

[31A]

Some more metal bashing; I've been making progress on a D&S kit for an LNER 32' "General Van".  These seem to have been somewhat camera shy and I haven't got much information on them.  The best photo I've got is in David Larkin's "BR Parcels and Passenger Rated Stock", Vol.1; however Jonathan Weallans kindly pointed me in the direction of this article by Steve Banks

 

https://www.steve-banks.org/images/historical/lner_npcs/d86_and_d87/d86_d87_pdf_3.pdf

 

which contains a lot more information about them.

 

As you can see the underframe is finished and painted, save for the brake yokes and rigging which I'll add when I'm confident I don't need to get the wheels out any longer.  Most of the underframe construction was carried out in the convivial surroundings of Phil Mallard60022's workshop conservatory.  Thanks to Phil for his hospitality, and help and encouragement with this!

 

Now I've just about finished the body as well and given it a quick scrub; it is temporarily placed on top of the underframe.  The kit is well designed as usual from D&S, and went together quite straightforwardly.  I've 'padded out' the upper door runners, as these seem to be flush with the fronts of the doors (which in the kit are two layers of brass laminated together), so I backed the etched runners with lengths of 0.45mm brass wire.  No parts are provided for lamp irons and neither does the drawing in the instructions show them, but one of the pictures in Steve Banks's article clearly shows them.  On the model, I've made these from etch scrap strip formed into U-shaped pieces with one leg soldered to the insides of the ends.  The sides and ends are all separate pieces that need to be soldered together, but the design meant this was straightforward.  I couldn't avoid solder running into the louvres at the bottom of the ends, but the instructions say these were plated over on the inside with perforated zinc anyway.

 

 

A few more details to attach to the body before it can be painted, but I'll probably sort out the roof next.

 

 

[31A]

Well despite the unseasonal weather, I have pressed on with this van and it is now at the stage where a coat of primer can be applied.

 

The white bits beside the doors are blocks that the doors closed against, and carried the latches.  The kit does include white metal pieces for these, but they were so fiddly, and would have needed filing down anyway to fit beneath the catches on the doors themselves, that it was easier to use Plastikard.

 

There were no vacuum pipes with the kit, so I've used MJT ones.  These are just glued flush onto the ends, so will probably be a bit vulnerable until painting is finished.  Luckily, the glue didn't stick the body and underframe together, anyway!  Originally these vans had both vacuum and Westinghouse brakes, but the one in the picture I'm working to hd lost its air brakes by the 1950s.

 

I've used the moulded roof provided, although trimming it was a bit tricky.  I've made a 'false ceiling' to fit underneath, to make it easier to glue it securely to the body, and also added gutters along the sides of the roof, which help to hide the join between the roof and the sides.  These were from 40 thou square micro strip, then sanded back to reduce the overall width of the roof.  The rain strips were from thinner micro strip.  I've followed the 'peaked' pattern (what Steve Banks calls 'Stratford pattern') as it make the vans look 'unusual' - some had the more conventional curved type.  When I took the photos, I had added the castings for torpedo ventilators and oil lamp covers, but had not fitted the handrails which were on either side of the lamps, for use when filling them - this has since been done.  At this stage, the roof is just sitting temporarily in place - I'll fix it after I've finished painting.

 

 

[Mallard60022]

Steve, that is lovely and a job well done on a tricky kit. Have you tried that solder mask stuff to use on places where the runs might happen? I think it works, but not sure if it is meant for larger areas such as those grills.

P 

[31A]

Thank you, Phil!

 

No I haven't got any of that - perhaps I should.  Anyway, now I have primered the body, the overrunning solder has disappeared!  Need to take a walk into town today to see whether Monk Bar have got any Railmatch BR Crimson in an aerosol.

[31A]

Having duly obtained Railmatch BR Crimson from Monk Bar, the D86 General Van is now just about finished.

 

An 'ex works' shot, and a couple of pictures taken in service at Finsbury Square.

 

 

 

 

Lettering is from Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet BL98 which covers this and other similar types of van.  Nevertheless I had to do a bit of 'cutting and pasting' to arrive at the number E70111.  This is the one shown in the David Larkin book, and the same picture is reproduced in Steve Banks' article, both referenced above.  This is the only picture I know of which clearly shows the BR insignia; in Larkin it is undated while Banks gives a date of 1956, in view of which I find it surprising that no 'E' suffix to the number is carried.  I still need to weather the roof - I see the camera has picked up an area which the paint aerosol missed, at one corner - and will probably add some chalked inscriptions when the paint is properly dry.

 

On the whole this was a straightforward and enjoyable kit to put together, well thought out and fitting together well, with not too many fiddly bits.  Thanks to Phil (Mallard60022) for his encouragement and the convivial surroundings of his soldering conservatory, where a lot of the work took place!  The van makes an interesting addition to the parcels fleet, and will allow the last of the 'Limby" BR CCTs to be withdrawn.

[Mallard60022]

Having duly obtained Railmatch BR Crimson from Monk Bar, the D86 General Van is now just about finished.

 

An 'ex works' shot, and a couple of pictures taken in service at Finsbury Square.

 

P1020779.jpg

 

P1020781.jpg

 

P1020782.jpg

 

Lettering is from Cambridge Custom Transfers sheet BL98 which covers this and other similar types of van.  Nevertheless I had to do a bit of 'cutting and pasting' to arrive at the number E70111.  This is the one shown in the David Larkin book, and the same picture is reproduced in Steve Banks' article, both referenced above.  This is the only picture I know of which clearly shows the BR insignia; in Larkin it is undated while Banks gives a date of 1956, in view of which I find it surprising that no 'E' suffix to the number is carried.  I still need to weather the roof - I see the camera has picked up an area which the paint aerosol missed, at one corner - and will probably add some chalked inscriptions when the paint is properly dry.

 

On the whole this was a straightforward and enjoyable kit to put together, well thought out and fitting together well, with not too many fiddly bits.  Thanks to Phil (Mallard60022) for his encouragement and the convivial surroundings of his soldering conservatory, where a lot of the work took place!  The van makes an interesting addition to the parcels fleet, and will allow the last of the 'Limby" BR CCTs to be withdrawn.

Wish my Conservatory would produce results like that for my occasional work. I shall have to give it a damn good talking to.

That is a super job Steve. Looks like it has been there/in service for yonks.

P

[31A]

After all this serious finger burning stuff, time to relax with something a bit more mundane - a Parkside wagon kit.  This is PC42, BR 12 ton Fruit Van Diagram 1/230.

 

This one had been in my stash for a long times it suffers from the ends being the wrong shape - an unusual aberration by Parkside!  They have the profile of a standard BR Vanfit, rather than the LMS designed body from which these vans were actually derived.  Thanks to Mr. Headstock of this parish for inspiration for a way forward with this, in one of his posts over on "Wright Writes".  The solution being to use the ends and roof of the elderly, originally Airfix, ready to run Vanfit of LMS origin, and graft the Parkside sides on.

 

Hence this candidate for the Booker Prize was obtained at reasonable cost from a secondhand dealer:

 

 

And the sides were cut off, and edges of the ends filed to a mitre to match the Parkside sides.  Also the ventilators and rain strips were removed from the roof.

 

 

 

The body was then assembled, with chalking panels and new rain strips added from Plastikard, and lamp iron from Bambi staples.

 

 

The underframe was straightforward as per the kit, except that new headstocks are needed; these are from Evergreen no. 264 1/8" channel.  Buffers are from Lanarkshire Models and Supplies (B004 1' 8.5" 4 rib 13" head), and draw hook and coupling pocket from an ancient PC Models screw couplings etch.  The original steel weight has been strapped to the floor - I've had these come loose inside the van in the past and didn't want to risk it again!

 

 

And here we see the finished van.  Painting was as usual Halford's red oxide primer for the body.  Unusually for me, due to the method of construction it was possible to spray the body and the underframe separately before joining them together, which was much easier than my usual method which involves brush painting the black bits after the primer has been sprayed onto the complete vehicle.  The last things to add were the vacuum pipes, from the 51L range from Wizard Models, chosen because of the mounting spigot which can be used to make a secure attachment.

 

Then finished off with some fairly light weathering, and a few chalk scribbles.

 

 

 

[31A]

A free wagon!

 

I made this from the "Grounded Van" kit which was given away with the December "Railway Modeller" - in fact of course, its a GWR 12T van.  I rummaged through my scrap box and found solebars and brake gear from Parkside, ABS 18" buffers, Ambis draw hooks and Hornby wheels.

 

I haven't made one of these for a long time (in fact I've never made many!) and was pleasantly surprised by how crisp the mouldings were despite their age, with minimal flash and very accurate fits at the corners.  The number is from a Modelmasters sheet; I'm no expert on GW things but it seems to be in the right range.

 

The only problem is, it makes the Bachmann equivalents look porky!

 

 

 

[Neil]

Looks good Steve; thank to a friend I have a pair of the grounded van bodies to build up into complete wagons.