cooper craft / Dapol kit brakes

[george stein]

Assuming one is building a cooper craft wagon fitted with "one-side" DC-1 style brakes, does one remove the "V" on the unused side or, logically, it remains in place to hold the (unsupplied) shaft on which the brakes rotated? Now, for the two-sided brake system (DC-3 [i think], is the brake lever "handed" i.e., always to the right looking from the side of the wagon, or do both brake levers face the same end of the wagon?

 

Obviously a question from a USA modeller without access to the prototypes!

 

Thanks.

 

By the way, a Kadee #18 fits the new NEM coupler pocket Dapol wagons perfectly. Hits the Kadee height gauge spot on.

[buffalo]

There's a useful intro to GWR DC and other brakes on this page at gwr.org.uk. Also a search here will find several topics discussing the different DC types, including some prototype photos.

 

On DC1, yes you need to remove the V on the non-brake side. There is no cross-shaft, only a very short shaft supported by a single vertical post behind the solebar on the brake side. You can just see the vertical (round) post in the first photo below, but note this is a normal lever brake, not DCI. In DCI, the swan neck is pushed upwards to apply the brake, so the pushrods would be left over right (not right over left as in the photo).

 

On DCIII the lever is always towards the right hand end (DCI and DCII have a single cross-shaft supporting levers on both sides, but at the same end). Note that the lever cross-shafts on DCIII are not full width. They have supporting brackets at about 1/3 to 1/2 way accross the width at one end, and 2/3 width at the other. The latter is the end with the ratchet mechanism, see second and third photos below.

 

Nick

 

 

 

[george stein]

Thank you - very helpful. Now the photographs raise another question. Is there a "system" that identifies which wagons have what I'll call a "stabilizing brace/bar" connecting the bottoms of the axle/grease box housing? Some larger wagons are obvious, but it's not clear on standard 9' opens and vans (GWR). Easy to do with a strip of styrene and, of course, adds a bit of diversity to rolling stock. Still, no point "guilding the lily" if, for example, it's only, say, post 1940, etc. Again, thanks for the photos.

[petethemole]

These are tiebars, commonly used on vacuum braked stock with 4 brakeshoes acting outwards, which had a tendency to push the wheels outwards, reducing the effectiveness of the brakes. However some unfitted wagons have them and some fitted ones don't, so check prototype references if possible. Some GWR wagons had a rod rather than a bar.

Pete