Kirk Coaches - Diagram 105/125 Twin Set

[Rob Pulham]

This afternoon has seen me complete the detailing of the sides.

 

 

The bump stops are the etched ones from CPL they are tiny and you need a fair degree of patience to use them. The best way that I found to fit them was to drill the hole 0.6mm solder in a piece of nickel (what I had to hand brass would do equally as well) rod and leave a blob of solder at the back with a short stub at the front. Run a broach through the hole in the etc to open it out and cut off and tidy up one of the bump stops etches. slide this over the stub of rod and push home with either nails or tweezers. Apply a drop of flux and use the microflame to heat the blob of solder from behind. The flux draws enough of the solder through to hold it without trying to get the iron to do it. I did manage with the iron on a couple but found it much cleaner with the microflame.

 

I received an MMP LMS Roadstone Wagon for Christmas so I count this as practice for fitting the many small details that come with it.

 

 

 

I managed to glean from photos the postion of the rather unusual handrail and the fact that the guards door had some visible hinges that I needed to add - these are not visible in many photos so they may be an LNER addition.

 

 

Next up the ends and hopefully I will be able to think about soldering it together.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Rob Pulham

[Rob Pulham]

One thing that I forgot to mention in the last post was the door ventilator bonnets. I bought some very nice cast brass examples from CPL but they had ridges along them. When I have studied the few photos that I have of these coaches the ventilator bonnets are smooth in appearance. Rather than spoil the CPL castings by filing them smooth I added them to the spares box and soldered a couple of  strips off the edge of the etch together giving me a reasonable thickness that was the right width. Then with the piercing saw I cut enough lengths to fit all the doors that needed them and patiently filed them to shape. I think that the result was worth the effort.

 

yesterdays efforts were centred on the gangways, these are a set from CPL that are designed to cover scissor or suspended and have lots of spare parts to allow LNER gangways to be produced too if you have a decent photo to work from. I built them as scissor gangways as per the drawings and photos that I am working from.

 

The gangways as designed have a fold up concertina of black paper that fits inside the working scissor section. I need to come up with a different solution because I have made doors on the coach end that I want to be visible.

 

The photo below shows them in the closed and extended positions next to a ruler to give an idea of how far they move.

 

 

I have included this shot to illustrate where I had to cut the top of the fold around inner support strip. The strip has tabs to locate in slots in the sides but the bit in between which curves over the top of the gangway is too long  . Once I had worked this out I cut the strip in half and and worked in towards the centre at the top which is marked. I repeated this for the other half and then soldered them in once happy with the fit. There are some other strips that you press rivets out on to represent the Pullman style gangway that would also need the same treatment if used. It's a simple fix once you realise what the problem is.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Today has been spent making underframe details - namely vacuum cylinders and Dynamos.

 

First up is a Gladiator Dynamo. These are a bit plain albeit very nice castings as they come, so I added a block (from square brass bar) for the wiring loom and an eye to connect a restraining chain. The "wiring" will be cut shorter and soldered to the underframe once I fit it.

 

 

Next is a bit of a comparison between the Gladiator dynamo and a Sidlelines example both are sold as LNER examples.

 

 

The Sidlelines example comes with a bracket/adjuster so I made one up from scrap etch a piece of rod that I threaded and a 14ba nut to go with the Gladiator dynamo.

 

Last is one of a pair of Gladiator vacuum cylinders mounted on a set of Slaters V hangers from the spares box and some scratch built levers/pivots.

 

.

 

The long soft brass wire will be bent round to meet up with the vacuum pipe that runs down below the solebar - when it's fitted.

[Rob Pulham]

Yesterday was a good day at the bench seeing the underframe complete (I think!) and the sides/ends assembled along with the end doors and corridor connections fitted. I need to do a bit of a repair job on one of the scissor connections because when soldering it on I got the whole thing a bit hot and one of the joints soldered solid.

 

I will get some photos of the body work later but here are a few of the underframe to be going on with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

Once the bogie coal wagon was finished the mojo stayed in place and I made some good progress on the D71

 

First I found photographic evidence that Bill was right when he said that the gangway versions of these coahes had internal opening guards doors - so of they came.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bogies are the Newbould models Fox bogies and they only come with brake shoes/supports for the outer ends of each bogie. By good fortune a rummage in the spares box yielded enough spare Connoisseur brake shoes/and supports for the inner sets - they did need a bit of creative bending to get them fitted but fitted they are. The spares box also supplied enough yokes (Connoisseur again) for the outer axles which left the inner ones without. To get around this I first put a piece of rod through the brake shoes and then I measured the Connoisseur yokes. Next I got some scrap etch strip and  filed a V 17mm from one end and then bent it around and soldered the joint. I then filed the open ends to and angle that would allow a second strip to be soldered across the open end to create the triangle all these joints were made with 227 degree solder. 

 

These were clipped to the rode across between the brake shoes to make up the yoke. They still need a piece of rod to give the appearance of being able to be pulled on/off but they are better than nothing at all.

 

The rather nice full stepboards finish the bogies off and they were surplus from the Kemilway Fox bogies (they are designed to cover both GNR and NER variants).

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

Continuing the painting theme I also managed to get the bogies painted for the NBR BG

 

[Rob Pulham]

The BG has been on hold for a while because I have been waiting for a friend to sort out a roof for it (who was in turn waiting for another friend etc.) I collected it at Telford earlier this month so I will progress that once the CCT leaves the bench.

 

In the meantime to wet appetites following on from the excellent coach modelling seen here recently I thought that I would share another Telford acquisition which came quite out of the blue from a chance query. 

 

Earlier in the year I bought a set of etches for a Gresley Restaurant triplet set from CPL and I was in discussions with both Rupert Brown and Peter Dobson about etches for the underframes and roof parts etc. I can get some of Rupert's underframes from Wizard Models but Andrew needs to sort them out and Peter Dobson although having wound up newbould models as a business is still supplying bits and pieces and had done a test etch for the underframes but had never progressed them. I had arranged with Peter to bring some Gresley bogies to Telford for my CPL set and he said would I like to see his test etch underframes to which I said certainly.

 

It turned out that not only had he done a test etch for the underframes but also for the bodies as well but he had taken them so far an then popped them aside. Having had a look at them I asked since he hadn't touched them for quite some time, if he would sell them 'as is' and a deal was struck.

 

This is what I got for the money:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also included were the remaining partitions for the restaurant cars and some etched tables. And hidden away under the tissue paper in one of the boxes was a very nicely finished Kemilway roof - so now I know what they should look like and can be made to look like.... note to self must try harder!

[Rob Pulham]

Last year with the proceeds of a sale I bought a couple of Kirk LNER non corridor 51' parcels vans at Keighley show.

 

Last weekend, in between the rain/snow/hail.sunshine etc. I made a start on one of them. Now I haven't done a Kirk kit before so it was a bit of a learning curve especially cleaning up all the individual pieces. The sides went together okay and I can see how I might improve things slightly on the second one.

 

Although I plan to replace the bogies and turnbuckles (on the first one, the second I intend to do as a later angle truss variant) I decided to see what I could do to improve the underframe parts that came with it before discarding them out of hand. 

 

The battery boxes are supplied plain panelled fronted with optional plank doors if modelling pre 1930's LNER (according to Ian's instructional notes). For the first one I decided to add the planked doors to a plasticard backer and stick it to the rear to allow me to fill the box with some lead shot. The lead was added loose and the lid glued on with some small vent holes drilled in the base to allow any solvent fumes to escape. I added some pieces of angle to the bottoms to represent the cradle that the LNER Batteries sat in. I just need to finish them with the addition of the supporting straps and nuts that go down each end.

 

The vacuum cylinders I did consign to the bin - no matter what I did with them I couldn't improve them so I raided the Parkside spares box and came up with a couple that looked so much better. To these I added the V hangers supplied and stuck them all to a 20 thou plasticard base plate.

 

Lastly I assembled the supplied dynamo and made up a mounting bracket and a block for the electrical cables which I still have to add.

 

I am still struggling to get decent photos of anything with white plasticard in the picture.

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

Although I didn't seem to spend much of last weekend modelling, the underframe for the Diagram 129 brake van came together nicely.

 

I used the Silhoutte to cut out the straps for the ends of the battery boxes adding the threaded part from 1mm half round with a slice of 1.5 and 1.0mm rod to represent the nut and end thread where it comes through the angle along the bottom of the battery boxes that I made earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had to modify the sides slightly to create the D129 because unlike the earlier Diagram 67 the D129 and D284 vans which are virtually identical had a ducket on one side. I adjusted my earlier drawing and cut out a ducket to fit with my Cameo.

 

 

 

I also added hinge detail and scraped off the moulded T handles and made some representations of the lighting conduits on the ends.  

Edited May 17, 2016 by Rob Pulham

[Rob Pulham]

In between laying block paving and the many extremes of weather I managed to get the first bogie brake assembled over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

The clean up job for the parts of the next one is also well under way.

[Rob Pulham]

Over the last week, in between working on the front garden up north and a few days out, much progress has been made on the the Kirk parcel vans. 

 

The first is now ready for the paint shop (apart from its bogies of which I still need to finish one of them because I am upgrading it using some spare JLRT bogies on this one).

 

 

 

 

 

The roof has been done with my now usual covering of lense cleaner tissue laid in overlapping sections.

 

 

 

The second one has had the sides stuck together and a start made on putting the underframe together. I plan to use the Kirk fox bogies on this one because it's going to be depicted in a much earlier timeframe. I have started to add the quite prominent step boards to them and it has changed the appearance quite considerably in my view - sorry no photos of those until next week.

[Rob Pulham]

More progress on the second one, 

 

I got the basics of the underframe assembled and the queen posts added.  I also finished the bogie step boards and trimmed the roof to size. Next job is to solder the rods for the turnbuckles in place.

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

A session last night saw the first van in primer and the JLRT Bogies completed.

 

 

 

I had best start thinking about the guards grab rails.

[Rob Pulham]

Chris and I have been on holiday and come back with a summer cold which has somewhat restricted the modelling in the last couple of weeks. I did manage to get a bit of painting done though.

 

 

 

Still some way to go but at least the body is ready for transfers now.

[Rob Pulham]

Still working on the small details for the Kirk brake and the bogie CCT.

 

Last night saw the fabrication of handles for the luggage doors. - sadly no invisible solder in this house.

 

 

These are copies of a very nice casting that I found in my spares box - of which I only had one and no idea of where it came from originally.

[Rob Pulham]

The weekend's endeavours also saw the Parcels van heading towards the finish line.

 

It now sport's glazing,  guards grab handrails and T handles. Still to add are the luggage door handles,  vacuum and steam pipes and transfers (I think) plus tidy up the paintwork and matt varnish.

 

 

 

 

Note to self: clean of all the plastic dust from drilling out handrails etc. before taking more photos.....

[Rob Pulham]

Well the last pieces of the puzzle are ready to be put in place.

 

[Rob Pulham]

The Kirk brake is even nearer the finish line/small adds.

 

 

 

Sadly the eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the roof doesn't sit down right at one end. That's despite lots of work making them fit in the first place. I only noticed it once I had glued the roof on so it will need to be filled. Not the end of the world but a little frustrating.

 

 

I had a bit of a Doh! moment when ordering the transfers for the CCT in that I did plan any for the Parcels van. I am very grateful to Warren for coming to my rescue with these.

Edited August 15, 2016 by Rob Pulham

[Rob Pulham]

The gent that bought my Kirk parcels van (Don Gillam) has asked me to build another Kirk kit for him. This one a 52'6" BG. Don asked if I could convert the kit from a D111 to either a D154 or D282. With that in mind I spoke to Laurie at JLRT about getting some castings for queen posts etc for it. Being busy at the show Laurie advised emailing him later to get a parts list and then once I advise what parts and how many he will give me a price. now I fully intend to do this but since it's to go under a plastic model I also thought that I might have a go with my silhouette cutter to see what could be done.

 

I am quite pleased with the result for a first attempt and feel that I might do better with subsequent cuts.

 

 

[Rob Pulham]

Taking advantage of a few days at home in Wakefield in between doing battle with DCC I have been building a few items in brass.

 

The first is a pair of Newbould Models 8' Gresley bogies. These are destined for another 51' full brake, this time a gangwayed version.

 

Don Gillam, the gent who bought the non gangwayed version that I had for sale back in August, asked if I would build another Kirk kit that he had bought but not started on on his behalf.

 

This is where I have got to.

 

[Rob Pulham]

Although still recovering I managed to get more done on the Kirk BG last weekend.

 

There was a small moulding fault on one of the sections so I elected to use it in the side that I was cutting out for the ducket. The ducket itself is one of my Silhouette cut examples Oddly I needed to cut a couple of different sizes because the ones that I had left from the last build were slightly small in the hole.

 

There was another issue with the solebars for the kit which were all twisted as they came. An email from Don to Ian Kirk had some replacements in the post next day. I had already stuck the sides together so it wasn't worth asking Ian to replace the section with the moulding fault. I just cut the section out squarely and let in a piece of styrene rod. Once dry I filed it to shape (much like they would have repaired damage to a coach in service). - I must take this opportunity to commend Ian for his prompt service.

 

 

Three weeks ago I had added the base plates for the bump stops,  I added the bump stops themselves on Saturday. After leaving them over night to set I filed them to uniform length using a scrap of 10 thou styrene with a hole in it. I also add the upper hinges but I will leave the lower ones until later because they are a bit vulnerable.

 

 

I also worked on detailing the ends - I like to build up as many sub assemblies as I can before putting it together.

 

First I made a couple of door knobs from some styrene rod.

 

 

Then I added them to the doors in the ends along with lamp irons and lighting connectors. I used my ever handy lense tissue to make the canvas tops for the corridor connections.

 

 

And finally I detailed up the Dynamos. These are a bit plain as they come and I had initially stuck a H section stem but seeing a 1/32 scratch build of a Pullman coach over on RMweb shamed me into doing something better. - I still need to make the mounting brackets yet. There are two because Don has asked me to build and all third to go with the other two as well.

 

[Rob Pulham]

I forgot to add a photo of the canvas cover

 

[Rob Pulham]

Further work ensued on the BG this weekend and it's now starting to look coach like.

 

Ignore the bogies, they were to hand so I used them to prop the coach on for the photos

 

 

 

 

In between I made up the battery boxes for the all 3rd.

[Rob Pulham]

Work progressed over the weekend with much of the available time being spent on fitting the roof which is now almost there. It's the first one of Ian's bow ended roofs that I have tackled and I am sure another would be much easier. 

 

In between sessions on the roof I attached the battery box and prepared the V hangers for the vacuum cylinders. Not many words and not much to show visually either.

 

What is worth sharing visually, is that I did more work to one of the dynamos.

 

Starting from this, if you will forgive the repeat of an earlier photo.

 

 

And using this as my working example (this is one of the very nice Sidelines castings).

 

 

I arrived at this.

 

 

 

 

I am so pleased with the result that I plan to rip gently prise the dynamo off the parcels coach that I am building for myself  which just needs final details and painting and modifying it to the same spec.

[Rob Pulham]

To quote a comedian whose name I cannot remember - "and there's more"

 

Last night I only had a little time at the bench and got completely distracted from the brake van by thoughts on vacuum tanks for the all third. I recently managed to get some really good underfloor detail photos from an LNER 3 compartment first at Stainmore railway. which included good shots of vacuum tanks and cylinders - They are on my Flickr site should anyone need them

 

This is where I got to,  they still need much cleaning up and for the legs to be straightened/cut to length and I plan to solder them to some scrap brass plate to give an area to glue to.

 

 

Edited March 22, 2017 by Rob Pulham