Dewhurst

I have just read with interest the articles by Halfwit on the building of the R.B. Model (ex Clarke) Stanton slag ladle and car kit. Some of the questions that have resulted from this series of articles I have all ready had to sort out when I built my first Clarke kit when they were first introduced. With experience I have found that when building in "00" it is better to make the side frames 9 mm. wide rather than the 10.5 mm. stated in the drawings supplied. The 9 mm. will enable the wheel back to back to be achieved. The pin/bolt on the buffer upper gusset is intended for the end of the chain to be placed on when not in use. If not stowed the chain will be dragged along the floor. If we could see the opposite side of the photo we would see that the end of the chain would be fitted on the pin/bolt. On the drawing a length of wire is bent up to form the two lower retaining hooks for the chain at the non operating end (see photo supplied). A neater job can be made by drilling two 0.05 mm. holes into the buffer beam where the hooks should be and inserting a small bent piece of wire held in with super glue. The pulleys in the base plate are too close to the centre of the car and should be moved towards the axle so that the chain does not foul the ladle when tipping. The rusty paint finish you have achieved is to be recommended, but it is too clean! When in service they were stained and splashed with all sorts of things, lime, slag dust, sand and lumps of slag in all the out of the way places. The bottom plate would be full of spilt slag along with a good amount on the buffer stocks. Orange rust stains were a common sight around the tipping gear and where things were coming loose. These wagons saw some very rough treatment with very little maintenance. I know I have emptied them. On my "00" Sheepbridge Iron Works layout the slag is left to cool before being tipped, so the slag comes out in solid lumps to be broken up in to road stone etc. I have there fore simulated the running slag from the blast furnace and down into the ladle below with a tapered piece of thin perspex painted with orange paint, the ladle is half full of liquid slag made from polyfiller and sawdust mixed with water and orange acrylic paint with a small amount of orange fluorescent paint to simulate heat. I still prefer to use the original method of producing the eight holes in the wheels, which was to fill the centre with filler and drill the eight-hole 0 .75mm. with a jig. I hope that these comments will help new builders achieve a better model slag pot and car supplied by R.B.Models.