jjnewitt

Unfortunately Justin I haven't got any photos of all steel bolsters, but I did take some shots of a Vac braked BCV that was at the Bulmer Railway Centre for a short while in 1993. I have reproduced them below in case they might be of use to anyone contemplating modifying theirs using your kits.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for posting them, they're useful reference photographs. I took lots of detail shots when I measured up the bolsters but neglected to take any overal views!

I like the picture at Hereford with the Strip Coils and Slab Coils in. Great stuff!

If anyone finds a picture of the all steel bolsters I'd love to have a look as I haven't come across them before.

Justin

Hi Les,

I found a couple of pictures of my completed Brassmasters bogie. It's actually the bogie from the Jubilee chassis rather that the Scot but they should be useful. I seem to remember having to shorten the two compensating springs as they were a bit long. Other than that it was built as per the instrucitons.

Justin

The strange thing about Mashima is that the owner is shutting up shop, possibly without seeking a buyer. At least this is what i get from reafing through this and other discussions. Mashima motors are good value and they work, so why isn't/wouldn't someone out there be talking to the owner?

As I understand it Mr Mashima can no longer get the magnets for his motors so there is little life left in the business to sell on to someone else.

Justin 

Have you thought about doing a etch to add onto the Bachmann bogie bolster wagon for the steel top to the bolsters instead of the all wood ones fitted? A simple fold up etch with holes that match the original spacing for the stanchions would be useful.

I have plans to do some of the later type bolsters constructed from steel channel with a wooden top for the Cs. These almost certainly be resin castings from high quality 3D prints possibly with a couple of etched bits thrown in to make life eaiser when I cast them. I have the artwork already:

These would need the wooden bolster on a Bachmann C to be removed to fit though.

I'm not aware of any bolsters for the Cs with steel tops, have you got any pictures?

Justin

IMHO, well and truly over-engineered!

...and IMHO a beautifully designed solution. The model railway world is full of stuff that has been badly thought out and well and truly under-engineered. It's nice to have things that have been properly thought out rather than some sloppy, half arsed solution. The Brassmasters bogie, is simple and elegant. Two independent beams sprung to the body. And it works beautifully.

Justin

Further to the brief posting on Friday some proper info on the new releases.

First up is exciting news about a new range of whitemetal wagon axlebox and spring castings for BR era prototypes. They have been produced from the highest quality masters printed for me by Alan Butler at Modelu. The first wave of releases contains 6 different types of axleboxes with both oil and roller bearings types and six types of springs. There are four types of oil axlebox, all for 12/16T prototypes all of which are available with either 5, 6 or LMS 7 leaf J hanger springs. The axleboxes come attached to the springs for ease of fitting and are already slotted for use with sprung suspension systems. There are hooded and non-hooded types of roller bearing that are available with 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 leaf springs. The price is £2.50 for a set of four axleboxes and springs. Further information including product codes can be found on the wagon castings page of my website.

To complete the castings part of the new releases whitemetal vacuum cylinder castings are also available. These have been produced from masters made for me by the talented Morgan Gilbert and make use of etched brackets. There are 18” (F.01) and 21” (F.02) types that are available in packs of three for £6. The 21” cylinders are also available singularly with etched brackets for fitting to the end of hopper wagons (F.02A - £2).

There is a new underframe for the BR 1/448 clasp brake Tube wagons (B.54 - £15) and buffer springing mechanisms to suit my 9” (B.93A - £4.50) and 10” (B.93B - £3) underframes. These provide guitar wire springing for buffers in place of conventional coil springs.

There are also three types of detailing etch for the Bachmann Bogie Bolster C / Macaw B:

C.05 (£16.50) is an etch that provides detailing and new trussing using brass angle along the same sort of lines as my Bogie Bolster E etch for the Lima model. The brass angle is included (though the etch is available on its own without the angle for £10.50). Full brakegear is included and there are options for GWR D/C brakes, unfitted lever brakes and the two arrangements of vacuum fitted lever brakes. Detailing parts for the solebar and headstock along with bolster shackles are also included.

For those that don’t wish to replace the trussing on the Bachmann model there are two sets of levers and vees etches to provide new brakegear and body detailing. Both etches include sufficient parts for two wagons. C.05A (£9) is for lever brakegear and provides options to build either two unfitted or one fitted and one vacuum braked wagon and C.05B (£6) covers the GWR D/C brake wagons.

Last but not certainly not least is a loco chassis for the LNER F/4/5/6 family (X.01 - £32). This is a set of commissioned etches that I am delighted to make available to a wider audience via Rumney Models. It is designed to provide a modern CSB fitted chassis for the Alan Gibson body and incorporates sprung trucks that make use of the CSB wires along with full brakegear, balance weights, ashpan sides, etc. Full details can be found on my Hosted Products page.

Futher details on all products can be found on the Rumney Models website.

Justin

Hope you're taking plenty of stock this weekend!

 

Mike.

I think I've got plenty. It will probably prove to either be far too much or nowhere near enough though! 

Not long ago I built a brilliant resin kit for a carriage. It had resin bogies, which I made. I've run it a fair bit but I've noticed a (slight) tendency for it to derail, particularly being propelled. Accepting that my track might not be perfect (though it is the only vehicle I've made which seems to derail), I've just substituted (as an experiment) very old-fashioned cast-metal, non-compensated bogies. In themselves they weigh more than the whole carriage (which is quite light). I've fitted pin-point bearings in the old bogies and they ride beautifully - being pushed, being pulled, fast and slow, over complex trackwork. The wheelsets are exactly the same. The technology producing those old (BSL/PC) bogies is very old these days. Yet, in this case, as runners, they are superior to the new. Not all progress is automatically for the better. 

I'd suggest that the problem was not really with Bill's resin cast bogies themselves but with the fact that the coach was too light; especailly if it was mixed in with other, heavier coaches. Some more ballast in the coach would probably have worked equally as well as changing the bogies.

I've been coming to the conclusion for a while that the most important factor in reliable running (after decent track and round wheels) is weight, consistantly applied. I know of an American gentleman who, in quest for perfect running, weighs all of his bogie freight stock to 11/12ozs (!!) per bogie wagon and by all acounts his stuff doesn't derail, ever. It's why RTR steam locos generally don't pull as much as metal locos or RTR diesels and why light vehicles behave badly when mixed in with heaviier stock. You can have all the fancy suspension systems in the world but if your vehicles are either light and/or of wildly varying weights then you're going to have issues... 

Justin

Hi Dave,

Are we likely to see the Duplex wagon buffers (B041) any time soon?

Justin

I was looking be retiring in a couple of years anyway!!!

I hope you keep going a bit longer than that Dave. I've yet to see a 3d printed buffer that matches the quality of your castings. 

Justin

It may not apply in this case but it is used on all vehicles with two (or more) rigid, ie non-steering axles. In the case of these trailers the front axle is on a turntable and is therefore a 'steering' axle giving articulation.

Apologies. I missed the fact that you were talking about the road trailers rather than the rail wagons. It all makes sense now!

Justin

It only applies to three axle vehicles with two non-steering axles. For example a 10' (4'DD) would give an overall wheelbase of 12'.

Presumably though this system doesn't apply to three axle vehicles where there was no articulation? The 13' and 16' wheelbase ro-rail trailers were rigid with just a little side play on the centre axle.

Justin

....I've just compared the model to a close up image of D5000 and find all details correct in every aspect on the model. The grilles are coloured black on the model....which, in my view, is the source of increased contrast and comments about how the grilles appear.

 

If grilles and bodyside were the same colour then I don't think that these comments would have arisen.

 

Dave

Actually I thought the grills looked better on the green one. It's the blue one they look worse to me on but never mind. 

I like the Oleo buffers, they're really good! I wonder if they'd do them seperately? 

...the bodyside grilles varied between sub classes....I haven't had the caliper on them yet but I find nothing offensive in their dimensions.

 

Dave

It's not just about fractions of a milimeter on a vernier Dave it's about how they look in the context of a model and the grills on this don't quite look right. They look a little clunky which on anything else maybe wouldn't stand out but because of the rest of the model (apart from the poor glazing) it does.

I wonder if everyone is going to do a serious detailing excerise on all their stock to bring it up to this kind of level of detail?

Justin

Have you considered doing a chassis for the 1/448 Tube wagons? The brakes in particular on the Parkside kit leave a lot to be desired...

Yup it's on the list. All measured up and I started the artwork a little while ago. It slipped behind a few other things for various reasons but I want to pick it up again soon.

Justin

Hi Justin, on the subject of coach bogies, are the BR B4 bogies likely to be in the next batch for release?

 

Barry

Hi Barry,

I don't see why not. I'll have a look at getting the artwork for the B4 bogies done at the same time as the others. It makes sense to do them together.

Justin

Any idea when work in ernest is going to start on the Bristol Parkway to Temple Meads section.?

 

Keith.

Work has started in a way. They've been clearing the currently unused side of the formation down at Narroways in preparation for the re-quadrupling for a couple of weeks now.

Justin 

So they'll accommodate the MJT castings? or the plastic Bachmann sides? Which one...both? Hmmm, the interest deepens.

 

Mike 

That depends on how close they are to the prototype. Hornby do Stanier and Gresley bogies, both of which look pretty good.

Gresley 8'6'' would be good, presumably sprung or compensated?

They will be fully sprung as per my other coach bogies. See my website for an idea of wht they'd be like. 

Justin

Coach bogies? What coach bogies? Which others are you going to add? Is there going to be a change in design? Interesting...

 

Mike

Definately LMS 9' and quite possibly Gresley 8'6" as well. I'm not thinking of radically changing the design. I may tweak the bolster to be more accommodating to cosmetic bolster spring detail but that's about all.

Justin

Hi Dave,

Yes that's a reasonable incentive. No need for cash upfront. I'll try and make a start on them in the near future and I will look at having them ready for Scaleforum next year. I make no promises about the timescale though!

Justin

Hi both,

Prseflo underframes are certainly on the list but there are currently other items ahead of them in the queue. They are going to be a fairly major job as they include a type of brakegear that I have yet to draw up and there may well end up being two kits as there were two variants on that brakegear. I haven't been in a great rush to do them as I'm not sure how many I'd really sell given that they are going to be complicated and they aren't going to be cheap. By the time you include ladders and possibly walkways as well the kit is going to be in the £15 area for just the etch and springing wire. If there is a large demand for them (and by all means put your hands up if you are seriously interested) then I could look at moving them further up the list. I do have all the information I need for them though so there's no issues on research.

Next up for release will be the 1/801 fish van kit, a kit for the LNER 12T Plate wagons, EM gauge Peak pony trucks, the Shochood B kit, a BR axleguard version of the 17'6" x 10' LNER clasp brake chassis and Bogie bolster C detailing. There may well be some new coach bogies in there as well. That lot needs really needs to be done and dusted given the work that has already been put in and should keep me occupied until at least Scalefour North next year.

Justin 

Sort of like this:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/17155-greyscroft-mine-cleveland-ironstone-in-1955-em-gauge/page-19&do=findComment&comment=2010286

Access was a bit limited and my lack of flexibility prevented me from doing any crawling about but I'll post some up later. Got to go out and supervise the lawn mower at the moment.

P

Yes exactly like that.   Interesting stuff.