Mr Grumpy

Thanks for the info Gordon :-)Funny thing is , I lived opposite the power station for 19 years and don’t remember a steam loco delivering or removing the wagons. However, there were two Stephenson saddle tanks that were employed there. Regards, Richard

Not sure if this has been seen before? Sorry if it's a duplicate. Unfortunately, I don't have the photographer's details, or an exact date. The location is adjacent to what was 'Suttons Seeds trial ground in Earley near Reading, the Thames is behind the locomotive. The empties have been removed from the CEGB Earley power station by an ex GWR 45xx. I think the photo is post '64 as the oil fired extension was built around then (The shorter chimney in the distance, the 2nd one is hidden by the locomotive's smoke) The wooded area in the distance is the start of Sonning Cutting.

The tank fittings are reasonable lost wax castings. The truss rod anchors need drilling out to 1.1mm and the barrel strap fixings to 0.8mm. The Proxxon pillar drill is very precise and perfect for these tasks, even if my method of holding the parts is questionable:-)

The undercarriage of the LMS version of the wagon is fairly basic, but looks reasonably busy once painted and weathered. d

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/106181-mr-grumpy’s-workbench-18000-gallons-of-milk/?p=2623337 Hi Mark, Try this link to my build :-) Kind regards, Richard. Ps..further back is my build of the MOK 1400

The next two LMS chassis have already had a hard life... Both have been re-built following a drowning in Mekpak and also had the indignity of being left behind at a lodge following a couple of days away. I thought I would post this photo to show the etched W irons and sprung hornblocks. They really are neat and work well. Also easier to make up than the original ones of a few years back.

Hi Tim,All my tankers have etched name plates that are attached to the barrels. In BR days, the barrels were generally plain steel colour, generally hidden underneath layers of sour milk and grime. I will add gloss patches to the solebars for the wagon numbering details.

Just a quick update. I find the barrels too shiny, so I have used Humbrol Matt cote varnish to tone one down. Here they are side by side, and I feel the matt version looks more realistic. I have used the first wagon to try out some ideas, which I may or may not carry forward to the next wagons. I soldered the tie rods in to the central support for extra strength, but it makes fitting the barrel straps very difficult, so I won't be repeating. Also, I tried different types of glue to fix parts such as axle boxes, pipes, buffers, decking and barrel supports. I'm not a lover of glue as I'm very impatient, so I guess the super glue probably wins on that score. Also the impact adhesive wasn't successful on axle boxes and barrel supports.

All the tanker barrels are primed, two have been sprayed with Halfords aluminium. They are a tad shiny, but obviously won't stay like this for long :-) I'll get the barrels fitted out and name plates attached, then add a little dirt...

I forgot to mention....after filling the joints on the tanks, I used the redundant sun shields with wet and dry glued inside to ensure the tanks stayed round. Each shield has progressively finer paper from 400-2500 grit. Edit: since taking the photos, each shield has the grit grade written on :-)

After browsing Paul Bartlett's excellent site, I have come to a reasonable conclusion that the LMS and LNER used the wedge type fastener, and the GWR and SR used a bolt on the end of a screw thread on the truss rods. I'm sure there will be examples where this isn't the case, but from the photos, this would appear to be the norm. So, I may try to replicate the wedge for my LMS wagons, and use the nuts on the GWR variety. http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brmilktanks

Following a spray with the Clostermann black etch primer, the chassis is ready for accepting the tank. Couplings are CPL.

I think this may also be an ex LMS tanker, it also has the wedge fixings. I'll leave it as it is at present.

I actually bought nuts to go on the ends. However, looking at the LMS example at the NRM, the rods appear to be held tight by wedges driven through a slot in the rods where they come through the end beams. I haven't thought of a realistic way to reproduce the wedges.

One down....almost! If the weather is kind, I'll nip out to the shed and get some primer on tomorrow. I am going to try Clostermann black etch primer for the chassis, and use this as the base to build up the weathering. The rods attaching the end beams to the middle solebar castings and the straps have all been soldered. The tank, ladders, straps and buffers are not fixed yet. Also some small fittings and discharge valves will go on after painting. All six tanks are going to be primed with a build up type primer and rubbed back smooth, then spray painted aluminium. The next LMS tanker will have the later tank stands fitted.

A quick update on the wagon build. I'm finding the LMS version of the tanker a little more fiddly than I remember the GWR one being when I built it a few years back. I haven't progressed much with the other two frames, but I'll be moving back to each in the new year. With the tank temporarily in place, the suspension works a treat, and the wagon glides through a reverse bend of two Peco points effortlessly:-)

The first job with the etched W irons is to punch the rivets through and form two 45 degree bends to 'joggle' the top of the W iron out. I form the bottom bend first, then add a decent fillet of solder to the bend to prevent it trying to straighten when forming the top bend. Once the two bends are formed, I clean up the fillet.

Hi Jeff Now you mention it, I remember doing that in metalwork lessons at school :-)

Hi Aden, Slaters tell you how to make your own in the kit instructions, but I used 'Hobby Holidays' blackening fluid as I couldn't get the Birchwood Casey fluid from the show I was attending. Everything must be scrupulously clean and de-greased. I just individually dunked the buffers in the fluid for 20 seconds rinsed and dried them on a radiator and job done :-) The brass buffer housings took several goes, but I think it's best to do it in short treatments. The etched brass coupling hooks took around 30 seconds in one go. The first set of 6 wheels and 3 axles took a one minute application. The rest (30 wheels 18 axles) didn't take so easily, and took 3 applications. I wondered if the fluid was losing some strength. I have ordered some Birchwood Casey fluid, one for steel the other for brass and will see how this works for future projects.

Due to sub zero temperatures in the workshop even with the fan heater going full tilt, I have been finding things to do in warmer parts of the house. But I have made a little progress. All the buffer housings have been chemically blackened fettled and painted. The buffers, wheels and coupling hooks have also been treated but not painted. There are several differences between the LMS and GWR wagons including chassis, brake linkages, buffer housings and wheels. So, I took the option of building the LMS chassis together, and once the wheels are in place, crack on with the others. I'm at the stage of fitting the microstrip to the underside of the chassis girders, the only part of these kits I don't enjoy. Also in the photo, is one of my wife's nail sanding stick things , which following a stealthy trip to her make up stuff is now mine ;-) It's excellent for filing the cusps from the plastic parts :-)

Hi Mike, I'll possibly batch build to an extent, but there are differences between the LMS and GWR wagons. Also when it comes to the ladders, I have a couple of etched platforms for two of the GWR wagons. A further deviation from the standard build is the sprung W irons. I had considered fitting them just to the centre wheels, but the etched variety are slightly thinner and would have noticed. All up, each wagon will weigh 7oz so should sit nicely on the track. Well, I hope so :-)

.....6 barrels ready for their first coat of primer. I'm anticipating a further touch of filler before the first coat of paint. Edit...forgot to mention, each barrel is filled with 3oz of bagged sand. This also helps to prevent the hollow box sound.

The tanker production line has begun :-) Each tank is made up of 3 segments plus the ends. Since the photo, I have all the pieces cut from the sprues and sanded smooth. I was going to use bagged sand as weight for the wagons, but I may nip out and buy some lead curtain weights instead.

One of my disappointments when deciding to plan Tetbury, was that there was no milk tanker traffic. There were plenty of milk churns, but none of the lovely 6 wheel tankers. When I finally discovered I couldn't fit a pint in to a quart pot, or Tetbury just wouldn't squeeze in to 18'6'', I had to design a fictitious layout which may or may not be called Titbury. Every big grey cloud has a silver lining, and I was able to design in a creamery which will be capable of comfortably holding six 3000 gal tankers. For a bit of variety and to stop boredom creeping in, I bought 3 ex-LMS and 3 ex-GWR slaters wagons. To add further to the variety, I'm using Rumney Models exquisite loading platforms on two of the ex-GWR tankers, and all will have his etched name plates. I'm also using sprung etched W irons and CPL screw couplings. I'm also going to experiment with blackening the wheels, couplings and buffers. I built a single wagon several years ago and didn't much like the 3 section plastic barrel, which took a fair bit of work to hide the joint seams, so I might consider rolling replacement barrels from brass sheet. I'll have a go with the plastic sections first though. I was inspired to invest in the tanker traffic after reading Martyn's (3 LINK) account of his excellent tanker build. Like Martyn, I will use Halfords aluminium cellulose, although not much of it will be seen of it once I'm finished

All ready for rusting away in a corner of my coal yard :-)