airnimal

I haven't heard of the Vimes boots theory before because I don't read fiction. I don't need anyone else's nonsense in my head because I have enough of my own. I did read the Lord of the rings once but I found it hard going, I tend to read about history or biographies . I do agree about buying good quality tools and have never regretted buying any. In fact I regret not buying some that I would have like but at the time didn't have the spare money to pay for them. John, the idea for a small layout is still in my head but at the moment we are still coming to terms with life after lock down and trying to get back to normal. So I just get a few wagons out and read plenty of railway books and dream.

It was my friend's comments about the cost of wagon kits that led me to mention it here. He was starting from scratch and required a large number of wagons to populate his new venture. He was building a particular railway in the period about 1910 so needed wagons to fit the bill for the time and locality. So it was a case of sourcing kits to achieve his high standards of build and represent accuracy that satisfied him. We have come a long way since the days of plastic wagons kits like 3H that satisfied modellers 50 years ago. But my friend was starting from scratch so needed 60 or 70 wagons and even if one bought wagons costing between £35 and £50 it is still a considerable amount of money. And then there is the cost of 10 locos and 30 coaches and the layout to build. As I said before, I scratch build because I am a hopeless at kit building. I couldn't even put a Coopercraft plastic wagon together properly. Nick, I think I have given up the idea that I am going to build any GWR wagons. I don't have the passion or knowledge to build any that will be accurate enough to satisfy me. Any with so many expert's watching and pointing out errors, it's probably better to concentrate on things I know more about.

I was going to start a new thread on the cost of O gauge wagons but I have forgotten how to go about starting a new one so I have added this on here. A friend is starting to build a large O gauge pre-grouping layout in S7. And he has sought my opinion of various wagon kits available. And one of the questions came up were the costs of kits and especially when upgrades were deemed necessary because of inferior parts or to fit the wagon in the correct time period. We are aware of course that the wheels would have to be changed fo S7 but the other aspects would still be necessary in finescale as well. And then the conversation turned to second hand values and never getting back the amount spent in the first place. We know that this is our hobby and very few hobbies are cost effective but this came home to us just recently when the sale at auction of a beautiful layout in S7 with professional built rolling stock went for peanuts compared with what it cost to build. We believe that had the layout and stock being finescale it would have generated more money provided it had been looked after the original owner died. At least all my S7 wagons have wheels that can be changed for finescale if necessary when I'm gone unless any of my grandchildren want them which I doubt. My friend mentioned that some 4 wheeled wagons when up graded to his standards were going to cost in the region of between £70 to £80 each and then they still needed building, and some of the more exotic ones were going to cost more. Getting old, the subject always come to what are your family going to do when one goes to the engine shed in the sky and how much are your models worth ? I have heard horror stories of families selling entire collections quickly just to get there hands on some money rather than wait until friends in the know can realise a realistic price through the right channels. When I first started on O gauge 40 years ago one could buy a Slaters wagon kit with everything in for a few pounds. Of course wages were different then and the cost of living we all know about but when do we find it's starting to get to much. I scratch build for several reasons but the main one is I am useless at kit building, but a bonus is the cost which rarely goes over £20 per wagon. I have several friends older than myself with vast collections which I know they have spent amazing amounts of money on which frightens me a little especially when my best friend mentions with tongue in cheek he will skip all my models when I go to save time.

Nick, it's not the steel frame that I can use again but the Exactoscale internal part that I will use for something else. I have nothing to report from my workbench but I have some news from my surgeon who has given me the all clear to resume life. I can ride my bike and go on holiday and drive again. My last test came back positive with my PSA level at zero. That's the good news but then my other half has decided that the second bedroom has to be decorated before the Australian crew come here in June. Not only decorated but new beds and all them rest off the paraphernalia. Trying to move beds, wardrobes and dressing tables from room to room and sometimes back again as well as all the painting is not my favourite pastime. And then the cost on top of losing our not claims bonus on our car because her indoors has bumped our chariot into a posh Audi in B & Q carpark. It was only about 5 mph but it's still caused a considerable amount of damage to our car as well as the losing the £300 excess. Deep joy ! So with no modelling being produced I got out a few wagons to remind me of what I want to achieve in the future.

I don't have a great deal of knowledge on the present day preservation scene and what wagons are lurking about. But when I went to the Great Central Railway for a run on that railway we stayed over at Quorn where the wagon group are undertaking rebuilding a number of projects. One such wagons is a 7 plank ex- private owner wagon in a distressed state.

Try as I might to build this van I am admitting defeat. There are only so many rejects I can muster before I end going completely mad. I can still rescue the underframe for something else that hopefully won't be as taxing. The ratio between scrap and models completed is becoming unacceptable.

I sat and looked at my progress last night and was totally unsatisfied with my work. I find it harder to make of a model that I don't have much interest in. I don't have any GWR models so in building this van it hasn't my usual enthusiasm. So I have started again and cut the ends out and chamfer the edges to make the right angle joins under the corner frames. All the overhang will be cut back later.

Richard, thank you for the photograph which is very helpful. Len Tavender has 2 drawings in his railway equipment drawings book of these vans, one iron frame and one wooden underframe. The iron frame one looks identical to your photograph so I'm hoping that if I model a van using this I won't be too far out. I have cut out the basic body of 60 thou and scribed with my usual Olfa cutter. I have angled the blade to make the cut with a more pronounced groove than I normally do. I am not sure this will be any better but it does make the line wider. Until I get around to painting this I will not sure if this is a improvement or not. Trying to photograph the sides in white plastic is not easy. I have cut the sides into 3 pieces and stuck the middle section onto a backing of 20 thou because the door part is stood proud of the body. Nick, if what you say about the top and bottom of the frame being slightly different it would be helpful if you had dimensions that showed the amount needed to be removed from the bottom part. Can you tell me about the bump stops above the axleboxes ? Are they solid wood and to the right of the door on the frame there is a small rod of some sort. Do you know what it is or for please. Any help is gratefully received because my knowledge of things GWR is very limited. I have a couple of books on GWR matters so I will look what the rivets and bolts are like on similar wagons.

Nick, thank you for that information which is very useful because I do not have the Atkins book. I have measured my attempt and it works out at 72 thou wide. According to my conversion chart 3" works out at 68.90 thou which is close enough for me. Incidentally the Coopercraft mouldings work out to about 82 thou wide. So with this new information to me I will carry on and do a little bit more.

I have been pointed in the direction of some photographs on another web site and some more information. I keep referring to steel frames when perhaps I should call them iron frames. I don't believe that the Coopercraft mouldings would be suitable to adapt to what I require. Looking at the photographs of a suitable van and looking at my last effort I don't think it is too far out. I could do with knowing the dimension of the part of iron frame which projects out so I could measure against my own effort.

I'm totally unsatisfied with my efforts with this attempt at a steel frame. My library doesn't run to many GWR books and my knowledge even less. Once I posted the first pictures last night I was horrified to look at the thickness on the edge of the angle. Then I measured the thickness to discover it was close to 60 thou. Clearly this is not correct so I made another attempt using 10 thou in place of the 20 thou used previously. This reduced the thickness considerably and was better visually but I am still unhappy with my progress. I then remembered I still had a moulded plastic spruce for a Coopercraft kit in my bits box which I could compare it with. This when placed along side of my efforts reinforced my opinion that my is undernourished. I looked at my stock of Evergreen section and I don't have the necessary angle available, so until I acquire some of the larger size I will have to abandoned this for the time being. I think in this case my lack of knowledge of the subject and my desire to restore my mojo got the better of me. A case of fools rush in !

I had a blood test this morning before I talk to the surgeon next week. I am hoping he says I can travel overseas and get back on my bike. I also went to the dentist as well for the first time in nearly 3 years. Is this the start of the return of normal life ? I looked at the GWR van I made a mess of awhile ago and wondered if I should have another go at it. There are a couple of drawings in Len Tavender's railway equipment drawings of these vans. One have a wooden solebar and one has a steel underframe. The steel underframe always has an appeal to me and I have a couple of wagons made with them. Going to my box of Evergreen plastic section I discovered the that there wasn't a complete match for the size I required. I therefore had to make up the size I needed from different parts. So a flat piece of 20 X 188 thou had a couple of pieces of angle glued top and bottom to form the right size channel. On the back the 2 parts of the angle did not meet in the middle, so a infill of 20 X 60 was used before another piece of 20 thou thicken the whole lot up. Now I have the basic frame I cannot at this stage glue a floor on top because the outside frame of the van sits on top of this channel section. I will have to make the body first and glue the floor higher up in the body. This makes this van slightly more difficult to make than a normal wooden underframe.

Still a couple of weeks away from seeing the surgeon. I am desperate to go out on my bike but without the clearance I could do more harm than good so I will just have to be patience. So with little motivation to do much and the weather pouring lots of liquid from above so preventing a long walk without looking like a trawlerman. Trying to get my mojo back I looked at my own W-irons with regards springing them. I have used them with just lettering gravity take it course without any springing and they do work that way. I have had several rakes of wagons run successful around layouts and test tracks without any problems. But the gentleman who did the drawing for me always intended that they be sprung with a phosphor bronze wire soldered in. I didn't like that the wire was to be soldered in permanently making cleaning and painting difficult. So I came up with the idea to solder a small piece of brass tube to the bottom of the W-iron to locate the phosphor bronze wire that could be removable for painting. I have a couple of different ways of bending the wire to get the best result and I prefer the one bent into a Z shape although you will be able to see the wire. Once the wire is blackened it will be less obvious .

I have decided that this Dia 2 wagon isn't going to progress any further. With constantly been put down on hard surfaces the corners have become rounded and worn. I sometimes place a soft mat under plastic models to prevent this sort of think happening but when I get sidelined for various reasons I get sloppy in my habits and forget. So not having much mojo I got out a set of Slaters wheels to trim the excessive webbing between the spokes. This set me thinking that I haven't photographed a before and after shot with F/S and S7 wheels in place in which to compare them with. So before your very eyes I have do just that. Once cleaned of excessive webbing I then chemically blacken them with Birchwood Super Black. Other than this little bit of tinkering with I haven't done anything much at all. All I seem to do is wait for things to happen like waiting to see the surgeon with regards if I am clear to go to Australia to see the family there. That's another wait to see if the premier of Western Australia will allow anybody in yet. All this waiting just means we are all getting older without much progress. And the older we get i see friends around me all going to that engine shed in the sky. I feel very frustrated with all what going on with the world at present and my escape in my modelling world is not happening. So this afternoon I will go and have a beer with my cycling friends and tomorrow I am going to a retirement do for an ex work colleague who is going after nearly 40 years in the same job.

Well after making a new jig this morning I drilled the first corner plate. Immediately I noticed that one hole in the second row was on join between the 2 planks which sent alarm bells ringing. Back to the drawings and photographs and sure enough I had only glanced at the drawings before drilling the second set of holes in the jig. This is the story of my life assuming thinks are there when careful observations will reveal the truth. I will put this down having other thinks in my subconscious to deal with other than railway modelling. I have soldered a bit of wire in the offending hole so I don't forget in the future and make the same mistake again. I will plug this middle hole with a bit of plastic rod and clean it up and hopefully it won't be noticed. These .6mm rivets are very tiny and ping of into outer space when I pick them up with tweezers. 12 BA nuts are bad at flying off and never seen again but these rivets are even worse.

Graham, I have made another attempt at a drilling jig that was a bit better quality than the first. This also includes a second row of holes for these rivets. Because the corner plates are 9" wide on both sides the jig will just turned round as per photographs. I haven't tried using it yet because I have been busy with family matters today. Hopefully this if it works it may spur me on a bit and get my mojo back.

I ventured into the workshop this morning for the first time for awhile and tidy up the endless books and tools that have been littering the workbench. I find a tidy workspace always make for better mindset. So returning to the last wagon I have decided to have a go at making a drilling jig out of a thin scrap of nickel. I marked out and drilled the holes for the first row of holes which made me look at the drawings and photographs where I found out the the second row doesn't have as many holes. At least making this first jig which isn't perfect it did open my eyes to the fact that these corner plates had different patterns of holes in different batches of wagon depending on the date they were made. I will make another jig but to a better standard, but it does show promise. I still feel very healthy and continue to feel confident with my medical condition. The biggest issue is just waiting for things to happen regarding going to Australia to see our daughter and family. My daughter is getting very angry with the governor of Western Australia who keeps changing the rules on a regular basis.

I am still about but lying very low at present. I am still feel on top of the world and life is getting back to normal or as normal in the present circumstances will allow. I have been walking between 2 or 3 miles about 4 days a week and I have even been to the pub to have drinks with my cycling chums. The grumpy old man I mentioned before being aggressive when I went for my stitches out complained that when he drank water which everybody had to do, that it caused him pain. The nurse told him not to drink any more until he had a scan. He came and sat opposite me and immediately drank a full jug of water ! How can you feel sorry for someone who ignored the advice he was given by the people who are there to help him. I am now waiting to hear from my surgeon and was given a date in March which seemed a long time to wait so I phoned and asked could it be brought forward. I explained to his secretary that we wanted to go to Australia to see our new granddaughter as well as the others of course and she gave me a cancellation for mid February which is better. I have tried to do some modelling but the mojo has gone walkabouts. I hear what people say I should plan my layout or other related subjects but unfortunately I am bankrupt of any ideas. I am hoping this is only temporary.

When I was working before I retired I had a Bromton to ride the 1.5 miles to the station and the same distance at the other end of my journey to my place of work. So a 6 mile a day for 5 years on the Bromton was more than enough. One problem I had with the Bromton was one of parts wearing out on a regular basis. Wheels I had 4 in that time and sprockets and chains were being replaced constantly. I once met a couple of blokes doing the coast to coast on a pair but I don't think I would like to attempt to do it on a Bromton. I also have another folding bike which I have done a large amount of miles on called an Airnimal. This is a folder and did cost a fair amount of money when I bought it back in 2006. I paid £2030 complete with travelling case that allowed me to take by plane. The bike folds take a lot more time than a Bromton but the ride is like a normal road bike. It has taken me on many holidays around the world including many rough tracks loaded with panniers for touring 3 weeks at a time.

I am afraid they are 7mm scale. I have been working in 7mm scale now for 40 years, first in finescale and for the last 30 years Scaleseven. I admire all the people whom work in the smaller scales but I could never get anything to work in 4mm.

I have found the drawing which was part of the same article as the drawing posted by BR traction instructor. This is the smaller 4 wheeler LNWR tender frame without the tender top flared part. I cut out a set of frames many years ago to make a S7 model of one which never progressed much further.

There were drawings in some old HMRS society magazines in the 1970's I believe. I have a copy somewhere if I can find them. If nothing else turns up you can PM me and I will try to provide a copy. Mike.

I was released from Hospital yesterday with flying colours after having the plumbing and stitches out and after testing everything works. Well it works up to a point but I hope the recovery will now slowly improve so I can get back on my bike and visit friends and family. I was with 4 other elderly men also having the same procedure but the difference in attitude was quite alarming. One gentleman at 80 was bright and chipper and moving like Fred Estaire while a gentleman at 72 was grumpy and aggressive. He asked me about my operation and who the surgeon was and when I replied I didn't know he became agitated and was very rude. I left feeling less than cheerful but quickly picked up on the way home with my wife. I have found my emotions have been all over the place throughout the past 5 or 6 weeks when I found out that I needed to address my predicament. But hopefully all that now is in the past and in the new year things will get back to normal or as normal as can be under the present circumstances. I have tried to do a little on my Dia 2 wagon with mixed results. I have marked the location of the ironwork on the sides and drilled through the sides of the body to insert the coach bolts from the inside. Once glued in I cut the excess off on the outside and smoothed the body side ready to accept the ironwork. I then started to drill the corner plates for the very small coach bolts seen on the early built of these wagons. Unfortunately my marking out was way off and my hand drilling was even worse. I really need a jig to get consistency and accuracy but at my present state of mind I dont think that is possible. I may fill the holes and go back to putting the larger square bolts on that the latter wagons were built with.

I have glued the end stanchions on and left them to dry for a couple of hours. Then I filed them to shape with a large flat file before finishing them with some abrasive paper on a flat surface. There is a good photograph in Vol 1 of LNWR wagons showing the shape of the bottom of these stanchions which has been a great help.

Hopefully I am on the mend and feeling a great deal better. Tomorrow I am back at Hospital to have the plumbing and stitches out and observations to check that everything works as it should. I must thank my better half for all the help over the past 10 days. She has looked after me so well it has made the whole process so much easier. So the first time in a couple of weeks I have had a bit of enthusiasm for some work on the Dia 2 wagon I have been attempting to build. I have made a new jig to space the end stanchions out at the correct distance. I did have one in the past which got lost in the workshop somewhere, so it a new one was made with a few improvements including the bottom face which lines up with the ends of the headstock. I also drilled it to get the coupling pockets in the right place. I have clamped a pair of end stanchions together to file the top angle so they are both in the same plane.