airnimal

After all the social events and birthday parties I will try and get back to doing some modelling. I keep looking at the Exactoscale etched parts that came my way. After the disaster of the GWR van I opened a packet of RCH 12" W-irons and started to make them up. Using the experience of the GWR ones I liked the soft suspension and the ability to remove the wheels with ease but not the fact that the W-irons are not soldered with much solder. There is a small amount to in the centre where the fold up bracket is but that is all. The fold up wheel carrier slides behind the 2 small prongs which fold up to locate the carrier. If you fold up the prongs at 90% the carrier will not slide as it should. These are not soldered which I think this is a weak point if you wish to remove the wheels frequently. Scratch building requires me to remove the wheels on a regular basis and if you keep bending the W-irons apart all the time the fold weakens and is not as good as it should be. So I have modified the prongs by soldering some bits in front of these prongs to strengthen them. These parts were made from the bits on the ends of the carriers that were meant to carry brake gear. I cut these off and folded them to the same profile as the prongs once I had a smooth running wheel set and solded them in. The W-irons still don't have much solder on them but the small prongs are protected from been badly bent and ultimately failure.

After a very intense period of activities which is still going on I have managed to get into the workshop for a couple of hours. I have added the numberplate after painting which hasn't gone particular well and I will have to do it again. There are still lots to do on this ballast brake but it will have to wait. Activities have included a garden party, a reunion of ex work colleagues, a couple of good bike rides and the dreaded dec.................... as well as several social events plus a trip to the hospital. Plus we have taken the grandsons to Eureka again which always goes down well. The highlight of this time was a couple of days away at the Great Central Railway and a full footplate ride on an engine which was a engine my wife's father would have driven. He was a driver based at Patricroft and Agecroft and the engine was 73156 which was based at Patricroft for some of its life. My sister's partner has always wanted to drive a steam engine so after recovering from cancer he decided that was what he was going to do. He booked the gold package which wasn't cheap but got the engine and 7 carriages for the full day which included taking some friends and family along for day. So we each got a ride on the footplate along the full length of the line. I had not ridden on the footplate since 1968 when I was given a ride around the engine shed at Heaton Mersey towing dead engines around before the shed closed for good. The next 7 days is fully booked up with a trip to Diggerland for one of the grandsons birthday present, another reunion and a couple more social events before I have another biopsy again at the hospital.

After the trials and tribulations of the past fortnight a bit of good news came my way today. Philip my friend came around bringing with him a new coach for my collection. The quality is far higher anything I could achieve myself.

Before anyone says anything I have dropped another all mighty clanger again ! I have misread the top plank on the drawing for the top frame on the side. The side and ends don't line up as they should. Another for the scrap bin. When I mentioned it, my good lady said I could have spent the time dec............................!

I'm afraid it's not any of those, it's a van for carring tartan paint ! There aren't any doors to prevent thefts so when it arrives at its destination they have to remove the roof to get it out. A little more progress this morning as well as helping the boss pack parcels to send to Australia. This last job can be quite stressful for all sorts of reasons when the contents are precious gifts for the new granddaughter and grandson. If I got this wrong the consequences could be serious. Anyway the end frames have gone on and a start has been made on the sides. The doors on the sides should be slightly proud of the side sheets with the frame made from thinner timbers. I did this on the NSR van but I made the sides from different pieces which made that easier to do. But I have made the sides from one piece on this van. Now do I cut out and replace the middle section and start again or do I ignore it ? Also the roof previously shown is too thick so I have a couple more to try before I decide which one will look right. But all this will have to wait because I am going to see the cycling gang at the pub later. And more importantly the dreaded dec...................has been brought to my attention again !

The basic body has now been assembled but it will need adjusting and trimming. It is not my best work by any means but I may be able to pull it back. I don't think it helps not being a GWR man with an unfamiliar wagon. The roof has been cut to length but it will still need a proper fitting later. I have left it oversize until the body is complete. I am not sure where the roof comes from but is a moulded one from one of our kit makers.

Thanks to everyone for the thumbs up. I have been doing a bit of work on this van today with the basic body cut out. I'm struggling to remember how I have made outside frame van's in the past. There is going to be a bit of guess work until it comes back to me.

It has been a hectic 10 days without any time at the workbench. So tonight I have drilled the chassis for the buffers but nothing more. I am hoping that I have a couple of days modelling before life gets busy again. After I had my MRI scan I have been to see the consultant at the hospital. When I got they I was told the appointment was for a telephone consultation and I shouldn't be there. I then produced my letter telling me to be there and failure to do so would cost the NHS £160 and prevent another person from having an appointment. Today I had a letter from the NHS for a telephone consultation on the 6th September and failure to answer would cost the NHS £60. I hope the doctors are better at there jobs than the people who run the administration department. Anyway I was told my PSA had risen and the cancer has grown. So I am waiting now for another biopsy to see what treatment I will need. I am still fine with what I have been told but my other half is still fretting. The next day I went to a funeral for a ex work colleague who has just died from cancer and was only 60. When I got they I meet only 5 people I knew because of a few more have past away. I suppose as we all get older this is going to be the order of the day. The other reason I have been busy was family duties looking after grandsons for 3 full days , a garden party, family meals out and cycling and drinking beer with the cycling gang. I also went to Skipton to Ellis Clark's mini exhibition. The rest of September looks busy and the dairy is filling up for October.

meil, I am glad the have found a solution to the problem. Did you cut down the bearing as well to use without the pin point ? How was the running compared to the original. I have soldered the new V-iron on using the etched one previously used to locate it before removing the old one. I had a MRI scan on Wednesday this week and to my surprise I had a letter this morning for an appointment to see the consultant on Monday. Now my wife is instantly worried and fretting over it assuming the worst. It doesn't help that I am going to a funeral on Tuesday of a ex work colleague who has just died from c...........and he was only 60. I blame the media for a lot of hype surrounding any form of this dreaded disease. My wife thinks because I have an appointment so quick it must be bad news. When I was cycling at the weekend we met our friend Tom whom we have cycled with around the world with and he is going to Sri Lanka in January for a month. Tom had c........ about 6 years ago so he is trying to see as much as he can in case it returns. I have considered going with him but I am am a little worried that I don't have the stamina like he has. He is 15 years younger than myself and he has been out doing big rides 3 or 4 days a week.

I have not had time at the workbench for the past few days because of the dreaded dec............. I also have been on grandad duties taking grandsons and daughter out to see the telescope at Jodrell bank. The 3 year old has a great interest in the planets and the solar system. He told the lady on the door all about dwarf stars and named all the planets in order that they orbit the earth. He can write his own name and is learning to read and his little brother is following in the same manner. They don't get there brains from me ! I couldn't find a V-iron that matched the drawing so it was back cutting out my own. A couple of bits of nickel were soldered together before being drilled for the brake handle. It's not perfect but it's better all the etched ones on my bits box.

Add a bit of glamour to the job ! There isn't any glamour to H.G.V driving. When my brother had his license about 45 years ago he said to me the dream was driving down a nice long road in France and stopping at a roadside cafe for lunch in the sunshine. When the reality was losing your load on a roundabout on a Friday night rush hour in the rain and running out of hours. I tried it 20 years later and what he said was true. Never ever again, not even if they paid £40 per hour.

One of my favourite bottle beers over the years is McEwans Champion. It used to be known as Champion No 1. It won the bottle beer of the year some years ago when it was brewed by McEwans in Scotland and it was fantastic. Since that time and like lots of breweries has been taken over by the multinational brands. The quality declined when that happened but when they moved the beer to Marstons at Wolverhampton that the taste serious went different. Do big brewers not realise that the water the beers are brewed with have such an impact on the flavour of beers. This beer is not a bad beer but it's not like the beer of old. How many times have you heard that said.

Nickey Line, you would think I had done well getting up those climbs but I still get grief from my older brother for being unfit. He is 3 years older than me at 73 but not married and can go out anytime he wants so is much fitter than me. I have the dec................ to do as well as looking after grandchildren. I am told we are having them 3 days next week with trips planned for lots of different activities. We are off to the dec............. store shortly to buy paint for 4 more rooms ! Deep joy. I looked at the drawing and came to the conclusion that the V-iron was not quite the right shape. So I removed them thinking I would have one that would fit the bill in my bits box. Not so. I did fit one but I am not happy with it so I will probably end up scratch building one. This is going to be a long build without any guarantee I will finish it. My heart isn't really in it !

Sorry to anyone for being cheeky but I needed to find out why we still use long axles that can't be removed for maintenance/painting etc. Enough said. I will not mention it again. I don't feel confident modelling GWR wagons because I don't know a lot about them. Anyway I have made a start on this van. I borrowed a couple of books from a friend and found a drawing done by the late Mike Lloyd. I will probably end up producing a mongrel because I have not found a lot of photographs of these van's. I am probably looking in the wrong places. I have not done a lot today because I feel a bit tired after yesterday's bike ride. I went up the Goyt Valley and over the Cat and Fiddle road to Algreave and then back up again before heading home.

I always wondered why you can take loco wheels off to paint behind but not wagon wheels. It just seems odd you can do one but not the other. Perhaps people don't look on wagons in the same light as locos. If you paint everything before you assemble any kits how do you know if it going to run with any reliability once it's all put together. We have moved on from loco frames that were just two strip of plain brass with holes in them and pressed on wheels but we don't appear to have followed suit with wagon construction to the same extent. I fully understand why most people are happy to follow finescale and not go to the trouble of S7 and yes I was being a bit cheeky. Having built this chassis without any idea on what wagon I am going to make I have decided to a GWR van from this drawing. The W-irons are very similar design being just a few thou out and it will make a change for me because I don't have any GWR wagons at all.

Graham, if you build a 7mm wagon kit with fixed axles, how do you remove the wheels for painting once you have glued it altogether ? If you build the same in 4mm you can remove the wheels just by springing the axleboxes apart with little effort. Why are 7mm wagon bearings so long ? It not as they have to carry a great heavy load. I just feel there must be a better way of construction to be able to paint or replace parts at will.

No matter how much I poke the bear I don't get any reactions. Perhaps apathy rules the roost !

Simon, I am pleased how this wagon chassis has turned out. I particularly like the ability to remove the wheels just by splaying out the W-irons just like you can do in 4 mm models. I have asked several times on here and other places why are 7mm wagon axles so long needing long bearings ? My theory is because they were that length in the 50's and 60's when wagons were made from wood with crude white metal axleboxes and people are reluctant to change. Similarly in a way as why S7 hasn't taken off with the majority because people claim that they have to much F/S stock or can't run the stock they already have on other people layouts if they changed to S7. I don't remember reading anything about fold up etched W-irons and how to remove wheels for painting. Or how to fold them in the first place so that the wheels do have the correct amount of side play. Perhaps I haven't read the right articles as I stand on my soap box ! Anyway I have 7 more of these underframes to build. I am not sure if you can still buy them today or if they have gone from the market. It would be a shame if that was the case because once I had the instructions it was a pleasure to put together with so little solder and with the ability to remove the wheels for painting.

I forgot to mention that I soldered the W-irons on the outside where it meets the slot with a small amount of solder. This is important because if you flood it with to much it will come out the other side and preventing the carrier from going up and down smoothly. I have cut a small amount from the ends of the axles and removed the burrs. I am happy to report that they isn't any side play and the suspension works like silk.

Released from family duties I can get back to making this wagon chassis. I placed the carrier in place and folded the 2 small prongs at the base of the W-irons against it and folding back the 2 small parts at the top. I put the wheels in to see how much side play there was and how many washers I would need to eliminate it. I figured out it would be about 30 thou each side. I decided to cut the Slaters bearings down to this amount and trial fit them and see how it was going to work out. I drilled a hole in a piece of 30 thou plasticard and placed the bearing in before removing the excess with a small saw and cleaning up with a file. I fitted the wheels and was pleased to see it was the correct amount needed to be a perfect fit. I just need to trim a small amount of the axle ends left sticking out.

Thanks to people helping I believe I now have all the answers to these Exactoscale W-irons. The fold of the bearing carrier folds over and is then squeezed in the vice before the ends are fold up as the photograph. The instructions say to solder along the top edge without getting any solder inside. As yet I haven't soldered this top edge because I have being doing household duties. Once folded up the spring wire which is cut to 21.5 mm long is de-burred and slips in the carrier through the hole in the top. This wire must be straight otherwise it will not work according to my helpline of friends. I have decided to go with the smaller bearings supplied rather than the Slaters ones I was going to used. These smaller bearings need reaming out to take the Slaters wheels. This means that the Slaters axles will need shortening and some washers or bits of tube placing over to limit side play. All this will have to wait because there is more family matters going on today.

Paul, many thanks for finding these instructions. They are exactly what I needed. Mike

Paul, thank you for the photograph. The answer it is a help but only partially. Graham, yes I have some packets of brakegear shown here. The part that I need to know about is the part that the bearing fits into and which way it folds over trapping the wire ?

Now I have finished the tank wagon and before I start on another room dec.............. In my toy box of bits are some Exactoscale etched wagon chassis parts. I have never been good with kits of any sort but keeping an open mind I thought I would try my hand with one and see how i went with it. First problem is the lack of instructions ! Now I am sure I have been here before because I seem to remember being told that the instructions are all on the net. But where and are they clear for a dummy like myself ? Anyway I have removed the first part and cleaned up the cusps on all the edges before bending up the W-irons including the little tab at the bottom. First question is does the part behind the W-iron which holds the bearing fold completely over and trap the spring wire or does it bend to 90% ? There are other small tabs that they look as they fold up and then bend over as well ? All this is a bit of a mystery having never used them the way the designer envisaged. Anyone used these as intended ?

I love the pre-grouping wagons but the load capacity on the Cal Rly open looks very high at 16 tons ? I am guessing that it should be 6 tons. Sorry for being a pain.