airnimal

Guy, many thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I have had a look in Southern wagons vol 3 and plate No 144 has a photograph of such a van with the sliding " sledge " brake. The photograph in NSR wagons doesn't show the bottom part of the sliding bit or is very clear if it had wooden or steel brake shoes. The drawing that goes with the photograph has been drawn with steel shoes but I am of the opinion that they are in fact wooden. To me I think it makes sense that the early 10 ton vans had wooden shoes and the later 20 ton vans had steel shoes. Throwing caution to the wind I am going to go with the wooden variety. If anyone wishes to prove me wrong I will gladly eat humble pie.

I woke up early so decided to make the unusual tie bar between the W-irons. This has been soldered to the back of the W-irons. I am mounting all the underframe on a sub base to ease construction. The photograph of van No 459 in the NSR wagon book shows this tie bar but I am not sure what the blocks with bolts are for ? I have seen something similar on an earlier LNWR passenger brake van. There might have to be an educated guess at this unless anyone has any thoughts on the subject.

Angus, many thanks for your kind words, I wouldn't be posting on here without yourself help and inspiration in the first place. John, I don't have one of my brake van's in the two tone livery but I do have a spare body that is planned to be in two tone. Andy, we went and had a tour around the area which we would like to live yesterday. We have seen quite a few house's but will any meet my wife's strict needs. Discussions about how many bedrooms we will require to house various grandchildren have led to strong feelings on her behalf. We will not be downsizing that's for sure. I have put the last of the 4 small foot steps on but the 2 rear ones had to be soldered to the footboard hangers because they are on the same line. The front 2 are separate and were attached under the solebars.

Marc, if it is any consolation, I can't do technology without a great deal of help. Even then I struggle with the most basic things. Mobile phones, computers, cameras etc etc. I am also rubbish at building kits. That is my main reason I scratch build. If i scrap something there is not usually a great cost only my time but if I scrap a kit which I have done many times the cost can be expensive. I have a tub full of scrap castings from kits I failed to build correctly . I ask myself sometimes why do we post our efforts on here ? Is it ego or boasting or do we want a pat on the back from fellow modellers ? My reason I think is I like to read other people's post to get ideas and tips and generally pick other people's brains and admire there work. I have been fortunate it the past to see and admire some fantastic models and layouts which has spurred me on to try and do better myself. I have fitted the second footboard with just the small steps to complete. Then I can get on an start the brakegear.

When things get a bit grey in the world I try to keep cheerful by going and looking at the models I had made / acquired over the last 4 years. I keep the dream alive that one day I will build that layout that will show these models to there best advantage. I keep most of them in a glass cabinet in my workshop but I would love to see them displayed in a layout setting. The photographs here show some of them, sorry if the glass reflection do not making for good photographs.

I have mounted the first lamp bracket on the side of pillar. They need a bit of refinement but it is showing promise. I have also found how to do the close ups on this camera. Yippee!

I got up early because I was thinking how to do the lamp brackets on the pillars. Plastic would not be strong enough so it had to be brass. I found some unequal brass T section that was of the size that was perfect. I cut a slot in one side and soldered a brass lace pin into the said slot. I then cut this piece off with a piecing saw. Another section of brass but L shaped was soldered underneath this first part taking care it didn't fall apart when soldering this bit on. It is easier to do than explain. All I have to do now is make 3 more.

Sorry for the rant earlier, obviously I have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about my school days. I have soldered up the footboards and tried my castings to see if they fit. I am pleased with the footboards because they are very strong so will be able to withstand a fair amount of handling.

So a simple bending jig has been made by filing a piece of brass tube that fitted over the .8mm brass wire. This was reduced by 50% so its basically a D shape and cut to measure 10mm long. This just fits over the hanger and the wire is held with a pair of pliers and bent over in the opposite direction. Minutes to make and again simple to use and all 8 hangers the same length. I think I have said in the past at my poor schooling and my lack of achievement and my last report which my form master said only one thing about me. He wrote that " Michal was satisfied with less than the best ". I would like to go back and tell him otherwise.

Thanks to everyone for the information about these ultra small files. A bit pricey but good tools usually are. I had a bit of luck today because I found a length of milled brass for the footboards just the right size and just enough when cut in half, made a perfect pair. To make the hangers I am using. 8mm brass wire which I have filed with a flat edge where it bends under the footboards. I place the wire in a hexagonal pin chuck leaving 5mm proud and filed one side before turning it over and filing the other side. It is then bent at right angle taking care not to break the brass at the corner. To be safe I put a small touch of solder on the corner. I need to make a small jig now to do the second fold so they are all the same.

Graham, this jig like a lot in life, the simple things are sometimes the best. We have wheels on so I can get on and figure out how to do the brake gear. There is still a fair bit to do on the body regarding details. I have used some hexagonal bolts from Masterclub on the solebars which I hope is right because the photograph of No 459 isn't very clear. I know the better photograph of No 60 uses square bolts but I can always replace these bolts if more information comes to light.

Compound2632, the ends of the washers plates have the corners cut off and rounded with a bit of micro fine cloth. Nothing high tech I'm afraid. This is the needle file I use to open out the hole in the headstocks.

Graham, I drill a couple of holes in the headstock and join them together to form a slot with a scalpel. A quick tickle with a needle file and you have the required slot. The same method is used for the plate but with a bit more care. The corners are then cut on a little jig made from scrap etch. I have put the washers on the lower side frame punched out of 10 thou Black plastic. Left overnight to harden and then rubbed down to about 5 thou before drilling to except. 6mm rivets or domed coach bolts. With the plastic being this thin there is a danger of them splitting as happened on the fourth one along which will be replaced.

£20.80 for 4 issues Cygnet Magazines Ltd. Studio 4, Tollbridge Studios, Toll Bridge Road, Bath. BA1 7DE

I think that Slaters Manning Wardle buffers may be the ones you want. I have a set in my bits box if they are any good to you ? If you want them, send me a PM with you details and I will put them in the post. Graham Jones from NHRS has sadly died.

I have spent several hours applying nuts to most of the ironwork. There are large washers with coach bolts on the lower body side which I am going to do next before I get on on to the underframe and running gear.

I am following this thread because my wife is from Salford. She was born in Weaste and lived there until she was 24 very near Mode Wheel. Her grandfather was a timber carrier on the canal and died in a accident at work before she was born. I am also interested in the canal and its railways and your unusual models of wagons. Mike

The St Peter's cream stout appeals to me but I haven't seen it in any of of supermarkets around where we live. Bought a can of Deucebox citrus double IPA. It's a heavy 8.4 which I found to have quite a kick followed by another of my favourite beers McEwan's champion that use to be called No 1. I can't drink large amounts of ale nowadays so a couple of beers with a bit of clout does it for me.

Graham, I don't need anything challenging in my life at present, there is more than enough going on in the world as it is. As for patience, having a wife and 3 daughters in the household with only one bathroom patience comes as second nature. Wasn't there a resin kit for the early GWR brake van from Meteor models ? As for making stuff for other people, I have built lots of models over the years for other people but when I retired I said I would only build for myself. Carrying on with the ironwork, most has been applied but the top brackets at the non verandah end have left off until I work out how to make the lamp irons. I think I know how to make them but I don't have the right brass T section in stock. A bit more forward thinking would have foreseen this discrepancy because I have sent a big order to Eilleen's for material that could have included the necessary items. I am pleased with the fit of the plastic roof which just clips in . I think I also need a new brush for my liquid glue. My old one must be over 30 years old and I always thought that the Slaters mex brush was expensive, but at £3.85 at the present price I think it has been good value. If I buy a new one and it last as long I will be 99 !

A couple of new doors have been made along with another floor because the doors are thinner leaving a gap behind them. All the frames have there chamfer applied and the start of new ironwork. The corner ironwork at the bottom of the body is wider than are the others. There is still a heck of a way to go but I am glad I started again.

I think the reason people perceive my work as " crisp, sharp, parallel and perpendicular edges " is down to the material and less to my workmanship. Evergreen plastic is so brilliant with its square edges almost guaranteed that when building up to a known size like the top of the headstock I can pick up a piece of 60 thou strip and it fits in place perfectly. Evergreen don't do any triangle sizes so I had to modify a strip of quarter round and file the the curved part off. This was achieved by placing it in an upturned brass 2mm x 2mm angle and drawing a scalpel blade along the protruding top edge to leave a triangle strip which when gone over which microfine or ultrafine polishing clothes gives a smooth finish. This then fits perfectly the top edge of the headstock leaving the results you see here. Before Evergreen came out I was spending so much time trying to achieve straight edges on plastic sheets by filing and sanding and the results were never as good.

Thanks Dave, I'm sure I will have forgotten about this small fault when its finished. I was woken up at 1 ' o'clock this morning an unable to get back to sleep I got up and had a small beer and looked at doing a bit to the brake van. I have put the end stanchion on and the wooden packing pieces behind the buffers. I also found a plastic roof of the right profile in my bits box. I had to cut it down to length but it's a bonus finding one that fits nearly perfect. I find roofs one of the hardest parts to get right.

Will the added slow down and concentration being improved I have put the angles on the frames for the water to run off and not rot the timbers.

I had a good day today with the second end made and fixed in place. Just the small doors to do and fit. I feel more confident that this one will succeed and I have corrected the faults on the first one, There is still a long way to go but the basic shell looks right to me.

I have assembled the body with the parts I have so far because I still have the verandah end to make. I have taken into account my interpretation of the drawing on the first build and looking more thoroughly at both the drawings and the photographs for my second build. On the first model I have 5 .25 planks and on the second build I have 6. Unfortunately for me I have managed to get a slight bow in the framing on one side by a few thou. Will anyone notice or care, but I am mad with myself after trying hard to not make mistakes. My wife thinks I am daft for caring over something so small and has been giving me lots of suggestions on future builds. I know she trying to be helpful and I am grateful for her interest but ........