Guy Rixon

Buffer guides for GER coaches are now available: https://www.shapeways.com/product/B3P8ABL24/ger-coach-buffers-x20. These based on measurements taken by me of a preserved coach, at the East Anglian Railway Museum. First-to-try basis for now, but the format is well proven so should be OK. I've released these as my usual set of 20 guides as a taster. The plan, as suggested by Edwardian of this parish, is eventually to provide a print that supplies the buffers, axleboxes, springs, spring mountings and lamp tops for one coach, following the format pioneered by Mike Trice. I have the necessary measurements, and just need to draw up the models, which may take a while. Meanwhile, for anybody needing them in a hurry, buffers...

You don't need the bushes with these prints. The smallest bore that you can see in the sectional view, above, is a running fit on the 0.4mm tail of the buffer ram. The intermediate-size bore is the pocket for the spring and the widest bore takes the 2.5mm ram. The spring pocket ends 6.25mm back from the buffing face. Empirically, I've found that to give reasonably soft springing of the buffer while retaining enough pre-load to get the buffer to return fully. To get the 6.25mm clearance, the buffer pocket extends back into the spigot. Note, however, that my 6.25mm dimension was established when building buffers with the 0.9mm rams from MJT, whereas these self-contained things need the 2.5mm rams. It's possible that the latter need a different amount of clearance, which I won't be sure of until I get some and measure them. Actually, it's looking like a moot point. Shapeways won't print the buffer as drawn because the walls of the cylindrical bit are too thin. If I shrink the ID to thicken the wall, the 2.5mm rams won't fit. Drilling out the guides to leave ~0.15mm wall thickness is Not A Good Idea in brittle plastic. If I increase the OD, then the buffer won't fit so well on a 9" headstock; I'm not sure how much this would matter in practice. I'm considering printing them with an under-scale bore and and a matching collar to bush up the 0.9mm rams.

OK, yes, I can do that. Actually, I should make them hexagon nuts anyway, and add washers. However, the fastener details are not really visible in the print.

The "spigot" behind the buffer is 2.0mm deep and 1.95mm OD. I used 2.0mm OD in my previous designs, but I now prefer that the buffers be a sliding fit into a 2.0mm hole in the headstock rather than a force fit. This lets one assemble each buffer off the wagon and ease it into place while fine-tuning the angle of fit.

The SVR have been kind enough to park some wagons in the siding by the car park at Bewdley, so I took some photos and measurements of the GWR self-contained buffers on open wagon 98480. Here are some renders of an early-stage model: The CAD model is complete but I still have to check that Shapeways can print it; the walls in the upper part of the guide look a bit thin to me. The buffer will take the heads with the nominal 2.5mm OD rams from MJT. Since I've not used those before, I need to get some and check that they actually work mechanically in a test print...unless anybody is prepared to do the test for me . They should work without bodging. Hence, this buffer could possibly be available in late January, if anybody wants it printed, rather than using the Lanarkshire castings.

Presuming that the Gramodels 1-plank open is the type for carrying stone blocks, photos in Illustrated History of Southern Wagons, vol 1 show it with Panter axleboxes. These boxes are quite distinctive - they have a sliding front-cover and the slide arrangement would be noticeable in 4mm scale - and apparently the most numerous of LSWR axleboxes. The next kind of common axlebox was the Warner patten, apparently modelled on the Cambrian kit for the D1410 van. This was introduced in 1906. It looks to me as if it could be faked with axleboxes of other companies that are already available from the trade. The third kind was a pressed-steel version of the Panter box, introduced in 1919. Apparently, from the book, it's functionally interchangeably with the cast, Panter box, but looks different. I want to model some D1402 vans (based on the Cambrian D1410), and these should have Panter axleboxes, so I will aim to make those, probably some time next year. There seem to be some surviving vehicles in the S&D museum at Washford.

I'll put some photos in the shop when I can get decent ones. My only camera is my 'phone and it's not ideal for macro work. I may have to get get my wife to photograph the prints, which can't happen until after christmas. I can do GWR self-contained buffers when I can get measurements. I'm going to be near the SVR at christmas, and they have at least one wagon with these buffers, so I might be able to track it down. However, Lanarkshire Model Supplies sell these buffers as castings pre-drilled for springing: http://www.lanarkshiremodels.com/lanarkshiremodelsandsupplieswebsite_065.htm and http://www.lanarkshiremodels.com/lanarkshiremodelsandsupplieswebsite_073.htm. Before I spend time on it, could you please confirm that you prefer the prints to these castings?

Yes, in principle. Which ones do you need? I have little knowledge of LSWR details so far, but I see three main kinds of box in the Illustrated History of Southern Wagons, vol 1. I assume that details such as size of journal don't affect the external appearance. Also - question to the general readership - are axleboxes by themselves preferable to boxes printed with springs? My own bias is to do the boxes and springs separately because (a) it's easier and I'm lazy; (b) there are many combinations of boxes, spring types and spring mountings; © sometimes I salvage moulded springs from kits; (d) in compensated vehicles, I like to mount the spring to the solebar and let the axlebox to the axleguard. But that's just me.

You could email to find out. Meantime, yes, I'll do the LSWR buffer on Shapeways anyway, but only when/if I can come by proper dimensions. There are plenty of preserved LSWR vehicles to measure, but none of them are near me, so it may be a while.

OK, I'll put them on the to-do list. I too have plans for the new Cambrian LSWR van, so need some buffers. However, I'd need to find some decent drawings, or to measure a full-size buffer, to do a decent job. EDIT: after checking around, it seems that MRD already sell sprung buffers of this kind. http://www.emardee.org.uk/LSWR-Wagon-Buffer

New product: SER and SECR D-type axleboxes for wagons. https://www.shapeways.com/product/G3PX3N4JY/secr-d-axlebox-x20 https://www.shapeways.com/product/TSYAYNX67/ser-d-type-axlebox-x20 These are models of the same type of box, apart from the different company initials on the front.

Returning after a break from the bench, I have finished one of the D3 wagons. The second one has a complete body and is waiting for running gear and brakes. The body build was unremarkable, apart from the trial by Pressfix. Having more than one body in process make the lettering process more efficient. I did the transfers on one face of each wagon, then varnished those faces immediately. Since Pressfix transfers are only held on by faith, I find it much safer to varnish within minutes of application. Thus, it took four evenings, including drying time, to do all the signwriting. More wagons in the batch would have been more efficient, but I need to buy more transfers before going on: I'm out of 5's. The brake gear is somewhat more interesting. Nothing in the Ratio kit suits D3, as the brake must be a direct-acting (no push-rod), single, wooden block. The brake lever is longer than those in the kit because the pivot is nearer the wheel than the level for the push-rod brake. Further, the lever is cranked vertically at the end to clear the headstock; D3 wagon did not have cut-away headstocks like D2. (Yes, the model headstocks are cut way. I didn't notice the difference in time.) I made the brake lever and guard from a 51L part, their "type F". The lever is cranked horizontally to clear the axlebox, which is easily done with pliers. It's cranked vertically at the handle end roughly as per prototype and this is much harder to do accurately. I managed it by holding the length of the lever in the vice and heaving on the free part with pliers, then flattening out the buckling by squeezing in the vice. The result is OK-ish, but the bends are not quite tight enough and not quite accurately placed. At least it vaguely resembles the prototype photos. The brake shoe and hanger are scratchbuilt. I whittled the shoe from 0.040" plastic and made the hanger from fret waste. There is a slight set in the hanger just above where it meets the shoe. The pivot for the brakes is right next to the spring shoe of the nearest wheel. The full-size wagon had, IIUC, a combined casting for the pivot and spring-shoe. I kept the Ratio spring-shoe, which is moulded on the axlebox/spring parts, and added the pivot from 0.040" plastic.

The tent wagon, as pictured has just gone on my "build someday" list! Why would a goods wagon built for a trader on the South coast be registered with the GCR?

What scale is this?

LCDR buffers are now on sale again. The wagon buffers have been redrawn using original, LCDR GA-drawings and dimensions supplied by Geoff Lines, and are now vastly more accurate. There are also some coach buffers which would suit the D&S kits for the 6-wheeled coaches and the Roxey kits for the 4-wheeled coaches. I don't know if the LCDR used these buffers on bogie coaches. https://www.shapeways.com/product/WZXXUYQEQ/lcdr-coach-buffers-x20?optionId=61158671 https://www.shapeways.com/product/9A22NAFSY/lcdr-wagon-buffers-x20?optionId=61074954 These are in first-to-try status at present, until I get my test prints.

I don't think any railway had much coal traffic into London until after 1850. There's an article by Keith Turton in Railway Archive with more details of the start of the traffic, but I can't find my copy at the moment. Early coal traffic into London was mainly by sea and by lighterage up the Thames. I think the early LNWR coal depots may have been at the waterside, off the NLR or the WLER.

No progress on my particular wagons, due to professional travel, family travel and illness, but I have just noted on Shapeways a body for a LNWR D2 wagon.: https://www.shapeways.com/product/CHLTWKZWB/4mm-lnwr-d2-wagon?optionId=61030036&li=marketplace This is interesting. Firstly, the price is fairly high (Brexit *spit* *cuss*) but not crazily high. Secondly, it's printed in the black acrylate, not in FUD (for the lower price presumably), so the quality is unconfirmed. Since Chris Higgs is the seller, I'd expect it to be at least OK. Thirdly, it's one of the types due to be produced by Mousa Models "sometime" as a resin moulding. If the Mousa kit ever happens, it will doubtless be excellent and the complete kit will possibly be not much more in price than the Masterclass print. But the Masterclass print is here, now.

Confession time: the buffer guides for LCDR wagons are now known to be wildly inaccurate and have today been withdrawn from sale. Geoff Lines, on whose drawing I based them, tells me that they should have three ribs, not four. Apparently, the LCDR's four-ribbed buffers were only for coaches. This just shows how hard it is to get buffer details right from GAs and photos alone. The number of ribs is not apparent from the side elevation (because the horizontal rib faces outward) or the end elevation (because the buffer head hides the details of the guide). Changing the model from four ribs to three is easy, but I'm also taking this opportunity to get better drawings from Mr. Lines to refine the model. Therefore, this item will be unavailable for a week or two. However, I hope to make available the LCDR carriage-buffer at the same time, so not all bad. To the one person who bought a set of ficticious buffers, I can only apologise. Please PM me and I will post you replacements when I get my test prints of the repaired buffers.

The first set of numbers is, IIUC, 28833, 28835, 28837, 28843, 28853, 28857, 28866, 28871, 28873, 28874, 28877, 28882, 28888, 28890, 28893, 28899. I.e. for every group of numerals after a slash, replace the last group of numerals of equivalent length in the previous number, and do that recursively along the string. Something of an achievement to make a system clumsier than roman numerals. By extension,the second set is 28900. 28909, 28911, 28917, 28918, 28919, 28925, 28929, 28933.

Have you looked at the real wharves up the Itchen? E.g. the Chapel Wharf tramway ran up to the late 70s or early 80s, IIRC. There are some pictures in Southampton Quayside Steam.

The original Exactoscale range, from the Weller & Cross era. Current Exactoscale stuff is nice, but many good things were not carried over at the first change of ownership and some that were are now out of production. I particularly liked the Mk1 FASS.

Re paint: I used to use enamels exclusively. I started to use acrylics for the body colour when Bill Bedford warned that enamel thinners might degrade the surface of resin parts. I like Vallejo acrylics, but I switched to Tamiya for this build because I can buy them locally in a craft shop. The Tamiya paint is not so good with a brush - it dries too quickly - but very good in an airbrush. It needs to be thinned with Tamiya's own dilutant, which is a propanol/butanol mix. The Imperial Japanese Navy grey was chosen to represent LNWR grey that has darkened with aging. For slightly younger paint I used 50-50 IJN grey and "dark sea grey". The latter isn't very dark at all when used by itself and looks to me like Midland grey. I should confess that I don't actually have a good colour-reference for new LNWR grey, apart from the information that it was a 50-50 mix of black and white paint. I just aim to have my LNWR wagons darker than my MR wagons, slightly lighter than my SECR wagons and markedly lighter than GWR stock.

One of the Ratio wagons has pupated successfully. This one is now complete apart from coupling links. I have a few vehicles waiting for me to make a jig and form some links; not a job I'm looking forward too. Back in the day I used to use Exactoscale links but they are now unavailable. The picture is the pre-snagging photo and I have to clean up the paint blemishes and remove some of the crud that attached itself late in assembly. I think I need to fill and repaint the corners, too. Brakes are from the kit parts, very lightly modified: solid safety loop replaced with plastic strip, push-rod scraped off with a scalpel to have a round section. Buffers heads are from the kit, and very nice too. Coupling hooks by Ambis (I think - had the fret years). Axleboxes and springs are prints by Coastline models; these are good parts but needed to be routed slightly so as not to jam the suspension. Paint is Tamiya IJN grey, airbrushed. It sprays very nicely when diluted with Tamiya's thinners. This photo, on screen, looks the same colour as the model wagon on my bench, so you can judge for yourselves whether it's a reasonable colour. C.f. the flash photo of the D32 at the top of this thread, which shows the same paint but the photo doesn't represent the colour well. Markings are from the HMRS pressfix sheet and I will need to get another sheet before I can complete the other wagons as I am running out of the smaller numerals. The waterslide transfers in the Ratio kit have numerals but they are too large by my reading, certainly larger than the HMRS transfers. The tare weight is on the curb rail rather than the solebar as I couldn't fit it between the nuts on the solebar. The other wagons in this batch are painted but not yet lettered.

Is it for moving ammunition around a warship? EDIT - Second guess: it's in an astronomical observatory. The bogie with the round load-bed would be about right for moving a primary mirror when it had to be taken out for aluminizing. It would be an older observatory (wooden floor rather than concrete) with telescopes that are rather small by modern standards - below 1m class.

The hydraulic power may come from a tall water-tower providing a great head. There was one such at Grimsby docks. Some parts of London had hydraulic power piped in over some distance from commercial suppliers.