Mister Rusty

Another point of building's close proximity to rails is in Glo'ster, where a tramway meandered from the docks by The Whitesmith's Pub, horse-drawn originally.

and not forgetting Welshpool where the line ran ''Indian'' style through the houses from Raven Square to the main station 

Just my two penn'orth, bound to be many more of course.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks

Mike, - yeah, even suggested them to makers a couple of years back, but no one took the bait or the hint, so.................................

Paul, already have several downloads from you, thanks.

Will be double-checking and buying more when it comes to weathering / rusting the stock.

It must be correct at my club, otherwise they will keep ribbing me over my surname.

What is it?

RUST !!!!

Gordon, yes, There is a plastic laboratory tube of the correct diameter, but it's more expensive than kit-bashing,. The piece I bought will probably make 3 tanks, it's an area still under review.

The other option is to use the latest tanker wagon release, absolutely perfect, but an expensive way to go, cutting 2 into 1, but the catwalks are the most realistic so far.

I try to build my stock millimetre-perfect and with minimal compromises from other peoples' junk and throw-outs, it's cheaper that way.

Hi everyone,

For a new club layout, I have been requested to build a train of  4-wheel Anhydrous Ammonia [AA] tankers.

Having researched Paul Bartlett's site [thanks Paul, for a fantastic resource if you're reading this], pestered  most club members for photos of the 1970's version [with the collar and walkway around the valves on top] from their book collections .

I have finally sorted out [after 18+ months research] the type and shape of the valves, the size of the collar and have been able to guestimate all the major dimensions not available from Barrowmore's fantastic archive [thanks to you, as well]

I have created a couple of prototypes that are looking good [in my eye anyway], but I wish to use see-through etched walkway material, not plastic diamond sheet. The final fleet vehicles will be better finished , this photo being a proof-of-concept stage model.

Any ideas of source would be much appreciated.

Also, as I need  a dozen or so, I am thinking of possibly using a 3-d scanner-printing service the barrels.

The consist of parts to create one wagon are 2-Hornby TTA chassis, cut and shut appropriately and 1+1/3rd Airfix tank barrels with scratch-built parts for tank support and collar.

So, I have gathered 24 Hornby TTA/ Kellogg/ Weetabix/Cadbury long wheelbase wagons [same TTA chassis is on the cheap vans] and 18 Airfix barrels/kits, most of the chassis having now been made. Surprisingly, they run through Setrack points both pulled and pushed without trouble, the wheelbase having been extended from 60mm to 70mm and the wagon overall from 120 to 140mm.

Photos will follow if anyone is interested.

All the best

Pete

Let's face it ,the real world restorers are at exactly the same game to recreate long-lost classes.

I too am an inveterate schemer wishing to create what my better-half calls ''iffers'', pinching the name from Pete Wilson on Radio Glo'ster's show.

I am currently creating an

HSDT set with correct coaches, sound both ends, wi-fi camera fitted inside looking through the cab, works well, being rebuilt and finished.

HST to the same spec

I am also maintaining and updating the Buchshee layout for exhibition [any show invites?  We are based near Stratford-upon-Avon and are members of Redditch MRC

I am researching what bits are needed to create the following

BR standard 2-8-2 using Brit and 9F parts

BR standard Crosti Caprotti class 5 using cl.5 boiler, cab,Duke Caprotti valve gear

GWR 4-6-2 ''super-King", using Princess and King parts

as well as wire-handrails and wipers onto an Airfix cl.31 

At our local club last year, I was offered a box for £40 of crudely de-chipped and non-running locos which included 2 Warships, cl.25, cl.31,cl.37,cl.47, A3 [skiving flotsam] with tender sound, remember that?, A4 [fat-nose], Royal Scot [rebuilt], GWR 4-4-0 County, BR standard 4MTT and some bits [some even identifiable].

It took me 20 hours off and on to get them all running, some noisily with iffy gears. How much for parts? £2 for red and black wire. 50 penn'orth of solder. The gears will be sorted as parts can be bartered / sourced at the right money.

11 locos and spares for under £45.

Why I have put this in?

It is not to brag ''look how clever I am'' but to confirm others' comments on cost-effective modelling.

Since then, I have picked up a cl.44 for £15 that took 10 minutes to fix, a[nother] Royal Scot with tender sound that just needed a new battery in the tender [£15], a Lima BR 0-6-0 94xx [ a fiver].

These have all been acquired for the simple fun of super-detailing. All have / will have full front-end details, some will even run on the club's new layout.

Surviving on only a standard pension, the new £200 locos are nice to look at, but I manage not to covet others' purchases that will never come out of the box. Mind a nice cheap Clan would be appreciated.

Let's face it even Lion [the diesel] got dirty once or twice, but photos to show its weathering pattern have been hard-to-find. And as for actually dirtying it [brand-new, no less], well it had to be done.

After all, I'm not called Sun Street for nothing. A 60s Wulfrunian knows the spot at the back of The Great Western public house, and l went to this spot most days after school if it was not raining. A great spot to watch both levels of Wolverhampton's stations' approaches.

Ah!!!! And the sun always shone and all the engines were polished, yeah, right!

I'll shut up and go away now

Pete

Well, well,

So it is worth doing it yourself after all!

I see production has been deferred indefinitely, so it's out with the glue and files again.

I will post some shots of how I have created the catering cars out of Jouef 1st/2nd cars.

Also it's not too bad shaving off the window frames.

If they are sanded off, there is a very fine flange left, which is ideal to maintain the aperture to be correct and not oversize [i ruined 2 before finding out].

The glazing then sits perfectly, in my view.

More to follow.

it's the next personal project after various items [buildings, vehicles etc.] for our new club layout.

i have also become custodian of one of our exhibition layouts, which has needed detailed refreshment and other t.l.c.. It has been out 3 times since my last post and is due on the Continent in the autumn.

Tararabit ! [translation, good-bye for now. Anyone else a Wulfrunian?]. Go on, admit it!    

Having done quite a bit more research into the power cars [and probably re-inventing the wheel created by Shane], the differences that I have spotted between the 2 power cars appear after a visit to the works when the 2 were re-numbered. I suspect that the 2 were a pair until then.

As I am modelling the unit in 1975, the running numbers will be 43000 [41001] and 43001 [41002].

43000 dampers angled on the bogies, 43001 were vertical 'AP' [As Production] 

43000 main grilles have around 50 slats, 43001 has around 28 per grille [AP].

43000 cant-rail grilles are similar to those on a Deltic or Brush type 4 [class 47]. Those on 43001 are half'n'half [similar to 'AP']

Both have a different spacing to the cant-rail grilles when compared to the production units, as well as differences in exhausts and roof louvres. The easiest part is the changing of the Guard's doors, using a sharp scriber. The rear sides also are profiled similarly to a coach, not so on the production units.

As I am ''kit-bashing'' my pair for observation at around 3', full rivet-counting is not critical in my view, but never-the-less, I am trying to minimise my compromises.

The chassis on both have DCC chip and bass-reflex speaker ported through the bottom of the equipment boxes and fuel tanks. There is also another device, of which more in future within the body.

Why am I doing it when there is an intention for them to be modelled in the near future? Cost! So far, the speakers and chips were the price of a Garrett, and the power cars were £10 off e-bay. I admit to also buying both a Deltic bodyshell and a class 47 for cutting up.

Any advice, help, observations gratefully received.

Next, the coaches.

They need to be flush-sided as the frames were on the inside, not outside as modelled by Hornby and Lima, then again some were at some point. The roof vents differ from proto to prod, so do the door shapes, but that is one compromise that I will be making.

I'll post again soon as I get further on, if anyone is interested.

All the best to you and your projects.

Pete

Can't wait to see the finished result of the conversion. Looking forward to it.

 

Wouldn't it be great also if these conversions on Hornby or Lima Powercars lead to the trust that owns 41001 buying a powercar and carrying out conversion of it to recreate 41002 along with 5 more coaches to recreate the full HSDT instead of just seeing 1 powercar and 3 coaches.

Well, at least they will have patterns off which to work, unlike most re-creations.   albeit at the other end of the train.

I too am modelling the HSDT.

The photos of the catering vehicles are not numerous, that is certain!

It has taken me 12 months to amass sufficient to model them to my satisfaction, with support from one of our club members [thanks Melvyn].

Working from the line drawings that are published is also complicated, as most do not show the corridor side of the vehicles, also most shots of the set are  running 1st class first, obviously all ''up'' trains.

Assessing what and where the prototypes varied from production is as Wolf 27, very interesting, to say the least.

Note; the 2 catering car bodyshells are different, small details, but if we're doing it, why compromise?

Also the 2 power cars were not a pair, there are small detail differences, the most obvious being the side main cooling grilles, 41001 being much finer and appear vertical, whilst 41002 was modified to pretty much the production variant [but when?]. I am modelling the set in 1974, just before going on to fare-paying services.

I am dubious to copy any photos because of accidental infringement of copyright, and I cannot remember all my sources.

If anyone wishes to pm me with a specific query, I will try to help.

I started out using Genesis nose cones, but have re-shaped the Hornby nose and used the Genesis valance and buffers. It's coming along, but is not yet photogenic.

I am using early bodies with the separate cab moulding, I used MekPak flowed into the joint with a brush to release them from the main body. The Genesis nose is designed to fit this main body. Also these early bodies are easily and cheaply available  from E-bay when you make a mistake.

The Hornby body was also apparently drawn off  41001, several errors on the production body are in fact correct for this prototype, drawings printed onto kids' tracing paper on my scanner/copier and overlaid onto a class 43 drawing show many of the subtleties.

if doing this, remember to reduce the copy size to allow for Hornby working to 3.75mm to the foot [i think], the drawings being to 4mm scale, I reduce by 93%. This allows the components to be matched to the drawing without resorting to rules, calipers and squares too often.

Hope this above helps, and I hope that I have not led too many of you astray.

Pete