Caley Jim

The vertical washer plate on the outside , the hoop and the corresponding washer plate on the inside are all one piece, presumably forged from round bar. The heavy transverse top beam is attached to the wagon sides, reinforced by a washer plate which extend right across and wraps round the corners. This has two metal plates on top, corresponding to the position of the hoops. The door swings on these, via the hoops. The washer plate across the bottom framing extends out on either side as round 'pegs' and the door is held shut by two oval loops attached to the sides. The pegs have a hole in them into which a pin, held on a chain, is placed to keep it shut by stopping the loops coming off the pegs. The left hand half of the two end elevations on p103 of Mike's book show the inside (top drawing) and outside (bottom drawing) arrangements. The RTR wagon you refer to had the hoop disappearing into the top of the cross beam! How anyone thought that would work is a mystery to me! HTH Jim

Looking forward to seeing this one develop. Does it have the heavy-framed end door, using the top cross member as the hinge, and cupboard doors, typical of central Scottish mineral wagons? I've tried to upload a photo of an earlier 'Arniston' wagon which is a dumb-buffered outside framed 'NB-style' 'bogie', but there seems to be a problem uploading images at the moment. ☹️ Jim

I do something similar with AJ's sometimes, using a piece of wire to push one of the pair down. You have to be careful, though, and do it gently so that you don't upend the wagon in the process. Jim

With the arrival of my latest sheet of etches from PPD construction proper can start on my latest loco, a CR 900 class 4-4-0, also known as Dunalastair III. The wheels gears etc came from Jon at Shop 3 a couple of weeks ago and have been prepared. First job has been to work on the motor mount and tender chassis. The motor will be at the front of the tender with the stay-alive capacitors alongside it and the decoder and circuitry behind. The drive layout will be as in this drawing: The motor, Tramfabreik 0816, has been fitted into its mount along with the gears and the chassis 'frames' and bogie mounts fitted. The leads are just temporary to let me check the gear meshing with a 9v battery. The rear bogie mount (to the right above) has a 12BA nut soldered above it to take the length of 12 BA stud which will form the pivot. There isn't room for this above the front bogie as the drive shaft will be just above the mount, so there is an extra layer on the bottom there which has been tapped to take the pivot. Jim

PM sent. Jim

Sorry I missed you at Falkirk. I was there for a few hours either side of mid-day. As you say, some nice layouts on show. Sadly Squires had only imperial sized brass tube there, so I'll have to bite the bullet and pay the postage on the 10mm tube I need for my next loco!☹️ Jim

There was also regular fish traffic in the herring season from northern ports, Mallaig, Peterhead and Aberdeen, to name a few, to the south. Jim

Seconded! 👍 Jim

I would suggest that finishing it off would be a fitting addition to the rolling stock, but I'm wondering if that collection of castings includes other things? There would appear to be parts for a coach bogie there. I'm afraid I can't help with identification, others with more knowledge may be able to help. Jim

The scribing of the floor to represent worn timber is just superb. Jim

A classic example of this was the Royal Navy's preference for Welsh anthracite. During WWI the navy was stationed in Scapa Flow resulting in a constant procession of coal trains going north on the WCML. This not only put a severe strain on the Highland Railway, but was a contributing factor in the Quintinshill disaster as one of these trains was occupying the down loop meaning the local train had to be put 'over the road' to allow the late running overnight express to pass. Jim

The CR mineral wagons ranged from early 6T 'bogies' through 7, 8, &10T to 16T latterly, culminating in the 30T steel bogie wagons. The 4 wheelers all had end and (cupboard) side doors and many had bottom doors. Their open wagons were generally 4 planks with fixed ends and side (drop) doors, as well as drop-side wagons of similar design. The 30T bogie wagons were not a success as the company could not persuade the industrial customers, for whose traffic they were intended, to upgrade their unloading facilities to cope with them. They ended up as either loco coal wagons, sleeper wagons or, with the side doors removed, merchandise wagons used in express freight traffic. Jim

Don't kid yourself, Annie. I always watch, and enjoy, them! 😳 Jim

I always arrange that one bogie can rock transversely and the other longitudinally. The later keeps the vehicle steady while at the same time introducing an element of compensation. Jim

Apart from fine files, another useful tool is a fine India sharpening stone. This is useful for removing the last traces of tags from delicate edges without distorting them. Jim

I always use 12BA bolts (or offcuts) as bogie mounts. Never had any problems. Jim

Perhaps not human waste as such, but Glasgow Corporation had 'sewage disposal wagons', lettered as such, which took the sludge from the sewage works out to farms in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. Also the Glasgow Police Commissioners (who were responsible for cleaning the streets at the time) had manure wagons for similarly disposing of the horse manure they collected. The four on the right are manure wagons. Jim

Dunallander at the 2023 Aberdeen show. Still very much a WIP. An up oil train runs through the station while a local for Callander departs on the Oban Line. Some of Mike Rasmussen's Superb Buildings. The layout is set in the 1960's, so this Caley Jumbo must have been waiting on the road for over 40 years! Finally, the Aberdeen sleeper runs through on its way north.

40F is around 4.5C. That's T-shirt and shorts weather! We had -16C one night last winter and back around 2010 it was going down to -23C overnight and never went above 0 for days! Jim

This was common. As I've posted before the 'Load x tons' marking only indicated the maximum load the bearings should be subjected to (taking into account the weight of the wagon), not the physical capacity. Coal was lighter than other minerals such as iron ore and stone. Jim

Mars? Don't think it's any younger, or more vibrant, but there are fewer people! 😁 Jim

Isn't that implied by the size of the hammer? Jim

Absolutely stunning as always, Mike. Glad I don't work in S7 or I'd be totally disillusioned as I could never achieve that standard. Jim

Well, I suppose I count as 'elderly' (would certainly be disenfranchised if Miss T had her way), but I can cope reasonably well with a smart phone, internet shopping, etc.. I refuse, however, to go anywhere near internet banking, no matter how hard the banks try to force us into that! Jim

Engineering is 90% knowing which hammer to use and 10% knowing where to hit it. Tim will have had plenty practice removing impacted teeth with a bone chisel and mallet! 😃 Jim