Geordie Exile

March 30, 2021

Not that I was excited or anything, but from etch to paint shop in three days is probably a bit of a record for me. Here are a few pics and comments on the trials and tribulations of putting my first self-designed wagon etch together.

First things first. I spent an hour or so just staring at the etch, trying to spot anything that wasn't quite right. It didn't take long!

- the fold lines on the main body only extended half way. My mistake completely as I changed the design of the ends half way through the process, and forgot to extend the fold lines.

- none of the 0.3mm holes had etched through, nor had the notches for the brake gear. I need to get my head round what size hole on the drawing produces what size hole in the etch.

- I had more tabs on the outside of the etch frame than I expected, and realised I hadn't hidden the tab layer when I produced the (reversed) artwork for the rear of the etch. A 0.3mm drill bit can fettle the holes, but the notches were useless.

- all of my tabs are too wide. I'd gone with PPD's spec of 1mm, but could easily have halved this. More to cut, more to file, more chance for distortion.

I started writing these down so I'd remember to fix them in v2.

On to the build: the main chassis folded out nicely. The unique (?) open-ended design of these hoppers meant part of the frame is visible, but the way the coupling mounts fold down and out of the way means they're quite unobtrusive.

It turned out that the notches for the brake gear were not only useless - they were in completely the wrong place! If I'd used them, the brakes would have been behind the wheels. So I filed off the tabs and held them in place with a spacer before soldering them:

This method actually turned out much easier than trying to hold them vertical while soldering, as long as the spacer doesn't end up soldered. Like I did on the first one. The eagle-eyed reader will spot the spacer says "Fence Houses Model Foundry" - bits of the fret from the P4s I'd just done fitted perfectly around the top-hat bearings (thank you, Bob Jones!). I am seriously considering making this my standard way of fitting brake gear, with notches/tabs to get the alignment right, and a bespoke spacer that'll fit around the bearings.

Here's a Haynes Manual (remember those?) exploded diagram of the method:

Laminating the middle and cosmetic solebar was standard, but when I offered them up to the chassis they were 0.25mm too long at each end! More notes on the snagging list, and a little bit of filing sharp fettled that:

I love how much detail etching can give - the bolt heads and other bits are so sharp, it's a shame to paint them! And the (not pictured) buffer beams have a folded element at each end that hides the mistake.

Next the body. As I said, the fold lines were incomplete, so much scrawking and dremmeling ensued. The sides have a 45degree fold at the bottom, and I hadn't dared etch a fold line in as it was opposite a plank line and I was concerned it would etch through. I needn't have worried, so that's been added to the list too. More scrawking and dremmeling. Then the dilemma of when to add the strapping. I'd just etched lots of strapping the right length, with a view to supergluing them on. I decided to make the body first, which I did. The interior walls fitted really pleasingly inside the exterior, with easy 45degree folds. In hindsight, I should have fitted the interior strapping before soldering the body together, as it was quite fiddly to get them in and straight. And the next version will have lines etched on to show where to put the strapping. I'd put a dimple on the corner plates to show where the diagonal strapping started, but it'll be much easier to etch lines on the body itself for all of them.

The corner plates themselves were fiddly, but I knew they were going to be. They incorporate an angle at the bottom, so the etch has a vee notched out of it to take this into account. First step was to fold them vertically into a right angle, then bend the bottoms inwards (after more fiddling and filing to get them to the correct angle). But the end result is acceptable:

This picture also shows the stanchions, which have come out very nicely. I'd hedged my bets on the etch and included stanchions made up of 4 laminated layers a la the Fence House P4, but I also included a foldable version with boltheads etched on. I tried these first, marking the fold lines with a knife, folding them first with pliers then pinching them onto the edge of a metal ruler, and I'm delighted with the outcome. The open end is quite a feature.

But before I get too smug, take a look from above:

I can't imagine massive holes at all floor edges are prototypical. The next version will therefore include a drop-in floor to disguise the holes left by the coupling mounts and the solebar spacer tabs. Ho hum. And the internal lateral crossbeam was far too short, so this model now has a plasticard version!

Finally, brake levers and hand rails, the latter of which I didn't bother etching as I've found that 0.3mm wire is more robust and less square, if a little bulkier. And this is the finished version:

(and I've just spotted that an axle box has fallen off! B*gger. Fortunately, I included two spares on the etch!)

I have thoroughly enjoyed creating this from scratch, in spite of all the things I got wrong. I've ended up with a snag list of 20 individual items for improvement or correction, but that was the point of doing it. My best hope was for a static model and enough learning to get the next version right, but with lots of guddling about, filing, drilling, scrawking and extemporaneous remodelling, I've got a wagon that, while not perfect, I'll be happy to see on my (future, still in my head) layout.

Thanks for reading!

Richard

March 26, 2021

12 minutes ago, Graham R said:

Mighty cunning ... now you can charge the whole cost to the household account ...

Think she'd notice - and a phrase which rhymes with anchor might ensue! :unsure:

March 26, 2021

The anchors are for my missus who crafts - I had spaces to fill. I like the idea of a pub, but I'd call it The Windin' Hoose!

I've got a dozen of the 21tonners to do. I started another 4 P4s to keep me going until the Backworth hoppers arrived - just the brake levers, stanchions and handrails to do, then I'll hold off painting them while I make a start on the lovely shiny new stuff!

March 26, 2021

It's arrived. My first (how many of my posts contain those two words?!) wagon etch. It doesn't look as though I've left anything important in the post-etching soup. I'm busy on another batch of Fencehouse P4s at the moment, so it'll have to wait until at least, erm, the weekend

March 24, 2021

The exterior strapping for one side of a P4. Each P4 has, as is traditional, two sides. And two interiors. Is there something inherently nuts in what we do for 'enjoyment'?

March 22, 2021

21 minutes ago, A. Bastow said:

Hi all,

First time sharing something I’m working on.

With help from (and thanks to) Rich Brummitt I’ve been trying to get my head around drawing up some artwork for etching. I was apprehensive about sending things off for etching and then being wrong when they come back so I obtained some .35mm thick card from work and printed it as a mock up. The body is a 3d printed L&Y class 28.

This stage of progress was a week or two ago. I need to find some other things to add to the artwork to make it worthwhile in having an A4 or even an A3 sized etch made up. I am thinking of maybe some coaches or wagons; all L&Y oriented I think.

I'm waiting nervously for my first-time wagon etch to come back from the etchers. I've hedged my bets by only including three wagons and peppering the rest of the minimum-size sheet with all sorts of others stuff (fencing, windows, pithead sheaves, even anchors for my partner who does a lot of maritime crafting!). I am working on the assumption that the etches are littered with errors in spite of the great advice from other forum members. If I can end up with three static models lurking at the back and artwork for a new, viable etch, then I'll count it as a win.

Good luck with yours.

Richard

March 16, 2021

1 hour ago, Valentin said:

Best soldering tool I have ever had - and I begun using a soldering iron when I was 8. Being able to set the tip temperature to as low as 50 ºC is priceless!

Hmm. It's my birthday this month...

March 14, 2021

Not specifically a 2mm question, but here goes. Is there such a thing as the electrical equivalent of a dead man's handle (a plug adaptor would be ideal) so if I go to bed and forget to switch my soldering iron off... I know some irons come with this feature, but I don't want to buy a new one. Yet.

March 14, 2021

Well, gosh. Two B6 turnouts, both of which (appear to) work perfectly. I confess I've been holding off laying actual track on an actual layout as my first two attempts were less than perfect, to the point (!) that I thought I just didn't have the knack for track.

I may try and scavenge the bases and crossings from my unsuccessful attempts and do them again. Except they're PVA'd to a test plank, so any suggestions as to how to un-PVA them gratefully received.

If at first you don't succeed...

March 13, 2021

On 11/03/2021 at 19:07, Eddie R v2.0 said:

Just catching up on this thread. Absolutely stunning work.

Me too: stumbled across it today, and, well, wow!

March 10, 2021

This may not seem much, but it's a breakthrough for me. I've finally got an Easitrac turnout that doesn't throw a wagon off the rails!

This one's for the Forth & Clyde AG layout, if it passes muster, and if it doesn't I'm happy to reclaim it and incorporate it into my own.

Edit: nearly a day later and I've just noticed I forgot the check rails. Oops. :blush:

March 10, 2021

Looks really good, Jim. Didn't you say you didn't like doing buildings?

Richard

March 7, 2021

Four Fencehouses P4 hoppers have emerged from the paint shop.

Thank goodness the NCB didn't have a standard size of lettering. It means I can use pretty much any size I've got. The full hopper on the left has Railtec transfers; the others are from Fox. I was worried about the quality from Railtec as they're much cheaper than Fox. They're a joy to use.

Edit: P.S. I've tried a different masking technique with this lot when spray painting below the solebars. Rizla. They're cheap as chips, easy to cut, easy to position, pre-gummed, and I've always got some on me!

March 6, 2021

Well, that's the artwork for the Charles Roberts 15-ton Hopper (a Backworth exclusive!) sent to PPD. Hopefully I've applied what I've learned (and enjoyed, and not enjoyed) from putting a few different etch kits together, along with my first etch of the coal processing plant. I think I've added enough, but not too many, tags. Hopefully I'll not just get a frame back, with the rest ending up in the etch soup at the bottom of the tank. Time (and upwards of 70 quid, I think!) will tell.

Members of the Forth & Clyde Area Group have offered much advice, including 'try 3D printing instead', for which I'm very grateful.

Oh, and the red oxide primer on the P4s is currently hardening off in the shed: I'll get the solebars painted tomorrow, and then think about the lettering.

(Why didn't I just stick with RTR, off-the-shelf n-gauge? I'd be sitting watching the trains trundle by now! Probably.)

March 5, 2021

19 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

From experience, I can suggest (but not recommend) walking barefoot round the work-space?

I've learned to ignore that small but clearly audible rattle when I vacuum. What used to evince a whimper from me is now met with a philosophical shrug. :unknw_mini:

March 5, 2021

12 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

... I also had to make nine of them to provide the obligatory offering to the carpet monster! (How can a 11.5x8mm piece of white plastic fall to the floor and just disappear?) ...

I've a wooden floor, and yet the bits that ping away still disappear. Apart from the ones that I roll over when I push my chair back to look for them. And the brand new reamer that rolled under the skirting board and fell into the expansion gap betwixt wall and floor - I know where that is, but I'll never see it again.

February 26, 2021

I've been juggling a couple of jobs over the last week or so. Working my way through the etch artwork for the Chas Robert Backworth hopper, I ground to a halt when my three-layered solebar wasn't deep enough. Start at the fold and the bearings, and it underhung the body. Start at the body, and I'd need a really long axle. It hadn't occurred to me that Chas Roberts wasn't constrained by .25mm nickel silver, and could make his undercarriage as thick as it needed to be! So, I turned to see how Bob Jones had done it on his P4, and did a batch of three. Bob's experience showed - he'd included fold-out spacers in the first solebar layer! Genius.

So, the artwork progresses, painfully slowly. I've got to the stage where I just need to draw axleboxes, strapping, stanchions, interior dividers and a brace that sits under the sloping ends of the hopper body. And then the dreaded origami, where I squeeze it into the smallest area of N/S that I can manage. Progress so far:

Credit to Bob/Fencehouses - I've cribbed his chassis design quite closely, with the obvious exception of the dimensions. Fold-out spacers and coupling mount are straight copies of the way he's done it.

And the P4s:

The one on the left is my first attempt, with the strapping soldered on (or not) as per Bob's instructions. I've found it much easier to cut out all the bits of strapping and superglue them on, using the etch as a positioning template. The corner plates I removed from the etch, put a 90deg fold into them and then glued them on once the bodies were assembled. Bob sent me the etch for the stanchions, each of which are made up of six laminated layers. Try as I might, I couldn't get six at a time to behave, so I've gone for four each. To hide the laminations, once attached to the body ends (glue again) I've flooded them with solder. They've not turned out too bad at all.

The handrails are 0.3mm wire, as the etched versions were a bit square, and more squashable. I've a few days off coming up so hopefully they'll take a trip to the paint shop then.

Thanks for looking

Richard

February 17, 2021

11 hours ago, Trewisin said:

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the update very impressive . You have captured the buildings well .I think that the tall building may have been an updated version of the Lambton system washery.As i remember a tall castlelated building a Backworth pit which was built for that purpose,it was later used for a wagon repair shop , and paint shop.

I have just managed to obtain a very nice book: called, INDUSTRIAL LOCOMOTIVES & RAILWAYS. OF THE NORTH EAST .BY GORDON EDGAR. ISBN 978-1-4456-4940-5 (AMBERLEY PUBLICATION £19.99. www.amberley-books.com.)

Lots of very good pictures.From the North and South of the Tyne.

No doubt you have seen or have the CHILTON IRON WORKS PULICATION.

BACKWORTH . AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE MINES AND RAILWAYS. BY JOHN ELLIOT & DEREK CHARLTON.

ISBN 0-9523672-1-1 (well worth a read).

Looking at your photos of Fenwick I think you have now modelled all of the buildings . It did have a few tall chimneys of various hights , these could be added at a later date, the pit closed August 1973. Im not shure as to which ones were left.

Have any thoughts as to what locos you may run.

I have come across a web site that may be of use www.maridunians models.( 3D printing by Shapeways) various diesel locos

may be of interest 2mm/ngauge using Minitrix dock tanks or Farish 03/04 chassis also Peckett tanks and a Janus all at a reasonable price of about £15n.

Not a lot else keep up the good work look forward to your next review.

Regards RAY

Morning Ray

I have both of those books - the Elliot & Charlton one is already dropping to bits as I've used it so much! As I'm going for a period immediately prior to closure (i.e. early 70's) then it looks as though the motive power was almost exclusively Austerity J94s and Class 14 diesels. Initially I'm hoping to use re-wheeled / detailed versions of the Farish models, and I've picked up one of each from eBay to play with. No 29 was an RSH side tank (I think - I don't know much about locos!) which was transferred from Ashington to Backworth during that period, so I may end up trying to replicate that too. Then there's the BR diesels (Class 37s etc) working from the exchange sidings...

R

February 13, 2021

6 hours ago, Trewisin said:

Hi,Richard,Hows it going ? If you are bored with the oxide red colour scheme on the wagons I can remember them being painted a very dark blue. Ithought tracing paper would have made a good substitute for the window panes in the tower building.

Have you decided what part of Fenwick you propose to model yet or is it to be just the pit head area ?

Regards Ray

Hi Ray

The final bills have landed - or at least enough envelopes to create the last of the windows! They've got just the right level of translucency to show the interior as silhouettes, which is just as well as I've no idea what was actually in that building.

I'm hoping to model the whole pit area, with shortened sidings to the north and south so the whole area covers about 1m x 2m. The southern two-road approach opens out into several roads more-or-less starting at the weighbridge. This is where I've got so far:

The buildings modelled so far are those involved in the extraction and production of the coal. The heapstead itself is too small in context with the other buildings, but ultimately the layout should stand on its own. I'd like to fill in the empty L-shape behind with the ancillary buildings (baths/canteen, office, generator house and warehouse/stores) as they'll not take up much extra space. The western (left-hand side of the photo) is bounded by the road and the land-sales coal drop, and the east by the pitheap which just needs to be suggested on the model.

I'm toying with a three-part layout: the colliery, the exchange sidings and the staithes on the Tyne, which in reality were 20 miles or so away, but which I'm minded to join together with a foot of track between them! And somehow I want to include a roundy-roundy bit just so I can sit and watch the trains run. All in an area 3m x 2m :huh: :unsure:

Thanks for showing an interest

Richard

February 5, 2021

4 hours ago, Trewisin said:

Hi Richard,

That looks excellent was there an upright support in the centre of the wagon ? I cant remember as ihave not been able to find any drawings for this wagon. Also what was the wheel base 9ft 6 or 10 ft between the axles .You have got the angle right it looks smashing ,look forward to the complete item .Ray

Hi Ray. I'm assuming there were two doors in the bottom of the hopper, with a transverse crossmember two or three planks tall, so that's what I'll model. I'll add internal strapping which appears to mirror the exterior vertical one, but I'm not planning on doing any hinges on the floor. This is the best picture I've got of the inside of the hoppers:

...so I'm also using this fortunate/unfortunate photo as an aid to the design:

I'm not sure of the type of hopper this was, but it was in use on the Ashington system when it got involved in a fight with several others on Blyth's North Staithes.

The Backworth hopper was actually 11' wheelbase, and 17'6" over the buffer beams, so quite a substantial wagon compared to the other wooden hoppers in use, I think.

R

February 4, 2021

Well, I'm feeling quite pleased with myself. While I'm waiting for bills to land (no, really) so I can use their windows as glazing for the current building project, I've returned to the etch artwork for Backworth's signature 15t hopper. The internal angles have been doing my nut in. But, a couple of weeks away from it have meant a clear-headed approach, and I think I've finally got it. I've printed the hopper body onto plasticard in 4mm, and it's come together nicely.

So, I think I'll crack on with the chassis frame and brake subframe, and start playing with axleboxes.

January 29, 2021

1 minute ago, Ian Morgan said:

That's a lot of correspondence from the HMRC

This whole 2mm journey has been a series of firsts for me. But I doubt if I'll ever get to "Oh goody, a tax bill" :laugh_mini:

January 28, 2021

The Coal Processing Plant is taking shape. I'm at the glazing stage, using the cellophane from window envelopes as it has just the right translucency. I never thought I'd be hoping for bills to land!

I'm glazing one storey at a time, and adding the central opening sections randomly open and closed to relieve the monotony of each aspect. Once done I'll floor each storey furnished with fictitious machinery, all in black, to further reduce the detail but give the clear impression of something going on internally. In all the photos it's the only building that you can see into.

January 26, 2021

14 minutes ago, MinerChris said:

Hi Richard,

Before you go and solder up the corner pieces, would you be better soldering some 1/4" or 1/2" square section brass lengths up the inside of your corners? This might make the whole building less flimsy and liable to damage when: something gets put on it/ sat on/ looks at it funny and falls over. I would think some cross member pieces of brass probably wouldn't go amiss at reinforcing the structure either - ang give you something to place the floors on to solder to.

Best Regards,

Chris.

Sound advice, Chris. Except I don't have any brass. I've got to the point where I've added the embossed plasticard brick sections, so that's the end of the soldering. I have braced it with corners of the etch frame (which make accessing the interior a bit, erm, gynaecological) and I'm going to floor it with 1mm plasticard superglued into position once I've glazed it, so that should add some strength. And I doubt if any of my models would survive being sat on . My partner wants a new cat, which will be absolutely banned from the shed which will eventually house the layout!

Richard

January 26, 2021

1 hour ago, Trewisin said:

Hi Richard , Ive been watching your blog for a while and you have brought back fond memories.as I come from Backworth originaly born in Wallsend but my Mothers family were from Backworth. My Grand father worked at the pit and retired afer being a miner and then working in the blacksmiths shop. From your original blog i think you also said you were from this area before going to Scootland. I am also thinking of building a layout of Backworth but i think i would need a hangar to put it in .I can remember visiting my Grandparents home during scool holidays and on return from overseas postings (my father served in the R.A.F.) At one stage iwent to the original backworth primary school ,I can remember riding on the footplate of J94s a nd seeing the introduction of the Sentinal deisel loco before the class 14s. Ithink your doing a marvellous job keep it up would like to see somebody do a kit of the RCH wagons as they are special to the area. your P4 wagons are close. Keep up the good work.Ray.

Thanks for your comments, Ray. I grew up on Marden Estate, about 10 miles away from the pit. Was dragged a couple of time to Backworth Primary School when it became Backworth Drama Centre. And the artwork for the wagon etch is progressing, slowly, so watch this space...

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