magmouse

Are you saying Noah & Co. were very advanced, and invented the railway a couple of thousands of years ahead of the rest of the world? Finding the remains of a tramway up Mount Ararat might be the proof we need not only of ultra-early railways but the whole story of the Deluge! Nick.

That's interesting - so these are possibly an innovation in the 1907 spec that wasn't always adopted. Later, with self contained buffers, the connection between coupling hook and drawbar is by a horizontal bolt, so both nut and bolthead can be accessed from below. Earlier, with buffing springs located in the centre of the wagon, the arrangement was different again - I can't immediately find a drawing with that set-up. That certainly makes sense - the move away from inside diagonals coming with the arrival of wider, higher-capacity wagons. Nick.

Well, as a 1908 modeller - yes, even if only marginally! They in any case show the 'state of the art' of wagon building of the period, so are useful for understanding wagons built in the years prior to 1907. A variety of questions come up when looking at these drawings, but I will start with two - both from looking at the "Standard Waggon with Wood Body and Underframe" of 1907, drawing number 1 in the list: Firstly, the drawing shows two square plates fitted to the floor on the centre line. These appear to cover access holes aligned with the bolts that hold the coupling hook onto there rest of the draw gear, around the buffing spring. I assume these plates allow access to the bolts from above, so the hook or spring can be replaced without needing to lift floor planks. I have never noticed these access plates being modelled - did they appear on earlier wagon types? Secondly, the drawing has a note saying inside diagonal strapping is allowed within the specification, and if used, it is to be attached to the solebar at the bottom end. This is a familiar feature from prototype photos and models. However, looking at the cross section 'AA', the inside face of the side sheeting is not in the same plane as the outside face of the solebar. How was this resolved? Presumably the strapping had a joggle in it, but the difference is quite large and a joggle would reduce the ability of the ironwork to resist forces in tension. Also how would the strapping with its joggle get through the side rail? The drawing offers no clue to this - is anyone aware of the solution? Nick.

Thanks - I'd already looked at the page you linked to. The text says they are based on the Slaters casks (which I have also used) rather than being 3D printed. Anyway, as you say, I need to talk to him. Nick

These are great - I might see if he can scale them up to 7mm. No reason why the shipment should be the exact number to fill a wagon. I've been thinking recently about having more wagons that are part-full - loads large enough to justify a whole wagon, but not filling it. Nick.

You can’t leave that hanging without a picture! Nick.

Er, false perspective? I would hope the difference in scale wouldn't be too noticeable, especially if any real give-aways in terms of fittings, etc., were to scale. 7mm scale is tricky, as it rarely coincides with the scales used in other modelling disciplines. Mind you, 1:47 is odd in itself - why not 1:48, which is very common, being 1/4" = 1ft? I certainly don't have @Schooner's nautical expertise, but as far as I can tell late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century workaday coastal trading ships seem to be rather overlooked by ship modellers (or at least the kit makers). It may be a case of Hobson's choice, unless one is happy to scratch build, and I'm not feeling that at the moment. In any case, my need for a ship model is contingent on Netherport as an layout becoming more than a pipe-dream - that's a way off yet. Nick.

S7 please. But perfect for Netherport on the Dorset coast, which in my counter-factual history is developing as a cross-channel route to Paris and northern France, via Cherbourg… Anyway, that’s my daydreaming - I’m really enjoying watching your progress with this, Louis. It’s all so atmospheric. Nick.

Actually, I think there is a good reason to assume the practices would have been the same - the slates are less prone to breakage if stacked facing sideways. The main shocks the slates will receive in transit will be along the length of the wagon (acceleration and braking forces). The slates are better able to withstand these shocks if they are applied to the edge of the slate, rather than the face. Looking closely at the Caernarfon picture posted recently confirms this, and all pictures I have seen of narrow gauge slate wagons have the majority of slates loaded this way. Sometimes there are some slates loaded at ninety degrees, to ensure the wagon is tightly packed, again to help avoid breakages. Sometimes pictures show slates sticking up, wedged in to keep the pack tight (and presumably to make it easier to release the first slate and get ones fingers in to left the following ones). Nick.

Laser cutting would give the required accuracy. York Modelmaking does laser cut self-adhesive slates - these could be assembled with the slates directly on top of each other instead of partly overlapping. The self-adhesive aspect is probably more trouble than help in terms of getting accurate alignment - could they be persuaded to make some with ought the adhesive? I need some in 7mm scale... In terms of material, if a slate is around 1/4" thick, that's about 4 thou in 4mm scale, and 7 thou in 7mm scale. The 80gsm paper in my printer is near enough 4 thou thick. York Modelmaking don't specify a thickness, but I suspect it is more than that, looking at the photos. I am not sure how important scale thickness will be - it's possible that being too accurate will mean all sense of texture and structure will disappear, and you won't have a sense of what is being represented. Nick.

You can always pinch a shovel-full or two from the wagon behind... Nick.

Looking on http://www.gwrcoaches.org.uk, that seems like a good shout. Nick.

Who are you calling a nobody??? 🙂 Anyway, the video has been up for an hour and has 8 views already! I do like Tristyn in winter. Nick.

Time well spent, it looks like to me, Annie! Very characterful. Nick.

Given the round, threaded end has to be fed through the hole in the headstock, it must be the tail of a bolt, not the head. So less hypogryphical, and more of an anti-pushmi-pullyu (tails at both ends). But yes, it seems wise to assume some readers will benefit from an explanation. Nick.

This drawing in Atkins, et al, (final edition) shows an 1883 GWR wagon with what appears to be a rod connecting the coupling hooks and the buffing springs at either end - or possibly connected around the springs? This drawing must be a re-draw of an original, so may be a bit confused. Nick.

I think I do - are we supposed to say, or does that spoil the poll? Nick.

Thanks Pete - yes, Steve always seems super-busy. I'll be wanting these in 7mm scale, but hopefully that is a straight-forward job for him. Nick.

Pete - are the “G.W.R” transfers in white and yellow, as shown in your photo, also from Rail Tec? I can’t see them on their website - thanks. Nick.

More on rope colour codes, and related topics of interest, here: https://www.crassoc.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1929 Nick.

Chris - I think that is “iron solebar plates”, which would make sense. Nick.

Very nice, Dave, and it looks great as part of the train. Having discussed the question of the sheet previously, perhaps your justification for having it is the pantechnicon is new, being delivered, so a bit more care is being taken to keep it looking pristine for the customer. Nick.

That seems unlikely to me - we can see pretty much to the centre line of the wagon, so the pick-up point would be off-centre and so rather unstable. Also, the wheel at the near end has a piece of packing so the weight is taken by the wheel tread, not the flange - perhaps to avoid damage to the underside of the headstock. I think what we see is what there was - wagon lifted on a jack (now displayed by the assembled crew for the photo), wheel set released, and wagon lowered onto the chocked wheels with some packing. Given it is some kind of official photo, it seems likely this was an approved (or at least not forbidden) practice, otherwise this lot have just shopped themselves, big time. Having said that, some of my students posted a video on social media of themselves having an illegal party during lockdown, so it's possible to be that daft. Nick.

Thanks for that. A picture of the inside of one of the huts would be interesting - presumably they would contain a desk for processing paperwork, tools, and a stock of common parts. Nick.

Thanks, that’s interesting. The copywriters knew what they were doing - based on a Google image search, this is a depot: whereas this is a hut: The claim to have access to the facilities at someone else’s Hût at any principal station and junction would be less impressive, somehow. Nick.