brossard

Well, Ken, I found some water soluble paste flux in my local hardware store. I've been using it for a couple of months and I'm very impressed. For years I used phosphoric acid based fluxes (Carr's) and you probably know they are very irritating when they fume. I have found it works on 145 and 188. It also works on 60/40, so I don't have to use messy sticky rosin flux. It also works on 70C. It doesn't corrode and my joints stay shiny. Cleanup is easy too. This is a North American product but I daresay there are similar in the UK. Now, in other discussions on soldering folk have said that paste flux leaves a residue. I think they must be talking about petroleum based flux (but stand to be corrected). I've tried this and it does work on all the solders I listed above but it does leave a greasy residue. My impetus for this is the restrictions on posting "hazardous" material. John

Jason, you might find waisted bearings to be better (look like a wizard's hat). http://www.nairnshire-modelling-supplies.co.uk/50-x-waisted-rolling-stock-bearings-p-1510.html?zenid=9tbo3vsqbqberc9l775coqnmd1 John

This is an interesting approach, watching with interest. Are you using pinpoint bearings? John

Jason, if you look at post #10 in the thread link I posted you will see what Andy means about sliding tubes. Much neater than previous methods I have used. I didn't actually use it for the milk van. In fact if you're working in 00, you may get away with just the sliding axle, subject of course to layout curve radii. John

Funnily enough I scratchbuilt a 6 wheeled chassis for my Hornby Insulated Milk Van using a Cleminson chassis: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/79126-lms-6-wheel-insulated-milk-van/ There may be some ideas for you. John

I bought a Gibson model from, of all places, one of those junk dealers that you find at some shows here in Montreal. This was many, many....years ago. Body was white metal, frames were brass. Also some nice etched detail. I actually made decent progress on it before passing it on to someone else. John

I've just been through this thread from the beginning. Fascinating stuff and some great pictures and tips. I have a second hand brass 7F but I'm not sure whose kit it is. It is horribly light, 00 and has flangeless wheels on the 2nd and 3rd axles. Happily it does run. My plan is to rebuild it to EM, but not for a while. John

Thank you so much for the kind words Tony. It's very encouraging to know one is on the right path and coming from you they mean a lot. John

Darn, I missed post 525 because of the page change. Those couplings look very neat. I also like that they are not flush with the bottom of the buffer beam, sometimes the bogie can foul in that position. I shall bear this in mind in future. John

Thanks Tony. This discusses corridors and couplings, a couple of particular bugbears for me: http://preview.tinyurl.com/k4m6z68 Oh and yes I know you can get black paper but when the muse struck, I didn't have any. I didn't do the vacuum pipes at this time. Later on I did do them and here's the result: This shows a Bachmann GUV, x LMS BG, TPO, Mk 1 BG and Hornby x LMS BSK. Note the Kadees at the ends. In my case I got the copper wire from an artist's supplies shop. The only drawback is that is coated and must be scraped before soldering. Side view which really shows how effective this simple idea is. These couplings really do work although I did have to do some adjusting to ensure that the hook length was optimum. The method helps with propelling as well. For corridors, the coaches push each other on the gangways, not the bogies. For non-corridors I added an extra wire on the loop for the hook to push against - this prevents buffer lock. Apologies for the hijack Tony, I hope you are heartened that some folk do take heed of your advice. John

Rob, Tony shows how to do this in Right Track 4, http://www.model-railway-dvd.co.uk/right_track4.php I was very inspired and have modified my coach rakes with these couplings. I still use Kadees at the brake ends for coupling to locos. I have some articles about how I did this but I don't want to tread on toes. John

Reading your description, that is basically how the Cleminson chassis suspension works. One outer axle is free to rock, the center axle floats, constrained by the tabs of the two outer axle units. The last axle can't rock. The big difference of course is that the outer axles swing. It seems to me that for 00, one can get away with simply allowing the center axle to slide from side to side - I've done it a couple of times. For EM though, given the smaller clearance (granted, wheels are thinner and radii are larger), I think you need something more sophisticated. Anyone with a differing opinion? John

For the benefit of Steve, here's a picture of the Chivers Fish Van kit: The parts are very well moulded and there is a pack of whitemetal parts (buffers and vac cylinder & actuator) and etched coupling hooks. As I said, the underframe detail is sparse, but the enterprising modeller can fix that. Note the pair of cosmetic wheels with a flat. A nice touch I think, because it gives the less experienced modeller a way to get the model running without all the faff other fusspots make. Arthur, glad you find the thread of interest. I daresay there's simpler ways to do it than mine. John

Thanks for sharing your experience Steve. If I read your picture correctly the guide wire is fixed by the plastic strip on either side. The outer axles appear to be fixed. It's a good looking model. I'm a bit obsessive about brake gear and rigging. The spring thing is something I saw somewhere which was lurking in my memory banks. I have 2 Stove R's, one in BR and one in LMS livery. For the BR vehicle I used Comet W irons with 14mm wheels. The outer axles were pivoted and the center axle slides from side to side: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cdqmnhc I think for the LMS version, I'll use a Cleminson chassis. Sadly, the van body is incorrectly lined so I'll have to do a total repaint as well. There's definitely more than one way to do these. John

Agree Mike, that would have been Crimson Lake or Maroon, in keeping with other NPCS vehicles. What BR did with these later on is something of a mystery to me, but crimson seems possible. I have the Chivers Fish Van kit to make but only recently realised that the prototype was built in 1947, which is out of my era - oh well. Most 6 wheeled vehicles tended to have unbraked center wheels but there were exceptions. The Milk Van, Fish Van and the Stove R spring to mind. It is likely that the brake rigging would have been same or very similar for these. John

As you say Paul, crimson. Clive mentioned the "white" van in post #2 and then provided a link to the picture in post #6. This has a similar colour to my eye: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/lmsfish/h158ecb1#h158ecb1 I would be interested in learning what happened to the milk vans before they were withdrawn. John

Thanks for the kind words Nelson and Steve. I doubt that you'd get much joy from the Chivers kit, as delivered the underframe is quite simple. It even has a pair of plastic wheels with a flat - the intention of which is to make the center wheels cosmetic. I did one for a friend and used Bill Bedford sprung W irons. This was in 00 and it works just by having the center axle slide back and forth (the axle box reinforcing bars prevent doing anything with the outer axles). I've since learnt a better way to do the center axle which involves mounting the wheels on a suitable OD tube and making a pinpoint axle that matches the ID of the tube: Thanks to Bill Bedford for the idea. It didn't work in this case for a variety of reasons too lengthy and painful to go into. This should work in 00 because the clearances are greater than EM. I originally used Comet axleboxes and springs but by the time I had progressed the model the springs were looking really naff. I decided to have a go at making my own by gluing plasic strips together: When dry, chop off your springs like slices of bread, and add a strap: Thin and shape as required. I hope this helps. John

Thanks for the picture Clive. It is difficult to make out, but I think I agree that it does look like the Insul Fish. Not sure about it being white though, it could be badly faded maroon. Yes, despite being a steamie at heart, I do have a soft spot for the old DMUs especially those with the whiskers. John

Interesting Clive. The story of these vans is murky and even Essery doesn't know how they ended up except that they were withdrawn in 1958 and 1966. I would have expected them to be in maroon livery while under BR ownership but they could have been reassigned to other traffic. If you come across the picture again perhaps a closer look is in order. LMS did produce a 6 wheeled fish van in 1947 which, as far as I know, was in maroon livery. John

The scope of the project was to create a credible model of the subject van. Starting point was the Hornby model. The body is generally acknowledged to be accurate. The less said about the underframe the better and indeed, it was totally discarded. Besides the picture (of 38550) shown in LMS Coaches by Essery and Jenkinson, there is one other picture (of 38551) in an article by Essery in LMS Journal 31. This article also contains a works drawing of the brake rigging. I went down several dead ends and my sanity was severely tested on this build. I won't bore you with that and simply cut to the chase. Body: Generally accurate but Hornby used their generic Palethorpes mould. The ladder, platforms and ice hatch have to be removed and the roof filled and smoothed over. Underframe: I did a complete scratch build using Evergreen sheet and strip. The heart of the underframe is a Slater's Cleminson chassis: Not the most ideal choice, being designed for 00 and for their six wheeled MR coaches. A better choice would have been a universal chassis such as Brassmasters (next time). In the event, the only mod I had to make for EM was to detach the W irons and stick them to the solebars. The wheelbase was, fortunately correct. Wheels: I thinned some Bachmann coach wheels to 2.2 - 2.3 mm. I spent rather a long time detailing the underframe. The strategy for painting and assembling all the bits took a fair bit of thought. So, here we are: Here's a shot of the underside: John

I built the underframe for a friend. He did the rest so taking no responsibilty. I did buy a kit for myself tobe LMS livery. John

I was wondering about this. I checked the main page the other day but couldn't find anything on pre-owned. I assumed that maybe it hadn't launched yet. John

I've been wondering what the #146 looks like. Very much like a #5, which is my standard. The difference appears to be a longer shank so the gearbox can be set back and is a bit less obvious. John

I have to admit that I was surprised at Burkhardt's comments. They didn't come across as if they'd been prepared. I thought to myself that his corporate lawyers would be having kittens. I know from where I used to work that nothing went out for public consumption before the lawyers had reviewed and diluted it. Canada isn't as litigious as the US but I can imagine that there will be claims from the Provincial Gov't (who have chipped in $60M - they'll want that back), Town and Victims. John

Well I always lock my doors. I live in a suburb on the south shore of Montreal. Mind you, I've never had a problem. On a related issue, I left my car at Dorval Airport while I took a business trip a few years ago. When I got back I opened the drivers door to find to my dismay a ticket for $50 for not having locked the car (thought I had of course). So mixed feelings - POed at the ticket but happy the nice policeman had locked my car for me. John