Thompson buffer stocks

[riley]

Hello All
I'm close to finishing a Thompson matchboard full brake in Gauge 1 in plasticard. However I'm concerned about the buffer stocks (shank/header) I've fitted which I bought from a commercial supplier as "lner buffers" or suchlike. The buffers themselves appear to be the correct cut-off type but the stocks have no chimney shaped "tube" casting to hold the post that has the buffer at one end , rather they are relatively flat. I have not been able to find a picture of a Thompson vestibuled coach buffer stock, merely seen a hint of one a photo. Can anyone help? The North Norfolk Railway has one of these matchboard brakes in storage.

By the way, I decided to model the couplings with a normal buckeye at one end and a dropped buckeye revealing a hook at the other which I picked up second-hand (it maybe Kadee). This means that the buffers at the normal buckeye end have to be retracted but not at the other end!

[Dave]

Hi

A Thompson buffer pic for you.

Yes you are correct - retracted with buckeye

[2512silverfox]

This is a non corrifor buffer. The corridor pattern is similar to the traditional Gresley type with a clipped buffer head.

I will see if I can find a suitable photo.

[65447]

I will see if I can find a suitable photo.

Historic Carriage Drawings Volume 1 - LNER & Constituents, Nick Campling, Pendragon 1997 page 8...?

[Dave]

Yes it is a non corridor buffer....not knowing a lot about Thompson carriages I assumed they where all the same...silly me, thanks for the correction, I keep learning all the time

[65447]

Dave,

The non-vestibuled stock was originally fitted with buffers that had a slender, webbed casting for the bufferstock. That in the your photo, sometimes called the 'bottle' type (for obvious reasons), was introduced at around the same time as the change in underframes from truss rod to angle truss, see Volume 1 (as above) page 60.

[Dave]

yes 65447, I have just looked at my copy of HCD page 60....so much info...you lose track, thanks

[MikeTrice]

To the best of my knowledge the buffers on vestibule stock did not change from the earlier Gresley type.

[65447]

Hello All
I'm close to finishing a Thompson matchboard full brake in Gauge 1 in plasticard. However I'm concerned about the buffer stocks (shank/header) I've fitted which I bought from a commercial supplier as "lner buffers" or suchlike. The buffers themselves appear to be the correct cut-off type but the stocks have no chimney shaped "tube" casting to hold the post that has the buffer at one end , rather they are relatively flat. I have not been able to find a picture of a Thompson vestibuled coach buffer stock, merely seen a hint of one a photo. Can anyone help? The North Norfolk Railway has one of these matchboard brakes in storage.

By the way, I decided to model the couplings with a normal buckeye at one end and a dropped buckeye revealing a hook at the other which I picked up second-hand (it maybe Kadee). This means that the buffers at the normal buckeye end have to be retracted but not at the other end!

Riley,

Having been around the houses and ended up back more or less where you came in, I'm wondering if your 'problem' is not the buffer sets that you have purchased but rather the lack of sleeves to hold the buffers in the extended position when the buckeye is dropped and the screw coupling is in use? If that is the case then you will, as you say, need to fit the buckeye end buffers in the retracted position - no problem by the sound of it, but will need to fit sleeves to each of the buffers at the screw coupling end to keep them extended. However, I'm now intrigued to know how the springing works to keep the buffers 'short'.

A photo of your purchased model buffers might help... whose manufacture are they?

[riley]

Thank you so much for your answers; I will add some pictures of the model's buffers by Tuesday.
In the meantime I can tell you that the buffers will be semi-permanently set in either in the normal or the retracted position. One end (with buckeye coupling) with have buffers retracted, the other end, with dropped buckeye and hook for 3 link in use, will have buffers fully extended. If a buffer is pressed, a length of spring wire is bent, providing springing. The wire and buffer are simply set further back. To change the arrangement from buckeye to buckeye drop/3 link would take about 1/2 an hour and an upside down coach - not so prototypical !

[riley]

Please find attached pictures as follows:
* The end of the coach as featured in Historic Carriage Drawings (LNER)
* Retracted buffer arrangement - as per my model
* Non retracted buffer arrangement - as per my model
* Buffer Stock - as per my model
* Side view of matchboard brake - my model

* This URL Picture of the coach at the NNR http://www.mandgn.co.uk/carriages_mainline_70621.htm
* This URL shows a 7mm version.
http://www.crtkits.co.uk/image.php?imag ... &sCaption=

Looking at the Picture in Historic Carriage Drawings (above) and blowing it up to the full screen size, to my eyes the curve (as discussed w.r.t the 7mm pic above) , if it is there at all, is barely noticeable, so I am happy with my model in this respect. However, there is a clear "shank" around the "spindle" of the buffer, which my model does not have.

What to do?

A choice:
1) Turn little cylinders and glue them onto my buffer "stock" castings to represent the shanks.
2) Make a buffer "stock" inc "shank" in brass and have castings made.
3) Ignore it
4) thin (turn) the end of the casting of the buffer+spindle I have and wrap a very short piece of tube around it so it looks like the end of the "shank" (by shank I mean the cylindrical part of the buffer stock ) in the 7mm pic
5) I could buy the 7mm pic and copy it. Note the curve on the buffer stock versus the almost straight line on my model

I choose 4 - I have answered my own question!

best rgds to all

Riley

[MikeTrice]

Don't know if these help. They are from a Gresley vehicle showing the buffer in retracted and extended positions.

[Dave]

As I lead you up the garden path....by way of appology

Attached a drawing of a cliped buffer, hope these help

[Dave]

And following on from Mike...a couple more buffer pics

[MikeTrice]

Daft question: what stops the collar sliding around in use and dropping off?