West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Ah, that's you is it? I hadn't made the connection. They're very good. Have you been reading Geoff Kent's series on hoppers in MRJ?

If you need any help with drawings of info on a ferry van, please ask. There's a surprising amount of information available.

[R. pike]

I've not seen the MRJ series. I've worked from the BR diagram books that lack a lot of detail that i have filled in by looking at pictures on Paul Bartlett's excellent site.

The Dapol/Airfix brakevan is still one of the best on the market and one day i'll attempt to modify one like yours. So far all i have done is alter the roof details to match vans i have photo's of and fit a working tail light. I know this is incorrect for anything other than a fully fitted freight but i'm not going to fit working sidelights with my great big paws let alone get them to alter colour depending on where they are in relation to the main running line etc..

My trouble with the ferry van is i don't know which ones i need to model for March/Ely area 1970's to 1980's... I have very blurred 126 picture of some Tranfesa vans at Cambridge that i would have taken around 1980.

I'm pretty sure these are the same..

http://alanmoore353.blokes.org.uk/p48724480.html

so if you have anything on this type of van i be very interested.

[jwealleans]

I haven't looked at building any of those yet, so I don't have a huge amount of material. I did have that same photo you link to. My main source is an article by Ted Trotter (E B Trotter) in Model Railway Constructor, Oct 1966. There's also a photo of a very similar wagon with open brake platform in David Larkin's Private Owner Freight Wagons on British Railways.

I also have an HO model of one which I think is by Electrotren and seems, on a cursory check, to be a fairly accurate rendition. I'm aware of the 'don't model a model' argument, but I find it easier to build a model if I have something 3D to work against.

[R. pike]

The nearest drawing i've seen is C.5136 in British Railways Ferry Vehicles. Diagram Book.

[scottiedog]

See Jonathon's post of the 4th January. Over the Christmas period I built half a dozen of Cambrian Models LNER 12t Open Wagon kits. As with Jonathon, there was a little bit of work to do on an odd corner or two, but that was not an undue problem. They are now painted, lettered, numbered and loaded to run on my layout "Stainsby" which will be at the Birtley Model Railway Show in March.
Shortly, Cambrian Models hope to be able to release their LNER Quint D kit. This is the version which was built in 1936, but talking to Barry of Cambrian Models, he said that there should not be any difficulties in building it to the earlier version. I gather from him that the bogies will be one piece mouldings.

[jwealleans]

C5136 it is and here's one I acquired earlier:



The moulding is a bit heavy and the wheels and couplings hideous but it gives you a basis. It's an end door version without the brake hutch. The diagram is available from the Barrowmore MRG site in the ferry van diagram book. I haven't yet done any intensive research on these but you're welcome to the MRC article of you let me have your email address.

David - are you going to treat us to a photograph of your Cambrian opens? I'm not going to get upset if you post them here. Mine are just past the primer stage. I ought to mention that I did replace the buffer heads with steel ones from 51L.

I've been away this week and so took the SNCF van with me. The major body details are almost complete and I made up some springing units to sit it on last night. It always feels like a huge step forward when a vehicle is on its wheels.



The Toad came with me as well for handrail fitting. I added the last couple which needed soldering last night and finished off with lamp irons and vac pipes today. A light spray of red oxide and it's now in the airing cupboard.



Lows and tractors have also had details added and a coat of primer (for the wagons at least). The unfitted low is a Bachmann one which I discover is a pretty good match for an LMS diagram.

[Atlantic 3279]

Your Toad D is certainly going to show up the shortcomings of my own effort.

[jwealleans]

Maybe - room for debate there, I feel - but yours is at least straight.

[R. pike]

The Transfesa van does look a little chunky but i will not be able to better it with my scratchbuilding efforts. I'll pm you my email address. The Barrowmore drawings are a great resource but they weren't made for modellers. I have tried to contact them firstly to thank them for putting them were people can use them and secondly to offer some of the paperwork i have here like loading instructions, freight train loads books and numerous other little snippets that could prove useful.

I note the brakevan has an additional handrail on the side. I'm sure the BR vans didn't have this. I heard a story, from several guards, that they used to climb on the roof and drop additional coal down the stovepipe once they'd got the fire really going. With this additional handrail i can see how they did it.

[IAK]

The Barrowmore drawings are a great resource but they weren't made for modellers. I have tried to contact them firstly to thank them for putting them were people can use them and secondly to offer some of the paperwork i have here like loading instructions, freight train loads books and numerous other little snippets that could prove useful.

Really. Was one successful mon?
If not PM me - I can then ensure you can contact the right person...
And more goodies are pending so far as I'm aware

[R. pike]

I've had a brief rummage through my bits and pieces and book 7 'INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF REGARDING THE USE OF LOOSE LIFTING TACKLE' would go nicely on their site. Books 1 - 6 are already there.

[jwealleans]

Well, it has been a while. I'd love to have more to show for it as well, but that's just the way things are going at the moment. I do need to get my finger out and get some things finished for Glasgow show and I seem to be running out of weekends.

To continue with the thread title, here are the two brake vans I've been working on. The Dapol one now had transfers and is ready for finishing. It ought to have a 'WB 16'-0"' bottom left but I don't have any, there isn't one on the HMRS sheet and I'd rather no transfer than an incorrect one.I may try to pick up a Modelmaster pack at Glasgow and add it after the show.



The Lima van has had buffers removed and some of my dwindling stock of ABS 20" ones substituted. I placed them a low as I dared on the buffer beam, given the discussion with Graeme about heights,. I see they point slightly down as well but they're not too far out. The difference in ride height can be seen comparing the end platforms. I haven't yet shortened the footboards or repaired the axlebox I drilled through. One thing I did find were some spare sprues from a Parkside kit (may have been the cattle van I bashed to a GN one last year) with axlebox covers on it. I shall try just sticking those over the end of the Lima ones and see whether I get away with that.

French van has wheels attached and is in primer...seems like weeks since I touched it.



As someone on RMWeb pointed out after my last posting, the Bachmann lowfit is in fact the LNER one. I have a bit of a glut of these in that case as I found three or four in a box of model railways which was to be thrown away. This one has had the correct chassis and (hopefully) will be ready for Glasgow along with the BR one.



Lastly the LNER opens. I was in Hereford for work the week before last and happened to arrive in time to walk down to the Model Centre and have a browse. In one of the second hand cabinets (great shop, if you're in the area, less than 10 minutes from the station) I saw a 3H kit for the LNER 6 plank open. I thought that would be an interesting comparison with the Cambrian, so I took it. I had all week in a hotel, so I built it within a couple of days as well. Here the 3H is bottom left. There's very little to choose in terms of appearance although the 3H was not as easy to build as the other two. The corners especially were a swine and I'm still not completely happy. The plastic is also very hard. I may yet scrap the brake gear and use one of the spares from the Cambrian build; although commendably fine it's very fragile and I've already broken one part of it.



Just to show it was my week, when I opened the 3H box I found almost all of a Slaters Midland 3 planker in there as well. Expect to see that appearing here in a future update.

[jwealleans]

I managed to make some time tonight to get on with finishing off some models. The lowfits have had a first weathering coat and are drying. The Dapol Toad is also about ready for weathering; I applied white to the handrails in a 'heavy drybrushing' manner and once that's had a coat of varnish and a few handrails are straightened it'll be on with the filth.



The Archer rivet transfers have worked well on the ends; the backing film shows up on the model which actually enhances the effect. It's the first time I've seen them do that in the time I've been using them.



The Lima is still catching up Graeme's. I've added quite a bit more detail tonight. Here you can see that I've had to fill in the hole at the bottom of the end, have reattached the inner ends and made the roof detail. I've also filled in the gaping holes left by the old handrails. Stepboards are shortened and the upper ones added. I've also replaced my usual Hornby wheels with what I think are Kean-Maygib which are visibly smaller and help the ride height problem.



Here's the underneath view. I dispensed with the brake shoes when cutting the stepboard and replaced with some Parkside leftovers. Brake cylinder and V hangers are also from the spares box. The brass upper stepboard is secured with some soldered tabs at right angles to the board which are then superglued to the floor.

[Atlantic 3279]

Those brass upper stepboards, new outer brake gear, and complete new doors instead of my patches are definitely more elegant solutions! Are your Kean-Magib wheels actually concentric on the axles? I've found several of my sets of what appear to be K-M wheels that I bought cheaply as a second-hand "bargain" are nothing like concentric and induce unacceptable wagon wobble

[jwealleans]

Why thank you, Graeme, I'm flattered. Those wheels are round and concentric; I've had a few dodgy ones in the past and usually either dismantle or chuck them so there's no danger of using them again. We've had a few at Ormesby which have come loose on the axle as well. Agreed they get far more than 'trainset' use, but clearly you do have to keep an eye on them.