1/32 Accucraft PO 7 plank Coal Wagon

[David Halfpenny]

It turns out that Accucraft got the holes in the floor to take the pins on the casting in the right place after all!

(I'll come to a trick for locating them correctly without needing the broken pins.)​

​

Here's the underside of the wagon floor, showing that a locating pin has broken off:



and here's the corresponding brake-block casting, showing where the pin broke off from:


Of course, when we put the casting back, we can't see the pin!

Nor can we use the glue-prints from the two Safety Hangers, because they are different from each other.

But we can line up the Brake-Block Hanger with the base of the axleguard, like this:



BEWARE: that's if staying with 29mm diameter G1MRA Standard wheels.

If fitting Finescale wheels with a wider back-to-back, you may need to locate the brake blocks closer to the solebars. Yet the same principle applies: use the axleguards as reference points for getting all four brake blocks aligned the same.

If fitting 10mm scale wheels, be aware they may foul the brake blocks.
And forget Northern Finescale wheels, which are over scale diameter, even for 10mm (indeed, so big they make decent 1:32 coaching stock wheels!).​

More to follow, David

 

[Dave Bowden]

Hi David

I'll wait until you have completed all the modifications showing all the pitfalls then I'll consider modifying my three wagons.

Dave

 

[David Halfpenny]

Wise words, Dave

But at least it looks as though the brakes can be modified without removing any other components, as long as you're careful with your lovely paint.

(I only took a wheelset off to take photos.)​

 

[hrmspaul]

A problem appears to be the common one, that the brake push rods are modelled parallel with the solebar and therefore do not allow the brake shoes to align with the wheels. The push rods were slightly bent towards the wheel so that they would work. It doesn't appear to be necessary to exaggerate that, as it is with OO in 4mm, but it is prototypical to have some
Wagon details - PO mineral and other parts | PO mineral, underneath and yes I know the further one is broken.

Paul

 

[David Halfpenny]

Great picture, Paul!

I don't have the equivalent drawing for a wooden-framed wagon, but here's the drawing for a steel-framed one, clearly showing the angling you mention of the push rods on a double-braked wagon (it isn't necessary on a Morton braked wagon):



Here's my Accucraft 'fix', which doesn't attempt to angle the push rods, but does line the brake-blocks up with the tyres by using a discreet spacer:


It's still assembled 'dry', and I'll send more pictures once it's glued in place.

(But before that, I need to bend the handle, both to look right and to latch correctly.)
​

 

[Mike W]

David, that is a vast improvement. Very nice job. I wish we had such wagons available in Gauge 3!

Mike

 

[David Halfpenny]

I wish we had such wagons available in Gauge 3!

Thanks for your kind words, Mike, yet I am puzzled by them given the availability of stunning wagons in Gauge 3.
I only see Gauge 3 in passing, but if I were to start again, it's the scale I'd go for, largely because of the wagons!

Try the Gauge 3 Society for suggestions.​

Compare this G3 photo with the Accucraft wagon, and start counting the huge number of improvements:



See Williams Gauge 3 Models for this ~ and about thirty more, all reasonably priced, and covering several railway companies.

Andy at Woodbury Models is very Midland focused (Good Man!) and I don't think he does a G3 7 plank RCH, but his kits are amazing too. As are Peter Korzilius's.

I do hope it's not long before you find the wagons you deserve David

 

[David Halfpenny]

Making progress (and in better light!):

V Hangers - just glued. I'll add a screw to the inside one if it falls off.





Handle now bent.

OK it's not bent in the right place (and maybe could do with a little more angle) but the soft butter-metal casting
makes it an easy job, using parallel pliers and careful fingers:
​

(I'm not over-happy with the colour of a black spirit pen (Sharpie), but it's covered the shiny scratches, looks a bit like rust, and is easily re-done with a better colour.)

Here is what we are aiming for (1923 version):

 

[lankytank]

See Williams Gauge 3 Models for this ~ and about thirty more, all reasonably priced, and covering several railway companies.

'Quiet cough' & whispers from side of mouth...… David, I think you'll find that Mike W is very aware of Williams Gauge 3 Models - he IS Williams Gauge 3 Models...…….

 

[David Halfpenny]

Well I'm gobsmacked!

All I can say, Mike, is that I wish we had more G1 wagons like your wagons!

David

 

[Keith Phillips]

I have given David's method a go with one of my wagons and have achieved acceptable results. One side only to compare the results with the unmodified side.

Considerably better brake block alignment was achieved and it is now the right way round. I cut the wrong side boss off and then used it as a spacer. I used the original pin as I don't have anything like that in my meagre parts bin. A bit of weathering again and it will be fine.




The whole process was straightforward and took no more than about 45 minutes including the back and forth looking at the instructions.

Thanks David

If I can manage this, anyone can.

All the best,

Keith

 

[Dave Bowden]

You can do my 4 wagons if you like Keith
Dave

 

[David Halfpenny]

Keith, you've been so neat I can't see the join - and I know where to look

Gosh, it's almost a year since I posted the drawing.

I'm vaguely aware I've not finished this thread off properly, but I'm no longer aware of which box I packed this wagon in when I moved house :-(
It will turn up one day. D​

 

[David Naysmith]

It appears to me that the only thing that Accucraft may have got wrong was to omit the reverser/multiplyer between the brake lever and the brake shoe push rod operating spindle.
These two pictures from Ken Martins post #32 in the Phipps Open wagon kit thread show the difference ....

View attachment 148672 View attachment 148673

I've tried to find details of the various ways that were used to achieve this function - like A pair of stub levers as shown above, or sometimes a pair of gears of the same size or different ratio were used - but I've not had much luck ....

 

[David Halfpenny]

David N,
The reverser is just on one side, so that depressing either lever actuates all four brake blocks from the one through-shaft.

Since both side's can't be seen at once, fitting reverser to both sides could make things look better.

OK it's a bit of a bodge, but only in exactly the same way as my re-ordering of the parts supplied.​

 

[David Naysmith]

David N,
The reverser is just on one side, so that depressing either lever actuates all four brake blocks from the one through-shaft.

Since both side's can't be seen at once, fitting reverser to both sides could make things look better.

OK it's a bit of a bodge, but only in exactly the same way as my re-ordering of the parts supplied.​

If there was a reverser fitted to only one side - wouldn't that mean that the brake lever on the opposite side would have to be attached directly to the 'one through-shaft' - thereby leaving you with the original problem of having to lift that lever up to apply the brakes?

 

[simond]

The lever is pushed (and pinned) down to apply brakes.

There is a dog clutch on one side (which is concentric with the shaft and all but invisible) and a reversing clutch on the other. Either lever can be pushed down to rotate the cross shaft and apply the brakes, whilst the other is hooked up (brakes off).

this site has some very useful drawings,

Railway Clearing House wagons

http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/~adrian/steam/RCHWagons/images/rch1009.PDF

it being a small world, Mr Halfpenny already knows of this resource


hth
Simon

 

[David Naysmith]

.............. this site has some very useful drawings,

Railway Clearing House wagons

http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/~adrian/steam/RCHWagons/images/rch1009.PDF .........


Simon

Many thanks - that's the info. I was looking for.

I'd started converting my 7 plank wagons in accordance with Mr Halfpennies recomendation before I realized it maybe wasn't neccessary - all it needed was some representation of the 'reversing' and the 'dog' clutches - although one advantage of the conversion was that it did bring the brake shoes into better alignment with the wheels.

 

[Mike W]

Whilst the RCH drawings show details for all types of wagon, so far as I can see most 1923-spec 7-plank P.O. wagons had independent sets of brakes either side. No dog clutch or reversing cams and no crosshaft.

 

[David Halfpenny]

If there was a reverser fitted to only one side - wouldn't that mean that the brake lever on the opposite side would have to be attached directly to the 'one through-shaft' - thereby leaving you with the original problem of having to lift that lever up to apply the brakes?

Yes, David.

A wagon with a cross-shaft has one brake lever fitted directly to the shaft, while the other drives through a reverser.​

But in this context, I'm talking about quick-fixing the 'wrong' appearance of the Accucraft model, rather than modelling any given wagon accurately.

A model with two reversers is wrong, but it looks right from either side because one can't see both sides at once.​