4mm An EM Workbench: n shades of grey

[AJC]

And now the second one, a present, in the form of the Sonic Models BR Ferry Van. Yes, there’s a Rapido version, too (and it’s likely the better model, but this was the family secret Santa and this was in budget!). The mechanics of getting an EM model out of this one are probably more involved, but easier, because the brakes are easier to remove - you can see to location holes, the shoe assemblies just prise out.



The regauging was slightly complicated because the original axles are a bit shorter than the standard 26mm and mounted in moulded plastic cones which stand proud of the back of the W iron. I trimmed these off and let in some brass bearings making use of this rather neat little tool which bores out a nice 2mm hole for putting proper brass bearings in.



For some reason, the safety loops are modelled (they're a bit heavy, but they're there) but also represented in relief as part of the brakeshoe mouldings - very LIMA - so I trimmed them back a bit, and drilled them for new wire yokes removing the locating pins. I can be a bit light touch with the brakegear on this because it's a big wagon and they're hard to see.





Reinstatement is also pretty crude - I've just superglued them in with a 15 thou' spacing strip...



Just a couple of bits of wire to add and all done. Obviously, there's details and proper couplings to add, but the basic conversion has been done.

Adam

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Ah - it's a BR built VIX Fährbootwagen..

....rather hoping it would be a Gmbhs 51 (Hfrs 312) or even a Tbnhs Fährbootkühlwagen with the prototypical incorrect spelling of Großbritanien (Großbritannien).

When you start looking a photos quite a number of FS and DB Fährbootwagen were seen in the UK either arriving through Dover or mainly from the Hook via Harwich, the latter being the primary freight route. Though haven't come across photos of BR VIX Ferry vans or any BR Ferry vans or wagons operating in Europe.

 

[AJC]

Ah - it's a BR built VIX Fährbootwagen..

....rather hoping it would be a Gmbhs 51 (Hfrs 312) or even a Tbnhs Fährbootkühlwagen with the prototypical incorrect spelling of Großbritanien (Großbritannien).

When you start looking a photos quite a number of FS and DB Fährbootwagen were seen in the UK either arriving through Dover or mainly from the Hook via Harwich, the latter being the primary freight route. Though haven't come across photos of BR VIX Ferry vans or any BR Ferry vans or wagons operating in Europe.

Sadly your wish (and mine!) for a good RTR version of a continental wagon in 4mm is probably going to come to naught… Living down the road from Paddock Wood (there’s a road called Transfesa Way, a big blue van would be nice), there's a local interest. Hornby, via Rivarossi, do a nice rendition of some of the Italian ones for UK traffic. In H0. I have seen a pic’ of a BR one somewhere of one of these in Austria, I think.

Mine does have proper UIC type couplings though:



Adam

 

[AJC]

Ends now complete: buffers (modified LMS RIV types - I fitted oval heads to these, leftover from I know not what), vac’ and air pipes (copper wire). A quick test showed it was necessary to add the longer link to the couplings.



I need to replace a couple of bits that have dropped off, but nothing very serious.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Going backwards to the SECR brake, my chosen prototype had gained a through vac’ pipe by 1960, screw couplings, and a buffer beam hook to keep them out of the way.



Adding the run down the solebar was tricky. Leaving aside the pair of right-angle bends and the more gentle angles following from them, there was the small matter of threading them through the brackets. Obviously the real thing didn’t do that on one go and neither did I! The little wrap of shim you can see halfway along is the solution: it’s functional. The slight bow has been straightened out since, however...



This done, I can think about putting the brakes back in.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Putting the brakes back on. Easier than I thought.



First drill the location holes for the yokes on the back of the brakeshoes to 0.5mm. Then scrape the paint off the mouldings, trim 0.5mm off the front, put a bit of 20 thou’ at the back of the existing slots and add drop of solvent - these bits are styrene, thank goodness. Come back the next morning and thread some 0.45mm wire through the holes. I’ve amended the existing yokes for the outers, but I’m not sure it was worth the hassle… all of five minutes hassle, but nonetheless.

Ready for renumbering and weathering.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Back to the Ferry Van, and the final details prior to touching up. All pretty simple things in bits of strip and wire, with the exception of the numbers (those printed in the model were far too small).





Next!

Adam

 

[AJC]

And the third, a brake for the ‘30s freight (well, when it’s not running with Thomas), in the form of a heavily discounted Hornby model. This is a simple drop in conversion - if you ignore the fact that the brakes are miles from the treads. I can’t, and so…



The ‘shoes just lever out, though they’re glued in. The modifications needed are in two stages, which pictures show better than words. The key detail is that the plastic sheet used is 30 thou'.





And back the right way up.



New handrails needed, because the Hornby ones (steel wire) bowed all over the place.

All pretty simple. Rigging to add once the solvent is hardened.

Adam

PS - anyone know what colour the LMS painted their tail and side lamps? White and black respectively per BR?

 

[AJC]

A couple of details that I’d missed on the SECR van. Clearly the through pipe also came with a valve and a gauge, with accompanying pipe work into the cabin. The neat beading fitted along the bottom of the sides had also been replaced with strip by the ‘40s looking at pictures, so out with the 5 thou’.



Now it’s ready for paint!

Adam

 

[AJC]

There’s always one more thing, isn’t there. Ok, two. I couldn’t live the handrails so replaced them with 0.3 nickel silver wire. The other is much harder to spot - there was an etch with some label clips on it in the box - they moved about on the real thing and my prototype had lost one: simple dab of super glue. I’ve put the spares to one side!



White prime, touch up and weather. Some time.

Adam

 

[AJC]

And now something completely different, a proper shelf queen, which started out as a Branchlines kit for the Manx Northern Railway’s Dübs and Co. Caledonia. It’s been going for so long I can really remember why I bought it, but it’s evolved into a small standard gauge 0-6-0T (one of the options the kit sort of allows for - along with outside frames on 9mm gauge! That would probably straighten a few curves...). The M&SWJR had a couple of broadly similar - but a bit bigger - locos and of course, as @ullypug knows, the WC&P had a diminutive 2-4-0T (ex-Jersey), so this sits between the two, borrowing details from each.

It’s required quite a few modifications, only some of which can be seen here.



We’ve seen the crossheads and cylinder assemblies before - 4mm - An EM Workbench: Shelf Queen Dübs - but here they’re assembled to the frames. The latter have been made deeper to accommodate slightly larger wheels, needed to bring the buffer height up to the realms of acceptability. They’re still not big (3’ 6”), and have a bigger crank throw which have necessitated modifications to the connecting rods, and so it goes on. @Stevers will be pleased to hear that I have gone for twin beam compensation on this one.



It’s beguilingly close to being ready for paint at this point, not that the body is anywhere near done, but it will probably need another spell on the shelf first, partly because I have another loco chassis I want to get to the same stage.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Having fished the bits out of their box, a sense of the loco to be:



Petite, I think, is the correct word. Obviously I’ve made a new footplate and bufferbeams to account for the wider gauge. Like Thomas, there’s certain amount of bit box content, too. The cab front and rear come from the leftovers from my Gibson O2, the steam brake fittings from the Brassmasters bits for a Jinty, and so on. The Ramsbottom safety valves might well be O2 leftovers as well, just as a variation, the Branchlines Ross Pops (and all the other castings), are very good.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Ah, I have one of these, it came in a job lot with some other items all marked NE (some correctly, some not) and I hadn't got round to figuring out what it was.

There is no D.44 listed in LNER Wagons Vol2 (NER Ds are all bolster wagons), but the match seems to be "E/004 Diag. C.8 Sleeper Wagon" from the 2016 Geen kit list. Pages 46-47 in Vol 2, morton braked with 2 shoe brakes on one side only, split spoke wheels. Batches built 1904-1913, 860 survivors into 1947.

Coming back to this, with different buffers and slightly different running gear, they look remarkably like the LNER version of the same thing (the Original Tatlow fig. 71 and plates 297 and 298). I suspect that's how this one will end up being completed, not least because I have some running numbers. Over on t'other channel, a pair in general traffic, seemingly, carrying iron pipes rather than sleepers:

Help with unidentified open wagons - early BR period

Good afternoon, Please can anyone help me identify the first two wagons behind the tender loaded with what I assume is a pipe load? They look superficially similar to an SR 8 plank wagon, but without the substantial metalwork around the doors. Many thanks, Simon

www.rmweb.co.uk

.

Adam

 

[AJC]

Some modelling, before doing battle with the dishwasher. An example of the ultimate version of the classic SR (ultimately derived from Lionel Lynes' work for Maunsell at the SECR - it began here: 4mm - An EM Workbench: end of the Lynes a couple of years ago), three-arc roof van turned out under BR (with B-prefixed numbers), as dia. 1/202. These were mostly plywood - though at least one in the number range was planked - and some with Morton brakes. The remainder, more excitingly, had the strange, asymmetrical SR brake, rendered in an etch from Masokits.





Said etch is not the last word in fidelity, to be honest, but like all Mike Clark’s designs, the fiddle factor is well advertised, the instructions are good, and it works as supplied. It’s as good now as it was when I joined this forum in 2012: 4mm - An EM Workbench: Sleeper Agent



Underneath you can see that I’ve melted the safety loops in using the soldering iron, and obviously, there are levers and vac’ cylinder to fit, but it’s no longer a shelf Queen and that’s what matters.

Adam

 

[AJC]

And now fully knitted, if not wholly complete:





The levers were a bit of a faff but yielded eventually. Some washer details and vac’ cylinder brackets to add and it can join the painting queue.

Adam

EDIT - PS, thanks for all the likes on this one, much appreciated (though why *this particular van*?! It's fairly mundane, I'd thought!).

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

EDIT - PS, thanks for all the likes on this one, much appreciated (though why *this particular van*?! It's fairly mundane, I'd thought!).

Perhaps is the fact it is the plywood version of the classic SECR/SR van rather than the more often modelled even planked or even/uneven planked version.

Then there are the 9', 9'6'', 10' wheelbase and Eastleigh, Ashford and Lancing variants of the SR style vans .

 

[AJC]

Perhaps is the fact it is the plywood version of the classic SECR/SR van rather than the more often modelled even planked or even/uneven planked version.

Then there are the 9', 9'6'', 10' wheelbase and Eastleigh, Ashford and Lancing variants of the SR style vans .

Naturally, I’ve done versions of all of these, and the ridged roof version too, though that’s a novelty too far, really. I’ll do one of the mix and match replanked ones that started out as uneven plank, some day…



Adam

 

[AJC]

Now onto the fiddly bits, almost all in 5 thou’. Strips along the eaves (which usually were quite wobbly), new door catches and some missing ironwork. On the ends, the characteristic (of later SR vans) pressed reinforcement on the vents. Just the door chains - and reworking the hinges - and a solebar bracket left to do now.





Adam

 

[Lyndhurstman]

Marvellous observation and translational fidelity, Adam.

Cheers

Jan

 

[AJC]

Marvellous observation and translational fidelity, Adam.

Cheers

Jan

Thanks, Jan - it's the result of having a really good, clear, picture (one of a batch from Hertford/Hitchin that was on eBay a while back). I didn't buy the negs so I can't, in all good conscience, share them publicly but it's helpful. I do need to be in the right mood for working with 5 thou' though.

Adam