LBSCR Horsebox C1856

[Jon Nazareth]

Rob, Overseer
Of course they were made like that!!!! I must be going B***** bonkers in my old age not to have seen that method of construction, I don't know .
Why the draughtsman has drawn the corners to make them look as if they are on the face of the frame we'll never know but, hey ho.. The main thing is that this little conundrum has been sorted and building can move forward.

Overseer. The picture of that horsebox is so clear! Now, that would make an interesting build project but, I don't expect that a drawing exists. I'll take a look at the HMRS website and check. I take it that it's a Caledonian?

Thanks everyone

Jon

 

[Overseer]

Rob, Overseer
Of course they were made like that!!!! I must be going B***** bonkers in my old age not to have seen that method of construction, I don't know .
Why the draughtsman has drawn the corners to make them look as if they are on the face of the frame we'll never know but, hey ho.. The main thing is that this little conundrum has been sorted and building can move forward.

Overseer. The picture of that horsebox is so clear! Now, that would make an interesting build project but, I don't expect that a drawing exists. I'll take a look at the HMRS website and check. I take it that it's a Caledonian?

Thanks everyone

Jon

Sorry, not Caledonian. It was 5’3” gauge Victorian Railways. I don’t think a drawing survives but if you find one let me know. It might be labelled De Pass Bros as they were the agents in London.

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Sorry, not Caledonian. It was 5’3” gauge Victorian Railways. I don’t think a drawing survives but if you find one let me know. It might be labelled De Pass Bros as they were the agents in London.

I had a look on the HMRS website but nothing obvious showed up. A lot of their drawings are still to be uploaded there, there is a description but no picture.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

This is some of the material for the upper door frame. I've rebated the centre section to accomodate the cross bracing and it's panel. The sliding door will go behind the framing and the louvred panel, I'm still thinking about.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

I'm having a bit of a problem in coming up with something to represent the louvred panels. Evergreen produce these two sheets, one called Clapboard and the other Novelty. I'm not that sure about either, really. Does anyone have an easy idea on how to make up these louvred panels?
The first picture is, Novelty and the second, Clapboard. I'm looking at 12 louvres per panel and at that scale, one of these may look okay.

Jon


Jon

 

[michael mott]

Hi Jon I would use the novelty if it was me.
Michael

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Michael
I think that you are probably right. I may even be able to round off the edges a little.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Finally finished the framing for the upper door on one of the horseboxes. It was a bit fiddly, me having to set in one piece at a time and only applying mec-pac to one end, letting that dry and then to the other. On to the other box and the infill panels later.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

I've almost finished the upper doors on both horseboxes.
The sliding hatch to the left does have a vertical on each end but, it doesn't show up that well in this picture. The right hand, louvred, panel is fixed in place. The centre panel is simply sitting there, not fixed yet, waiting for it's cross bracing. I'm not looking forward to making this part as it needs to 'fit' properly but, yer never know, it may go swimmingly. There are only three others to make

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

One cross brace down and three to go.
I had to make provision on the shooting board for three angles as the centre panel is a rectangle.

Jon

P.S. The verticals on the sliding panel show up better in the above picture.

 

[Mike W]

Very nice Jon. The springs are particularly nice, but also the nuts and bolts with different sizes, square and hex etc etc. The whole thing is just really nice.

Mike

 

[michael mott]

Jon I have to agree with Mike simply great work!

Michael

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Mike, Michael

You are both very kind, thank you. I hope to finish the other three cross braces today, all going well.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Progress so far. I'm spending a lot of time 'thinking' about how to fashion those sticky out bits/handles that would enable the upper doors to be pulled open. Silver soldering two pieces together, a flat and a wire, is one thought but it would end up very bendy from the heat. Using styrene is another thought but would be very fragile. Using the sort of closure that one would find on a wagon drop door is yet another.

Jon

 

[michael mott]

Jon I think that we underestimate the value of soft solder sometimes. As long as it is properly cleaned for many small pieces it is more than strong enough, and doesn’t soften the metal.
Michael

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Michael
You are probably right and I will give the soft soldering a try today.

Jon

 

[Jon Nazareth]

In this picture of a pair of early horseboxes, there doesn't appear to be any protruding 'handles', mmm. On the right hand side of the left box there looks to be something but I think it's in the background.

Jon

 

[michael mott]

Jon the protruding part appears to exactly match the previous drawing, unless of course the person who drafted the earlier drawing was using this photograph as one of their references and added the protrusion in error.

Michael

 

[Mike W]

Not LBSC, this is an LNWR horsebox and has some sort of protrusions from the ends, though these seem to be slightly lower down. It was certainly built before 1870 and could be as early as 1858.

Mike

 

[Jon Nazareth]

Michael and Mike
The SER and the LBSCR certainly had some sort of means that would help open and keep open the upper door and the handle on the drawing must have helped with this. I expect that the LNWR may also have had a similar arrangement on their horseboxes.
I have tried soft soldering, several times, a handle onto a plate but the two parts simply came apart when I tried to clean them up. I've made up some pieces that will bolt onto the upper doors and will be a means of securing them in the closed position.

Jon