O-EM-OO9 workbench - EM test track

[AJC]

I have a couple of these - acquired as parts of job lots, I have a notion I may have one on the sprue, too. That's certainly too many, especially as the built-up pair have pressed steel doors - various MoWT types looked similar with the welded doors and they were more common. But they shall be done, when I'm next in the mood for mineral wagons. The 'bench seems to be full of locos at present.

Adam

 

[76043]

Thanks @Simon H and @AJC

Yes, the next one is the light grey colour. This is what happens when you buy three of them from eBay only to find there's enough parts to do two.

I'm saving the two complete Cambrian chassis for a rainy day as they come with the longer 17'6" option. I have two Parkside double brake chassis going spare so they'll be used here.
Tony

 

[76043]

I primed a number of wagons yesterday, but after painting the LMS one I realised the door bangers were missing. DOH! So scrape off some paint and glue them on.
Tony

 

[76043]

The second one is up on its wheels now, welded side doors and pressed ends, with spoked wheels and proper handles on the end door.

There's an LMS one like this in the Acquired wagon series, although you can't see the end door... But rule 1 applies.

Cambrian body, Parkside chassis.
Tony

 

[hrmspaul]

How common were pressed end doors on LMS minerals. Non I photographed had them, they all had a fabricated end door, rivetted or welded.

Your model is like a very old Farish model I have or had 60 years ago.

Paul

 

[76043]

How common were pressed end doors on LMS minerals. Non I photographed had them, they all had a fabricated end door, rivetted or welded.

Good question, it seems from reading the Acquired wagon series that they got replaced over the years. So there would be a tailing off over an unknown period, this might account for you not seeing any.

So my view for these models is that they would be around in the fifties but starting to be replaced, hence the welded side doors on this one.
Tony

 

[76043]

Finally got around to cutting the holes in the metal case for my WiFi based DCC-EX command station. Doesn't look much, but the top round power in socket and the green power out sockets needed cutting out and fettling. 1.25mm steel takes a bit of time, followed by etch primer and coat of satin black to make good the damage.

The command station was flashed to the latest version yesterday, so once the paint is hardened off I can tinker with DCC without cracking open the laptop. An old mobile has become the throttle.
Tony

 

[76043]

Been busy painting my wagons recently, not much to show here as it's just a large tray of painted parts.

However, more work on the LMS mineral. Gussets and brakes, nearly there as the levers have been fettled and ready to glue on.



A package from High Level has arrived...



Tony

 

[76043]

The second LMS mineral is now ready for primer.

Tony

 

[Osgood]

Next up, Peco GWR V14 van, ……

Then paint stripped using my go to Tesco kitchen cleaner spray.

Could you enlighten me further on this product and how you use it please (spray/ soak)?
What types of paint is it good for (or from the paint’s POV, bad for)?

 

[76043]

Could you enlighten me further on this product and how you use it please (spray/ soak)?
What types of paint is it good for (or from the paint’s POV, bad for)?

I spray it on and leave in airtight plastic boxes such as the ones that take aways get delivered in.

It generally needs 24hrs to start working on acrylics and enamels, then another application if the paint is new, old paint comes off quickly. Does work on all plastics that I've used so far. No good on masak as it leaves a white crystal residue that is almost impossible to remove.

I find it does the job if you have the time.
Tony

 

[Osgood]

Thanks!

 

[76043]

I picked this up from eBay, which I thought was interesting, a self adhesive label, about the size of a wagon clip label but the wrong dimensions so not sure how it would be used. However, what I felt was interesting was the use of the 1964 BR logo and the impending loss of livestock traffic in the early 70s. In other words it wouldn't have been around for long.
Tony

 

[Steve C]

Could the label be for small livestock such as baby chicks, pigeons or other avian creatures? Being self adhesive suggests it would be stuck onto a box / crate rather than under an exterior label clip (I have a vague recollection that such things were loaded such that the guard could keep a watchful eye on them whilst in transit).

 

[Simon H]

I had one of these years ago; it was given to me, with a collection of similar items (Red Star stickers and various other things) by someone who had retired from a local station.
I seem to remember him mentioning that it was used on crates or other similar containers (hence the space for description and number of packages) for small animals such as baby chicks etc. as Steve C mentions above, that could be sent via the parcels network.
ISTR that all the stuff I was given dated from the '80s.
Simon.

 

[76043]

Thanks for this Simon, that would explain it's purpose. Seems there's a complicated story around live animals as parcels traffic from 1973 onward, including a parliamentary bill in 1976 concerning pigeon traffic on BR.

RAIL TRANSPORT OF PIGEONS (Hansard, 28 July 1976)

RAIL TRANSPORT OF PIGEONS (Hansard, 28 July 1976)

api.parliament.uk

Tony

 

[76043]

I've been working on spray painting all the wagons that have appeared on this thread, so nothing much to see other than a pile of wagons. But I did recently mostly complete an EM test track.



It's 90cm long with a couple of turnouts I got from eBay. They needed the clearances correcting, but now I have something to test buffer locking.
Tony

 

[Simon H]

Thanks for this Simon, that would explain it's purpose. Seems there's a complicated story around live animals as parcels traffic from 1973 onward, including a parliamentary bill in 1976 concerning pigeon traffic on BR.

RAIL TRANSPORT OF PIGEONS (Hansard, 28 July 1976)

RAIL TRANSPORT OF PIGEONS (Hansard, 28 July 1976)

api.parliament.uk

Tony

This is fascinating reading, Tony, many thanks! As an aside to my modelling interests, these sorts of unconsidered trifles, especially where they extended into the "modern" era have long interested me. When I first started working as a booking clerk for the Southern TOC, there were still quite a few odd references to things that had more or less been forgotten but were still present in manuals etc., unfortunately over twenty years later they've nearly all been "tidied up" with everything now on computers...
Simon.
PS, It may come as no surprise that at I sat up until 1am last Saturday morning to listen to the last minutes of Radio 4 on 198kHz Long Wave...

 

[Simon H]

I've been working on spray painting all the wagons that have appeared on this thread, so nothing much to see other than a pile of wagons. But I did recently mostly complete an EM test track.

View attachment 267419

It's 90cm long with a couple of turnouts I got from eBay. They needed the clearances correcting, but now I have something to test buffer locking.
Tony

That looks really useful, Tony, I built something similar for industrial 009 about 30 years ago, the difference being that it has a reverse curve of around 6" radius in the middle!
I must build something like this for EM...
Simon.