1/32 Two Feet

Overseer

Western Thunderer
I have been working on finishing incomplete projects. So I have started another. Another scale, another prototype. Not as large or expensive as some other diversions seen on WT. Inspired by photos such as this-
ruston skips.jpg
I have been collecting information on side tipping skip wagons for quite a few years and decided that 1:32 would be a good scale to build some in. No complete wagons yet but 3 loco kits have been sitting on a shelf for a few years, a Slaters Ruston Hornsby 16/20hp, a Model Company Malcolm Moore V8 WW2 loco and a Scale Link 20hp Simplex. The Ruston looked like a nice kit, and is complete with everything including the coreless gearhead motor, so I started it on Saturday. About 11 pleasant hours later spread over 3 days we have this -
rh1.jpg
rh2.jpg
rh3.jpg
The castings are all still loose. The chassis is compensated and runs beautifully. It was a toss up whether to build it with a cab or not, in the end I couldn't resist the porthole. The kit goes together very well.

Now to build some 19.05mm gauge track for it to run on. And the skips.....
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
I have to say this is a good kit. The etches are accurate, and the white metal and brass castings are all flash free and fit where they are meant to. The only things I had to fettle were the gearbox holes in the chassis etch to provide a little space for the rocking axle gearbox and to grind a bit out of the underside of the cosmetic gearbox, again to provide some clearance for the rocking axle gearbox. I used thinner wire to connect the pickups to the motor as there is not much space at the back of the motor. I also shortened the front frame back to the radiator, this is
not required and was less common on the prototype, most of which used the longer frame shared with the larger three cylinder engine version.
Ruston comp2.jpg
Ruston comp4.jpg
Ruston comp5.jpg

The skip chassis is one of the Scale Link ones which is to scale and looks good but the skip body supplied with it is way under size so a new skip will be made. Paint is going on the Ruston at the moment. Finishing a loco kit in under a week will be a record for me.
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Finishing a loco in under a week - especially from an etched kit - is a record few of us are likely to get anywhere near! I think the only one of these tiny Rustons I’ve ever seen - at the Gartell Light Railway near Henstridge before they got rid of all their interesting industrial locos and got a bit twee - had a front tank for a radiator.does the kit allow for that? It was a factory fit if I remember rightly.

I’ll look forward to the skips.

Adam
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
And now waiting for the paint to dry. Precision LSWR Drummond Green (the photo doesn't look much like the actual colour, the mix of daylight, fluorescent and LED lighting confuses the phone white balance).
Ruston paint.jpg

Adam, the kit doesn't provide for any options apart from a choice of cab or no cab (with a rear toolbox). I don't know about a water tank instead of a radiator but underground and hazardous locations locos could have the exhaust scrubber or spark arrester mounted on the front frame extension below the radiator.
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Adam, the kit doesn't provide for any options apart from a choice of cab or no cab (with a rear toolbox). I don't know about a water tank instead of a radiator but underground and hazardous locations locos could have the exhaust scrubber or spark arrester mounted on the front frame extension below the radiator.

That’s rather nice. My pictures from
That point are all on film and in Somerset, but this is the machine in question:

Alistair - Festipedia

As you should be able to see it makes a bit of a difference to the front end. There can’t be that many locos preserved in the back of an appeal in Country Life!

Adam
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Here are a couple of shots from a happy day, many moons ago. I was amazed that they let me loose on the beastie!

The first shows some very nice, subtle weathering. I hope they might be of use?

Pete.

View attachment 129312 View attachment 129313
Thanks Pete. That looks like fun. The photos are good for detail and remind me I forgot to add the axlebox cover plates. Ah well, they can be stuck on. Might have to acquire another one to build without a cab. [Edit : just checked and the kit is not currently on the Slaters website, hopefully they reintroduce it.]
 
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Overseer

Western Thunderer
I am trying to decide whether to line the Ruston. They seem to usually have been lined for delivery and the original livery tended to last for a long time. But I am not sure that the colour applied is close enough to the Ruston Hornsby green to look like an as delivered loco. I think it will end up as plain green after a local repaint. Still need to paint the sides of the radiator and a few other bits before it is varnished and weathered. I have decided to leave the axle plates off as I realised I have several photos of 16/20 locos without them.
Ruston b.jpg
Ruston a.jpg
There has also been some white metal assembly going on to work out the space available for mechanisms. The Scale Link Simplex is designed to have a Tenshodo motor bogie but that would be too fast.
Ruston MMS.jpg
MM Simplex.jpg
The other under frame is the Malcolm Moore WW2 Australian Army loco. This is one of them in storage in Moe back in the 70s (with one of my sisters, my brothers and I sitting on the skip), I think this one is now at Alexandra. The enclosed cab is later addition, although the roof is part of the original loco.
MM Moe1.jpg
MM Moe2.jpg
 

SimonT

Western Thunderer
Fraser,
I had an enjoyable time building on of these little tubs a year or two ago when I became browned off with 7mm. I lined it with dirt and rust and felt a lot better for it!
Your skip photo shows how unsuitable the Slater's skips are; no heft to them. I'm looking forward to seeing how you do yours.
Simon
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Simon, was that the 1:32 version or one of the larger scale kits? I am thinking about buying some of the Slaters 1:32 Hudson Rugga skips as I have found some similar skips in several historic photos. It will be interesting to see how they compare with skips I have measured over the years. 1 cubic yard seems to have been the most common size here, although the skips in the last photos were larger, and welded, having been used for fly ash disposal at Yallourn power station post WW2. The Slaters larger scale kits are modelled on the smallest WW1 type which were only 18 cubic feet capacity.

This is a detail of a 1913 photo showing a typical skip with a person for scale -
Skip Newport 18May13.jpg

And a 1929 view showing a skip with pressed steel ends similar to the Hudson Rugga design amongst the more common bow frame skips.
skips Yallourn 1Feb1929.jpg

The earliest record I have found so far for this type of side tipping skip wagons in Melbourne is 1888 when Bochum Union (the Australian version of a German company name) displayed a complete light railway system at the Centennial International Exhibition. The earliest photos found are from the 1890s, showing high mounted skips. I am not sure if these are Bochum Union products or not. They appear not to have bow frames.
skips Yarra 1897.jpg

Lots more research needed to be anywhere near definitive on this topic. Imports from Germany, UK and local manufacture with variations in design and size, plus they were usually sold on to other contractors at the end of a contract.
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
A loco needs a train so I made a new body for the Scale Link chassis. The original body is far too small and lacking in detail. The new one is based on one of the drawings published in Industrial Railway Record (Feb 1971 and available online) of a W.G. Allen and Sons (Tipton) Ltd 1920 design. The 'based on' is because the chassis is a bit short for the one in the drawing. It was useful to check the dimensions of the parts needed to build skips, especially the length of brass needed for the sides/bottom. The geometry is quite simple so it was a quick exercise with the guillotine and riveting tool to make the parts. First cut a strip of 0.2mm brass to 34mm wide, then cut 34mm off one end, then cut the 34mm square diagonally, mark the bottom curve using a 13mm circle template and cut with tinsnips, mark and cut the top corners and finish off with a large file. Punch rivets and form body shape then solder together. Rivet the edge of some 0.25mm brass sheet and cut off a narrow strip to make the riveted angles and straps. Cut and bend a few bits and solder in place.
skip a1.jpg
skip a2.jpg
Just noticed the body is not sitting in the right position in the tipped photo.

I have had a lonely old Wrightlines "7mm" skip sitting around for years (probably 25). I was never happy with it and these photos show why. It must never have been intended as a 7mm scale model and is about right for 1:32 apart from the excessively short length. The whitemetal parts are much chunkier than the Scale Link model.
skips2.jpg
skips1.jpg

I haven't put in the internal angles in this one, I think it can do without as it is not completely accurate anyway. It will be useful for testing coupling chain length etc when building track. Now I have made one I can make more skip bodies efficiently when I have the time. I have brass channel for the underframes but still need to decide whether to make a pattern and have some axle boxes cast in brass.
 

SimonT

Western Thunderer
Fraser.
here's how mine has turned out. I need to find a suitable figure from Modelu to drive it and it needs more oil leaks. The resin figure in front is for a little project for a possible two foot piece. I suspect you weren't quite that tall at the time of the photo!
DSC02745 (2).JPG

The Slaters skips have a plastic hopper that somehow doesn't look right to me. I might have to follow your idea and build some hoppers from sheet metal.
I have a copy of the Moseley Railway Trust pamphlet on the Rugga wagons from Hudsons. There is a good dimensioned drawing that I can scan for you. PM me if you want a copy.
Simon
 

Overseer

Western Thunderer
Fraser.
here's how mine has turned out. I need to find a suitable figure from Modelu to drive it and it needs more oil leaks. The resin figure in front is for a little project for a possible two foot piece. I suspect you weren't quite that tall at the time of the photo!
View attachment 129676

The Slaters skips have a plastic hopper that somehow doesn't look right to me. I might have to follow your idea and build some hoppers from sheet metal.
I have a copy of the Moseley Railway Trust pamphlet on the Rugga wagons from Hudsons. There is a good dimensioned drawing that I can scan for you. PM me if you want a copy.
Simon
Your Ruston looks just like mine. :) Figures seem to be bit of a problem, I have been trying to find suitable driver figures in 1:32 without any luck so far. They all seem to be military uniforms from ancient history to jet fighter pilots, no just plain old shirt and trousers. Although there are plenty of bikini clad young eastern European women, wrong style swim wear and unlikely to be seen in a gravel pit even before OHS. The same seems to apply in 1:35 scale and the difference in size is noticeable.

I haven't seen many photos of the Slaters Rugga skips so it is good to see yours. The radius in the pressed steel ends to the hopper might be a little large, but maybe not. I think the thickness of the plastic is apparent. You would need to make a press tool to form the ends of the Rugga hopper from sheet metal.
 
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