LarryG's Wagon w.b.

[AJC]

I usually work of photographs, as we do, and the van I worked off had no tiebar between the W irons. As for lamp brackets, I don't know when these started to be fitted, but they were not in place on many vans in the 1950's. One might assume they were fitted when goods trains no longer required a brakevan (in the 1980's ?), but of course they must have had lamp irons long before then so that vans could be hung on the end of passenger trains. I made a strip of lamp iron in plastic and cut them off as required, so they are not a problem.

Vans like that GW one - often built unfitted - were retro-fitted by BR with vacuum brake during the '50s. David Larkin has written about this extensively as has Don Rowland and others. The spec' invariably included a tie bar where one had not been fitted - I can't see any in Paul Bartlett's gallery that lacks one, for example: GWR Vans - includes specialist designs - usually extended buffers (with with collars or replacement OLEO or other hydraulic types), screw or instanter couplings and a lamp iron. The latter were fairly inconspicuous - the one here is only visible because it was painted white: GWR Vans - includes specialist designs | 041886 [ADW65643] GWR ply van @ Long Marston 92-04-15 � Paul Bartlett [3w] and that was far from typical (I've not seen one so-treated and I've looked) in the '50s.

Here's a typical example: 25/06/1963 - Hessle, East Riding of Yorkshire.

Note the forged instanter (round in section), tiebar from strip (the GW preferred rod) the low level vac' pipes and the replacement plate front axleboxes. I make my tiebars from brass angle (0.8mm is scale, but 1mm is near enough - the angle faces inward and adds rigidity and surface area for glue fixing) but have used strip.

Adam

 

[LarryG]

[QUOTE "AJC, post: 197823, member: 202"]Vans like that GW one - often built unfitted - were retro-fitted by BR with vacuum brake during the '50s. David Larkin has written about this extensively as has Don Rowland and others. The spec' invariably included a tie bar where one had not been fitted - I can't see any in Paul Bartlett's gallery that lacks one, for example: GWR Vans - includes specialist designs.....
Adam[/QUOTE]

Thanks Adam, information gratefully received and acted on. In my error, I thought you were referring to the LNER van. Brass tie rod have just been made.

 

[AJC]

Much better - none of the 8 shoe types used tiebars (or at least, not often).

Adam

 

[LarryG]

Some LMS design goods brakes arrived this morning, courtesy a good friend who had a few too many (brakes, not drinks!) They are Hornby's latest with the very visible weights between the axles....


I fitted the vac pipes that are included in the box, and gave the van the usual wash of diluted Frame Grime followed by weathering powder. Half-an-hours work turns a very neat rtr model into a workaday brake van...


A renumbered van with only the chassis and ends weathered after painting the buffer planks matching bauxite...

 

[LarryG]

One I dun today.....A final fling in O gauge! A friend was too late to buy my fitted BR goods brake van and was too late to buy a Dapol BR bauxite one, so I told him to buy a grey 'un. I'm not as painter for nothing!

I disassembled this one, but it really isn't necessary when the internal partitions can be removed with the roof off....


He specified "not a lot of weathering", so it is mainly around the outer lamp brackets (from the lamps) and under the duckets. The chassis is fully weathered though. My friend will fit vacuum pipes and cylinder/V-hangers to complete. Transfers are by HMRS...

Edited to add a picture taken outdoors this morning.

 

[LarryG]

I am routinely replacing 12mm dia. wagon wheels on kit-built wagons with the slightly larger diameter wheels from Hornby. I have used Hornby coach wheels for some years because their pinpoint axles run far better than Bachmann's....

Two kitbuilt riveted mineral wagons. The LH wagon has Hornby wheels. The resulting ride height matches that of Hornby and Bachmann wagons...

 

[LarryG]

A reet quickie. Bullhead OO track and a Parkside LMS goods van kit arrived today with the usual punctuality from Trackshack.. The body was assembled to fit on a spare Bachmann 10' w.b. chassis. Job done. It is currently in primer...

Perfect fit on the Bachmann chassis which is tough and is ready fitted with NEM sockets...

 

[LarryG]

Another wagon for the layout....


Modelmaster's transfers were used. I don't usually use waterslide transfer on 4mm scale models, but HMRS white wagon transfers defeat my eyes.....

 

[LarryG]

A recent arrival was a Bachmann BR cattle wagon. One side was bleached or something so I gave the body a complete re-spray...


There should be a tiebar between the W-irons but I haven't any brass strip remotely that size....

 

[LarryG]

Random thoughts on weathering wagons.

I have scores of railway colour albums mostly covering the 1950's and 60's, and go through them over and over every time I have a wagon to paint. Close up's of wagons in colour are gems because of their rarity. Capturing the loco was the photographers priority, but a glimpse of anything freight-wise in the foreground I always regard as a good find.

Pictures of preserved wagons are next to useless. Sounds harsh perhaps, but such wagons have not weathered in the same way as working wagons, particularly in the steam era. They tend to spend their lives in sidings awaiting an enthusiast gala weekend, therefore the paint finish has gathered green moss and not road dust and sooty muck on traffic-facing strapping and wagon ends. Nor have they received the harsh treatment meted out by workaday conditions.

 

[LarryG]

A friend turned up for a chat this morning and gave me a Ratio kit for a 4mm/00 GWR Iron Mink. I had intended buying one after seeing what Chris Klein had recently done with an O gauge mink and so it couldn't have come at a better time.

It went together quickly this afternoon and was soon given a coat of Halfords Plastic Primer followed by BR grey with black chassis and roof. The latter were over-sprayed with a light coat of greyish-brown and this is where the van stands this evening. The job has stopped while awaiting transfers from Modelmaster....

 

[LarryG]

I dug out the wagon transfers and made up something for a 10T van although the number is incorrect. Whether any were still in revenue traffic by 1958 is a moot point, but it is a cute little mite. It was tempting to weather it like a steel mineral wagon, but in the end I settle for plain grot!


A brake lever was fitted on the other side this morning. Buffers were L&Y castings with steel heads (I removed the triangular bases).

 

[LarryG]

To show how small these early Minks are, these are some of the wagons on the shelf above my PC...

 

[LarryG]

Some nearly clean wagons for a change. Weathering of the chassis was carried out as for dirty wagons seeing as rolling stock quickly took on a common road-dust colouring once in traffic....


The shock wagon body was lightly weathered with diluted dirty black left between the planks etc. The inside of the body was painted a light wood colour...


B480215 represents a freshly painted semi-gloss body. The Conflat is an old Bachmann with less pronounced springs and axleboxes. The old style couplings were replaced, nevertheless, they were screw mounted much lower than on today's models with NEM sockets....

 

[LarryG]

The camera eye picked up on something so I attended to it. Can you spot what I did?


I thinned down the edge of the leading W iron with a craft knife (compare with above shot)... It's worthwhile from a digital eye aspect, but not from my eye aspect. In fact, I would then have to tackle the brake hangers and so-on. When I'd done, someone would tell me I forgot to thin down the tension-lock's......

 

[LarryG]

I saw one of these on a friends layout and promptly ordered one. It is Hornby's SR Cattle truck of the Bulleid version with metal clad roof and plywood ends. Dunno how far they wandered off the S.Region...


The Bauxite is slightly lighter than usual, but it toned down during weathering with diluted PPC Dirty Black. The chassis was sprayed frames grime before weathering powder was applied...


The planked floor is wider than the body sides so that cattle muck would spill out clear of the underframe. Bullied had the brake handle moved to one end for obvious reasons...