"Voiding the Warranty" - Mol's experiments in 21mm gauge

[Mol_PMB]

It's photos like this one in the NLI archive that make me want a variety of goods vans, rather than a whole train of the IRM H vans (which are, admittedly, superb models).

https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000305732

We're at Tullamore in 1961.

On the left, the nearest van is an H, followed by a former GNR 1950s 12-ton cement van, then some opens and another H at the end.

On the right, a GNR 9-ton van, then a GNR ventilated vac fitted van, then a GSWR 'Big Boy'. A gap, then another GSWR 'Big Boy' and an H van. Another gap, three cattle wagons and then in the distance is a GSR bulk grain van.

There are at least 3 different types of open wagon as well, with 6-plank opens on both wooden and steel underframes, and a Bulleid corrugated too.

What a variety! It's not like this is a massive marshalling yard, it's a mediocre main-line station and we're only looking at the contents of 2 sidings.

 

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

It's photos like this one in the NLI archive that make me want a variety of goods vans, rather than a whole train of the IRM H vans (which are, admittedly, superb models).

....................................................

On the left, the nearest van is an H, followed by a former GNR 1950s 12-ton cement van, then some opens and another H at the end.

On the right, a GNR 9-ton van, then a GNR ventilated vac fitted van, then a GSWR 'Big Boy'. A gap, then another GSWR 'Big Boy' and an H van. Another gap, three cattle wagons and then in the distance is a GSR bulk grain van.

There are at least 3 different types of open wagon as well, with 6-plank opens on both wooden and steel underframes, and a Bulleid corrugated too.

What a variety! It's not like this is a massive marshalling yard, it's a mediocre main-line station and we're only looking at the contents of 2 sidings.

 

Precisely why oul wans like me cannot, will not, and never could have got fired up by a Ballina timber train having 11 identical bogies instead of 12, an ICR with 4 carriages instead of 3 or 5, a yellow plant machine on rails, or an orange 071 instead of a grey one! Bah Humbug!

[David Holman]

Couldn't agree more! Variety is the spice of life and while standardisation, container traffic and multiple units must make sense economically, most of the fun in watching trains has gone when you know beforehand what they will look like, number of wagons, coaches etc.

 A while ago, there was a train spotting series on TV and all they had to get excited about was liveries, because the stock was essentially all the same. Ok, sweeping generalisation, but you know what I mean...

 Northport Quay, despite only being able to accommodate two six wheel coaches and a van (or equivalent wagons) offers 10 trains over two periods and each one is different, with nothing duplicated in each line up = more stuff to enjoy and make.

 Works for me, anyway!

 That said, you only have to look at layouts like Ballinacraig to see that modern image modelling can still be fabulous.

Edited yesterday at 08:28 by David Holman

[Mol_PMB]

Here's a step-by-step guide to regauging a fitted H van; having done a few now I've learnt what needs to be done and what can be avoided.

Firstly remove the chassis from the body - a guitar pick inserted just inside one of the bodysides will do this quite easily. You can leave the chassis attached to the metal floor.

Now use some sharp side cutters to cut through the brake cross-stretchers on both sides of the longitudinal link between them. You can now remove the wheelsets. Upper chassis = before, lower = after. 

Next, use fine pliers to grasp the block at the top of a brake hanger. Twist it, rotating gently side-to-side until you hear the glue give way. Repeat for the others.

Now, carefully use a scalpel as a gentle lever to lift the brake hanger out of its hole. You're not trying to cut through the peg, the brake hanger should come out intact:

Now you should have something like this:

For the outer brake hangers, you need to make new mounting holes to suit the 21mm gauge wheels. This is tricky - start with a tiny drill in a pin vice and work up to the right size for the pegs. The inner brake hangers don't need new holes, they can be pushed into the gap between the old hole and the diagonal frame member. 

The next step is to deal with the buffer spacing (sigh...). Firmly pull the buffers and they will come out, try not to lose the springs:

Using a length of 2mm metal rod, insert this into the buffer surround and wiggle it side to side until the buffer comes off:

Usuallt the plastic shears off almost flush, but if the glue is a bit weak then the square shank comes out with the buffer.

Now your bufferbeam will look like one of these:

If you have a square hole, fill it with some plastic strip. Otherwise it will be very difficult to drill the new holes in the right place. 

Then, use some microstrip to fill each end of the bufferbeam channel outboard of the former buffers. Once the glue has set, sand it all down flat, flush with the front face of the bufferbeam channel:

Mark new buffer holes at the correct spacing (25mm) and drill out to about 1mm diameter. Now you need some new buffer bases, which could be bits of microstrip but I made some etched ones in a spare corner of my E410 body etch:

 

more to follow in the next post...

 

 

[Mol_PMB]

Next, drill out the buffer holes to 1.5mm, then stick the buffer bodies back in place, making sure they are straight and square.

Add a pair of 21mm gauge wheelsets to assist in positioning the brakes.

Then, you can re-instate the brake hangers, into their new holes. I didn't stick them in place just yet.

As you can see, the regauging has left a gap in the middle of each brake cross-stretcher. I chose to cut some 20mm lengths of wire and glue them across this gap - it's not a perfect solution but I don't think anyone's going to be looking too closely when the wagon is in service. Whilst gluing these, if necessary you can tweak the position of the brake hangers so that they don't touch the wheels. A dab of glue on the tops of the brake hangers will secure them in the right place. Make sure the wheels spin freely. 

(pic)

I decided not to reinstate the links across the axles - they're almost invisible from normal viewing angles and they prevent the wheels being removed.

Now to the buffer heads. The buffer shanks may have become partly blocked by glue. If so, use a 0.7mm drill (exactly) drill to clear them out. 

Then push the buffers (with springs) firmly back into place.

Now check the fit of the body corner stanchions over the repositioned buffers. It may necessary to file a little material off them to achieve a good fit.

Then re-fit the body, which is harder than you might think and the guitar pick will help. 

If any other small bits have fallen off, stick them back on.

There's a little bit of paintwork to touch up, otherwise it's done.