Many years ago I used to be a professional sailor. Although this period in my life extended for only 5 or 6 years, it had a decisive impact on my life and on my narrow gauge modelling. Some of the ideas from that period have landed in the Dunalistair scene on my C&DR. In addition, after a few sea voyages I decided I could do better than draw layout plans, so I started taking modelling materials and tools with me. I made a box that fitted in the bottom of one of my suitcases, and started building rolling stock models, including my tiny steam crane and a tar tank with a heater:
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During one memorable trip on a bulk carrier in 1976, which lasted six months, I built a Garratt loco and a 12-vehicle goods train, which for years formed the mainstay of the C&DR goods workings. Two of the card-constructed cattle wagons built in 1976 are shown below, and the B/W photo shows the Garratt in its original guise, hauling a string of card coal wagons made at sea in 1974:
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After retiring earlier this year, I started spending more time aboard our sailboat (photo) (http://jeanneauforum.nl/forum/gallery/569_25_06_12_8_32_53.jpeg). And I found my old ply modelling box again, the one that fitted in the bottom of my suitcase, so I decided to take it along with some materials. I am writing this in the cabin of the boat, tucked away in harbour with another shower splashing the deck, with half the table taken up by a pile of Colin Ashby coal wagon kits... Whilst not exactly at sea in the earlier sense, it feels very similar. Although the main thing lacking is the roll and pitch of the ship under me, and having to wait cutting another part until the ship is on even keel... ;D
As promised, here are the photos of the floating workshop and the results of one weekend being locked up in harbour with heavy winds shaking the boat. I started work late Saturday evening, very cosy photo but little progress:
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On Sunday the weather was too rough to venture outside, so I built 16 Colin Ashby kits, still less brake gear and couplings, but it is a start:
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Four built, one scratchbuilt wagon on a Lima chassis serving as an example and one half-completed wagon that passed down to me from the late Reinier Hendriksen, which I completed with an end wall and couplings:
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Nine done, seven to go halfway into the afternoon:
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All completed by dinner time ;D :
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PS today (Monday) I had a wonderful sailing day, with the modelling box secured in a bunk. ;)
We had a holiday on the Norfolk broads a couple of years ago and I took a modelling box with me which was a boon during the evenings when I wasn't swatting midges.
I built an excavator on wheels and set of match trucks as I recall.
Happy sailing, Ted.
John W
Aha! A kindred spirit. Do you sail as well? I think many people take modelling boxes on holiday. I know I used to do so when we spent a week or so in a cottage when our kids were small. When they were packed off to bed in the evenings, out came the modelling box.
Today I put the part completed wagons on the layout at Inverlochan to see what they would look like. Here are two photos:
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They look just the thing.
Very occasional holiday trips to the Norfolk broads and some very drunken canal holidays when I was a younger, less married man. So I've sailed dingys a couple of times and I can get a 70ft narrow boat to go where I want it to but nothing more nautical.
John W
My son and I once had the honour of taking the tiller of Cap'n Ted's previous sailing vessel for a cruise around a meer near Leiden which was quite an experience for us. I am due to complete the 10 year intensive post-traumatic counselling next year............. However, speaking as someone who once got seasick on the pusser's ferry from HM Dockyard to Gosport INSIDE Portsmouth Harbour, plus my own sporadic attempts to get any 009 model of any description actually finished, I can only empathise with the title of this thread as myself being more of an "009 Modeller ALL at sea" ::)
Have a good holiday Ted!
Mick
Not at sea this time, I'm afraid... ::)
Off to more remote regions on Friday.
Very romantic story, Ted. Now if you didn't have Internet on board, you might even have done more.
The one time I went sailing on a little boat, the know-it-all-better-girl in charge didn't allow me to give it a try, but she trusted my friend to do so. So I never sailed again, one of the worst time I ever had. If you don't get on with each other, there is no where to go. Hope you get on with your wife, ha ha! ;)
Oh we do get on... most of the time! ;D
I can vouch for the possible misery of falling out with your girlfriend on a narrow boat... ah Stratford on Avon... cursed place! Not that I'm bitter.
John W
Over the past days I looked at the box of part completed Colin Ashby wagons and I decided to start completing them and revive this thread, although my boat is now in winter storage without any furnishing, so it cannot be lived in. So the work is continued at home.
Some of you will remember I use N gauge couplings. This is very easy if you use N gauge chassis or bogies for your rolling stock, but if you want to build a proper 009 kit and fit couplings, the trouble starts because you have to fit sprung pockets, or at least use a method so the couplings drop horizontal by gravity and stay that way!
As I didn't have enough N gauge couplings complete with pockets for all the wagons, I first thought of making up rakes with chain couplings and dumb buffers, or possibly centre buffers. However, sanity prevailed and I decided to fit half of them with fixed N gauge couplings glued under the buffer beam, and the other half with sprung or gravity operated couplings. The latter are leftover Kato and Peco couplings complete with fixtures given to me by Bert van Rhijn, who uses Greenwich couplings so he cuts them all off anyway.
Using fixed N gauge couplings will work as long as you don't want automatic coupling. The ends can be cut down a little to improve behaviour on curves and provided you take care with rev**se c****s they will run quite well. The ones fitted with movable Kato and Peco couplings can be used at the end of rakes or if necessary for individual use like loco coal and shipments to various industries.
Left to right: weighted couplings in unidentified pockets, sprung Kato couplings, Peco couplings and couplings glued straight to the wagon.
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A weighted coupling in an unidentified pocket. There is s a strip of lead glued to the coupling to keep it down:
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A sprung Kato coupling glued to the bottom of a Colin Ashby wagon, using a few bits of Evergreen styrene strip as a packing piece:
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A Peco coupling and pocket glued to the bottom of the wagon. No weight has yet been added but it may be necessary.
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A coupling glued to a wagon, with a plastic backing plate.
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Peco coupling fitted wagon coupled to a Kato coupling fitted wagon:
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The wagon to the right has a weighted coupling. Note couplings can appear to hang downward a little but they will function correctly.
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A close-up showing a fixed coupling (right) matched to an (unsprung) Peco coupling (left).
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Note that the brake gear and further detail still has to be added. Next a close-up of a cut down N gauge coupling. This gives more freedom on curves. A pair of wagons with fixed couplings cut down this way will negotiate an 8" curve, as the angle between couplings can increase without them locking up.
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Finally, here is the link to a short video showing a trial run of a 17-wagon train over the layout. The second half of the video may surprise you. Scale modellers please look away! ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZP3hkYIt6k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZP3hkYIt6k)
These all look excellent Ted, well done and they do look just the part.
When the Model Railway Club was building Happisburgh, Ian Hopkins brought along his modelling box on one canal trip and worked on sections of the station building. On other canal trips he was scratch-building O gauge 1880s London & South Western coach sides!
The N Gauge coupling looks to be the best for 009 use so why oh why did the manufacturing pioneers choose to go the way they did, I wonder?
As for holidays afloat, the sea's never appealed to me I'm afraid but the canals were a different matter! Like some of you I have many happy (and rather hazy!) memories of water-borne pub-crawls around the waterways of the Black Country, Cheshire, Worcestershire and Leicestershire. Those were the days of real are when I could put away 3 pints of a lunchtime, 5 in the evening, with excellent eating and still lose weight over the course of the fortnight because of all the lock-wheeling!! (HIC!!...) ;D
Thread drift? What? Who, me?
Thanks, David. Recently I fitted brake gear to all the wagons - photos will follow in due course of this fiddly exercise which was done in the living room whilst watching 'Silent Witness' with one eye, and the other on the modelling work. Very relaxed although it tends to make you cross-eyed.
As I wrote before, I had to continue the project at home as my boat is unfit to live in due to the winter lay-up. I'd love a canal cruise by the way, it's one of my long-term wishes. But a water-borne pub crawl? :o
**WARNING**THREAD DRIFT ALERT**WARNING**THREAD DRIFT ALERT**
Well, sort of water-borne pub crawls! We used Nicholson's Waterways Guides, Nicholson's Real Ale Guide To The Waterways and the Campaign For Real Ale yearbook to plan the lunchtime stops and evening lay-overs! Perhaps a couple of pubs at lunchtime and sometimes three in the evenings, unless we were found a good one and got comfortable! We had a rule that absolutely no alcohol was allowed on board boat - unless it was brandy for cooking!
I compiled all my logs into one fifty-thousand-plus word volume entitled 'A Bridge too Far', alluding to the occasions when we got over-enthusiastic, overshot the stopping point and had to reverse to the previous bridge! Most narrow boats swim very nicely forwards but they're hell to control in reverse! The sub-title was 'Tales Of The Cut - And The Half-Cut'. I think that establishes the level!
It's a wonderful way to see the English countryside, sometimes miles from anywhere, at just over walking pace without the effort and with morning coffee, afternoon tea and chocolate biscuits on demand!
OK, that's enough of that - back to the subject. I still have a part-finished rail crane on my workbench (the Minitrains one) which I left alone last year after I took the top off my finger with a kitchen knife one evening (don't ask...) and never returned to. I need to represent all the chains, slings and lifting tackle for it but unfortunately as it's part of my line of work, I know how it all should look so I'm having trouble getting it right!
Waterside pubs must have satisfied a certain demand when the canals were mainstream traffic routes. Obviously the demand is still there nowadays...
The way to control a boat going astern is to give short bursts of slow ahead with the rudder hard over.
Regarding that crane of yours, don't forget to add swing-out support arms!
Back on topic, here are a few photos of the brake gear fitted to the Colin Ashby wagons.
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Note that the wagon shown is braked only on one wheel like the other C&DR mineral wagons excepting one or two that have full four-wheel braking using a centre brake bracket. I went with the norm regarding simple narrow gauge mineral wagons and cut off the centre V bracket from the solebars, substituting the extra one from the brake gear sprue and off-setting it to the left. The long brake handle then was glued to it and the solebar, going across the spring of the other wheelset. The single brake block from the sprue goes next to one wheel, taking care to leave it revolving freely.
You can see the lead ballast under the wagon, which is three narrow strips about 5mm wide. The thickness of the lead means it goes below the solebars but not enough to obstruct a normal viewing angle. As a shaft I glued a piece of insulated wire to the back of the handle and under the lead strip, and fitted a siny sliver of microstrip behind the single brake block. The crank which should be on the shaft has been dispensed with. Simple, isn't it?
Trust me - canal waterside pubs still satisfy a MASSIVE demand! Especially in summer!
I think you've neatly described how we eventually got the boats to go in the approximate direction! I was ok manoeuvering the things and winding them but a straight line backwards??
Very nice work on the wagons, Ted - makes me wish I'd used these instead of scratch building my three coal wagons!
As for the crane, it has a counter-balance weight which I've now fitted with a helical screw and a winding handle so hopefully there's no need for outriggers! We'll find out the first time we attempt to collect a log from the other side of the fence!
Quote from: Tigger on March 08, 2013, 12:22
As for the crane, it has a counter-balance weight which I've now fitted with a helical screw and a winding handle so hopefully there's no need for outriggers! We'll find out the first time we attempt to collect a log from the other side of the fence!
Appreciate a photo of any mods you do please David as one of these is on my own PW dept stock requirements list and I know "not a lot" about crane principles etc. However.......... I would think that 2ft 3in gauge is a wee bit narrow as a balancing fulcrum on its own between jib (correct term?) and counter-balance weight, so perhaps either swing-out outriggers or outriggers that pull out laterally would still be necessary wouldn't they?
Sorry Ted, just realised that this is thread-drift! To get back on to topic, the undersides of the wagons are looking good and thanks for the clear photos of your brake fittings, which have always been a bit of a black art to me!
A quick query on the coupling fittings. The horizontal arm of the fixed couplings appear to be flush with the bottom of the wagon headstock - is this a lucky coincidence or did you have to do some subtle filing down of the headstock?
Mick
It was a lucky coincidence. When I fit sprung couplings I need to file a notch into the buffer beam to enable them to lift.
Quote from: MickT on March 08, 2013, 12:37
Appreciate a photo of any mods you do please David as one of these is on my own PW dept stock requirements list and I know "not a lot" about crane principles etc. Mick
Check out last year's thread on Llanmynach's New Crane, in the Rolling Stock section.
Thanks David - I missed that one, very clever mods. I've now got a Minitrains crane on my shopping list!
Back to being "All At Sea"
Mick
Glad to help, Mick.
It's since been painted and weathered a bit but I've stalled now that it comes to the chains and slings and etc. The match wagon has a box for shackles and eyebolts and a frame for hanging the chain and rope slings. Trouble is, I know how they're SUPPOSED to look so I really want to get as close to that as possible. I'm not satisfied with just draping a bit of chain over the frame! Trying to represent a one-ton, four-leg chain sling in 4mm is damned fiddly!
Just to update this thread with the latest developments, I have now used the new coal wagons in their unpainted state to run a few coal trains. I found they were too light and easily upset by coupling or uncoupling actions (which I do by hand). Comparing them with the older wagons built on N gauge chassis I found they were about 2/3 of the weight. So this afternoon I added more lead under the floor until they were only slightly lighter than the others. It does look a bit rough from below but at normal viewing angles you won't see a thing.
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I just pushed a 17-wagon train up the entire line using two engines and all went well. A few of the fixed couplings prove to be slightly out of line but then I change the wagons round and all is well.
The timetable (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/operation/timetable.gif) needs only a few changes as I can run most of the coal trains as a balanced service - a loaded one going down and an empty one going up, crossing at Rae Bridge. The two trains actually make coal working much more interesting. I now run a 12-wagon train with the Garratt and a 10-wagon train behind a smaller engine, with a few remaining wagons at present on the branch but eventually in general service.
Here is a photo of the new train in service behind the T&D Hunslet.
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Tonight I ran a few coal trains, having made up two rakes of 12 wagons from the Colin Ashby kits and the old scratchbuilt ones on Lima chassis. Their sizes are roughly similar. I added a few coal loads from the Roco hoppers I formerly used on the coal service. These are too small, but good enough to make the picture.
Here are a few photos of trains crossing at Rae Bridge.
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Note the two open carriages on the up train. These are being used as miners' carriages and regularly run in coal trains. The two 'big' engines have now been assigned to the coal workings as originally intended.
Yesterday I had a go at painting the rake of Colin Ashby wagons. I started by covering the running gear and couplings of all the wagons with aluminium foil, to prevent any spray paint from getting at the wheels and couplings. The couplings need to be free of paint for smooth working, and the metal surface of the wheels should be kept clean.
I then sprayed the wagon bodies dark grey using a spray can (Tamiya TS-4, German grey). The spray covered most of the bodies completely, some parts only in a kind of mist.
After letting it dry, I removed the aluminium and, watching TV with one eye, I had a go at the running gear. First, the lead ballast and any white or light grey plastic was painted matt black. Then I mixed black and red/brown to a kind of undercarriage dirt colour and painted the solebars, brake handles and axleguards. Any body parts not hit by the spray (accidentally blanked by the aluminium foil) was touched up with a very similar grey colour.
This is only the base treatment. I will continue picking out some planks in different colours and weathering the wagons.
Photos:
Folding the aluminium foil around the couplings, keeping it clear of the buffer beams as much as I can:
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Crumpling the foil loosely around the axleguards and solebars to protect the wheels. Any overspray on the solebars doesn't matter as these will later be painted anyway. Note the plastic which is very uneven in colour - they must have re-used some styrene scrap when moulding the kits.
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Shortly after spraying the bodies grey. Note the aluminium foil which probably blanked some of the buffer beam surface. This has to be touched up later:
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A few wagons on the hardboard working sheet I use, showing the single brake block to one side, the grey base coat of the wagon body and the undercarriage coat which has some red in it although it doesn't show in the photos. Note the lead ballast under the inverted wagon, with a piece of wire glued to it for the shaft of the brake handle:
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Finally an unkind close-up of a wagon, showing the scarred surface of the plastic (which will do very well for a battered mineral wagon), the excellent body detail, and the single brake block, brake lever and push rod to the block. Obviously the wagon still needs weathering, but it does look rather better already than before.
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This weekend I completed the coal wagons, except for new loads to be made still, by adding paper strip lettering and weathering the entire rake. The lettering was applied in the same way as used for the loco coal wagon, the difference being that it had been printed on a laser printer at least 10 years ago. It shows as the grey of the background is actually made up of tiny black lines.
I fitted the lettering strips in the same style as applied to the scratchbuilt rake made years ago. Numbers overlap with those of the Roco hoppers as these have been taken out of service by the colliery. The strips have been varnished on the rear, then cut out and fixed with varnish, and again varnished all over.
The wagons were then treated to various weathering methods. In view of the size of the rake I had to use a simple approach.
I distressed a few planks and painted the damage in an earth colour, suggesting dirty unpainted wood. Some planks were treated with the same colour, suggesting the use of unpainted planks as a temporary repair. Two wagons were left unweathered and painted a darker hue of grey to suggest wagons recently out of the shops. Some parts of the wagon bodies were picked out in a different sort of grey. I touched up some of the ironwork with dark red/brown to suggest rust. Finally, all interiors and most of the wagons' exteriors were washed with black acrylic dissolved in water, with a drop of washing up liquid added to improve the flow into all kinds of corners.
Here are some results. Some coal wagons on the jetty at Dunalistair, with temporary coal loads:
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Two wagons in a rake of empties on the main line outside Dunalistair. The left hand one has a white patch on the buffer beam indicating a fixed coupling. I'm afraid the paper patches are a bit obvious in this close-up shot.
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One of the two wagons left unweathered, with new paint and only the interior stained.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_2823.jpg&hash=af837c88b0122f40d61ae0bde18f60868f976dfb)
A very tired looking specimen with 'bite marks' on the top edge and rusty patches on the ironwork.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_2827.jpg&hash=118b9cd9c75dfc5a16244a8a496873b4148698dd)
Temporary coal loads in place. These are too small and will be replaced with loads incorporaring a piece of iron to facilitate removing. Note one plank replaced on the right hand wagon.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_2833.jpg&hash=ae00fab048459470517294d5773c63895c9f1d15)
Finally, a new wagon next to one of the scratchbuilt ones at the colliery. The size is almost identical, except for the heavy wooden frame on the old wagon making it slightly taller. The weathering on the old wagon is less effective than on the new one.
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Time to revive this old thread.
At the end of June we sailed on a voyage which would take over a month. We first turned north to the naval port of Den Helder, then came down the coast to our southwestern province of Zeeland. During the voyage, I had a modelling box with me, and when the weather turned nasty, I took out the box and did some modelling. I reported on this in the NGRM forum. For those who aren't on NGRM, I will write a condensed version here to share the work with you.
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Early July we spent a rainy day tied up in what used to be an old seaport - Brouwershaven which used to be one of the home ports of the Dutch East India company. After sleeping late, we explored the town, visiting a beautiful old church and the local museum with a host of maritime history - ship models, old charts and paintings.
After returning from a wet walk, it was a good moment to take out the modelling box and do something about those styrene kits that had been staring me in the face. Here is what I did shortly before dinner:
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I built the chassis of the first of three Society kits of a Tralee & Dingle cattle van.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7082717.jpg&hash=7c80b834a2fe9281ecb10e0fc78f45fc391cc0e9)
Further progress would be subject to sailing days and the weather, but at least it broke the modelling block that plagued me for months!
Here is the boat, that same evening when the rain finally ceased.
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The following morning it was blowing a merry NW 7 with a gale warning 8 for Flushing and the Hook later, so we were stuck there. The previous evening we watched a movie on the tiny laptop and meanwhile I completed most of the cattle truck. One of the axlebox covers went walkabout as it fled from the tweezers, so that must have ended up in the bilge somewhere. A scrap of styrene replaced it.
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The boat, even sheltered in harbour, was shuddering under the onslaught of the weather, so we had to be content with a walk, followed by more modelling. That night we were in a pub watching the Dutch team play Argentina - who still remembers the World Championship?
The completed van in the background is a regular Parkside Dundas T&D van which I took along as a reference.
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As I wrote this on board we were safely tied up with the gale whistling over our head. Although the boat was lurching about drunkenly, I decided to try and fit the couplings to the cattle truck. Note the styrene base constructed under the buffer beams for this type of coupler pocket.
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I used the T&D van I took along as a reference. Not having any track with me, I fixed the couplings temporarily with contact glue, to set them more precisely when we'd return home.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7092744.jpg&hash=6edd539030e353c3f175852c384e6118990ff176)
The main things left to do were fitting the bars into the apertures at the top of the sides, and putting on a basic coat of paint.
We were stuck in the same place for a few days, sheltering against a summer storm. As I wrote before, even in harbour we rolled due to the wind pushing us around. Here is the cattle wagon, with brass bars installed, next to its older companion. The cattle vans are 1-2mm taller than the standard T&D vans. Note the tweezers inserted between the wheels, otherwise they would start to roll off the table.
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There was enough time to build even a second cattle truck:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7102754.jpg&hash=96a82942232425e5ffee071a0082175d19d39199)
Then the weather seemed to be slowly improving, so we planned to continue our trip south, delaying further modelling. Before we sailed, I completed the second vehicle with side bars and couplings. Note the coupling supports glued under the headstock - they are adapted to the particular type of N gauge coupling I have set aside for this series of vehicles.
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After we sailed, we had a remarkable encounter just after setting sail. A so-called 'close encounter of the third kind'? It's not something you often see or even have a chance to photograph. It has nothing to do with 009 modelling, but I don't hesitate to show a photo here.
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There were two or possibly three porpoises alongside the boat, coming up for air, noisily sucking in air and diving. Each time shortly before surfacing you'd see a track of bubbles under water as they breathed out.
It would be several days before I was able to continue modelling, during which we sailed to Antwerp and back. More later.
Several days on, we were at anchor in one of our favourite spots, a sheltered bend in a tidal creek that gives you a wonderfully quiet time.
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Since the weather was very good that day, after the usual swimming and walking on the dried out sandbanks, I wanted to do some modelling, this time on the cockpit table, with that wonderful view.
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In 45 minutes of fading daylight I built the vehicle body and most of the chassis.
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And here is the string of three cattle vans, balanced on the cockpit table, with the waters of the creek behind.
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Soon it was almost dark, the anchor light lit and the wind faded away. After checking the anchor, I retreated inside with a book and a dram. ;)
Why do you need a light on your anchor? Surely it will be on the end of the rope thingy when you want to find it again? :-)
;D It's a white light in your mast you're obliged to show at night when you're at anchor. It's also called a mooring light.
That night was a bit restless due to the wind pushing us across the tide, so we didn't truly wake up till about 10. After a swim (actually a dip off the ladder as we would have been swept downstream otherwise) and breakfast, I decided to complete the last T&D vehicle before it got too hot.
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Brake detail completed:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7183178.jpg&hash=18ab65b6c30699ab6a574b555388400906bca307)
And with the couplers added, here is a complete string of three cattle trucks and the older van which I took along as a reference.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7183179.jpg&hash=043c22b29ed168b3abcbb6ea3c6603974ab47412)
The new vehicles still have to be ballasted and the couplers re-set on the track. They lack chains and need to be painted and weathered.
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Since the morning was now becoming very hot, I packed away the modelling kit, had a swim and took the dinghy to have a walk on the sandbank across the fairway...
Soon afterwards my crew had to return home because they all had to work again. So I was on my own to sail the boat back home. As I wrote this I was tied up next to a lock near Willemstad. The day was a bit rainy and I wasn't yet certain whether to return using the outside route or to take the inland route. The wind was in the north which makes sailing up the coast a bit of a nuisance. So I was waiting for it to turn a little east, which it didn't...
That night I decided therefore to take out the modelling box again and have a look at Roger Chivers' Innisfail coach kit. Here are the parts laid out on the cabin table.
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The bogies went together without much bother, although you need to locate the frames very positively on the bolsters. Then I fitted the sides and ends to the floor as instructed. The solebars went in easily as well.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7223316.jpg&hash=2c1607720f643df987497f7307bea916ceb72b92)
The parts fitted together well, I had to remove only a little flash. What I like about the body is that it doesn't have mitred corners but recessed ones.
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However when I tried fitting the footboards I found the solebars will easily go out of true, due to the styrene solvent still being a bit tacky. So I fitted two braces between the solebars, made out of pieces of plastic sprue.
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The next instalment of the tale would depend on getting a favourable wind.
Well, I did go to sea again. I had a very rough trip, and I was dead tired by the time I arrived at Scheveningen - near The Hague, for those who don't readily know of it. It was terribly hot even at sea. I tacked against an ever-increasing wind from the northeast. In the end there was a 5 ft sea and a force 6 wind against me.
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For the last few miles I threw in the towel, lowered sails and started the steam diesel engine. No modelling that night...
A few days on, and the sea passage was completed. As I wrote this I was in the marina at IJmuiden at the entrance to the canal to the port of Amsterdam. The second day was slightly less rough than before as the angle of the coast changes, so the prevailing northeaster came slightly more offshore. Even so, I started motoring against the tide to eat up some sea miles before setting sail about 1/3 of the way.
The fact that I managed to do some modelling work that night says it all - the second part of the trip was a lot of work, but far more fun than the day before. Typically, as I wrote this, the wind had dropped completely as it often does at night.
I had a go at fitting N gauge couplers to the bogies of the Chivers tram coach. This isn't very easy due to the outer axles being right at the end of the vehicle. N gauge couplers are notoriously difficult to fit due to the big spring box behind them. So I sometimes use the Fleischmann variety, which has a pinhole. A pin inserted vertically will keep the coupler horizontal, but still allow it to lift for engaging the one on the next vehicle.
I found only a single brass pin in the boxes I have with me, and fitting that failed because the coupler mounting bar on the bogie is too low to attach anything under. I might have to re-fit a coupler at home, using a nickel-silver strip to solder a pin to. For the moment I glued two couplers to the mounting bars. I set them by eye using the T&D van as a reference.
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Here is how close the outer wheelsets are to the vehicle ends. There is no space for a coupling box:
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And here is the vehicle set up against the T&D van:
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I had to interrupt this series even though the heavy sailing is done. The boat was left for a few days as I needed to return home for the weekend due to pressing obligations.
To be continued.
As I was waiting to be collected from IJmuiden by my wife, I thought it would be a good idea to do some work on the Innisfail coach. I assembled the seats and painted the interior and the window surrounds. This is necessary as the seat backs are quite tall. They interfere with the glazing and therefore the windows must be painted before fitting the seats.
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I decided to paint the window frames brown just like the interior, but the framing would be red together with the body colour. This called for some fancy two-stage painting.
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I had to touch up some places where the grey showed through, but the general idea must be clear.
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Back home I made a few photos of the string of T&D cattle vehicles on the layout, just to compare. Note that at this stage they need paint, more detail, ballast, the wheels set to correct BTB and the couplings set correctly. First impressions compared to the older stock weren't too bad.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fimg_7928.jpg&hash=9ef4d8884ef38edae1df44d3f116ec4a1f92c138)
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(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fimg_7935.jpg&hash=58ab61b3fe01887e95884d1978f93ad213668e4d)
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They look great Ted, do you use a N-scale s******* g**** vehicle to set the coupler height?
And where did they come from originally?
Yes, the best way to set up N gauge coupler height is to use a standard N gauge chassis. Couplers and coupler pockets usually come from N gauge wagons that friends have re-used in a 009 model. They cut them off and save them for me.
Many of my models have been built straight on to N gauge chassis, couplers and all. The old card-built cattle wagons are an example of this practice. In that case you don't need to do anything about the couplers.
Ah I thought that was the way you did it, I am amazed how quickly you are able to get stock up and running and how good you manage to make them look.
I wish i was that quick at building and my painting looked that neat!
Thanks, Ross. I think it is mainly long-standing practice. Don't imagine I built models at this pace 30 years ago!
Back on board by that Sunday evening, I did a little work on the Innisfail coach. The window surrounds were given a second coat of Tamiya Red Brown.
I also brought Tom Bell's saddle tank to match against the coach. Here is the result.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7283418.jpg&hash=8884319ccce9fa86d2295e9f20a23cdaa95f646a)
I painted the seats a different shade of brown and tried them out in the carriage.
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The next day I planned to traverse the ship canal to Amsterdam and make some progress home. However, this was Monday morning:
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A thunderstorm was raging over my head and it didn't shift, so I decided to paint the exterior of the tramway coach, using Revell crimson lake SM331, the same used on the Leek & Manifold Kitson. I put the painted coach in the heads/shower compartment as I had the heating on to dry some wet stuff. That compartment has a huge heater outlet so it can be made into a veritable oven.
Here is the result.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2Fp7283426.jpg&hash=215ac5df39602f50cb6a550553db5572507c4616)
Obviously the running gear and the roof needed to be painted, and the windows installed, plus various other details. But it started to improve. This kit is the ultimate light railway coach, by the way, a very atmospheric prototype.
As I wrote this, the wind whipped round into the north, driving the rain straight into the boat. Hatch closed and floor mopped... ::)
It was forecast to clear away in the afternoon.
To be continued...
That evening I was at anchor in a sheltered place just outside Amsterdam, although the wind was terrific and its leverage on the mast made the boat heel slightly each time it swung to its anchor. They promised it was going to abate during the night.
Here is the place I was in (a view of the shore):
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I put the tram coach outside on the table so the paint could dry in the late sun and the wind. Revell semi-matte paint is notoriously slow drying. This was what it looked like:
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The coach was still too tacky to handle, so I succumbed to reading a book that night, as the wind battered the boat. I even had to put a spring on the anchor line to turn the boat so it would lie more quietly. I slept like a log, after the book and a dram, and in the morning, after several downpours during the night, it was very quiet and beautiful. However, on the way north I ran into a force 6 wind setting up a vicious 4ft sea for which the IJsselmeer is notorious. I had to reef down and batter my way north, getting stupid with the wind blowing round my ears, and getting buckets of water thrown at me.
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In the end I decided to cut the trip short at Hoorn (from which the name 'Cape Horn' is derived). No modelling that night, and it looked like the coach would have to be completed at home.
the coach look excellent, you could also build a layout on the boat.
It has been suggested before, and there might possibly be space for a small shunting layout on one of the sideboards in the boat's cabin, but it would be taking things a bit too far! :o
At last I completed the last lap of the trip home, cleared out the boat, fixed the flat battery of the car (not having been used for a month) and drove home. So for the time being I was beached! After a month afloat it was good not to feel the bed move under you every time it blows.
I took out Nixnie and made a photo of the (incomplete) tram coach and the saddle tank. They make a nice light railway train, don't you think?
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Soon afterwards I continued the work. Glazing and seats installed, and the frames, bogies and footboards painted and weathered.
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Here the Innisfail coach is shown completed, although it still lacks safety chains and passengers. The roof is stuck on lightly so it can be removed. The coach carries the number 111 in the CDR roster. All CDR bogie and six-wheel passenger stock is numbered from 100 onwards.
In the new CDR period regime, this can be the branch train up to about 1914, although I'm not too certain about the period the saddle tank should belong to. Probably I'll have to look up the period of the Stratford tram.
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As I mentioned before, the Innisfail coach is a good example of a light railway coach. The moulding is very crisp, but so fine one needs to take care not to obliterate it by painting. The solebar detail is excellent and probably not done justice by the photos.
To be continued.
Ted, that's an excellent piece of work - both the coach and the voyage! Lovely 'en route' photos from the deck!
Lovely. That colour scheme looks great on the coach.
Thanks - I am rather pleased with it myself!
After I had completed the tram coach, I had another look at the 009 Society cattle vehicles. These come with the standard Parkside T&D chassis, which usually needs some attention to get to run properly. No reflection on the quality of kit, by the way.
The trouble is mainly the 8.2mm wheels, which are never concentric. These are the only ones in the Parkside kits hat aren't running true - someone suggested this is due to the steel treads. They have to be turned on the axle so they wobble into the same direction. This makes the vehicle move slightly up and down instead of side to side. The up and down movement is hardly visible as opposed to the side to side waddle. At the same time, I set the back to back to 7.4mm, using the BTB gauge I made some time ago.
Another problem is the bearing cups pinching the axle if the solebars are set too tight. I slightly bend the axlebox away so they run free. And finally, check the brake blocks as these may touch the wheels. Again, I slightly bend them out of the way.
Then I test run them through several types of Peco 009 points. When I'm happy with the result, I add a drop of superglue to the axle inside the wheel. I have done this same operation on all of my Parkside T&D vehicles. Once set, they run quite well.
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Next was a check on the couplings, then I added a piece of sheet lead to bring the weight up to the same standard as the other T&D stock. They are now a little short of 20g. The couplings appeared to be set just right, so I didn't touch them. Then I painted the vehicles brown, using Revell matt no. 37. Since I built the first CDR cattle vans, for some reason they have been brown, so I decided to use the same colour to tie them in with the other stock. The running gear and bottom have been painted Tamiya matt black.
Lately I have reverted to using oil based paint as often as possible, instead of acrylic paint. Somehow the finish is more regular and it reacts better to small corrections during painting. Acrylics tend to form a skin which you easily damage during painting.
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Later I will show you some photos together with the older stock to show how they fit in.
Here is a photo of an 009 Society cattle vehicle together with an Airfix conversion and a scratchbuilt card wagon.
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The colour used was Revell matt brown no. 37.
Following this, again whilst watching a film on TV with one eye, and the other on the job, I set to work with acrylics and water. I promptly forgot to pick out the ironwork in black, but I made up for that later. Note one or two planks have been picked out in a different colour as well.
Weathering with acrylics is done using a tiny tray as a mixing palette (in my case a screw-top off a pill bottle). The acrylic paint is picked out of the can with the brush and mixed with water - 1mm on the bottom of the mixing palette is enough. The thin wash is applied with the brush and watered down if necessary, so the mix fills the detail on the model.
I started with grey to give an impression of dust, then continued with some rust brown and finally black to add grime. This is done in stages so the wash has time to settle and stick on the model before the next colour is applied. Note that it may be necessary to put the model down flat so the wash can settle horizontally instead of sagging to the bottom edge.
Here is a row of very wet cattle wagons, drying out on a newspaper. The paint will only show up properly after drying.
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The following morning I picked out all the ironwork in black. Then I added the lime marks along the bottom of the sides, drybrushing white acrylic on the surface. This inevitably shows up too heavily. Adding another thin wash of black and brown over the white patches will reduce the brightness. Here is the entire rake sitting in the window sill, together with a card model and an Airfix conversion.
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A close-up comparing the model to an Airfix conversion:
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And another one with a 40-year-old card model:
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Finally a few cruel close-ups, showing the trouble I had getting the transfers on straight:
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I think the bottom edge shows a nice mix of lime and muck. The one thing lacking is the smell, but that I can do without! Now I have to add safety chains and a pin to attach the route marker - note the pins on the top edge of the older models.
I like then, they are very nice looking models.
Good source for different colour washes would be the Games Workshop Citadel paints - you can get all sorts of washes which work really well and give a great matt finish.
Thanks, Ross - regrettably I'm not familiar with Citadel paints as they're unavailable here, but they would be for British readers.
Finally, after the cattle wagons had been completed, I decided to do this. Riding the Fair Days Only. ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8l-qlb7b2A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8l-qlb7b2A)
Quote from: tedp on September 03, 2014, 11:52
Thanks, Ross - regrettably I'm not familiar with Citadel paints as they're unavailable here, but they would be for British readers.
I think you might well be able to buy Citadel paints in the Netherlands, Ted. They are obtainable from Games Workshop and some independant retailers. Do an internet search for Games Workshop which will lead you to a store locator and list of other retailers that stock their products.
Garry
There is a wargames modelling shop in town. They might know.
Ted
What a super atmospheric video. I love the rocking and rolling of the stock as the train makes its way up the line. Many thanks for sharing it on the forum.
Roger
Glad you like it, Roger.
the cattle wagons look superb as does the layout.
Really enjoyed the video
Thanks, Richard. Doing a video of the layout is a hobby within a hobby.
That exhaust certainly echoes around those hills, Ted -and should make sure all the residents are awake!
There's something especially satisfying about a rake of very similar but not-quite-identical stock. All those evenings at sea have paid off handsomely.
David.
My apologies for the previous post - while I'm sure the rest of the Team would have agreed with my sentiments I really should have remembered to log out and log in again before posting. I guess that's one of the hazards of having multiple personalities!
David.
Aha, your cover has been blown Mr Clayliner........................
;D
Thanks, David. Actually I pinched the sound from the internet and modified it to suit the video, but don't tell anyone!
I think that is part of what drew me to 009 - seeing layouts like yours where the stock is all similar but not the same unlike the American HO i was doing where you have long strings of pretty much completely identical vehicles hauled by identical locomotives and it gets very boring quite quickly.
For those not on the NGRM forum, here is what I did last weekend. After last years' episode at sea, it was the first time I retired to the boat for several days. My wife went to a cultural festival on one of the Frisian islands with a few of her friends, as she does every year.
Predictably, the weather turned sour and on Saturday night there was a Force 6-7 whistling in the rig with occasional drizzle adding to the joy, or the lack of it. I took a modelling box with me, and decided to make a start with the Parkside Dundas Glyn Valley style coaches to make a suitable train for Sir Theodore, the Fourdees loco I bought last year. I also took Milners' work on the GVT to get some background info.
The first thing that struck me is that the Dundas coach sides are slightly stretched compared to the drawings in Milners' book. There is little that can be done about that without extensive surgery - the result may look worse than having slightly over-length coaches.
I have three different coach kits - the DM28, DM29 and DM34. These can be made into a large-window saloon, a two compartment coach and an open 'summer coach'. I plan to turn the DM28 into the early clerestory fitted third class saloon of the GVT, which I always found an attractive little vehicle. The coach sides and ends differ in other details as well, in particular the doors have different panelling, and the end panelling is of a different pattern from the GVT stock.
Here are the three kits on the saloon table, last Saturday night.
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The first one I tackled was the most difficult - the DM28 needs to have a microstrip partition fitted into each of the large window spaces in the sides. The instructions say to fit the glazing first and glue the partition on to the glazing, but I lack confidence to be able to do so without damaging the plastic glazing. So I decided to fit the vertical partitions into the coach sides.
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Eventually I managed to fit the four pieces of microstrip into the window apertures - I cut a tiny notch in the middle of the bottom window frame and used that as a reference to fiddle a tiny piece of microstrip in:
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Sunday was overcast but not unpleasant. The wind had dropped, but the little there was, was dead foul for the direction I wanted to go. So I decided to stay where I was and do some modelling for a change. It had been too long - I had too much on my mind lately and in consequence I suffered from modelling block.
The sides of the coaches are too long to represent true GVT stock. They were 11'7" long and the kit sides are 53mm, equalling 13ft. But I'm not griping - they are nicely moulded, and knowing Parkside kits they will go together well.
I had brought some paint - buff is one of the colours mentioned by Milner, although I have a feeling cream is closer. I painted the window frames before attempting to fit the glazing, and found the buff paint has gone muddy. It's just usable to paint the windows before glazing so I won't touch the glazing with the brush. The inside was painted brown, as these coaches were varnished mahogany inside. On board I didn't have a suitable colour of mid-green, so I had to leave that till returning home.
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Later that day I fitted glazing - not the styrene included in the kit as that is quite flimsy and damage prone, but something far stronger which I think came to me as packing material with a shirt. I cut it to size to fit into the recesses in the sides, using a tiny drop of cyanoacrylate gel applied with a needle.
I also painted the interior - brown for the sides and ends, grey for the floor. Here is the body during the first stage of assembly.
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Note the wheelsets are still being supplied with 7.2mm back to back. These don't run well through the new Peco points. I re-set them to 7.4mm using my own BTB gauge. I support one pin point on a piece of wood, then press down to release the grip of one wheel from the axle. Then I twist and press the wheel in until it fits the BTB gauge.
Next were the seats which in this type of carriage are set longitudinally in the centre of the carriage.
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The next stage would be assembling the remaining side, then fitting the solebars, wheels and brake gear. The roof still needed to be modified - a clerestory must be added. More later.
Here the carriage is largely completed, and seen next to Sir Theodore. The interior is been completed and painted - I erroneously fitted the footboards to the seats as I thought they were armrests! So I made up new ones from plastic scrap.
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Here is how I attached the N gauge couplers I normally use. Sir Theodore is fitted with them as well - I fitted Fleischmann couplers in the NEM pockets Fourdees designed in.
I think the couplers I used on the coach are of Japanese origin, possibly one version of Kato coupler. They are sprung and fit in a tiny open frame pocket. Ideal to use in a tiny 009 vehicle. I found the coupler is at exactly the right height if it is glued under the buffer beam. So what I did was make a tray at the level of the buffer beam, using a piece of Faller T profile cemented behind the buffer beam. That makes a tiny platform which I can stick the coupler pocket to.
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If necessary I can strenghten the attachment by fitting a piece of styrene vertically to the floor, so it engages the rear surface of the coupler pocket.
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And here is how it fits:
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If I am correct, the GVT didn't use vacuum brakes, so I will leave the whitemetal pipes off - they will come in handy on future CDR stock. Now all that is needed to do is add more weight, make the clerestory, add the oil lamp cover, paint the carriage and find some suitable transfers to add GVT lettering.
That night it started blowing at least 20 knots from the OTHER side - for Monday they were forecasting another 6 (up to 27 knots), but from the northeast, which is roughly the way I wanted to go - I wondered whether I would ever get some sailing done. The boat was rolling in the gusts, so I prepared the carriage sides for the two-compartment coach - I painted the interior brown, the exterior buff around the windows, and fitted 10 tiny window panes into the recesses of the side mouldings till I was cross-eyed.
Next morning the wind showed signs of abating a little and it was good enough to sail. However, although it was about right for the place I wanted to go to, it was going to back to NW and I'd have it right against me again. So I decided to stay where I was and take her out for a spin from the home base, testing out some things non-railway related!
Preparing the sides of the two-compartment coach was a most frustrating process - I cut to size and installed 12 tiny window panes. Took me at least an hour! Here are the mouldings, painted and ready to receive the window panes.
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In the morning I continued the work even before breakfast. Here is the first assembly stage, showing the window panes glued into the recesses. As I pre-painted all the parts, I needed to score the paint so the plastic cement would make an impression.
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Interior parts installed:
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And here is the body assembled and ready to receive the solebars and wheels.
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From there it went suprisingly quickly - the advantage of having pre-painted all the parts, and having the experience of assembling the first vehicle.
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The open carriage was saved for that night - I first had coffee, then I was off for an afternoon's sailing.
The place I sail in is a big freshwater inland sea. It's shallow and big enough to run a vicious steep and short sea. Monday I was out in a force 5 which, even back at my pontoon, shook the rig. Here is a photo of the boat shouldering a steep wave.
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Most of the time I was flat on my ear, holding on with feet and hands even though I had reefed the main and taken a roll in the genoa.
That evening, an hour and a half was what it took to complete the final vehicle of the trio - the open 2-compartment coach. This was suspiciously starting to look like batch production! Since most of the details are familiar now, I only photographed the first and last stage.
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The centre post supporting the roof was backed by a tiny strip of styrene under the roof, which makes a more secure attachment.
I noticed the first two coaches tend to wobble slightly - the axles are very slightly out of true which surprises me as the vehicle bodies are absolutely square. In addition, there is the clerestory roof of one, and I have to fit the oil lamp tops to the two closed vehicles. There are numerous small details to be done still. One is the peculiar grab rails the GVT used.
There are some advantages in rain - it makes model work more attractive! On Tuesday morning, as I was waiting for the sky to clear so I could put in a few hours' sailing, I decided to look at the two vehicles that suffered from non-parallel axles. The solution is to take a fine drill in a pin vice, and gently take away a little material from the pin-point hole in the axlebox, so one end of the axle sits a fraction of a mm lower. All four wheels of the offending vehicles now touch the surface.
I found some material to make the clerestory on the first vehicle from. The funny look of the prototype with an oil lamp perched on top of the clerestory always captured my imagination. So I cut five strips of 1mm styrene from a sheet of Evergreen planking, glued them on top of the roof and covered them with a curved strip of 0.5mm styrene. Note the curved end strips, which (after the cement has hardened) have to be shaped to the same profile as the prototype, with curved cut-outs in the ends.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9853.jpg&hash=6ae13d58d8c48743ea57c724e6433f0bf405941e)
Here is the clerestory coach largely completed. I put another (wider) strip of 0.5mm styrene on top of the first one to shape the clerestory roof.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9868.jpg&hash=0daec4ff24333551cbbd660f64dda76b26f540f9)
The compartment coach looks much better with the lamp on top:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9870.jpg&hash=7432b7c6b2fb0e5d0b98c15db88b67b0e161abdb)
Here is the complete rake of coaches:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9865.jpg&hash=478c82e1378ea4dd5c7554504b761548766b4ad0)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9859.jpg&hash=ce421b843fd2766865510ebaae7b2495347a6706)
And the complete GVT train sitting on the saloon table.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9858.jpg&hash=7cf1f984627ce274b29ed85e866ad1aaefa8633a)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9863.jpg&hash=1ea6feed0dcb6ed87fd476ae927e52b185c9af36)
By now the sky had cleared, so I went off again!
Shades of green...
Wednesday, having arrived back home, I experimented with green paint on the coaches. Milner says the coaches were painted some sort of mid-green. So I started with a standard Revell colour which proved to be far too light - a sort of fern green which looked very odd. So I drained part of the tin and added very dark green, brown and dark blue to it.
Eventually I arrived at this shade which I find rather pleasing, although I have no way of finding out whether it is correct. It matches the buff window surrounds well enough - I leave you to judge!
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2FIMG_9875.JPG&hash=e0351614fabfcfdb4e6c79e8e667a52b25790e4f)
I first painted only one side and one end of each coach, and some retouching was still needed. I had to consult prototype photos to find the exact demarcation of the green and the buff, but I'm tied to the panelling on the kit sides.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2FIMG_9878.JPG&hash=edb9cb049ef834839d266d6f9b7ea1cd220d1bec)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2FIMG_9880.JPG&hash=11eb2a717abc9686f4766bc98bc317851604dd19)
Next, I decided to do a short painting clinic on the off side of one coach, showing how I paint a panelled carriage side. It takes about 10 minutes, and I even surprised myself seeing how I unconsciousy change the position of the model and support my hand with the other. I hope you won't get bored!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gG61oVecg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gG61oVecg)
I used green Revell oil paint, that had previously been mixed to the correct colour and thinned a little using white spirit.
Note how I use only the tiniest amount of paint on the tip of the brush. I use the raised beading on the side of the model as a brush guide to produce a straight line. Small errors are ignored - these can be touched up later with the buff paint used for the window surrounds.
It is necessary to work quickly and precisely. Never go back to a place painted earlier unless it is very recent - you'll get a blemished surface.
Also note the angle of the brush and the methods I use to improve the angle - support my hand, turn the model where needed, and only occasionally I angle my hand, since that will reduce the control you have over the brush.
And here is the result:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2FIMG_9884.JPG&hash=551529109f90496ad4b5d581e75c89f9014eb749)
There are still a few patches where the grey plastic shows through, but I think they can be corrected after the present coat has dried completely. Also, I need to touch up a bit around the top of the doors.
As a part of this thread I decided to do a short painting clinic, showing how I paint a panelled carriage side. It takes about 10 minutes, and I even surprised myself seeing how I unconsciousy change the position of the model and support my hand with the other. I hope you won't get bored!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gG61oVecg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5gG61oVecg)
I used green Revell oil paint, that had previously been mixed to the correct colour (see previous post) and thinned a little using white spirit.
Note how I use only the tiniest amount of paint on the tip of the brush. I use the raised beading on the side of the model as a brush guide to produce a straight line. Small errors are ignored - these can be touched up later with the buff paint used for the window surrounds.
It is necessary to work quickly and precisely. Never go back to a place painted earlier unless it is very recent - you'll get a blemished surface.
Also note the angle of the brush and the methods I use to improve the angle - support my hand, turn the model where needed, and only occasionally I angle my hand, since that will reduce the control you have over the brush.
And here is the result:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9884.jpg&hash=be0de7adc1f971d89655e0bce62ceb198649170b)
There are still a few patches where the grey plastic shows through, but I think they can be corrected after the present coat has dried completely. Also, I need to touch up a bit around the top of the doors.
Following that I worked on the roofs. I added rain strips and painted them the basic light grey colour. Here is how I made rainstrips - I took a thin strip of styrene, flooded it with cement and bent it in a gentle curve on the roof. They are very overscale, but at least they will show up a bit:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9889.jpg&hash=97927abeba0a3535dccd4896108b55d5fcf2bef2)
Here is the rake of Glyn Valley stock in Rae bridge station:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9894.jpg&hash=de53e8ae991f3e93f4b6bf9dad7b9786d315e73a)
I also radiused the edges of the end panels of the clerestory, but that hardly shows up. The row of very tiny window panes in the clerestory have been 'discreetly' forgotten.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_9896.jpg&hash=988aec88ee9f034ce48cf946cd7d3b631aae75ce)
Although it is an attractive rake of stock, I'm afraid the over-scale length shows up, if compared to the drawings of the real thing.
I found there was a brake lever at one end of the coaches (drawings in Boyd). The other end will have steps and a handrail up the roof.
More work to be done!
More progress. I think we're almost done with the GVT carriages - I have progressed to the detailing stage.
Looking at drawings I noticed they lacked tensioning bars to the axleguards. So I found some soft copper wire and straightened and bent some lengths to the right shape. Straightening is done by rolling the wire under a file:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0001.jpg&hash=79ebf2f32dfc1e6538fa0922e600baa8403a4cdd)
After fitting them to the vehicles it looked like this:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0007.jpg&hash=649c7e8d39a12030aefa94dd0661dc63103f4bcb)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0013.jpg&hash=92a304cf8a742465c0711ce295945414ff147eac)
I also fitted locating lugs to the underside of the roofs, to keep them in place. I may fit passengers in them, so for the moment the roofs are loose.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0002.jpg&hash=d8afdd0110596133ecca903256ba14a44f1b9826)
Next was brake gear and end steps to the two closed carriages. The prototypes had brake levers to one end, and steps and a handrail to the other. Here are the brake levers (made of styrene strip) and the steps (built up on a single strip that was later narrowed and cut to pieces).
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0009.jpg&hash=331eb32c189286e929aaad1a161f146889cdad91)
The most difficult bit was making handrails. I opted for steel wire because that was the thinnest I have in large quantities, although shaping the peculiar curved grips next to the doors was less easy. I made 10 of the d...n things using nothing but a pair of fine pliers. Controlling the shape was rather a challenge. In addition there is the inclined rail next to the steps on one end, and the grip on the roof. Here is the result as fitted to the clerestory. I used the crude method of heating the wire bits with a small soldering iron to push them in.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0020.jpg&hash=9d7865764aafeb2ce8d47f49d2b792f3d0b959f6)
The next shot shows the brake lever and the grips on the open carriage.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0027.jpg&hash=b6e9654aa4062dfe03e8c2a29ea3482e5c254439)
And finally, photos of the entire rake at Rae Bridge.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0016.jpg&hash=2516782c5eeea478ead05fbb2c2cbf74cbef447f)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_0030.jpg&hash=ecb425add4c0f26610248ee9e37e5db6597acc8b)
Just to give an impression of what the tram looks like in service, here is its trial run at Rae Bridge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wanSNQ4b7Kc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wanSNQ4b7Kc)
Note that the chassis details still have to be weathered, and I need some GVT transfers. But I'm not displeased with the result.
Very very nice Ted.
Regards,
BrianT.
Today, since I'm busy with couplings, I had another look at tyhe rake of Colin Ashby coal wagons I made on board the boat a few years ago. About half of them were fitted with rigid couplings such as this:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FIMG_2361.jpg&hash=1c501d115f95b17e1690bb9676db667a436cd8ef)
They usually ran all right, provided you kept them in the rake and flanked by wagons fitted with sprung couplings (as even demonstrated by a run at speed, pushing the entire rake over the layout at the time). However, I always mistrusted them, so I decided to do an experiment. I fitted two of them with a sprung coupling to one end, and fitted dumb buffers, Glyn Valley style, to the other end. Then I fitted two more with dumb buffers each end:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2301.jpg&hash=fdb20e3875d9bad666faa5e661c4812d098cb039)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2320.jpg&hash=1f712d854c4bbdd6828d9b6b35bc32de28e2009d)
The idea came from this 4-ton GVT granite wagon, however I opted for half-rounded buffers instead of the fancy curves since these would be easier to make (the half-round buffers were used on the early horse tram wagons):
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wvlr.co.uk%2Fassets%2Fimages%2FDSC_0358.JPG&hash=0b548febd24a10a629bb8fc97bf92af6ddd10ef2)
(source site, with apologies for borrowing the image of the 16mm scale model:: http://www.wvlr.co.uk/ (http://www.wvlr.co.uk/))
The buffers were made from 17mm pieces of 3x2mm Evergreen strip, cut down in stages and filed more or less smooth:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2304.jpg&hash=bb48dc42726c5787afccc1892dec552eec1fd7d4)
The rubbing faces were covered in a thin strip of Evergreen to represent a steel rubbing strip. Then I drilled a 1mm hole into each 'buffer', into which I fitted a piece of wire double-bent through the end of a 5-link length of chain, split pin style. A touch with the soldering iron secured this. The other end went into the buffer of the next wagon:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2311.jpg&hash=da70e88452fd84e26cb693a416b01b6658dcc275)
I realise the pattern of chain is quite wrong, and it should be blackened, but it's all I could find at short notice, so it cannot be helped. And it works:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2321.jpg&hash=9b107871e9c9399246cef723369652cc9cc7842f)
I've now got a single four-wagon rake of chain-coupled wagons, and they run better than they did, especially after I smeared the rubbing faces with a little graphite to get rid of the stickyness of the paint. The wire 'split pins' were secured with a drop of cyano gel at the top, to keep the link action of the chain intact. The wagons 'buffer up' on a downhill run, making the driver haul back on his whistle to signal the guard to apply his brake. Softly, please, or the chain couplings might snap...
Another rake waits to be converted the same way.
Very nice Ted. Are you planning to blacken the chain? It stands a bit to my eye.
It is a bit bright, isn't it? Probably chemical blackening is best, or the chain will clog up. What kind of blackening agent would you suggest?
I don't have a lot of experience with blackening agents. What material is the chain made from?
I have blackend chain with very thin black enamel paint...
It's a cheap jewellery chain, not sure. It looks like silver plated, but I wonder if it is. No brass either. The material is very hard, not yellowish when you cut it.
I wondered about paint, but that will make the links stick together. Just dipped the end of a piece of chain in Carr's flux, see what it does.
I would have thought that a blackening agent might have difficulty getting through plating. And wouldn't Carr's flux result in corrosion?
Blackening of steel parts is normally done by dipping them hot into mineral oil. If you repeat this process 2 or 3 times - and you heat up in between with an open flame - the chain should be black.
You have to know what the material is - not to overheat it - as you may melt it. I don't know if it works with brass - the chances of melting it are for sure bigger.
This kind of blackening doesn't lead to the parts sticking to each other and the cover of oxidized oil is also a corrosion protection.
Don't blame me for any health and safety issues - this is what they taught me at the engineering college in the 70th ....
Thanks, Gerhard - health and safety probably are no concern if you don't repeat the process too often!
Problem now is that the bits of chain are already in the styrene train, so I will probably have to find something else. Or the train will melt....
Corrosion by the Carrs is the least of my worries since it can be countered by washing the compound out of the chain. However, after soaking it for an hour or so I saw no improvement. I think I'll have to risk the paint method suggested by Hugh. I may be able to reduce the sticking by adding a bit of graphite at the end of the drying process.
I tried thinned paint on the chains, but as I expected it will stick the links together. Adding some graphite will unstick the links to some extent, probably better after they have dried for 24 hours. However, I found that a black permanent marker will do much better. I tried it on the second rake of wagons and it works.
Here is one of the second quartet of wagons being prepared. Note the styrene strip on the 'buffer', and PVA glue bolt heads to each side.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2329.jpg&hash=3ed66e447479c3d5b756bb9dacb8c235823d9edc)
After painting the 'rubbing strip' and the bolt heads on the buffer:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2332.jpg&hash=8a237c47a9d53f3baee661923891144b6376f1ca)
Dusting graphite on the strip and rubbing the wagons together will produce a slippery finish looking like steel:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2334.jpg&hash=192a33c11f46ebd9a4ce23068ea987849c64f4ad)
Each chain is five links long. Four might suffice, but I chose five. After having learned the hard way, I decided to mark the sixth link with an indelible marker to prepare for cutting with pliers. In the process I discovered that a permanent marker is better to blacken a chain than paint!
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2336.jpg&hash=892dbb1a40f59dda47e21cf0cb583d8be2b1d3ed)
Here is a chain prepared with wire 'split pins' ready for attaching to the wagons. The split pins will be inserted in each hole and touched with a soldering iron to seat them home. A dot of CA gel on the top will secure them:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2339.jpg&hash=50a462f72a8cc358fc2f67c680cf24d0dc140a3f)
Finally, I made a short video of the 8-wagon coal train taking up the slack on the main line just out of Inverlochan. There is about 20mm of slack in the entire train - the guard in the brake van must experience some nasty snatches:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG8R8a_INaI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG8R8a_INaI)
Very nice effect. I like the train in your video.
Thanks, Gerhard.
I remembered this wasn't the first chain coupled train I had made. Almost 40 years ago, I had a coal train built of 1970s card train tickets. Several of these ran on Lima N gauge BR coal wagon chassis - the chassis are still around as they were used for 8 of my present-day coal wagons. There was a string of small coal wagons built on Egger and Minitrains skip chassis. Having a lack of N gauge couplings at the time, I connected them into one or two chain-coupled rakes. I just found them, very scruffy and run-down, but typical of my 1970s models. I believe I built these at sea, so they have a place in this thread.
Here is a 1977 photo showing my coal train behind the Garratt in its original guise, on the first version of Rae Bridge. The wagons I refer to are fourth etc from the engine:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Fcdr%2Fmain%2Ffoto%2Fmuseum%2F7767.jpg&hash=2608c9b7a20eeceb1b66d90bc39edc28e2832712)
And this is what they look like now. I believe they haven't been on the layout for 25 years, but after I fitted N gauge couplings, they ran perfectly:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2345.jpg&hash=4316c18f1bab8aded44844d52748c8ad399222d0)
Note the bent card strips used as centre buffers:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Farchive%2F2012%2Falbum%2F2012-009atsea%2Fimages%2FwIMG_2348.jpg&hash=66267737c303728742f95130d8a88636641e5a18)
These, also, were connected using cheap jewellery chain. But I'm afraid they are a little rough compared with the new wagons... ;)
Ted, I have used chains on rakes of slate wagons and also a rake of Parkside GVT opens for many years as you have described. I too found five links just about right for the gap between the wagons and the rounded headstocks buffer up to propel them.
Roger
Maybe a little rough - but full of atmosphere and character!
Mick