The RHBR fleet

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Mon May 26, 2014 7:27 pm

The latest running day on May 25th could have gone better, 4 wagons have been rendered unfit for service at the moment all due to heavy rain. Three have suffered parts coming adrift due to the glue I've used not being as waterproof as I'd hoped and the 4th has warped. The warped wagon has been plonked under a heavy weight since yesterday afternoon and at some point I will remove it to see if it's straightened out, if not then I'll think of something.

Just as I had to do last year, I hid Minnie from the rain never thinking about the welfare of my rolling stock!

laalratty · Post by **laalratty** » Mon May 26, 2014 8:49 pm

I expect that Minnie is more waterproof then the rolling stock, after all it has water inside of it! The only thing to be wary of is if its parked somewhere that could suffer from rain splashing material up (ie near mud or soil) which could then get in the motion. My Millie also got a soaking on Saturday, but it was left out as it was a manual loco and space indoors was kept for radio controlled engines.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:58 pm

My concern wasn't so much when in steam but if left out with the fire out for a while it could flood the burner. I'm going to look at her motion before she's next out as I suspect the RH con rod would benefit from a slight bend in it so that the little end is parallel to the crosshead.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:50 pm

It seems I was right about Minnie's RH conrod, putting a slight bend in feels like it's made a difference. However in a '1 in 1 out' problem management scheme her regulator is leaking, although that appears to be a simple matter of some ptfe tape sorting that one out.
In waggony news poor old No.58 looks like has it's been through the wars.
This was the first time it was out in the sun, all I've done so far is applied a watered down brown games workshop paint then wiped it off in downward motions to keep it in the nooks & crannies and also get some streaks. I think the running gear will benefit from being done again, using a darker brown this time

The interior paint has been sanded randomly to keep most of the paint while gaining the impression of hard use, I've also filed the top edges to create an impression that they've been worn away which revealed the original paint in places.The L sections will eventually be improved with the addition of fake bolts so it looks like a cheaply done repair to keep the dear in service, which is absolutely NOT what this is! :lol:

I'm now thinking of doing this to more wagons, the problem is if I do it needs to be enmasse, unfortunately I've fitted L sections to 2 others, although they could be explained away as being ex-works. Another solution I suppose is to build more open wagons!

kandnwlr · Post by **kandnwlr** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:17 am

More pics of Minnie in steam please

'Pierre Berry · Post by **'Pierre Berry** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:29 pm

kandnwlr:102269 wrote:More pics of Minnie in steam please :D

Absolutely !

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:58 pm

Thanks for the interest guys, photos of Minnie in steam eh? Pffffffffffffff,

There aren't many that haven't been uploaded before to be honest, the first photo comes from June last year! I don't tend to have my camera fired up when she is. I will try to amend that during her next outing on Saturday.

And only 1 suitable photo from this year, taken in March!

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Sun Jul 06, 2014 8:18 pm

As promised here are more photos of Minnie in steam, not just brewing up/ cooling down.

Three panned shots, amazing what some practice can do!

Panning No.1 by williamfj2, on Flickr

Panning No.2 by williamfj2, on Flickr

My favourite of the three pans, light, motion and steam! That said I'm not too happy with how the coaches look.

Panning No.3 by williamfj2, on Flickr

One that I've already shown, but I like it.

Minnie by williamfj2, on Flickr

At the end of a day where she didn't put a toe never mind a foot out of line. Must patch the paint on that numberplate though

End of Another Good Day by williamfj2, on Flickr

btiratsoo · Post by **btiratsoo** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:39 pm

I've just read this thread from start to finish. Your rolling stock and locos are splendid and your writing/ descriptions make me chuckle.

The second panning shot above and the last two shots are brilliant. The panning is an absolute cracker and the one with the sunlight on the leaves is beautiful. Well done fella.

Ben

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Mon Jul 28, 2014 11:44 pm

Wow, thanks Ben, must have been quite a slog reading my ramblings at times!
For the past couple of weeks things have been in a state of disarray for me & the fleet as I've moved to a different flat, but I'm getting a grasp of things now. Some stuff hasn't made the move though, the Brandbright coaches have been passed to a friend who might stand a better chance at completing them. I've found that once I let a project stall it's hard to get it restarted.

River Ankh earlier this month, despite being stored for about 18 months with little attention it only took a quick oil round to get her growling again.

kandnwlr · Post by **kandnwlr** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 2:25 pm

Good to see things moving again

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:04 am

Well here are the latest two vehicles to be outshopped, No.60 required some assembly and No.45 only needed a repaint. I quite like having a large(ish) fleet of open wagons, especially as they're not all the same type.

Dannypenguin · Post by **Dannypenguin** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:08 pm

Neat little wagons you got yourself there

btiratsoo · Post by **btiratsoo** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:42 pm

Those open wagons are great. Can I ask where you got the vac hoses from and also what kit were the wagons? I think it is time I gave kit building a try!

Ben

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 1:04 pm

Thanks guys, the vacuum pipes are the working Brandbright pipes, they can be a pain to couple but when coupled they look great. Most of my wagons are from IP Engineering with some Brandbright & Swift Sixteen.

Dr. Bond of the DVLR · Post by **Dr. Bond of the DVLR** » Tue Sep 16, 2014 1:16 pm

The shadowing on the lettering just lifts the whole effect. Very nice.

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 5:25 pm

Minnie now sounds very different, she's been fitted with a whistle and is the first loco (as far as I know) to have her chuff pipe removed, and Dylan has been fitted with Swift Sixteen drawbar couplings as I found that the loco's hook was capable of working loose very quickly.
Despite not having a railway of my own, or even the possibility in the short term of building my own I've somehow come to the conclusion that I need a P Way train! So far I've got a 2 Swift Sixteen hoppers, and an IP Engineering crane either finished or well on the way. Once they're all finished then I should be starting on an IPE VoR bogie brake coach to act as the dedicated P Way coach.

Soar Valley Light · Post by **Soar Valley Light** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:57 pm

I absolutely LOVE those hoppers. The huge log of an underframe might cast some doubt about the realistic possibility of prototype bottom discharge but I can overlook that, in every other respect they are beautifully proportioned.

How easy is it/would it be to fit chopper couplings to them?

Gremlin · Post by **Gremlin** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 8:03 pm

I agree on the hoppers, Swift Sixteen make some really nice kits. I don't buy many wagon kits but I do have some of those on the bench.

Great photos

williamfj · Post by **williamfj** » Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:16 pm

Soar Valley Light:105770 wrote:I absolutely LOVE those hoppers. The huge log of an underframe might cast some doubt about the realistic possibility of prototype bottom discharge but I can overlook that, in every other respect they are beautifully proportioned.

How easy is it/would it be to fit chopper couplings to them?

Thanks guys, hopefully Swift Sixteen's online instructions will show that it is modelled as a bottom discharge wagon. While I don't have any real experience with chopper couplings I don't think it would be too difficult to fit them but it would require modifying/replacing the supplied buffers.
http://www.swiftsixteen.co.uk/Instructi ... ctionID=23[/url]

Garden Railway Forum

The RHBR fleet

Who is online