With the hot weather having arrived with a vengeance, I'm back to building rolling stock inside the house. This project was more or less a follow-on from the previous one posted here, so I haven't gone into detail, or shown progress photos.
https://gardenrails.org/viewtopic.php?f ... VT#p114957
Having built a branchline loco for the TVT it needed it's own passenger car, with a few 1st class seats, somewhat more 2nd class and a van compartment. The VR had a few of these for use on lightly trafficked outer suburban lines and this model is based on the cars used for the 1920s 'Deepdene Dasher' which chugged back and forth on a line that was then semi-rural, but is now closed and turned into a suburban linear park.
Construction of the model was similar to last years Bachmann kitbash, so the details can be found in the above link. The major difference was splicing in the van section between the first and second class compartments. The code after the car number on the letter board shows the function of the car, A for first class, B for second class and C for a guard's van.
The stations on Victorian narrow gauge lines weren't manned, most were just an open shelter shed, with some being no more than a station name-board at a level crossing. Tickets were purchased off the guard and this car has the typical booking office sign on the van window.
The first photo shows the completed, but unpainted model, looking like one of my sister's patchwork quilts. There are parts from three models visible, plus the scratchbuilt van section made from polystyrene sheet.
You can't see much inside the van section once the windows are fitted, so this hasn't been detailed, although my usual seats made from wood sections have been fitted to the passenger compartments. This pic shows the internal layout.
A new airbrush has sorted out some of the painting issues I've been having, but I still can't find a decent satin varnish. This pic. shows the finished model ready for it's first trip down the branch, bringing up the rear of the weekly mixed. The booking office sign is a translucent white waterslide decal applied to the inside of the window, to simulate the original, which would have been etched into the glass. To paraphrase LBSC "a coat of paint conceals a multitude of plastics".......
The model used for this kit bash was bought recently off Fleabay and was an early Bachmann model, with plastic wheels and a smooth roof. I don't recommend these, as the mouldings are slightly different to more recent models and the moulding quality wasn't that good. Splicing the bits together took a lot more work to hide the joint than the models I made last year. The plastic wheels weren't a problem as I make my own wheels in any case.
TVT Story
When the TVT went shopping for surplus rolling stock in Tasmania, it found three american style end platform cars, of which one had been rather crudely converted to a van with a sliding door from a goods van.
The van conversion was originally intended to be used as a source of spares for the other cars. When the branch line service was reinstated, there were no spare passenger vans, so the TVT car builder thought he could do better than the existing body and rebuilt the spare car with a larger van compartment with sliding doors and a ticket window, similar to VR narrow gauge vans.
Regards,
Graeme
