Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

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IrishPeter
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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:43 pm

The four wheel brake is based on one of the Hurst Nelson MER brake built in 1899, which ended up as E1 on the Isle of Man Railway after a spell as E11, and survived into the 1960s. Latterly (1930s) it lost its duckets and was used for parcels, luggage, and one suspects, fish. I think it ended up going in the Ballasalla Bonfire in 1974, which is when most of the remain goods stock was scrapped. My version still has its duckets, and is the Skebawn and Castleknox's other brake vehicle - the main one being the Bristol Brake Compo alluded to above.

Hiding behind the tramcar is a Zillertalbahn four-wheeler which was not an outstanding success, as the chassis is not quite square, and it is dimensionally accurate, so it is the equivalent of 7.5 metres long by 2.5 metres wide, which in SM32/45 is something like 393mm by 131mm. It hangs around waiting for a rebuild that never quite gets to the top of the Roundtuit list, which is a bit of a pity as it was one of my winter buildings and ended up getting finished except for the wire handrails and papering and painting the roof.

In front of the Zillertalbahn coach is a freelance tramcar which owes a bit to the Douglas Bay single deckers that were cut down from double deckers in the 1930s. Right now it does not really have a purpose in life, but if I complete it, it will acquire a mate and both will go, I think, to the Skebawn and Castleknox side of things. I have a half hatched plan to have an 'early GSR' set, and a 'CIE' set of passenger stock.

Peter in Va
Last edited by IrishPeter on Fri Dec 07, 2018 2:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IanC » Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:50 pm

I like the sentry van Peter. I look forward to seeing pictures of it when it's completed.
Ian

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Fri Dec 07, 2018 1:20 pm

The lavatory water tank mystery is solved. I did a bit more digging and it turns out that the tanks were inside on the German built coaches, but outside on the British built ones.

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Sat Dec 08, 2018 2:26 pm

Went for a trundle to Michael's (the craft store chain) and the place was a disaster, though it might be worth checking out the sale baskets after Christmas. Their stock of basswood was lamentably low, and the wife had some adventures with the picture framing department which rather reminded me of dealing the Department of Officious Officialdom. As it was I could not get the sections needed - 3/8 x 3/16 and 1/2 x 1/4 - but managed to get some other bits and bobs in the wood line that I needed. General consensus was that the place had gone down hill, and we needed to hit the Hobby Lobby, which is 35 miles away, in order to get what we want.

This has changed the building priorities a bit. The little sentry box brake is at the paint and detail stage, it now has red ends, and is waiting for hinges and hand rails. The Lav. Composite's body will be next in line, for which the outside mounted sliding doors is causing the little grey cells to be exercised. The underframe will have to wait until I can get the appropriate sections of basswood, though before I resort to going almost an hour away for supplies I will schlepp across to the local hardware shore and see what they have lurking in the back corner. I usually build from the underframe upwards, so this is going to confuse me, and I am also going to have to find a way to represent the rubber mounting blocks under the body which were rather a noticeable feature of the original when seen broad side on.

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:24 am

The sentry box van has now been clobbered a couple more times with the paint brush. I tend to like red ends on goods brake vans, and this one is no exception...
Van - sentry box end
Van - sentry box end
IMG_4347.JPG (35.06 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
And just to prove I did both ends...
Van - blunt end
Van - blunt end
IMG_4349.JPG (34.78 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
Meanwhile the South African coach is coming on. Here is the six window side with its beading, and first coach of paint. Unfortunately, the paint had been left too long. Might be a do-over in the works there. Nah - it was just undercoat anyway. I am still trying to decide between dark brown, and deep crimson lake (NER, not Midland) as the passenger livery for the CLR/NET.
Coach - six window side
Coach - six window side
IMG_4344.JPG (41.97 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
Here is the other side, showing the framing for the drop lights, which in this case includes stops as the pocket for the drop lights was a bit on the deep side. Sometimes I just make the bottom bar a bit deeper, other times I use stops. Just depends on how I am feeling. Sometimes I even save my sanity and just fake it with the droplights!
Coach - seven window side framing
Coach - seven window side framing
IMG_4343.JPG (42.41 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
And your bonus for tonight, a little shelter that has been a little pick it up and put it down project for about three years. I am finally bored enough to finish shingling the roof!
Shelter front
Shelter front
IMG_4346.JPG (38.29 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
The prototype is Norwegian - probably one of the minor halts on the Setesdalsbanen, or possibly one of the minor standard gauge branches. It is "half inch" rather than 5/8th scale, so it will end up as a bus shelter in the background, but I could also knock the bottom out and put it on some sort of masonry base to make it fit. It was built as a sort of dry run for constructing all those funny little huts that light railways seem to use.
Shelter back
Shelter back
IMG_4345.JPG (41.13 KiB) Viewed 4642 times
That's it for now. Next instalment might be the CLR "signalling" project, but we will see.

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by FWLR » Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:42 am

I do like your bold colours Peter.

Love that little hut too. I have put a brick base on a Model Town Water Tower and it certainly has made a huge difference....

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Wed Dec 12, 2018 3:01 pm

My usual railway palette is black, dark green, brown or "lake", grey - in short, colours that don't show the muck too much. The livery scheme for both my railways is relatively dark. The CLR, which is theoretically an offshoot of the NER/LNER, is basic black for locos; bauxite for fitted wagons (actually a reddish brown primer); and grey for unfitted. Departmental stock gets clobbered with either barn red, or grey (LNER used Oxford Blue - ironic given that Cambridge was on their system) depending on whether it is their exclusive possession, or the traffic department can nick it.

I only use bright colours for safety purposes - for example, loco buffer beams and brake van ends are red so that they can be seen when being moved around sidings and within station limits. If I ever get around to fitting dummy brake gear, then the brake handles will be white.

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by Andrew » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:52 am

I like the red ends too - I might well add some to my trusty (not to mention rusty) Mamod guards van when it receives its long-overdue overhaul. Apart from anything else it would add a touch of colour to winter goods trains, which would be rather nice when the garden's looking cold and drab. When I started making WHR wagons I initially baulked at the red paint, it seemed rather gaudy compared to my usual greys and browns, but actually I find I rather like it for that reason.

I like the shelter too, especially the roof. Actually, it's inspired me to make a stable for a colleague's camel, but that's one for another forum...

Looking forward to the next update,

Andrew.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by philipy » Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:57 am

I do like the roof on that hut, very realistic finish.
Philip

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by Peter Butler » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:51 pm

Andrew wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:52 am ...... it's inspired me to make a stable for a colleague's camel, but that's one for another forum...

Andrew.
I have to ask.... what Forum has stables for camels amongst its subject headings.... sounds interesting!
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by Andrew » Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:59 pm

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 1:51 pm
Andrew wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:52 am ...... it's inspired me to make a stable for a colleague's camel, but that's one for another forum...

Andrew.
I have to ask.... what Forum has stables for camels amongst its subject headings.... sounds interesting!
I'll let you know when I find one!

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:27 pm

philipy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 8:57 am I do like the roof on that hut, very realistic finish.
The roof on the hut is several hundred little wooden shingles. The Missus found a bag of doll's house shingles in a charity shop and hauled them home. The only catch is they were 1/12th scale, so every one gets cut into four - often very approximately - for use on the railway. It was a slightly tedious job, but not so bad when one is not on a schedule. I would have hated to spend a couple of solid hours on it.

As to the WHR goods stock... If I remember correctly, red oxide (brownish red) or red lead (almost orange when first applied) used to be a fairly common livery for fitted goods wagons, so SAR was not unusual in painting its suck brake wagons that colour. What surprises us about is that we are used to the British Railways convention of Bauxite (basically brown) for fitted, and grey for unfitted wagons, so red just isn't a wagon colour to us anymore. Bauxite replaced red oxide for fitted wagons on the LNER in the 1940s, and it was one area where their influence prevailed over Derby's.

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Sat Dec 15, 2018 2:34 am

The last little bit of shingling on the waiting shelter was done yesterday. It needs ridge cap, barge boards, and possibly a noticeboard and a bench to complete.

The outside sides of the Saxon carriage were painted dark crimson lake this morning. I initially tried dark brown, but I found that a bit too sombre. I will have to see it in natural light before I decide if it needs toning down a bit, it looks quite bright in the basement - almost the Midland <spit> shade. However, if it is closer to the Midland colour that might not be a bad thing as that is roughly the colour of BR non-corridor stock, which would make the CLR's time period the 50s/early preservation.

The inside sides were cut yesterday and today and glued to the framework and outside side assembly this evening. Now we leave everything to dry for twelve hours; have a look at the wood pile; and then decide what to do next. Ideally it would be the underframe, but I still have not had the chance to get some 3/8th by 3/16th, so it is debateable whether I have sufficient timber for the underframe. If I have to postpone the underframe pending a visit to Harrisonburg, then I can get on with the body.

Cheers,
Peter in VA
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Fri Dec 21, 2018 2:45 am

Further progress with the current projects.

I decided that the brake van ought to be even more distinctive, so it ended up barn red with vermillion ends. Sorry it is a bit blurred.
Red BV
Red BV
IMG_4359.JPG (34.68 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
The sides, ends, and floor of the Saxon coach have been assembled and painted a deep maroon, which is somewhere between BR non-corridor stock maroon and the NER colour. Close enough!
Coach side view
Coach side view
IMG_4360.JPG (41.59 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
3/4 view
3/4 view
IMG_4361.JPG (44.93 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
I then decided to pop it up on a spare set of logging bogies...
The shell on logging bogies
The shell on logging bogies
IMG_4363.JPG (41.74 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
and then borrow the roof off a similarly sized vehicle to get something closer to the full effect.
Accommodation bogies
Accommodation bogies
IMG_4364.JPG (43.28 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
Then I thought to myself that it would look better on some track.
Seven window side
Seven window side
IMG_4365.JPG (43.78 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
And lastly, lined up with the road van.
With BV
With BV
IMG_4366.JPG (45.42 KiB) Viewed 5666 times
It still needs its sole bars and permanent bogies; drop lights, interior, and roof; then lastly hand rails. Like all good colonial railways I will probably be ordering from Blighty whatever I cannot scrounge or improvise locally. The interior will be fairly complex on this one as there is a small first class compartment; a lavatory compartment, and a third class saloon to fit out. Should keep me out of mischief for a while! I seem to have got into the habit of spend 30 to 90 minutes a day down there which is progressing things nicely.

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Last edited by IrishPeter on Sat Dec 22, 2018 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by LNR » Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:31 am

That Saxon coach is going to look nice Peter, nice livery colour too. I relate to the thought process, try
it on some bogies, roof, track etc. Gives you an idea of where its all heading.
Grant.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by FWLR » Fri Dec 21, 2018 7:21 am

The coach is really very good. Impressed with your work Peter.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by Andrew » Fri Dec 21, 2018 1:45 pm

LNR wrote: ↑Fri Dec 21, 2018 4:31 am I relate to the thought process, try
it on some bogies, roof, track etc. Gives you an idea of where its all heading.
Grant.
Yep, me too. I spend hours looking at half-finished models...

Looking great Peter, well done. The interior should be fun - I've always fancied building something with a side-corridor and compartments...

Cheers,

Andrew.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Fri Dec 21, 2018 3:47 pm

This particular SAR-SAS narrow gauge carriage was largely a saloon with benches lengthways, as each bay is only about 1250mm, which would cause knee interlock with face to face seating. The first class passengers got a little compartment of their own though. Some of the other Saxon-built 3rds and 3rd/1st composites, the ones with nine windows a side, look as though they had conventional seating bays arranged 2+1. I would guess the lavatory version would have held 22-26, and the rest 25-29. It is not uncommon on German built stock to have a pair of inward looking benches just inside the saloon doors, which helps squeeze in a few more seats.

I suspect, but I have not found photos to support this yet, some British built compartment stock was semi-corridor to give access to the centre lav. compartment(s). If I model any of those it will be using stout cardboard for the sides because cutting that many windows either messes up my wrist, or else takes an inordinate period of time. I have been meaning to experiment with the old cardboard on a wooden frame technique from the heyday of Gauge 1 for a while. I have used cardboard laminate stock in S scale - a IMR coach I built years ago - and know that with proper treatment card resists the damp.

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Sat Dec 29, 2018 4:24 pm

An unwritten rule in this house is that we hit the local big box craft store for the sales after Christmas. The wife was at her observant best spotting some rubberized 'cobble stone' mat which may have a future in the walls of some building for the outdoor line, whilst I found some plastic corrugated board, which is what I used as the basis for the little waiting shelter.

I also bought a 14" x 17" pad of Bristol board, just for sh!ts and grins, to see if the card building techniques I used years ago when I brief messed around with O-16.5 will work in our scale. If it does, I can envision doing a lot more card building as it is less wearing on the carpal tunnels. I can also envision using plywood for a stiff core, and then Bristol board for the more detailed bits.

Otherwise I have a bit of a tidy up in the Works, so I can now use both the bench and the work table apart from the inevitable line of stuff stacked along the back.

I think we are about due a photo update too.

Cheers,
Peter in VA
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Rolling Stock for the Far End Tramway

Post by IrishPeter » Mon Dec 31, 2018 7:58 pm

p.s. Good news and bad news. The wife must be feeling better - I got busted for spray painting in the basement today! :lol:

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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