Garden Railway Forum

No, not one of those little insects which live under seaweed on the beach ......

It's all Philip's fault. On the brewery thread he asked what other industries I might include on the PLR and I thought about that unused siding which might possibly serve a sand quarry one day........

If so, I fancied some wooden hopper wagons like those on the Snailbeach Railway. Swift Sixteen do a lovely kit, but at £40 each and needing eight or nine I decided my piggy bank wouldn't stretch - and then I remembered I had a few HLW wagon chassis which Greg had sent me form Oz a while back ......

I bit of surgery with a razor saw, a few bits of plasticard, some brass strip and a few escutcheon pins and it's beginning to look the part.

Only eight more to go! . . .
The Snailbeach wagons were grey, but I fancy painting mine red oxide, just to contrast with all the other grey wagons on the line. Of course, I will have to bash them about a bit - from photos it looks like there was an infinite number of variations on the design and a fair bit of butchery and ad hoc repairs. Sounds like my sort of railway - I can cover up my incompetencies with authentic looking 'wear and tear'.

Rik

Crumbs, you been taking speed-building lessons from Mr B??!!

Looking good though

Hot on the heels of the brewery build and so soon after the suggestion from Philip, this wagon looks just right for Rik's new project. Very nicely done!

They look good to me Rik as they are not made from perfectly accurate kit pieces as in reality rolling stock get's bashed about.

Very nice! Working out all those angles must have been fun... Looking forward to seeing the project progress...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Hopper number two now completed.

I've adjusted the dimensions on this one - I think (personally) it looks better proportioned. I've also changed my construction techniques slightly. I was struggling to get the strapping right with brass. I've used plastic for all the strapping on this one - and had a clever wheeze for the diagonal straps which hold the hopper to the base..... . .
This is the first one for comparison. . .
I'm not too worried about there being differences in the wagons. From photos it looks like those on the Snailbeach were a bit varied in their design and I've got a couple of rakes of LGB tipplers which are very uniform, so this train should look a bit more interesting, particularly after I've weathered and distressed them a bit.

Rik

Yes I agree Rik, No2 does look better proportioned.

You mentioned a clever wheeze but then omitted to tell us what it is?

I like both of the wagons and the mis-match works well. It seems more appropriate in narrow gauge than it would in standard gauge where there would be more control over capacity. The wood-grain effect is very good too! You should put that method on your blog.

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:28 pm Yes I agree Rik, No2 does look better proportioned.

Thanks - though I do like a bit of variety

philipy wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 1:28 pm You mentioned a clever wheeze but then omitted to tell us what it is?

I was hoping someone would ask ..... I felt that styrene ties would have been susceptible to damage which is why I used brass for No.1. However, my metal working skills are a bit ropey, so I wasn't too happy with the outcome. And beside, I wouldn't have had enough escutcheon pins for all the wagons. At about 3.00am, I had a bright idea (well I thought so)! Cable ties!! They're designed to be flexible and strong. And also, if ever I needed to separate the body from the chassis, I could just snip through them and then replace them.

I carefully cut the clamping bit so there was enough left to stop the tie from pulling through - and there was enough left of the ratchety clamp thing to thread on underneath. . .
.
Voila!

Rik

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:02 pm ...... The wood-grain effect is very good too! You should put that method on your blog.

In which case I will have to credit you with its invention - scraping the plastic with the blade of a razor saw... It's amazing how effective it is. Thanks.

Rik

ge_rik wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:16 pm I was hoping someone would ask ..... I felt that styrene ties would have been susceptible to damage which is why I used brass for No.1. However, my metal working skills are a bit ropey, so I wasn't too happy with the outcome. And beside, I wouldn't have had enough escutcheon pins for all the wagons. At about 3.00am, I had a bright idea (well I thought so)! Cable ties!! They're designed to be flexible and strong. And also, if ever I needed to separate the body from the chassis, I could just snip through them and then replace them.

I carefully cut the clamping bit so there was enough left to stop the tie from pulling through - and there was enough left of the ratchety clamp thing to thread on underneath.

Voila!

Rik

Genius.
I may well steal this solution for mounting "sardine tin" tubs on to Binnie chassis.

Rik, that's an excellent idea.

I can also spend nights constantly thinking about a problem to resolve so you are not alone!

Really nice looking and a very smart idea to tie them down, sweet

tom_tom_go wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:54 pm I can also spend nights constantly thinking about a problem to resolve so you are not alone!

I think we all do that.

Andrew wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:27 am Very nice! Working out all those angles must have been fun... Looking forward to seeing the project progress...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Hi Andrew
Yes, I think I'm closer with the second wagon than the first.

Rik

BorisSpencer wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:38 pm Genius.
I may well steal this solution for mounting "sardine tin" tubs on to Binnie chassis.

Please do. I see this forum as an ideas swap shop.
Rik

Now got another two wagons completed. . .
I've tweaked the design slightly as I've progressed. .
Quite happy if there is slight variation between the wagons as those on the Snailbeach were far from uniform.

I've now cut and shaped the components for the remaining five wagons, so these ought to go together a bit more quickly (famous last words?).

Rik

Going to be a very impressive rake when completed.

They are wonderful Rik!

I've always admired the kits but, like you, paled at the cost of a rake of the things. You've inspired me again!

Andrew

They look great Rik, well done for continuing with so many..... the idea of multiples always puts me off.