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Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Bachmann streetcar conversion

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2022 11:29 am
by StuartJ
With the De Winton out of the way I have bashed through a few of the kits that have been piling up behind it; here is the second Coastline Models FR wooden slate waggon (3D resin printed) and a Porterhouse Models LNWR iron slate waggon (3D filament printed):

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Slate Waggons by Stuart, on Flickr

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Slate Waggons by Stuart, on Flickr

I only bought the LNWR waggon at the Exeter Garden Railway Show and it has jumped the queue completely. Given that I'm not specifically modelling the FR and I wasn't doing slate waggons at all (the iron ones in particular scream Festiniog) I think five is quite enough!

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HTP Models FR Slate Waggon by Stuart, on Flickr

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:12 pm
by Porterhousemodels
Excellent work with the LNWR slate wagon Stuart.
Always nice to see our models completed!
Best wishes
Porterhouse Models

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2022 7:39 pm
by philipy
Hi Porterhouse, I've taken the liberty of deleting the three duplicates of your post.
For all new members their first 5 posts are moderated and it will therefore take a little while before one of the Mods sees and approves them and there will thus be a short delay before they appear. Posting multiple times doesn't speed things up! :lol:

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:34 am
by ge_rik
Corrrr ..... They look good!

Rik

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 7:39 am
by Porterhousemodels
philipy wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 7:39 pm Hi Porterhouse, I've taken the liberty of deleting the three duplicates of your post.
For all new members their first 5 posts are moderated and it will therefore take a little while before one of the Mods sees and approves them and there will thus be a short delay before they appear. Posting multiple times doesn't speed things up! :lol:
Hi Phillip,
I do apologise I was unaware of the delay.
I thought it was an issue my end!
Thankyou for doing that.
Best wishes
Porterhouse Models

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 10:28 am
by philipy
No probs. :thumbleft:

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:02 am
by StuartJ
Porterhousemodels wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:12 pm Excellent work with the LNWR slate wagon Stuart.
Always nice to see our models completed!
Best wishes
Porterhouse Models
Thanks Mr Porterhouse. It went together very easily although I have made a few tweaks.

I saw your Facebook message about a picture btw - just need to find some time at home in the daylight!

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:54 am
by Andrew
Those are very nice!

I can feel another slate wagon phase coming on myself...

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:18 pm
by Porterhousemodels
StuartJ wrote: Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:02 am
Porterhousemodels wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:12 pm Excellent work with the LNWR slate wagon Stuart.
Always nice to see our models completed!
Best wishes
Porterhouse Models
Thanks Mr Porterhouse. It went together very easily although I have made a few tweaks.

I saw your Facebook message about a picture btw - just need to find some time at home in the daylight!
Thankyou for sending the photo for the customer gallery today.
I have uploaded this evening. If you open the photo or hover over it the credit shows up.
Best wishes
Porterhouse Models

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Bachmann streetcar conversion

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 11:55 am
by StuartJ
I had some time at the start of summer to make a start on the Bachmann tram conversion. Here's the inspiration, from the short-lived Plynlimon & Hafan Tramway:-

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And here's where I started from:-

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Bachmann Streetcar by Stuart, on Flickr

After removing the original platforms I managed to cut a 11mm slice out of the body and rejoined the two halves without too much trouble. The roof was somewhat messier but hopefully nothing that some filler and sanding won't cure. Removing this relatively thin slice and also the weird extra window pillar has made a massive difference to the proportions!

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Bachmann Streetcar conversion by Stuart, on Flickr

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Bachmann Streetcar conversion by Stuart, on Flickr

After a very busy couple of months I circled back to this project. The coach has been sat on the kitchen counter looking at me all the while, and it became obvious very quickly that my original mock up platforms were way too big - visually, no room for the bogies to swing, and they don't make styrene beams that big! I therefore tried again with some balsa the same size as the largest available Plastruct beam, and I think I'm on the right track now.

The bogies went together very easily from a concoction of Cambrian bolsters and pivots; Binnie wheels, axles and GVT Axleboxes; some styrene beams and false styrene Milnes-style plateframes over the front. I'm also most of the way through the production platforms, although I'm not sure about the anti-slip beading. Too much?

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Bachmann streetcar conversion by Stuart, on Flickr

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Bachmann streetcar conversion by Stuart, on Flickr

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:12 pm
by Peter Butler
A very neat conversion, it's going to look magnificent.

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:33 pm
by Andrew
Peter Butler wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:12 pm A very neat conversion, it's going to look magnificent.
I agree - I love it!

I reckon the treads on the verandas will look great when painted, and perhaps weathered a little - they remind me of the wooden floors of old tube trains, possibly tramcars too, but I've ridden on far fewer of those and don't recall!

Just a thought, but you might find you want bigger couplings. With the bogies (which look excellent, by the way!) a relatively long way in from the ends, there could be quite a swing on sharper curves, leading to problems when they straighten up again, particularly when propelling. It's a problem I have with some of my curves, but not a bad one as long as I remember only to pull the train on the main line! My sidings are straighter, so it's less of a problem there.

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:41 pm
by ge_rik
I'd have been tempted to move the bogies out further even if it's not quite as per the originals. Hard to tell where they are from the photo with all those happy passengers in the way..

Rik

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Slate Waggons

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:44 pm
by Andrew
ge_rik wrote: Mon Aug 07, 2023 2:41 pm I'd have been tempted to move the bogies out further even if it's not quite as per the originals. Hard to tell where they are from the photo with all those happy passengers in the way..
Ooh, yes and hidden behind the footboards anyway??

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Bachmann streetcar conversion

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 3:33 pm
by StuartJ
Thanks guys

The FR buffer is more for show and emergency bumping really, as the actual coupling will be by a swinging clevis underneath - like the Corris coaches.

I would like to move the bogies further out, but a combination of the severe tumblehome and me removing a slice of the body means that the chassis is very narrow and the bogies won't swing between the platform beams - they are about as far out as they will go unfortunately.

Re: Stuart's occasional rolling stock thread - Bachmann streetcar conversion

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:04 am
by Old Man Aaron
Unique bashes are my favourite. I think the anti-slip flooring suits the carriage quite well. Can't wait to see more progress. :salute: