Show me your guards vans..

ace · Post by **ace** » Wed Dec 04, 2013 9:37 pm

Ruby, Loving what you have done with the 'van. What loco is that in the background? I like the look of it.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 12:52 am

ace wrote:how well did it go together?

Very easy indeed. There was very little casting mark to be removed from the main body, only one very small visible air bubble mark (easily filled with Milliput putty), wheel assembly straight forward. On-line instructions explain how to make up the door furniture very well. Just took awhile to actually paint it up.

I suspect it would benefit from a bit of extra weight added to the bottom of the chassis to lower the centre of gravity. Be a few days before I can run it as I'm relaying my test loop in the kitchen.

Chris Cairns.

ruby · Post by **ruby** » Thu Dec 05, 2013 6:14 am

ace:93031 wrote:Ruby, Loving what you have done with the 'van. What loco is that in the background? I like the look of it.

This bachmann g scale 1:20.3 davenport 0-4-0. I removed the automatic coupler. Has inserted decoder with sound traces of and struck operation and rust.

Post by **Andrew** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:43 am

That's excellent, the weathering on both van and loco are great.

I've just noticed the axleboxes on the very nice open wagon in your picture - they're just what I need for a wagon-building project. Do you recall where they're from?

Thanks,

Andrew.

ruby · Post by **ruby** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 12:04 pm

I unfortunately badly understand English. If I understand correctly, the wagon of 'Swift Sixteen' http://www.swiftsixteen.com/productDeta ... oductID=62 .

Post by **Andrew** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:41 pm

Your English is excellent, just what I needed to know - thanks Ruby!

Andrew.

Peter Butler · Post by **Peter Butler** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 11:47 pm

Whilst I have been watching, and even joining in this thread, it never occured to me that I have a guards van to show.
It is 32mm gauge and for garden railway use, so it should qualify..

It is from Rowland Emett's cartoon drawings, not my own invention.

Post by **Andrew** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:57 am

Lovely, that Emett rake is wonderful... Fellow parents of young children may wonder whether the creator of the Ninky Nonk was similarly inspired...

Guess the zig zag-striped one on the back is the guard's van?!

Peter Butler · Post by **Peter Butler** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:17 pm

At last I can add to this thread with a reasonably prototypical guards van..... This has been posted on another thread during its construction but offered here as a new addition to my fleet.

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:09 pm

Hi.
I thought I might share my latest project, or half of it anyway. I have spent the last two winters building Brandbright and IP coaching stock and now thought it time to take the plunge and try scratch building some of my own. My interest in the old WHR prompted me to choose the buffet car and the Pickering brake composite. Not having any bench machine tools I took the decision to do all of the building by hand using two different techniques, thin ply sandwich for the brake and filled in framework for the buffet car.
Below is progress so far with the Pickering. A little more fitting out to do inside including the guards compartment and door handles and vacuum pipes outside. As this is my first attempt at scratch building I am pleased with how it has gone but I am sure you all decide you would do things differently if you could do it again.

Peter Butler · Post by **Peter Butler** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:08 pm

Difficult to believe that is a first attempt..... most impressive!

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Thu Apr 17, 2014 11:20 pm

Thanks for that peter. I can laugh about it now but it never occurred to me to check one of the last jobs to be done while doing the first. I worked out sizes and drew my own designs initially with the distance between the beading strips below the windows set at 6mm. Recently I have been in touch with a well known producer of dry transfers who stock the ones for this coach in its original form only to find out that the letters are 8mm high. I wish I had asked that before I started.

DVT Dweller · Post by **DVT Dweller** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:37 pm

My swift sixteen van, fitted with a handbrake for use on WSMR:

Post by **Andrew** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:41 pm

River Lin:99661 wrote: I am sure you all decide you would do things differently if you could do it again.

Well I built one of these a few years ago and I can see you've successfully avoided all the problems I encountered - it looks lovely!

Looks like the buffet car (and is that the Gladstone peeping into shot?) are coming on nicely too.

All the best,

Andrew.

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:42 pm

Hi all.
The inside of the Pickering brake so far with coffee stirer third class seats and padded 1st class.

Off topic but included interior shot of the Buffet car with the two partitions in place. The central partition with offset opening door and the buffet partition with opening half door and lifting counter behind to allow the server to walk through and collect the empty cups and glasses.

Chris Cairns · Post by **Chris Cairns** » Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:19 pm

DVT Dweller wrote:My swift sixteen van, fitted with a handbrake for use on WSMR

Very nice weathering.

My understanding is that the original was actually just a brakeman's shelter (no brake gear), and the extra door was to allow the brakeman to operate the brakes without leaving the shelter whilst it was travelling on the 4' gauge transporter wagon. There is a posting that it was just fitted with a hinged box bench seat but as I did not subscribe to e-mails from that Yahoo group I could not see the photo of the original's interior.

Like your bench seat as well. When I get some free time from my busy 'To Do' list I intend adding a similar bench seat plus brakeman figure to mine.

Chris Cairns.

DVT Dweller · Post by **DVT Dweller** » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:26 am

Chris Cairns:99730 wrote:
DVT Dweller wrote:My swift sixteen van, fitted with a handbrake for use on WSMR
Very nice weathering.

My understanding is that the original was actually just a brakeman's shelter (no brake gear), and the extra door was to allow the brakeman to operate the brakes without leaving the shelter whilst it was travelling on the 4' gauge transporter wagon. There is a posting that it was just fitted with a hinged box bench seat but as I did not subscribe to e-mails from that Yahoo group I could not see the photo of the original's interior.

Like your bench seat as well. When I get some free time from my busy 'To Do' list I intend adding a similar bench seat plus brakeman figure to mine.

Chris Cairns.

Quite correct Chris,

In fact it never even ran on the 2' system, it was just shunted on and off the 4' braked vehicle. I will have a look back through what I've got saved but I think the interior shots are only of the wooden bodied van and not the iron coffin. The original only appears to have the lamp bracket at the non-door end too.

Many thanks for your kind comments.

Steve

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:21 pm

Hi all.
A little info required. Where would the hand brake stand have been in the guards compartment of the NWNG/WHR Pickering brake composite. Near the centre of the back wall between the windows or elsewhere. I have not seen any documentation of the inside of these bogie vans and neither can it be seen in any photos in Boyd or Johnson books that I can see.
Hope anyone can help.
I hope to have this scratch built coach plus my scratch built buffet car with an IP Gladstone coach running together later in the month behind an accucraft Baldwin.
David

Post by **Andrew** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:08 pm

I put mine towards the rear of the brake compartment, can't remember why now though! Don't think I'd seen it in any drawings. I saw in 16mm Today err, today, that Bernard Rocket's just published a book of WHR drawings, maybe that'd be more clear than the other sources, although I'd guess not... Having built FfR Van 2 since the Pickering I'd probably go for the same spot, centrally between the duckets if I recall correctly?

You've made the same "posh" WHR rake as me - 1/3 of the Pickering, 2/3 of the buffet and all of the Gladstone first class - I've got a summer car under construction to redress the balance! My existing rake will form my "official" opening train later in the summer once my line's complete and fettled for passenger trains.

Do post photos of your complete train behind the Baldwin when it's done...

River Lin · Post by **River Lin** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:30 pm

Here we are at last. The first ever run out of my homebuilt WHR Pickering brake and Buffet coach at a Northamptonshire association group meet this afternoon in Brixworth. Pulled as promised by an Accucraft Baldwin (not mine I'm afraid) with the Gladstone coach bringing up the rear. If it had been a cut downRussell instead of a Baldwin it could have been a good representation of the last train to run on the WHR in august 1936 though 590 (the Baldwin) was also hauling trains during the last week.
D.

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