(WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Discussion of Rolling Stock related topics should go here
User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Fri Jan 08, 2021 4:42 pm

Hello!

As promised, here's an update - if this looks like a load of cr*p, then I've got it about right:

Wagon loads 2.jpg
Wagon loads 2.jpg (110.51 KiB) Viewed 4345 times

A little research showed that back in pre-preservation days the Welsh Highland sometimes used to carry manure - which I've (hopefully!) replicated with a compost/PVA mixture and some old brush bristles.

I'd assumed that manure would have been being transported from the local farms to fertilise barren city parks and flowerbeds, but it seems it was the other way round - cities, full of horse-drawn carts etc, were desperate to get rid of the stuff. I'd thought too that it would have travelled in sacks, but it appears that mineral wagons, like this one, were used, much more fun to model!

For now I've completed my ultra low-cost (no cost!) wagon load project with a tool to retrieve the loads - the end of a magnetic dart that came with a kids' dartboard, glued into a length of garden cane:

Wagon load 3.jpg
Wagon load 3.jpg (87.78 KiB) Viewed 4345 times

Poo sticks, anyone???

Andrew.

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6496
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by ge_rik » Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:53 pm

I'm going to have to produce something similar for the Boneworks. For some reason, they also collected piles of manure as well as carcases. Maybe it was something to do with the production of fertiliser??

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Peter Butler » Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:56 pm

Looks so convincing I can smell it from here!
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

User avatar
Soar Valley Light
Driver
Driver
Posts: 1451
Joined: Sun Dec 08, 2013 5:18 pm
Location: North West Leicestershire

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Soar Valley Light » Fri Jan 08, 2021 7:30 pm

Puts a whole new aspect to the term 'train movements'!

Fantastic stuff Andrew and very effective too.

CFLR Andrew
"Smith! Why do you only come to work four days a week?
"'cause I can't manage on three gaffer!"

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by FWLR » Sat Jan 09, 2021 8:12 am

Fantastic idea Andrew. :goodpost

So much can be achieved with a little bit of imagination. It's getting to be a lost art.... :roll:

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Sun Jan 24, 2021 4:35 pm

Afternoon all,

I mentioned earlier that I'd made three granite loads for a future project - which is now underway...

I'd planned for a while to model at least one of the Ffestiniog's side tipper wagons, which were converted from 3 ton slate wagons. I'm not sure what the originals were for, but in my made-up history the Welsh Highland has "borrowed" them for the Penlan granite traffic.

I somewhat ambitiously decided they'd make a good first project for 3D CAD. Naturally, I fell at the first hurdle (I'll pick myself up and try again sometime!) but the idea piqued the interest of a fellow GRF member, who very generously finished the project, resulting in this kit of parts, seen after an initial clean up:

FR tipper 1.jpeg
FR tipper 1.jpeg (120.42 KiB) Viewed 4079 times

I don't recall working with PLA before, and it's an interesting experience. I'm finding it sort of "sticky", as in when you clean the flash from a part it seems reluctant to leave! Beautiful parts though, aren't they? It's really interesting to see a project through another modeller's eyes - the level of detail incorporated is quite exquisite. Amazing to think too that all this was modelled on a screen first, and then extruded into being...

Anyway, here's where I'm up to so far - One wagon (the prototype, sent to me fully finished) in primer (looks good in gold, doesn't it?!), one partially complete, and the last with some new pieces being made to represent FR wagon 830, which has some detail differences:

FR tipper 2.jpeg
FR tipper 2.jpeg (118.8 KiB) Viewed 4079 times

I'm taking my time over this, doing a little every now and then, but I'll keep you posted...

Cheers,

Andrew

User avatar
FWLR
Driver
Driver
Posts: 4262
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:45 am
Location: Preston, Lancashire, UK

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by FWLR » Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:13 am

That is brilliant Andrew. They do look very very good and when put at the back of one of your locos they will be a train to be proud off.

Must look to see if I can locate those files..... :roll: :roll:

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Fri Feb 26, 2021 5:22 pm

Afternoon all!

After a period with very little time for modelling, this week I've managed to find an hour or two to progress a couple of projects. Two of the three Ffestiniog tippers I'm putting together from a member's 3D printed parts have now made it onto their wheels and are painted - the real things are a slightly darker grey, but some weathering should take care of that. I'm still fiddling about with some detail differences on the third one, but decided not to hold up progress on this pair...

Behind them, work has recommenced on the FR brake - I hope to finish the matchboarding this weekend, then I can seal and sand it before adding detail to the duckets and ends.

FR tipper 3.jpg
FR tipper 3.jpg (127.21 KiB) Viewed 3813 times



All the best,

Andrew

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Sat Mar 06, 2021 12:18 pm

False bottoms - they're the way forward! No, I'm not talking prosthetic posteriors (although I'm sure there are forums for such discussions), but dummy wagon floors, with extra weight added underneath. I did it on my recent coal wagon build and have just employed the same trick with the tippers. The picture shows one wagon with its weight and false floor added, and the bits ready for adding to another - lead sheet is wonderful stuff! The wagon now weighs in at over 160g, which should be enough, I think...

Cheers,
Andrew

IMG_20210306_115738044_HDR.jpg
IMG_20210306_115738044_HDR.jpg (3.06 MiB) Viewed 3742 times

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5031
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by philipy » Sat Mar 06, 2021 1:00 pm

Good idea if there isn't enough room underneath between the solebars.
Coming on well.
Philip

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Sun Apr 04, 2021 4:33 pm

Afternoon all,

After weeks with little time for progressing my current projects, I've managed to crack on a little lately.

Here's the third of the FR tippers, this one modified to represent 830 - all three now await weathering. And FR Van 4, with most of the woodwork now complete. This needs a little more detailing, then it'll get a coat of paint before I turn my attention to the interior.

FR van 4.jpg
FR van 4.jpg (200.86 KiB) Viewed 3510 times


FR van 4 2.jpg
FR van 4 2.jpg (207.4 KiB) Viewed 3510 times



Van 4's a quirky carriage, rebuilt from an 1880s full brake in 1928, with the result that the ends are 40 years older than the sides. The eagle-eyed may have spotted that it has a different of coupling at each end. The real thing does too, with a chopper type at the Blaenau end and a slate waggon type at the Porthmadog end, harking back to the days when up passenger trains would have a string of slate empties attached to the rear. I hadn't noticed that when I built my model of similarly-equipped Van 2, so I was able to removed one of that carriage's couplings and swap it, resulting in a spare for Van 4. The waggon type coupling's a little large, but it should cope well with my sharp-ish curves...

As you can also see, the track needs some tidying up before trains can run - I've made a start...

Cheers,

Andrew.

User avatar
philipy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5031
Joined: Sun Jan 30, 2011 3:00 pm
Location: South Northants

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by philipy » Sun Apr 04, 2021 7:33 pm

Tippers have turned out well Andrew. :D
I do like the coach as well, be interesting to see it with interior and paint job.
Philip

User avatar
Peter Butler
Driver
Driver
Posts: 5219
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:33 pm
Location: West Wales

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Peter Butler » Sun Apr 04, 2021 8:17 pm

Agreed, you have put a lot of work into the coach and it looks great.
The best things in life are free.... so why am I doing this?

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6496
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by ge_rik » Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:40 am

That's a mighty fine looking coach. I'm not sure I fully understand how the different couplings worked. I can see the logic of it travelling in the Up direction, but what happened in the Down? Did they have to reverse the coach at each end?

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
JMORG
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 940
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:16 pm
Location: Gloucester

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by JMORG » Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:36 am

ge_rik wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:40 am That's a mighty fine looking coach. I'm not sure I fully understand how the different couplings worked. I can see the logic of it travelling in the Up direction, but what happened in the Down? Did they have to reverse the coach at each end?

Rik
They did actually turn one of these carriages to run on the WHR out of Portmadoc at the time.

Generally speaking, on the FR the empty slate waggons were pulled up the line and descended back down by gravity. To aid in coupling, the vans used the hook and link on the down end. The Birmingham's, Small Asbury's and quarryman's all had screw couplers, with a hook at the top end. This made it easier to couple the locomotive (hook and link) to the carriages. The vans hook and link also allowed easier coupling to the locomotive. Bogie carriages had choppers with various adaptions to allow hook and link Birmingham's to be coupled; from my understanding the bogie carriages were generally kept as pairs (for example, 15 and 16) with a van added and Birmingham's as "spares".

It's a mess I know, I think this is why the Garraway administration adopted choppers for all stock (if possible)!

See here: https://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/Coupling

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:24 am

Nicely explained, thank you!

I hadn't realised that couplings were a reason for having the "small Birminghams" at the top of the rake, always good to learn something new!

I think it was Van 5 that was turned, presumably when it was converted. I probably should've modelled that one really, it's perhaps more associated with the WHR, but I really like how "normal" Van 4 looked (ie without the bigger observation windows added), and Van 4's quite prominent in those (1934?) publicity shots in the Aberglaslyn Pass and elsewhere, with an England loco and two "Summer Cars"... Van 5 can wait a while longer...

Cheers,

Andrew.

User avatar
JMORG
Trainee Driver
Trainee Driver
Posts: 940
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:16 pm
Location: Gloucester

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by JMORG » Mon Apr 05, 2021 11:34 am

Andrew wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 10:24 am I hadn't realised that couplings were a reason for having the "small Birminghams" at the top of the rake, always good to learn something new!
I think also, the Birmingham's were generally added at the top due to the fact they were through-pipped only. Being between both the locomotive and the bogie stocks powerful brakes probably made it much easier to control (I'm no expert in this field).

Carriage 2 and 5 (the Victorian-liveried bug boxes) are now semi-perminantly coupled together, carriage 2 has also be retrofitted with proper vacuum brakes in a similar vein to the replica semi-opens. I think the replica Asbury also has proper brakes as well although I'm not sure. I can imagine driving the flea in the 60's was probably pretty interesting!

User avatar
ge_rik
Administrator
Administrator
Posts: 6496
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by ge_rik » Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:14 pm

I do love these little operational details. Makes the railway come alive. I must think of a few idiosyncrasies like this for the PLR ....!

Rik
------------------------
Peckforton Light Railway - Blog Facebook Youtube

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:32 pm

ge_rik wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:14 pm I do love these little operational details.
Me too! Less operational, but still quirky, is that "flap" on the non-brake end - I think that covered the vents in the dog box that was a feature of the original full brake...

Andrew.

User avatar
Andrew
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3247
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:33 pm
Location: Bristol, UK
Contact:

Re: (WH)WHR Rolling Stock

Post by Andrew » Tue Apr 06, 2021 4:22 pm

Hello again,

An extra day of post-Easter leave today put me at just the right place and time to observe a test working I'd heard about on the grapevine today - both of the (WH)WHR's current carriage projects being given a first run.

I managed to snap the train leaving Trefechan tunnel, with Van 4 emerging into the sunlight, but unfortunately Welsh hillsides can be treacherous underfoot, and I slipped and fell just as the Mystery Carriage followed it out of the gloom, missing my chance to capture this elusive beast on film. I don't think we can learn much that we don't already know about it from this view??

Van 4 test.jpg
Van 4 test.jpg (214.67 KiB) Viewed 4293 times

Cheers,

Andrew.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests