However at £16:95 each, nearly twice the cost of the excellent Binnie Engineering kits they are designed to modify, I could not justify the cost just for a look-see.
So when some Gramodels kits appeared on eBay I tried my luck and got 4 x No.160 Skip Brake End kits for less than the retail price of 2.
As they were not bought direct I cannot confirm if these are the current kits as supplied, or rather seconds, as I'm not impressed with the quality for that retail price. The resin used is quite brittle, the chassis is slightly bowed which soaking in boiling water followed by clamping to a flat surface did not really correct, there are some air bubbles under the surface, a far bit of flash to remove, several mounting holes needed drilling out, and the chassis sides where the axle boxes fit are very thin compared to the Binnie chassis (part of the side separated when I fitted the first axle box, and I've had to use a model knife on another cut-out to avoid a repeat). The white metal fittings have a lot of flash as well requiring filing off.
My original requirement was for 3 bolster brake end chassis's for a planned rake of lumber wagons, so 3 of these skip brake ends will be converted to bolster chassis's. I discussed this with Peter Binnie at the Llanfair show, outlining the components I would need - axles, wheels, axle boxes & coupling pins. I bought the axles at Llanfair and Peter recommended I send an e-mail request and he would respond with a PayPal invoice for the required sprues. I paid this invoice and 2 days later the sprues dropped through the letterbox.
For the 4th skip brake end I bought a complete Binnie skip kit to convert.
This is the Binnie kit converted with the white metal fittings just loose fitted for the photo. I now need to glue fishing weights into the chassis, glue the white metal fittings in place, and paint up the chassis & axles prior to fitting the remaining axle boxes. I'll also fit a brass rod to connect the operating crank to the brake blocks.
Only part I'm unsure how to fit is the operating crank below the brake standard.
There is a recessed hole which suggests it fits like this.
Here is a braked Hudson chassis that I photographed recently from the trackside at Llanberis Station.
Hoping to get this chassis completed by the weekend to join my rake of industrial stock for exhibiting on 'GlenDreich', the 16mm NGM West of Scotland Group's portable layout which is attending the Greenock Model Railway Show.
Chris Cairns
