While Waiting For The P-Way To Get Their Fingers Out...

[Richard08]

With a pause for Postman Pat on the track repairs front, I've got on with the BR 20t brake van. Still no idea what the bits above the top sole bars are for... (except the chimney). Going to have revert to crossing out words in the instructions and see what's left I guess. I've not gone for the 'compensation' option, the rod provided is that rigid it's difficult to bend with pliers let alone any movement in an axle box - I made one up but it just didn't seem to do anything.

The ICI hopper has had it's top coat and awaits detail painting, handbrake, vac pipes etc and then transfers. It seems the wheels were indeed painted, not just for 'publicity shots' so I've gone along with that, but it does grate a bit for some reason.

And the MVC has it's pre-weathering paint job. Funny how it's currently managing to look exactly like a plastic model...

[Bufferstop]

It looks like a model with a matt finish, which, is what they aim for in the plastic finish. Get some weathering on and put it in a railway like setting it will look a lot better. All finishes have problems, matt as you've discovered can seem plastic, gloss or satin can spoil the illusion of the scale as they reflect the full size world, not the scale size one it should be found in.

[Richard08]

It looks like a model with a matt finish, which, is what they aim for in the plastic finish. Get some weathering on and put it in a railway like setting it will look a lot better. All finishes have problems, matt as you've discovered can seem plastic, gloss or satin can spoil the illusion of the scale as they reflect the full size world, not the scale size one it should be found in.

I think the finish, Railmatch ('slightly gloss'), matches ex-works wagons pretty well. I'm sorely tempted to make the wagon look like this https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brmineralclaspvb - the tenth photo down on my screen.. I think it's the actual colour that gives the 'platstic' look somehow. The grey on the MCO didn't have that effect (also Railmatch). Definitely agree that not everything 'scales', colour and speed for two.

[Richard08]

And it's done - bar transfers (TOPS panel and electro-flashes). One of the reasons I post is because I take photos anyway of what I've made so I can spot the mistakes. So often I've thought "Yep, got it" and the immediately spot something in a photo. Slipped rivet strip, dammit. Ah well, too late now.

[Bigmet]

...I've not gone for the 'compensation' option, the rod provided is that rigid it's difficult to bend with pliers let alone any movement in an axle box...

The compemsation rod should act as a pivotted beam, so that as one axlebox moves the other should go in the opposite direction, such that all wheels remain in contact with the rails through any humps or dips in the rail top. (On the prototype the beam typically acts on the suspension of each wheelset, effectively increasing vertical travel for the purpose of staying on the rails in low speed movement on rough track.)

[Richard08]

...I've not gone for the 'compensation' option, the rod provided is that rigid it's difficult to bend with pliers let alone any movement in an axle box...

The compemsation rod should act as a pivotted beam, so that as one axlebox moves the other should go in the opposite direction, such that all wheels remain in contact with the rails through any humps or dips in the rail top. (On the prototype the beam typically acts on the suspension of each wheelset, effectively increasing vertical travel for the purpose of staying on the rails in low speed movement on rough track.)

Sadly it just didn't do anything much. I've got more movement having one fixed and one floating axle box on each axle. Such arrangement might not be sprung, but does allow the wheels to remain in contact with the track with gravity assist. It runs fine, which is I guess the ultimate aim.

[Richard08]

It turns out that brake blocks decide the method of fixing - being a brake van there are double shoes, which curve around the wheels such that if they fit snugly 'against' the wheels there is no room for vertical movement. The aesthetics win for me, so all axle boxes are now fixed (having made very sure the chassis is square).

[Bigmet]

That's why a pair of rocking W irons were so popular in 4mm for P4, you could have compensation on one wheelset of a wagon, and the brake shoes and any other tackle attqached to them moved with the wheelset. The small gap to allow the movement, between the bottom of the fixed spring buckle and the top of the axlebox it should be bearing on, was invisible once everything was painted mucky black.

[Richard08]

So after much prodding, poking, trialing and so on the BR van is now on it's wheels. Having a handrail bending jig was a distinct advantage here. Now they are all on, bar the 'platform' ones, I can remove the unused 'mounting points' provided for alternative handrail arrangements, LNER early BR etc. After much cogitation and photo staring I've used 0.5mm brass rod for the handrails rather than the more 'traditional' 0.7mm, mostly because when putting some in Guard Kleweless' hands so to speak it seems a more appropriate size - and, to me, looks 'better'. Next.. the running boards. Too late for this model, it turns out that David Parkin is selling ABS replacement axle boxes designed for roller bearings. Next time.

[Bufferstop]

The "safety rails" across the end openings were definitely different to the handrails on the brake vans I remember from the 1950s. My mother's uncle was a goods guard who'd started his career just before the grouping with the Midland Railway, served with the LMS for the whole of its existence, including through WW2, and retired from BR in the mid fifties. He always seemed to be waiting to enter the yards at Bescot about 4:30 in the afternoon no matter where he'd been or what his train was carrying. That rail across the opening wasn't a rail in my book it was a solid rod with a hook on one end and the other end looped through a ring, just like the sort of stay you would use to keep a gate open. He always insisted I opened it before descending from his van. I would imagine that whatever the drawings showed if that's what they had previously used that's what the new vans got! There are always a few differences between what the engineering drawing shows and what actually gets built.

[Richard08]

The "safety rails" across the end openings were definitely different to the handrails on the brake vans I remember from the 1950s. My mother's uncle was a goods guard who'd started his career just before the grouping with the Midland Railway, served with the LMS for the whole of its existence, including through WW2, and retired from BR in the mid fifties. He always seemed to be waiting to enter the yards at Bescot about 4:30 in the afternoon no matter where he'd been or what his train was carrying. That rail across the opening wasn't a rail in my book it was a solid rod with a hook on one end and the other end looped through a ring, just like the sort of stay you would use to keep a gate open. He always insisted I opened it before descending from his van. I would imagine that whatever the drawings showed if that's what they had previously used that's what the new vans got! There are always a few differences between what the engineering drawing shows and what actually gets built.

My observations on handrail size are based on experience as a guard, I was just trying to avoid going there (I've been on RMWeb ). The 'gate', at least on a BR standard van, was indeed a bit of handrail with an elongated 'D' at the hinge end and a 90' hook at the other. The 'D' allowed the gate to drop down into the bottom loop to stop it flapping about when 'open', lifting it allowed it to be rotated and the hook to locate in a slot/hole in veranda end. The hook was of sufficient length that it couldn't (for all values of 'couldn't') jump out and a pretty substantial mounting as it would be leaned on when going along to watch the train (by my time the ducket 'glass', indeed most of the glass, was all perspex in largely opaque).

[Richard08]

Actually, scratch the hook, I think that was ex GWR Toads. The BR one just relied on the slot when 'closed'.

[Bigmet]

...My observations ... are based on experience as a guard...

One slow speed ride in a goods brake van on a preservation line had me wondering how on earth the railway persuaded rational chaps to ride about in them to earn a living. How easily could older bogie coaches have been repurposed into brake vans - with some useful 'smalls' capacity to boot - instead of building new vehicles to such flawed designs...

[Richard08]

...My observations ... are based on experience as a guard...

One slow speed ride in a goods brake van on a preservation line had me wondering how on earth the railway persuaded rational chaps to ride about in them to earn a living. How easily could older bogie coaches have been repurposed into brake vans - with some useful 'smalls' capacity to boot - instead of building new vehicles to such flawed designs...

Yes, words like 'comfortable', 'quiet' and 'smooth' are not usually associated with them. Especially on a 60mph Speedlink service. They were warm though, with the proviso that you could only do one side at a time on icy nights. That said, I suspect a design requirement was to keep the guard from dossing (having a kip). Spoilsports.

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I suspect that the combination of ballast weight and neglected springs did little to improve the ride!