Westdale BG (NCV)

[Richard08]

So, the junk on the ends. Turns out virtually all of this disappeared on Mk.1s when electrification came along, though there were exceptions for whatever reasons. Sometimes the roof access steps just had the treads hacked off, some were removed completely and some, also for whatever reason, retained only the bottom step (probably to ease attaching a lamp?). With BGs not requiring water the plumbing was also not present. So jumpers and handrails only (plus the corridor gubbins of course). I basically had to guess the handrails since I couldn't find any dimensions, and I'm either going to make the jumpers or use the Dapol ones. It may just be me, but the sides of this model appear somewhat more curved than the prototype which doesn't help with making the handrails look right. At least the rounding at the corners came out nicely. The gaps under the roof will have to be filled before fitting the corridor connectors. I might add brass surrounds to the connectors to get them to look nice - and for somewhere to fix the lamp brackets too.

[Richard08]

The ends are now fillered up and ready for the next stage, which should be paint. Typically enough, the primer has chosen this timely occasion to announce it's emptiness. Rather than order piecemeal I'm going to pause while I organise paint, replacement for the missing 'T' handle, some diodes and a cheap stay-alive for the lighting and an interior kit (inc. security bars) so i don't tie myself in knots. I do also need to look at the corridor connectors - the supplied ones are intended for coaches joined together, so there's no detail 'inside' - i.e. the ends are just a flat face. A plan B needed here, there are BR end covers available which, while being a bit OTT, may be a plan.
[insert you're own out of focus picture of choice here]
As I'm going to need to add pickups to the bogies, I'm going to make them next. Since there seems to be no facilities for attaching the bogies to the 'chassis' I'll also need them built to work the how out, and set the buffer heights. What fun.

[Richard08]

While looking at ordering bits to add lighting, specifically 'strip lighting' as the 'Newspaper' BG's had, I got to wondering why I would feel the need to be able to switch the lights off - because I never would (some might I suppose). Suddenly everything gets a whole lot easier and way cheaper. This video explains... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cSLrzLbGNM While I'd go for a small packaged rectifier (so I can hide it more easily, maybe in a battery box) it really is dead simple. Hoping I've got this right a nice cheap stay-alive (maybe home-made), not just a capacitor, should just go across the outputs of the rectifier and job done. Fire extinguishers at the ready and tin hat donned (unhappy electrolytic capacitors can be very spectacular, even small ones).

[Richard08]

The bogies that came with the the kit are WayOh, and nice they are too. Assembly is simple, glue or solder - the tittle white metal rivets make assembly (as in requiring at least seven hands being reduced to three) a lot easier. The castings are nice and crisp, but the rod between the W irons (if you call them that on coaches) has become damaged on two of them due to rattling around in a bag together - now worries though, a bit of brass rod will fix that. Unusually when using castings as overlays, the things actually fit nicely flush on the brass bogie sides without resort to a selection of files. One downer though - no brake hangers/shoes. More googling...

Things are going a bit slowly as its festival time soon, and I really should practice a bit more. For some reason the brain insists in being in either train or music mode, never at the same time.

[Richard08]

The Dapol corridor connectors and jumpers turned up today. After I'd ordered the jumpers I found some white metal castings of same (that happens every time a great search is on!) - it's kind of against my religion to use plastic (for no sensible reasons), but these Dapol jumpers are very neat. The corridor connectors are nice - they just represent the not-always-fitted outer covers for the end of the train, I'm going to have to live with that as I can't find any BR style open ended frame thingies where you can see the inner door through the bellows. The bellows supplied with (additional to) the kit will need modding a bit to take them. The lamp brackets are a little cumbersome, but at least I won't have to try and fit brackets which would likely be somewhat fragile. Curiously, since these are intended for use at the end of trains, they are magnetic. And are therefore going to be a real pain when coupling...

[Richard08]

The bogies are assembled - right chunky things they are too, a very definite clickety-clack as the run a long. The round rods between the W irons should, it would appear, be flat bar so that makes modifying them a lot simpler. Still unable to find any brake shoes/hangars, there must be some somewhere. Surely? Apropos installing lighting I've ordered a pair of M5 hollow bolts for mounting the bogies so the wires won't interfere with anything. Will be a week or two arriving, I had to order from China as these are not available anywhere in the UK. A sign of the times I guess. Having decided not to install a decoder for the lights I've now decided that I might as Dapol do a cheap(ish) one (for their own coaches) - quite why is 'just because I can', it's pretty pointless really. Got a whole lot of stuff to order when I get back from my jolly, and still undecided on the buffer beams - it might be simpler to replace the casting provided as I want to have a dummy buckeye with screw coupling which would require a deal of hacking about of the supplied part - plus, well, you know, sprung buffers.

[Richard08]

All refreshed after a weekend of glorious sunshine, music and jollity, I've returned to planet Earth and normality. Ah, well... So, some plunder from MMP/David Parkins. I knew I'd seen Mk.1 corridor connectors somewhere (other than Dapol), and as usual found them after going for Plan B. At the price it was worth buying a couple, and yes, the MMP one's are what I was really after. While there I bought a load of LSWR brake shoes, maybe not the 'right' ones not being specifically for a Mk.1, but way better than nothing. Also nice and cheap! And... some MK.1 chequerplated end steps - I'm not going to use them on this model, but it was case of get them while you can. So I did.

At £20 for a two-wagon double bolster kit it would be rude not too

Further next steps are getting an interior kit, mostly for the Guards compartment (which this vehicle retained), primer and paint and some components for the lighting. I've back-tracked again on making the lights switchable, so this is the wiring for the lights, which includes stay-alive:

I would credit the author if I could remember where I found it! Buffer beams/sprung buffers/buckeye coupling are still being pondered.

[Richard08]

Armed with brake shoes, back to the bogies. Not unexpectedly they would not be a straight file and fit. After a good deal of staring I've come up with a plan to fit them.

Each of the hangars has a part hollow tube cast in at the top, which look as though they should be drilled out if used as intended, so I did. I then cut them off the from the metal that joins them and slid them onto a length of 0.8mm brass rod. The 'tubes' in the castings act as spacers to get the shoes in line with the wheels. The rod is a good interference fit between the side frames and holds itself in place. Then some 0.5mm brass rod goes between the bottoms of the brake shoes. These will be glued in, getting the iron in there isn't going to go well.

[Richard08]

Slow progress... drying glue But 'tis done. Adding the brake shoes - was it worth the effort? Not really, since they are pretty much invisible, but, well, I know they are there...

One down, one to go.

[Richard08]

Both bogies are now complete - and the hollow bolts finally wended their merry way from China. And they are the right size - not an occurrence I'm used to... No danger of wires from the pickups snagging will hopefully ensue.

[Phred]

Richard08 wrote:
finally wended their merry way from China

Yeah, I dunno. I've never had any luck ordering from China, although others on here seem to do OK.
Hong Kong and Japan, no problem, but mainland China... I pays my money and I takes my chance.
Glad yours arrived OK.

[Richard08]

Richard08 wrote:
finally wended their merry way from China

Yeah, I dunno. I've never had any luck ordering from China, although others on here seem to do OK.
Hong Kong and Japan, no problem, but mainland China... I pays my money and I takes my chance.
Glad yours arrived OK.

I used AliExpress, my housemate uses Temu (sp?) with no problems. I accidentally ordered 40 M5 nuts - 40p inc. delivery!