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JULY 2021 UPDATE
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STEVE CARTER
Securing brackets for the discharges were fabricated by using a spare tiebar from the etched
chassis kit formed around a 2.0mm tube.
It is far easier to add the securing brackets to the discharges before fitting them onto the
chassis, managed by securing the upright into a block of wood and then using packing pieces to
ensure the bracket is not pulled out of shape whilst being soldered and then cut to size.
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JONNY DUFFETT
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GREG BROOKES
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HYWEL THOMAS
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PETE JOHNSON
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From the advent of the RCH 1927 style chassis onwards, buffers were now individually sprung. On
the first attempt, individual springs were constructed by turning down a threaded rod such that
it would fit inside a brass tube and then these were added. This method of construction provides
a recess into which the buffer stem can be secured. Fitting as completed items proved troublesome
so for the next attempt the screw / brass tube was left uncut and inserted through the etched hole
and then soldered into place before being cut and then filed back flush with the headstock.
Another development in tank wagon frame evolution occurred with the introduction of anchor mounts
for securing the tank barrel to the chassis. Formerly each end of the draw gear would be attached
to each other using a cradle assembly through which the discharge pipe on Class B tanks passed but
now a new 'short form' draw gear came into being with each draw hook being individually sprung.
A selection of discharge pipes fabricated from a variety of different brass tubes. With such
small items then each must be capable of being added to without the previous steps being
unintentionally unsoldered (the uppermost one of the three failed this test so needed a rebuild!).
The Rumney Models B.71 kit caters for 14T Anchor Mounted tanks but can be upgraded to a 20T
version by using kit B.74 (n.b. neither kit provides anchor mounts). A feature seen on some
vehicles were builders plates displayed on the anchor mounts rather than on the solebar so a
few bits of scrap etch were knocked up into Charles Roberts shapes and added.
Pre anchor mount tanks utilised a selection of stays to secure the tank into position amongst
which were cross heads that passed across the centre line of the tank barrel at each end. As
a result the form of these would depend on the diameter and length of the tank but nearly all
used the same method of construction which when scaled down requires the use of 2.0 x 1.5mm
'T' section and 3.0 x 1mm 'U' section. Longer tanks required a 'joggle' in the upright stanchions
which needs to accommodate the 1.0mm dimension of the channel. The cross head as fitted on the
ex Air Ministry chassis. An attempt to replicate the bolt detail proved difficult to carry out
(each stanchion has 12 bolts) consistently so these will be added later.
From L to R: Rumney Models B.75 RCH 1927 10' wheel base type for an ex Air Ministry type,
another B.75 kit for a Gloucester 1938 build and a B.71 + B.74 build for a Charles Roberts
anchor mount type.
At this stage of the project then the two elements of the models (tank barrel and chassis) come
together and it is only now that the fit to each other can be judged as a success - the 20T anchor
mount example passed the test!
The ex Air Ministry type - with the chassis now substantially complete then the tank barrel
can now be fitted out and secured. Before this each chassis will be ultrasonically cleaned to
remove flux residues and then have buffers and axleboxes added before being painted as the
addition of the tanks will make coverage difficult.
The Gloucester 1938 built tank is presently nothing more than a bare barrel but now it has
been mated with its chassis it should allow swift progress to be made.
Having reached that stage in life when I can spend more time on my hobbies, I'm in the process
of designing a new BR(S) terminus layout to run my growing collection of units and locomotives.
In the meantime various items of rolling stock have been regauged to EM (existing wheels
reprofiled in the lathe) and can be seen here at Hornsey Broadway on running trials.
Two recently converted Class 33s - 6511 and 6572 hauling a tanker train.
The 4-EPB has also been regauged and now awaits numbering and light weathering.
As well as converting rolling stock, the 3D printer has been busy lately with this large
bulldozer which will be heading to the steelworks at Shenston Road - a free download.
The inset shows a test-run print for the bodyshell of a Matisa/Neptune track recording
machine, drawn up on the laptop and ready for painting.
Just a few snaps captured at the lineside of Shenston Road loco's in action, starting off
with D7036 and 7093 alongside the signal box.
D838 Rapid is seen running light engine.
Here's a couple of Westerns stretching their legs at Hornsey Broadway - D1039 Western King
at the head of an inter-regional freight....
..... and D1007 Western Talisman in charge of a rake of Carflats.
Last month the sand silos had got as far as being sprayed with a base coat of rust brown. The
next task was a coat of chipping fluid and then the light green top coat. After attacking the
various components with a stiff damp brush some of the base coat begins to show through as a
precursor to some serious weathering.
After using a lot of various military modelling products (from streaking grime to weathering
pencils) it was starting to look almost as bad as the extremely decrepit Newport example from
1987 that inspired the build. The combination of sea dredged sand, well mixed with salt, along
with the salty air off the Bristol Channel saw any metal structures extremely susceptible to rust.
Here we see the other two silos in equally poor state. The top conveyor ends just behind the
second silo, which acts as a view blocker when looking at the layout. Each component will remain
unattached to each other so they can be removed from the layout if required.
Once the weathering process was complete I decided to add some loose sand to the structure as these
places tended to be liberally covered in the stuff, exposed as they were to strong sea breezes. Once
it was in position the grains were fixed in place using fixing fluid applied with a pipette.
A close-up of the washer tank and pump showing how the sand has accumulated. We can also see the
loading hopper and a hefty build up of wet sand on every flat surface. The narrow gauge
exit to the fiddle yard will be disguised with some suitably placed black card boxes.
Another view of the hopper with the washer box behind it shown in relation to the surrounding
structures. The repainted panels (and some of the rust) were coloured using the very versatile water
soluble weathering pencils from AK Interactive. Lots of dingy corners, lots of rust and lots of sand!
And here are some views of the completed structure (minus the long conveyor to the foundry on the
left side).
The sand is delivered to the hopper by the Ruston grab crane alongside the quay, up
above the yet-to-be-built dredger that will be sitting in the mud down below.
The rather vulnerable supporting pillar for the steps up into the structure has been
protected by the simple expedient of using an old oil drum as a former to cast a
concrete protective sleeve.
To put the wharf in context, this view shows the foundry and scrap yard – the sand silos are just
out of shot to the right.
One casualty of the later stages of the build was the 10p silo from a toy fair. When removing it
for weathering two of the legs snapped off and in trying to repair it I discovered that it was
immune to solvent. An attempt to use wire saw another leg snap and so the decision was taken to scrap
it. Here we see the much modified Kibri replacement after painting the same colour and a bit of weathering.
With most of the work completed at the wharf it was time to get on with the actual quay. This is
planned to be part old stone and brickwork and part steel piling, suggesting it was upgraded when the
silos were installed. Showing the old and the new before detailing and painting the walling (with
three of the timbers made from a plastic sheet box given a timber texture taking shape). Most of
the foreground will comprise of river mud, in which will sit the dredger.
The models pictured this month revisit past times north of the border. Beginning once again in
the second half of the 1960s, high-cab Hunslet 0-6-0 ‘D2595’ has recently moved north from
Yorkshire. After a brief spell at Haymarket it went to nearby Leith, until withdrawal came in 1968.
‘D2595’ is pictured again with a BR standard cattle van, a traffic that was also being heavily
cut back as the decade closed. The loco was to find further work with the CEGB at power stations
near Manchester until 1983, when it was bought for preservation. It can now be found on the Ribble
Steam Railway at Preston and often works passenger turns along the line.
Shunting back onto the head of a departing trip, Clayton/Beyer Peacock ‘D8610’ will have only
recently received the full yellow ends. The Haymarket (Edinburgh) loco would move west to Polmadie
in 1971, only to be withdrawn later that same year.
The Barclay 0-4-0 ‘Class 06’ was to survive as the sole short wheelbase shunter type in Scotland
after 1968, but in greatly reduced numbers. ‘D2444’ is seen with a couple of ‘blue spot’ Insulfish
vans. Fish was another traffic in serious decline on BR by the late sixties. ‘D2444’ was a wanderer
between many Scottish sheds during its time, and might have been found at Inverness, Perth, Dundee,
Ayr, or Grangemouth in the livery modelled.
BRCW Type 2, later ‘Class 26’, ‘D5331’ is seen arriving at the yard. The type had a reputation for
faults with the cab doors, and to judge by the mis-matched livery, the far end door has been robbed
from a stablemate still wearing the original lined green.
Jumping forward into the mid-1970s, long-time Dunfermline Townhill Barclay 0-4-0 ‘06 002’ is
pictured with a Covhop dry powder wagon.
‘08 135’ had spent many years on the ScR, but in truth only received its TOPS number after moving
south to Ebbw Junction during 1974.
‘27 027’ was allocated to Eastfield (Glasgow) for the whole of its time in Scotland. It was one of a
small number which carried TOPS numbers applied using the old block-character vinyls into the late 1970s.
Continuing the Scottish theme, the two North British Class 29s for the 1969-1971 era have been
completed. ‘6112’ is in typically neglected condition for the closing years of the type.
‘6129’ had been repainted blue, but again is heavily workstained.
Something a bit nought-y to finish……’47 193’ in a twist on the ‘green, full yellow end’ (GFYE) livery
…as used by Freightliner at the turn of the millennium - based on the Lima model at the request of Craig.
