Rom-com

Below is the culmination of many painting sessions (30 mins at once) with the Romanian ballast wagon made for me by Boston Largs Works (Rob Waller).  It took so long as I didn't have time to devote more than 30 mins at a session and also because there are so many surfaces to paint!  Also red really doesn't cover well so that took a few coats too.  However I have enjoyed painting it as it is kind of therapeutic.

This is where I'm up to - body painted, initial weathering applied but with rusty lower level highlights to come.   A simple plastikard insert to hold a ballast load is ready for its ballast to be glued on and the tie down cleats also need adding once the yellow paint on them is dry - holes are drilled ready.

Then all it needs are some transfers!  Bogies are done and wait for final varnishing before I reattach them. 

I expect tomorrow to be able to paint the track on the new extension piece after cleaning any stray ballast off the rail faces.

Super-models

So, here there are, 4 DZs and 2 AZs delivered to the West Midlands.  I almost mugged our post lady when she came into sight! 

I hope you’ll agree that they really are super models.  If you have a project you’d like boston largs works to do for you, then don’t hesitate any more, the workmanship is phenomenal.  Worth every penny. 

   

and for the record here is Rob’s creation next to the 3mm wagon I was going to use as the basis for my attempt - a millions miles off!

So, where’s my red oxide primer….?

Progress from the Scottish works

Progress is excellent already on my two ex SAR ballast wagons, for further prototype info see here: http://www.whrsoc.org.uk/WHRProject/construc-stock.htm#hoppers

The pictures below are basically links to Rob's images on his blog at bronhebog.blogspot.com - check it out if you haven't already!  The bottom image shows where Rob is up to with his own wagons - aren't they superb!

A matter of the utmost gravity

I have been rereading an article by Martin Collins about 009 slate waggons.  Martin was not happy with the running of the axles in the plastic axleboxes and so got worsley works to etch up some new chassis for the waggons. These utilise an etched chassis with holes for brass bearings. There are three types – 16mm for FR 3 ton, 11mm for FR 2 ton and 10.5mm for TR 3 bar slates that can be converted to looks like FR 2 ton wooden slate waggons. 
So I decided to get out my slate waggon collection and see how many waggons could benefit from these new chassis, with one eye on Shepton Mallet coming up…
The test I developed was that a waggon would be deemed to have passed if both wheels would freely rotate when it was pushed gently along track with a finger from the end with no extra weight applied to the top. i.e. if the track were inclined enough I would expect the waggon to roll along nicely.
The inital pass had mixed results, some were excellent, some had just the one wheel acceptable and some were sliding along the track not rolling.  However I soon came along a fix, that of filing off the pointed end of the axle a little to give it more of a blunt end.  This improved a number of waggons and with brake gear snagging on some wheels too being sorted  was getting somewhere.
In the end the waggons pictured above on my bookcase have all passed the test – some 32.  There were just 3 waggons in the end that I couldn’t fix easily and so these will be sold.
I therefore see no reason to invest in the new chassis.