Changing a simple coach

[nkp_174]

Edit: David, your nickname BR60103 remebers to a German engine of class 60. Is there a connection?

BR 60103 is a very famous British Locomotive. Before British Rail, she was LNER 4472. She is best know by her name: "Flying Scotsman".

I love seeing posts about modifying passenger cars...especially wooden cars. Bernard, you have chosen to build one of the most difficult roof end types and that is impressive...you've also combined styrene and wood...which is impressive.

Michael

[BR60103]

Michael beat me to it.
Flying Scotsman began as Great Northern 1472 and became London & North Eastern 4472. They renumbered her to 103 in 1946 and British Railways added 60000 to it. (She also carried the number 502 briefly before 103.)
I don't know if Britain currently has a 60103.

[modelsof1900]

After a few weeks I would like to show you the next modifications of my Roundhouse passener car - going step by step to a complete V&T passenger train.



After changing the roof ends I replaced a simple brake cylinder of original model by a better one and adding these air brake components including the train line.







The brake is completed and new trussrods are added. Look for differences: the inner trussrods have full length until car end beams in contrast to outer trussrods which are shortened and fixed to car body. I know that this is a mistake because such short trussrods are connected and fixed to body bolsters. Here I have made a mismeasuring and so the rod fixings were cut a bit too short. However seeing sidewise the model ...



... the mistake is not visible. (Click in picture for showing enlarged view.)
However here you see because I love to build such underbody details. I think that this view is enough motivation for changing more models in future.



Last for the moment the open platforms are rebuild, new railings, a completed brake (the small chains of hand brake drawbars are wound around handbrake shaft - also when this is not visible in picture here) and a few more details.
This is the status of moment hewever a few more small additions will follow in next time and I will write again about these.

[nkp_174]

Bernhard,
Can you show a close up of the trussrod iron (the anchor that connects the trussrod to the car)?

I built a pair and installed them on one of my cars, but I've never been happy with them...probably more a product of the trussrod size I used than of the irons.

[Russ Bellinis]

WOW!!! I love looking at your modeling, Bernhard.

[tetters]

Brilliant!

[Sumpter250]

Bernard,


I am having "detail envy"...............does your drill bit set start at #80 and get smaller?!?
That side shot of the finished under body, is "rivet counter's heaven"!! I will learn how to work to that fine a tolerance..............in another life!

[Puddlejumper]

OUTSTANDING WORK!!!!

I look forward to seeing more photos of your work!!

Dave

[doctorwayne]

Very nice work, Bernhard. I especially like the double lever set-up which you modelled to accommodate the dual handbrakes, and the pipe clamps for the brake pipe, too.

Wayne

[Steamtrains]

Rivet counters would have a heart attack....There's just too much there to count....

Absolutely stunning...!!!

[modelsof1900]

Thanks to all for your heavy compliments. I think only that I have done what I could do with my handcrafted modeling and hand tools – and a magnifying glass. We have a phrase here in Germany: “Der Weg ist das Ziel” or in English “The journey is the reward” and I like to build such small items as my personal goal. I do not have a must for a big layout or a large model collection; I would like to get a small collection of items which are not part of each other collection.

First an answer to Sumpter250. Yes, my drill bits start at a smaller value as #80.
Here a short view to the diameter table in US and metric dimensions.

gauge/inches/millimeters
? / 0.0118 / 0.3
80 / 0.0135 / 0.343
78 / 0.016 / 0.406
76 / 0.020 / 0.508

My regular drill bits start with a diameter 0.3 and this is smaller as #80, than I use after metric system drill bits with diameter 0.4 and 0.5 similar to #87 and #76 and larger. However I think that I must use also smaller drill bits yet because I should use also wire with a diameter of 0.2 millimeters for grab irons or other very thin part. I try to calculate for many parts and I know that 0.3 millimeters are very close to an inch in reality – a very thick rod.

Now a few additional pictures for nkp_174.





The material is ordinary brass flat rod of 0.5 by 1 millimeter (0.02 by 0.04 inch) that I bent around a 1 millimeter wire. After I soldered the ends together and I finished the short end in length. The eye end of this anchor was spliced with a sawing blade which was wide enough for the wire of trussrods and I drilled the holes for NBWs. This was all.
Mounting started with glueing the anchors on the body underside and than I fixed these anchors additionally by long cut NBWs which I inserted in predrilled holes in the underbody. Next I inserted the small eye bolts to the anchor eye ends and fixed them by small drops of ac-glue. After I have drilled holes through the body behind the eye bolts I inserted the bent trussrod and I fixed them against the inside of body. This is all. Ok, I wrote already that the long ends of these anchors are too short for this model. They should reach until the body bolster because they are originally fixed to the body bolsters. Here I worked faster with a cutter as I have thought about the correct position of anchors.

Last a word to hand brake mechanic - and an answer to Wayne.
This solution with the crossover lever concentrating both hand brakes to one single pulling chain which is then connected to the air brake system that is a system that I found in one of my books about American railroad car brake systems. In this case the air brake has no repercussion to handbrake and hand brake is connected only by one short chain to the brake system and so I think this will be the best solutions that you can get.

Thanks again and I would be lucky to get your next comments.

[doctorwayne]

Very nice, Bernhard. I like the fact that you've made a mechanical connection for the truss rod anchors, both by using long nbw castings that extend into the floor and by also inserting the truss rods through the floor. I've never been comfortable about the longevity of joints made solely with ca, especially over long periods of time.

It did surprise me somewhat that you made your roof modification starting with formed wooden pieces, though. I know that you enjoy working with wood, but the same shapes could have been easily done using a suitable thickness of sheet styrene. Joining them to the styrene roof of the model using a suitable solvent cement (I use lacquer thinner) would have resulted in an even stronger bond than ca, and would have also facilitated installation of the plastic sheathing. It's nice to see you also enjoying the benefits of styrene construction, though.

“Der Weg ist das Ziel”

The quality of your work illustrates this perfectly and it's apparent that your reward is ample. As I read and look at your photos, I can sense your enjoyment in the act of "doing". "Having" such a unique model is just icing on the cake.

First an answer to Sumpter250. Yes, my drill bits start at a smaller value as #80.

Many, many years ago, my Dad brought back this little folder from a trade show in New York:


...and, inside:


For those, like Bernhard, working in metric, that's a .076mm hair, drilled by a .030mm diameter drill, with a .025mm wire inserted through it. I'm sure that, nowadays, even more is possible.

Wayne

[Sumpter250]

Thanks to all for your heavy compliments. I think only that I have done what I could do with my handcrafted modeling and hand tools – and a magnifying glass. We have a phrase here in Germany: “Der Weg ist das Ziel” or in English “The journey is the reward” and I like to build such small items as my personal goal. I do not have a must for a big layout or a large model collection; I would like to get a small collection of items which are not part of each other collection.

First an answer to Sumpter250. Yes, my drill bits start at a smaller value as #80.
Here a short view to the diameter table in US and metric dimensions.

gauge/inches/millimeters
? / 0.0118 / 0.3
80 / 0.0135 / 0.343
78 / 0.016 / 0.406
76 / 0.020 / 0.508

My regular drill bits start with a diameter 0.3 and this is smaller as #80, than I use after metric system drill bits with diameter 0.4 and 0.5 similar to #87 and #76 and larger. However I think that I must use also smaller drill bits yet because I should use also wire with a diameter of 0.2 millimeters for grab irons or other very thin part. I try to calculate for many parts and I know that 0.3 millimeters are very close to an inch in reality – a very thick rod.

Thank You Bernard. This, and your explanation of how you made the truss rod anchors, is an insight to to superb quality of your work.
I too have "a phrase" ..........if someone can do something, then with time, patience, and practice, so can I. You have set for me, a higher goal. Learning is the better part of living.

[nkp_174]

Bernhard, your technique is actually quite similar to what I did...although your results are better. I'll upload a photo of mine in a little while. I never got around to adding the NBWs, but I did drill the holes.

[Steamtrains]

I am green with envy....The smallest drill size I can manage with any sort of accuracy is 1/16"....And any piece smaller than a 1/4" is most likely to get broken/lost.....
So that limits the "scaleability" of my efforts....

You've done a totally superb job..!!