Accucraft "W & L" guards van - removing the roof

D

davecar

Registered
Hi all,

I have a lovely Accucraft Guards van and three open wagons in the "W & L" series. I would like to add some weight to the guards van in order to make it more stable and to improve the chuffer. I have managed to add some brass pipes under the coal load of the wagons and would like to do the same for the guards van.

My question is - How do you get the roof off. Are there screws or is it just glued on and it needs gentle persuasion to get it off?

Any tips or hints greatly received.

Kind regards,

Dave
 
How about double sticky taping some heavy lumps underneath round the chassis, instead of risking the bodywork. I take it you're running 32mm as mine (on 45mm) is quite stable as it is.
 
Dave if you find a way let us know i have a couple of these i would also like to add a bit of weight too :thinking:
 
I don't have mine to hand but the cattle wagon has a small hex nut at each end just under the roof edge. You need a small nut spinner to undo it and then the roof lifts off easily, its the same on the L&B stock so I'd be surprised if the van is different.
 
What I have done to all of my rolling stock is cut a length of roofing lead about 20cm long and 5cm wide (those sizes are very approximate). Then fold the lead up along the long length, so it forms a lump about 5cm by 6cm. Then squash it in a vice to make a compact and thin lump that can either be silicone sealanted onto the underside or if you drill a hole through the lead you can screw it to the underside of the wagon using a small screw. The wagons are now quite heavy with a lower centre of gravity, so more stable. The lead is not visible as it is between the chassis members. Sorry, I haven't got a photo ot show this, but hopefully what I have written makes some sense?
 
Hi, I have just looked at mine and it appears to be glued on, but all my vans have long screws from the underside.
 
I knocked mine off the work bench..........the roof came off, simples
 
Cyclone said:
Anyone painted the ends? If so what colour was used? It's quite a dark red on the real thing. Planning to hand paint mine, as spraying look too difficult.
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Yes, I've painted mine. The colour originally used is quoted as being Vermillion. The ends seem to have been painted in the very early years, presumably to improve visibility when running through the town section? This is entirely appropriate as the Accucraft model is the early version, although not original when no main doors were fitted.

I still wish that Accucraft would make the later version with no balcony which would actually be correct for the version of their loco.
 
One option for adding weight could be to drill a hole in the base and add fishing weights, wheel balance weights or just 'slugs' of lead flashing. The hole could be sealed with tape or a piece of plastic glued over it.
Another possibility would be sticking self adhesive wheel balance weights to the underside.
 
I've had very good luck using the lead weights that are commonly used for R/C planes for balance. They commonly come in a strip of six weights, each are 1/4 ounce (7 grams) and have a self-stick pad on the back. Individual weights can be cut off the strip with a hobby knife or razor saw. An example from Tower Hobbies (US) can be see at URL http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCKT0&P=7

With the W&L brake van (mine is scratchbuilt, but the method's the same), I've put a couple of weights on the underframe, then painted them the body colour.
 
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Yes, I've painted mine. The colour originally used is quoted as being Vermillion. The ends seem to have been painted in the very early years, presumably to improve visibility when running through the town section? This is entirely appropriate as the Accucraft model is the early version, although not original when no main doors were fitted.

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Thats good, the paint I have is vermillion (phoenix) and looks quite dark.
 
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