New bogie rolling stock for the WGLR

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yb281

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Had a nice day's bodging today (can't touch you for it).

While escorting a visit to Naam by the Ruritanian royal family last week (Cheltenh-naam as opposed to Viet-naam), we popped in to see Andrew @ GRC and I came away with a pair of second hand Bachmann bogies complete with metal wheels for a future project. I thought about making a completely new chassis, but then realised that I had an old Bachmann flat car chassis in one of my many spares boxes that I think I bought off big Steve a while ago?

Unfortunately I had not only removed the bogies (ironically to bodge on to the IP coach in the photo which turned it into one of my best performers), but also the bogie mountings. So I had to bodge a new set of mountings before I could get it running again (that's a lot of bodging!!). Having done that, I realised what a big bugger it was, so I hacksawed 2 inches out of the flat chassis and Araldited it all back together again complete with a strengthening piece of ply bodged in place to prevent it breaking it's back. I also changed the knuckle couplings for hook and loops. Anyhoo, it all runs a treat, so next week I can make a start on the bodywork.

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I'm not saying what it'll be yet, but I think that Bruce will like it. :bigsmile::bigsmile:
 
I'd be interested to see how this turns out too Mel, as I want to shorten the Bachmann flat you pointed out to me at a show once, for the same reason; it's just a tad too long for R1 curves! I plan to cut and shut it to the same as the LGB bogie flats I have.

Mine has been converted to a PW track laying vehicle, using the crane from a toytrain wagon....

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So let me get this straight, a wagon that you changed the bogies, couplings, size and probably the colour of, plus removing the stake holders? This is starting to sound like the old hammer joke. Can't wait to see the outcome. :thumbup:
P.S. you could have been visiting Fred in Nottin-naam :rolf: (helps if you know the south Derbyshire accent)
 
pugwash said:
So let me get this straight, a wagon that you changed the bogies, couplings, size and probably the colour of, plus removing the stake holders? This is starting to sound like the old hammer joke. Can't wait to see the outcome. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
I just love bodging together bits and pieces I find lying around in the spares boxes to make something useable again mate. It's cheap too. :bigsmile::bigsmile:

As will be revealed, this vehicle will be based on one made by LGB, but more suited to my railway. Actually Giz, thinking about what you've got in mind for shortening your similar wagon, the work I've still got to do won't be of that much relevance as it all involves making new bodywork, the chassis is now pretty much done. If I wanted to end up with a flat wagon (like you do), I could still use the ply strengthener, but make it big enough to cover the whole load bed and score some detail into it. Mine won't be seen in the end, so the fact that it looks like it does in the photos above won't matter.
 
Aaaaannnyway, the actual body of the new vehicle is coming along nicely. A while ago, good old whatlep asked me to weather one of his fleet of postal vans, an LGB model 42633 in green (it's a big, double door, bogie van for those that haven't seen one). I really liked this model, but it was a tad big for the WGLR and included one of the European style brakeman's cabins (AKA bog), the chassis being off-set to make room for said bog which would make conversion difficult. Therefore, I determined that one of my future projects would be a WGLR version of something similar.

The body is made from some really nice thin ply that happened to be in the workshop. It's thin enough to be cut with a (new) Stanley knife blade and nothing looks more like wood than ...... errrrr ........ wood. :bigsmile: . Having carefully cut out 2 sides, 2 ends and 2 strengthening pieces, the planking was scored before gluing everything together with water proof PVA, stripwood pieces being used to reinforce the joints.

Here it is on the workbench clamped together while the glue dries.

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The lengths of rail clamped to the sides are to keep them straight as scoring the planking caused some warping.
 
Looking good, pleased to see inside plumbing rather than a Ruritanian outside lavvy :bigsmile:
 
I love the way it is suddenly pulled together by the primer. Fantastic modelling as ever. Everything you do is neat and looks right, and you end up with a beautiful but unique wagon.

I always wondered what those upright coffin things were on the back of some wagons, I don't like the look of them myself, but I guess the brake men appreciated them in a european winter.
 
Thanks for the kind words Ian, much appreciated.

Last night the parcels van was sprayed in good old Halfords Rover Damask Red. This morning I tidied up the chassis (to hide the join), painted the hinges and door handles, and applied the transfers.

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The only big job left to do is the dreaded roof! Then it's just little touches such as vacuum pipes, steps etc. before it gets a very light weathering, mostly around the chassis and bogies.
 
Cheers Paul. I wasn't entirely happy with the way the grain looked in the photo and was going to take another from a better angle, but it started raining.

Anyhoo, the main roof has now been cut out and fitted and is now sitting in the patent roof holder for a few hours. :bigsmile:

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yb281 said:
Anyhoo, the main roof has now been cut out and fitted and is now sitting in the patent roof holder for a few hours. :bigsmile:
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There you go again. Producing something ultra tasty by bodging and balancing books on an upside-down van. Makes me green with envy! :'(
At least I can claim responsibility for putting the idea in your head. Sort of.
Lovely job, Mel.
 
whatlep said:
yb281 said:
Anyhoo, the main roof has now been cut out and fitted and is now sitting in the patent roof holder for a few hours. :bigsmile:
Click to expand...

There you go again. Producing something ultra tasty by bodging and balancing books on an upside-down van. Makes me green with envy! :'(
At least I can claim responsibility for putting the idea in your head. Sort of.
Lovely job, Mel.
Click to expand...
Yep, it's all your fault mate. :bigsmile:

The van just about had 2 hours in the jig (otherwise I wouldn't have got me tea), but all seems to have stuck. My local model shop doesn't stock large enough sheets of plasticard to do the roof on such a large vehicle, so I used Daler mounting board instead. I know that many people would shy away from using cardboard for constructing outside stock, but it's lovely stuff to work with and with a good coat of paint/varnish (or three), it is quite shower proof. In fact, one of my battery wagons has card bodywork and ran for a few hours in the rain at our recent open day without any signs of damage.

The method I use for both card and plastic is to mark "planking" every 5mm down the length of the roof and carefully score it with a Stanley knife. This naturally causes the roof to bow in the right direction making it easier to glue in place (or glue it to formers if you want it removable).

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When this is set, it can be covered with either very thin plasticard or cartridge paper (again, quite shower proof when painted). This makes a very strong construction and the planking shows through which is quite realistic. Anyway, the workshop supervisor seems to approve? :bigsmile:

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The Wonderfully Gifted Light Railway strikes again, top notch job :clap:
 
Nice work so far Mel....
 
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