Sugar Cane Wagon

JimmyB

JimmyB

Now retired - trains and fishing
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I recently made a purchase of some sugar cane wagons and molasses wagon, nicely built in metal, by R&D Industrial Model Makers PTY LTD, which i understand is (was) an Australian company.

Sugar Cane Wagon.jpg

This will hopefully connect to my new (when delivered) Roundhouse Fowler, however the coupling are what look like UK standard gauge 3 link (with two links) couplings. These do not look correct, looking for advice on what would be more suitable.

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling.jpg
 
Jimmy, nice wagons. I think they should be three link couplings at the least(I could be wrong). As shown in the picture you posted they are pretty much useless.
 
If you need more links, try clock chain, same stuff but so, so much cheaper than model shops. I bought some today in Sheringham, £2:15 a metre, enough for 43 wagons!
 
Sugar cane bins couplings differed from mill to mill depending on how the bins were emptied and who made them.
The simplest ones had drop pins and a single loop cut from a piece of flat steel right up to the modern ones that have knuckle couplers so those couplers could be "prototypical" for a mill.

I use these as they are similar to what I remember seeing and using when I worked around bins on a cane farm.
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Most of the bins were made in the mill workshops and the materials used were anything available locally.
Simplicity was the key ingredient as they had to be used by cane cutters and farm hands out in a paddock.

The bin frames could have been made from made anything from bent galvanised pipe with chainlink mesh attached, right up to steel framework with steel mesh.
There were "whole stick" trucks that carried any cane cut by hand and "bins" used to carry the cane cut by a harvester.

I volunteer at this railway and their couplers were custom made, in the older pictures of Fowlers and the small diesel (Valdora) you can see the earlier couplings which were used when they were in service at a mill.


This is an excellent site for information about cane trains.
Welcome to CaneSIG

On a side note I have never in my life (grew up in a sugar growing area) such seen clean cane train equipment most of it was beaten up, time for some weathering maybe. ;) ;)
 
Jimmy your Fowler will likely come with a centre buffer, you might like to consider fitting these wagons up with the same thing as with just the coupling hook they will catch and likely derail in your sharp curves. You can then use a suitable chain to couple things up. Height from rail if I remember similar to buffers on LGB stock.
 
Many thanks all, GAP GAP , I had seen the LGB coupling similar to the one you have identified, but at around £25.00 a pair thought they were a tad expensive, so even though they are coming from Sri Lanka I have taken the plunge. If they are not suitable I call always sell them on eBay to some unsuspecting fool inexperienced modeller.
 
Jimmy,


From the Roundhouse site "This is a model of works number 16255 built in 1924 by John Fowler & Co. Ltd. of Leeds for the Innisfail Tramway in Queensland, Australia
Bit of history of the Innisfail Tramway which the Fowler that is coming to you was built for if you are interested.
Pictured is what the last surviving one looks like now which is really sad.
And for the Fowlers

Cane trains were a big part of my life growing up so I have a bit of a soft spot for them if you can't gather. ;) ;)
 
JimmyB said:
Many thanks all, GAP GAP , I had seen the LGB coupling similar to the one you have identified, but at around £25.00 a pair thought they were a tad expensive, so even though they are coming from Sri Lanka I have taken the plunge. If they are not suitable I call always sell them on eBay to some unsuspecting fool inexperienced modeller.
Click to expand...

I have found them fairly versatile and have mounted them in all sorts of different positions, in one instance I actually cut the mounting pin off the back and drilled a hole through into the coupler pocket and used a small thin screw to secure the coupler to an aluminium bracket on my cane bins.

P1010575.jpg

I have some logging wagons that have a mix of LGB link and pin and knuckle couplers and I am considering replacing them with these couplers.
 
JimmyB said:
even though they are coming from Sri Lanka I have taken the plunge
Click to expand...
I have bought several sets of the link-and-pin couplers from the gent in Sri Lanka. They work well. There is a long pin sticking out of the back of the pocket which in some cases I chopped off and put a screw through from inside.

20180118_121339-calusa-creek-hopper-coupler.jpg
 
Fred2179G said:
I have bought several sets of the link-and-pin couplers from the gent in Sri Lanka. They work well. There is a long pin sticking out of the back of the pocket which in some cases I chopped off and put a screw through from inside.

View attachment 261485
Click to expand...

I did something similar I cut off the pin and drilled a whole through into the coupler pocket, inside the pocket I used a countersunk metal thread screw and nut with some contact adhesive on the flat plate, the rivets are only for show, and they work well.
 
GAP said:
I did something similar I cut off the pin and drilled a whole through into the coupler pocket, inside the pocket I used a countersunk metal thread screw and nut with some contact adhesive on the flat plate, the rivets are only for show, and they work well.
Click to expand...
There's a hundred and one ways of killing a cat.

On some of them, I have forced a brass nut onto the nylon pin (can't remember the BA size, maybe 6 or 8) and kept the nut in place with a dob of glue.

On others, I have used the four small holes and fixed the coupler back with 10BA brass bolts - it's a bit of a faff marking out the holes, but it's a good way of fixing the pockets, and they look good and are cheap >:)>:)
 
Couplings fitted to the wagons, the original coupling:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_2.jpg

Viewed from the underside:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_3.jpg

Just pull out the pin, and the coupling slides out of its pocket:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_4.jpg

The center pip on the new coupling is 2.5 mm so just ease the pocket open:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_5.jpg

The wagon has a pip either side of the coupling pocket, rather than remove the pips, 3 mm drill to form a recess:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_6.jpg

Chain acquired, and ring made to connect the chain to the pin, and figure 8 made to fit the chain behind one of the decorative rivets:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_7.jpg

6BA nut is a good fit on the new coupling pip, nut run down (gently) to form a thread:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_8.jpg

Pip in the coupling pocket, and nut attached, drop of cyanotic superglue on the nut just to make sure:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_9.jpg

Coupling in place with link:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_10.jpg

and yes they connect:

Sugar Cane Wagon Coupling_11.jpg
 
JimmyB said:
Couplings fitted to the wagons, the original coupling:

View attachment 261706

Viewed from the underside:

View attachment 261707

Just pull out the pin, and the coupling slides out of its pocket:

View attachment 261708

The center pip on the new coupling is 2.5 mm so just ease the pocket open:

View attachment 261709

The wagon has a pip either side of the coupling pocket, rather than remove the pips, 3 mm drill to form a recess:

View attachment 261710

Chain acquired, and ring made to connect the chain to the pin, and figure 8 made to fit the chain behind one of the decorative rivets:

View attachment 261711

6BA nut is a good fit on the new coupling pip, nut run down (gently) to form a thread:

View attachment 261712

Pip in the coupling pocket, and nut attached, drop of cyanotic superglue on the nut just to make sure:

View attachment 261713

Coupling in place with link:

View attachment 261714

and yes they connect:

View attachment 261715
Click to expand...
A lovely set of pictures Jimmy. Very informative.
 
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