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Ruffnut's Projects.

118K views 279 replies 44 participants last post by  Ruffnut Thorston 
#1 ·
Hi all, and welcome to my "Projects" place.

Here I will be putting some things for Ffrwd Locks, our "scale" model railway, also some other things that are in progress on the model railway front.

Photos will follow.....

Ffrwd Locks

I am at present re-modelling the main goods siding at Ffrwd.

I had become aware of a serious limitation of having the Cattle Dock at the end of the siding with the Coal Merchant's facilities between the dock and the "main line".

The end of the siding would be out of use if there was a wagon being unloaded at the Coal Merchants.

The original idea of installing a new point on the loop to serve a slewed connection to the Cattle Dock seemed a good idea, and I did cut the siding and loop tracks to install the point.

In the end it became only too clear that this wouldn't work.

I did install a PECO trap point at the Wrexham end of the loop though. The rest of the loop track was re-laid using some left over track and some pre-wired fishplates to provide some extra feeds.

The siding has been re-arranged to have the Coal Merchant at the far end of the siding, and a small Cattle Dock where the Coal Merchant was.

This has involved the demolition of the End Loading and Cattle Dock, and the Coal Merchants coal bins and office.

The siding has been legthened slightly with the removal of the End Loading Ramp, using some more left over track and some pre-wired fishplates to reinstate the feed.

A new Coal Order Office has been made from an old Airfix Coal Office. This has new windows, door, roof, and chimney. Mainly spare parts from the Wills Goods Yard Store Kit, with Wills Slate sheet for the roof. Signs have been made on the computer.

The Coal Bins have been re-built from the original parts. A new "bagging platform" has been constructed from the staging from the Wills Goods Yard Store Kit, with Wills Planking sheet from the Level Crossing kit for the platform, Evergreen Styrene strips for the roof supports and other planking walls, and Wills corrugated sheeting sheet for the roof. Bagged Coal is Merit/ PECO Modelscene Coal Bags. Spilled coal is shot blasting compound. Scales are scatch built, and various figures are in use (Langley and Merit/ PECO Modelscene /Slater's.)

Other Projects..

I have an older Hornby Railways R.410 Turntable. I have managed to source all the missing parts to make it work, and plan to make it a bit more workman like.

I have a Dapol (Ex Airfix) Turntable kit, which I plan to use.

The Dapol Turntable sides are too long as they are, and will need modifying to fit.

I have also got some PECO Plate Girder Bridge Sides, and will look at how these could be used.

All the parts are together, work will commence at some later time.
 
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#203 ·
QUOTE (sarah @ 24 May 2015, 18:28) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks for that list.

Useful stuff.

Well, in my universe, Croes Newydd shed will gain a Shunters "chariot"...as will the Yard....eventually!


I am busy sorting out some suplus bits to re-finance other projects at the moment......

Big fan of Croes Newydd (after all it was coded 6C after 1963!!) - yes unusual that Saltney got one or two.......but none at Wrexham...
.

I'm researching Iron Ore trains to Brymbo - via CN at the mo.. fascinating...
 
#205 ·
QUOTE (sarah @ 15 Jul 2015, 16:41) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Iron Ore Trains to Brymbo!
In my universe, those trains go to Ffrwd Steelworks!
(Ffrwd works being developed instead of Brymbo....)
Sounds interesting stuff....
I have read that at least one of these workings was known as "The Hook Norton"....

Ffrwd - an evocative name too...

Brymbo ironworks up until 1927 received all of the ironstone output of Hook Norton quarries in Oxfordshire - quite a trip in those days....
 
#206 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ah.

Hook Norton in Oxfordshire...that makes sense....

Here are some interesting links (Well I think interesting!
)

Hook Norton...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_Norton

Bricks...Both Brymbo and FFrwd Ironworks made bricks, possibly for internal use...

(Scroll down to find...there were a LOT of Brick Waorks in North Wales once!)

http://www.penmorfa.com/bricks/N%20E%20Wales%20bricks.htm

Ffrwd Ironworks Brick....

http://lifeinvictorianbrickworks.co.uk/Brickgallery.htm

The Ffrwd Canal....

http://www.peter-quita.demon.co.uk/articles/Ffrwd.pdf

Brymbo Steelworks...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brymbo_Steelworks

Brymbo Area history pages....

https://thefireonthehill.wordpress.com/about/
 
#209 ·
Well, i have to say Sarah, i've thoroughly enjoyed reading through your posts.

Very well done.

I noticed that you enjoy building Airfix / Dapol kits, i do too.

Think i shall start a post showing the Airfix cattle wagon's etc that i have made so far.

andy
 
#210 ·
Parkside Dundas PC36 SR (Ex SECR) PMV. Even Planked Version. Plastic Kit.

This is an older issue of the Kit, going by the packaging and instructions...C 1989...

This kit makes up into the South Eastern & Chatham Railway type van, and includes optional parts to make a Southern Railway Built version (1930s, Even Planked type).

The optional parts are the Chalk Boards, and side vents. The chalk boards may have been fitted to SECR vans, as the Bluebell Railway has one in SECR colours. (But this may not be fully authentic.)

http://www.bluebellrailway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/153.html

QUOTE The general purpose Luggage Vans were used for the carriage of parcels, newspapers, and many other forms of general merchandise. The SECR design of 1919 became the standard for the Southern Railway, and such vans were still being built to essentially the same design in the early days of British Railways in 1951. They were rated to run in passenger trains, and were frequently used as extra luggage vans on longer distance trains.

This van was the very last to be repainted from SECR brown, to SR green, in August 1930. Of very simple design, with the metal framing exposed, and planked on the inside, they are easy to maintain. Most of the 45 SECR-built vehicles continued in departmental use on BR right into the 1970s and a couple until 1989.

Southern Railway version...

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/mls2186.html

Romford metal disk wheels (Coach, 14mm type) and brass beraings are supplied, as are mountings for a Tri-ang Type MKIII Tension Lock Coupling.

Kit Packaging...





Instructions





The partially made up kit...

The roof is not glued on yet....painting and glazing to do first!

All the parts in the photos are supplied in the kit, except for the coupling hooks, which are whitemetal ones from out parts stock. Plastic hooks ARE provided though!









 
#211 ·
These Parkside kits make up quite nicely. Make sure you add sufficient weight before gluing the roof on.

Mine were made before NEM couplings became (almost) standard, but on all the more recent kits I have built I have used Parkside's NEM adapters and Bachmann or Hornby small couplings - using the NEM types also allows a little side to side movement, ideal for these long wheelbase vehicles. The Parkside adapters are intended to be used with the cranked couplings like Bachmann and Heljan insist on using, but I prefer to pack the adapters down a little using plasticard spacers between the adapter and the wagon floor, spaced to give the "correct" height for the couplings, and use straight couplings.

For these CCT/PMV vans, I used plastic microstrip of two different widths, painted a light grey, to create the bars/slats behind the windows. Again, this has to be done before gluing the roof in place.

I hope I'm not preaching to the converted, Sarah, but if I am, these tips might help someone else reading this topic.

I'll look forward to seeing the finished model.
 
#212 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi SR man.

Thanks for the tips....they are along the lines of what I am planning....I was wondering about the colour of the window bars.

Some real ones seem to have galvanised bars. Of course, the RTR ones have white lines printed onto the glazing (see Hornby Dublo / Wrenn models...).

Parkside Dundas kit...Part 2....Couplings fitted.

NEM Couplings Fitted...using Parkside Dundas NEM mountings (PA34) on plastic card spacers.

The coupling pocket and hook are Hornby parts. (X.9289)

I am working on fitting NEM pockets on most of the Ffrwd Locks Rolling Stock...I may later fit NEM Kadees....all options open!










 
#213 · (Edited by Moderator)
Keyser (Ks) Plastic Kit. SR CCT 4-wheel Van. This kit dates from the 1980s.

I have aquired two of these kits.

As the sides are the same for the CCT (Covered Carriage Truck) as for the PMV (Parcels and Micelaneous Van) I am thinking of modifying one set of ends to make a PMV.

The Southern Railway carried on building what was a South Eastern & Chatham Railway design, adding extra ventilators to the sides below the windows.

The Ks kit has these moulded in, as well as the Chalk Boards below each window.

The side planking is "even planked", so this wagon is most probably a pre-WW2 build, as some later builds used two widths of planking on the sides.

There are no roof ventilators provided...some CCTs it seems did not have roof vents, or at least lost them later in their lifes.

It seems that the Southern Railway called the CCTs "COVCAR", and the Luggage (PMV) vans "PLV" Passengers Luggage Van. Some were lettered "LUGGAGE" in the bottom right corner.

So far, I have made a good start on one kit.

I have opened out the rounded corners of the windows, as the real ones are squared off.

The kit provides plastic Tension Lock Couplings, and Plastic "Mansell" Coach Wheels.

I have fitted Hornby metal 14.1 MM Coach Wheels, and NEM mountings from Parkside Dundas (PA34), with Hornby NEM couplings and pockets.

I have added a floor (not provided in the kit) and fitted a brake cylinder and other parts from a Parkside Dundas PMV kit (there are two sets in th eParkside kit).

A chunk of metal has been glued to the floor as a weight.

For the age of the kit, and the simplification made to the details to bring the costs down (one box has a price of £0.99 on it!) it isn't too bad.

I also have an ex Hornby Dublo Wrenn version, and that is being detailed. It compares well with the Ks Kit!

The Dapol OO gauge model is basically a re-toled Hornby Dublo / Wrenn body, but with the doors made part of the body, so they don't open!

The Bachmann models are probably better, but there is also the Parkside Dundas kits....see other posts for The Parkside kit I have...

The packaging and parts laid out...

























The rather basic instructions...



Prototype pictures...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/linda_chen/45...12189?ytcheck=1

http://www.cs.vintagecarriagestrust.org/se...nfo.asp?Ref=473

http://www.departmentals.com/photo/083431

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/srcctdepa...75975#h1f1a8108

Also some more information....including models....

https://grahammuz.com/2012/03/16/talking-st...d-utility-vans/

There were bogie vans, the bodies of which look just like 2 of the 4-wheel van bodies mounted on a bogie chassis....some were modified to carry elephants!

http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/carriages/...carriages/srguv
 
#215 ·
Hi Reddo...

Still to come are the "So Far" pics of the first Ks Kit, and the beginning of modifications to a Wrenn (Ex Hornby Dublo) CCT, with opening doors (so can be posed loading / unloading
).

Keyser (Ks) Plastic Kit. SR CCT 4-wheel Van. Part 2

The part completed kit...



No weight fitted yet...



Underside shewing the Vacuum Brake cylinder, etc, spares from the Parkside Dundas Kit (please see other posts on here!).



One end....







Nem couplings fitted using Parkside Dundas NEM mountings (PA34) on plastic card spacers.

The coupling pocket and hook are Hornby parts. (X.9289)







 
#216 ·
Wrenn (Ex Hornby Dublo) SR CCT modifications...

As part of our SR PLV/PMV and CCT collection (See kit built versions elswhere on this Forum...), this Wrenn BR Blue CCT (with opening doors!) is going to be re-painted into BR "Crimson" livery...Or possibly late Southern Railway livery...

The roof vents will be getting changed....





Going by the "Shell" type roof ventilatores, this model is based on a 1950s BR Built example. (The vents on earlier builds were of the "Torpedo" type...)



So far, the chassis has bore the brunt of the modifications.



The trussing has had the extra vertical braces removed, and also the V hanger on the "wrong" side, away from the vacuum cylinder.

There is to be another V hanger added alongside the Vacuum Cylinder, as in the Parkside Dundas kit built example...and possibly some brake linkage....the spare part box is to be raided.

The supplied wheels were spoked, and I believe that they "should" be coach sized disk wheels.

The Wrenn axle hangers were the "simple" plain ones...

Hornby Dublo used some neat axle hangers that have a representation of th ebrake shoes, in line with the wheels.

So, the wheel hangers were replaced with brake shoe ones from the spares box, the plastic moulded brake shoes attached to the solebar and springs being cut away.

The new wheels are Wrenn Disk Wheels, so probably a tad small, but they work better in the hangers than Hornby Pin-point ones...I did try!

Possibly brass bearings inserted into the holes in the hangers would work with pin-point axles, but we don't have any the right size...Yet!


The Wrenn "Tri-ang" MKIII type couplings were unscrewed, and the mountings cut off carefully.

Parkside Dundas NEM mountings were modified by carefully trimming off the "upstand" so that the base fitted directly onto the bosses for the PECO type Hornby Dublo Couplings. This made the mountings just about the correct hight, matched to another NEM fitted wagon...

Hornby Nem Pockets and Narrow Tension Lock Couplings have been fitted.

The "scale" type coupling hooks are some of the last of the batch of white metal hooks from the spares boxes...



The opening doors will enable some posed pictures of loading and unloading...

It came missing one door, so has had a spare door fitted, a brown one!

The uneven planking on the body would make it an early BR example, as some later builds used Plywood sides. The uneven planking dates from the War years...






 
#217 · (Edited by Moderator)
A project that has been awaiting for some time...

Converting an "open cab" Hornby GWR Class 2721 0-6-0 Pannier Tank loco to the "Closed Cab" version.

The number will stay the same for now....it isn't that important!


The rear of the cab comes from a Hornby LMS 3F 0-6-0 Tank Loco ("Jinty") that I am converting to "open cab"!.

The original roof has been re-used, extended with plastic card....

Spare J94 reverser and handbrake parts have been used, but needed cutting down a lot! I think the reverser is still a bit tall....but will have to stay as is.


The beginning...




Almost completed building work...






 
#218 · (Edited by Moderator)
The early photo shewing the Handbrake and Reverser are full height, before being cut down....

The rear of the cab and Bunker...



After initial painting, adding Buffer beam numbers, and Yellow Restriction Spot (Not on the Railroad models...)..

The whistles....Hornby provide one short type, and one long type (the ols type from the B12, etc...

I have replaced the long thin B12 whistle with another of the "Short" type, but not pushed all th eway in so as to resemble the slightly taller second whistle.

GWR Locos had two whistles, the higher pitched "Road" whistle for warnings, and the lower pitched "Brake" whistle, which was used to signal to the Guard of a loose coupled loco to apply the brake...

The "Portholes" have had "brass" rims added using a "Brass" or "Gold" coloured fiber tip pen.

These pens, including a silver one, have also been used to highlight the cab pipes, etc.











Comparison between two 2721 locos....The Open Cab, and the Claosed Cab versions...





 
#221 ·
Hi Tony...

Very nice!

A few ideas there for mine....

Including the bunker "pegs" for the Storm Sheet.

Now were these Tapaulins black?

The outside brake rods are also a possibility.

The fire-irons and Bucket are typical....I must remember to stow them from the Fireman's side as well!

I will need to shorten some I think....The first 2721 I did did have a pricker fitted!

Are the couplings the Bachmann Screw-on type? I have used these a lot....

I am looking at fitting NEM pockets to all my rolling stock eventually, to enable coupling-swapping.

I may have to use modified couplings with a screw though!
 
#225 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Tony.

The PW figures were one of the last new items (and moulded in "proper plastic, not the usual Airfix "Soapy" stuff!) Airfix produced before they had "problems" and were taken over by Palitoy / Mainline...

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1161

There is also the newer Platform figures set, the one that included luggage loaded sack trucks...The original Airfix sets were also not made from the "traditional" figure Soapy plastic....

Som useful figures in that set as well....also now made by Dapol....

http://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1162

Not to be confused with the earlier "Soapy" Sets...

http://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=430

http://plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=366


Hornby Railroad 2721, just about "out of the box"...




Another "Out Of The Box 2721....not so detailed as the later Railroad and Main Range models....less seperate handrails...




Hornby Pannier Parade!





 
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