Atso's C&W works

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PGBerrie
GCR D11 4-4-0 'Improved Director'
Posts: 447
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Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by PGBerrie »

Couple of corrections on my last reply - it's the fish vans I have and the Bogie Bolster D is from John Grey. I searched through my boxes - amazing how many unbuilt kits I have - and found it:
John Grey Bogie Bolster D
John Grey Bogie Bolster D
This is the six bolster version. The instructions speak of two versions. I bought this at a long gone shop in Westgate, Wakefield - I seem to remember they also had a secondhand quad in N there too. Would that have been Kirk or Cavendish? The bogies are not supplied with the kit, and you have to drill and tap the holes. The bogies I have are Kadee, Atlas or Taylor Y25C - I bought them from John Grey himself at the N Gauge Society show in Bletchley - shows how long ago it is. It might be that you can get suitable bogies from the N Gauge Society nowadays.

According to http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/10-avmod/am-kits.htm some kits are available at BH Enterprises, although I don't know how up to date the site is.

Peter
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

PGBerrie wrote:Couple of corrections on my last reply - it's the fish vans I have and the Bogie Bolster D is from John Grey. I searched through my boxes - amazing how many unbuilt kits I have - and found it:
John Grey Bogie Bolster D 1987.jpg
This is the six bolster version. The instructions speak of two versions. I bought this at a long gone shop in Westgate, Wakefield - I seem to remember they also had a secondhand quad in N there too. Would that have been Kirk or Cavendish? The bogies are not supplied with the kit, and you have to drill and tap the holes. The bogies I have are Kadee, Atlas or Taylor Y25C - I bought them from John Grey himself at the N Gauge Society show in Bletchley - shows how long ago it is. It might be that you can get suitable bogies from the N Gauge Society nowadays.

According to http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/10-avmod/am-kits.htm some kits are available at BH Enterprises, although I don't know how up to date the site is.

Peter
Oh, that looks tasty Peter! Diamond frame bogies are still a little hard to come by, I think that Peter's Spares may have some of the old Farish ones available which are actually not too bad if you take the time to reduce the height on the bogie's pivot.

At the moment, BHE still has stocks of the fruit vans, GNR brake, NER brake and banana vans for definite. No fish vans as we went through everything he had to find the last one when I visited him! I've sinces picked up two of the NER brake vans and another three fruit vans; hopefully this will encourage him to replenish his stocks so I can get hold of some more fish vans! I've not seen any etches for the bolster wagon though...

No idea on the quad set. As far as I'm aware Ian Kirk only did a range of Gresley 51' suburban stock and Cavendish only did Gresley 61' stock (albeit to true 2mm scale not N gauge). The tools for the Kirk 51' stock are long gone (I asked) but Etched Pixels still stocks the old Cavendish kits which is probably the easiest way to get a reasonable presentation of teak without resorting to painting. I take it you didn't pick up the quad...

I've got some etched sides for a quad set from BHE but will need to do some head scratching regarding how I'm going to assemble them. They're very, very basic and will need a lot of additional bits and pieces to make presentable.
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Hi all,

I've just returned from a nice holiday with my better half in North Yorkshire. She was very kind and let me take a some plastic kits with me to build (I'm an early riser and she isn't!). So four kits when up with me; there would have been more but they didn't arrive in time!

I managed to build a Parkside Dundas LNER loco coal wagon, two Chivers horsebox kits and a Parkside LNER van body.
Chivers Horse Boxes.jpeg
The eagle eyed among you may notice that one of the horseboxes has its chassis the wrong way around. I noticed this when I unpacked it last night and have since corrected this (after much surgery and blue language!).

When we got back, I found this little lot waiting for me!
Lotsa kits!.jpeg
A mixture of Peco and 2mm Association plastic kits. I've also got some etched 2mm scale chassis to upgrade the chassis of some very old Farish LNER vans and the Peco plate wagon (which is surprisingly close to the late 30s LNER one but the Peco chassis is nothing like the type it should have!).

The first up in the build queue is an 2mm Association LNER six plank wagon. As this was going to be an unfitted example (I've got six to build it total), I decided to modify a Peco 9' wheelbase chassis kit as it is pretty close to the type that the unfitted wagons were built on.
LNER Six Plank Wagon.jpeg
Then there are two PO wagons, the front one is the Peco 9' wheelbase kit and the other is the 2mm scale version of the same wagon. Again, I've fitted a Peco chassis kit under the 2mm body and, not surprisingly, the chassis is fractionally longer than the body. As I'm just about out of Peco 9' chassis kits (the 10' kit is just awful compared to modern N gauge standards!), I'll likely be looking at getting hold of some more 2mm etched kits to build and convert to N gauge running.
Peco and 2mm Association PO Wagon kits.jpeg
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Things have progressed a little more quickly than expected with this being the state of play at 10 am...

Image

Lots of chassis to now source and build!
Steve
PGBerrie
GCR D11 4-4-0 'Improved Director'
Posts: 447
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:04 pm

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by PGBerrie »

See you have a lot of fun ahead! I built the loco coal wagon some time ago.
Parkside Dundas Loco Coal Wagon.jpg
Still needs the lettering - Modelmaster do a decal, but its a bit expensive for just one wagon. I picked it up together with 3x 21T minerals and GW coal wagon at a shop in Stuttgart of all places. They were all a pleasure to build. I'll put a picture on my thread later when I have worked out how to take pictures which don't blot out the underframe.

By the way, the locos on your other thread look fantastic.

Peter
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the praise regarding the locomotives - certainly one of my better efforts!

I've previously built the loco coal wagon as well, yours looks excellent by the way. I think that this has been redesigned since I first built it as there seems to be a couple of differences in the chassis design. The newest one has a slight problem as one of the bearings fell too far down the hole and I can't get it out. I think I might have to so out some kind of inner support around the axel to get it running freely.

I'm most happy with having sourced the LNER six plank wagons as they were apparently very common and there were numerous variations around the chassis.

I've been using up my Peco 9' wheelbase chassis kits which are now exhausted so I'll be going with the 2mm etched kits and adaptor axels for farish wheels when I've next got the funds to purchase some. I've actually got some to build but these will be going under some old Farish van (the pressed steel end version) to bring them closer to the standard of the current vans.

Currently I'm building the etched chassis kit for the Peco plate wagon. After the rapid progress on the plastic bodied, I've come down to earth with a bump as these are much more time consuming to assemble - but don't half put the horrible Peco 15' wheelbase chassis (which share no features with the LNER design!) to shame.

Is that a DG coupling I spy on your wagon? What is your experience with them in use?
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

A bit of pottering for an hour or so at a time produced this over the last three days...
2017-08-29 10.08.14.jpg
A 2mm Scale Association replacement chassis for the Peco offering to get something that resembles and LNER plate wagon.

Also, while I've not touched this for a few weeks, it has not been shown here before.
2017-08-29 10.09.42.jpg
The second of my GNR brake vans which is being turned into a representation of a six wheel brake using 2mm Association 'W' irons and a spare sole bar etch. I say representation as, while the overall dimensions are about right, all the prototype pictures I've seen show the six wheel vans with horizontal planking not vertical. Still, I think it'll look the part once finished and provide something a little different from the four wheel one I've already built.
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Another update:

A spare couple of hours saw this get assembled this afternoon...
2017-08-29 16.42.26.jpg
...and with the very old Farish van body it'll be paired with...
2017-08-29 16.59.35.jpg
...finally a comparison between the current Farish LNER van, the etched chassis version and an old van with its original chassis.
2017-08-29 16.43.09.jpg
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Hi all,

Just a quick update about the growing collection of etched chassis on my bench. The total is now four and I've gone a little further on the 10' wheelbase versions by adding the brake pull rods underneath the chassis. You probably can't see them but they're not too difficult to do and really strengthen up the brake blocks so they'll pretty much withstand any knocks.

I've also chemically blackened them using Carr's blackener for nickel silver (which also works on brass!).

Image

I really should add some footsteps to the horse box chassis....
Steve
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manna
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
Posts: 3790
Joined: Sun May 24, 2009 12:56 am
Location: All over Australia

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by manna »

G'Day Gents

Your filling your goods yard quite rapidly, I like it.

manna
EDGWARE GN, Steam in the Suburbs.
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

Thanks Manna,

It is getting there. I have aspirations of having quite a well stocked layout so just one or two more things to add to the collection yet... :lol:
Steve
PGBerrie
GCR D11 4-4-0 'Improved Director'
Posts: 447
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:04 pm

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by PGBerrie »

PGBerrie wrote: Mon Aug 28, 2017 6:45 pm Is that a DG coupling I spy on your wagon? What is your experience with them in use?
Yes, I decided some years ago to try to get some hands-off shunting on my layout and after finding that the Peco add-ons fouled the track (probably my ham-fisted fitting), turned to DG. I have not really tested them as my layout in the cellar is currently buried under a lot of rubbish which has accumulated during the building of my new modules. I'm a bit wary of using them during our module weekends as there can be some very tight curves on the double-track section.

If I were starting again, I think I would use Peco Elsie couplings for the coal train, which anyway will be kept together, with maybe Dapol magnetic couplings at the end. I would still use the DGs for pick-up goods with the J6 and J50 as engines.

Peter
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

PGBerrie wrote: Sat Sep 09, 2017 11:53 am Yes, I decided some years ago to try to get some hands-off shunting on my layout and after finding that the Peco add-ons fouled the track (probably my ham-fisted fitting), turned to DG. I have not really tested them as my layout in the cellar is currently buried under a lot of rubbish which has accumulated during the building of my new modules. I'm a bit wary of using them during our module weekends as there can be some very tight curves on the double-track section.

If I were starting again, I think I would use Peco Elsie couplings for the coal train, which anyway will be kept together, with maybe Dapol magnetic couplings at the end. I would still use the DGs for pick-up goods with the J6 and J50 as engines.
Thank you for the info Peter. I'm going to try and remember to order some next time I buy anything from the 2mm Association's shop!

I was at The International N Gauge Show yesterday and managed to get hold of a couple of the NGS GWR Loriot well wagon kits. There look fairly similar to the GER examples so will hopefully pass for these once built. I was also hoping to get a couple of the LMS Trestrol bogie wagon kits as they are apparently almost identical to examples built by the LNER in the late 30s (shared design according to Tatlow).

My star find was an old Lima GWR horsebox for £7.50. These have gone on evil bay for anything up to £40 in the past! :shock: Mine will end up getting a similar treatment to the old Farish vans above before taking it's place with my LNER horseboxes attached to a local service (when I build that!).

BR K3 61879 found a new home yesterday as well. While out of period for me, I was actually a bit sad to see it go - I did manage to grab a picture of it yesterday morning before it met its new owner who is very happy with it.
61879.jpeg
Sorry wrong thread for a locomotive I know! :oops:
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

I've been a bit down again recently so not much on the modelling front. It has been a very frustrating time but I'm slowly rising again, in no small part due to my visit to Warley and getting a chance to speak to Graeme, Tony Wright and Ian Rathbone, all of whom were really kind and helpful (apologies to Mr Wealleans, he was in much demand whenever I ventured over that way).

Anyway, I became aware that the N Gauge Society is having a sale to clear out old stock and it seemed rude not to have a look. I've ended up with these...
Ultima Gresley Conversion Sides Small Pic.jpg
Sixteen Ultima Gresley sides intended for converting Minitrix and Dapol coaches purchased for the astronomical sum of £16.40 plus £4 P&P! The only problem is I don't have sixteen coaches available for conversion so some improvisation will be required. I was really after some full brakes, passenger brakes and catering vehicles but there were none in stock and for the price I really can't complain! Hopefully Ultima Modellers will be open again in the new year so I can purchase the other sides, albeit at RRP of £4.50 per side...

These will be a bit of a long term project as I've got an L1 and some GWR (sorry about the swearing on here!) locomotive to build for customers plus a couple of kits to launch and some new things to upload to Shapeways. Still they might make an interesting diversion as an occasional break!
Steve
Atso
LNER A3 4-6-2
Posts: 1383
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:58 pm
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: 2mm Association and various other Kits

Post by Atso »

About ten hours worth of time as seen this measured from the drawings and converted into a CAD file.
LNER 12FT Wheelbase Fish Van.jpg
I've still got the solebars to details but that will have to wait while I work out what the clearances for the 'W' irons, bearings and wheels should be. If anyone is wondering, it is the 12' wheelbase variant of this van.
Steve
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