Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Thanks for the info Jim...
Some of the modern tension locks as supplied with fine little wagons can be quite delicate ( useless ) in my opinion.
If you remove the hook for whatever reason, once it goes back on, it`s likely to fall off randomly because it has lost it`s grip on it`s axle.
This is not the case with Bachmann couplings I might add, they tend to be more robust.
There are also variations in thickness and length in some of the new offerings, so obviously UK manufacturers have not got together yet and agreed on a standard......most frustrating.
Something I should add for the benefit of all........Dapol do a very fine metal buffer for their wagons......in some cases, not all, but in some cases these are a very loose fit in the housing and I would suggest you check them. If they are loose... a drop of glue on the shaft and then refit should fix the problem.
I am currently still trying to find a loose buffer that has fallen off somewhere on the railway........don`t like my chances of finding it.....
Gormo

 

It`s hard to follow their logic Andy,
The manufacturers obviously don`t run their own trains......
Gormo

 

I`ve been experimenting today with colouring the Copper wire I use for my couplings.
Painting them has become a bit of an issue as some of them are getting stuck and need to be freed up.
So far I am at stage one which is giving reasonable results, and that involves using White Vinegar to discolour the Copper.
The Copper is not placed in the Vinegar but rather, suspended above it in a sealed bottle.
After an hour or two, the Copper takes on a Bronze / Steel Grey appearance ( oxidization ) which is quite appealing.
If you leave it too long it will go Green.
The second method ,yet to be tried, involves using Liver of Sulphur. It comes as a Gel and has good shelf life and is stable.
A few drops of the Gel can be added to warm water, and that will create a solution that will Blacken the Copper almost immediately.
It`s a technique used in jewellery making to give an aged patina. Usually most of the Black is removed just leaving residue in grooves and behind raised areas etc., however for my purposes, I would leave it Black.
If I decide to try the Liver of Sulphur, I will have to order it in, so for the moment I`ll see how the Vinegar method plays out once the couplings have had some use.
Gormo

 

I had some spare time this afternoon and decided to have a crack at converting an old Triang Horse Box.
These Horse Boxes run well enough on code 100 track, and I`ve acquired a handful of these to be used on the railway. I also have a couple of Lima versions.
The old tension locks have a brass rivet holding the coupling via a plastic post into the middle hole of the coupling.
I decided to take the body off to allow better access to the rivet and found that the previous owner had glued the body to the chassis.
I don`t know why people do this, all the fixing lugs are intact and therefore glue is not necessary.
Anyway I managed to remove the body by just easing it apart from the chassis slowly.
I also cleanly removed the plastic supporting posts for the old couplings, which improves the appearance considerably.
An identical original Horse Box to the right below, with large tension lock still intact, and the conversion to the left.



These old wagons were built to last a lifetime of use and abuse.



Both of these Horse Boxes had no glazing, so whilst the body ( and roof ) was off, I fitted some clear sheeting over the window / door apertures on the first conversion.



So they sit a bit high, as old stock usually does, but they will blend into a mixed goods train without much trouble.
They are also used to form a train for race days ( Newmarket ) with a coach or two in tow.




So that`s the latest folks.........more as it happens.
Gormo

 

Thanks for the info Andy...
Gormo

 

I wonder is there a UK equivalent to the NMRA........can anyone enlighten me on that subject.?
Gormo

 

Well I`ve had a bit of a look at it Jim and it seems American focused to me, even though they seem to welcome modellers from any arena, they seem to have a narrow view of what British modellers actually model.
Anyhow......back to the shed.
Gormo

 

G`day Gary,
I never suggested that the BR members were 100% American focused but rather just American focused.
An extract from their website, which I did look at, ....
Quote...." While many of us NMRA British Region members do indeed have US and North American railways as our prime or only modelling interest, recognise that some of our members model non-US prototypes or are involved with non-US layouts "
Further on I also found this .....what I call a narrow view.
Quote.... "I’ve never seen a UK prototype layout that operates using any sort of scheme other than a timetable, and I’ve certainly never seen one where the freight operations had the type of prototypical basis that a car-card regime generates."
Also further on in the article.
Quote...."Most UK layouts, even those in steam days, model passenger operations and hardly touch on freight, let alone show how the railway handled freight – which was, right up until around 1970, the predominant traffic carried, and I’d suggest much more interesting to model than passenger operations. When did you last see a UK model railway that wasn’t centred around passenger traffic, and when did you last see a US prototype layout that majored on it? Indeed, when did you last see a US prototype layout with any more passenger facilities than a small depot building? "
So the above quotes to me seem a narrow view of things.
And regarding the tension lock coupling standards, it seems the British version of the NMRA has been going since 1946 and yet has not had any success bringing about change to the system by applying pressure to the manufacturers.
I don`t know if they have actually tried to bring about change, but as they seem to want to follow the principles of the parent American association, you would think they would have tried at least.
The British November issue of the Roundhouse has all American locos on the cover.
Gormo