A Scratch built Brake Van (part 2)

Construction of the brake van holds no secrets. It's just a plasticard box placed on a Busch chassis. There are two types of chassis available to choose from, and I chose the longer one. Even so it's still too short to attempt an accurate scratch build without chopping the chassis up. I decided that just yet, I'm not up to that. Maybe when I get more experience working on other projects, perhaps I'll feel more confident. A cut up chassis would have to be perfectly square.

It did take a couple of false starts working on the mounting of the body to the chassis before I got the chassis width right and a system of tabs to hold the body in the right location.

Tabs on the underside of the body will locate the body in the
correct location on the chassis.

Once that was sorted the construction was simplicity itself. The size is nice. Being minimum gauge  the item is small, but being 4mm scale the detail is manageable. 

The model sits comfortably in the palm of my hand

Compared with the Gn15 version, proportions differ slightly

As construction progresses I find myself referring to the Gn15 model quite often, as well as the drawings in the Stand Hutton Light Railway book. The Gn15 version is tall and thin compared to the 00 6.5 version, that is because I didn't alter the width of the original Sidelines van kit. However, when I started the scratch build I stuck to the generous SHLR loading gauge of approximately three times the track gauge.

Small items of rolling stock can be trained to perch on your finger.

So far, so good then. Details to add to the model yet include some hand rails and a brake wheel. It's also very light so a little weight would be nice. but it does go through the one point on the layout without any problems. I really should have left the roof off to put some weight inside, but how much?  Would a neodymium magnet stuck to the underside of the van acting on the steel strip in the track serve the same purpose?
Keep an eye out for part three of the project.

A Scratch built Brake Van (part 1)

Over the past week or two, it seems like Busch HOn2 things have been on sale at US online retailers. Places like Walthers and Trainz.com for example. Some things as much as half price. So I had to take advantage didn't I?
One item I bought was the "Fahrwerke" or chassis as we English would call them. Two sets of underframes and wheels. I fancy having a go scratch building some items of rolling stock and this would be a perfect start point.

Some on sale goodies

I really want to build a Sand Hutton Light Railway Brake Van, as built by Robert Hudson Ltd. It's a great vehicle full of character. However a quick measure of the chassis proved that this wouldn't be possible without chopping up the chassis. I'm not ready to do that yet so that was a snag.
But not for long.
I remembered back to my Gn15 days when Sidelines bought out a box van. I snapped up a couple of them and converted one to be a brake van, inspired by the Sand Hutton vehicle.

Gn15 Brake Van.

I remember building this quite clearly. The whole process was a new thing to me. Cutting up parts, adding new bits. Everything worked together well and I came up with quite an interesting vehicle.
If I could do that in Gn15, then I'm sure I can do it in 00 6.5. Just take some measurements off the original model and scale them down. It's really only a box.
It can't be that difficult can it.

The shape of the land.

Quickly moving along, I've spent the week working on the landscape of this 20" square slice of England.  The layout is heavily inspired by images of the Sand Hutton Light Railway in Yorkshire. Though the line itself traverses gradients as much as 1 in 80, photographs of the line make it feel like the area is billiard table flat. I feel a small flat baseboard would look silly. As silly as a train would look traversing a mountain landscape baseboard of the same size. Delicate changes in the lie of the land are called for.
This was achieved by cutting and shaping some pieces of some pieces of expanded polystyrene foam. The roads were also added using a layer of cork.

Expanded polystyrene changes in elevation

 Next comes one of my favourite stages. The Snowscape stage. I cover pretty much the whole baseboard with lightweight spackle. It is, as the name suggests, light in weight. It doesn't shrink or crack and takes colour well. My Purespring Watercress layout lasted 13 years with the material as the base. So it's long lasting too.

It's been snowing!

As much as I love the snowscape stage, it never lasts long. For as soon as the spackle is dry it gets painted with Woodland Scenics Earth undercoat. Once that is down I feel like the layout is starting to take shape.

We have earth.

What next? Probably some ground cover. For in the natural scheme of things, the ground comes first then the roads and railways are placed into the scenery. So it should be in the model.

Perhaps, I might get distracted by some model buildings. The white rectangle in the corner. That's the floor of the tin tabernacle should I decide to put a fully detailed interior in there.

Who knows?

Back in the saddle

Now that the Narrow Gauge Convention is over, I'm all fired up with enthusiasm get this project exhibitable, ready for the show in St. Cloud, MN on November 10th. I've placed orders for another locomotive kit, a coach kit and some rolling stock. I'm even planning a scratch building project. I have a lot a projects on my plate, but I think if I can set myself an hour a night during the week and some extra time at the weekends then I should be able to get very close.

First things first, lay the track. As the model is using Z gauge track, I'm a little wary that everything needs to be perfectly flat and level with good current contact. Even though the locomotives have magnets in them to keep them firmly on the rails, clean, flat, level track will help things a lot.

The first step was adding a track bed of 1/16" cork before laying the track. 

Cork trackbed in place

A thin smear of white glue was used to fix the track in place. As thin as possible, I didn't want any glue leaking into joints or the point.

Track glued in place, weighted down as glue sets

A couple hours later, with the weights removed. Things look OK. Twenty four hours later trains run pretty darned well. I may be inclined to try and solder a few of the track joints to help the current.

Glue set, train runs.

Step one completed. The next step will be to add a few contours to the board so is it isn't totally flat.  That will probably be a task for the weekend.

Never meet your Heroes.

They say you should never meet your heroes as they never meet your expectations of them. I had the pleasure of meeting one of my "heroes" over the course of the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Minneapolis. Roy C. Links Crowsnest Tramway layout.
Can a model railway be a hero? I don't see why not. You can admire the design, concept and execution of a model railway in the same way that you admire the personality, abilities and roles of a famous actor.
The first version of a Crowsnest Tramway layout first appeared in the UK magazine Railway Modeller back in the 1970's. A simple plan for a simple shunting puzzle layout. The model making and the execution immediately struck a chord with me. This was a Micro layout before micro layouts had been popularised.
Version 3 appeared in the Model Railway press in the 1980's. The same concept had been developed to produce a new track plan but still a part of the Crowsnest concept. The track plan was not as successful as the previous one, but the same attention to detail in the modelling was still there.
This version of The Crowsnest passed out of the hands of Roy and into those of his friend Mike South who took the layout with him to Canada. Sadly, Mike lost a battle with Cancer a few years ago and the layout disappeared from view, until it was discovered by its current owner Craig Parry. To simply say that it was discovered is selling the story short. For as I spent time chatting with Craig over the three days of the convention he would tell me more and more about the stories of how the layout, and further examples of Roy and Mike South's model making came into his possession. The tales he told would fill a book. With all the models that Craig has accumulated looking at his display stand was like looking at the pages of Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review, the magazine that Roy created.
Craig is as passionate about the Crowsnest Tramway as I am, and it was great to talk with a kindred spirit who shares the same enthusiasm for a subject such as this,  I came away from our chats fired up with a new enthusiasm for the hobby and my modelling. In fact I even came home from the convention with a kit for a 1:32 sale locomotive, that will inevitably lead to another new layout.

The overall presentation creates a certain style.
The picture frame holds a sheet of glass to protect from dirt and fingers.

There is even detail behind the buildings where it's almost impossible to see.

Attention to detail includes features like worn steps.

So simple, yet so atmospheric.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
There were a few problems with layout over the duration of the convention due to the age .
Here Craig is working to find electrical fault.