Scratchbuilt 006 flat waggon

One of the things that attracts me to using an odd gauge is having to design and work things out for myself. For example I want a small fleet of tiny waggons loosely based around the same design. To simplify matters I'm making them inside framed, which also suits the type of small mining tubs that I want to build.

For the bearings I started by soldering 5mm lengths of brass rod, 1.5mm outside dia. 1mm inside, to a length of scrap etch;

After a couple of saw cuts this gave me two bearing assemblies which could then be blackened and fitted with my own 4mm dia. wheels;

For the frame I started with a 26mm long piece of 4.8mm x 3.5mm C section plastic strip. This was filed down to 2.8mm high to give me a coupling height of 6mm when the wheels are fitted. 3mm square plastic rod is used to turn the section into an open box, the void filled with lead shot cyano'd in place and the ends filed to a gentle curve. 

The bed of the waggon is scrap etch (you can still see the remains of lettering), blackened and epoxied in place. A layer of Squadron Green putty seals the lead in place and gives a flat surface to glue the bearing assemblies in place;

For painting I started with a coat of Hycote auto primer, followed by Vallejo 862 Black Grey. I initially brush painted this, but as I can't paint flat surfaces for toffee I rubbed the bed down and broke out the airbrush;

The little spoon is of a type sold for melting sealing wax, and is perfect for mixing small amounts of paint. I used my Aerograph and set the pressure to 23psi.

The finished waggon;

Numbering is done with white ink and a mapping pen.

I'm following the prototype (after a fashion) and using link-and-pin couplings. The link itself is a Smiths PL3F 4mm scale 3 link job held in place with a split-pin made from .4mm brass rod filed to a half-round profile. 

Underside;

Wheelbase 9mm, weight 2.6 grams.

And my entire 006 stock to date (not including the Busch waggon);

This waggon is, like everything else I'm making at the moment, a test piece. Firstly I'm trying out a design that I hope will work for me and is easy to make. Secondly I wanted to try out holding a link with a split pin, which I'm hoping will save a lot of searching for dropped links. So far so good.

Paul.

Big-Big Ruston - a clean up and new batteries

 I gave the yellow Ruston body a good scrub under the tap with soap and a toothbrush, and I'm pleased to say it cleaned up rather well. Then I tried to disassemble the chassis and footplate, but gave up as it would have involved unsoldering wires. So, rather than clean the two assemblies separately they both went under the tap together, and again cleaned up well with the running water flushing out any grit. Afterwards I gave it a quick spin under power to check the motor, no harm done and I now have a smart looking loco.

One wheel is slightly loose on its axle so I need to keep an eye on quartering.

Tri-ang designed the loco to use C cell batteries. The problem that we face now is that C cells are bigger than they used to be and trying to squeeze modern ones into the loco can damage the body, so I needed an alternative. Now, I don't want to mess with my Ruston, and although I do admire those that do modify their locos and fit remote control I like mine as it is, so I came up with a simple solution for fitting a couple of AA batteries;

All I've done is buy a battery holder and solder a couple of crocodile clips to it;

It just sits inside the body and can be removed quickly and easily. I did think about soldering the wires to the old contacts but to be frank I couldn't be bothered, not only would the old copper contacts need a very good clean but they'd also need a fair amount of heat to make a decent joint, so I took the easy way out. Sometimes I think that's the right course to take.

This loco is really a shelf queen, it works, and works well, but although I do have track (not only the proper red plastic stuff but also some Hornby tinplate) it's 130 miles away and I haven't room to set it up anyway. I do like its chunkiness, I like the fact that it's from a time when toys were built to last, and I like it's yellowness!

With thanks to James for the info on batteries.

Paul.

Type 3 couplings

This style of coupling is based loosely on the type fitted to many Hudson Hunslet diesels, albeit simplified by making it with a single slot rather than two.

I started with my usual rough sketch, which after making a couple of prototypes ended up being re-drawn in something-angle projection;

(With no apologies to any engineers, real or model, who've stumbled upon this page - I make things rather than worry about proper method.)

With the Unimat 3 set up as a mill and a piece of 6mm dia. brass set up in a dividing head the basic shape can be milled;

To mill the slot I use a .5mm slot drill with the work held in a collet chuck clamped to the saddle;

A .4mm hole, for the coupling pin, is then drilled, but left blind;

The last machining operation is to turn a 1mm dia. locating spigot on the rear and then part-off;

Before each part is parted-off the buffer face needs to be filed to a gentle curve. Here's the almost-finished result;

Now they can be fitted with a pin, .4mm brass wire cyano'd in place with 2mm left protruding.

After much deliberation I've decided to use a coupling height of 6mm for my 006 stock. To set the height for these couplings I first turned a 4.75mm height gauge to mark the centre of the coupling (coupling height minus half the coupling, 1.25mm);

Once a 1mm hole is drilled on the centreline the coupling can be tried in place;

And checked with a second gauge, turned to 6mm;

The finished coupling is a result of quite a lot of work, but to my mind the right coupling can make a loco.

These are destined for 006, for 009 the coupling needs to be lengthened to 3mm.

Paul.