Goods and minerals
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2015 5:21 pm
A wagon has jumped its place in my build queue. I was cleaning up the pile of unbuilt kits and the easiest way to tidy this one was to build it!
Between 1910 and 1914, the SECR bought a number of 12-ton mineral wagons, in anticipation of of output from the Kent coalfield. They were same size and shape as RCH 12-tonners post 1923, but with detail differences, notably in the solebar fittings. Therefore, the Parkside-Dundas kit for the RCH-standard 12-tonner is a great starting point.
No changes were needed to the kit's body. On the headstocks, I removed the buffers altogether as these wagon's didn't have the ribbed kind in the 1923 spec. I still have to fettle the outside corners to hide the mitre joins. Capping strips will go on at the end of the build. The black ironwork is much easier to paint before assembly, so I painted inside and out first. This kit is the nicest bit of moulding I've worked with in ages.
The 1910 solebars look nothing like the 1923 spec, although all the usual bits are there in both. William Barter has made an etch for the solebar decoration, pictured here alongside one of the kit solebars.
I've attached the door-stop springs to the solebars but looking at the picture I see that I've forgotten to do the horse hooks. Some more cleaning up is needed and one of the springs needs to be checked for alignment. The SECR bought these wagons from Hurst Nelson and from Pickerings, but the solebar etch seems to be most appropriate for the Hurst-Nelson batches: the makers' plate is oval rather than diamond shaped.
The suspension is Bill Bedford "RCH 1907" axleguards, pre-aligned with a wire through the flanges.
Since this wagon is 16' 6" over headstocks, one could use the Bedford axleguards with the longer springs but I chose not to. Firstly I don't have any in stock, and I don't want to buy a full etch just for one wagon (they are not applicable to much else in my period). Secondly, the axleguards with the short springs leave more space for the tails of sprung buffers.
Between 1910 and 1914, the SECR bought a number of 12-ton mineral wagons, in anticipation of of output from the Kent coalfield. They were same size and shape as RCH 12-tonners post 1923, but with detail differences, notably in the solebar fittings. Therefore, the Parkside-Dundas kit for the RCH-standard 12-tonner is a great starting point.
No changes were needed to the kit's body. On the headstocks, I removed the buffers altogether as these wagon's didn't have the ribbed kind in the 1923 spec. I still have to fettle the outside corners to hide the mitre joins. Capping strips will go on at the end of the build. The black ironwork is much easier to paint before assembly, so I painted inside and out first. This kit is the nicest bit of moulding I've worked with in ages.
The 1910 solebars look nothing like the 1923 spec, although all the usual bits are there in both. William Barter has made an etch for the solebar decoration, pictured here alongside one of the kit solebars.
I've attached the door-stop springs to the solebars but looking at the picture I see that I've forgotten to do the horse hooks. Some more cleaning up is needed and one of the springs needs to be checked for alignment. The SECR bought these wagons from Hurst Nelson and from Pickerings, but the solebar etch seems to be most appropriate for the Hurst-Nelson batches: the makers' plate is oval rather than diamond shaped.
The suspension is Bill Bedford "RCH 1907" axleguards, pre-aligned with a wire through the flanges.
Since this wagon is 16' 6" over headstocks, one could use the Bedford axleguards with the longer springs but I chose not to. Firstly I don't have any in stock, and I don't want to buy a full etch just for one wagon (they are not applicable to much else in my period). Secondly, the axleguards with the short springs leave more space for the tails of sprung buffers.