Vac. hoses/steam heating

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steve howe
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Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby steve howe » Fri Sep 30, 2022 4:39 pm

Completing a rake of 4 & 6 wheel carriages which will be semi-permanently coupled, I'd like to show the hoses joined together. Does anyone know of a suitably corrugated wire to represent the hoses? I'm thinking of braided guitar wire as a possibility, but wonder if it might be a bit stiff and not hang realistically.

Steve

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BryanJohnson
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby BryanJohnson » Fri Sep 30, 2022 7:01 pm

Steve,
It's been suggested before by others and I'm in the process of trying it, so have a look at 'jewellers gimp'. It's available at 1mm diameter which is about the right diameter.
Bryan

shipbadger
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby shipbadger » Sat Oct 01, 2022 7:52 am

I method I've used for a long time and I take no credit for as it was described probably in MRJ many years ago. Fishing line, probably about 6lb, is wrapped around a wire of suitable diameter and then plunged into boiling water for a short time. On removal the line will have formed into the shape needed and can be cut to length. The coil remains flexible and could have one of those tiny neodinium magnets glued to the end so that it will connect with a similar one on the next vehicle (if you get the polarity correct). Sorry that's a bit vague as I made a lot in one go years ago and have forgotten the details. Hopefully this post will jog somebody into posting chapter and verse.

Tony Comber

Daddyman
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Daddyman » Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:25 am

I wouldn't worry about the corrugations - you have to blow up photos of the real thing very, very big before the corrugations become visible.
When rendered in 4mm scale, the corrugations tend to look clumsy. If you want texture on the hose, a more subtle effect can be achieved with paint - a hard brush and/or tacky paint.

Having said that, Dave Franks gets wonderfully subtle corrugations in his cast pipes...

As for hanging realistically, that will be difficult to achieve as, when coupled up, the vac hoses are not hanging - they swoop up at the end. That means you will need to use a wire which can be bent, and will stay bent - rigid in other words. All my North Sunderland stock has rigid vac pipes which swoop up at the end (and are corrugation-less), but the vehicles have spent their lives as display models so far; I'm almost certain that if they were run in a train, the vac pipes would foul those on the next vehicle. I did consider the magnet route, which Jim SW and others have done, but will it work for high-level pipes such as those on carriages? - will you get the realistic bend shape?

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John Bateson
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby John Bateson » Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:31 am

If I were to do this I would use silicon covered wire because it is extremely flexible with a mini magnet on the connection end as per Jim S-W. Remove the wire from the cable and just use the silicon sleeve.
John

still building parapets
Slaving away still on GCR stuff ...

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steve howe
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby steve howe » Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:10 am

Thanks guys,

Being lazy I hadn't done my homework so I dug out John Chamber's post https://www.scalefour.org/forum/search.php?keywords=magnet&t=3654&sf=msgonly which made all clear! just need to source the tiny magnets now!

thanks for responding.

Steve

MikeAllerton
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby MikeAllerton » Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:54 pm

https://www.first4magnets.com/ is a good source of very small magnets.

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Triode
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Triode » Mon Oct 03, 2022 11:08 am

I use elastic cord and small magnets for connectable vacuum hoses. More details here on the specific types used: https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=164&t=7786&start=25

Cheers,

Liam

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Noel
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Noel » Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:57 pm

Purely out of curiosity, how does it work when a hose on a standpipe meets one on a bufferbeam?
Regards
Noel

billbedford

Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby billbedford » Tue Oct 04, 2022 7:38 am

I could make you some of these if you are interested:

Fixed coupling.jpg


The light grey bits in the graphic are magnets. They are auto-coupling but need a push downwards with a shunter's pole to disengage.
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Stuartp
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Stuartp » Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:26 am

Noel wrote:Purely out of curiosity, how does it work when a hose on a standpipe meets one on a bufferbeam?


This (scroll down a bit...)
http://www.d8233.org.uk/ww130413.htm

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steve howe
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby steve howe » Tue Oct 04, 2022 12:16 pm

billbedford wrote:I could make you some of these if you are interested:

Fixed coupling.jpg

The light grey bits in the graphic are magnets. They are auto-coupling but need a push downwards with a shunter's pole to disengage.


Looks interesting Bill, my coaches have the tall standpipe. What sort of price are we looking at?

Steve

billbedford

Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby billbedford » Fri Oct 07, 2022 11:01 am

Steve,

I'm thinking of £7.50 per coupling.

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Noel
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Noel » Fri Oct 07, 2022 1:43 pm

Stuartp wrote:Noel wrote:
Purely out of curiosity, how does it work when a hose on a standpipe meets one on a bufferbeam?

This (scroll down a bit...)
http://www.d8233.org.uk/ww130413.htm

My enquiry was about how the magnets work in that situation [which I have since been told they do, but coupling requires assistance from the operator].
Regards
Noel

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Stuartp
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Stuartp » Sat Oct 08, 2022 2:59 pm

Ah, understood. Sorry.

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John Bateson
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby John Bateson » Sat Oct 08, 2022 3:32 pm

This may seem like a daft question, but don't these magnets have a N and a S pole so what would bethe result of getting carriages the wrong way around? Or do they have each end t'other way around and keep the carriages as a fixed rake?
:?
Slaving away still on GCR stuff ...

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Noel
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Noel » Sat Oct 08, 2022 6:33 pm

Stuartp wrote:Ah, understood. Sorry.


No problem. I was a little startled by the hoses being connected but no coupling in place - I assume [hope?] it wasn't normal practice :D.
Regards
Noel

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Stuartp
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Re: Vac. hoses/steam heating

Postby Stuartp » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:49 pm

Yes I was always told to couple the hoses last that way you have control of the brake. I have one colleague who knows exactly what noise a vacuum pipe makes when you rip it physically out of the headstock though ...


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