North Stafford Railway Ballast Brake Van

[jsherratt]

Hello All,

I thought I would put a note on here in case this is of interest. My friend and fellow member of the North Stafford Railway Study Group, Mark Smith, has been doing some work with theis new 3 D printing technology and has now produced a 4 mm scale model of the North Stafford Railway Ballast Brake Van. The history of this model is quite interesting, in that the existance of the prototype was unknown until it was "spotted" relatively recently in the corner of a photo. It may be that the prototype was unique, no drawings of it are known. Mark has based the model on this photo and the GA drawing of the regular NSR Brake (or Break as the company would have it) Van of 1888.

The model is available for purchase on the website of i.materialise:
http://i.materialise.com/gallery/north-staffordshire-railway-ballast-brake-van-4mm-scale

I bought one myself and it arrived in the post on Thursday:

IMG_1287c.jpg

This is the first proper look I have had at this new technology and I think it shows a lot of promise. There is some layering on the curve of the roof, but I expect this can be dealt with by sanding down, or adding a layer of thin plasticard, or both. Mark tells me the model is intended to run on MJT or similar W Irons.

I understand that Mark is working on a LNWR refridgerator van, and then a "regular" NSR 10 ton brake van.

John

[jon price]

This looks good. I'm interested in the LNWR refrigerator van (presumably D46). Is there a list I can get added to?

[jsherratt]

Hello Jon. I'm not sure. But, as soon as I hear anything else I will put another note on here.

John S

[jsherratt]

To follow on from my last note, a bit more news. I now have one of the NSR 10 ton Break (note the spelling!) vans as shown here.

IMG_1689s4.jpg

You will see that the solebars and floor are still attached to the body by 4 sprues, one at each corner.

This was supplied to Mark's design by i-materialise, but for various reasons, Mark has now made it available from Shapeways.

More information at:

http://www.shapeways.com/shops/5d_stoke

You may see, Jon, that the LNWR refridgerator van that you asked about is now listed as well.

I'm sure Mark would be happy to answer any questions, via the above link.

John S