Wagon Loads

Mostly non UK in (probably) the worlds most popular scale/gauge.

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Brian Considine
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:35 pm

Wagon Loads

Post by Brian Considine » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:50 pm

Although HO wagons are the subject of this thread the principle applies equally to other scales.
One of my (too) many pet hates is to see rakes of empty open wagons. We kept the scrap steel wagons that we ran on St.Laurent but some of the Chinese manufactured ones had gone brittle &/or banana shaped in storage. They reminded me of the early Triang Maroon Coaches from decades ago.
So, it was time to produce some more.

If you do follow this method please make sure that you wear gloves & eye protection - the metal "sprinkles" are sharp, very sharp.

1) Obtain some millings from an engineering workshop.
2) Clean off the cutting fluids (I used a bucket with a high concentration of washing up liquid, then wash off the soapy water.
3) Dry off the "sprinkles", SHMBO put them in the oven on an old baking tray & they were dry very quickly.

The pictures show the "sprinkles" ready for use & an original wagon.

To be continued.
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Brian Considine
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Wagon Loads

Post by Brian Considine » Mon Dec 17, 2018 11:05 pm

Clearly, if the wagons were actually filled with the "sprinkles" then they would be too heavy so some packing is needed. You can use cardboard for example or some polystyrene (which we used).
Simply cut to size & glue in place.
Paint the insides of the wagon & the top of the packing piece in a suitable rusty brown. We left two of the wagons as they will be "fresh out of the paint shop" & not weathered at all.
Then you can arrange the "sprinkles" dry & get them positioned. These wagons are usually loaded by a mechanical or magnetic "grab" so will be slightly heaped.
When you are satisfied with the heaps use a 50/50 diluted mix of PVA/water & using a eye dropper (as you would for ballasting) apply enough adhesive to fix the load firmly. Make sure that the adhesive does not drip through the wagons & on to the running gear - depending on the wagon construction it may be a good idea to remove some or all of the wheels, bogies & couplings.
When done put the wagons aside until the adhesive sets completely.
At this stage we test ran the wagons for several hours to make sure that all was well.

The pictures show the packing pieces, the "sprinkles" in place & the wagons on test.

To be continued.
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Brian Considine
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Wagon Loads

Post by Brian Considine » Tue Dec 18, 2018 7:56 am

Test running with the other wagons proved OK, 20 in all. Overall, this train is heavy & requires a locomotive with decent haulage power & adhesion.

The pictures show them on test & the set together just before they were put outside.

The next stage, when the adhesive has well & truly set is to put them outside for the damp air to naturally rust the "sprinkles". This will be done over Christmas.

After that, the wagons will be weathered to various conditions, except for the two "outshopped" ones.

To be continued.
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Brian Considine
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2018 12:35 pm

Re: Wagon Loads

Post by Brian Considine » Wed Jan 23, 2019 7:58 pm

The wagons have now had well over a week outside & have now been taken back inside to dry out. Looks like I will have to apply some more PVA as some of the loads are a bit loose. Next thing will be to test run, more PVA & then weather all of them to various degrees except a couple which will be left "factory fresh".
Fairly pleased with them so far - any comments are most welcome.

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