Since my last post I’ve been trying to catch up with the backlog of unmade wagon kits that have been sitting in my “to do” box for far too long.

Before giving some details and final pictures of each wagon, the above picture is a fun little test for the wagon experts among you – can you identify the wagons with only a coat of grey primer? They are all constructed from the 2mm Scale Association plastic body kits with the appropriate etched chassis.

Well – how did you get on? The DC1 and DC3 brakes on the left hand two are a dead give-away for GWR. The next one is a bit more generic but it’s the 5 plank LMS kit. The plank numbers on the other three may help. The 8 plank as an SR open and the other two are the 6 plank LNER kits, one modelled unfitted and one fitted.

GWR Diagrams O14 / O5

These two wagons are sold as a twin pack labelled as O3/O5. I don’t have a problem with the O5 description for the 4 plank but I don’t think the 5 plank is correct for diagram O3. Two of the distinguishing features of the early diagram, 5 plank wagons were the diagonal strapping and the side stanchions. The kit has a diagonal strap with curved feet at the bottom. This is appropriate for diagrams O3, O9 and O14 – other diagrams had a straight diagonal. The stanchions either side of the door on the model are L section. I believe this is only appropriate for diagram O14. Photographs of the other two diagrams show flat strapping for the side stanchions. (subsequent edit - On looking again, O3 had flat side stanchions but photos of O9 show T section)

I therefore chose to model the 5 plank wagon as a diagram O14 similar to the photograph on page 54 of Cheona Publications book GWR Wagons Before 1948 Vol. 1. The only addition I made to the body was to add two vertical pieces of plastic to represent the protection for the door when it drops against the door spring stops. The picture shows a DC3 cross cornered brake arrangement with brakes on all 4 wheels. Although it is an unfitted wagon, I included bracing between the W irons as this is shown in the photograph.

The O5 was built as per the kit but with the addition of a small circle of plastic on the top plank as protection for the door when it drops against the end of the brake shaft as there was no door spring stop. I chose to model a chassis with DC1 brakes (on 2 wheels only) but with the adjustment to cross cornered handles.

The instructions for the GWR chassis mention that it is not possible to fit DG Couplings and at the same time model the DC1 cross shafts at each end of the wagon. While this is correct if you use the fold up support for the couplings, it is actually possible to adapt the coupling by folding it in a right angled Z shape so that it fits round the back of the buffer beam and is soldered directly to the floor of the wagon – the fold up support is left flat and unused. A slot also has to be made in the fixing end of the coupling so that it can be fitted either side of the central cross shaft support. Hopefully the picture below explains what I mean.

LMS Diagram D1666

This wagon was built as per the kit with a standard 9’ wooden solebar chassis with independent either side brakes on all 4 wheels. The wagon is numbered 54680 which is listed as one of the known numbers for this diagram in Essery’s reprint of LMS Wagons Vol. 1.

SR Diagram D1400

Having previously modelled one of these kits as the earlier diagram D1398, I decided that for some variety I would go for the later diagram D1400 this time. No change is needed to the body but the chassis now has to have independent brakes on each side operating on all 4 wheels. Being a 10’ wheelbase, chassis kit 2-332 was used with the steel conversion overlays. I must admit I find the conversion overlay really difficult to work with particularly as the door bangers always seem to snap off if you want them to correctly follow the shape of the solebar channel - I invariably have to solder them back on one by one which is incredibly fiddly.

D1400 only just fits into my time period of mid to late 30’s and therefore had to be lettered with the smaller post 1936 style letters. As with all the models, Modelmaster transfers from the N Scale society were used.

LNER 6 plank opens

The LNER 6 plank wagons come as a twin pack so I decided to model one as fitted and one unfitted. This also gave me an opportunity to introduce a new wagon colour to my fleet as the LNER painted its fitted wagons red oxide. Unfortunately I did not have a tin of this colour but had some LMS bauxite which I hope is a reasonable approximation particularly after some weathering has been applied. The wagons were numbered to match the two pictures on page 19 of Tatlow’s book A Pictorial Record of LNER Wagons. Note that at this stage I have not painted the inside of the wagons - the grey primer needs to be changed to something slightly browner to represent weathered unpainted planks.

The unfitted wagon uses the standard 9’ wheelbase wooden solebar chassis, this time built using the Morton brakes. Luckily the Association also produces an appropriate chassis for the rather distinctive 8 shoe braking arrangement used by the LNER for its fitted wagons. Also, by the time I got round to building the fitted version, I had acquired some RCH style ribbed buffers so used these as being more appropriate than the generic earlier Association turned brass style.

So that's my fleet of open wagons complete for the moment. I need to get the airbrush out to do some weathering and then I can move back to building construction. I think my next project will be the GWR stables for Tavistock