A Seasonal Vehicle from Ironmink / Thingiverse

[John Isherwood]

A couple of days ago, I received a surprise, seasonal gift from Ironmink - who publishes his 3D printer designs on Thingiverse free of charge.

 

It is none other than the SR / BR(SR) double-ended snowplough! Two were built pre-war by the SR, and two more by BR(SR), immediately post-war.

 

If you like odd-ball rolling stock, they don't get odder than this one. A double ended snowplough, with headstocks and dumb buffers that could be raised at either end, depending on the desired direction of travel.

 

The boom to which was fixed the block and tackle, used to raise and lower the headstocks, could be swivelled to either end, in the same manner as a tramcar trolley pole!

 

All in all, a perfectly prototypical, but barely believable Christmas oddity!

 

The 3D print will require two axles of wagon wheels, a single NEM pocket and fixing bracket, and a couple of pins with which to attach the side capstan handles.

 

My thanks to Ironmink, and a recommendation for a little Christmas / New Year project for those with access to a 3D printer.

 

(Photos to follow, when the transfers have been applied).

 

John Isherwood.

 

 

[Fair Oak Junction]

That is a very interesting item of rolling stock! I'll definitely have to get one printed, it's too unique not to 😄

[John Isherwood]

43 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

That is a very interesting item of rolling stock! I'll definitely have to get one printed, it's too unique not to 😄

 

Pedant alert!!

 

There are no degrees of 'Unique'; it's either unique, or it's not.

 

CJI.

[Fair Oak Junction]

Okay, sorry

[John Isherwood]

3 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

Okay, sorry

 

Don't take me seriously - no-one else does! 😀

 

CJI.

[IronMink]

It looks like the Skunk Works had a proto Dalek.

 

3D files are free to download at 

www.thingiverse.com/ironmink/designs

 

I'm very grateful to John Isherwood for making the decals available.

 

Compliments of the season.

 

Jonny

[MJI]

12 hours ago, IronMink said:

It looks like the Skunk Works had a proto Dalek.

 

3D files are free to download at 

www.thingiverse.com/ironmink/designs

 

I'm very grateful to John Isherwood for making the decals available.

 

Compliments of the season.

 

Jonny

Hi Jonny

 

That looks weird.

 

For you and John.

 

Hope to finish the transfers on the first 6 hoppers today.

[The Stationmaster]

What a fascinating vehicle.  Clever idea to get round the need to have to turn a plough, or to use two ploughs with an engine sandwiched between them.  But knowing some of the problems of ploughing deep snow and the resistance it can present to a snow plough I wonder how successful they were in use with that folding headstock?

[John Isherwood]

2 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

What a fascinating vehicle.  Clever idea to get round the need to have to turn a plough, or to use two ploughs with an engine sandwiched between them.  But knowing some of the problems of ploughing deep snow and the resistance it can present to a snow plough I wonder how successful they were in use with that folding headstock?

 

Successful enough for BR to build a couple more post-war, after the 'Big Freeze'.

 

That they were identical to those built years before suggests that they were deemed to be more than capable.

 

CJI.

[MJI]

CCT some extra advice.

 

Treat them like Mogwai, do not get them wet, let water soak slowly from behind, then they remain intact.

 

When ready they will float off.

 

I use klear as a varnish before spray matt at a later date.

 

[Binky]

A very interesting bit of kit. It would make a nice conversation piece stabled on a model railway somewhere even if it doesn't see action.

 

Is the print designed to take a particular chassis or wheelset or is it just a case of finding something that fits?

[IronMink]

2 minutes ago, Binky said:

A very interesting bit of kit. It would make a nice conversation piece stabled on a model railway somewhere even if it doesn't see action.

 

Is the print designed to take a particular chassis or wheelset or is it just a case of finding something that fits?

Ordinary wagon wheels just pop straight in.

[John Isherwood]

Just now, Binky said:

A very interesting bit of kit. It would make a nice conversation piece stabled on a model railway somewhere even if it doesn't see action.

 

Is the print designed to take a particular chassis or wheelset or is it just a case of finding something that fits?

 

The print merely requires a couple of axles of spoked 12mm. dia. wheels fitting into the provided, moulded pinpoint bearings. For couplings, if needed, the standard NEM pocket and mount glues directly below the raised headstock.

 

CJI.

[Fair Oak Junction]

Just checking, are the STLs already scaled to OO?

[MJI]

You scale them yourself in the slicer.

 

1.31% in chitubox AFAIR

[Fair Oak Junction]

4 minutes ago, MJI said:

You scale them yourself in the slicer.

 

1.31% in chitubox AFAIR

 

Okay....I have no idea what that means 😄

But I'll pass that on to the person I'm going to get to print them, they'll probably get it 👍

[nick_bastable]

just done a test print in 2mm worked very well

 

thanks

 

Nick

[The Stationmaster]

On 17/12/2023 at 12:45, cctransuk said:

 

Successful enough for BR to build a couple more post-war, after the 'Big Freeze'.

 

That they were identical to those built years before suggests that they were deemed to be more than capable.

 

CJI.

I k now that but I still wonder.  The CPT double ended plougjs seem hav e g had a far more sibstantiral way of mounting the drawbar/buffing face and generally they only had to deal with powder snow.  British snow is hard stuff to shift after it's been athrougha partial melt then refreeze cycle to the ectent that it can derail a BR independenr plough without too such effort.  You hardly even need a snowplough to get through fairly fresh, uncompressed, British snow up to c 3ft deep but snow which isn't fresh but is around a simialr depth has sometimes derailed or held fast snowploughs.  (But I've never been involved with snow clearance when it has been more than waist deep on the lines we were trying to clear,  Fortunately we didm't have to clear the drifts which were bee etween 12 and 16 feet deep as they were clear of the running lines we wanted to keep open.)

[Worsdell forever]

On 16/12/2023 at 16:21, Fair Oak Junction said:

That is a very interesting item of rolling stock! I'll definitely have to get one printed, it's too unique not to 😄

 

On 16/12/2023 at 17:08, cctransuk said:

 

Pedant alert!!

 

There are no degrees of 'Unique'; it's either unique, or it's not.

 

CJI.

 

On 16/12/2023 at 17:10, Fair Oak Junction said:

Okay, sorry

 

On 16/12/2023 at 17:14, cctransuk said:

 

Don't take me seriously - no-one else does! 😀

 

CJI.

 

Not even unique to the Southern 😲, they built 2, as the NER had already built one in 1907, which I would imagine the Southern ones were a copy of. The only difference being the addition of the beam and lifting pulleys. 

[Fair Oak Junction]

I very much regret using the word "unique" 😄

[IronMink]

I knew I had a book somewhere....

 

I found this today in my collection.

 

This 1961 publication explains that snow is not just snow. It has a most extraordinarily variable set of physical properties that must be a real headache to deal with. Its specific gravity, cohesion and plasticity vary massively. Plough design is a real science.

 

Fortunately no indoor layout has to deal with these factors.

 

In the book is an image credited to British Railways of the other side of BR Built  Snowplough S3, with lifting jib detail. I upload it here as it's different to the images in Southern Wagons Vol 4. I have learned from it that the hand wheels were opposite to each other, which I didn't know before, and I have amended the positions on the files on Thingiverse.

 

Jonny

 

 

 

 

 

[micklner]

NER Version is identical other than the top "lifting beam".

NER Snowploughs Book has a photo and a dimension diagram, I can post photos if anyone wants them ?

It was used on the Tyneside Electric lines. It would go nicely with the recent NIU Snowploughs which I have already built.

[IronMink]

Yes please, I'd like to see that. Were the Tyneside Electric ones double ended too? 

[Enterprisingwestern]

14 hours ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

I very much regret using the word "unique" 😄

 

You were in a unique position not to!

 

Mike.

[Worsdell forever]

On 20/12/2023 at 19:47, Worsdell forever said:

 

 

 

 

Not even unique to the Southern 😲, they built 2, as the NER had already built one in 1907, which I would imagine the Southern ones were a copy of. The only difference being the addition of the beam and lifting pulleys. 

 

On 20/12/2023 at 22:09, IronMink said:

Yes please, I'd like to see that. Were the Tyneside Electric ones double ended too? 

 

As I said above, the Southern ones were a copy of the North Eastern one.

 

 

Buy the book here-

https://ner.org.uk/product/railway-snowploughs-of-the-north-east/