Friday, January 05, 2007

How did I make an open wagon?

After some interesting and productive correspondence through the G Scale Mad discussion forum (see - http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=5454 ), I purchased some Hartland Loco Works flatcars and Bachmann metal wheels from Steve Warrington at Back 2 Bay 6 (http://www.back2bay6.com/ ). At £8.00 per wagon (plus £5.00 for two pairs of wheels) it seems a highly cost effective way of getting a chassis. These kits are a joy to construct - they simply click together in under 5 minutes - and come equipped with LGB compatible couplings.


HLW Flat wagon as purchased
From my archives I dug out some drawings of Southwold Railway open wagons (published in the 1979 edition of Model Railway Constructor - pp 194-6).

Modelling to 15mm/Foot - the HLW chassis provides a chassis with a 5'6" wheelbase - spot on for the later versions of the Southwold opens. The overall dimensions of the wagon body are a slight compromise - but then the axle boxes are not quite right either.

Four pieces of 60thou plasticard form the sides and ends of the wagon, suitably scribed to represent planking. The strapping was made from 10 thou microstrip - with rivets formed by cutting discs from plastic mico rod and painstakingly applying them.

A quick spray of grey undercoat, with strapping picked out in black acrylic - then grubby weathering and a load of crushed coal and a spray of semi-matt varnish - results in a passable representation of an open wagon.

The resulting model

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