Updated 2020
These models are no longer printed and have been replaced by the Atkinson Walker Railcars which I show in a later post. See links below of further details.
https://modelengineworks.blogspot.com/2018/11/009-atkinson-walker-rail-cars.html
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/model-engine-works?section=009+Railcars&s=0
Following on from my Donegal Irish railcar I thought it would be good to complete the set and develop the Clogher Valley’s own railcar unit No 1. Again this is a version for 009 gauge based on the original but shorter to suit track curves of around 230 mm (9”) radius.
These models are no longer printed and have been replaced by the Atkinson Walker Railcars which I show in a later post. See links below of further details.
https://modelengineworks.blogspot.com/2018/11/009-atkinson-walker-rail-cars.html
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/model-engine-works?section=009+Railcars&s=0
Following on from my Donegal Irish railcar I thought it would be good to complete the set and develop the Clogher Valley’s own railcar unit No 1. Again this is a version for 009 gauge based on the original but shorter to suit track curves of around 230 mm (9”) radius.
I quickly came to the conclusion when developing this railcar
that the tractor “No 2 unit” was a must also, they both share the same cab and
chassis frame, and it had to be easier to work on the truck body for the tractor
unit at the same time as the railcar.
To get this model to work it was necessary to split it into
multiple parts. This meant that 4 pieces would build the cab tractor unit, with
the wagon body is in one and the railcar body in 4 sections. Also this gave the options
of using different plastics to form the parts, which worked out better for
detail and cost. It also added the possibility to use bits for scratch building
other models, such as the Donegal rail car No 10.
When prototyping this model I used mainly strong white
flexible polished (SWFP) on the truck “No 2 unit” to see what the details
printed were like. This is also the most economical printing method. The railcar
I printed in a combination of strong white flexible polished (SWFP) and Frosted
ultra-detail (FUD). To make use of the different properties each plastic has to
offer. The detail on both turned out
well, see the lists of parts shown at the end of this post.
C-1 Cab Roof a or b (see list of parts at end of post)
The CVR version needs no alteration, to add the headlamp to
the Donegal No 10 version, there is a pilot hole on the inside centre front of
the roof. Use a 1.2mm bit and drill right through from the back. The lamp is
fitted from the front on the spur used to fix it to the radiator on the CVR
version. This will need to be glued in place.
To give the lens some sparkle I added a small 2mm clear
rhinestone to the front of the lamp. The bracket was then painted in a gun
metal finish, a mix of Humbrol Matt black 33 and silver 56.
A is the
configuration used on the CVR units, or B
place the lamp on the front of the cab roof, as the CDRJC railcar No 10.
 |
| A B |
C-2 Cab Body (see list of parts at end of post)
This is a simple one piece design which has three locating holes in the bottom to fit the corresponding pins on the C-4 chassis frame, the detail looks good printed in both (SWFP) and (FUD). There are locating holes for the C-3 radiator and the C-1 roof which are printed separately to the cab.
C-3 Radiator a or b (see list of parts at end of post)
The radiator was originally designed just to suit the Clogher valley units only, but following constructive comments on the NGRMO forum I thought it worth making it suitable for the Donegal No 10 version as well. This revised version starts off with a flat plate under the radiator, with a hole for the NEM coupling pocket and slot to take a white metal vacuum pipe. The cowcatcher for the Clogher valley units is a detachable print on the front which if used has the mounting spurs trimmed off and the cowcatcher is located using a rectangular block at the rear which sockets into the hole left for the NEM pocket. There are holes on the cowcatcher for the lamp mounting brackets and the starting handle. The lamp is also printed on the back of the radiator - this is cut off and the raking spur removed. It is also intended for use on the Donegal No 10 version, see notes on C-1 cab roof.
For the CVR version a
pilot hole is formed in the back of the radiator itself and this is drilled out
to take the lamp spur. The lamp bracket has a pilot hole to be drilled out to
take the 0.45 mm brass wire, and this is used to form the mounting bracket. (You
may fine this a very fiddly job). The 0.45 mm wire is also used to make the
starting handle. I have tried to use pictures to show these
details in a more graphic manner, see below.
Front lamps (part of radiator print)
C-4 Chassis Frame (see list of parts at end of post)
The difficult bit to work out was how to connect the chassis to the cab, wagon and railcar bodies. The conventional way of fitting the Kato 11-104 chassis, a rectangular shaped hole in a flat plate, worked out to be too wide for the articulated railcar body. The solution was to form a frame that sat over the chassis; it would hook over the front part of the chassis, with a frame over the top to carry the cab, railcar body pivot or the wagon body and clipped onto the back of the chassis with a cradle.
This does mean cutting and adjusting the front section of
the Kato chassis, but the result fits in better.
It was necessary to make an
adjustable pivot plate on the frame behind the cab; this was to allow the
Railcar body sufficient clearance on tight curves. By doing this and making the
rear bogie on the railcar body pivot, I hope it would give the finished model
smoother running on curves and the ability to pull some wagons.
The pivot plate is printed under the frame on spurs. This is
cut off its spurs and added to a groove in the top of the frame. The further
back you place this will allow the articulated railcar body to work on tighter
curves, but leaves a bigger gap between the railcar and the cab, so this will
allow the two to be finely adjusted to suit individual modellers needs before
final fixing. Like a lot of things it is a compromise between looks and
functionality.
A small amount of weight added to the cab and over the rear
bogie on the railcar body will help keep the model on the tracks with good
electrical contact. I have left the roof on both the cab and railcar body’s
loose to allow for easy access when fitting the glazing, interior seats and
adding people to the interior if required.
W-1 Wagon Body (see list of parts at end of post)
This is a very simple part, designed to locate on the
chassis frame directly behind the cab. There is no need to fit the pivot block
to the chassis frame if building the wagon version of the No 2 Unit. I would
pre-finished the wagon body before fixing in place which makes it much easier.
It is good to add a small amount of weight to this before fitting. This can be added
in the two recesses between the base of the wagon and under frame. The NEM
coupling pocket is the only additional item to be prepared and fitted to the truck
body.
R-1 Railcar Roof (a or
b see list of parts at end of post)
The roof is printed with a ladder and luggage frame attached
on spurs which are easily cut off at the roof level , leaving a plain roof
suiting the Clogher Valley railcar. On the underside of the roof are 6 rings used
as guides to drill holes in the roof to refit the luggage frame, using the
spurs that attached it to the roof to locate it again. There are 2 small holes
in the back of this for the ladder and a further 2 holes in the back of the railcar
body to locate the bottom of the ladder. These would be filled if building the
Clogher Valley version.
R-2 Railcar Interior (see list of parts at end of post)
I had this printed in Strong Black and flexible, which only
leaves the seat backs to paint. These were painted using Humbrol No 73 matt
burgundy on the backs, with a touch of Humbrol No 56 silver used on the upper
edges. Passengers can be added if required before fitting to the railcar body.
I found the interesting tip on the NGRMO forum, of using HO scale figures to
give more of a spacious impression to the interior, works very well. See Simon
Cox’s workbench article http://ngrm-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/15571-simon-coxs-workbench/page-2
R-3 Railcar Body (see list of parts at end of post)
I had the body printed in both strong white flexible
polished (SWFP) and Frosted ultra-detail (FUD). The level of detail remained
quite good in the (SWFP). The base of the railcar body does needs the angular
edges smoothing off so there is nothing for the bogie to catch on. A pocket has
been formed for an 8BA nut to be located in above the mounting for the bogie,
which may need cleaning out a bit on the (SWFP) body as the powder residue gets
trapped in small spaces. It is then just a case of dropping the nut into the
socket and a small spot of glue will hold this in place. I prefinished the railcar
body, roof and interior before adding the glazing and assembling. Adding a
small amount of weight centrally to the railcar sides and over the pivot helps
with smooth running of the unit. If building the Donegal No 10 version a vacuum
pipe will need to be added to the rear right hand back panel. I used Vale of
Rheidol Vacuum & Steam Heating Pipes. The short pipes from Parkside Dundas
part No Ref DP03 seem to look the part on this model.
R-4 Railcar Bogie (see list of parts at end of post)
I had the bogie printed in Strong Black and flexible as this
offered a good finish and strength. Being black already saved on painting. The flexible
nature of the material allowed for fitting the wheels without breakage. The
axle’s pockets were polished smooth with a pointed flat bit; this was ground to
match the cone shape formed on the inside of the axle boxes. I kept gently
working the drill on each cone and then trying the wheel until I achieved
smooth and free running. This has the effect of polishing the cone rather than
drilling it out more.
A pilot hole is formed in the bogie, this act as a guide for
the clearance hole needed for an 8 BA cheese head machine screw used as a
pivot. An 8 BA nut is located in a socket at the bottom of the coach body. The
NEM coupling pocket can be attached to the rear of the bogie where a rectangular
hole is formed to accept this. When fitted, file smooth any protruding material
from the NEM coupling as this will catch on the lower part of the coach body.
When assembling the bogie to the body of the coach a washer
of thin Plasticard 0.25mm needs to give the right gap between the bogie and
body work for free movement.
Coupling pockets
I have designed the rear railcar bogie and the truck body to
be fitted with Peco GR-103 Coupling pockets. These are best glued together hole
first, then cut off the larger top horizontal section. This will allow you to
pass the vertical middle section through the hole in the bogie or truck under
frame, and glue in place.
Unit glazing
When considering glazing for these units I noticed that I
would have to fold one of the pieces at the front cab window. The clear plastic
window used on product packaging looked to be a good option as some of this is
actually folded. I found a version on some packaging at 0.25 mm which cut well
and folded neatly. Contact adhesive was used to fix this in place. I did notice
on the R-2 Railcar Interior that the width needed reducing by 1mm on each side
to allow for the glazing material thickness, and this was easily done, as the
S.B&F is simply cut with a sharp modelling knife.
Unit painting
As usual I have prepared the Shapeways Frosted Ultra detail
(FUD), getting rid of the waxy residue before paint is added. I tackle this by
washing in white spirits and then a good wash in hot soapy water. It is best to
dry it off in a warm place overnight, then apply 2 or 3 thin coats of primer.
The strong white flexible polished (SWFP) is fine with a good
primer applied. Use the first coat to size the surface which can then be burnished
with a blunt wood spatula or similar tool to smooth it off. A further 2 or 3
thin coats of primer will build up a good surface for painting.
The strong black flexible (SBF) used on the bogie, railcar
interior and chassis frame was left un-painted and looked fine.
Starting with the Clogher Valley railcar No 1, the original
was painted brown with a white roof. “CLOGHER VALLEY RAILWAY” was lettered
between the waist mouldings on each side in shaded gold block capitals. Below
the title was “No1”.
For my version I used Humbrol paint to make a shade of brown
that had a touch of burgundy added. This was a mix of Matt 83 brown and smaller
proportion matt 73 burgundy, making what could be described as a dirty crimson
lake colour. The white for the roof had a majority Matt 34 white and a tiny bit
of Light grey Matt 147 to take the edge off. I used Waterslide decals from Fox
Transfers, Gold 1 mm letters to form the “CLOGHER VALLEY RAILWAY” which fitted
between the waist moulding well, and 2 mm for the No 1 below. The radiator was
a mix of Matt black 33 and silver 56 in different proportion lighter for the
frame and darker in the centre, the cowcatcher was in Matt black 33. A final
coat of satin varnish was applied over all the painted surfaces.
The second
was Clogher Valley No 2 Unit or, as it was called, “The Unit”. This was
finished in a grey livery, with a white roof. The original was plain grey to
start with, and later had “CLOGHER VALLEY RAILWAY” lettered on the wagon body
with “No 2” below.
I made some
changes to my version, the grey primer was used as the body colour with a coat
of satin varnish applied, while the roof had the same mix of matt 34 white and
a tiny bit of Light grey Matt 147 like the railcar, again with the satin
varnish applied. This time I used white ModelMaster 1.4 mm Waterslide decals to
form a simple “CVR” with “No2” below on the wagon body. The radiator was a mix
of Matt black 33 and silver 56 in different proportion for the frame and the
centre, the cowcatcher and wagon under frame was in Matt black 33.
Finally the
County Donegal No 10 railcar version, was finished in red lower panelling,
using Humbrol matt 153 red mixed with a smaller proportion of Revell R331
crimson. The cream upper section round the windows and bonnet is a mixture of
matt 154 yellow and Mat 34 matt white, with the grey roof being a mix of Mat
106 matt grey and matt white 34. A fine black Staedtler Lumocolor permanent
marker was used to do the lining on the waist mouldings.The Donegal
crest was found on the internet and printed on an ink jet satin photo paper to
the size required, then I used a hole punch to cut these out. The back of the
paper was removed carefully with a craft knife leaving only the shiny surface
paper. This was fixed with super glue direct to the red paint work. The No 10
Waterslide decals used on each side of the cab are “Old Time” Talyllyn coach
numbers in gold and black. The radiator was a mix of Matt black 33 and silver
56 in different proportion for the frame and the centre. This was also used on
the rear ladder and vacuum pipes, the hose of which was finished in matt grey
147. A final coat of satin varnish was applied over all the painted surfaces.
C-1 Cab Roof a or b - strong white flexible
polished
C-2 Cab Body - Frosted ultra-detail
C-3 Radiator a or b – Frosted ultra-detail
C-4 Chassis Frame - strong Black flexible
W-1 Wagon Body - Frosted ultra-detail or strong
white flexible polished
List of Railcar parts
C-1 Cad Roof a or b - strong white flexible
polished
C-2 Cad Body - Frosted ultra-detail
C-3 Radiator a or b - Frosted ultra-detail
C-4 Chassis Frame - strong Black flexible
R-1 Railcar Roof
a or b - Frosted ultra-detail or strong white flexible polished
R-2 Railcar Interior - strong Black flexible
R-3 Railcar Body - Frosted ultra-detail
R-4 Railcar - strong Black flexible
Other items needed
Kato 11-104 Chassis
6 mm x 9mm gauge wheels
Peco NEM couplings &
pockets
6 mm 8 BA machine screw
& nut bogie pivot
Clear
plasticard sheet for glazing 0.25 mm
White metal
Vacuum pips By Parkside Dundas ref part No Ref DP03
If you would like to obtain a copy of the 3D parts they are available at. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/model-engine-works
