Modern 009 wagons…
Rolling stock kits can become the poor relation to the glamour of a new steam engine or diesel. This pair of ‘modern’ narrow gauge kits are my poor attempt to redress the balance in my kit range…
This sugar cane wagon (left) and mine tub (right) are multi media kits with etched bodies on a 3D printed chassis with etched details and inside framed chassis. The chassis are glued together where the body can be glued but is better soldered.
Inside frame with brass bushes and slots for Greenwich couplings, the braked chassis is designed to allow further variants to be offered in future, loosely based upon prototypes seen at Ledston Luck colliery and wagons at Statfold they will initially come with either of these bodies but if there is demand we may look to offer them separately as well.
The mine tub body is simply folded up from flat, the design means the corners meet neatly and can be glued but if you choose to solder them the soft curved edges on my prototype here can be formed with a file. The fidelity of a metal body in this instance means a realistically thin profile, if wanted a strengthening bead can be formed from styrene around the lip.
The cane wagon is styled on those still in use today where cane is chopped rather than just cut. The design has small tabs on the sides that neatly fold round the corners securing the ends, again these can be superglued but solder results in a stronger assembly. A rake of these would look great behind one of my O&K locomotives! The models will be available through Light Railway Stores later this year, prices to be confirmed. In the meantime, if you’ve any other ideas for bodies that could use the chassis leave them as comments and I’ll consider adding them to the range in time. Until then, more soon…
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Hi James
ReplyDeleteReally impressed with these new wagons/cars. The mine tubs also look like those I see outside the museum at Preston Pans near Edinburgh when I take the grandsons swimming or to a different beach.
The cane cars are especially good and I would be happy if you can make up a rake of six for me in due course for the mill tramway cameo we have have discussed. I saw some very similar cars when I visited just a small sample of the mill tramways in Queensland in 2001 and 2008. The only variation is the inside frame wheels but these could be hidden behind some thicker frames. I have sent a few photos of the cars I saw and these show the deeper frames
Best regards
Alan
Thanks Alan, and for the email. Yes deeper frames would be an easy scratch build addition using styrene under the etched body.
DeleteHi Alan, if you're looking for further detail on bins, you can find a ton of info here: https://www.zelmeroz.com/canesig/index.html
DeleteThe image collection contains a bunch of Jim Fainges' drawings of cane railway rolling stock (both his wonderful hand drawn work and his later, clearer CAD work): https://www.zelmeroz.com/albumquery/_search.php if you use the search term "chopped" one of the results will be a drawing of a Moreton Central bin. Hope that's of use.
Tim
Thanks Tim, I think many of us will be forever grateful for Jim’s resources, they have been a constant inspiration for many years.
DeleteThanks Tim/James
ReplyDeleteI have used the Zelmer Oz site for information on the cane railways and picked up on Jim Fainges excellent drawings. As I said I visited a few mills in 2001 and 2008 but unfortunately toward the end of the crush so one or two were not working. I was surprised by the different types cars included in rakes coming into the mill. I assume the dumpers could deal with them. I think they were all four-wheel with the exception of the "cane-tainers" at Mossman
Best regards
Alan
A useful and welcome pair. I've said for years that a modern(ish) 009 mine tub needed to be produced.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul.
Delete