jonte

Western Thunderer
As always, Jan, I’ve no doubt the workforce will successfully circus-tent this little spanner in the works too :)

Enjoy the weather.

Jonte
 
VANWIDE

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Fine Fettle*
(*Your mileage may vary)

A productive hour or two, this Bank Holiday evening. We’ve managed (successfully, we think) in righting the wrong previously reported:
C6D7E296-1F51-4D1F-9F78-E08EAE8A885E.jpeg
Sinister is the original, shorn of its incorrectly-oriented cam. On the right is what we’ve worked up.

The original was sweated on to some 10 thou brass sheet using 60/40, and cut closely with a piercing saw on the bench peg. Needle and diamond files gave us the shape, following the lines of the original. The boss was built up using the washer supplied on the fret, and the representation of the pivot pin a piece of brass wire soldered into place. Not as finessed as the original, but good enough.

Cheers

Jan
 

iak63

Western Thunderer
Now if they had only been right to begin with...
Bravo sir; mind that nice Mr Newitt does a suitable chassis. Some of which lurk somewhere in the workroom? Or is that the loft?
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Now if they had only been right to begin with...
Bravo sir; mind that nice Mr Newitt does a suitable chassis. Some of which lurk somewhere in the workroom? Or is that the loft?
Hello Ian
Thank You. Indeed... The Faff would have been unrequired, then.

Ah.... a nice thought, and - if we had one, rather than six of the blighters to build, and having their solebars already well glued in place - we could well have gone down that route. But the gravity of fiscal considerations pull us very much toward the beach upon the shores of Cheapside. Of course, the money men have a way of accounting for valuable work done in the Rectification Shop - a way that doesn’t leave a big red mark on the books!

Cheers

Jan
 
Last edited:
VANWIDE

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Leverage
The kerfuffle on the ratchet side has become a distant - low-level - grumble. We’ve moved on to clearer, stiller, uncluttered, waters. Where freehand fettling can be forgotten.
7E572ECF-AC71-4A3E-900B-A1BF31A17A35.jpeg
The levers on both sides are non-acting. Something akin to Victor Mature, you may say. They are used to bring some stability - and solidity - to the dangerous delinquent dangle of the brake lever guard.

The cast clump of the semi-exposed vacuum cylinder comes courtesy of ABS by way of Stores, with its actuator arms snipped from the Rice-drawn Mainly Trains MT230 fret
MT230: Wagon Brake Details - Wizard Models Limited - again, courtesy of Stores.

Cheers

Jan
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
I concur, it's looking great. Makes me want to dig my built Vanwides out and rework them!

Matt
Thanks Matt
Vanwides are good. A radical shift from the mindset that brought life to the Palvan, I think. I’d love to have been privy to the mindset driving the evolution in design. It seems to have been a lightbulb moment. Just 10 years too late!

Oh.. and I’m sure they would have used Vanwides somewhere in the China clay traffic...

Cheers

Jan
 
VANWIDE

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Born Sloppy
Lately, every step is fraught with peril (no - I’m no talking about Beryl..)

Loathe to do ‘the usual’ and cut off the buffer housing to fit cast replacements (nice they they are) we planned to fit some nice MJT 13” heads (courtesy of MJT 2375). Unfortunately, things are not that simple....
77859F0E-F37F-462C-8A60-4F0ADB3F6A96.jpeg
Shanks for nothing...
The spindles of the MJT product are 3” dia. The accommodating hole is 4.2”. More slop than Beryl’s custard..

We’ve done some research* - even visiting the virtual premises of Oleo - and come up - we hope - with a solution. We’re hoping to be sent packing (brass tube), courtesy of Albion Alloys - by way of Chronos Ltd, of Dunstable.

*our research has - as you would expect - taken in a great deal of photographic representation from Mr Bartlett’s Picturesque Emporium of Wanton Wagonry. In so doing, we found this:

BR Vanwides - vacuum brake VWV VMV ZDV ZRV VEV | B783323 VEV

Where the buffer spindle appears thinner than the chromed neighbours in the rest of the sub-catalogue. Indeed, it looks almost identical to our rendition in its offsettedness. Is this a trick of the light, or a less than mint hydraulic unit?

Cheers

Jan
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Born Sloppy...

*our research has - as you would expect - taken in a great deal of photographic representation from Mr Bartlett’s Picturesque Emporium of Wanton Wagonry. In so doing, we found this:

BR Vanwides - vacuum brake VWV VMV ZDV ZRV VEV | B783323 VEV

Where the buffer spindle appears thinner than the chromed neighbours in the rest of the sub-catalogue. Indeed, it looks almost identical to our rendition in its offsettedness. Is this a trick of the light, or a less than mint hydraulic unit?

Cheers

Jan

That's because it's the other sort of hydraulic buffer, a product of that fine Gloucestershire company, Messers Dowty. Pic' when I can find one, but the buffer body is a greater diameter than the representation of the OLEO (I think), Parkside give you.

These chaps: BH03

Adam
 
Last edited:

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
That's because it's the other sort of hydraulic buffer, a product of that fine Gloucestershire company, Messers Dowty. Pic' when I can find one, but the buffer body is a greater diameter that the representation of the OLEO (I think), Parkside give you.

These chaps: BH03

Adam

Once again, I record my grateful thanks, Adam.

Ah.. Dowty... I used to drive past the Rotol works at Staverton (a lovely building on my way to work at That Big Government Building in Cheltenham). Quieter days than these...

Cheers

Jan
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AJC

jonte

Western Thunderer
Once again, I record my grateful thanks, Adam.

Ah.. Dowty... I used to drive past the Rotol works at Staverton (a lovely building on my way to work at That Big Government Building in Cheltenham). Quieter days than these...

Cheers

Jan

Sainted Aunt!

Who’d have thought it, me ol’ mucker Jan’s a 007 :cool:

Jonte
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Sainted Aunt!

Who’d have thought it, me ol’ mucker Jan’s a 007 :cool:

Jonte

Hi Chum.

Shhh! :)

I left (jumped ship because our work was being outsourced) in '97. It was a good - and I believed valuable - job, spoilt by the eternal curse of poor management and the JFTB mindset of advancement. The day I left, they said I could stay, but by then I'd slipped the mental (and emotional) moorings :(. Funnily enough, I've just this month recieved my first Civil Service pension payment!

Cheers

Jan
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Hi Chum.

Shhh! :)

I left (jumped ship because our work was being outsourced) in '97. It was a good - and I believed valuable - job, spoilt by the eternal curse of poor management and the JFTB mindset of advancement. The day I left, they said I could stay, but by then I'd slipped the mental (and emotional) moorings :(. Funnily enough, I've just this month recieved my first Civil Service pension payment!

Cheers

Jan

Hmm...that sounds all too familiar, Jan. A shame.

Still, hurrah for the pension (or even model railway tokens?) I say! Oh, and also brass tube ;)

Bestest,

Jonte
 
VANWIDE

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
In A Tube (or Two)
Don’t worry; we haven’t gone Underground. Not yet, anyway..

The fudge is on, thanks to some wonderful engineering from Albion Alloys, and a rapid delivery from Chronos. This might just work..
E394989A-7D50-465F-9662-2BE01DCE2A84.jpeg
Two bits of terrific - if tiny - tubular telescopy (I think we’ve just made that word up...) that will act as spacers between the shaft of the buffer, and its plastic housing. The buffer is a push fit in the inner of the two tubes - so who knows; it may even allow springing!

Of course, the inner tube should be silvered, but we’ll see if the theory can be put into practice before contemplating any potential plating...

Cheers

Jan
 

AJC

Western Thunderer
Now that is nice. :)

Perhaps tinning the relevant shank with as little solder as you can an a light polish? You could gain the odd micron of additional clearance by means of a bit of gentle broach twiddling in the shank. Worth a go?

Adam
 
Top