Mk1 Resources And Parts

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
For those who have Easybuild Mk.1s and wish to have some variety there is the option of changing the BR standard bogie for Commonwealth or B4 from the same supplier. We have two pairs of Easybuild CW bogie kits to make for some carriages to run in a rake for a "mid 1980s Scottish service" - those kits follow the same style as the kits for the BR Standard bogie and include the same bogie bolster moulding (which the instructions state has to be modified by removing the "headstocks").

Photographs of a prototype CW bogie show that the bogie has depressed headstocks - presumably to accomodate the brake pull-rod and / or the dynamo belt, as here:-

Mk.1-CW-headstock.jpg

A simple question... who might have information or a drawing to allow construction of such headstocks to add to the Easybuild bogies? (so that I can model the brake blocks and corresponding hangers)

thanks, Graham
 

Bob Reid

Western Thunderer
Millimetres Graham - straight conversion to 7mm at 43.5429 from the US imperial dimensions from General Steel Castings inc.! Note that I've not added the cast steel brackets for the brake block hanger supports....
 

Bob Reid

Western Thunderer
I could probably laser cut the shape from the end elevation Graham in 2mm thick Cast Acrylic if it would be of any help, near enough to the 1,75mm prototype thickness and would only need the outer edges filed round to suit.

regards,
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
I could probably laser cut the shape from the end elevation Graham in 2mm thick Cast Acrylic if it would be of any help, near enough to the 1,75mm prototype thickness and would only need the outer edges filed round to suit.
If you are serious then yes please. There are four bogies here.
Thank you Graham
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Mk.1 sides are generally free of handrails... until in the vicinity of the doors of the Guard's compartment where there are vertical handrails on each side of the Guard's doors - either one handrail top to bottom as here or two parts as here. These handrails are of flat strip with rounded edges... not sure of the shape of the ends of the handrails.

There are no suitable parts / materials in an EZ kit for a Ml.1 BFK so we are going to have to make something.

Anyone got any suggestions as to representing the handrails in 7mm?

regards, Graham
 
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demu1037

Western Thunderer
Mk.1 sides are generally free of handrails... until in the vicinity of the doors of the Guard's compartment where there are vertical handrails on each side of the Guard's doors - either one handrail top to bottom as here or two parts as here. These handrails are of flat strip with rounded edges... not sure of the shape of the ends of the handrails.

There are no suitable parts / materials in an EZ kit for a Ml.1 BFK so we are going to have to make something.

Anyone got any suggestions as to representing the handrails in 7mm?

regards, Graham
Graham,

Not always flat strip, sometimes (earlier builds) they are round, look at those pics of the BG you found a few months ago. I think the flat strip type had rounded off square ends - have a look at this:

1502 Rhyl 26.6.76.jpg
Mr 18 weeks Andy

Having looked at the one with two part handrails - I think those are the round type
 
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Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Some months / years ago there was a discussion on WT about the placing of battery boxes for Mk.1 underframes and that discussion made comment on the placing of the boxes for Brake coaches (so that the guard's steps did not prevent access to the batteries). "British Railway Mark 1 Coaches" (Parkin, HMRS) includes a photograph of a Brake First Corridor (BFK) no. M14005 in as "built condition" (page 80) and I cannot make sense of the 'boxes' under the floor.

Accepting that the Swindon photograph department might have exercised flair in masking the background the photo suggests three boxes:-

1/ to the left looks like a battery box on the far (corridor) side in a position which does not agree with the earlier WT discussion;

2/ to the right is the battery box on the near (compartment) side in a position which agrees with the WT discussion;

3/ between the two boxes (above) there seems to be a third box... underneath the first compartment to the right of the central vestibule.

Anyone who can offer comment on this picture?

thank you, Graham
 

Bob Reid

Western Thunderer
Swindon flair I'd suspect Graham for there's nothing bar the steps on that far side as described in 1/ - you can see the outline of the corner of the far side battery box just poking out from the left of the near side box.....

[Edit] For the sake of neatness I should have added - post Mk1 Resources And Parts refers
 
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Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Fire extinguishers... as fitted to Mk1s over the years and, maybe, to Mk2s.

First question... how many per coach? So, for example, if there is one on the shelf outside of a Guard's compartment in a brake coach then were there any more in that coach? Or, for a non-brake corridor coach, was the provisioning one per coach (which end?) or one at each end of the coach? And for a RMB?

Second question... one may presume that the extinguisher was a CO2 water type during the early 1950s... and that a foam extinguisher is current best practice. Given that the colour of the extinguisher casing denotes the type of extinguisher (water / dry powder / foam) then how has BR and TOC practice changed over the years?

Possible third question... what other aspect of this topic have I missed?

thank you, Graham
 
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Dog Star

Western Thunderer
This document seems to provide some of the details about what the BRB expected in regard to fire extinguishers in BR assets. Appendix C deals with provisioning for stock although I am not sure that I could be definite about how many extinguishers were in each type of Mk.1 coach... or where the (those) extinguishers were fitted. For example, the document records that a non-brake corridor coach shall have one extinguisher - at which end?
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
One of our Easybuild coaches has BR Standard bogies, two of the set have Commonwealth bogies and two have B4 bogies. Building the BR standard bogies is nice and easy... no traction rod attached to the solebar. Life seems to be a tad more complicated with the Commonwealth and B4 bogies in that there is a traction rod moulding to be attached to the solebar / spring plank. Attaching the first rod to the solebar is simple... just follow a photo. Attaching the second rod is not quite so simple... there are two choices:-

1/ attach the second rod so that both rods are attached to the solebars at the same end of the bogie frame;

2/ attach the second rod so that the rods are attached at opposite ends of the bogie frame.

thank you, Graham
 

Bob Reid

Western Thunderer
I'll have to confirm this when I get home Graham however as far as I remember, On B4/B5 bogies - Attach the traction rods with the end attached to the bolster towards the end of the vehicle and with the other end (that attaches to the bogie solebar) towards the middle of the vehicle..... with the CW bogies however, it's the other way round. The end of the traction rod that attaches to the bolster is towards the middle of the vehicle, the end that attaches to the bogie frame is towards the outside of the vehicle. This applies irrespective of end or of side. i.e. both traction rods on the bogie sides should point from the bogie centre the same way.....
 

Dog Star

Western Thunderer
Thank you Bob,

Your reply explains how to do the job quite nicely... as well as telling me to be careful as to how the bogies are to be attached to the underframes.

BR Mark One Carriages (K. Parkin, HMRS) makes reference to B4 bogies being fitted initially with friction dampers and to the use of hydraulic dampers at a later date. When did BR start to fit hydraulic dampers to the B4 bogies on Mk.1 carriages? Which types of Mk.1 carriages had B4 bogies with hydraulic dampers?

thanks, Graham
 
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