Wagons
Cassettes
Tank
After early showers, it became a lovely sunny, spring day and our spirits were high.
Geoff had completed all of the detailing on his wagons (9 so far...) and had given them a spray coat of grey primer earlier in the morning. He then moved on to assemble some more chassis units and managed to produce his first complete wagon.
The extra 3mm dia brass rod had arrived, so Laurence went back to assembling the cassette stop-ends.
Stephen had brought his rake of wagons down to have a test run with the cassettes. It was soon apparent that with the safety blocks in place and using the BO-BO diesel, there was space for 7 wagons rather than the 8 planned, but 7 still makes a good train.
The stop-ends worked well, but some protection for the Kadee couplings was needed. Foam pads were agreed, engaging with the buffer face either side of the coupling. Geoff provided a choice of self-adhesive foam strip and made-up a test block using four layers, which worked perfectly.
Stephen had made an oval tank for his second tar wagon, but set it aside in favour a round tank. For fun, he'd mounted it on a timber frame stiffened with diagonal rods and angle iron. However, when dropped into the IC loco area, it looked so good a permanent position was sought. Three positions were debated, but it was finally located centrally, requiring the timber decking and abandoned engine to be moved.
All three had been searching for suitable wagon load material in their local garden centres and aquarium supply shops. Laurence and Stephen had brought samples which were almost identical. The texture of the material - a mixture of sizes from 6" to fines was generally approved. Stephen had also prepared some coloured using his method of 'churning' grit in neat acrylic paint, for discussion. Batches of slightly different colours mixed after drying produces an acceptable mix, but it was agreed that the final colour would need to be closer to the bridge wall material. Experiments will take place next week.
All agreed it was a very good session.
