IP brake van

[Big Jim]

A bit of progress over the last few days. I thought i needed to have a look at it in daylight, rather than under florescent tubes.
I did manage a few hours in the shed last night but didn't take any pictures.



Rust, repairs, rot and algae, the PMR standard.

[philipy]

Looking very good Jim.

Psst... shouldn't there be some round things underneath it?

[Big Jim]

Knew I had forgotten something....
Once it's all done on top the running gear will go on.
I haven't decided on whether or not vacuum brakes will be fitted.

[LNR]

Bet your pleased with that Jim. Top job so far.
Grant.

[bazzer42]

Lovely finish Jim. I love the repair planks and that greenish tinge on the lower base, really effective.

[Soar Valley Light]

Hi Jim,

It really is a super job. This is another project I'm really enjoying. Every update brings something else to admire. Well done.

Andrew

[Big Jim]

Thanks for the kind words.
I did wonder if this was going to be another kit that gets started and abandoned. But I have rather taken to it.
The interior won't be detailed too much but will contain a few odds and ends as it will be lit.
I need to work out brake gear and decide if the PMR has thought it nessercery to follow the board of trade's recommendations on continous train brakes.

[IrishPeter]

Don't forget that the BOT required continuous brake on passenger and NPCCS trains, but goods trains ran loose coupled except for a few exalted fast freights. I still remember strings of loose coupled 16T BR open clanking along at 25 - 30 mph delivering house coal to various local stations until BR got the bright idea of building coal concentration depots in the late 1970s, and requiring the use of modern high capacity bottom discharge wagons. The CCDs were not a huge success as most coal merchants hadn't the money to play along, and as a result a lot of the domestic coal traffic went to road transport. Funnily enough, my home town got most of its house coal by barge with railway coal traffic finishing early - about 1964. Most of the other small towns in the area, e.g. Brigg & Gainsborough - still had coal yards by the station supplied by 16 tonners.

Cheers,
Peter in Va.

[Big Jim]

Non vacuum it is then. Thanks Peter.

[IrishPeter]

On the other hand, some of the Irish NG lines had fitted goods stock, usually roadside lines, and those with nasty gradients - Castlederg, Tralee and Dingle, County Donegal, Clogher Valley, and to some extent the Schull and Skibbereen. Those lines that had about a 50-50 split between wagons that were braked and those that were merely piped. However, the Ballymena and Larne operated loose coupled goods trains on the long bank out of Larne Town which was 1 in 37/41 all the way. Fitted goods wagons were relatively rare on NG lines in Britain, though.

The Isle of Man, with no Lock, Block, and Brake Act, ran passenger trains at quite high speeds without continuous brakes until the late 1980s. Continuous brakes had been fitted in the late 1920s but were found to considerably increase the amount of steam used by the locomotives, so were quietly abandoned. One further oddity is that within sets of carriages the unused vacuum bags were usually coupled up to keep them out of the way. Most heavy passenger trains had a guard plus a head-end brakeman, but I am not sure how effective the carriage brakes were. Certainly station approaches on the IOM are a lot less gingerly done than they used to be! It seemed that fitting the right sized cones eventually solved the steam consumption issue with the vacuum brakes.

Cheers,
Peter in Va.

[Big Jim]

Thanks for the information Peter. I suppose it could be argued that most ng lines in the UK were built for very different reasons to those in Ireland.
To carry a specific freight rather than as a common carrier. This suggests that although some passengers were carried they were to all intents, industrial systems.
Before bricks start being lugged my way I will add...
With notable execeptions.

[IrishPeter]

The Irish lines were an odd collection in some respects. The Donegal, the Swilly, and the Ballymena lines were common carrier which happened to be 3' gauge, though two of the four started out as IBG branch lines. The Cork, Blackrock and Passage was also originally IBG, but was a suburban branch with fairly intensive (hourly plus at times) passenger service. After conversion to 3' it retained its suburban character, and even sported a length of double track mainline. In terms of traffic density and bias towards passenger work it is the closest to the Isle of Man Railway of the Irish lines. Most of the rest were cheaply built local common carriers - i.e. Light Railways - built under the terms of the 1883 Tramways and Corporations (Ireland) Act. Some were very definitely Tramways - the Clogher Valley, the Skull and Skibbereen, and the Tralee and Dingle; others were hybrids, such as the Cavan and Leitrim, and the Cork and Muskerry! On the other hand, the West Clare, like later sections of the Donegal and the Swilly, were built under the 1883 Act and its successors, but were more along the lines of normal NG common carrier railways taking advantage of the various tramways acts for their financial structure. There were a few lines built to IBG under the Tramways Act. The Dublin and Blessington is perhaps the best remembered of these, followed by the little line from Courtmacsherry to Timoleague. It is a rather fascinating mix, and certainly enough to leave folks scratching their heads at times! With the exception of the Ballymena lines mineral traffic was not a major factor for any of them at the time of their opening, though the C&L became a serious coal carrier after 1919.

In some respects, the British lines are a bit more unified in origin. Mineral traffic was a major factor all the way through from the Penrhyn Tramway through to the Ashover. The nearest equivalent to the Irish lines is the Southwold Railway, followed by the Welshpool and Llanfair, whilst the Lynton and Barnstaple was the product of a specific local needs, and the geography.

Peter in Va.

[Big Jim]

A little more progress on this van,
A brake standard was purchased at Exeter so the inside is complete, there is no need to detail it too much as it won't be seen even with it lit up as the windows are small and only three work.
The wheels are now on and the brake gear and roof will be next.





I am wondering if I should fit steps to it as it looks a little high to clamber into.

[tom_tom_go]

Steps or running boards

[Big Jim]

Running boards might be the best as it will mean much of the brake gear is hidden.

[philipy]

Running boards, for me. You have side doors as well as the veranda, and two sets of steps on a short vehicle will look a bit odd - and be more vulnerable.

[markoteal]

Love the flags tucked in there!

[Peter Butler]

Nice build Jim, love the detailing and the general run-down-quick-fix repairs, just as it would have been.

[Big Jim]

Very little progress recently as the day job has been getting in the way. I did get in the shed tonight to fit the brake gear. I had a barmy notion to look at actually making it work using a motor to wind a threaded rod. I very quickly realised that this was a nice thought, but far and away the most impractical modelling idea I have had in yonks.

[tom_tom_go]

The van appears to have flattened one of your railway folk.

Either that or he has passed out breathing in the paint fumes.