Garden Railway Forum

You might be slightly suprised to read that I didn't build a single scratchbuilt carriage during 2009, indeed I was rather when I realised at about 12.00 today. So after lunch I got out the graph paper and pencil and started drawing up my next project. This is one I was about to start on last year when the Lynton and Barnstaple stuff off ebay intervened. It is Ffestiniog Van 5, formerly carriage number 12 and will go very nicely with my model of Van 4 that I already have. Below is a pic of the drawing, with the drawing from Van 4 above it (used to make sure that they match) and a pic of the carriage to the right.


There are a couple of scribbled annotations on there to show where I'll change a couple of the dimensions when I put the drawing onto wood (tommorow hopefully) The carriage will be done as it is running at the moment, and it will give me a 4 carriage FfR train, and I'm tempted to get a couple of IP engineering bug boxes following the sucess of the FfR train at the PTLR steamup.
As for when this will be finished, May at the very earliest but probably nearer August

Great stuff Chris I look forward to progress. All you'll need to do then of course is crack out the red paint for those ends.

WOW, that should make a great FfR train for Tal to pull!
Are you still doing that scratch build service you were offering?

Ahh so some one has taken a liking to my bug boxes.

Can i give you one hint, make the buffers a bit stronger this time!

Oh and as Will says a bit of red paint on the ends would just top it off!

Looks like it'll make a nice project, looking foreward to progress!

Looks like it could be good. Are you going to put windows on this one and fix the buffers with more than pritstick?

No the buffers will be screwed on, just like every other one of my carriages and wagons!
Anyway, other the past few days I've made quite a bit of progress (the carriage now exisits!)


The sides cut out and waiting for the floor and ends to be made


The floor and ends cut out


And assembled, with the buffer beams cut out and one solebar attached. The other one will get attached tommorow, followed by the first side. There will then come a big pause whislt I design the interior, and also return to doing uni work

Nice, what do you use to cut ou the wood? Just that i might try to build something since i have a fret saw.

I admire the coach but you should get recognition for the Drawing as well. A true Draughtsman. Did you have dimensions to produce it, cos it looks spot on!

90733 wrote:Nice, what do you use to cut out the wood?

My dads jigsaw, which does require rather a steady hand to get a straight cut. The sides were cut out with a stanley knife as the wood was only 1mm thick.
The drawing was mostly a guess, I had the total length of the carriage (30 feet, which in 16mm scale is 48 cm) but everything else is a best guess from looking at photographs, it did take a few attempts before I (hopefully) got the proportions right

I see you know of Festpedia The FR society. Its a pity they dont have dimensions and drawings on there. I think your guess work is spot on. Ive made a coach in a similar fasion having to cut all window appertures out on a six compartment coach and then produce a fret for the panelling as an overlay all done with a swann morton scalpel blade. If a could have access to a laser cutter I wish! BUT ITS FUN !

METHSSNIFFER wrote: Ive made a coach in a similar fasion having to cut all window appertures out on a six compartment coach and then produce a fret for the panelling as an overlay all done with a swann morton scalpel blade. If a could have access to a laser cutter I wish! BUT ITS FUN !

Yes it sure is, this is my 10th scratchbuilt coach I reckon. This one will need panneling as well, but I make it up from individual strips rather then an overlay. I'd love access to a laser cutter as well but I don't think its going to happen any time soon

Hancockshire wrote:I think it would be quite easy to make drawings because I would expect the loading gauge to be the same on all Ffestiniog railway stock

Just because they fit in the same loading gauge, doesn't mean that they are the same height, far from in infact.

i have accse to laeser cutter at school!!!

You r so lucky. Ive been looking into them dont they vary in size. Something to do with the cutting area. Are they easy to use. Do they cost a lot. Could you provide any info on them at all

PCLR wrote:i have accse to laeser cutter at school!!!

So do I but don't have a clue how to use it! Much happier using a band saw! Althought I'd like to learn to use the laser cutter, maybe make a coach!

Nice work Chris, keep the photo's coming with the build - I'll be cribbing ideas and techniques off you all the way for my TR No.9

Cheers, Greg.

I use the LASER cutter at school, I would be useing it at the moment to make my MOTY creation this year but I am making a street organ for my GCSE in systems so thats any MOTY plans down the drain!