Skip Wagon By Geoff Hankin
Tip wagons are seen on many industrial narrow gauge railways, whether it be the odd wagon rusting on the trackside or trains of them rattling along laden with clay or stone (down with dumper trucks).
The 2 ft gauge railway at the Cherry Tree Brick and Tile Co. is one such system where side-tippers are in regular use carrying clay from the nearby pit to the works. The wagons here are models of Hudson side-tippers of the type built before the present day Rugga wagons. The modelling methods were rather primitive, but for my next batch of wagons I an preparing a set of jigs and formers to make construction more efficient and accurate. The frame is 5 mm X 2 mm brass channel, annealed and bent round a wooden former. A strip of tinplate soldered across the join on the inside secures the two ends. Two buffing plates are cut out of brass or tinplate, bent to shape and soldered in place. The uprights which support the body are 2 mm X 2 mm brass channel (once again anneal first). The same material is used for the posts on either side of the body supports (angle could be used - one of the variations possible with these wagons). Diagonally opposite each other are the looking catches protruding through slots in the posts.
The body is tinplate: a strip for the sides with rivet detail punched on is bent round a wooden former, and the V-shaped ends are also tinplate with tabs for soldering to the aides. Solder 1 mm X 1 mm angle around the body and add the supporting brackets at each end. Now all you need are axleboxes and wheels the axleboxes were cast from white metal in a plaster of paris mould - but finding 16 mm diameter '0' gauge coarse scale wheels was a problem. Eventually I found a model shop selling K.T.M. wheels (made for American freight wagons). Anyone building these wagons now should have no such problem as they can use the castings produced by Colin Binnie (one of the many benefits of belonging to the M.R.S.). The colour scheme
is rusty and clay spattered, often with a touch of lime - but rarely any paint.
Although the models are nowhere near perfect they do capture the character of the prototype - usually tatty and battered. If time allows and better wagons are produced my early efforts will end up rusting by the lineside.
The 2 ft gauge railway at the Cherry Tree Brick and Tile Co. is one such system where side-tippers are in regular use carrying clay from the nearby pit to the works. The wagons here are models of Hudson side-tippers of the type built before the present day Rugga wagons. The modelling methods were rather primitive, but for my next batch of wagons I an preparing a set of jigs and formers to make construction more efficient and accurate. The frame is 5 mm X 2 mm brass channel, annealed and bent round a wooden former. A strip of tinplate soldered across the join on the inside secures the two ends. Two buffing plates are cut out of brass or tinplate, bent to shape and soldered in place. The uprights which support the body are 2 mm X 2 mm brass channel (once again anneal first). The same material is used for the posts on either side of the body supports (angle could be used - one of the variations possible with these wagons). Diagonally opposite each other are the looking catches protruding through slots in the posts.
The body is tinplate: a strip for the sides with rivet detail punched on is bent round a wooden former, and the V-shaped ends are also tinplate with tabs for soldering to the aides. Solder 1 mm X 1 mm angle around the body and add the supporting brackets at each end. Now all you need are axleboxes and wheels the axleboxes were cast from white metal in a plaster of paris mould - but finding 16 mm diameter '0' gauge coarse scale wheels was a problem. Eventually I found a model shop selling K.T.M. wheels (made for American freight wagons). Anyone building these wagons now should have no such problem as they can use the castings produced by Colin Binnie (one of the many benefits of belonging to the M.R.S.). The colour scheme
is rusty and clay spattered, often with a touch of lime - but rarely any paint.
Although the models are nowhere near perfect they do capture the character of the prototype - usually tatty and battered. If time allows and better wagons are produced my early efforts will end up rusting by the lineside.
