ALY to QLX

As a the ALY and QLX wagon share common panels, so I thought it would be a quick simple project to convert a ALY into a QLX. I do not need a QLX, as I have a few models already, but thought it would fun to see how much work would be required.

The conversion was simple for the body of the wagon and only took a night to do. But the underside / chassis and frame is a lot more complex than I had anticipated and still a "work in progress". Luckily I have a couple of QLX photos that show some of the underside detail and there is a good set of presentation notes in the "Modelling the Railways of Queensland Convention -1998" handbook that shows the location for the brake gear. Once I have the chassis completed I will add a photo.

A battered QLX at Warwick Qld.

Version 1 print out of the QLX body

 The side walls are over 200 mm long so would not fit on my printer (My print bed is 200 x 200 mm). To resolve this issue, I printed the roof and side walls of the QLX on a 45 degree angel, problem solved.

The test print out worked out good. The roof will need a bit of filler and sanding to help remove the layer marks. I am slowly getting the settings of the printer under control.

A latter version QLX in Meriba, Qld.

A long time since the last update, sorry.

My 6 meter long "Texas" shunting layout  has been demolished to make room for house renovations. Unfortunately it never progressed beyond the track and electrical stage.

Eventually I will build a new but smaller shunting layout in a IKEA book shelf in my hobby room. This new layout will only be about 2.8 meters long. So I plan on using mostly shorter 4 wheel rolling stock and my DH class locomotives to help save space. 

I have decided to build some more 4 wheel wagons, to increase the amount of suitable rolling stock levels for the eventual new layout. Traditionally I would have built these from scratch or from kits, if available, but recently got a 3D printer and have some success in creating / printing my own 4 wheel home made wagons.

So far I have produced a ALY and a FJS wagon that have a reasonable amount of detail for viewing  arms length distance.

My Version 4 of a ALY wagon and a Version 1 of  a FJS

Because the 3D printers have a low X-Y resolution I have printed my wagons flat, with no details less then 0.8mm wide. On the Z access I can take advantage of the finer resolution of 0.1mm per layer. I feel for a smaller scale, a print nozzle smaller than the 0.4mm one supplied with the printer would be required.

The ALY Walls and Roof, printed with a skirt. The roof requires some sanding to help reduce typical 3D printing horizontal layer line marks. 

A early Version 1 chassis of the FJS wagon sitting on the printer. I have since added more details such as hand brake and door stops. The printer setting have also since been adjusted to help minimize the stringing affect.

Start of a new fleet of wagons, the details get added with each version of the wagon as I learn the limitations of 3D printing. Some of the older versions of the wagon may get re-assigned to being static tool sheds in the background of a future layout.

The model prints are very accurately and only require a little bit of clean up and  a light sanding before gluing the pieces together.

For reference, the wheels that I am using are Hornby 12.5mm / 26mm axles with Romford "Top Hat" 2mm flange bearings. The ALY wagon weighs 40 grams, so will need to have another  40 grams of ballast installed to get it up to the correct weight / length ratio.

The 3D printer has helped me to get some enthusiasm again to start building models with a flexibility that I have never had before.

Now off to design the latter version of the FJS wagon.

Australian Sn Modeller Issue 75 June 2014 is now out

This week I received my copy of the "Australian Sn Modeller" magazine in the mail.

I should have written about this magazine earlier as it is an excellent magazine for any Australian 3 foot 6 railway modeller, even if you model in HOn3.5 it is still a very useful resource. It is produced by S scale modellers for modellers and has very little advertising.

The "Australian Sn Modeller" has been going for many years and is published four time per year.

It is predominantly for the Queensland and Western Australian 3 foot 6 modellers, but the current issue has information on Queensland, Western Australia , South Australia and Tasmanian systems.

Front cover of Issue 75, with a picture of a QGR C17 Sn3.5 Locomotive

Table of Contents for Issue 75

As far as I know, the "Australian Sn Modeller" is only available via subscription, for $26AU per year for Australian addresses.

If you are interested in subscribing to the magazine then send a letter with your contact details and  postal address with a cheque or money order to:

Australian Sn Modeller Subscriptions
P.O. Box 2,
Geebung,
Queensland, 4034.

3D Printed QR DH Class Locomotive

 A reasonable way to get a S Scale QR locomotive is to start with a model of the DH class, as every layout needs a DH shunting locomotive!

Many more photos of the DH Locomotives and other QR rolling stock can be found on the Wuiske Models web site, http://www.wuiskemodels.com/. Check out the Prototype Photos section. They even have some S Scale kits for sale.

Black Diamond Models used to produce a fine ready to run DH model in S scale, but I have never seen one of these come up for sale on the second hand market. If you are lucky you may be able to get Black Diamond Models to produce a unit for you, but be prepared for a long wait as he is very busy with the HOn3.5 RTR line of models.

Other options are to built one from scratch with Evergreen plastic sheet or you can get a 3D printed model from Shapeways, at https://www.shapeways.com/model/748079/qr-dh-s-1-64-scale.html?li=search-results&materialId=60.

I have gone for the Shapeways solution. The body is designed by Gvrocksnow, who originally produced the model in HO, as the Puffing Billy version and was kind enough to scale it up to S Scale and add the buffers. It is available in Strong & Flexible Plastic or Frosted Detail, so pick the one that fits your budget.

I have both the Strong & Flexible Plastic and Frosted Detail versions. The Frosted Detail version naturally has better fine detail especially around the grills and door hinges.  At the end of the day both look very good and will be hard to see the difference between the Strong & Flexible Plastic  and Frosted Detail versions at a arms length.

The following is a high level description of how to make a mechanism for the Gvrocksnow Shapeways DH body:-

For a mechanism, I have gone for a quick solution using an old Athearn Blue Box 4 axle diesel switcher, SW1500 or SW7 etc.The wheelbase of the bogies are still a bit short, but behind some shortened side frames they should look okay.

The Athearn mechanism needs to be lengthened by 4mm and the wheels replaced with North Yard 480N wheels for the correct diameter.


The North Yard 480N wheels are 42 inches in  S scale  (14.3mm diameter), and you will need 8 of these. The web site for North Yard is http://northyard.co.nz/.

Use a course metal file to reduce down the sides of the fuel tank on the Athearn switcher chassis.

Test fitting the Athearn frame.

4 x 1.4mm x 10mm self tapping screws have been used to fix the body to the chassis.

You may need to place shims under the frame so the body sits at correct height. (0.5mm under bogie pivots and 0.75mm on locomotive frame)

North Yard wheels 

 Move front flywheel, motor brush end, forward on shaft by about 3mm.

Some of the interior detail need to be removed to make room for the Athearn fly wheel.

Need to add a driver

The Athearn motor is very loud, so if you want a very quiet running model try replacing this with a Mashima motor, a 1824 should fit. The Athearn gear towers are very quiet when lubricated properly. 

Run wires direct from the bogies to the motor or DCC chip. Do not use the original Athearn power pick up from the bogies to the motor as it will only give you trouble.

Ready for adding hand rails and shortened side frames, then off to the paint shop

The Shapeways printed bodies need to be washed in soapy water to remove the wax coating from the printing process. The surface is still a little course so check the web as there is a lot of good advise on how to get the best paint job on these models.

The Australasian Model Railway Magazine produce plans and a small story titled "Walker's Diesel Hydraulics" in Issue 83 March/April 1977. This is available in PDF format on CD through their web site, https://4tknox.au.com/australianmodelrailways.com/evbooks.html.

Sprat & Winkle AC4 Couplers, My Sn42 / Sn3½ Coupler Standard

Part of preparing the second hand ALY wagons for my layout is the installation of the suitable couplers.

For most modelling QR in Sn42 / Sn3½, the classic hook and 3-link couplers appear to be the most popular followed closely with the Kadee HO couplers being a close second.

Non-delay couplers, Sprat & Winkle AC4/1

I started modelling S scale with  hook and 3-link couplers as they looked brilliant and are prototypically correct, but they were very fiddly to use with a shunting layout and I had a lot of buffer lock issues, even with the large 900 mm radius Peco points. So after some experimenting, I decided to do things differently and go with the Sprat & Winkle couplers. These couplers may not be to everyone's liking, but they work well for my needs.

Example of medium length wagons, being pushed through a "S" curve, showing how the Sprat & Winkle coupler prevents buffer lock issues.

Sprat & Winkle couplers come in delay and non-delay uncoupling options. I prefer the non-delay version for wagons and the delay version on the locomotives.

Non-delay version of coupler on a wagon, Sprat & Winkle AC4/1

Delay version of coupler on a locomotive, Sprat & Winkle AC4/3

I have set up the Sprat & Winkle coupler on one end of each item of rolling stock. This has the disadvantage of making the rolling stock direction, but as my layout has no locomotive turning capability, this is not a problem for me and I keep the classic QR hook on the other end for compatibility with wagons that only have the  traditional hook and 3-link couplers installed.

Traditional hook installed on one end for compatibility with traditional 3-link couplers.

Once painted black the Sprat & Winkle hook and wire is not as obvious and blend into the wagon.

Uncoupling of the  Sprat & Winkle coupler is with a simple magnet mounted in the centre of the track, under the sleepers. The magnet pulls down the soft iron links and opens the coupler. The couplers do not appear to be affected by Kadee uncoupling magnets.

Coupler over a uncoupling magnet. I use Jaycar  LM1614, 20 x 15 x 5 mm heavy duty magnets with 6 magnets in each packet.

My installation method, a short description:

1. I use a Jig 12.6 mm high to mark the correct centre height of 12.7 mm on the buffers of both ends.
   

   

   I use a fine tipped pen to mark height on buffers to show drilling height of 12.7 mm above the rails.

2. Drill a 0.5 mm hole in the ends of buffers
3. Bend some 0.5 mm wire to fit between the buffers

   

   Tip: Use a spare bit of wire in second hole to assist getting the correct spot to bend the wire.

   
   
   
   
   
   
4. The wire should fit, without pushing the buffers out of alignment
   
5. The buffers that I use are out of soft white metal, so I like to press the wire into the buffer so it sits flush with the buffer head

   

   Pressing wire into white metal buffer. For plastic buffers, I use a sharp  blade to  cut a "V" in the buffer end for the wire to sit in.

   
   

   

   Making the wire flush with the buffers will allow closer coupling and looks better. 

6. Once you are happy with the wire between the buffers, use some CA super glue to keep it in place, only a fraction is needed (A sharp tooth pick is useful for applying the glue)
7. Add a wire to the other end between the buffers
8. Build up a pad for the coupler to be mounted on 12 mm wide. I like the pad to be about 0.5 mm lower than the coupler wire.
9. To make life easier, I have made a Jig for the Sprat & Winkle coupler hook, so they are can all be installed a the correct distance from the coupling wire

   

   1.5 mm spacer

   
   

   

   Jig in place ready to drill 0.5 mm holes 

10. Drill the 0.5 mm holes for the Sprat & Winkle hook

    

    After the first hole is drilled, I place a length of wire in the hole to help keep the Jig in place for drilling the second hole.

    
11. With about 40 mm of 0.5 mm brass wire, bend it to make the pivot for the Sprat & Winkle hook
    
    
    
    
12. Prepare the Sprat & Winkle hook, as per the instruction at http://www.modelsignals.com/couplings_frame.htm . At this stage it is easier to add the soft iron wire loops for the magnetic uncoupling

    

    For now, I use two soft iron wire loops for uncoupling. 
13. Install the Sprat & Winkle hook. I like to have the hook set up with a slightly up angle.

    

    No need to off-set the hook as described in the Sprat & Winkle instructions.  At rest the bottom of the soft iron wire loops sit about 1 mm  above the rail tops.

    

    Coupler mounted lower than buffer wire, this allows for better up and  down movement of the hook over  uneven track work .

    

    Completed couplers. Wagon in now ready to have some under body details installed and a patch up coat of paint.

    
    
14. You should now be ready to test the wagon.
    
    

Happy modelling!

Easy way to align axles of 4 wheel wagons

I have recently received some second hand items of rolling stock. Among the items were two ALY 4 wheel louvered  vans. I love these vans and they were on most freight trains in the 1970's and early 80's, so I was eager to get these two wagons running.

The wheels that were installed were on the ALY's were 9.5 mm in diameter, way too small and made the wagon sit too low on the rails. So I have removed the old wheels and axle boxes in preparation to install correct scale wheels,13 mm wheels from North Yard..

My old method of setting up the wheels was using a small ruler as an alignment device. This was very fiddly and error prone.

This time I remember the wise words of my friend, Reg, "Use a jig Phil". So I set out to find a way to devise a jig that would keep the axles in alignment. It turned out to be a very simple task using some 1 mm thick Styrene sheet and two alligator clips, with the plastic covers removed.

Preparation Work:

1. Measure the back to back spacing of the wheel set, this was 14.4 mm on the Romford, Hornby and North Yard wheels
2. Cut strip of Styrene sheet, a fraction wider than the back to back spacing of the wheel set
3. On a flat surface sand the Styrene sheet down to be the exact fit to the back to back spacing of the wheel set
4. Test the fit, it should be a firm fit. Do not force fit anything or you may push the wheel set out of gauge
5. Trim the length down to be the wheel base of the wagon + approximately 25 mm.

        

Use:

1. Glue the both axle boxes on one side in place, at correct spacing for your model
   
2. Place the jig on the wheels, as in the photo.
   
3. Adjust  the wheels into the correct position into the axle boxes on the model.
   
4. Place the opposite axle box into position and check the clearance for the wheels and if any shims need to be placed under the axle boxes to stop diagonal see-saw effect
5. Glue the axle boxes into place
   
6. Once the glue is dry, gently remove the jig and check the alignment. The axle should be parallel.
   
7. Last check, make sure all 4 wheels sit on a flat surface, if not remove the highest axle box, install the jig again and re-glue the axle box with it shimmed to the correct height.

The model should have no trouble running down the track and running through points.

I have found this method to be simpler, less error prone and has halved the time that I need to set up the wheels on the 4 wheel wagons and has given me far a better result.

I hope this method is of help.