About ten years ago I built quite a few 3mm Society plastic wagon kits, but never got as far as fitting the Triang style tension lock couplings. Now I've got some modelling time, and after a major reorganization and tidy up, I unearthed all those never finished kits.
I started on a box of PP43's (BR 12ton van,plywood sides) then remembered just why I probably didn't finish them ages ago. If you just glue the bar (which the coupling fits onto) behind the headstock on the wagon, the coupling height is wrong. I don't think I ever worked out what needed to be done to correct this back then, but after a bit of measuring with the digital vernier I worked out, on this wagon at least, there needs to be a 0.5mm packing piece between the bottom of the van floor, and the bar the coupling fits onto.
I altered the first one, fitted the couplings and put it behind a Triang 31 on the track. Except it wouldn't fit on the track- because when I made these wagons I intended to do 14.2 finescale, but have since changed my mind and do 12mm now. A quick re-gauge of the wheels and the 31 was happily trundling its way around the 'layout' along with a couple of Conflats.
Now I've got the space and the time, what was originally going to be the layout along one wall (12.5 feet long, and 27 inches wide) will probably end up going around all the walls of the room. For now a double track dog-bone scheme will have to do - at least I've got something to run trains on instead of always building stuff and never seeing any action!
No comments:
Post a Comment