Class 31 Motor Bogie

The motor bogie used in the Triang class 31 model is generally speaking pretty 'robust', but as with everything it does seem to have an 'achillies heel'. This being the plastic moulding which the magnets fit inside, it also carries the small posts which the motor brush springs hook over, and has a nut/bolt coming out of the top which is used to fix the motor bogie to the body moulding.

I've had four 'duff' non-runner 31's for a while, but never got as far as finding out why. So today I had a look and found three of them, the aforementioned plastic moulding has broken, where the small posts fit (so the springs arent doing their job keeping the motor brushes in position) , and the fourth one has suffered from an extreme case of motor overheating by the looks of it, as it has shrivelled up dramatically, causing the phosphor bronze pickup assembly to become mis-aligned and losing contact with the wheels.

I'm hoping this plastic moulding is available as a spare part still,via the Society.

You can see in this shot one of the two small posts which the brush spring fits over, has broken away from the plastic moulding. An intact moulding is alongside, it's unfortunate that the area where these posts fit is very small and vulnerable to breakage.

Class 30/31 roofs

Something I'd not noticed before whilst trawling for class 30/31 roof photos- there appear to be two different styles of roof panelling.
The main difference is in the area above the engine, where the four opening roof hatches are. On some examples the central roof 'catwalk' (six strips of metal ribbing fixed to the roof) is an integral part of that section of roof, whereas on others the catwalk area seems to be removable, with attendant slight differences in the ribbing positions.
I consulted all the class 31 plans/drawings I know of and none show two styles; in fact I don't think any of the drawings is right in many respects; none of them show for instance that the roof reaches forward into the cab dome on one end. One of them portrays the boiler exhaust port as being round.


What I need to know is whether the roof differs in detail on a '31/0' (D5500-19) to the main production batches. I'm also not sure if the difference mentioned above on the production examples is a modification in later life, or whether they were built like it. Typically I can neither find a good enough roof shot of a 31/0 early on in life, nor a good shot of preserved D5500. You can find pics looking from above but the loco is always too far away to make out the details. Ah well, I'll have to keep on searching. I've still got a stack of diesel books to go through, some of the Bradford Bartons had good detail shots so I might be lucky there.

Guinea Pig

I've got two or three items of rolling stock which have been bought very cheaply in the past because of the general state they were in; one of these was a Triang class 31 which looked like it had been left too close to a hot lamp, and the roof was warped and a bit melted here and there. It looked terrible but ran superbly.

Not being a very good or confident modeller I like to try things out sometimes to see how things go before taking the plunge properly. To this end the 31 has recently been subject of some experimenting. I have various tins of Humbrol No.3 gloss, which I think was 'Brunswick Green' in their old railway colour range before it bit the dust, and most of the colours ended up in the main range with different names and finishes. To my horror when trying the various tins, I found three distinctly different shades of No.3- no doubt this can be put down to early difficulties after Hornby's takeover of Humbrol and the moving of paint manufacturing to China. One side of the 31 is now multic-oloured green (!) and I have labelled the tins to save any future confusion

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Something I also have been meaning to do for a long time is put headcode boxes on a 31, so following some notes in an old edition of the 3mm society's 'Mixed Traffic' magazine, I made the plastic card frames for the boxes and glued them on; just need to fill the void to bring it level with the roof and make some headcode box transfers. Not before drawing the letters and numbers though, as they were 'freelance' and not a standard typeface- a fact lost on most transfer manufacturers.

Lastly I've never been keen on the shallow look of the boiler exhaust port on the roof; I shaped and glued a  large block of plastic square rod on the underside of the roof below the ports' position, and drilled out the aperture, and down through the block. I filed it out to shape, then bit by bit filed the block down so the roof sits down flat on the webbing between the bodyside where the motor bogie attaches. This way you can get the aperture as deep as possible.

The pic gives an idea of the mods, and now I've got the method I'll feel more confident and less guilty in butchering a 'pristine' 31 :-)

You can see the differences in the greens on the side of the cab,and the side of the body.

If I can find a suitably fine mesh, I'd like to replace the radiator fan grille, and maybe fit a fan below- that will be interesting trying to find a small propeller (maybe off a model boat, who knows?) I know I don't fancy trying to make one!

Triang 31

A long time ago I started a project to upgrade a Triang TT Brush Type2, and as usual never finished it. When the kittens (five of them!)  were growing up, one day there was a mad rampage around the bedroom knocking everything in sight flying and ending up with the usual shredded net curtains. One casualty was a box which had the 31 in it, and unfortunately the window frame area around both cabs got broken off. 

I found it out the other day, and after testing whether ordinary plastic card would successfully bond to the 31 body (I wasn't sure what sort of plastic they might have used) I decided it could be repaired. So after gluing  some scrap bits of plastic on (using Mekpak, it's stronger than Plastic Weld) and leaving to set hard overnight, I managed to rescue the body. Which is just as well as I spent a lot of time reprofiling the buffer beam areas, and filing out the grooves either side of the cab doors where the handrails fit.

Another mod was at the rear end of the cab area, the model as it comes doesn't have a curved edge where the cab roof steps down to the top of the bodyside. Fortunately filing a bit off the body, and adding a bit to the roof puts this right easily and it makes quite a difference to the looks:

Above, the modified 31 with recesses for the handrails, grooves scribed in around the cab door, modified cab/roof, and deepened bufferbeam (which still allows clearance for the Triang tension lock coupling). I think the bodyside skirting between the bogies (where it is deeper) could also stand having a bit added on without the bogies fouling.

Other jobs are to scribe a line around the nose end connecting doors, drill the holes for the end handrails, and scribe the lines around the engine room access door on the bodysides; A few minor alterations to the roof 'catwalk' ribbing may also be needed. Finally I'll need to study the skirting area closely as there are a few details which are missing on the model.

I then have to decide on a livery and identity (probably the hardest job of all-I never can make my mind up!) I found two pics on Flickr of blue 31/0's with their TOPS numbers applied to the bodyside behind the cab doors,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deadmans_handle/4344827701/in/pool-1487948@N25

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianews/5768603969/in/pool-1487948@N25/

a very short lived thing- but I'm trying not to stray too far into the 'BR Blue' era, as I much prefer green (and black!) diesels.

Scalescenes

Card modelling is enjoyable, therapeutic even sometimes, and if you model in an 'odd' scale (like 3mm) probably one of the few ways of getting any buildings or structures on your layout. What a wonderful resource we have then in Scalescenes.com.

a great range of kits and modelling aids primarily aimed at 2mm/4mm modellers; easily downloaded and paid for in just a few clicks.With your printer set to print at 75% 3mm versions of the 4mm sheets look just fine. And you can print out as many times as you like, or need to in my case after making a few cockups. With a bit of thought and imagination, and by using the sheets of plain brick or stone in various textures, alterations and modifications can be made to the basic kits to produce something unique.

I decided to have a go at the Footbridge (ref. R007); this can be made in numerous configurations, to span as many tracks as you like- the PDF file as supplied gives you one stairway and one bridge span, so when youve decided what you want, just print off as many copies as you need. 

I used cardboard from Tea Bag boxes for the medium weight, and cat food pouch boxes for the thicker weight (needed to make the stairs) , though next time for these I would use plastic card to get better defined edges. Having said that, the slightly smoother rounded edges do give the impression of  old and well worn down stone.

 Looking forward to finishing it and posing it on the 'layout'.