Off the Track!

[John Candy]

Off the Track!

Past several weeks have been spent working on scenic items rather than locos and stock.
OpenSCAD, 3D printers,  paint brush and spray can are the only tools I have used.

There are numerous items (including the dustbins, previously illustrated) and the latest three are 1920's petrol pumps. The colourful examples here are finished in a variety of vintage liveries......"Essolene" 1922 Gilbert & Barker : "BP"Gilbert & Barker type T8 aka "Fat Lady"! :"National Benzole"  1920 Bowser
Gilbert & Barker later became known as Gilbarco and still supply pumps to UK forecourts.



Incidentally, Gavin Bashford (Marston Models) has been licensed to use my OpenSCAD/STL files to produce kits for LNER coaching stock and is currently working on the 4-wheel Gresley PBV to diagram 120 (see  www.gauge3.info ). The arrangement involves donation of a percentage of the price of each kit to Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust (Addenbrooke's being the world-renowned research hospital operated by the Cambridge University Hospitals Trust). 

[John Candy]

As it seems to have gone very quiet, here is an update on what I have been doing of late.
All OpenSCAD programming/3D printing.

Bogie sideframes , etc.
Gresley LNER 8ft 6ins "light" bogie and GNR 8ft Fox bogie.



The W-iron/spring/axlebox for the D120 4-wheel Gresley PBV.


These are for use under the range of Gresley carriages previously designed and listed on gauge3.info  and, in due course, to be incorporated into the Marston Models range.

Scenic accessories.
Two more petrol pumps ... Avery-Hardoll model 288 from 1934 and Avery-Hardoll Model 101 from the 1950/60s. 
 




Continuing the garage/service station forecourt theme there are the Dunlop model 90 air tower, a Castrol oil cabinet and a Firestone Tyres forecourt advertising stand, a set of fire buckets (sand and water) and a Minimax model "A" fire extinguisher.. Finally a 1930s "KEEP LEFT" traffic bollard.

[IanT]

The sideframes look very good John.

Not sure if you've said what you used (material) to print them with? Can you remind me please.

Regards,

IanT

[John Candy]

Ian,
They were printed using Tinmorry cool white PLA(from Amazon) on my new Creality Ender 3 V2 NEO which I use for jobs which don't need the bed size of the Snapmaker.
Incidentally, I find this particular white filament gives a better finish than the black Eono (also from Amazon) that I had previously used.
Regards,
John.

[Chris_P]

John,
Are you planning to add the side frame files to the gauge3info site or do you perhaps have any information about their availability from Marston models?  In the absence of the GRS LNER bogie kits I'm unaware of where else such bogies may be available.  Are you anticipating using the 3d printed side as an overlay to a metal bogie like the cast sides on the brass GRS bogie or were you thinking of printing them in more durable material?

Thanks

[John Candy]

Chris,

I have 4 sets of GRS bogies which I had intended to use (from 4 coach kits which will not now be built but some other detailing parts will be used where appropriate).

It is now my intention to fit the 3D printed frames over steel but I need to have drawings prepared before the laser cutting can be ordered.

The GNR Fox bogies will be for the PBVs and the Gresley bogies for the other stock.

The 3D parts will not fit over the metal frames of the GRS bogies.... there are dimensional variations.

I don't know what is happening with Marston Models......have heard nothing for months.

I can provide the STL files for the sideframes if you want.

Regards,
John.

[Doddy]

Hi John,

Gresley bogie sideframe .stls for a Gresley Buffet would be ideal.

MTIA

Robert

[Chris_P]

John,

Adding the STL files to your site with your other LNER coach files would be very helpful and encourage me to try 3D printing.   

I had spotted that the GRS bogie (I have some which came under two coaches bought at a local house clearance auction and completely rebuilt during covid lockdowns) had several detail differences and features white metal axle boxes which are free to move within the frame.  Not having yet laid any G3 track I've no experience of whether the axle box movement helps reduce derailments relative to a fixed bogie or whether G3 modellers follow the practice seen in some other scales of having the real vehicle suspension through bearings between the wheels for at least one of the axles.

Chris

[MikeWilliams]

It is now my intention to fit the 3D printed frames over steel but I need to have drawings prepared before the laser cutting can be ordered.

If you send me a dimensioned sketch I'd be happy to do that John.

Mike

[John Candy]

Mike,
Thank you, I will be in touch in a few days regarding drawings.

********************************************

I have not yet had time to revise the pages on the website but for those of you itching to build Gresley stock,
these are the links to the bogie files.

gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/GNR_Fox_8ft_bogie/

GNR_bolster_spring.stl
GNR_8ft_sideplate.stl
GNR_bogie_ axlebox.stl


gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/Gresley_light_bogie/

Gresley_bogie_axlebox.stl
Gresley_sideplate_8_6 Bogie.stl
Gresley_spring_8_6 Bogie.stl

Assembly of the parts should be sell-evident but I will add an instructions page to the site in due course.
The only point which may be confusing is the (dummy) spring unit on the 8ft 6ins bogie ..... the outer dampers are linked to the central section by thin bars. The reason is to aid adhesion to the printer bed and to space correctly when fixing to the sideplates. They should be cut away after fixing, so as to clear the steel inner frame.

Regarding the GNR 8ft Fox bogie, these were recycled from scrapped GNR stock and fitted under several Lots of PBVs.
The Fox bogie was also used by other pre-Grouping companies.

John.
 

[John Candy]

Not having yet laid any G3 track I've no experience of whether the axle box movement helps reduce derailments relative to a fixed bogie or whether G3 modellers follow the practice seen in some other scales of having the real vehicle suspension through bearings between the wheels for at least one of the axles.

Chris,

If you run on well-laid track, then I believe the short wheelbase of coach bogies will not be a problem if suspension is solid.
Recently (in co-operation with other members) I acquired several sets of GWR 9ft "American" bogies. My first reaction was that they needed to be either sprung or compensated but was assured being "solid" would not cause problems.

Going back a few years, the only loco I have bought RTR is a J39 (a superb model by Richard Toplis). When Richard asked if I would like to have one, I insisted that it be fully sprung (the batch he was building had neither springing nor compensation).
I was duly supplied with a (re-designed) fully-sprung model. Richard later told me that another member (with a very poorly-laid track across a bumpy lawn) was running a non-sprung example without any derailments!

I am sure these comments will likely give rise to a heated debate!

Regards,
John.

P.S. I have just read your private message and will respond later.

 

[MikeWilliams]

Chris,

I don't have my own railway yet, and I have only a few bogie carriages, but I do have experience with running lots of wagons and at 9ft+ wheelbase they must each behave similarly to a bogie.  I've never had a problem with the very few solid, unsprung and uncompensated wagons that I have falling off the track.  However, they are much more noisy as the springs absorb sound and they must be assembled dead square.  Sprung wagos visually glide better too rather than jumping around.  As a kit manufacturer, an advantage to me of springing is that whatever the customer does with it, all four wheels will be on the track, and remain so even if the structure is damaged or distorted in some way in years to come.

But I think it essential to have some compensation or movement between bogies - i.e. they can't be free to just rotate on the underframe, even if they are individually sprung themselves.

Mike

[Chris_P]

gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/GNR_Fox_8ft_bogie/

GNR_bolster_spring.stl
GNR_8ft_sideplate.stl
GNR_bogie_ axlebox.stl


gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/Gresley_light_bogie/

Gresley_bogie_axlebox.stl
Gresley_sideplate_8_6 Bogie.stl
Gresley_spring_8_6 Bogie.stl

John.
 

Apologies for troubling you John but these links now return a 404 error code.  I'm not sure if that means you're updating the originals or some glitch has crept in.

[John Candy]

Hi Chris,
Sorry about the confusion.
The links should have been to individual files and not just the directories (which are protected from browsing).

gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/GNR_Fox_8ft_bogie/GNR_8ft_sideplate.stl 
gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/GNR_Fox_8ft_bogie/GNR_bogie_axlebox.stl 
gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/GNR_Fox_8ft_bogie/GNR_bolster_spring.stl 
 

gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/Gresley_light_bogie/Gresley_bogie_axlebox.stl 
gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/Gresley_light_bogie/Gresley_sideplate_8_6_Bogie.stl 
gauge3.info/downloads/LNER/Gresley_light_bogie/Gresley_spring_8_6_Bogie.stl

Regards,
John.