Complicated Software

[MikeWilliams]

Those ends are not real pictures at all are they?  They look like computer images of what they might look like?  If they are pictures of actual printed parts, then I'm very impressed!

Mike

[John Candy]

The clue is in my post with the images viz

Two more computer-crippling files completed

.

Mike is correct.....those are the rendered .stl files.

The first of the ends is still being printed...... they take 23hrs45mins each and initially I need 6 for C,F and O6!
The first should complete around lunchtime and I will post a photo later today.

There is a mild pattern on the surface (see the photo of the Siphon G end a few days earlier) but it can be easily removed by light sanding with emery but, with goods stock,  three coats of paint will subdue it sufficiently. Printing at 80 microns (as I have done) leaves very little surface hatching....the machine will print at 50 microns but the time taken would increase by around 40 percent.
Look through the photos in the HMRS book of the Siphons and even photos of newly-built wagons show the  irregularities in the planking. Unlike passenger stock, which was smoothed and painted with umpteen coats until as smooth as the proverbial "baby's bottom", non-passenger stock was simply painted over the planks as supplied.

For the passenger stock (e.g. the Gresley coaches and the GWR autotrailers in preparation) the 3D prints are being smoothed and used as patterns for resin casting.

Regards,
John.

[753]

There's no fool like an old fool.

Must look harder before posting!!

Mike

[John Candy]

As promised and "hot off the press" the 8ft wide end for the 40ft bogie Siphon F and 27ft 6ins (4-wheeled) Siphon C (note that the later Lots of Siphon C to diaO9 were 8ft 6ins in width).
In the end the total print time was 22hrs 33mins........ printing of the second end is already under way!

John.

[John Candy]

For those unfamiliar with the GWR milk and fish vans (telegraphic code Siphon) an explanation of the various types may be useful, since several examples will be appearing here over the coming months, since both Mike P and I are building milk train stock.

The first to appear was the short (18ft 4-wheel) Diagram O1, the type modelled by Mike.
There were were variations within O1, two patterns of door being the main visual difference.

The following designs (O1 to O6) were of 6-wheel vans, all being of 27ft 6ins length, with open-slatted sides but each diagram had variations, the principal visual differences being:-

Dia O1 : Not to be confused with the 18ft design....when the last of the 18ft design had been withdrawn,  Dia O1 was re-used for a number of vans which had previously been O2 but were different to those which then remained as O2 .......  just to confuse matters even more, the remaining O2 vans were older than those re-allocated as O1.
Dia. O1 had a "three centre" (tri-arc) roof with body height of 6ft 8ins and two doors each side.

Dia. O2 had same side height as O1 but had an arc roof which reduced overall height to 6ft 4.5ins; these were converted from open carriage trucks and were older than those in O1 above, which had previously been included in O2 ..... have you lost the plot yet?!

Dia O3 were as for O1, the visual difference being the pattern of the roof supports ("sticks" in GWR speak) which were slender and followed the roof curvature.

Dia O4 was a complete change of design, with three (slightly narrower) doors each side but body height remained at 6ft 8ins over the tri-arc roof. There was one Lot (930) which was built on re-cycled underframes and dimensions varied from the norm.

Dia O5 Overall body height (over the tri-arc roof) increased to 7ft 6ins, the sides being increased in height but otherwise as O4.

Dia O6 differed from O5 in having end-loading doors (the only Siphons to have this feature up to the time of their introduction).

Dia O7 was the first bogie Siphon ("F") 40ft length and with end doors and differed from all earlier Siphons in having part louvred sides and dispensing with open slats.

Dia O8 was basically a shortened, 29ft 6ins length, 4-wheeled, version of O7.

Dia O9 was a widened version of O8 (from 8ft to 8ft 6ins...all previous Siphons had been 8ft wide).

Dia O10 was a "one-off" and was the prototype for the Siphon H (Dia O12) being 50ft in length and 8ft 6ins wide, with shallower louvres than the O7/O8/O9 and having end doors. It retained the Tri-arc roof and was later redesignated "Siphon G" even though it did not have the gangway connection of others of that type!

Dia O11 the familiar "Siphon G" with outside framing, as for O10 but with a British Standard "scissors" type gangway connector each end in place of end doors (note that the HMRS drawing erroneously shows a BS "suspended" type gangway which was not fitted, since it had not been invented when the O11 Lots were built). There were variations : The first two Lots had old-style queen post underframes with 10 inch solebars, whereas later Lots had angle iron trusses and 9inch solebars and the door framing was different between the two designs.

Dia O12 : The 50ft "Siphon H", with end doors (as O10) but with a much higher arc roof profile than O10 and O11, giving overall body height of 8ft 11.75ins.

Dia.O22 : A new "Siphon G" design with internal framework, giving a cleaner look, with horizontal planking beneath the louvres but otherwise similar in outline to the O11.

Dia. O33 These were a continuation of the O22 but 8ft 8ins wide (increase from 8ft 6ins) with vertical planking beneath the louvres and BS "suspended" type gangway connectors. They were electrically-lit.

Dia.O31 & O40 : These are the "plain Janes" amongst the ranks of the Siphons. Flush vertically-planked sides, insulated with no ventilation and plain ends... no gangway nor end doors. Only relief along the sides were the door hinges and, on one end, the steps to the roof and an electric-lighting control rod. The outline dimensions are as for the "Siphon G".

Not truly GWR!
Dia.O62 : Surprisingly,as late as 1951, BR built more "Siphon G" vans. They were almost identical to O33 but with sliding ventilators added along the lower body sides.

Final Comments:
There were many variations between Lots within diagrams, as well as other diagrams, which I have not mentioned (conversions from other vehicles, including converted ambulance trains returned  by the War Department). Bogies were swapped around and bogies of varying types or with different wheelbases, could appear at different periods on a single van.

If you want to know more, then the HMRS publication,"G W Siphons" is a "must read".

John.

[MikeWilliams]

John, I assume milk was the same all over the country, so there would be very little long distance haulage?  That being the case would I be right to assume that GWR milk vans would have been seen outside the GWR only rarely?  Or is that a dangerous assumption?

Mike

[John Candy]

Mike,
The earlier types (with open sides) were mainly confined to the GWR on milk and fish traffic but the later (louvred types) were used more widely for specific food traffic (several carrying roof boards with details). The larger "G" and "H" types were used for general goods/parcels,etc.

Examples of vans branded for specific traffic were "C" and "F" types for Harris sausage traffic from Calne which carried boards for destinations as far away as Newcastle and Glasgow as well as several cities in the Midlands (e.g. Stafford, Manchester, Sheffield, among them).

Another traffic was rabbits from Helston to Sheffield, while some vans were marked for return to Birmingham and Wolverhampton (the GWR northern mainline is often overlooked but was just as important as the West Country route and reached Birkenhead where the Woodside terminus was on  the GWR/LNWR joint line).

Regards,
John.

[John Candy]

It has been a while since I last posted but that doesn't mean nothing has been happening!
The Snapmaker continues printing 20+ hours per day and more OpenSCAD programs for various parts have been scripted.

I decided to add the dia O12 ("Siphon H") since the sides are identical to the "G", just the ends being different, having end loading doors and a high elliptical roof.
The latest item off the printer is a pair of ends for the dia. O12.

Meanwhile, the "Cricut Maker" (die-cutter) has churned out the slatted/planked base for the sides of each O1/O2/O3/O4/O5/O6, the six-wheeled Siphons (ends,doors and framing have been printed to overlay).

The milk train will consist of ten Siphons plus a 40ft full brake, with an estimated length of 20ft plus locomotive.

I have just finished the program to produce the 6ft spring W-iron / axlebox units for the 6-wheel Siphons.
It is of the J-hanger type as fitted to dia. O4/O5/O6 when built and subsequently retro-fitted to O1/O2/O3/, which had been built with an earlier swing-link arrangement. The hangers are, unusually, fitted to the outsides of the solebars, rather than bolted underneath the lower solebar flange.

John.

[John Candy]

 The "Siphon C" (diagrams O8/O9) were fitted with 4ft 6ins springs, with J-hangers attached to the solebar face and the program for this has been completed.
The OpenSCAD file for this has been uploaded (together with the file for the 6ft type fitted to the six-wheel Siphons) and are available at:

http://gauge3.info/openscad/GW_6ft_Siphon_spring_dia_O4_O5_O6.scad

http://gauge3.info/openscad/GW_4ft_6ins_spring_for_Siphon_C.scad

I am making these components available now in case they are of use to anyone thinking of building a GWR coach or van which needs these types of W-iron/spring/axlebox assemblies.

The files for the Siphon body components and other bits will follow when the various vans have been completed.

John.

[cabbage]

John,
Your coding is starting to look very commercial! You need to indent and line up more to produce a "grapes" formatted program.

Regards

Ralph

[John Candy]

First of four units for the dia.O8 "Siphon C" (print time 2hrs 48mins).

The PLA used is remarkably fracture-resistant, far more so than a similar item in cast resin or injected
polystyrene. Although the item is rigid, it can be bent or twisted without breaking and will return to shape.

John.

[John Candy]

I have been asked (more than once) whether I can supply sets of signalbox interior fittings, as designed for the Monkton Priors box.   I gave Mark Thatcher a set to fit in a kit he was reviewing for Garden Rail and that led to enquiries.

I am not able to supply kits of parts (too time consuming), although I have made a few exceptions and have supplied just a few members with parts FoC.

The original parts were resin cast from handmade patterns.

I have now prepared OpenSCAD files for the most fiddly (and fragile) items to cast .... the levers and 12-lever step plate. Printed in PLA, the levers are far more break-resistant than resin.
These files are available from:

http://gauge3.info/openscad/sbox_levers.scad
http://gauge3.info/openscad/sb_lever_frame.scad

John.

[Peaky 556]

Thank you John, I have drawn it to the attention of a well-known, signal box producing member!
Tim

[John Candy]

This is a template for producing your bespoke 3D station "running in" boards.
You can easily manipulate the size of board, text font/size together with number of lines and spacing/positioning  (more specific instructions included in the .scad file).

John.







http://gauge3.info/openscad/nameboard1.scad

[John Candy]

Platform Signs (3D printing)
To add some extra "interest" to your platform scene, here are some more signs you can 3D print.
They are of the suspended type, found hanging from canopy struts, etc.
Place two back-to-back for a double-sided sign.
They are easily adaptable to suit your requirements and provide more options than with "off-the-shelf" etched brass offerings.
There will be more platform "furniture" but right now I need to be getting on with other matters!
John.

http://gauge3.info/openscad/sign1.scad
http://gauge3.info/openscad/sign2.scad
http://gauge3.info/openscad/sign3.scad
http://gauge3.info/openscad/sign4.scad