Great Western Macaw bogie bolster wagon
By Phil Burkett
Introduction
As with most modelling projects, the starting point was to select the prototype and get hold of a drawing and some photographs. For some reason, I find drawings and photographs of wagons hard to come by - so I thought of an alternative. Some 4mm plastic wagon kits cost only a few pounds - a good drawing could cost more than this. So, I thought, get a 4mm kit and use it as a 3.5mm drawing! Thus, with Plastruct in one hand and a Ratio 'Macaw' kit in the other, I set to work. As you will see, this project is a bit like producing your own 3.5mm plastic kit and simply gluing it together. By the way, you don't have to buy the Ratio kit because I've provided diagrams and details of the measurements, etc.
Items required
First of all, you need to obtain a supply of the 'Fineline' styrene shapes. You can obtain these from 'Mainly Trains". To make a "Macaw" you need the following items (I've used the "Mainly Trains" codes for ease of reference):
2 x CFS-3 - 2.4mm channel section
2 x CFS-4 - 3.2mm channel section
1 x TBFS-3 - 2.4mm OD tube
1 x MS-125 3.2mm square rod
1 x MS-40 1 mm square rod.
In addition to the above, you will need some 10thou, 20thou and 40thou styrene sheet, and some 20thou styrene sheet embossed to represent planking. I used 'Evergreen' 2067 '0' Scale Styrene Car Siding. This has planking that is close to scale for HO very neatly reproduced on it. 'Evergreen' styrene, which is a superior American product, is available from Howes of Oxford, amongst others.
1 packet of 'Railmatch', 4mm scale, A12, I2inch buffer heads (from Howes and others).
1 set of 'Micro-Trains' or 'Steam Era Models' HO Arch-Bar Bogies.
0.45mm brass Handrail Wire (Alan Gibson, from Mainly Trains).
Drawings
Please refer to the drawings as necessary. (Click on this image to obtain a larger one.)
Instructions
1. Cut two 113mm lengths each of CFS-3 and CFS-4 channel section.
2. Glue one length of each type on to the top edge of the other but facing the opposite way round - the diagram should make it clear! As you have probably realised, the CFS-3 2.4mm section form the solebars of the wagon.
3. Cut two lengths 113mm long by 25mm wide of the 20thou styrene planking. Glue together by applying solvent to the two plain sides. This forms the floor of the wagon and has planks showing both sides just like the real thing!
4. Next take the floor and glue one edge against the lower edge of the channel ridge on the CFS-4 3.2mm section (see diagram). Repeat for the other side.
5. Cut two 27.5mm lengths of CFS-4. Remove approximately 1.25mm (the same as the width of the channel section) of both channel ridges from each edge of this piece (see diagram). Then glue one piece, channel facing inwards, onto the floor unit flush with the CFS-4 channel side sections.
6. Now to the buffer beam. Repeat Step 5, but this time with CFS-3 channel. Before gluing in place, drill two holes large enough to be a tight fit on NLS-40 1mm square rod, at 20mm centres, along the horizontal centreline of the bufferbeam. Mark the centre of the bufferbeam with a pencil line.
7. Cut four 2.5mm x 3mm pieces of plain 20thou styrene. Drill a hole (same diameter as those in the bufferbeam) in the centre of each piece. Then glue one piece over each hole in the bufferbeam. These are the backing plates for the buffers. Cut two 2mm x 2mm squares of 20thou sheet and glue them in the centre of the bufferbeam. These are the coupler mounting plates. If you wish, you can fit scale couplings later on. I didn't, as I always use the Kadee magnetic type, and this would foul any scale coupling.
8. Cut four 4mm lengths of TBFS-3 2.4mm OD tubing. In one end of each length, glue in one of the Railmatch A12 buffer heads. At the other end, superglue in a short length (5-6mm) of the 1mm MS-40 square rod to help secure the completed buffer to the buffer beam. Be careful not to get superglue on the exposed part of the rod, as this will prevent the styrene solvent from working later on. If you do get a bit of excess superglue oozing out, lightly scrape it away to expose the styrene surface once again. Once the rod has set, you can glue the buffers into the holes in the bufferbeam. As you are using styrene, you have all day to align the buffers correctly - if only it was always this easy!
9. Take up the length of MS-125 square rod. Distress three sides of the square over an approximate 100mm length with a razor saw. Don't go mad, just do enough to create a realistic "wood grain" effect. Cut four 24.5mm lengths of the distressed MS-125. Then cut some 1.5mm wide lengths of 10thou styrene sheet. These strips are intended to form the strapping around the wooden bolsters. You need to glue a strip on each end of the distressed lengths 3mm from the edge. Please note that the "strapping" only need to be glued to the three distressed sides. You may find it easier, as I did, to glue the 10thou strip on the top surface of the "bolster" only, and then leave it to set. Later on you can bend the strip against a flat surface, and then glue it to the other two sides. Once your four "boIsters" are complete, you can glue these into position as shown in the diagram.
10. Now we come to the underside of the wagon. First of all, we need to make some pivoting points for the bogies. I am going to describe the solution I employed for the standard Micro-Trains Arch-Bar bogie with 9.5mm disc wheels. You might like to use an alternative bogie. If you decide to do this, you will have to adapt the method shown here. Cut two lengths of 20thou styrene sheet 24mm long and the same width as the MS-125 rod, which you can use as a guide. Then cut two 24mm lengths and two 10mm lengths of MS-125 rod. Drill a hole in the centre of each 10mm length just slightly smaller than the small screws you intend to use to secure the bogies with. It is important not to use too large a screw otherwise you will either split the square rod, or pierce your nice planked floor! I used a small wood screw about 5mm in length. Glue the 20thou pieces, one at each end of the wagon, in the position shown. Directly on top of these, glue the 24mm MS-125 pieces. Finally, glue the 10mm, drilled, lengths in the centre of the 24mm lengths. Once everything has set, you can attach the bogies. You will need to place one of the small grey washers, supplied with the bogies, between the bogie and the bogie mount to achieve the correct height and clearances. After everything as checked out, remove the bogies to facilitate the next stages of construction.
11. Cut four pieces of 40thou styrene, two 3mm wide x 24.5mm long and two 3 wide x 53mm long. These pieces form the transverse and longitudinal ribs under the centre part of the wagon. The lengths quoted are approximate as it is a trial and error process to get them to fit. Refer to the diagram to see where these pieces should go.
12. Cut eight lengths of 40thou styrene sheet 1.5mm wide x 8mm long. Drill a 0.8mm hole centred on a line 1mm from the edge of one end of each piece. These pieces form the brackets for the stiffening stays. Then glue these to the floor in the positions marked on the diagram with the holes facing the buffer beams. The brackets should be butted up, and welded, to the ribs or solebars as appropriate.
13. Cut suitable lengths of 0.45mm handrail wire to form the trussrods underneath the wagon. The wire should be bent to form three distinct sections. The middle section should measure 19mm. The other two, angled, sections are best cut slightly over 19mm and adjusted accordingly. Once bent to shape, you need to thread the brass wire through the holes in the styrene brackets. As you will see, using the 0.8mm holes makes this process easier and allows some slack for getting the stays to sit level. Cut small slots in the "transverse ribs", at the points indicated. The ends of the wire can be located into the slots and superglued in position. A drop of superglue can also be applied at each point where the wires pass through the "brackets", if necessary.
14. Cut twelve pieces of 10thou styrene sheet 2mm x 2.5mm. These form the mounting plates for the stakes. Glue these pieces, with the 2.5mm edges forming the top and bottom of the mounting plate, onto the wagon sides in the positions shown. The stakes are formed by cutting the top and tail off PECO track pins down to a length of 11.5mm. Glue each stake in the centre of the mounting plate. The bottom of the stake should be level with the bottom of the mounting plate.
Conclusions
There you have it! All you have to do now, is paint it GW dark grey and apply suitable transfers. The numbering series for these wagons is as follows: 3232778, 32331-32340, 32343-8, 32351/2.
I've just noticed that I forgot to model the brake levers (one on each side)! However I've marked the position on the diagram so that you can include them if you wish.
As you can see, I have made a number of compromises on the model. It really started life as a test-bed for my theories on British HO scratch-building using the styrene shapes and the Micro-Trains bogies. To be strictly accurate, the bogies should have larger, spoked, wheels. I will, perhaps, try some "scale" wheels, once I get hold of some suitable RP25/88 items, on another project. However, using larger wheels will probably mean that the convenient bogie mounted Kadee couplings will have to go. This might cause more trouble than it is worth. The project turned out far better than I dared hope. The wagon was easy to build and the finished item not only looks good, it runs well too. As far as I am concerned, this project represents enormous potential. For those of you who agree with this assessment, I expect that, already, an idea for a model has revealed itself.