Modelling The Emu Bay Railway in HOn3.5

On hold, for now........

2009-06-23T23:32:00.004+10:00

A small entry to note that further development of my Emu Bay modelling is on hold for now while I tackle my next modelling challenge - early last year I commenced modelling VR Broad Gauge in the 1920's/30's in Inner East Melbourne (you can follow progress of this here: http://victorianrailways.blogspot.com/). In the absence of an Emu Bay layout I photographed some of the rollingstock on the Cudgewa branch - hopefully the incorrect gauge is'nt too obvious!

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 6

2007-06-24T19:23:00.002+10:00

And then there were two.......changes to the second engine unit (foreground) to bring it up to the same level as the first were slightly quicker as I had a pattern to follow. I sincerely hope the next stage is likewise.I have fitted the LH cylinder casing and commenced reproducing the Walschaerts valve gear of the prototype recently, a picture of the incomplete installment is above. The slide valves are from Mainly Trains, the driving rod is cut down rail, and the "Walschaerts" (parenthesis as it is a close approximation rather than a scale copy) is a heavily modified set from a 4mm Alan Gibson etch for a Southern Railway (UK) U/U1 class. While the U/U1 was a very different locomotive, I chose it as the basis for the EBR 12 Class as the Walschaerts configuration was visually quite similar, and the etch readily available.

The Modelling Desk

2007-06-21T20:50:00.002+10:00

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 5

2007-06-17T21:17:00.003+10:00

My cylinder casing master. Two upper piston outlets? I'll be moulding/casting all four cylinder casings from this master so two outlets are there so I can carve one off depending which end/side of the locomotive it resides.

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 4

2007-06-10T17:45:00.002+10:00

As predicted by a fellow modeller, the vertical connection for the front bogie did not survive testing - though it was fine on all tangents on flat track, it derailed regularly on grade. It has thus been replaced by a more traditional rear mounted swivelling mount.

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 3

2007-05-27T21:03:00.002+10:00

Some more work on the first engine unit this week: The pickups have been fitted so that the chassis now runs on its' own, the chassis frames have been extended outward at the top to clear the motor and gear tower, and at the rear to house the trailing bogie, with a styrene plate fitted at the top of the rear which will form the base for the centre unit. I also attached both the front and rear bogies via my old favourite, though quite unsophisticated method, moving bolt attached to a fixed nut. The rear bogie was tricky as it sat very close to the trailing driver, I built up a styrene saddle as shown in the photo at the top, with a shaft (ex paintbrush cover) for the bolt to run through to prevent lateral movement. Now to do it all again (but a bit better hopefully) on the second engine unit.

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 2

2007-05-20T20:03:00.002+10:00

Some recent activity with the first engine unit - I (1) removed the cross braces (the Bullant can be ordered without them) as they would have fouled the frames. Then (2) drilled through the second driver (that the coupling and driving rod will be fitted to) and fitted Alan Gibson crankpins to test clearance. I then (3) measured out and made the frames from the thickest styrene that would fit as they will be load-bearing. The frames were painted and weathered black/brown before attaching as they will be very hard to get to later. Also (4,5) made the leading and trailing bogies from styrene. The wheels in the bogies are Steam Era, with the pinpoint axles cut off and filed down flat as the 12 Class had inside bearings.

Emu Bay Railway - 12 Class Beyer Garratt - 1

2007-05-15T21:00:00.002+10:00

The starting point - Here's the two Bullant Major mechanisms built to Hollywood Foundry's usual quality and precision. Like the PVH chassis, they have lateral motion on the two centre axles to assist on tighter curves. Beyond this specification, these two are a bit special - they employ wheels made by SEM for WD Models, quartered on the Hollywood Foundry axles, the push-fit wheels easing this phase of construction. The wheels are slightly underscale at 39" (as against the prototypes' 43"), the 4" difference (approx. 1.2mm in HO scale) is considered an acceptable compromise for available wheels that will fit the 2mm Bullant axles. The motors chosen are the most powerful that will readily fit into the tank/bunker sections. I requested Hollywood to offset each motor to ensure they fit within the tanks/bunker and allow room for the leading/trailing bogie swing as per the picture below where the two unit's are roughly located on a scaled copy of Tony Parnell's excellent side elevation showing how the 12 Class will be powered:

(Drawing from T.Parnell in L.Rae "The Emu Bay Railway")

Next task is to define and build the framing for the two units, therein providing a platform for all the work that will occur on each unit, then fit the pickups (usually fitted by Hollywood however this wheelbase is below the minimum)

Emu Bay Railway - Now it gets scary....EBR Beyer Garratt

2007-05-03T15:17:00.002+10:00

EBR Beyer Garratt at Rosebery, mid 1950's - Tom Rogers Collection

(Copyright Burnie Pioneer Museum, Burnie)

The Emu Bay Railway was a user of Garratt locomotives from the 1930's when the first type (as shown in the diagram above) was brought into service, through successful employment of Australia's ASG type post war, to the end of steam in the early 1960's. To model the late steam/early diesel era of the EBR then, Garratts are necessary. I have decided to model the original Beyer Garratt type as my next model. I will be using two Hollywood Foundry Bullants with WD Models/SEM wheels as the basis, with the remainder of the locomotive being scratchbuilt. Scary? Absolutely. An achievable challenge? I think so.

Emu Bay Railway GR Class Bogie

2007-05-02T20:42:00.000+10:00

The GR class was a flat wagon on the same chassis as the more numerous G class bogie open wagons, and was probably ordered around the same time early last century. Model is made of wood, styrene and wire, with polyurethane cast bogies from a styrene master.

Emu Bay Railway CM Class Van

2007-04-26T21:18:00.000+10:00

The CM Class originated with the North Mount Lyell Railway. When the NMLR closed the EBR purchased many open and several closed wagons including what became the CM class. Like much EBR stock, they had very long lives lasting at least until the 1960's. While it may look too short, the model is actually accurate - these wagons had a very short wheelbase (5'3") - even shorter than many mainline bogies!

PVH 1 Completion

2007-04-16T13:47:00.000+10:00

Here's the completed PVH 1, mostly finished excepting some detail and corrective work. At this stage I can't bring myself to weather her, though she is intended to appear as first in service on the EBR so a pristine appearance is in character.

PVH 1 Progress 2.

2007-03-26T09:48:00.000+10:00

Here's a shot showing recent works including buffers and sills below footplate, front radiator grill and completed engine hood (excepting handrails which I need to acquire). The grill work on the side of the hood is made by cutting holes through the hood wall and inserting corrugated styrene - it's repetitive work but I think provides a good impression of vent sills in this scale.

Emu Bay Railway E Class (First Series) Van

2007-03-20T16:54:00.000+11:00

The First Series E Class covered wagons appear to have originated from the Van Diemen's Land Company's rollingstock which was absorbed on formation of the EBR (happy to be corrected on this), so these wagons had very long lives. Chassis structure and detailing is as per the open wagons below.

Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) B Class

2007-03-20T16:48:00.000+11:00

The EBR was a connection point for the TGR Zeehan-Strahan railway to the rest of the TGR system, so through TGR traffic was common, and hence concurrent to building an EBR fleet will be assembly of appropriate wagons for a TGR fleet. The B class is an early HOn3.5 model - wood body on the same chassis elements (slightly different spacing).

PVH 1 Progress 1.

2007-03-20T16:38:00.000+11:00

Front left and rear right views of the near completed below-footplate section (sans buffers, sand pipes, sills and painting) showing the battery boxes, sanding boxes, steps (nb. the flared rear steps are to clear the rods - a prototypical feature) and other minor detail. Following a suggestion in Continental Modeller, the drive rod has only been actually connected to the minimum number of counterweights required to operate, this reducing the risk of complications in this complicated area!

Emu Bay Railway - Decals

2007-03-14T16:14:00.000+11:00

Decals make a difference! Here's some of my Emu Bay stock now decalled from a sheet produced on request from Brunel Models.

Emu Bay Railway - PVH 1

2007-03-14T09:54:00.000+11:00

The first HOn3.5 locomotive for my EBR layout will be PVH 1. Named after her power and drive unit (Paxman Voith Hydraulic), she was purchased from North British in 1953. While originally undertaking mainline work, PVH 1 is best remembered as Burnie Yard's dedicated shunter where she spent most of her life following replacement by the two series of Walker Diesel Hydraulics. Here's a photo of PVH 1 just after delivery, probably in 1953.

(M.Dix Collection, Author Unknown)

And a much later photo, as Burnie tippler shunter in 2000. Aside from a livery change, the later extension to the pilots (with larger buffers) for autocoupler fitting, two extra low windows at the rear to aid visibility and replacement of the sealed beam headlight with a more functional light are the major changes over the 47-odd years of her service with EBR.

Here's the EBR's Rollingstock Register line diagram, and Detail Sheet of PVH 1 covering the key characteristics of the locomotive.

(both Copyright Burnie Pioneer Museum, Burnie)

My model is of PVH 1 in original condition. Much work to go yet, here's the chassis (a Hollywood Foundry Bullant-Major) with counterweights, rods and pilots fitted.

Emu Bay Railway in HOn3.5

2007-02-16T10:03:00.000+11:00

I have recently scratchbuilt some EBR rollingstock in HOn3.5 scale (HO scale on 12mm gauge track for 3'6" representation) - bodies are either casts from my own mould and originals, with styrene or wood chassis, SEM buffers and wheels, Modeletch W irons and axleboxes/leaf springs, and WT screw link couplings. No decals yet - I am waiting to have enough wagons to justify producing a decal sheet!

B Class Concentrate Bogie

A Class Open

A Class with assembled but unfinished body and floor cast.

AF Class - A converted to flat for motor traffic