The GNR Howlden flat roof coach project

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp · 2024-09-05T03:40:41+00:00

About 9 months ago I decided to start work on a rake of GNR coaches, mainly to run with the upcoming Rapido Stirling single. My Initial plan featured a pair...

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

The first variant of the bogie chassis has now been completed!

Super

Very detailed undercarriage 👍

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

If you’re tired, why not take a seat?

Now that I have the interior printed, I’ve been able to estimate the weight to be around 75-80g, for some context a Hornby unlit 6 wheel 4 compt. first comes in at 70g, a unlit Genesis 5 compt coach at 81g and alit one at 88g

Super

Wow that interior is awesome , your are getting very good at this 👍

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

8 wheel bogie chassis half baked prototype.

My initial design for this type of chassis made use of clips, however after printing I unfortunately realized they were to brittle so I changed the design to use separate pegs (which you can spot in the foreground of the first photo). As for the bogies I realized that not only did some of the detail require a complex support structure that proved impossible to remove, but that it didn’t allow for the pegs to be fitted, so I’ll have to change that to be a separate part. The bogies aren’t actually fixed in these photos due to afore mentioned issues, but the main thing I was concerned about was whether or not the chassis would be able to negotiate 2nd radius curves and thankfully it can and with ease.

I’m currently running low on wheels, but I have enough to make at least 3 more coaches. The first one will obviously have to be another brake, as to not make the rake illegal, and as I have recently really been after more full brakes, perishables vehicles, PMVs, GUVs, CCT, etc I feel it’s only right to make the Dia. 301

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp ,Because it’s my favorite of the 6 wheel coaches I was also thinking about going for the Dia. 149 Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp & I definitely want to make some kind of 8 wheel vehicle, potentially a Dia. 190 Brake composite, which looks something like this:

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

Thanks to receiving my order for drawing books for GNR stock I am yet again working on the 8 wheel stock. Tis helped me realize that I had made a crucial mistake when it comes to the Dia. 238. If you look back at some of the older posts you’ll the 3rd on a bogied chassis, this is because that’s how I’d seen it modeled in the past… turns out that is totally wrong as along with all of the other 8 wheel coaches converted by Gresley to articulated sets the Dia. 238 is actually a rigid 8 wheel coach.
Rigid 8 wheel coaches are something that I have always wanted to model and a part from the GWR, the GNR seams to be the only other major railway that ever sed rigid 8 wheel stock. The downside to these vehicles is the complications that arise from the lack of bogies. You can sort of think of them as a 6 wheel coach, with a pair of fixed axels on either end and a pair of sliding axels in between… One of the key characteristics of an 8 wheel coach is the wheel sets which are inset a lot towards the center of the chassis than on vehicles with bogies
I’ve put together an ‘engineering sample’ to hopefully print and test weather the pair of sleds and the fixed outher axels are a combination that will work!

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

2nd update for today

WIP Dia. 190 Slip Brake third(as built), and due to the incredibly generous amount of space in the compartments convered to Brake Composite 1st & 3rd

and also Dia. 191 Slip brake composite 1st & 3rd

Additionally thanks to an engineering drawing included in the book I’ve also managed to put together a pair of dedicated 2nd class banquets. I have no idea if these would be appropriate for the 6 wheel coaches with 2nd class accommodation, but I’m planning to create alt. CADs with these banquets. I’m also a bit torn on the color a part of me thinks that they would have just been red like the third class ones while being made of leather like the first class seat, however I think I’m feeling more like going for green for them, but we shall see!

A 3rd class banquet on the left and a 1st one on the right with the center two being for 2nd class on mainline stock

Unfortunately As I currently only have a PLA 3D printer there is no way I could replicate the leather texture on the 1st & 2nd class seats, but I’m planning to give them a coat of gloss rather that the matt of the 3rd class seats. Some 6 wheel coaches and pretty much all 8 wheel coaches also had mirrors and paintings in some compartments, which will be added at a later date

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

A mini 3rd update

A WIP Dia. 277 Open Brake Third Lavatory / Dia. 45J Bullion 1st class saloon

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

A bit of a more interesting update: WIP Dia. 164N (Drawing E23). A most unusual diagram, and though I’m not going to get into the specifics right now was one of the first diagrams to be built with bogies on the GNR, in 1975, the year the pre-grouping era began. What I like most about these kinds of early era 2 coaches is that you can tell just how the rules were still being made as we go along, as such unlike later 8 wheel bogied diagrams, the Dia. 164 is not 45′ over body and instead more like 48′ 7″,as such I’ve made the decision to split the side walls, chassis and the upcoming roof in two. Another interesting feature are the shorter doors with a different kind of vents above the main window.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the two out of the prior 3 vehicles were modified, as a result the old bi-composite arrangement between 1st & 2nd class with 5 1st & 2 2nd class compartments was altered to 3 1st & 4 3rd class compartments, all be it with the pair of Ex-1st class compartments retaining their larger size, when compared to the Ex-2nd class compartments. The 6′ wheelbase bogies were also replaced with the much more standard 8′ ones, however as these were still mounted on the original pivot points they look quite odd. The previously whole panels between the 1st class compartments were also split by an additional line of beading on the modified examples.

As built

Modified

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

Dia. 277 (Open Brake 3rd lavatory) & Dia. 129 (semi-Open Composite lavatory composite (currently no interior))
Note: Dia. 129 is the first vehicle that I have modeled with an alternative width, being a scale 9″ wider than other vehicles

Dia. 277 End for reafference

Dia. 129 End

Super

love the detail on the ends 👍

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

Dia. 129 interior base:

Super

Like how the WC’s are situated so the doors are in the middle. Nice work DD-O 🙂

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

~~GNR~~ LNER Dia. 45J (conv. from Dia. 277) Bullion 1st class saloon

I really haven’t touched any of the MANY saloon Diagrams of the GNR, as they have a very specialized interior, however this one was relatively simple, as all I had to do was alter the center bogie detail, remove the bottom footboards and side projections make 4 of the doors a part of the paneling and as about 80% of the coach is just a large bullion compartment the interior of the saloon itself is just a pair of 1st class seats w/ a door in between leading to the lavatory as per the original Dia. 277. I may end up lengthening the pressure tanks as on closer inspection they do appear to be a bit too short, although a lot of the diagrams will receive alterations to the pressure tanks in the future!

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

The final 4 Diagrams that I am covering in this first ‘batch’ of 8 wheel vehicles:

Dia. 211 (Rigid Brake composite)

Dia. 128 (Luggage & lavatory composite)

Dia. 130 (Luggage & lavatory composite)

Dia. 189 ((Slip) Brake lavatory composite)

Now that I have completed the ‘sketching phase’ I can move on to completing the models themselves
And just to recap, here is the list of diagrams:

45J (Ex Dia. 277, 1st class Bullion saloon)
128 (Luggage & lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
129 (Semi-open Luggage & lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
130 (Luggage & lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
164N (Composite 1st & 2nd later conv. to 1st & 3rd)
189 ((Slip) Brake lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
190 (Slip Brake 3rd later conv. to Brake composite 1st & 3rd)
191 (Slip Brake composite 1st & 3rd)
211 (Rigid Brake composite 1st & 3rd)
238 (Rigid 3rd)
277 (Brake lavatory open 3rd)

As you might be able to tell the 8 wheel coaches were definitely not made to be used on their own in services, although they did exist, they were often mixed in with 6 wheel coaches or other later vehicles

Recap of 6 wheel coaches made so far:

149 (Luggage & lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
155 (Composite 1st & 3rd)
156 (Composite 1st & 3rd)
164C (Luggage & lavatory composite 1st & 3rd)
239 (3rd lavatory corridor)
240 (3rd lavatory corridor non-gangway)
243 (Excursion 3rd)
245 (3rd / 2nd / composite 3rd & 2nd)
281 (Brake 3rd / composite 3rd & 2nd)

Although the current range of 6 wheel coaches is fine it’s far from ideal and there are numerous diagrams that are needed to make it as solid as the 8 wheel range, especially as the 6 wheelrs are the Backbone of any mainline set of the GNR an early LNER

Super

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp Now that I have completed the ‘sketching phase’ I can move on to completing the models themselves

Looking forward to it 🙂

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

I’ve been working on the chassis that still need finishing and though it may not be complete I really like the look of the 6′ bogie. As there is no up close photo of aa as built Dia. 164N I was initially a bit concerned as to how to go about modeling the bogies, but luckily there is a photo of the 1876 built Dia. 15 Prince of Whales saloon later reclassified as 1st class saloon which also has 6′ bogies and was only built a year later than the Dias 164Ns:

Source: RCHS Online Media Archive

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

So being generous the original condition version of the Dia. 164N is about 90% done and I really think even just the addition of the footboard has made a massive difference!

Donald9Douglas10Oliver11mp

All of the chassis are now complete!

From top:
Dia. 238 (Rigid 8 wheel 3rd)
Dia. 211 (Rigid 8 wheel brake composite 1st & 3rd) (same chassis as Dia. 238)
Dia. 164N (As built: composite 1st & 2nd)
Dia. 164N (Rebuilt: composite 1st & 3rd)

Super

You can really see the detailing in that second image from below of the chassis. Nice work DDO 👍

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