Steel-built 13t Private Owner Coal Wagon

Forerunners of the encredibly numerous 16t steel minerals, wagons of this design were built by the Cambrian works during WW2, and there were some similar designs built elsewhere. Thanks to the Severn Valley Railway for allowing me to take measurements from the end door, the only remaining part, of their former loco coal wagon which was of this type (once belonging to Goodyear). The Bluebell Railway have an almost complete one hidden away in a siding awaiting restoration, and there are a couple which are slightly different at the Rutland Railway Museum (Rocks by Rail). Thanks also to Paul Bartlett for his photos, and the commentator on his photograph of the SVR example before it was scrapped, for recording the location of the remaining door! This model is designed to fit onto the Peco 9ft wb steel solebar chassis kit, which it should do with a little preparation. Pare back the central cm or so of the upper solebar flanges to accept the bottoms of the side doors, file narrow notches in the bufferbeam for the non-opening end to accept the stanchions, and slightly shorten both ends of each solebar piece before fitting the bufferbeams so that the overall chassis length is a scale 16'6", matching the wagon body, not 17'6" and projecting half a millimeter beyond. The coupling pockets may need a little filing to get a neat fit against the tracing on the underside of the body. The brakes on each side were independent, because of the discharge doors in the wagon floor, so there is no need to reverse the pushrods on one side of the chassis kit or fit a crank shaft between the v-hangers (as may be your habit with similar kits). As a final touch you can also add tiny plasticard strips running down from the solebar beneath the side doors to just above the v-hangers, as stops for the side-doors. Unless you wish to model the wagon permanently loaded, remove the internal stabilising webs from the wagon body with careful strokes of a sharp scalpel before painting and fitting to the chassis. These are only needed to prevent bowing of the thin sides during manufacture and cleaning. A finishing touch to the body is to clean out the holes provided for fitting "commode handles" at the non-openng end of the wagon, and fit pieces of 0.25 mm brass wire, or similar, with ends bent the right distance apart to fit the holes and then trimmed to seat in the holes without intruding inside the wagon.