03-Sep-2008 08:32

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Manufactured by: Mallard Models

Some years ago I picked up at a bring and buy an unopened box containing the Mallard 38' 6" Bogie Brake 3rd diagram D15.  It was originally intended for my own railway but became surplus to requirements as my ideas changed on what sort of railway to build.  It is now to become part of a complete train that includes the E24 Compo and 3233 Class 2-4-0 for a friend.

The kit appears to have been blown up from a 4mm original and so the tab and slots are not a lot of use.  However, the body went together conventionally without too much trouble.  The brass is quite thin and so the parts are relatively fragile however, once the shell is constructed, it becomes a fairly strong unit.  Like the Blacksmith E24 Compo, it is essential to assemble it square and ensure that the tumblehome on the sides and ends mate correctly.

The bogies on the other hand were, in my view, substandard so I scrapped and replaced them with a set of Slater's sprung Dean bogies.  They are provided with lost wax cast scroll irons that are designed to fit their own coach kits.  I cut off the cast fixing pins and soldered them to the sole bars and then attached the cross stays, as these two pictures illustrate.  The cross stays are bolted to the scroll irons with 14BA nuts.  The bogie fits inside these and has enough room to turn for reasonable curves but would not cope with tight radius curves.  The Slater's bogies go together well and have the provision also to fit plastic brake shoes.

The roof is very thin and, I subsequently found out, too wide.  Rain strips and gas lamps need fitting plus the gas piping.  As built, these vehicles had flat flame lighting and so only one gas pipe was needed.  When later they were upgraded to incandescent lighting, two pipes became necessary, one for the main supply and a smaller bore pipe for the pilot light.  This carriage is to be in unmodified form so a single pipe was all that was required.

Since the brass is very thin I soldered a couple of lengths of angle strip on the inside to provide some rigidity.  It also needs some form of fixing to the body and, since it is not possible to remove the under frame to gain access to the inside, a removable fixing method is essential.  At each end I fitted a piece of brass strip, suitable bent to shape and with a hole drilled in the centre tapped 10BA.  Two pieces of 1.6mm rod were then cut to length and tapped 10BA at each end.  One end to be screwed into the roof fixing points and then soldered to make a permanent fixing.  The other end fits through another piece of brass strip drilled to clear 10BA as shewn here and nut used to secure and tighten the roof in place.  The roof proved too wide, which caused the edges to foul the lookouts so a millimetre was carefully shaved off each side with a sanding disk in the minidrill and then cleaned up with large files.

These two pictures shew either end of the completed carriage.  The alarm gear was scratch built and the gas pipe also comes down beside the pipe to the vacuum swan-head.  Buffer heads have been put in temporarily, as have the step rails, which cannot be permanently fitted or the roof will not come off again.  Grab handles, door handles and couplings will be added after painting.

So it is off to Dennis's paint shop shortly, along with the V2 and V5 vans.  Later will be added a compo clerestory and a 3232 Class 2-4-0.

Finished at last.

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