Westrail WQL flat wagon 

Adding to my collection of S scale flat wagons is this model of a WQL flat wagon.

Westrail had a fleet of 62 WQN class wagons capable of carrying 2 x 20’ containers, the builder Goninan also proposed a lengthened version to fit 3 x 20’ boxes.

This S scale model is based on that proposal and the WQL designation is made up.

Construction is mostly from styrene strip and shapes with American Models Barber roller bearing bogies and MTH wheels. The couplers are Kadee HO #118’s with the glad hand removed and set at the correct height for S scale. Archer 3D decals were used for the weld lines and floor plate patterns.  The combined air reservoir and valve were 3D printed while the air hoses, brake wheel and gearbox came from DPH. The brake pipe unions are from Precision Scale Company.

The model was finished with Vallejo Chrome Yellow and decals printed at home, apart from the Westrail logos which were kindly printed for me by John Miller.

AQNY (formerly WQN) flats with the WQL

Westrail/ARG WQN/AQNY

Westrail introduced the 61 strong class WQN standard gauge flat wagons in 1998 and they were manufactured by United Goninan at Bassendean.
Each wagon carries 2 - 6.1m containers for use on the Sulphur train between Kwinana and Malcolm siding.

Loaded AQNY 32208Y at Kwinana.

Empty AQNY 32209A at Kwinana.

The model is depicted post 2012 after reclassification to class AQNY under ARG ownership. 

It is primally constructed of sheet styrene; 0.5mm for the side webs which then narrow down to form the centre sill over the bogies. The top & bottom flanges are 0.4mm & 0.25mm thick styrene respectively. Sections of sheet brass were added in the end platforms for strength and after the styrene angle braces were added the body felt much stronger.

American models roller bearing bogies, NWSL wheels and Kadee HO No. 118 couplers were used.  The air brake reservoir was 3D Printed by i.Materialise and the brake piping was added with 0.04 & 0.05 phosphor bronze wire from Tichy. The brake wheel & gearbox were from Detail Associates (now discontinued) and attached to a stand made from styrene angle.

A construction photo

primer coat - in the spray booth 

Prior to weathering

second attempt at weathering the deck - this time with rust coloured pigments

The model was airbrushed using Vallejo Desert Sand acrylic primer as a base and Polly Scale Railbox yellow, followed by a light coat of Polly Scale CN Yellow No. 12 on the sides, all thinned with their respective thinners. The CN Yellow is quite a good match for the Golden Yellow used by WAGR and later Westrail. As the Polly Scale line of paints have now been discontinued the CN Yellow was rationed and the final weathering will cover most of the Railbox Yellow colour.

I created by own artwork for the decals and had them printed through Westland Models, using  Microscale Decal Set to settle them down to the paint. Details were pickd out with Lifecolor paint, using black, white orange & rust dark shadow.

Finally a coat of Model Master clear flat was applied to seal & protect the decals and hide the decal 

film, weathering was done with a selection of Lifecolor acrylic brown paint and pigment powders.

Next project are the containers...

GS

VDR Refrigerator Van

 Here are some photos of the VDR refrigerator van produced by 3D printing by Marbelup Models.

The 3D drawing was modified from that for the VD van, although the modifications were quite extensive as the roof of the VDR was raised to provide extra height inside the refrigerated compartment, presumably to allow for the thickness of the insulation material.  

The bodywork for the refrigerator compartment was based on the somewhat derelict WVD van at the ARHS museum at Bassendean, although the WVD is slightly different in that the refrigeration equipment was mounted underneath the van rather than in the centre compartment of the VD.  Little information was available on the appearance of the refrigeration equipment on the WVD, hence the choice of VDR for the model, as well as the lack of evidence that the WVD's carried the attractive advertising livery.

Some of the VDRs had a single door each side to the refrigerated compartment and Marbelup Models would consider producing the single door version if there is sufficient demand.

The main decals were done by Westland Models and are available from them should you wish to have a VDR for yourself.  Some of the tiny decals for load, tare, etc. were done at home on a laser printer using laser decal paper from local hobby shop.  The laser printed decals sprayed with a Testors Decal Bonder which made them easier to apply as the laser decal film is extremely thin and fragile.  I understand Westland Models will be including the smaller decals in their VDR sheet for future orders.

Prior to decalling, the model was airbrushed with Revell gloss white enamel, and Revell matt varnish used as a clear protective coat over the decals.  The underframe is Revel No. 9 "Anthracite".  The bogies are American Models Bettendorf style, with 3D-printed bolsters to convert them to narrow gauge.

The 3D-printed body of the VDR is printed in one piece, and printed upside down to obtain the optimum definition for the louvred sections.  Some cleanup is required to roof as there is visible stepping and also remnant of the support structure from the 3D printing process.  The lack of other detail on the roof makes the cleanup pretty easy.  The exhaust pipe from the refigeration unit is vulnerable to damage while cleaning up the roof, so there is a spare printed on the underframe in case if gets broken (which it did on the test model).  All the the details visible are included in the 3D printed body, apart from handrails and the brake pulls rods and their supports, which must be fabricated from brass wire and strip.

American Models Bettendorf Bogies

Bettendorf bogie on a VG van

Another source of bogies for relatively modern WAGR wagons is from American Models.  This company, based in Michigan, USA, make a wide range of S scale standard gauge locos, rolling stock and track.

In the parts section of their web site, they list a number of styles of bogies (or trucks as they call them).  The most useful for WAGR modellers are the Bettendorf freight car trucks and, for some modern Westrail era wagons, the 50-ton roller bearing trucks.

Bettendorf with "scale" wheels

50-ton roller bearing, with "scale" wheels

I first came across the Bettendoorf style when I visited Caboose Hobbies in Denver, during a holiday in the US in 1984.  I bought one pair just to try them.  That was a long time ago and, since then, I have bought two batches of 10 pairs, and asked for the bogies without wheelsets, which cuts the price almost in half.

Of course, the bogies are standard gauge so they have to be narrowed to suit Sn3½.  The Bettendorf bogies are sprung so they can be easily be dismantled - but don't lose the springs.  Kadee make an inexpensive manual uncoupling tool (#241), one end of which doubles as a "spring pic", which I have found useful for removing and inserting the springs.

The basic principle to narrow the bogies is to cut the centre from the original plastic bolster, and rejoin the two halves of the bolster.  For a while, I was using K&S 6.35 mm brass channel to splice the two halves of the bolster back together.  Recently, I went to the local hobby shop to get some more channel and they didn't have any, so I bought some K&S 6.35 mm x 3.2 mm rectangular brass tube instead and that actually worked better.

Original bolster (bottom) and shortened bolster.

The bolster is deeper towards the centre with a slope on both the top and bottom surfaces.  I found that by grinding away the sloping parts with a Dremel motor tool and "plastic" cutting disk, the end pieces of the bolster are a snug fit in the rectangular brass tube.  I found it easier to do the grinding with the original bolster in one piece, before cutting it into three pieces.  Take care not to damage the "bumps" which locate the springs.

A length of between 18 and 18.5 mm seems to work well for the brass tube.  This is based on fitting replacement wheelsets with 26 mm axles.  The bearing holes in the sideframes are quite deep and I don't think 25 mm axles would work as the wheels would rub against the inside of the sideframes.

Cut sections of original bolster with rectangular brass tube.

I drill the centre pivot hole 2.2 mm as this will take a 2-56 screw with minimal slop.  I drill the matching hole in the bottom of the brass tube a bit larger, say 2.5 mm, so that the bogie can rock a little bit from side to side or end to end.  Obviously, it is important to get the pivot holes in the exact centre of the brass tube.

I have also drilled 2 small holes in the underside of the brass tube so that I can use small screws to secure the two halves of the bolster in place although, if they are a tight fit, this may not be necessary.

The bogies I have bought have been "rust brown" in colour so I have have airbrushed them (Revell 9 "Anthracite") before reassembling them.  The current production are available in black, judging by the website photo, which would be better.

The 50-ton roller bearing bogies are not sprung, and are cast in one piece.  I haven't actually used this type, but I have seen some that have been converted to Sn3½ (and there are no springs to lose).

Update - 23 January 2014

To simplify regauging of the Bettendorf bogies, I have designed a new bolster for 3D printing.  The first test prints arrived today and they seem to have worked very well.

Bettendorf bogies with 3D-printed bolsters (grey)