# South Australian Railways Narrow Gauge Wagon 3 Passenger Car #3



## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

This is a early passenger vehicle I've wanted to model for a while. I actually started this project prior to starting the ON, but just worked on and off when I was stuck on something. Now that the ON is done I'm moving on. 

I've scaled most of the details from the plans, I took more pics at the Port Dock Museum when Harvey and Judy were travelling through.

I saved the plan as a DXF and loaded it into Sketchup and scaled off the frame, I then drew up the frame on paper in 1:24 to get an idea of the size.

NG PASSENGER 3 0 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Left angle shot of one end.

NG PASSENGER 3 1 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Right angle shot of the other end.

NG PASSENGER 3 2 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Interior shot showing off all of that cool woodwork.

NG PASSENGER 3 3 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This passenger car has a lot of character to it and should be a fun build.


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## ferroequinologist (May 8, 2016)

Nice passenger car Scott, I didn't know the SAR had these and lucky one is preserved.(I must get to the Port Dock train museum one day) At first glance of the drawing I thought a straight forward build but the photo's showed it is quite a job what with the "sunshade" over roof and details as well as the wood interior. This will look good when finished and especially the timber interior and all you need now is a Beyer Peacock 2-6-0 Y class to go with it, like the one that pokes it's nose in view next to the coach in one of your photo's.
I just completed a 1:20 scale wooden kit of a Victorian Railways "Puffing Billy" narrow gauge combine coach with stained wood interior and added a few more interior details. Not scratch built like your magnificent models but satisfying to build anyway. 
I can't wait to see your passenger car build in progress and finished.
Russell


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Ferro - the SAR had 4 of these (1,2,3 & 5), all Second Class Passenger. 

From what I've found out is that the first 2 were made in the UK, while the other 2 were built here by Adelaide Loco Works in 1877. In 1882 it was converted to a employee sleeping van - withdrawn from service in 1969 then given to the Railway Museum (which has now restored it back to it's original glory).

The construction is a metal base frame sitting on 4 W irons with axle boxes and leaf spring suspension. No brake system or air line on this one.

It has a timber frame upper structure that is timber clad (exterior) and lined (interior) with bench seats as well as drop down windows.. The double roof is sometimes referred to as a Tropical Roof, the design allowing airflow passively through the vehicle. Electrical lighting was fitted afterwards as it was (then) a emerging technology.

Originally this ran on the NG lines out of Port Pirie to places like Gladstone and Jamestown. Those hardwood timber seats were the height of luxury for second class passengers in the late 1800's, especially on a long haul trip during the height of an Aussie summer.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

It looks like the roof is elevated off the top of the car, possibly for ventilation, but I don't see any evidence of ventilation on the interior of the car? 

Later,

K


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Kevin.

The Colonial roofing to my knowledge used a double roof system where the outer roof kept the sun off of the lower roof creating a temperature barrier. With the gap having airflow moving between both layers during travel and removing the heat lowering the internal temperature providing comfort. Add in the raised central part inside to add to the passive air conditioning.

If you look at the plan and pics on the external side, there are timber louvres mounted above the windows leading to the grilles internally above the windows creating an airflow as well. Even so in 40 degree plus summer weather it would have been a tad warm for travellers.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Interesting. Makes sense now that you describe it. Kinda like an umbrella for keeping heat off the "actual" roof of the passenger cabin. Rather ingenious, those Victorians. 


Later,


K


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Yes, a very interesting innovation. Furthermore to that and it is something I did forgot to mention in a previous post. If you reference the plan and look at the roof there are two roof mounted items that are part of the ventilation system - they are metal cylinders that have holes in them and vent air via the central raised part of the roof. If I can some pictures of the I'll put them up.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

This model lends itself very well in in the construction aspect is that it can be made from brass, styrene, and wood. It can be hand made, laser cut, CNC and 3D printed.

I've gone for the 3D printing aspect to further push those skills and the technology available as the ON wagon worked out really well on the 3D printing. I've worked on this on and off since 2017, so now its time to push forwards to completion. 

This is the pencil draft layout of the frame to get a idea of how it works.

NG PASSENGER 3 4 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This is the initial draft on Sketchup prior to checking and cleanup.

NG PASSENGER 3 5 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Completed underframe with platform supports added.

NG PASSENGER 3 6 by taylorplains, on Flickr


End platforms done.

NG PASSENGER 3 7 by taylorplains, on Flickr

More to follow shortly.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Scott, looks like it is going to be another great creation. I find your work very inspiring, not to mention your attention to detail. LiG


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Cheers mate, I'm continually inspired by a number of modellers who create some beautiful work to a high standard - I feel I still have quite a way to go in that regards.

Placement of the platforms.

NG PASSENGER 3 8 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Close up of the platform, showing the coupler mount, coupler and drawbar support.

NG PASSENGER 3 9 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Underframe view showing the details - the coupler drawbar situation still needs sorting out. That will affect clearance on curves and switches.

NG PASSENGER 3 10 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Full underframe has been checked and small errors fixed.

NG PASSENGER 3 11 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Test fit of the end platform steps.

NG PASSENGER 3 12 by taylorplains, on Flickr


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Your computer modeling amazes me. That is a beautiful little coach and I will be fallowing it closely. I know that it will be superb.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks mate, with this model I'm really looking to making it very true to the prototype. With the 3d design I like to see how the model could look and also determine how my approach to the making of it would work.

Shown here is the initial upper body shell coming together. It's in a draft format at this stage and looking to see how it will fit together.

NG PASSENGER 3 13 by taylorplains, on Flickr

A later view of the ends and sides placed together - now it has more detail added, cleaned up, fault corrected as well as testing the look of the seats.

NG PASSENGER 3 14 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This a angled view of the body showing clearer detail of the windows, louvres, door and placement of the body mounted handrails.

NG PASSENGER 3 15 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This is a detailed end view showing the position of the end platform rail mounting holes.

NG PASSENGER 3 16 by taylorplains, on Flickr

More to follow shortly.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Some more of the pre-print modelling work I did a couple of months ago, I did this to check placement and clean up mistakes.

This is a view of the handrails, flooring and seats without the walls plus ends getting in the way of the view.

NG PASSENGER 3 17 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This is the layout view showing alternating interior and exterior views.

NG PASSENGER 3 18 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Angle view of the model in colour, I do this to separate the build into sub-assemblies and to find out if I need to make other corrections.

NG PASSENGER 3 19 by taylorplains, on Flickr


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

I've been saving my pennies for this and now (finally) they are here. I had Facfox print out the fame and the sides of the passenger car. I am very happy with the result so now it's onto the clean up before undercoating the parts.

Top view shows each end, one with interior and the other flipped over to show the exterior view. Central view is of the side exterior with the louvre detail. Bottom view is of the interior.

NG PASSENGER 3 20 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Top view of the underframe, showing the end platform detail, handrail holes and frame top.

NG PASSENGER 3 21 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Flipped over underframe showing the fine detail and cross bracing of the platform ends. I have made provision for the drawbar assembly and to link that with the central drawbar in time.

NG PASSENGER 3 22 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Dry fit of the components to see how well the print worked and to see if there is any warping.

NG PASSENGER 3 23 by taylorplains, on Flickr


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Scott,
Very impressive.
A couple of questions.
What type of material was it printed in?
Was it 'very' expensive to get it done this way?
I looked at their web site and couldn't find a 'maximum' size for printing. Do you know if there is?
Regards,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

David.

I used SLA Tough Resin and printed at 0.05mm resolution, grey primed and polished for the model. Max size bounding box for this is 1700mm x 900mm x 800mm (Huuuuge!) with minimum print size at 2mm x 2mm x 2mm. The finished item is very smooth with no lines and good fidelity for printing. However fine details may be brittle and could do with a bit of over engineering for durability.

Cost wise it was about $160 AUD and much much cheaper than Shapeways. Delivery time was good, compared to other makers they are a highly cost effective and good service.

Scott


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## harvey (Dec 30, 2008)

Scott said:


> David.
> 
> I used SLA Tough Resin and printed at 0.05mm resolution, grey primed and polished for the model. Max size bounding box for this is 1700mm x 900mm x 800mm (Huuuuge!) with minimum print size at 2mm x 2mm x 2mm. The finished item is very smooth with no lines and good fidelity for printing. However fine details may be brittle and could do with a bit of over engineering for durability.
> 
> ...


Well done Scott, Quite the collection you're building there. What are you going to use to haul them with?
Best wishes for the New Year.
Cheers.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

The V class steam loco is on hold at the moment but will make an effort in 2021 to continue it. I will (eventually) have some steam and diesel locos built to haul my colonial railway.


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Looks like really good quality printing! Looks cast even.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

SLA can look cast especially when there are no curves or angles. Ideal thing to print.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

They would make ideal masters for casting.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Here's some recent work on #3, I've been working on another couple of items in the meantime and planning the next steps. On Youtube is a guy called Pafnunitj who is doing incredible work on a fully scratchbuilt 1:24 San Francisco Cable Car, I've been watching over and over again his roofing work and it may have given me the inspiration on how to make my roof. Nuff said for now, here's the pics.

I painted the underframe with a satin paint giving that old school hand painted work.

NG PASSENGER 3 24 by taylorplains, on Flickr

The floor attached to the tope of the frame with some rebating on the edges to fit the ends + sides rebate.

NG PASSENGER CAR 3 25 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Test fitting of the fixed subframe with the upper body work.

NG PASSENGER 3 26 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Also thanks to Pafnutij, he's given me the inspiriation to make the bench seats.

More to follow shortly.


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## Exador (Jan 24, 2020)

Hey Scott. Nice project. I'm amazed at how nice the prints come out. I can't get that kind of output for my life! I'm looking forward to the next installment.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Cheers mate, I'm learning as I'm going and also pushing my skills to the next level and on that note. Here is my latest progress.

I've been looking at how to do the wood grain finish on the interior of the car and it has taken a while as really there is nothing. My approach has been to cherry pick a number of techniques and combine them into what I require.

NG PASSENGER 3 27 by taylorplains, on Flickr

So firstly the interior needed to be painted to set the base colour and provide the background. This was followed up by masking the trim edges so they and the doors could be painted by hand.

Once dry, that masking was removed in order mask the trim in preparation of lining and painting. To create the edges of the boards I used a regular colouring pencil sharpened to a fine point and lines drawn with straightedge at half foot spacings.

I mixed paint to get as close to the honey gold brown timber look and that took about 3 goes before having something close to I was happy with. That was drybrushed in long strokes onto the surface about as far down to just past where the top of the benches will go. To get that glossy varnish look I'll use a spray lacquer afterwards.

NG PASSENGER 3 28 by taylorplains, on Flickr

The results turned out better than expected.

More to follow.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Scott, your attention to detail is amazing, ya got some eye.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

It's taken me a while to complete the seats, but ta-dah done. I've watched the San Francisco Trolley seating video on youtube a number of times to get the process down right. I've used the same paint for the seating to match the sides. I've also put weights into the seat to give the wagon a bit more adhesion.


Overhead shot of the body assembly with the seating ready to install.

NG PASSENGER 3 29 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Angle view showing more of the seat profile and seat trim prior to installation.

NG 3 PASSENGER 30 by taylorplains, on Flickr

More to follow.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

We had a local lockdown, so I've used some of my free time to make progress on modelling.

The body prepared for gluing together. All interiors painted, seats added and varnished.

NG PASSENGER 3 31 by taylorplains, on Flickr

Side view of the shell prepped and masked for painting.

NG PASSENGER 3 32 by taylorplains, on Flickr

End view of the shell prepped and ready to paint.

NG PASSENGER 3 33 by taylorplains, on Flickr

First coat of paint done.

NG PASSENGER 3 34 by taylorplains, on Flickr

More to follow.


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## David Leech (Dec 9, 2008)

Scott,
That is looking so nice.
Love the interior detail.
It's going to look really great when finished.
Have you kept track of how many hours approximately that you have sent on it so far.
Not that that matters as it is definitely a labour of love.
Cheers,
David Leech, Delta, Canada


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

David.

Good question about hours put in, I'd say so far I've put in over 80 hours - I haven't been counting. I'll put in an hour here, and hour there and maybe 3 or 4 given the chance especially when 3D drawing.Some items come together really quickly while some assemblies take longer especially if it's tricky or a new skill being learnt.Yes, definitely a labour of love.

Cheers
Scott


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## ferroequinologist (May 8, 2016)

Hi Scott, even a kit build takes heaps of time and you are not only building "a kit" but also selecting material, deciding method of construction and also doing the huge amount of hours in the design and drawings. I am amazed when people say that a purchase of a kit or scratch built item is 'expensive' as the hours put in are huge.
That said I can't wait for you to finish a mixed train of your SA narrow gauge rolling stock but I know it will be a while so keep up the good work and thanks for keeping us updated with your posts.
Russell


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

Russell.

Thanks for that, I'm looking forwards to having this run as a mixed or small passenger consist. The longest part is the R&D - maybe one day I can offer this as a kit for those who are interested.

Scott


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## placitassteam (Jan 2, 2008)

Your coach is really looking great. Your use of materials and methods is wonderful to watch. I am curious how you shaped the bench seats. I have been making moldings and other parts for a church I am building. They are made of solid walnut shaped using a table saw, shaper and router. I will be looking for your continued postings of progress.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

The seats were several sub-processes - from the plans and pics I used that info for the 3d modelling, then sized it from 1:1 to 2:24 then took off the dimensions of the seat. Also I did a cross section of the seats for the profile, as the printed picture wasn't to scale I made a grid on the cross section and then work out my profile onto a piece of paper. I then glued the profile onto a piece of scrap thin ply and cut the template.

To work out the process I watched the Youtube channel by Pafnutij on his streetcar build several times and adapted the method with a few changes. The template was used to cut the sides and supports which were then glued to ply strips for the bas and rear of the seating - there had to be room to fit weights as the model is light. Scribed basla sheet was laid on the flat areas however it was a fail on the curved portions. So I cut strips and bonded them like that, once dry I sanded the seats to shape and filled with wood putty the obvious gaps before fixing the scribe planks.

Once test fitted and adjusted I made the seat ends which were about 2mm larger that the seat profile and they bookend the seats. Seats were varnished with shellac and then painted to match the walls before fitting the shell and glueing it all together. 

I wanted see if I could scratchbuild the seats instead of 3d print for a change.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Scott, still watching in amazement.


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## Scott (Jan 29, 2008)

It's been yonks since I've posted any of my developments on here. After the MRSAC (Modelling Railways of South Australia Convention) last year - Sep 21. I really wasn't happy with my decalling attempt on the sides and to me it looked atrocious, so I removed them. I didn't take pics of the decals as I was pretty unhappy (just politely).

I made the handrails from brass rod and strip which came out nicely and were fitted to the frame. One end looked great, but the other end looked a bit further out from the end wall. After all of the effort to get the painting right, I messed it up with the decalling and sure wasn't going to botch it further removing and reapplying the handrails.

I was in the process of reworking the files and was about to contact Stan Cedarleaf about making decals, then I found out he passed away not long after the convention. So I put the model down for a while and would come back at a time when motivation returned. I've been working on a couple of projects which should be on here shortly.

Watching Hitchiker's videos on his Cable Car gave me inspiration to begin again and focus on the roof. I did have a go at using balsa to shape and make the roof, I got frustrated with the warping and fiddlyness. So back to 3D modelling it was.

After much consultation of my notes, all of the pics I took and other file references I made headway into a colonial roof.

NG PASSENGER 3 35 by taylorplains, on Flickr

This is a angled side view showing the double roof, spacers and ribbing.

NG PASSENGER 3 36 by taylorplains, on Flickr

End angle view, showing the trim, spacers, some supports and the roof profiles. Also shows off the interior curvature, clerestory and support ribs that has the Colonial Era decorating.

More to follow.


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