# wrecker & mate



## peter bunce (Dec 29, 2007)

Hi,


This is a repeat of a topic that was posted in 2008, I have found it on my computer and re-posted it as a resukt of a request to do so afetr it was shown on my new (in 2010) trestle, and Howe Truss bridge- it was interesting to make, there are some parts that may be difficult to get now, but I hope it assist in makeing some MOW vehicles. The tender or mate is a 'generic' vehicle with input from the Denver & South Park bridge gangs boxcar, and has my usual scratch built windows.

Here is the article: any questions please ask, and I will assist - that is what MLS is famous for!

In the magazine ‘Garden Railways’ (now owned by Kalmbach), website there are a series of PDF’s that are available free for a limited time, recently (2007) there have been two that together will make a small ‘generic’ steam powered wrecker crane. The first is for a ‘stand alone’ winch unit and the second is for the crane itself, and includes the flatcar that is sits on. These PDF plans, are drawn by the owner of the company ‘Northeast Narrow Gauge’, and kits are available from them for the model crane; they will need bogies as well as these are NOT included in the kit. 


Their website is at http://www.nemodel.com/shop/agor...ct=nng 


The PDF’s are still available from Kalmbach’s download site, as below 


http://www.trains.com/grw/defaul...;id=93 


For which you have to pay now, and are to 1.20.3 scale. . The wrecker is very like the steam shovels that were in use here in the UK about 1900, and is possibly a bit smaller. It is much larger than the one in the LGB range. To the top of the rectangular gantry is with a small amount of clearance is 20cm. The plans can be adjusted to different scales and those (reduction) proportions are given on them.

I built mine on the tender chassis of the Aristocraft C16 which is a bit small for me (it is 1/24th scale) that will be rebuilt to a 2 8 2 shunting tank engine in due course, a short flatcar can also be used the length of it is 10" or 17 scale feet: any flatcar may well have to be widened though . Meanwhile the tender chassis was widened, and given some small Bachmann trucks (add a spacer to bring them up to height), these are the ones with a dropped center portion: the rest is as the supplied plans though I use a lot of plastic card, instead of wood. The final size of my flatcar is 250mm x 115mm; a scratch built flatcar as in the plans would be very easy to make. 


I did use plywood in the winch chassis and in the wrecker’s gantry and boom etc. I did not use the kit, it is all from my general stock, including the pulleys and blocks which are multiple layers of styrene sheet. 
Keep the boiler separate from the winch, so that the positions of the can be worked out before final fitting; then add the feed pipe to the cylinder, and last work out the location for the whistle which again is a small piece of tube on some rigid wire. The new location of the whistle – is outside the cab; so it is fitted later in the build.

The boom lift will work and the winch drum also can turn when pushed – you can just get a finger in to move the drums. The belt is a piece of soda can (in UK a drinks can!), held onto the floor of the winch chassis at each end, and a reasonably tight fit over the large pulley. Again the pulleys are scratch built, with a section of plastic pipe for the outer rims.

More weathering is needed (some has been done but not enough!). The cab is removable, but again a tight fit sliding between the rear diagonal stiffeners for the gantry.

Here are some photos - 










The cab as can be seen is removable, and a tight sliding fit between the diagonal (rear) stabilizers for the gantry. 























Here is a close up of the wrecker; I have added a couple of small bins to the floor and a travelling crutch for the boom. The bins are just below the deck level of the crane so that can swing over the top - they will hold bits of chain and other junk; such as wedges, bits of square timber and such, that are always needed when smashed up vehicles are being brought back from their (inadvertent) resting places. 
Finally there is a loop at the brake staff end for the wrecking hook - it will be somewhat lethal if left swinging around!

That meant that the brake staff needed a new home so borrowing the ideas from the logging fraternity it is now horizontal,(and not painted yet, but that makes it easier to see!), it is out of the way of the swing of the crane.

The crane has the small Bachmann bogies so it sits quite low (but with couplings at the right height) on the end beam I have added a couple of hooks at each end; there are 4 re bent bits of paperclip wire that will fit from these to the underside of the rail and act as clamps to hold it sill - another candidate for those bins





















A final view od the 'business end'of the wrecker showing the crutch for the crane boom. It is located with a couple of wires into the deck, so the crane can be used without it.

Don't forget to add a loop on the deck to keep that hook from swinging around and causing your crane crew some injury!









Note also the horizontal brake wheel - there is nowhere else to put it!












The new wrecker was looking rather lonely, and I had a tender (or mate) in mind for it!

Some time ago I saw on the web, and I think it was from the Micromark website who were selling an ‘add on’ kit of a ‘bothy’, and a couple of lidded bins that was being sold for ON3gauge. You had to provide the flatcar. This was noted, copied and kept 'on file'.

There was sufficient in the copy but I made the lot as a Bachmann flatcar was too narrow anyway, and it was much easier. It is slightly shorter than the Bachmann flats, done deliberately to indicate an older vehicle having been given a new use. Colorado narrow gauge flatcars ranged from 23 foot to 30 foot long, depending on when they were built.

I chose a length of 24 feet and worked out the rest accordingly. It is primarily made from some of my own cut wood strip and 1/8" plywood, which had it in for me as it was very willing to inflict me with some of its splinters!


Having dug those out work proceeded the deck is plywood and is joined on one of the plank lines; it also fell at the point for the fixing beams for the bogies so it was strengthened in this area when the bolster was added. 


The LGB bogies are very useful indeed, and one side has some rudimentary equalization built in; I delete the unwanted detail with a sanding band then add the new detail to various designs that I need. Bachmann 31mm wheels are used but they are painted a mucky/rusty/dirty colour before fitting them. The Bachmann design is the same.



Both the bins and the ’bothy’ are removable and slide down onto the stake pockets (Plastruct square tube, with .030 copper wire for the fixing wire), in addition the lids of the bins are also removable (so the grandkids can fill them up with junk!) 
The bins and ‘bothy’ are made from plywood (bin lids are plasticard) with the windows being scratch built from plasticard before the body, which was designed around them, the outside timbers are strips of plywood. Paint the back of the window a ‘dirty mid grey’ before fitting them 

I had also seen a photo of a commissary car on the DSP that had a collection of bins on its roof - from that came the 3 bins on the roof, thus needed in ladder up the front of the ‘bothy’. The bins are from plasticard, and the ladder needed for access is fitted into the front of the ‘bothy’ stanchions and made from 1mm dia wire – add some nuts from 1.5mm square strips above them to replicate the fixings. Add a roofwalk and finally a stovepipe, I have added a lid on top to keep out the birds and weather.

On a day when we had some sun, I was out with the camera, the tripod was found and I ventured outside and here are a batch of photos of both vehicles together. 




























































As usual the sun has shown up some more work to do on the weathering the 'tender' already has but it was rushed out into the good weather for its debut; the underside still needs some work. I have decided that the underside will be simplified to just a brake cylinder, this being made from a couple of pieces of tube, with end caps, on a piece of 5mm plastic for a base. 


Here is a photo of the underside showing the brake cylinder whilst it was being painted.














The truss rods are purely cosmetic and are made from 1.9mm diameter bicycle spokes, (the bits are also used for the end of the air brake pipes – all my brakes are Westinghouse air brakes; in Colorado vacuum brakes were tried, but due to the height (minimum 5280 feet, maximum 11000feet), they did not work – so Westinghouse replaced them with positive air pressure systems. 


For the black I use a small tin of ‘Blackboard’ paint – much better value than the hobby paints! It is now acrylic so brushes can be washed out in water: I use the cheap ‘kids’ white bristle brushes for this job, they have to take a lot of punishment! 


Note the lead flashing in the centre of the floor; flats cars are notoriously ‘light’ and they must be weighted to allow them to ‘roll’ well. 
Decals will await the collating of a large sheet before I can get them printed.


Meanwhile here are the pair behind my DSP Mogul, and my DSP waycar bringing up the rear.


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Great stuff Peter! Thanks much for posting this for the rest of us.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Very nice!


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Thanks for re-posting the article again Peter! Some very nice pictures of this beautiful crane and it's mate. 

You've got mail! ;-) 

Paul


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

That is a great looking pair Peter!! 

Chris


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