Kit Corner: Building a fleet of ‘Grampus’

A return to the workbench is the perfect antidote to the excesses of Christmas, with more wagon kits lined up including the Diagram 1/574 vacuum braked ‘Grampus’.

ALTHOUGH a ‘OO’ gauge readyto-run model of the ZCO and ZCV ‘Grampus’ ballast and spoil wagons is released by Dapol from time to time, the current Parkside kit remains popular with modellers because of its versatility.

Two basic types of ‘Grampus’ were constructed by various builders from the mid-1950s following a design built by the GWR. Diagram 1/572 was an unfitted wagon with long link brakes, spindle buffers and a variety of oil axle boxes. Records indicate that around 3800 wagons of this basic design were built. One of the very first Parkside Dundas kits was for the unfitted wagon type which were coded as ZBO in the TOPS system.

The second type is Diagram 1/574, with vacuum eight-shoe clasp brakes and roller bearings from new. Over 700 wagons of this type were constructed from 1958, and they remained the longest lived of the ‘Grampus’, the unfitted wagons either being retired by the 1980s or converted with eight-shoe vacuum brakes so they were outwardly similar to Diagram 1/574, with some variation in buffers and axle boxes.

‘Grampus’ wagons were subject to numerous conversions and variations such as different axle box covers, buffers and other fittings. Despite this, the majority of the ‘Grampus’ led ordinary lives, being the ‘standard’ general materials wagon for BR until the 1980s. This view is upheld by photographic evidence that shows that ‘Grampus’ could be found on almost any part of the network and in considerable numbers in various yards.

It was a versatile design due to the removable ends and drop-down flap which allowed machinery to be driven along the train for unloading. They could be found carrying fresh ballast to work sites and equally as useful for transport of rubbish, spent ballast and other materials to ballast tips.

The kit chosen for this session of Kit Corner is the Parkside Models by Peco kit No. PC72 for the Diagram 1/574 eight-shoe clasp brake ‘Grampus’, which will suit the late 1980s and early 1990s themed layout for which they are intended. A lot of ‘Grampus’ are needed because they ran in rakes on their own or were mixed with other vacuum braked wagon types. On the Southern Region, they were mixed with ‘Crab’, ‘Dace’, ‘Turbot’ and ‘Lamprey’ from time to time. One could look over a yard such as Tonbridge West and see a sea of four-wheel engineer’s wagons such as ‘Grampus’ mixed with bogie ballast wagons and rail carriers. It takes a little dedication to build large numbers of such wagons, but one good time management technique is to construct two or more at a time, being sure that all the additional detailing parts are to hand so as not to hold up the project.

The kit

The Diagram 1/574 kit is a far cry from the first one produced by Parkside Dundas (which can still be found for a few pounds each). The body sections go together neatly and there is minimal flash on the underframe parts too. Excellent quality ‘OO’ gauge wheels are provided along with metal cup bearings and transfers.

When first examining the kit contents, note the duplication of some parts such as vacuum cylinders, veehangers and brake levers – very useful spares to be retained for other projects. The kit also contains parts to model the handful of ZBA ‘Rudd’ upgrades of the ‘Grampus’ which were rebuilt with fixed ends and air brakes. They led to the building of a large fleet of ZCA ‘Rudd’ using underframes recovered from 21t HTV coal hopper wagons. ’Rudd’ wagons were instrumental in the withdrawal of ‘Grampus’ alongside other types of air braked wagon conversions.

Pre-assembly preparation

Several tasks are completed before any assembly work is started. The L-shaped sprue is removed from the body side pieces and the top edge rubbed along wet and dry paper to smooth away the moulded ridge.

Underframe parts are cleaned of moulding flash, particularly the brake levels and along the top of the solebars. A pin vice is used to drill 0.5mm holes through the brake shoes ready for the yokes and the axle box holes opened out with a 2mm drill ready to fit the supplied brass bearings. With the same drill, open out the holes in the rear of the desired axle boxes. Two types are supplied with the kit and photographs should be consulted as to which one to use for a given wagon.

When building a ZBV ‘Grampus’, remove the tie bars from the axle guards and the small vee hanger from one solebar moulding. This will be

fitted to the ‘X’ side of the underframe. Finally, look over the solebar for spigots of plastic on the rear side, especially above the axle guards and file them flat. This may prove important when modelling in ‘EM’ or ‘P4’ gauge where clearances between wheels and axle guards is tighter.

Body assembly

After completing the part preparation and cleaning, work commences with the body. To save time built two, three or more at a time until a production line is established. The body starts with one end, seated on the floor. A side follows next, care taken to align them with the corresponding rebate in the ends. The opposite side is next, and the body is finished with the second end. While the solvent-treated edges are still relatively flexible, check that the body or bodies are assembled straight and flat by placing them upside down on a flat surface. Ensuring that all of your ‘Grampus’ and other four-wheel engineer’s wagons are all correctly aligned when run in a train is important for achieving realism.

Underframe

Before the solebar mouldings are detached from the sprue, press the metal cup bearings into place from the rear. Detach from the sprue and gently rub the top edge along wet and dry paper to remove the moulded ridge. This will prevent the solebars from seating properly if not removed.

Fit the appropriate vee-hangers, referring to the instructions as to which one to use on each solebar.

Apply solebars to the underframe with sparing amounts of solvent cement – the solebar without the small vee-hanger is fitted on the side with the letter ‘Y’. Be careful with solvent – excess will soften plastic too much, causing warping of the floor. This will give you an awkward three-legged underframe which will be difficult to fix.

Clip in the wheels and either hold or secure gently but firmly with elastic bands to keep the axle guards from splaying out while the plastic hardens once again. Do not over-tighten to avoid pushing the middle section of the sides inwards. This part of the assembly process should be left for several hours to allow the parts to set before adding brake details. Check that the wagon sits correctly on flat track with all four wheels in contact with the rails before adding brake fittings.

Brake fittings and small details

A single vacuum cylinder is added to the ‘X’ side of the underframe, mounted on the raised blocks on the underside. A piece of styrene rod is supplied to model the linking bar between the veehangers added when the solebars were prepared for use. The final link between the vacuum cylinder is fitted and all of this work is completed with sparing amounts of solvent cement.

Next comes the brake shoe mouldings. If using closer-to-scale wheels, trim the mounting block to ensure that there is good clearance for the wheels. They should be positioned with the shoe aligned towards the outside of the wheel tyres for the best appearance. Check that they are fully perpendicular to the floor and consistently applied for a good appearance when the model is viewed from a low angle.

Once the brake shoes are positioned, fit the brake levers carefully and follow up with the door bangers, which are best fitted after the brake levers. The mould line on the bangers should be pared away as far as possible before fitting – they are far from the best mouldings in the kit.

Another detail to fit are the storage baskets slung from the underside of the wagon underframe. They will be tricky to fit depending on the coupling type you plan to use. NEM coupling pockets and other types using a draft box will occupy the same space as the basket detail.

Adding weight

Weight can be added to this model in several ways and even using a combination of methods. A load is the obviously way to ballast a model and this should be applied after painting and weathering. But what if your train is returning from the ballast tip and is running empty? There is sufficient room between the underframe members to apply fine, lead-free shot which can be secured with regular CA glue. It can be teased into various places to maximum effect. If planning using the fine basket mouldings for storing the wagon end panels, fit the ballast first. Experience with this kit shows that this is probably sufficient for a wagon of this size. The fine metal wheels provided with the kit will also contribute some mass to the model. Additional white metal fittings will help in this regard, as will any traces of spent ballast modelled in the body of the wagon.

Be aware when using lead shot that water-based adhesives should be avoided to prevent oxidation of the metal. Seal the weight in with CA glue to prevent damage through oxidation expansion of lead.

Model painting

The original black or engineer’s olivegreen livery are among the easiest to apply, while the yellow and grey scheme requires some masking work to separate the two colours. The relatively flat sided ‘Grampus’ allows masking to be applied with relative ease. Rust soon takes over as the wagons quickly become work-worn, and some green examples were pretty woebegone by the late 1980s!

When applying engineer’s yellow and grey livery, small details were painted white such as the round tie-down points on the sides. The door bangers of ‘Grampus’ of various colours were often painted white to aid visibility. Walking into one in the dark during a poorly lit engineer’s possession would have been very painful indeed.

Transfers are available from RailTec Models in various scales. Sheet

No. 6354 has sufficient markings on it for at least 12 wagons. If your fleet is larger than that, duplication can be disguised by rust and dirt!

Finishing touches

With the kit essentially complete, the chance to fit some optional parts can be taken including vacuum brake hoses, cast metal coupling hooks and brake yokes soldered together from off-cuts of 0.45mm wire. They improve the general appearance of the wagons, although belief in one’s sanity will determine if the wire safety loops are to be fitted, especially when batch building the kit to create a sizeable fleet.

A related wagon project

A relatively common ballast and spoil wagon operated in the south was the ZCV ‘Dace’. Repurposed from Shock

Hood B wagons around 1984, they have not been produced as a ready-to-run mode or a kit. Possibly a touch limited for a commercial model, but awkward for modellers needing a handful to enhance a fleet of four-wheel engineer’s wagons, particularly if modelling Southern Region infrastructure trains.

Fortunately, a 3D printed resin kit is available from Scale Model Innovations which does need detailing with various bits of brake gear for the heavy duty eight-shoe brakes. This where the ‘Grampus’ kit comes in to play! Remember all those spare underframe parts in the kit?

A mix of ‘Grampus’ and ‘Turbot’ wagons are hauled out of a ballast handling area at Didcot by No. 08946 on September 28, 1989. ‘Turbot’ and ‘Grampus’ were often found in the same train, sometimes as separate blocks and sometimes mixed throughout the train.

‘Grampus’ engineer’s wagons were a common sight throughout the country at one time making the building of a small fleet worthwhile. An early 1990s layout theme dictates the modelling of the fitted Diagram 1/574 type for which a plastic kit is produced under the Parkside Models by Peco label.

The wagon’s underframe is handed, so be sure to fit the solebars to the correct sides. The brake levers are also different on either side – the letters correspond to those on the underframe floor.

Underframe parts are comprehensive, allowing quite a detailed model to be constructed. The sprues include a choice of axle box details and there will be useful spare parts left over due to the balance of parts on the sprues.

Time spent preparing and cleaning the kit parts will assist in the assembly of the kit. The underframe components need flash and sprue ejection pips removing from the brake levers and solebars (A). Pips should be filed off the rear of the solebars (B) and when building ZBV ‘Grampus’ the tie bar between the axle guards is not needed (C). Finally, open out the axle bearing holes with a 2mm drill before pressing the brass bearings in place (D).

The body and floor mouldings supplied in the kit. This version enjoys some sharp tooling for the sides and ends.

Sides and ends for both the ‘Grampus’ and the ‘Rudd’ rebuild, the ends for which are on the right. Preparation of the parts includes removing the L-shaped sprue from the lower edge (A), but not the plates that support the hinge detail at (B).

Another small preparation job is to drill holes through the brake shoes for fitting brake yokes, or at least a piece of 0.45mm diameter wire to give the impression they are present.

Opening the holes in the rear of the axle box mouldings will make it easier to fit them over the metal cup bearings.

Removing moulding pips from the solebars, an important job when closer-to-scale wheels are to be used in the model.

There is a ridge of plastic on the top of the solebars, the surface which bonds to the underframe floor. It is removed with fine grade abrasive paper.

Soldering up an impression of the brake shoe yokes using a jig made from a scrap of plywood and track pins.

ZBV No. DB991684 was photographed at Toton (from a safe place) on April 22, 1987.

Note the location letters on the underside of the underframe. The solebar with the small vee-hanger (A) is fitted to side ‘Y’ (B). Note the letter ‘X’ which receives the solebar with the small hanger removed (C).

Three more ZBVs are assembled ready for painting and finishing. They will be followed with yet more models of the same type of wagon to build up a sizeable fleet.

Completed kits in dirty and rusty BR engineer’s live green livery. A ZBA ‘Rudd’ built using the same kit sits behind the ‘Grampus’.

ZBA No. DB 985728, one of the small number of rebuilt ‘Grampus’ allocated fishkind name ‘Rudd’, was photographed at Dalmeny on April 8, 1994. It can be modelled using parts supplied in the Diagram 1/574 ‘Grampus’ kit.

No off-the-shelf model of the ZCV ‘Dace’, which were used extensively on the Southern Region and in early privatisation, is currently available. A printed resin kit is available from Scale Model Innovations. Many of the spare underframe parts left over from the ‘Grampus’ kit can be used to finish this model.

ZBV No. DB984292 was one of the rebuilt Diagram 1/572 unfitted wagons rebuilt with vacuum clasp brakes. It was photographed, along with a number of other very battered ‘Grampus’, at Hinksey Yard where they were stored for a time in the 1990s.