T Ice Van

A short post. This is a Steam Era Models T iced van kit, which was constructed, painted and weathered by a good mate of mine. I really do like VR four wheel traffic, and this is a lovely representation of the prototype.

According to Mark Bau's web site (www.victorianrailways.net), "The T's had an ice bunker running along the middle of the ceiling that was filled with ice from hatches in the roof. They were used to transport meat carcasses or other goods that required a cool temperature. The walls were about 6 inches thick for insulation. The vertical channel at the end was a drain for the ice bunker. This series of T vans had a 15 1/2 ton capacity. Truly a relic from a bygone age they lasted to the late 70's in general box van service."

Detailed GYs

I’ve been rather busy lately trying to complete some of Steam Era Models GY kits (see previous post). After looking around the internet for reference photos, I came across some images of Precision Scale Models’ brass GY. Released some years ago, the details on this model are amazing. This instantly became my new standard. The results (thus far) are a common ‘inside sill’ GY and the less well known ‘outside sill’ GY (kit-bashed).

Each model took around 3 hours to construct, and includes;
• Etched brass lashing rings and shunters steps from Model Etch.
• Lost wax casting brake hose from Model Etch.
• Eye bolts (for decoupling rod) from Details Associates in the US (sourced from Austral Modelcraft in Brisbane).
• Centre brake rod made from Evergreen 0.5mm rod (#218).
• End grab irons made from Evergreen 0.5mm rod (#218) and 0.25mmx1.0mm strip (#102).
• End brake rods (between brake shoes) made from 0.2mm brass rod.
• Brake rod catchers/protectors and decoupling rod made from fine wire (small E acoustic guitar string).
• RP25-88 broad gauge (ie EM gauge) wheel sets from Steam Era Models.
• Etched brass handbrake kit (Inside sill GY only) from Steam Era Models.
• Hand wheel and brake gear (outside sill GY only) from Model Etch.

The other three GY’s will follow shortly. One of those will include GY1080. Of the ~6000 made, GY1080 was the only inside sill GY fitted with a hand wheel brake gear.