IP Engineering Coach

johnreid · IP Engineering Coach

Lots of packages from the UK arrived in todays mail, one of which was this

I am anxious to assemble it but can see that I need to figure out how to clamp it while gluing, this one might take a few days to assemble.
here is what is included

There is one bigger piece that has lines etched on it, and I can not figure out just what it is, might be an extra .
The wheels are very heavy, look like they are quality.

And of course there are several small packets of white metal castings

excuse the mess, but this item is going to be my best friend through this project.

The magnifier is powerful and the halogen light is bright.

I am still thinking that I want to paint it Burgundy with Cream accents.
No progress for tonight as I am experiencing a splitting headache from eyestrain. I do look forward to adding it to my Railways rolling stock.

rangerssteamtoys

Very nice kit, I cant wait to see it assembled. Looks like a weekend project to me

I'm sorry about your eyes, I do hope they get better.

johnreid

They will in 6 months or so. beats being blind though, My education was so related to visual things, Photography and Art so it makes sense that I would suffer from poor eyesight,

Les

That should look good when you have finished it.

alan2525

The large piece with the scored lines, looks like the roof to me! Being scored it should help form the curve nicely. I'd suggest getting some brass angle and fitting the white metal axle boxes onto those with epoxy, then you can screw the axle boxes to the sole bars. Being able to adjust the wheelbase, swap axleboxes and change the wheelsets is very usefull, especially if you run on tight radius', you might need to adjust the back to back distance.

If you go for a burgandy and creme paint finish, much easier to paint the panels first and the overlays seperately, to save the horrendous job of painting all those edges!

Looks like a nice model though, keep us updated!

johnreid

The scores are not deep enough to easily bend it, but that actually makes sense. A piece of styrene is included for the roof, but the wood might be an option for those who want to go a step further. I might try and shape a piece of wood to hold it to shape and make it a removable roof with the wood, or maybe not, I guess that will be decided when I get to that point.

I have looked it over quite closely and feel that it seems to be quality, maybe easier to build than a Campbell kit, but I bet similar potential as one.

johnreid

Sadly this one really shows how bad m eyesight is, but it will still be good enough to pull behind my Mamod Locos, I want to do another and probably will do it before my eyes are better too, I am a glutton for punishment,
I need to do some paint touch up, and aside from glazing I am not going to do any more on the interior as it just doesnt really show..
Here is my progress ro date

pauly

Looking good John

Graham-Jilly

your doing a great job there John

Keith S

I would like to go for a ride in that coach... It should look nice behind your engines.

Titan

Thats coming along just fine!
I know what to ask for for a birthday present! And maybe Christmas too! Did you 'paint before assembly' like Alan suggested?

Les

Looks good John.

johnreid

Since I am using regular wood glue, I decided to assemble then paint as the glue manufacturer advises gluing to bare wood. The paint is Acrylic Crafts paint,

johnreid

Here it is, I ask to excuse the paint job as It was all done with a magnifying glass and I still couldnt see too well.

As soon as I can scrape together the funds, I do want to do another one to go with it, are two coaches enough?

Titan

I very much like that! I think it looks wonderful. An attractive typical narrow gauge style coach. I know I would be tempted to get one more the same, and one gaurd/luggage van. would make a nice set then. Have you got a birthday coming up? Maybe you could drop a hint?

I was thinking I could ask for the same birthday present from everybody, and maybe get quite a long train!

pauly

How did you find the building of the kti John? good? bad?

johnreid

It went together fairly easy, you have to talke in mind that I cant see worth a darn right now.
The coupler is higher than the Mamod Locomotives, so OI will have to sort that out, but it looks real nice behind the SL3.
I do think I want another,

Les

That looks good John, have you made a video of it running behind a loco yet??

johnreid

I need to sort out the couplers first as it sits high. Tempted to get some of the Multi-height Couplings from IP. Hmmm if I order them maybe another coach too? I am going to need to do the math as I recently bought another Loco which I had not planned on doing.

alan2525

The multi height couplings are only white metal castings though. Sometimes they need so much cleaning up as they are often a bit 'blobby'. The first thing I do on all my loco's is ditch the white metal parts and fit steel sprung centre couplings.

In my mind white metal is good for small detail castings but on locomotives a more 'model engineer-y' solution is a lot better!

johnreid

Got tired of cursing at my new Loco so I decided to take a few pics of the Coach with a Loco. excuse the poor quality, but it is fuin to experiment a bit.

Notice how the coupler height is off.

Les

They go together really well, could you use a paperclip as a temporary coupler??

johnreid

That is what I normally use, next time on the tracks I will try it. I still plan on buying multi level couplers from IP when I order the next coach, One os not enough,

trainguy68

Looks great! How long and wide is the coach? Quite tempted to get one (or two) myself.

johnreid

4" X 7 3/16"
http://www.ipengineering.co.uk/page97.html

kusuchi

Looks stunning with the Loco, John.

What does the multi level coupler look like?

Les, how would the paper clip solution work on bends? Sounds like it might be prone to derailment, though I confess to not having thoroughly researched the physics.

Les

johnreid

I use paper clips when pulling Mamod Rolling Stock, the difference in height might cause the paperclip to uncouple though.

This is IPs multi height coupling

kusuchi

johnreid

That is the picture on the IP site, I think Moose has some in use.
http://modelsteam.myfreeforum.org/about20243.html

made-in-england

John, you may be better off in the long run buying a set of mulit hight couplings for the loco..