Recycling an old coach body

I've thought of 'grounded van bodies' before, but never as a conversion to a passenger shelter - a neat idea.

What will you make the roof out of?

Reminds me of when we used to visit my in-laws at their static caravan in West Wittering a number of years ago. On the way into town there was a garden with what on first sight looked like a 'grounded' static caravan (ie without trailer/axles) but on closer inspection turned out to be a grounded ex-LSWR coach! It had evidently had a pitched roof fitted, but you could still make out the point at which the original curved roof would have been. It did still have all the doors and windows present, though boarded up from the inside in places.

How about using some baked bean tins for the roof (suitably cut and flattened, of course!), to allow it to rust naturally once outside? (I am of course presuming it will be outside!)

Interesting project, I shall await developments with more than a passing interest.

Indeed. So shall I. The bean cans could be corrugated with one of those things for corrugating paper for a nice effect.

John wrote:

The bean cans could be corrugated with one of those things for corrugating paper for a nice effect.

I would add a note of caution on this - I tried that very thing, and it wouldn't touch it! The best I could manage was an aluminium can, which just about took the corrugation effect - even then, it was more of a 'v' shape corrugation than a 'u' shape (if you see what I mean)

I have seen an alternative on the Buntbahn fotogalerie, where some guy made a corrugation 'machine' out of thin steel rods laid (and welded!) on 2 separate steel sheets, one rod's thickness apart. The can to be corrugated was then placed between the two corrugating sheets so that the steel rods were in contact with it, and the whole schmoo was put in a vice and squeezed good and tight. Worked a treat, as I recall from the pics the guy posted. I've tried searching for it on the Buntbahn site but to no avail sadly.

Nice little project Andy.
It has great potential, lighting, adverts, maybe a snogging couple from Porstmouth even....

I like things like that and it'll inspire me to get into workshop (cold garage) too over bah humbug time.

carl hibbs wrote:

Nice little project Andy.
It has great potential, lighting, adverts, maybe a snogging couple from Porstmouth even....

If it's me doing the sculpting, it'll have to be 2 blokes! Actually, if it's to be a couple from Portsmouth ....

A neat job.
I like the curved roof better.

If you're thinking of flourescent tube lighting how about the real thing.
I'm sure there are suppliers in the UK or there is,
Selectronic mini tubes here in France. Prices start at about 4.50€ for 4mm x 100mm.

Very nice, curved roof looks nicer in my humble opinion.

Definitely prefer curved.

A nice model wood burning stove in the corner with the pipe sticking through the roof - perfect !

Yep, curved roof gets my vote too having seen both 'options'.

Only trouble is ... I will need to buy another coach to obtain a spare domed roof .... spares seem to have dried up. A chap on eBay is selling rare spares but they are going for silly money. He will list a coach body but then put the window frames and doors up for auction separately. Win one of the end doors and you may get outbid on the other. He may not list another door for ages, if at all.

I guess you've still got the Plastikard option though, have you not?

MzB wrote:

Only trouble is ... I will need to buy another coach to obtain a spare domed roof .... spares seem to have dried up.

...........It just so happens that I have one of these lying spare would you believe. I changed the roof on a post wagon van thing some years ago as it didn't look very French.
It been gathering dust every since and I doubt ever using it.

If you want it send me your address by e mail and I will stick it the post 'gratuit'.

MzB wrote:

A chap on eBay is selling rare spares but they are going for silly money. He will list a coach body but then put the window frames and doors up for auction separately. Win one of the end doors and you may get outbid on the other. He may not list another door for ages, if at all.

That would be Warenreich Toys - it appears they bought up all of LGB spares stock at the time of the Maerklin takeover.

I've just bagged a couple of Stainz Loco cabs for a Scratchbuild/Kit bash I have in mind.

However he never seems to have what you really want spares wise, which in my case is the Right Hand Piston motion & cranks for a U Class.

C'est la Vie

Brian

Haven't got much further with the waiting shelter build although not much really to do .... Carl sent me a roof which was far too good to chop, so I interchanged it with a ropey one from another coach without vents. After chopping the ropey roof, found that Carl's roof was from a postal wagon and will require a bit of a mod to fit the now roofless coach .... nothing is easy, even when handed on a plate. I had a few cobblestone baseplates from a Pola 1709 Signal Tower kit that I thought would make a nice platform area .... very clever way of slotting together, but didn't have enough. No-one seems to have any stock but GRS have some apparently @ £38.41p .... expensive? Yes, but not as expensive as Gaugemaster would have you believe (see link) .....

http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=PO331704&r=1

RRP was NEVER £261

MzB wrote:

.... expensive? Yes, but not as expensive as Gaugemaster would have you believe (see link) .....

http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=PO331704&r=1

RRP was NEVER £261

And good of them to include postage in the overall price, too - which you would pay even if you walked out the shop with it under your arm...

Not sure if it helps, but I still have the base-plates for the POLA station buildings lying around somewhere?

I've left this model (and thread) in limbo for a while ... too many projects, too little time.

I have left the interior in grey primer .... outer panels in dark desert sand .... framing in black. Front window and rear timetable frames not yet fitted as can't make up my mind on colour (actually dark yellow at present, just as they came with the coach. Will probably leave them that colour.

The black has been applied with permanent marker pen whilst I decide whether black or dark green would look best?

Colour choice has been more difficult that the chopping. Bench seat will be added eventually.



Thanks again for the spare roof Carl.

Dark green... adds a bit of colour... are you going to install a fluorescent tube then? Or just use the LGB mounting points for an incandescent bulb?

At the moment, I have a Pola bulb holder with a white LED ... haven't tried it yet though.



I quite fancy having the timetables backlit as well .... but that's another job.

This is simple but I like to think effective... an LGB bulb holder with a yellow LGB 18v bulb, but fed 16v... duller in reality than in the photo... these days small bulbs seem to have been replaced by LEDs, though.

From H&DLR public album photos

Tested the single white LED last night .... it gives ample light except that there is a spotlight effect on the floor directly beneath. Easily rectified with a diffuser or a deflector.

The poster / timetable frames have now been put in from the rear .... the two tabs at the top are to enable the roof to be a clip fit. The tabs were cut from the original glazing and packed out slightly with some scrap from between the window frames.