HR d.9 Coach in 7mm scale.

 

HR 6-wheel 4-compartment Luggage First/Third composite coach.

My recently completed Jones d.9 33' 3" 6-wheel composite coach is built from a Lochgorm Kits etch with added refinements, the most noteworthy of which is the double-skin. This allows the glazing to slip into place between the inner and outer walls of the coach and adds to the realism of the model. The inner walls, along with the transverse partition walls are cut from 0.4mm brass sheet and add weight to the model so the coach tops 600g on the scales. The axles run in brass inside bearings, so there's more friction than would be the case with pin-point axles, obviously this is not a coach for a feeble engine.

 I intend to run a typical Highland Railway branch-line mixed train, consisting of two 6-wheel coaches (I only have two) along with a goods van and a 4-wheel passenger brake van, on my next visit to the club layout in Carlisle. Tests on my track in the studio suggest that my Passenger Tank is the engine for the job though all my branch-line engines proved up for it. 

The coach relies on a Cleminson system of suspension, which allows the leading and trailing axles to steer into or out of curves, which should ensure a smooth passage round tighter than prototype curves and wayward sections of trackwork. The Highland Railway in fact didn't employ this system on its 6-wheel coaches, relying instead on a small amount of side-play on the center axle, a system which would probably work well in model form if enough side play were employed.

The coach was painted using Revell SM 363 Dark Green with the addition of matt black to taste, transfers are from Fox, castings from LGM and Invertrain. 

Detail of the step end of the D.9. The coach is a First/Third class vehicle, Second Class having disappeared in Scotland the early 1890s.

The center axle employs a different type of spring suspension to the outer axles. Springs are brass castings from LGM. 

The double-skin of the coach can be seen in this view; only a modest amount of interior detail has been included. The figure is my own sculpture, available from Invertrain MR.