Chassis for 4 wheel carriages

[Jonathan Clapp]

Ive been experimenting with scratch building carriage bodies out of paper and styrene, Im fairly happy with the first prototype. I scanned a diagram from a book reduced it and printed it on card.


now Im looking for a suitable chassis.
I guess this question is really for Etchedpixels, ( I do intend to graduate to Etchedpixels brass car kits soon , once Ive gained some experience with building these mock ups)



The  Pico wagon chassis is obviously much too short. the Grafar 20 ton brake van is close but still requires a compromise on the scale drawing.



- so just how does one adapt a freight wagon to fit under a carriage body?

Also the wheels on both are too small in diameter and solid

[Alex]

Hi Jonathan,

I'm no expert but I have stretched Peco 15ft chassis to accomodate a larger body. All I did was to cut the chassis in half and add an insert until I had the correct wheelbase size. Because the chassis is now longer you also need to adapt the brake gear to suit. Also depending on the overall length of your coach you may need to adjust the length of your now stretched body.

I did this once, although it is easier to shorten a chassis. I've also chopped up two 10ft chassis to make a 6 wheel chassis.

Alex

[Claude Dreyfus]

It is the PECO 15ft chassis that are recommended for the Etch Pixels 4-wheelers kits. These would be as good as any to begin with...

[EtchedPixels]

I guess this question is really for Etchedpixels, ( I do intend to graduate to Etchedpixels brass car kits soon , once Ive gained some experience with building these mock ups)
Also the wheels on both are too small in diameter and solid

If you can build one out of styrene you are half way to being able to design your own etched bodies. For styrene ones btw a good trick when building sides up I find is to make the ends reasonably solid as with the floor, and partitions, but then use very thin clear plastic sheet for the sides as this will glue well and can follow the curve of the ends and partitions (use PVA not plastic cement). You can then cut the windows out of a thin paper side (or get them vinyl cut) and glue the paper side over the clear plastic side to get nice windows and a nicely curved side.

For chassis I generally use the Peco ones. They are a bit heavyweight for some styles of coaches but to be honest sawing up a couple of brake vans makes a simple chassis with running boards and you can get away with the standard 15' ones for other stuff. Drop me a PM with your email and I'll send you the chunk from the EP instructions on abusing floors.

For wheels the Peco spoked wheels can be bought in packs and fit the wagon chassis with solid wheels. It's also possible to use Parkside Dundas, Bachmann or other spoked wheels but you do sometimes need to deepen the bearing holes with a drill a bit as the axles are a spot longer.

Looks a good attempt - the roof is a very nice job.