I picked up one of those Vollmer kits at a second-hand stall for a couple of quid and bashed it in to a more British looking container crane. They're good value and easily adaptable.




H.

If Ratio would apply the 'Shrink Ray' (TM) to their 00 gauge model, I'd be sorted - it seems to be the 'right sort' of crane:

these any good

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&gs_rn=7&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=6&gs_id=lc&xhr=t&q=dungeness&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.44442042,d.d2k&biw=1280&bih=893&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=6vRWUeSeK5CS0QWT7YAg#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=dungeness+flask&oq=dungeness+flask&gs_l=img.12...6061.9640.0.12621.6.6.0.0.0.0.139.728.0j6.6.0...0.0...1c.1.7.img.ajmnBPu6hU8&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.44442042,d.d2k&fp=525f745f748ebf88&biw=1280&bih=893&imgrc=KO8XrcU3GWLiFM%3A%3BJTALqV2ajJb-lM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Ffarm6.staticflickr.com%252F5260%252F5515223282_0313104079_z.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.flickr.com%252Fphotos%252F35437908%2540N04%252F5515223282%252F%3B640%3B427

Great - thanks - several photos there which I hadn't seen before, including a very useful 'side-on' view of the crane.  And this 'flask train', which is just bloomin' lovely: 

Not sure how you'd model that flask trolley easily. The loco is a 48DS fitted with exhaust extender and without buffers and is itself tiny. The wheels on that flash trolley must be under a foot in diameter!

Fascinating object.

Alan

There are various little trolleys and things in the Green Max range which might be useable - there are also a lot of different little 'motor bogies' available from Japan which might aid in motorising a shunter like that.

The 48DS kit uses the TU-7T. I can't think of anything with proper rotating wheels (ie non static) that would match that trolley though. Would be fun axles - they'd practically be a bit metal with flanges on !

Hi  Phil, 

Not sure if this gives you ideas or help  ends today

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faller-Vollmer-Over-4-Track-Gantry-Crane-suit-Hornby-Kibri-pola-N-Gauge-/121088698872?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item1c3172e9f8

Thanks, but I think I'm sorted - the NGS shop had stock of the Mill Lane Sidings Heavy Duty Gantry Crane, which I shall 'tweak' a bit to more closely represent the typical type of crane used for loading flask wagons.

Cheers,
Phil

Glad you've got sorted Phil look forward to seeing the crane   

Grey or yellow? Yellow or grey?  Yellow is colourful.  It's also harder to spray than grey, not least because yellow pigments are fairly 'weedy', and don't cover well.  But it's more attractive than grey.  On the other hand, most of the photos show grey cranes.  It seems that nowadays, all the remaining flask cranes are grey.  In the past, a few (but by no means all) were yellow. 

The women in our household would prefer me to paint it yellow.  Can't get a response beyond 'Grunt' from the other, teenage, male although he is pre-occupied with revising his classical Greek ready for his AS level exam so he can, perhaps, be excused.

I think it should be yellow 

I'd vote for painting it grey for current era with just yellow/wasp stripes on hazard areas.

Some of the car yellows especially sprayed over white, are not too bad at least compared with certain rather dreadful model paints

I'd opt for grey, light blue or white personally.

Paul A.

Hi,

The gantry crane at the nuclear loading facility at Georgemass Juntion is grey and rated for 100t.

Alex