Tanat Valley 3 by Peter Drost
Converting a Minerva Mink wagon to S7 by Rod Hall
As a first move into Scaleseven I decided to try and convert the excellent Minerva Iron Mink.
Looking at the wheels (nothing more sophisticated that that) I thought that they looked finer than many and perhaps fine enough to pass muster through a Scaleseven crossing. Dealing first with the wheelsets I eased the wheels out symmetrically on the axles to their new positions at the minimum back-to-back (mindful of the flange thickness) and epoxied them into position.
Turning to the suspension I was encouraged to see that the design already allowed some vertical movement of the axleboxes, however some means would be required to push the wheel into any track depressions. As can be seen in the photo below this was accomplished by forming U shaped springs from 0.011" guitar string (readily and cheaply available from music shops and on-line). The springing is deliberately light as it is intended that the wagon rest on the stops maintaining buffer height and avoiding introducing excessive rolling resistance.
The finished wagon has been tried on a couple of layouts. It negotiates turnouts satisfactorily with no noticeable bucking. I have noticed a bit of drag on a curve on one layout but I attributed that to a tight spot or lack of gauge widening. The rolling resistance isn't excessive and in any case on a shunting layout, a bit of drag makes life easier.
In the photo of the wagon showing the unbraked side one can just see a spring between the two wheels on the right-hand side - not too obtrusive I think.
The completed wagon!
Top
