MD-54-2 in 1/87 Scale

The mailman rang the doorbell and delivered a package from Ukraine with yet another 750 mm gauge Soviet locomotive model in 1/87 scale. The company K-Model from Kyiv has a large range of H0 scale model cars and vehicles. Added to that is a small number of 750 mm narrow gauge models in the same scale. I have shopped in Kyiv before and am in the proces of  building (now and then, at least) their TU-4 loco.

Two 1/87 scale MD54-2 locos right out of the parcel from Ukraine.

MD54-2 locomotives were built by the Istinsk Machine Building Plant (200 km southeast of Moscow) between 1953-1962. The type was designed as a replacement for older small narrow gauge locos for 600 and 750 mm gauge of Soviet manufacture and a wide array of locos acquired as war booty and reparations. A riveted frame with two axles on elliptical springs carried what was basically the upper body and mechanical parts from the DT54 tracked tractor. A total of 1817 locomotives (a small number by Soviet standards). A very similar loco was the MKD-35 built primarily for the smallest industrial railways with 600 mm gauge where regauging to 750 mm wasn't economically viable. 

A lot can be said about the MD54-2 but it's not first in line for a design award!

An 750 mm MD54-2 at the Pershotravenka porcelain isolator plant, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. In the background the company's VP-4-2073. Photo: L.N. Yanchuk.

The model is delivered assembled, painted and fitted with glazing in the windows. The model is tiny, measuring only 5.3 cm in length and 2 cm in width. Each loco is accompanied by a skip model that looks somewhat proportionally challenged. I bought two locos and the two skips are going straight to my box of spareparts.

The model is 3D printed, is unmotorized and fitted with metal wheelsets. Despite being resonably well protected by bubble wrap and a sturdy cardboard box some headlights and an exhaust pipe had broken off during transit. I could retrieve the broken off parts from the wrapping and they will be kept safe until I begin working on the models.

Image from Ebay showing the MD54-2 model with the accompanying skip. At least I can source two central buffers for a future project.

The K-Models' MD54-2 on a slice of birch in a landscape setting. A tiny model that will be a nice addition to my Soviet narrow gauge collection.  

MD54-2 1027 preserved at the Pereslav railway museum in the small town Talitsy in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. The colours could indicate that this is the actual prototype for the K-Models model.

The MD54-2 models are now packed safely away in a small cardboard box as they are not high on my list of modelling tasks. I have 1/19 projects that are far more important and I have begun assembling the new 1/10 scale skips as well. The most important thing is that I now have two MD54-2 locos in my collection. You never know how long small manufacturers survive in a niche market. 

Lights On the Fowler

I have been keeping away from work on the lamps and lighting on the Fowler as long as possible. I have always been reluctant to take on varying electrical jobs (like fitting lights in locos and in buildings) on my model railway. Not because I don't like a layout with lights in a dimly lit layout room, but because I find it difficult work. So in pure defiance I set out to connect some wires and see if I could turn on the lights on my Fowler model.

Sometimes the fear of the task is the greatest obstacle. 15 minutes of work and I could turn on the lights!

I had been collecting some useful stuff for the lighting project and had two sizes of typical lorry headlights to choose from: 9.5 and 12.5 mm in diameter. I decided to use the 9.5 mm headlights in whitemetal that I suspect originates from Imperial Modellbau from Germany. They were packed in an unmarked plastic bag, so I'm unable to confirm it.

Two sizes of headlights and LEDs. I will be using the small 9.5 mm whitemetal headlights with separate resin glass inserts. The larger headlights are from an old diecast Ford A lorry.

The LEDs are insanely small as they are leftovers from another project. They seem to give a resonably sharp light in a good hue, so I'm intially testing them out in the lamps. Their size is close to a prototypical light bulb!

With the LEDs functioning all that remains is to figure out how to lead the wires to the lamps and still have the loco disassemble comparatively easy - and of course to fit the LEDs in the headlights. The Fowler is approaching the finish line!

Just to prove that the rear facing LED works as well!

Large Scale Skips - Really Large! (1/10)

I have developed a serious 'multiple scale dispersion syndrome' regularly drifting from 1/19 scale as my mood sees fit. I'm now trying out two kits from the new manufacturer Feldbahnfactory in the Netherlands. Also trading under the name of 'Spoorhout' the small manufacturer is just about to lanuch a production of 1:10 scale 600 mm industrial railway wagons and locomotives in laser cut wood. I couldn't resist the urge to build two classic steel skips in 1:10 scale.

The skips (one braked and one unbraked) comes in flat boxes measuring 36x23 and 41x22 cm. Curiously the braked skip (the kit with the most parts) came in the smallest box.

I have only been opening the boxes and carefully examined the parts. The instruction in A4 landscape format are expertly done and the impression of the kits is very promising. I can say that packaging is solid and the the four frets of parts are wrapped in silk paper. Obviously the maker, Arnoud Bongaards, is talented in digital design and drawing as well as presenting his kits to a very high quality.

Opening the box you are greated by silk paper wrapped frets with laser cut parts for your large scale O&K skips. I had the feeling opening a jewellery box, not a model kit! The kits will have great gift potential for industrial railway enthusiasts.

I received instructions in Dutch language as Arnoud wasn't quite finished doing the English version. Fortunately I'm pretty used to reading Dutch - and lets face it: the drawings says more than a thousands words!

Having carefully removed the silk paper wrapping I examined the parts that seem to be cut nicely and probably needing only very little work to separate from the fret. As with any wooden laser cut kit I'm looking forward to see how the prototype's round shapes are represented in kit form. A few other things I'm looking forward to experience is how the layering of parts will work out and how well the wood will take paint. 

Four frets A, B, C and D - and a small extra one taped to fret A.

Close up of fret D. For any resonably knowledgable skip fan the parts are readily identyfiable.

The well illustrated instructions seem to leave no question unanswered. Time will tell if it really works out that way.

The two skips are not meant to become the beginning of a huge undertaking in 1/10 scale. A fun diversion from my rather serious 1/19 scale modelling is good and I plan to exhibit the finished models on my work office where I have varying displays of railway and construction equipment models. Always a good starter for a talk with colleagues.

New Mini Drill

I'm not a modeller with a huge collection of tools and a workshop full of fancy machines. Basic tools, airbrush and a mini drill pretty much sums up what I use in my modelling. Recently my more than 25 year old Dremel-type mini drill from a supermarket stopped working. Time for a replacement.

Decent tool in a conservative design. Notably more silent in operation than my old drill.

To replace the cheap (probably Asian-made) broken mini drill I chose a European-made Proxxon with speed regulator. It's a type Micromot 60/E and has so far worked fine with the small range of mini drill attatchments in my possession. It may cost a bit more, but I'm not shopping mini drills every week and it's good to know that there is an endless range of accessories to the machine. If the Proxxon can keep working as long as my old mini drill (and I expect it to) It'll keep me company for the rest of my life. One thing less to worry about!

Drill and power supply is placed to the right on my work table. Usually I don't leave a drill in the tool. That's bad workshop discipline.

Fowler Painting Begun

After enjoying building parts for the cab interior, I have now set out to paint the loco. Not something many will notice afterwards as the loco obviously is already painted. Handling and working on the loco has created scratches, and the many added exterior details, although given a first treatment of paint back in August, could use a proper repaint. Now the loco is dismantled for fitting the cab details and repainting.  

Cleaned up work area with parts for the cab interior. After vacuuming the workbench, painting of the Fowler can now begin.

One of the first things I changed on the Fowler was lowering the buffer height to fit Nystrup Gravel's skips. With the buffers lowered the old mounting hole became visible. I thought the partly visible hole would be a good illustration of narrow gauge industrial locomotives' flexibility. I drilled two holes for the mounting bolts in each buffer plate and painted the area, where the buffers would have been located when mounted higher with a mix of red/brown colours to illustrate the original primer. The area was masked off with Tamiya masking tape. Then buffer plates and buffers were air brushed Vallejo Air 'Ferrari Red'. Removing the masking tape revealed the primer colour as if the buffers had been lowered without anyone taking the trouble to overpaint the area with red.

Painting in progress. Rear buffer beam screwed off for ease of drilling and painting. Coupling rods have received the first layer of red paint.

Buffers are fitted after painting, frames painted 'Black Grey' and rods and counterweights painted red. The cab floor has had its first layers of paints, the brake coloumn is fitted - and I found the hand tools I've been looking for!

Gear lever subassembly and instrument panel glued in place and cab interior having its first layer of weathering applied. The traces of the buffer's higher mounting for the loco's original customer can be seen.

My trusty German Gabbert airbrush from the late 1990's has developed some bad manners that I will have to look into before I can paint the upper body. Until then I can't fit window glazing and get the final things in the cab glued in place. While getting the airbrush in shape again, I'm placing the Fowler on the shelf. Hopefully not for long!

Fowler Cab - End In Sight

Work on the cab interior on my Essel Engineering  Fowler F30 has progressed pretty well. All major parts have now been built and primed with some even painted and installed in the cab. The only item on my list of interior items that I haven't finish is the hand tools. I can't remember where I put the white metal handtools that I wanted to place on the cab floor. On the other hand additional details have been added and window glazing for the front windows have been prepared. 

Painting the interior and fitting the details in progress.

The interior is built in segments and planned to be glued in place inside the cab as painting and assembly order of different exterior fittings dictates.

The instrument panel was in an early stage in the last post on the cab interior. After drilling holes for the instruments it received a little putty and some sanding. Then I added some small push buttons from sliced round plastic stock. The panel was primed and given a cover of medium grey on the frontside and silver on the inside of the holes for the dials. The transfers are fitted to thin clear plasticard and covered with a thin layer of gloss varnish. The dials are then cut out and fitted on the inside of the panel with Humbrol 'ClearFix'. Once dry a drop of 'ClearFix' is also onto the dial from the front. The idea is that a light source mounted in the instrument panel will allow a little light to shine through the clear plasticard and thin transfer to show illuminated gauges. Fingers crossed!

Instrument panel in plasticard and 1/35 scale transfers for the instruments.

The first dial fitted to the 16 x 25 mm instrument panel. Only the green lamp will light up on my loco. The red lamp has been blocked by layers of black paint on the rear side of the panel.

Once the design of the gear levers and associated stuff was finally decided, the box for the levers and clutch pedal was quickly built. The two levers and pedal were cut from plasticard. One gear lever is for directional change - positioned firmly glued in 'forward'. The other lever is for 'low' or 'high' and permanently positioned in low gear.

Instrument panel finished, levers and sanding pipes fitted to the sandboxes and gear installation in progress.

Gear levers and clutch pedal test fitted in the cab. 

The speed controller is not patterned from a real Fowler loco, but from a preserved Danish narrow gauge locomotive. I guessed the simple design would be one that a mechanic at the Nystrup workshop could have made without any fuss: a length of angle iron and a handle with a wire connection to the engine. 

Speed controller glued to the front wall in the cab. Pencil lines marking floor level to help adjust cab interior.

A small triangular plate fitted in the rear cab corners. A convenient place to place the note book used to keep track of the number of skips propelled back and forth each day.

Some interior details are fitted by now, while others have to wait until repainting of the loco exterior is finished. 

Back on the layout for a snapshot. The loco is looking so much better without the original huge battery box in the cab. Next up is little work on the buffers and a repaint.

Things You May Find In a Narrow Gauge Industrial Railway Locomotive Cab

As I researched for stuff to put in the Fowler cab I stumbled over some images of things I found in the cab of a preserved Danish 785 mm gauge locomotive. A testemony that these locomotives were living places where men worked and noted down loads and trains as the working day progressed. 

Loco D 5 once used to transport concrete blocks for costal protection. Now it is preserved at the Hedeland vintage railway in Denmark.

During shunting some years back I noticed a few things on the shelf behind the driver's seat in the cab. Apart from a wooden box numbered '6' or '9', a measuring stick and a cab heater, two notebooks caught my attention.

After drying I could carefully open the notebook and the notes in one of them looks very much like a report over transported loads. The notes in the book are dated between 1968 and 1978 with one of the last entries being made 28. to 30. March 1978 - see image below. 

The shelf behind the driver's seat with general clutter and notebooks.

This entry from 28 - 30 March 1978 is one of the last in the book and it is most likely an account of the number of concrete blocks carried. Possibly of two weight classes: 1.5 t and 4 t. It seems reasonable to assume that each train had a capacity of 26-30 1.5 t blocks or 15-16 4 t blocks. I interpret the notes to show 5 trains per working day.

Apart from wooden blocks used to rerail the locomotive and oil cans I will now have to make a small notebook for the cab interior and a place for it to go. Reality always challenges modelling!

Fowler Cab Interior Detailing

With the detailing of the model's exterior mostly done I have now turned my attention to the cab interior. Previously I had fitted a new cab floor and added a plate separating the cab from the engine compartement. As with the exterior most of the detailing is planned to be made with plastic card and profiles with nickle silver wire added where needed. During my Christmas vacation I rebuilt and painted a driver figure for the loco. Now the rest of the cab interior is under construction. 

Testing placement of the left sand box in the Fowler cab. The plate separating cab and engine compartment shows up in white plasticard.

I chose to model the cab interior as it looked post-war after a substantial rebuild of instrumentation and levers. Nothing in the Nystrup Gravel company archives indicates that the rebuild included a new engine, but rather that the idea was to allow the driver to control gears, brake, sanding and speed from the right side of the cab. On most Fowlers the driver had to switch from left to right in the cab to manipulate every lever. 

My plan is to add the following items: 

• Brake column
• Wooden blocks
• Driver figure
• Sand boxes with levers and pipes
• Gear lever
• Speed control
• Instrument panel
• Oil cans
• Hand tools
  
  

Brake column finished and painted. Sand boxes begun. Cardboard test pieces and off-cuts seen right.

Sand boxes being sanded. First parts cut for instrument panel. This is enjoyable, old school, basic modelling. Next stage involves fitting details: openings for filling, levers and pipes to wheels. Endless fun! 

The sand boxes and instrument panel are basic plasticard constructions with added detail from metal wire and pipe. The instrument panel is designed for lighting with full top and bottom and black painted interior to prevent 'shine through' from the probably very dim light source I'll build into the panel. I'm still searching for usefull decals or prints for the gauges. Consequently I have not yet made any holes in the panel's front plate.

Major elements in differing stages of finishing. Oil can needs only weathering, while the instrument panel is only just started. Sand boxes are sanded and all visible corners rounded. Openings for sand refilling are added from plastic pipe.

The coming week I hope to finish the sand boxes and work out their final mounting in the cab. The last remaining item to design and prepare in the cab is the gear lever and that is still mystery to me. 

Replenishing Stocks of Ballast

Keeping a modelling workshop stocked and ready for work is part of the fun of building a model railway. While I do my best to continually replacing used materials (like grass tufts and plastic profiles and card) sometimes a type of material is suddenly used up. In a previous post in early December I mentioned that I almost ran out of finely sieved gravel for ballasting and landscaping.

The ballasting work on my little layout almost used up my available supply of sieved gravel. Now the depots have been filled again.

The finely sieved gravel I use is homemade. Basically fine gravel dried and sieved at my own facility. The basic gravel used is a standard product for laying concrete tiles scooped up from a left over heap at a 1/1 scale railway construction project.

Bucket of fine gravel. Being in the construction business helps getting new materials for Nystrup Gravel and at the same time reducing wastage.

Gravel sorting in progress. The sieve allows only fine gravel through to the plastic container. Some of the residual materials are saved in the pink container.

The gravel is spilt up in small portions and dried indoor in smaller plastic containers. During drying the gravel is being stirred once every 24 hours. Drying usually takes 2-3 days and the gravel is ready for sorting through a kitchen sieve. The sieve I use produces gravel that is slightly too fine for 1/19 scale. I use the fine ballast for the first application and to build up a good ballast profile around the track. The fine ballast is easy to shape with a soft brush. Once the ballast looks good I simply add small, random 'drips' of coarser ballast  from another container with some of the material held back in the sieve. 

New Years Eve provided me a new supply of wooden sticks for all sorts of modelling projects.

I spent New Year's Eve in Berlin and the Germans seem (at least in the neighbourhood where I lived) more prolific users of fireworks than Danes. It literally rained rocket sticks from above! I had a good handful of good sized rocket sticks assembled in no time. Next morning a short walk produced more in good 1/19 scale relevant sizes for bringing home in the car.

The great thing about the above modelling materials is that they are totally free, and would otherwise be destined for the municipal dump or a some earth depot. Good for my wallet, society and a step towards 'sustainable modelling´ where 'garbage' can be upcycled. As an example of what can be built from garbage, I built the lorry loading ramp on my layout from a framework of rocket sticks.

Then And Now

As my little 1/19 scale layout develops towards a semi-finished state I've been looking back on a few old images on the blog. I have enjoyed seeing the difference three to four years of hobby work has made.

While not from the exact same angle the two images below show the same location on my Nystrup Gravel layout. 

February 2021. Track building just started. The Lister is posing with two skips. The track still lacks fishplates, but provided me the joy of running trains on track I made myself.

January 2025. Track has been finished for years but ballasting and ground cover only recently added.  Some change from the white foam surfaces and cork track bed.

The photo from February 2021 was taken to celebrate the gift of an old Danish State Railways sign telling that the 'Electric train service is erratic'. Something that was also quite true for Nystrup Gravel at the time. Now traffic is more regular and with two locos in service. A third locomotive should enter limited service in 2025.