(RhB) Sersa P10153 Engineering Wagon

[Parkdesigner]

Ok - so not totally a "scratch build" but rather some heavy bashing here.

As background, I’ve been a convert to modeling the RhB in 1:22.5 for about 5 years now, having come from the world of Colorado Narrow Gauge (1:20.3). In both scales, I’ve have an absolute love of MOW / Permanent Way / Engineering Trains. So when I started to tackle the RhB, the first thing I did was look to see what items were available for Engineering train service. Sadly, not a lot. ( …and even less if you wanted something scale, or even close to scale.) Finally I decided it was time to start building my own.

Some of the nice folks over on HJ’s RhB Grischun forum pointed me in the direction of the Sersa (Ex Müller AG) P10153. I was hooked!

So a few weeks ago I jumped in, rummaging through my scraps and spares box. As it was the weekend, and I was able to spend several hours cutting and fitting bits of styrene to an old chassis (an LGB BP two axle tank wagon). I gave the project a quick spray of primer gray, and started to fit the deck.





Overall - my goal was to build as good an approximation as I can manage without a full ground-up scratch build. I realize that the buffers are rectilinear, rather than the proper round ones, and that the overall build is a scale foot short of prototypical. (Space between axles is almost dead on... just 3 scale inches off. Width is also pretty good, 5 scale inches wider than the Schweers+Wall book of RhB car plans say it should be. Length over buffers is the biggest offender - the car is just over a scale foot shorter than it should be. Not terrible, but could have been better.)



After this, I was able to notch in the "bridge rail" knockouts on the car end. Also added some Magnus detail bits to the under carriage, and made progress on the deck rails.



Next, I added in the removable end stop, and of course the hinged deck frame that secures equipment on the deck rails.
(Fun fact - I was able to build functional hinges into the frame so the car can roll with it in the up or down position!)



I was able to get the steps built and installed from some styrene square tube (On my third try! The darned things kept falling apart), and then hit them with a coat of red paint in between the rain showers this weekend.



Finally, I added a few more car-end details (parts from the rummage bin upstairs at Champlex-Linden that I picked up last year on a trip to Germany) and S-kuplex couplers at each end.



And, due to some work travel requirements, this is now where the car sits.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to modeling this coming week or next. First up, I’ve got to build up and install the car-end railing, and add brake hoses. Parts are on order now, just waiting for the slow boat from London to arrive in Los Angeles!

Overall, I've worked to add (or be ready to add) details where appropriate that should make the car "at least" as accurate as anything LGB would release... and hopefully closer to something that our friends at Kiss or Magnus would have produced.

I’m still frustrated that affordable engineering cars are not more widely available, but I guess it’s time to just get on with building what I want!

Hope you’ve enjoyed the rundown. I’ll be sure to post more as the P10153 project progresses.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[itsmcgee]

Outstanding project . I am pretty sure I'm going to need one of these.
Where did you get the mechanical arm?

 

[stockers]

Excellent work. I love the detail.
If you want to really spend some money on some lovely kits of RhB Mow-
http://www.schmalspurgartenbahn.de/

 

[Parkdesigner]

Thanks guys!

The mechanical arm is a HIAB unit from a toy line of plastic trucks. I can't remember the name off hand, but will hunt around to see if I can find it. (It might have been an EMEK part?) It's decidedly "toy plastic" - but with some detail bits, various hydraulic lines, and some extra piping I think she'll be more than passable.

As to those RhB kits... oh yes, Schmalspurgartenbahn make some amazing kits. I'm particularly found of the Xmf 2/2!

 

[Gizzy]

Nice work!

I have a similar, but no way as good as your one, being as it is an actual prototype.

I saw something similar on the Gornagrat Bahn. I brought the wagon on the right as is, on EvilBuy.

Often towed behind my Tm 2/2 Tractor as a maintenance train.

Like you, I am a big fan of MoW kit....

 

[Parkdesigner]

Love the Volvo unit Gizzy!

 

[Parkdesigner]

So I’m back to it… well, at least on parts of the build.

I’m still waiting for parts ordered to progress on the car end railing. And until I can finish that, I’m prevented from spraying a dull coat, and glueing down the deck boards. And of course, until I glue those down, I can’t install the deck rails, or the other fiddly bits… so, without much more to progress on the car, I've turned my attention to the HIAB unit.

Unlike some cars, the crane is not mounted permanently to the chassis, but rather is part of a small, mobile frame that can roll up and down the deck rails (and by extension, on-to and off-of the other flat cars adjacent in the consist). I figured it was time to make a start on this unit, as without it, I wouldn’t be able to have the HIAB actually on the car.

I started with cutting and trimming various lengths of styrene and building up the box tube frame. Given that this would actually have the ability to roll, and also have the (denser plastic) toy crane piece mounted to it, I needed to take my time and build the joints with some strength. Following from the reference photos I’ve been able to find, I built the base, followed by the frame that will house the hydraulic pump.



Next I added the track “claw” arms (that also form the frame around the pump and support the lid) and then used a bit from my spares box to simulate the offset control enclosure. (I’m guessing electrical?)

Also at this point I had to take a razor saw to the HIAB unit and modify it so that it will “mount” to the chassis. This was a major pucker moment, as a mistake would leave me with only one crane left and no spares. Thankfully, it all turned out well I think.



In the last photo below, you can see the unit in it’s current state sitting on the deck.



Hopefully this weekend I can finish up the remaining bits to build on the unit, and get a first layer of primer on it. I suspect once I can get the crane painted yellow and rig the various hydraulic lines snaking all around this thing, it should look quite good!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Parkdesigner]

Well the weather didn’t exactly cooperate today, so no painting. That being said, I did go ahead and tackle the crane arm guard, and mounting it to the chassis which you can see below.



Still need to mount the tow hitch, and fabricate the control stand.
Slowly, but surely…

As you can see, starting to get there.

 

[Gizzy]

Love the Volvo unit Gizzy!

It's a Dickies toy on a HLW shortie wagon Josh.

The tracks disintegrated, so I mounted it on a spare wagon....

 

[Parkdesigner]

Back to the build!

I received the parts I needed this week, so it was right back into the railing build.

As you can see, it was just a matter of building up the railing bit by bit. It's not the most indestructible of builds - it's quite fragile if I'm honest, but as I can't work with brass to save my life, styrene rod it was!



A quick shot of primer and we are getting darn close!



Hopefully tomorrow, I can *finally* lay down a spray of dull coat and after that it's time to start mounting the last detail bits (hoses, brake staff, couplers, etc.)!

Now I'm just waiting on the final bits for the HIAB unit and I can paint her too (needed a couple axles and apparently they only exist in Australia... so might be a little bit depending on the post!)

With any luck, I'll be able to wrap this build up before the end of May!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Parkdesigner]

Well, the Easter Bunny was good to me today!

With temperatures around 24 degrees, and a bright sunny afternoon, I was able to tackle the remaining clear-coating efforts on the car. I sprayed the car itself, as well as the multiple bits that needed to be installed in phases.




And thus, by mid-afternoon it was time to assemble. Everything went together as planned. So before the clouds rolled back in, I took the car out for some beauty shots!







As I had mentioned earlier in the build, the arresting frame that secures machinery to the deck rails is moveable like the prototype.



As is the car-end stop that can be removed to allow equipment to roll across the temporary bridge-rails from car to car.




So with that, I'm calling the car "done."

Like all good projects, there are still bits to finish - I'm still hunting for one final hose to mount on the B end. I also need to reinstall the end frame hooks and come-alongs. The main project now is to finish up the HIAB deck unit. This is ultimately down to how fast the last bits I've sourced for the build arrive in the post.

Hope you enjoyed following along... now it's time to move on to the Xk 9089 and then, who know's what's next!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[PhilP]

Awesome!

 

[Parkdesigner]

Well another week, another work trip!

That being said - I was able to snap some photos of yesterday’s afternoon work session so through the miracle of inflight wifi, I can still update the thread today.

To begin, it’s been slow going the past few weeks. I was able to get about 3 hours of work in last Sunday and another 2 hours yesterday, but with splitting the time between both finishing the HIAB crane unit for the P10153 and the major surgery on the Xk 9089, progress has been slow.

Turning my attention back to the HIAB unit, one of the more puzzling pieces I’ve had to contemplate was how to do the small wheels on the frame. I’ve looked at 0 scale and 00 scale wheels of various diameter. I’ve also looked at ripping off small wheels on a toy car - but nothing was really working. Then I had a brain wave!



So - a quick ebay order later and I was chopping up bits of lego!

With this I was able to then finish out the styrene build of the chassis and mount the wheels.



Next, the whole thing got a spray of primer.



And then moved on to the crane itself.



And so now I have everything back together for a test fit. I’m feeling pretty good about how it’s all looking.







Need to knock down that sheen on the yellow for sure!

Still to do:

• Build the motor cover(s)
• Build the control stand
• Install cabling and hoses
• Install a new hook
• Weather and seal

Additionally, I also need to add lettering to the car and install a final few detail bits on the car ends.

I’m guessing it's another 2 or 3 work sessions away from being complete. (Still waiting on a single brake hose ordered from Germany a month ago!)

Hopefully this will be wrapped before June.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,
Josh
(Somewhere over Texas)

 

[Parkdesigner]

Well, it was a productive day!

To start, I was able to instal cable mounts on the crane and seal it.



Then it was time to run hydraulic and electrical lines.



I also finally tackled the engine cover late in the day.
(Not as straight forward as one would think. Those pesky little angles are a pain!)



And with that, it was time for another test fit.



Still need to run a final hose, and paint the engine cover.
Then it's small bits in the engine housing.
Oh, and the forward wheel covers (another task I'm not looking forward to!)



Getting closer!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Parkdesigner]

Wow! It’s been a while since I last updated.

To recap, in the last seven weeks I've:

• Painted the Engine Cover
• Found a suitable fan and radiator to cannibalize from a toy tractor
• Fabricated the forward wheel covers
• The final brake hose arrived from Germany

(Additionally, work has taken me across the US twice, and roundtrip across the Pacific once, so it’s actually amazing I’ve made any progress at all!)

Some of these efforts are detailed a bit more here. To start, some scrap styrene was used to build up the wheel covers. A quick coat of yellow paint and they started to look pretty promising.



Next, I added a few small bits from my greebles box to represent the hydraulic line filters and actuators on the prototype. Then I “plumbed” the units with some scrap small-gauge electrical wire.




For the front of the engine compartment, I hacked up a toy tractor to use its fan and radiator molding. This required a small bit of styrene angle to help mount it to the lower frame (no need to paint as it will be obscured from view when installed), and then I used a bit of screen from a drywall / plaster patch kit to fill in the back as it will peek over the hydraulic pump inside the compartment.



Once the glue dried, it was a simple install, clamping the wheel covers to the upper frame, and running the HPU lines back into the plant.




And voilà! Progress made!





It’s been grey all weekend here, with the sun only starting to peek out as the afternoon fades. Rather than rush to get the car outside for photos, I’ll wait till later this week to get some glamor shots of where the car now stands. Not much left to be done now though!

Some time this week I’ll give the whole unit a spray of dull coat and glue the engine compartment in place. After that all that remains is to:

• Fabricate the HIAB unit’s control stand
• Build of the Frame’s forward cross brace
• Add a little weathering

Almost done!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[dunnyrail]

Super build, just so nice to see how you have tackled all the little bits of detail. I now need to revisit my PW Car and attack fitting of Hydraulic Hose Pipes!

 

[Parkdesigner]

Well, it’s been an interesting month and a half!

On the bright-side, work travel has cut back so I’ve had more time to work on various projects!
(On the not-so-bright-side, work travel is down as I was made redundant, so I guess the modeling will increase!)

So - this past week we were hot. Really hot.
Like 48˚ at 4pm on Friday hot!
As such, I elected to stay in a work on the Sersa HIAB crane!


Step one was to add a grill cover to the radiator fan. This was just a bit of mesh, trimmed to fit the fan’s outer diameter and glued into place.




Next up was tackling the unit's forward tow bar.

From the photos I’ve studied of P10153, the best I can deduce is that this cross bar has two purposes, first it provides some protection to the forward engine compartment should things go “bump” while in route. Second, it allows for other railed work equipment to push/pull the HAIB unit while on rails. To allow for wide compatibility, the cross bar itself is hydraulically controlled up or down by cylinders mounted either side of the engine compartment and powered by hoses from the rear.

I dug around in the old box of bits and came up with a pair of MDC speeder handrails. Removing the headlights, they were then mounted to a length of Plastruct square tube.




Next a shot of grey primer (that took no time to dry!) and back indoors the unit came. Once dry I dabbed on some aluminum acrylic just to help set off the “cylinders” and then added a paid of fittings and attached the dummy hydraulic lines.




A spray of dullcote and the unit was ready to mount.

It’s too darn hot to stage proper photos outside today, so a few shots from the train room will have to suffice for now.
That said, it’s feeling pretty good.






I’ve decided that I’m going to forego the control stand build until I can source a few more appropriate parts. So, other than a little weathering, I'm now down to just sourcing lettering for the car sides and am ready to officially declare the P10135 finished!

 

[mike]

A master class sir, thank you for sharing it

 

[QC Rwy.]

Josh, super job! Thanks for taking the time to take photos and share your contruction methods. This was a big and pretty complicted project. I liked the way you broke it down to sub-assemblies and carried on. Lot's of good tips offered along the way. I'm pretty new here and it's nice to find these types of construction projects documented......
Looking forward to your next steps.......tom

 

[3Valve]

WOW, just WOW.