I just finished building three of Binnie Engineering’s Hudson skips. These are similar to the LGB 4 wheel tippers, but much smaller. About 1/2 to 3/4 yard capacity in 1:20 scale. Binnie sells these in either 45mm or 32mm gauge and technically they are 1:19 scale. I got the 32mm gauge ones directly from Binnie for 7GBP each, with mailing from England to the U.S. costing 2GBP for the lot. They got here ~3 days after I ordered!
The kits are really good, with easy sprue removal, virtually no molding flash, and simple assembly. Binnie supplies very good plastic wheelsets with metal axles, but I wanted to increase the weight of the cars, so I equipped them with Sierra Valley Enterprises’ 32mm wheels. The SVE “A” size wheels scale to about 1" larger diameter than the provided plastic wheels. I did need to cut down the axle stub length to fit between the BE pedestals, but the axle diameter was a perfect fit. The skips now have sufficient weight and they roll great on my PECO SM32 track!
One interesting thing is Binnie’s use of ABS and fiber reinforced nylon, rather than PVC. These plastics are much tougher and should have very good outdoor life. The ABS requires special liquid cement (Ambroid ProWeld or similar) to join, but it makes a very strong car. They are cast in black and I only have the painting left to do.
I intend to use these behind an I.P. Engineering Lister Diesel critter on my 1:20 scale 32mm gauge construction RR. I’m hoping to find a way to put one of Del Tapparo’s Enhanced Crittter Controls to work running this ‘train’ on construction projects. The Lister is set up for self contained battery power and I am hoping I’ll find a way to get the ECC in one of the tippers. There are also some voltage compatibility issues that need solving. It should be an interesting little setup, running point to point on a semi-continuous basis, with timed stops at each end.
On Edit: Binnie Engineering’s Contact: peter.binnie(at)btopenworld.com
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Happy RRing,
Jerry
