What a load of Phosphate!

Between 1974-78 the Victorian Railways introduced a series of hopper wagons of the same basic construction but featured different discharge doors and 5 featured closed roofs. The JPF wagon was a class of 10 built to carry phosphate (hence the ‘P’ in the code). The other types were JAF (Soda Ash), JBF (Briquettes), JCX (Cement), JDX (Dolomite) JSF (Sand), and JQF (Quarry). They received 4-letter coding in 1979.

This kit is from the Railmotor Models range. It was a prize won at the Morwell Exhibition back in June (and I’ll take this opportunity to thank the person who passed the kit on to me as they did not want it). This kit was going to sit in the stockpile of other kits awaiting assembly but having completed the HZB wagon (as seen a couple of posts back) I decided to bring it forward in the que as I had most of the bits I needed on hand already. About the only extra items I needed was a pair of Steam Era Models XSC Silver Spring bogies. Assembly has taken about a week, usually done at night when there is stuff all on the TV worth watching. It was just going to be the basic wagon with shunter’s steps and a handrail fitted at each end. But when I researched the prototype and found a couple of good pictures plus a diagram on Mark Bau’s Victorian Railways website, I decided it was worth adding a bit more detail. So it has the handrails at the top of the ladder, some piping that appears on the handbrake side along the discharge chutes as well as the rods for the door slides, extra steps on the sides and ends and the linkage for the grade control. Kadee #158 couplers are fitted as well:

The model will have the usual test run at the local model railway club, then prepared for painting which might take a week or two depending on weather and time available.