Road vehicles for a blt

[The Johnster]

I'd play devil's advocate and suggest a Standard Eight for the stationmaster. Just to be different

 

Mmm.  Don't think Cwmdimbath is big and important enough, or conversely small and isolated as a railhead enough, for anything as grand as a stationmaster.  He is at Tondu, which is only 6 miles away, and matters on the ground at Cwmdimbath are run by a station supervisor, the next grade down.  If he has a car, it'll be the Ford Popular/Austin A35/Morris Minor level, and of course if he lives in the village he probably won't bother bringing it to work where it'll get steam loco soot all over it!

 

If I went down the Standard 8 route perhaps I could use a dead woodlouse as the basis of the model, though I reckon that'd be more suitable for 2mm scale...

 

Actually, unless I am able to expand the real estate in future, the 2 vehicles I already have are plenty and the Karrier almost fills the available space on the loading dock; it may at some point be replaced by a smaller van.  Some bicycles have appeared since the last post, and at least one of the younger members of staff ought to be   enough of a rebel without a clue to have a motorbike, something like a BSA Bantam with a little oil puddle underneath it!

Edited April 10, 2017 by The Johnster

[The Johnster]

Well, the real estate has been expanded a little and the Commer can probably now move off the loading dock.  One of the pictures of the real Abergwynfi shows a tieless, open shirted, signalman with a mullet and without his jacket or hat, it being evidently a warm day; a rebel if ever I saw one, so the Bantam, when I source it, will belong to my signalman, and be parked provocatively on the platform where he can pose with it and impress girls, to the slight annoyance of the station supervisor.  A 5cwt van will be good for the loading dock, probably Ford  95E as they are slightly more late 40s/very early 50s looking than Morris Minor or Austin A35, though a split windscreen 1948 Minor would be ok (my period is nominally from 1948 to 1960, and I am tending to bias a little towards the later end of it, so the balance needs to be redressed).  The Karrier is really a bit modern, and may be retired.  So is the Land Rover, but I am imposing rule 1 here because I like it so much.

 

Wow, 2, maybe 3 whole new road vehicles!  This is a bigger deal than it might seem, as I have pretty much all the railway stock I can justify and have fiddle yard space for for the time being, and I like retail therapy!

Edited May 14, 2017 by The Johnster

[spiket4]

I'm looking for Late 50's Vehicles to populate my layout set in Rural Oxfordshire.

So far i have a Bristol L6B Bus in Thames Valley livery and a Austin A-35 plus a MG A.

All of these are made by different manufactures EFE, Pocketbond and Oxford diecast.

Can anyone recommend a few more cars of this era and a suitable local coal merchants lorry.

 

Sorry to hijack this Thread.

 

Regards Mark

[PhilJ W]

I'm looking for Late 50's Vehicles to populate my layout set in Rural Oxfordshire.

So far i have a Bristol L6B Bus in Thames Valley livery and a Austin A-35 plus a MG A.

All of these are made by different manufactures EFE, Pocketbond and Oxford diecast.

Can anyone recommend a few more cars of this era and a suitable local coal merchants lorry.

 

Sorry to hijack this Thread.

 

Regards Mark

The Pocketbond lorry, either Austin or Thames represents types that were popular with coal merchants at the time, also the Oxford Bedford OY. As for cars, the MOT test was only bought in in 1959 and before that pre war cars abounded so anything before the mid 50's is suitable. Almost anything from the Pocketbond range will fit within your period except for the Triumph Herald (introduced 1959). Also ex-military vehicles such as Tilly's were often seen. As there was no roadworthyness test many older cars would be looking very tatty with things like bumpers and even headlamps missing.

[BernardTPM]

Plenty of kits have been made that would cover the mid-20s to late '50s. Online you can check out the D.G. Models (several sequential pages), Scale Link and John Day ranges.

[crompton 33]

Oxford models.  click on the era that you want. you will get the full list . Link   https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/1-76?constraint=era-1950 All the best Alf

[BernardTPM]

Ignore the 1960s interloper in there (Triumph TR4, not introduced until 1961).

[The Johnster]

After a bit of scenic work, the Commer has moved off the loading dock and now sits next to the siding in a position where goods can be unloaded straight onto it from vans with sliding doors (I have 4 of these, an Insulfish, Baccy ex LNER, and 2 LMS).  The Land Rover has moved further down the line and is now on the other side of the branch.  I tried to scrape the 'York' from 'Chief Civil Engineer, York' and found that the bare metal is exactly the same colour as bare Land Rover metal!

 

Going on a shopping trip tomoz for paints, scenic materials and transfers, so might pick up a suitable van if I see one, or even the station supervisor's car!

[locomad]

Horse and cart, or even horse drawn domestic coal cart, lived in Wales in early 60's still quite common then

[spiket4]

Horse and cart, or even horse drawn domestic coal cart, lived in Wales in early 60's still quite common then

As a child of the 70's and 80's i remember a  rag and bone man with a horse drawn cart.

 

Regards Mark

[RANGERS]

As a child of the 70's and 80's i remember a  rag and bone man with a horse drawn cart.

 

Regards Mark

 

Have a photo of one taken in Waterloo St in Glasgow August 1982. They must have been a rarity by then for me to be inspired enough to photograph it.

[The Johnster]

Have put the shopping trip off for 24 hours; today got away from me a bit...  Orsncart transport was a fairly significant feature of my 50s and 60s childhood, though our rag n bone man used to push his cart himself.  The local milkman had a horse which was semi-retired by an electric cart, but he'd get it out and hitch the old cart on for summer Saturdays to the absolute delight of the local kids who would ride around on the cart and feed sweets to the horse.  

 

So a cart, with or without the attached neddy, is a very good suggestion and I may well put one in a corner somewhere on the layout! Priority for now has to be a small van for the loading dock and the signalman's motorbike, though.

[Dunsignalling]

Have put the shopping trip off for 24 hours; today got away from me a bit...  Orsncart transport was a fairly significant feature of my 50s and 60s childhood, though our rag n bone man used to push his cart himself.  The local milkman had a horse which was semi-retired by an electric cart, but he'd get it out and hitch the old cart on for summer Saturdays to the absolute delight of the local kids who would ride around on the cart and feed sweets to the horse.  

 

So a cart, with or without the attached neddy, is a very good suggestion and I may well put one in a corner somewhere on the layout! Priority for now has to be a small van for the loading dock and the signalman's motorbike, though.

Somebody did/does a 3D-printed BSA Bantam but I don't remember who. P&D Marsh do a painted solo bike of indeterminate make (with separate rider) that looks like a fairly typical 350/500 single.

 

Oxford do a BSA M20/M21 combination with a single-seat sidecar; or how about Oxford's lovely little pre-war Austin 7 if you are modelling the pre-MOT test era.

 

Look out for the Pocketbond Classix range for small vans (though currently getting a bit hard to find, are they defunct?), Morris Minor (including the pick-up), A30/35 or Ford 100E-style are out there. They also do/did some useful early-fifties saloon cars like the Vauxhall 10, Austin A40 Devon and Mk.1 Zephyr.  

 

If you end up with "too many" (some are very tempting) just keep the surplus to one side and ring the changes now and again.

 

John

Edited June 2, 2017 by Dunsignalling

[PhilJ W]

For a horse and cart the Merit/Peco horse drawn van would be a good start with the van body removed or cut down to represent a milk float. Most horse drawn vehicles by the 50's and 60's were fitted with 'artillery' cast steel spoked wheels as on the Oxford pre-war taxicab.

[The Johnster]

Good comments, guys, especially the one about ringing the changes now and then.  I do not run the same vehicles in the pickup freight every day, and should adopt the same principle to my road vehicles.  The BR Land Rover can be a fairly permanent fixture, though, the Civil Engineers are assessing the base of the mountain for earth movements in case a retaining wall is needed, but Beeching will close the line before anything is done.

 

An Austin 7, the pre-war saloon variety, was a fairly common sight in the 50s, and was many people's first car.  My dad had a sit-up-and-beg Austin 10 which was replaced with a brand new Ford Prefect, 100E style, after breaking down in a spectacular, bits of engine all over the road, way on Cowbridge Common on the way to a camping weekend at Oxwich which never took place!

 

The temptation is to overstock the layout, which is pretty limited for space, with road vehicles, and I must exercise discipline (discipline, lad, and lots of cold showers and a quick rub down with a rough towel, that's what won us the Empire).  But a stock of them to ring the changes will do no harm...

Edited June 2, 2017 by The Johnster

[BernardTPM]

Certainly something I'm planning on for my 1972 based layout. Hopefully similar for figures too, but they're each going to take a bit of work.

[The Johnster]

Back from the shops, with a blue/grey Morris Minor van from Classix, who I'd never heard of before.  Not bad; too shiny of course, no wing mirrors. and indicators instead of the little semaphore things that stuck out of the sides, making it a later model than I'd like but I'll live with that.  No wipers makes it look a bit bare, though, and I reckon the ventilators are too far back in the door windows.  The tyres are bald; just as well it isn't 1959 yet because this is an MOT failure!  The bottom (I won't call it a chassis) is rivetted on so there is no chance of putting a driver inside, but there is a nice impression of the interior.  I like the wheels and the chrome petrol filler cap, and the thing captures the essence of a moggyvan, especially viewed from the back with those slightly sad-eyed rear door windows.  The bonnet ornament needs picking out in silver paint.

 

What lumps of misery these were to drive behind!

Edited June 2, 2017 by The Johnster

[Dunsignalling]

Back from the shops, with a blue/grey Morris Minor van from Classix, who I'd never heard of before.  Not bad; too shiny of course, no wing mirrors. and indicators instead of the little semaphore things that stuck out of the sides, making it a later model than I'd like but I'll live with that.  No wipers makes it look a bit bare, though, and I reckon the ventilators are too far back in the door windows.  The tyres are bald; just as well it isn't 1959 yet because this is an MOT failure!  The bottom (I won't call it a chassis) is rivetted on so there is no chance of putting a driver inside, but there is a nice impression of the interior.  I like the wheels and the chrome petrol filler cap, and the thing captures the essence of a moggyvan, especially viewed from the back with those slightly sad-eyed rear door windows.  The bonnet ornament needs picking out in silver paint.

 

What lumps of misery these were to drive behind!

Not just behind! God they were noisy inside, though the later ones with the 1098cc engine went much better. 

 

The baby Austins were a lot quieter and more comfy - my brother had a '64 A35 which was actually quite civilised as vans went, though it didn't have the capacity of the Moggie.

 

John

[crompton 33]

Here is a List of Base Toys Models. Go and click on Britbus first. Then click Base toys. Then Just click on the model you wish to see .http://www.modelbuszone.co.uk/britbus/index.html   

Edited June 2, 2017 by crompton 33

[uax6]

Not just behind! God they were noisy inside, though the later ones with the 1098cc engine went much better. 

 

The baby Austins were a lot quieter and more comfy - my brother had a '64 A35 which was actually quite civilised as vans went, though it didn't have the capacity of the Moggie.

 

John

I don't find my daily driver of a Moggy van that noisy inside, and no I'm not deaf! Having a GPO van the cage and the bins do help to stop things shaking (and the lino on the floor in the back helps too), but that's negated by the crap that I carry around in them. Having a recon engine helps, actually having bearings in the engine helps I suppose!

 

Andy G

[SRman]

I preferred the Classix (Pocketbond) models over the Oxford ones, even though they were dearer (nearly twice the price of the Oxfords, before discounting). There was a bit more finesse to most of the Classix models, although some of the lorries had windscreens that were a tad too upright.

To be fair, both these and the Oxford Diecasts do represent very good value for money, though.

[The Johnster]

I'm happy with my Ox purchases and the Classix moggyvan, but I'd say that Ox have a bit of an edge.  Being able to remove the chassis so you can put a driver inside, or a newspaper on a passenger seat, or some stuff in the back, is a valuable feature, and the tyres are much better.  The Classix is a bit less overglossed and shin, though.

 

Not much in it though, and the deciding factor is always going to be 'do I want one/does it fit with my geography and time frame' rather than 'who makes it'.

Edited June 4, 2017 by The Johnster

[SRman]

I'm happy with my Ox purchases and the Classix moggyvan, but I'd say that Ox have a bit of an edge.  Being able to remove the chassis so you can put a driver inside, or a newspaper on a passenger seat, or some stuff in the back, is a valuable feature, and the tyres are much better.  The Classix is a bit less overglossed and shin, though.

 

Not much in it though, and the deciding factor is always going to be 'do I want one/does it fit with my geography and time frame' rather than 'who makes it'.

 

Th Oxfords do have that advantage - unscrewing the chassis has also allowed me to "steer" the front wheels slightly on some of my models.

 

However, the Classix wheels tend to be finer while the Oxfords tend to have rather over-width tyres for the eras they represent. Also, the Classix Moggies sit more realistically on their "suspension", where the Oxofrds tend to look as if they've been overloaded a bit.

[PhilJ W]

The Oxford Morris Minor van is also rivetted not screwed together as are many of their early models. The Oxford rivets are very weak, I have accidently dropped a couple on the floor while still in their boxes screwed to the plinth and they have sprung apart. In all the Classix is the far better version and it shouldn't be difficult to drill out the rivets on either model.

[The Johnster]

The Oxford Morris Minor van is also rivetted not screwed together as are many of their early models. The Oxford rivets are very weak, I have accidently dropped a couple on the floor while still in their boxes screwed to the plinth and they have sprung apart. In all the Classix is the far better version and it shouldn't be difficult to drill out the rivets on either model.

 

Agreed.  If I wanted to get at the inside a cupla rivets wouldn't stop me for long, but screws suggest that some consideration has been given to the matter when the model was designed, and would make life a little easier.

 

Gave it a coat of matt varnish last night and dirtied the back windows, cleaning them off in the middle afterwards, and it looks much more the part now!

Edited June 5, 2017 by The Johnster