Parkside PS105 GWR Horsebox - Cracking on with the Build

[brossard]

I'm building the Parkside PS105 7mm GWR Horsebox.  I'd like to add detail to the groom compartment but haven't found anything on line or here.  I hope someone has pictures from preserved examples. 

 

There should be hatches in the horse compartment bulkhead so that the groom can tend his charges.

 

I have Tatlow's Historic Carriage Drawings Vol 3 which has a plan of the horsebox.  I'm surprised that the drawing doesn't show a toilet, any info on that?

 

Thanks, pictures will follow.

 

John

Edited May 16, 2018 by brossard

[gwrrob]

There's a nice photo in the Russell coach book on brown vehicles.

[brossard]

Hi Rob, my GWR coaching stock library is a tad limited.  I only have Russell's Vol 1 which discusses very early GWR coaches.

 

John

[ianmaccormac]

Sliding doors in LB&SCR Horseboxes.

Cheers

Ian

[brossard]

Sliding doors in LB&SCR Horseboxes.

Cheers

Ian

 

Sorry Ian, I'm not with you.

 

John

[Happy Hippo]

 

' I'm surprised that the drawing doesn't show a toilet, any info on that?'

 

Lesser mortals were required to think up ingenious ways of disposing of their waste.

 

Did the locos and goods brake vans of the period have lavatorial facilities?

 

I suppose that is why the horseboxes were classified as brown vehicles!

 

 

[brossard]

Honey buckets and empty Lucozade bottles?

 

John

[Happy Hippo]

Honey buckets and empty Lucozade bottles?

 

John

I know that the fireman's shovel was sometimes used and the contents thrown into the firebox.

 

And to think that it was also traditional to cook breakfast off the same shovel.

[The Bigbee Line]

I've just scoured various pictures etc and only the LNER and later BR variant show signs of the filler pipes to tank up the water supplies.  Even the non corridor passenger brakes in the Tatlow's Historic Carriage Drawings Vol 3, do not have toilets.  Guards must have been made of stern stuff. 

[brossard]

I know that the fireman's shovel was sometimes used and the contents thrown into the firebox.

 

And to think that it was also traditional to cook breakfast off the same shovel.

 

Eewww!

 

 

I've just scoured various pictures etc and only the LNER and later BR variant show signs of the filler pipes to tank up the water supplies.  Even the non corridor passenger brakes in the Tatlow's Historic Carriage Drawings Vol 3, do not have toilets.  Guards must have been made of stern stuff. 

 

Amazing!  I wonder if we've all gotten soft over the years.

 

John

[Ian Major]

John,

 

I have a copy of Russel GW Coaches 1903 to 1948. Page 96 there is a side view of a Dia N13 horsebox with all the doors open to reveal the interior. The Parkside PS105 models this version.

 

If you are interested I will scan it in and send it to you on a PM. I wo'nt publish it here to avoid copyright issues.

 

Ian.

[brossard]

Thanks Ian, I think I may already have been given that picture.  If it's the one I have, it shows the horse compartment but not the groom compartment.  I really would like to get a sense of how the groom compartment was laid out.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Ian Major]

John,

 

I have sent the photo to you in case it is different. The door to the groom compartment is open and it is possible to see the internal detail. It doesn't show the access hatches to the horses since these are viewed end on.

 

Ian.

[brossard]

Thanks to all who contributed material on the groom compartment.  I still haven't seen what the horse bulkhead looks like.

 

Anyway, as promised, here are some pictures of my progress so far:

 

 

 

The van looks a bit messy at the moment but it is easier to see unpainted rigging I think.

 

I spent rather a lot of time trying to get the brake rigging to what I think DC3 brakes might look like.  Ernies pictures of a DC3 fitted van were extremely useful:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134008-pictures-of-dciii-brakework-on-a-y2-gwr-fruit-van/

 

First off, I wanted to install the vacuum and steam pipes.  These were a bit problematic since I didn't have any really good pictures of the arrangement.  Ironically, I had a picture of the Hornby GWR Horsebox (a really finely detailed model) which show the vac. and steam pipes so that gave me the clues I needed.

 

The vacuum brake rigging is pretty straightforward and poses no difficulty except that you have to realise that there is a second lever for the manual brake application.

 

It is the manual system that had me scratching my head.  The key is the rodding linking the ratchet fitted rod to the non ratchet rod.  This has an intermediate bracket and swing link that can be seen in the second picture.

 

The ratchet fitted rod has a lever that connects to a secondary lever on the main brake actuation rod to apply brake manually.  This pull rod can be seen in the first picture.

 

The underframe always takes me the most time in my kit builds.  I can move on to the rest of the build now, which goes much quicker.

 

John

[brossard]

Some more progress to report.

 

 

 

You can see that the gas cylinder and solebar gussets have been added.  I wrapped some plastic strip around the cylinder to represent the strapping.

 

Also safety loops have been added for the pull rods.  BTW, note the safety loop around the vacuum cylinder crank.

 

Paint was tidied up and the whole thing given a coat of Dullcote.

 

I've been working on the grooms compartment:

 

 

Scribing and painting to try to give the impression of detail.  Window strap is plastic strip.  I have already cut the glazing to fit the windows.  Easier to do now than with everything assembled.

 

The seat was made by cobbling together various bits of plastic strip and sheet.  I filled with Tamiya putty and filed and sanded to get a decent profile.  Moquette is GWR 3rd class which I found on line.  This was sized and printed onto self adhesive address label.  Armrest is plastic strip.

 

John

 

 

 

 

[brossard]

Build is just about done I think.  Just popped the buffers in.

 

 

 

The body fit was very good.  The door T handles are very tiny but I managed to avoid losing any.

 

Steps, as I've found with all Parkside kits are a faff.  The step hangers are quite useless being weak.  I actually broke one getting it off the sprue.  I followed my practise for all these kinds of kits with hanging steps and made hangers from brass strip.  I made a jig from the plastic hangers.

 

End details were no trouble.  I have got in the habit of using CA to secure ABS parts, I think you get a more certain join than using MEK.

 

Screw link coupling is Dapol.  Parkside only ever seem to supply 3 link couplings with their kits.

 

Buffers were no trouble and are secured with CA.  I did dab some thread lok on the buffer shank nuts.  I certainly don't recommend CA for this.

 

I quite liked the cast vacuum pipes so used them.  The kit comes with cast steam pipes but I decided to replace the cast bag with Slaters springs.  Safety chain is wound wire strand which is attached to a small hook under the buffer beam.

 

Lamp bracket is Slaters cast brass.  The kit has ABS plastic brackets but these are useless if you actually want to add a removeable lamp.

 

Roof was straighforward with 6 ventilators and one gas lamp.  Rain strips are 0.020" plastic rod.

 

I need to touch up the black and paint the body. 

 

John

 

 

[brossard]

Can someone tell me if the window bolections were wood or painted red in the BR era?  Most pictures I've found are of models, which are hardly a primary source.  Can't tell from B&W pictures.

 

Thanks

 

John

[mike hughes]

Can someone tell me if the window bolections were wood or painted red in the BR era?  Most pictures I've found are of models, which are hardly a primary source.  Can't tell from B&W pictures.

 

Thanks

 

John

My guess would be painted as all the photos of rolling stock with droplights in the BR period are painted

 

Michael

[brossard]

Yes Mike, I think that makes sense.  Red it is.

 

John

[brossard]

Paint and lettering done:

 

 

 

I used a paint pen and ruler to do the strapping.

 

For more see Paul Jarmans article in MRJ 208. 

 

I will need to put things on hold for a bit.  I want to put a figure in the groom compartment but have nothing suitable.

 

John

[brossard]

Finally!  After a year or more, I got this finished.  It was a mojo thing, but it has returned.

 

Here is the result:

 

 

Rather pleased with this.  Still needs to be weathered.  You can just make out the lad in the grooms compt.

 

John