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About this blog

This blog complements my Pre-Grouping Blog by covering my modelling activities in the Broad Gauge era of the Great Western Railway.  As with the earlier blog, I intend to cover the various methods by which I construct elements of the Broad Gauge scene.  For more background see https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/17705-a-different-type-of-railway/

 

Entries in this blog

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Easy-Peasy Carriage Build

Easy-Peasy Carriage Build or ‘How to build a carriage with no drawing, no measuring, and little time’   One of the vehicles I wanted to add to my collection for use with my ‘Firefly’-class locomotive was the early type of 6-wheel ‘open’ 2nd-class carriage. There is a full-size replica at Didcot Railway Centre, as shown below:   Didcot Railway Centre – Replica ‘Fire Fly’ and train   At first glance, those panelled sides might look to be a modeller’s nightmare but 3D
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Gooch Goods – line of development

Following my recent post about research into the ‘Fire Fly’ class engines, @Mikkel remarked “I was wondering when and why Gooch abandoned the Haycock firebox for his own round topped version, e.g. on the Pyracmon class.” my model of ‘Tantalus’   It reminded me that, when I was preparing my model of ‘Tantalus’, one of Gooch’s ‘Standard Goods’ engines, I had collected together a number of drawings by G F Bird of various engines from this class and its immediate predecessors.
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‘Fire Fly’ class - Research

Introduction   One thing leads to another and what, for me, started as a small project to build the interesting-looking ‘Posting Carriage’ from the early years of Brunel’s Broad Gauge railway, for the GWR, rapidly extended to include a Luggage Truck and Horse Box.   All these vehicles appeared in some of the beautiful lithographs by J.C Bourne, published in 1846. In particular, his illustration of Bristol Temple Meads Station, shows an engine of Gooch’s ‘Fire-Fly’ class headi
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Extending my 3D Modelling

3D- Printed Track Base   At the beginning of the year, my thoughts turned towards making some track for my Broad Gauge (BG) models. I have already built a short section of track using traditional methods but I decided to see if 3D printing could help.   After some experimentation in the early days of the GWR, the design of prototype broad gauge track settled into the form shown below:   Construction of Broad Gauge Track   The longitudinal baulks were
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GWR Luggage Box

Following my recent series about modelling the GWR Posting Carriage,  @Mikkel asked “But where did the luggage go? Next project?”.   In response, here is my next project!   In the early years, the GWR addressed the need to transport passengers’ luggage by providing separate ‘luggage boxes’ – and it seems that Victorians always travelled with a very large amount of luggage! It should be remembered that, at that time, passengers’ ‘luggage’ might also include their personal carr
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Building 'Tantalus' - Part Three

At the end of the previous Part, I wrote that I intended to turn my attention to the chassis. Before that, I had broken off from work on the chassis, to give some thought to the problems posed by the curved splashers over the driving wheels.   Now that I have proven the technique of ‘hybrid’ construction, combining traditional etched brass model-making with 3D-printing, I’ve decided to pursue similar methods for the chassis. For wheels, I recovered a spare set from a ‘Mainline’ Dean Go
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Broad Gauge Cattle Train

Now that I have completed my research into, and constructed models of, the Mail Train that is described in the BoT Accident report of 1868, regarding the collision near Bullo Pill on the South Wales line, I am turning my attention to the Goods Train.     my Mail Train models, based on accident report from Bullo Pill 1868   According to the accident report, the goods train was headed by the locomotive ‘Tantalus’ and comprised 20 cattle wagons, plus a third-class carr
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Modelling the Broad Gauge ‘Eagle’

Over the summer, I had little time for modelling, although I did continue with my reading, especially about the early engines of the GWR. Although these have been widely dismissed as ‘freaks’, this term only really applied to a very few examples and most were simply too small, because the manufacturers were attempting to meet Brunel's weight specifications, which were virtually impossible.   At that time in the late 1830s, locomotive design was still in its infancy but a few manufactur
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3D-printed Modelling Tool

For some time, I have been feeling dissatisfied with the shaping of the frames on my model of the broad gauge engine ‘Rob Roy’ but couldn’t think of any ways to improve them, with the limited tools that I have.  The construction of my model is described earlier in my blog.       Recently I started to think about whether my 3D-printer might be able to help. I do like engines to be made of metal, so a complete plastic print wasn’t my favourite option, although I did find i
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3D-Printed Cattle Wagon - 1

As I wrote in the previous post, I found plenty of inspiration from my research into Broad Gauge cattle wagons. It gave me the impetus to move straight on with the design of a 3D-printed model.   Whereas I created my 3D printed carriages by extruding the carriage from one end, I felt that the sides of these wagons might be better printed while lying flat on the printer bed. This would mean assembling the wagon from separate parts for the sides and ends, mounted on a rectangular base, r
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Wheels for my Wagons

I got something of a shock when I saw the current price of Broad Gauge wheel-sets so that started me thinking about 3D-printed wheels. I realised that I wouldn’t be able to make metal rims but it could be a way of making basic wagon wheels in bulk.   Many early GWR wagons used the form of wheel ascribed to Losh and Bell, in which wrought iron spokes were cast into the hub and wrapped around the inside of the wheel rim, to give the characteristic appearance shown in the following illust
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Broad Gauge Mail Coach - part 2

My previous post in this series ended on a 'cliff-hanger' – how was I to escape from the 'hinge' problem?   After a little thought, the solution proved very simple. I used my jewellers' snips to cut a 1mm strip from the edge of some brass sheet and then folded the strip to make three staples, which pressed into the slots on the adjacent compartment doors. It was fortunate that the doors were hung 'back to back' so that the staples could be kept quite short.   I did discover a
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Fire Fly class - Part Five

Adding some details   After a rather intensive period of model building, I’ve slowed down a little, while other activities have called for my attention. The train of early Broad Gauge vehicles, including the Posting Carriage etc. still raise a smile as I pass by them on their shelf. They are, however, still waiting for their engine, so I need to press on with my ‘Fire Fly’ class model.   my three recent GWR Broad Gauge models   I always find that momentum is ea
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Aeolus Valve Gear

Interpreting the Valve Motion   At the end of my previous post, I commented on the surprising layout of the valve gear, as shown on the Lane sketches. The Works drawing of the engine, as originally designed, shows a more usual arrangement, with the weigh-bar placed under the boiler behind the smokebox.   Following further research, however, I have re-interpreted the drawings of Aeolus by E.T. Lane and have, therefore, revised this post on 16th April.   According to
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GWR Posting Carriage

After having constructed a range of models that were intended to replicate the two trains involved in the accident at Bullo Pill, in 1868, I have been casting around for ideas for new subjects.   The trouble with a 3D printer is that it opens up so many possibilities that it is hard to decide what to tackle next. It would be easy for me to continue modelling various carriages, wagons, and locomotives but I have been looking for something that’s a bit ‘different’.   One of the
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Vulcan – first in steam

I hadn’t intended to make another model so soon after my previous post but, having read about ‘Vulcan’ being the first engine in steam on the GWR, on 28th December 1837, I felt I should add it to my collection.   Since 'Vulcan' was a sister engine to 'Aeolus', which I have already modelled, I could re-use many of the parts I had already designed, so this was a fairly quick re-build.   My model of 'Aeolus' was based on the 1843 rebuild of the prototype, after the original vers
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Open-top Cattle Wagon

Whoo-hoo  – I seem to be getting the hang of 3D modelling, at least for simple shapes like carriages and wagons.  Whereas I had some infuriating moments when designing my first cattle wagon model, its open-top cousin has proceeded with scarcely a hitch.   I decided to follow exactly the same procedure that I used for my first wagon : floor and ends as one ‘body’ and individual sides as two separate ‘bodies’. After printing these separately, I used a soldering iron, set to 200°C, to ‘we
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Cautionary Tales – 2

Last year (October 2021) I wrote a post under this same title in which I referred to the need for caution, when making models based on published drawings. In some cases, even manufacturers’ drawings, especially in the early days, can be suspect, since the finished product was based more on the skills of individual craftsmen, who trusted their practical knowledge over that emerging from the drawing office!   When I designed my recent model of ‘Vulcan’, I derived the dimensions from sket
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Aeolus in Context

At the end of my previous post , I wrote that the engine and tender would next enter the paint shop. Because the various major components (boiler, firebox, etc.) were all printed separately and simply plugged together, it was easy to paint each part in its appropriate colour, with no masking required.   I use acrylic paints, which I like to apply in the manner of water colour. I use an alcohol/water mix to ‘wet’ the surface and then add pigment to achieve the desired depth of colour. F
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A Year in Retrospect

Last year, as 2020 drew towards its close and we prepared for the holiday season, I showed a collection of my North Leigh engines ‘on shed’. I think that, at that time, we were all hoping that the difficulties caused by Covid would soon be over. Sadly, as another year draws to its close, we are still in a period of uncertainty, waiting to learn what sort of threat the latest variant may pose.   Whatever else has happened, I have found plenty of time to practise my modelling abilities w
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From the Stars to Fire Fly

It’s been a wet Bank Holiday here and, stuck indoors, I found myself thinking about what it was that made the ‘Fire Fly’ class so special. The following notes reflect my musings:   After all, these engines looked very similar to their immediate predecessors, the ‘Stars’ that the GWR bought from R Stephenson & Co. This similarity is obvious in the first engine photographs ever taken, which include ‘Polar Star’, outside Cheltenham shed in the late 1840s.   ‘Polar Star
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An Ugly Duckling

Having been inspired by a recent post by @Annie, I’m having a go at creating a 3D-print of one of those ‘ugly-duckling’ 4-4-0STs, much liked in the West Country as very successful engines.   As usual, I’m applying ‘quick and dirty’ methods, to create as much as possible by extruding ‘bodies’ from existing drawings – in this case those by Ian Beattie, reproduced in the Broad Gauge Society magazine ‘Broadsheet No.73’   I imported the front-elevation drawing as a ‘canvas’ into ‘
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Paddington Station 1840

Brunel’s great arched roof is to many people the epitome of Paddington Station but this was not built until 1854. The passengers who first travelled on the line from Paddington to Maidenhead, which opened on 4th June 1838, started their journey from a far less imposing structure – little more than a collection of wooden sheds.   A London terminus for the GWR was needed in a hurry, after negotiations with the London & Birmingham Railway for a joint terminus at Euston broke down. Wit
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Into the New Year

A New Year opens up all sorts of new possibilities!  I spent much of last year discovering what I could do by means of 3D printing.  In fact, it now seems as though almost any prototype is within my reach – at least in terms of static display models.   I have given one of my recent model photos, the ‘early photograph’ look, as shown below: ‘Argus’ and ‘Rob Roy’ at Bullo Pill   The only additional model I have printed since my last post was a 4-wheel tender for ‘Argus’, w
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In the Beginning ...

When I started my first pre-grouping blog in 2013, I entitled my first post “Turning Back the Clock”. Ever since then, I seem to have been turning it further and further back, until I’ve reached the very first engines of the GWR.   Some early GWR Engines   Although the story of Swindon Works is well documented and there is some information and illustrations of the first establishment at Paddington, I have so far found virtually nothing about the original engine-house at West
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