Here are some snaps from the latest outpourings from the Wagon and carriage workshop (or workbench...).
First are a pair of GWR V6 iron minks. They are Ratio kits, but the very dirty 37508 has grease axleboxes while the reasonably recently out-shopped 69721 has oil 'OK' axleboxes. Both are in the GWR 25" lettering for the period after 1904. Its my intention to build at least another three - 2 in the pre-1904 G. W. R livery, again with oil and grease axles boxes photographic or documentary ev
Having forgot to pack the weathered O13s when I headed off to the club yesterday evening, I thought I'd best photograph something I did have in the stock box - some POs that have just had their final coat of varnish.
One of the problems with modelling PO wagons in Cornwall (and pre-1914 to boot) is the lack of photographic evidence. So, in order to keep the Empire Mills china clay dries and the industries on my own slowly gestating layout supplied with coal, I have made a few assum
A while ago I posted some pictures of wagons that were being contructed for china clay traffic, both GWR and PO. Amongst the images were a pair of GWR O13 china clay wagons, painted, lettered, but not weathered.
I dedcided that I would weather one (92971) quite lightly, the other (94100) more heavily. To weather wagons, I tned to dry brush and use acryilic paints.
First, 'light rust' was lightly dry brished over the underframes using a mop headed soft brush.
Then 92971
This Parkside kit has been slwloy moving from the errecting shop through to the paint shop and the signwriter has recently finsihed lettering it.
The kit has been slightly modified, with representations of the brake rigging for the clasp brakes (ABS castings) have been added, as well as Coopercraft/Blacksmith ethced grills behind the windows.
However, the CCT has not (yet) been compenstated - if running trials indicate compensation of this long-wheelbased vehicle will help
The crank pins have arrived and I've managed to escape to the workbrench for short periods over the last few days.
The coupling rods have had Alan Gibson brass coulping rod bushes soldered in place to reduce the rather large holes in the Hornby coupling rods down to somthing appropriate for Alan Gibson crank pins. At the same time the chemical blackening was gently buffed away using a glass fibre brush.
The rods were then put to one side while I worked on the driving wheels. First,
I converted this loco a few months ago - actually it was done behind Westcliff at the Watford show and took about 3 hours or so for the basic conversion, so it was running on Westcliff, thanks to Richard Butler's indulgence, towards the end of the Sunday of the show. The only problem (not that its really a problem, the conversion was so easy) was I sort of promised to do one for Richard when he manages to find the correct wheels in amongst his bits and pieces cache in exchange for a stock box!
Prior to starting this blog, I had been working on a number of wagons for my own, as yet unborn, GWR Cornish branch line. Last night I took some of them along to SHMRC and posed them on Hope-under-Dinmore.
Many of the chain clay private owner wagons were from the POW sides (pre-printed on salters/coopercraft bodies) - and very nice they are too. Very helpfully, POW sides will also change the running numbers for you, so you don't have duplicates - inevitably I only realised this after it was
As I discovered I had run out of crank pins a pause has been forced in 2811's progress. So I decided to have a renewed crack at the Nucast Armstrong Standard Goods.
Russell's locomotives of the GWR gives 2 nice pictures of 788 in pre 1906 livery - all glorious lining and indian red frames etc. Also 788 has a belpaire firebox which might give an extra mm to hide the motor and gearbox, always a problem with wasp waisted Victorian or Edwardian locos!
The original Nucast kit had a
While mulling over the top feed issue, the tender issue, and summoning up the courage to start drilling holes in the spectacle plate - and above all because the laser cut plasticard side frames had arrived from Ultrascale - I have decided to make some progress with the chassis.
Stripping the chassis was not as traumatic as I feared and the wheelsets, coupling rods, and cross heads gently slipped out of the chassis into a heap on the floor.
The sandboxes were removed too, a
While a 28xx is probably a bit big for a china clay shunting layout - a viewpoint I struggle with - the Hornby model of the straight framed version looked lovely so I had to have one.
The Hornby model is of 2812 in 1930s condition so not only will it need to be converted to EM gauge, but also back dated to 1912-ish. The early locos were builtg with short coned boilers, not the top feed fitted long cone of the Hornby model. However, the early locos started to receive D4 long cone boilers from
I blame Gareth. This, I can assure you, is a default position - but a very good one - derived from long experience of shifting the blame. Admittedly I had been mulling over doing a 'what's on my workbench and how I've managed create a masterpiece/complete pigs ear' for a while, but lets be clear - this is all Gareth's fault. Why? Well he has volunteered the EMpire Project to appear at the MRC's March 2015 Alexandra Palace show. Well so what? It’s already done that, so why blame Gareth? Because,
