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About this blog

A record of the trials and tribulations of an average modeller

Entries in this blog

Siphon C and GWR 64xx

I've now been able to add the gas pipes to the roof to complete the model. Those who have read my blog will know that I'm quite obsessive about roof detail. It always surprises me that people spend so much time detailing the underframe which is hardly seen whilst ignoring the roof which is always visible. We don't look at models like you look at the prototype.   Having said that I'm not sure of the exact layout of the piping. I recollect a photo of what may be a Siphon C on the Highwor
JDaniels

JDaniels

10

GWR 0-4-2T's

As I write this it's pouring with rain outside so a return to modelling or rather the blog. I tend to vacate the modelling bench in the summer for other pleasures, this year a cruise round the Baltic and more recently walking the Cleveland Way. You just know it's time to get away from the television when Channel 5 do a programme "The Great Model Railway Challenge" and no I didn't watch it. As a result of these other activities I haven't even looked at RM Web for several months.   Those who hav
JDaniels

JDaniels

10

GWR 4 wheel coaches - nearly there! (and a bit of Broad Gauge)

Having assembled the two brakes, I turned, with some trepidation, to the composite. This uses the Ratio sides and I was concerned that as these were thicker than the etched brass the problems with clearances might be more acute. Also as they were plastic I couldn't be so carefree with the soldering iron and I was concerned that gluing might not give as good a bond as solder.   With the brake thirds I soldered the sides to the ends and then, allowing for the slight overlap of the sides over the
JDaniels

JDaniels

10

GWR 517 0-4-2T

I'm thinking of constructing another 517 0-4-2T to work alongside the M &L kit I already have. I was contemplating the Malcolm Mitchell kit but really wanted something that would not take as long to construct and I'm also a little put off by comments that on some of these kits the boiler has to be rolled. I've since read reports that SE Finecast are supposed to have produced a kit for this locomotive but although it appears in the price list, I've yet to find a photo of it.   The M & L
JDaniels

JDaniels

9

Westbrook Station Building

I've now completed the station building apart from the painting. Unfortunately due to the weather it looks as though we won't be going down to Ford tomorrow (celebrating Mrs. D's birthday) so the light and dark stone I was going to get from Gaugemaster will have to wait.   In my last entry I was about to make substantive progress with the roof. The jig I made to cut the tiles (in 5thou Plasticard) worked well apart from the odd occasion when I failed to notice the strip was firmly against the
JDaniels

JDaniels

8

Confessions

Firstly, I have to apologise for the absence of any blog entries. Life as they say overtakes you sometimes and I've had a number of issues to sort out, most notably an aging mother and, more recently, mother-in-law having to go into care homes. We now have yet another house to empty at a time when I should be at my modelling desk. Still had two good walks this year, another part of the SW Coast Path and almost all the Cotswold Way (weather interrupted).   I did notice in my prolonged a
JDaniels

JDaniels

7

GWR 517 0-4-2T

The Finecast kit arrived this morning, impressive when you consider I only phoned yesterday.   The kit has the 15ft overall wheelbase (7ft 4in + 7ft 8in) with provision for both inside and outside bearing trailing wheels. One disdavantage is that the kit only comes with the later extended bunker although I may have one of the earlier bunkers that hopefully may fit. The full covered cab is supplied but the instructions do say that this could be modified to a half cab. The kit also includes thre
JDaniels

JDaniels

7

Photos

Rather than add them to the album I've done them as an attachment here. Slightly concerned that the rectangular photos appear square. My son is something of a whizz at computers but even he found this more complicated than he imagined.   Looking at the 64xx shows how far handrail knobs have advanced!
JDaniels

JDaniels

6

Siphon C

This winter has been fairly aimless as far as modelling is concerned. I thought though it might be good to try and finish one old project, the conversion of a K's Siphon F to a Siphon C. (By cutting and shutting.)  This has been attempted before and I referred to an old Model Railway Constructor for information. This advocated putting the body on a Ratio 4 wheel coach underframe but as I already had the Mainly Trains running gear kit as well as the Dean Churhward brake fret I thought constructin
JDaniels

JDaniels

6

Mainly Trains GWR 4 wheel chassis and thoughts on O gauge

I bought three of the Mainly Trains 4 wheel coach kits along with the Ratio composite kit and two sets of Shirescenes sides. The intention is to have a superdetailed three coach set.   I've completed the three chassis and I have to say they went together reasonably well. If anyone does purchse them I'd make one recommendation. Do not glue the solebar overlays to the floor assembly. It was perhaps my fault in using Araldite past it's "best before" date but I found it best to solder them. It is
JDaniels

JDaniels

6

Those red wagons and some general thoughts on goods traffic

Red wagons.   Well I've now painted my first red GWR wagon. Having looked at those in Mikkel's excellent blog and taking advice from MikeOxon I've mixed red oxide and vermillion (well actually the closest Humbrol equivalents) which has produced a colour that fits the "light red" description given in contemporary sources. The only currently available kit that could justify the red livery is Ratio's iron mink, other available kits all postdate the change to dark grey. Incidentally it seems to be
JDaniels

JDaniels

6

Westbrook Station Building

Underneath my Blagdon layout is another smaller baseboard with a representation of Westbrook station on the Golden Valley Railway. This prosaically named branch has always appealed to me and some years ago I laid the track and started the scenery for a model of Westbrook. Wanting a change from constructing locos and coaches I had a go at resurrecting this. I firstly stripped all the scenery off and cut the baseboard so that it follows the line of the track only. My intention was to mount this on
JDaniels

JDaniels

5

Yet more photos

A few more photos that I took today.   The first shows the Blagdon branch goods in the mid 1930's. The second van is another ABS kit, as I mentioned in my earlier blog these are excellent and cover the more unusual prototypes. I would also add that not all my coaches and vans have roofs this white!   The second and third are shots of the platform and station building. The station buildings on the Wrington Vale line followed a standard pattern but that at Blagdon and Langford were extended a
JDaniels

JDaniels

5

Mainly Trains 4 wheel chassis

Just thought I'd share progress on the GWR 4 wheel coaches. These utilise the Mainly Trains chassis, Shire Scenes sides for the brake thirds and Ratio sides for the composite.   I'll start off by saying this is probably the most difficult modelling exercise I've ever done. Nothing wrong with the chassis or the sides, it's when you mix the two together that problems occur. When you put them together it results in what my dear late Dad would call a "b*****s muddle." It seems I won't be doing muc
JDaniels

JDaniels

4

SE Finecast 517 0-4-2T

This has been a frustrating project. Progress has not been helped by having to clear, and eventually sell, my mother's house. She is living with my sister and modelling has taken a back seat of late.   In my last entry I commented on the difficulty in trying to find a suitable prototype. Although a large class the number of individual locos that mirror the Finecast kit is very small. I eventually settled on 848, there is a photo of this loco on the internet and, fortuitously, a photo of the ot
JDaniels

JDaniels

4

Westbrook Station Building

I've now painted and therefore completed the station building. For the most part I used Humbrol acrylic paints and was pleased with how I got on with them. I've had problems in the past but I like the matt finish (unlike some so called matt enamels), the way in which you can mix the paints and the ease with which they dilute with water. I collected a number of greyish acrylics whilst I was at Gaugemaster at Ford but didn't realise that some are a satin finish, this is not shown on the container.
JDaniels

JDaniels

4

GWR 4 wheel coaches - further photos

I haven't yet worked out how to attach a photo to a reply so in response to Mikkel's comment I attach a photo of the inside of the first almost completed coach.   Unfortunately my camera and lens is better at landscapes than close ups but I hope this shows how I tackled the fitting of the body to the chassis. The folded tabs on the ends are no good as using these means that the ends, and consequently the sides, sit on top of the floor. I cut these off and made my own tabs out of brass sheet be
JDaniels

JDaniels

3

GWR 517 0-4-2T

To add to my recent blogs on the subject, attached (I hope) are photos of my 517 0-4-2T, 559.   This was built many years ago and has a Portescap motor with the MJT gearbox conversion.    
JDaniels

JDaniels

3

A mixed bag. Expo EM-GWR 4 wheel coaches-Mainly Trains-Dapol 'O'

Firstly apologies as I haven't looked at the blogs for a while. After the late snow the weather here has been great and the modelling has taken a back seat. My son and I walked the Limestone Way in May and I've been organising our next walk, the Cleveland Way in September.   I went to Expo EM mainly to hand over the SEF 517 to Geoff James for painting. There were a number of layouts there but one that did impress was Tim Venton's Clutton. There is a trend today for layouts the area of a Corn F
JDaniels

JDaniels

3

Setting the scene

I've had an interest in model railways, on and off, since I was about 16. As I retired a few years ago (albeit at 62) that's a long time. Model railways are not my only interest, indeed during the summer months I normally don't touch the railway preferring instead to be in the garden, travelling around the country, visiting stately homes and walking. Since I retired my son and I have walked the South Downs Way, the Ridgeway, St. Cuthbert’s Way, part of the Two Moors Way and the Norfolk Coast pat
JDaniels

JDaniels

3

Yet more on those GWR 4 wheel coaches.

Thankfully the three coaches constructed from a mixture of mainly Trains, Shire Scenes and Ratio parts are now completed and boxed ready to be handed over to the painter at Expo EM. I'm still not sure whether the quality of my work justifies the considerable expense of having them professionally painted.   However this has left me with three spare Ratio chassis (two short and one long), some roofs and the sides for a composite. In addition I have many spare sides acquired in the distant past b
JDaniels

JDaniels

2

SE Finecast 517

I've come to a dead halt with the construction of this kit. The chassis commendably includes three different types of brake shoes, two types of brake pull rods and three types of guard irons. All you need to do is find a good photo of your chosen prototype and work from there. It wasn't until I looked more closely at the kit and prototype photos did I realise that my chosen prototype, 540, was quite different from the kit.   Firstly, as the kit is based on the Collett cab version initially tha
JDaniels

JDaniels

2

Parkside Dundas kits

I've just had an E-mail from Eileen's Emporium. They have now taken over the marketing of the Parkside Dundas kits from Peco.   Whilst the kits are predominantly BR wagons, there are a number of GWR types there as well as the interesting SR CCT truck.   I've never really thought about the Parkisde kits as they seem so hard to find but that should now change. Not sure I could justify any more wagon kits but the range on offer will appeal to many.
JDaniels

JDaniels

2

SE Finecast 517 0-4-2T

Well I've just about completed the kit and I'm reasonably pleased despite the shortcomings outlined in my earlier entry.   I tried two new features (for me) on the chassis, CSB suspension and Alan Gibson plunger pickups. The CSB suspension does make life a little more complicated as all hornblocks have to move up and down (not sideways!) and unlike a compensated chassis, the suspension only works when weight, i.e. the body, is applied. I used spring steel wire but even here care is required as
JDaniels

JDaniels

2

Yet more wagon matters and a Siphon C

It's been a long time since I last updated my blog. Weather has been too good to sit at my workbench.   I think I mentioned that I acquired a Coopercraft 04 open wagon kit at a railway fair at Horsted Keynes. I've now constructed this but comparison with photos of the prototype does underline the shortcomings of the brake gear. These wagons were fitted with Dean Churchward brake gear and whilst plastic kits include the actual brake gear assembly and the operating levers at the end, there are n
JDaniels

JDaniels

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