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About this blog

Exhibition Layout project: Bricklayers Arms circa 1844

Entries in this blog

Canterbury & Whitstable Railway, Tayleur 0-6-0

It's been a very long time since my last post (which I think was a 4mm scale chair!) but I've nearly completed my latest build: Canterbury & Whitstable Railway, Taylor 0-6-0 goods loco, no.121,  c1847. The bulk of it was constructed whilst convalescing with a broken left metatarsal. What a tragedy to be signed off work and have to sit there day after day with my foot up, drinking tea and model making, life can be so cruel! A friend offered some Portescap motor/gearboxes in exchange
5&9Models

5&9Models

21
London & Birmingham Carriages

A London & Birmingham Novelty

I’ve long been entertained and intrigued by depictions of early railways of the 1830s and ‘40s. The period was marked by significant political and social change, the technology of the new iron roads symbolised these changes more than anything and the railway companies knew it. From the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway onwards, artists such as Isaac Shaw, John Cooke Bourne, Thomas Talbot Bury and many others recorded what they saw, creating images that sought to commemorate and i
Stables for Bricklayers Arms

In a stable condition...

I hesitate to call this 'Bricklayers Arms Stables' because that's not what they are. However, they are the stables for Bricklayers Arms which is confusing I know but I'll explain.   Whilst Bricklayers Arms station building, goods shed, carriage and loco sheds and coke depot are recorded (some photographically, others as outline drawings) the original 1844 stable block is not. There appears to be no record at all of its appearance. Therefore I have chosen to model the 1856 stables
Ballasting at last

Ballasting at last.

An opportunity presented itself to drag the baseboard outside yesterday and take some photos in the rather dull afternoon light. At last I feel some progress is being made, or in other words, what a difference a bit of ballasting makes!   I took a few more photos to show how some of the areas are finally tying together after some further detail was added.   Oooh look, ballast at last! This is my own somewhat unconventional technique since the ballast in the 1840s was al
5&9Models

5&9Models in Ballasting at last

18

Early 0-4-2 banking engine

In the Summer 2016 edition of the Brighton Circular I posed a question regarding the identity of a loco illustrated in Samuel Brees' 'Railway Practice' 1846. His claim that the drawing was of London & Croydon Railway locomotive 'Croydon' was clearly an error and thanks to the perpetuation of this mistake by E. L. Ahrons and others, it's identity has never really been queried.   Thankfully my article sparked a bit of debate and some excellent responses were written in subsequent Circulars.
5&9Models

5&9Models

17
London & Birmingham Carriages

London to Birmingham and hopefully back again...

Another of my 'seemed like a good idea at the time' projects last summer was to create kits for each of the principal carriages of the London & Birmingham Railway.   Once again this was to be another diversion from Bricklayers Arms but a change is as good as a break, no?     Together with a good friend Tom Nicholls who has provided endless information, drawings, research and above all encouragement, I started at the bottom with the intention of working my way u
Tartan Paint

Tartan paint !

Continuing the theme with some ModelU 3D printed figures, I've been experimenting with 'Tartan paint'.   Seems to work quite well on Rose's shawl as she has it out with Charlotte over some recent unladylike behaviour. I mean really! What is she doing out in the street without her bonnet on? Disgraceful!           Apologies for the horrible model makers fingers!    
5&9Models

5&9Models in Tartan Paint

16
Bricklayers Arms c.1845

Saturday morning on the Upper Grange Road

Ex petty officer Solly is in a bit of a pickle.  Having recently been suspended from active naval service owing to a regrettable incident with a cannon, he has decided to consume an increasing quantity of London’s best porter. Unfortunately, not only did the calamity result in the loss of his right leg below the knee, it also neatly removed his left thumb. He now has to swap his crutch to the left in order to hold a bottle in his right hand. After several bottles this balancing act can

George England 2-2-2

Over the few years I've been a member of RMWeb, I seem to have erroneously created several blogs. My clumsy grasp of computers has been a bit frustrating as I never know where I've posted and have a horrible habit of posting new material on the wrong blog and so on. Therefore a little bit of belated Spring Cleaning is required and I have copied the info from my previous 'George England 2-2-2' blog to this one so that I can have it all in the right place. So, apologies to those who have read the
5&9Models

5&9Models

16

Build a Bodmer competition (not)!

In 1845 the Swiss engineer John George Bodmer constructed a pair of 2-2-2 locomotives at his Manchester workshops for the Joint Committee of the Brighton, Croydon and Dover Railways. Born in Zurich in 1786 and later apprenticed to a millwright, the young engineer showed much promise and a strong talent for innovation. He moved to Lancashire in the 1820s but continued his connections with Switzerland and Baden in Germany. His particular invention was that of an opposed cylinder steam engine in wh
5&9Models

5&9Models

15

L&G Royal William Pt.5

London & Greenwich Railway No.1 Royal William - Pt.5   This is the last part of the series on Royal William for now until I make the Stephenson tender to go with it.   It's all done, an interesting project and a good opportunity to try out a few ideas on the cheap! So the lessons learned are as follows:   Sprung plunger pick-ups on such a tiny engine were more trouble than they were worth. In the end I simply fitted some tee shaped wiper pick-ups between the wheels. Easy, simple and ef
5&9Models

5&9Models

15
Adams Light Locomotive in 4mm scale

William Bridges Adams Light Locomotive

In the latter half of the 1840s, William Bridges Adams began to dabble in locomotive design with the help of several key figures, particularly the resident engineer of the Eastern Counties Railway, James Samuel. He had established a works at Fair Field, Bow in 1843 for the purposes of expanding his business building carriages and wagons for both rail and road and locomotive construction was a natural progression.   Together they developed the principle of the light locomotive which was

Greyhound Place

I think I have finally completed the buildings at Greyhound Place, Bermondsey. This is the collection of buildings next to the Greyhound Pub at the Eastern end of Bricklayers Arms c1845. I've slightly tweaked the date of the layout by a year as I want things to show signs of settling in, and it allows a bit more artistic licence when it comes to the rolling stock.   These images show the back yards, there are only a couple of children to add and a few bits of general domestic 'stuff' t
5&9Models

5&9Models

11

The Greyhound

A bit of history   The earliest record of a tenant in The Greyhound public house was a Mary Stiff in 1822. The Upper Grange Road (now Dunton Road) Bermondsey was likely a relatively quiet lane leading off the Kent Road before the arrival of the Bricklayers Arms Extension Railway in 1843/4. At first it was suggested that the railway should cross the road on the level, but the contractors Grissell & Peto constructed a bridge to carry the road over the four running lines. The inconven
5&9Models

5&9Models

11

London & Greenwich Railway - Royal William - Pt .1

London & Greenwich Railway - Royal William – Part One   The London & Greenwich Railway opened for traffic in 1836. Built on approximately four miles of brick arched viaduct, it was the first Railway to serve the Capital. Royal William was L&G No.1, built by Charles Tayleur & Company to Stephenson’s ‘Planet’ design. Although there is a fairly well known tinted drawing of this locomotive, we are lucky to have a drawing from the Vulcan Foundry archives, which confirms (or othe
5&9Models

5&9Models

11
Bury Goods 0-4-0

Bury goods 0-4-0

This scratch build is something I have been wanting to do for years but have never quite plucked up the courage.   There are several 'sticking points' in modelling a bar framed Bury loco, the obvious one being the distinctive wheels. All Bury locos had them so unless you get those right you might as well not bother with the rest. Thankfully, a friend very kindly drew some up and 3D printed the centres to be fitted into Gibson tyres of the appropriate diameter. However, I found the prin

London & Croydon No.5 'London'

The London & Croydon Railway ran it's first trains in 1839, and typically for Railways of that period with no facilities to build it's own locomotives, the L & C turned to established engineering companies. Some of them, G & J Rennie for example had reputations forged in other industries but we're nevertheless keen to exploit the rapidly growing demand for engines to run on the newly created iron road.   Aside from a later locomotive Coryndon designed by John Chanter and built by P
5&9Models

5&9Models

11
Bodmer's balanced locomotive.

Bodmer's balanced locomotive in 4mm scale (or "Thank God that's over")!

I've finally completed my scratch built Bodmer single no.124 of the London & Brighton Railway. It's taken a year of blood sweat and tears, trying to be too clever and paying the price!   Details of the project have been promised to the HMRS in the form of an article for their Journal, so rather than spoil that I'll just deposit a couple of images here in the meantime.   Further details of this project can be found on a previous blog entry entitled 'Build a Bodmer Competit
Bricklayers Arms c1845

A complete whitewash

Jonathan enjoys his job at Bricklayers Arms. Usually he is gainfully employed tending to the bovine guests arriving at the cattle yard. He couldn't say for sure what happens to them once they leave the yard, but given the profusion of tanneries in he area we can be fairly certain it is a one way trip. He makes their lives as comfortable as he can whilst they are in his charge.     Occasionally there are sheep to manage but these are less rewarding owing to their irksome tend

SER 'Coffee Pot' No.126

Loco No.126 was made at Ashford in 1848 but was not completed until 1850. The engine was either started at Bricklayers Arms and finshed at Ashford or visa versa (I would be grateful for clarification if anybody knows better). Primarily used on line inspection duties, it remained in service until 1861 when it was sent to Redhill as a pumping engine, returning to Ashford in the early eighties where it was scrapped.   The 4mm scale model is very small, I've posed it with a contemporary goods wago
5&9Models

5&9Models

8
LSWR and LCDR goods stock

LSWR and LCDR in Bermondsey?!

Not that these two will ever run at Bricklayers Arms but by request I dug out the old Woodham Wagon Works masters for a LSWR open wagon and made a new mould to produce the kit again. It went together very well and makes a lovely sturdy wagon. Not convinced about my choice of dark brown but I don't think the lighting helped. I'm in the process of reviving two GER open wagon kits as well, 1870 and 1883 versions, but more of that later. The LCDR van or 'covered goods wagon' to give it its proper ti
Early Carriage Truck

An early carriage truck.

No drawings survive for these late 1830s carriage trucks but they frequently appear in contemporary illustrations and there are written accounts describing them together with references in company minute books. This one conforms to the dimensions given by Wishaw of a Grand Junction Railway carriage truck c.1837.   ‘The carriage trucks are each 13 feet 8 inches long, 7 feet 1-1/2 inches wide, and the sides 1-1/2 inches high; the weight being about 43 cwt., and the price £130.’  
5&9Models

5&9Models in Early Carriage Truck

8

Tonight I made a chair.

Once the children were safely tucked up in bed and with an unexpected hour to spare and not really fancying tackling anything big, I decided to make a chair. Scrap brass for the seat, a bit of wire, some solder and a lick of paint.  
5&9Models

5&9Models

7
Image restoration and a teaser...

Image restoration and a teaser...

Not realising that restoring the images to some of my blog entries would also shunt them to the front of the queue, I thought I'd best add something new to redress the balance.   Having sat to one side for some time patiently waiting for me to get 'other stuff' out of the way, my William Bridges Adams light locomotive has been lifted out of the box and steered towards a state of completion. At least the locomotive is almost there notwithstanding a few finishing jobs. It still lacks the
Bury Goods 0-4-0

Bury Goods loco, part the second.

Having tackled the frames and being happy with those, I turned my attention to the guts that are hopefully going to make this wee beestie move. A rummage through the ‘tray of delights’ resulted in a selection of gears as follows: one 38:1 worm and pinion (Ultrascale), one 10t spur and two 20t spurs (Branchlines). The first of these is just an idler, the second will be the fixed drive gear on the axle.   Today’s job was to drill and cut two gearbox sides ensuring everything was in t
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