I am still beavering away on building locos for the layout when I should really be building the layout! The Black 5 is a converted Hornby model built by my late friend Colin Wrangles. I have renumbered it as one of the two fitted with double chimmneys and fitted a double chimmney. The standard front bogie is not very good so am in the process of building a Mosokits bogie (thanks to Robin Whittle for the suggestion) still needs weathering and the tender converting to a part welded one.
The C
Have finally got round to finihing a few more pre group wagons. The LNWR Brake van is a London Road models kit. This has used up nearly all my HMRS LNWR diamonds, I have enogh left for 2 more wagons but I have 6 wagons to finish! The HMRS has been out of stock of this transfer sheet for months and seem not ba able to find a printer to make some more. Coast Line Models do a sheet of diamonds but they are noticably bigger than either the HMRS ones or the Ratio wagons ones. I have lettered the brak
The remaining 2 panniers are Bachmann bodies with Comet chassis, one with a Portescap motor and one with a Branchlines gearbox. The issue with fitting a scale chassis under the Bachmann body is there is no boiler bottom as on the Bachmann chassis this is part of the chassis. I have made up a boiler botton for 9774 but remains a job for 5712. 5712 is also an early style cab. I have a High Level chassis to build so this may well end up as one the Panniers sold to the NCB such 7754 and painted bri
I now have a collection of 4 Pannier tanks, all of which were at one time allocated to Wellington and would regularly work down to Trench sidings and beyond with pick up freights.
9630 has an interesting heritage, being a Korean brass loco built by Samhongsa and comes with sprung hornblocks. I bought it for £25.00 out of a box under a traders stand with a very poor paint job. I think the trader thoiught it was a backmann one, hence the chaep price. Now converted to P4 (by my friend Tony She
I recently bought in a Bachmann Pannier tank which had been converted to P4 using Ultrascale wheels. The paint scheme was not good so I stripped, repainted, renumbered (to 4693) to one of Wellingtons allocation. Just needs some light weathering. I was surprised how well the standard Bachmann chassis runs. This now brings my fleet of Wellingtons panniers up to 4.
I have made some progress with the *F, some details added (smokebox door handle, whistle etc) and have now painted and numbered it. Still a little work to do (glaze cab, fit rear steps etc).
I have also been workingh on some Pre group wagons, all Cambrian Models. The transfers for the Hanwood wagon are from Coast Line Models and the Cam Rys are from the Welsh Research Group. I commissioned the Lilleshall ones from Alan Jones at Coast Line models and they are now generally avaliable.
This loco, allocated to Stafford shed and will be numbered 48755 had a Fowler tender so it will be a little different from my other 8F.
This model is well travelled and must be the ultimate in collaborative modelling. My friend David Borman built the chassis (Comet) and tender (Brassmasters) . Dave Holt detailed under the cab and modified the front pony truck. I then fitted balance weights to the drivers and the cylinder drain cocks (both Brassmasters) before painting the chassis. The body
I have always liked the re built Scots and currently have one partly built Brassmasters one. At last years Scaleforum I had the chance to buy a completed Brassmasters one which was well built and a good runner. The problem was it was painted in LMS 1947 livery ( as 46115 Scots Guardsman) and therefore out of period for me. However a re paint has now been done and the loco renamed and numbered, followed by a light weathering. Why 46148, well I saw it on the Stafford to Wellington line and was pu
A few more wagons for the layout. The 2 Cambrain wqagons are Cambrian Models kits. I think the grey I have used is a little to dark, but I had painted them a lighter shade but putting on some Klear to reduce the shadow of the waterlside transfer has darkened the colour. The LNWR Ballast wagons are Ratio.
. These are the last 2 of a batch of pre grouping wagons built in the last few weeks. I posted a request elsewhere on RMWeb about loads for single plank wagons and got some interesting replies. The BR wagons have been hanging around for months in the nearly finished state so I have had a finishing purge and these are the result. Mostly Parkside (what would do without this range!)
David
I have been progressing some more pre group wagons, with these 3 just completed and weathered.
I have also repainted and re numbered a Brassmaster G2 that I bought in a few months ago, bringing my fleet of these up to 2. This was the first kit that I and Jim Barnes developed to start the Brassmasters range. I have a prtially built one to complete as well. I was going to number it as one of Staffords locos but this has been built with the sand fillers on the cabsides and none of the Stafford
For those that have known me for many years know that I have always had an interest in the LNWR and some years ago I was the newsletter editor for the LNWR Society. I have now decided to have a pregroup period for the layout (freight only!) and have over the past few weeks built 8 LNWR wagons, all from ratio kits. I have also added a few GWR wagons as the Lilleshall Co who had many pits in the area supplied loco coal to the GWR, Cambrian and North Staffs. A few more wagons are waiting to be b
I recently purchased on ebay a Hattons (Heljan) Class 14 complete with a set of Ultrascale P4 wheels and DCC chip. The plan is to fit a set of Brassmasters coupling rods and do some weathering. Always liked these since I saw a row of them at Cardiff Canton shed in 1967. I have no excuse for one of these but Rule 1 applies!
David
Over the last couple of months I have been busy painting and linning, both for my own models and for other people. Attached is the current status of a Brassmaster Unrebuilt Patriot, (built by Len Cattley). This is a model of one of Nuneatons Patriots which were seen in 1961/2. I have always like the prototype so a model was a must have. Still some work to do, the footplate valance wants linning out and it then needs weathering and couplings, buffer etc adding. The linning is Fox transfers.
Whilst I am currently painting and linning out Dave Holts excellent Caprotti Cl 5 I have been painting some of my own stuff, including this Bachmann Class 40. The body was built for me by Dave Room has Bachmann noses fitted to a Lima middle section. It has been sitting around unpainted for a few years so I thought I had better get on and finish it. Still nees weathering before I put the glazing in last.
I intend to use the loco on Trench Sidings and it has already had P4 wheels fitted. Th
This loco from Oxford Rail was to nice not to buy! It arrived in a NCB Blue (as per Littleton Colliery) but I did not like the colour so I have repainted as per the demonstrator from Yorkshire Engine Co. My plan is to convert to P4 and use on Trench Sidings, the fiction being that BR is trialing the loco at Trench (the reality was it was trialled by BR in the Sheffield area).
I thought I would post a couple of prototype photos and then my model version. The Fowler 2-6-4 tanks from Stafford were regulars on the passenger trains and sometimes on freight. here is a J B Buckley photo of 42389 at Stafford shed. This is followed by my P4 version based on a GEM kit, this was one of the last "new" models offered by GEM before George Mellor sold the business.
Th next photo is of the model of 46519 which I photographed leaving the MOD depot at Donnington with a pick up f
I recently (last week at S4 North) aquired an MPD 3F built in P4 and fitted with a sound chip from Digitrainsound Zimo specifically for a 3F with a sound file by Paul Chetter. Now whilst I have DCC/sound for most of my diesels I have never been impressed by the sound chips for steam locos, untill now! I was blown away by the sound and that when you turn of the power the loco coasts (no chuffing) before coming to a stop. I had considered just running the layout in Dc for the steam era and DCC f
This is an official LNWR track plan showing the interchange sidings and the line down to the various Iron works. The need for a small 0-4-0 tank loco was the presence of a weighbridge just after the line crosses the main road and this had a weight limit. The only change I have made to the track plan is to add in another siding parallel to the one marked for the Lilleshall Company. This will allow me more shunting movements on the layout.
Photographing the rolling stock for this blog has made me rethink all the wagons that i have built. I have tended to just build things that interest me rather than thinkinging hard about what is appropriate. The wagons here fit clearly into my proposed traffic patterns but I notice Midland Mole has actualy sat down and worked out the rolling stock for each of his trains(along with the loco hauling it). This to me seems an eminantly sensible way to procedd so I will be making a start on this proc
I managed not to add the photo of the little Bagnal I mentioned in the previous entry!
I am also building a North British 0-4-0 Deisel (D29xx) from a Judith Edge Kit, but this is far from finished.
Because I saw the Granville Colliery stud of Austerity 0-6-0s I have also built one of these froma Brassmasters kit (now no longer avaliable). Just needs a Cab number and weathering.
It has taken me a long time to realise that although i enjoy building large locomotives the real need for the layout is for shunting locomotives. I also have an interest in Industrial locomotives and used to go and watch the NCB locos hauling loaded coal trains into the exchange sidings at Donnington a few miles from Trench. I have already mentioned the ex GW Pannier tanks but I have also built some other shunters, the first two being some converted 08 diesels from Bachmann. These are fitted wit
The pointwork for the layout was made by Tony Wilkins some time ago but everything went on hold as I built a new garage. The main section of pointwork was made in one peice and I have attemted to lay this, first soldering on wire droppers (tinned coper wire) but have now hit a problem. There are so many droppers that I cant find a way to get them all into the holes I have drilled in the baseboard! The first photo is of the pointwork before I added the droppers.
The second photo is the under
I realised that the track plan that I posted at the start of this blog was not very clear so here is a better version taken from Track Layouts Sec 32 East Shropshire by R A Cooke. This is an excellent series of track layouts and recommended. The part I am covering is the section top left of the diagram but it also shows why there was a loco shed at the junction.
Originally the line diverging from the main line not only served a number of Iron Works near the junction but continued for a
The only buildings on the layout are the loco shed and signal box here are 3 photos of the loco shed. These are the only photos I could find. The resident loco up to 1943 was an ex Caley 0-4-0 but when this was away for repair etc an ex L&Y Pug was used.
I dont have a model of either of the 2 resident locos, but after the formaytion of BR the responsiblility for shunting the yard passed to Wellington, and the usual shunter was a Pannier tank (of which I have modelled 3 of Wellingtons l
