When Hornby released their generic 4 and 6 wheeled coached I picked up a 6 wheeler to convert to an Engineer's Coach.
The coach was broken down into its component parts almost immediately.
I made a scratch built solebar footstep from a piece of Microstrip. This was held in place with brackets made from staples fixed into thd solebars.
The original Hornby footboards had their stays removed and holes drilled for strong piano wire in their
Eventually I've completed my take on Gloucester 85B resident 46526 using the excellent Bachmann model as a starting point.
The DMR chimney has bedded in nicely on the smokebox. Pacific Models provided the source of the smokebox door number plate. A Fox Transfers 85B shed code plate transfer was applied as well.
Usual weathering techniques using Tamiya NATO Black/Brown airbrushed for frame dirt. A dusting of NATO black was used on the boiler
Whilst searching for an Hornby Fowler 2-6-4 on eBay for a good friend I came across this Hornby Stanier 2-6-4. It was a reasonable price so I thought it would make a nice project. There were a few areas on the model I could see needed repairing.
When it arrived and I examined it it became clear the motion bracket was broken on one side. This resulted in some rather lumpy running.
The other area of note was on the fireman's side the cabside steps and the injector pipewor
After a few months my unlined 46468 is now ready for service.
Using the photograph I was made aware of by Jamie of this parish in the previous entry it would appear the engine was in a fairly clean condition. Here's the photo:
https://www.transporttreasury.com/p814816928/hbce61ac6
As a prototype it is quiet a useful engine as it covers two areas of interest.
46468 was originally a Cambridge 31A example so would more than likely worke
Over the Festive period I have managed to almost finish a number of current projects. More in the next few entries on these.
Yesterday I fired up the airbrush and started the weathering on 51235. This is a model of the Derby L&Y Pug borrowed by Wellingborough shed to help move some equipment from Finedon Ironstone Quarry in the 1950's.
Trusty Tamiya acrylics were airbrushed on. Satin black on the top the saddle tank and a mix of NATO Black\Brown for underframe dirt.
Now if you have a large piece of equipment to move you need to borrow a Pug no less.
According to Tonks in his Ironstone Quarries of the Midlands-Wellingborough Area book this was the case in the early 1950's when Wellingborough 15A borrowed a Derby 17A Pug to help move machinery from Finedon Ironstone Quarry to the Wellingborough exchange sidings for onward transfer to Blisworth Quarry near Northampton.
Due to the RTB Finedon Quarry system no longer having motive power
Richard of a Far North Line fame on here recently detailed a number of GBL static Black 5 models.
I must say I was inspired to have a go myself at a quick project. It's not all beer and Ivatt 2MTs on the 46444 workbench.
The GBL Black 5 is ultimately a copy of the Hornby Black 5. This was confirmed when a spare Hornby Black 5 fall plate literally fell into place when I fitted it.
With the GBL model I removed the cabside number wit
My workbench has a number of ongoing projects involving Bachmann Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0's which will appear in various future blog entries. Watch this space....
Reading and perusing the photographs of the excellent Volume 4B: Gloucester Midland Lines Part 3: South * by Neil Parkhouse the Dursley Branch has always held a fascination since I read Ben Ashworth's Last Days of Steam in Gloucestershire.
Now to me an Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 looks best in lined BR b
The Oxford N7 in my eyes is something of a bargain and Oxford have captured the look of these distinctive engines nicely.
It is representative of the N7/4 sub-class I believe so is only suitable for a small number of members of the class.
I wanted to model a Cambridge 31A example and discovered a number were allocated there in the mid-1950`s. Choosing an identity was made easier by finding a snap of 69620 at Cambridge Station in 1957.
One of the
This morning our Postie delivered a small package from the Bachmann Spares Department. Excellent service as ever.
Inside was the new tender chassis and coupling mounting block highlighted as damaged in the previous post.
Armed with a mug of Yorkshire Gold in a suitable receptacle with an Ivatt 2MT on it I set to work...
The smokebox door handle was replaced with a new brass Eileen's Emporium example. This was sprayed
We all need a another project to keep the modelling workbench busy don't we? Well in my case probably not..
However a perusal of eBay found a sorry looking LMS Ivatt 2MT described in 'As new condition'. My collection of Ivatt's never resembled the photos but I thought it was worth a punt for a cheap project.
On top of this I had a spare Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 detailing pack to help things along the way.
My 'As New' Ivatt arrived safely and here are some photos. Tha
My new Hornby LMS brake van in BR guise appeared in a previous blog entry.
As I mentioned then I felt the curved moulded rain strips were reminiscent of the old Airfix BR brake van kit. Prototype photos showed angled batons. Microstrip was used to make these.
The lower handrails were bowed so replaced with brass wire painted with Halfords white primer.
I painted the buffer beams bauxite to match the body. The veranda foot boards w
Over the past few days I've been able to almost complete the four Dapol 16T mineral wagons I've been working on.
If you remember I had removed the top doors from two of them in my earlier blog entry. Since then they were finished with Tamiya NATO brown and black.
Then using prototype photos from Paul Bartlett's excellent site I have been able to weather the quartet.
I have used my usual Vallejo acrylics for weathering. Dry brushing has given t
A while back I ordered 3 un-decorated GWR Fruit 'D' wagons from Dapol. As you've previously guessed I do like Dapol for a source of modelling projects.
I understand the bodyshell for the Fruit 'D' has a venerable past and there are some dimensional inaccuracies. However Dapol have breathed life into it with a new chassis. With this I feel it makes suitable layout NPCS vehicle offering a bit of variety.
These 3 have received Lanarkshire Model Supplies buffers an
I'm a bit of a Sentinel fan and possess a couple of the excellent Model Rail/Dapol examples.
However I was given a Sentinel in a rough state by a good friend who asked if I could breath some life back into it. He had previously acquired it in a box of old model railway stuff given to him.
With a bit of research I discovered it was an early Nu-cast example with a plastic body kit moulded by Ian Kirk. The chassis and buffer beams were cast white metal. It was attached to a
Another Dapol build from a 12T BR van body mated to a Parkside BR chassis. Buffers from LMS once more. It is awaiting its transfers from CCT once more.
It is shown with a previously built Dapol brake van modified to represent an LNER version.
The new Hornby LMS brake van is a lovely model. However my example had bowed lower handrails which I replaced with brass wire primed and painted white with Vallejo white.
Also I felt the chim
Bit more progression on my Dapol van body builds over the past few days.
Transfers have been sourced from the excellent range by John Isherwood at Cambridge Custom Transfers. They were sealed with Johnson's Kleer floor polish.
The tie bars are 1mm 'L' shaped brass strip from Eileen's Emporium.
Weathering so far as consisted of a wash of Valejo acrylics left to dry then wiped off with a damp cotton bud. Some d
A little bit of progress today on this build. I've replaced the top panel in the centre above the doors I removed on these two 16 Tonners. Suitable width plastic sheet was used for this. Trusty Micro-Strip then replaced the beading and door locking latches.
I've also tidied up the area around the bottom of the doors to try to look more prototypical. The kit doors are designed to open but in this case are glued shut.
Essentially other than the
Apologies to Steve Austin/The Six Million Dollar Man and reference to the cult 1970's TV programme.
Likewise BR started a rebuild programme of its venerable 16T mineral wagons later in their lives. This entailed new build body work and removal of the top flap door amongst other things.
For more indepth knowledge it's probably best to consult a suitable reference resource.
From my teenage years long before the likes of Parkside/Bachmann the Airfix 16T Mineral
With 009 goings on with Wadenhoe Road my OO builds have been put on the back burner. Hopefully this year will see a new OO gauge layout once more set in Northamptonshire with an iron stone theme.
Some of this stock I've had waiting around for getting the air brush fired up will no doubt make an appearance on the new layout.
Like many before the Dapol unfinished wagon body shells can be bought for less than £3. Mated with a suitable Parkside or Ratio chassis is a means o
A good friend of mine asked me to remove the factory weathering of his Hornby Railroad Crosti 9F. Having been a fireman at Wellingborough he actually worked on the prototypes and was none to complementary about them. Poor steaming and terrible visibility were mentioned. He also told the story of the Crosti 9F's being stored at the back of the shed and cannibalised for spares.
The Hornby model is a Railroad model from a few years ago. Yes it has it's faults but I actually like it and think t
The purchase of a copy of Last Days of Steam in Gloucestershire in the early 1990's bought about two things. One an enduring interest in the railways of the Royal Forest of Dean and secondly an introduction to the photographs of Ben Ashworth who captured the essence of the railways of the Forest on film.
PB151727 by Mark Branson, on Flickr
PB151731 by Mark Branson, on Flickr
Those who know the Forest will be familiar with the distinctive tank wagons from the Berry Wiggins company who
The railways around Cleveland and Darlington hold a certain fascination and here are two 1950's Darlington 51A allocated locos.
Firstly 46472 which started life as a cheap unused LMS version from eBay. The factory printed lettering was removed from the tender/cab sides with the aid of enamel thinners and gently rubbing with a cotton bud.
46472 being a Darlington built example which was fitted with a tall chimney. Comet used to do one of these but are currently out of stock. Brian at 247
Hornby excelled themselves when they introduced the Gresley/Thompson surburban coaches. I've a number of these and have just recently finished weathering a Gresley brake and composite as well as a Thompson brake.
I used the T-Cut method of applying the cutting paste then wiping off with cotton buds gently buffing to a sheen. Then a watery wash of Valejo German/Grey/Dark Earth was allowed to partially dry before once more being wiped off with cotton buds.
The sides we
Hornby's J15 is a superb model and in my eyes captures the feel of the prototype nicely. Yes there are a few errors but it has filled an important void in my fleet. Sadly Hornby over produced these new models resulting in bargains to be had for less than £70 in some instances from the usual sources.
These three represent J15's found working on the Cambridge-Kettering line in the 1950's. 65390/65461 were renumbered with Fox decals whilst 65475 is pure Hornby. They are finished in my usua
