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Structures

GWR stables (2): Internet archaeology

I have a thing for GWR stable blocks.  The subject isn't systematically covered in the literature, so in a previous post I tried to obtain a tentative overview of the major types and styles. Since then I’ve been searching Britain from Above, Google street view and old online  maps looking for past and present traces of stable blocks. It's all a bit esoteric, but for what it's worth here is a selection of my favourite 'finds'.     Westbury     It's 1929 and a pl
Mikkel

Mikkel in Structures

133
Coaches & Browns

Slater's GWR dia. C10 clerestory coach

I’m building a Slaters kit for a  GWR bogie clerestory third to diagram C10. The coach is intended for a motley Edwardian stopping train consisting of a variety of carriage styles, as was common on the GWR in the 1900s. But first it will be used in a re-enactment of the 1911 railway strike, and is therefore in the 1908-1912 all brown livery (as yet un-lined).        This post summarizes the build.  It's a long post but I'm told the kits are due back on the market so perh
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Mikkel in Coaches & Browns

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Horse-drawn

GWR horse-drawn station bus

I’ve built a GWR horse-drawn station bus using a modified and detailed P&D Marsh kit.       A colourized postcard showing omnibuses in the station forecourt at Minehead. A perusal of period photos suggests that the outside seating wasn’t necessarily the last choice option – on sunny days at least!         The forecourt at Teignmouth. Lettering on the door shows the fare and “A. Harvey (?), Proprietor”. Many horse-drawn station bus services wer
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Mikkel in Horse-drawn

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Scenery

A pictorial record of horse manure

I’ve added a selection of horse droppings to the road and yard on “The Stables”.    Obviously, prototype research was needed first! Period photos from the 1890s-1930s often show droppings in the street, especially where horse-drawn carriages were regularly parked.   "Bicycle couriers with copies of the Manchester Guardian, which are being delivered to Euston station in London for circulation, circa 1920." Getty Images, embedding permitted.    Droppings can some
Mikkel

Mikkel in Scenery

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Scenery

A click-on scenic extension

I’ve made a detachable scenic extension for The Stables, using magnets. With this, the layout is more or less complete.       The extension module was knocked up from 10 mm foamboard. The aim was to portray a tree-lined street at the back of the layout. It had to be detachable so as to facilitate storage in our small flat.       The pavements were made in my usual way, flagstones lined out in pencil and later scribed with a round-nosed  awl.
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Mikkel in Scenery

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Misc.

Pre-grouping livery clippings

Here are a couple of PDF files that may be of interest to pre-grouping modellers.   The first document is an 1896 article from Moore's Monthly Magazine (later renamed "The Locomotive") on British pre-grouping liveries. It includes brief livery descriptions for a number of the railways (but not all).   MooresMonthlyLiveries.pdf     The second document is my personal selection of quotes and news items on GWR liveries and selected other liveries from the archives
Mikkel

Mikkel in Misc.

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Wagons

Powsides/Slaters Private Owner wagons

I wanted some Private Owners for Farthing, so have built a couple of Powsides kits, i.e. painted and pre-lettered Slaters kits. I opted for two Gloucester designs to RCH 1887 specifications, one a 5-plank side-door wagon, the other a 7-plank side- and end-door job.        I like the overall appearance, although TBH the small lettering isn’t quite up to current standards. Perhaps I was unlucky, they look fine on the website.       The kits have blank
Mikkel

Mikkel in Wagons

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Layout design

Fifth bite: The station building

I now have four small layouts in the Farthing series, each of which can be operated on my desk or the dining table. That should satisfy my daily operating needs for a while, allowing me to take on Farthing’s main station building and platforms.       For this I’m returning to the Newbury theme. When Newbury station was rebuilt during 1908-1910 four lines were laid, with loop lines along the Up and Down platforms and through lines in the center.      
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Mikkel in Layout design

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Wagons

GWR provender wagons

In 1884 the GWR centralized the provision of provender, so that every stable block on the system received a regular supply by rail from the provender store at Didcot, typically every 1-2 weeks. The supplies consisted of hay, chaff, straw bedding and sacks of feed. The feed included oats, beans and maize, either pre-mixed or separate.   The sizeable stable block at Farthing obviously needs a regular supply of feed and bedding, so two provender wagons have been made. I began with a diagr
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Mikkel in Wagons

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Undecided sky (1867)

More "out of period" operation here. This time going back in time quite a bit. In fact, it seems they didn't even have flush-glazing back then .     The year is 1867, and it is early days at Farthing station. Mr Crummles gently guides his wife towards the first class carriage, while Mr Doyce looks on in anticipation of the journey ahead.       Mrs Crummles is somewhat apprehensive. It is only a few months since that dreadful accident at Warrington,
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Mikkel

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Structures

The station building: Walls and gables

Here’s an update on Farthing’s main station building, modelled on the 1910 prototype at Newbury (see this post for details). This post summarizes work on the walls and gables. There have been other developments, will update on those later.   Although the structure at Newbury is still with us there have been numerous detail changes over the years. Above is a selection of those I have spotted. Most changes appear to have been made after the station was built, so I’m going wit
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Mikkel in Structures

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Stories

One morning long ago

One morning long ago, an 1854 class shunted the Old Yard at Farthing.         The crew were slightly bored. Nothing much ever happened in the Old Yard. Just a handful of sidings.     A carman (sic) watched them roll by, perched on his trolley (Birmingham pattern). The carmen at Farthing were famous for not using reins.          William Simmons was particularly skilled. Known as The Horse Whisperer, he worked with
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Mikkel in Stories

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Stories

Regrettable incident at 3 PM

Over the years I’ve gathered a small collection of anecdotes and photos that document quirky situations and customs on the real-life railway. The idea is to re-enact them in model form while the glue dries on other projects. The Slipper Boy story was one attempt at this, although admittedly that one got a bit out of hand!   Here’s another, simpler one.  First, the props:                        
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Mikkel in Stories

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Locos

A Pannier of mixed parentage - GWR 1854 PT (1)

I’m building an 1854 Pannier Tank for Farthing in ca. 1919 condition, using a modified Hornby 2721 body, a Bachmann 57xx chassis and various parts from SEF and Brassmasters. Pure it is not. The project has been described on occasion in my workbench thread, but in a fragmented manner. This post summarizes progress to date. Prepare for many close-ups of green plastic 🙂   Background     It's a bit of a nostalgia project. I wanted to do something with the old Hornby 27
Mikkel

Mikkel in Locos

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What really happened in the Cuban missile crisis

Farthing, 1904. With a rising sense of panic, Goods Porter E. Sparkler stared at the pigeon baskets he had just knocked over.         A lid had opened, and the pigeons were escaping.         The pigeons soon scattered around the goods yard.         They were white show pigeons, en route to a prestigious event at the London Philoperisteron Society.         One of the pigeons
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Mikkel

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Misc.

Copenhagen to Penzance by rail

Back in June I had some work to do in London. I live in Copenhagen, so a devious plan was hatched to extend the work trip with some time off for railways and family. I even managed to do a bit of research for the Farthing layouts.       I went by rail to London. It was 16 hours on 5 trains, but I enjoyed the views and got most of a day’s work done on the laptop.       Early departure from Copenhagen Central at 5.44. No rush to the airport hours befo
Mikkel

Mikkel in Misc.

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Locos

A Pannier of mixed parentage - GWR 1854 PT (2)

My 1854 class open cab Pannier Tank in ca. 1919 condition is now done. To recap, it’s a heavily modified Hornby 2721 body on a Bachmann 8750 chassis, using modified Finecast parts, Finney/Brassmasters fittings and various scratchbuilt items.  Here is a summary of the last part of the build (see this post for earlier steps).     The bunker uses modified Finecast sides. Plated coal rails from wire and styrene. DIY fire iron hooks, and lamp irons from a Brassmasters etch.
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Mikkel in Locos

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Horse-drawn

A Pantechnicon for Farthing

A horse-drawn furniture removal van has appeared at Farthing. The kit is a reborn Gem product, marketed under the John Day Models label alongside other re-introduced whitemetal ranges. It’s all run by Daryle Toney who is very helpful (no connection).       The main parts are a fair fit. As usual I used Loctite Gel to stick it together. Unlike most superglues it does not require a perfect join to bond well.       Some parts did require fettling.

GWR horse-drawn trolley

Here’s another horse-drawn vehicle for my goods depot, this time a scratchbuilt light trolley in the GWR’s “Birmingham” style. The model was built from styrene and bits in my spares box, with wheels bought in from Langley.   Drawings and photos suggest that there was a bewildering amount of detail variation within this basic type. I based my model on a drawing on page 241 of P. Kelley's "Great Western Road Vehicles", which was built in several lots. Another almost identical version can
Mikkel

Mikkel

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Locos

Backdating the Oxford Rail Dean Goods (2)

I thought it was about time that I finished my Dean Goods, so here it is virtually done.         It has taken an awfully long time to do, although in fairness it has been resting untouched for long periods while I worked on other projects.         The loco has the original twin flywheel Oxford mechanism that came with the lined pre-grouping version. Mine is a very smooth runner, which is why I found the project worthwhile in the first p
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Mikkel in Locos

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In the red: GWR 1900s wagon liveries

No, this is a not a post about my financial situation - though it could have been! This is about building and painting wagons for my goods depot layout , which is set in the period ca 1900-1908. For wagons this was a real transition period, with a diversity of styles, technical developments and liveries. So I’ve started a wagon building programme which tries to capture some of that variety. Here are some photos of developments so far.     First off was this 3 planker, which
Mikkel

Mikkel

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Stories

The Great Unrest: Modelling the 1911 railway strike

Here’s an attempt to reenact the 1911 railway strike in OO. The strike was an important but sometimes overlooked event in the social history of Britain's railways, and involved some very unusual scenes. The cameos are based on contemporary photos, but transposed to my own Farthing layouts.     1. The strike begins     “The Great Unrest” was a period of labour unrest during the years 1911-1914.        The period saw more industrial dispu
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Mikkel in Stories

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Misc.

Sprat & Winkle couplings

Shunter George "Bulldog" Mullins critically eyes stock fitted with Sprat & Winkle couplings. His shunter's pole is legendary among shunters for being rather crude!   The following notes on Sprat & Winkle couplings seemed to generate some interest when first posted over on gwr.org.uk, so perhaps they are of of use to someone here also. I have taken the opportunity to take some new and better photos for illustration.     Hooked   Although the latest
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Mikkel in Misc.

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Scenery

When in danger or in doubt... Progress on the fourth bite

When in danger or in doubt, get the model railway out. The fourth layout in the Farthing series is taking shape, a welcome relief from the lockdown blues.       Above is a reminder of the trackplan. So complicated that it broke Templot. Only very advanced modellers can do that.       A test piece to see what the new Peco Bullhead track is all about. I decided to give Peco a go as a change from handbuilt track. The chairs are wrong for GWR, wil
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Mikkel in Scenery

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Figures

Edwardian mischief - Modelu & Andrew Stadden figures

I’ve been painting 4mm figures. Here are some photos and platform scenes.     I wanted to find a better way of holding figures during painting. Above is the good old bluetack solution, straightforward and good for spraying, but it doesn’t hold the figures very firmly during brush painting.       Another well-known solution is wire in the legs. Useful for mounting on the layout, but not always an option, I find. Some 4mm shoes won’t take a drill well, and
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Mikkel in Figures

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