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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,
Mikkel

Mikkel

66
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.

49

A tall bird from Paddington

Here's a little scratch-building project that I'm working on in-between the coach painting. The prototypes were used extensively at Paddington Goods in the 1900s. A similar but more austere type was used at Hockley. I couldn't find any drawings, so the dimensions are guesstimates based on photos. The build was a real pleasure, especially sourcing the parts. I'll let the pictures explain the rest - gradually!                  
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Comparing track

A follow-up here to the track experiments in the previous entry.   A batch of Peco Code 75 has arrived, enabling a comparison of the four types of track seen above. Everything is OO, ie 16.5 mm gauge. The Timber Tracks panel is the GWR 44' 6" version for P4/EM, and it's interesting to note theslight narrow gauge look this track has when viewed directly above. This isn't C+L's fault of course, but a result of the slightly incorrect gauge.     But we don't ofte
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Mikkel

14

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
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Mikkel

51
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
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Mikkel in Structures

133

HO figures for an OO layout

Here's a brief illustrated write-up on my recent experiences with modified and detailed HO figures for Farthing.   My normal source of figures is to backdate OO whitemetal figures from Monty's and other ranges (see this separate blog entry). But this can be time consuming, and for pre-grouping modellers the options are limited. Like others before me I have therefore been attracted to the large German HO ranges, and especially Preiser who have a small series of figures from the Vi
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19
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

119

Painting coach panels

My coaches are brush-painted, and I have sometimes been asked how I paint the panels. This video shows it. Be warned though that this is one of those bodged (hopefully not botched!) techniques I seem to often end up using - there are definitely more "correct" ways of doing it!       Edit: A bit more info as a supplement to the video:   In my experience, there are four key factors that effect results of this technique:   (1) Using the right paint.
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14
Misc.

Signs, posters and adverts

Here's a selection of the signs, posters and adverts that I've used on "The bay" to help enhance the ambience.       The station sign for Farthing, summarizing the fictional geography of the old N&SR line. The sign is printed, a temporary measure that may become permanent now that the RMweb competition is tempting me to move on quickly to the next layout in the series. I intended to use Smiths 4mm and 2mm etched letters for the job, although testing suggested that it
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Mikkel in Misc.

42
Layout design

Shunting Puzzle

I've been working on the trackplan for the next Farthing layout, which will show part of a large GWR goods depot.       In order to improve the operating interest, I've decided to incorporate a shunting puzzle in the track plan. For anyone interested in shunting puzzles, I can recommend the excellent Model Railway Shunting Puzzles site, plus of course Carl Arendt's site. The simple plan above (not to scale) is an initial design, and may be revised. Any ideas for improvem
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Mikkel in Layout design

6
Structures

GWR stables (1): Towards an overview

The following are my notes on GWR stable blocks – a subject that does not seem to have received much attention. I am about to build one for Farthing, and have noticed various style differences that may be of interest to others.   Chipping Norton stables in 1983. Built 1904. Rebuilt with end doors to serve as a garage, but otherwise it features the main elements of the "archetype" standard design, ie "hit and miss" vents in windows and above doors, and those characteristic boxy roof ve
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Mikkel in Structures

35

4mm slate roofing

I've been looking at options for modelling the slate roof on the goods depot at Farthing. For what it's worth, here's a quick overview of the options considered. Above is one way of doing it: Lengths of thin card strips scribed vertically, and overlaid. I think this can give good results - in 4mm at least.         But thin card also has its drawbacks! I recently noticed that the roof on the parcels office at Farthing has buckled. Either the glue has simply let go,
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Mikkel

10

Experiments with C+L track

Time to get some track in place for The depot. For a pragmatic modeller like myself, it's easy to dismiss finescale track as something for the purists only. A little too easy, perhaps! With this in mind, I'm currently taking a closer look at some of the C+L track components. The idea is to see whether this sort of thing works for me, and how much it adds to the overall impression of the GWR in the 1900s. It's still OO, and so far only straight track, as that is all I need for the scenic part of
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Mikkel

20

Lesser known whitemetal figures

I've been exploring some of the smaller and lesser known 4mm whitemetal figure ranges recently. Here's a handful of photos showing a selection of some of them. These are cruel close-ups, but if we're concerned about the details of our stock, shouldn't we be equally concerned about whether the figures look right?     Above: This group of horse shunters are from the Geoff Stevens range, which features sets of railway staff that can be used together in little cameos. As evident
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Mikkel

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Coaches & Browns

Motley crew

After a tough spell at work it's been great to just run some stock back and forth today - no rules, no schedules, anything goes. Fortunately, GWR trains at the turn of the century lend themselves pretty well to that state of mind. A variety of stock, styles and liveries could be seen mixed together in the same train. Who said Great Western trains were all the same! Here are some examples as seen on Farthing.     Above we see the Westbury stopping train with a motley assembly
Mikkel

Mikkel in Coaches & Browns

19

GWR 5 ton horse-drawn wagon

There was a time when men were men and horses weren't lasagna. I’m currently building some horse-drawn vehicles for the little yard behind my goods depot. I began with Langley’s whitemetal kit for a GWR 5 ton wagon. This represents one of the standard designs often seen in photos from pre-grouping days, especially in the London division.   It should be said at once that it isn't a finescale kit - indeed it's a bit rough in places. But with a little work I thought it would be OK for a p
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34

3 plank Open in GWR red

The whitemetal wagon kits from David Geen have tempted me for many years, so I thought it was time I gave them a go.     I began with this round-ended 3-planker of 1881 vintage, for use in my “out of period” running sessions.       The good stuff! Nothing like a bit of research to start off a new kit. The round ends were not long-lived on the 3-plankers. From 1883 the GWR introduced square ends, and many of the existing round-ended wagons appear to
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44
Figures

Footplate crew

I've been on the lookout for 4mm pre-grouping drivers and firemen recently, but so far with limited success. Meanwhile, here's a couple of modified ones from IKB. For me, tiny projects like these are as much fun as the more substantial work.       The IKB fireman seen above is unusual in that, unlike 90% of 4mm firemen, he is not furiously shovelling! Unfortunately the mould lacks a bit of bulk, so I extended his girth using plastic putty. The nose was re-sculpted and th
Mikkel

Mikkel in Figures

21

GWR 1854 Class Saddle Tank (1)

I’m building a GWR 1854 class saddle tank in 1900s condition, using a modified and detailed South Eastern Finecast body kit on a Bachmann 8750 chassis. The build is also in my workbench thread, but that tends to be a rather meandering discussion, so this is a summary of the main steps without the diversions.     I bought the kit part-assembled, but a bath in hot water dissolved the glue and allowed me to break it down into its main components.      
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Mikkel

24
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
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Mikkel in Misc.

82
Stories

Blue skies and horse traffic

It is afternoon in the Overbourne bay at Farthing station. The all third "strengthener" rests in one of the sidings, while a worker from a local cartage company is lost in thought. The coach reveals that I'm still in the process of fitting couplings to some of the stock.       The regular branch engine No. 1961 of the "850" Class shunts a horsebox to diagram N5 into the horse dock. The horse seems nervous at the prospect of travelling inside a box on wheels. Perhaps in re
Mikkel

Mikkel in Stories

22

Andrew Stadden 4mm figures

Line dance, 4mm style. I’ve been painting some figures from Andrew Stadden’s excellent new 4mm range of Edwardian figures.       A group in primer, showing the detail of the figures.       Being pewter, the Stadden figures are a little harder to modify than whitemetal ones. It’s not impossible though. This gent had his bag removed…       … making him look more like a railway employee. I sometimes file the caps to repre
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Mikkel

32
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

78
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
Mikkel

Mikkel in Stories

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