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wenlock

Entry posted by wenlock

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I had a very enjoyable time at the Telford 0 gauge Guild show and amongst the bits and pieces that I bought for the layout were some rather nice buffer stop kits. Ragstone Models produce some lovely looking castings that once assembled make a variety of buffer stops from different railway companies, they also produce some very nice water cranes:-) Before I can finish ballasting my layout the buffer stops need to be installed in position, so a start was made on building the kits.

 

Ragstone models GWR bufferstop kit

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The kit comprises of some very crisp white metal castings that need very little cleaning up before assembly can take place.

 

Kit components

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The kit allows for the inner check rails to be positioned to suit different clearances and back to back dimensions. Once the inner and outer rails were fixed in position using cyanoacrylate, the two sides were positioned on top of the sleepers. C&L plastic chairs were cut in half and Butanone was used to adhere the chairs to the wooden sleepers.

 

Sides in situ on the sleepers

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The buffer beam is also made from white metal and would obviously cause an electrical short unless a method of insulation is employed. The kit instructions suggest using pieces of plastic card to provide the required insulation, so squares of 10 thou plastic card were cut out and glued into position.

 

Plasticard insulation in position

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The buffer beam was glued in position using 5 minute epoxy resin and then the track was was tested to make sure I hadn't caused a short!

 

Buffer beam in position

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Once I was happy that everything still worked I painted the buffer stop with Humbrol enamels and then ballasted the track.

 

Completed buffer beam

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Well that's the latest progress on the layout. I've still got three more buffer beam kits to install on the layout, but before I go any further I've got a few questions that I hope you chaps can answer :-)

 

The instructions mention that the buffer beam was sometimes painted red or white. What colour would the GWR have painted the beam in the Edwardian era?

 

Although the kit provides a metal buffer beam, could I replace this with a wooden sleeper on other examples on the layout to provide a bit of variety?

 

What colour would a wooden buffer beam be circa 1905?

 

Should the buffer beam have a lamp on top?

 

I hope you can help with my queries!

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

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Ian Smith

Dave,

Very nice.  Did you really need to insulate the beam though?  The reason I ask is that it looks like the running rails with the checks alongside are separate to the main siding anyway (as indicated by the added fishplates)  Obviously if an engine went right up the to the stop block then a short would ensue but are you likely to run an engine that close to the stop block?  But I suppose for security it's a good idea!

 

Anyway, that aside, I will be interested to see what responses you get to the colour of the beam and positioning of a lamp.  

 

Personally, I did intend painting my beams red (with paint removed where buffers would strike the beam), but I was also only going to have wooden beams on my stop blocks which I will probably make as wooden ones anyway (I do have baulk road and I don't remember seeing any rail built stop blocks with baulk road track work).  As for lamps, my assumption has always been that they would only have been fitted if some reason dictated it rather than on every stop block (I may be very wrong), but I can imagine that one may be fitted at the end of a refuge siding or long headshunt but for sidings within the station area where a shunter might be directing the movement I would imagine that it would be superfluous.  Just my opinion, and probably completely wrong which is why I look forward to seeing any responses you get from those more knowledgeable than me.

 

Ian

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wenlock
  • RMweb Gold

Hi Ian,

 

Insulating the beam probably was a bit belt and braces, but better safe than sorry!

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the buffer beam material, use of lamp and colour, hopefully others will join in and we'll get some kind of consensus:-)

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

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Donw
  • RMweb Gold

Not being old enough to remember the 1900s I cannot be sure. In fact I cannot be certain because I do not remember seeing lamps on buffer stops in goods yards at all. Did I just fail to see them or am I right they weren't there. Now there may have been a lamp on top of the puffers at Paddington I was usually to busy admiring the loco that had just brought the train in. Perhaps lamps were used on passenger lines and not sidings this is conjecture but makes sense to me.

As for the colour those at Paddington or the bays at Reading I am fairly sure were red. In the goods yards I seem to remember some being just wood but it could be they hadn't been painted for a long time. Not being at home I couldn't look through any of my reference books and a quick trawl of the net mostly picked up small shots of pictures for sale and none had a clear shot of the buffers. Few took the trouble to photograph buffers in the past.

Any what you have done looks good.

Don

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wenlock
  • RMweb Gold

Hi Don,

 

Red does sound as if it's the most likely colour, but as you say trying to find a clear picture of an Edwardian buffer beam isn't easy! It always amazes me how this fascinating hobby of ours throws up all kinds of esoteric questions:-)

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

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wenlock
  • RMweb Gold
Nice. Close to the wing wall, though!

 

Thanks Simon:-). You're quite right it is a bit of a squeeze!

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