Wenlock's Blog

8 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

 

The bible says, in plate 349, of a nondescript open photographed in 1894: "Letters and figures on the plates were picked out in white on a grey background."  [my italics]

 

Looking at the b&w header pic here of 10995, and I accept one surface is metal and the other is wood, but there is a distinct difference in tonal value between the body and the cast plate background. This tonal difference is borne out in plates 25 and 26, opens with presumably red bodies.

 

Hmmm.

 

 

Hmmm indeed!  Oh for a colour photograph, or a time machine  For what it’s worth I think a red wagon with grey plates looks a bit odd, but exactly what bearing that has on the matter is another question!  

Hmm. 

 

Looking at the two prototype pics of 10995. Door spring plates. Square and second plank on one side, round and mid planks on the other. 

 

So, new door ? Door from a different wagon ? Who knows, but worth noting perhaps. 

 

 

 

 

 

On 27/02/2020 at 15:29, Anotheran said:

By way of experiment, in a very unscientific way, I looked at the header picture of the completed model, with its red plates, and converted to greyscale, no other processing at all.

 

 

To me the plates now look to have a darker tone! In this case I think it's just an optical illusion caused by the presence of the lighter border to the plates and the white GWR lettering. Proves nothing other than colour is both subjective, and very difficult to nail down in monochrome!

 

Just to follow up on that: Below is (left) grey plates on red body converted to black and white, and (right) red plates on red body converted to black and white. Usual caveats apply, but hard to tell the difference I think.

 

 

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Mikkel

Hi Wenlock, 

 

I noticed that you’ve not used the buffers supplied with the kit - do you mind if I ask please what you replaced them with? 
 

I have one of these on the go at the moment and I’m not a fan of the springing method of the buffers supplied by Slaters with the kit so looking to replace with ones like you have fitted. GWR isn’t my usual forte so I’m a bit out of my depth with what is suitable! 
 

Cheers,

 

Neil

The square bang plates on the second plank of the door evidently weren't the best idea - looking closely at the prototype photo, that plank can be seen to be bent inwards. I'm fairly sure that all the other photos I've seen of 4-plank wagons with bang plates have them straddling the second and third planks - thereby spreading the force. This seems to have been forgotten by the time the O2/O10s and O9s were built, judging by the small number of photos I have - round bang plates on the 4th plank up.

 

On the 4-plank wagons, round bang plates seem to have been used when the doorstops were close together (as on 10995) and square ones when they are further apart. Of course a great many in the Edwardian period were as they were built, without doorstops and just a single bang plate on the top of the door on the brake side, per your 44321.

Edited August 3, 2020 by Compound2632

13 hours ago, NeilHB said:

Hi Wenlock, 

 

I noticed that you’ve not used the buffers supplied with the kit - do you mind if I ask please what you replaced them with? 
 

I have one of these on the go at the moment and I’m not a fan of the springing method of the buffers supplied by Slaters with the kit so looking to replace with ones like you have fitted. GWR isn’t my usual forte so I’m a bit out of my depth with what is suitable! 
 

Cheers,

 

Neil

Hi Neil,

 

The buffers are the Slaters ones included in the kit!  I chemically blacken the brass parts before assembly, but that apart the buffers are as supplied.  

 

BW

 

Dave

Hi Dave, 

 

Thanks for that. Very strange as the ones with my kit are a completely different design to yours! 
 

 

 

It’s similar to what Slaters use for their coach kits and I just can’t get on with them so they get replaced with what I would term your traditional sprung buffer with the spring contained within the buffer guide and a captive nut on the end of the buffer ram. 
 

BW,

 

Neil

Hi again Neil, how strange, you would think they were all the same!

 

I guess you could always buy these from Slaters, which are the ones included in my kit!

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

Dave,

 

What you have shown as the Slater's product and as fitted to your model is derived from the Slater's GWR Cattle Wagon kit...  and hence are "long" buffers, too long for a simple four plank wagon.  Chris Brown and I have access to parts of the GWR forging catalogue and our info includes the forging for the shorter wagon buffer - we provided that drawing to Slater's Plastikard last year and asked David White to produce a 7mm equivalent buffer stock / buffer ram with the spring internal to the stock (as per the typical POW models).  I understand from David that the product is available now.

 

regards, Graham

Thanks Dave and Graham. 

 

Graham - don't suppose you know the Slater's product code at all please? Can't see any other than the ones that Dave's posted above listed on their website currently. 

 

BW, 

Neil

17 minutes ago, NeilHB said:

Graham - don't suppose you know the Slater's product code at all please? Can't see any other than the ones that Dave's posted above listed on their website currently.

I do not know the order code....  David told me that the new buffer stocks were available when I spoke to him last month.

On 25/02/2020 at 21:32, Tricky said:

Very well done as ever Dave. From my limited knowledge of all things GW I usually have to take my cue from you as we model the same era - so I might copy you again! 

On your question of plank loads I know an extremely realistic and reliable source of accurately machined maple ‘planks’ to any size you should require...!

On the subject of plank loads, timber was imported in large quantities into the UK from Scandinavia from way back. From the 1820s it was realized that to maximize the ships loads, timber sawn into planks could be stowed more economically than in log form. Surrey Docks in London had huge timber wharves and the ships cargoes were off-loaded plank by plank by 'deal porters' who carried lengthy planks from ship to the timber stores on their back. There is a sculpture showing the method in the dock area today. http://www.ipernity.com/doc/philsutters/25874997

The SDJR's Highbridge Wharf had a substantial timber import trade from the 19th century until WW2. In Chris Handley's 'The Maritime Activities of the S&DR' John Bland's timber yard can be seen around 1900 with great stacks of sawn timber stored under sheets in the open. Their large timber sheds and saw mills reached the height of their business between the wars. I have only found one photo of a train laden with timber planks in 1924, there on the Wharf, but they must have been transporting the imports away by rail from the 19th century. So to suggest that only raw, unsawn timber was transported prior to 1905 seems unlikely, if timber was being imported in planks well before that.

Edited August 3, 2020 by phil_sutters