Leaderboard

I've wanted to model a Great Western Railway wagon bearing the cast number plates for some time now, but have always been put off by the lack of commercially available plates. While I was exhibiting Sherton Abbas at the Telford O gauge Guild show I met Graham Beare (Western Star) and Chris Brown (Chrisbr) who had been doing research into which wagons carried the cast plates. Chris also mentioned that he was in the process of drawing artwork with a view to getting some 7mm scale plates etched in Nickel Silver. This was obviously exciting news, particularly so when Chris offered to etch me some plates for my proposed model! Graham sent me a photo of a prototype wagon, which I have used as a reference for my model. Prototype GWR four plank wagon with cast plates. Photograph provided by Graham Beare / Chris Brown from an image supplied by John Lewis (HMRS Steward), the original print is held by the National Archive. Slater's Plastikard, formerly Cooper Craft make a 7mm scale kit of a GWR four plank wagon, so one of these was purchased to form the basis of my model. Slater's Plastikard 7mm kit. Wagon number 10995 was fitted with the DC1X type brake gear during the period that I am modelling and I was keen to represent this on my model. The DC1X or cross cornered brakes are a modification of DC1 brakes and ensure the operating crank handle is always at the right hand end of the wagon. http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html I represented this feature using some brass wire for the cross shafts and pushrods, along with a few bits and pieces from my etched brass scrap box. Underside of wagon showing DC1X brake gear. Completed wagon ready for paint. The wagon was then painted using Humbrol enamel paint in the red livery that the GWR used prior to 1904. The exact colour is hard to quantify, but for what its worth I mix Humbrol number 100 and Humbrol number 70 as a base colour before weathering with black and grey washes. Painted and weathered wagon. The splendid etched plates have reproduced Chris's artwork beautifully, I must admit I'm delighted with them Etched plates The plates were painted and then glued to the wagon using 5 minute epoxy resin. Plates in situ I thought I'd finish this blog entry with a couple of pictures of the wagon in service on the layout It still needs to receive its load, which leads to a question I hope readers can answer for me. I'd like to model the wagon filled with timber joists/planks, but I'm sure I read somewhere that prior to WW 1 wood tended to be cut in local saw mills and usually wagons only contained uncut timber. If anyone can shed any light on this, or even better have a photo of a wagon circa 1905 carrying sawn timber, then I'd be delight to hear from them! Wagon in service Thanks again to Graham Beare and Chris Brown for their help with this project. Until next time! Best wishes Dave

I put up brief video of progress on Youtube. Lots of fun playing trains.... David

I have a Bachmann City class "Killarney" fitted with a YouChoos sound project and I love the wheezy, squeaky straining sounds that it makes, which seem to fit this venerable class of loco very well. However, the sound always had the unmistakable quality of coming from inside a thin plastic box. Last week I had a brainwave that would solve two problems at once: I could replace the awful moulded metal coal load with something that both looked better and that would transmit the sound better from the speaker, which is directly below it. My thinking was that there would be enough gaps between the big lumps of best Welsh loco coal to allow sound to pass through. So here's what I did today: 1. Remove the supplied coal load and use it to form an equivalent shape cut from insect screen mesh. 2. Cut a new aperture in the tender body under the coal load. 3. Test fit the new mesh 4. Glue loco coal to the mesh using Copydex. The first layer had to be done carefully to avoid clogging the mesh with glue. A couple of further layers were added mainly to fill in gaps in the first layer rather than to add depth. 5. Fit the new load. You can see daylight through it, which is exactly what we want! 6. Here she is back on the test track. I might need to fill gaps with more dabs of Copydex and more lumps of coal as I watch her over the next few days - but it looks reasonably convincing at first glance. (Maybe the tender is a bit overfilled?) I might also glue some lead inside the body to replace the lost weight of the original coal load. So there it is: A speaker grille made of coal! The sound is definitely clearer but still a little "plasticky" if I'm honest. Perhaps a bigger speaker would fit in the space...?

A previous blog entry described the building of these wagons http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1131/entry-21530-coal-wagons-for-sherton-abbas/ Once I’d finished building the four wagons they need painting. I’ve tried using acrylic paints in the past but still much prefer working using enamels. The insides were painted in a greyish yellow base coat to represent unpainted wood, this was then dry brushed in browns and gunmetal to represent wood grain. The under frames, internal strapping and solebar iron work were painted in matt black. A fine brush was used to tidy up the lettering which I’d damaged here and there during construction. Next time I’ll varnish the sides to seal them before building starts! Painted wagons In order to tone down the wagon’s paintwork I applied a dilute wash of dark grey over all the internal and external surfaces. Once dry this muted the colours nicely without masking them too much. I then dry brushed lighter greys and rust tones over the iron work to highlight the textures and bring out the detail in the under frame and internal strapping. Wagons after application of dilute grey wash Once everything had dried a wash of dilute black was applied inside the wagon to simulate coal dust and enhance the separation of the internal planking. A similar but more subtle wash was then applied to the external surfaces again to enhance the surface detail and planking. Wagons after dilute black wash A light application of coal dust and crushed coal was then brushed into the internal corners and planking of the wagons and fixed in place with a mist of aerosol clear matt varnish. Application of coal dust I use Spratt & Winkle couplings on my stock, which although not particularly aesthetic, do work reliably and allow hands free shunting. Before assembly I chemically blackened the brass components using Birchwood Casey "Brass Black", which stops the shiny brass couplings looking too obtrusive! Couplings Now the wagons are finished here are a few pictures of them in service on the layout:-) Lady Jayne emerging from the Abbey woods on the private siding after a delivery of coal to the brick works. Proceeding down the line into Sherton Abbas station. Waiting at the siding signal With the signal set to clear "Lady Jayne" can proceed across the double slip prior to pushing the wagons into the exchange siding. Placing the empty wagons into the exchange siding where they will be collected by the next pick up goods. I'm pleased with the way the wagons have turned out and feel that the extra effort involved in adding the internal planking and bolt heads has been worthwhile. It does however mean that I'm going to have to "revisit" some of my other wagons who are sadly lacking! :-) Until next time...... Best wishes Dave

The air temperature in Sherton Abbas has been plummeting over the last few days. A winter like this hasn't been seen since the mid 1890's when the Queen was still on the throne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_of_1894%E2%80%9395_in_the_United_Kingdom More snow has been forecast to fall this evening and reports are coming in of heavy drifting further North. Despite this bone chilling weather, passengers are arriving at the station in the hope that trains are still running and the line hasn't been closed! Sir Edward arrives at the station forecourt by carriage and is accompanied by his manservant Jenkins. As long as the train arrives, a luncheon engagement awaits at his club in St James's Street. Head Porter Wilfred Edwards braves the elements, but wishes he was back inside and sat by the fire. The waiting rooms in the station building are both full and some hardy souls have decided to await the train on the platform. Lets hope it arrives before frost bite sets in! The train finally draws into Sherton Abbas platform, pulled by a Metro class locomotive numbered 1500 While the passengers were settling themselves into the carriages, the locomotive has run around, coupled back onto the train and is now ready to return up the line through the snow covered landscape. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all!

As this is the first blog post dealing with the new Tweedale layout, I'll start with some background. 　 The space available for the new layout is a spare room which had long been earmarked for the proper serious layout that never materialised, and has meanwhile been used as a storeroom/workshop/shed. The size of the room is 11x11 feet, though the planned layout only takes up about 8x6 feet. Well I'm not a greedy boy. Actually it had more to do with leaving access to other fixtures in the room, but it's probably just as well my ambitions are constrained if I hope to finish this in my lifetime anyway. The diagram below shows the general set up... 　 The layout follows the general theme of the previous Mark 1 version. The place names are mostly the same and the line still takes a zigzag route up the dale (cunningly contrived so that I only need to detail and paint one side of the rolling stock). Although there is now more space, the stations will still need to be compressed and simplified to fit them in. 　 This is rather an ambitious scheme for me, having only ever had fairly small layouts in the past, and I'm still not sure how well I'll get on with such a monster. Maybe I am being a greedy boy after all. That remains to be seen, but for now the plan of campaign is to expand in stages with a modular approach, finishing off each section as I go. Then even if the layout is never completely finished, for whatever reason, at least what there is will be finished, if you see what I mean. The intention is to start with the area outlined in red above, and see how well I get on with that before committing myself to the rest. Here's a more detailed plan of that area... 　 The greatest concern here is time. The original layout took 6 years to complete, and at its largest extent occupied 12 square feet. This layout takes up 30 square feet. It follows then that short cuts and compromises will be needed in plenty if I want to get it finished in a reasonable time. 　 Analysing the construction of the former 4 foot long 'Tweedale Lite' extension showed that the baseboard, track laying, wiring and gadgetry took about 2 months to complete. That was the technical side of things, all logical and thus fairly straightforward. However the scenery, or arty side, was much more vague and took 2 years to finish. A major part of the strategy with this layout will be to cut down the scenics drastically. After all my main interest is operating the trains, and while its nice for them to run through enough scenery to give them a sense of place, I don't really need to build a whole world however tempting. 　 Rather than fill every square inch of baseboard with scenery, the intention is to model not much more than that within the boundary fence. The track and scenery will be confined to narrow boards that will be short enough to be worked on at a table, and can then just be fitted together on the flat baseboard top. The style I have in mind is something like that of the Totternhoe Mineral Railway layout which can be seen on Mr Arendt's website here. However I may not neccessarily immerse everything in black as done there. I'll experiment with different methods of presentation and lighting later, once I have one or two fully scenified track modules available to test it all against. 　 A start has been made on the first track board here... It's 2'6" long and represents the exchange sidings for the Upper Tweedale line. It has a 6mm ply top braced with 25x6mm strip. The track is Peco code 75 with short radius points. The edging has been tacked on temporarily just to hide the ugliness beneath, but the board will eventually be expanded outwards by an inch or two each side to accomodate some lineside scenery. I've roughly edited the image below to illustrate the idea. If at some future date I feel like adding more scenery I can always spread out further. 　 The baseboard supporting framework for this first phase is now almost complete, as shown below... So far I've managed to make use of timber I had around, much of which was salvaged from the remains of a pine double-bed frame (with all those handy 4'6" slats). It was such a useful source of timber that when the time comes to expand the layout, I'll probably pop down to the local charity furniture store and buy another, which should provide enough wood to complete the framework. Their beds sell for 25 to 30 pounds, which I reckon is a cheaper option than buying new timber from the DIY wharehouse, and I suspect its probably better quality wood as well. Cheers, Alan.

So far the only coaching stock that I've built to use on Sherton Abbas, are a rake of 4 wheeler's along with a solitary all 3rd bogie clerestory. To add a bit of variety to operating sessions I've decided to build some more passenger stock and thought I'd document their build in my blog. The Slater's kits comprise of really well moulded plastic components for the majority of the coach body, accompanied by lost wax castings for for detail parts. The coaches run on etched brass bogies, that incorporate individual sprung suspension for each wheel. The instructions suggest starting construction of the kit by building the etched brass bogies, so I tackled these first. The main frames are a simple fold up exercise, with the corners reinforced with solder. A little judicious filing was need on the etched brass cusped edges to enable the hornblocks to slide freely and then the wheels could be temporarily fitted to allow the set up of the brake shoes. Etched brass bogie fold up The brake gear was fitted with the wheels in situ and once happy that I had adequate clearances was soldered into position. Fitting the step supports was the final step in the bogie's construction involving heat, so once that had been completed the plastic components could be glued in position using 5 minute epoxy resin. Brake gear and leaf springs The bogie was then sprayed with acid etch primmer to ensure the paint would have a good adhesion to the brass. I don't like the idea of putting acid etch paint through my airbrush, so used an aerosol can from Autotek https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005JCRF8Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 which seemed to give excellent coverage without masking out any detail. Bogie after priming The hornblocks and wheels were then fitted back into position, along with the tiny coil springs that provide the bogie's suspension. Wheels and springs The bogies were then painted in their final colour with enamel paints. Painted Bogies Now the bogies are complete, I plan to make a start on the coach body. One of the advantages of a plastic kit is that the sides can be painted before assembly of the body. Painting complex liveries is so much easier if the sides can lay flat on the work bench! Until next time.... Best wishes Dave

(the following explanation is intended to help any new readers to find their way around this blog) Since I started this blog in 2013, I have used it as a diary to record my progress in creating a Victorian GWR branch line. Since the blog follows the meanderings of my mind, it has no real structure and this 'introduction' is, therefore, an attempt to help a new reader to find his/her way around. There are two main strands: firstly, the documenting of my exploration of the construction techniques needed to create 19th century locomotives and stock, of types that are not readily available. This includes descriptions of how I have constructed kits and also developed some 'scratch-building' methods, including home-made lettering and lining. The second strand describes the creation of a local scene, which includes the buildings and landscape features and, equally importantly, the personalities who determined what services were needed from a railway serving the local area. My 'train set' started many years ago as a Hornby Dublo layout for my then young son. The plan was taken directly from the Hornby Dublo Handbook of 2-Rail Track Formations (1st edition) and I added a narrow-gauge (009) section for additional interest. This has evolved into the plan shown below: Layout Plan with Vignettes A 'back story' has gradually evolved, in which my layout has come to represent North Leigh station on a never-built branch from the Cotswold main line towards Witney (planned in 1849 but never executed). This fictitious line diverged from the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway, near Stonesfield, and then headed southwards, through North Leigh, to Witney. 1849 Map showing unbuilt line to Witney My layout represents a junction, just outside North Leigh station, where the line from Witney emerges from one of several short tunnels along this hilly route, with a cut-off route towards Worcester, diverging through a narrow cutting, while the original Oxford line enters the station, where there is also a passing loop. Two sidings serve the local creamery and a cattle dock. The narrow gauge section represents an equally fictitious system, serving the local stone quarries and a saw-mill, which brings traffic to an interchange with the main line at North Leigh. As well as imagining the railway, I have also devised a number of local characters to populate the scene. There is a real manor house at Wilcote, with mediaeval origins, where I have created a fictitious Victorian family, including the Lord of the Manor: Sir John Wilcote, and his daughters Amy and Blanche, and (probably) a younger son: Charles. Other characters will no doubt appear as I establish further details of the scene. The 'contents list' at the right-hand side of the blog provides some guidance to the various topics that I have covered so far. Mike

Afternoon all, Here’s an update on progress since November. Unfortunately I didn’t feel like modelling for a while as I lost my Mum just before Christmas and small trains seemed irrelevant Following Christmas I wanted to start the year positive and my Mum always liked when I worked on the hobby so I decided to get cracking again. I realised that there was less than 6 months to the 2mmFS Diamond Jubilee in June and work deadlines are intense until Easter so it was unlikely my Treviscoe entry would be built in time, so have decided to try and finish Wenford. This was the same decision taken with Kyle and I was pleased to have done so as it’s good to try and complete something rather than have loads of projects on the go. The next task before I can commence the buildings is the concrete apron and ballasting. You may recall I did some tests last year and having had a few disasters previously in 2mmFS with DAS/ inset track I decided on using card for the inlays. The lines of the apron were drawn out and then 5mm foam board was used at the outer edges to define the line. 1mm white card from the studio workshop were then cut accordingly using templates drawn over the track with tracing paper. This proved to be as painful as I was expecting and involved much cutting, recutting and fruity language As per my previous mock up, I had decided to stop the apron a few mm short of the outer rail. This was twofold as I recall from previous discussions this was done to allow access to rail chairs and also I wanted to represent the crud/weeds that forms/grows between the two. The next painful part was to apply readymixed filler in between the card and outer rail making sure it was slightly lower than the rail edge. This was time consuming and took two weekends to complete. Once the apron was formed, including adding a few joints in the concrete (I might add a few more) I then closed off the outer edges with postcard to cover the foam board as well as give the impression of a monolithic slab cast. The whole area was then given a coat of some Wilko beige emulsion from a test pot as I would like to try and capture the creamy effect rather than just grey. Earlier today I gave the whole area a sanding with wet n dry and cleaned the paint off the rails. The Advantage of finishing the card infill just below the rail is so I don’t remove the surface when track cleaning. I have dry brushed in some weathering powders using grey, beige and black to begin to build up the appearance. This will be further added to and probably some white too given that it’s a China clay dries. To conclude the session, the 08 was test run to check clearances and profiles. Some minor tweaking ensued with the scalpel but overall it all ran fine so the next task will be the ballasting of the front road. Once the ballast and apron are done I can then commence the dries buildings at the rear. I have various stone, brick and block plastic sheets so I will start some tests beforehand...after all, I have a building some 2.2 metres in length to construct! A few pics showing progress... Card and foam board build ups... Almost flush with rail...but just set below... Cutting the awkward curved pieces...note this arrangement is formed as per the prototype... Infill to rail and card to represent crud... Google earth shot showing filler and effect I am trying to achieve... Infill and filler complete...tedious but necessary work... First board with initial weathering...second board with prior basecoat applied... Initial weathering of apron...this will be built up gradually... As always, comments welcome, Pete

I have finished the Austin A70 Countryman. Lovely kit from John Day but takes some time to paint. I’m pleased with the result. I have finished the diorama of The George Inn. The base of the diorama is 27 cm. I used some figures I had already painted and some I have used before. The story behind the diorama: The car belongs to Ernest Huntington. He is the current owner of Sweetman House in Littleworth. He has also a kennel with pointers. His wife is Julia Adderley. She is the sister of Andrew Adderley. Andrew Adderley is the owner of Adderley Glass Works in Northall. Adderley Glass Works - Nice Street in Northall His daughter Marian Adderley is visiting her uncle and aunt for a week during her summer holidays. Ernest Huntington is reading the new menu information next to the door of the George Inn. He has his favourite dog Fetch with him. She has a lot of energy and loves to play outside. For the base I have to thank my friend Nico. He is a frame worker and helped me to realise it. Suggestions, comments etc are welcome. Thanks for reading. Job

I built a new workshop next to my layout room. The layout is in the back of my big garage (1700 sq.foot), and I really needed a warm clean space to build models in.... This is how it looked on the 5th of January: I had new doors installed last year. Some of the lumber. New door to the workshop. I framed the walls with 2 x 4 lumber. The room will be 17' x 15'. OSB sheets over moisture barrier. Door installed and sheetrock finished. Walls painted and electrical work done. Floor painted with 2-part epoxy. The room in front is also getting there... Bench tops are installed on special wall brackets screwed to the wall studs. Storage shelves and work table. Special place for the Anycubic printer... Paint booth with filter. The 14' long workbench getting ready for work. I use LED armatures all over. LED tubes in the roof and LED strips over the workbenches. Thanks for watching. The project didn't take more than 3 weeks from start to finish.

Not finished. Road unimprovements needed for a start. Also chimney pots and TV aerials needed on most buildings.

In an interesting diversion from the Trains, Planes and Armour - I've discovered a liking for ships.. Building HMCS Snowberry for a client, I got quite interested in the Flower Class and purchased the 2018 tooling of HMS Buttercup by Revell... The Kit... Certainly not as many sprues and a lot less flash. The hull went together very quickly, no need for clamps! Painting the Hull & Deck(s) I used Vallejo Model Air paints (as per Snowberry), the colour scheme is quite different though! After giving the hull a clear gloss coat (Tamiya X-22) the decals were applied. Time to clean, paint, assemble and fit a few parts (predominately the rear depth charge racks).. Time for brief Cameo from HMCS Snowberry, alongside her little sister After a few semi-gloss coats of clear on the hull, more parts were cleaned up, painted & fitted to the stern of Buttercup.. More to come, however till next time... TTFN Toboldlygo or James