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  1. 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. This is the front of the van. I filed the sides a bit and shortened the supporting bracket. Coming together. It’s quite a beast. If Wikipedia is to be trusted, Pantechnicons ranged from 12-18 ft in length. That’s 49-72 mms in 1:76 scale. The kit is 67 mms long. It’s also quite tall, more so than the common types seen in photos. For some reason the parts for the end section get in the way of each other, so required a bit of work. First the brackets on the end panels were shortened, using the “Salami method”. The lower floor casting doesn’t line up with the end panels. The instructions suggest shortening the panels, but after consulting prototype photos I chose instead to saw off bits of the floor casting itself. This allowed everything to line up nicely, with a section of styrene employed as gap filler. I then entombed the ghost of Mrs X in the van. Mother of a childhood classmate, she once tore into me for spilling cocoa on her sofa. It wasn’t my fault, her son pushed me, but she wouldn’t listen. I hereby condemn her to travel forever in this empty furniture van, with not even a pillow to sit on. Two padlocks seal her fate. Goodbye Mrs X, nobody messes with a railway modeller. I couldn’t find room to fit the rear springs properly, so cut a notch in them for the axle. You can’t see the dodge once the wheels are on. I would have preferred slimmer wheels but couldn’t find appropriate replacements. Filing the spokes rarely leads to good results, so I’ll live with it. A simple piece of plastikard prevents the fore-carriage from dropping off, while still being free to rotate. The driver’s seat was filed to a more discrete size. Judging by preserved Pantechnicons, it was actually more common for the driver to sit on the roof, but I did find one or two photos with a lower seat. Bits of 0.45mm wire were added for arm rests and supports. The foot-rest was raised a bit to match the driver. Forgot to scribe it but managed it later. The shafts are fitted with bits of wire, which plug into holes in the fore-carriage. The horse is included in the kit. The driver is a seated passenger from Andrew Stadden’s range. At this point I was confronted by a delegation from United British Draught-horses for Liberty and Equine Defence (UNBRIDLED). They informed me in no uncertain neighs that a large Pantechnicon requires at least two horses. So I hastily fashioned a two-horse drawbar... ...and ordered a couple of Shire horses from Dart Castings. Fearing further industrial action, I added some steps and grab handles for the driver. Then primed the whole thing. Next, the livery. The prototypes were often extensively lettered. And colourful. I normally go for subdued colours, but it’s been a dreary winter and I felt like a bit of Rock & Roll, so took inspiration from this striking example. I spent some time drawing up various designs in Microsoft Word, which has more options for sizing and spacing text than is at first apparent. The curves were made to fit by importing a photo of the model into Inkscape, drawing the appropriate curves and then copying the shapes back into Word. I printed selected designs on paper, sprayed them with matt primer to protect the colours, and cut them with a fresh blade. Paper is of course a bit crude compared to DIY transfers, but it’s straightforward and you can test designs directly on the model. @kirtleypete has even used it for locos. The van was painted yellow and black, and the paper then mounted with a thin layer of lightly diluted PVA. Final details included a driver’s handwheel for the brakes, plus tarps, rope and other rooftop clutter. I added some chains from Cambrian Models and finished off with MIG weathering powders. The odd-looking loading flap is prototypical, if rather chunky. I also fitted chains to the Shire horses, mounted with a wire loop drilled into the harness. Looks like the Oryx wants in on their gig, probably an agent from DISRUPT (Dissident Ruminants for Progressive Transport). As usual, there are no reins. My layouts are set up and dismantled all the time, so the normal solutions – e.g. fuse wire - are just not practical. What I need is something thin yet robust enough to fit quickly with a pair of tweezers. Ideas welcome. As you can see, Bailey & Sons’ strategy was to locate their offices at railheads along the Berks & Hants line. This worked well and the company grew to become one of the major removal firms in the area. Yet for Mr Bailey, Senior - lover of all things yellow – it was a source of constant irritation that his horses didn’t match his vans. Eventually Mr Bailey proposed to dye the horses yellow. But his sons - brought up in a sickening sea of yellow - finally rebelled and said no, father, enough now.
    78 points
  2. Brunel’s great arched roof is to many people the epitome of Paddington Station but this was not built until 1854. The passengers who first travelled on the line from Paddington to Maidenhead, which opened on 4th June 1838, started their journey from a far less imposing structure – little more than a collection of wooden sheds. A London terminus for the GWR was needed in a hurry, after negotiations with the London & Birmingham Railway for a joint terminus at Euston broke down. With the line to Maidenhead almost ready, the GWR Directors desperately needed to start generating passenger revenue and, since authorisation for a route into Paddington was only agreed by Parliament on 3rd July 1837, there was no time for grand designs! A quick solution was to build the station offices into the arches of the new Bishop’s Road Bridge and provide simple wooden platforms to the West of this bridge. Goods facilities were established on the other side of the bridge, alongside the Forecourt from where passengers entered the booking office, under one of the arches. The great artist of early railways, J.C.Bourne, produced a lithograph of this façade of the station. I have annotated the locations of the passenger facilities on his illustration, as shown below: Paddington Station 1843 by J.C.Bourne (colourised Mike Flemming) I have not found any early illustrations of the layout of the platforms beyond the bridge but there are several early drawings, mostly in poor condition, that provide plans of the tracks and platforms, as well as details of the platform canopies. A selection of these drawings is available on-line, in the ‘Historical Engineering Collection’ of the Network Rail Corporate Archive (NRCA). 3D Station Drawing I decided, as an experiment, to see whether I could use ‘Fusion 360’ to create an impression of the original station by using the techniques of extruding from drawings, just as I have done for my models of rolling stock. The NRCA drawings include sketches of various alternative proposals, from which I chose the plan view in NRCA161183 as a suitable base from which to create a 3D model. First of all, I had to digitally ‘clean’ the original drawing to create my working version, shown below. My annotated ‘working copy’ from NRCA161183 There are many features of the track-work that seem strange to modern eyes. Note, in particular, the widespread use of wagon turntables and traversers for moving the small carriages and wagons of the time between tracks. Several tracks ended in carriage loading ‘shoots’ at the end of the central carriage road, between the Arrival and Departure platforms. This arrangement is shown in a lithograph of, Slough Station by J.C Bourne, of which I show an extract below: Slough Station (detail) by J.C. Bourne I also found a less detailed re-drawn plan of Paddington Station, which provided the all-important scale, in the book ‘Paddington Station - Its history and architecture’ by Steven Brindle, published by English Heritage 2013. With this additional information, I could import the NRCA plan into ‘Fusion 360’ as a canvas and use the ‘calibrate’ command to adjust it to the correct scale. I decided to work directly in ‘feet’, since these units are used throughout the NRCA elevation drawings. Bishop’s Road Bridge My first 3D extrusion in ‘Fusion 360’was from the plan view of Bishop’s Road Bridge (shaded pink in my annotated version, above). Initially, I extruded the rectangular ‘body’ to a height of 30 feet. I then compared my structure, marked with the locations of the various arches, as indicated on the plan, to check the proportions against the Bourne lithograph. (It is known that Bourne used a ‘camera obscura’ as a drawing-aid, so I was confident that his illustration is accurately proportioned.) Steps in creating my model of Bishop’s Road Bridge Once I had made sketches by tracing over the Bourne canvas, imported into ‘Fusion 360’, I could overlay these sketches onto the face of my rectangular Bridge ‘body’ and extrude the various arches. Platforms Details of the platform canopies are shown in drawing NRCA161326, of which my ‘cleaned up’ version is shown below. This drawing shows the end elevations of the canopies over both the Departure and Arrival platforms, together with details of the cast-iron support pillars. My ‘Working copy’ from NRCA161326 As before, I imported this drawing into ‘Fusion 360’ and sketched the outlines of the roof trusses. I also created a model of a single pillar by drawing over the profile and then using the ‘revolve’ tool to create a cylindrical ‘body’, as shown below: Using ‘Revolve’ in ‘Fusion 360’ to create 3D-model of Pillar Once I had a single model of a pillar, it was simply a matter of using the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to create the array of pillars shown on the NRCA plan of the platforms. Note that I have raised the platform surfaces and carriage road by 3 feet, above the level of the track bed. My 3D-model of the Arrivals Platform with Pillars and a single roof truss I was very pleased to find that the dimensions derived from the elevation drawings corresponded very closely to those derived from the plan view, indicating that my ‘calibration’ in ‘Fusion 360’ had been successful. After duplicating the trusses as required, again by means of the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool, I added roofs by extruding from the profile set by the trusses at one end of the structure. The end result of this stage of my modelling is shown below: My 3D-model of Paddington platforms viewed from the West Of course, the advantage of having a 3D-model in the computer is that I can choose to view it from whichever direction and in whatever detail I choose, for example: View across my model of Paddington Station from above the Forecourt. The above view demonstrates the sharp angle between the platforms and the approach road, by which passengers arrived at the station. Carriages could proceed through the central arch to reach the carriage dock set between the Arrival and Departure platforms. At that period, wealthy patrons of the railway loaded their carriages and their horses onto trains and, in some cases, chose to travel inside their own carriages, rather that the coaches provided by the railway. Adding other models Once the basic 3-D model was in place, I realised that it was perfectly easy to add some of my existing models into the scene. The ‘Insert Derive’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ allows model data to be imported into a design from other folders already held in the computer. To demonstrate this procedure, I imported my existing models of Brunel’s Britzka and of a Carriage truck. I realised that these models had been dimensioned in millimetres, as 4mm-scale models. When first imported, they appeared at their small ‘model scale’. I could, however, select these model bodies and use the ‘Scale’ command in ‘Fusion 360’ to increase their dimensions by a factor of 76, so that they conformed to the overall building model. After re-scaling, I could use the ‘Move’ tool to position them as I wished within the Station, as shown in the example below: Loading my model of Brunel’s Britzka onto a Carriage Truck at Paddington Station Taking this idea a little further, I imported some other models, including my Horse Box, a horse, and the locomotive ‘Vulcan’, to create the following scene: Brunel’s carriage and horses being loaded for travel from Paddington Station Conclusion As I wrote at the outset, this is all experimental and I have had a lot of fun exploring the possibilities of scene modelling in ‘Fusion 360’. I realise that I am venturing into the territory of digital ‘Train Simulators’, which @Annie demonstrates in her thread can be very impressive and allow you to drive the trains as well. My own modelling has allowed me to bring to life some long-forgotten scenes and I intend to continue by re-creating some of the other buildings around the old Paddington Station. Apart from the offices within the Bishop’s Road bridge, there was also a remarkable ‘round-house’ engine shed, designed by Daniel Gooch, a Carriage shed and, on the other side of the bridge, the entire Goods Station, with sheds and offices. I think all this can keep me occupied and entertained for some time to come 🙂 Mike
    34 points
  3. Once again, my website is unavailable, but this time it is thanks to facebook. I don't fully understand this but facebook is indexing my website over and over again (it's a known thing) and has consumed all of my bandwidth for March (and it's only the 13th!) The hosting company wants me to go to a dedicated server which is like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. The cost of running it would triple from $18 to $48 per month (and that's just the starter offer). I can't afford that and I can't expect donations to cover that either. So, I have added some code to try and kick facebook straight off my pages but I still have consumed all my bandwidth so I cannot see brdatabase being available again until April. I am re-writing the website (it'll make it mobile friendly) and I am hoping to deploy to AWS where I may have more control over things. In the meantime, I am sorry for the incovenience. If you have any urgent queries, drop me a line and I'll look on my local copy for the relevant data.
    31 points
  4. I’ve finally completed painting my pair of six wheel coaches which have been languishing on the work bench for far too long! Readers of this blog will know that coaches are definitely my nemesis, they always seem to take me forever to complete and these two have been no different! I’m taking Sherton to the York exhibition at the end of the month and that provided the enthusiasm to get them finished🙂 Diag V8 Passenger Brake Van Diag U14 Ist & 2nd Class composite carriage I like the variation in roof heights and styles which seem to typify a branch line train in the Edwardian era. Branch train comprising of 2021 class saddle tank number 2112, D14 brake 3rd, U14 1st & 2nd Composite, Diag C10 all 3rd and Diag V8 Passenger brake van They really shouldn’t have taken me 3 years to complete, but hopefully readers will think they were worth the wait!😁 I’m thoroughly looking forward to exhibiting at the York show, it’ll be the furthest North that Sherton has been, well and truly out of G.W.R. territory! Best wishes Dave
    30 points
  5. Major milestones this month. For the first time since I started building Cheddar, some 11 years ago now, I’ve finally been able to put all of the 8 scenic boards up together. Cheddar is going to be making its exhibition debut at RailWells this August as a work in progress and with under 6 months to go I needed to take stock of just how much left there is to do before it gets there! The layout has been in various unheated garages for the last few years and it’s almost 6 years since anything last moved on it, way before ballasting and track painting started. So needless to say I wasn’t expecting a great deal especially as on retrieving the panel I noticed the din sockets were corroded and the box itself showing signs of mould! So first things first, the trestles and supporting rails were erected in the dining room, fitting with about half an inch to spare. Yes I did check when I bought the house but don’t tell anyone! After that the boards were brought out one by one and erected on top and the panel plugged in and an engine plonked on. Power applied. Nothing, nada, no sausages at all. No surprises there really. Then I tried all the turnouts. Plenty of encouraging noises from the tortoise motors but nothing moving. well at least the point feeds were getting to the layout. So I started cleaning the track. It had tarnished heavily and had a crust that needed serious attention from abrasive pads. No wonder nothing had moved. After a while though, I got the furthest (Wells end) board clean enough. A bit of power and the engine moved! After a hearty hurrah and a little jig of delight, I then worked my way up towards the other end (Axbridge) cleaning and testing. By the end of the week I’d got to the other end (yes it was that dirty), and confirmed that all track sections had supplied power to the rails and that both cab controllers worked to each section. DCC is a pipe dream… There’s still a long way to go though. Next step is to get each and every turnout working again, which will be a combination of cleaning out all the crud and scraping away the ballast which has welded everything solid. A couple of track joins require attention at baseboard ends as steps are now evident, I guess due to the plywood plates at the edges swelling over the years. Curiously, the scenery sections have opened up considerably across baseboard joints. These are on a mixture of extruded foam and paper-mache so I’m going to need to redress that, or blag that Cheddar gorge is a bit closer to the station… But onwards! I can start my snagging list now and carry on knowing that power is restored. It’s a case of deciding what has to be done by August and what can be left for later. One thing I will need is the fiddle yards, so maybe that’ll be next. Attached photos and I even took a few videos to cheer myself up. In the longer term, Cheddar will be exhibited (when it’s fully ready) and I hope that it will have a permanent home in a temperature controlled room where I can avoid the problems caused by its storage. The other highlight of the week came from a very helpful chap at Bristol Water who sent me the original 1920 drawings of the Water Works that was served by a private siding. But that’s another story.
    30 points
  6. I have just finished making an LNWR 4-plank open, to diagram 84. This was meant to be a "quickie", as a relaxing diversion following the complexities of the horsebox and before getting my teeth into a brake van. However, it has taken three months - partly due to a lack of modelling time recently, and partly because it turned out to be a bit more involved than I had expected. The starting point was the ABS whitemetal kit. My first impression was - it's enormous. The prototype was 18 feet over headstocks, and for a moment when getting the kit out of the box I thought I might have got a 1 Gauge version by mistake... The kit is, as is generally the case with ABS, excellent - the castings are clean, detailed and precise. It would be perfectly possible to build the kit as intended, and have a very nice model at the end of it. Inevitably, though, I made some changes, adding compensation, a few missing details, backdating features to suit my 1908 period, and of course adding the LNWR wagon sheet. The build started by making some modifications to accommodate the Ambis compensation units. The axleguards are supplied as separate castings, and these were cut off below the springs and soldered in place with low-melt: The back was then filed flat to remove the remaining axleguard behind the spring, and provide clearance for the etched axleguard: Once cleaned up I had good-looking springs attached to the solebars: Buffers were fitted - in this case, not the supplied ones, as the early examples of diagram 84 wagons had the older type of LNWR buffers, with 3 bolts. Luckily the old ABS parts were still available from David Parkins. The buffer guides were drilled out to take a set of Peco sprung heads; I find it easier to ensure the drill is going in straight with the guides attached to the wagon ends, but before assembling the wagon. I soldered the sides and ends together - it's worth putting in the time to make sure the four corners fit together well, as this is a slight weakness of the kit. A bit of fettling though will get the corner square in all planes. A plasticard floor gave me something to fix things to, though of course no detailing was needed as the inside was to be hidden by the sheet. The Ambis axleguard units were made up, after chemically blackening the visible parts to help the paint cover, and to reduce the chance of missing bits and getting glints of metal. The Ambis etch includes a 'spine' that spaces the axleguards to give the required wheelbase. However, the D84s had an unusual wheelbase of 9'9", so I had to do a 'cut and shut' to get the correct spacing: The fold-up parts at either end position and hold the axleguard assemblies, with one rocking on a pivot rod, and the other fixed. A trial assembly revealed there was quite a gap between the back of the springs and the axleguards. This was partly due to the solebars being very slightly too far apart, and the springs not being thick enough. I increased the spring thickness with 20 thou plasticard cut out roughly after tracing the shape: I glued them on the back of the springs, and then trimmed the excess with a sharp scalpel blade: Pieces of plasticard glued to the floor ensured accurate positioning of the axleguard assembly, which itself was glued on once I was happy everything was positioned correctly. The hole in the headstocks for the coupling hook was too large for the Peco couplings I wanted to use, so I filed of the cast detailing and glued on some etched replacements: The two holes in this picture in the headstock between the end stanchions and the the buffers are for the rings used to tie off the sheet. The rings were made from fine fuse wire wrapped around the shank of a suitably-sized drill. I try to plan out details like this and drill the holes early in the build, but only fit the details later, when there is less chance they will get damaged. It is always a nice moment when you get the wagon 'on its feet' - it feels like real progress. You can also see in this picture I have replaced the cast horse hook with brass wire. I filled some very slight gaps where the ends and sides meet, though as the corners are almost completely concealed by the sheet, I needn't have bothered. I often replace cast or plastic vee hangers with etched items, but in this case I used the ones provided in the kit. The are finely cast, with chamfered back edges to hide the thickness of the material. The double vee hanger arrangement lends strength, and this was supposed to be a quick build, after all... Also in this picture you can see I added a pair of L-brackets to the solebar below where the side knees are. They were made from plastic strip. Also visible is the tie-off point next to the door spring, made from wire. I struggled to find a clear photo of these, but they appear to be L-shaped, coming down from the underside of the curb rail and turning back towards the solebar, but not quite meeting it. There are five each side. The brake gear made use of the kit castings, packed up with plasticard to get the shoes aligned with the wheel centres. I used a piece of brass tube to make the cross-shaft, as this makes attaching the brake lever easy later on - a piece of wire can be soldered through a hole in the end of lever, and slid into the tube at the final assembly stage. The axleboxes were a change from the kit ones, to be the correct type for early D84s; they again came from David Parkins. The wagon was physically complete at this point, apart from brake levers and guards, and the buffers and couplings which I always do after painting: The brake levers and guards were from Ambis parts (I didn't take a picture of the levers): A coat of etch primer reveals just how good the castings are: The top coat was a 50/50 mix of black and white Vallejo acrylic paint, brushed on. Only the underframe and bottom of the body needed painting, as the rest would be hidden by the sheet. The tare number on the solebar and the end numbers came from a sheet of LMS Pressfix transfers from the HMRS, as I didn't have the official LNWR ones in stock. They seem to be passable to my GWR-trained eye! The wagon sheet The sheet was made using my usual method, described in previous blog posts. The artwork is printed onto paper, which is then backed with adhesive aluminium tape. For the LNWR sheet, however, I needed to create my own artwork, and there doesn't seem to be a single authoritative source of information on the design - rather, there are fragments of information, which sometimes conflicts. I have put some references and links at the end of this post for those who are interested. Based on what I could find, I created the artwork in Affinity Designer. This software enabled me to use an existing font for the letters and numbers, and then convert the font outlines into 'paths' which can then be edited. I could therefore use fonts that were close to what was required, but then modify the letter and number forms to get as close as possible to what I could see in photos. I have made the artwork available for anyone who wants to use it: Here is a trial print of the incomplete artwork, to see how it fits onto the wagon: Part of the challenge of fitting the sheet is that the wagon is 18 feet long, and in my 1908 period, LNWR sheets were a non-standard 19'6" X 15'5". This left only a scale 9" overhang at each end, but enough at the sides to hang right down to the curb rails: The problem with the sheet hanging down so far is that it isn't possible to tension it properly with the ties along the long edges attaching to the tie-off points under the curb rail. I suspect the LNWR changed the sheet size from 1910 for exactly these reasons - with the increasing numbers of 18' long wagons, the old size of sheet was no longer suitable. I decided to place the sheet on the wagon with a slight offset. On one side the sheet hangs down less far, and can be tied off in the usual way. On the other side, the sheet is tucked up, held in place by ties attached to the triangular flaps that were sewn into the first seam (sheets were generally made from five strips of fabric sewn together). I made the flaps from triangles of paper, glued in place. You can see them here just above the "381" number and below the line of the "LNWR" letters: As I was modelling the sheet covering a (presumed) load below the height of the wagon sides, I wanted it to dip in the centre. To keep the sheet in the required shape, I made a former in plasticard, to run as a spine along the centre of the wagon: I glued this under the sheet before attaching it to the wagon: You can also see here the ties, made from EZ Line (a very thin elastic thread), glued to the back of the sheet and fed through holes where the prototype's eyelets would be. I attached the sheet onto the wagon, starting by gluing it to the top edges of the sides and ends. Then the overhangs at the sides and ends could be glued into place, teasing the sheet into shape with the aim of making it look like a flexible material hanging under its own weight. I had already done some initial weathering of the wagon, using weathering powders and water-soluble artist's oil paints. One problem I had which I have not experienced with this technique for making the sheets before was the separation of the foil backing from the paper top surface around the sheet edges. I suspect this was down to the amount of handling of the sheet, trying to manipulate it into shape, as well as the short overhangs at the ends. The short overhangs means the sheet is being bent through 90 degrees very close to its edge, and this may have put too much stress on the aluminium tape's adhesive. After replenishing the swear box a few times, and trying both UHU and cyanoacrylate glues, I managed to get the sheet into shape and fix the separation of the sheet layers. I followed this by retouching the paint on the sheet. I alway paint over the black print, as the laser printer print looks too much like what it is. However, with the amount of handling the sheet gets when fixing it, there is always quite a lot of touching up to do. Once the sheet was fettled, the ties were wrapped around the tie-off points and held in place with a touch of thin CA glue applied with the end of a bit of wire. I added number plates printed on ordinary paper with a laser printer and cut out. The artwork was based on that provided by Stephen Lea: And that was pretty much it - final assembly of the brake lever and guard, and the buffers and couplings, a last touch up of paint and weathering, and the wagon was ready for a photo session. The lettering on the sheet is best seen from a modeller's-eye view: And a brutal close-up of the sheet artwork: To make the point about the size of these wagons, here it is alongside a GWR 2-plank: Acknowledgements Thank you to all those who have helped me as I learned about LNWR wagons, particularly those who contributed to the following threads: References and links regarding LNWR wagon sheets There is a drawing of the LNWR sheet design, although it shows the sheet number painted on the ends as well as the sides of the sheet, which I have not seen in photos: http://igg.org.uk/rail/9-loads/9-tarps.htm Sheets were discussed in some detail here, but the images have been lost which makes it hard to follow some of the discussion now, unfortunately: Further discussion took place in the D299 thread: LNWR number plate artwork: You can find my artwork here: Nick.
    29 points
  7. The 1870 horsebox is now painted and in service. Once primed I liked the overall level of detail, the top hinges and the dog box end show a slight bowing out but not severe enough to merit a substantial alteration. I think it would be in plain coach brown by the 1900s, compartment interior off white and a simple bench seat added. Lettering is from the HMRS sheet. Some light weathering to bring out the details. A couple of posed pictures. The start of a racing day special perhaps. The new horsebox is followed by a CR Dia 73, built 1907 and a LNWR Dia 436 from the late 1890s. Just about plausible then. I’m still a bit unsure about resin printing. The model has worked out reasonably but I am concerned about the brittle nature of things like buffers and steps. My preference would be etched brass steps and sprung metal buffers, though I appreciate that would increase costs and might not be viable for low manufacturing volumes. Perhaps too printing a model in a number of smaller sections would result in a greater accuracy ?
    28 points
  8. Some folk may be aware that I recently bought two whitemetal kit panniers from @Tony Wright, which he was selling on behalf of the builder and previous owner, Peter Lawson. I understand that the ex-GW locos listed on Tony's thread are only a small selection from a much larger collection, most of which (if not all?) I gather are to be sold, due to the unfortunate ill health of the owner. Anyway, the two panniers arrived here at Kernow Towers a few weeks ago and were posed on the layout: I understand that the right-hand loco was built from a K's kit, albeit with more a more modern etched chassis, a decent (open frame Anchorage) motor and Gibson wheels. The left-hand pannier was built from a NuCast kit (which was probably derived from the original K's moulds, I think) and also has an etched and compensated chassis, Romford wheels and another Anchorage motor. Both locos were numbered as examples of panniers that were allocated to South Wales sheds at the time that Bethesda is set in, so I decided to renumber them. The K's one was to become 9629, allocated to Oswestry for a while (Pannier Papers) and the NuCast one will become 9741, allocated for a short time to Shrewsbury (Pannier Papers). I have also decided to add a small amount of extra detail, such as lamp irons, sand pipes and injector overflow pipes, which were not originally featured on either loco. Both locos were also single manned at the time they arrived here, both with a fireman, clearly awaiting the driver to turn up from the mess room, so a driver from the ModelU agency has also taken up duty on the footplate. Both locos are extremely well built and run well. Peter Lawson certainly knows how to build a loco kit properly. It is my intention, however, not to alter Peter's work any more that I need to and importantly, to retain the original character of the locos. So far, I have worked on the K's one, which has now become 9269. I am extremely pleased with the result and the loco is now officially listed on the roster for Bethesda Sidings. I've also uploaded a short piece of footage of 9629 working in Bethesda yard today: These locos are probably around 50 years old and whilst it is true to say that they don't have quite the level of detail that their more modern RTR counterparts have, I do think they still stand up very well. What they certainly have is a definite presence (they are heavy when compared to a Bachmann one, especially one of my Bachmann bodied panniers with an etched chassis) and loads of character.
    27 points
  9. “Towards the end of July 1837 I heard that Mr. Brunel wanted some one to take the post of locomotive engineer on the Great Western Railway, and I at once went to him, on July 20th, preferring that department to railway making.” Thus wrote Daniel Gooch about the event that changed his life when he was just 21 years old. As a result, he left Manchester and went to London, beginning his duties with the Great Western Railway at West Drayton on the 18th August 1837. Because no engines had actually arrived at that time, he recalled that his first work was to prepare plans for the engine-houses at Paddington and Maidenhead, In such circumstances, one might have expected the engine-house designs to be rather perfunctory affairs, something to fill in the time until some ‘real work’ on engines became available, but my investigations into the design of the engine-house showed this to be far from the case. For Paddington, Gooch designed a ‘round house’ shed which, I suspect, was probably the first example of its kind. He was severely constrained in both timescale and costs. The accounts show an extraordinarily low figure of £1,402 for ‘general construction costs’, plus £216 for ‘other items’. An early site plan, probably dating from 1837, shows the engine shed as below: Paddington Site plan, 1837, showing the Engine Shed. At first glance, the octagonal form seemed to match the track plan but I was surprised to see that the locations of the tracks corresponded with the vertices of the octagon, rather than being placed centrally in the sides, as I would have expected. Indeed, an illustration of the interior in ‘Measom’s Guide to the GWR’, dated 1854, appears to show such a layout – a reminder not to trust all those early engravings! Looking more closely at the plans, however, I saw that the vertices were ‘squared off’, with entrance doors, where required, or short segments of wall. Thus, I started my modelling of the shed by copying the above drawing as a ‘canvas’ into ‘Fusion 360’ and tracing the foundations of the perimeter walls. That was the easy bit but where to go from there? I had a couple of sources to draw on for guidance: An early photograph of the demolition of the original station includes a glimpse of the engine shed roof in the background. This gave me a slope of 15 degrees for the main roof. Incidentally, several of the iron columns from the original station can be seen lying amongst the debris in the foreground, while a very tall disk & crossbar signal appears to the right. The sheer-legs appear on early plans of the original station layout. Paddington Demolition works, c 1854-5 The other source was a much better engraving than the one in Measom’s guide. This one shows the clerestory roof over the centre of the shed and a rather bewildering forest of wooden supports for the roof. After studying this illustration for some time, I decided to take a ‘Stonehenge’ approach to the design of my model by concentrating on the locations of the upright pillars and hoping to fill in the rest of the details later! Engine Shed Interior c.1846 (Firefly-class ‘Ganymede’ was new in 1842) From this illustration, I deduced that there were two rows of pillars along the sides of each track between the entrance doors and the clerestory. Taken together, these formed an inner ‘ring’, supporting the edges of the clerestory, and an intermediate ‘ring’ between the perimeter. walls and the clerestory. Creating a 3D Model As I laid out the locations of all the pillars in ‘Fusion 360’, a very ingenious geometric pattern started to emerge, reminiscent of the vaults of a mediaeval cathedral. This seemed to me a far more sophisticated design than I had expected from a young man who had joined the GWR to do work on engines! It was a portent of the illustrious career that lay ahead for young Daniel Gooch. Once I had determined the locations of the bases of the various pillars, I had to adjust their lengths to correspond to a slope of 15 degrees in the roof that they were designed to support. Rather than attempting to describe the process in many words, I have made a series of ‘screen shots’ of each stage, as my construction progressed in ‘Fusion 360’ Steps in my ‘Stonehenge’ approach to Modelling Paddington Engine Shed Now that I’d worked out the overall layout, I decided to go back to the beginning and start again! This time, having worked out the geometric pattern, I used the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ tu ensure that all the pillars and their linking ribs were aligned in a regular, symmetrical pattern around the central axis. Bird’s-eye View showing Symmetrical Design of Shed The various ribs connecting the tops of the pillars, in order to support the roof, were all copied from an initial 3D drawing of a square-section bar. After placing the first pair of ribs, I could use the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool to complete the rest of the pattern around the central axis. Adding details As an initial check on the general validity of my structure, I set up an internal view of my model in ‘Fusion 360’, to compare with the contemporary engraving shown above. I couldn’t match the perspective exactly but it gave me a good idea of what needed to be done to capture the ‘atmosphere’ of the original interior. I started by adding the diagonal ties at the tops of my pillars. This was a fairly easy ‘tweak’ that I could apply to one pillar and then copy around the complete array, again using ‘Pattern on Path’ to maintain the alignment around the central axis. The result at this stage is shown below. I have included my model of ‘Vulcan’ to indicate the overall scale: Interior view of my basic model of Paddington Engine Shed I could find no information about the entrance doors but then I remembered some drawings that Gooch created for Maidenhead depot. These included shed doors (NRCA161482) so I extruded my model from the Maidenhead design and found that these doors were a perfect fit into the doorways of the Paddington shed. An early example of standardisation! My enhanced version of NRCA161482 showing Doors for Maidenhead Depot I didn’t have much to go on for the design of the interior walls, except the engraving shown above, which indicates vertical planking and window openings with vertical bars. I took some further design cues from the Broad Gauge Transfer shed at Didcot Railway Centre, which suggested diagonal cross-bracing on the large panels. I started from a single rectangular panel on which I incised one ‘slot’ to represent a single vertical plank. I then used ‘Pattern on Path’ to complete the planking of the whole panel. Next, I created the various frame pieces and attached these to the inside face of the panel. Finally, I cut the rectangular openings for the windows and added an array of vertical bars within each opening. My model Wooden Planked Wall with Bracing The result looked pleasing and made me loath to add the roof, which would hide all this from view! Nevertheless, the roof was necessary to provide an overall impression of the interior scene. Adding a Roof For the roof, I could again take advantage of the circular symmetry of the structure, to reduce the amount of design work that was needed. I had only to design one triangular roof panel and one rectangular one, which then alternated around the ‘ring’. The clerestory roof is even simpler and only involves triangular panels. I started with what seem the easiest one to draw – the rectangular panel. I checked the lengths of the support ribs with the ‘measure tool’ in ‘Fusion 360’, to ensure that panel would be a correct fit. After that, the detailing followed similar methods to those I used for the sides, with a pattern of rafters as indicated on the contemporary engraving shown above. The triangular panels were rather more difficult. I established the lengths of the sides by again using the ‘measure tool’ and I also checked the angle at the top vertex, remembering that, because of the slope of the roof, this is not simply a fraction of the circle defined in the ground plan. I then added the intermediate supporting battens and finally the numerous cross-battens towards the apex. I wanted to use the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool again but realised that, if I started copying from the bottom edge, the battens would become too long as the roof segment tapered towards the apex. My solution was to create an array of same-length battens, which I then cut by applying the ‘Splitting’ tool to the plane defined by the edges of the panel, as shown below: Applying the 'Splitting' tool in 'Fusion 360' The triangular segments of the clerestory roof followed, by using the same methods, so I now had three different type of roofing panel, as shown below: Three Types of Roof Panel for my Engine Shed Model I should probably have done lots of trigonometry to work out exactly how to place these panels on the roof, sloped at 15°, but I opted for an empirical approach and used the ‘Move’ and ‘Twist’ tools, while checking from different directions until they were seated neatly over the relevant rafters. After that, it was back to the ‘Pattern on Path’ tool to complete the circular symmetrical pattern of the complete roof. The end result is shown below: External View of my model of Paddington Engine Shed 1840 It all looks rather plain from the outside – a bit like a Victorian Gaol – but for a more interesting view, I could use the ‘Camera’ in the ‘Render’ section of ‘Fusion 360’ to look inside. Here is an internal view with ‘Vulcan’ on one of the turntable roads: Internal View of my Model Engine Shed, showing panelled walls and roof I think the overall impression is in reasonable agreement with the contemporary engraving shown above and is probably as good as can be achieved on the surviving information. Another view, which includes the clerestory roof is shown below: View into my Model of Paddington Engine Shed, through open Doors Overview of Paddington Depot c.1840 Finally, I have placed my model within the context of the overall site, as it was laid out in 1840. See my previous post for details of the other models shown. Overview of my Current Collection of Paddington Models There are still several more structures to consider, although with very little information to work from. One item, listed in the accounts, is ‘stables’ but these are not marked on any of the drawings that I have. I am currently thinking that they might be the extension on the side of the Engine Shed. I have not completed this part, except for the outer walls as marked on the overall plan. There would perhaps be a 19th-century logic in grouping together all the available sources of motive power within one overall building. Horses still played an important part in manoeuvring rolling stock between the various small turntables. If anyone has any other suggestions, I shall be interested to receive them. Mike
    25 points
  10. The latest kit from True Line Models represents a horse box built by Metropolitan in 1870 for the CR. This is a different method for TLM being a resin print. I have used 3d printed parts but this is my first go at a complete 3d printed wagon. Removing the body from the supports taught me just how brittle resin prints can be. Since I want a practical layout vehicle I decided to reinforce the steps and springs with 0.3 brass wire. Wheels are on MJT internal compensation irons soldered to a copperclad sub chassis. A view of the underside showing the brass wires. Simple brake from bits of scrap etch. I think that by 1900s it would be piped but possibly not fully braked. A general view. I’m a bit unsure about the top edge. A coat of primer may push me towards paring the top hinges off and replacing them with brass strip. I’m also a bit worried by the fragile resin buffers, time will tell. The three roof sections made from laminated styrene. The oil lamp is I think MJT. Primer next, might show up all sorts of faults.
    20 points
  11. I had a first go at weathering the Ferguson tractor. I don't really have much experience with weathering vehicles and even less experience with Vallejo acrylics. I think I'm fairly happy with the outcome but would welcome your opinions. I do note looking a the prices of tractors on Ebay that I have added a couple of thousand to the price by weathering it as it would appear that you pay less for a 'restored' tractor than you do for a 'barn find' by about £2000. David
    18 points
  12. Recently, I decided to treat myself. When the Hornby W4 Peckett came out, like some of us, I went a little mad and ended up buying four examples, over a period of time. Not all at once, you understand, that really would be silly. I thought that at least one could be converted to P4, seeings as I model in both OO and P4. One I would fit scale couplings to, weather and allocate to one of the outrageously improbable OO light railways that I'm rather fond of modelling. One eventually got sold, leaving three. One of those got weathered and put into service as 'Brynllefrith' of the Vale of Radnor Light Railway, seen here in Bethesda Yard: That left two, one of which is still awaiting the excellent Gordon Ashton etched chassis, which will be built in P4. So, just 'Dodo' remained. This was always a good runner, but the thought of a second W4 on an already outrageously improbable light railway just seemed unlikely, even for me. Late last year I was looking through the Planet Industrials website and was reminded of their two conversion kits for the W4 Peckett - available from Light Railway Stores here - https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/locomotives At the same time, I decided to contact @James Hilton and enquire about a commission to convert 'Dodo' into something slightly more interesting, namely a 'Greenhithe' sub-class. This type of Peckett, with its low-slung cab, was originally designed for use in industrial settings with low clearances. James accepted the commission and 'Dodo' was duly posted off to Wales. He recently completed the work and posted the loco back to me a few days ago. I had some spare plates from 247 Developments for 'Sir Harry', which I had also sent him. James has done an outstanding job on the conversion and I am very, very pleased with the result, so many thanks, James! And now, the guff.... It’s early summer in 1962 and the Vale of Radnor Light Railway has taken delivery of a new loco. Well, new for it but the loco itself isn’t new. ‘Sir Harry’ is a ‘Greenhithe’ type of Peckett and was originally delivered new in 1947 to a gas works in the West Midlands and carried the name ‘Wednesbury Park No.3’. Apparently, the nameplates only just fitted the saddle tanks. After the closure of the gas works in 1959, the loco was sold to the Cuthbertson Chocolate Company for use in their Callow Lane works, in South Gloucestershire. It was here that it acquired its new name ‘Sir Harry’, in recognition of the long-standing nickname given by the workers to the works Chairman, the Hon. Tarquin Ffitch-Cuthbertson. The Hon. Tarquin was evidently a man of large bulk and was said to walk with a pronounced waddling gait, not unlike the motion of the Peckett along the works track. The works staff did not get on with the Peckett and it was eventually laid aside in favour of a small Ruston diesel, purchased in 1961 from a local civil engineering contractor. A few short weeks later, ‘Sir Harry’ was spotted by wealthy railway enthusiast P.B. Greenhouse, who had arrived at Callow Lane on a rail tour. He contacted the chocolate factory and arranged to purchase the Peckett on behalf of the Association of Independent Light Railways, of which he was a director. He also paid for the loco to have a light overhaul at BRs Oswestry works, following which it was transferred down to Capel Bethesda by way of local goods services, to fill in for one of the resident locos on the Vale of Radnor Light Railway, which was having an overhaul. Here we see 'Sir Harry' arriving on the local goods service from Leominster, hauled by 1458: The loco was shunted and left in the yard for the Light Railway to send something to haul it back up the valley to Llanddewi: Eventually, the Light Railway's 'Planet' diesel wheezed into the yard with an ancient brake van and formed up a train: Once up at the Light Railway's depot, the loco will be checked over by the fitter and will then enter service. Given the amount of traffic remaining on the Vale of Radnor Light Railway by then, 'Sir Harry' will have plenty of leisure time...
    18 points
  13. I have tonight ckmpleted decals on the Presflo kit. The wagon was primed with Halfords red oxide and then I droped the whole thing on the floor. Some detail was losr and a couple of cracks needed to be sorted. The project was very close to being binned! But.... I persisted and I am rather happy with the decals. The colour is mixed from Mr Hobby brownds which I have never used before and , although not righyt provide a base for an interesting weathering project. I need to pock some bits out in white but am ready to call it finished and will park it on the "to be heavily weathered'road.
    16 points
  14. Background Almost 10 years ago, I made a model of a lime kiln as a ‘scenic accessory’ on my North Leigh layout. For some reason, I never wrote a blog post about its construction but did write a short article for ‘Railway Modeller’, published in November 2015. I have, however, described how my model was based on the kiln at Fawler that originally had a siding from the Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway. Fawler is close to the real North Leigh, on which my pre-grouping layout is based My starting point for the kiln was the ‘Wills’ ref.8838 kit of a cattle creep, which provided suitable arches set into walls of stone blocks. To make my model, I placed the two arches from the kit side by side and set them into a hillside, behind my railway, as part of the back-scene. Model Lime Kiln on my North Leigh layout West Drayton Coke Ovens Now, I have realised that kilns (or ovens) for a different purpose but of a generally similar design played a significant role in the early development of railways. Because of Parliamentary Acts that required locomotive engines to ‘consume their own smoke’, the early engines burned coke as a ‘smokeless’ fuel. It wasn’t until the adoption of the brick-arch in the firebox, around 1860, that coal could be used as a fuel, without emitting large amounts of soot from the chimney. MacDermot, in his ‘History of the GWR’*, states that the principal railway companies made their own coke and, for this purpose, the Great Western established coke ovens at West Drayton. Whishaw, writing in 1842, reported that “the coke-ovens are situate at West Drayton, about half a mile to the east of the station ; and are very similar to those of the north of England and Scotland, being without a lofty chimney, which adds so greatly to the cost. They are conveniently placed on the level of the railway, which saves much labour in filling the wagons.” *NB MacDermot Vol.1 is now available as a PDF Download from the ‘Internet Archive’ https://archive.org/details/historyofgreatwe0001etma I found a little more information in an article by the Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society , which states that there were fourteen coke ovens, built in 1839-40, which produced 440 cwt of coke per day, using coal brought along the Grand Junction Canal from Brentford. Initially, a daily coke train ran from West Drayton to Paddington. Once the GWR main line reached Bristol, however, forty coke ovens were built there, so that by 1850 the West Drayton coke ovens were discontinued. The site is clearly marked on the 25 inch OS map, which can be viewed on the National Library of Scotland website , although the ovens must have been out of use by the time the map was made. I show an extract below: West Drayton coke ovens – OS 25” second edition Operation of Coke Ovens I found it difficult to determine how the site actually appeared when operational but found illustrations of various sites in the North of England, which are said to have been similar. The coke was produced in a ‘coke battery’ comprising rows of ovens into which coal was loaded. The coking process involved heating coking coal to around 1000-1100ºC in the absence of oxygen, to drive off the volatile compounds. The process took from 12-36 hours in the coke ovens. The coal charge did not fill the oven. Space was left above the charge in which the gas liberated from the coal was burned. At first, no attempt was made to recover any of the gas, tar or other by-products, which were driven off from the coal when it was heated. In later designs, the gas was led through openings in the upper part of the walls into flues where it could be burned out of contact with coal and add its heat to the charge through the oven wall. There are two paintings by Wheldon, dated 1845, which show coke ovens associated with a colliery in North-East England. They include two views, apparently from opposite sides of a row of coke ovens in process of being fired. I have extracted the sections that show the coke ovens. Two Extracts from oil paintings by W.Wheldon of a NE Colliery and Coke Kilns In these paintings, there appear to be two rows of ‘beehive’-shaped ovens, with access doors arranged in a line alongside a railway track. There is a raised platform at the top for charging the ovens, or kilns, with coal. The second painting appears to show a person pushing a wagon along a track above the kilns, presumably carrying coal to be fed into the tops of the kilns. The first painting also depicts a ‘Hackworth’ type of locomotive in the foreground Taken together, I feel that these illustrations provide a fair idea of what once existed on the West Drayton site. The map suggests that there was probably a single row of 14 kilns, with the discharge doors adjacent to the railway, while coal was supplied to the kilns from a wharf on the Grand Union Canal. Designing a Model Although I couldn’t find much detailed information about coke ovens in Britain, I found plenty about similar beehive kilns that were used in the early 19th century around Birmingham, Alabama. There is a chapter in Peele’s ‘Mining Engineers Handbook’ Published 1918 that contains diagrams and detailed description of the operation of ‘beehive’ kilns Dimensioned Sketch from Peele’s ‘Mining Engineers Handbook’ There have even been HO-scale railway models distributed by ‘Walthers’ (US) but I didn’t find anything that is currently available US models of Beehive Coke Ovens Nevertheless, these resources provided me with plenty of guidance on how to design a plausible model. From the map of West Drayton, the complete ‘battery’ of kilns extended for 675 feet – a little over 200 m – but the complete array seems to be divided into five individual groups, so I decided to start by modelling a single oven, which could be extended into ‘batteries’ depending on the space available. Brickwork Since the ovens were close to the clay pits and brick works that were scattered around the West Drayton area, it seems most likely that the ovens were constructed from bricks, rather than stone as in my previous model of the Fawler lime kiln. Of course, I could have used pre-printed sheets of brick-effect card but I decided to experiment with creating my own brickwork, by means of 3D printing. I soon found it was easy enough to produce a wall of ‘stretcher bond’ by drawing a single brick and then using the ‘rectangular pattern’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to produce a regular array of bricks. A photo of a surviving battery of ovens in the North East, said to be similar to those at West Drayton, showed that the facing was laid in ‘English Bond’ with alternating rows of ‘headers’ and ‘stretchers’. Remains of the last working beehive coke ovens in the country. Built in 1861 and worked until 1958 So, as often happens in railway modelling, when additional skills are needed, I had to give myself a crash course in the art of brick-laying. I found a very helpful YouTube video that got me started – thank you Rodian. I started by creating a row of four ‘stretcher’ bricks, leaving suitable gaps for mortar. I then created a row of nine ‘header’ bricks, which needed to be carefully aligned so that the joints fell neatly between those in the row of ‘stretchers’. Once I had two rows, I could use the ‘rectangular pattern’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to repeat the initial pair of layers, to create a wall. There is one twist, which I learned from my course on brick-laying, and that is the use of ‘queen closers’ to produce a straight end to the wall. I decided to create three sections of wall, one cut square at both ends, so that several panels could be joined together to make a longer wall, and two others with left and right ‘queen closures’, as shown below: Steps in creating English Bond Brick Wall The symmetrical ‘centre’ section can be extended as necessary to create longer walls: Multiples of ‘centre’ wall section. I created the mortar (or ‘muck’ as the professionals call it) by extruding a rectangle from the back of the wall to a suitable depth below the front face. I then used the ‘Combine’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to make each section of wall into a single body. Creating the Doorway Arch I made the door and its arched frame as a separate body, creating the pattern of the arch from a single brick, followed by use of the ‘pattern on path’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’. The ‘lessons learned’ from creating the brick wall proved very useful and I found this to be an easier task than I had expected. I added a second inner ring of bricks as a door frame and then extruded a flat panel from the back to create the door. I used the 'Combine' tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to bind together all the bricks and the door into a single body. As before I show the series of steps in a group of screen-shots from ‘Fusion 360’: Steps in creating the arched door One useful aspect of working in the ‘virtual’ world is that solid bodies can slide through one another, so I could set the door into the brick wall without having to cut an aperture in the wall. Creating the Dome Having solved that first construction exercise, I turned my attention to the domed top of the oven, which was also made from brick-work, as shown in another photo of the Gateshead ovens. Top domes of the last working beehive coke ovens in the country. Built in 1861 and worked until 1958 My approach to creating this structure in ‘Fusion 360’ was to start from a profile view of the dome. I then created notches in the slope of this profile to represent the gaps between the brick courses. I also create the aperture in the top, for products of combustion to escape and be burned off. Once I had a domed top, with rings for brick courses, I sketched a narrow rectangle to extrude a gap between bricks in each course. I then used the ‘circular pattern’ tool in ‘Fusion 360’ to create a ring of bricks around the central axis of the dome. I repeated this process for each ring of bricks, varying the numbers in the patterns as appropriate for the longer courses, lower down on the dome. My procedure is illustrated below: Steps in creating brickwork dome Printing the Components The front face, with the arched doorway and the domed top of the oven are the only parts needing specialised design. I assembled these around a simple box structure, to show the overall layout of a single oven, rendered in ‘Fusion 360’ My 3D-model of a ‘beehive’ coke oven All that remained was to transfer the design files to my ‘Cura’ slicer software and then to my 3D printer. I had been a little apprehensive as to whether the mortar courses would be discernible in the prints but need not have worried. Surface indentations usually print more reliably than small raised features, such as rivet heads, which easily disappear if the limits of the FDM printer are exceeded This is the dome, still on the printer bed, with no fettling having been applied. The time to print was 24 minutes. My 3D-printed oven dome, still on Printer bed The brick courses have also printed cleanly on the central panel of the front of the Coke Oven: My 3D-printed arched door, still on Printer bed Both these prints were made from Gcode files prepared by ‘Cura’ software when using its ‘Fine’ resolution setting. For detailed finishes, such as these bricks that are only a few millimetres long in 4mm scale, there is a significant advantage over the ‘Normal’ resolution, with a small penalty in terms of print time, using my Geeetech E180 printer. Detail Comparison between prints made at ‘normal’ and ‘fine’ resolution settings The following print times are those estimated by the ‘Cura’ software for : normal 1h 13m fine 1h 40m extra fine 3h 24m I have not tested the ‘Extra Fine’ setting but, for this model, I felt the time penalty was excessive and that the ‘Fine’ resolution print is adequate. I’ve enjoyed making something ‘different’ with my 3D printer. Now I need to create an embankment, into which I can insert a row on ovens, once I have designed a layout 🙂 Mike
    15 points
  15. Lurking on the work bench have been two EFE Western National, Bristol LS' which I have been detailing. Both were picked up for less than £10 each secondhand. Inspired by the Lincolnshire Road Car Bristol LS on Tony Wright's Little Bytham I asked Ian Wilson at Pacific Models to make me up some printed destination screens for this pair. I supplied Ian with the dimensions of the screens, destination and route numbers. In this instance services which would have originated from Tavistock, crossing the River Tamar at Gunnislake. For those who have never used Ian's products they are easy to use and in this instance self adhesive. Link below to the Pacific Models website: http://www.pacificmodels.co.uk/ The turn around tine was excellent and the destination screen sheet arrived quickly with plenty of spares. Both models were broken down into their component parts. Using a new scalpel blade, the destination screens were carefully cut out using a steel ruler. Being self adhesive they were applied easily over the existing factory finished ones. Using Halfords Satin varnish light coats were applied to seal the destination screens as well as dull the high gloss finish. Numberplates were included for suitable prototypes as well. The window mouldings were dipped into Johnson's Kleer and allowed to dry. Then the raised window frame detailing was inked in using a silver Sharpie permanent marker. Cleaning up was carried out with a cocktail stick. Scale Link produce a sheet of etched brass vehicle door mirrors (Sheet SLF 137). This provides the drivers rear view mirrors for this brace. A coat of Halfords grey primer, followed by their satin black gave a good finish. I am not sure if these mirrors should be green? The silver Sharpie helped give a mirror effect. Using prototype reference shots the mirror fixing points were ascertained and holes drilled for them. The Scale Link mirrors were fixed with contact adhesive. In my eyes this does help to lift the EFE model. Essentially the detailing work is finished. I will paint the wheel arches and lightly weather both buses. Driver and conductor figures as well as passengers will be added. With a bit of work these older EFE models can certainly be lifted to another level. Cheers, Mark
    14 points
  16. Some of you may have heard of Tim Horn, well it turns out as well as a skilled craftsman, he's also a lovely chap (with a lovely dog, Arnie who came along too). Tim kindly agreed to put together and deliver the baseboards. They are very nicely put together, probably twice as good, done three times more quickly than I could do. One thing I hadn't quite twigged is that even a small baseboard in 7mm, if it has the facia and backscene is actually a huge item! Well, actually two items as that's only half of it. Plus the turntable. This is now the second largest item in the house after the couch, I think. Maybe microlayout is a bit of a stretch...
    14 points
  17. Bit of an update on the wagon building miscellany. The Three Peaks Models, Lancashire & Yorkshire Low Goods Wagons are coming on well. I must say how pleased I am with these kits. Following on from reading Jonathan's West End Workbench, I decided to drill out the axle boxes to receive Alan Gibson brass bearings. One is finished in BR unfitted grey. The other is in late LMS livery. Sole bars are to be painted brown on the latter. The LMS version will recieve BR numbers/patching etc. The Airfix/Mainline BR/WR/ex-GWR Bogie Bolster A has been weathered. Again a selection of Valejo and Revell acrylics have been used. Weathering to be finished as above. Load to be added. Any ideas for suitable metal chains to secure the load? The Oxford Rail 7 plank RCH wagon in Napsbury Mental Hospital livery. I believe this institution was near to St. Albans on the Midland Mainline? Totally fictitious I'd imagine but finished as an ex-private owner wagon in BR condition. Weathering effects to be finished. Valejo acrylics and Fox Transfers used in this instance. This Oxford Rail LNER 5 plank wagon received the same treatment. The Airfix LMS 5 plank wagon, re-chassied with a Ratio 10ft RCH chassis is ready for weathering. Fox Transfers once more. I do think this shows how good the Airfix LMS 5 plank moulding is and benefits from a few tweaks. The BR/WR permanent way wagon selection is progressing nicely as well. Transfers are courtesy of Cambridge Custom Transfers and John Isherwood of this parish. Below is the the excellent Chivers P23 Tunny kit. The Cambrian P18 kit is progressing nicely. The CO insignia stands for 'Chief Office' Finally the old Ian Kirk P19 kit awaits weathering. These wagons will receive a coat of Halfords Satin varnish to bed the transfers down before weathering. More soon.... Cheers, Mark
    12 points
  18. In the background I've been working on a number of projects including a few London Transport protoypes. Here's a snifter of what's in store. The venerable Bachmann GWR/BR 57xx has been available in London Transport livery over the years. Railtec Transfers do a LT Pannier number set and I was able to renumber one of my Panniers to L89. Essentially a very simple job. The existing numbers were removed carefully using T-Cut and either a blunt cocktail stick or cotton bud. Leaving a nice gloss surface the Railtec Transfers bedded down nicely. A light coat of brush applied Johnson's Kleer helped with this. The Railtec LT Pannier transfer sheet comes with a number of options by the way. The buffer beam number, bunker number and cabside numbers are included on the sheet. For those who are struggling to find a Bachmann LT Pannier tank, Bachmann Spares Department, sell the LT finished bodyshells as well as the wheelsets. An easy conversion of a Bachmann BR or GWR 57xx. I do have a couple of Bachmann LT BR brakevans, one which will be renumbered using Modelmaster decals from their LT Wagon sheet. These transfers are no longer available but sets do crop up on eBay from time to time. Again due to the rarity of Bachmann LT BR brake vans I thought I would make up a Dapol/Airfix kit to address this The roof vents and chimney have been reversed to correct the error in the ancient mouldings. Roof vents are from Lanarkshire Models and chimney is made up from scrap parts. I could have made a replacement roof but decided to leave it. The rain strips are pieces of Microstrip cut to size. Brass handrails have been added to each end. Lanarkshire Models buffers and coupling hooks have been added as well.. It is finished with a combination of Valejo and Revell acrylic paints. Finally, a request to Steve at Railtec Transfers came up trumps. He has been able to produce some excellent LT style reporting numberplates that the LT Pannier's ran with. The quality of the 3D printed decal is superb even picking our the framework around the individual numbers which were placed in a bracket. In my eyes these fill an important void, whilst addressing the needs of the LT modeller of the 1960's/early 1970's. For those interested in the LT Panniers history and their operation should look no further than 'Red Panniers. Last Steam on the Underground' by John Scott-Morgan & Kirk Martin, published by Lightmoor Press (2008). A well recommended read. Once again, a big thanks to Steve at Railtec for his help with this project. More soon! Cheers, Mark
    11 points
  19. For years my wife has been pointing out that my layout lacks people. Enter my son-in-law Martin. He likes his technology and he has invested in a 3D printer. After making some War Game figures for his son he would turn his attention to some little figures for the railway. Not only did he print the figures but he also painted them – that is skilful. Some of Martin’s 3D Printed and Painted Figures Problem is that printer files for suitable little people are in short supply, or are expensive. Given that finishing and painting the newly printed figures also takes a lot of time and patience I would instead explore the range of readily available finished little people. Suitable UK figures are available from Bachmann, Hornby and Modelu. Bachmann USA, Preiser and NOCH also market figures but these are generally to HO scale which at 3.5mm to the foot is rather small for OO gauge at 4mm to the foot. For layout use where the viewing distances are greater I chose some ready painted little people from the Bachmann Scenecraft range. I thought these were a good compromise between cost and detail. These figures are described as being 00 scale and as far as I can tell are mostly around 22mm tall, equivalent to 5ft 6in full size. By shopping around these ready painted figures can be obtained new for under £2.00 per person. At this price level it is even worth buying and making subtle changes to better fit with my 1960s period layout. Bachmann 36-043 before backdating (top) and after (bottom), Brown paint on the barrow, silver badges and buckles, blue ties, not forgetting the green flag Historically to aid positioning of the ‘little people’, they came with a pre-attached paving stone. What if I didn’t want the paving stone and what if I didn’t want to fix them permanently in place with glue? My platforms are all topped with balsa wood. I decided to ‘pin’ my figures using a short piece of wire, poked into a hole drilled in one of the feet. The figures are formed from soft plastic. It is a relatively quick job to make a hole in one of the feet using a sharp micro 0.5mm twist drill bit rotated with the fingers. It is then a quick job to gently poke a piece of 0.6mm wire into the opening which will generally stay in place without the need for adhesive. Painful! The wire is then trimmed to size to suit the thickness of the balsa wood topping. The Team prepared + Proxxon micro 0.5mm twist drill bit Members of the Team in situ In addition to the railway staff there is the ‘travelling public’. Waiting Then of course you have to be careful with the time frame. Would the lady have been studying her mobile telephone in 1960? No, it would have been a pocket timetable! (Thank you John for the notion.) Still Waiting Adding ‘little people’ is quite addictive and it is soon apparent that figures are needed in locations with no balsa wood. Most of my baseboards are a ½ inch medium density fibre board and it is relatively easy to drill a 0.75mm hole to accept the pin on the base of the figures. The biggest issue I had was finding the hole after I had drilled it. If the combination of 0.6mm wire and a 0.75mm hole produces too much movement, simply use a longer length of wire. A tool for making fine adjustments After the passengers and the porters there are the train crews. It is not so bad if you are running big engines or locomotives of the LNER with their spacious cathedral sized cabs where you cannot tell if there is a driver or not. However if you favour the old GWR locomotives where the cabs were too short to even need side windows it becomes very obvious that there isn’t a driver present. It bothers my wife. The idea of gluing a driver or fireman to the footplate of a £200 model also seriously bothers me. As an alternative to gluing to the footplate I would attach the driver and his fireman to a piece of black cartridge paper shaped to fit snugly on the cab floor. I used offcuts of the Daler – Rowney A4 Canford 150g/m Jet Black card that I had used previously for making corridor connectors. First time lucky – my ex Mainline Dean Goods I should point out that you need to be prepared to trial two or three pieces of card. Having cut out an initial piece of card this can be used as a template to shape and better fit a second piece. The crew for the Dean Goods in the making The little figures are pressed down onto tiny strips of 3mm wide double sided tape. In order to achieve the best possible bonding I lightly file the base of the figures so that they are perfectly flat. As a check I test to see if the figure will stand vertically without any support, the majority are able to. To date I have been able to slide my cartridge paper and figures into position without the need for any adhesive to touch the footplate. This lack of glue is a huge advantage where expensive models are concerned but there is also the ability to remove the crew whilst on shed and to transfer them to another similar engine. Now what about those models where some of the space on the footplate is taken up with a seat? Ex Mainline 43xx I guess the easy solution might be to stick the driver on to the seat. However to maintain the freedom to swap the crew to another engine I included a fold in the card to raise the floor beneath the driver’s feet sufficient for his backside to rest on the seat. As said already you need to be prepared to have two or three attempts at shaping the card! Preparing the crew for the 43xx The crew for the 43xx are historic, a bit like the engine. The driver had to be carved off the lump of plastic that he had been originally attached to. Spot the raised foot rest The next challenge was to fit a train crew into the cab of a tank engine. I have been playing with a sound fitted J72 and I would give it a crew. Having removed the bodyshell from the chassis, the lid of the Bachmann J72 is easily removed by undoing three pairs of screws. This makes the fitting of a train crew relatively quick and easy. Bachmann J72 dismantled Bachmann J72 with crew Not all engines can be dismantled as easily as the J72 and my Bachmann / TM G5 falls into the category of “difficult”. The plan for the G5 was to follow the same process as for the J72. However I couldn't easily lift the lid. The shape of the cartridge paper was cut initially from the J72 but because the lid on the G5 couldn’t be removed I gradually trimmed down the cartridge paper until I was able to feed the paper with the crew attached through the cab door opening of the G5. Ready and waiting for the Bachmann G5 The result I think is nearly very good. Manipulating the card has interfered with its snug fit so that the crew are a little bit more lively than I would have liked! Bachmann G5 + loco crew As already said I have become quite addicted to these little people. There are more of my pictures in an Album on Flickr https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBd8P8 Time now to finish writing this Post and to clock out. The end of another shift
    10 points
  20. I have been working on a couple of Autos for Caia Road. This has included a comet BR(w) auto, an uplifted airfix and a Bachmann example. I have been doing a bit of weathering and have given the airfix one a spray of muck. The roof remains loose as I need to finish some details inside. The sides were kept relatively clean on the airfix coach I made a bit of a mess (not in the intended way) of the Bachmann example but have tried to correct this. I have gone quite heavy but don't have pictures as yet.
    9 points
  21. I don’t post much about my Clevedon layout anymore but just a note to say that the layout will be having a run out at the Sodbury Vale show in Yate on 9 March 2024. I’ve spent a pleasant evening servicing all the engines and checking the layout still works! All is well. Do come and say hello if you’re passing.
    9 points
  22. My GWR E37 tri-compo is ready for painting, built from the Slater’s kit. Earlier I did a blow-by-blow account of the C19 build from the same range, so this post will focus on new experiences and things that were different. There was more flash around the windows than in the C19 kit, especially at the bottom. The window edges are quite thin and hard to distinguish from the flash, and therefore easily damaged when the flash is removed. Inspecting the sides from behind helped. This time I remembered to drill out the holes for the door furniture before assembling the sides. A drawing of the interior layout can be found on the excellent GWR Coaches website. The E37s had two lavatories at the center, accessed from the neighbouring First Class compartments. The kit does not provide for this, so I rebuilt the arrangements to indicate it. No arm rests though, or loos in the lavs! I fitted the seats with a slight gap each side. I find it easier to fit the glazing that way. The bogies in these kits are designed for inside bearings, but I prefer ordinary pinpoint bearings. So as in the C19 build, I applied a bit of freestyling (thanks again @Darwinian for the idea). I used Wizard waisted bearings (ref no. 40002), with the tip filed down to accommodate the axle boxes as can be seen on the r/h bearing here. The axles boxes themselves also had to be opened up inside to fit over the bearings, done with a round file as shown. The brake shoes were a very tight fit against the wheels and tended to jam. I know others have had the same problem. I found that it helps to bend the folded brass tabs that hold the brakes backwards, then gently bend the brake shoe itself forwards to align with the wheel. The E37 kit has Dean 6’4 Bogies (left) while the C10 kit has 8’6 bogies (right). Selecting coaches with different bogies is a nice touch by Slaters. The two types of Dean bogie in direct comparison. On top is the Dean 8´6 wheelbase bogie, which actually has a shorter overall frame and springs than the 6’4 wheelbase bogie below it. Queen posts also positioned differently. The queen posts have to be cut to allow the bogie to swivel. Trial fit of the bogies. I then fitted the underframe details. A slight problem here: If fitted as per the instructions, the vacuum cylinders collide with one of the bogies. So I moved the cylinders a little to one side. Next, the footboards. There was a factory error with one of the long footboards and one of the solebars, both oddly divided at one end. So I built up new end parts from styrene… …which wasn’t too noticeable when fitted. The lower footboards were then fitted to the bogies. I used my own spacers (in the box) to adjust the ride height of the bogies. I find the etched ones that come with the kit a bit fickle. Once I’d found a good ride height for the bogies (i.e. the minimum required to let them swing freely), the center footboard sat too high. The brackets for the offending footboard only have one fixed position - so I resorted to a crude fix, using pliers to first straighten and then gently re-bend the brackets at a lower position, as seen here. The kit provides for sprung buffers, but I went for fixed ones. A great drama ensued. One buffer ram got stuck in the housing too far out, locked solid by Loctite. I raged at the injustice, the Universe darkened, planets imploded. Eventually I managed to remove the buffer beam, carve out the buffer housing, cut off the buffer ram, shorten it, and butt-solder it back on the guide. Given my soldering skills, that was a miracle. The rest of that day I was Alexander the Great, conqueror of worlds. Modelling involves epic battles every day, who needs TV 🙂 The gas lamptops and piping were fitted using handrail wire from 51L. The lamp tops for the toilets add a bit of character. I did the piping for these with microstrip (later filed neat). It strikes me that toilet lamp tops are poorly covered in the literature. Can’t think why. They are rarely seen in photos, but I assume that’s what we see in this Paddington shot, on the second coach in platform 5? As built the coach weighed in at 87 grams. That felt a bit light. I believe Iain Rice said 25 grams per axle. I like my stock a bit heavy so went for 110 grams total. The extra weight was added using Liquid Gravity from Deluxe Models, stuck down with thinned Card Glue from the same outfit. I’ve been monitoring that combo on other stock for 10+ years, so far all is well. So that’s where I’m at. Didn’t have a coin to indicate size, so grabbed an Oryx. Very disorienting, scale is an interesting thing. Door handles, vacuum pipes, couplings etc will be fitted after painting. I’m pondering the livery. The plan was to go for the full pre-1908 chocolate & cream as per my normal modelling period and illustrated on the box. But the 1908-12 all-brown is growing on me. Decisions, decisions.
    8 points
  23. should start by saying that about 10 years ago I produced some 7mm kits for both a P4 and a P5 coal hopper and R2 and R4 coke hoppers. These were resin with brass strapping over layed onto them. With the moulds dying last year I decided to see if I could upgrade them to be a one piece 3D print. This was achieved pretty quickly. But then I had the idea to make them work ie make the bottom doors open and close automatically. Easier said than done. So starting with the P5 hopper this is how far I have got. The wagon body. The lugs on the bottom hold the doors in place and the lugs on bracing is for the door operating lever. Bottom doors and door operating lever. Body with doors attached. There is a bit of brass wire running through the lugs and the door hinges. These are 7mm ones I'm hoping to have some in 4mm before EMGS spring in may. Marc
    7 points
  24. Following on from my post of a month or so back about accepting yesterday's standards as being "good enough", here's the sort of finished 93XX, now with the Comet cylinders as promised. They make a big difference I reckon. I say "sort of" finished because the livery and tender transfers are just to get something into BR service without doing a full repaint from the original GWR green. I removed the latter's lettering with T-cut, then added HMRS transfers for the late crest. I opted for the larger of the two sizes as these seemed about right for a photo I had of a Collett goods tender in unlined green. Now I have to fess up and say I've not been working from a photo of a 93 in similar condition, but I've made the assumption some would have carried this scheme - however that could be an assumption too far! However as mentioned, it's the easiest route to getting it into BR condition without a repaint into black or fully lined green. Another consideration is that the model as it stands lacks the weight added behind the buffer beam that was eventually removed and the engines then renumbered into the 73XX series. However, for now... The model was already DCC fitted using a hardwired Digitrax decoder, but after extensive running I found the performance a bit sluggish and inconsistent in speed. I've found that the inexpensive Laisdcc decoders seem to work well straight out of the box, so the model was taken apart and rewired, this time incorporating an 8-pin socket in the tender. A Laisdcc decoder was tested and resulted in an immediate improvement in the running, having lots more power in reserve and not being prone to inconsistent speed in different parts of the layout. I'm no expert but my guess is that older decoders like the Digitrax one seem to be much more sensitive to varying current draw and voltage irregularities. In any case the cost of a Laisdcc decoder is low enough that I won't hesitate to try a swap if I suspect an older decoder isn't getting the best out of a loco.
    6 points
  25. I liked the look of the Fergie, but decided that the steering mechanism was very 'representational'. The 3D model just had a couple of bumps meant to represent the steering rod and axle supports. I decided to try and model a better mechanism. I was able to import the STL file into CAD and then try to draw up the extra parts. The original model was designed to be printed on a filament printer so the detail was quite simple. Ideally I would have removed the original features from the model but I'm finding that much more difficult than adding bits! If I try doing a boolean operation on the 3D model it makes a large hole in the surface but I can't see how to fill the gap back in. Onshape probably isn't the right tool for this but I tried Meshmixer too and got stuck with that. I'm not brave enough to attempt anything in Blender. For now I just attacked the resulting resin with a scalpel! I think the result makes the front end look much more complete. You can image it being able to steer now. I was very pleased with the Vallejo 'Tire [SIC] black' which has given the wheels a really nice matt rubber look. I'm now going to have some fun weathering it, if I bog it up completely I can always print another one. David
    6 points
  26. It's been real quiet since the last entry, and I do apologize for that. Didn't have time to work on stuff due to school and personal life events but nonetheless, I'm proud to show one of my almost-finished projects, the North Star.😀 - For those who want some info on North Star, read the Wiki articles below. The Great Western Railway (GWR) Star Class of 2-2-2 broad gauge steam locomotives were used for passenger train work. Designed by Robert Stephenson, the class was introduced into service between November 1838 and November 1841, and withdrawn between April 1864 and September 1871. A total of twelve Star Class locomotives were manufactured. Notably, they were given the romantic or colloquial (rather than scientific) names of astronomical bodies. By the time the last had been delivered, GWR engineer Daniel Gooch had designed and taken delivery of several of his larger Firefly Class. North Star (1837–1871) North Star arrived at Maidenhead Bridge station by barge on 28 November 1837; on 31 May 1838 it worked the inaugural train for the company's directors. In 1854 it was rebuilt with 16 in × 18 in (406 mm × 457 mm) cylinders and the wheelbase lengthened by 1 foot (305 mm). It was withdrawn in 1871 but kept at Swindon, along with Lord of the Isles, until 1906. It was then dismantled but many parts were recovered to build the later replica. 'The north star' is one of two common alternative names for Polaris (its other being 'the pole star'). It is the only visible polar star in either hemisphere, and has long been used for navigation due to its constant fixed and unmoving appearance due north in the night sky. The commercial park north of Swindon Station is called North Star after the engine and includes streets named North Star Avenue and Polaris Way. I'm really, really really glad that I started working on this project because I definitely enjoyed it a lot, seeing the different illustrations and conditions of North Star fascinated me. And what really piqued my interest is the fact that it was scrapped! Yes, scrapped! It was scrapped in 1906 and rebuilt in 1923, and it couldn't even run under its own steam, it had to be towed by another locomotive.
    5 points
  27. The next task was to cut an entry hole from the fiddle yard. I don't know if you are like me, but I find it a bit daunting cutting holes in or otherwise modifiying (and therefore potentially ruining) any expensive and lovely model. This is why, even though I was pleased with my weathering on some wagons, I haven't yet built up the courage to tackle a locomotive yet. I mean, I know most things that go wrong can be sorted with a bit of work, but there is a feeling that it might all go horribly wrong. And in this case it sort of did, but, as I said, even a wobble can get fixed and I was happy with the result. Anyway, the baseboard may be a lovely but of craftsmanship, but it's not much use without access to the fiddleyard, so off we go. Firstly, I cut out a cardboard arch to get an idea of the size, and drew round it onto the end of the layout - making sure it was dead in the center of course. I planned to use a big wood screw to cut the corners and then cut up with the electric jigsaw. I worked out carefully out the centers so I could drill the hole in the right place and thus I would get a nice neat hole (well, that was the plan). The wood drill did try to drift a bit as the blade parts stareted to cut but it was was fairly cooperative and I was quite happy. However this miscreant, whether because it's a cheap nasty or because I haven't used it more than twice ever, decided not to cooperate. What a mess! All of poor Tim's hard work buidling this thing and I go and do this outrage to it! The shame! Anyway these guys came to the rescue. After a bit of work tidying up, it's now looking at least presentable. In actual fact it will be hidden, but I do want it to be at least presentable. While I was testing the size, I used the Peco track on top of a spacer to repsent the track height - with the foresight of using a length with a buffer stop to make sure it didn't run off the end. I wouldn't necessarily be able to put it right if it smashed into a thousand pieces, I guess incidents of that nature are why modellers so often have grounded bodies as stores etc on their layouts.
    5 points
  28. These two carriages are at an earlier stage of build than my other recent overlay projects so I hope to be able to show more of the process involved. 3rd class corridor carriage C69 Brake 3rd diagram D120: The photos above shew what I am hoping to achieve. C69 corridor Third: This photo shews the Comet models side against the donor Airfix carriage. Using my normal manner of removing the majority of the side, this is the progress a week later once the primer has been applied: Seen here, well on the way to being completed. D120 Brake Third carriage: The Airfix donor carriage is seen being dismantled! There is a lot of plastic to remove - its not a job for the feint hearted.... Then having had a coat of primer: Then both carriages together having had transfers applied. The full scope of these type of builds is as follows: Remove sufficient plastic from the donor sides. Remove all the roof fittings. Remove all underframe fittings. Glue the sides to the plastic body, using a epoxy glue (not an instant grab glue). Fill any areas that need attention. Mark out the roof and drill for the new roof ventilators; handrails and make up new toilet tanks. Fit all required underframe fittings: Battery boxes; dynamo; brake vacuum cylinders. Make up new interior to suit the particular model. Change end details as required with steps; corridor connectors; pipework etc. Spray primer Fill any areas that need attention - after spraying you will always find something else. Spray cream; chocolate; grey (desired roof colour). At least two coats of each. Apply transfers Spray matt varnish to seal the transfers. (Again two coats). Glaze the vehicles. Add door furniture as required. Then you can stand back and admire your work. Having taken these carriages from the fiddle yard and placed them onto the layout to take the photos below, I realised that I havent finished adding the door handles! D120 Brake 3rd C69 all Third: It would have been nice to add a Composite Brake vehicle, but at 6 carriages it is already quite a heavy train and fills the Henley-on-Thames platforms nicely. The door handles etc. will be added to these carriages and then the project will be finished.
    4 points
  29. Despite Mr David Larkin confirming for me the floor of a XVA wagon is an open frame-work, compared to the BDA steel bolster wagon's wooden platform, I am determined to have a means of conveying over-size steel from the manufacturers up north to a small ship-yard south of Atherington East Yard, at Tilling Docks. The wagon would be conveyed at the head of the goods train 'passing through' my goods yard, so I need not consider load handling in my little general sidings. What decided me was if I keep the loaded side facing the viewer, the wagon floor would be obscured largely, and if painted black I hope will not be obvious. So I bought some packs of Evergreen L-shape angle - Nos. 292, 0.080"/2.0 mm. and 294, 0.125"/3.2 mm. and tried to calculate the dimensions of the trestle frame. Taking Colin J. Marsden's measurements from his 1984 BR and private owner wagons, pp.87-88, of an 8'6" high frame at a 48Deg. angle, I drew a scale diagram of the trestle arrangement: However, I made the first of several mistakes in thinking the frame propping the 'loading side' was at a right-angle to it. As one can see from Paul Bartlett's excellent web-site, it is not... https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brtrestlexva In blissful ignorance, I made a paper mock-up to balance on the Bachmann wagon, now stripped of its bolsters with a large pair of pliers, and popped a Lima Class 33 diesel in front of it. The trestle stuck out alarmingly above the loco, so I trimmed off six mm. gradually by eye, this being the final length of the main trestle 'stakes', giving a measurement of 40mm. and the supporting girders of 24mm. I cut off three sides of the BDA's 'lip', and painted the edges black. I should have done the whole floor then as well. Then it was just a case of cutting and shaping ten pairs of girders, and making sure they were the correct orientation. I glued the bottom of each to a thin strip of plastic square to provide a second 'mount', and worked from the outside to the wagon centre, lest the spacing appear in need of correction - I thought this would give better scope for adjustment. The gap is 19.5mm. Propping up the 'load frame' against the wagon's edge, I glued on the supporting girders, scraping paint off the wagon floor to allow the Liquid Poly to adhere, and finally the cross-braces on the back. The 'diamond' junction plates are 120g./m2 paper, cut to shape. All was then painted with Humbrol silver, no. 11. One of many errors is the lack of the three 'steps' either side of the larger central one on the 'support side'. I assume owing to mis-measurement and/or over-size plastic angle, these will not fit, so am undecided as to whether to ignore them (they will be hidden by the sheet steel load anyway) or cut away the step or girder to fit. And here is the result in revenue earning service on its way to Tilling Docks, in the yard arrival line. I intend to fit 0.5mm. painted paper strips over the loads for the plastic strapping. I assume each sheet was loaded individually, i.e., there was no 'sandwiching' of steel the same size, but could be wrong. Also there is a hand rail above the steps to add, with painted garden wire. Lessons for the future: use smaller L-shape angle. These were the only two on sale at the exhibition, but are too large; there might be smaller sizes made by Evergreen. Try and get correct measurements (but I do not know how); this might permit the other steps to fit. I hope this encourages others to have a go. My results are going to win no prizes, but I like the look, and it might prompt fate to bring out a ready-to-run version. And my ship-yard can get its steel delivery.
    4 points
  30. Going back through to develop the early Mentor I also decided to model the various guises in between! still has the side door and windows in the coach ends. Horns fitted and later style spotlights.
    4 points
  31. I originally wanted to build a photo/shunting plank, if you've seen "Jinty's" YouTube video (such as the 08 sound decoder demo) you'll have seen how fantastic a straight piece of track can look with sympathetic scenery. Well, I thought I'd better put a couple of points on the track so at least the trains can shunt about a bit. Something like this: But then I thought if I'm going to bother doing that, if I put two more points in, I get an actual "station" with run round loop and two sidings. So I came up with a layout that would fit the baseboards, with about 3 wagons on the left hand siding, four on the right, and a loop that can fit 4 and a brake van. The first thing I did after the delivery of the baseboards was to lay out some Peco track on the templot track plan and some stock to see how it looks. The first thing I didn't like was the siding in front of the run round loop release on the far right. I don't know why, but when the loco was behind the stock, it just looked wrong. So I think I'll change the crossover direction so the loco release is towards the front, and the siding is behind. Not really typical, but not really a howler either. This also means I can extend the left hand siding. (I won't keep the end dock from that picture as that's not really how they would work).
    4 points
  32. I've been on the lookout for a countryside steam era Station kit. Faller offer several fairly generic examples, often Combination Depots with an adjoining Goods Shed (Güterschuppen). However, I was rather taken by this one, which I spotted being sold with a generous preowned discount as the box had been opened. It'll need a separate Goods Shed: The only bit missing was the station clock. As I want it for an earlier era, I can live without the modern clock in the picture. More of an issue was that a start had been made on the kit, with a few of the window and door surrounds having been glued in place, visible in this photo below: I prefer to paint components before assembly if I can. It gets round the fact I'm not a neat painter - it only took a few minutes to brush paint these quoins and chimney components while they were still on their sprue, for example: As it would turn out, almost half the time I spent on this kit ended up on the walls and bits that had been started. It all began quite promisingly. I opted for rattle can spray paint. I really liked the way a quick coat of white brought out the relief on the walls, and the bricks on the door and window surrounds. Here's a close-up of one section that had been started: But I decided to add a second coat of a creamier colour, using white gloss spray paint from a rattle can. It would give me a contrast with the doors and window frames, which were white. I'd not allowed for the gloss paint being thicker, and by the time I'd also tried picking out the door and window surrounds, messed that up, then re-sprayed it all so I could have a second go at the brickwork, I'd covered the details. I'd also wasted about a week while leaving each new coat of paint to dry: This was clearly not good enough. I wondered about giving it a Dettol bath to remove the paint, but to save some time I just tried scraping off the extra paint from the brickwork. My first attempts were a bit too rough, but showed it could work. Feeling suitably chastened by my errors, I took as much care as I could while I added the windows and shutters, the doors and the stonework detail (printed paper on card). The overall improvement came as a big relief. It still looks rather scruffy in this close-up, but at a normal viewing distance I now felt satisfied I could proceed. Lesson learned: I had another small fail with some of the green door panels, which I found out were of a softer plastic that didn't like being sanded to fit. On the other hand, I was impressed with the design of the Faller windows - with fixing lugs to aid alignment. I fitted the window frames then the glazing in separate modelling sessions to reduce the risk of any glue marks showing: One instruction I didn't follow was the suggestion to make each part of the building as a separate module, then glue them to the platform: Experience has taught me they probably wouldn't have fitted together properly, so I built them up in place piece by piece, again taking a lot more time than I would usually do at this stage (which paid off). I added the quoins only after all the walls were in place. I've previously encountered the box-shaped paper inserts used inside some continental building kits, and again took my time over these, even though they get hidden from view: I'm not a weathering expert, but have found that, as long as I've added some simple weathering to the roofs of a building, I don't need to do much else. My technique is very simple: after painting the roof a dark grey I added a thin wash from some dirty white spirits, brushed with a handy square of kitchen roll. It's not sophisticated, but seems to work for me: When I showed a different Station Kit I'd made at a local meeting of our 009 Society Group, it was pointed out (quite correctly) that I should also have looked at the Station platform. This time I left it with a coat of grey primer, as that seemed a bit grittier - still rather uniform, but less obviously too clean. I can add more weathering later, to suit the surroundings: Although my colour scheme is basically the same as the box photo, I do feel painting everything does make quite a difference, something to remember when tackling larger kits than this (where it can be tempting not to bother). I also wanted a more 'grown-up' colour for some of the details, so went for black for the guttering and metal fence: I painted the two wooden platform benches in a darker green (actually olive yellow), and gave them black legs. I decided not to use a more modern looking corner bench - that'll go into the spares box: To avoid glue marks around the feet of the benches, I glued them in place using the rear feet and backs only. The design of the chimney stacks is ingenious and means no glue need be applied to outside joins - just a dab in each fixing hole. I went for black metalwork for the station lamps, painting the bulbs yellow, which I then overpainted with a thin layer of metallic brass (Humbrol Met 54) paint before gluing them in place. I figured lamps on an older station would not be the bright white of today's illuminations, and adding the metallic paint helps them look less, well, like painted plastic (the photo below is the yellow before the metallic paint was added). Another good thing about the Faller kit is the fixing holes for details like the fences and lamps go right through the base, so they can be glued in place from underneath - much neater. The station signs are printed on card, so I added a backing of plasticard, painting the edges black before gluing them in place: Sometimes the final details takes longer than the basic assembly, but the time I spent pre-assembly meant the final stages seemed quicker - I just worked in smaller sessions, leaving each step to dry / set overnight before doing anything else. The end result is something I'm very happy with. I still have some timetables / posters I can also add later if I want to: I like the way the level of detail compares with a simpler but slightly larger American outline Walthers kit for a Depot that probably served a similar sized town: Overall, despite the early set-back (self-inflicted), the latter stages of this build turned out to be very enjoyable. It has given me something I'm happy to share here. A nice project finished off in half-term. As always, comments and advice are welcome. Thanks for taking a look, Keith.
    4 points
  33. From 1925 the GWR fitted a pair of 5 1/8 diameter flue tubes in the upper corners of untapered boilers that had belpaire fireboxes, pressure 165psi and above and no superheater. This is reckoned to have reduced cracking in the corners of the firebox. Tapered boilers like the 94xx never had this feature, but it was seen on all post 1934 designs and also on replacement boilers on smaller pre group pannier tanks and side tanks like 850s, 2021s and I think 517s. Did any other lines use this design feature? I would imagine, BTW, it was a pragmatic innovation, based on experience, rather than theory. Plenty of P class boilers on pannier tanks had been superheated before 1925, with a single row of flue tubes, and by this date the superheater elements were being removed. If those boilers were seeing a significant reduction in problems then it was an obvious thing to try. It wasn't done on the taper boilers. It seems to have been first used on replacement boilers for small pre group pannier tanks, 850s and 2021s, in 1925. The Std 11 boiler of 1924, which was basically a variation on the Metro boiler didn't have them, although the Std 21 on the 54s 64s and 74s, which was a Std 11 with a drum head smokebox, did. Worth noting that although P class (and other) boilers were standard and interchangeable on the outside there were any number of different tube arrangements tried on the inside during the Churchward era. Tube layout was clearly a preoccupation in the drawing office.
    4 points
  34. Some while back as part of the work on the Winchester Railway Modellers Redbridge Wharf layout we decided to add smoke and steam effects to a model of a TID tug. After a bit of research we harked upon cheapo piezo electric mister units as used in humidifiers. These can be obtained in various sizes and with various control boards from all the normal sources. The unit we settled on was a 16mm disc connected to a control board that takes a 5v input. This was rigged in in an old plastic bottle, fed by a wick and supported by a 3D printed contraption underneath the baseboard. Fed with 5 volts from the layout and set on it's random setting it gives a quite pleasing effect and certainly catches the attention at exhibitions. Of course it was never going to stop there! Would it be possible to do something in a loco? Others have done it so it had to be done. I happened to be respraying a model of the A4 Mallard to create a model of Sir Nigel Gresley as running in 1967. An obvious candidate for running on a model of the ex-LSWR mainline to Weymouth! Quite a lot of space in the smoke box of an A4 so with a bit 3D printing a mounting and water tank was produced and all I had to do was figure out the electrickery bits. It's currently very much a prototype but it seems to work... The loco is fitted with an ESU loksound micro decoder but that isn't man enough to drive the mister circuit which needs 150+ mA. To get round that I've rigged up a rectifier and voltage regulator to provide enough 5volt oomph. That feeds the supplied control board but with a slight twist. Giles of this parish produced a chuffing narrow gauge radio controlled loco and poked around in the control board mechanism. He found that in order to get the mister to chuff reliably you need to trickle 2 volts or so to it all the time then when you give it a squirt of 5 volts it responds immediately. Very very useful info. In my case I have a solid state relay controlled by Aux 1 on the DCC decoder. This function output is turned on by function 4 and is defined to trigger on every sound chuff. The relay effectively switches the power supply to the mister control board from 2 volts to 5 volts. The problem at the moment is that all the control gear takes up rather a lot of space... I have my work cutout to miniaturise all this. Cheers Dave
    3 points
  35. I have long been fascinated by colonial and other offshore railways like the Jersey Eastern and British-run companies in Latin America. This will be a small, experimental project, a bit of fun, to model something of the happy-go-lucky style of the more eccentric type, free from the attentions of the British Board of Trade and its successors. You have to imagine a pier with trains and trams. The train part will be loosely based on the trackplan of Shrewsbury Abbey station, formerly part of the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway. The main difference is that the left-hand goods siding becomes a line to the dockside. I have added a tramway with a loop, which also leads to the docks, shown here on the plan below. Above the railway in this plan will be a sea wall. To the left bottom, the tramway and the railway combine for the short distance to the dockside, off-scene. To the right, both the tramway and the railway pass through a ceremonial arch into the fiddle yard, something like this... ...though the railway arch will have to be modified to allow trains to pass through. The tramway will pass through the central arch, along with a road. Before finalising the trackplan. I am building an overall roof for the station - necessary to shade passengers and trains from the intense sunshine and add a unique character to the scene. This will enable me to judge better how far apart the tracks should be, platform width etc. I am combining four Ratio station train shed roofs to make this. I am strengthening the structure by adding extra crossbeams along the full width of the structure. The next step on this roof is to add more crossbeams and detailed girders. I have also started work on fabricating a station building. I shall give a more detailed description of both in another blog entry, in due course.
    3 points
  36. Another train to talk about, and one of the more known broad gauge locomotives, "Iron Duke" I have actually made one of the Iron duke classes, which is Lord of the Isles, though it was inaccurate in basically everything. I have it shown on my entry about my 'finished' Rover Class. I've planned to make Iron duke after I finish the North Star, which never did since I started work on Iron Duke immediately when I was satisfied with North Star's progress. Though I was hesitant at first because the smokebox design really made me struggle as I had to figure out how to make it exactly like the real one instead of just making it like any other smokebox door. Another reason is that I didn't really want to make another tender, hence why I would usually stick to tank engine freelance or not. But I'm happy I started work on Iron Duke because once I finish the tender, I can reuse it for other locomotives that I plan to do, such as Pyracmon, Leo Class, possibly the rebuilt B&ER 4-2-4T (Tender version) and honestly anything else that used the tender. - Now that its the end of the post, here's some information about Iron Duke from Wikipedia. The Great Western Railway Iron Duke Class 4-2-2 was a class of 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge steam locomotives for express passenger train work. The prototype locomotive, Great Western, was built as a 2-2-2 locomotive in April 1846, but was soon converted to a 4-2-2 arrangement, with the leading wheels set rigidly within the sandwich framing, rather than in a separate bogie. The remainder of the class entered service between April 1847 and July The Iron Duke locomotives were fast for their time, and were recorded reaching 78.2 mph (125.9 km/h). They were used to haul the Flying Dutchman express train, which was the fastest express train in the world for several decades. In 1852, the daily service from London Paddington to Exeter (194 miles or 312 km) was achieved with an average speed of 53 mph (85 km/h), with the flatter section between London and Swindon covered at an average speed of 59 mph (95 km/h). From about 1865, the Iron Duke Class was known as the Alma Class.
    2 points
  37. I've just heard of the death of an uncle, aged a few weeks short of 100. He was, I believe the last remaining member of my father's generation and certainly, the last WW2 veteran in the family (called up in 1943 and fought in Italy and Northern Germany) Moreover, I've been asked to give a eulogy for the old devil. That should be fun. We weren't close, but his own children emigrated long ago ..... although one is returning from the US for the funeral (it was his habitual assertion that NASA paid for his nursing care) He lived at home, albeit increasingly frail into his 90s, to general concern. He went on a series of cruises in his 80s, declaring that his money was his to spend, whatever his children might think! He was totally unreconciled to pretty much every aspect of the modern world, on particularly misanthropic days he would remark that "if we'd known what the government planned, we'd have shot our officers and come home" So, lots to work with!
    2 points
  38. In my previous blog on this subject I mentioned I'd 3D printed some wheel centres to fit into Alan Gibson 4'10" tyres. I put these into my test chassis and got it working but I was not entirely happy with the result. The issue I believe is that 'Gibson Style' wheels rely on having the centre molded out of a fairly 'grippy' plastic, the hole through the centre is designed to be a good tight fit on an 1/8th inch axle. even so most of us have had a wheel be a bit loose at times and some people resort to pinning the wheels to the axles. Those modelling in OO and EM have the opportunity to use wheels from Romford, now Markits which make use of an axle with a square end which fits into a square hole in the back of the wheel. I thought I'd try and replicate this with my wheel centre print so modified the wheel centre to match the style of a Romford wheel and I purchased some Markits EM axles. Obviously the P4 Back-to-Back is slightly wider than the EM one so my wheels needed a little section in the back to take their thickness out so that when fastened to the EM axles they present a P4 Back-to-Back. The drawing shows the rear of the wheel centre. Printing horizontally does mean that the back of the wheel has all the support structure which needs to be removed but it cleans up alright (photo taken half way through the process). The key is not to interfere with the central boss and just to make the rest of the wheel rear smooth. I've put a touch of black sharpie on the rear of the wheel to better show up the square whole. I had to play about a bit with the model to get the right size central boss. A little bit of trial and error was needed at this point but in the end I fitted all 3 axles to the test chassis and the quartering of the wheels worked from the get-go. Obviously I'll need to make some covers for the axle ends but the result took less effort than using my GW wheel press. I have now assembled the footplate and cab sides and it all fits together quite nicely with the 3D printed boiler though nothing is fastened down at this point. I've borrowed a GW models roller to roll the cab roof (thanks Middlepeak) so that is the next job on the cab. Although I have etched the brake gear I've also produced a 3D printed version of the brake hangers and brake blocks to see how they work and whether they are robust enough. I also need to make up the tender chassis, I've rubbed down the tender sides very slightly to remove a little bit of marking from the printing process. All together I think it is some good progress. David
    2 points
  39. For my 1908 GWR setting, I can't have too many 4-plank opens - they were around 40% of the revenue-earning fleet. My planned rosta of 20 GWR wagons therefore includes eight 4-plankers, and it is another one of these that is the subject of this post. It differs from the last one in being made from the ABS whitemetal kit (remaining stocks still available from DJ Parkins). It also has a load of straw under a sheet - inspired by Mikkel's similar creation in 4mm scale. The kit comprises four main castings, and then the running gear, brakes, buffers, and so on: The body was soldered together with low-melt solder: The interior is nicely detailed. I soldered up the inside corners, as I knew the inside wouldn't be visible with the straw load. I think it would be hard to do this cleanly, so if I wanted the inside to be seen, I would spot-solder underneath for strength, then put some epoxy resin into the gap inside the corner and clean it up when half hard. The axleguards and wheels were added: The floor provided is a piece of planked plastikard. It is a bit flimsy, and as I didn't need the plank detail, I replaced it with 40 thou plastikard to provide a solid foundation for the brake gear below and the former for the straw above. Next was the brake gear. The main casting is nicely detailed, so I used it, together with the vee-hanger that is integral to the side castings. For my period, the brake gear should be single-sided. The cross-shaft was made from 1mm internal diameter brass tube, with a piece of 1mm brass wire running through it. This method means I have a cross-shaft that is the right diameter (the real things were quite chunky, and often modelled too small in 7mm scale), but with the holes in the vee-hanger, brake lever and other parts needing to be only 1mm diameter. This is much easier than trying to drill 1.6mm or so holes, which leaves very little metal around the hole. On the prototype, the brake gear had a single support strut for the cross-shaft on the inside end, so this was made from a bit of scrap etch. The view from the front - the brake shoes and hangers, which are the earlier type made from a simple piece of flat metal, are very nicely modelled in the ABS casting: The supplied brake lever and lever guard are a bit crude - an inevitable consequence of being cast in whitemetal. I replaced them with parts from Ambis: With brake safety loops from nickel silver strip, a door banger plate from plastikard, buffers and couplings, the wagon is physically complete. The CRT Kits sprung buffer heads were fitted to the ABS cast guides after drilling them out accordingly. They are seen here with the couplings on the wagon just for show - they weren't permanently fitted until after painting: The wagon was painted with Halford's red oxide primer, and then the sides and ends were varnished with Vallejo acrylic gloss, ready for lettering. My preference was not to varnish, as the matt primer finish is a very good basis for the fairly heavy weathering I was planning to apply, and I was going to use Pressfix transfers, which don't need a gloss surface. However, I have run out of small "G.W.R" texts on my Pressfix sheet, so the lettering had to be done with waterslide transfers: The numbers are from those supplied by PECO with their 4-plank kit - they come as a complete number rather than separate numerals, which makes life easier and guarantees the numerals are straight. However, they are a bluer white than the Slater's transfers which I used for the other lettering. I also struggled to prevent silvering, despite using both Microset and Microsol, and having varnished previously, so I probably won't use them again. The basis of the hay load was a former made of layers of corrugated cardboard, and covered with cut up plumber's hemp: This former was made some time ago, originally for the PECO 4-plank wagon I described in another post, before I decided that would remain empty. I based the former on the pictures of hay and straw bales being loaded in Russell's GWR Wagons Appendix. I later discovered that for my period (1908) hay and straw came in hand-made 'trusses' which were loaded differently and tended to make a less rectangular shape. I kept the former, thinking I could pack additional hemp around it to create a more rounded shape, but as we will see I was only partly successful. Weathering was applied with a mix of washes and dry-brushing in greys, browns and pinks (for the slightly faded paint areas). The former was glued in: Extra hemp was pushed in to fill the slight space between the wagon sides and the former - I kept the hemp over-long at this stage, for trimming later: The sheet was made from paper and aluminium foil using the methods described previously. One change was the cords - rather than using EZ Line, I used 0.25mm rigging thread (used by ship modellers). I realised that I would not be able to glue the sheet to the former in the way I had previously, and the cords would have to do some real work pulling the sheet into position. The EZ Line is elastic, but quite weak, and would not be able to apply enough force. I put some extra hemp over the former before applying the sheet. The plan was this would create the straw coming out under the ends of the sheet, and I would stuff extra hemp under the sides once it was roped into position. To keep everything in place while I roped the sheet on, I held the sheet and the wagon together on a wooden block with a couple of large elastic bands: I used a miniature brass clamp to hold the end of each cord, so I could keep it under tension with the weight of the clamp while I had both hands free to turn the cord around the hooks under the curb rail: The cord was glued in position with a drop of thin CA, applied on the end of a piece of wire. The ABS kit comes with a representation of the hooks cast into the sides and ends. These are neater than the wire hooks I have made on other wagons, which are a bit over-scale, but the ABS casting is not actually a hook shape, just a piece of metal sticking down. The cord tends to slip off, and if I was doing it again I would probably replace the cast protrusions with wire hooks to make attaching the cords easier. I started with the three side cords, doing one side then the other, making sure the sheet was tight over the top of the former when doing the second side. I then did the ends, leaving the corners to last: The corners are folded in and tied, using tweezers to push and prod the material into something like the folds the real thing takes up. Extra hemp was pushed up under the sides using a wooden stirrer - the round end preventing damage to the sheet. Looking at photos of wagons with hay and straw loads, it is clear the sheets have a degree of stretch to them - they form over the rounded load in a curving shape without a lot of loose material. The combination of my too-rectangular former and non-stretchy sheet meant I had an excess of material at the ends, which formed into folds that are not prototypical. As far as possible, I got the hemp to look as if it was supporting these folds as some sort of justification, but this aspect could definitely be improved. Next, I trimmed the hemp back with small, sharp scissors, trying to get the uneven look of the straw sticking out seen in pictures. Finally, I added the ropes from 0.5mm rigging cord. The real ropes were 75 feet long, or 525mm in 7mm scale, so I cut two pieces that length. The GWR General Appendix to the Rule Book shows how straw and hay should be roped - different methods for the two types of load. Straw is roped with ropes going across the wagon in three places, while for hay the ropes go across twice, and diagonally twice. Unfortunately it doesn't give details of how exactly the ropes should be tied, and none of the pictures I had were clear enough to show this, so I used a certain amount of guesswork. Each of the two ropes starts at a left-hand buffer (looking at the wagon from the side), goes to a hook a quarter of the way along the wagon, over the load, along to the centre, over again, and is tied off onto itself. I ended up with a few scale feet of rope left over, which I cut off, not knowing how the excess would have been dealt with in reality - I imagine if an actual railwayman had done that, he would have been dismissed for damaging company property! With all the handling, the sheet needed some touching up, as did the wagon, but with that, the job was done. With hindsight, I wish I had made a new former to give a slightly more rounded effect - the load is rather flat on top compared to photos, especially along the length of the wagon. That would also have given me the opportunity to create slight 'valleys' where the ropes press into the sheet. As it is, while they aren't loose, they don't especially give the sense of being under tension. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the overall effect. Loads like this are quite a lot of work, but they add interest - and the horses of Netherport will now have something comfortable to lie on. Nick.
    2 points
  40. Yet another GWR 4-plank! This time in grey livery, and with a load of large casks: The wagon itself is a standard Peco kit, which I got on eBay as a 'rescue' wagon - it had been built reasonably well but painted poorly. I scraped most of the paint off the main flat areas, and repaired a partly broken W-iron. I removed the compensated wheel-set in the process, which turned out to be quite useful later on. I also upgraded a few parts - firstly the damaged brake lever was replaced with an Ambis etched version. The brake lever guard was made up from nickel silver strip and a ratchet taken from the Ambis etch: The moulded chains for the door pins were replaced with twisted fuse wire. This is done by taking a 5cm length of fine fuse wire, folding it in half around the shank of a 1.5mm drill, and putting the two ends into a pin chuck. Twizzling the pin chuck twists the wire, and when it is tight, the wire can be slid off the drill, leaving a nice loop for the ring if you need to model that. In this case, I kept the moulded ring, and just replaced the chain, scraping off the moulded version, drilling a fine hole, inserting the twisted wire, and adding a small drop of thin CA glue applied on the end of a piece of fine wire. Cleats were added to the end curb rails, and under the side curb rails, using some 0.5mm soft iron wire. This bends to shape easily, and is blackened, reducing the chance of a metallic gleam if the paint is rubbed off. The rest of the work on the wagon was pretty standard - painting with a home-brew GWR grey mixed from black and white Vallejo acrylics, lettering with HMRS pressfix, and fairly light weathering with powders. Most of the work in this build was the casks, and simulating the correct method of loading them. The casks themselves are from MiniArt: They are nominally 1:35 scale, but the detail is finely moulded, so they pass for larger casks at 1:43.5. In the kit you get 6 sprues, which provide parts for 12 casks, 6 each of two sizes: For this wagon load, I chose the larger casks, which are very close to the right length for 'tuns' - a particular size of cask - although they are slightly too large in diameter. The GWR Appendix to the Rule Book, 1936, has instructions for loading casks. Large ones, such as tuns and puncheons, containing wines and spirits, are to be loaded on rope rings, and roped to the side of the wagon. Curiously, the photographs used to illustrate the method show a Midland Railway 3-plank wagon. The photos are poorly reproduced, especially the one that shows the roping, though the one showing the inside is available online online in much better quality, from the Midland Railway archives. My attempts to find a better version of the second photo, are documented in the following thread, together with other discussion of casks, loading, etc, so I won't repeat that information here: Researching rope rings, I found some instructions on YouTube for tying a crown knot. I used 1mm diameter rigging thread, from www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk. I won't give full instructions here, as they are easily found on the internet, but here are the basic steps: I didn't make a complete ring, as you can only see one side, since the casks are tight to the wagon side on the other. Each part-ring was glued around a plastikard centre, to hold the ring in shape and to give something solid to glue to both the cask and the wagon floor. To get the cask to nestle nicely into the rope ring, I soaked the sides of the ring, where it can't be seen, in thin CA glue to harden the thread, and then filed a shallow depression in the rope and the plastic centre with a half-round file. Holding the ring was made easier by putting a drill in the vice, shank upwards, and putting the ring onto that while filing it: The result was a close fit between ring and cask, helping give a sense the cask is heavy, and squashing the ring somewhat: I drilled a hole in what would be the bottom of each cask to take a cocktail stick, which acted as a handle for painting, and later to locate the rope ring: The first coat of paint was a grey primer, then a warm new-wood cream colour. This was followed by dry brushing in greys and browns: And washes of greys, with a touch of brown weathering powder: The metal rings were painted with a fine brush using a dark grey, followed by a lighter grey dry-brushing. The crisp moulding of the casks means that though this is a fiddly job, it's perfectly possible to get a neat result. Once I was happy with the casks, the rope rings were glued in place, sliding them up the cocktail sticks, which were trimmed off once the glue was set. The GWR rules appendix doesn't refer to any packing between the casks and the wagon side, though it firmly forbids the use of straw rings under the casks - only a rope ring will do. The equivalent section of the BR rules says straw pads should be used to "prevent chafage". I decided to add knots of straw (made from plumbers' hemp) as packing, glued to the sides of the casks: The casks were then glued into position, ready for the roping. In the absence of a better photo, I did the best I could with the picture in the GWR rules appendix: As far as I could tell from this picture, the ropes go something like this: A GWR 4-plank has different available tying-off points compared to a MR 3-plank, so I had to adapt things a little. In particular, I was able to use the holes in the solebar - and at this point it was an advantage that I had removed the compensated axle unit as part of my repairs to the already-built kit. To ensure the ropes looped through the solebar hole did not foul the movement of the compensated axleguards, I cut away the back of the solebar a little, making a slot for the thread to sit in. The prototype ropes were 75 feet long, or 525mm in 7mm scale. I used 0.5mm diameter rigging thread, which is almost exactly the right size, cut to length and given a diluted wash in India ink. On each side, one rope does the first two casks, and a second rope does the third, and runs back along the side to tension the verticals: And there it is. As it turns out, with the straw packing between the sides and the casks, the space between the casks along the centre of the wagon is so narrow it is almost impossible to see the rope rings, but you can glimpse them if you look at the right angle and in the right light. I haven't yet decided what to do with the smaller casks, but they would have a larger gap if I decide to do a similar load, or I could do a part load with casks on one side and something else on the other, so the rings are visible. Although my wagon 'roadmap' has eight GWR 4-plankers, they will all have different combinations of details and loads, sparing me from too much monotony. I am greatly enjoying modelling the loads, based on research and in particular the correct methods of loading as shown in the rules book appendix. They also say something about the role of the railways, and life in general, in Edwardian Britain. Nick.
    2 points
  41. The 83 members of the 709 Class 0-6-0 tender engines were built by McIntosh from 1895 onwards. They were the original Jumbos, all Westinghouse fitted for mixed traffic duties. Five members of the class Nos 583 to 587 were fitted with condensing apparatus for working the Glasgow underground lines. The model dates back to the 90s, some of it from a secondhand djh kit, the rest scratchbuilt. Unusually for me it runs on Gibson sprung hornblocks. I noticed that it had developed a squeal when running, time for a bit of an overhaul. Before and after pictures of the chassis. Better tender pickups cured the squeal. Back on the track, a view of the right hand side. Westinghouse pump configured as a brake air compressor in the usual CR manner. A view of the left hand side. This held a second Westinghouse pump configured as a feedwater injector. Hot water in the tanks, or in this case tender, always caused difficulties with steam fed injectors. Perhaps at some point I might try an improved painting and lining job. As we discussed in the last blog these were very unusual. There were oddities such as this, but I can find nothing else in regular use. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ramsay_Condensing_Locomotive_Co
    2 points
  42. Had another trip down the new section of the A1 and A14 yesterday. Things are moving rapidly towards completion, with road signs in place and the general tidying-up of the verges and batters. The cross-connection between two by way of the A1198 is now the obvious route, doubtless THAT road will soon go the way of the A605, near-destroyed by HGVs seeking to save a few minutes’ driving time. The A1M near Peterborough is in a shocking state, patches, repairs and general wear and tear much in evidence. So much for the “brave new world” of contract road management...
    1 point
  43. This week's project has been this Maudslay ML3 bus from the very old Peco kit. I built one of these for my old layout back in the 80s, but for some mysterious reason it never resurfaced when my train stuff finally came out of storage a decade and a half later. Everything else did, but not the bus, which was always considered a bit of a shame as I was fond of the model and reckoned I'd done not too bad a job on it considering my teenage modelling abilities. It's still not turned up (I'm starting to suspect it may be lost!) so I decided to build another one. I can't remember if I glazed the original model - there's no glazing material in the kit - but whatever the case, I thought I'd try flush-glazing it this time, so once the basic shell was assembled, I spent a couple of evenings cutting and test-fitting small rectangles of clear plastic, and securing them with Glue-and-Glaze. Once I was reasonably satisfied with the windows, I completed the painting in my approximation of the Western National colours, and the next job will be to apply the decals and see if my general stash of transfers has any plain gold lining for the division between the cream and green. The roof is only attached loosely at this point as I intend to put one or two passengers into the model. This is a really nice little kit which adds a touch of period elegance to our station forecourts, and it was enjoyable to revisit it after so many years. Edit- the original photos were lost, so here are some new ones including the underside with rocking suspension on the rear axle. In other modelling news, but vaguely connected in terms of period and regional subject, my Hornby T9 spent a few hours on the workbench last week. There were two issues with my model, which was from the original batch: some of the details had been misapplied in the factory, and the model had also suffered some damage at my own hands, not too long after purchase. Some of the damage had been fixed a few years ago, but one of the lamp irons needed replacing, a split in the footplate and buffer beam still had to be addressed, and some of the boiler details had come loose. These items were attended to, and then I turned to the things Hornby got wrong. The copper pipework between the driving wheels was fixed the wrong way around on these models, so the moulding was removed, swapped around and re-fitted - a small detail, and not really noticeable, but nice to have it right. The more annoying issue was that the tender frames were also the wrong way round, and this required some more brutal dismantling and surgery, due to the originals being glued in place. Once the model was repaired and its errors rectified, I set about weathering it, something I'd never got around to before because I always meant to fix the faults first. The look I was after was one of a loco that was showing signs of hard work, but where the attractive elements of the livery still came through, so it was mainly a question of applying various weathering hues and then taking off what I didn't need, until I felt that the effect was getting near what I wanted. I found the white boiler lining hard to tone down to my satisfaction - it was a very fine balance between too subdued, and too garish. I find that going back over the boiler work with a clean cotton bud produces a semi-gloss burnished look which begins to get away from the plastic look, and more in the direction of oily/metallic. This model still runs absolutely superbly, I''m pleased to say.
    1 point
  44. After a trip to the dentist last week I treated myself by popping into the toys & collectables shop on our high street. They sometimes have some railway stuff and I had my eye on a Superquick church kit that I'd spotted in the window a week or two earlier. Alas, the aforementioned ecclesiastical structure had gone but a rummage in one of the bins turned up a nice little white metal car kit in the John Day range. Although I didn't realise it at the time, it's a prewar/war Hillman Minx. The kit was remarkably simple, consisting of just two main castings, one for the body and one for the chassis/wheels. The castings were of excellent quality and needed minimal attention. The only other bits were two castings for the headlamps, and a vac-formed glazing piece. I discarded the latter, preferring to make up my own windows from spare transparent packaging. It took several goes for the front windscreen but I think the end result is preferable. The model was "assembled" using cyano for the metal and glue-n-glaze for the windows, then brushed with Humbrol enamels. I thought it was a cracking kit so will be investigating more from the very inexpensive John Day range. Another second-hand find was a very tatty old Lesney caravan that my wife found for me in an antiques market or similar. After languishing in my get-around-to-it-one-day box, I bit the bullet last week. The model was dismantled, cleaned up, repainted and flush-glazed (there was none with the original) using the same material as the Minx. The original was a very pale blue so I went for a similar Humbrol colour (also treating the Oxford diecast car at the same time). It's one of those vaguely depressing, institutional-looking 1950s colours that look good on Fender guitars and not much else! I don't know anything about road-vermin (sorry, caravans) but I think it looks 50s ish to my untrained eye. And there you have it, a couple of bargain- bin finds now given new life, which I very much enjoy.
    1 point
  45. At least three days a week, my good wife (who is retired) "forgets" to take anything out of the freezer for dinner. Results can be .... varied. Yesterday's effort was a "vegetarian chili". This sounds good, but like many things she produces, it was bulked up with coarsely-cut carrot and tinned sweetcorn. I quite like carrots.... but not like this. She also tends to add far too much liquid, so that many dishes appear swimming in a weak liquor and must be carried with care. It was hot, and because she left the rice on too long, that at least had some texture. Otherwise it was disgusting. I've never been able to dissuade her from this sort of thing.
    1 point
  46. What's that you say? Another GWR 4-planker? Haven't you had enough of those? Well, if you're sure... This is 41211, freshly turned out in 1908 style: grey paint with 25" lettering, axleboxes upgraded to oil types, and a sheet supporter fitted. All the latest features of a truly modern merchandise wagon of the new century, in fact - Swindon has played its A-game. Not so, unfortunately, the folks who have loaded it. The rather filthy sheet has been put on crooked, obscuring the wagon number, and it hasn't been tightened properly, so risking the formation of puddles, should it rain. A look round the other side offers a clue. The straw sticking out of the door suggests it was shut rather hastily - perhaps there is some kind of crated livestock inside, or some other troublesome load? We will probably never know... ––o0o–– The construction of this wagon follows similar methods to those I have shown in previous blog entries, so in part this post is a recap, with one or two new features, and some photos of stages of the process not shown in the earlier posts. The starting point of course was the Peco (ex Webster) kit - in this case, one picked up second-hand as a 'fixer-upper' - already built but not painted, and with broken brake gear. I began by removing the remains of the old brake gear, and giving the wagon a good clean. The new brake gear was made up using a spare moulding from a Slaters (ex Coopercraft) kit - one of the benefits of modelling the first decade of the 20th century is most wagons had only single-sided brakes, so there are often left-over parts from kits that provide for either-sided brakes. The vee-hanger was an etched brass component, and the cross shaft follows my now standard method, with an thin inner wire and sections of brass tube to make up the full diameter. This way, the holes in the various components only need to be the size of the wire, not the entire shaft. I didn't fit the brake lever and guard at this stage, as they are prone to damage during the rest of the construction. Next was the sheet supporter, following the methods used for the empty 4-plank and sheeted 5-plank wagons already described: The supporter was made in two halves, from 1.6mm brass wire. The ends were filed down to take a strip of nickel silver, to form the flat section: Pins were soldered in, to fit into holes in the wagon ends to hold everything in position. It's perhaps worth noting that the pivot mechanism on this wagon is fixed to the bottom plank, unlike the previous 4-plank wagon, which had it fitted to the second plank up. This means the verticals of the supporter need to be a different length - the rail should land exactly on top of the sides when tilted over. One motivation for this difference was to get as much variety in the height of the bar between this and other wagons with sheeted rails - both the 5-planker already built, and others planned. The supporter bar was assembled with additional strengtheners in the centre: The mounting points for the rail were made from plasticard and glued to the wagon ends: The rail was mounted in position, with the inner vertical supports held in plasticard blocks glued to the wagon floor. It is important the rail is firmly fixed, as it gets a lot of handling during the fitting of the sheet. You can also see in this picture the formers, which help the sheet form the shape I wanted. These were made from 20 thou plasticard, and I made a paper template for the curves to ensure they were the same on both sides. The formers in the centre of the wagon have a dip in them, to get the sense the sheet is fairly slack, and hanging under its own weight. I'd learned my lesson with the semicircular guides, this time making them from T-section instead of L-section. This ensures the material doesn't try to twist as it is bent round a former (in this case the handle of a tool, which happened to be the right size). Once bent to shape, one side of the tee was filed off, leaving the required L-section. The guides are attached to the wagon by spacer blocks - wood on the prototype, and plastic section on the model. Brass wire pins add strength, and I drilled the holes for these in the guides first. The guide was then held in position and used as a template to mark and drill through the blocks, so small errors in the positioning of the holes in the guides didn't matter. Once the wire pins were in position, the joints were flooded with thin CA glue. The pins were cut off and filed down, leaving a small amount protruding to represent the fixing bolts on the prototype. The trapezoidal-shaped plate and the latch pin at the top of the semicircular guides were made from plastic sheet and rod. I didn't bother with the detail on the plates on this build, as they are almost completely hidden by the sheet. The tying-off hooks on the ends and curb rails were added as before, made of soft iron wire. The brake handle and guard were from Ambis etched parts, and safety loops and door springs from nickel silver strip: For the straw coming out of the door, I prised open the door that had been glued shut by the previous owner. Before I could add the plumber's hemp, I needed to paint the wagon, which I did with a grey mixed from Vallejo black and white acrylics, over an undercoat of matt black aerosol spray. Lettering was from the waterslide transfers supplied with the Slaters GWR wagons, which I prefer to the Peco ones. 4-plank wagons aren't high enough for full-size 25" GW letters, so I used the 16" version intended for the later livery. These are a bit too small - they should reach almost to the top of the sides - but given they are almost completely hidden by the sheet, I didn't worry. The whole lot was given a coat of Vallejo matt varnish, which actually gives a nice sheen suitable for a newly painted wagon. To hold the straw in position before the door was shut, I added a small piece of plasticard inside the wagon, at right-angles to the side and just inside the door opening. Lengths of plumber's hemp was glued to this and the wagon floor before the door was shut and glued in place. Finally the straw could be trimmed to length. The sheet was made as before, using Ian Smith's artwork printed onto 60gsm paper with a laser printer: The back was covered with aluminium tape: The artwork was printed with a lower contrast, rather than a full black and white, to give a head-start to the dirt effect. Weathering powders were the next layer, applied with a wet brush before the sheet was cut out and fitted. Fitting was as before, starting at the ridge, using thick CA glue applied with a cocktail stick. The sheet was deliberately attached slightly of centre, and not quite square to the wagon, to give an asymmetric effect. I worked down each of the curved formers, gluing as I went and ensuring the sheet followed the curve to give the sagging look I wanted. The end folds were formed last. Once the EZ line ties were attached, the sheet was touched up (the laser printing tends to flake a little at the folds or with handling). Final weathering was applied with powders and paint washes, until the writing was just barely visible, as often seen in photos. I applied minimal weathering to the wagon itself, as I wanted the contrast between newly outshopped wagon and grubby sheet. The 4-plank open was the mainstay of the GWR wagon fleet in the late 19th and early 20th century, and most loads required sheeting to protect them from rain, soot and the risk of fire from cinders. This build, then, is about as typical as you can get for my 1908 period. The straw poking out from the door (based on a prototype photo) adds a little intrigue to this otherwise commonplace wagon. Nick.
    1 point
  47. Netherport is my long-term project, a GWR terminus and port, in 7mm scale and set circa 1908. I have been developing a backstory, based on a some 'revisions' to the geography of Dorset, so Netherport is notionally located roughly where the real West Bay is situated. I have a list of features I would like the layout to have, but actual construction will have to await a house move, though I may do a smaller layout based on the same theme to develop ideas and techniques. For now then, this blog will be covering the rolling stock I am building in anticipation of Netherport becoming a reality at some point in the future. Hopefully some of this will be of interest to forum members, and to whet your apetites, I have put a few photos below of some wagons that will be described in upcoming posts. And to prove it's not all about the GWR...
    1 point
  48. During the Cardiff model railway show back in October 2019, I treated myself to a couple of six wheel coaches from Dragon Models. http://www.taffvale.wales/page1.php Although I thoroughly enjoy building locomotives and wagons, I always find building coaches a bit of a slog and consequently haven't got many to use on Sherton Abbas My entire passenger stock comprises of three Slater's 4 wheel coaches, a solitary Slater's all 3rd bogie clerestory and an etched brass V2 passenger brake van. I'm about half way through a Slater's Clerestory brake 3rd dia D14 which I really should summon the enthusiasm to finish, but I fancied a bit of soldering, so made a start on this Passenger Brake Van! Dia V9 brake van. The kit comprises of the usual etched brass frets, accompanied by some lengths of brass wire, white metal castings and a pre formed roof. Kit components Before the body could be assembled the door hinges and door bangers had to be soldered in position along with the droplight window Hinges and door bangers The sides and ends could then be soldered together. Unfortunately this was easier to say than do, the kit relies on butt fitting the sides and ends and would have been so much easier if there had been locating tabs incorporated in the kit design Eventually I managed to get the thing square and strengthened the joints with fillets of solder. Sides and ends assembled The W irons and supporting flooring were assembled next. The kit has a clever design that allows the wheels at each end to pivot and the centre axle to be able to slide left and right, which hopefully will allow the model to negotiate tighter curves than the prototype! W irons The components for the outside clasp brakes were then added. I'm always concerned that metal brake shoes will cause an electrical short if they touch the wheels, so I wrapped the shoes in epoxy resin soaked tissue paper which once set provides good insulation. Outside Clap Brakes The body and W iron components were then fitted together and the ride height checked. Body on wheels The etched brass step boards provided in the kit looked suspiciously malnourished and this was confirmed by measuring against a scale drawing. An order of brass strip and 1mm square brass rod was obtained from Eileens Emporium https://www.eileensemporium.com/materials-for-modellers/category/brass-flat-strips-metric and step boards were constructed from this. The picture shows the boards provided in the kit at the bottom, along with my fabrications at the top. Step boards The step boards were fitted to the body ensuring that there was still room fore the W irons to pivot/slide laterally. Step boards in Situ On the prototype coach the W irons are connected together by a rod linking them all. However on my model if I simply soldered a wire linking all the W irons together on each side, it would stop the W irons being able to pivot or move laterally and lock everything solid. To overcome this issue I soldered a length of brass tube behind the centre axle W iron and then cut the connecting rod in half. The rod was then soldered at one end to the outside axle W irons, but allowed to slide free in the centre axle tubing. This subterfuge is hopefully not too obvious, but should allow the coach to cope with reasonably tight radius curves. Centre axle tube The coach was then burnished with a fiberglass bristle pen to remove excess solder and then the white metal ventilator bonnets, axle boxes etc were glued in place using 5 minute epoxy resin. The white metal buffers included in the kit left a bit to be desired, so I replaced these with sprung versions from Slater's. White metal components in position. The next couple of pictures are of the coach with the roof just resting in position, the next step will be to paint and glaze the model before the roof can finally be fitted permanently and the hand rails fitted. I also need to decide whether to model the coach with gas lighting, or as oil lit. I quite like the idea of oil lit to provide a contrast with my other gas lit coaches, but I'm not sure if this would be appropriate for a coach running in 1905. Roof in position Despite a few problems encountered during the build of this coach, nothing was insurmountable and I quite enjoyed the experience! Bearing this in mind I think I'm going to make a start on building a matching 6 wheel composite carriage dia U9, I might even finish that Slater's D14 clerestory! Until next time.... Best wishes Dave
    1 point
  49. Way back in the 1980s I made one of these from a John Boyle etch ( it is labelled Decent Models No 74 ). I used standard CR parts and it made up into a nice van, but back then I lacked information so a lot of the basics were just wrong. It has been stored a long time but I was having a sort out, rediscovered it and decided to have a go at bringing it up to standard. A day in the brake fluid followed by an attack with the flame torch and I had a new kit to make. So what exactly is it ? I wasn’t sure for a long while, but discussions on the CRA forums led me to discover that there is a drawing for the first body style of the D2 vans with the panelling style of the Drummond coaches, built 1885. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a photo, the later builds had planked sides. What I do know is that these were effectively npcs built to run with passenger trains. This is what I have ended up with now fitted with oil boxes, the correct brake gear, safety chains, air pipes and screw couplings. Trumpet vents are shown on the diagram drawing so I have added those. There doesn’t seem to be a casting available for them so I made them up from laminated styrene. Being fully panelled I think that would be in the npc livery. Possibly they would be lettered “Fresh Meat Traffic” but without a photo I don’t know where or what size, so I have left that off for now. This is how I think they would generally be used, running at the head of a passenger service, shunted off en route as required.
    1 point
  50. One thing I do notice about the current nonsense, having ceased working at Werrington (I’m getting too old for this sort of thing, truth be told, and family circumstances don’t help) is that I’m getting more done in the garden and workshop. My good wife has the tv in, most of her waking hours. I can’t tolerate the relentless blare of propaganda from the BBC, soap operas and Doc Martin irritate me behind words, and I watched those 1980s sitcoms long ago, so what’s left?
    1 point
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