RosiesBoss

My apologies to all for my blunder over DG wheel sizes! What was I thinking? Early in my preparation for this project, I did, in fact, consider using discarded Mainline DG wheels, but with plastic centres and 3mm dia axles, they didn't fit well with my plans to use Romford 1/8" bearings and gears or Markits crankpins that needed to be soldered. Thank you to everyone who has shown interest in this project. Regards, Rob

G'day everyone, I didn't use a Dean Goods as a starting point for several reasons: 1. The only DG chassis I had were plastic Mainline ones left over from other projects - too flimsy. 2. The DG wheelbase is 7'3"+8''3" - too far away from the 3901's 7’0”+7’0”. The Tri-ang wheelbase was much closer. 3. DG wheels were 4'6" dia: much smaller than the 3901's 5'2" There wasn't much (if anything) that I found re-usable in a DG. Hence the decision to (largely) scratchbuild. Regards, Rob

Thank you, DCB, for your observations. I agree that, in my model, the boiler is a bit larger than it should have been. Ref.5 in my build account shows the Std.5 smokebox (3901 class) to have been 4’2” dia and the Std.4 smokebox (City class) to have been 4’11” dia. In model form, this resulted in my model smokebox diameter being oversize by 3mm. I accepted that, as I have not yet mastered the skills required to fabricate a GWR taper boiler. While researching the model, I prepared an overlay drawing of the 3901 and 45XX classes, aligning the boilers so as to work out whether it was feasible to rebuild a 45XX body. It’s clear that the height of the smokebox centrelines are different: 3901: 8’3”; 45XX: 7’6”. The 3901s were significantly taller. It was also clear that the straight footplate of the 3901 was very different to that of the 45XX which had a drop front end. Had I been able to find a second-hand 45XX to rebuild, I wouldn’t have used much more than part of the boiler. (What a waste!) Apart from the boiler, I did make other compromises: · The correct driving wheelbase should be 7’0”+7’0”; the donor chassis was 6’6”+6’6”. · Chimney & safety valve cover were’nt perfect, deriving from the Std.4 boiler. · Rivet detail was absent. · No cab interior was fitted. As I stated in the disclaimer, this was never meant to be a perfect model – just one that gave enormous pleasure to make and run. As for the anomalous presence of 8103 in one of my images, let me refer you to modellers’ Rule No.1….. Regards, Rob

G'day, Paul, This drawing of the class in their final form shows they made full use of the loading gauge: www.greatwestern.org.uk/drawings/loco/loco121.jpg Regards, Rob

Yet another use for a Tri-ang Princess chassis: Details are here: Regards, Rob

Disclaimer This project is one that includes more than a few compromises! It didn’t produce a fine-scale model, accurate in all respects. Rather, it was just an amusing diversion. Rivet-counters beware! Introduction I’ve been familiar with the Tri-ang Princess class chassis since I was given my first train set in Christmas 1955. Despite many years of “love” and a couple of repaints, the loco still runs: Consequently, when someone gave me an incomplete Princess chassis frame, found under their new house, I gladly added it to my spares box, awaiting inspiration for another day. The wheelbase is not far off that needed for a GWR 39XX. I had plenty of sheet brass and copper, Romford wheels, axles and gears, so began this challenge. For those wishing to do something similar, but in plastic, there was a suitable construction article in Ref.9. Parts List · Early Tri-ang Princess chassis block (Ref.1) and coupling rods · Romford wheels, axles, gears & bearings · Tri-ang X04 motor · MRRC 5-pole armature · Comet LS2 pony truck kits · Alan Gibson 4839H pony truck wheels · Re-purposed 2nd hand camera springs · Airfix City of Truro boiler · Sandboxes from scrapped Tri-ang Dean Single · 3D-printed injectors · Brass & copper sheet · H0 NSWGR buffers & scale couplings · Markits handrail knobs · 0.45mm phosphor bronze wire · Humbrol & Tamiya enamels and acrylics · Jackson-Evans etched number plates · CAL-SCALE 190-606 HO Whistle Construction Unmodified Princess frame, with 4mm scale drawing: Modified frame with new wheels, gears, coupling rods, pickups and rebuilt X04 motor: Pony trucks: Initial fit test of pony trucks: Trimmed, mounted and sprung: Footplate, valences & buffer beams: Paper templates (from Ref.2) attached to copper sheet and roughed-out: Assembled onto footplate after trimming: Boiler before & after surgery: Boiler test fitted to model: Cab roof & steps fitted roughly – model ready for detailing: Details added: Results 3917 passing 4508 (Crownline/Lima) and 8103 (rebuilt Grafar): References & Further Reading 1. http://www.hornbyguide.com/service_sheet_details.asp?sheetid=334 2. Railway Modeller, Nov 1967 3. Model Railways, Apr 1975 4. www.greatwestern.org.uk/drawings/loco/loco121.jpg 5. https://www.devboats.co.uk/gwdrawings/gwrstandardboilers.php 6. Jim Champ: “An Introduction to Great Western Locomotive Development” (Pen & Sword Transport, 2018) 7. Locomotives Illustrated No.33: “The Great Western Railway’s 2-6-2Ts” (Ian Allan, 1983) 8. Anon.: “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway: Part 5 – Six-Coupled Tank Engines” (RCTS, 1958) 9. Railway Modeller, Apr 1976

G'day, all, I am one of the large fraternity of modellers frustrated by the running properties of the Airfix/Dapol Hornby 14XX chassis, once they are well run-in. I published a blog describing the replacement of one of these in 2018, but the pictures have disappeared. Here is a pdf of the text and illustrations, which may be of some interest again.GWR 517 Class No 848.pdf Regards, Rob

Carmarthen Junction now has another 4-4-0. Details are here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/184200-3436-–-gwr-bulldog-class-4-4-0/

Disclaimer This paper describes the kitbashing of a 00-scale GWR Bulldog class 4-4-0, making use of components already to hand – a kind of “scrapyard challenge”. The resulting model does not pretend to be a fine-scale example, but does represent many of the small-wheeled GWR 4-4-0s. Rivet counters need read no further! Introduction I’ve had a fascination for 4-4-0s for a very long time. I guess it began when, around 1964, a local toy store had a sale of Kitmaster models. I used my pocket money to buy one of everything available: a nice change from making Airfix aeroplane kits. I later added a few Airfix examples. It wasn’t long before I tried to motorise some of them – not very successfully at first, but I did persevere with the City of Truro, inspired by the article in Ref 1. This led to other successful conversions and scratchbuilds, some of which are shown in the appendix. I developed a liking for elegant Victorian/Edwardian era 4-4-0s. Local surviving examples were very attractive, such as 1210 and 1709. When GBL static models were available locally, I bought two City of Truros. One I motorised as 3713; the other I set aside for future use. This was the main source of body parts for a new Bulldog class. Number plates for 3436 were on hand, left over as alternatives for my model of City of Chester. Drawings were found in Refs. 2, 3, 5 and 9. I chose to use a whitemetal LMS 3F chassis (probably K’s or Wills) bought 2nd hand many years ago, which came with Romford wheels, axles and gears, together with a Tri-ang X04 motor in good order. One half of this had the right wheelbase. Parts List · GBL City of Truro static model · Motorised whitemetal LMS 3F chassis · Romford 21mm dia driving wheels · Romford extended axles & cranks · Alan Gibson 13mm bogie wheels · 2mm dia brass wagon bearings (for front bogie) · Hornby Grange tender wheels (X9357) · Airfix City of Truro front bogie · 180gsm card · Small and medium brass handrail knobs · 26 SWG (0.46 mm dia.) phosphor bronze wire · Modelmaster numberplates · PC Pressfix transfers · Humbrol enamel paints · 8BA and 12 BA screws/nuts · Dummy leaf springs (left over from Barry Rly Class D project) · Chimney cap from Hornby pannier tank Construction Model as received: Loco dismantled: Tender dismantled: Footplate stripped: Footplate opened up and with new splashers: Boiler splasher openings reduced: Chassis as received: Chassis shortened and fitted with new wheels, axles, cranks and coupling rods: Bogie mounting details: Body reassembled and test fitted to chassis and Airfix bogie: The donor City class boiler is a Standard 4; Bulldogs had Standard 2 boilers. These were similar, but slightly smaller. Casual observers would notice that Bulldog boilers mounted their safety valves closer to the firebox. The GBL chimney needed improvement and the moulded handrails and smokebox door dart had to be shaved off. After filling the hole left after removal of the valves, the boiler now looked like this: Now restored with safety valves, top feed pipes, handrails, springs, smokebox dart and modified chimney: Tender chassis – fixed wheels ground off and replaced by new ones: Handrails and tension-lock couplings fitted to tender: Ready for paint: Results The model was generously ballasted with lead weights in the boiler and firebox, as well as in the tender, which lightly bears down on the rear of the loco. It runs well, although a little noisily due to the X04 motor. It can haul around 4 Hornby Collett coaches or a similar load of 4/6 wheelers. This was a relatively low-cost project, using mainly second-hand components as well as those bought during sales. I calculated that it cost me around A$80-100 overall – about one third of the eBay price of similar models. Here’s another view – this time with other contemporary 4-4-0s: 1043, 3265, 3283, and 3713: References and Further Reading 1. Railway Modeller, May 1961 2. Railway Modeller, Jul 1997 3. J.N.Maskelyne: “Locomotives I have Known” (Percival Marshall, 1959) 4. Anon.: “Locomotives of the Great Western Railway – Part Seven: Dean’s Larger Tender Engines” (RCTS, 1954) 5. Great Western Railway Journal No.26, 1998 6. Locomotives Illustrated No 50: GWR Double-framed 4-4-0s (Ian Allen, Nov-Dec 1986) 7. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/96216-motorise-gbl-city-of-truro/ (Text only) 8. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182588-gwr-ex-barry-railway-class-d-0-8-0/ 9. www.greatwestern.org.uk/drawings/loco/loco21.jpg 10. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/147726-bodging-a-bulldog/ (Text only) 11. Jim Champ: “An Introduction to Great Western Locomotive Development” (Pen & Sword Transport, 2018) Appendix – Some Other 4-4-0s 1043 – Scratchbuilt body & chassis, Tri-ang/Bachmann tender (Model built 2017) 3265 Tre Pol and Pen – Kitbashed Airfix body, Tri-ang chassis block, Tri-ang tender (Model built 1993) 3283 Comet – Re-motored K’s whitemetal kit (Model built 1973) 3297 Earl Cawdor – Scratchbuilt body, Tri-ang chassis block, Airfix tender (Model built 2016) 3440 City of Truro – Kitmaster body & tender, Tri-ang chassis block (Model built 1970)

Here's a list of some short wheelbase 0-6-0 chassis from my references: Bachmann Salty: 4'9"+4'9"; 3'6" wheels Electrotren H0 0-6-0: 5'0"+6'0"; 3'6" wheels Hornby Toby: 5'6"+5'6"; 4'3" wheels * BR Class 03: 4'6"+4'6"; 3'7" wheels Bachmann Thomas: 5'9"+5'9"; 4'3" wheels * Bachmann Junior 0-6-0ST: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'3" wheels * Terrier 0-6-0T: 6'0"+6'0"; 4'0" wheels * * Used for some of my own models. I hope this helps. Regards, Rob

G'day, Steve, Thank you for your observations. I trimmed the chassis block as much as I dared, leaving just enough "meat" around the front screw holding its 2 halves together. As this ends up right behind the leading driver, I chose to leave Nellie's skirts in place to hide it. Use of the Nellie bodies provided a short cut alternative to fully scratchbuilding the body over the Thomas chassis. Even then, the offending screw would still have needed a skirt or some other way to hide it. The Nellie bodies could have been used over a scratchbuilt chassis without the skirt, but I had been storing most parts in my "to do" pile for several years and so chose the approach described above to avoid the cost of purchasing a new motor and gearbox. Regards, Rob

G'day, all, Carmarthen Junction has absorbed yet another loco: Construction details are here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/183628-gwr-944-0-6-0t-project/ Regards, Rob

Another variation on a Nellie theme: Details are found here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/183628-gwr-944-0-6-0t-project/

Disclaimer This paper describes the kitbashing of a 00-scale 0-6-0T inspired by GWR 944, making use of components already to hand – a kind of “scrapyard challenge”. The resulting model does not pretend to be a fine-scale example, but does represent many of the absorbed 0-6-0Ts which ran in the Welsh Valleys. Rivet counters need read no further! Introduction What do you do with redundant Nellie bodies left over from using their chassis for such projects as 3297 Earl Cawdor or 3717 City of Chester? Answer: Adapt them to another GWR model, using a modified chassis of a Bachmann Thomas 0-6-0T. GWR 944, absorbed from the Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway has a generally similar design with the same wheelbase. This loco was sold in 1928 into colliery service and remained in use as Hatfield No.4 until 1968. Photos seem to indicate that, as Hatfield No.4, the loco was reboilered, as the GWR safety valves disappeared and were replaced by pop valves mounted on the dome. The parallel GWR chimney was replaced by a taller tapered one. I chose to model it generally as seen in an image taken in Llanelli MPD, where “Great Western” may just be seen on the tank sides: Where possible, I have used components from my scrapbox or fabricated my own parts. Parts List · Bachmann Thomas model · 2 x Tri-ang Nellie bodies · Brass sheet · Handrail knobs – Markits · 0.45 mm phosphor bronze wire · Chimney, dome & safety valve: Home-turned brass · Whistle: Cal-Scale 190-606 · Buffers – from Thomas · Scale couplings – Ozzy Brass #75.2 · Tank fillers: made from brass tube and plastic sheet offcuts · Front sandboxes – home-3D-printed · Finely-ground sodium bicarbonate plus super glue – used as filler Construction The Bachmann model was stripped: The body and footplate were set aside for another project. The motor/gearbox unit is too high for this project and contained redundant gears used for the moving eyes, so was modified to fit the rebuilt model. As the motor/gearbox is designed to be screwed to the (discarded) body and thence to the footplate and chassis block, another system needed to be designed. I chose to make a new, rigid brass footplate which would include suitable brackets to hold the gearbox. This would also facilitate assembly of the body shell using Nellie components. The Nellie body, from the side tanks back is a reasonable match to 944, although the cab front windows need correcting. The boiler needed extending, hence the use of a second body. Bodies joined and some old details removed: Cab roof and boiler join smoothed, smokebox gaps filled with epoxy, test fitted to footplate: Splashers (salvaged from Thomas) fitted to footplate: Redundant beading, whistles, chimney, dome & tank fillers removed; cab front altered: Chimney, dome & safety valve were turned from brass, using the technique detailed in Ref 4: Buffers, couplings, handrails, boiler fittings, beading and tank fillers added: Sandboxes, steps and lamp brackets added: Finishing The body was spray-primed. The chassis and wheels, as well as the steps were painted with Tamiya NATO black. The footplate, tank tops and splasher tops were painted in Humbrol satin black enamel. The smokebox and cab roof were painted with Humbrol matt black enamel. Tank sides and bunker were painted with Humbrol GWR green acrylic. Buffer beams were painted with Humbrol matt red enamel. “Brass” details were picked out in Humbrol “gold” enamel. GWR lettering was made using HMRS Pressfix transfers. Cabside numbers were home-printed. After allowing time for transfers etc to stabilise, the model was varnished with Humbrol satin clear. Results Reflections The model is by no means a perfect representation of 944, but has made possible the use of many otherwise unused items from my scrapbox. It runs superbly and has more than adequate pulling power. References & Further Reading 1. RCTS “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway – Part 10 – Absorbed Engines 1922-1947 (RCTS, 1966) 2. J.H.Russell: “A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines” (OPC, 1978) 3. http://www.gwr813.org/GWR944a.htm 4. Guy Williams: “Model Locomotive Construction in 4mm Scale” (Ian Allan, 1979)

G'day, Camperdown, Thanks for your query. I'm afraid the Barry and NSWGR locos just look generally similar in style. They are different in detail as seen when comparing GA drawings: I hope this clarifies things. Regards, Rob

The NSWGR locos that inspired this build all had "porthole cabs" designed by William Thow.https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/thow-william-8801 The 2-8-0 T class (later D50) were designed in conjunction with Beyer Peacock and were delivered from 1896. Sharp Stewart were never involved. Many classes of NSWGR locos shared the same style of cab. Here are some of my images: There were several other classes that disappeared before I had the chance to see and photograph them. I could find no link between Thow's designs and the Barry Class D. I remains a mystery for me. I hope this departure from the main topic was of some interest. Regards, Rob

Thank you for your kind comments. You're almost right. Not quite cancelled, but unpaid by the Swedish and Norwegian Railway, and so returned to the maker (Sharp Stewart) who re-sold them to the Barry Railway. Full details in Ref 5 (above). Regards, Rob

Hello again everyone, Carmarthen Junction has added another odd loco to its stud: Details of its construction are found here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182588-gwr-ex-barry-railway-class-d-0-8-0/ Regards, Rob

Introduction Regulars of this site may be familiar with my liking for obscure GWR locos, as seen in Ref.6 This paper describes yet another, whose story is well described in Refs. 2, 3 and 5. Drawings are found in Refs. 1, 3 and 4. I was drawn to this loco due to its similarity to a NSWGR design I knew when actively photographing the last steam locos in NSW in the early 1970s. (See also Ref .7) A tank engine version of this design was built for the South Maitland Railways: This is a parallel story to the Barry Railway Class H and Pt Talbot Rly 0-8-2Ts, whose design was developed from the Barry Railway Class D and which I modelled in 2021: So far as was feasible, components recovered from scrapped models were utilised for the chassis. These included an Athearn H0 2-8-4 chassis block and a Tenshodo H0 2-8-0 chassis block. Both of these had been purchased second-hand “as is” with faulty final gears. Athearn chassis: Athearn parts: Tenshodo parts: The Athearn chassis had almost perfect axle spacing, but its final gear had split. The Tenshodo chassis had good wheels but a stripped final gear. Both had similar working axleboxes, so the Tenshodo wheels could be swapped to the Athearn chassis and fitted with a new nylon gear set from my spares box. Screws for the coupling rods had the same 1.4mm threads on each model and so were interchangeable. Cylinders, coupling and connecting rods could be adapted from the Athearn ones. Parts List · Recycled chassis (see above) · Slow- running 12V motor from scrapped VCR · Nylon gears · 2mm dia steel shaft · Brass bearing from Peco Wonderful Wagon (front thrust bearing for drive shaft) · Silicone rubber tube - for flexible joints in drive train · Silicone adhesive/filler – to mount motor on tender chassis and provide acoustic insulation · Copper tube for boiler, firebox & smokebox · Brass & copper sheet for other body parts · Domed button – for smokebox door · Ozzy Brass H0 NSWGR buffers & scale couplings · Dummy tender axleboxes and springs – from redundant GBL A4 tender chassis · Sandboxes & dome: 3D designed and printed · Chimney: home-turned brass · Safety valve base – Re-purposed push-button from scrapped battery-powered counter · Ramsbottom safety valve – Wombat Models spare part for H0 NSWGR C30 class model · Whistles – Peter’s Spares · Backhead – Recovered from body of scrapped Tri-ang Dean Single (contemporary with the BR Class D) · Brass handrail knobs – Mainly Trains · Slater’s phosphor bronze strip for tender pickups · Rectangular-section brass tube · Alan Gibson 4842C 14mm dia tender wheels · 0.4mm dia phosphor bronze wire – for handrails · Beaded jewellery wire & beads – for fittings on front of leading sandboxes · 8 BA screws, washers & nuts · 1.4mm screws · Black insulating tape – for boiler bands Paints & Transfers · Revell 93 Copper · Humbrol 16 Gold · Humbrol 33 Matt black · Aerosol spray satin black · Humbrol 60 Matt red · Tamiya XF69 NATO black · Humbrol 135 satin clear · HMRS Loco transfers · Home-printed number plates Construction The Athearn split chassis was electrically converted to one with conventional pickups. I chose the “American” system, with one side of the loco live to one rail and the chassis of the tender live to the other rail. I also chose to mount the motor in the tender, with a flexible drive to a simple gearbox in the loco chassis. Cylinders – trimmed of overhead valves and filled with Araldite, then re-shaped: Slidebar supports – as received and also after modification: Bare chassis – trimmed and ready for reassembly: Chassis - fitted with Tenshodo wheels and nylon final gear: Body construction followed the same principles detailed for GWR 3251 in Ref.8. Footplate assembled with buffer beam, valences, drag box, dummy rear frame and splasher cutouts: Splashers & Cab added: Boiler and fittings assembly: Loosely fitted to chassis: More details: Backhead : Tender: Inner chassis, fitted with pickups and drawbar: Footplate, with dummy outer frames, drag box & buffer beam: Test fit, with motor: Assembled with steps, loco chassis, flexible drive & tension-lock coupling: Dummy axleboxes/springs added: Donor body: Parts: Reassembled: Complete with buffers and handbrake lever: Rear toolbox added: Finishing Almost ready for paint: 1387 was not destined to last long after Grouping. It was sent to Swindon for some attention but was withdrawn in 1927 and placed on the Sales List, where it was photographed, still fitted with its BR Ramsbottom safety valve. The contemporary photo (Fig K55 in Ref 2) seems to show it in plain black, with no GWR insignia. That is how I chose to complete it. Results Reflections Because of the motor location, there was room to use quite a large and powerful unit. There was also plenty of space in the boiler for ballast lead. Consequently, the model is very powerful. It is very smooth in its operation and a delight to watch with a long string of PO wagons, with wheels rotating at only 40 RPM (or even less). It was challenging to assemble, but well worth the effort. References 1. E.R.Mountford: “The Barry Railway – Diagrams and Photographs of Locomotives, Coaches and Wagons” (The Oakwood Press, 1987) 2. RCTS “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway – Part 10 – Absorbed Engines1922-1947 (RCTS, 1966) 3. J.H.Russell: “A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines” (OPC, 1978) 4. Model Railway Constructor, Jan 1952 5. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/25115-barry-railway-d-class/ 6. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/179599-gwr-absorbed-locos-on-carmarthen-junction/#comment-5223498 7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_D50_class_locomotive 8. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/175034-gwr-3232-class-2-4-0-kitbash/

I agree that there's lots of fun and enjoyment to be had upgrading the Tri-ang Hall. Mine was bought in BR livery around 1967. The loco was given a minor makeover soon after, using tips in a Model Railway News article published around that time, emerging in GWR livery. The chassis was upgraded around 1970, using Romford wheels and gears. A further upgrade occurred in 2011, including replacement crossheads/slidebars, separate handrails and knobs, repaint, re-lining, new transfers and new etched name- and number-plates. A spare tender in BR livery facilitates use with other BR-liveried locos. Here she is in GWR guise: And again, with her BR tender: She still runs very well with her original X04 motor. Happy days! Regards, Rob

G'day, eddydde, I have an old Tri-ang Hall class, bought new when they were first released. Like many of its Tri-ang contemporaries, it came with Magnadhesion magnets in the chassis and steel tyres on the driving wheels. Fine when used new on tinplate Tri-ang track. Less than fine when used on nickel silver track, having picked up the odd steel filings or domestic staple which caused a short circuit (preceded by lots of sparks). I would be trying this: 1. Disconnect the wire from the pickups to the insulated brush on the X04 motor, then apply power to the motor. If it runs sweetly, the problem is elsewhere. If it shorts out, check that the insulated sleeve is correctly placed and that commutator slots are free of carbon. 2. While the motor is disconnected, see if there is a short circuit between left and right driving wheels. 3. If there is, look for magnetic debris between insulated wheels and the magnets. 4. If there is no debris, check that all centre-insulated wheels are on the same side. 5. Another (rare) problem could be a missing insulating paper between the pickup plate and the chassis, caused by incomplete reassembly after full dismantling. I'm sure there could be other causes, but this is what I could think of this morning. Good luck with your search. Regards, Rob

I have built several GWR 4-wheelers from Ratio/Parkside kits. They have become increasingly hard and costly to buy locally here in Oz and postage charges from the UK are now very high, so sacrificing them to cut and shut them has not been part of my philosophy to make inexpensive models. I am aware also of the etched chassis parts available from Wizard models. However my current preference is to use my 3D printed chassis, derived from the machine and filament gifted to me my my generous son a few years ago. I have admired the models made by others using Ratio/Parkside components - especially with more accurate and detailed chassis than I can create, but I have had lots of fun working out alternative (affordable) ways to achieve my modelling aims. Good luck with your modelling and 'ave a good go wiv your 'acksaw!

G'day, The Johnster, Thank you for your kind words about my build. I like your ideas about your miners' train. As for the 3D print, I first downloaded the files from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4716947. These provided separate files for coach body and coach chassis. Printed as received, they looked like this: Here is the model assembled and finished: I have used it in my breakdown train. I measured the wheelbase and found it too short for the scale 19 ft required, so made a new stl file by importing the downloaded chassis file into my printer's software and expanded its length only by about 20% and made a new test print. I think I had a couple of goes (different expansion factors) until the print came out ok. Much tension and stress over the roughly 4 hours while this took place. I guess this is fine for someone with their own printer, but could be expensive for others. For the T34, it was a simple matter to remove the centre axleguards and complete the chassis. I hope this is of some help. Regards, Rob

Introduction The GWR was a great use of standardised components, within a wide range of carriage designs. Perusal of Ref.2 reveals that many 4- and 6-wheeled coaches shared a 19 ft wheelbase and therefore very similar chassis. Compartment sizes for each class were also very similar among 4-, 6- and 8-wheeled coaches. Many GWR modellers have been using these features to adapt venerable Tri-ang and Hornby short clerestory coaches to other designs of coach. Inspired by Refs.1 and 2, I’ve been expanding my collection of early 20th century coaches, as described in Refs. 5, 6 and 7. This article summarises yet another project to create a model of a design not available RTR or as a kit. Parts List · 3D-printed chassis (Ref.3) · Offcuts from Tri-ang clerestory brake 3rd · 14mm Hornby coach wheels · Romford/Markits plain brass 2mm dia. bearings · 8BA screws & nuts · Hornby steel tension lock couplings (X141) · 200 gsm card – for roof & partitions · Flat-head nails – for roof ventilators · Evergreen 0.25 x 0.75 mm polystyrene strips for rainstrips · Buffers – MT378 GWR 4-wheeled coach from Wizard Models · Footsteps – scrap brass strip reinforcing Evergreen L-section rod · Preiser figures · 5 X 5 mm square-section balsa rod – for seat squabs · Filler: finely ground sodium bicarbonate plus cyanoacrylate cement · Stainless steel strips from discarded windscreen wipers – to reinforce coach body Paint & Transfers · Tamiya XF69 NATO black · Humbrol 135 satin clear · Humbrol RC424 acrylic coach cream · Humbrol 98 matt chocolate · Humbrol 133 brown · Humbrol 20 gloss crimson · Rustoleum 2X Ultracover Ultra Matt charcoal primer · HMRS Pressfix GWR coach transfers · Black paint pen: Uni Posca 24 black, 0.7mm Construction Construction followed the pattern of that described in detail in Ref.6. 19ft wheelbase chassis as printed: Chassis trimmed: Converted to 4-wheels; wheels and couplings fitted: Steps and underframe details added: Tri-ang coach offcuts: Coach reduced to kit of body parts: Trial reassembly, using masking tape: Glued together, strengthened by stainless steel strips: Body on chassis: Basic painting and lining complete: Glazed, seats, passengers & partitions installed: Roof added, handles & grabirons highlighted: Transfers fitted and model varnished: Results Readers may have noticed that slim-line tension-lock couplings, installed early in the build, were replaced by wider steel tension-locks. This followed extensive running trials on sharp and reverse curves with other, similar coaches in my collection. (These have similarly been retrofitted.) My models don’t have to just look ok, they must be able to run reliably without derailing. Here is the coach, seen here with ex-ADR 680, U20 luggage composite 6889 and T38 brake 3rd 1532, awaiting departure from (fictional) Gennigael: References 1. Russell, J.H.: “A Pictorial Record of Great Western Coaches including the brown vehicles: Part 1 (1838-1913)”, Oxford Publishing, 1972 2. http://www.gwrcoaches.org.uk/ 3. http://www.gwr.org.uk/project.html 4. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4716947 5. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/180805-gwr-ex-cambrian-railways-45ft-bogie-3rd-coach/ 6. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/176459-gwr-t38-6-wheeled-brake-3rd-from-tri-ang-clerestory-coach/ 7. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/176974-u20-6-wheeled-luggage-composite/

G'day, Ross74H, The offcuts appear to total about 197mm overall (measured over their buffer beams), as seen here against a 1cm square grid: I hope this helps. I plan to select sections of these for my version of a T34: There will be lots of fun slicing and dicing here! Regards, Rob