5&9Models

Excellent model making and a very interesting wagon.

Well, if your local church ever ask for it back, at least you have a plan B !

I would try using tungsten putty instead of lead. It sticks where you put it and remains pliable so if you ever have to pick it out it’s a simple job.

I had a chance (or was it that I finally got around to it?) to finish these three, two for the GNR and one little wagon with no owner (hashtag sad face). The first two are the Horsebox and Open Carriage Truck designed by Archibald Sturrock and built by Joseph Wright for the Great Northern Railway. Horses were conveyed in this box three abreast with their heads in the overhanging section above one of the dog-boxes. Hinged removable partitions separated the horses, and left the animals a width space of not much more than 2ft, quite a squeeze. The livestock conveyed in the dog-boxes themselves require no further explanation, although in the absence of suitable canines, they may have been used to carry extra feed or even tack. Almost identical horseboxes were made in 1855 for the New South Wales Railway. Fortunately a very clear photograph of one of these exists, providing a good general impression of the appearance. These boxes had two extra vertical ribs on the outside framing at one end. The vents in the side doors were also more generous but perhaps that is a reflection of the warmer climate for which they were destined. A simple wooden brake and lever is also evident on the NSW version but such a fitting was almost certainly not on the vehicles supplied to British lines. These would have had no brakes at all, requiring a scotch block or bar when stationary. Horseboxes of this pattern were built for other lines but evidence is sketchy. Photographs suggest that the first horseboxes for the LCDR were to this design and possibly the SER as well, although that might just be my own wishful thinking! The jury is out on colour, some say varnished teak, others say painted brown, I've gone for brown. The same applies for the OCT, a good photo of the NSW version also exists. The little wagon below is something of a mystery, it was built by Smith & Willey of Liverpool but it is not known if this was for a specific customer or if this was simply a 'stock' design for anyone who required such a sturdy little general purpose wagon. Early details of this company are sketchy, however Smith & Willey were operating from their Edge Hill & Windsor Foundry at Smithdown Lane, Liverpool from the mid 1830s. It was gutted by fire around Christmas 1845 but restored, and by 1847 the arrival of the iron merchant John Finch brought much needed capital. Further works were established at Seville Place in Dublin as The Irish Engineering Company. In 1849 the retirement of Henry Smith caused the partnership to be dissolved and henceforth it was known as Finch & Willey. The firm continued to enjoy some success supplying a wide variety of ironwork and machinery, railway trucks, wagons and carriages but by 1851 the company was in such financial difficulty that a stock sale was held and the business much reduced. However, the company were able to claim some fame in the construction of a bridge designed by I. K. Brunel to carry the South Wales Railway over the river Wye at Chepstow, a model of which was exhibited at the Great Exhibiton of 1851. The Seville Works also supplied the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway in excess of 800 tons of ironwork for the extension of their station at London Bridge. Final closure and sale of the remaining plant and premises in Liverpool came in 1853, but the Irish side of the business continued. By 1860 the works had turned their hand to the manufacture of bedsteads and an advertisement of 1863 once again promotes wagons and rolling stock to be built both in Dublin and at Goswell St., London. Who knows what colour they might have been, I was in a SER mood so it ended up red.

Extraordinary work! Nothing like making life difficult for yourself, I admire your tenacity. Hope you get it sorted, I’m really looking forward to seeing what will be a fabulous piece of model making.

David Austin of the South Eastern & Chatham Society and of the HMRS has a lovely big model of Folkstone Harbour in 7mm.

Fabulous work as always, (and a very tidy and organised blog too)! Thank you!

Good point, I hadn’t thought of that. However Thomas Buckingham and two of his Porters were soon dismissed for ‘being inefficient’ and Buckingham was replaced by a Head Porter from London Bridge.

In 1844, the Head Porter at Bricklayers Arms, Thomas Buckingham, had sixteen men under his control so I suppose many hands make light work.

I think in terms of weathering it’s fine, although perhaps a darker wash around some of the lower sections to darken the mortar would look good but only in small amounts. For me, the biggest improvement would be to add a bit of variety in the brick shade. It’s all very uniform at the moment and I think picking out some individual bricks in a couple of darker, and perhaps one lighter shade would make a big difference. It takes a while and it’s a bit fiddly, but it adds a realistic variation in brick tone. It’s only modern bricks that are a uniform shade. In the past when bricks were made from coarser clay and fired in clamps they came out all sorts of shades and colours. Hope this helps. Chris

I hope you don't mind but I tinkered with one of your photos. The view was so good I just couldn't resist it. A brilliant bit of modelmaking!

Thanks. The London & Croydon painted their carriages blue with the City Arms on the centre door and the Company monogram on the other two. That’s about as much as we know, the exact shade and tone of blue is guesswork really but as you say it’s quite smart.

Thank you.

Just to demonstrate how much better the well-to-do had it in the mid 19th century, these three 1st class carriages would have conveyed the wealthier passenger, often with their own road carriage on a truck and their horses in a box at the end of the train. The first is a coupe carriage of the London & Brighton Railway. An extra fee was charged on top of the first class fare for those who wished to travel in the end compartments. This was more for privacy than the view (and if running behind the engine then privacy went out the window anyway as the driver and fireman would have a pretty good view in)! The second is a more standard three compartment first from the London & Brighton and the third is a conjectural kit-bash to represent a first of the London & Croydon Railway. We don't know exactly what these looked like but this was made from three compartments of the coupe carriage and is probably not far off what might have been.

That's very nice indeed. Looking forward to seeing it up and running.

Thank you and yes, they’re still available.

In 1850 (or thereabouts) the LB&SCR under the direction of J. C. Craven constructed some very large open thirds on a 13ft wheelbase. These carriages were essentially enlarged versions of the little 7ft 6in wheelbase open carriages of the early 1840s with their distinctive outside framing. The Brighton did not appear to be in any great rush to provide more comfortable accommodation for their third class passengers but gradually these opens appeared with roofs, some with individual pillars in line with the seat backs, and some with more dainty wrought iron supports. A braked version also appeared with a guards compartment and lantern lookout at one end, and in some cases a luggage compartment at the other. A fully enclosed second with the same familiar framing provided a bit more comfort. In the meantime the mid 1850s first class passenger could travel in luxury in one of Mr Cravens very modern six wheel carriages. The keen eyed observer will note the oval roundel. This is wrong, it should be round but I scratchbuilt this carriage about 15 years ago and have never quite got around to changing it. I really must get around to making that braked version of the open-sided third too!

I don’t have a complete timetable for all stops but I have the departures and arrivals for London Bridge and Bricklayers Arms for 19th March 1844. Dep. LB: 7.30am, 11.30 (fast), 1.30Pm, 4.30, 5.30. Arr. LB: 8.00am 11.00, 2.00pm, 4.00, 6.00. Dep. BA: 9.30am (3rd class), 12.30pm (1st&2nd), 2.30 (3rd class), 3.30 (fast), 7.30. Arr. BA: 6.00am (3rd class), 10.00 (fast), 12.00noon (3rd class), 3.00 (?class), 7.00 (3rd class). The class for the 3pm arrival at BA is blank but I assume 1st&2nd, and I wonder just how fast the ‘Fast’ service really was? I would guess around 30-35mph average, ‘Fast’ simply meaning fewer stops.

Yes but.....GWR..... really?

But like the rest of your work it’s so good! You put us all to shame!

Ok folks, here’s a little challenge. How many of you still have your very first scratch build from all those years ago that you could dust off and post on RMweb? I’m prepared to start things off with my little GWR saddle tank made from balsa wood well over forty years ago. It doesn’t even have wheels, just dowel rollers hence the need for the 25ton machinery wagon. I couldn’t tell you how old I was when I made it but it would definitely have been single figures. I’m surprised at the hand lettering given the quality of the rest of it! I’d love to see what other ‘first efforts’ might be tucked away in a box somewhere. Come on, be brave!

But where do I buy 4mm scale sick? The pieces of carrot would be tiny!

A short entry to illustrate two different approaches to cattle wagon design, and how much cosier horses had it! The first constructed by Charles Cave Williams c.1851-52 for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway who numbered them 1751-1790. They were well made vehicles and in some cases saw a good twenty years of service, but when William Stroudley took office he introduced his own design and by the 1880s they were being broken up and replaced. All had apparently gone by 1884. The copious use of lime wash was to disinfect the wagons and prevent the spread of disease between cattle. The second is the South Eastern Railway's version dating from c.1854. Probably built by Brown Marshall initially without a roof but later received some cover for the livestock. The BM wagons were numbered 1826-37 and lasted for a similar period to the Brighton versions. This one could do with a good lime washing. The third is the dinky little horse box of the LB&SCR and in fact the SER too, since their early horse boxes were almost identical. Some had extra diagonal bracing on the outer two panels of the lower half of one end, possibly to prevent distressed horses shoving their hooves through the boards, such incidents do not really bear thinking about! The boxes were for three horses and are quite similar to the GNR and LCDR versions except for the fact they do not have dog boxes either end. I will post a picture of the GNR version for comparison when I finished painting it. The first two are my own kits, the third a lovely old Woodham Wagon Works kit.

Good point!

Thanks Mikkel. Yes, they’re my own figures. I was inspired by those lovely illustrations of excursion passengers having a good time, away perhaps for the first time in their lives from the daily grind. I wanted to show the whole spectrum of behaviour (and misbehaviour)! Hopefully I will get a few more done, somebody standing on the seat, someone leaning out waving, and so on.