Llanforen, GWR in South Wales

[88C]

Well I have now put the transfers on to the toplight and given it a coat of varnish. I have used Railtec for the first time and very nice they are, I will have no hesitation in using them again.

 

Finally a couple of pictures of the Collett suburbans in service, needless to say the roofs have been painted. Looking at the second photo, I'll have to sort that running in board, I think it has been nudged.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

[88C]

It's been a while since I last posted but I have not been completely idle. Nothing has been done to the layout itself, however I have been doing some modelling on the bench, some of it for a club layout.

 

A couple of pictures to keep the thread alive.

First up a special to Barry Island headed by 4018 Knight of the Gran Cross. Unusually Hornby produced the name that I wanted because I have a photo of this engine travelling along the causeway to Barry Island. A bit of dulling down the smokebox, fitting lamps, real coal and the biggest job, changing the roundel to the earlier wording. I did buy a set of etched plates although I have only used the cab side numbers. One day I will add a crew, I had nothing in stock that was suitable.

 

 

As part of the train we find the toplight which I have mentioned before. I still need to make up the handrails to the roof but it is now serviceable. Not as easy to build as it should have been but it was a challenge.

 

 

Brian

[88C]

Not a lot happening on the layout, partly because I had to take out one board so that the gas boiler could be serviced, but I have been busy on the modelling desk and there are a couple of projects just getting started, more of that later. The main part of my modelling time has been spent doing homework for a club project which will be on show at our exhibition on 12/13 October. I don't think the project will be complete by then but it should look OK.

 

 

 

 

 

The layout in question is Radford Mill which the club bought from the estate of the late Peter Wright, long standing members of RMWeb may know the layout as Worsthorne. It was always Pete's aim to add the extension and we are trying to follow the spirit of his ideas using the boards that he had already built, however we often think that it is easier to start from scratch rather than modify an existing layout. Come along and see how we are doing at our exhibition on 12/13 October, details will be posted in the Exhibition forum.

 

Brian

[88C]

Nothing new to report, as I mentioned earlier I have been busy working on a club layout ready for our show which I'm glad to say went well and visitor numbers were up. I can now start getting back to my projects but first we are having a few days staying in Barry, partly to visit the Cardiff show on Saturday. We are staying at the Barry Island Premier Inn, sounds so much better than Barry Docks where it actually is. Hope to see some of you there.

 

Brian

[88C]

It's been a while since I posted an update and quite a bit has happened since then, although not on the layout itself, I think I have mentioned before that I spend far more time modelling than running. The trip to Barry went very well and we really enjoyed the Cardiff show and chatting to a few fellow RMWebbers. Happily, the sale of my mother's house was completed at the end of October, although we are still waiting for the funds from the solicitors, and since then I have found it much easier to concentrate on some modelling. Another loco is waiting for the paint shop and I have also made a lot of progress with a Collett full brake from a Comet kit.

 

 

 

I must admit that I do find building coaches to be a bit of a chore, but at least this one doesn't have much interior to deal with. Not quite ready for painting but not far off, anyway it is not suitable weather to get into the garage to get the airbrush out.

 

Looking forward to a trip to the GBMRS tomorrow and especially seeing Hungerford again.

 

Brian

[88C]

Not much has happened on the layout recently, some modelling has resulted in a backlog of items waiting for the paint shop. Modelling time is always a bit tight this time of year but progress is being made on a couple more locos, more details later, however progress is slow.

 

On another tack, I have decided to make a formal photographic record of my loco stock, I have far more than I actually need but I like building kits and I am fortunate to be able to afford new releases if I want them. I will start posting the photos but I have only used a low resolution.

 

First up is where it all began, a Tri-ang jinty which I had from Santa when I was 6. This is not the original that was replaced by Tri-ang when it was sent for reply. Over the years I have worked on it and it does still work.

 

 

 

Next is a Tri-ang Britannia, renamed Apollo and the number painted by hand. The reason I chose Apollo is that one day when train spotting on Ruddington station it pulled in on a stopper to Nottingham. Still on it's original driving and tender wheels it has nowhere to run apart from a test track.

 

 

 

A 9F next, again memories of train spotting at Ruddington, yes I know it is not the same style as the Annesley locos but since it is a (Tri-ang)-Hornby model with the awful tender drive it was all that was available, again it does not get any use, just on display.

 

 

The next batch will be the start of the Great Western models.

 

 

[88C]

Another batch of my loco collection, into GWR territory now with some rather cruel photographs, although in my defence these were my earliest effort at kit building and detailing.

 

First up a Tri-ang Dean single. I bought this from a shop on Arkwright street in Nottingham which often had some interesting second hand stuff. For this loco it was renamed Majestic had the framing repainted and better bogie wheels fitted but as many of you will remember it has two speeds, flat out and stop. Looking at the picture again I must have replaced the handrails and put better lining on it, all when I was still at school.

 

 

 

Next up, one for the Johnster, a Wills 94xx. I think this must have been my first kit. It is on a Tri-ang chassis which has since had Romford wheels fitted but just look at the joints in the castings, no way would I be happy with those now but that's down to experience and hopefully we do improve our standards

 

 

 

Another Wills kit next, this one is showing it's age with broken steps and other bits of damage. I did not do a particularly good job on the tender, it rocks on the centre axle.

 

Finally for this batch, a Gem 56xx, not on the Tri-ang chassis it was designed for but a Bristol Models milled chassis. This will have been the first effort at chassis building and it still works, rather noisy but it works. No layout based in South Wales can be without at least one of these work horses.

 

 

That's all for now except to wish all Webbers seasons greetings and happy modelling.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[88C]

Well that’s Christmas about over apart from a drive over to Wolverhampton on Sunday to see friends. No new acquisitions from Santa but there are several wants in the pipeline even though some fall into the British Railways period, not wishing to say BR and it being confused with Barry Railway. What I did receive was a copy of David Maidment’s book Pannier Tank Classes. It is an excellent reference work and I have now got to get my head round all of the earlier classes, I still haven’t mastered the prairies.

 

After the interruptions of Christmas I ready to get back to some modelling, I’ve got a couple of locos under construction at the moment but the layout could do with some work in the next year. The signals I built a couple of years ago still need to be made to operate and there is one corner that needs developing but I still don’t really know with what.

 

Brian

[88C]

It has been mentioned at the club that I haven't posted anything on here recently so here goes. I did intend to post a couple of pictures that I took yesterday but they are so bad I will not embarrass myself, instead a few more of my loco stud.

 

First today a K's 72xx number 7202. Not built very well but a reminder of my time in Barry. Originally I put in the HP2M? motor that came with the kit, I would take it up to the club and it would do a couple of laps and stop, next time the same so the motor had to go, it is now in a dock shunter that only does short runs. It now has a can motor and an enclose gearbox with a flexible between them, works better now.

Next an 8750 series pannier, well you can never have too many. Another K's kit but with a Bristol Models(?) chassis and another one of my earlier builds. Some detail errors before I learned better. I have a photo of 3615 that I took in Barry shed so an easy choice of number.

Another pannier but I didn't build this one. I was offered it by a friend who was an LNER modeller. An offer I couldn't refuse. Numbered 8779 it came with the top feed but as this didn't have any pipework, I removed it.

Finally a Tri-ang Hall. I bought this when I was still at school and it was mostly funded by part exchanging my Tri-ang transcontinental models, why I had them is another story. Anyone remember Pearsons in Nottingham?There was an article in one of the magazines at the time on how to improve the model so I had a go. Once again some detail errors for the livery. Many years later when I joined the Elizabethan club it gained Romford wheels. 4906 Broome Hall.

 

Brian

 

[tomparryharry]

Nice one Brian, I do like those big 72xx's. 

[Penrhos1920]

When and where is the layout’s next show?

[5BarVT]

On 19/01/2020 at 20:45, 88C said:

Anyone remember Pearsons in Nottingham?

I remember the adverts in RM.  Was a dry route from Parliament St to Market Square rather than a place for model railways by my time in Nottingham (70s).

Paul.

[88C]

9 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

When and where is the layout’s next show?

Morning Penrhos. Llanforen is a permanent layout in my garage and I’m afraid it not a layout which goes to exhibitions. The separate Llanforen shed has been to a few local shows over it’s many years but nothing booked at the moment.

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

Brian

[88C]

Some dock shunters this time.

 

First up a Nu-cast saddle tank, 1364. I bought this from Sherwood Models in 2013 when they had just a few whitemetal kits left and I figured buy it now or it will be too late. An interesting build, to get parts to fit I realised that the footplate was a few mm short so this needed lengthening and the tanks had to be eased out gently. The chassis was straight forward and has a small Mashima motor with 40-1 gears. Should I have left the roundel off?

 

Having built the saddle tank I decided that it would be nice to have the pannier version so here is the DJH kit. No problems and I used the same motor and gearbox combination as the saddle tank.

 

Needless to say, I didn't buy the RTR models when they appeared.

Finally a Swansea Harbour Trust Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST number 150. This as you can clearly see is based on a Hornby Smokey Joe. The inspiration came from a photo in Russell's excellent book of GW absorbed engines. I doubt that my model is anything like to scale and I wish now that I had done more work on the front end. Earlier on I mentioned the K's motor being useless for the 72xx, well it is now in this loco and is OK for the demands placed on it. Romford wheels also fitted.

 

I have a bit of a test track engine shed in the spare room, it comes down sometimes when we have visitors, and from time to time when I am in the mood I give all the engines that are not used on Llanforen a run up and down. Occasionally they may go into the garage or to the club for a bit of a leg stretch.

 

That's it for now.

 

Brian 

 

 

 

[88C]

Not a lot has happened on the layout recently but I have been thinking, dangerous I know. I had a good day at the Stafford show on Saturday with very little purchased however I did come away with some inspiration for future projects. A couple of years ago I built four of the signals needed with the intention of operating them mechanically but recently I have been considering using servos, it will work out a lot more expensive but hopefully they will be easier to set up. Until I looked on the Megapoints stand I did not realise that there are some small servos available which look like they could be mounted to the signal off the baseboard and set up before refitting them into a suitable sized hole. More research at Doncaster on Saturday. I am planning to spend more at this show, I need some fittings from 247 and signal parts from Wizard.

 

Brian

[88C]

Progress on the layout itself has stalled, partly because the servos recommended for the signals are out of stock at the moment and are likely to be for some time. I have been busy sorting wagons for a club layout but since the show is one of many that has been cancelled the urgency has gone. The wagons in question are British Railway period rather than my usual BR so I suppose I'll have to get one of those 94xx panniers so that I have something suitable to pull them.

 

Next up a picture of one of my old models, an Airfix castle.

 

This model has had a fair bit of work done to it over the years starting with fitting the Crownline details, etched splasher fronts for example and a respray. I have never been a fan of tender drives so when I saw a Hornby castle chassis for sale at a show I bought it and it fitted quite nicely. The tender was more of a problem, for some long forgotten reason I had a spare tender in stock and I was able to put the Airfix tender body onto the spare chassis thus keeping the overall appearance in tact. The loco runs so much better now, it may not be up to the standard of modern offering in terms of detailing and accuracy of fittings but I like it. You will notice from the photo that there is something missing, yes the nameplate, it is somewhere in the loft but I have never been able to find it, since taking the picture I have fitted a new one. I chose the name Powderham Castle because I can remember seeing it standing on the Vale of Glamorgan line outside of my grandparent's house.

 

With all exhibitions being cancelled I have just phoned a couple of traders for items that were on my shopping list, can I make a plea for you all to do the same, if we are not careful we could lose many businesses that we buy from at shows and that would be a great loss for us modellers but an even bigger loss for the traders. Thank you.

 

Brian

 

 

 

 

[88C]

Well you can't have too many panniers.

 

I ordered this from Brian at Branchlines on Wednesday and it arrived today. Excellent service and I also had a nice chat. The kit will have to wait for a while I'm making progress on my Barry D, more details of that on my thread 88C's workbench.

 

Brian

[88C]

Having had the pleasure of visiting Tony Wright's Little Bytham just before lockdown and seeing a couple of my Barry locos at the head of his 40+ wagon coal train I have been out in the garage to have a play. Normally I am restricted to 10 wagons plus a brake van but for a change I mustered 28 wagons to see what happened.

 

First to try was 5664, a modified Mainline body with a Comet chassis can motor and High Level gearbox. No problems at all, very pleased. In fact everything I tried managed the train although some better than others.

 

This photo is 274 about to tackle the slight incline followed by a drop into the fiddle yard round a 2' radius curve. Like the 56xx it handled the train with no trouble. A shame that I can't run trains like this all the time but the loops and sidings are not long enough. Sorry about the wonky signal, that is still on the to do list but the recommended servos are out of stock at the moment.

 

You can just see the spray booth set up in the first picture, I've been catching up on painting jobs only to find that I didn't have all the colours required, thank goodness for Squires.

 

That's it for now, so keep safe all of you and don't forget to do some modelling as well as spending your time on RMWeb.

 

Brian 

 

 

[88C]

It's been a while since I posted about Llanforen but I was spurred on by a comment, I think it was by Neal Ball, about getting some of his lesser used locos out for a run. So today I decided to do the same.

 

First up 1335.

 

 

This is an old Cotswold kit running on the whitemetal chassis supplied. If I remember correctly I got it from Millholme Models about the time they were closing the Woodborough shop down. When first built the loco could barely pull the tender, let alone a train so I put a floating frame to carry the front two axles of the tender and arranged for the tender to sit on a bracket on the loco. Much better since then. Doesn't really fit the South Wales theme but Rule 1, I like it.

 

Best wishes to all, keep safe and keep modelling.

 

Brian

[saxokid]

Just now, 88C said:

It's been a while since I posted about Llanforen but I was spurred on by a comment, I think it was by Neal Ball, about getting some of his lesser used locos out for a run. So today I decided to do the same.

 

First up 1335.

 

 

This is an old Cotswold kit running on the whitemetal chassis supplied. If I remember correctly I got it from Millholme Models about the time they were closing the Woodborough shop down. When first built the loco could barely pull the tender, let alone a train so I put a floating frame to carry the front two axles of the tender and arranged for the tender to sit on a bracket on the loco. Much better since then. Doesn't really fit the South Wales theme but Rule 1, I like it.

 

Best wishes to all, keep safe and keep modelling.

 

Brian

Realy lovely work thoughout here Brian

 

thanks neil..

[88C]

The good weather and lockdown has given me the chance to catch up with spraying several models. The first to be completed is Ex Port Talbot tank 811, built from a CSP kit.

 

It looked OK at first but when placed next to other locos the green looks far too pale. I use Phoenix gloss loco green followed by their satin varnish to seal the transfers.

 

The B1 tank is still in the paint shop so the green is as sprayed, a lovely deep colour, it was sprayed in the same session as 811. The pannier was painted from the same tin but this time I had used Humbrol satin varnish which gave a much nicer finish.

 

I'm not sure where to go next, the varnish was thoroughly stirred but I don't want to risk it on the other models which need doing, especially a coach. By the way I have sprayed Phoenix gloss onto the coach ready for transfers and that gave no problems. Some experimenting is called for.

 

There are always frustrations in modelling!

 

Best wishes to you all and keep safe.

 

Brian

[saxokid]

4 minutes ago, 88C said:

The good weather and lockdown has given me the chance to catch up with spraying several models. The first to be completed is Ex Port Talbot tank 811, built from a CSP kit.

 

It looked OK at first but when placed next to other locos the green looks far too pale. I use Phoenix gloss loco green followed by their satin varnish to seal the transfers.

 

The B1 tank is still in the paint shop so the green is as sprayed, a lovely deep colour, it was sprayed in the same session as 811. The pannier was painted from the same tin but this time I had used Humbrol satin varnish which gave a much nicer finish.

 

I'm not sure where to go next, the varnish was thoroughly stirred but I don't want to risk it on the other models which need doing, especially a coach. By the way I have sprayed Phoenix gloss onto the coach ready for transfers and that gave no problems. Some experimenting is called for.

 

There are always frustrations in modelling!

 

Best wishes to you all and keep safe.

 

Brian

More nice modelling Brian

[88C]

Away from the painting problems here is another set of pictures of a little used engine.

I can't remember why I chose the number 4518 but since doing it I acquired a copy of the RCTS standard 2 cylinder classes book and of course I find that 4518 never had outside steampipes and kept the dropped frames. Oh well you probably wouldn't have known if I hadn't told you. Perhaps one day I'll renumber it. I bought the loco 2nd hand from a trader at our exhibition, I like to try and support them, it was in BR livery but has been repainted. A nice runner.

 

Into the garden now and enjoy the sunshine. Take care.

 

Brian

[88C]

Instead of visiting the York show today with ChrisF, I have finally got round to doing some minor repairs to Llanforen Shed. Since this layout was built circa 1990 the Peco point motors were of the type which needed an extension to the pin for mounting under the baseboard and on the first day of the 2019 Mansfield show one of the extension pins dropped out so for the rest of the show that point went digital. Luckily I did find the pin and it is now back in place. The other job was to repair a bit of track which got damaged when packing away, I need to rethink the way it is done. There is no room in the house to set the full layout up so I just have to work on the boards the best I can. There would be space in the living room but although I am lucky in having a very supportive wife that would be pushing my luck!

 

All the best

 

Brian.
 

 

[88C]

Another running session with the lesser used locos. This time a visitor from the Cambrian.

Not something that I would normally buy but about five years ago I was offered a complete kit for £40, it would have been rude to refuse. It came with a DS10 type motor and 40-1 gears so it is a bit faster than I like, however it does run nicely. The coaches are Ratio 4 wheelers, it was a long time since they were built but they do get the occasional run as the workmens train even thought in reality they would probably be painted all over brown. They will not be getting a repaint.

 

All the best and keep safe. 

 

Brian