Duddon Bridge - CLOSED

[toffee]

 

Like a lot of good threads this turns up things you've never heard of like these 3D models of LNWR stock, most interesting ! Can I ask how you find the paint going on to the MDF ( I believe ) sides ? Seeing as it can be a bleep to hold paint sometimes.

[NeilHB]

Thanks toffee - no issue so far with the paint adhering to the MDF - though the only MDF parts that are visible and painted are the headstocks and sideframes - these have only had one coat of acrylic paint so far which seems to be doing ok. I’ll stick another coat on them when I come to assemble it all together.

 

The bodywork itself is all card, so no issues there with paint coverage thankfully.

 

In the meantime in the Wagon & Carriage works, the ex GSWR Brake Van now has a set of shiny new axleboxes courtesy of Invertrain at Telford - proper GSWR brakevan boxes they are too!

 

 

Much better! Brakegear to add next, then I can start to repaint it, hopefully making a better job of it than the last time...

[NeilHB]

 

Coat of paint on the brakevan tonight as a base - the main livery will be much lighter in tone but this was a useful starting point to cover up the old paint job and any uncovered areas of the resin body.

 

I also managed another coat of cream on the waist panels of the passenger brake van, but nothing else really tonight as feeling a bit lousy - the joys of working in Higher Education means the start of a new term usually heralds a round of new germs...urgh!

[NeilHB]

What to do when your railway requires a 5-compartment 6-wheel All Third, and all you have is a part built Slaters kit for a GW Dean Clerestory Third, with bogies...well you introduce it to a sharp object and pray for the best!

 

I won a part built Slaters kit for a Dean All-Third a few years ago on eBay (grand total of £10 incl P&P - bargain of the year that was!). However it was always going to be too big for any layout I was going to build, so nothing happened with it.

 

Looking through my boxes of stuff last night I came across the box containing this kit, and had a little lightbulb moment.

 

Below is the result of an hour or thereabouts modelling tonight:

 

 

It’s by no means perfect, and the compartment dividers are only loose at the moment, but it’s a start. It certainly won’t be remaining in GW colours for long, that’s for sure.

 

I need to sort out some suitable chassis components for it next, but there may be something suitable in one of the spares boxes hopefully.

[NeilHB]

A brief report from the Wagon & Carriage workshops at Ulpha.

 

The five compartment third now has a floor, and the partitions and seats have been fixed in place.

 

 

The workshop staff then turned their attention to the ABS Kit for a LNWR Dia.5 2 plank dropside open. A very nice kit, except for the buffers which need to be drilled out and then brass drawing pins used for the heads - no thank you. A new set of buffers will be ordered when the man with the wage slip arrives at the end of the month!

This really is a nice kit, with very a crisp one-piece resin body, and nicely cast white metal fittings for the chassis etc.

 

Below is about an hour and a halfs work tonight, and all that’s left to do is the fine detailing (brake lever guide, horse hooks etc.) and then some paint etc.

 

[NeilHB]

A plea for the assistance of RMWeb please...

 

The LNWR wagons seen on the last couple of pages have been added to the fleet for a bit of variety for the early period of the layouts operating schedule (Opening in 1904 to grouping in 1923) - I'd like to paint the wagons in an accurate livery, but my knowledge of the LNWR is limited, and I know that they had different lettering styles over the years.

 

My question is - which is the most appropriate style - the diamond, or the full LWNR lettering - please? And then, suitable transfers - who produces them please? 

[sir douglas]

first thing that comes to mind is Airnimal's thread, he has lnwr wagon books and does very good S7 lnwr wagons

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122168-s7-scratch-building/

[MarcD]

You have 3 choices Diamonds, LNWR + Diamonds or LNWR for the liveries all would be running in 1905-10. Wagons got repainted every 7 to 10 years so as the LNWR was a 

 

The good news transfers are produced for them by HMRS bad news they are out of stock.  

 

Marc

[jamie92208]

You have 3 choices Diamonds, LNWR + Diamonds or LNWR for the liveries all would be running in 1905-10. Wagons got repainted every 7 to 10 years so as the LNWR was a 

 

The good news transfers are produced for them by HMRS bad news they are out of stock.  

 

Marc

 

I've got several LNWR wagons awaiting transfers.  I was in touch with the HMRS about 6 months ago and they were supposedly in the process of production but I haven't heard any update since then.   If anyone has any news I would be very grateful.

 

Jamie

[NeilHB]

Thanks all. 

 

Re the HMRS - this message appeared on the Cumbrian Railway's Associations e-group on the 27th August 2018: 

 

For anybody that uses HMRS transfers you should know that the HMRS are 
desperate for somebody to step up and take responsibility for the 
transfer stocking and sales etc. If nobody is forthcoming then sales 
will cease in the new year. In case you want to stock up I suggest that 
you do so now!

They will have a stand at Telford this coming weekend where lots of O 
gauge versions will be available.

They also need volunteers for various other roles and if they do not get 
filled then they are looking at HMRS disbanding (not me I do enough 
volunteer work already).

 

I did stop by their stand at Telford, but could not see any transfers for sale.

 

It is frustrating that they appear to be the only ones producing pre-grouping wagon transfers in 7mm, but for some companies only as part of a larger set of other companies which would probably not get used (Furness Railway transfers are a prime example - the HMRS sheet only has enough for 4 wagons - last count I had 8 wagons and more planned, but the sheet that they are on the rest are pretty much of no-use to me...). 

 

I must admit I am surprised that no-one like Fox or similar produces any suitable transfers. 

 

Is it time to start commissioning some suitable ones? 

[jamie92208]

That's sad news about the HMRS but they have been struggling for volunteers for various posts for a while.   If I remember correctly the English Pre Grouping sheet does have a few LNWR on it but I need quite a few and was waiting for the actual LNWR set to re appear.

 

Jamie

[MarcD]

All is not lost the CRA post is slightly miss leading. As I understand it HMRS are not stopping the production of transfers they are short of a transfer sales officer and if one was not forth coming they will not be selling direct to the public but they would continue to supply the likes of Tower models.  So there is no need to buy in bulk just yet. 

 

On the subject of commissioning transfers the only ones I would look at would be the rub down type. The welsh railways circle got Fox to do some water slide transfers. They are expensive £8 for 2 wagons and they don't go onto matt finished wagons very well. They make HMRS ones look cheap.

 

Marc 

[NeilHB]

Jamie - just checked the English Pre Grouping sheet again and sadly no LNWR - I only want that one for the FR and possibly M&C transfers unfortunately. 

 

Marc - personally I'd prefer waterslide transfers, but at this point I'd take any transfers over none - are the rub-down type like the old letraset sheets?

 

I'm happy to help in any way possible with these, as I really don't fancy trying to hand paint numbers/letters etc.

 

At least the Furness tended to stick to one standard size of lettering, unless the wagon side wasn't high enough to accommodate it. Is it worthwhile including various other words etc. (Barrow, Ore etc.) on the sheets of transfers, or perhaps a separate smaller sheet with the additional lettering required? 

[jamie92208]

Jamie - just checked the English Pre Grouping sheet again and sadly no LNWR - I only want that one for the FR and possibly M&C transfers unfortunately. 

 

Marc - personally I'd prefer waterslide transfers, but at this point I'd take any transfers over none - are the rub-down type like the old letraset sheets?

 

I'm happy to help in any way possible with these, as I really don't fancy trying to hand paint numbers/letters etc.

 

At least the Furness tended to stick to one standard size of lettering, unless the wagon side wasn't high enough to accommodate it. Is it worthwhile including various other words etc. (Barrow, Ore etc.) on the sheets of transfers, or perhaps a separate smaller sheet with the additional lettering required? 

 

Thanks Neil. I've got the English sheet and have no M & C stock so if you need any transfers send me a PM I'd be happy to send you what you need.  I may even have a few spare Furness ones.

 

Jamie

[DLT]

A brief report from the Wagon & Carriage workshops at Ulpha.

 

The five compartment third now has a floor, and the partitions and seats have been fixed in place.

 

2C61296F-5A32-425C-9117-0195260EEC1F.jpeg

 

 

Those Slaters kits are ideal for "cut & shut" type conversions; that one looks really good.

Cheers, Dave.

[MarcD]

The rub down transfers are similar to letraset  they give pretty good results. I have used a lot of them on our PO wagons. magic tape is the trick in applying them. Dragon used to do a FR ore set that we commissioned 20 years ago but they were sold out a few years ago.  POW sides charges are £47 for the artwork then its £7 per 4/5 wagons so if you look at the price of the HMRS sheet. 

 

 

Per 10 wagons           POW Sides           HMRS (Non Members)     HMRS (members)

Art work                         £47                                  £0                                    £0

cost of transfers            £14                                 £60                                    £49

Total                              £61                                 £60                                    £49

 

but with the HMRS sheet you get all the other transfers.

 

Marc

[NeilHB]

Jamie - many thanks - PM inbound shortly!

 

Dave - many thanks :-) Am really quite pleased with how it’s turned out so far. Hopefully I can get the chassis sorted soon.

 

Marc, much appreciated for the info. Will have to sit down and have a serous think about going down the commissioning route. If I did go down that route I’d want to try and include as much as possible on one sheet, so that it would make it worthwhile (I.e rare load, end numbers for the wagons etc.).

 

The LNWR large cattle van has made some progress tonight in the workshops. A new floor has been cut and fitted, and bracing added inside the ends to stop them from bowing too much lower down. I’ve also cut but not yet glued in place a long strip of 250”x125” plastic strip at the top of the ends to straighten them out here as well.

 

 

It’s now up on its wheels, and I’ve started to fit the brakegear to one side. Still more to do, but this one is starting to get there slowly now.

[hartleymartin]

I have done similar things with the plastic strip 0.250" x 0.125" to keep coach and van sides straight. It seems to work well in the long term. I used Zap-a-Gap Medium CA glue which seems to hold well in the long term.

[NeilHB]

I have done similar things with the plastic strip 0.250" x 0.125" to keep coach and van sides straight. It seems to work well in the long term. I used Zap-a-Gap Medium CA glue which seems to hold well in the long term.

Thanks Martin - hopefully it will help to keep the cattle van somewhat squarer than it was previously.

 

It’s also rather useful as wagon and coach underframes, being near enough the right size.

[NeilHB]

A little bit of modelling here and there over the last couple of days has seen the LNWR 2-plank dropside moving closer to the finish line - brake lever and guide plus horse hooks added. Just need to order some better buffers now and then it can enter the paintshop at Ulpha...

 

[NeilHB]

No progress recently on Duddon Bridge, as the boards are currently in store. 

 

The reason - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/139099-henmore-dale-light-railway-trent-valley-area-groups-7mm-ng-layout/#entry3355112 

 

Sandy Lane Halt on the Henmore Dale Light Railway (our group layout) is due to make its debut as a working layout at our Open Day in Mickleover, Derby, on the 26th January 2019. 

 

Have a look over on the Sandy Lane Halt topic, and see the progress we have made in the last few months...

 

And a quick plug for our open day in January - see the poster below for more details  

 

 

 

[NeilHB]

There has been a recent upsurge in activity in the Carriage and Wagon works of the Broughton & Dunnerdale Light Railway. The railways Consulting Engineer, one Mr Eric Ulthwaite, a sadly lesser well known individual in railway circles, has been busy rebuilding some rolling stock...

 

 

First up the lines permanent way crane - this has been concocted from a number of different parts. The main part is from the former Meteor Models kit for a GWR hand crane, with added Invertrains handwinch to enable the jib to be raised/lowered. This is mounted on a Slaters Midland 11ft w/b chassis. It’ll run with a converted Midland 3-plank dropside as the runner wagon.

 

The other item currently in the works is a Midland 10T Brake Van, which has been rebuilt with a second enclosed end. Much more suitable now for the B&DLR given it’s soggy Cumbrian location.

 

 

Both of these are the current occupants of Tim’s workbench. I really must get on with my contribution to the stock for the B&DLR...there’s a petrol mechanical railcar idea floating round in my head that needs to be scratchbuilt ASAP!

Edited December 11, 2018 by NeilHB

[NeilHB]

A nice quick project passed through the Carriage and Wagon Works today at Ulpha.

 

A Minerva Iron Mink Gunpowder Van was commandeered some time ago, with a view to using it as the base for some POWSides transfers. Today I finally got round to doing something about putting the two together:

 

 

Transfers haven’t quite gone on as intended, needing a fair bit of cutting into smaller sections to get them to fit. I believe they were originally designed for the ABS Iron Mink kit, which might well be a different design? But never mind, they’ve fitted with a bit of tweaking, and add an interesting wagon to the growing stock for Duddon Bridge.

[NeilHB]

It would appear that Eric Ulthwaite, Cheif Consulting Engineer of the Broughton & Dunnerdale has managed to snag himself a bargain!

 

Faced with increasing running costs, the railway decided to invest in a steam rail motor. Now, brand new these are rather expensive, and Mr Ulthwaite is rather fond of finding bargains that need a bit of sorting out.

 

An LNER Greeley 51ft suburban coach had been involved in a (very!) heavy shunt, resulting in the brakeend being a tad mangled, and of not much use to the LNER anymore. At the same time, some of the ex NER Y7 0-4-0Ts were being withdrawn from service...

 

Being on first name terms with the CME of the LNER resulted in the two items being obtained by the B&DLR for a very good price (beer tokens for the CME no doubt!) and moved to their workshops at Ulpha.

 

 

Much rebuilding was required on the coach, loosing approximately 10ft from the damaged brake end of the coach. The passenger compartment furthest from the brake end was closed off and rebuilt into a driving cab, with controls based on those of a ship, Eric having served his apprenticeship in the shipyards at Barrow just down the coast.

 

The interior was modified to provide a corridor through the compartments, from driving cab, through the now shortened guards compartment and then on to the loco, allowing a quick and easy end change at the ends of the line.

 

The loco only needed slight modification, altering the cab roof and rear to remove the overhang, plus fitting of a vacuum brake.

 

 

 

Once finished, the rail motor will be painted in the standard B&DLR livery, maroon for the loco, and green and cream for the coach portion.

 

In other words, this is what happens when Tim has an idea for a railmotor, and makes very swift progress with a Connoisseur Y7 kit and a Kirk LNER Gresley 51ft brake third...I expect it will be up and running by the time I go round next in a week or two!

[NeilHB]

Duddon Bridge is slowly starting to waken from its enforced hibernation. Now that Henmore is almost ready for its first show in its nearly completed form, Tim and I have taken the opportunity to retrieve Duddon Bridge from its winter home in the Trent Valley Area Groups clubroom, aka Tim’s shed.

 

Hopefully we’ll be able to report good progress on here in a while, but in the meantime I’ve been working on an addition to the pre-grouping wagon fleet, courtesy of a POWSides ready lettered kit:

 

 

A little bit of touching up required in places, and the interior strapping to add/interior to paint then its good to go.

 

I’m looking forward to cracking on with Duddon Bridge again, but in the meantime, if you are looking for something to do on the 26th January, why not come along to our open day?

 

Edited January 16, 2019 by NeilHB