Parker Coaches

[Manxman1831]

Welcome to my mad world of trying to put together a few Parker Great Central Railway corridor coaches.  The final goal is to have a representation of the 5:40pm Marylebone to Manchester dining train, as photographed behind Pollitt Single 967 at West Hampstead (the photograph is on the Steve-Banks.org website).

 

The starting point for this will be an ancient Andy Gibbs/D&S Parker Van First.  I bought this off of EBay, with the intention of putting together a more prototypical train for the Ruddington layout at the Nottingham Heritage Transport Museum, Ruddington (shameless plug), also known as the GCR-N.  With the lunacy that has been going on this past year, and finding some photos of the train I want to put on the rails (care of Steve-Banks.org), I thought I'd crack on with preparing the kit for construction.  I'd learned that the thing is actually a mirror of what it should be (explained why shots of the roof didn't match the etchings when it came to vent/lamp placement), and that the kit itself is missing some components.

[Blue Max]

I assume that you are aware of the Worsley Works etches for the 6 types of Parker 45’ coaching stock along with the Clerestory 3 coach dining set.

I understand the Worsley Coaches have the corridor on the correct side of the coach etches unlike those produced by Dan Pinnock.

[Manxman1831]

Hi Blue Max,

I found out that bit of info reading Richard I's pages.  As things stand, this Van First will become a faux-Van Third retaining the large duckets.  The various carriage kits are on order, and depending upon the make up of train I want to represent, I can have either the BFK-RK-RFO-FK-BTK(large duckets), or BFK-RK-RFO-CLK-BTK(small duckets) (CLK=Composite Luggage Corridor).  It very much depends upon my interpretation of the picture on Steve Banks website.  I have the loco, Pollitt Single 968 done in very early L&NER as photographed in the Liverpool area, I fancied doing the train to match.

[Blue Max]

Do you know of a  source for the bogies suitable for the Parker stock coaches, to my knowledge they are not readily available ?

[Manxman1831]

I'm going to cheat a bit with the Worsley coaches - they'll be going on the former Ratio kits bogies (8ft and 10ft options).  I have a 9ft pair for one of the brakes (the Andy Gibbs one at least has most of the parts required).  For the most part, with the coaches being glued together, I'll file a notch into the bogie pivot blocks to allow for removal as/when I get hold of more suitable bogies.

[Nick Holliday]

23 hours ago, Blue Max said:

Do you know of a  source for the bogies suitable for the Parker stock coaches, to my knowledge they are not readily available ?

I don't know if they are suitable, or available separately, but Brassmasters have the old R&E range which includes a GCR Full Brake on 8' Robinson bogies.

Illustration taken from the Brassmasters instruction sheet.

[Manxman1831]

Todays little update - I have four out of five of the Parker coaches assembled as basic shells.  The line-up, so far, is BFK-FK-LCK(or should that be CLK?)-faux BTK, to form a four-coach set.  The difference in construction styles between the Gibbs model and Worsley is quite intriguing - having put them all together with ordinary superglue I cannot recommend this method on the elder kit; if you can solder the sides (panelling inserts behind the outer skin), do so, as the superglue kept cracking when I tried to manipulate the lower tumblehome, and fixing the sides to the ends.  The Worsley Works kits went together quite easily, by comparison, though I have had to add strengthener and filler pieces (as might be seen in the photos).  My intent is to have the roofs removable to access the interiors (balsa plug with cartridge paper over the top, as mentioned on the Dettingen GCR thread).  The plastic roof from the Gibbs kit may well get recycled into something else, as the profile no longer matches the carriage ends.

 

The Worsley coaches are mounted on ex-Ratio LNWR bogies, while the Gibbs is mounted on the bogies from the kit (minus the white metal parts and brake hangers, this is all that was contained).

[Manxman1831]

Evening all.  A question for the experts following this build - how common was it for the double-leaf bolster springs on the Parker coach bogies to be replaced by twinned-coil springs?  Additionally, how often were the tiebars below the axleboxes removed, and left removed once the carriage was returned to service?

 

I'm asking as these details appear to create their own minefield within an already tricky subject, and i want to try and get at least some of the details right for my own coaches.

[Manxman1831]

Afternoon all.  Just a small update from today's work.  Only put class designations and labels on as I seem to be running low on appropriate coach numbers, all on the corridor side.  Did the brakes have battery boxes on both sides, or just under the corridors?  Forgive the lousy camerawork, it was a quick and dirty attempt to show todays progress while the satin varnish dried.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Manxman1831

[Manxman1831]

Todays little update.  Fitting the undergear (the visible bits anyway), to my coaches.  The battery boxes have proven to be awkward, in terms of their location under the brakes, but overall the tight fit of the equipment underneath is proving to be an intriguing exercise in "how did they do that?".

 

One seating area has been put together, and will be finished off before attention is turned to the roofing.

[Manxman1831]

One roof sorted out, provisionally. Measuring up both brakes, I need to custom fit each one as expected.  Balsa base, cartridge paper topping, 1.5mm angle on sides to represent the guttering.  Whole ensemble to be held down with a magnet in the middle of the roof underside to close up most of the gaps.

[Manxman1831]

Day off from work, and I felt the urge to detail my bogies (not the green ones).  0.5mm microstrip and footboards left over from the 10ft bogies (might not be able to actually see them), cut and stuck to the brake end bogies.

Edit :- photos taken of the brass bogies, since the footboard shows up better than against the black plastic.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Manxman1831

[Manxman1831]

Howdy folks.  Todays extract from my mad scheme with the Parkers sees me showing off with a little bit of magnetism.   I had a plan to originally hold down each roof with a couple of ceramic magnets attached to cross-pieces (aimed at keeping the bodies from deforming each time they are picked up) and lengths of paperclip glued to the underside of the balsa plugs.  INSERT 'FAMILY FORTUNES' WRONG ANSWER SOUND HERE.   Turns out the little things are not strong enough to pull the skin off of a rice pudding, and the roofs had started to warp with the warm weather.  Next theory - use stronger magnets, set into the corners; cue an order for small neodymium magnets from EBay (alongside an order for fridge magnet strips), more paperclips being sacrificed, and each roof will now sit reasonably flush with the tops of the sides.

 

What happened to the fridge magnet strips?  They too wound up being sacrificed.... short lengths were cut and stuck to paper bellows (one pair of bellows for each connection), while shorted off-cuts were stuck to the inside of each coach end.  Small shelves were glued to the underside of each functioning end, to save having the magnets slip down onto the couplings.  The pictures show better how I went about this.

 

And lastly, frosting.... or to be accurate, representations of the frosted glass that went into the toilet windows.  I have it on good authority that these survived well into LNER days, and being at the appropriate stage, both the BTK and BFK have had theirs fitted.

[Manxman1831]

Small update for today.  Interiors - ex-Ratio seating strips in the process of being sorted out for the compartments, 13 left to sort out after the BFK, for now; toilet compartments cut out, along with the luggage divider.  Roofs - single coat of Humbrol 27 slate grey applied to the four of them; not done the rain strips yet, but they'll require some thinking about with them curving around the shoulders.  Underframes - single coat of coal black (Humbrol 85) applied to the dynamos, battery boxes and brake cylinders.

 

Last shot shows just what can be seen through the corridor windows of the BFK.

[Manxman1831]

Interiors.  Why do we go to the trouble of putting them in?  Is it more hassle than it's worth?  Don't know, as I've been grafting some passenger spaces into my Parkers, and inhaling lots of poly cement fumes.

 

First picture - installed interiors for the (top to bottom) Brake First, Corridor First, faux-Brake Third.  These were straightforward enough to put in (even after fitting the supports for the roofs).

Second picture - the (dreaded) Luggage Composite.  Nothing on this has been simple, and the interior has me questioning my sanity.  The pillars in the First class compartments are 18mm by 3mm (show installed).  The pillars for the Third class compartments are to be 18mm by 2mm (not installed).

Third picture - showing the size comparison between the two lots of pillars...

 

In other news, the coaches all have their respective toilet and luggage spaces in place.  Looking at the plans for the Composite in Jenkinson's book, it infers that the toilet in that coach was for First class Ladies only.  First class Gents would have to use the toilet in the next carriage.  Third class would definitely have to use the toilet in the next coach along - between the locked corridor door and the luggage space, they don't have a toilet in this coach.

[Manxman1831]

Having had a bit of fun with the different sized compartment pillars, I thought that I'd show off the built interior of the Luggage Composite, as well as some other works I've carried out on it.

Picture 1 - Overall shot of the interior (2 First class compartments on the left, 3 Third class on the right).

Picture 2 - close-up of the luggage space (as laid out in the Jenkinson book).

Picture 3 - close-up of the Ladies toilet (again as according to Jenkinson).  No glass yet as I need about eighteen more etched 'glass' panels, for this, the proper Brake Third, First Class Dining Saloon and the First Class Kitchen car.

Picture 4 - extra 'closed' corridor connector, for running with non-corridor coach attached at the First class end.  Usual fridge magnet strip, ex-Ratio bellows connector and Comet LNER end plate.

Picture 5 - 'closed' connector fitted.

Picture 6 - labelling as a reminder to me which end the connector goes on, as well as a glimpse of the double-leaf springs fitted late on yesterday.

Picture 7 - a clearer shot of the springs.  Not really sitting right as they are retro-fitted, hopefully the next ones to be fitted will be as part of the bogie build-up.

[Manxman1831]

Had a running day down at Ruddington, on the outdoors loops.  First up - 968 with her 'Edwardian' train, with a 1930s interloper for refreshment purposes.

[Manxman1831]

Next up was the Rapido Stirling Single - same coaches - strutting round as though she'd do it forever.

[Manxman1831]

968, back on the Parkers - showing that I really need to do some form of catering for a decent length 'Edwardian' train.

[Manxman1831]

A few shots from a running day down at the NTHC at Rudddington.  Pollitt Single (LNER X4) is near as dammit complete.  Parker Corridor First is complete (numbered and lettered).  Glenalmond is my dad's build using an old Nu-Cast (formerly K's?) kit, and runs very nicely indeed.  The D6 is from an old DJH kit, suitably and heavily modified to match the loco as shown in a B&W photo.

[Manxman1831]

The latest round of coach-building has seen the procurement of two of Worsley Works GCR dining coaches - specifically the Dining First and the Kitchen First.  For the period being modelled, I'm about to cheat - all of the Kitchen First coaches had been converted into Brake coaches long before Grouping had taken place, but I wanted some form of catering for my train, so I'm having one of the 4 built by Gorton as having escaped and still running as intended in the mid-1920's.  Intersting note, George Dow in his volume 2 states that in 1896, the ten dining cars built by Gorton (3 Dining Thirds, 3 Dining Firsts and 4 Kitchen Firsts) were all fitted with electric lighting, while every other coach being built had gas-lighting.  What caught my attention, was the works photo of one of the completed kitchen cars sporting a rather large gas tank under the bodywork closest to the camera.  Cue much confusion, e-mail fired off to the GCRS and checking every book both my dad and I had looking at kitchen/buffet cars. Much to our amusement, it would appear to have been normal for electric lighting to be in company with gas cooking - after all of our combined years of modelling and putting the bits on dining car kits, we are still learning.

 

The pictures below show -

1. The basic Kitchen First with extra plasticard strip ready to build the interior walls.

2. The basic Dining First.

3. Underside of the Kitchen First, showing the slightly modified bogies.

4. Underside of the Dining First.

5. End prfiles for the Kitchen and Dining First.

6. The Kitchen Firsts first run out at Ruddington with the 1920's train.

[iak]

Erudite and thoroughly entertaining topic.

I do wonder if any Robinson coaches will appear one day.

GCR coaches have a certain vibe to them...

[Manxman1831]

Certainly there used to be the matchboard-sided corridor coaches, albeit of varying degrees of accuracy.  The Barnums (last available from Falcon Brass many years ago) were up to the usual Jidenco standard, and best left at that - if you like a challenge, get one.  I did ask Worsley Works about the possibility of producing a scratch-aid for the Barnums, but I think he may have rather a lot of requests on the list at the moment due to the increased demand due to the lockdowns.

The replacement stock (sometimes referred to as Armoured stock), again last available from Falcon Brass, were a better build, but still a challenge to someone who might not be as experienced.

[Manxman1831]

A smidgen of progress since the last update. Underfloor components applied - battery boxes and dynamo for the lighting on corridor side, gas cylinder for the kitchen on the other.  Labelling the coach and its ownership done on both sides (still waiting on learned friends to resolve the running number issue).  Support bars added to the bogies.  Labelling up the bellows connectors and varnishing them against possible wear when being put together in train.

 

Sanity, what is that?

[2750Papyrus]

Have only just found this thread.  Very interesting and the shots at Ruddington look great.