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GWR Brake Van Depot Name Transfers


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  • RMweb Gold

Evening,

 

I've recently started building a few GWR wagon kits, a couple being the trusty Ratio AA20 brake van and am looking for some transfers for the depot name carried by these wagons in GWR times.

 

Fox don't do them, HMRS do some on their sheet for GWR wagons but I'm not a fan of these. Are there any other sources out there that I've missed?

 

I'm particularly looking for some Newton Abbot depot names but I may have to go down the custom route. Any suggestions at all?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold

 

I'm particularly looking for some Newton Abbot depot names but I may have to go down the custom route. Any suggestions at all?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

 

I've been down this route myself and came to a dead end.I found a 'Laira and Plymouth' but no NA. :angry: Perhaps John at Cambridge Custom could be persuaded to do a sheet. ;)

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  • RMweb Gold

Any particular reason why you're not fond of the HMRS sheets? Not trying to be contentious, just curious - I can't get on with the pressfix lining, but in other respects I've found the HMRS stuff to be quite useful and easy to work with.

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  • RMweb Gold

Any particular reason why you're not fond of the HMRS sheets? Not trying to be contentious, just curious - I can't get on with the pressfix lining, but in other respects I've found the HMRS stuff to be quite useful and easy to work with.

 

It might be spending £7 on a sheet that 90% of you don't want/need.I have a feeling John at CCT would say how do you choose which depots you put on a sheet.

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  • RMweb Gold

Any particular reason why you're not fond of the HMRS sheets? Not trying to be contentious, just curious - I can't get on with the pressfix lining, but in other respects I've found the HMRS stuff to be quite useful and easy to work with.

 

Hmmm! So you've had the same experience as me then with Pressfix lining!!!:angry: It's the work of the devil! :D

 

I've used HMRS Pressfix for quite a lot of wagons in the past, and still use the odds and ends. The sheets are good value as well compared to Fox and as I'm building a quite a few GWR wagons it may be an avenue to revisit. However, I personally much more prefer Fox's product because of the quality, ease of application and the ability to adjust them as well. I think I'm right in saying Methfix has more manouverability on application? Could be worth investigating.

 

As Rob says, you do end up up with a considerable sheet of decals for the spares box using HMRS, mind though that's no bad thing except my sheets of BR wagon numbers/lettering have almost lost the will to stick. They are 10 years old however, and some Kleer or setting solution tends to fix that problem.

 

Also, on the HMRS sheet, the brake van depot names do not include Newton Abbot, which is what I'm looking for.;)

 

I've PM'd John to see what he can do.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold

Blimey! It's all kicked off!:D

 

Thanks guys for the link to POW Sides. Now if you read my post in the 'Whimsey Bittumen Depot-Berry Wiggins' in this section you'll see what I think of POW Sides transfers! :lol:

 

I'll wait to see what John can come up with, but if not W149 sounds good with two NA vans worth and Rob'll be happy with the Kingsbridge ones.;)

 

Looking at the POW Sides site I'm quite tempted to order some of the private owner wagon transfers applicable for the Teign Valley line, and there's a few!B)

 

I see they do kits already lettered up which might be the safer option for about £12. Could be expensive!:O

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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If you have a computer and printer, it may well pay to buy a pack of water slide transfer paper get yourself a good graphic arts program like Serif, and make your own custom transfers. That way you will have ultimate control of any transfers for your particular railway operations designed and made for your requirement;)

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Hi Mark

 

For what it's worth I have three numbers for NA based Toads: 56535, 56536 and 53565 all of which were AA13 vans rather than the AA19 produced by Ratio – though they were very similar and could doubtless be bodged. The last mentioned allocation was dated 1940 so may be OK for your period, though you'll rapidly run out of '5's!

 

As others have said, John Isherwood is probably your best bet. You could get him to do the numbers too. I once did a Frome based Toad the hard way, one letter at a time, but you would rapidly lose the will to live doing that for Newton Abbot. Twice!

 

Best wishes

 

Richard

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As others have said, John Isherwood is probably your best bet. You could get him to do the numbers too.Richard

 

As I seem to be the flavour of the month in this thread, I'd better explain why I had to decline when 46444 approached me.

 

1] Nowadays, I have a strict rule that I only produce transfers for the BR steam / early diesel period. This is because it is the era which I model, and for which I have considerable knowledge and all the published reference books.

 

2] The content of a sheet of transfers for GWR or BR(WR) brakevan lettering would be very subjective. The number of potential area and specific train allocations is huge, and whatever I chose the sheet would be useless to virtually everyone. Each modeller would want quite a few sets of transfers for his particular, quite specific location.

 

I have come across this problem with transfers for departmental stock. I have had to produce numerous regional and area sheet variants for what are a reasonably limited number of regional PW depots. The prospect of trying to do the same for the plethora of GWR branchlines and yards doesn't bear thinking about!

 

For those who imagine that Cambridge Custom Transfers is on a par with Fox or Modelmaster, let me explain. Cambridge Custom Transfers is me, in the evenings, with a desktop Alps printer in the spare bedroom. During the day I look after the engineering needs of Cambridge City Council and my lifelong hobby has been railway modelling in 4mm. scale - S&DJR in 1961.

 

I bought my first Alps printer around ten years ago to print my own transfers, as Woodhead Transfers had ceased trading and there was no alternative for wagon lettering. I happened to mention the virtues of Alps printers in a letter in the Model Railway Journal - the same month that Alps ceased to distribute in Europe!

 

Since then I have been inundated with requests for transfers and I did, for a while, try to operate a bespoke transfer service. Suffice to say that the time involved in clarifying customers' requirements, research and design was simply unsupportable for what is a spin-off of my own hobby. As it is, and with the strict timescale limitations that I impose, my actual modelling time is minimal.

 

As to Alps printers - they were the only printer that could print white which was within the pocket of modellers and small traders. They were around £150 when I bought my first one. Regretably, as of yesterday, they are no more - anywhere in the world!

 

The production line for the Alps MD5500, the last of the line, ceased last weekend and even then they were only being produced for the Japanese market. An enterprising New Zealander was distributing some around the world and had written an English language driver - but that is now at an end.

 

The supply of Alps inks is guaranteed for five years, and I have a small stock of printers and quite a lot of inks. However, the time will come when I am down to my last printer - at which time Cambridge Custom Transfers will cease trading and I will get down to my own modelling in earnest! (If anyone has, or knows of, a surplus and fully operational Alps MD printer I would be pleased to hear from them - it may prolong CCT a little longer).

 

Whilst there are often Alps printers on Ebay, they usually have a defective print-head or are damaged beyond repair in transit due to poor packing - beware!

 

I hope that the foregoing explains why I am not always able to assist with requests for transfers.

 

Regards,

John isherwood,

Cambridge Custom Transfers.

http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/

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If you have a computer and printer, it may well pay to buy a pack of water slide transfer paper get yourself a good graphic arts program like Serif, and make your own custom transfers. That way you will have ultimate control of any transfers for your particular railway operations designed and made for your requirement;)

 

The problem here is printing in white. Leaving the lettering clear with a grey surround, which is the other solution, gives problems matching the grey.

 

I have always used HMRS transfers. It is possible to make up other depot names from those supplied with care, but, as stated, tedious. (I did one for St Blazey - the next 2 were for Par.) ;)

 

Exeter and Laira vans would appear at Newton Abbot, of course.

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The problem here is printing in white. Leaving the lettering clear with a grey surround, which is the other solution, gives problems matching the grey.

 

White waterslide transfer paper is readily available from a number of suppliers - it is the background colour matching that is, as you say, the problem.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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Guest dilbert
The problem here is printing in white. Leaving the lettering clear with a grey surround, which is the other solution, gives problems matching the grey..

 

For GW period and BR Bauxite liveries the matching of the background colour would need to be addressed. For BR grey livery, life is a lot easier because the background colour would be black (representing the panels)...dilbert

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For GW period and BR Bauxite liveries the matching of the background colour would need to be addressed. For BR grey livery, life is a lot easier because the background colour would be black (representing the panels)...dilbert

 

That's true and I admit to not considering it, but the OP is for the GWR period. A little weathering should help though. It would also hide the carrier film. (Another advantage of HMRS transfers esp. Methfix.)

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Guest dilbert

That's true and I admit to not considering it, but the OP is for the GWR period. A little weathering should help though. It would also hide the carrier film. (Another advantage of HMRS transfers esp. Methfix.)

 

The reason I mentioned BR Grey - it is relatively quick and easy to take RTR stock and simply renumber - repaint the panels black and then knock off the numbers of your choice using a white based decal paper with a black background

 

CraftyComputer not only does waterslide but also dry rub-on decal sheets - the problem with the latter type is that you need a printer with a top/down paperfeed - if you have an HP printer for example (and nearly all HP printers have a horizontal paper feed) then this approach won't work...dilbert

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  • RMweb Premium

Hi

 

When I required some custom transfers for some wagons I got no joy from any of the UK transfer makers but a few emails to Steam and Things down under in Oz got me the transfers at a reasonable price in less than a fortnight. The link to his website is below.

 

http://www.steamandthings.com/

 

HTH

 

S. S.

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  • RMweb Gold

Evening once again,

John thanks for your indepth reply and I hope you feel like flavour of the month after this post.:D

 

I'm going to go with the POW Sides lettering and Fox main transfers for these brakes I think and now I have the numbers for the NA ones as well-Cheers Richard once again.;)

 

I'm looking forwards to finishing these two brakes off when the decals arrive.

 

Mark

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  • RMweb Gold

Hmmm! So you've had the same experience as me then with Pressfix lining!!!:angry: It's the work of the devil! :D

 

 

 

 

Yes, looking back at some of my older locos, I'm amazed that I managed to achieve as acceptable a job as I did with the HMRS lining sheets (although

in those days RTR lining was often pretty poor to begin with, so the bar was lower). Not a patch on using waterslide decals of the Fox or Modelmaster type.

 

Anyway, I didn't realise Newton Abbot wasn't on the HMRS sheet... I'd have thought it an obvious candidate.

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  • 1 month later...

 

Anyway, I didn't realise Newton Abbot wasn't on the HMRS sheet... I'd have thought it an obvious candidate.

 

I doubt such a late reply is of much help except to newcomers wanting to decorate their own Toad Brake Vans..

 

Using the HMRS Pressfix sheet, it is possible to make up Newton Abbot eg -

"New" and an "o" & "t" from Newport

"ton" and an "A" from Acton

2 x "b" from Banbury and Shrewsbury.

There is enough for just one Brake Van.

 

Of course, the numbers of Newton Abbot Toads is another thing! One really needs photos to confirm, and so far I've only seen 68777 on the South Devon Railway which hopefully is authentic.

 

Actually finding out on-line which vans were allocated where seems difficult. This site offers a lot of info -

http://www.gwr.org.uk/index.html

 

Tony Burgess

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  • 8 months later...

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