Mr Brunel Posted August 14, 2017 Share Posted August 14, 2017 Looking good! I especially like the silver smokeboox door handles and straps. They are really part of the iconic 4079 'face' aren't they? I also rather like the "OZ" shed allocation... I have actually known for some time that 5051 and 4079 had exchanged tenders once more. How so, you might ask? Well, I have recently joined the Non-operational Locomotives Group - I was actually volunteering at Didcot on the day that the tenders were swapped around! I was polishing the cabside number plates on 6697 when I was told to down tools as they were clearing that road of the shed... I remember walking alongside 4079 as the 08 pulled it out of the workshop, which felt like a special moment - the gap between the workshop and the engine shed marks the first time I've seen 4079 moving, or in full daylight. Enough of my waffling - thank you for your updates! Best, Sam 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted August 15, 2017 Author Share Posted August 15, 2017 Hi Sam, Great that you have chosen to joint us! I will no doubt see you around 'on shed' so to speak. Thanks for the compliments about the project too! All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted August 25, 2017 Author Share Posted August 25, 2017 Hi All, Just a quick note to get you up to date with proceedings at Didcot for the Gala weekend. Firstly, the old rival has been spotted! The Scotsman is on site and has already been turned and has had a little light exercise on the main demonstration line already today! Also today and old friend of both Flying Scotsman and Pendennis Castle turned up to see how his former charges were getting on. It was a pleasure to show Sir William and Lady Judy McAlpine around 'Little Swindon' today! Myself and the No. 4079 team will be on hand all weekend to show off Pendennis Castle and conduct tours of Didcot Locomotive Works as well so I hope you might be able to join us! A number of tickets have been made available for each of the days so if you haven't got tickets yet, they are available on the gate! All the best, Castle 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium M.I.B Posted August 26, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 26, 2017 (edited) Nice photos Mr Castle, and a big public thanks for the great tours that you do. Not only is it your own free time that you and your crew are using up, but also, tour time is time which could otherwise be spent on the tools. If you haven't done Mr Castle's private "Little Swindon" visits yet, I advise you to do so, and please make sure that some financial recompense is made via the collection boxes by the respective engines in the works. Edited August 26, 2017 by M.I.B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 Hi All, We have been busy this evening... No. 6023 (and 70013!) returns to Paddington Station! I hope to see some of you at the Old Oak Common 111 event on Saturday! All the best, Castle 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B15nac Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 (edited) What a moment after all these years she returns to Paddington. I was Sat at home last night excited at the thought of 6023 on the mainline heading for London. How did the trip go she performed OK? Kind regards Neil Edited September 1, 2017 by B15nac Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 I'm still not sure it's a good idea putting Oliver Cromwell and a King together. It didn't turn out too well last time.... ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted September 1, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 1, 2017 There never was a blue Britannia, was there? The King looked good. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted September 1, 2017 Author Share Posted September 1, 2017 (edited) Hi All, What a moment after all these years she returns to Paddington. I was Sat at home last night excited at the thought of 6023 on the mainline heading for London. How did the trip go she performed OK? Kind regards Neil No. 6023 behaved her (his?) self very well. The next job is to prove the new draughting arrangements (2-1 blast pipe with new short chimney conversion) over an extended distance and then she might be let out on her own. Small steps forward but steps forward none the less... I'm still not sure it's a good idea putting Oliver Cromwell and a King together. It didn't turn out too well last time.... ;-)It's not just Oliver Cromwell and a King we have to worry about, if you look through the history books you will see that a certain Pendennis Castle was once laid siege to by palimentary forces lead by - you've guessed it - Oliver Cromwell! Nobody laying siege to No. 4079 while I'm about... There never was a blue Britannia, was there? The King looked good.No - there weren't any blue Britannias as they were both the wrong power class (blue was put on 8P machines and both Britannias and Castles were eventually 7P) and they were built a little bit late for that sort of thing anyway. Duke of Gloucester was always green for example. All the best, Castle Edited September 1, 2017 by Castle 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B15nac Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Is the king back at didcot after its adventures away? Regards Neil 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted September 3, 2017 Author Share Posted September 3, 2017 Hi Neil, We were back on shed at about 22:20hrs last night. We did disposal and I managed to get a train after and got home. I am more than a little bit tired today... All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 (edited) A familiar hat in the cab of 6023 at OOC: SRM 93 whistles as it makes stately progress across the yard: Edited September 5, 2017 by Nick Gough 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted September 5, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 5, 2017 Nice view of the Railmotor, ideal for weathering inspiration. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 93's roof is getting a bit grubbier every season! Realistic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 A higher resolution crop: 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted September 5, 2017 Share Posted September 5, 2017 There's that hat again! 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Northroader Posted September 5, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 5, 2017 93's roof is getting a bit grubbier every season! Realistic. It's interesting how it's spreading out from the chimney, weatherers, take note. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted September 6, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 6, 2017 Castle, Can you please give a rough sort of mileage that 93 has covered, to give an indication as to the normal timescale that it would take to achieve that level of roof grime in service, as the timescales are much extended in heritage service. Thanks SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Gough Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 A comparison with three years ago: 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 Hi All, Man with a hat? Where? I resemble that accusation! 93's roof is getting a bit grubbier every season! Realistic. We do like a bit of gritty realism! The truth be told, the white gets stained that colour and there isn't much that can be done other than breaking out the paint pot to rectify it... Castle, Can you please give a rough sort of mileage that 93 has covered, to give an indication as to the normal timescale that it would take to achieve that level of roof grime in service, as the timescales are much extended in heritage service. Thanks SS Well, that's an interesting question. The truth is I don't know but I can ask. It might be a bit tricky to guesstimate but we will have a go for you Mr Snooper! All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) Hi All, Although we don't have access to exact millage paperwork for No. 93, we think that it must be on par with what it did in service as although we don't operate every day, the millage racked up even on a relatively small site like Didcot is quite high and she has been out on tour a bit too. It must be on par with a daily trundle up and down a branch line... Not a precise answer but the best we are going to get! All the best, Castle Edited September 9, 2017 by Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted September 9, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 9, 2017 Thanks for trying to get a mileage, must be a fair bit as it must be around 5 years now since it first steamed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) Absolutely - if No. 93 is on the main demonstration line the it might do upwards of 30 miles in a day. The way we figured it, that's a trip up and down a branch line of anyone's money! Add to that the many heritage line tours she has been on and her main line ecapades then she's done quite a bit. It's certainly enough to approximate a couple of years of full active service and I suspect that the white lead based paint they used back then was no better at evading the black stuff than our modern mixes... All the best, Castle Edited September 9, 2017 by Castle 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 (edited) Pooley Coincidental Hi All, As the usual Christmas chaos descends on chez Castle, so did the desire to finish a number of those nagging UFOs* Struck so it has been decreed that Autotrailer No. 190 (started an embarrassingly long time ago!) and Pooley Van No. 82917 were to be put on the hit list. I still have that No. 7202 itch to scratch but the previous two are mainly plastic and therefore a lot easier to pick up and put down so they went to the top of the tree. In the end, I’m still fiddling with No. 190 having got to the stage where the windows were in and I decided I couldn’t agree with the shade of crimson I had used which looked more maroon so back to the paint shop with that! At least I know all the windows fit I suppose... The real No. 82917 was built in 1911 to diagram V12 which makes it a MINK A van by birth. In 1934 it was rebuilt, along with three of it fellows, as a Workshop Van on Lot 1148 (No new diagram was issued). These vehicles were used by Messers Henry Pooley and Sons Limited who were the weighing machine contractors to both the GWR and BR(W). The company used them to service and calibrate their many weighing machines and scales throughout the Great Western system. Pooley was eventually absorbed into W & T Avery and Company. They have an interesting entry into the forever readable Graces Guide website here if anyone is interested! https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Henry_Pooley_and_Son Back to the vehicle and after withdrawal it found a home in preservation. A thread here has helped fill in some of the vehicle’s history so thanks to all that contributed to it! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/121451-gwr-pooley-wagons-and-models/ I have also added all my research material and photos on there as I think there needs to be more Pooley vans on layouts out there! To paraphrase what was said there, No. 82917 was used in the Chester district but was also used at Bold Colliery and Pilkington's Cowley Hill works, St.Helens during its working career. Derek Foster bought it from the Central Wagon Co. in 1978. He used it as the store/workshop for the restoration of his LMS Jinty 0-6-0 No. 47298. Circa 1980 it was replaced it with another Pooley Van, this time a 6wh. vehicle converted from an ex LNWR CCT. Dave Rawlinson bought No. 82917 A’s a result and repainted it in GW chocolate. Sadly, David Rawlinson passed away and on his death the van, along with a few other ex GWR vehicles were bequeathed to the Great Western Society and moved to the Railway Age Museum at Crewe in March 2004 where it’s restoration was started under the auspices of the Society's North West Group. The vehicle was moved to Didcot in October 2008 where it entered use as the base of operations for the No. 1014 project. As a result, it gives us another rather pleasing example of a vehicle continuing in (sort of) its original purpose for many, many years. Preservation through use! Engage shrink ray... The model is obviously going to have to go in a similar fashion to the real thing. Parkside do a rather nice diagram V12 MINK so, that’s where we start. There are some drop light doors from the sides of the Parkside PYTHON kit that became ASMO many years ago. Dart Castings / Frogmore Confederacy provided the etched steps for the corners. No Little Didcot van build would be complete without a set of Lanarkshire Models and Supplies Buffers and a set of four early GWR units were added into the mix. The rest of the parts will be fashioned from styrene sections from Evergreen and Plastruct as required. It looks like I have pinched the Parkside ends for something else but as I have to make new ones anyway, these Ratio items will give me the right shape to use as templates. They fit the Parkside kit remarkably well... A bit of planked material and strip was cut to size as shown below. A few details added... ...with windows, Buffers and other bits. I obviously haven’t noticed the angled bottoms to the uprights at this point! Chopping out the two corners of the sides provided space for the windows and the centres of the doors were removed as they are completely different on No. 82917. A few more details including the steps, step supports, grab handles (also Dart items, lamp irons and so on are added. I can see that I hadn’t put the drop lights in at this point. I decided to replicate the drop light on both sides even though the real No. 82917 only has it on one side as it stands today. The first of a few ‘modellers licence’ type liberties I have had to take with this model. Look - I’ve sorted the end uprights! Lots of tidying to do here too... The main area of operation for the ‘modellers licence’ is in the livery. Despite searching, the livery of the vehicle remained illusive. Ray / Marshal 5 of this parish very kindly posted a picture he took of No. 82917 with Jinty No. 47298 that gave me the BR colour scheme but the makings were sadly indistinguishable. I therefore had to start making it up as I went along, er I mean, make an educated guess. There were two factors that I had to take into account. One - the wonderful website of Mr Paul Bartlett gives us a wonderful selection of Pooley vehicles here: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/?q=pooley And two, using Fox Transfers smallest alphabet, how much will fit on the van! There was a LOT written on those vans - I just tried to make it look right in the end! They all seemed to have this on the end so I’m fairly safe there I think. The way I look at it, if I can’t find the pictures of it easily then it’s unlikely that others will too so who’s the say what’s not right? In any case, I’m not changing it now! One dose of weathering later, a few windows and we are done! I have temporarily stuck the roof with glue and glaze in these pictures as I am not sure if I am doing any sort of interior in it. Does anyone know of a picture of the inside of a Pooley Van of any type? I have just painted it all black in there for now. Well, there we are for another year. A few more things have been built for Little Didcot. The real No. 4079 has made massive progress too but there remains many a coach shaped hole in the model collection - a mountain of kits and RTR ready to convert exists but there really is not a lot finished! I sit here posting this full of festive food and having received the last two kits from the Comet range for the Little Didcot collection (the H43 Centenary Diner First and the E158 Sunshine Composite) and I hope that you have had a similarly pleasing holiday period thus far the that the new year is both peaceful and prosperous for you all. All the best, Castle and the team at 81E *UnFinished Objects for those not in on the RMWEB lingo! Edited December 25, 2017 by Castle 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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