Wright writes.....

[bbishop]

29 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I rather like building coaches and Gresley articulated stock is a particular favourite. My main current project is an O gauge quad from an Ian Kirk kit.

 It’s still wip with interior and underframe to finish off. The problem with quad arts is you need two of them to form a proper train! The other half has only got as far as putting the sides together and painting them.

 

Well done for getting the wife to do the modelling.  Bill

[FarrMan]

35 minutes ago, MJI said:

I could not be bothered to cut all the partitions on a Comet kit so cut it all on a Cameo 4, rather nice job as well

What material do use it to cut?

 

Lloyd

[Tony Wright]

Does anyone have any idea about this, please?

 

 

It's in the GWR collection. It's made of wood, cardboard and metal castings, so, I assume, it's scratch-built. 

 

I have no idea if it's accurate (did the LNWR make six-wheeled brake vans?), though the weathering is definitely 'real'.

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

 

[Iain.d]

***Sorry, meant to quote t-b-g's post from the last page ***

 

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for the complement on the look of the carriages. Yes, I do get a level of satisfaction that makes all the hard work seem worthwhile. But often during the build I lose a little bit of interest and need some sort of diversion; luckily, I have other hobbies and live in a beautiful part of the world. I also usually have two projects on the go, so I can flit between them as the mood takes me.

 

To get things done I have to break things down into manageable chunks or tasks. I don’t mind soldering the door stops, etc., but I couldn’t do it all in one sitting. I generally do all the prep work over a few nights, often in front of the TV so I am with the family. So, on a kit I cut the parts from the fret, clean off all the cusp, etch tags, drill all the holes, clean up the castings and then put stuff away until I have time to begin assembly. Because it is all prepped, assembly is quick and one has something to see for their effort quite soon, but even then, I’ll probably only do one side of a coach at a time or maybe just the bogies, or floor or whatever’s next in the build sequence.

 

 

I also batch build to speed things up.

 

 

Before painting, everything is done – interior, windows cut, door handles bent, curtains and so on. Then I don’t delay on completion. My least favourite parts are making working scissor gangways (I need two sets of those now) and filing/cutting RTR bodies to accept brass sides.

 

Overall, I find kits less work than modifying old RTR. Comet kits are pretty straight forward. This LMS D1807 TO is about 4 weeks work at about 3-4 evenings per week and a couple of hours each weekend day.

 

 

 

Roxey’s are a little more complex and I find I need to put in a little more thought because I think they’re meant to be glued together - well certainly the interiors and the roof, both of which I want removable for future servicing/maintenance. Cutting the roofs are a problem for me. I’ve done seven of Roxey carriage kits and have three LSWR ones to go, and two S&DJR Milk Vans.

 

 

This Slaters GWR Third Corridor kit was quite easy – its plastic but the bogies were complex, unnecessarily so. They’re sprung, I don’t think they need to be and I’m not sure how they’ll run. I suspect I’ll swap them out for Comet replacements one day.

 

 

Doing RTR recycling like this is quite time consuming. It’ll take a weekend’s worth of time just to carve/file the plastic sides to accept the brass ones. I know some people cut pretty much all the side away; I leave as much as I can so I have a bigger area to glue the parts together. There’s not much difference in cost between recycling RTR or a Comet kit; wheels aside I can get a Comet coach for £38 (VAT free) and it the same for the bits to do an RTR (the cost of the donor is the biggest factor here), either way both routes are cheaper than a new RTR carriage and you can also get yourself a diagram that’s unlikely ever to be mass produced, like this LMS D1913 BTO.

 

 

I have two recently purchased Mousa Models S&DJR coaches to build, not sure how they’ll go. Probably quite well as I find most Bill Bedford stuff well thought out. And I’ve a few more Comet kits, one being an LMS articulated set, purchased simply because there has been a few articulated sets shown on here (not LMS admittedly) and I rather like them! LMS and LNER articulated stock was not uncommon on the S&D.

 

Sorry, this is a very long answer to a simple question, when I could have simply said ‘yes!’

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

Edited November 8, 2021 by Iain.d

[Steamport Southport]

23 hours ago, richard i said:

A carriage takes longer to build than a loco…..discuss.

it certainly does for me with having to build the interior as well.

richard 

 

I think it depends on the builder.

 

I once saw a modeller doing a soldering demonstration at a show. In just the few hours I was there he had built about two dozen LNWR Chowbent coach kits. The ones that are now available from Wizard/51L.

 

Obviously he wasn't painting them, although there was a couple of completed ones on the stand. But the bulk of the work was done including most of the fine detail. Not just the sides but the underframes, bogies, roofs, etc.

 

He still had another day to go and had the boxes for more next to him!

 

 

 

Jason

 

[The Fatadder]

23 minutes ago, MJI said:

I could not be bothered to cut all the partitions on a Comet kit so cut it all on a Cameo 4, rather nice job as well

I keep thinking about doing that myself on a couple of Comet builds which are currently running on the layout without interiors.  At some point I will get on and get it sorted...  Did you just form from single 20thou sheet?

[Barry Ten]

16 minutes ago, Iain.d said:

**

This Slaters GWR Third Corridor kit was quite easy – its plastic but the bogies were complex, unnecessarily so. They’re sprung, I don’t think they need to be and I’m not sure how they’ll run. I suspect I’ll swap them out for Comet replacements one day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not a fan of the Slaters bogies, either the American or GWR type, as I couldn't get either to run reliably. They ended up being replaced and/or heavily bodged on my toplights. The simplest bogies work the best, in my experience.

 

 

[Barry Ten]

34 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Does anyone have any idea about this, please?

 

 

It's in the GWR collection. It's made of wood, cardboard and metal castings, so, I assume, it's scratch-built. 

 

I have no idea if it's accurate (did the LNWR make six-wheeled brake vans?), though the weathering is definitely 'real'.

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

 

 

Looks to be close to a Diagram 17 LNWR brake van, I think:

 

https://www.lnwrs.org.uk/Wagons/brakes/Diag017.php

[MJI]

2 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

I keep thinking about doing that myself on a couple of Comet builds which are currently running on the layout without interiors.  At some point I will get on and get it sorted...  Did you just form from single 20thou sheet?

 

Yes 20 thou for wall and partitions, also drew up brake area

[MJI]

3 hours ago, FarrMan said:

What material do use it to cut?

 

Lloyd

 

20 thou plastic card

 

the vehicles I did have a 24.5mm long pitch

[ArthurK]

On 07/11/2021 at 16:19, Tony Wright said:

As promised..................

 

 

The Mailcoach 'Coronation' rake.

 

It's not what one might call 'top drawer', but it's reasonably well-made, and the complex painting is 'adequate'. It rides well (though I don't have a blue A4 to haul it). 

 

Some of the ride heights need a bit of adjustment (a washer here and there?), but it's a damn sight more level than another 'Coronation' I've had running on Little Bytham. 

 

 

 

I bought the full rake of the D&S Coronation coaches when they were announced. Danny never got around to producing the Beavertail end coach, I made a start on these but other things got in the way. I  started with the underframe trusses then changed my ideas and put them to one side, They have languished in a box ever since. I will never get around to building them now so they are up for disposal along with half a dozen of  other D&S kits.

 

ArthurK

[The Fatadder]

On 06/11/2021 at 18:37, Tony Wright said:

 

 

Un-built rolling stock kits include several Blacksmiths' clerestories, a milk van and a toplight. There's also a Hammond Saloon, and a D&S Low Siphon (probably the most valuable of them all). 

 

 

Will be interested to see which Hammond Saloon it is (unless someone has already nabbed it), if its the CGW14 sides / ends for the G3 diagram Directors Saloon I'd be very interested.  Trying very hard to resist a 44xx, thoughts of dcc fitting (and the fact that I've just committed a fair chunk of the months modelling budget on a rivet press so that I can build the Warren Smith (4mm) P15 Starfish / W12 cattle van kits which arrived in the week.

[TrevorP1]

1 hour ago, ArthurK said:

 

I bought the full rake of the D&S Coronation coaches when they were announced. Danny never got around to producing the Beavertail end coach, I made a start on these but other things got in the way. I  started with the underframe trusses then changed my ideas and put them to one side, They have languished in a box ever since. I will never get around to building them now so they are up for disposal along with half a dozen of  other D&S kits.

 

ArthurK

 

I think a lot of us suffer from 'ideas bigger thank our workbench'. I know I do.

 

I'm not sure what the answer is but I wish I could find time to actually make more. Coming back to the the hobby in a serious way fairly late I just will not have the years left to build all the locos and carriages I need but I get hugely more satisfaction from running things that I had a hand in. In a manner of speaking my RTR items, however good, are steadily becoming things I just plonk on the track and they go round - even if they do contribute to the accuracy of the scene etc.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by TrevorP1

[bbishop]

1 hour ago, ArthurK said:

 

I bought the full rake of the D&S Coronation coaches when they were announced. Danny never got around to producing the Beavertail end coach, I made a start on these but other things got in the way. I  started with the underframe trusses then changed my ideas and put them to one side, They have languished in a box ever since. I will never get around to building them now so they are up for disposal along with half a dozen of  other D&S kits.

 

ArthurK

Arthur, GER horseboxes perchance?   Bill

[t-b-g]

6 hours ago, Iain.d said:

***Sorry, meant to quote t-b-g's post from the last page ***

 

Hi Tony,

 

Thank you for the complement on the look of the carriages. Yes, I do get a level of satisfaction that makes all the hard work seem worthwhile. But often during the build I lose a little bit of interest and need some sort of diversion; luckily, I have other hobbies and live in a beautiful part of the world. I also usually have two projects on the go, so I can flit between them as the mood takes me.

 

To get things done I have to break things down into manageable chunks or tasks. I don’t mind soldering the door stops, etc., but I couldn’t do it all in one sitting. I generally do all the prep work over a few nights, often in front of the TV so I am with the family. So, on a kit I cut the parts from the fret, clean off all the cusp, etch tags, drill all the holes, clean up the castings and then put stuff away until I have time to begin assembly. Because it is all prepped, assembly is quick and one has something to see for their effort quite soon, but even then, I’ll probably only do one side of a coach at a time or maybe just the bogies, or floor or whatever’s next in the build sequence.

 

 

I also batch build to speed things up.

 

 

Before painting, everything is done – interior, windows cut, door handles bent, curtains and so on. Then I don’t delay on completion. My least favourite parts are making working scissor gangways (I need two sets of those now) and filing/cutting RTR bodies to accept brass sides.

 

Overall, I find kits less work than modifying old RTR. Comet kits are pretty straight forward. This LMS D1807 TO is about 4 weeks work at about 3-4 evenings per week and a couple of hours each weekend day.

 

 

 

Roxey’s are a little more complex and I find I need to put in a little more thought because I think they’re meant to be glued together - well certainly the interiors and the roof, both of which I want removable for future servicing/maintenance. Cutting the roofs are a problem for me. I’ve done seven of Roxey carriage kits and have three LSWR ones to go, and two S&DJR Milk Vans.

 

 

This Slaters GWR Third Corridor kit was quite easy – its plastic but the bogies were complex, unnecessarily so. They’re sprung, I don’t think they need to be and I’m not sure how they’ll run. I suspect I’ll swap them out for Comet replacements one day.

 

 

Doing RTR recycling like this is quite time consuming. It’ll take a weekend’s worth of time just to carve/file the plastic sides to accept the brass ones. I know some people cut pretty much all the side away; I leave as much as I can so I have a bigger area to glue the parts together. There’s not much difference in cost between recycling RTR or a Comet kit; wheels aside I can get a Comet coach for £38 (VAT free) and it the same for the bits to do an RTR (the cost of the donor is the biggest factor here), either way both routes are cheaper than a new RTR carriage and you can also get yourself a diagram that’s unlikely ever to be mass produced, like this LMS D1913 BTO.

 

 

I have two recently purchased Mousa Models S&DJR coaches to build, not sure how they’ll go. Probably quite well as I find most Bill Bedford stuff well thought out. And I’ve a few more Comet kits, one being an LMS articulated set, purchased simply because there has been a few articulated sets shown on here (not LMS admittedly) and I rather like them! LMS and LNER articulated stock was not uncommon on the S&D.

 

Sorry, this is a very long answer to a simple question, when I could have simply said ‘yes!’

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

 

Another lovely selection of carriages and some neat workmanship on show.

 

I think you have hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned. Getting bogged down and putting things to one side for a while until enthusiasm returns is pretty much how I work. It does explain a couple of things. Firstly why I have so many part finished projects and secondly why it takes me so long to finish anything.

 

I often go to a part built project, remember what caused me to come to a halt and then start something new instead. It is a truly poor way of working and not recommended for anybody who wants anything finished. A good friend of mine assures me that it doesn't matter as long as I am enjoying myself. He may well be right.

 

The GER 4 wheelers went to their new home today and the layout owner was most appreciative. I have promised him that he won't have to wait so long for the next train, 10 District Railway 4 wheelers.

[Jol Wilkinson]

7 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Does anyone have any idea about this, please?

 

 

It's in the GWR collection. It's made of wood, cardboard and metal castings, so, I assume, it's scratch-built. 

 

I have no idea if it's accurate (did the LNWR make six-wheeled brake vans?), though the weathering is definitely 'real'.

 

Thanks in anticipation.

 

 

As Barry Ten says, it is a LNWR D17 20T six wheel brake van, or at least an attempt at one. The outside framing is too shallow and the veranda door area is poorly modelled. If looks pretty old and if there was some provenance for it, it might be of "historical" interest. Otherwise I don't think it has much commercial value.

 

GEM did a complete cast w/m kit years ago. Perhaps the metal castings come from that. I have two Modellers World 4mm etched D17 kits that have w/m framing overlays and detailing bits. These must be prototypes as they never appeared in production AFAIK. It is unlikely that I will finish building the one I started nearly two years ago  as LRM are just about to put out a new kit for the D17 with a very nice cast resin body and etched underframe.

 

Jol

[john new]

Re the LNWR van, is it from drawings in one of the building card vehicles books?

[ArthurK]

1 hour ago, bbishop said:

Arthur, GER horseboxes perchance?   Bill

sorry no. This list for disposal is:

 

1.     Two Dia.174 luggage/milkvan DS174

2.     Arc roof Dia. 53 49’ brake third DS223

3.     Arc roof Dia. 54 49’ third DS221

4.      Dia. 26 52’ Clerestory Brake Compo DS233

5.     Dia.150 49’ Toplight brake third DS195

6.     Dia 162 52’ Autocar brake third DS225

 

Not asking Ebay prices but no reasonable offer refused.

 

Arthur

 

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by ArthurK
Correction

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

 

Will be interested to see which Hammond Saloon it is (unless someone has already nabbed it), if its the CGW14 sides / ends for the G3 diagram Directors Saloon I'd be very interested.  Trying very hard to resist a 44xx, thoughts of dcc fitting (and the fact that I've just committed a fair chunk of the months modelling budget on a rivet press so that I can build the Warren Smith (4mm) P15 Starfish / W12 cattle van kits which arrived in the week.

Good evening Rich,

 

The Hammond saloon sold very quickly. 

 

The better 44XX also went straight away, but the other (and cheaper) one is still available. Its motor can be isolated from the frames because both its brushes are insulated. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

35 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

As Barry Ten says, it is a LNWR D17 20T six wheel brake van, or at least an attempt at one. The outside framing is too shallow and the veranda door area is poorly modelled. If looks pretty old and if there was some provenance for it, it might be of "historical" interest. Otherwise I don't think it has much commercial value.

 

GEM did a complete cast w/m kit years ago. Perhaps the metal castings come from that. I have two Modellers World 4mm etched D17 kits that have w/m framing overlays and detailing bits. These must be prototypes as they never appeared in production AFAIK. It is unlikely that I will finish building the one I started nearly two years ago  as LRM are just about to put out a new kit for the D17 with a very nice cast resin body and etched underframe.

 

Jol

Good evening Jol,

 

I think it's axiomatic that the model isn't very good, though it probably represents the scratch-building standards of 60-odd years ago quite well (for I'm sure it dates from the '50s). 

 

The chap who's acting on behalf of the bereaved family (his pricing knowledge is largely with regard to RTR items, hence his asking me to get involved) has suggested a price of £2.00 on his list, which is probably right! 

 

I just thought it had an element of interest about it.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, Iain.d said:

I also batch build to speed things up.

Me too. I like batches of three. Anything less and it doesn't seem to be worth it, anything more and it gets tedious.

 

[bbishop]

11 hours ago, ArthurK said:

sorry no. This list for disposal is:

 

1.     Two Dia.174 luggage/milkvan DS174

2.     Arc roof Dia. 53 49’ brake third DS223

3.     Arc roof Dia. 54 49’ third DS221

4.      Dia. 26 52’ Clerestory Brake Compo DS233

5.     Dia.150 49’ Toplight brake third DS195

6.     Dia 162 52’ Autocar brake third DS225

 

Not asking Ebay prices but no reasonable offer refused.

 

Arthur

 

 

Arthur, thank you for the list.  In 1912 there was a transfer leaving Addison Road at 7:09am to the LSWR.  We are replicating it on our model of Southwark Bridge.  Two factors come into play.  There were a number of racecourses on the LSWR (Hurst Park, Sandown Park, Kempton Park, Ascot, Epsom at a pinch) and our model has a horse dock so the nags can have their exercise.  This gives the North Yard operator plenty of work shunting horseboxes across to the south side to become head traffic on Hampton Court trains for the Hurst Park races. 

We have a fair number of horseboxes, but no GER, and of course many of the nags would travel from Newmarket.  Well maybe not for Hurst Park, which was a bit of a bumper track, but there could always be racing at Ascot tomorrow.  

Bill

[jwealleans]

Thread drift, but have you asked Danny, Bill?   He did rerelease the GER horsebox a few years ago and might still have some.

[FarrMan]

Tony

 

What GWR wagon models are still available, please?

 

On a less serious note, I don't suppose that you have any pidgeon vans going cheep, or would that need DCC and a speaker?

 

Lloyd

[MJI]

1 hour ago, FarrMan said:

Tony

 

What GWR wagon models are still available, please?

 

On a less serious note, I don't suppose that you have any pidgeon vans going cheep, or would that need DCC and a speaker?

 

Lloyd

 

I asked straight away and am already in the queue!