An Inexpensive AA3 Toad for Carmarthen Junction

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, everyone,

 

Introduction

 

All GWR and BR(W) layouts must have  few “Toads”!

 

The rolling stock collection for Carmarthen Junction does have quite a few – some for use on main line trains, some for valleys coal trains and some for the Mid-Wales/Cambrian trains. Recent discussions on RMweb prompted a review of existing stock. A chance gift of an old battered Hornby R018 toad stimulated yet another upgrade.

 

The aims of this particular project included:

• Avoidance of unnecessary expenditure;
• Preparation of a model that will tolerate extensive handling when being moved around the fiddle yard of my terminus to fiddle yard display layout;
• Use of existing paints, transfers, glazing materials and wheels

 

Existing Toads

 

GWR Period

 

The oldest toads in the collection include a couple of ancient Tri-ang examples, one still with open axleboxes. These have been re-wheeled, repainted and relettered, but are still quite crude. They rarely run and are enjoying retirement in their display cabinet.

 

 

I have built several Ratio (AA19?) kits, which look good and run well when fitted with modern metal wheels, but suffer from very fragile footboards – not good for repeated manual handling. These are fine for main line or coal trains.

 

 

I have a Mainline model (AA19), lettered for Oswestry – perfect for Cambrian section trains.

 

 

Visitors to RMweb and Great Western Modelling websites may recall that I have two examples of “absorbed” toads also – one from the TVR and the other from the Cambrian (both built from kits).

 

 

 

Some time ago, I also acquired an old Hornby R018 toad which has been fitted with a working tail light – a nice idea, but a bit of a gimmick, as its globe severely saps the power available to its locomotive.

 

 

This model has a few problems – some listed below, but is obviously a van in BR grey with black underframe, but wearing pre-1934 GWR lettering.

 

BR Period

 

These toads include examples from Mainline, Airfix/Dapol, Bachmann and Hornby-Dublo.

 

 

 

 

Upgrading Project

 

Recently, a friend gave me another Hornby R018 toad. This one was very tired, with a loose roof, missing inner compartment wall, cracked verandah frame and coarse “silver seal” wheels. Still, the basic structure was sound and the underframe unwarped.

 

 

This model had replaced the earlier Tri-ang model in Hornby’s range around 1976 and was, in turn, replaced by the AA19 ex-Airfix model in 1999. It seems to have been overlooked in recent RMweb discussions.

 

Further thought brought forward the idea to adapt this model to become an AA3 - a 20 ft van, rather than the more commonly seen 24 ft designs from Mainline/Bachmann, Airfix/ Hornby or Ratio. Comparison of its body moulding with the drawing on page 111 of Ref.1 showed it to be a close fit. (It is about 3mm too long – probably stretched to fit the chassis used also for the freelance 4-wheeled coaches.)

 

Its underframe is something of a compromise, but the wheelbase is correct and the footboards are robust and unlikely to suffer damage from repeated manual handling.

 

Replacement of its coarse wheels by current Hornby spares took all of about 15 seconds. The missing (sliding fit) compartment wall was a little more challenging. I compared the wall in my intact model with the drawings in Ref.1 and photos of AA3 vans available on-line and realised that the wall in Hornby’s model was unnecessarily complex – it was not representative of any GWR toad I could find!

 

 

I therefore decided to make a much simpler wall from card, using the wall from an unmade Ratio model as a guide, intending to reinforce it with clear glazing material after painting.

 

 

I removed the chimney from the roof, as it was incorrectly placed in the centre. I filled the hole with automotive body filler. I drilled a new hole towards the rear of the compartment, as illustrated in Ref.1 and as seen in on-line images of AA3s.

 

I painted the body, chassis and roof with Humbrol enamel #67, reasoning that a roof painted white in Swindon would not have stayed that way for long in service in Mid-Wales, consistent in appearance with images in Ref.3. I also painted over part of the overscale red tail light lens.

 

Handrails were picked out in matt white (Revell #5) and a smaller taillight was painted over the rear moulding.

 

Once the paint was dry, HMRS transfers were applied and then varnished, and the model was then glazed and re-assembled.

 

It now looks like this:

 

 

 

 

Reflections

 

This was a very inexpensive project. In this case, because I only had to buy two wheelsets, the total cost was A$2.00! The base model is readily available second-hand for under GBP10 (Ref.4) and the upgrade would be a suitable project for anyone trying their hand at kitbashing.

 

The final result is pleasing. Although not a fine-scale model of an AA3, it does seem to capture the spirit of one and provides a change from the much more commonly modelled AA19. It fulfils my requirements, as listed above.

 

For those who want to take the upgrade further, other improvements could include:

• Removal of the moulding provided for the working tail lamp;
• Replacement of the buffers and/or couplings;
• Replacement of moulded handrails with fine wire ones;
• Replacement of the chassis with fine-scale brass components.

 

References:

1. Atkins, Beard, Hyde & Turret: “A History of GWR Goods Wagons”, Vols 1 & 2 (David & Charles, 1976)
2. John Lewis et al: “Great Western Way”, 2^nd Ed. (HMRS, 2009)
3. C.C.Green "Cambrian Railways Album Vol.2" (Ian Allen, 1981)
4. Pat Hammond: “Ramsay’s British Model Trains”, 5^th Ed. (Warner Group Publishing, 2006)

 

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

[BernardTPM]

The internal wall may have come from another model - probably from the LMS brake van that was done a couple of years earlier; that would explain the horizontal planking on it too.

[Darwinian]

That looks surprisingly good for such an old model .

Would it not be possible to take out the "plank" between the cabin and the verandah corner posts. Then it would look much more in keeping with the fine models at the start.

 

Adrian