RSS Fetcher Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Archibald Freeth, "Archie" to his friends is one of the signalmen who works Sherton Abbas signal box. He resides in the small town of Ivell about 4 miles from Sherton Abbas and has recently invested in a bicycle. He's a fairly frugal chap and put off by the prices of the latest models on the market decided to buy something second hand. After much searching he found something suitable which although nearly 15 years old had been well looked after and was best of all reasonably cheap! His commute to work used to take him well over an hour, but with his new trusty steed the journey time is now under 20 minutes. The new bicycle! Singer 'safety' bicycle, 1890. © Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library Description This bicycle contains several improvements patented by Mr G Singer in 1888 including a stage in the development of the diamond frame and was made by Mesrs Singer & Co. The frame has a tube extending from the steering head to the middle of a curved down-tube from the saddle to the crank bracket. The wheels, which are 30 inches in diameter, have radial spokes and are fitted with wired-on cushion tyres. It bears many similarities to modern bicycle. Well so much for the fantasy, the truth is of course that I saw this little etched brass kit at a recent show and couldn't resist buying it! Singer bicycle kit The kit goes together very well but is certainly fiddly and fairly finger singeing at times! I used a combination of Carrs solder paste and a mini flame to fix the components together, using stainless steel tweezers to hold the parts in correct alignment. Assembled bicycle The brass was then cleaned with a fibreglass brush, washed and then coated with aerosol primer from Halfords and allowed to dry. Primed Bicycle The model was finished off using enamel paints from both Humbrol and Railmatch. The bicycle frame is in painted in Indian Red, I'm sure it's no coincidence that it's exactly the same shade of red as the locomotive frames or the fact that "Archie" has a friend who works as a painter at Swindon works! Painted Bicycle I've placed the bicycle underneath the signal box steps where it waits for Archie to make his return journey home after his shift. Bicycle under the steps I was never entirely happy with the signal box roof and after Simon mentioned it didn't quite cut the mustard I resolved to revisit it at some stage. Well I'm pleased to say I've finally got round to it and fabricated a new roof that much better matches the other buildings on the layout! I've also had a go at repainting the brickwork, The mortar is now darker and the bricks more weathered than before which I think suits a building placed so close to the track work. I'll finish off with a couple of pictures of the box resplendent with its new roof and basking in the evening sunshine :-) Attached thumbnail(s) View the full article Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.