Stoke Courtenay

[St Enodoc]

34 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Followers of this thread are probably aware that Mike@Coach bogieof this parish has been spending some months in Australia, where he's found quite a few GWR goodies, including this little company in Tasmania: 

 

https://www.bygone-wagons.com/446703541

 

(I can copy and paste this link but can't make it work, but if you just google ""GWR wagons Tasmania" the firm's website will come up.)

 

Who would have thought that RTR models of such specialist vehicles would ever be made available?  Mike says the quality of the 3D printing is the best he's seen.  Some of these wagons look awesome.  Quite a few are ones I've never heard of.  I was particularly taken with the bridge girders on bogies. What a great talking point that would be for an exhibition layout!

 

They're mostly a bit too specialist for a small layout like mine (though the Cordon gas tank wagon is tempting) but I think they will be of interest to quite a few people.   This range may have already featured on RMweb but if so it passed me by. Usual disclaimer: I have no connection with this firm even as a customer but share this link for info with Mike's blessing.

 

John C.

I've got one of the 9-tank Cordons and it looks very nice. Not finished yet but photos in the usual place when it is. Amanda is also open to suggestions for additions to the range.

[Neal Ball]

4 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

 

I looked at these a few weeks ago and sadly discounted them because of the 3D print quality. That seems to be typical of many 3D print startups at the moment: The CAD design is easy and they concentrate on that part but it's more difficult to turn that design into a decent model. It needs a really high quality (expensive) printer and some careful thought about what should and shouldn't be in the print. E.g. should the buffers be part of the print?

 

BTW: I suggested the Crocodile L to Accurascale some time ago. It was the biggest wagon ever made by Swindon and because of it's extreme articulation its was very happy to run on very tight radius trackwork such as industrial yards and port complexes.

 

 

I wonder if a Cordon, might be the "One item" that Mike @The Stationmaster has alluded to....

 

3 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I've got one of the 9-tank Cordons and it looks very nice. Not finished yet but photos in the usual place when it is. Amanda is also open to suggestions for additions to the range.

 

That's interesting thanks.

 

Is the print better than shown in the photos? (It was the DD4 I was referring to.)

[St Enodoc]

4 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

 

I wonder if a Cordon, might be the "One item" that Mike @The Stationmaster has alluded to....

 

 

That's interesting thanks.

 

Is the print better than shown in the photos? (It was the DD4 I was referring to.)

There are a few striations but otherwise it's good. Once it's primed and painted I think it should look fine.

[checkrail]

My last post partially answers @AlfaZagato's suggestion.  I suppose the full answer is no, up to now I haven't considered odd wagons or special loads, though these Tamanian productions do give food for thought.  With a fairly small (and deliberately generic) layout my general rule has been "model the typical, not the unusual".  Hence the preponderance of four-wheel open wagons and vans.  I'm also now strapped for storage capacity and find that If I store stuff off layout I rarely look at it again for many moons.  But recently I was thinking I should get a couple of the old Bachmann Macaw bogie bolster wagons and suitable loads.  Timid I know in comparison with Crocodiles etc.!

 

John C.

[Neal Ball]

3 minutes ago, checkrail said:

My last post partially answers @AlfaZagato's suggestion.  I suppose the full answer is no, up to now I haven't considered odd wagons or special loads, though these Tamanian productions do give food for thought.  With a fairly small (and deliberately generic) layout my general rule has been "model the typical, not the unusual".  Hence the preponderance of four-wheel open wagons and vans.  I'm also now strapped for storage capacity and find that If I store stuff off layout I rarely look at it again for many moons.  But recently I was thinking I should get a couple of the old Bachmann Macaw bogie bolster wagons and suitable loads.  Timid I know in comparison with Crocodiles etc.!

 

John C.

I have the same issue, in as much as some of those larger wagons would not be seen at Henley. In the same vein, although the Rapido gunpowder vans looked great, I couldn’t justify more than one and that was pushing it!

 

With regard to storage though…. All of my stock gets stored off the layout, which is an issue in itself! Everything is kept in its original box, which makes unpacking / packing tedious!

[checkrail]

Or maybe I should get a giraffe car?😀

Edited October 3, 2022 by checkrail
emoji - only joking!

[TrevorP1]

I've just had another look at the Bygone wagons website and noticed the Insixfish wagon in the 'upcoming' section...  👏 😃 New years modelling budget getting spent already!

[Coach bogie]

1 hour ago, Harlequin said:

 

I looked at these a few weeks ago and sadly discounted them because of the 3D print quality. That seems to be typical of many 3D print startups at the moment: The CAD design is easy and they concentrate on that part but it's more difficult to turn that design into a decent model. It needs a really high quality (expensive) printer and some careful thought about what should and shouldn't be in the print. E.g. should the buffers be part of the print?

 

I agree with your comment regarding 3D printing. I have not been a fan myself and, whilst in the UK, having seen and been asked to use some 3D parts I have not been impressed.  An example being asked to use some supplied Shapeway’s Dean bogies on a coach build which were so brittle, bits fell off. 

 

What got me started was, back in the UK a friend brought around a 3D output Cordon DD4. Bits fell off in front of me. I am glad I was not holding it. I saw a similar DD4 here in Brisbane, expecting it to be from the same source. It wasn't. It was the Bygone model. Much more solid, very fine detail and minimal layer lines. As I get to know more of the local modellers, I have seen and handled more of the Bygone output, and in my opinion, these are a much higher quality than some of the outputs I have seen. So much so, for the first time, I have ordered some knowing what I will be getting and confident I can have a decent model from them.

 

On the plus side, with exchange rates a nightmare, at least I can pay in local currency.

 

I could be proved wrong, but it is just how I see it.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[AlfaZagato]

It was actually Bygone Wagons I was thinking of.   I have been eyeballing their Crocodiles for a minute.   Also been looking at their LMS lowmac.   Sadly, our club's layout may not be able to handle the Crocodiles.

[Bazza]

9 hours ago, checkrail said:

My last post partially answers @AlfaZagato's suggestion.  I suppose the full answer is no, up to now I haven't considered odd wagons or special loads, though these Tamanian productions do give food for thought.  With a fairly small (and deliberately generic) layout my general rule has been "model the typical, not the unusual".  Hence the preponderance of four-wheel open wagons and vans.  I'm also now strapped for storage capacity and find that If I store stuff off layout I rarely look at it again for many moons.  But recently I was thinking I should get a couple of the old Bachmann Macaw bogie bolster wagons and suitable loads.  Timid I know in comparison with Crocodiles etc.!

 

John C.

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Bazza
Haven't finished

[Bazza]

Hi ,sorry about the mix up with the quote above, I agree very much with the idea of modelling the ordinary. It is so easy to have so many special wagons, and locomotives that the scene becomes more of a trainset than a model railway. I think this gets worse with the modern scene where you can have so many different pretty liveries which would probably never be seen together. Things were more static in the timeframe of Stoke Courtenay and you have certainly captured the feel of the period covered. Many thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[St Enodoc]

13 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

I've just had another look at the Bygone wagons website and noticed the Insixfish wagon in the 'upcoming' section...  👏 😃 New years modelling budget getting spent already!

Yes, Amanda accepted the challenge (well, she did ask for suggestions...)! The running gear will be fun (or not).

[checkrail]

13 hours ago, Bazza said:

It is so easy to have so many special wagons, and locomotives that the scene becomes more of a trainset than a model railway. I think this gets worse with the modern scene where you can have so many different pretty liveries which would probably never be seen together.

Yep, my thinking too.  But I guess it depends on one's overall objectives.  It's a broad church, and I can understand that some modellers will find my "whole scene/historical" approach to be unnecessarily restricting.

[St Enodoc]

9 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Yep, my thinking too.  But I guess it depends on one's overall objectives.  It's a broad church, and I can understand that some modellers will find my "whole scene/historical" approach to be unnecessarily restricting.

I agree, John. I don't have many "specials" on my layout but the Cordon will look nice as a static model in a short spur at Pentowan next to the carriage sidings.

[MrWolf]

34 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Yep, my thinking too.  But I guess it depends on one's overall objectives.  It's a broad church, and I can understand that some modellers will find my "whole scene/historical" approach to be unnecessarily restricting.

 

It's something that I have also thought about and considered that my branch line model is somewhat restricting traffic wise, until I remind myself of the the line's reason for existing. I have regular timber, sheep/ cattle and milk van trains, as well as a PW train, the pickup goods, regular passenger or mixed and then the market day specials bolstered with whatever coaches can be found. So I think that should keep things interesting, as well as justifying the kit mountain!

[checkrail]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I don't have many "specials" on my layout but the Cordon will look nice as a static model in a short spur at Pentowan next to the carriage sidings.

Yes, I'm thinking that a Cordon DD4 would look good parked at the end of my short parcels/milk traffic bay.  That road already has two magnetic uncouplers installed under the track so siphons, horse boxes etc. could still be dropped off and picked up by passing trains (as of course could the Cordon itself). 

 

 

Given that Stoke C. is on the edge of a small village in the middle of nowhere, its significance deriving mainly from its being the junction for Earlsbridge, the lack of town gas and thus the provision of gas from a Cordon would be quite plausible, if I've understood the purpose of these vehicles properly.

 

John C.

[The Stationmaster]

On 03/10/2022 at 11:50, Neal Ball said:

 

I wonder if a Cordon, might be the "One item" that Mike @The Stationmaster has alluded to....

 

 

That's interesting thanks.

 

Is the print better than shown in the photos? (It was the DD4 I was referring to.)

I refuse to bite😇.  And do not read that as either a confirmation or a denial because it could be either of those.  In due time you will find out what it is but feel free in the meanwhile to consider a considerable range of possibilities.   Mention of any of which will get the same response from me although I had better not confirm, or deny, that such a response might be forthcoming.

[The Stationmaster]

6 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I agree, John. I don't have many "specials" on my layout but the Cordon will look nice as a static model in a short spur at Pentowan next to the carriage sidings.

I do wonder if a Cordon really counts as a 'special'?  Definitely something something different but at one time they were worked to any number of places in order to supply gas for a variety of uses.  Principally for rolling stock, various, to recharge it with gas so not over difficult to justify at some places and at more places. in earlier times.

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

I do wonder if a Cordon really counts as a 'special'?  Definitely something something different but at one time they were worked to any number of places in order to supply gas for a variety of uses.  Principally for rolling stock, various, to recharge it with gas so not over difficult to justify at some places and at more places. in earlier times.

 

I have had similar thoughts and perhaps a Cordon is more of a service vehicle in the manner of stores vans, rather than a special purpose carrier, I doubt that it would be classed as revenue earning stock as other specials.

[checkrail]

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

they were worked to any number of places in order to supply gas for a variety of uses.  Principally for rolling stock, various, to recharge it with gas

Would that "variety of uses" include heating and lighting the station and its platforms?   There wouldn't be any call at Stoke C. for supplying gas for trains.

[Harlequin]

30 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Would that "variety of uses" include heating and lighting the station and its platforms?   There wouldn't be any call at Stoke C. for supplying gas for trains.

There was a similar question on the GWR email list recently: "GWR Cordons - rolling stock only".

 

I think the consensus was that Cordons were not used to supply station buildings with gas but it was a long topic that veered wildly off course several times so I might have missed something critical.

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by Harlequin

[Neal Ball]

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

I refuse to bite😇.  And do not read that as either a confirmation or a denial because it could be either of those.  In due time you will find out what it is but feel free in the meanwhile to consider a considerable range of possibilities.   Mention of any of which will get the same response from me although I had better not confirm, or deny, that such a response might be forthcoming.

Apologies Mike, I’ll stop now 🤣🤣

 

11 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

There was a similar question on the GWR email list recently: "GWR Cordons - rolling stock only".

 

I think the consensus was that Cordons were not used to supply station buildings with gas but it was a long topic that veered wildly off course several times so I might have missed something critical.

 

I would guess at Henley, they would be used to top up kitchen cooking supplies in any stored restaurant carriages and definitely not for a station supply.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Neal Ball

[57xx]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

 

I have had similar thoughts and perhaps a Cordon is more of a service vehicle in the manner of stores vans, rather than a special purpose carrier, I doubt that it would be classed as revenue earning stock as other specials.

 

I have seen pics of cordons at Lambourn, so they wouldn't be out of place on most layouts.

[Coach bogie]

2 hours ago, 57xx said:

 

I have seen pics of cordons at Lambourn, so they wouldn't be out of place on most layouts.

see here. Mainly to recharge horseboxes.

 

https://www.lambournvalleyrailway.info/lambourn-3.html

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Coach bogie]

3 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

I would guess at Henley, they would be used to top up kitchen cooking supplies in any stored restaurant carriages and definitely not for a station supply.

Nearby Marlow had a regular appearance of  gas wagons. several of the published images are taken there. (the trimmed hedges in the background being the give away) I understand to recharge the carriage stock but no definite info there.

 

Mike Wiltshire