Stoke Courtenay

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, checkrail said:

Sorry!  Was amazed to find that the song dated from 1962.  Seems like yesterday.

 

11 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I think that Monster mash was re-released sometime in the 80s,

 

10 hours ago, 57xx said:

I got a copy of it in the 70's

Pretty sure it was re-released in the late 70s, while I was at University.

[MrWolf]

Re released 1970, 1973, 1985 alongside and sampled as part of Monster Rap (which is probably the one I was thinking of, but I remember hearing the original when very young in the late 70s) then it's charted dozens of times since the early 2000s as digital releases.

[checkrail]

As it's a week for matters monarchical, as exemplified by Robin's @gwrrob"King Edward III" over on ANTB,  here are my two, in a photo that somehow got left out of the recent passing Kings sequence of posts.

 

Just waiting for the glazing and window bars on the Monster to set, then I think I'll be ready to put the roof on.  It doesn't seem to be a perfect fit so might need a bit of fettling and bodging.

 

John C.

[AlfaZagato]

Congratulations on Page 100, by the way.

[BWsTrains]

Hi John,

 

Great last shot there.

 

To show my ignorance, I'm interested in the presence manual point levers on the main Goods sidings lines. Were these there because of not being under signal box control and if so was this a common situation?

I'm struggling to see how you could operate them manually if they connected into the box control but that shows how little I know about the mechanics of point switching.

 

Colin

 

 

 

 

[Neal Ball]

15 hours ago, checkrail said:

As it's a week for matters monarchical, as exemplified by Robin's @gwrrob"King Edward III" over on ANTB,  here are my two, in a photo that somehow got left out of the recent passing Kings sequence of posts.

 

Just waiting for the glazing and window bars on the Monster to set, then I think I'll be ready to put the roof on.  It doesn't seem to be a perfect fit so might need a bit of fettling and bodging.

 

John C.

Lovely shot there as ever John.

 

Congratulations on Page 100

 

Looking forward to seeing the completed Monster….

[5BarVT]

9 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

To show my ignorance, I'm interested in the presence manual point levers on the main Goods sidings lines. Were these there because of not being under signal box control and if so was this a common situation?

I'm struggling to see how you could operate them manually if they connected into the box control but that shows how little I know about the mechanics of point switching.

Your ‘ingnorance’ is pretty much spot on.  Well done.

Sidings have ‘manual’ points (called hand points in the trade) because it’s the shunter who is in charge and knows where the wagons are to be put.  They are not connected to the signalbox because (as you say) you can’t have two people in control at the same time.

Paul.

 

[checkrail]

2 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Your ‘ingnorance’ is pretty much spot on.  Well done.

Sidings have ‘manual’ points (called hand points in the trade) because it’s the shunter who is in charge and knows where the wagons are to be put.  They are not connected to the signalbox because (as you say) you can’t have two people in control at the same time.

That was my thinking too, inferred from prototype photos - good to have it confirmed by Paul, as I'm no signalling expert either.  The actual levers I used were from Shire Scenes.  Maybe not exact GWR pattern but very nice items, though one needs to be careful not to demolish them while track cleaning, which is why I've kept these two spares.

 

John C.

[THS92-GWR-NO]

On 31/05/2022 at 12:13, checkrail said:

Yes, I've always loved branch lines too, especially GWR ones - small prairies, panniers, B-sets, short and simple goods trains, single track and single loco sheds with rudimentary loco facilities.  But I love Kings and Castles too and couldn't resist the main line goodies the trade has offered us over the last couple of decades.  So I have almost all the fun of a BLT at the junction end plus the roundy-roundy where main line trains can thunder along to my heart's content.  Best of both worlds.  I think it's called "cakeism" nowadays.

 

John C. 

 

And listening to you talk on BRM about that made me go for the same thing! 

 

Your layout are a true inspiration for us all. 

[checkrail]

Here's the completed Monster - just needs a bit of weathering.

 

It was a nice straightforward kit to build, but as always a couple of things went wrong.  I tried assembling the bogies with Roket plastic glue dispensed through a fine-tip applicator while holding down sides, wheels and Stretcher on a piece of glass.  Unfortunately the stuff streamed out in a torrent and melted through the bogie sideframes, breaking them into two pieces.  After unsuccessful attempts to re-join them I got some Shapeways 9 foot American bogies to replace them.  The footsteps were added from MJT etched items.  The other mishap  was right at the end when I came to stick the roof on.  I used Roket Max to allow a bit of adjustment time and to help fill minor gaps on the ends, got the roof on in the right position and pressed it down firmly with a hand at each end, thumbs pressing down on the roof and fingers pressing up beneath the floor, a position I retained for a good few minutes while the glue did its work.  Only problem was that during this time one side of the floor came unstuck from the coach side and moved up a bit.  It was well jammed and wouldn't move up or down. But the roof stuck on fine!  Now the finished vehicle leaned alarmingly to one side until I added a couple of pads of Plastikard to the floor to one side of the bogie fixing/pivot bolts.  Problem solved!

 

I tell these 'warts and all' tales not to beat myself up but to encourage others.  It's easy to become disheartened at setbacks and errors, but most of them can be fixed.  So if you do mess up, don't give up!

 

The kit instructions tacitly admit that the truss rods supplied are incorrect and suggest that one might want to make one's own earlier pattern ones from wire.  So I did, and found another use for those Markits 'extra long' handrail knobs - queen posts!

 

Here's the Monster in a train.

 

John C.

 

 

 

 

[checkrail]

By the way, thanks to those who alerted me to the fact that this thread has reached its hundredth page!  I hadn't realised.  Thanks for your interest and your contributions over that time.

 

John C. 

[MrWolf]

I'll second you on the warts and all side of modelling. I've lost count of the times I have done a dry run, applied glue, pulled it apart again, or realised that a floor is not level, or snapped something no matter how carefully I tried to remove it from the sprue. Having hands like shovels and an old injury doesn't help.

What also doesn't help is the awful instructions included in a lot of kits (That is putting it in terms you could use in front of great aunt Maude at Christmas...) Airfix managed it sixty years ago, why can't kit makers do it now with all the tech we have?

I've struggled with a certain breed of wagon kit that has both a step and a bevel in the corner joints. 

But the instructions don't state if ends go between sides or vise versa and the floor is no clue because it's a lousy fit...

But I bash on and enjoy making them up and getting them to at least look as intended!

It's the part of modelling I really enjoy and allows you to have models you can't buy RTR, even if you could, I wouldn't get the same enjoyment out of it.

[checkrail]

Another couple of the Monster behind 5975 Winslow Hall on a Newton Abbott - Plymouth stopper.  The albums show all sorts of vans and brown vehicles tacked onto passenger trains and I enjoy doing the same.  Incidentally, when the vans are behind the loco can you still refer to them as 'tail traffic' or is there another phrase?

 

In this case the Monster is marshalled next to a 6-wheel low Siphon - 'little & large'.

 

John C.

[checkrail]

Last three shots of the new Monster as the train heads towards Plymouth.

 

 

 

John C.

[checkrail]

A partial view of the train during its scheduled stop at Stoke Courtenay. 

 

I think this N/A - Plymouth stopper might just be my favourite train.  Later this year I hope to build another local train, this time an E-set composed of van compo, third and van 3rd, a mix of toplights and clerestories.  I have many of the parts and one complete coach in stock.  Then I can have stopping trains passing each other, though I'll have to turf something else out of the fiddle yard first to make room for it.

 

John C.

[Neal Ball]

I shall look forward to seeing the build and/or conversion details of the new train John.

 

When you say “parts in stock” will this be sides onto donor carriages?

 

Good luck with the build.

[checkrail]

On 06/06/2022 at 16:07, Neal Ball said:

I shall look forward to seeing the build and/or conversion details of the new train John.

 

When you say “parts in stock” will this be sides onto donor carriages?

 

I'm hoping it will end up looking something like this quick mock-up done for illustrative purposes only: 

 

The middle coach is actually the one that will go into the set, a C28 toplight from a Slater's kit.  Up 'til now it's been residing in the north to west express rake which spends most of its time in a drawer.  I have a suitable replacement for it.

 

The clerestory van third shown here is a D29 - Bettabitz sides on a Hornby donor carcass and underframe.  This has now been returned to its home in the M-set. I have some D33 sides and various Hornby clerestory bits with which to do a similar conversion.  These sides were produced by Worsley Works at the request of Mike @Coach bogieof this parish.

 

The normal role of the E95 toplight van compo (WW sides - same sides as F20 slip coach - plus various old bits of PC kits) is as  a detachable through coach.  I'll need another pair of sides to do the same thing again, though this one will present its other side for visual variety.

 

And of course if and when I complete this train it won't carry Paddington - Earlsbridge roof boards, nor will its loco be sporting class H headlamps! 

 

John C.

Edited June 8, 2022 by checkrail

[Siberian Snooper]

Those Bettabitz coach sides is another lost resource, that I never got to exploit before its demise.

 

 

 

[57xx]

On 04/06/2022 at 18:17, MrWolf said:

I've struggled with a certain breed of wagon kit that has both a step and a bevel in the corner joints. 

But the instructions don't state if ends go between sides or vise versa and the floor is no clue because it's a lousy fit...

But I bash on and enjoy making them up and getting them to at least look as intended!

 

I know these kits well, they can be a right PITA!

[checkrail]

3 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Those Bettabitz coach sides is another lost resource, that I never got to exploit before its demise.

I felt the same.  I eventually got mine via eBay but only after a very long time.  247 Developments/Bettabitz had stopped making them before I returned to the hobby and I'd seen them mentioned now and then.  Once I got them one thing I particularly liked was the door T handles, on a raised pad to represent the lock.  Useful for other coaches too.  The thing I didn't like about them was the lack of bolections - there was a recess instead, and no separate bolections on any accessory fret.

 

The Worsley Works stuff is very good.

[MrWolf]

I was surprised after a 20 years gap in the hobby, just how much in the way of kits, components and detail packs has disappeared over that time. 

[MrWolf]

55 minutes ago, 57xx said:

 

I know these kits well, they can be a right PITA!

 

I have ordered some magnetic 90 degree model maker's assembly clamps from Smart Models after a recommendation from @Mikkel, I might have chance to test them later in the week.

[Coach bogie]

3 hours ago, MrWolf said:

I was surprised after a 20 years gap in the hobby, just how much in the way of kits, components and detail packs has disappeared over that time. 

I miss the zinc sides from the late Trevor Charlton. Zinc maybe a bit old school, but he had a vast range of coach sides, many of which have never been covered since, especially some of the more obscure toplights and clerestories. His range covered the other big four companies as well.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Neal Ball]

15 hours ago, checkrail said:

 

I'm hoping it will end up looking something like this quick mock-up done for illustrative purposes only: 

 

The middle coach is actually the one that will go into the set, a C28 toplight from a Slater's kit.  Up 'til now it's been residing in the north to west express rake which spends most of its time in a drawer.  I have a suitable replacement for it.

 

The clerestory van third shown here is a D29 - Bettabitz sides on a Hornby donor carcass and underframe.  This has now been returned to its home in the M-set. I have some D33 sides and various Hornby clerestory bits with which to do a similar conversion.  These sides were produced by Worsley Works at the request of Mike @Coach bogieof this parish.

 

The normal role of the E95 toplight van compo (WW sides - same sides as F20 slip coach - plus various old bits of PC kits) is as  a detachable through coach.  I'll need another pair of sides to do the same thing again, though this one will present its other side for visual variety.

 

And of course if and when I complete this train it won't carry Paddington - Earlsbridge roof boards, nor will its loco be sporting class H headlamps! 

 

John C.

Thanks for the run down John, that’s going to be an interesting build project(s).

[57xx]

19 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

I have ordered some magnetic 90 degree model maker's assembly clamps from Smart Models after a recommendation from @Mikkel, I might have chance to test them later in the week.

 

I looked at getting a Micromark Right Clamp, struggled to find a UK distributor, then saw the price + shipping from the US and made this myself for a fiver.