Coulsdon Works

[thegreenhowards]

More weathering last week, this time on my O Gauge N7 as featured above. This was an eBay purchase which came in a hideous brush painted LNER livery. I’m pleased with how it’s turned out. Here it is posed on our club layout, Smithfield.

 

 

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

[jwealleans]

I think your numbers on the side tanks may be too small, Andy?

 

[thegreenhowards]

5 hours ago, jwealleans said:

I think your numbers on the side tanks may be too small, Andy?

 

 

Looks like you might be right! I got them off the Fox sheet ‘earlier lettering/ numbering for black locos’. I ordered this set because the larger LNER lettering didn’t fit the tank side. Did the numbers change size, or is this yet another misleading Fox description?

 

I’m not sure I can face changing them now as they’re under several coats of varnish and weathering.

 

Andy

 

 

[jwealleans]

I wouldn't place a great deal of faith in Fox's descriptions of the application of their transfers.   I can't recall the exact sizes, but for Tank locos the letters were something like 9" and the numbers 15" or 18".   I think I have a paint spec somewhere, or the HMRS transfers blurb which generally is accurate. 

 

If it's any consolation, we've all done it.

 

 

Once you've had it pointed out, though, it's hard not to notice.

 

 

 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

I’ve been sorting out some cheap wagons I bought at the SVR O gauge get together a few weeks back. I’m struggling to work out what to do with this one and I’m hoping one if the wagon experts out there could advise me.

 

 

It was badly painted in a wagon brown colour with a black patch and white numbers but no company identification. I’ve stripped (most of) the paint off and the underlying wagon seems nicely built - the underframe is certainly nice and true and free running.

 

 

I think it’s a Slaters 7048, RCH 1923 7 plank with side door which makes the £10 I paid for it good value!

 

https://slatersplastikard.com/linePage.php?suffix=JPG&code=7048

 

I’m now trying to work out how to re-livery it to run on Smithfield, our club O gauge set in the 1920s. I’ve looked through my LNER wagon book and it seems that the LNER only built end door mineral wagons. So that is ruled out. Did the other big four built side door (no end end door) wagons? If not then I’ll have to go with a private owner version but that would be quite expensive in transfers which makes the wagon less of a bargain - call me a cheapskate if you like!

Andy

 

[jwealleans]

I think the LMS only built end door minerals as well (and to be picky, most if not all company built minerals had steel end stanchions, not timber).   I don't think the Southern built any, but I shouldn't like to speculate on what they got up to at Swindon.

 

I think you're looking at a PO here, to be honest.   How do you get on with Powsides transfers?  They'll give you the biggest choice, but they can be a bit of an ordeal.

Edited November 8, 2023 by jwealleans

[thegreenhowards]

50 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

I think the LMS only built end door minerals as well (and to be picky, most if not all company built minerals had steel end stanchions, not timber).   I don't think the Southern built any, but I shouldn't like to speculate on what they got up to at Swindon.

 

I think you're looking at a PO here, to be honest.   How do you get on with Powsides transfers?  They'll give you the biggest choice, but they can be a bit of an ordeal.

Thanks Jonathan,

 

I don’t think I’d lower myself to the GWR! So I’d better go the private owner route. I’ve never tried Powsides, but I think this might be a good excuse to try one. They have a bewildering range and only a very few seem to be suitable for a Slaters 7048, so finding a SE example suitable for our joint LNER/SR terminus will be a long job! I will need to sit down when I have a couple of hours to spare and go through their lists. How well do they flex to go over the detail on the side?

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

 

[jwealleans]

Powsides are a very mixed blessing on the hobby in my opinion.   I hate dry transfers with a passion, but, as you say, they offer over a thousand different options for a Private Owner wagon.   You have to apply them very carefully.  They're not terribly flexible and you'll probably have to paint in any cracks or flaws once they're on.   I apply them in sections, taping them to the sides and going over them carefully with a cocktail stick to make them transfer to the wagon.  They'll usually stick enthusiastically to anything they can except the wagon itself.   Go slowly and don't try to do too many at once.

[thegreenhowards]

Another project that I’ve been finishing off is this 7mm LMS D.1938 12 wheeled Restaurant Composite. It’s not something I’d normally tackle as it’s off region/ era for me. But I saw it on the Bring and Buy at Guildex and thought ‘that looks nice’. I dithered for most of the day, but when it was still there mid afternoon, I succumbed! I don’t know the origin of the kit - it came in a Westdale box, but I don’t think it was the original.
 

It had been nicely built as far as it had got, but the paint job had faded, the bogies wouldn’t turn and the interior was unstarted. I’ve repainted it and finished off the interior although I still need some lamps for 1st class. I’ve put shims under the bogies so it now runs ok, but may ride too high -I’ll have to see when I run it but can’t think of another solution. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of questions:

 

1. Have I got the white windows in the right places - I’m fairly confident about the kitchen side, but less so about the corridor opposite the kitchen?

 

2. Should the ends be black? I suspect so, but it’s easier to paint them black than strip the paint off, so I thought I’d check first!

 

If anyone can see any other howlers, please let me know - I’m no expert on LMS coaches.

I’m not sure what to do with it, but I think I might use rule 1 and run it in my SRPS Railtour set from the 1970s which will feature on Glenfinnan. They didn’t have one of these but did have other LMS coaches and a Gresley buffet.

 

Andy

Edited November 10, 2023 by thegreenhowards

[Portchullin Tatty]

Andy

 

It is a diagram 1938 composite dining car built between 1936 - 37.  A very nice one too!

 

Ends were black post 1936 on LMS coaches.

 

On the kitchen side, the store to the right hand side (opposite the toilet) will also have been frosted.

 

On the corridor side, I don't think any of the windows were frosted.

[thegreenhowards]

8 hours ago, Portchullin Tatty said:

Andy

 

It is a diagram 1938 composite dining car built between 1936 - 37.  A very nice one too!

 

Ends were black post 1936 on LMS coaches.

 

On the kitchen side, the store to the right hand side (opposite the toilet) will also have been frosted.

 

On the corridor side, I don't think any of the windows were frosted.

Many thanks. Black it is. 
 

As for the frosting, do you mean that they weren’t white but rather a sort of obscure glass? I’ve achieved this is in the past by sandpapering the inside of the glazing material. Is that the sort of ‘colour’ you would expect? Luckily the white is just paper blue tacked to the inside at present!

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Portchullin Tatty]

1 hour ago, thegreenhowards said:

As for the frosting, do you mean that they weren’t white but rather a sort of obscure glass? I’ve achieved this is in the past by sandpapering the inside of the glazing material. Is that the sort of ‘colour’ you would expect? Luckily the white is just paper blue tacked to the inside at present!

 

 

Yes, it is a patterned glass rather than painted out white.  The idea was to retain privacy whilst also allowing light in.

 

An image of something similar is here:

https://www.svrwiki.com/LMS_24617_Corridor_Composite

 

Abrading the rear surface is a technique or you can get spray frosting that is intended to obscure bathroom windows.  Mind you, one can will do you a life time even in 7mm!

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

I’ve now finished the LMS 12 wheeler. I found some lovely LMS lamps on eBay by Floyd Kraemer. 
 

 

Here is the finished coach basking in this afternoon’s sun on my viaduct.

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

[John Tomlinson]

24 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I’ve now finished the LMS 12 wheeler. I found some lovely LMS lamps on eBay by Floyd Kraemer. 
 

 

Here is the finished coach basking in this afternoon’s sun on my viaduct.

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

 

That's a lovely piece of work Andy.

 

Some years ago i was talking to a demonstrator at a Gauge "O" Guild event, working on coaches. He said he'd moved from 4mm precisely because he was tired of doing work on interiors that could hardly be seen, if at all. Precisely what your 12 wheeler, in 7mm, demonstrates!

 

John.

[thegreenhowards]

I had a chat to Jonathan Weallans at Warley and he asked my about the D.227 Gresley 66’6” SLF which I was building about 18 months ago based on sides prepared by Roy Mears. That reminded me that it was almost finished and just need a coupling of finishing touches - window painting and corridor connectors. 
 

So yesterday I finished it off. 


 

 

I did find these sides a help in building this coach but they were quite a bit of work - especially putting the plasticard strip in to form the beading. The rest of the coach is produced from Kirk and MJT parts.

 

I had previously built a couple of D.157 SLFs from cut and shut 61’6” SLF Kirk sides in a similar way to that described on Steve Banks’ website. The only real difference between these diagrams is the spacing of the windows on the berth side. The corridor side is identical.  Here is a D.157 done earlier to illustrate the difference.
 

This coach will form part of my Night Scotsman rake which is now nearly complete with just one twin SLF needed to complete it as per the 1958/9 winter diagram.

 

Jonathan (and a couple of others) have recently asked me about Gresley Jn, and I realised that I haven’t posted on there for over a year, so I will put a picture of the whole train on the Gresley Jn thread.

 

Andy

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by thegreenhowards

[great northern]

39 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I had a chat to Jonathan Weallans at Warley and he asked my about the D.227 Gresley 66’6” SLF which I was building about 18 months ago based on sides prepared by Roy Mears. That reminded me that it was almost finished and just need a coupling of finishing touches - window painting and corridor connectors. 
 

So yesterday I finished it off. 


 

 

I did find these sides a help in building this coach but they were quite a bit of work - especially putting the plasticard strip in to form the beading. The rest of the coach is produced from Kirk and MJT parts.

 

I had previously built a couple of D.157 SLFs from cut and shut 61’6” SLF Kirk sides in a similar way to that described on Steve Banks’ website. The only real difference between these diagrams is the spacing of the windows on the berth side. The corridor side is identical.  Here is a D.157 done earlier to illustrate the difference.
 

This coach will form part of my Night Scotsman rake which is now nearly complete with just one twin SLF needed to complete it as per the 1958/9 winter diagram.

 

Jonathan (and a couple of others) have recently asked me about Gresley Jn, and I realised that I haven’t posted on there for over a year, so I will put a picture of the whole train on the Gresley Jn thread.

 

Andy

 

Ooh, very nice Andy. It makes me want a couple of those even more.

[thegreenhowards]

43 minutes ago, great northern said:

Ooh, very nice Andy. It makes me want a couple of those even more.

They are nice coaches aren’t they. And a bit different. I don’t think I can face another built in this way, but if Isinglass produce a kit as Andy has told me he will, then I could be tempted. I really want a Thompson SLF now.

[Clive Mortimore]

3 hours ago, great northern said:

Ooh, very nice Andy. It makes me want a couple of those even more.

The sides have been cut and shut for some time now, I just need to be in the mood to do some more to them and not get distracted by other new and exciting projects.

[jwealleans]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I just need to be in the mood to do some more to them and not get distracted by other new and exciting projects. buses.

 

There, fixed that for you.

[Clive Mortimore]

23 hours ago, jwealleans said:

 

There, fixed that for you.

I have had a busy day today and just sat down to relax looking at some very nice bus drawings, thinking that would make a nice project.

[thegreenhowards]

I have been sorting out a new (to me) O gauge B1 over the last couple of days.

 

 

 

I bought this at the Guildford O Gauge trade show a couple of weeks ago. It was up at a reasonable £375, but he offered it to me for £300. Then when I tested it on the test track, I just got a buzz, so I got the price down to £250. I prefer to buy kit built locos as ‘non runners’, because I know that 90% of them will not run to an acceptable standard and will need sorting out.

 

Anyway, when I got it home, there was no buzz and some motion, but shorts everywhere and,  as expected, it needed a good working over. The valve gear & motion fell apart in several places, so I dismantled it and put it back together going through quite a bit of my stash of 12 BA and 14 BS bolts in the process! I’ve also:

- replaced the motor gearbox to one of my first choice helical units - this one a second hand unit with a Sagami motor;

- partly sorted out the bogie which had far too much slop and was shorting out - this still needs some springing; and

- soldered bits of brake rigging back into place.

 

 

I now have a nicely working chassis with no shorts, at least on my straight test track and rolling road. I will take it to the SEGOG test track on Wednesday to give it a thorough test. But I’m turning my attention to the cosmetics now. 

 

Something doesn’t quite look right about the front end, but I can’t put my finger on it. Any comments welcome. It needs lining and renumbering to a West Highland example, probably 61352 as that was allocated to Fort William in ‘61/2 and seems to be the one which featured regularly on the Mallaig line in the last years of steam. I’m not quite sure how to tackle that as the basic paint job is quite good but rather matt. I may try on the matt surface with plenty of decalfix. But I may need to give it a gloss varnish and follow up with matt after lining. I’m nervous about this as it may react with the paint which is there. Any thoughts?

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by thegreenhowards
Adding 61352

[richard i]

Chimney vs dome height? 
tender does not look quite right, height of transfer throwing the eye?

Can you do a test piece on a part which is not seen eg rear drag bar on loco? Varnish on, if it reacts then you know your answer, more easily repaired/ disguised. 
just my thoughts. Happy yo be corrected by those with greater wisdom than me on this topic. I know some can comment on types of smoke box door.

richard 

[65179]

Andy,

 

Is this a scratchbuild or an early kit? The chunky running plate/valance, sort of straight across the front and curved down rather than being a proper right angle seems to be the main issue. The portion under the smokebox should also be set back rather than in line with the bits either side.

 

The front, lower section of a B1 running plate also tapers inwards slightly. I can't tell to what extent it does on your model. As an aside,  I remember seeing a review of the Farish N gauge B1 saying that this taper on the model was wrong because it wasn't shown on the Roche drawing. D'oh!

 

Roger Smith Flickr image of 61041

 

The angle of the steampipes seems to be wrong too.

 

Simon

Edited December 17, 2023 by 65179

[thegreenhowards]

Thanks Richard and Simon,

 

I suspect that it’s scratchbuilt as I can’t find any identifying marks on it.

 

 

The comments about the running plate make sense. I think I could cut and reattach it at the joint to give a right angle. Mine doesn’t taper in at all, but there is some overhanging metal which I could file back a bit to give an impression of taper.

 

Comparing with your Mayflower fots, I think the lack of a smokebox saddle may also be an issue.

 

The chimney and dome look OK to me, but I’ll keep that in mind.

 

Andy

[Keith Turbutt]

46 minutes ago, richard i said:

tender does not look quite right, 

The tender looks like the smaller Group Standard 3500 gal with long cutaways to the tops of the tenders as fitted to some J39s.

I don't think any B1s were fitted with this type. I think all (?) B1s had the larger 4200gal group standard tenders.

 

Also, if doing a Scottish example don't forget to alter the corners of the fairing under the running plate. These had rounded corners. Gresley style.