Nether Madder and Green Soudley Rly

[lezz01]

I use black and gold pens Martin. I have a proper lining pen as well but I get better results with the pens from a stationary shop. You can get very fine black and white one's that are ideal for lining and even chalk marks on wagons.

I will admit that when I model anything midland I stick to Dealy lining as full Johnson lining scares me to death. Don't do yourself down mate I'm sure you could master it. You're doing damn well so far and lining isn't the hoo-do that it's always been made out to be it's just practice, my first midland loco was awful. Each one is better than the one before until you get the hang of it and become competent enough to keep to a good standard. It's just practice is all. 

Regards Lez.Z.

[Nick Holliday]

Interesting discussion. I expect the GWR gasworks at Swindon just supplied the company's works, though its possible any excess was sold to the town, since there was a Swindon United Gas Co works east of the station on the north side of the line, opposite the Transfer Yard and tucked into the junction with the Highworth branch. This supplied the town, or at least part of it.

When Swindon Works was built, it was over a mile from the existing small village of Swindon. The GW had to build a complete town to house its employees, known as New Town, which eventually included churches, schools and institutes, as well as villas for the big wigs and barrack type accommodation for single men. The railway gasworks was intended to supply all these buildings, as well as the station and the works. English Heritage have published a fascinating book, Swindon, the Legacy of a Railway Town, written by John Cattell and Keith Falconer, that goes into great detail, with many plans and photos, of many of the buildings required for this great enterprise, which was a bit of a trail-blazer, along with its contemporary rival, Crewe.

[Nearholmer]

Wolverton rightly bills itself as ‘the first railway town’, and there too the works and the town were highly integrated. There is still a huge and rather forbidding LNWR a water tower in a back-street well away from the railway, it having been the reservoir for the town supply.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Nearholmer

[ian]

Imagine the outcry now if Amazon or similar wanted to build a huge distribution centre AND a town for the workers near a small village somewhere...

[Annie]

But Amazon is dead boring whereas railways are interesting.

 

[Martin S-C]

I use black and gold pens Martin. I have a proper lining pen as well but I get better results with the pens from a stationary shop. You can get very fine black and white one's that are ideal for lining and even chalk marks on wagons.

I will admit that when I model anything midland I stick to Dealy lining as full Johnson lining scares me to death. Don't do yourself down mate I'm sure you could master it. You're doing damn well so far and lining isn't the hoo-do that it's always been made out to be it's just practice, my first midland loco was awful. Each one is better than the one before until you get the hang of it and become competent enough to keep to a good standard. It's just practice is all. 

Regards Lez.Z.

Can you tell me what make of pens you use? I have a Hobbycraft near me and picked up a white pen there that I hope to do chalk marks with but it was too thick and "blobby". I imagine I must track down a proper art supplies dealer.

 

This was the finest they had at 0.7mm.

 

 

Truth be known, given that I shy away from lining coaches I actually don't know much about the different styles. I ought to sit and study some photographs carefully. I suppose if you break a lining scheme down into its component elements its not as scary as it seems.

 

For now I mess about with my finest brush and thinned paint for chalked instructions.

 

 

EDIT: "blobby" has an "L" in it. Sheesh.

Edited October 20, 2018 by Martin S-C

[lezz01]

Yes Mate.

for the black 

Staedtler Fineliner Black Pen Assorted Nib Sizes (4 Pack) 308-WP4 That's the WH smiths code.

for the gold

 

Staedtler Metallic Marker Pens, Gold and Silver Ink no code but from WH Smiths as well.

​You can get them anywhere that does stationary. I also use a big fat permanent marker as it's great for corners on tenders and such.

Regards Lez.Z.  

[Martin S-C]

There has been a break of a week during which time the builders were unable to get here due to the bad weather of last weekend holding up another job. Yesterday they returned in force and the electrics have all gone in, as has the first of the 120mm x 300mm LED flat panel ceiling lights. The plasterboard false ceiling is up and plaster-boarding has begun around the walls.

The first photo shows a very gloomy end of the room where it was extended and where its furthest away from the windows. However with the ceiling boarded the place is now looking much more like a room and less like a garage.



On the modelling front I tried an olive green departmental colour on the gas tanker wagon and it looked weird. I have reverted to black, which seems to have been a universal colour for these vehicles used by many companies. Now to letter and weather it.



The pair of Wisbech & Upwell tram coaches are awaiting extra parts as they lacked a few details - each kit was short of a pair of gas lamps and there is no representation of any underfloor bracing or brake gear. I've sent off to Dart Castings for a selection of detail parts to go in the bits box for a variety of projects, and some gas lamps are included in this order. Guy Rixon does some very nice looking LNWR brake gear parts on Shapeways and I will probably order a couple of these.

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/guyrixon

I have several photos of the preserved bogie coach No.8 but none show the under floor gubbins in any useful detail. When the gas lamp castings arrive I need to add the gas lines on the roofs as well. Yesterday I fitted the seating into the two coaches. Luckily for me this was dead easy as the seats were all tram style with passengers backs to the windows.

 

Making up bench seating for the 4-wheeler.

First bench in place, second one being prepared.

Seat backs in place.

The bogie coach is a 1st/3rd composite, each compartment being accessed from opposite ends of the vehicle. Here the 1st class saloon is having seating added. Long benches for the 3rd class section are underway.


I have little to go on for the original interiors but chose to add a transverse seat against the compartment wall for 1st class.


Both saloons finished. The 3rd class will have red cloth cushions and wooden seat backs. 1st gets blue plush cushions to both seats and back rests.
 

I picked up this on e-Bay a while ago. The plan is to shorten it by 1/3rd the length (there's three big dropside doors), build it unfitted and make it into a mid-length bogie loco coal wagon. The idea of a few bogie freight vehicles is another Madder Valley inspiration, though I want to restrict these to British types, not North American ones.

[Nearholmer]

Can we have a look at your ceiling lights? And details, if possible.

[Martin S-C]

Here you go:

 

https://www.wholesaleledlights.co.uk/36w-led-panel-light-1200x300mm.html

 

They are incredibly light and very thin - only 1cm overall. The plastic surround has a small lip in it and the fitting just rests in a hole cut in the ceiling on this lip. To access them you just push the whole unit up like you would opening an attic trapdoor covered by a loose hatch. They generate no heat at all and a friend of mine has 8 of the 300mm square units in his garage (converted to a wargaming room) and they flood the whole room with a very bright even light. I've gone for the 4000 lumens daylight colour.

 

[Stubby47]

How good would these lights be for portable layout lighting?  Would they be too fragile ?

[Martin S-C]

I would say you'd need a big support rig to hold them, even if you went for the smaller panels such as 300mm square. If your layout has a full fascia and overhead supports then they might be an option as long as you transport them in some kind of padded carry case. Maybe too fragile though, perhaps more conventional shaped LED lamps would do a similar job more easily. The quality of light from them and lack of heat output is what appealed to me and the same would apply at an exhibition as well. The same shop offers lots of ceiling lamps and floor lamps.

[Nearholmer]

Many thanks.

 

I’ve got six 4ft flouresecents in what was the garage, and i’d seriously consider replacing with something like this.

[Northroader]

Telling my granny to suck eggs probably, Kevin, but I hope your tubes are in luminaries, and not left bare? I could quote a nasty accident with bare tubes, but you’re having your tea. These new panels look great, Martin, never heard of them before, definitely sound the way to go.

[Nearholmer]

Luminaries? No. I’m not sure it would be fair to such people.

 

Nor inside diffuser luminaires, although i’m aware they really ought to be.

[Northroader]

Bloody spell checkers. Right, you’ve had your tea, so sit back and cop this, a works colleague had a daughter studying at a college. A gang of the students were helping to move lockers in a cloakroom, with some fluorescents immediately overhead. Sure enough one of the lockers being moved hit the unprotected tube, and it shattered. A shower of thin glass shards, splinters and dust came down, and the net result is she’s blind for the rest of her life.

[Nearholmer]

That is a sobering story.

[RedGemAlchemist]

That is a sobering story.

Definitely. I am now ordering a cover for the one in my railway room as we speak.

[Martin S-C]

When the power is restored and the lights are on I'll give a report but I was very impressed by the light put out by 8 x 300mm square ones in my friends garage which is about 15ft x 25ft. They also of course only burn the electricity of a 40watt tungsten bulb each.

[Corbs]

We use smaller LED panels to light up sets at work and they are great, can even run them on small battery packs.

[Martin S-C]

You're confuzling me Corbs - you've put your pipe away.

 

EDIT: Yesterdays workbench fun and games. Chopping up a Parkside 1921 GNR bogie brick wagon to make a shorter bogie loco coal wagon:

 

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by Martin S-C

[Nearholmer]

I found the panel LED lights in B&Q today in a range of sizes up to c500mm square. Almost certainly available cheaper from an electrical trade outlet, but they are clearly becoming mainstream now.

 

Didn't buy any, but I have just changed the main light in my study to an "integral LED fitting", which is the same thing in a more domestic housing. It claims to switch colour-temperature using multiple 'on-off' presses of the light switch in short succession, with the highest setting being 6500K. It certainly looks fairly blue, and the mid-range, claimed as 4200K, fairly daylight. Hard to really be sure at the moment though, because its bright sunlight outside, and no domestic artificial light can equal that, so reports will follow after dark.

[Martin S-C]

Evening all. Over the last 3 days all the plasterboarding has been completed and plaster skim over the screws mostly rubbed down, lights fitted and working and new door and one window in. One more window to go in, roof ridge to be finalised, one end gable to be replaced and general tidying up and fettling to be done.

The lights are really something, giving a very nice warm light all over. It looks a little orange in the photos though.

[Martin S-C]

In the accent of an Australian entertainer whose name we no longer mention...

 

"Can you tell what it is yet?"
 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Martin S-C

[Nearholmer]

I certainly can.

 

I’ll be interested to see how this goes, because a fellow RMWebber has kindly laser-cut a set of ‘aid to scratchbuilding’ parts to allow me to make one in old-style 0. Near the top of my list of things I must find time to do.

 

Who made the kit that you are truncating?

Edited October 26, 2018 by Nearholmer