Helston Revisited

[MrWolf]

7 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

What a lovely photo. And a rare good shot of a round-ended 3- planker with lefthand GWR!

 

It's interesting to see the large oil lamp on the corner of the building too. In the later photo it has disappeared and there's a row of gas lamps beneath the canopy.

[MrWolf]

21 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

I have now made up the stink pipe for Station Road and also the shunting klaxon for the yard. They both have 1mm steel rods up the middle for strength and to plant them and for the stink pipe a bit of thick walled 2mm tube around the steel to bring it up to the correct 6" scale diameter.

The next question is what colours to paint them. I guess the klaxon post and box could be white like a loading gauge or stone like the buildings but its hard to know. The stink pipe would have belonged to the local authority so I guess it could be white, black, coloured, etc - all thoughts most welcome.

 

You've made a great job of some more of those ordinary items that are seldom if ever modelled.

 

The stink pipes were generally painted mid green or a bluish green to blend in with their surroundings.

[Andy Keane]

11 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

there's a row of gas lamps beneath the canopy

Indeed - I have opted for the later gas lamps on my model of the station. But I really should try and get a round ended three-plank wagon from somewhere to add to my rolling stock.

[drduncan]

I must say I never come across stink pipes. What were they?

Duncan

[drduncan]

4 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Indeed - I have opted for the later gas lamps on my model of the station. But I really should try and get a round ended three-plank wagon from somewhere to add to my rolling stock.

I can help there! 

I do several types of 3 planks (and other GWR pre WW1 wagons).

 

Duncan

[Mikkel]

1 hour ago, Andy Keane said:

Those four-wheelers have been built to a beautiful standard. Something to aspire to and would look lovely in Helston.

 

Thanks Andy, though I really should add lighting (gas piping etc) ! The darkness inside has led to numerous unfortuante incidents on late night trains at Farthing. For example, there was that situation with the parrot, the vicar and the butcher's wife...

 

Here's how it should be done, Steve's lovely build: http://www.gwr.org.uk/prot36.html

 

 

Edited April 14 by Mikkel

[Andy Keane]

2 minutes ago, drduncan said:

I must say I never come across stink pipes. What were they?

Duncan

These are to vent gas from sewer pipes to a high height to blow away in the wind. There is one still doing that about 100 yards from where I live. There is the remains of one ins Station Road Helston that can be seen on Google maps. Made of cast iron with fancy base and fancy top. Some are even listed for preservation!

[Andy Keane]

3 minutes ago, drduncan said:

I can help there! 

I do several types of 3 planks (and other GWR pre WW1 wagons).

 

Duncan

Oh very nice - I will take you up on that - what bits and bobs have to be added to finish them off or do you supply a complete kit?

[drduncan]

21 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Oh very nice - I will take you up on that - what bits and bobs have to be added to finish them off or do you supply a complete kit?

There are sample instructions on the thread - for a round ended 3 plank as it happens - and the instructions say what bits are needed and recommends suitable suppliers. The extra bits depend on the kit, so for the S7 fish wagon and  exCMR China clay wagon it’s just w-irons, coupling hooks and buffer heads, (oh and a bit of 0.3mm wire or a lot of wire for the S7!) while the three planks will need the same plus the double shoe brakes and lever. Some of the 1 and 2 planks come with wooden shoes brakes and curved lever (because these aren’t  available anywhere to my knowledge) but they did get metal brake shoes in later life which you’d have to source if you want that option and again the instructions suggest where.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Duncan

 

 

[Andy Keane]

1 hour ago, drduncan said:

There are sample instructions on the thread - for a round ended 3 plank as it happens - and the instructions say what bits are needed and recommends suitable suppliers. The extra bits depend on the kit, so for the S7 fish wagon and  exCMR China clay wagon it’s just w-irons, coupling hooks and buffer heads, (oh and a bit of 0.3mm wire or a lot of wire for the S7!) while the three planks will need the same plus the double shoe brakes and lever. Some of the 1 and 2 planks come with wooden shoes brakes and curved lever (because these aren’t  available anywhere to my knowledge) but they did get metal brake shoes in later life which you’d have to source if you want that option and again the instructions suggest where.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Duncan

 

 

Perfect - I have emailed - looking forwards to this as a nice little project.

Edited April 14 by Andy Keane

[Andy Keane]

With the help of the @The Stationmaster we have concluded that the shunting klaxon at Helston had its own post some 50 yards up the line and the control box for the shunter in the yard just had a single telegraph line insulator on its top. It seems the klaxon would have been on a white painted post and the control box on a telegraph pole:

I have also painted the stink pipe green:

[Andy Keane]

Off to West Somerset later this week. Does anyone have a favourite station on the heritage line there? Not sure what will be in steam.

[Fair Oak Junction]

39 minutes ago, Andy Keane said:

Off to West Somerset later this week. Does anyone have a favourite station on the heritage line there? Not sure what will be in steam.

 

Watchet, definitely. Very nicely situated station right by the harbour, boat museum right next to it, lovely walk along the harbour front, and just along there is the Watchet Museum which has lots of nice stuff including a model of the West Somerset Mineral Railway.

Edited April 15 by Fair Oak Junction

[Neal Ball]

19 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

Off to West Somerset later this week. Does anyone have a favourite station on the heritage line there? Not sure what will be in steam.

 

We prefer Blue Anchor although the immediate area around it is a lot smaller.

 

Of course Williton also can be an interesting place to stop off.

 

Careful of the day you decide to go, they don't always run trains on every day of the week. https://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/calendar It looks like you might want to avoid Thursday & Friday.

 

19 hours ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

Watchet, definitely. Very nicely situated station right by the harbour, boat museum right next to it, lovely walk along the harbour front, and just along there is the Watchet Museum which has lots of nice stuff including a model of the West Somerset Mineral Railway.

 

Nice to walk around the town and a couple of decent pubs.

Edited April 16 by Neal Ball
Wrong days!

[BWsTrains]

10 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Wednesday and Thursday.

 

Thursday/ Friday I think, according to the link. Steam options are shown.

 

FWIW, I couldn't choose a station, this is such a wonderful railway filled with the strongest memories from my childhood.

Edited April 15 by BWsTrains

[Neal Ball]

6 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

 

Thursday/ Friday I think, according to the link. Steam options are shown.

 

FWIW, I couldn't choose a station, this is such a wonderful railway filled with the strongest memories from my childhood.

Yes! Thank you -Thurs / Fri.

[Andy Keane]

1 hour ago, Neal Ball said:

Yes! Thank you -Thurs / Fri.

We have decided on Watchet after a walk near Porlock (we ae doing county high points) but may stop by Blue Harbour en route.

[Tim Dubya]

My personal favourite is Dunster, but it's in the middle of nowhere.  It's our nearest station when we stay at Dunster Beach in the out-laws beach chalet but isn't near anywhere in particular.

 

 

[Harlequin]

5 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

My personal favourite is Dunster, but it's in the middle of nowhere.  It's our nearest station when we stay at Dunster Beach in the out-laws beach chalet but isn't near anywhere in particular.

 

 

Yes, I like Dunster too, precisely because it's a quiet backwater. On a hot summer day, there's a bit of bustle when a train arrives but then after the chuffs have faded into the distance you just hear insects, birds, trees rustling and people murmuring to each other as if they're in church.

 

If you've got the energy for a bit of walk then you can get to Dunster village, which is charming but a bit touristy, and then Dunster Castle, which has a great view of the railway in the landscape.

 

Edited April 16 by Harlequin

[Tim Dubya]

5 minutes ago, Harlequin said:

Dunster village, which is charming but a bit touristy, and then Dunster Castle

 

Oh yes, that's where the cider comes from!

 

They do the occasional tour of parts of the castle that aren't normally accessible to the gp, lots of tunnels and the odd hidden door/ passage into rooms and the old kitchens etc.

 

 

Edited April 16 by Tim Dubya

[CoombeTown]

I spent a lot of time on & around the WSR growing up. Dunster is lovely, but you can also walk from there on the coastal path behind the beach to Blue Anchor. It's a good walk if the weather is good, and there's a nice cafe facing the sea behind the station.

 

The other is Stogumber, it's a single platform & up above the village, bizarrely with the station building the opposite side of the line. There's apparently some good walks in the forest behind as well.

[Andy Keane]

Does anyone have a photo of an E19 to confirm the drawing that shows the narrow window on the the 5th compartment from the left hand end?

https://gwrcoaches.org.uk/LowRoofs.shtml#E19

It leads to a very shallow seat in that compartment.

Edited April 17 by Andy Keane

[Miss Prism]

Not sure I believe the upper drawing of the E19 - look at the compartment spacings of the side elevation view.

 

Here's an E19:

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwr-mra453.htm

 

[magmouse]

8 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

Not sure I believe the upper drawing of the E19 - look at the compartment spacings of the side elevation view.

 

I think the side elevation has been scanned in two parts and not put together quite accurately. There are discontinuities in the drawn lines in several places where the join is. That's why that window looks so narrow.

 

Nick.

[Andy Keane]

43 minutes ago, magmouse said:

 

I think the side elevation has been scanned in two parts and not put together quite accurately. There are discontinuities in the drawn lines in several places where the join is. That's why that window looks so narrow.

 

Nick.

Yes it seems the drawing has been rather hurriedly made from two scans. Easy to fix though as no doubt all the third class compartments were the same.