GWR Brake Van Depot Name Transfers

Adrian Wintle · September 1, 2011

If you have a computer and printer, it may well pay to buy a pack of water slide transfer paper get yourself a good graphic arts program like Serif, and make your own custom transfers. That way you will have ultimate control of any transfers for your particular railway operations designed and made for your requirement

This is fine unless you need white transfers like the OP. Most printers don't do white. ALPS printers do, but there are cost and availability issues with those.

Adrian

Emlyn · October 20, 2013

Does anyone know where Toad no: 114762 was allocated in the 1930s? Or anytime actually?

gwrrob · October 30, 2013

I thought I'd revive this old thread to give a heads up on some new GWR toad waterslide transfers from Old Time Workshop.These are now available through Parkside Dundas in two different packs.

M4790 A selection of 40 ready made allocations and numbers including Welsh.

M4791 A further selection of another 40.

Stubby47 · December 8, 2014

Re-reviving an old tread (thanks to Stationmaster to pointing it out to me), for a 4mm Toad, what would be the correct font and font size for the depot names ?

Stu

TheWeatheringMan · December 8, 2014

As I seem to be the flavour of the month in this thread, I'd better explain why I had to decline when 46444 approached me.

1] Nowadays, I have a strict rule that I only produce transfers for the BR steam / early diesel period. This is because it is the era which I model, and for which I have considerable knowledge and all the published reference books.

2] The content of a sheet of transfers for GWR or BR(WR) brakevan lettering would be very subjective. The number of potential area and specific train allocations is huge, and whatever I chose the sheet would be useless to virtually everyone. Each modeller would want quite a few sets of transfers for his particular, quite specific location.

I have come across this problem with transfers for departmental stock. I have had to produce numerous regional and area sheet variants for what are a reasonably limited number of regional PW depots. The prospect of trying to do the same for the plethora of GWR branchlines and yards doesn't bear thinking about!

For those who imagine that Cambridge Custom Transfers is on a par with Fox or Modelmaster, let me explain. Cambridge Custom Transfers is me, in the evenings, with a desktop Alps printer in the spare bedroom. During the day I look after the engineering needs of Cambridge City Council and my lifelong hobby has been railway modelling in 4mm. scale - S&DJR in 1961.

I bought my first Alps printer around ten years ago to print my own transfers, as Woodhead Transfers had ceased trading and there was no alternative for wagon lettering. I happened to mention the virtues of Alps printers in a letter in the Model Railway Journal - the same month that Alps ceased to distribute in Europe!

Since then I have been inundated with requests for transfers and I did, for a while, try to operate a bespoke transfer service. Suffice to say that the time involved in clarifying customers' requirements, research and design was simply unsupportable for what is a spin-off of my own hobby. As it is, and with the strict timescale limitations that I impose, my actual modelling time is minimal.

As to Alps printers - they were the only printer that could print white which was within the pocket of modellers and small traders. They were around Â£150 when I bought my first one. Regretably, as of yesterday, they are no more - anywhere in the world!

The production line for the Alps MD5500, the last of the line, ceased last weekend and even then they were only being produced for the Japanese market. An enterprising New Zealander was distributing some around the world and had written an English language driver - but that is now at an end.

The supply of Alps inks is guaranteed for five years, and I have a small stock of printers and quite a lot of inks. However, the time will come when I am down to my last printer - at which time Cambridge Custom Transfers will cease trading and I will get down to my own modelling in earnest! (If anyone has, or knows of, a surplus and fully operational Alps MD printer I would be pleased to hear from them - it may prolong CCT a little longer).

Whilst there are often Alps printers on Ebay, they usually have a defective print-head or are damaged beyond repair in transit due to poor packing - beware!

I hope that the foregoing explains why I am not always able to assist with requests for transfers.

Regards,

John isherwood,

Cambridge Custom Transfers.

http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/

Hi John,

I dont know if you are aware but there is now a laser printer available that can print in white, although the cost is over £2000 at present.

This technology will hopefully fall in price so might reach the point where the cost is within the reach of modellers - rather like what has happened with 3D printers.

For those open to a bit of experimentation there is a method of achieving white printed lettering with an inkjet printer. Its not totally reliable and the failure rate is high but it can be made to work.

It involves 'embossing powder' and a heat source.

I've managed to produce several bus fleetnames for custom repaints by this method.

However now looking into the new laser printer when I can get more info as I have a fully working Alps printer but dont now know where to obtain inks for it anymore.

Regards

Stubby47 · December 8, 2014

" I have a fully working Alps printer but dont now know where to obtain inks for it."

http://www.alps-supplies.com/alps-white-ink-cartridge-p-33.html

cctransuk · December 8, 2014

Hi John,

I dont know if you are aware but there is now a laser printer available that can print in white, although the cost is over £2000 at present.

This technology will hopefully fall in price so might reach the point where the cost is within the reach of modellers - rather like what has happened with 3D printers.

For those open to a bit of experimentation there is a method of achieving white printed lettering with an inkjet printer. Its not totally reliable and the failure rate is high but it can be made to work.

It involves 'embossing powder' and a heat source.

I've managed to produce several bus fleetnames for custom repaints by this method.

However now looking into the new laser printer when I can get more info as I have a fully working Alps printer but dont now know where to obtain inks for it anymore.

Regards

Yes - the Alps and Alpsdecal user groups keep us Alps users up to speed on developments, such as they are, in white printing.

The trouble is, it's not just white printing that is needed; it's the ability to overprint the white with colour without the paper leaving the printer. In order for printer inks to be opaque, they need a white substrate.

The Alps MD1000 cost, I think, under £200 when I bought mine; it's a big step up to £2,000!

Regards,

John Isherwood.

TheWeatheringMan · December 8, 2014

Yes - the Alps and Alpsdecal user groups keep us Alps users up to speed on developments, such as they are, in white printing.

The trouble is, it's not just white printing that is needed; it's the ability to overprint the white with colour without the paper leaving the printer. In order for printer inks to be opaque, they need a white substrate.

The Alps MD1000 cost, I think, under £200 when I bought mine; it's a big step up to £2,000!

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Hi again John,

Yes indeed agree with all you say having used my Alps in the past.

However the laser does not have the need to overprint colour onto white as the colour toner is in fact totally opaque - as of course is the white.

The other great advantage is of course that decals printed with a laser are waterproof and much tougher than anything produced by other methods - particularly the fragility of the Alps decals.

Having made my own Alps decals in the past and indeed used your excellent products too i'm looking forward to getting the information and samples from the laser printer manufacturers and if this seems the way forward to make my own custom decals in the future then the cost of the laser will be worthwhile. I need regular supplies of bus fleetnames (particularly National Bus Company operators that are not otherwise available) in addition to my railway requirements.

In the meantime i'll investigate the mentioned sources for Alps inks as notwithstanding whatever happens over the laser i'd like to get as much life from my Alps investment as I can.

Regards John

TheWeatheringMan · December 8, 2014

" I have a fully working Alps printer but dont now know where to obtain inks for it."

http://www.alps-supplies.com/alps-white-ink-cartridge-p-33.html

Hi Stubby47,

Many thanks for the info.

As previous post i'll follow up on your help.

Again many thanks.

Regards

johnarcher · April 17, 2016

Just wondering, what do people tend to put on Toad sides in the case of 'fictional' GW branches, where real allocation transfers would presumably be no use?

Ruffnut Thorston · May 30, 2018

Update 30/05/2018

Cambridge Custom Transfers....Website Extracts...

Quite a lot of interesting transfers here....

https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm

Sheet BL120 – BR Diagrams 1/597 & 1/598 SHARK ballast plough brake vans; (1/598 on Sheet BL120b only). All known original allocations covered.

Five regional variant sheet are available; (PLEASE STATE VARIANT REQUIRED WHEN ORDERING) :-

BL120a – Eastern Region

BL120b – London Midland Region

BL120c – North-Eastern Region

BL120d – Scottish Region

BL120e – Southern Region and Western Region.

2mm., 3mm., 3.5mm. & 4mm. scale price is £7.50

S scale price is £15.00