Great West Road - transfers & I’m not talking football!

[southern42]

‘ morning all!

 

I did not expect to be on here, yet, but I have just taken the plunge...

With warm water in jam jar...

soft brush in hand...

I soaked the transfers...

and rubbed them...

 

off!

 

Too many things wrong with them - maybe I looked too closely - but they had to go. Remember my VW Camper? “The Prisoner” logo transfer ended up on the slant - on both sides of the van - and it niggles me each time I see it.

Guess i will be busy this afternoon. 

[Neal Ball]

You have my sympathies Polly.

 

I am also in the transfer market and am approaching it all with a degree of trepidation 🙁

 

I’ve just sprayed 3 carriages gloss before applying transfers then hopefully a layer of Matt varnish to seal it all in.

 

Hope yours go ok.

[southern42]

Trepidation. Now that is a word that sums it up, Neil, and it was with trepidation that I affixed a new RMC diamond.

 

There is a slight loss of ink on one corner and some darkish watermarks (ink bleed) - not too obvious by eye but not good on a blown up image. It will all blend in with a spot of weathering, though. In the meantime, I have applied a coat of DecalFix. 
At least the RMC letters are horizontal!

 

I have revarnished the rest of my transfers hoping they will stand up to the job better. 

Now to play the waiting game again while the transfer dries.

I think I will varnish the mounted transfers with gloss like I did on the campervan transfers (I know that worked!) and matt varnish the whole wagon (like you) after I have done the weathering.

 

The problem I started with was heavy weathering on a matt surface which was rubbed off with an abrasive tool - hence the use of DecalFix to smooth the surface. 

This looks like being a long job. Thank goodness I am not modelling a jumbo stone train - dumbo, maybe!  
 

Neil, hope all goes well with your transfers. If professionally made they should be heaps better than mine!

[Neal Ball]

12 minutes ago, southern42 said:

Trepidation. Now that is a word that sums it up, Neil, and it was with trepidation that I affixed a new RMC diamond.

 

There is a slight loss of ink on one corner and some darkish watermarks (ink bleed) - not too obvious by eye but not good on a blown up image. It will all blend in with a spot of weathering, though. In the meantime, I have applied a coat of DecalFix. 
At least the RMC letters are horizontal!

 

I have revarnished the rest of my transfers hoping they will stand up to the job better. 

Now to play the waiting game again while the transfer dries.

I think I will varnish the mounted transfers with gloss like I did on the campervan transfers (I know that worked!) and matt varnish the whole wagon (like you) after I have done the weathering.

 

The problem I started with was heavy weathering on a matt surface which was rubbed off with an abrasive tool - hence the use of DecalFix to smooth the surface. 

This looks like being a long job. Thank goodness I am not modelling a jumbo stone train - dumbo, maybe!  
 

Neil, hope all goes well with your transfers. If professionally made they should be heaps better than mine!

 

Thanks Polly. That does all very long winded, as long as its worth the effort then clearly that will be fine.

 

 

[southern42]

Well, I was wrong, wrong, wrong! How about that then? Such a short memory...

 

From my Cakebox thread, page 3, July 11 2021:

 

Quote

Disaster!

The ink ran on contact with the water!

 

It seems a well known railway modeller's brand of varnish was not suitable!

 

Enter "Clear Glaze" acrylic spray and there you go! It is a bit potent, but I survived!

No runs and decal transferred to a piece of a well known cereal packet and cut to test it fits on the bus....(etc)

Unquote

 

Sound familiar?

Well, I have currently cut up one roadstone transfer, popped it in water, and guess what? Ink bleed...! Rats!

Looking round for the Clear Glaze, it was right under my nose at the front of other modelling bits and pieces and I did not see it! <shake head>
 

Needless to say, one set of transfers has been resprayed with... yup... Clear Glaze. Fingers crossed again. I hope it works on top of the other coats of varnish or I will have to reprint all the transfers...

don’t even think about it!

 

You have to laugh! 🤣

[southern42]

19 hours ago, southern42 said:

Well, I was wrong, wrong, wrong! How about that then?

snip...

 

 

You have to laugh! 🤣

 

The saga continues...

Back to using my old recipe of warm water + a dab of washing up liquid...

I successfully mounted the “roadstone” transfer.

 

 

However...

in mounted position, compared with a photo of its real life counterpart, the 33pt “roadstone” logo now looks too small! 

Not to worry. It easily peeled off after brushing with the warm water. Now I await my original 35pt “roadstone” transfers to dry after a coat of Clear Glaze.

 

I will get there...

one day.

[southern42]

This all means of course, the weld lines will have to be moved - the position markings have been rubbed off - and the RMC diamond will probably

need redoing as well...

😂

[southern42]

<yahoo!> in old money - I did like the old emojis.

One little job done!

 

I peeled off the roadstone transfer. It was not the wrong font size after all but, I think, it was positioned too high. 
Anyway, I replaced it and positioned it a little lower.

While I was at it, I rubbed off the RMC diamond - when dried out, it looked untidy. So that was replaced too and weld line positions marked back in place. 
 

All done with just warm water and a little washing up liquid. It turned out to be a neat process and now I am raring to go on the rest of it.

 

Looking side on.

 

From above as if looking down on a layout.

 

That is plenty good enough for me. I have noticed that these things are not always exactly in the same place on each and every wagon, so I shall not be lying awake worrying about it... or will I? 

[southern42]

<Quote>

...That is plenty good enough for me...

<Unquote>
 

...Good enough? Obviously not...

because, on Saturday, I peeled off the logos yet again! I just could not get it out of my head that “Roadstone” looked on the small side so I remeasured!

 

Back to the laptop,

change font size, then print, cut out and lay it on the hopper. One version of three seemed better.

 

Back to the photo on the laptop, enlarge it on screen and measure the position of the lettering with a ruler..

 

Observation: the boundary of the real graphic is visible in the photo. A noticeable degree of darker weathering highlights the edges of the transparent vinyl, especially at the ends.

 

The real graphic is tightly cropped at the ends and bottom edge of the lettering but continues beyond the tall letters to the top of the orange panel, not cropped as in my test, below.  

Using the photo, I could determine that the small letters r,o,a, etc  lay in the centre of (from top to bottom) a pattern of 2-3-2 units which gave me a rounded up measurement of 4-7-4 mm on the model. All I needed to do was make a template for the alignment and secure it in position with masking tape. The test, below, is with font size 34pt.

 

Thus, I feel more confident in getting the job done. 
 

“Thank goodness for that!” do I here in the background?

 

 

Edited April 26, 2022 by southern42
Just a typo or two!

[southern42]

I have been watching the world snooker but I think it is me who has taken the eye off the ball! 
 

After printing and varnishing the new  roadstone transfer, measuring it to make sure it fits, cutting it out, and placing it in some warm water, the transfer came off the backing sheet with a white background! Aagh! I printed it on the wrong paper! 

 

Now waiting for another pair of transfers to dry before applying some varnish...

I know Rome wasn’t built in a day but.... 🥴

 

if you are still with me, I thank you for your patience and forbearance. At this rate, it looks like we might be in for a long haul...

[southern42]

‘ morning all.
Back to the grindstone after the Bank Holiday.

A new set of roadstone transfers made, two of which were cut out ready for mounting, yesterday, in a brief moment when the sun came out.

 

On the days it was overcast, I turned to the computer to sort out the markings for the rest of the JGAs and to work out the position of each hopper in the rake as in the photo from Flickr, below.

 

 

I drew up a few tables of markings and hopper numbers just to clarify my thinking.

 

I ended up creating an image of a  JGA from shapes - rectangles, triangles and circles - copy pasting it to give me 6 hoppers. I  then overlaid each one with its designated markings to create a rake using the numbers in the order seen in the above photo - with 19224 replacing 19225.

Reading from right (closest) to left (farthest away)

 

And looking at it from the other side - closest on the left.:

 

Weathering on the JGAs in photos dated between 2011 and 2013 look pretty much the same. Further down the line, photos from 2016-2019 indicate some have been cleaned. Some have also lost their ex-RMC markings, and most carry substantially more graffiti. 
 

Since mine will represent 2011-2014, mine will look grubby with less graffiti. That is the plan, anyway.

 

Shopping day today but, hopefully, I will be able to get those transfers on starting tomorrow. 
 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by southern42
An interloping letter of the alphabet.

[southern42]

Sorry it has taken me so long....just waiting for the sun to shine in the direction of the workbench aka dining table.... but... at the 3rd attempt today... behold...

Drum roll, please....

Ta dah...

 

Not the best transfer when the light catches it but hopefully it will look ok when it has all been given a coat of matt varnish. Another 11 hopper sides to go...

[southern42]

On another matter.

In the pic, in the link below, the Toad going under Southall footbridge is lettered West Ealing. Underneath are more words. At first I assumed it said: For PADDINGTON but I’m wondering if (hoping?) it is BRENTFORD as the last word looks as if it could be DOCK. I have no idea what word comes before that. It does not look like TOWN as in Brentford Town.

 

If anyone knows what the wording actually is I would be most grateful to know.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/holycorner/8473376198

 

On the other hand it could be GREENFORD.

https://www.kzwp.com/lyons1/greenford.htm

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by southern42

[cctransuk]

39 minutes ago, southern42 said:

On another matter.

In the pic, in the link below, the Toad going under Southall footbridge is lettered West Ealing. Underneath are more words. At first I assumed it said: For PADDINGTON but I’m wondering if (hoping?) it is BRENTFORD as the last word looks as if it could be DOCK. I have no idea what word comes before that. It does not look like TOWN as in Brentford Town.

 

If anyone knows what the wording actually is I would be most grateful to know.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/holycorner/8473376198

 

On the other hand it could be GREENFORD.

https://www.kzwp.com/lyons1/greenford.htm

 

 

Just zoom the image - WEST EALING/ FOR ENGINEERS/USE ONLY

 

CJI.

[southern42]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

Just zoom the image - WEST EALING/ FOR ENGINEERS/USE ONLY

 

CJI.

I can see it, now I know what it says! Thanks for answering. That one is a new one to me. Never too old to learn! 🙂  

[southern42]

12 hours ago, southern42 said:

I can see it, now I know what it says! Thanks for answering. That one is a new one to me. Never too old to learn! 🙂  

er...um... it looks like I have been here before though memory seems to be lacking in this case!

 

Quote Stationmaster 2013:

Depends on the date of the period modelled Polly.  That one is branded 'For Engineers Use Only' and the 1965 date suggests that it would indeed have no longer been in traffic use anyway as that was (I'm reasonably sure) the year the ban came in.  Some fitted ones were subsequently branded 'London Division Fitted Head Only' while unfitted ones were dumped on the engineers, presumably for use as messvans
Unquote

From GWR Toad Brake Vans: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/69904-gwr-toad-brake-vans/?do=findComment&comment=996140

Some interesting comments.

 

I shall have to dig out my Wagon books! Although any further comments on what the (full) West Ealing train would have consisted of or be doing there would be most welcome. 
(Edit) Brentford Dock having closed 1964, the branch has remained in use.

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by southern42

[southern42]

On 05/06/2013 at 20:16, Neal Ball said:

If that fella has a baby in a pram, that could be me!

 

My dad often took me there as a kid!

2013! Apologies for not answering sooner!!!

The pic below is heavily zoomed in (note the pixels!) from the photo of the West Ealing Toad (click on pic to go to the original). 
At the end of a row of bicycles, in front of “that fella” there seems to be the image of a toddler, facing camera, half in shadow, left arm stretched out to the side, in what, presumably, was the new Maclaren baby buggy which came out in 1965.

 

So, there you have it!

 

Polly

PS Thanks for sharing. 
 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by southern42

[southern42]

Or it could just be part of a bicycle or a trick of the light... but let’s not spoil the story...

[Neal Ball]

Wow thats amazing Polly thank you. Lets say it is me... and it was in that moment my love of the Great Western started :-)

[southern42]

Neal, even if it isn’t you, you were there too soaking up the scene and atmosphere.  And your Dad wore hats, I take it? Mine wore a flat cap as I remember. Probably better for cycling to work!

Glad you like the possibility of being in the photo. Guess I’ll have to put you on my footbridge then. I’m hoping to get to Didcot RC again, one day, to measure up the section of the bridge they.have so that I can build it to scale, though it will not be crossing over a multitrack mainline - well, in the imagination, it might.

[southern42]

Sun out! Time to transfer some more transfers onto those orange things.

 

I printed off some more roadstone logos, yesterday. So, while I waited the 24 hour hardening time, I decided to label up the other 5 JGAs using the charts I made previously.

 

That done, and time going well, I put a couple of black diamonds on one of them.

 

 

 The RMC letters are just visible in this one on the other side, after I worked out how to use Opacity on the Mac to give the diamond that see through look - as with the letters GWR on the typical late BR pannier tanks, and visible on the PT in the photo of the West Ealing Toad! The diamond on 19223 was well worn and faded so I added a bit of modeller’s licence.

 

Getting and keeping it horizontal while fixing was a tad fiddly with ruler in one hand to square up the corners but I got there in the end. 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by southern42

[southern42]

This is the view I first came across and from which I have been working. The JGA numbers are supplied with the photo.

 

I have just realised there are a few more pics that accompany the above in Jon Gavins Flickr collection! Not only are they taken side on, the photos were taken on the other side of the rake.

 

I was easily able to identify two of my wagons by their position in the rake: 19220 (with a 13xxx adjacent to it at the other end) and 19221 are either side of the signal post.

 

19221- black diamond with "roadstone".

 

19220 - black diamond with blackened out "roadstone" and some graffiti. All valuable for their detail, not to mention, being inspiring.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by southern42
Typo

[southern42]

Not a good day with transfers. I tried out the new spray acrylic lacquer and the transfer refused to float free of its backing sheet! But other matters proved interesting.
 

I already have an Oxford Rail Toad (GWR era) with added name “Great West Road”. So, comparing outward basics/similarities of the West Ealing Toad with the Oxford Rail Early BR model, am I right in thinking it would be suitable to take the wording: West Ealing For Engineers Use Only?

 

[southern42]

It has been rather quiet on GWRd lately but it looks like I may be busy for awhile.
 

Another can of Clear Glaze (Loxley) has arrived and some more “roadstone” transfers have been sprayed and are ready to be applied to a couple of JGAs. Fingers crossed they go on this time!

 

Alongside the JGAs, I now have a Toad BR(W) brake van (via Andyram’s establishment) which are to receive “West Ealing” transfers  and some additional weathering and, also, a Mink G (Parkside Peco) to build. Hopefully, I can get them done between jobs on the JGAs so I am not hanging around doing nothing while waiting for transfers and varnish etc to dry!

 

Efforts begin after lunch so hopefully I can get my act together and make some progress.

[southern42]

Well, that was disappointing!

 

After a promising start selecting the better transfers*  and cutting them to size, things started to go wrong.

The ink ran on the first transfer.

So, the rest have had another dose of clear glaze.

Unfortunately, the transfers I had cut off the main sheet were blown everywhere by the spray can, landing upside down on the newspaper or on top of the main sheet. They look OK - I only found one bit of dust which was sent packing.

I will have to wait until tomorrow before having another go. <sigh>

 

* The printer's rollers had dragged the ink down from some of the letters (even after cleaning), the backing sheet too thick or too stiff, possibly.

 

I have come to the end of my Inkjet transparent water transfer paper (mr decal paper), said to be suitable for an Epson printer, and I am hoping to get some more but on a thinner backing sheet, if anyone knows who does some.

 

It is a bit late to start anything else other than doing the dinner, thinking of macaroni cheese with locally grown cauliflower, and bidding ye farewell - for now.