Sarn (Montgomeryshire) and Nantcwmdu (South Wales) plus Montgomery Town in 7mm

[ChrisN]

23 minutes ago, corneliuslundie said:

Horrified to realise that it is nearly three months since I posted. So what have I been doing?

Well, since the BCR van I have started on a pair of ex Mid Wales Railway dumb buffered timber wagons in Cambrian livery. I built a pair in 4 mm some years ago. One is built and I have nearly finished painting it. I just need to create some number plates - rather important as they are the only company identification. I shall have to guess at numbers as there is no definitive information but I shall choose numbers allocated by the Cambrian to timber wagons just after the takeover of the MWR stock in 1888.

I have also spent a great deal of time trying to find a short circuit on the station board of the Nantcwmdu layout. Because of the way the track is built this has meant a lot of repair work to sleepers, now done. The next step is to work out how to link the three turnouts to point motors as they all fall over baseboard structural members. A friend has suggested cranks to take the rodding under the baseboard, so this is what I am trying to do.

The really long term project is completing the seven Rhymney Railway 6-wheelers based on Trevor Charlton etched zinc sides. They are all now assembled with underframes, wheels etc., as well as seats. They have all had their basic coat of Rhymney lake. But I needed to find a way to represent the spring hangers. This was a problem because I built them with commercial Clemison chassis, which makes it impossible to link the springs to the hangers. I have now rebuilt one with fixed end axles and the centre one able to move both sideways and vertically, thanks to an inside frame. I have assembled one of the spring hanger bits - well it is nearly all there; I just need to add a small triangle of wire at the top - and then to make 83 more! Oh, and I have also drilled over 100 holes for end handrails, door handles and grab handles, and

the vehicle I am working on has all those bits fitted.

Being me I got fed up at one stage and built another Slaters Ocean PO wagon kit - now awaiting numbering to go with the other 40 Ocean wagons (not all Slaters).

I'll post some photos when I have something complete enough to put in front of the camera.

And a question. For the backscene I want a row of shops, a chapel, a couple of pubs etc to represent the main street of a medium sized South Wales mining village in 1912. I would also like a working men's club. Can anyone point me to suitable photos of shops and a club please? The "general store" will be based on the Gwalia Stores at the National Folk Museum, St Fagans, and I have decided on the prototypes for two chapels. And are there any other building types I have forgotten?

Jonathan

 

Jonathan,

I have recently been looking at backscenes for my layout, actually a frontscene of the beach but more of that on my thread later.  The backscenes I have seen are all similar, and er, boring?  There was nothing that I wanted so I have taken pictures and will fit them together using GIMP or some such equivalent.  That might be the way to go, but it might be more difficult as you need to not have things that identify it as 2021.

[corneliuslundie]

Thanks Chris. In fact these will be low relief buildings so no copping out with photos etc.

I agree about backscenes. For Sarn I took photos locally and stitched them together, though I ended up painting over the sky as the only way to hide the joins.

Now if you had room at the front of the layout I would have suggested that you needed water with the tide going in and out. There was a superb 7 mm layout on the circuit a while ago with just that, though it was an estuary rather than the open sea. Rolling waves might be a bigger challenge. The owner of the layout used a liquid with a quite thick consistency which I don't think would work for waves crashing on the shingle.

Jonathan

[ChrisN]

36 minutes ago, corneliuslundie said:

Thanks Chris. In fact these will be low relief buildings so no copping out with photos etc.

I agree about backscenes. For Sarn I took photos locally and stitched them together, though I ended up painting over the sky as the only way to hide the joins.

Now if you had room at the front of the layout I would have suggested that you needed water with the tide going in and out. There was a superb 7 mm layout on the circuit a while ago with just that, though it was an estuary rather than the open sea. Rolling waves might be a bigger challenge. The owner of the layout used a liquid with a quite thick consistency which I don't think would work for waves crashing on the shingle.

Jonathan

 

Jonathan,

What a brilliant idea, but unfortunately I do not have the room.

[steveNCB7754]

On 27/09/2021 at 10:37, corneliuslundie said:

...   And a question. For the backscene I want a row of shops, a chapel, a couple of pubs etc to represent the main street of a medium sized South Wales mining village in 1912. I would also like a working men's club. Can anyone point me to suitable photos of shops and a club please? The "general store" will be based on the Gwalia Stores at the National Folk Museum, St Fagans, and I have decided on the prototypes for two chapels. And are there any other building types I have forgotten?

 

 

One that springs to mind, is a Post office.  There was a 'classic' one at Caeharris, where a railway track emerged through the terrace, right next to the Post Office there.  Search online for Caeharris Post Office and you'll even find a great colour image with a train emerging into the street.  For general inspiration, have you seen Robin Weaver's excellent and atmospheric black & white images, on Wales Online? Here is a link;

 

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/gallery/robin-weavers-wonderful-welsh-pictures-8850405

 

 

Really love the 'Corner Shop, Dowlais', about halfway down the page!

 

Oh, and just to mention, I am now a member of the WRRC (enjoying reading the back issues I've recently been sent).

 

Steve N

 

[NCB]

Wonderful set of pictures. So much life! Excellent quality as well.

 

When I was being brought up in Ruthin, me and a couple of friends often used to catch the bus to Wrexham to go to the swimming baths. Just before Coedpoeth the Minera branch would appear from nowhere and cross the road. Quite a distinctive scene. No trace there now.

[corneliuslundie]

Progress if you can call it that. I mentioned that I had done my usual thing when I was getting fed up and built a wagon kit - a 41st Ocean wagon.

Well  . . . I decided to add the numbers. I have plenty of sets of Slaters transfers hardly used. So first I found the list of numbers I had allocated on the computer. Then I got the box with the other 40 wagons.,

Shock, horror. Three had no couplings. And about 15 had no numbers.

So now a mammoth session (well actually a very large number of short sessions) adding the numbers which I thought I had done several years ago.

I also discovered that two had the numbers in the wrong size, so they have been removed. I shall need to touch up the black paint before I add the replacement numbers.

Anyway, two now have couplings, though I now need to get more next time I send an order to the supplier (51L?).

In between I have been cutting, drilling, filing etc the very small bits for the J hangers which are needed for the Rhymney carriages. Five components per J hanger, and that is without the triangular assembly between the J hanger and the spring which I have yet to work out how to create. So far six assembled, enough for one side of one carriage.

Anyway, a good excuse for putting off further investigations of how to fit point motors to the three points in the goods yard.

Jonathan

[corneliuslundie]

I had hoped today to be able to show the first of the Rhymney 6-wheeled carriages complete with transfers. However, my attempt to create the transfers failed. I am using Experts-Choice decals from an American company, Bare-Metal Foil Co. I used these successfully for the black lettering on the 7 mm Iron Mink for the club's Bishops Castle Railway layout, but this time, although I did things exactly the same they were useless. The original transfers as printed looked fine, and I added two coats of Microscale Liquid Decal film, as instructed. But the images started to break up when this was added, and worse, they were almost invisible over the lake of the carriage. Rereading the info on the packaging, it does say that yellow may be a problem.

Anyway, here is the vehicle without any lining or lettering.

 

 

I notice that the the counterweight for the S&W coupling is rather prominent and will need some black paint. I think I still need to add a cylinder for the Westinghouse brakes. And I have just realised that I never quite finished tidying up the paint on the end steps.

Much of the delay has come about because first I assembled the vehicle using a commercial Clemison chassis, but then decided that (a) it was not free enough in adjusting to curves, and (b) there would be no way of attaching the rather prominent J hangers if the springs could move relative to the chassis. So I rebuilt the chassis with the outer axles fixed and the central one with inside bearings and room to move laterally and vertically. I shall see whether it needs a spring to hold the wheels on the track.

The other delay was caused by the J hangers themselves. I had hoped to have them 3D printed but that didn't work out. In the end each one is made up of a piece of U-shaped brass suitable drilled, a piece of wire and three slices of plastic tube, one of which has been tapered. It is evident that for the other six carriages I need to take care to get the slices both thinner and more consistent.

Another unexpected problem has been that though I primed the zinc sizes (Trevor Charlton) the paint has been loth to stay attached.

Anyway, one down, six to go including painting some figures for those with passenger compartments.

Don't hold your breath.

Jonathan

Edited April 6, 2022 by corneliuslundie

[NCB]

What some systems, like Wessex before their demise, do is print a layer of white under every colour. This stops the background overwhelming the colours.

[corneliuslundie]

Thanks NCB. Yes, the instructions suggest this but I don't have a printer which can print white. I suppose one COULD print on white decal film and cut the images out- but rather you than be doing this for 1.25 mm high lettering PASSENGERS LUGGAGE etc.

And you are all either asleep or too polite. I realised about half an hour after I posted that the brake van has something rather important missing: upper and lower footboards. An order will shortly be on its way to Eileen for appropriate brass angle and strip for the seven vehicles - I hope there will be enough angle in stock, as I heed quite a lot for seven carriages. Unfortunately it comes in 250 mm lengths and I need 28 pieces a little longer than 125 mm! I think I shall find a way of hiding the occasional join in the upper footboards. I can't see plastic standing up to being handled for very long.

Jonathan

Edited October 29, 2021 by corneliuslundie
Changed 250 to 125

[NCB]

2 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

Thanks NCB. Yes, the instructions suggest this but I don't have a printer which can print white. I suppose one COULD print on white decal film and cut the images out- but rather you than be doing this for 1.25 mm high lettering PASSENGERS LUGGAGE etc.

And you are all either asleep or too polite. I realised about half an hour after I posted that the brake van has something rather important missing: upper and lower footboards. An order will shortly be on its way to Eileen for appropriate brass angle and strip for the seven vehicles - I hope there will be enough angle in stock, as I heed quite a lot for seven carriages. Unfortunately it comes in 250 mm lengths and I need 28 pieces a little longer than 250 mm! I think I shall find a way of hiding the occasional join in the upper footboards. I can't see plastic standing up to being handled for very long.

Jonathan

 

If you've got the artwork, you could see if Railtec would print them for you. Somebody in the 3mm Society had this done and I think it only cost them about £10.

 

Are you still working in EM (I've lost track a bit)? I ask because 250mm in 4mm/ft works out at over a scale 60', which should be easily long enough. Just a thought.

 

Cheers

Nigel

 

 

[railtec-models]

This thread cropped up in my feed and I've just had a very quick scan, but if all that's needed is plain white text (i.e. no drop shadow etc) then the customisable item below might get you out of a hole?

 

https://www.railtec-models.com/showitem.php?id=3641

 

Naturally it'd be spot printed so no slabs of thick carrier film to cut out.

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by railtec-models

[corneliuslundie]

Oops. The brass strip is 250 mm. The footboards are just over half that length, though several slightly different lengths, so I just don't get two out of a piece.

Re the transfers, they are "gold" with red shading. There is some very small lettering and numbers to go at the waist ands larger numbers for the classes on the doors.

I took a photo of the transfers for the class number as printed, and then (on the right)  after I had coated them as instructed in the text on the Decal sheet. As you can see they had started to break up. I am not sure why that was.

 

(I don't seem to have kept the pic)

Jonathan

Edited April 6, 2022 by corneliuslundie
Forgot image

[railtec-models]

I know camera close-ups can be cruel but if I were to make these 1s and 3s available for everyone I think there'd be a noticeable difference in the print, example attached. Do you have a photo of real example of what they're supposed to look like so I can see the exact style of shading? (PM me if that's easier).

 

 

I've been asked more than once to make sheets of this style of "1" and "3" available, and one forum member has just very recently inspired me to get stuck more into pre-grouping and Big Four elements. Naturally they'll get the full Railtec treatment so they'll be spot printed with perfect print registration and the full colour spectrum. It should also help people avoid having to buy multiple sheets just to get a lot of specific elements.

[corneliuslundie]

Horrified to realise that the last post was over six weeks ago.

In the meantime I have more or less finished the two ex-MWR timber wagons for the club layout and am pulling together the components for the ex-LSWR 6-wheeled carriage. The brass strip and angle arrived yesterday, so now just buffers to acquire.

The pack from Eileen's Emporium also included a great deal of brass strip and angle for the footboards for the seven Rhymney 4 mm carriages. A third vehicle is approaching completion other than the footboards. After the grab handles on the second side I need to add the glazing and some passengers, and make a roof out of another section of coffee tin.

A few steps backwards on Sarn. I put it up the other day and actually fitted coupling links to the S&W couplings on 14 wagons. But then found that the electrics now don't work! Why I don't know as they were find last time it was up. I also found that the compensation on 1196 is sticking so shall have to have another go at that.

And just to add to the gloom, I discovered that the lower footboards on the brake van were fouling the scenery in the entrance to the station, as well as the platform in one place. Anyway, the latter problem was solved by bending the supports a little so the footboard does not project so far (the other side of the van was OK), and I have been attacking the scenery with a sharp knife to pare away enough plaster to clear the footboard. I now need to give the plaster a coat of suitably coloured paint and sprinkle on some green scenic material.

Then on to carriage number 4: end steps and handrails, door handles, grab handles, passengers, glazing and roof - plus of course the footboards.

I think as I have so many to do it will be worth making up a jig to help with assembly of the footboards, as there are 28 in all, upper and lower on each side of seven vehicles. Annoyingly, they are a little longer than half the length of a strip of brass angle, so some will have to have a discreet splice, to avoid buying another seven strips at £2.40 a time.

Another future project for the club layout is an ex-Mid Wales Railway brake van for which I now have a reasonable drawing thanks to several WRRC members. The Cambrian inherited two, and one went to the Elan Valley dam contractors and was photographed there on two occasions. Intriguingly, in one photo there is a window in the side, but in the other there is no window. The second photo seems likely to be the earlier so presumably the window was added by the contractor. Or was there only a window on one side? But, anyway, the fate of the other van is not recorded so in my alternative history I have redirected it to the BCR where it would have arrived in the early 1890s and could have lasted until the ex-GWR vans arrived. Prove me wrong!

The only other wagons I intend building for the club layout are a couple of the early cattle wagons which can be partially seen in a few photos. But don't expect to see them for some time as I have other things to do first, such as work out how to make them strong enough to survive on the layout.

Jonathan

[corneliuslundie]

Nadolig Llawen

Urime Kristjelinde

Happy Christmas

Jonathan

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by corneliuslundie

[corneliuslundie]

Another month.

Four RR carriages now complete except for the footboards, which are being soldered up gradually (well, one needs its roof which is currently wrapped around an empty wine bottle). I made a little wooden jig for the footboards but it had to have a few mods as I went along and more of the supports were added - and I can't seem to remember the "measure three times, cut once" advice as I keep putting uprights in wrong places. But enough now complete for two of the carriages. Another problem is that my favourite 25 W soldering iron eventually died of old age. I bought a Maplin soldering station about six years ago but spare bits are no longer available, as far as I can see, and the one I have now refuses to accept solder. So I have ben using an iron I bought in Lidl - it has a rechargeable battery and uses a USB connection to the mains. The only disadvantage is that each time I want to use it I have to wait for the bit to heat sufficiently, though once it has heated up it is fine. And I bought a pack of three spare bits when I bought the iron.

The timber wagons have been repaired, and I intended to repaint and reletter some secondhand Slaters 7 mm PO wagons for the club layout. The first stripped fine and took black acrylic well. But can I find my unshaded wagon transfers? How does one lose an envelope about 8 inches by 2 feet? So I decided to strip the second. Two problems: first the paint doesn't want to come off. Secondly, it is an end-door wagon so not suitable for a mid Wales coal merchant. (Incidentally, we had agreed that one of the wagons will be lettered for Bunners of Montgomery, even though they never owned any - but if there had been a station down the road . . . )

So I am slowly making a start on an ex-MWR brake van. But don't hold your breath.

And I have decided that Nantcwmdu needs a school so shall be looking for suitable photos of Board schools. Not something I remember seeing modelled.

If you have got this far, well done.

Jonathan

[NCB]

I use Antex 25W soldering irons. Done me OK. I have 3 with different bit sizes. Only negative is that the last bit I bought was pre-tinned; don't know what they used, but it smells horrible and tends to deposit muck, although that is easing. Thinking of getting some tip cleaner.

 

I've an idea that end-door wagons could wander, so not impossible in Mid Wales.

 

Nigel (who has just emerged from 3 weeks holiday in Bronglais Hospital Aberystwyth )

[BMS]

For Cornelius L: If the Maplin is temperature controlled then the tips are common on googleand amazon for most of the current batch of irons e.g.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BOJACK-Soldering-Temperature-Cleaning-900M-ESD/dp/B07T7JZYYV/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=soldering+iron+tips&qid=1643223797&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExQlZJNTdDRlg4WTlYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjAwOTkwOU01MjhKMVgwWkFFJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxNTQzOTgyVkNKMzA0NDlPSUJOJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==.

 

[corneliuslundie]

My old iron was a Weller model. The tip was solid copper.

I have looked at that link re replacement tips. The tip of my iron has a flange and it appears to haver a coating of something almost white, which those shown do not, and the reference number of my iron is not mentioned. Mine has the reference N79MR. But it is possible they they will fit if they are the right diameter. Are you able to measure one and let me know before I fork out? 

Jonathan

[BMS]

a few measurements from 3  irons:

Tip

Outside diameter 6.90mm 6,9mm 6.19mm

Inside diameter 4.12mm 4.16mm 4.12mm

 

Ceramic (gently!)

Outside diameter 3.98 mm 4.13mm 3.9mm

 

Cover

Inside diameter 7.50mm 7.44mm 7.47mm

The third one is the newest and least worn.

 

I strongly suspect Weller not compatible with these.

I have had no particular problem with any I've owned, but have a different set of tips for lead and leadfree solders.

Hope this helps

 

 

 

 

[corneliuslundie]

Thanks. The Weller iron went in the bin. It was about 60 years old as I had it when I was a teenager. Not bad value.

It was the Maplin soldering station I was asking about.

But I have now removed the bit from the iron and those in the photo on the website would not fit as there is no flange to keep them in when the collar is screwed on to hold the bit. I may e-mail Maplin to ask them about availability of replacement bits, in case they are just not on the website.

But the Lidl iron is coping, even if a bit slowly - it would be faster if i did more modelling!/

Jonathan

[Simond]

You may email Maplin, but they ain’t listening, they went bust some years back.

[corneliuslundie]

That's interesting as I found their website the other day.

I have just looked. The actual company name is Digital First Retail Ltd, previously, according to Companies House,

MAPLIN ONLINE LIMITED29 Jun 2018 - 30 May 2019

So I think they must have resurrected.

This is the website:

https://www.maplin.co.uk/?utm_source=nmpi&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search&utm_term=keyword&utm_content=ppc&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIju_UsvfX9QIVxu7tCh06rABLEAAYAiAAEgIMuPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Jonathan

[Simond]

how very interesting.
 

 I wonder if it is the same organisation, or the name has been sold on, or what.

 

 Well, hopefully you can get the new bits from them anyway.

[NCB]

Maplin closed May 2018 and Maplin Online opened June 2018. Strong links, methinks.