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GWR provender wagons


Mikkel

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In 1884 the GWR centralized the provision of provender, so that every stable block on the system received a regular supply by rail from the provender store at Didcot, typically every 1-2 weeks. The supplies consisted of hay, chaff, straw bedding and sacks of feed. The feed included oats, beans and maize, either pre-mixed or separate.

 

The sizeable stable block at Farthing obviously needs a regular supply of feed and bedding, so two provender wagons have been made. I began with a diagram Q1, using the Coopercraft kit.

 

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The GWR only made a total of 12 dedicated provender wagons, in two slightly different lots of six. The Q1 kit represents the later batch, built in 1903 with diagonal bracing. They were very camera shy, the (cropped) image below is the only one I have seen so far.

 

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As usual, the build involved modifications. The Vee hanger on these wagons was significantly off-center, towards the right. The instructions don’t mention this. So both vees were cut off. The solebars need shortening, and the end brackets must therefore also come off. Here is the original solebar (top), and a modified one (below).

 

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Then, sides and ends. The locating pips for the floor were removed. They make the floor sit too low, and the solebars in turn end up beneath the headstocks.

 

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As provided, the brake gear does not take the off-center Vee into account, as this trial fit shows.

 

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So the brake gear was modified to suit. Looks a bit odd, but that's what the drawing and text in Atkins et al shows.

 

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 The DC1 brake gear was made using parts from the  Bill Bedford etch (recently withdrawn). The buffers are from Lanarkshire Models.

 

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The built-up wagon in GWR wagon red, as it would have been painted when built in 1903.

 

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Apart from 12 purpose-built provender wagons, most of the GWR's provender was carried in numerous standard open wagons of all sorts. Several photos show them loaded improbably high. I decided to have a go at replicating this. This close crop, from a much larger shot from Vastern Rd yard at Reading, illustrates what I was aiming for.

 

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I set to work on some plumber’s hemp, cut fine and built up in layers on a foamboard box, using diluted PVA. Not the 9 o’clock news!

 

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Then sheets (a.k.a. tarps) were made, using my usual method. Ian’s superb sheets were re-numbered and printed on regular paper, then laminated with thin foil and varnished multiple times, before weathering. The result is a shell that can be easily shaped and supports it’s own weight (see this post).

 

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I designed the load to fit my 4-plankers. My initial plan was to have the entire load and sheeting detachable, in line with my normal approach. In this shot, the tarp and load are separate, but magnets hold them together and allow easy removal.

 

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However, with a high load like this I felt that the lack of roping looked odd. So I decided to see how it would feel to have permanent loads and sheets. I  recruited one of my 4-plankers and added roping and side-cords, using painted sewing thread.

 

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Indents were made in the sheeting by pressing the edge of a ruler into the paper/foil shell, in order to emulate the ropes pulling down the sheet.

 

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This is what I ended up with. Don’t look to closely at how the cords are tied at the ends. Photos of provender trains don’t show clearly whether and how they were used in a situation like this.

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Sometimes, the GWR used two sheets laid sideways instead, as illustrated in this cropped detail of a train of hay bales.

 

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I decided to do the same on my high-sided Q1 wagon. Here is the usual foil shell, this time composed of two sheets.

 

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For the roping and cords, I loosely followed the cropped image above.  I also tried to fold the sheets at the ends as per that photo, but gave up:  Try as I might, it just looked weird in 4mm scale. Another time maybe.

 

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The wagons together. The charm of everyday solutions versus boxy functional design.

 

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Here are a few photos of the wagons in action on the (unfinished) new layout. A Buffalo class arrives with the weekly delivery of provender. Conveniently, the stable block at Farthing happens to have a siding alongside.

 

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Meanwhile, Betty is having a drink in preparation for the morning round. Proper care of railway horses was a serious matter, though hardly for ethical reasons. Horses were a company asset and an important part of operations, so obviously needed good maintenance. 

 

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The loco has left, and the wagons are sat in the sidings. The camera has exaggerated the sheen.

 

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A close-up, warts and all. The mind struggles to accept that the hay wasn't completely covered over. There is room for improvement with the roping and cords, several lessons learnt there.

 

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I'd like to experiment more with the shaping of the sheets. Here I have made slight rounded indents along the bottom to avoid a straight line. Period photos show that, although sheets were pulled as taut as possible, there were still lots of wrinkles etc. 

 

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Despite these experiments, I’m still undecided about permanent loads and sheeting. To illustrate my doubt: It's the next day and the Buffalo class is back to pick up the provender wagons. But wait, what’s this? They are still full and sheeted! More thinking needed. It never ends.

 

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Edited by Mikkel

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Lovely additions Mikkel and well built as usual.

 

It's another item for me to do eventually too and good to see you making good use of the plumbers hemp ( it does pong a bit so I placed mine in an airtight container !!! ).

 

G

 

p.s. nice clean thumb nail ! :D

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Wagons with two sheets were marshalled so the the leading sheet overlapped the trailing sheet, so that the wind didn't get in the gap and cause havoc.

 

I suspect that the sheet is as much to restrain the load as to protect it from the weather. With baled hay, there's no such need, so lorry-loads of bales are only roped (strapped, these days) not covered. 

 

I do think that to achieve a realistic look, sheets do have to be tied down so that the load is an integral part of the model. 

 

Sorry, brain fading this evening after a long day so my remarks are coming across as a bit disconnected.

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2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Wagons with two sheets were marshalled so the the leading sheet overlapped the trailing sheet, so that the wind didn't get in the gap and cause havoc.

Aha, two sheets to the wind, eh?

 

Not sure where Donald Trump has disappeared to, but at least his syrup has been found:

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Edited by Regularity
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10 hours ago, bgman said:

Lovely additions Mikkel and well built as usual.

 

It's another item for me to do eventually too and good to see you making good use of the plumbers hemp ( it does pong a bit so I placed mine in an airtight container !!! ).

 

G

 

p.s. nice clean thumb nail ! :D

 

Thanks Grahame. I think the plumber's hemp works fairly well. For 4mm scale I found I had to cut it in very short fine bits though, almost like static grass. I actually like the smell. It reminds me of something good  from my childhood, not sure what!

 

Regarding clean nails, it is fortunate that I do not model with my feet. 

 

9 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Wagons with two sheets were marshalled so the the leading sheet overlapped the trailing sheet, so that the wind didn't get in the gap and cause havoc.

 

I suspect that the sheet is as much to restrain the load as to protect it from the weather. With baled hay, there's no such need, so lorry-loads of bales are only roped (strapped, these days) not covered. 

 

I do think that to achieve a realistic look, sheets do have to be tied down so that the load is an integral part of the model. 

 

Sorry, brain fading this evening after a long day so my remarks are coming across as a bit disconnected.

 

That's useful info about the sheets, Stephen. In my mind the yard entry is a trailing one, so that should be OK :)

 

Hay balers began to appear just before the turn of the century, but most photos I have seen from the early 1900s appear to show “loose” hay and straw. Yet surely it must somehow have been tied up beneath those high-mounted sheets, or it would have been all over the place.

 

 

7 hours ago, Regularity said:

Aha, two sheets to the wind, eh?

 

Not sure where Donald Trump has disappeared to, but at least his syrup has been found

 

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https://faketrumptweet.com/

 

:jester:

 

 

Edited by Mikkel
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6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Very, very nice Mikkel.

 

Douglas

 

Many thanks Douglas. I'm a little ambivalent about the results, looking at the photos the rope and ties looks too white for example, though it's better in reality.

 

As mentioned, the folding at the ends of the Q1 could also be better. Photos tend to show that the top flap was folded over the side flaps, but in model form this can look a bit odd I find. Stephen has done it nicely here though:

 

very 

 

6 hours ago, BWsTrains said:

Lovely work Mikkel,

 

I feel some load building coming up ahead in my patch.

 

Thx,

 

Colin

 

 

Thanks Colin. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. I haven't done much in terms of loads myself so far. I think a load of Guiness barrels are next - assuming that would be right for the 1900s! I'm off to find out.

 

 

Edited by Mikkel
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1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

Photos tend to show that the top flap was folded over the side flaps, but in model form this can look a bit odd I find. Stephen has done it nicely here though:

 

 

 

 

That was my first sheeted wagon (in modern times) and as far as I can recall I was following my nose so I was really pleased when I came across this:

 

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[gwr.org.uk]

 

It's the other railway but tucked in corners seem to have been the aim:

 

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It gets tricky once the load piles up above the sides of the wagon, as with your load of provender. Then one's up against the challenge of representing loose folds and general bagginess. There was a post on my wagon building thread giving a link to a sailing-ship-modelling website - I've not tried their methods but there are some interesting techniques illustrated there.

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Lovely work Mikkel!  Wagons with tarpaulins are conspicuously absent on Sherton, this inspirational post may help rectify this!

 

BW

 

Dave

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Excellent as ever Mikkel. Sheets are difficult to model, but those are sitting down in a realistic manner. 

 

Good tip with the plumbers hemp too. 

 

Gave me a fright though, I opened the post without my specs on and saw the hemp and the scissors and thought that some blonde lady would wake up to a surprise.... 

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I built my own Provender Wagon many years ago when CooperCraft kits were the latest thing in realism.  I simply made mine to the instructions, knowing nothing about offset V-hangers and such like.  I've always said that my modelling is 'impressionist' rather than accurate. 

 

Your version is far more skilfully executed and I like the way you have added a load and sheeting.

 

In my own case, North Leigh is not far from Didcot, so I consider it reasonable for one of these rarities to turn up occasionally.  I did feature a photo of one being horse-shunted, while the usual crowd of workers with nothing better to do stood by, watching.

 

If you speak nicely to your wife, you will discover that cotton thread comes in many different colours, so I'm sure you will find something to suit your 'roping'.

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Beautiful work as always, and fascinating too. My stables for Bricklayers Arms are nearing completion so my thoughts are turning to hay so your article is very timely and extremely useful. I will be shamelessly copying a few techniques here especially the use of plumbers hemp.

Thank you. 

0DDBE4C0-E706-4169-B34F-2A7FBE0494DE.jpeg

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10 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

Lots of good things to savour in this blog. I will return later for a lazier read.

 

Thanks for the original inspiration Miss P, I keep returning to that Culham photo. A whole train of provender wagons would have been nice, but I can't quite stomach the effort needed!

 

 

10 hours ago, wenlock said:

Lovely work Mikkel!  Wagons with tarpaulins are conspicuously absent on Sherton, this inspirational post may help rectify this!

 

BW

 

Dave

 

Thanks Dave, it would be nice to see some tarps on Sherton. I am beginning to think that we don't need as many as on the prototype - a small number go a long way to give the right impression.

 

 

9 hours ago, kitpw said:

I had no idea about the intracacies of (model) wagon sheets and ropes - top notch modelling.  The provender wagon is a big beast and needs that Buffalo to move it about!

 

Kit PW

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2502-swan-hill/

 

 

Thanks Kit, yes the Q1 is huge. It does pass beneath the loading gauge, but not with a high load!

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6 hours ago, Dave John said:

Excellent as ever Mikkel. Sheets are difficult to model, but those are sitting down in a realistic manner. 

 

Good tip with the plumbers hemp too. 

 

Gave me a fright though, I opened the post without my specs on and saw the hemp and the scissors and thought that some blonde lady would wake up to a surprise.... 

 

Thanks Dave. Yes, all this business with sheets/tarps is tricky stuff to model, and quite time consuming too I find. You finish a wagon and think you're done. But then there's the couplings. And the weighting. And the load. And the tarp. And the ties/ropes. And that's just simple stuff like mine! 

 

Rest assured BTW. No blondes were harmed in the making of these models :D

 

 

4 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

I built my own Provender Wagon many years ago when CooperCraft kits were the latest thing in realism.  I simply made mine to the instructions, knowing nothing about offset V-hangers and such like.  I've always said that my modelling is 'impressionist' rather than accurate. 

 

Your version is far more skilfully executed and I like the way you have added a load and sheeting.

 

In my own case, North Leigh is not far from Didcot, so I consider it reasonable for one of these rarities to turn up occasionally.  I did feature a photo of one being horse-shunted, while the usual crowd of workers with nothing better to do stood by, watching.

 

If you speak nicely to your wife, you will discover that cotton thread comes in many different colours, so I'm sure you will find something to suit your 'roping'.

 

Hi Mike. Your horse-drawn Q1 was the first I saw in GWR red, I have often admired it.  I think most people build the Q1 kit with the V-hanger in the central position, since there is no mention of anything else in the instructions. 

 

The sewing thread used for the wagons was in fact "stolen" from my wife's collection. I eventually decided to come clean, and she duly gave me the whole thing saying she never used that roll. So much for all my stealth :D I should probably have gone for darker thread though. I did paint and weather it, but you can't really tell in the photos. 

 

 

4 hours ago, 5&9Models said:

Beautiful work as always, and fascinating too. My stables for Bricklayers Arms are nearing completion so my thoughts are turning to hay so your article is very timely and extremely useful. I will be shamelessly copying a few techniques here especially the use of plumbers hemp.

Thank you. 

0DDBE4C0-E706-4169-B34F-2A7FBE0494DE.jpeg

 

Many thanks Chris. Your stables look fantastic! There must have been hundreds of stalls in there. And storage at the upper level, it seems. Very classy.

 

Incidentally, one might say that hay and straw is all very well, but what about the sacks of feed? I had a close look at a 1906 photo of the provender store at Didcot. Below is a crop. It suggests to me that sacks were loaded at the bottom of wagons, then covered with hay and straw. So the wagons we see in photos may well be full of unseen sacks! 

 

IMG_20200527_071344481_HDR.jpg.a5181ba860c29cc15400a5d7d149c7f8.jpg

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The wagons look really good, I think having a wagon carrying a high load of fodder and sheeted over puts the clock back very well, and one usually pops up in my goods trains.

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Yes, I remember this one:

 

On 17/02/2017 at 22:59, Northroader said:

Agreed, a load of fodder makes a very useful thing to have around. A bit earlier than 1910, and the wagon might be a bit wide.. (sorry about thecouplers, a bright idea due for a change)

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Edited by Mikkel
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On 13/11/2020 at 10:33, kitpw said:

The provender wagon is a big beast and needs that Buffalo to move it about!

It’s big because the load is not very dense.

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5 minutes ago, Regularity said:

It’s big because the load is not very dense.

 

But for the same load the larger wagon will have the greater tare weight.

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18 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thanks Dave. Yes, all this business with sheets/tarps is tricky stuff to model, and quite time consuming too I find. You finish a wagon and think you're done. But then there's the couplings. And the weighting. And the load. And the tarp. And the ties/ropes. And that's just simple stuff like mine! 

 

Rest assured BTW. No blondes were harmed in the making of these models :D

 

 

 

Hi Mike. Your horse-drawn Q1 was the first I saw in GWR red, I have often admired it.  I think most people build the Q1 kit with the V-hanger in the central position, since there is no mention of anything else in the instructions. 

 

The sewing thread used for the wagons was in fact "stolen" from my wife's collection. I eventually decided to come clean, and she duly gave me the whole thing saying she never used that roll. So much for all my stealth :D I should probably have gone for darker thread though. I did paint and weather it, but you can't really tell in the photos. 

 

 

 

Many thanks Chris. Your stables look fantastic! There must have been hundreds of stalls in there. And storage at the upper level, it seems. Very classy.

 

Incidentally, one might say that hay and straw is all very well, but what about the sacks of feed? I had a close look at a 1906 photo of the provender store at Didcot. Below is a crop. It suggests to me that sacks were loaded at the bottom of wagons, then covered with hay and straw. So the wagons we see in photos may well be full of unseen sacks! 

 

IMG_20200527_071344481_HDR.jpg.a5181ba860c29cc15400a5d7d149c7f8.jpg


I suppose the sacks must be fodder horses...! :D Sorry!

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5 hours ago, Regularity said:

It’s big because the load is not very dense.

Does the same apply to the Prime Minister’s head?

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1 hour ago, Simond said:

Does the same apply to the Prime Minister’s head?

Certainly seems to have gay on top, awaiting a tarpaulin...

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That one I didn't get, but I won't ask :rolleyes:. BTW Simon I just found your Lydham Heath thread, didn't know it was with you now. I think I saw it at Watford in 1997 or thereabouts, made a big impression.

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I got out the looking glass and read some instructions from the GWR Horse Dept that are reproduced in Tony Atkins' GWR Goods Cartage Vol. 1 (p76).  Unfortunately there is no date.

 

"All requisitions for Provender must be made (through book no. 605) to the Horse Superintendent. They will be due at his office on each alternate Thursday [...] A supply for fourteen days ending on a Monday must be ordered each time, except for those Stations specially instructed to order weekly [...] The provender must be weighed on its receipt, and should a deficiency of any of the component parts be discovered, the circumstances must be at once reported. Great care must be taken to prevent waste and misappropriation."

 

So this suggests bi-weekly delivery as the norm, rather than weekly as stated elsewhere. The weighing is also interesting. How would that be done I wonder. Perhaps there would be scales at the stables. 

 

As for misappropriation, yes that would be high crime wouldn't it! Never mind the Medellin Cartel, the infamous Farthing Hay & Fodder Ring strikes again! 

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