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The late John Coulter modelled a pair of Cambrian single bolsters with unusual floor planking, with gaps. He assumed it was built like this to allow rainwater to drain away, but it turned out later on that the photo used was taken in early grouping days, and was taken by the GWR to show the amount of shrinkage of poorly seasoned wood - for the Cambrian in the Edwardian era, the planks should have been closed up!

I think I mean any period when stock was subject to routine use and maintenance. The purpose of paint was to protect the materials from which the wagon was built from decay - rot in the case of wood, rust in the case of iron and especially steel. And anything anywhere near a moving part would have been coated in grease - buffer shanks, axleguards where they guide the box, springs, hinges, etc. Also, looking back at those Didcot photos, I'd be very wary of taking any of the unpainted woodwork in their buildings or permanent way as a guide. Timber used in such places would have been treated with creosote, which isn't allowed nowadays. Another thing that I've seen overdone is brake block dust. The hand-operated brakes on ordinary wagons could not be applied with anything like the force of a vacuum or air brake. I realise I've been dragging a very old set of posts out into the open, scraping off the rust and greasing them up! Not sure how I chanced on it...

Really nice to see some progress, Andrew. Sorry to hear of the other bits. Take care, Nick.

Oh yes, they were in regular service! Mind you the GWR condemned most Cambrian stock. It was all fairly well worn.

This may be true for the GWR. When the GWR took over the Cambrian, (or was it the other way round?), they immediately condemned some four wheel coaches as they had rot in their corner posts.

Many thanks, Mikkel! Something I was keen to avoid were any areas of wasted space - most paint racks that you can buy feature a tiered shelf system. That's great for access, but very wasteful. And yes, it would be very nice to have my Dad's woodworking skills; I do try to learn, but some things are best left for him to do!

If you are looking for a very neat dinghy for your maritime scene you could do worse than buy a 'Medieval Life Boat' by Zvezda. It is a very detailed little 1/72 model, with eight oars and a furled sail. It is 75mm from bow to stern. I have just bought two and converted one to a day fishing boat. The other one will remain as a rowing boat. The rowlocks are a fixed wooden type and the tiller is a bit olde worlde. For modern use replacement with metal slot-in ones would probably look more appropriate. It costs £6.75 from Wonderland Models, but they have a 'standard' postage of £4.50. https://www.wonderlandmodels.com/products/zvezda-172-medieval-life-boat/ Although the cost for one including postage seems a bit steep, it is by far the best detailed model of this type of boat that I have found. I am just a satisfied customer with no connection to WM. When I have finished them I can add a photo.

It's an office type body off a military truck, probably a '50s radio truck. You can see the wheel arch.

Absolutely fantastic! I am really grateful for those photos, thank you so much! A lot to mull over, and some excellent information to go alongside it. Like I said, it's hard to get any detail shots of the general clutter around such a site, so this is really useful. Allowing a bit more room for this area will be important to get the feel correct; and will also give me space to fit in a winch shed. That said, it looks to be a relatively compact scene all things considered. I'm wondering if you know anything about the little hut in the 5th photo? It kind of looks like a former wheelhouse in use as an office? Would be a nice little cameo in itself. Once again, thank you so much!

Right, I found the photos, luckily they weren't in our lock-up. There are 4 shots of the winch shed, two of the barge on the slipway after painting. and a general view of that part of the yard from the water, showing a second building and part of a steel lighter. The barge sits on a cradle to be pulled up and let down, secured to the vertical (ish) stanchions. The barge is actually a 70ft ex-MOD ammunition lighter. It had been purchased by Pounds of Portsmouth and offered for sale still lying off Devonport. When Carol bought it Pounds sent a workboat to fetch it and another one, but they were still fully loaded with Naval ammunition, so she had to wait for it to be unloaded.

This may be of interest - perhaps a better scale - an old barge. Its remains have only been recently towed away. The original contractors gave up on it. I have photos of this vessel from the other side, in various stages of decay, if you are wanting to see the inside structure.