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Kind of you to say Mikkel, but I'm still fumbling my way along picking up gems of advice from the really good modellers here... These are the latest test pieces I've been experimenting with: The two pieces on the right are laser cut card, one of which was sealed with Mod Podge before painting & filling (just to see what, if any, benefit it gave). On the left are my first three trial 3d printed pieces. These are U shaped, intended to wrap around the base of a buttress. The top course is chamfered. Top was a test to see if the wall could be printed face down on the build plate (for speed). Answer a resounding NO as the "elephants foot" has completely obliterated the brick detail. Middle: as my laser's kerf is approximately 0.2mm, this piece also has 0.2mm gaps between bricks. Hardly any filler has stayed in the gaps. The photo makes it look better than it is because of the very low sun producing nice shadows. Bottom: a test with different gap widths. Starting at the top row of chamfered bricks, left to right two bricks at a time the gaps are 0.3; 0.4; 0.5; 0.6 & 0.7mm. Then below that, top to bottom two courses at a time the same sequence of gaps. From this I picked 0.4mm as the gap to use on the next test piece. I printed two copies, the lower one having a small amount of texture applied to the surface of the bricks. It is not very noticeable though, so probably not worth the effort. These are prior to applying the filler, to show that I haven't flooded the gaps with paint but neither have I worried too much about getting some paint in them. The filler has been freshly applied here. I'll leave it to fully dry and set then give it a brush over to clean the excess off the brick faces, but I think it compares quite well with the mortar on the laser cut pieces.

Thank you very much, Nick. That Archer's photo is indeed quite a sight! BTW, Paddington have been in touch, asking why on earth there has been no mention of the company's own Pantechnicons. Here is an 1894 specimen. Tempting subject for a scratchbuild.

Some interesting info above, thanks gents. I was a bit confused to see this photo, as I thought the original furniture store at the Pantechnicon was long gone by this time. But apparently there was a Pantechnicon Ltd company that traded right up to the 1970s. Source: Getty Images, embedding permitted.

If you want a Union view on horses per vehicle - from one of my wife's ancestors. I find the presence of angels around carmen an interesting touch.

Many thanks, also for that link - an enlightening read. I did not know about the Victorian colour explosion, it has made me see the pregrouping liveries in a new light. The "Decadent young woman" is superb, and I notice her yellow book! Ah, very nice. Jonathan I think the Shirescenes version is your best bet if you are looking for one to go in a train (although it is currently sold out). The Gem/John Day kit is so tall that I think it might be out of loading gauge, even with the roof boards folded down. So I clearly need another lower one if I am to fulfill the company's promises! Thank you Nick, some very useful info there. The HMRS images sound like gold, very tempting! Here are some shots with different numbers of horses, it seems to have varied with the needs an capacity:

Nice work Mike, I had thoughts of doing a similar thing but it would have been a distraction for me. It is useful that the drawings survive, as you know I have used Fusion to draw up High Wycombe in the broad gauge although I drew the entire site up in 4mm scale. Doing the basics of buildings takes time but adding all small details and textures takes ages. One of the original building at Paddington as seen in the illustrations matches the goods shed at Taplow so I think they are contemporary and are the same. David

This is Steve Flanders's Broad Gauge Intermediate Station based on the circa 1850s proposed plans for Cheltenham Station. The NRCA were the source of the plans, but they were such a mixed up old lot of different amended versions it was difficult for Steve to tell what the GWR had actually intended for Cheltenham. Sorry for the none too clear image, but the station model is so darn big it was difficult to take a decent snap of it. It does give the idea though that a model of Paddington could be possible. I couldn't help noticing though that some of the drawings the NRCA had of the original station were more holes than drawing so it could be a wee bit of a challenge. Turned the shadows off so you can see better.

Thank you Simon, and I will. I'm trying to limit the length of these blog posts a bit, so will do a separate one on recent experiments with paint and weathering pigments. It's rather crude and not without problems though! Thank you Nick. The carriage scene is something that I look forward to making, inspired by photos such as the one below at Truro. That, incidentally, is of another and better known GWR station design style of this period. I actually like this style better than the Westbury/Newbury style, and initially considered transposing the Winchester variant to Newbury. But I eventually decided that the other design was more appropriate for the Berks & Hants extension, where Farthing is located. Thanks very much Mike. I will have to disappoint you on the interior details though, as I'm hoping I can get away without them! I very much admire the interior details that others do, but I'm trying to cut some corners as I have bad experiences from the past of getting stuck with overly ambitious projects. And I have my weighbridge hut below in recent memory - none of the (admittedly sparse) interior details are visible from the outside, despite windows on two sides. So I'm hoping that if I put up enough interior walls to block views and light I can manage without interior detail. But I would be interested to hear what others have experienced in this regard with larger structures.

This is a later shot of the same vehicle, taken in 1920. Smaller wheels with thicker spokes have been fitted, and the sides are now straight. There are a couple of drawings in Janet Russell's "Great Western Horsepower". She implies that the GWR made different types of these, but it is also possible that the drawings show the same van in different configurations. The best drawing says 8 ft high (and a bit, not quite legible). Tony Atkins GWR Goods cartage Vol 1 also has one of the drawings, although quite small.

I notice the sign-writing does say 'London Bath and Bristol by Rail', so I think a Road Van Truck is called for. It looks a very striking model, Mikkel. I expect Bailey & Sons were in competition with Knee Brothers of Bristol, who were already in the business, back in Broad Gauge days. I suspect you have been economical with the truth about your negotiations with UNBRIDLED - I'm sure I heard comments about 4 horses for a fully loaded wagon. A couple of chain horses should do the job: Mike

Indeed it does and I've done very little detailing so far. The good thing though is that once the basics are in place, one can go on adding details as much as one feels like. I have a lot to lean still about rendering and your results are inspirational 😃 Very close indeed if you wish! I haven't done very much detailing yet but here's a view from the Arrivals platform with 'Vulcan'. It's great fun moving around to seek new angles 🙂 Eventually, the carriage shed and other building should be in the background. As I said to David, I've a long way to go in learning the possibilities with this software. Another potential application is to use it for planning the layout/diorama that I hope to build 'one day' Mike

I have just laser cut windows for my station building the glazing bars are 0.2mm thick while the main frames are .7mm

Thank you all for the greetings, congratulations and condolences. I never know quite how personal to be on the internet, but on the other hand we are not robots. The Brio set is our son's and I got it out for his son to play with. He's still a bit too young, so I can have fun with it in the meantime 😄 I took the opportunity to do some servicing on the locos. After 15+ years in storage one had a weak electrical joint and another needed a bit of work on the gears. Now all fixed. The mechanism is very simple but they work well enough.

Here's a bit of fun, and probably some procrastination as well. This is the current contents of my 2-4-0 sketches directory. There are a good few more to come I reckon, which is rather intimidating. The main takeaway, of course is how all GWR locomotives look the same... I think at the moment I like the appearance of the 111 early best.

Reckon this is about as good as I can do on the Bicycle for now without going mad(der). Been a bit of a struggle this one. Think I'm going to give myself a break before tackling the next.

Thanks all. I had understood that the Slaters re-release of these kits wasn't far off, and with some mods being made to the bogies for easier construction - but who knows. As for the livery of the E37 and its brethren, there is of course also the option of the 1908-22 lake livery, to go with the new Dapol 43xx No. 4321 in 1913 guise 🙂 Although I suppose an obvious match for that would be some standard Toplights, when Dapol get around to doing those. I still have to get used to RTR GWR pre-grouping stock being readily available, and how to approach it. It's more satisfying to modify/build your own, I find, but it does take time and I struggle with loco mechanisms.

A very Happy Christmas to all at RMWeb and here’s to a brilliant New Year of modeling. My fun figure 8 under and over Snowy Mountain Christmas train.

For something ultra-modern, here's 489 at Worcester Foregate Street in 1905:

Thanks everyone for the comments - and apologies for the late response, it's been a bit hectic here. The trip awoke an urge to do some architectural modelling beyond station facilities. I must restrain myself and wait until the main station building at Farthing is done, but in the meantime I am trying to get familiar with the different period styles. It seems simple when you read about it, but once confronted with real buildings I tend to get confused. Clearly I need to develop "the eye" for this sort of thing. Below is a surviving warehouse just across from the former Vastern Rd Yard at Reading. As I later found out, the lettering says "Smallbone Ltd": Here it is in a crop from a 1948 photo on Britain from Above: Also at Reading, a row in a style that seems very widespread in that town, though I can't quite identify period and style: This nice row is on Newbury's Bartholomew Street, where it crosses the GWR line. Also on Newbury's Bartholomew Street, note sagging roof: A little further down the same street, the building on the right seems Victorian to me, but again I am not sure.

Nick, As others have said, what a lovely collection of beautifully lettered wagons and how nice to have that to remember your father by. I also agree with him, having had to "draw" S's on CAD for etchwork, getting them right is not easy and I have the benefit of copying the photo on the screen where rubbing out is easy,,,, Having now seen some of your wagon collection in real life, I think it's fair to say you've inherited his artistic capability Chris

I am adding cloudflare to my website - this is a service that will hopefully root out unwanted bots and increase security. It will take time and I'm not sure that I will be able to get the website up and running this month but things are happening behind the scenes.

The goods shed at Paddington with a photo of the goods shed at Taplow, with the Dutch hip roof I think both buildings are contemporary with each other, or are they they same building relocated?

Ha ha, thanks Rich. Nope, I've thrown them away! What does stand out in the close-ups is that the padlock shackles don't pass through anything. Must do that better next time. Many thanks Douglas. It seems that there are 11 horsedrawn vehicles at Farthing now, from GWR and local traders. More than is needed really, but I do enjoy building them. Interesting, I wonder if it the same as this one, from the same company, which seems to have been in the National Brewery Museum at one point: Williams and Griffin horse-drawn Pantechnicon by Steve Knight, on Flickr

Williams & Griffin in Colchester had this preserved example which they used for special events back in the early 1980's.... What happened to it after that isn't clear, but I've never seen it anywhere since that time.

Thin lime mortar at St Pancras:

Interesting. So when it comes to stone sheets SEF have deeper mortar courses than Slaters? On my brick sheets it's the other way round. In other words, no universal rules can be applied. Regarding mortar. I have been wondering whether and how much it darkens over time naturally. I have not noticed it in houses I have lived in or known - but that is also a short timeframe. Newbury station is now 114 years old. And then there is the environmental effect that you mention. And then of course the effect of repair work and modifications. Here is one end of Newbury station. Quite a lot of stuff going on here, brick and mortar-wise:

Well...s'not bad I s'pose, for a first attempt, like... :)

all of you seem to be regular readers :) im keen to not rabbit on about bodywork as it gets a bit repetitive for the readers, so I'm more than up to writing blogs about any particular aspect of 26s....anywhere on the loco just put a request or question in. mechanical or electrical questions which are 99% applicable to every other loco. @bcnPete @Halvarras @26power @figworthy @Rich Papper @young37215@Gordon A @chris p bacon@Robert Shrives @JDW@50A55B@stewartingram@41516@Western Star @Mikkel @Tim C@Northroader@37114@Michael Hodgson @figworthy

Well, I am going to have to disagree. You say that "I have moved rather too far from what most people think of as ‘railway modelling’ " A far as I am concerned you are are doing what I consider to be the most important aspect of railway modelling ; using models that you have made to illustrate the history and development of railways. The information available to you is sparse and I think the models you create as a practical realisation of that information are excellent. I try to do the same, but 60 years on I am working with a bit more information and some photographs. I have learned a lot from your blog, please continue.

Just round the corner is our first house, which being on a side-street is less grand - no attic rooms, bay window to ground floor only, and flat rather than arched porch lintels. As Kit says, late 19th / very early 20th century. Reading's terraced housing is very distinctive through its use of polychrome brickwork - making great use of a grey brick made locally, at Tilehurst. (Though from the place-name, I suppose bricks came second.) [From various Estate Agents' websites. The last one is Lynmouth Road, where we lived.] The same fancy brickwork can be seen in the town centre, if one raises one's gaze above the shop-fronts and the grey brick was used for Waterhouse's Town Hall: [Embedded link.] Newbury didn't have the 19th century industrialisation of Reading so much of its architecture is older - as Kit says, likely medieval or 16th/17th century buildings behind 18th century facades. I imagine Farthing to be more like that - unless there's some Farthing biscuit factory we've yet to hear of?

I made my own. I thought the Bachmann offering was a bit too small. As luck would have it, I found a bit of trunking rolling around outside the house left over from cable TV or fibre optic or whatever it is they dig up the roads for nowadays. I covered it with pound shop corrugated paper and made handrails from 20 thou micro strip. I'm not clever enough to make stairs so I had to use Plastruct. This cost me around a tenner but I've some bits left over for signal boxes. It was painted with a 50p remnant emulsion paint from 'Homebase' (other hardware shops available). Phil.

Thanks Matt. I like trying to find old railway spots and seeing how they look today - even if it can be depressing! Here is another way of doing that, which I recently came across on Youtube: Thanks Colin. It certainly made for a more interesting journey than a normal business trip! Even if I hadn't taken time off afterwards, going by train from Copenhagen to London was definitely worth it, and something I'd do again. It is more expensive than flying, but being able to work most of the way was a real benefit. Of course there may be delays and missed connections, but those factors aren't exactly unknown to flying either. We could switch for a while, Dave! I certainly wouldn't mind a year or two in Glasgow, which I rather like. Especially if your layout is part of the deal. The grass is always greener 🙂

Thank you Annie. It's been quite a while since I've done a proper international train journey. These days booking a train ticket out of Denmark is still complicated compared to flight tickets. Search the DSB website for connections from Copenhagen to London and all it comes up with is: No departures found. Luckily Deutsche Bahn have a much better website for international connections, so they get my custom. Thanks, yes it ended up being quite an experience - if all a bit whirlwind. I was shocked to see all the photos I'd taken. I don't get the opportunity often, so made the most of it. Including some shots of potential town buildings for the layouts. Here's an example from Newbury that I fancy - though not the easiest of subjects I think! Thank you, and yes sorry I meant Winchester bay, now corrected. Although IIRC some Westbury stopping trains also departed from that bay in later years. Here's a closer shot of the former bay, also showing the embankment wall and spear fencing.

Guess what - I've managed to nail it together so I'll mention it again! This purchased-on-a-whim Mazak Rot victim Bachmann Warship (D800) had a casting with broken ends, one broken bogie frame, wheels and frame missing at one end and a motor which seemed to have its own built-in variable speed control. I should have admitted defeat there and then but a challenge is a challenge, I had that spare Class 25 motor/flywheels and some Mainline Warship wheels and knew where I could get some cheap Bachmann Class 42 bogie frames, and once the imagination got to work on how to (possibly) rescue the situation imposed by my too-hasty purchase all of my other projects got sidetracked.......again. Ladies and Gentlemen........or is it now "Hello Everyone!".........I present.......um.......this contraption: This required some serious opening up of the Mainline underframe - I used the green D800 frame upside-down as a template. Spot the Triang-Hornby parts - the brass bosses are epoxied (is that a real word?) to the tops of the cast Bachmann gear towers, possible future weak spots but so far so good. The central casting seems to be sound enough, even if the remaining end extensions broke off with finger pressure, and so hard I gave up trying to drill holes in it (with a Bosch drill!) to take self-tapping screws through the underside, to secure the underframe. Instead I used a pair of T-H long brass bolts down through the diagonally opposite holes previously used by the Bachmann body securing screws in the opposite direction. The plasticard/Plastruct top assembly is self-evident. Although I strengthened this as much as internal clearances would allow it still bows slightly as the weight of the casting, motor, remaining flywheel and plastic underframe is supported on the T-H bogie pivots - the best I could do but next time I find a KS Metals stand I'll see if I can get some brass right-angle strip to bolster it. Because I didn't trust the casting not to fracture if I tried to force self-tappers into it I reused the two crosshead screws from the small circuit board at one end but had to find a close match from my screws box for the other two - and only had a pair of 'normals', so I marked which end takes which screw type - just being cautious. In retrospect the two plasticard rectangles at either end, drilled to take four body securing screws, were not necessary, but never mind. The Class 25 motor was a straight fit into the Class 42 bracket but the flywheels were closer to the motor, so the remaining driveshaft had to be stretched by 4.5mm - after pondering where I could find a suitable tube to effect the extension (cotton buds having paper stems these days) I found the answer located about 9 inches from my right ear, which is where the pen shown was lurking on a shelf! A tight push-fit, no glue or pins required - perfick! The second flywheel was not essential and added to the weight, so was quickly removed with a slitting disc in the Dremel. At this point the motor ran quietly one way but even more rattly in the other - I reckoned if I could stop the shaft moving longitudinally I might improve it.........so I tried cutting a pair of Peco 1/16th" fibre washers (R-8) into 'clip-on' C-shapes and pushed them into place between motor bearing and flywheel with tweezers and small screwdriver - result!! Quiet in both directions. Well that worked out better than I'd dared hope for. The right-hand bogie has no gearing in it so, being two-axle drive now, I fitted Mainline traction-tyred wheels to opposite corners of the driven end. This side of the chassis shows how I had to glue a piece of brass tube into the broken corner of the casting to take the T-H brass screw into the underframe. The two Bachmann bogie frames obtained as spares (from ekmexhibitions.co.uk) should have simply clicked onto the Bachmann bogie castings, but no way - and no sign of the dreaded Rot expansion either (perhaps that's why they were only a quid each). Much filing of both parts (and cussing) later I was nearly there.......and broke the inner end vertical piece off one of the frames trying to get it off. Darn it! A-ha - no gears in the trailing end meant that I could drill and tap this to take a screw through the underside - problem solved. But I then had to be careful not to break the other one as well. More filing, and once it was on the driven bogie I decided this one would have to stay on, which is why a central body securing screw at each end wouldn't work, hence the four screws in the corners. The inside of the body shows the drilled body securing 'ledge' supported by Miliput epoxy filler forced into the nose space, the more inset 'shelf' supporting the cab interior (control panel and seats) and upper part of the cab rear bulkhead glued to and ahead of the pins this would normally be located onto. This was the third attempt at getting the cab interiors in and the only way I could get the chassis to fit with sufficient clearance for bogie swing. And the finished article, looking just like any other Mainline D823 but running considerably more quietly - just like a Bachmann one in fact. Externally I've fitted etched plates (name and works plates from Modelmaster - yes, yes, I know, but they did come through.......eventually - and cabside crests origin uncertain as they're not included in the Modelmaster pack, but I've had these for years, they just required some spots of blue paint), scribed the cab side glazing internally to emphasize the vertical central frame, painted the windscreen centre pillars maroon and the wipers black. So, having described the work and being satisfied with the end result myself, would I recommend this to anyone with a Mazak Rot Warship sitting around in bits? Er...............no, I'm not convinced this amount of work and frequent exasperation was worth it, I certainly wouldn't bother again but I hope it at least made for an entertaining read!

I have really enjoyed the discussion thus far. A few of my Warships, later Bachy 42s...

It could be worse. Looks like a bad case of van Arial disease.

And looking again at the photos, Dad seemed completely undaunted by wagons with large amounts of lettering. I think he enjoyed the challenge, looking at E. D. Williams, Cribbwr Fawr, and Pwllbach - I'd be searching out wagons with less lettering, not more!

Thanks Rob. That was the original plan, but this particular model is pretty big so I decided that it would be a bit overpowering. It will be used on the streets of Farthing instead. Mike has modelled an early example of a Pantechnicon on a GWR wagon here: Here's an example from the competition that was discussed somewhere on here earlier: Caption: 9th October 1918: A lorry trailer belonging to James Schoolbred and Co of Tottenham Court Road, London is carried on a goods wagon at Nine Elms goods yard and rail depot. Source: Getty Images

This gives much weight to the theory that it's not so much the story, but the way that you tell it that counts. I've never really been that interested in horse drawn pantechnecons, but I was captivated by the whole thing. Talk of equine trade unions and of course the sad fate of Mrs X - clearly very personal feelings expressed there. And of course some excellent modelling, which we come to expect from you Mikkel. Congratulations! Geraint

Unwaxed dental floss springed to mind in respect of the reins, as it can be further split and coloured. I've yet to try it, but will be experimenting after a raid on the bathroom, as my delivery box cart also requires steering equipment. Thank you for another great blog entry Mikkel. Best, Bill

That's some damned impressive modeling! Not only most usefully illustrated, but also written in such a way as entertains as well as informs. Looking forward to the next instalment very much indeed.

Brilliant! I didn't catch onto your first hint. Now at the in-laws, via Copenhagen Central. Presents yesterday included a gift card which will be used for a Mapping Pen, with lining in mind.

I think this is c 1933. IIRC, the majority of the bricks were London yellows. The two shops are a coal merchant and a tobacconist.

An interesting comparison. Belpaire fireboxes didn't exactly help the visual balance on these types. Here's no. 722. The others I have have already been posted by Miss P.

Somewhat similar to the 717 class (I have a couple more photos of that class, if you're interested).

591 looks the same as 482 !!! (Edit: Although its tender is a longer one.)

This incarnation of 482 is I suspect far too modern for what Jim is looking for:

It has been discussed here On page 2 I explain why I prefer a blog. Of course it is entirely personal preference, but once a blog develops the structure seems to suit my way of recording and discussing my modelmaking activities. I do seem to get a few views and the comments and subsequent discussions are interesting. From my point of view having those discussions attached to a particular blog is useful, I can find references easily. As to the number of views I'm not too bothered, like minded modellers pop by when they can.

I keep coming back, looking at the full size pic of the Wm Hunt wagon and being astounded that it is hand painted. Your father had an exceptional talent there.

Hunt & Son is a super wagon. As you have observed rightly, the wagon has been written with care and excellence, the model stands equal to the best in the 7mm world. regards, Graham