Fat Controller Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Brian, there is no guarantee that dmus always displayed the correct destination. My favourite misleading one was on the front of a 116 whach was at Paddington for some reason displaying Ystrad Mynach with pride! Porthcawl is an interesting choice. I believe that the first regular working of a dmu to Porthcawl was on summer Saturdays in 1960 and formed by three 118s based at Newton Abbot but whether it was on the blinds is a Good Question! A most enjoyable thread, Sir! Chris EDIT: OMG, all those exclamation marks. I do not work and never have worked for Warners ... There had previously been a steam-hauled regular working from Taunton to Porthcawl, so it's possible that the DMMU was on a scheduled working, and might have had appropriate blinds. I'm enjoying this thread, as the 120s were the regular units for most passenger workings from Llanelli in the 1960s into the mid-1970s. I remember a trip to Tenby with my great-aunt in 1963 or thereabouts, when I was allowed to go to the buffet which was included in many (all?) sets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Thank ChrisF and FC, The Porthcawl blind is pushing my luck a bit, never seen a pic of one on the branch, but it's perfectly plausible. As many will know, the basic branch service was a push-pull to Pyle and Tondu, but as FC mentions there were plenty of through steam trains from the valleys, regular summer trains from Carmarthen and Swansea, plus others from further afield. I'm embarrassed to admit to being old enough to see a dirty steam puffer in the station, viewed from the top of the Big Dipper in the funfair. There were plenty of carriage sidings at Porthcawl, plus a very rare loco turning triangle, so i reckon the Cross-Country sets were probably roped in for weekend excursions, until closure in 1963. Frank Dyer of Borchester fame had the right idea about destination blinds, his two Kitmaster-based DMUs had working hexagonal roller blinds with six destinations each end, although it had seized up on one of the units during my tour of duty, i think you could also change the headcode numbers on his Craven unit. The 122 single unit ( W55019 ) was an odd one mixed in with three or four Class 121 for the Bridgend to Treherbert trains in the mid-60s. There was no Bridgend transfer on the sheet, so i used Tondu instead, they certainly passed through here, maybe they were parked up here, but i'd of thought they were out-based and fuelled at Treherbert? Just wait till we get on to my four Derby 116 units, we'll be needing more Swansea and Treherbert blinds, plus Barry/Bridgend, i bet they turned up at Porthcawl too! Cheers, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Brian, I've been ferreting since my earlier post. In the summer 1961 WTT the 6.5 pm Swansea - Porthcawl and 8.20 pm return Mondays to Fridays were booked a dmu and my bet is that it would be a Cross-Country set. What were you saying about pushing your luck? On Saturdays in summer 1961 the 12.20 pm Cardiff - Porthcawl and 2.0 pm back were booked to be dmu worked. I don't have a WTT for the main line but interestingly the Taunton train is shown in the public timetable to arrive at Cardiff at 12.21pm. This I think is the equivalent of today's charter minutes: it was booked to take almost half an hour from Newport to Cardiff, conveying the probably false impression that it did not run through to Porthcawl. In the 1962 summer WTT there is a 9.55 am Saturdays only Weston-super-Mare to Porthcawl which is not shown as a dmu. On Mondays t Fridays there is a 5.30 pm dmu Cardiff to Porthcawl and a 6.50 pm dmu Porthcawl to Newport which again I would guess is a Cross-Country set. As for 116s turning up at Porthcawl, there were often not enough in the Cardiff Valleys to cover all booked work. My bet would be on them originating at Newport on Sundays as there was virtually nothing for them to do in the Eastern and Western Valleys. This is not supported by the 1961 WTT though. I shall watch your 116 build with considerable interest. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 Hi again Chris, Thanks very much for looking that lot up, all very interesting. I looked in my Summer 1960 WR timetable and found the same 6am train arriving at Porthcawl just after 7am, the bucket-and-spade brigade certainly made an early start in those days. I agree, mostly likely a 119 or 120 by 1961/2, plenty of those units around on the main line at this time. Quite right about 116s being spare on sunday, including those used on the R&SB to Aberavon, which were sometimes 6-car. Perhaps some DMU excursions from the Rhondda to Porthcawl went this way, turning south at Cymmer to Maesteg and Tondu? I've finished one of the second batch 116s in early green, the other three are built, just require finishing and painting, the next will be a first batch with four lights in early green, will do pics. I used to think the third batch of Class 120s ( with the four character centre headcodes ) were purely West Country beasts, but now i've discovered they started life on the Birmingham to South Wales service, based at Tyseley. As many will know, this last batch of ten did not have buffet cars, which goes to show how catering provision was being scaled down even by 1961, perhaps they were mixed with older sets to run as 6-car trains with only one buffet? As i've mentioned above, a few buffets stayed in use until the 1970s, but most seem to have been abandoned quite early on, which is apparent from the many photos of green Cross-Country sets without "Buffet" slogans. Cheers, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Hi Everyone, Now the next stage involves using a Chocolate Fudge Cake from Waitrose. You eat and thoroughly enjoy the cake, having carefully removed the lovely band of 20 thou clear plastic that surrounds it. I can't remember the last time i bought a pack of clear plastic, why bother when you get loads of free stuff with packaging? You might get the odd dent or scratch, but most of it is perfectly re-useable, once you've thoroughly de-greased it and removed the last smear of chocolate. Beware of other cakes that may come with thinner less useful plastic. Next i dig out my friendly old guillotine, a small version that won't chop your hand off, and start slicing up the clear plastic into strips about 17mm wide. One large cake will do roughly five vehicles, i'm glazing three sets ( 9 vehicles ), so i need two cakes worth. Cutting into shorter strips with scissors, i like to use contact glue from a spray can, working quickly on one side at a time, before the glue goes stringy, having already cut the strips each time. Obviously i don't spray the glue straight on to the model, far too messy and dangerous, instead i squirt out a little at a time into the cap or a pot, this avoids waste. I just daub the glue between the windows with a stick or more likely my much-abused multi-purpose screwdriver, the sides having been already ground flat on the inside during construction. I've tried various pots and tubes of glues, but an awful lot can be wasted through shelf life, you end up with a solid lump once the air gets in, the advantage of the spray can is that it all stays fresh. The trickiest job here is doing the cab windows, soldered handrails create bumps and blobs, so the windows have to be tailored to fit. Free glazing, plus a bit of glue, watch out for any stray strings of glue. Cheers, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 That must be such an arduous chore, Brian ... eating two chocolate cakes, I mean, not doing the glazing (although that also can be a bit of a trial at times!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Hi Everyone, After what seems like ages, i finally managed to get around to finishing off my three Cross-Country sets, after being distracted by other jobs, apologies to anyone who was following this thread. At last i had glazed all nine vehicles and then came a few fiddly tasks like end piping under the cabs, windscreen wipers and window stickers for first-class and no smoking, Here's the earlier 120 in lighter green with curtains painted mustard in first and light grey in second, by contrast the Gloucester 119 has poppy red curtains in first and no curtains at all in second, they had to make do with blinds. Maybe the underframes could do with some weathering, i can't decide whether to paint the windscreen wipers grey, silver, black or just leave them as they are? Cheers, Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Here are a few more of the early unit, these show the other side and the cab fronts. BK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted November 29, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 29, 2012 Wonderful stuff Brian! Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Hear hear. Looking very nice indeed. Are the curtains MJT? The whitemetal ones add considerable weight to a model..... Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwales Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Hi Wonderful models of my favorite unit, well done, just one query, If someone were to do another would the Replica motorised chassis be an option for motorising or is it the wrong length? Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Hi Wonderful models of my favorite unit, well done, just one query, If someone were to do another would the Replica motorised chassis be an option for motorising or is it the wrong length? Ian The Replica chassis, in it's longer variant, would be fine; just wondering about a DC Kits one with the Replica chassis. Headlights fitted, and an opening guard's door, so you can see the sheep's leg sticking out under the mailbags... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phil Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Absolutely top notch stuff Brian, and thanks very much for sharing your build with us. These units did travel through my chosen area in the early 1960s so I will need to refer back to your splendid work next year when I am back into my modelling. Thanks again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Hi Wonderful models of my favorite unit, well done, just one query, If someone were to do another would the Replica motorised chassis be an option for motorising or is it the wrong length? Ian The Replica chassis is a good option and I will be using this one on my Trans - Pennine. The newer Hornby class 122 can be picked up quite cheap in some liveries and would also suit. I'm using one of these on my 128 but haven't had it running yet so can't comment on that side. The Hornby one now has an 8 pin DCC socket too. Cheers. Sean. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Thanks Everybody, I'm not a fan of the Replica motorized chassis, for the simple reason that you can't put any seats in, although it would be o.k. for a parcels unit of course. Here are a couple of pics of the later Class 120, with a slightly darker shade of green and white domes. Curtains and seats are the same spec as the early unit, plus this one has yellow painted bearing caps and driver's cab steps, which the early ones didn't have originally (honest), the crews had to climb up on the springs. One of my favourite tricks is to paint the cabs in differing styles, which some people hate me doing, but i like because it adds variety depending on whim, mood or period (not that kind of period), plus it saves having to build too many tricky kits. Crikey, some paint have chipped off that right-hand handrail. BTW, curtains are courtesy of Humbrol ! BK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Here's cousin Gloucester, now also just about finished. These 119 units originally had poppy red curtains in 1st class, but no curtains in 2nd class (unlike the Swindons), instead they had pull-down sun blinds, which i haven't bothered to model, they end up looking like masking tape i've forgotten to remove. Seating in 1st class was a rusty red similar to the curtains, 2nd class had grey seats, although i might make them lighter in future, since they aren't that obvious to the eye. The seating layout is the same in both classes, but apart from the cabs, there are detail differences to spot, like different side window frames, seats, bogies, solebars and underframe equipment, plus for some reason the 119 buffet rear door window is opaque white, whereas the Swindon is frosted. Another point, i didn't emblazon the "Buffet" slogan everywhere, only on half of the sides, to reflect that a lot of the buffets became disused quite early on. That's your lot folks. Perhaps some Derby 116s next? Cheers, Brian. Kissing cousins, 120 left, 119 right. Hello, he's been sticking those funny office staples on the couplings again. Finally two overviews, so you can see the main variations and the different shades of green. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted November 30, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 30, 2012 I need a 120 and 119 but I will be going the DC route. 116, got one under construction at the moment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted December 2, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 2, 2012 Many thanks Brian for this tour de force! Am now hoping that the usual modelling rules apply and that in the next round of releases one of the manufacturers will offer at least 1 of these iconic units so that the rest of us mere mortals can run something that at least approaches these master works Kind regards Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted December 2, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 2, 2012 When you were making them I thought the fronts didn't look quite right, I am glad that painted they look right. I think it was the sharp etched joins, now made round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Good stuff brian What's next? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted December 2, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 2, 2012 excellent work brian lovely to see them finished and painted, after seeing how much research and work has gone into them - especially since you had more than one on the go at the same time! all the best with your next project Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Hear hear. Looking very nice indeed. Are the curtains MJT? The whitemetal ones add considerable weight to a model..... Cheers. Sean. Now that's good news as I have one pack and need 3 more before i start construction on my 4TC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Thanks again, I had started the 119 ages ago and had the two Swindon 120 kits lying around unmade for far too long, one advantage of posting it as a build project, is that it tends to propel the work along, since people are hopefully watching progress. Checking the multitude of detail differences, is a good excuse for fathoming out the class history. I've got a variety of DMU projects to press on with, it's high time some more were completed, i think top priority is three more Derby 116 units, so i'll start a new thread in a day or two. In the best tradition of Blue Peter, here's one i made earlier. Cheers, Brian. Even more shades of DMU green ! Bit of finishing off still to do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 just caught up with this thread, excellent work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted December 18, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 18, 2012 How did you do your 116? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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