Jump to content
 

Gingerbread

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    365

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Gingerbread

  1. Gingerbread

    Saddle tank (Part 2)

    By Gingerbread,

    Unfortunately progress has been rather slow, so there's not a lot to show in this update. I blame the recent cold weather - it didn't seem like a good idea to attempt such delicate work with frozen fingers...
     
    The chassis is now soldered together - not a difficult job, with the jig holding everything together.

     
    The insertion of worm and motor shaft into the gearbox looks somewhat unclear - the motor shaft is 1mm diameter, the inside diameter of the worm is 1.5mm diameter, and the motor shaft isn't long enough to reach the far side of the gearbox. My understanding of the solution is to use Nigel Lawton 1.0mm -> 1.5mm adaptor on the motor shaft, plus a stub axle of 1.5mm axle steel. A rough sketch of the scheme is shown below:

     
    Closer examination confirms my fears that the gears and muffs aren't compatible. This arose mainly from the "Out of Stock" situation with my originally selected gears (64DP), and substituting Metric O4 gears meant the selected muffs needed changing too, which somehow got lost in communications. So another order will shortly be sent to shop 3, and I also need to check if the 10.5mm wheels are now available for the 517, and see what else I should add to the order (maybe the Quartering Tool?).
     
    I had hoped to obtain some copper and steel paint to improve the appearance of the body, but couldn't find any on my recent trip to Watford Finescale Exhibition. Similarly I hoped for some mahogany paint for the coach bolections/droplights, but will have to continue experimenting with various alternatives.
     
    However, I did obtain the Dean Sidings body kit for the 517.

     
    I have made a start on the next project - the jig has been built and the bushes soldered into the side frames.

     
    Checking the body against the frames raises a problem - the frames are about 2mm too long to fit.
     
    The 517 body is too small for the Dapol chassis (necessitating some radical surgery to the Dapol chassis), and the Dapol body is reported to be rather small for the Association chassis (potentially too cramped for the Faulhaber motor which is widely preferred by members) - adding the two together suggests 517 body too small for Association chassis...
     
    One option would be to cut off the resin buffer beams from the body, and rely instead on the etched buffer beams from the chassis kit.
     
    The Association chassis kit is designed for motor in cab, which I would prefer to avoid if possible, so I intend trying to fit a 6mm Nigel Lawton micro-motor into the boiler.
     
    Main problem with the 517 body kit is the lack of any gap in the tanks for doorway into the cab. Understandable that cutting such a hole would substantially weaken the kit with a half-cab loco (and expose the motor in the cab to view), but I think it needs to be done.
     
    Having reviewed the articles in issues 74 and 75 of the GWR Journal, I think that I can "sort of" justify the 517 in my area based on the allocation of four to Wellington in 1914. I think they mainly worked on the Much Wenlock branch, but I know they occasionally worked to Crewe in later years.
     
    Studying the accompanying range of pictures suggests that the Belpaire firebox on the kit needs backdating to a round-topped one, and probably there should be a spectacle plate at the rear. However, the 517s did vary substantially between individuals, and changed over the years, so there are plenty of alternatives available.
     
    David
  2. Gingerbread

    Saddle tank (Part 1)

    By Gingerbread,

    A little more progress on providing some motive power. Some time ago I bought the Dean Sidings resin body for a 1701 saddle tank, which is intended to fit on the Farish 57xx pannier chassis. There was already a kit available from the 2mm Association to convert that chassis to 2mm standards, but it had a poor reputation. There was an etched chassis replacement intended for release "sometime soon", so I decided to build the body and procrastinate until the chassis kit arrived.
     

     
    The 1702 body kit was straightforward to assemble. As I recall there only a few minor problems -
    the instructions specified wrong drill size for one of the holes
    toolbox is too large to fit comfortably between the footplate and tanks
     
    I have left off a few of the final fittings - eg steps - until I can see how well the body fits onto the etched underframe. It's probably going to be too light - there's a couple of whitemetal weights to insert into the tanks, but I intend to add as much lead as possible to increase the weight.
     

     
    Unfortunately the paint job was poor, even by my modest standards, so it has subsequently been stripped and repainted, with some improvement in quality. Initially I have left the handrails as bare brass wire, as the ones in photograph I was using as reference appeared to be brass (it was a photograph of a model, but I have yet to find a colour photograph of GWR tank loco in pre 1910 livery). Subsequent photographs, also of models (probably including the same model from a different angle) suggested they were painted - green along the side, not sure about the front but I assume black. For the present I am invoking rule 1 that they look much nicer to me in brass, but I would like to find the correct scheme and attempt to follow it. Perhaps another argument in favour of getting a copy of Great Western Way, as none of the references I have consulted seem to cover this point.
     
    I am a little mystified by the provided fireman - his shovel bears little resemblance to the usual GWR shape and his stance looks more suited to paddling a dragon boat (Chinese Year of the Dragon?).
     
    The long-awaited Association etches were released about three weeks ago, so a cheque was dispatched to Shop 3, an exchange of emails followed to resolve problems with some of the out-of-stock items, and most of the ordered items arrived shortly afterwards.
     

     
    On the right is the 57xx pannier kit, which is the one to be used here. In the middle is the optional "advanced" version, which puts the motor in the boiler and leaves the cab free - I am going to try this, as the cab is going to be open, and it would be useful not to fill it with a motor. On the left is the etch for the 14xx chassis - to be used in conjunction with another Dean Sidings body for a '517 locomotive, but unfortunately that size of wheels is currently out of stock.
     
    First problem is that the provided parts list was rather too vague for the newcomer at which these kits are aimed.
     
    For example - "Association frame PCB spacer" - but is it the 3-156 which is 6.4mm wide or the 3-157 which is 7.0mm wide (in fact it's the 3-157). Or "2xgear muffs" - but which ones of the four types on offer (the answer depends on which gear option you chose, imperial or metric, among other things...)
     
    There's a rather neat jig which folds up ready to hold the frames in place for soldering. Unfortunately I understand that 3 of the new etches have jigs that don't quite line up right, and have been withdrawn pending the production of replacement jigs, but the 57xx one looks fine.
     
    Feeling bold/foolhardy I then chose to use the advanced frames, so I cut them out of the optional "extra" etch, then tried to fit the frame bushes. Rather too tight to fit, and the holes were much too big for my cutting broaches, but careful use of a small circular file seems to have opened them up correctly. Bushes soldered in place, then the gearbox folded up. Instructions don't make it clear whether the top goes inside or outside, but accompanying photos suggested outside and that seemed to fit slightly better than inside, so that's what I did.
     
    Next step is to gap the PCB spacer, and cut off pieces to solder in the appropriate places. Photograph below illustrates this stage.
     

     
    I can foresee some interesting questions about the assembly of the gearbox, on which the instructions don't seem very forthcoming. So far as I can see:
    1 The shaft on the recommended motor (the new Association flat can) is 1.0 mm in diameter, but the bearings and worm are 1.5 mm in diameter. Adaptors ordered from Nigel Lawton to handle this, but need to work out how to fix the various parts together.
    2 The worm gear is about twice the length of the gearbox - apparently it is plastic, and should be easy to cut.
    3 The motor shaft is rather shorter than the gearbox, so doesn't appear to reach the bearing at the far end (and there's also the diameter issue from 1 above). If I read the instructions right, the solution is to make a short 1.5mm stub axle (from the various bits of axle steel that I bought to use as alignment aids), and insert it into the worm form the end opposite to the motor (ie from the cab).
     
    David
  3. Gingerbread
    I recently stumbled across an interesting article covering old Toads. It was written by John Lewis, apparently published in January 1983 in a publication called "Scale Trains" (which I don't recognise), and formed the first part of a five-part series. A couple of copies of these articles are available in the files section of the Yahoo GWR-elist, in different formats. It provides some useful background information for the one I modelled, so I thought it worthwhile to summarise that here.
     
    The type of Toad which I modelled is referred to by John Lewis as the 1882 type.
     
    The earliest type covered is the 1871 type, which was of the same general design (wooden outside frames for the body), but with wooden underframe and only 15'6" long with 9' wheelbase. Axleboxes were grease, and brakes were of wagon type, with four wooden blocks. Initially they had no roofs to the verandahs, but roofs appear to have been added to some of them between 1880 and 1885. Various heights were recorded in the register, between 5'6" and 8', but it's not clear whether this represents variation in construction or just in method of measuring (inside/outside, including/excluding solebar, etc).
     
    About 300 appear to have been built, and typically they lasted until about 1900. Photographs are rare.
     
    Next comes the 1874 type, where dimensions increased to the same as my model - namely 18' long, 11'6" wheelbase. In other respects they seem to have been like the 1871 type - wooden underframe, grease axleboxes, initially no roof to the verandah, and probably wooden brake shoes, though some roofs fitted later, and later vans built from new with verandah roofs and probably with iron brake shoes.
     
    About 220 were built, generally withdrawn over period 1890-1914, though one lasted until 1922, one found its way to the Kent and East Sussex Railway (via Shropshire and Montgomery?), one to London & India Dock Co, one to Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway.
     
    The 1882 version switched to iron underframe - initially 9" bulb angle, later 9"x3" channel. Whereas the earlier versions appear to have retained grease axleboxes, most of these appear to have switched to oil around 1900.
     
    Just under 400 were built, over the period 1882-7, and generally lasted until the 1920s and 1930s.
     
    An unknown number were upgraded and given the diagram number AA16 around 1915-22, which involved switching to self-contained buffers and/or clasp brakes. These generally lasted until the 1930s, with one lasting to 1950.
     
    Some were converted to tools vans for the Signals Department, 13 such examples are listed, typically converted in the 1920s and lasting until the 1930s, with the last one condemned in 1946.
     
    Though not specifically mentioned in the text, photographs suggest that the AA16 and Engineers' versions had extra handrails, and the handrails changed from grey to white - not clear if these changes were specific to those versions or were general by the later date. I think Richard Brummitt suggested earlier that the handrails became white around WWI.
     
    I was impressed by Missy's model of a toad (of the more modern variety) at St Albans recently - complete with hollow chimney. My earlier variant appears to have had a conical cap (presumably to keep out the rain?), so I'm not convinced that a hollow chimney would be justified for me.
     
    Currently the main challenge is that I think my toads should be branded "Wellington", which seems rather a long name to squeeze into the space available - not that it's likely to be very legible at that size, specially in an italic script. Perhaps I could justify using "Crewe" or "Oxley" instead.
     
    Unfortunately only one picture in this blog entry - the quality of the pictures in the copy of the article is poor, and their copyright status isn't clear. And there's not enough progress on my models to justify a new photo - but I included one anyway, mostly to show the initial stage of my next project, an S9 4-wheel third coach from Worsley Works on a David Eveleigh underframe.
     

     
    I blame Mikkel's recent blog post for inspiring me to tackle this one from my pile of outstanding kits.
     
    But I don't think but his painting techniques are going to work on this particular model as the cream areas appear to be too small to "flood fill", so I'm trying the "start with cream upper works and add chocolate lines" approach, with limited success. There's a couple of brake thirds with much larger areas of cream which look promising for a trial sometime later...
     
     
    David
  4. Gingerbread
    A couple of months ago I ventured out for a weekend's research, visiting Didcot (for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Great Western Society) and STEAM (20th anniversary of the closure of Swindon Works).
     
    I returned with lots of photos, and I include below a few that are relevant to my layout (and a few that aren't, but seemed worth including anyway).
     

     
    I haven't yet established when 4 or 6 wheel coaches were replaced by bogie coaches in my area, but this one is from the right period (about 1890) and the livery is right, as far as I can tell. I have a set of 4-wheel coaches, and a selection of Dean clerestory bogie coaches, waiting their turn in the construction queue. The locomotive is deliberately excluded - although it was also from the right period, it was an 0-4-0 dock shunter, not suitable for the planned layout, and the bunker capacity must have been tiny, it seemed to need refuelling rather too often to be effective.
     
    Just visible in the background is part of 93 - the recently rebuilt steam railcar. Almost the right period for me, but unfortunately none ran in my area. The North Staffs Railway had three steam railcars which ran about half way along the line from Stoke to Market Drayton, but I don't think they ever actually appeared at Drayton.
     

     
    An interior view - not actually the same coach, but it gives a general idea of the colour scheme and furniture in the compartments.
     

     
    These are also rather attractive, but about 50 years too early for me. There would be a problem with the track too.
    Replicas of broad gauge Firefly and a second class coach - originals built in the 1840s, replicas about 20 years ago.
     

     
    I need a set of bogies like these for a Siphon F (I don't think it actually ran through my area, but it's just within my time period, and I have a part built kit).
     

     
    I will use this as a justification for some of my less successful paint jobs! Definitely suitable for my layout - one of the ubiquitous Iron Minks.
     

     
    Another one for the layout - a Y2 fruit van dating from about 1890, and there were many of these passing through on their way north from Worcester and back again. However, I'm not convinced by the brake gear - the DC variety shown here (short lever on the extreme right) wasn't introduced until 1904 or thereabouts, and I have photos from 1890 and 1923 both showing a more conventional lever system, with a somewhat shorter than normal lever positioned centrally.
     

     
    Tankers like this ran through, carrying creosote from Manchester to the Sleeper Plant at Hayes.
     

     
    Details of the interior of the verandah of a Toad (brake van for those who aren't familiar with the GWR terminology). The first of mine is about half-built at present, so this will provide an excuse to procrastinate further, as I work out how to reproduce the brake handle.
     

     
    Unfortunately subsequent research suggests this is probably a bit too modern - benches would be of a rather heavier plain wooden style in my period, I think.
     

     
    An interesting lineup - the HST on the right was a temporary visitor, receiving the name "Great Western Society" at a ceremony around midday. The only one I could justify is the Mogul (though not in that ROD khaki colour scheme), but following the realignment of the Ixion-Dapol partnership the production of Ixion's N gauge Mogul must be in doubt.
     

     
    Another "must-have" for my layout - the Dean Goods locomotive. However, I think I would want a bit more elbow-grease on the boiler, at least in my era.
     
    David
  5. Gingerbread
    The smooth progress of the earlier sessions came to an end here - nothing monumental, just a string of things that didn't quite go right. Some have been re-worked to my satisfaction, some still need a bit more effort to fix (or work around). Mostly a problem with my limited soldering skills, abetted by lack of alignment aids in the latter part of the build.
     
    Anyway, back to the main story.
     
    Next I tackled the various ends to the body, and their overlays. The outer part of the verandah is fairly easy to locate, with a couple of alignment holes in the attached tabs (optional use of top-hat bearings here), though the outer layers are very flimsy and need to be treated with care. The inside end of the verandah has only one overlay, and this needs a bit of filing of the lower edge, otherwise it sits too high after folding up the main layer. The non-verandah end is also lacking in any alignment aids, but seems to go together fairly well with a bit of care.
     

     
    Attaching the non-verandah end of the body to the underframe should be easy, with a couple of aligment holes available if needed. It was at this point that I started to struggle - soldering took several attempt (my suspicion, looking back on it, is that I needed to apply more heat, as I was working with rather larger chunks of metal to solder together than previously), but eventually it was fixed, and correctly placed. Similar problems were encountered with the verandah end - it's difficult to find a way to clip the pieces together here, and there is no easy alignment aid. After several attempts I finally soldered it firmly in place, only to discover that it wasn't quite centrally positioned - it's firm against the end, but slightly to one side.
     

     
    It's also fairly challenging to solder the sides onto the ends - there's no obvious way to clip the two parts together while soldering. The corners seem to have aligned fairly well, and solderered reasonably neatly, though I don't think the inner end of the verandah has soldered properly, so I will revisit that later.
     
    The sides appear slightly high, leaving a thin layer of daylight visible between body and underframe. I think the alignment with the ends is correct, and the ends appear firmly seated to the underframe, so I suspect that I should have located the outer solebars slightly higher to avoid the gap. This suggests a radical rethink of the order of construction - perhaps complete the body parts first, solder them to the underframe while it is flat, then bend up the underframe and attach the outer solebars later so they can be adjusted to fit against the body..
     
    Minor problem with the buffers - the holes in the buffer beams, even after reaming out , weren't really large enough to take my preferred buffers, or more accurately there wasn't enough room because of solebars/floor to thread the buffers through and still keep them straight. So I cut the buffers off short, just long enough to go through the buffer beam, and soldered them like that. One is slightly crooked, so I need to straighten that.
     
    I suspect that the best method to attach the handrail would be to drill the van sides, insert loco handrail holders, and thread the handrail through them. However, the outside framing of the van means that soldering the wire direct to the outside frames leaves it standing well clear of most of the sides, giving a 3-d effect with much less effort and skill required, so I chose the easy way. It took a few attempts to position the vertical sections correctly, and I've not split the wire at the doors (maybe later, but it looks good enough for now).
     
    I usually attach my DG couplings by soldering, but after my earlier problems, and without the usual fold-up box to form a base for the couplings I weakened and glued a couple of strips of styrene to the underframe and glued the couplings to that. Perhaps I should probably have attached them earlier, when there was better access to clip them in place, but I was reluctant to add styrene until the soldering was finished.
     
    The chimney hole in the roof is wrongly positioned for the example I am attempting to follow -it is positioned in the middle of the whole length, whereas both photographs and drawing show it in the centre of the enclosed section - so I drilled a new hole in the right place.
     
    This is what it looks like at the current stage - needs a bit of tidying up, adding the brake standard and chimney (and filling the old chimney hole), then painting, transfers, and weathering. That will take a while (particularly the transfers), so this part of the thread will lie dormant for a while. Note that the roof is still loose at this point, and probably crooked in the photos - I intend to fix it in place after I have installed the brake standard to the verandah.
     

     
    In the meantime, the next picture also includes some mostly-completed cattle wagons, which I intend to cover in the next post to the blog.
     

     
    David
  6. Gingerbread
    Although it's not obvious from the product list, the 2mm Association kits provide a good start for building GWR cattle wagons - known as MEX (or should that be MEXes?) for identification purposes.

     
    The Association body kit 2-561 is intended for a BR cattle wagon (Diag 1/353) which is very similar to the late GWR cattle wagons of diagram W12. By substituting the Association 2-363 underframe (11'6" DC) for the recommended 2-352 underframe, you can easily build the GWR W8 diagram of 1913 (the underframe kit helpfully includes replacement doors, providing the earlier style of lower horizontal planks, rather than higher vertical ones).
     
    However, I wanted something earlier, so a slightly more radical piece of kit-bashing was required. The following are candidates for my period (1900-1910):
    W1, size=large, 1200+ built from 1888 to 1904
    W2, size=medium, 300+ built from 1878 to 1982 (outside-framed)
    W3, size=small, 99 built in 1888
    W5, size=large (but convertible), 575 built 1902-1911
     
    Briefly summarising the later versions, all of which are similar size to W5:
    W8, 700 built 1913-1927
    W10/W11 300+ built 1923-1928, as W8 but with Morton either-side brakes (ie as BR cattle wagon with GWR doors)
    W12 200+ built 1929-1933, as BR cattle wagon
     
    For the purpose of completeness, I should also mention W4, which was the "special" or "pedigree" cattle wagon, fitted to run in passenger trains. Of similar size to the W1 or W5 large cattle wagons, it had louvres at the top instead of open space, and no external bracing on the sides. Vacuum brake gear was similar to fruit and meat vans, and similarly it ran on passenger wheels (3'6" solid instead of 3' spoked ). About 50 were built, from 1888 to 1898. Later versions were larger (about 26 ft long), with a cattle compartment each end and a central attendants' compartment, and formed diagrams W6, W7, W13 and W14, about 50 in total being built.
     
    And finally the missing W9 was for two cattle wagons for the Vale of Rheidol railway.
     
    As cattle traffic moved form rail to road, various cattle wagons became surplus to requirements, and were converted to carry fruit or ale in 1939.
     
    Based on numbers built, and assuming my train is of six wagons, it should probably be something like 4 x W1, 1 x W2, 1 x W5. I haven't yet obtained or built a W2, but will be building a W3 instead.
     
    Simplest to produce in 2mm scale is actually the W5, which is largely similar to the W8. So I started with the 2-561 body and 2-363 underframe, cut out the upper part of the doors and substituted the etched ones from the underframe kit. So far this follows the W8 conversion.
     

     
    Next came the more challenging parts - the ends require X-shaped flat cross-bracing, instead of L or T-shaped diagonal supports. Perhaps the ends from the early mink body (2-525) could be used instead - but the body is solid, so that would require a lot of cutting and filing.
     
    So I carefully filed off the diagonals from the 2-561 body, (re-)scored planks then added some thin strips of styrene to simulate the cross-bracing. These thin strips are actually square in cross-section, rather than flat bars, so need a little gentle flattening when soft while they are being added. Meanwhile care must be taken to try to avoid leaving various distortions (such as fingerprints) in the softened surface of the ends.
     
    The other significant difference is that the roof is much flatter, so I filed the ends lower/flatter, and decided to discard the plastic roof and replace it with an etched one from 2-336 (actually designed for LMS, but I think they are acceptable for GWR).
     
    Brake gear had various options, DC1 or DC2, with or without vacuum, 8-shoe clasp or 2/4 shoe wagon block style. The one I have built is DC1 with two shoe wagon brakes - which means I should probably snip off the tiebars (which were fitted only to those with vacuum brakes, i.e. DC2).
     
    Two things probably worth mentioning here -
    1)From the prototype perspective, this (W5) saw the introduction of the Wright-Marillier locking device which allowed the partitions in the van to be moved - so that the space available could be approximately 18' (large), 15' (medium) or 13' (small) in length. Thus small and medium wagons were no longer needed, and no more were built.
    2) From the model perspective, fitting DC brake levers is painfully difficult - the holes in the etched levers are too small for wire to pass through, and too small for any broach I had at the time to pass through. And furthermore there isn't really enough spare metal around the hole to allow it to be safely opened out. The best two suggestions to date are:
    i) Use the smallest available broach - nominally 0.4mm, from the 0.4mm to 1.4mm set, instead of the 0.6mm I had at the time (Noel Leaver)
    ii) Chop off the end with a hole, and solder the remaining lever direct to the frame (Richard Brummitt)
    Fortunately there are plenty of spare levers provided (4 on each GWR DC etch, of which two are needed).
     

     
    The W1 conversion is similar, but the design predates the introduction of DC brake gear, so there are two plausible options:
    1) Use the same underframe style as W5, on the basis that many of the W1 cattle wagons were later updated to DC brake gear (and often fitted with vacuum brakes)
    2) Use the intended 2-352 underframe (plus doors from 2-363) to build conventional brakes, with single sided lever.
    I intend to have some of each, but primarily in the "old" version with non-DC brakes, as these should probably be the more common in this period.
     

     
    W2 should be available as an etch from Stuart Bailey - I've not acquired any yet, so they aren't covered here.
     
    Most interesting is the W3 version - although rare, I think I can justify one as an attractive alternative to the W1/W5 large cattle wagons (and not much more work).
     
    For the 8'6" wheelbase underframe I chose the RCH chassis number 2-326, which needs a little filing off the ends to shorten it to 14 ft length. Unfortunately there isn't really enough space available to shorten it, without weakening the fold-down support for DG couplings, so I decided on an additional change - I soldered a single layer of brass etch to the underframe for the headstock, and filed the headstock off the plastic ends - thus reducing length by about a mm each end. For the ends of the body I used the BR cattle wagon kit, with similar filing and rebuilding to obtain cross-bracing.
     

     
    The sides came from the 1907 RCH 7-plank wagon (2-552), but these needed shortening from 16 ft to 14 ft, by taking about 2mm from each end - which unfortunately meant that the diagonals on the sides no longer run quite to the corners. I cut out the top part of the doors, and glued in replacement doors from another DC underframe etch. Floor was scratchbuilt from styrene - probably as quick to scratchbuild as to shorten either of the existing kit floors.
     

     
    As is usual with my models at this point, they are "mostly complete" - meaning that roof/body/underframe haven't yet been attached (and need some fettling to fit properly), and though most are painted, the lettering and weathering are still to be done. In particular, the W3 needs some styrene strips added to the sides to represent the various vertical and horizontal framing missing from the upper half. At this point, the horizontal bars are missing from all of them - I have my doubts whether these would be visible at normal viewing range, so I may leave it off. I suspect that to the correct scale they would be about half the diameter of the smallest readily available wire (i.e. about 0.15mm).
     
    In defence of my cavalier cannibalisation of 2-363 underframe etches for the replacement doors, I have identified alternative uses for the rest of these kits. Unfortunately there appear to be no other suitable GWR designs using the 11'6" wheelbase (a failure of Churchward's standardisation policies?). Possibly the Serpents might fit (almost), but the only one that's correct wheelbase is the G8, which dates from about 1870 and had wooden underframes, and only about 20 built, whilst G21 which had DC brakes, albeit on 11 ft wheelbase, was a bit late (1907 to 1913), with only about 30 built. G9 remains a possibility, 11 ft wheelbase and conventional brakes, with about 70 built. But all these have a couple of significant problems - the floor needs lowering, except at the ends, and in most cases the sides (which are about 6 inches high) need some holes drilled in them.
     
    There were numerous North Staffordshire Railway wagons using an 11' to 12' wheelbase and 18' to 19' overall length - not only the obvious cattle wagons, but 2 and 3-plank open wagons. I intend to build some of these later, converting the underframes back to conventional brakes.
     
    Livery and Lettering - I intend the W5 to be grey with 25" lettering, whilst the W1/W3 (and W2 if/when I add it) to be (mostly) GWR red with 5" lettering - possibly cast plates for one or two of the W1s. Not forgetting the liberal application of lime wash, which would probably be seen dribbling down the outside (this stopped around the mid-1920s, when it was banned for potential damage to cattle's hooves).
     
    David
     
    PS Apologies for quality of photos - I will use lack of sunshine as today's excuse.
  7. Gingerbread
    Returning to the previous instalment, there's something worth mentioning (in case you've not read the comments):
    Normal practice is for 90 degree bends to be bent towards the half-etch, but 180 degree bends to be bent away from the half-etch. In this kit, the V-hangers are bent 180 degrees towards the half-etch, thus passing inside the solebar, rather than outside it.
     
    After fitting the brake gear, the next step that I tackled was the solebars.
     
    I cut out the four plain solebars, leaving the half-etched outer solebars for now, cleaned them up, and reamed out the holes to fit fairly loosely over the top-hat bearings. I snipped off the four small steps from two of the solebars, then carefully put them on one side for use later (only two of them will be needed, the other two will probably escape to the floor anyway...).
     
    I tinned both sides of each solebar, and the corresponding sides of the underframe, then reamed out the holes again, as some of the solder had run into them.
     

     
    Holding one pair of solebars firmly against the side of the underframe, with the top-hat bearings through the holes, I ran some solder paint along the joins near the point where they are held together, then applied a hot soldering iron. Not having the recommended asbestos fingers, I generally use a spring loaded pair of tweezers to hold them together - alternatively some small bulldog clips, and I've also seen ladies' hairclips suggested. This was repeated until the entire length is firmly fixed.
     

     
    Alternatively you can attach the solebars one at a time - each is easier and quicker, but you need to do twice as many, which is probably a nett loss.
     
    The final (half-etched) solebars need much more care:
    1) There's no longer any alignment aid from the top-hat bearings, so you will need to position and hold them yourself manually.
    2) There are two rows of small tabs - to hold up the steps (two tabs) and the running board (five tabs). You need to be careful not to cut off these tabs when cutting from the etch, or cleaning up afterwards, then to fold them up at some point (so make sure you don't solder them in place now...)
    3) There's a "right" and a "wrong" way round, which isn't immediately obvious - the end with the two tabs for the steps corresponds to the verandah, and the two holes at underframe end are guides to the non-verandah end of the body, so you want the step tab end of the solebar at the non-two-hole end of the underframe.
     
    The basic process is the same - tin the surfaces, hold them together, add solder paint/flux, apply soldering iron, apart from the much-increased difficulty of holding it in the right place.
     
    Then I bent up the lower tabs, and soldered the footboard in place. With my first toad I also solded the steps in place, but for the second one I am leaving the steps until later, so that they align correctly with the verandah door - i.e. after the verandah sides are in place.
     

     
    Next I tackled the sides of the body.
     

     
    I cut out the block of six pieces - two main sides, two inner overlays and two outer overlays. There are large tabs attached with holes for alignment - first time through I used a couple of top-hat bearings in through the holes to ensure correct alignment, second time I omitted this and merely checked by eye. Alternatively wire or drill shafts through the holes have been suggested by others in similar cases.
     

     
    After tinning all relevant surfaces, I folded up inner overlays onto the main sides, and soldered them in place - initially just with a few small tacks. Following the example of the photograph I am using for reference, I wanted to add the frame (at the opposite end to the verandah), which according to RWA was used for diagramming letters. Two alternatives are available - three-sided which appears better size, but very flimsy, and four sided which appears a little too large. I used three sided on the first model, four-sided on the second. So after soldering the inner side in place I carefully positioned these tiny frames onto the sides, added tiny dabs of solder paste, applied the soldering iron, and they stayed in place (none lost to the carpet - no doubt if there had been no spares available, one or two would have escaped).
     
    I folded over the outer overlays, and tacked them in place. Then I snipped off the alignment tabs, and proceeded to run along all the edges and most of the interior bars, soldering the sides more firmly together.
     

     
    If you don't intend to fit the small frames, it's probably better to fold over all three levels and solder them together in one run.
  8. Gingerbread
    This covers the start of planning and building a Toad (GWR Brake Van) for the layout. Not one of the usual Toads (from Association kits), which come in 20 and 24 feet lengths, with four or six wheels and a capacity of 16 to 25 tons, but the earlier outside-framed variant with a length of 18 feet and capacity of 10 tons.
     

     
    This is one I did earlier - not finished yet (missing buffers, couplings, handrail, and with the roof still loose), and flawed by a couple of mistakes in the construction process. I will attempt to provide a few step-by-step pictures and descriptions of the process over this and a couple more blog articles.
     
    Prototype
    Built prior to 1888, with an initial capacity of 10 tons. Some (about 50) were upgraded around 1919 to 12 tons, being fitted with self-contained buffers, and receiving the diagram number of AA16 (the initial version had no diagram number - when the diagram book started around 1904 many older vehicles were omitted).
     
    Details (though rather scanty) in GWR Goods Wagons by Atkins, Beard, Hyde and Touret ("Atkins"), including a photograph and drawing. A larger version of the photograph appears in Great Western Wagons Appendix by Russell ("RWA"). Date of the photograph is unclear - Atkins suggests 1888, RWA suggests 1900.
     
    Unlike more modern Toads, they had grease axleboxes. Although Atkins indicates that twin clasp brakes were standard from the early days, the photograph shows conventional wagon-type brakes.
     
    Justification
    In the period I am modelling (1900-1910) most GWR brake vans appear to have been of the AA3 variety - 18 ft long, 16 or 20 ton capacity - and 500 of these were built between 1889 and 1901. However, I believe that the traffic on my layout would probably not have followed this pattern - a large proportion of the freight was fitted, and would probably have had some of the vacuum-piped "A" versions from the AA2 diagram (278 built 1902-1910), whilst the light local freight would have been a good candidate for the older lighter (undiagrammed) Toad which I cover here.
     
    Components needed
    Etch from David Eveleigh (see small suppliers in the products section of the 2mm web site for contact details, but I don't think the entry is up-to-date).
    Also required
    Top hat bearings - 4 for the wheels, and (optionally) several for alignment of multi-level etches for soldering
    Wheels - 2 axles of 2-010 6mm 8 spoke (technically they should be 6.2 mm for 3 ft 1 in, but I think this is close enough)
    Buffers - According to Atkins et al, the typical buffers in use at this time would have had a 1 ft disc and a 3 in shank within a round unribbed buffer guide, on a square base. Availability of Association buffers varies, so "nearest available fit" will change from time to time - I have some 2-072 (turned brass, round base, 2.1mm head) which I intend to use.
    Couplings - I use DG (2-110)
    Brass wire - about 8 inches of thin wire for handrails - I will probably use some surplus from the DG coupling packs, as I only fit loops at one end.
    Brake handle (in the verandah) - probably the "short brake standard" from N Brass Locomotives, which looks like a suitable match (Thanks to Richard Brummitt for the suggestion)
     
    Livery
    Probably conventional GWR grey, though I think Great Western Way suggests brown was used in earlier days (pre-1896 as I recall from skimming a copy recently). This would include the underframe. According to the photograph, the handrail appears to be grey, unlike the white used on later versions. Though the roof is nominally white, I would expect it to have darkened to grey/black (unless the van was recently painted, which this probably wouldn't be).
     
    Lettering (white)
    "G.W.R" (note no trailing ".") in 5 inch block capitals (without serif) on lower left, with number in similar size and style on lower right (excluding the verandah area). Photographed example is numbered "12009", so it is likely that 120xx would be a suitable number. Allocated station (Newport in the photo) is shown in centre of the side, in italics/script - will probably be "Wellington" in my case, though I have my doubts how legible that will be in italic script in 2mm (i.e. about 0.8 mm high).
     
    Alternatives lettering styles
    Cast plates were used for GWR and numbers around 1896 to 1902 - it's possible that this style might have been applied to some of these brake vans, but unlikely, as I think it was used only on new production.
    After 1904 the name style changed to "G W" in large (25 inch) letters, which would probably have been applied in the first repaint after 1904. The G and W were placed in the upper/ecntre part of the left and right panels, and the number moved from bottom right to bottom left.
     
    The number was generally also painted on the ends of the wagons after 1904, in similar 5 inch size, but it seems unlikely to have been applied to brake vans in this manner.
     
    Additional details (optional)
    Sandboxes in the corners of the verandah, with straight sandpipes (for wet sand - curved pipes for dry sand were adopted after WW I), but none indicated on the example photographed.
     
    Making a start
    The usual exhortation "read the instructions (several times)" doesn't apply here, as there are no instructions provided. Instead, study the etch (several times), and work out which bits go where, which bits to discard, and which bits to assemble first.
     
    I decided it was probably safe to fit the top hat bearings, so I did that in my now-usual style - ream out the holes large enough for the bearings to fit in (but still remain fairly tight), then holding the etch firmly down on the bearings add a little solder around the bearing (solder paint in my case - others may prefer solder plus flux) and apply heat with the soldering iron.
     

     
    The etch, with top hat bearings soldered in
     
    The underframe can then be cut out and the solebars bent up. With my first build I chose to leave the V-hangers alone at this stage, and continue with the assembly of the solebars, returning to the v-hangers and brakes later, but on the second one I did the V-hangers and brakes next.
     
    The tabs on the brakes help to locate the first one correctly to the underframe, then the second one to both underframe and the first brake, but will probably need a bit of cleaning to ensure the two halves fit together. There are some holes which can be reamed out in the v-hangers and the brakes, through which a wire can be threaded to assist in holding them in the right position, and also to provide extra detail, but I omitted this step (although I reamed out the holes as much as I dared, I don't have any wire small enough for the holes).
     

     
    The three odd leaf-shaped pieces attached to each of the inner solebars serve no obvious purpose, so I removed them.
     

     
    Wheels inserted, and W-irons bent in/out as appropriate to ensure that they rotate freely.
  9. Gingerbread
    It's now about 9 months since my initial blog entry, describing plans for a 2mm reconstruction of Market Drayton (on the Wellington to Crewe GWR line) around 1905, and nothing has been reported since then.
     
    Broadly work has fallen into two categories - armchair modelling (research and planning), and building some of the rolling stock that I want for the layout.
     
    On the planning side I now have track plans and drawings of the buildings at various dates, so that I can interpolate and produce something fairly plausible for the date range that I want to model (probably 1900-1910). Unfortunately the line was closed in the 1960s, so there are few colour photographs, leaving me with plenty of unanswered questions. If I don't manage to find any better references, I will rely on notes I took from studying a colour photograph of Winchester Chesil, built in the same "French Renaissance" style, which used a mixture of red and blue bricks. Kidderminster station, on the Severn Valley Railway, is built in the same style, and seems to use the same pattern of red/blue bricks.
     
    The complete station is rather too extensive for a first project, so I am tempted to follow Mikkel's example with the Farthing Layouts, and start with a small portion of it (the main platforms, and a couple of adjacent loops/sidings), the rest being conveniently "off-scene". Not only will this save space, it will reduce the number of sets of points required (probably to about one) .
     
    I have also been looking at some of the available "alternative histories", where different lines had been built nearby, resulting in different patterns of traffic. This would allow me to justify running it with purely GWR traffic, rather than the mixture of GWR and North Staffs Railway ("Knotty") traffic that actually existed. For example, there was a proposal for a Wellington to Drayton line extending to the western side of the Potteries at Wolstanton, which would have become a GWR subsidiary and might have dissuaded the Knotty from building their Stoke-Drayton line. This wasn't approved, and the Wellington to Drayton line was subsequently built without the Wolstanton extension. There were several proposals for the Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales line, which would have run through Market Drayton, but it wasn't approved until too late (1918?) and only about half a mile of it was built before funds ran out. It seems quite plausible that one of these proposals could have succeeded, but run into financial difficulties and been taken over by the GWR. Apart from eliminating the problem of building Knotty stock, these options provide justification for running different rolling stock through the existing Market Drayton station - GWR branch line passenger train behind a '517, mineral traffic such as limestone from North Wales to the Potteries iron industry and china clay from Cornwall for the pottery industry.
     
    Switching back from other alternative histories to this one, I have been looking at the GWR main line freight traffic. Based on a timetable from 1898, there were five northbound freights from Worcester which passed through Market Drayton each night, with the corresponding returns passing through southbound, also overnight. Although either unspecified or described as "vegetable", I think they would actually have been carrying fruit, and would therefore have been seasonal. The second batch of GWR fruit vans, the Y1s, were being built around my proposed date for the layout, so there would have been somewhere between 120 and 220 fruit vans available. Assuming that approximately 1/3 of the fruit traffic passed along this line, with the remainder going south and eastwards to Birmingham, London, Bristol, South Wales, etc, this means that 40 to 80 vans would be used, split between 10 trains. That makes the trains rather easy to model, but I am not convinced that a 4-van express freight is very plausible, so I assume that other vehicles would be added if needed, such as siphons or cattle wagons. I am also trying to find out what locomotives were used on such trains - I've seen suggestions that it would be Dean Goods, or that it would be one of the various 4-4-0 passenger locomotives. Fortunately the fruit vans should be quite easy to make - Richard Brummitt has made available a basic etch for the chassis (16 feet long, 10 ft wheelbase, coach wheels, 8 brake blocks) and the Association Mink is close in appearance to the Y2 fruit vans (though it is unclear from Atkins et al whether the sides were solid or louvred). Livery is still to be determined, as the red/grey question is unclear and under active discussion in a thread elsewhere on RMweb. Similarly coupling method undecided - I know Richard is a 3-link supporter, and therefore doesn't make the usual provision of DG couplings on his chassis etch, so I am currently proposing having a rake of 6 (or however many I finish up producing) with internal coupling using 3-link and DGs on the ends to attach to whatever other vehicles form the train.
     
    I believe there was also one meat train per day from Birkenhead to Smithfield, though I can't identify it on the timetable. Similar situation for the composition and livery of this train, probably with X1 non-refrigerated Micas (possibly the N gauge Society bodies on more of Richard Brummitt's chassis) for the vans, but in what livery and behind what locomotive...?
     
    There's a couple of northbound broccoli trains, which pass through Market Drayton in late afternoon/evening - I assume these would probably have originated in Cornwall, or perhaps in the Vale of Evesham. I only see one return train - not sure if there is another not shown in the timetable, or whether the stock was combined for the return.
     
    There was a late night train carrying potatoes from Market Drayton (9.45 pm) to Wellington (10.30 pm) for onwards conveyance to South Wales - this was worked by locomotive from the passenger train from Crewe (8.10 pm) to Market Drayton (8.30 pm), which indicates that at least in this instance a passenger engine was used, though this may have been a convenience to work the engine back to the Wellington shed.
     
    Cattle traffic on the line appears odd. According to the 1898 timetable, on Monday a cattle train heads north from Market Drayton to Crewe (I think the Crewe cattle auction was on Mondays), leaving at 8.30 am and arriving at 9.30 am. There is also a somewhat ambiguous entry suggesting that a similar Mondays-only train runs south from Crewe at 7.30 am, arriving at Market Drayton at 8.30 am, and continues southward to Wellington, and perhaps onwards to Victoria Basin, Wolverhampton. It's not clear what those cattle wagons are going to do for the rest of the week, or how they get back to their starting position (Easiest assumption would be that the wagons are worked back empty from Wellington/Wolverhampton to Market Drayton, but that means that they spend the rest of the week idle. Perhaps that is just the default position, if nothing more profitable comes up during the week).
     
    As far as stock-building goes, I now have lots of part-finished wagons (so nothing ready to reveal here). Main reason/excuse is livery - I don't think there are any transfers available for my period, which involves 6 inch lettering on the older wagons, some of which would be on cast plates, and 25 inch lettering with 6 inch numbering on the newer (and repainted) ones. I think standard GWR lettering is 16 inch, so perhaps combining 3mm sheets for "G" and "W" with 2mm/N sheets for the numbering might solve the problem for the newer wagons. I also have some white "print-your-own" transfer paper, but will need to match colours suitably for the red/grey background when I try these. What I propose to try first is a couple of wagons with cast plates, which I should be able to print myself in black and white onto paper, then glue onto the wagons (though at less than one mm high, I am not sure how legible it's going to be at normal viewing distance).
     
    Another interesting challenge has been putting DC brake levers onto the wagon chassis - the hole in the lever is considerably smaller than the wire it is supposed to fit onto, and enlarging the hole offered a challenge, as I couldn't find anything to fit into the hole to open it out. Advice from Noel Leaver on the VAG led me to a smaller set of cutting broaches, the smallest of which can be used to open out the hole (though the size of the lever is not much wider than the wire, so it is easy to get carried away with enthusiasm and finish up with a lack of metal around the hole...). At least I now have a couple of levers soldered in place now, and a substantial batch reamed out and ready to fit when I switch back to more modern stock.
     
    A further sticking point is the "hybar" tarpaulin support system. I have bought six etches for my five-plank opens, but pictures of the GWR version and of the association etch don't look quite the same, so those have been put onto one side until inspiration strikes and I can see how to finish them. A possible solution is to stick tarpaulins onto some loaded wagons, with or without a supporting rail, which brings me to the next problem - I've not bought any tarpaulin sheets yet, and haven't found enough details of the markings to make my own (nor do I have the required cigarette paper to hand either ...).
     
    Another interesting project "in-progress" is the footbridge. As is widely known, GWR footbridges were of two designs, with sides either of solid plate girders or of open latticework. However, Market Drayton, according to all the pictures I have seen, did both - with latticework outside solid plate sides... See http://www.the-ginge...ionphoto002.gif for a picture from about the right period, with http://www.the-ginge...ionphoto051.gif probably showing the situation after the line was closed to passengers, awaiting completion of the dismantling. I have therefore obtained from Worsley Works a "latticework" style footbridge, which is a 2mm etch reduced from 3mm, and based on Radley, and started assembling that. Unfortunately the etch appears to have some of the diagonals running the wrong way, so it needed to have two parts snipped off and turned round, then soldered together. That has been painted dark/light stone, and glued to a thin layer of plasticard (painted in light stone) which now looks good for the bridge sides (apart from overgenerous glue application, but perhaps a bit of enthusiastic weathering will hide that...). Next come the floor, steps, roof, pillars etc...
     
    The one part of my building project which is close to being photo-worthy is a small selection of PO wagons. Whilst this line did not have the heavy mineral traffic seen on most GWR main lines, there was of course some limited local traffic to the coal merchants in the station itself. One of my source books has an excellent illustration of one such wagon - a 4 plank wagon dated 1904, lettered for one "S. Woodcock", coal merchant of Market Drayton. I am a bit sceptical about four plank wagons at that date, but the photograph suggests that the wagon was built as such in 1904, and it does have the advantage of less planking to draw/scribe, and no diagonal strapping. Unfortunately the photograph is monochrome, but I have been informed that most PO wagons were either black or red lead, and it's clearly not black, so it must be red. I decided to experiment with card sides, with printed paper overlays from my inkjet printer (using Inkscape, which I have been recommending to colleagues, without actually using it much myself, so here was a chance to remedy that). One unanticipated advantage of the method is that the sides acquired their own mild weathering during the construction - I assume that the ink, being somewhat water-soluble, ran and discoloured slightly when glue was applied to the paper. For the chassis I used the Association 8 ft 6 in RCH version (2-326), but I used small blocks of plasticard to represent grease axleboxes rather than folding up the etched ones, which I think represent oil ones.
     

     
    The initial model had two main problems - the dimensions were slightly too large, and it bowed out noticeably along the sides, so I moved on to version two (for which I found the name of another coal merchant headquartered nearby, with a branch office in Market Drayton, and re-worded the painting on the wagon to suit, at least in my imagination). I used plasticard instead of cardboard, which fixed the bowing problem, and changed the design slightly to create the buffer beam as an integral part of the end of the wagon, rather than the chassis, which avoids the length problem. The remaining minor annoyance is that I have difficulty getting the paper to lie square at the corners, it tends to be too rounded, so the next iteration will have a slightly different design - instead of paper sides and ends being a single piece, I will have separate paper sides and ends, not worrying too much about the actual joint, then overlay a short strip of L-shaped plastic moulding to create the corner piece (rather than painting or printing it onto the sides directly).
  10. Gingerbread

    Introduction

    By Gingerbread,

    Having drifted away from the hobby many years ago, after playing with O gauge (clockwork) and various early forms of N gauge (including OOO push along and Treble-O-Lectric), I recently returned and decided to take up the challenge of 2mm Fine Scale. I used to be quite happy doing simple kit-bashing and scratch-building of rolling stock on proprietary chassis and bogies, but had little experience of soldering (and what little I had was long, long ago).
     
    Choice of prototype wasn't too difficult. I've always had a liking for the GWR. In recent years I've had a strong preference for steam over diesel, though that wasn't true in my earlier years, when I looked upon steam as being old-fashioned, dirty and generally second-best to the then-new diesel and electric locomotives.
     
    Initially I was intending to model the traditional branch line terminus, somewhere in the West Country, set in the golden age of mid 1930s. Looking around for somewhere specific, I couldn't find anything that inspired me, so I cast my net a bit wider. Going back to early 1900s introduces some interesting changes in the livery - not sure I really like the darker green on locomotives, but I do like the Indian red frames and the extensive brasswork, and the fully lined-out chocolate and cream coaches would be an interesting challenge to my skills and eyesight.
     
    I had been researching my family tree for the past few years, and realised that offered an interesting possibility - Market Drayton, where many of my father's ancestors had lived. This is a town in the northeast corner of Shropshire, adjacent to Staffordshire and Cheshire, and with GWR lines running north to Crewe and south to Wellington, together with a North Staffordshire Railway ('Knotty') line eastward to Stoke. These lines all opened in the 1860s, and closed in the 1960s. Little remains - I believe that Market Drayton station is now buried beneath a superstore and its car park.
     
    Even in a cut-down version, Market Drayton will be a fairly substantial undertaking - two platforms, two bays, two separate good yards (one for GWR, one for Knotty), a fairly large goods shed, and a small Knotty engine shed. Having made up a few lengths of Easitrac, just to confirm my expectation that there won't be any problems in that part of the project, I decided to postpone the building of points and baseboards and laying of track whilst I start on the rolling stock that I will need for the layout. I will probably build a smaller layout first, either one of the minor stations on that line, or more likely a simple shunting plank. As I don't yet have any locomotives to run, I don't feel any urgency with that part of the project.
     
    I acquired two good sources for the area - "By Great Western to Crewe" by Bob Yate and "The Stoke to Market Drayton Line" by C R Lester. From these I could put together a reasonable picture of the traffic through Market Drayton. Nominally my target is 1905, though I might allow it to slip to 1910 if necessary.
     
    Passenger traffic

    Knotty
    About five trains a day to/from Stoke. Probably still 4-wheelers, and hauled by a 2-4-0T or 2-4-2T. Bill Bedford provides some suitable coaches, whilst London Road Models is the only source I know of for the locomotive, and that would be in 4mm scale - not sure if it could be reduced to 2mm scale.
     
    GWR
    About six trains a day each way between Crewe and Wellington. Basically stopping trains, unclear whether these would be 4/6 wheel or bogie (Dean clerestory) during this period, but two of these trains would have slip coaches or other through sections attached. All should be available from Worsley Works, though the slip coach is in the 3mm range and would need reducing.
     
    This service seems to have been regarded as a suitable "retirement" for engines working out their last days - the timetable is not very demanding, and gradients are modest. For example, various 2-4-0 tender classes including Stellas and Barnums in the 1920s, 481 and 149 class in the early 1900s. There is mention of Armstrong 2-4-0T engines in the earlier period - I hope this is a misprint for 0-4-2T such as the 517 class, which would allow me to put the Dean Sidings resin body on the forthcoming 2mm Association 0-4-2T chassis (they were certainly present on the line around 1920). The other possibilities will have to be deferred until my building skills are much-improved.
     
    Cheshire and Shropshire were both substantial producers of milk, so there would be siphons (and the Knotty equivalents) attached to various passenger trains. There is a large dairy making muesli in Market Drayton now (adjacent to, or possibly on, the site of the old railway) - I don't think there was a dairy/creamery in my period, but at least two nearby stations had creameries.
    Goods traffic

    This is rather more interesting than my original proposed branch line terminus. There were about three local trains a day in each direction, but the Crewe-Wellington line also saw some fairly heavy through express goods traffic, about fifteen trains a day in each direction. These included manufactured goods between Wolverhampton and Manchester, fruit and vegetables from Worcester (and broccoli from Cornwall) to Crewe/Manchester/Lancashire/Yorkshire and meat from Liverpool to London. I've also come across a creosote tank wagon which ran between Manchester and Hayes, via Market Drayton. One form of traffic mentioned in later years was cigarettes from Bristol to the Potteries.
     
    Local traffic included two cattle trains, one in each direction, on Monday mornings. There were at least two breweries in Market Drayton, so the transportation of beer by rail seems plausible. There was at least one foundry, making agricultural implements, so coal and iron from the Potteries and finished machines outwards would be likely.
     
    So as far as the GWR goods traffic is concerned, it will not follow the "standard" pattern - few Private Owner wagons, few unfitted open wagons, mostly fitted vans and fruit vans. Most of these should be fairly easy to make/convert from the Association kits.
     
    Locomotives would probably be Dean goods for the express goods, and various 0-6-0 saddle tanks for the local goods, whilst the Knotty used an 0-6-0 tender locomotive for their freight traffic. As with the passenger motive power, Dean Sidings offer a resin 1701 body which should fit the forthcoming Association 0-6-0 pannier chassis. I have a chassis kit for an 0-6-0 tender locomotive, which doesn't quite match either the Dean goods or any of the plausible Knotty classes, but might be adequate for a first attempt.
     
    More powerful locomotives were used in later years - Aberdares, 28xx 2-8-0s, 43xx moguls, 72xx 2-8-2Ts, all the way up to 9F 2-10-0s. Of these, I think only the Aberdares would have been present in my period, and I will defer any attempt to scratch-build one...
    So I'm making a start by building up some GWR goods vans and open wagons, with about 30 currently in the queue, to be followed in due course by a few coaches and then three or four locomotives when the chassis kits are available (and my confidence/competence is a bit higher).
     
    I am also debating whether to use one of the "might-have-been" alternatives for my initial layout, before moving onto the full layout of Market Drayton (assuming that my patience lasts long enough to complete the project). From what I can see, the Knotty enjoyed a very profitable monopoly over goods traffic to and from the Potteries, and local businessmen vigorously supported the provision of alternative routes to break this monopoly. In particular there was an interesting possibility in the Wellington, Drayton and Newcastle Railway proposal of 1861 (which would presumably have been taken over by the GWR in due course) - the potential for this line to bring china clay from Dorset for the pottery industry was apparently very popular. There were various proposals for the Potteries Junction Railway between Shrewsbury and Stoke on Trent, via Market Drayton, which did eventually obtain Parliamentary approval in 1865 - but never obtained the finance to construct the line.
     
    For anybody who is still reading, and wondering where the Gingerbread Line fits in - Market Drayton was famous for its gingerbread. The Market Drayton Railway Preservation Society was formed in 1992 with the aim of reopening part of the Nantwich to Market Drayton line, apparently using the name "Gingerbread Line" - web site is at http://www.the-gingerbread-line.co.uk
     
    Finally a word of appreciation for the modellers whose blogs here inspired me to make the attempt to follow in their footsteps, with suitable modifications. In particular, credit (or blame) is due to Missy whose Highclere shows what can be done in 2mm (but too modern with those new-fangled diesels), and Mikkel whose Farthing layouts showed how interesting the earlier period can be (though I'm not sure that I will follow his example in adding beards to my passengers!).
     
    David
  11. Gingerbread
    This short entry was prompted by recent discussion of the old GWR wagon red, in Mikkel's recent blog entry on the Farthing layouts for a 3-plank open in GWR red, at http://www.rmweb.co....pen-in-gwr-red/
     
    I suspect that any attempt to distinguish between red and grey wagons in old photographs is going to be difficult, perhaps impossible, due to the similarity between the two shades when converted to grey in the photo - specially as we don't know what shade the red originally was, and it probably varied significantly.
     
    But we can try the reverse exercise - paint some wagons in a suitable mixture of reds and greys, then create some monochrome photos of them, and compare the various shades of grey in the monochrome photo.
     
    Here follows my modest contribution to the debate.
     
    First a photo of 5 half-finished wagons in a mixture of red and grey - the red being an initial attempt on my part to reproduce the elusive red variously described as "light", "dark" and "warm", and used prior to some uncertain cutoff point between 1870 and 1910 (depending which authority you choose to believe) - see details at http://www.gwr.org.u...eswagonred.html

     
     
    Then the same photo decolourised - i.e. reduced to a grey monochrome, similar to photos from that period.

     
     
    Preliminary conclusion - the "red" wagons are a little lighter than the "grey" ones - but it would be dangerous to read too much into that difference, as I think the two grey wagons used in this example are relatively dark - other photos indicate lighter shades were also seen (faded? or different paint mixes?).
     
    It's probably safe to say that a wagon that shows up from the period 1880-1910 as dark grey in a monochrome photo was GWR grey. It's likely that a wagon which shows up as light grey was in GWR red, faded with age. For those that show up in mid-grey, the choice is yours (as also is the choice where to draw the line between the various shades of grey in the photo).
     
    So it looks as if you can choose your colour, red or grey, and your shade of red, and then enjoy an inconclusive discussion with the experts whether you got it "right" .
     
    For those interested in the wagons - from left to right:
    W1 cattle wagon, built ca 1890-1900 (modified from BR cattle wagon)
    4 plank open, built ca 1885-1900 (similar to O5, but using single lever brakes rather than Dean-Churchward)
    V6 iron mink, built ca 1885-1900
    V5 mink, built ca 1902 (or possibly V4 built ca 1905 - haven't measured the width/height sufficiently accurately to be sure)
    W5 cattle wagon, built ca 1902 (also modified from BR cattle wagon)
     
    David
×
×
  • Create New...