Gingerbread

Thanks for the comments Nick. Yes the etch appears to be good quality - deficiencies are more likely to arise from my soldering and/or photographic skills (or lack of). Photographing tiny models at small range is still difficult for me, whereas I manage relatively well at greater distances. Perhaps there will be a bit of sunshine in the next day or two and I will try for some better pictures.. I had forgotten that entry in your blog - thanks for reminding me. There is also a 2mm etch for the W2 cattle wagon which is the third item on that page, which is on my "to do" list, but I haven't obtained one yet. I appear to have mislaid my copy of Russell's original Pictorial Record of GW Wagons some years ago - if it doesn't turn up again, I will need to buy another one. I see that you have painted your brake standard in grey - I was considering painting mine in white, based on the one I photographed at STEAM, but having looked again at various photographs grey looks more likely (though not conclusive). I suspect that the etch was largely based on the Atkins/RWA photograph, which appears to have no significant chamfering. I will see if I can add a small fillet of solder to suggest the chamfer when I finish it off. Having looked again more closely, I see one thing that appears wrong for the 2mm etch, against either your cast 4mm models or the Atkins drawings or the Atkins/RWA photograph. The position of the chimney - in the centre of the length of the wagon, instead of the centre of the enclosed part David

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.

It's a bit like trying to turn right on a busy road - it's probably easier to continue to the next roundabout, go round it and come back, so that the difficult right turn becomes an easy left turn (vice versa if you live in one of those odd countries that drive on the wrong side of the road). In this case it is going to be difficult for a train travelling from right to left to shunt in the yard - so it will go on to another station where it can "turn round", then come back from left to right. This makes it much easier - it will only block the left to right line while shunting, rather than both. David

Don - Yes, some of the brown lines are much narrower than I would have expected from the mouldings on my etches - though conversely the droplights and bolections are more prominent than I expected. Fortunately it will be a few more weeks before I get to painting my first coaches, so I have some more time to ponder the alternatives. Agreed - I think the Dean Goods would have had round firebox in my period. Richard - I've seen that colour described either as "Mahogany" or "Venetian Red", both of which seem closer to red than brown. On the other hand, the illustration of coach livery for that period at http://gwr.org.uk/liveriescoach1880.html , albeit using a model, seems closer to brown than red. Very inconsiderate of the early railway photographers not to have used colour film Yes, I have a pair of suitable American bogies from the Association now. I have now added another photo of the same Iron Mink, in my "Didcot 2011" Gallery, showing the part previously hidden by the platform. It has oil axleboxes, whereas I think most would have been grease in my era. I almost ordered the benches (and trolleys) from Southwark Bridge Models, advertised in the last Association Newsletter, but realised that they were of the pattern in the photo above, rather than the earlier plain pattern, which is the version I think I want. Will follow up the Shire Scenes option - I was looking at them a couple of days ago, but the photos weren't clear enough to see whether they were appropriate. Thanks for that suggestion, I hadn't thought of n Brass locomotives - wasn't thinking of Toad brakes last time I looked around their site. Confusingly, the illustrations suggest that the "short" brake is larger than the "long" brake, but if the quoted size of 7mm is correct that should be about right. Perhaps the n Brass Dean Goods body would be suitable - though it always seems to be about 3 months away from being available (a bit like the corresponding Association chassis kits)! David

Nick Yes, I have a T47 and T51 in the set I have awaiting construction, so I took quite a few pictures - I will add them as a Gallery later. One interesting feature, though I don't think I have any pictures, was the communication cord. It runs outside the coach, at roof level, and inside the top of each door is a notice indicating that the communication cord only works on the right side of the train (looking forwards in the direction of motion, I think). There is a large wheel in the guard's compartment, which the communication cord appears to go round. Chatting to the guard, he didn't understand how it was supposed to work, but I assume that it needs to be "set" to work in one direction of movement of the cord. Yes, I hope that construction of models of this fruit van will form a future entry in the blog - I have the first one mostly finished, and the rest are planned for early next year, by which time I hope to have ironed out the building problems. They will have the "original" style brakes. Haven't decided the livery yet, as we have discussed elsewhere - it's currently in red primer, but may switch to grey later. David

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

From http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/2-track/02track1.htm - "Rail is supplied to the railway company in straight lengths and is transported in this form through the system. The standard rail length stabilised at about thirty foot (9.1m) until after the First World War when forty foot (12.2m) and forty-five foot (13.7m) rails appeared as steel rolling technology improved. By the 1930's sixty foot (18.3m) rail lengths were standard on main lines and rails of up to a hundred and fifty or so feet were supplied to the LNER and LMS companies. With Nationalisation the sixty foot rail was adopted as the standard. Longer rails required longer wagons to transport them and bogie designs were introduced by several companies as rail lengths increased." According to lectures given by F.T.Bowler on GWR Permanent Way Practice in 1923, GWR rails had been mostly 44 ft 6 in in length from 1897. I think that 44 ft 6 in for GWR and 60 ft for LMS would be appropriate for your era, but the above description allows a variety of other possibilities for the LMS. David

Richard - Yes, I think I follow your explanation of DC brake lever attachment. Only one set of links escaped to the floor during assembly when watching the trial, and that was recovered fairly quickly - I fear it will be worse when I try it. I had already seen your blog article on GWR tarpaulins, and also found some useful information at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/9-loads/9-tarps.htm - checking against RWA seems to confirm that the pattern shown there as post-grouping was also used for earlier GWR tarpaulins, around 1900. Must get myself a copy of GWW - I hadn't realised they were covered there. I look forward to receiving your file - can you remember what format it was? It shouldn't be too difficult to re-number. Tom - Yes, I find research and planning just as much fun as building. Nigel also mentioned at the last meeting that his new printer should be able to print white, but he hasn't yet persuaded it to do so. This initial attempt suggests it should be possible to print the numbers for wagons, which are just slightly smaller than the lower rows of text on the PO wagons, using some variation of this system. Cast plates, printing black background around white numbers onto plain paper, looks like the easiest to try first. It's not entirely clear what period used this style - probably something like 1897 to 1904, which should straddle the red to grey livery switch (assuming that was about 1898). David

What you need now is a "shrinking machine" - do all the fine detail work in O scale without the eyestrain, then shrink the model to 2mm to save space. And lots of money, of course. David

Thanks for the comments. Nigel - You saw them in the rather subdued lighting of the West London Area Group, which served to hide most of the flaws. I'm quite pleased with the photo above, which shows the lettering is legible (though a little out-of-focus for the right hand wagon). Richard - I remember that when I tried soldering the DC levers directly they fell off rather quickly - I suspect that I probably didn't cut the wire flush, and my soldering skills weren't up to the task. Next time one breaks I will try your suggestion instead. Instanter couplings were introduced about 1908, so I don't think I need to worry about them for my wagons. Still procrastinating on a decision whether to try 3-link for my fruit and mica rakes - the fact that you haven't provided the standard mounting for DGs means the additional work for 3-links would be less than otherwise, and those rakes of wagons would stay together, and never be shunted in the station. Watched one of my colleagues at the Wealden Area Group experimenting making some 3-links recently, and await the news of success (or otherwise) at the next meeting. Don - Yes, a load of coal in the slightly bowed cardboard version sounds like a good idea - it would also cover the lack of scribed or printed planking on the interior of that wagon. The Association Hybar kit is supposed to be movable, but your suggestion of using it in the "down" position for unsheeted open wagons, but leaving it off the sheeted ones (and using a piece of plasticard to substitute for it in the "up" position) sounds like the way to go. So next I need to buy or make some tarpaulin sheets .... David

Good luck with this Nigel - I don't risk making my plans as formal and detailed as this, because I know that they will change as components become unavailable (or available again), and other parts of the project will divert my attention elsewhere... Beware of Christmas lurking to sidetrack you just as you approach completion David

That should work well. There are some examples intended for N gauge from Etched Pixels (Alan Cox) to commemorate the Royal Wedding, with the original at at http://www.rmweb.co....edding-freebie/ an improved version at http://www.rmweb.co....asier-to-build/ and another example at http://www.rmweb.co....n-for-tomorrow/ I have tried something similar myself for 2mm, using printed paper glued over a card (or plasticard) box, for PO wagons - examples can be seen at http://www.rmweb.co....ogress-sort-of/ David

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).

Thanks Glyn I have already obtained the track and building plans from the Nantwich & Market Drayton Railway Society, and intend to order some photos "sometime soon". One quick question for you - are any of those photos in colour and including some of the station buildings? I'm not sure what colour the brickwork would be - using the working assumption that it would be mostly red, with blue "trimmings", like Kidderminster or Winchester Chesil which are in the same "French Renaissance" style. Unfortunately I am too far away to attend the monthly meetings, but would be happy to join to make contact with members who could answer some of my questions. Regards David

I believe that the original plan was for the Moguls to be replaced by an expanded fleet of Manors and Granges as they were withdrawn, some 300 in total, so that justification looks plausible. Unfortunately nationalisation changed all this. Whilst it doesn't solve the point-building problem, a 2mm conversion kit for the Manor should be available shortly, and if the Mogul does eventually appear a similar 2mm conversion kit is planned. David

How about the famous mangle? http://www.rmweb.co....art=100#p434453 David

I was looking at the P4 and P5 Scorpions on P51 of Russell Part 1 - they do have the 10 foot wheelbase, a length of 15 feet 6 inches, but no details in the drawings of the hanger/linkage/cylinder layout. Agreed - I haven't worked out what all the differences were, but clearly they did differ. From my perspective, having a suitable 10 foot wheelbase chassis either 15 foot 6 inches or 16 foot in overall length, with 8 clasp brakes, would be a great start for all of them - so I would be happy to take whichever one you decide on (unless a better idea strikes you) and amend them accordingly for other versions. David

Sounds like that would solve my perceived problem Yes, on P22. Agreed - I don't have good enough drawings of the other designs to see the differences, but that prototype doesn't interest me much (ten built, and the ones I've seen appear to have been allocated to the audit department at Paddington - presumably used for collection or storage of documents?). I'm interested in the chassis for Fruit Y1 or Y2, Mica (meat) X1 or X2, and various Pacos (horseboxes) in the N1-N9 range approximately, possibly also for Scorpions (carriage trucks) as you suggested. David

Yes, that is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for. Only minor problem I can see with that plan is that some of the variants had non-central V-hangers, so I think the steel underframe conversions will need a little creative adjustment... I put the underframe in as my request in the recent 2mm survey, but realised it was going to be very much a minority interest, so was starting to think about drawing up an etch myself. Best plans I have are in the Iron Mink book by John Lewis, which isn't really a good prototype (only 10 built, whereas there were several hundred of each of the other types). There's also a good picture of the fruit van on the GWS site at http://www.didcotrai...7886pic_01.html but unfortunately it has the later style of brake levers. I hadn't realised that the early Scorpions also used this underframe, but that would be a nice option too (though I would then need to find something suitable for a load - horse-drawn pantechnicon seems like a possibility). I was actually looking at the "grey" versions - Serpents - recently. As you probably know, I'd also be interested in a few of the Dean bogies, so I look forward to progress on this project David

Actually scratch the horse box for an idea I remembered that they have louvres atop their sides. Something else smaller. Hmm. I've been looking round for a suitable chassis for the 1890-1910 GWR "brown" 4-wheelers - which includes most of the early horseboxes, plus early meat and fruit vans, (and a handful of iron minks). It was 10 foot wheelbase, 16 foot long, 3 foot 6 inch wheels and vacuum brakes (8 shoes), with some small variation between the different vehicles. Perhaps the Mica body would give something small and relatively simple (though to some extent it would duplicate the N Gauge Society one). I would be interested if you decided to pursue the idea (as well as a few of the siphons). David

I am intending to model the changeover period - so most of rolling stock should be in 5" style, with a few new (or newly repainted) items in the larger style (which I think was 25" initially, before later settling on 16"). Therefore your existing design would suit me well - adding the missing infill in cases where I need it should be within my limited abilities I will take your word for the wooden block being on the wrong side - I can't see this clearly either in your photo, or in any of my selection of photos of the originals (nor the corresponding drawings). So far as I am concerned, the curvature of the roof is the only thing wrong which "needs" fixing. And yes, I know that they were used for the area I intend modelling, so I'm definitely interested in a few when they are available. David

Finished (if that's the right word) product looks good to me, despite whatever bugs you need to fix in the building process. Only obvious thing that I can see wrong with it is that the lowest gap should be planked between the feet of the two 'X's - apparently to allow the painting of "G" and "W" there (according to Russell in Great Western Coaches Part One). On a second check, the arc of the roof looks too rounded, should be flat in the middle (which would probably be a little more difficult to fix than adding the missing part-planks). Look forward to seeing the final product at some future date. David

Hope you manage to solve your mystery soldering problems - unfortunately I don't have any RSU experience so don't have any suggestions for you. I am intrigued to know what etches you are developing, as I will probably be interested in 2mm GWR NPCS if/when they are available - siphons? David

A few more pictures in the gallery at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/1630-highclere/ For example: The new point rodding - use of a flash camera defeated Missy's attempts to hide it at the dark end of the layout. A sign to mislead the tourists? David

Lovely models! I particularly like the overenthusiastic application of lime on the cattle wagon, though I am not so sure about the heavy weathering of the "new" large logos on the iron minks - they must have been very early repaints into the new style! I see that you are ignoring that wonderful enigma - GWR freight wagon red.... What shade was it? When did the livery change from red to grey? See a brief inconclusive discussion of this topic at http://www.gwr.org.uk/liverieswagonred.html David