Collett

I'd better get on with them then! So far I have arrived at a set of dimensions for three 6 pane windows at the front and a 9 pane window for the end wall. Panes are 2.8mm x 3.25mm with 0.33mm (1") Muntins - apparently that's what the timbers between glass panes are called. The pane size has been arrived at after allowing for all the other elements of the window frames fitting inside the hole in the brickwork where the window sits. Overall dimensions have been arrived at by a 'brick by brick' reconstruction of the Winchcombe building based on an 8 3/4" x 3" x 4 3/16" brick with 3/8" mortar. As these have been designed to go behind layers of plasticard that make up the walls and the outer framing of the windows, then the etches are effectively just the 'muntins' and the holes between them with a suitable border around to protect the fragile 0.33mm slivers of brass and provide areas to be glued to the outer and inner wall layers. It might be possible to produce a version to fit inside the frames of the Rail Model kit - but they would be rather fragile. Let's see if my home brew etching can get anywhere near the desired results as shown here first. Cheers

Mikkel The Leckhampton Weighbridge features in Book 1 of Ericplans GWR buildings by Eric Ilett, first published by EricModels and subsequently republished by PECO although now long out of print. I found a copy on Abebooks. (And that'll teach me to read back a couple of pages as you've already noted that)! Eric drew the brickwork at Leckhampton as Flemish Bond, however, he drew all the buildings with brickwork as Flemish Bond. Why he inked in each brick I cannot say, frankly it slightly spoils the drawings. Leckhampton had plain bargeboards at each end, however, I am drawn towards the look of the brick gable ends at Winchcombe on the GWSR. A bit of a challenge in Plasticard but I think it would add character to the structure. I have been planning an expedition to Winchcombe for some detailed measurements, the GWSR station is closed, but they tell me the yard is open as it gives access to a local business. http://gwsrbuildingservices.blogspot.com/2017/11/ I also like the main window offset from centre. There's a nice photograph of the weighbridge office (English bond again) at Stretton on Fosse on the Shipston on Stour branch see https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/mortonshipston.htm - In this case I am tempted to include the nine pane end window in my model. The weighbridge office at Shipston on Stour itself was Flemish bond - https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss543.htm the design appears slightly different (possibly built by the original tramway company rather than GWR?) and the buildings at Stretton were constructed several years after the GWR took over the line. Winchcombe (English bond) was also a later addition to the network, the station being built in 1905 Presently I am working on some etches for the window frames, in particular the two layer main window where it appears the side windows could slide in towards the centre, presumably so the weight tickets could be passed easily to the carrier while the operator stayed warm and dry inside. As the buildings all appear to have proper chimneys and fireplaces then, with just an 11'6" x 7'6" interior it would have been rather snug in there on a winter's day.

Very interesting, four plank with 3 plank door, ribbed buffers (which seem quite short), single wooden block brake and that rather elegantly curved brake handle. I would hazard the opinion this wagon is a 'foreigner' from an acquired line such as, possibly, the Lambourn Valley Railway, where the GWR took ownership in 1905. However, while there are only a handful of pictures of the pre-GWR days in my copy of Robertson & Simmonds' 'The Lambourn Branch' (Wild Swan Publications ISBN 090686724), the opens all appear to have curved raised ends, and while they have what appear to be four plank opens with three plank doors (top picture page 15, unpainted wagons beside the goods shed) these two wagons seem to have hinges that would allow the top plank to open on either side - the GWR 1914 Health & Safety Handbook picture has a solid through plank. I'm unable to make out any brake lever details in any of the pictures of LVR stock to indicate the LVR's wagon 'style' in that department. If it is a wagon 'hired in' as suggested, then it seems likely it would be doing more productive work than hanging around the Swindon works, with a rather odd 'Factory' designation, and being used for photo opportunities rather than earning revenue to cover its cost to the Company. It seems more likely this is an inherited wagon from elsewhere and restricted to Company premises as a non-standard (and not Private Owner) wagon. Intriguing. Let's hope Mikkel has some luck with his pictures of Swindon and the mysterious wagon is spotted (and identified) - I really like that brake handle.

They do look nice, much finer than the plastic injections which are heavier by necessity. RCH dimensions for W irons was 3/4" Grade B Iron, that's 0.25mm and injected plastic would not last long at that thickness.

I wouldn't claim that my measuring (or my brass folding) was perfect by any means, but to fit inside a 25mm gap a spare 0.15mm either side isn't going to be a problem while too tight a fit could be. If you go for the MJT W Irons or a similar 'rocking' type compensation the distance across the ends is slightly shorter to allow the axle to rock without fouling the solebars either side.

Mr Bedford's W Irons are 24.7mm across when folded, which fits nicely between the solebars that are 6' 3" (25mm) apart. All the existing W Irons have to be filed away first, leaving just the axle box, springs and spring stops on the solebars. In this case on a Ratio kit for a GWR Iron Mink. The extension of the arms front and back, to hold the spring wire, means that you are best putting the wagon floor in upside down, otherwise they are likely to foul on any cross beams moulded in the underframe detail. This is a test fit using the Ratio axle box to hold the bearing cups before fitting the sprung carriers to the W Iron.

Hi, Here's hoping everyone is well I'm having a clear out and have, as far as I can tell, four left hand and six right hand turnout bases from the SMP Scaleway '00' track system. These take standard code 75 bullhead rail and there are some pieces of rail in one of the bags although not enough to make all the turnouts. There are also nine or ten of the glass-fibre tie bars and I've thrown in a couple of my home made 3D printed 5:1 V jigs to assist with filing the 'V's. Check out http://85a.co.uk/forum/view_post.php?post_id=2078 for instructions on making the 'V' if you're unsure - use the jig to bend the rail and then hold the rail while filing. There only appears to be one set of instructions but the diagram isn't exactly Templot accuracy and a couple of the bases already have rails in place as seen in the photo's. I'm not vouching for the state of any of these bases, except perhaps the one that's still in original wrapping, there may be some melted chairs but I think on the whole they are in good nick. If you're feeling adventurous the Royal Mail is offering an online postage service https://send.royalmail.com/ where you can buy a label online to be printed out and attached to the parcel that's put in a letter box. The package weight is 280g and it qualifies as large letter, second class is £1.83 and First Class is £2.14. Please wait for confirmation that you are the 'winner' before you start buying any postage though. Other than the postage these are fee, gratis and for nothing. I hope someone can make a nice little shunting plank or similar with them to wile away the lock-down hours. All the best - Ian

Hi, Here's hoping everyone is well These have now been claimed and posted - thanks for looking though. I'm having a clear out and have, as far as I can tell, four left hand and six right hand turnout bases from the SMP Scaleway '00' track system. These take standard code 75 bullhead rail and there are some pieces of rail in one of the bags although not enough to make all the turnouts. There are also nine or ten of the glass-fibre tie bars and I've thrown in a couple of my home made 3D printed 5:1 V jigs to assist with filing the 'V's. Check out http://85a.co.uk/forum/view_post.php?post_id=2078 for instructions on making the 'V' if you're unsure - use the jig to bend the rail and then hold the rail while filing. There only appears to be one set of instructions but the diagram isn't exactly Templot accuracy and a couple of the bases already have rails in place as seen in the photo's. I'm not vouching for the state of any of these bases, except perhaps the one that's still in original wrapping, there may be some melted chairs but I think on the whole they are in good nick. If you're feeling adventurous the Royal Mail is offering an online postage service https://send.royalmail.com/ where you can buy a label online to be printed out and attached to the parcel that's put in a letter box. The package weight is 280g and it qualifies as large letter, second class is £1.83 and First Class is £2.14. Please wait for confirmation that you are the 'winner' before you start buying any postage though. Other than the postage these are fee, gratis and for nothing. I hope someone can make a nice little shunting plank or similar with them to wile away the lock-down hours. All the best - Ian

Hi Paul - could you let me know the sleeper dimensions for the Peco BH Code 75 flex track? Good luck with the layout BTW.

Ah, of course, thank you. I couldn't get past the sandwich - Bacon, Lettuce,Tomato.

Concerning the matter of cross overs for run 'round loops, the prototype had a couple of wheezes up their sleeve that could be very useful. Moor Street station in Birmingham used a traverser to move locomotives between the platform lines, providing the same facility as a cross over but in a length not much longer than a locomotive. Again with the GWR in Birmingham, Snow Hill station had a Sector Table at the end of a bay, switching loco's between lines without the length required for a turnout + loco. Still in the West Midlands but LNWR this time, Harborne Station had a small turntable at the end of the platform line. https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/harborne.htm is a little unclear whether this was 42' or 45' diameter, but whichever, you're not going to fit a locomotive release line and crossover turnout into 180mm, which is all a 45' turntable represents. Also turning the tender locomotives would add to operating interest and viewer interest. Something like the Moor Street traverser or Snow Hill Sector Table would fit perfectly in a Minories layout's cramped urban station context - since that's what Moor Street and Snow Hill were. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/birmingham_snow_hill/ has some details of the traverser, I think I might have a copy of the Ransom & Rapier production drawings somewhere. You might also try and locate some of Ian Futers' layout plans, I recall he had a 'Layout in a Week' article in Railway Modeller in the early '70's. That had a six feet long scenic section, very basic with just four turnouts but possibly a good starting point for a first layout, I'll try and dig out the plan which was reproduced in the Railway Modeller a few years ago. Addendum: Ian Futers' Ashfield layout can be found in the September 2012 Railway Modeller along with a copy of the original article published back in September 1972... when the magazine cost the princely sum of 18p!!!!! I remember the plan's first appearance in RM, and my attempt to build it as a 'Layout in a Weekend' at the first show of the Keighley Model Railway Club. The original Ashleigh plan is actually only 4'6"x1', but as noted it is rather basic with just four turnouts. The Sept'12 RM is good value as it also contains Mr Futer's Fisherrow Yard layout and Paul Marshall-Potter's Albion Yard. BTW: What is a "BLT" layout? As with most TLA's the answer will no doubt be annoyingly obvious. Anyway - best of luck finding your dream plan for Dad's Railway.

Thanks for looking Tim, I am aware of the Tyling Branch layout and it's quite a bit larger than the one I'm thinking of. Looking at cover pictures on magazineexchange.co.uk the edition for Jan 1975 looks promising, content index describes a GWR branch layout called Buxton Road by T.A. Quinn - no copies available at present. I think the logical way to progress this search is a trip to the British Library, there will be a charge but hopefully I can see all editions for MRC and Model Railways in one place and time. Unfortunately, it being Sunday, a lot of their website is not available at the moment, but they definitely have Ian Allen publications listed including MRC. Well it's certainly research.

I've just been playing around with the layout with XtrackCAD This extends the basic plan but perhaps makes things too busy - as Inglenookfan says, the main appeal of this layout is its bucolic sleepiness. Plus there's an awful lot of facing points on the passenger line. Paring things back a little retains the two loops which were often a feature of GWR branch termini such as Fairford, Lambourn, Tetbury and Malmesbury. Although noted the second loop often went through the goods shed, or in the case of Malmesbury the loco shed. Minimum radius is about 8' and turnouts are all B6 and B7 I think the second siding, at the bottom (baseboard front?) of the plan works best coming off the loop. The rear siding (platform rear) serving a dock for milk traffic and livestock, plus unloading of horse drawn carriages and motor cars for guests weekending at the local estate. Things could get rather busy some weekends with estate guests bringing their hunters, the station master trying to figure out where to park the horseboxes and run his regular services. The occasional special train with additional first class coach accommodation for guests attending estate shoots, or additional coaches and rakes of cattle trucks for market day trains. So sleepy most of the time, but with the occasional bout of pandemonium. Ideal period, 1905-12 - GWR locomotive livery arguably at it's best until 1906, Class 517, 1076 and 2021 being the main motive power, with the occasional 3232 2-4-0, Armstrong or Dean's Goods. Coaching stock in fully lined chocolate and cream, and for the later years newly serviced stock in crimson lake lined in gold. If loco livery was unaccountably still in 1906 condition I don't see anyone complaining - the sight would be glorious.

Thanks for the reply EJ - that's a nice small layout, very reminiscent of Fairford with the loop placed beyond the platform, but I'm afraid it isn't the one. I'm almost certain it wasn't in RM. Also by 1978 I had discovered women, beer and loud loud music so I wasn't spending much time reading the model railway press. Many thanks for responding anyway.

This may seem an odd request. I am seeking a model railway of my youth that appeared, I think, in the Model Railway Constructor or possibly Model Railways, but I'm pretty sure it was not Railway Modeller circa 1972-3. Unfortunately I can't be definite on the dates, but this is around 43 years ago. This is what I can recall of the layout - it was '00', the display baseboard was only 6-7' long and 12-18" wide, locomotives in the photographs definitely included a Dean's Goods (K's kit) and possibly an 850 Class saddle tank. The platform was curved along the mainline with a small station building at the back of the scene, on the left most siding was a loading dock with crane, no goods shed building I'm pretty sure. I couldn't swear but it may have had a line running behind the platform but whenever I draw that in it seems to make the layout seem cramped. Also a headshunt off the loop, but that never seems to work without a double-slip. I think it was one of the first layouts I had seen with almost all the running lines on a curve and I absolutely fell in love with it. I am fairly sure that the points and track were the old GEM fibre base, and I'm afraid that is pretty much all I can recall. Whenever I see piles of old MRC's at shows or in the better sort of model shops (you know, the ones with little dusty corners you can rootle in and find hidden treasures) then I often will flick through a few copies in the hope of finding this elusive layout.... but no joy so far. I do often end up buying a handful of copies though. If I could identify the magazine and issue date/number I could start hunting a copy down on the internet, but without knowing for sure which publication it was in or what month/year published... well, you get the picture. If anyone believes they recognise this layout from my hazy description then please post a reply, if you can identify the magazine and year then even better. Many thanks.

I was very pleased today to take delivery of a GW Models Rivet Press - not so much a modelling tool, more a family heirloom. However, it won't quite do what I want it to do, at least not until the Portrait made a little work holding table for me. As well as pressing out rivets on etched brass kits, and pressing rivets into virgin brass for some of my odder intended prototypes - I don't see Bachmann making an outside framed 2-4-0 anytime soon, at least not before I've finished sweating blood over mine. What I also want the Rivet Press to do is make rivets inside 3mmx1mm U section for solebars and 1.5mmx1mm T section for stantions. But, the Rivet Press uses an anvil to form the rivet shape, and the anvil won't allow the angles of the U channel or T section to position correctly. I hope you can follow my prototype solution from the pictures - this was knocked up in about an hour using 30 thou styrene sheet - by strange coincidence the channel in the 3x1 U section is.... 30 thou deep. Of course I just had to try it before the solvent had properly dried off, so the thing was a bit soft and... it may be that it is too soft full stop. But it's a prototype, and maybe it's a case of taking the design and, having proved the principal, remake it in more hardwearing materials. Still loving this Silhouette though. And the Rivet Press, having just made a perfectly straight row of rivets spaced exactly 1mm apart... wow, impressed. Need to get the hang of the force levels though to impress the rivet but not distort the metal - need to reset the lever stop as well.

Well the Lambourn shed is coming along - some interior walls done - hand scribing. My reasons for buying the Silhouette Portrait are well demonstrated by the occasional slip with the plank scribing. Fortunately the exterior planking will be handled by the machine, just as the lovely square doorways, windows and walls were.

I couldn't be happier with my little Portrait machine. First project is the Goods Shed at Lambourn, a model I've tried countless times before and come to grief. The Studio software took me a couple of hours to put together from the drawings in Paul Karan's Great Western Branch Line Termini Vol 1 - look out for a first edition 1977 if you can as the drawings are in 4mm scale - I was lucky and found a copy for £7.00 but that was years ago. It took so long to draw up the cutting plan because (1) I'm not very familiar with drafting software (2) not at all familiar with Silhouette Studio (3) kept having better ideas about how to lay out the pieces to minimise scrap. The Silhouette software allows the pieces to be placed next to each other. I don't know if this speeds up cutting time but it certainly didn't affect dimensional accuracy. I did stray off the edge of the page with the two roof sections, and as a result the cutter ignored the last 1mm on the bottom end - a fixable problem with a scalpel and ruler but needs to kept in mind for next time. First time through I used 30thou stock. Not advised but yes it did go through the machine and using the "Coverstock - heavy" setting it made an excellent job of scribing the job out. I did cut out all the parts for one of the rook trusses, must have taken half an hour, so I ran the cut again using 20 thou and a lighter setting. This didn't cut through the 20 thou but two minutes scalpel work on the trusses and all the parts were clear. It's naughty I know, but I find the scribed lines are so positive that I can scalpel the parts free without a ruler, just run the blade along the line a few times and nick into the corners. So I've used the 30 thou walls and the 20 thou trusses and beams - I'll hand scribe planking on the spare 20 thou walls and use them internally. Next job are the awnings, external planking, some window frames and I need to do something about the roof slates. Putting the pieces together was a dream, almost like building a kit. It has come out square, the roof line is straight, in fact all the faults that nobbled my previous attempts due to not quite perfect square/accurate cutting have disappeared and it's a real pleasure to build. QUESTION: Would these buildings have been whitewashed inside? Outside paintwork will be light stone with dark stone framing, but inside I imagine they needed a really light colour as the only illumination on winter eves and mornings would have been oil lamps?

Peter, I've seen your pages, lovely models and marvellous paintwork and lining. Of course Foxes Transfers have been doing waterslide for donkey's years, and HMRS have methfix and presfix lining for locos and coaches; so it seems there are others who, like me, don't have the skill or nerve to approach their finished and painted models with a pen full of paint. What I'm looking at in particular is very specific locations on GWR 4 wheel coaches, the narrow vertical panels in 4mm being just 1mm wide. I can see that whoever painted the Slaters Plasticard model managed to line the panel in 7mm, I would love to pull off the same effect in 4mm.

Now if you want to go mad there's this beast http://silverbulletcutters.com/ I've seen two quotes for the cutting force, here it's 950g but I've also seen it listed as 1,200g - while the Silhouette is less than 300g! Of course there's a price tag to match, £650, but check out the metal engraving and how's this for adding rivet detail But then for similar money or (quite) a bit more there's the next step along to X.Y and Z dimension CNC machining, 4D if you add a Rotary Table with Stepper motor. The combination of powerful Personal Computers and the falling cost of control electronics/motors is going to have some interesting results.

I was thinking in terms of transparent transfer paper http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inkjet-Water-Slide-Transfer-Transparent/dp/B00835TC7Q and that possibly takes out the step of painting the paper with model base colour. I agree the colour match problem would be difficult to overcome, hence the idea of using the same paint as used on the model to spray a base layer for the transfer and a Proops lining pen http://www.proopsbrothers.com/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Lubrication_32.html in the Silhouette with the appropriate paint to add the lining on top. There are a number of imponderables - will the lining pen deliver the shapes neatly onto the paper/paint surface? Will the transfer paper react with the base paint and fail to release the backing? Fortunately for a couple of sheets of A5 transfer paper and some Proops' pens the all up cost is less than a tenner, fifteen with some Micro Sol and Micro Set, so it's not an expensive experiment.

First cuts. Of course after reading all the advice I jumped in with my boots on and put my first attempts on to 30 thou of a rather soapy styrene card. I am very impressed with the crispness and accuracy of the scribing, the software allowed me to group the pieces to allow minimum wastage. The camera is very cruel, and it took rather a while to carve the roof truss clear from the sheet. But a huge advantage was being able to try out the components against each other on the computer screen before cutting. This was invaluable with the roof truss as it's supposed to be 0.75mm short of the wall on either side, and the angle of the slope changes as a result. I hadn't realised this until I tested a copy of the truss by overlaying it on the end wall to confirm the indent, this quickly showed up my error with the apex height and I was able to easily change the truss to match the roof slope before replicating the part and cutting. For heavy scribing of 30 thou - blade setting 7, thickness 33, speed 1, double cut Yes - machine used Silhouette Portrait I'm very impressed, I had always wanted to be able to make this kind of detail but had always found it impossible to cut accurately enough. One application I'm thinking of trying is making transfers for coach or loco lining, I see people are printing coach sides but has anyone tried the following - Transfer paper - spray with the paint as used on the loco/coach and allow to dry Lining pen (0.1mm oil/paint pen from Proops) used in the Silouette to draw the lining patterns drafted on Silhouette Studio, allow to dry. Or you could use an inkjet printer although printer handling of the paper may cause the paint to crack. Halfords varnish coat, and again allow to dry Silhouette to cut out the lining with a border of body colour around the lining Transfer the paint/lining/varnish sandwich onto the body side as with a normal waterslide transfer It's a bit of a long process, but the results could be quite spectacular as long as the lining pen delivers the lines correctly. If the size of the transfer was accurately cut by the Silhouette to match the size of the panel then you could also achieve a nice sharp line against the surrounding paintwork. Of course one could always go mad and attempt a whole coach side with this sort of process, on a clear styrene body shell it would be a good way of making flush window carriages. All the best and keep cutting.

This tool just seems to keep presenting more and more potential - This is glass etching and this is applied to copper http://blueberribeads.co.uk/archives/1497 Now I don't think the Silhouette is ever going to cut brass, let's be realistic, but it can scribe accurately so a design can be transferred onto the brass sheet for traditional cutting tools, but also provide a resist coat stencil for chemical etch that would give you surface details and perhaps fold lines. However, with accurate registration of two stencils there appears to be potential for a double sided etch to make holes and release components. For chemical etch materials I've located a supplier with claims being made for room temperature, low agitation, etchant. Of course anyone using these chemicals is responsible for the safe use and storage of the chemistry and appropriate disposal of exhausted chemicals. http://mungolux.com/Etchant-and-Acid/Etch-Mordant-AE3300::9.html

I have just spent the last three hours reading through this thread and hitting on various links and searches. BTW, came to this via a mention in Scalefour News, so the word is spreading. Having recently been researching small milling machines and CNC engraving tables it seems to me that the Silhouette machine represents a 'plug-and-play' option with amazing potential for the price of, well shall we say a couple of etched brass loco kits or five etched carriages. A reasonable investment for a versatile tool - and a great deal less than the desktop CNC options I was previously looking at. I would make a couple of observations - As regards problems concerning tight corners, wouldn't it be fairer on the machine to use it's straight line accuracy and when a sharp 90 degree curve is required with a radius of, let's say <2mm, it would be better to scribe a cross hair centre spot which is then used to drill the corner? I'm trying to recall David Jenkinson's articles on plasticard carriage construction from hundreds of years ago (or did I get his book from the library?) where I'm sure he drilled out the panel corners. This would also provide an opening from which the rest of the cut could be completed, saving on knife wear? I like the idea of making springs and axle boxes, this is a system ideal for accurate repetitive cuts. But for the springs, rather than trying to laminate them from a front elevation 'profile' couldn't you cut a series of leaves as oblongs of the relevant dimension and with a little hot air pursued them to take the correct curve? With a little care it might even be possible to make them actually work....??? I'm a recent returnee to the hobby (again) having always previously been daunted by the gob-smackingly amazing quality of work as displayed by some of the guys here and in the modelling press, plus my own inability to cut anything straight, square, perpendicular or parallel. This machine may be just a bigger better Stanley knife to those with real skills - but to me it looks like the answer to my prayers. I don't know if RMWeb operate a Member status system, but can I nominate JCL for "Hero" classification if available?