Ian Simpson

2 hours ago, 45587 said:

Ta-daah! One stage coach - although I think it's probably a bit too American looking. I wonder where Bachmann got their dimensions for the coach body from? It would be a bit of a squash to get four H0 bodies in there as far as I can see. I've still got three more coach bodies to deal with so now I'm in search of more horses, H0 size.

George

That looks very good, George!

Yes, Bachmann's B&O coaches are ridiculously narrow! I think the actual coaches might have been slightly wider, but not a lot, if the replicas at the 1939 World's Fair in New York is anything to go by:

On 14/02/2024 at 07:13, Mikkel said:

...  could easily lead to a situation where the product is driving my modelling rather than the other way around. Queen Adelaide's coach being a possible case in point! 

 

That's a fascinating thought, Mikkel. It's only natural that new opportunities affect our modelling choices. At the moment a surprising number of the small band of British H0 modellers are buying Trix's new Flying Scotsman, which is an absolutely amazing model but has a matching price tag of around £500. I don't know one of them who models the East Coast main line. It will be interesting to see if this changes as a result of their purchases.  

If the product does end up driving your own modelling, I'm definitely looking forward to your mid-19th century layout!  

6 hours ago, Mikkel said:

... Yes the Hornby early stock is a bit costly, though I am so enamoured by Queen Adelaide's Saloon that I think I'm going to get one just for decorative purposes.

Yes, the coaches do look especially nice!

As an aside on the cost debate, I think this Budget Model Railways video is interesting. Mike Potter is arguing that we are returning to an earlier do-it-yourself approach to modelling, but with newer techniques and technologies:

Although I personally wouldn't dismiss people who buy expensive and accurate models as "boring Bob" just because they have different priorities to me! I hope there will always be room for everyone in our hobby. 

Okay, that last sentence was a bit too sanctimonious to end on. So let's cheer ourselves up with the thought that craft modelling can be a revolutionary act against global capitalism :

Thanks, @Mikkel. I just took a cheap telescopic pick-up tool, like the ones at the top of the photo below,  and bent the thin metal near the head through 90 degrees  with a pair of pliers: 

I think they would be great for uncoupling three-link couplings, but absolutely useless for coupling them. A tiny disc magnet glued on the end of a thin piece of wood or plasticard might work, but would probably be too strong to leave the links coupled when it is removed?

I love the new R-T-R early models, and I really hope we see some period layouts as a result. Given the small size of the prototypes, I think it would be possible to add these models to an H0 layout without too many problems, but the prices are a bit eye-watering. Of course they reflect the very high quality of the models, but I'm personally a big fan of cheap and cheerful. So not tempting for me personally, but I can definitely see the appeal and I'm delighted they are available to others who have an interest in the era!

Rocket and Lion were only used for a few years on a short, fascinating and historically important northern English railway, so  for purists they are a bit limited geographically. But they're fine for free-lance railways, so modellers don't have to restrict them to a single line between Liverpool and Manchester!

Thanks, Mike, you're absolutely right about the fore-carriage. It wouldn't be hard to add a very basic one to the model with a bit of plasticard. The Britzka article is fascinating, and I learned a lot reading it!  

I do like George's idea of an 1840s traffic jam - or just a queue of carriages outside a station. It's certainly possible to produce a bit of variety. One change  to Nigel's model would be to fill in the side windows and remove the luggage rails on the roof to make a private carriage. I think it would also be possble to hacksaw off the top of the body to make an open carriage body, and just painting the top half of the body black would make it look more like a traditional stagecoach.  

57 minutes ago, 45587 said:

I'll stop hijacking your thread now, Ian.

 

Please don't stop, George! The blog exists for everyone to share their thoughts and ideas on early modelling (or just early railways), and I'm sure most of the value comes from the comments. I certainly learn a lot from them.

That is a very nice model! I don't know any way to add fluted sides to an existing tender, although very thin plasticard glued onto the tender top at an angle might work for anyone with an infinite supply of dexterity, patience and stoicism. Does anyone have any suggestions?

36 minutes ago, Spodgrim said:

Ian - Reminds me of Woolston from when we were kids. Or Micheldever (which is possibly  a William Tite station) which I suppose is the same era as you're modelling, 1840's

Funnily enough, I was looking at some photos of Woolston yesterday and thought, as I always do, "I wonder why Hornby / Bachmann haven't made a model of that station!" I guess I might be a bit biased, but it's a lovely little building. (It also reminds me of some of the LBSCR stations as well, such as London Road and Seaford.)

As far as I can see, Tite didn't do any work for the SER. I'm not sure who designed the Tunbridge Wells station, but the 1846 building is still there:

I love these glimpses of your modelling, George! That looks very nice.

Thanks, Northroader, that is a wonderful website! I loved the other models as well. The classical architecture used by 1830s railways is one of the attractions of period modelling for me. The Tudor and Gothic trends that followed are architecturally interesting, but to me the clean lines of classical designs look much more elegant. The Dublin and Kingstown Railway did have some wonderful architectural features, as shown on this lithograph from 1834:

The Dublin and Kingstown Railway would be relatively easy to model, as it was originally a standard gauge line and the Bachmann John Bull loco (shown in my diorama photos with its leading bogie removed)  could be bashed into one of the line's first locos.

The atmospheric extension to Dalkey was actually quite successful for a while, and early steam locos would have struggled to cope with the gradients on this section of the line. The Kingstown station is quite attractive:

On the subject of early railway architecture, I've always thought the SER's first Tunbridge Wells station (drawn by John Bourne in the 1840s) would make a wonderful compact model:

Yes, there's a good case for a bit more width, especially for scenic development! Y points keep to the length down, but they need more width than other points, hence the skewed angle of the pointwork relative to the baseboard. 

Having said that, it is possible to run small 00 stock on the layout, e.g. LBSCR Terriers & L&YR Pugs and short wheelbase Hornby wagons.

Thanks, George! It's taken from a panoramic aquatint of Brighton seafront made in 1833: This Panorama – Historic images of Brighton and Hove (regencysociety.org).  There's a lot of coloured townscapes and street views from the early 19th century, so it's possible to photoshop a quaint pastel backscene that invokes the period - and of course that's easier if you only need two feet of backscene for a microlayout!

Many thanks, Mikkel! Yes, the plan is to carry out some experiments with couplers first, then move onto rope shunting. The only problem I can foresee at the moment is the light weight of the tiny wagons, so I'll also experiment with optimum weights. I'll post updates on the results.

Thanks, Neil! That gives me an incentive to keep going  

Just now, Ian Simpson said:

Marvelleous work, Chris! Wondering if I can get away with them in 3.5 mm (edit: assuming you're going to sell them), as these coaches were so narrow.

Let's hope the new Rapido Lion release inspires modellers to explore the potential of early railways like the L&B.

 

Update: And So The Cuts Begin

P.J. O'Rourke once recommended his Circumcision Principle to Federal budget-setters - that you can shave 10% off anything.  Austerity-minded politicians should note this is generally agreed to be an procedure that should only be performed once.

In the case of Middenshire, the traumatic cut came because I realised a lot of bookcases and wall units, at least the secondhand ones I tend to buy, have shelves around 30 inches long. The Tinories layout was 32 inches long until this morning, but reducing the fiddle yard cartridges from 11 to 10 inches (which will still - just - take two coach trains) and removing the short length of track between the platform throat and the fiddle yard means I can reduce the length to 29.5 inches. So Middenshire really is a bookshelf layout now:

Now I just have to get rid of two-and-a-half feet of books ...

(Edit: and clean the garden table!)

On 15/04/2021 at 00:27, 33C said:

Have you thought about using Micro-Scalextric car chassis, like a small Black beetle but a low floor pan. Just change the wheels. Pick up could use the braids rubbing on the rear of the flange...... 

Thanks, 33C, that sounds an excellent idea. Or perhaps those little radio-controlled cars that appear just before Christmas! I'll have to experiment.

I think it would be possible to use short lengths of brass tube to deal with any differences in axle thickness. Hopefully a dropper resistor and the larger wheels would get the speed down from Formula 1 speeds to shunting-friendly ones!

14 hours ago, 45587 said:

Excellent work. That spear fencing is very useful for models of early locos, and the Rocket kit likewise, if only for the tender. A question - how did you manage to cut the barrels off the DeWitt Clinton tender without getting metal filings in the motor?  I tried dismantling the whole thing but then couldn't get it back together in working order.

Thanks, Richard. I've found the DeWitt Clinton barrels are separate items held in place with (rather tight) pins, not an integral part of the tender chassis. All that's needed is a pair of pliers and the brutal determination of a medieval dentist. 

Oh, and nerves of steel will help as well. When I did this, I was gripping the wheels so tightly that they started to come off their axles - which is how I discovered they are actually just pushed onto the axles in the first place.  And that leads on rather nicely to @33C's clever suggestion ...

Edit: thinking about it, a sharp blade across the base of the barrels might deal with any paint that is helping to hold them in place?

Thanks, Richard, that's a really useful find!

Perhaps I should add that the small wagon turntable at the end of my layout is a PECO 90 degree crossing from their US Code 83 range, glued onto a thin circle of plastic cut out using a compass cutter, with a drawing pin stuck underneath for the pivot.

Thanks, Douglas! The one in the portrait photo of the goods depot and fiddle yard is a GEM white metal kit. It looks great, but as it was larger than any of the actual locos it seemed a bit out of place. (It would however look great on a set of wheels!)

So I've gone with the smaller version in the other photos, made from Dapol's plastic Rocket kit.

Many thanks, Mikkel! That battery is the controller:

Because it's such a short run from fiddle yard to terminus (about half a metre) the locos don't really get a chance to speed up, and so there's no speed control. I've found a dropper resistor of 45 to 60 Ohms produces the slowest running speed with the Norris locos, although it took some trial-and-error to find this out and it did rather dent my faith in Ohm's Law:

Many thanks, Chris. I haven't forgotten your kind offer to cast a set of Brighton seafront railings (just glimpsed on the right hand side of that last photo). If the offer still stands, I'll send you the dimensions and some photos in a few days.

Hope you're well and having a good Easter.

Those are wonderful models, Mike, and the tutorials on designing the prints are very useful as well!

My quick fix for the outside frames.

I added 4 mm wide strips of 0.0100" plasticard to the sides of the loco to make the frames:

Then added shorter vertical strips of the same card to represent the axleboxes:

Followed by an undercoat of Humbrol enamel paint. Perhaps I'll put another horizontal strip over the top of those vertical ones:

But at the moment I've no idea where I've put my expletive-inserted spear fencing! While I'm looking for it, here's a photo of Nigel's Bachmann John Bull conversion with railings made from the fence:

Many thanks, Mikkel. Once I've done it, I'll post an update.

2 hours ago, 5&9Models said:

... I’m still hoping Hornby will follow their forthcoming Lion with a Patentee or Planet... or both!

A Bury 2-2-0 for me, I think!

And who knows what Rapido will give us at noon on April Fool's Day :