Brassey

Hi David My kit is Brassmasters etched brass and I already have the wheels (Sharman's), I just wanted to make sure that I had not missed something with the flanges as all my drivers have them on. I have a set of wheels for my LRM C Class from Alan Gibson including a pair in a flangless version all in the correct H spoke profile. For me the C class 0-8-0 will be ahead of the Experiment though I have to make sure both will run round my curves; not sure which will be the most troublesome. In the meantime I might have a go at an LRM underframe kit inspired by your thread. i have a 32' 6 wheel PO vehicle to build. Peter

OK. I know some of the 0-8-0's had no flanges on a pair of centre drivers; I thought that I'd missed something on the Experiments. I too have one of these to build. Peter

It looks like your POW has no flanges on the centre drivers. Is there a reason for that?

I am not sure that the LNWR transfers are available as Methfix only Pressfix. Peter

In P4 I doubt we have the luxury of being able to reduce the axle length as the wheels are pretty much on the limits when set to the correct back to back. I have built a couple of the Brassmasters Cleminson underframes and a few of their bogies too in P4. IIRC they come with tophat bearings supplied and when I used these, i had no problem with 26mm axles. Thanks to Jol for reminding about the article in the latest S4 news about inconsistencies between different manufacturers of bearings; must re-read that one as it's more relevant than I thought! Cheers Peter Edit: looking again at the images on the thread Mike, you don't appear to have used the bearings supplied which are more cone shaped than the ones you fitted. You can see them in the first shot of all the components. Peter

Having read all the threads on here about using IPA to clean track, I went round all the Chemists including a large Boots and some Hardware stores last week and not one of them stocked any. I eventually managed to buy some on Amazon. Not tried it on my new track yet though. Peter

The cab interior is beginning to look good. I'll have to post some more pics of my ex-K's Dean Goods which is getting a similar treatment. Peter

Hi Darren Thanks for the post and sharing the image. I have indeed seen this rare view of this side of the station before and the photographer has shared higher resolution versions of this and another view with me. The LNWR Society last year acquired a folder of notes and images of this part of the line and I have copies of those images too which date from around the same time in the 1960's. What is far more rare are any views in pre-grouping days. I did enquire of Berrington Hall as to whether they had any pictures taken at the station as I would have thought the family in that house would have made much use of the station (and the loading dock). I have not yet received a reply. The Hall itself has quite a history too as it is reputed to be haunted because all 3 of the sons that were there at the time were killed in the First World War. I think the building was owned at the time by a cloth merchant from Manchester or something similar. Peter

I've mentioned this build of a GWR 6 wheeler elsewhere so by way of an update here's an old pic of the body coming together which looks a bit of a mess but should improve with painting. It's currently in the paint shop and I will post some more updates when it's a bit more presentable. Peter

Yes I did caveat my comment with "off shed". Here's an official LNWR pic to prove it. The black DX 1979 in the background is unlined.

I can't speak for the Midland but the lining on LNWR rolling stock was definitely very clearly visible. The locos were also spotless in pre-grouping days when they went off shed. I'm not referring to contemporary accounts; there are thousands of photos in the LNWR Society library that prove it.

Having reviewed the whole thread, I think the one at Didcot bears the closest resemblance. Thanks for posting. Cheers. Peter

Thanks all for bringing this thread to life again. I have only just caught up after the Xmas break! I have come to the conclusion that the original building in question is unlikely to have been used as a lamp hut and I inadvertently used that as a generic term for such a corrugated iron building of which, it now seems, there was considerable variety. I followed the suggestion of looking in Ericplans which does also have an LMS version so in fact the building at Berrington & Eye might not even have been erected by the GWR (it was on a LNWR/GWR Joint line); so it could have been one supplied by one of the independent companies manufacturing these around the 1890's 1900's. A number of other stations on the line had, what would appear to be, Good sheds/offices in this position. And as there is no other such building on the site, I am assuming that is what this building was used for. I will probably resort to scratch building using dimensions quoted on this thread. So all this has been most helpful. I have attached a crop of the station building showing the hut from another angle which shows the doors. This could well prompt more discussion as to the buildings origin. Cheers Peter

Thanks Nick, I was beginning to think that was the case myself - I do have some photos from other angles showing the doorway. Cheers Peter

Thanks once again Robin this time for suggesting the source for a model. Attached is a close-up of the offending article in 1932. It never struck me that this might be a standard GWR structure until I saw a RTR 2mm version for sale on a popular auction site. The maintenance of the buildings, permanent way, signalling switched between the LNWR and GWR over time; the signal box for example was commissioned by the LNWR, so I had not considered there would be any GWR structures in the station limits. In the foreground is what I think is a standard LNWR post mounted oil lamp (and a GWR trolley); anyone any ideas what the board/sign might have been leaning on the hut? (Order will be on its way to Dart Castings soon.) Peter

Just a quick update on the layout progress; there's not much to see from the photography which is not a strong point of mine. I have now completed all the road bed by laying a second layer of 6mm ply and achieving the desired cant by packing the road bed at the cross-members under the top. (See earlier pics to see the cross-members from underneath.) I have then stuck the Templot track plan onto the roadbed using PVA. I hope that you can make out in the photo that I have superimposed original LNWR turnout plans over the Templot output in the appropriate places using Photoshop. The plain track was already configured to LNWR specs in Templot with help from Martin Wynne via this site. I am now ready to start laying track which I plan to do directly onto the baseboard. I am going this route, rather than build the track off board, in order to preserve the flow of the transition curves. Hopefully ther will be more to see when I finally get some track laid but maybe not this side of Christmas. Peter Edited to move image!

Thanks Robin so much for finding this. On checking the o/s maps on old-maps, there is a structure on the platform in the1903 map that is not there in the 1888-1891 view so I guess that must be right that it was erected around 1903; I will therefore include one in my model. Actually, I don't find these huts that attractive and they are not in-keeping with the rest of the station but in the interests of accuracy, I'll build one. I have a modified version of the scaled map on my layout thread if anyone is interested in seeing where it was positioned. The earliest picture I have of that part of the station is 1936 so I was not sure whether it would have been there in 1912. Thanks all again for your responses. Cheers. Peter

I wondered if anyone knew when the GWR introduced their standard corrugated iron lamp huts? There was one on the station I am modelling but as I am building 1912 I doubt that it was in existence then.

It is precisely the liveries, the lining, the orderlyness of the permanent way etc. that make this period so attractive. One has to persevere to acquire the skills or work arounds to achieve the desired result though I have heard from some who have abandoned pre-grouping because these things are too time consuming.

Michael not completely true; I am of an age that have no recollection of working steam on the railways but it is the pre-grouping photography that I have always found fascinating and that has inspired me to model that era. Generally things do arrive quite promptly; I do still have two sets of wheels on order through Ultrascale that I ordered back in August but I did place that order on the web - they might arrive before my credit card expires! I have only found one supplier who has gone backwards and won't respond to emails and only deals through the post now. Everything I get via the web or at shows; my one remaining model shop does not stock kits and makes a living via selling boxes on the internet. I have depleted his stock of LNWR transfers.

My interest is in the LNWR/GWR joint lines pre WW1 and I have only just stumbled on this thread. In order to model this period you have to resort to kit building. The LNWR is very poorly represented in RTR and pre-grouping GWR does not fair much better. Perhaps this forum might persuade BRM and other media to look more at this era; however, I am not that concerned, as others have said, there are a considerable amount of kits around (in 4mm) if you can track them down. Peter

Nice curved baseboard Gordon. I pinched your technique on my own curved boards using the 45mm x 45mm blocks idea. I, however, have stuck the Templot plans directly to the cork and will build the track directly onto these. That is the next stage once I have finished the earthworks on the embankment as I don't want to have to do any more heavy sawing (jigsaw or otherewise) once I start building track. I doubt I will get that far before Christmas though....

It's been a while since progress was reported upon but things have continued nonetheless. The boards have all been braced and the shaped sides attached. I discovered that these would benefit from being stronger and are therefore made from 2 layers of ply laminated together. The picture shows all 3 boards with the track template laid on top. The second pic shows the underside of one of the boards. I have used 44mm x 44mm blocks to help form the shape of the curved sides - a technique I'd picked up on this site. Also on this pic can be seen that I have started to cut out the road bed. This is to create the desired cant on the main running lines. I am using a lamination of two layers of 6mm birch ply to form the road bed, suitably braced, and I hope this will help to hold all together without further bending/warping. The yard lines are 1mm lower than the main line. I have limited this in order not to create a kink at the cross overs into the yard as the levels change. This was something I'd previously discussed on this forum and recommended by Coachman. The ply seems to have successfully followed the line and shape but all will tell when the track is finally laid. The cant on the main line is at 6" (2mm) at the maximum curvature, which is prototypical to the LNWR specs of the day. Having now prepared all the road bed, I am now busy laying cork to form the ballast prior to laying track. To create the shape of the roadbed, I cut through right through the baseboard tops and template I'd previously created which I'd done by mounting the paper plans onto 6mm ply. Care has to be taken not to cut through any of the bracing at the same time! The sacrificed templates of track shaped offcuts are now being used to shape the cork for the ballast. More pics will follow in due course. Cheers Peter

I promised on another thread that I would add images of my builds so here we go. First up is a brace of GWR W4 Parcel Vans. These, as can be seen from the photos, are being kit bashed from various Ratio Van 3rd sides. This is using a known technique featured elsewhere for producing a 4 wheel version (which I have also started). I acquired a number of Ratio 4 wheelers only to discover on the Marshalling Diagrams, that no GWR 4 wheelers ran on the line I am modelling. So I have a lot of surplus parts. The W4's are 6 wheel. Two were attached to the 1.35am Crewe to Cardiff at Shrewsbury. One from Manchester Exchange to Cardiff the other from Birmingham to Cardiff. I have a number of six wheelers to build for the layout so these are a bit of an experiment. I am using Brassmasters Cleminson chassis. In this instance this will be attached to a Mainly Trains 19' Wheel Base underframe (bashed to fit six wheels). I am only building one chassis at this stage which should fit both. I'll build another if this one works out i.e. goes round curves without falling off etc. Various sides, including remnants of other projects, are being cut and stuck together to form the sides. The picture gives the idea with much evidence of filler still to be cleaned up. The door and commode handles have been removed to be replaced with brass versions after painting. Using techniques inspired by Coachman of this Parish, I have created brass floors upon which to solder the van ends which are from Shire Scenes. These already have the tumblehome formed but seem to have escaped the camera. This shot shows a side, floor and the Mainly Trains under frame. This looks a little over length but should fit when the van ends are fitted on the ends. Russell gives the length of these as 31' in the text but the drawing shows 30' 03/4". Eitherway, my versions, using the Ratio sides, are likely to end up short but as these are going passed in an Express train I doubt anyone will spot. Also the panelling does not match exactly the drawing but the drawing also has a line right down the middle of the vehicle which I am sure was not correct. However someone might have a picture which proves it. I am also building a couple of Ratio LNWR 50' corridor coaches - I'm working my way through Stephen Williams "The 4mm Coach" books! The bogies for these have featured elsewhere here, so when these move on a bit more I'll add them to this thread also. Hence the title. Peter

A Bank Holiday weekend and a week away from the office has meant some progress on the layout. 2 of the 3 scenic boards are built with the third underway. So here's an update The full-size track plan was attached to ply to form templates to cut the top boards. 9mm ply sandwich ends were attached to the ends of the tops. The technique used owes much to Gordon of ET fame on this forum and his curved board construction. Two boards are complete with the 3rd board's end piece ready and attached at the right hand end. There are longitudinal braces under the boards which are not visible from this shot. I will attach the sides later which won't be for strength but will be cut to follow the scenery. The templates laid on top of the baseboards. These templates will later be sacrificed as I cut through to form the track bed as, in addition to the transition curve, the mainline will also be on a cant. Baseboards from a different angle which shows the full extent of the curve. Both these boards have the maximum radius of the transition. The third board, with the station building, is straighter where the transition starts. Other commitments coming up mean more progress won't follow for a while in the short term. It would be good to get the third board sorted someday soon. Peter