Jules

I've had a bit of spare time so I have finally got on and built a kit I was given for Christmas about three (or maybe four) years ago. It was actually one of several kits I had that year, all the others have been built except this one. The kit in question is the Cambrian GW 6 ton hand crane and match truck. Quite a fiddly kit to build, not helped by me making a few mistakes! The obvious errors are the tool boxes on the crane body should be at the front of the crane body, and the pulley wheel should be further in on the arm. On the match truck the guides on the floor to attach the side frames are too far apart so some packing washers were added to the axle boxes to make the wheels a proper fit. On the crane, the guide for the side frames are too close together so these needed a bit of packing! The floor heights are different so the coupling hieghts also needed adjusting. The other kits I had that Christmas can just about be seen in the pics below - So Mayshill now has a little PW train for variety!

Excellent news - I might finally get a decent running 48/58xx!

Hi Steve What a cracking layout! I tend to miss things written in blogs, which is a shame as I miss gems like this! Cheers Jules

Thanks for the comments and 'likes'. I'm hoping that now the dark evenings (and grotty weather) are here, I might get a bit more time to 'do stuff'!

A brief update to drag this thread back from the depths... I've done absolutely nothing to the layout this year, apart from squeeze in some operating sessions. The only constructive thing I have done is to build three wagons, hence this post and pictures! The three wagons in question are a Cooper Craft provender wagon (best CC kit I have built), a SR 8 plank open and a NE 7 plank open, both from Cambrian and both a joy to assemble. So here a couple of snaps to illustrate! Hauled by 5812, they cross Frog Lane crossing then round the curve into the station 5812 takes on water And now some other general shots: I really need to finish the cottage and its surroundings a couple of the station Thanks for looking :)

Definitely Parkend! The tall building just over the level crossing from the station was (is?) a field studies centre for the former Avon CC (maybe others?) - I had a couple of jolly trips there more years ago than I care to remember!

Also check the couplings are free to move - I found the couplings too tight on mine which was causing them to derail.

The Mink D is about the only thing I have built this year. Unfortunately it is a bit wobbly due to a bit of a build issue. It runs, but does occasionally de-rail over point work. I think it will either have to be replaced, or hack the running gear to spring one of the axles. Nothings going to happen very quickly though...

Thanks for the complement! I haven't done anything on the layout for months, the rather unexpected presence of a lady in my life has somewhat curtailed the modelling time! (not that I'm complaining...) I still get chance to play operate it, but that's it for the time being

I'm no expert, but I would think the pitch of the roof on the Post Office is a little shallow, but there probably is an example like it somewhere!

Thanks for posting the picture, that's a very nicely restored wagon. Looks like I need to repaint the roof on mine, the instructions were slightly vague saying 'white or more likely light grey'...

I'll admit to being bone idle and just putting the transfers on the white plastic My past efforts at painting large areas of white have been less than satisfactory, hence the lazy approach

As there has been a bit of talk about weighting wagons....here is a pic of the underside of the open C, shewing the lead I have squeezed in between the frame. Each piece is a double thickness, and the three bits combined add upto quite a reasonable amount. Hope it is of interest!!

I do like the weathering on the 42xx

Hi John I do add a bit of lead weight to the wagons, the vans have a bit more than the open as there is a lot more room in the body of the vans! I don't weigh the lead, just add enough so it feels about right - slightly more than a r-t-r wagon. I'm not sure if they really need it, but as built they are noticeably lighter than an r-t-r equivalent, I add it just 'to make sure'. Hope that helps

As I had the camera out... The Mica has only got the red GW on it at present, I need to obtain some more transfers with the rest of the required words and numbers. The three wagons are seen on a short train hauled by the 58xx Hope you like!

Thanks Mikkel. They are now painted and partially lettered and earning their keep! A few pictures of the small prairie going about its business are attached, seems like the local shed is hanging onto its supply of red lamps!

Thank you both for the info - will have to keep my eyes peeled on the 'junk' stands for a battered yellow box!

Nice job! I assume the Open C is the long wagon - is that a kit or was it scratch built? I wouldn't mind one to add a bit of variety.

Nice to see someone else on here is a proper height!!

I also had this delivered by Santa (special) - just waiting for the time to give it the attention it deserves!

Meery Christmas to you too I've got another couple of the van and open to make, so I will probably make them to one of the other diagrams for a bit of variety. I agree about the NEM pockets, they are at the correct height, so no packing or filing is required - very well thought out and designed. I also have a couple of the long wheel base GW vans ( Minks D and G) to make, which might get built over the next week! I might have to extend the goods yard at this rate to accommodate the increased stock!! I've just noticed that this topic has been going for a couple of days over four years, how time flies!

Seasons Greetings! I haven't done a huge amount on the layout recently, just added a couple of trees from sea foam - the first ones I have created using this stuff. I think a bit more practice is required to get the best results! Anyway, the main purpose of this post is to show the three latest additions to the Mayshill wagon fleet. These are all from the latest Parkside releases, PC81 GW 10t open wagon, PC84 GW 10t goods van (MINK /MINK A) and the PC85 GW 6t Insulated van (MICA X7 ) These kits are excellent! I have never had an real problems with the older PD kits, but these are even better. All three wagons share the same basic underframe that go together easily with no messing about trying to get the solebars the correct distance apart. A couple of views of the as built wagons - I built the Mink as a dia V12, the open as a dia O11 and the Mica as a an X7 (the only choice). As can be seen, they need painting, and the Mica needs its end handrails forming and attaching - not something I am looking forward to! If you fancy something a bit different from the r-t-r offerings, give one of these a go, well worth the couple of hours build process. edit - to remove smiley thing!

I bought mine in August, and I think it was fairly new to the range then.

There are no painting instructions, just a simple exploded diagram of how to assemble it, you certainly can have an 'anything can go' livery! (as Job has already said ) I do need to source a driver (or whatever the technical term is!), I think pretending that Thor has travelled the route so often he doesn't need a driver is stretching credibility a bit far, even for me!