Brislines

Hi Brislines, Really terrific job you've made of that signal box, one of the best I've seen. Proper job.

 

For letters, try Slaters or Scalelink.

 

Anyway, try this link.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=walsall+station&client=firefox-b-ab&dcr=0&sour

 

When you get there, click on 'images'

 

Cheers.

 

Allan

Cheers Allan!

I certainly haven't.

They are used very successfully on Liverpool Lime Street to control the two turntables and the sector plate.

I would think the difficult bit would be making the control system, particularly if you want to have variable speeds, etc.

 

Steve.

Thanks Steve,

Yes that does seem to be the main issue... A control system. At the moment I am looking at a lot of You Tube videos for clues!

Hi all,

I have been looking into the idea of using miniature stepper motors rather than servos. Has anyone else tried this?

That's looking good!

Steve.

Thanks Steve!

Lots of ideas bouncing around in my head from seeing your work so I'm just dipping my toe at the moment!

Inspired by this thread I thought I would 'Have-a-Go' too! 

Hi All!

An appeal for Help!

I am modelling Walsall station 1923/1978 era's. I am looking for detailed photographs of the old gate house and weighbridge from the Bradford Place side of the goods yards. i have searched the internet and local history services to no avail! If any you have any pictures that you are willing to share that would be great, or even if there are other former LNWR yards with old buildings still in existence that I could visit, that would be of help!

This is my attempt at modelling Walsall No2. Box which will be on the same layout.

Many Thanks in advance!

Paint fading with age was mentioned earlier in the thread. This reminded me of some experiments I had done several years ago so I had a dig around... and Lo! Three examples of my work (which may or may not bear up to scrutiny) that I was quite happy with at the time.

Continuing the Huntly & Palmers theme, I’ve started on one of the dumb buffered wagons from the batch of five supplied by the Birmingham Wagon Co. in 1873. My reference for this build is the third wagon (No. 1) in this photo, so there’s quite a bit of guesswork involved expecially as the photo shows the non-braked side – as it does for the other two wagons of this type near the rear of the train. As with the 1889 iron framed wagon, the starting point is Cambrian kit C74. As will be seen, this introduces several compromises, starting with the length – 15’0” or 60 mm – which may be a bit long for a wagon of the 1870s. Reference to various drawings of dumb buffered wagons shows that the buffers typically stick out 15” – 16” beyond the wagon body, so I cut a piece of 0.157” x 0.060” Plastikard Microstrip 70 mm long to form the solebar and a piece 24.5 mm long for the headstock – giving enough width between the solebars to fit an MJT etched axleguard unit. These I welded square, with the headstock inset 5 mm from the end of the solebar:

 

H&P dumb buffered underframe construction.JPG

 

To help keep the whole assembly square, I cut a rectangle of 60 thou (0.060”) plasticard as a false floor sitting inside the solebars and headstocks. The dumb buffers were built up with a slip of 20 thou plasticard and a piece of the solebar microstrip to give a thickness of 0.140” – 3.6 mm, close enough to the 11” of the prototype – or at least, of LNWR and Midland timber trucks, which are the dumb buffered wagons for which I have the most information. The MJT axleguard etch comes with a selection of crownplates, coupling plates and other solebar ironwork – having already sprayed these black, my cunning plan is to add them after I’ve painted the base colour.

 

H&P dumb buffered underframe with MJT fret.JPG

 

I have, however, added the inner brackets in microstrip, as for my LNWR D12/D13 timber truck builds, though subsequent reference to the photo in Pannier39 suggests this might not be the correct arrangement for a Birmingham Wagon Co. wagon (see post #241). I’ve assumed that the solebar height should be 11” – a standard dimension. The microstrip is a scale 12” high (0.157” = 4 mm), so I filed and sanded down the tops of the dumb buffers and the headstock to closer to scale. As before, I’ve rounded off the Cambrian end to closer to an arc profile. The back of the end pillars where they project below the end sheeting are not flush with the sheeting, so the end sticks out from the headstock. I cured the rear of the end pillars down to cure this. With one axleguard unit in place for a trial fit, I’ve got something that looks like and overgrown platform barrow:

 

H&P dumb buffered wagon end assembly.JPG

 

As I noted with my Hornby wagon conversion, the MJT axleguard units get in the way of the tail of the Slater’s 3-link coupling hook, so I’ve sawn and filed a chunks out of these:

 

H&P dumb buffered underframe modified MJT axleguards.JPG

 

This photo illustrates the value of taking photos as one goes along – it’s reminded me that I need to fill in the holes in the ends of the siderails where the headstocks aren’t…

 

I’ve used thaeCambrian floor on top of my false floor to keep the sides the right distance out from the solebars. The Cambrian sides needed some modification – the kit has door catches on the top plank, whereas, like my previous H&P wagon, this one has the catches to the side. However, this wagon does have diagonal strapping. The moulding has round door banger plates; I carefully shaved these off and recycled them on the Gloucester wagon, solving a problem there:

 

H&P Birmingham1873 and Gloucester 1908 wagons.JPG

 

The pencil marks on the solebar mark the axle positions for 9’0” wheelbase; following a comment of wagonman’s, for this photo I’ve set the wheelbase to 8’6”. The axleguard units aren’t glued in place yet, I’m still pondering this, taking into account the suspicion that the 15’ body may be too long anyway.

 

I'm still completely fogged by the idea that the D304 wagons for Carr's biscuit traffic should be found in Swansea Vale - please explain.

 

Dumb Buffered Wagons! Yet another project I have in mind. This is truly the thread that keeps giving! 

Great minds think alike. My only in-period LNWR engine is the Bachmann Coal Tank and even that ought to be lined rather than plain black. A Coal Engine or a Special DX would probably be right but I did fanaticise about an 'A' some posts back - it's the heavily pregnant front end that does it for me. Do you think the London Road Models 'C' would be a practical starting point? I do have a Bachmann Super D but that's for my 1950s mode!

 

I like the West Cannock Wagons. I need to do some finding out about the Cannock Chase collieries, to work out which ones were connected to the Midland (especially via the Walsall Wood branch) and which to the North Western.

Hi Compound,

Thank you for your comment.

I actually have a complete BIWO kit for an 'A' Class but don't want to risk ruining it as it obviously has some collectors value. I trawled a well known online auction website and purchased a Bachmann Super D as a donor for the chassis to save a lot of work, but feel that a smaller motor will need fitting as the earlier boiler on the 'A' is, of course, a smaller diameter. As you say the C1 would be a good starting point...Although I was thinking 'Oh! That front end!' myself! 

As regards collieries I have done some limited research on the subject and I can recommend 'Walsall's Engine Shed' by Jack Haddock as it details colliery train workings from the Cannock pits in some detail. I believe Walsall Wood Colliery fed into Norton Junction and this was LNWR although Walsall Wood was a Midland station and had a connection to the Midlands Water Orton line at Aldridge. (If that sheds any light your way?)

I have Just discovered this thread and have realised that it parallels so much of what I am working on. Eventually I hope to build a LNWR 'A' Class to head a full length mineral train in '00' gauge, 1900's era... So when I found this it was 'sensory overload!'    I have attached some examples of wagons I have built so far... Comments invited.

There is no scope for producing 3 and 4-cylinder Compound and simple 0-8-0's from the Bachmann Super D. They had lower & smaller diameter boilers and were totally different animals with different Tenders....

WEBB A.jpg

WEBB C.jpg

WEBB B.jpg

Models painted by me. Pete Waterman Collection. Photos by and courtesy of Tony Wright.

Ah! I didn't realise there was so much of a difference. For mass production it certainly wouldn't be worth Bachmanns while to develop them. A pity as they would make handsome looking models.

Other than the Special Tanks and the Coal Engine no other six coupled LNWR locos else used the small H spoke wheels so the chassis from the Coal Tank doesn't lend itself to much. Likewise the Super D has a Belpaire firebox, while all the LNWR locos were built with round top boilers. Although some were later converted to Belpaire, the larger wheel diameter might not lend itself to easy adaptation.

 

And what are the chances they'll produce some LNWR livery carriages? 

Hmmm.. OK. I concede that there isn't quite a dozen 'H spoke' variants. But if Bachmann COULD squeeze the motor into a round top boiler for the 0-8-0 chassis, wouldn't there be scope for 3 and 4 cylinder compound versions as well as the tank variants? Also regarding the 0-6-0 chassis... Yes a Crewe Special and Coal Engine. Well what about a Watford Tank and a Cauliflower? Same wheelbase are they not? Even if Bachmann don't do them I might! But I do certainly agree with you on the Coaches. If they ever did bother to tool up for them I recon they'd chicken out from LNWR livery. Maybe an early LMS would be as far as they would go?

Now Bachmann have tooled up for an 0-8-0 and an 0-6-0 LNWR chassis I hope they have given consideration to all the variants they could produce from them? There must be at least a dozen!

I have been a customer on e-Bay many times. Sometimes I've found items on there that I simply could not find anywhere else. By enlarge I use it for the convenience. I do check prices elsewhere (when possible) and I don't often pay over the odds like some bidders do. Having said that it is tempting to hit the 'bid now' button rather than drag ones carcass here and there to shop in the more traditional ways.

It isn't just model railways that go for silly prices. With my other hat on I have been trying for some time now to acquire some extra Lego road baseboards, specifically the proper light grey ones from the 1980's. EVERY SINGLE lot that has been listed on Ebay in the last few months has been snapped up by the same bidder (you can tell by the feedback number, same every time) using a snipe program in the last five seconds, he must have hundreds of them now.

 

Now tonight this guy's ruse is revealed as a seller is now offering quantities of them Buy It Now at vastly inflated prices and it is the same chap as the feedback number is identical. Clever stuff, buy every last one you can lay your hands on (thereby artifically inflating the market price for them) and then sell them again netting a mint in profit!!

 

(You may tell I am a tad miffed at this guy, unfortunately because I need a couple I have had to give in and buy three from him!!)

I think you have rather neatly described the basic principles of Capitalism! lol! (QED)

Some great info on this thread! Especially references to 'dressing' the tips. (That is something I had not previously had knowledge of.) I have a box of LNWR coach kits which have become my guinea pigs. Every so often they come out and I do evil experiments on them with varying degrees of success! I can feel another session in the 'Lab' coming on after reading this!