BernardTPM

The English Electric name survived into the 1970s, though it became part of GEC in 1968. The front cover of the November 1971 Modern Railways has an advert for what was to become the class 87 with the joint name English Electric-AEI Traction Ltd. with 'A subsiduary of GEC Power Engineering Limited' underneath. Soon after this became GEC Traction Limited, though I'm not sure of the exact date (could be '72 or '73), so an 'English Electric' built in 1970 is quite OK. It looks to be one of their standard designs dating from the 1960s, built in various sizes.

The Southern Region only had one Mk.1 FK allocated (at least 'as built') S13003. Also the upper sides of the coach are flat, there's what appears to be a seam running a few inches above the rainstrip and the vents are dome, all consistent with a Mk.2, however, according to the 1979 Platform Five book, all seven push-pull FKs came from lot 30749 and none from the Southern Region's allocation of Lot 30734 (13387-406) which were still on the Southern.

Is that a Green (ex-Southern Region) Mk.2 on the right, being converted for the original Glasgow-Edinburgh push-pull service?

I think you've got about the right balance there; it's looking good!

Hi Missy,

I think you've made the right decision, though I think you may have taken it out a bit too much. I think they should have a slight dip in the centre, possibly about this much: (hope you don't mind my altering your pic to show)

It's a tricky one and I wouldn't like to say quite where 'the truth' lies!

Hi Missy,

Your link picture is one of the earlier Gloucester cars (5-7); basically the same, but the waistline rises up under the cabs in a bow-shape. Quite why they did this, I don't know 'cos it just looks wrong! It agree that the middle cab windows on the Worsley etches appear to dip a bit too far, more apparent now the rainstrips are in place.

The end of a plastic fibre-optic can be made into a larger lens by carefully heating with a soldering iron - not quite touching of course, just close enough to make it start melting when it will bell out slightly. Incidentally, you can also make very small air horns from 10 thou." plastic rod the same way! Not that strong though.

Bernard

Part of the problem with the drawings is that they show a number of 'round things' along the cowling front which may be lights, air horns or something else! And many of these drawings only show the original intention (at best) and then they got altered piecemeal over the years. Sadly no 'Gloucester' bodied units survived so we are reliant on photos and other sources. Not that preserved stock is always 100% reliable as a source of information!

I just realised the fact the BR ones didnt have covers on yesterday and was starting to think how I could easily chop them off so I am glad you are thinking the same thing. One of things I am worried about though as you mentioned is the height of the chassis unit thing, I really hope it doesnt creep too much into the inside of the coach!

 

While I am here typing I do have a question about the lights. They seem to have three lights, two at bufferbeam level and one above the cab, which ones were what colours? Do you (or anyone else) know?

As the bogies are to scale you should just about be OK for clearance, but I'd think about solding some milled angle ('T' section?) to the back of the valence edges, possibly before cutting.

The later railcars had four lights, one of which (on the front crease line) was red. On the pre-war cars there was possibly another red light towards the centre lower down; it's shown on some drawings, but there are few clear photos to confirm it. However, I've not seen any BR period pictures with them in use. In fact they seemed to carry the standard white tail-lamp on the back (standard rear bracket, not GWR headlamp side bracket) and nothing on the front.

There was a good colour picture of W12W in BackTrack 22/1 January 2008, though the platform hides all the bogie details - not to worry as there's W17W on the opposite page fully exposed!

As I have mentioned above I have the chassis on order from Maurice and once it arrives I will start fitting it. He did say that I will have to lengthen the chassis to fit but this is an easy job to do (apparantly!).

I'm not sure why he says you'll need to extend it as the dimensions are right as it comes for 2mm scale. Perhaps that will be clearer once it arrives. AFAIK the Tomix unit is fairly low and drives one bogie so it should let a good deal of daylight through the windows.

You're doing a great job on one of the more difficult steam era shapes; they're really stylish machines and quite a change from the usual Farish angular type. If you're doing it in Crimson & Cream you perhaps should look at loosing the bogie covers; I don't recall seeing any in place in post-war photos, though saying that might bring up a suitable exception! Keep up the excellent work

Here is the Tomix chassis I was referring to: TM-06 18m (9th one down). The 14mm wheelbase bogies at 80mm centres exactly match the prototype's 7ft at 40ft in 2mm scale, but is some 2.4mm too short on the centres for 1:148 scale. It doesn't sound much, but there were covers over the bogies that tended to be left off in later years and the bogies have to line up with them or they'd look wrong and move the panels and everything along the side wouldn't line up where it was supposed to. As you're doing it to 2mm scale you couldn't get more accurate for the basic dimensions!

Good luck with that roof - basically the centre part from about where the inner wheels are is a simple parallel eliptically curved profile roof (failrly flat over the centre), then it starts to dip down as it approaches the cab, still maintaining the same profile then finally tapers with the centreline curving gently to meet the line through the cab driving windows. Sounds like a job for plasticard, filler and templates (to keep both ends identical - and the roof ends any more railcars!).

Regarding the area below the cab windows, this should meet the rising bufferbeam fairing with a fairly sharp creaseline; in effect two shapes that only resolve at the very centre below the 'GWR' roundel.

I'd say after folding overlay the lower parts with plasticard, around 20 thou." at a guess, then file them into arc profiles. A little filler to blend the joins and hopefully they can be made to 'flow' round in a continuous curve. The large 'skirt' top could be made from filler, using the valance sides to help shape it while still wet. I suspect it was quite a prolonged job in real life, hence the wartime angled version. The roof will be fun because of the dipped ends.

The obvious r-t-r chassis choice must be a Tomix unit because of the short 7' w.b. bogies; I think there is even one with the correct wheel centres for 2mm scale (from when I was looking at the possibility of a N Gauge kit for the Parcels version - didn't find one with the right centres for 1:148 though).

It's looking well! I must try out a frost grille on the next test etch.

I thought that location looked familiar. It was cold last weekend

They list their sheet BL54 as having Fruit D (Y11/Y14) numbers, but reading the introduction at the top it's likely they are for the earlier BR period.

That looks quite nicely weathered. Regarding transfers it's possible that Woodhead might have covered some of these parcels vehicles but you'll only find those secondhand these days, if at all. The boxed style wasn't common on NPCCS, more for freight stock.

Actually I miss the old smell of humbrol enamels; the current ones don't smell right.

Hey Bryn, don't worry; it'll be great when it's done and it'll be done when it's done!

All the best,

Bernard

LCC no.1 might also pass for some of the Liverpool cars of the early 1930s as well as the more obvious London and Leeds settings. Good luck!

The nearest to that type (horizontal upper vents and vertical boarding for lower body side) is here; http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/p10370431.html

Not quite sure what size of bogies are fitted though.

G.

those are the usual 9' Pressed Steel types, the most common in later years. Also note the lever handbrake as opposed to the DC type Lima moulded - not incorrect, but only the earliest of the vertical boarded ones had DC brakes - but, by luck, with the same 9ft plates you've fitted.

Those Lima pattern Siphon Gs ran on a number of types of GWR bogies, including the 9' plate type you've fitted. Most were on the later 'Pressed Steel' pattern 9' bogies as fitted to the Dapol 1938 Colletts, but I was pleasantly surprised to find one (on a link from RMWeb last year) with 7' plate bogies (as per Dapol 'B' sets) still running in 1976!

I looked at the large pics on Hattons' site when these went on sale and was very impressed as to how superior these looked to the original production runs. A bit of a pity the base models fall so far short (or is that long?). You've certainly used the best parts to advantage.

There were four real Stanier Buffet Cars, but 149 on the SVR is not one of them, though it does look quite like a proper D1948. It was rebuilt in the eighties from a 1936 Vestibule Third. Compared to a genuine buffet, there's an extra half bay at the far passenger end with the gap between the large and small frosted buffet/kitchen windows reduced.

I have to admit I was really thinking in terms of the Third when I said about moving at least two windows; just as in the Mk.1 there's enough space between the windows at the First class end. Well done! Your moved window reminds me of the ones I did in a Lima Mk.2 (FK backdating, 2b to 2) but obviously without the frame area to loose the join.

The Bachmann pannier chassis is a lot better detailed too. Hornby's current pannier has quite a rather nice body rather let down by the old chassis.

Wow! That's a tower of power for your thrusting Young British Executive of 1967! Groovy.

Mabex also do advert transfers, though their 4mm range was always much larger - must get a new catalogue! For your circa 1990ish period you would probably want d, the London Buses roundel. IIRC this was a sort of beige and red affair in the same overall shape. At around the same time a mid-grey band near the base was being introduced.