airnimal

I think it is time to get back to the models. i am pleased with my purchase at Telford which will be converted to S7 when I next see Colin Dowling. I will ask him to replace the crank pins while he has it apart. That is the only part I do not like about the model, they are over scale. ScottW, the L&Y and LNWR meet in lots of places so it is not unreasonable to see them together. Rule No 1 will apply anyway. When I was at Telford I also ordered some laser cut track bases and bought an assortment of track chairs from C&L. I made a Scaleseven point about 10 years ago on a paper template that has been in my workshop to test rolling stock. But being on paper only it did not stand up well over the years with rough handling, so I am hoping these laser bases will be better when I get around to the baseboards.

Many thanks to all the people who have been kind regarding my poor knowledge with my language skills. I knew from the first few weeks at school over 60 years ago that I had a problem but I was never able or clever enough to do anything about it. My father never spoke to me for over 10 years when I was young because of his battle with depression which didn't help me at the time when I needed it most. I am not asking people to feel sorry for me. I have made my way in the world with some success. My children are my both mine and my wife's success. I spent the last 10 years of my working life making parts for the scientific industry teaching myself to tig weld at the age of 55. I was part of a team that machined the graphite core of 2 nuclear power stations as well as spending time on airfield maintenance / aircraft recovery. Spelling has been embarrassing all my life but it never stopped the phone ringing in the middle of the night when an employer was in deep trouble because they had an aircraft with a collapsed under frame blocking their main runway. Meil comments didn't bother me, I can see funny side of things with the best of them.

Thanks meil. As most people reading my post will be aware I have suffered with dyslexia all my life. I used to shy away from social situations were it would be apparent that I was assumed I was a dunce. But now having brought up 3 daughters who have 6 degrees between I don't think I have anything to be ashamed of. I left school at 15 but I didn't go much in the last 3 years because I struggled with English. I had months of English lessons in my 40's without any improvement so I gave up and accepted that I was thick. Perhaps I should just provide pictures without words in future.

Grandad has been a very naughty boy. He was aloud out to go to Telford for the weekend provided he was back by 13.00 hours on Sunday and he came back with this.

Compound2632, Thank you for the link to the Warwickshire Railway website. I have seen a couple of good photographs on the LNWR society's forum of early goods yards at Coventry with open roof cattle wagons from this website so I wonder what else is available to us who model early wagons. The angle of the photograph in the link you provided of the D1 show that this has been converted from a dumb buffer wagon with self contained parallel buffers. I will put this on the long list of wagons still to make.

Yesterday the postman brought me a new book from the LNWR society. And what a fabulous book it is. For any one wishing to model the Victorian era and the LNWR in particular it is a must. The book is about a railway worker from a long forgotten time working very long hours at a time when the health and safety brigade were not invented. The book is illustrated with large format photographs that are clear and well printed. I have seen a lot of them before but not all together in one place and there some new to me. A couple of an accident at Leek Wooton near Kenilworth are magnificent with some early wagons in great distress. I have not been in the workshop while all the family visit but I have secured a pass out to Telford for the GOG meet providing I am back home early on Sunday for a large family gathering.

Tuesday night was quite eventful with very little sleep with the arrival of our latest grandson in the early hours. But it has given me a few hours modelling time today because all the femails have gone shopping again for gifts / presents / baby clothes etc etc. The fact that they had already bought things before this new addition came along doesn't matter. But I'm not brave enough to mention any of that. Anyway I have found my stock of sheet metal in the workshop. I have made a new tank top and folded a lip on the back edge and side after scribing with my Olfa cutter. i also made a new front panel for the tank but rather than solder this to the tank I have soldered it to the sand box which is screwed on. I have drilled holes for the bolts in both parts but as yet I haven't soldered any on. The 1mm x1mm square brass rod was used as a filing jig to gauge the height of the lip on the tank top.

I have had an hour to myself today as all the family have been doing different things. My better half has gone to hospital after her operation on her hand and all the girls / grandchildren have gone shopping / entertaining. So I was going through some pictures on my tablet when I came across one of the tank top on a chopper tank. I had made the top of my model quite plain without any detail because I could not find information about it. Now I had a picture I feel I have to revisit my model and try and incorporate this detail. The edge of the tank has a raised lip all around with a couple of lines of bolts at the front end. Rather than take all the tank apart to provide this detail I have decided to see if I can add an overlay of thin nickel sheet on top and just renew the front part only. I cut a piece of nickel to size and bent up one edge to see if this is going to be a runner or not. Not having much time to find my metal stock I have used a piece of nickel which is to thick but it does give me an indication that the idear will work. I will have to cut a bit of angle to form the back edge of the tank, but that should not be a problem. I have marked with a blue pencil where the bolts will be. I still have a small stock of Scale Hardware brass bolts which will do. When I get time ( probably after Telford ) I will find my stock of the correct material and have a go at adding this missing detail.

Absolutely zero modelling done over the last 3 weeks and none likely for the next 5 or 6 weeks as well. Even Thomas and friends have made an inroad in to the collection. The workshop has been taken over for the storage of toys and other items so that the spare bedrooms can revert back to there original functions for the returning daughters and grandchildren. At least I have a pass out for Telford.

I have toned the brake van down with some powders and put the glazing in. I think I will leave it now before I muck it up. It just needs a guard and some lamps.

I have found some very old Methfix transfers for the tare weight lettering. They are not as fine as the others I have used but don't look as bad as the photo in real life. Close up shots can be so cruel. A dose of track dust will hopefully be tone down and blend them in a little more.

While I decide which way to go over the baseboards I have had a look over the many wagons that need more work on them. I tried to paint one of my brake vans in the 2 tone livery but made a complete mess of it. So I stripped all the paint from it before spraying in the grey as with the other LNWR wagons. It still needs the tare weight applying and the glazing putting in. I put the wrong number plates on it at first. I managed to prise them off, but one went somewhere never to be seen again. Has anybody been to the LNWR meeting held at Kidderminster on the Seven Valley Railway ? I belive it is being held this Saturday and I was wondering if I should make an effort to go. And do people bring models with them to show what they are making.

Ruston, packing crates like the one my wagon have been around from the beginning of the railways in one form or another. They were mainly used for coal but other were used for other traffic that were delicate like clay pipes and pottery. The LNWR and L&Y both used them for coal traffic to the docks for loading on to ships. There is a good photograph in Vol 1 of L&Y wagons page 64 taken in 1860 at Preston which is very similar to the one I modelled. British Railways also used them for brick traffic. Geoff Kent did an article on them in MRJ. I started to paint my container with a new tin of Humbrol that was stirred well before use, but after leaving overnight to dry it is still wet 12 hours later. Once again my attempt at painting has ended in frustration and the container has gone in the bin. I may take a break from railways for a while to recharge my batteries. I have a large amount of family commitments coming up with new grandchildren arriving soon along with looking after the older one over the summer holidays while their parents work.

After going seeing my good friend Peter I decided I was going to order some baseboards off the shelf rather than make my own. Unfortunately the company that I chose have a bit of a back log. I then read a bit more including an article on baseboard construction with advice about finding a good wood yard to cut the 9mm birch ply wood to order. Looking on line I have found one such place not far from my house, so before I go any further I will go and investigate whether this is worth my while and make my own. in the mean time I thought I would make a load for the L&Y one plank open to disguise my poor wood painted interior. I had bought a resin cast load of chemical glass jars from Skytrex at Telford a couple of years ago that I had not used. I had seen Rob Pulhams load in one of his wagons which gave me an idea. I cut down the casting in length and removed 2 rows before painting it using Rob's ideas on colours. Looking through some of my many books on old England I came across a photo of some packing crates that would fit the bill perfectly. A packing crate was quickly made from 60 thou plastikard and 4 etch washers along with some .8mm hexagon bolts. It just needs painting now and securing with some tie downs. Also shown here is a 2 plank L&Y drop side fruit wagon that I have been making over last couple of weeks. I am not sure this will get any further because I have struggled with this one. Some times I have to have I make several attempts before I get things right and this is one of them.

Richard, as you say life is to short so that is why I must start something. Although I have been modelling for years I have never finished a layout, started many but never finished. I first built baseboards around the walls of my bedroom over 50 years ago but for many years I have just built stock and dreamed of what could be. I have a lot to think about as well as many things I have little experience of. I will consult my good friend Peter who has built his first layout over the past few years. He knows more about electrics than I do so he has a head start on me. He has offered to build the baseboards because he has all the woodworking equipment in his garage but it is so full he has to wait for a sunny day to use it outside. Having said that he did have someone else build his baseboards because he was so busy. I have been looking on line for companies who offer baseboard building services and I might go down this route to speed things up. Then there is the space I have available which may determine wether I can alter the size and if I can fit it around my 3 bikes which have to share the same room. Graham, I don't know the rules regarding small goods yards requirements and I will probably upset the more knowledgeable out there who will no doubt fall over themselves laughing. Rules and regs are not my cup of tea so if people can not be to hard on me when I drop a howler I who'll be grateful.

I keep thinking that I am not getting any further with ideas for my shunting plank layout. So I have got out my templates and laid them on the floor to see how much I can get in 12'. Not a lot in Scaleseven. It will have to be just a simple goods yard with a couple of sidings and use the run around loop using the fiddle yard. I can have 3 baseboards each 4' long which will clear the point work. One board will be 2'6"" wide tapering down to 2' over the other 2 boards. I am not sure if I will ever take it out to exhibit it or if it will remain just in my den. I better make it removable just in case we do ever move house. I have not done a lot of modelling other make a hash of a 2 plank drop side door wagon.

Angus, thanks for the idea for the brake stretchers. I had not thought about using plastic rod, I was still thinking along the line of PCB. Which ever I go with it has to be able to be removable so I can take everything apart for painting. The tank fillers I have cobbled together with the base and lid scratch built from nickel. The strap over the top were cut from a couple of brass castings for tank wagon of unknown origin. The T handle stumped me for awhile before I dug some brass coach handles that came from Ron Chaplin many moons ago. I filed them flat and then rounded them with wet and dry before buffing them with a wire wheel. They came out better than I expected. After dropping the front wheels down to get the ride hight correct, there was a bit of stiffness in the front wheels. So I removed the front frame spacer and tried a new design using a couple of bits of brass tube with a hard plastic between. This was not a success and made it worst. So I cut a new piece of tufnol and replaced the original brackets. The difference is amazing. The wheels are so free with the sprung axle light and true. I have had trouble with the front end for a long time, so I checked the old spacer and found it to be nearly 1mm to long.

A bit of a change today. It is about time I finished the chopper tank which is 95% complete. The list includes the beading on the side sheets of the cab and the tank fillers in the cab. So I dug out some half round brass wire and bent a couple to the shape of the cab cut outs. I first tinned the wire before tacking them in place at a couple of points before getting out the RSU to complete the final soldering. It was just then a matter of cleaning up the joint to make it look a little better. Other things to do include making the stretcher bars between the brake shoes and I think that is it. I am still thinking how to do the stretcher bars because of the split axle construction. I have also dropped the front wheels a millimetre because the body was sitting to low at the front end. Typically now the front wheels are not quite as smooth running as before so I will have to revisit this again.

Casey Jim, and Graham, painting has always being my hang up be it the lounge or anything at all. It is all probably something to do with my past. My father never painted anything in his life other than his beloved pedal cycles and tricycle. I left school at 15 to be a sign writer but only lasted 30 months because I couldn't stand the boss. Years later I spent 7 years painting all the taxi ways and runways at a large international airport. If you got anything wrong or out of line my colleagues use to take photos and post them in the mess room for everyone to take the Mickey. I am sure Freud would have a field day with me. Now tell me Michael when did this all start .............

I have tried hard to paint the woodwork to look like worn wood. Unfortunately it is one aspect of modelling I am hopeless at as well as not enjoying it. This wagon will probably end up having a permanent load of some sort to disguise my poor attempt at wood.

Guy, I am sorry because I bought these powders many years ago and I put them into store without the packing. So I am unable to identify the origin. I used the cream coloured ones which seem to work best. I must spray a Matt varnish over the wagon to preserve the finish. I tend to use the Citadel Munitorum varnish from the games workshop.

I have toned the colour down with some light coloured powders which has helped the to dark paint work. I have also soldered the gaps in the 3 links of the couplings. I have only just started to do this on my wagons but it does look better. I will have to go back and do all the wagons the same.

I have put the transfers and number plates on. The tare weight I have reduced by a couple of hundred weight from the photograph in the wagon book. Wagons sometimes lost a bit after overhaul, so I am claiming this because rule 1 applies here.

I have sprayed the L&Y steel underframe one plank open today taking advantage of the fine weather. Unfortunately I have used the wrong grey. It is to dark so it will have to be lightly toned down. The interior wood is still to be painted.

Tricky, I use this string just cut up into tiny bits with scissors and scattered at random and over sprayed with Matt varnish. As people have said it does need more lime wash. I may go over it again with more Humbrol Matt White.