88C

Looking good, nice to see a Barry loco. Don’t forget that Derek Mundy does some Barry crest transfers. Now you have the engine what are your plans for coaches? Brian

It’s a long time since I have done any outside cranks but I seem to remember using Loctite. No good with plastic though. Brian

You are in luck, I have had one of these for ages and have only looked at it and put it away again. I will do the scan for you as soon as I can. You might even inspire me to start mine. Brian

Superb picture, as always. Brian

I have just started work on the tender weather shield only to realise there is more that I don't know. When I ordered the H chassis from Derek Harris at Redcraft he kindly sent me a drawing for 35/36 which show a door in the weather shield, the diagram in Russell doesn't show the shield at all. Needless to say photos do not show the engine from the rear so detail will be guess work. From what I can make out in the photos there is either an open door or even no actual door at all, I won't commit myself just yet, anyway I will need to do the tender flares first. The more I think about it an opening would be more practical but who knows? As for the smoke box door, it will be convex. Isn't modelling fun and also frustrating at times. Brian

Thanks for the reply @Penrhos1920. I am afraid that I cannot answer your questions accurately, as I have said before this model will only be the best I can do and as such I will be happy with it if it looks like a D. I can live with some detail errors. Over the years I have collected fittings which are pretty close and I know that I don’t have the skill to make my own. By the way, chose 35 because I though that it was the easier cab to build. Brian

Let's hope so. Brian

As I mentioned on my Llanforen layout thread I was not happy with the tender when on test, it derailed far too often. The wheels are mounted on a subframe which I think was too flimsy and distorted when screwed to the body so I decided to make another. Searching through my scrap box I could not find any suitable remnants of etch so I decided to try some single sided copper clad, that should be more rigid. I tried to be more careful this time, drilling the side frames as a pair and using my Chassis Squared jig when I realised that it also had 2mm fixings. Pleased to say this seems to have done the trick and as a bonus it will be fairly easy to fit tender pick-ups should I think they are needed. What wasn't so clever was putting the fixing bolts under the axles! Brian

Following the dodgy running of the D's tender I have built a new sub frame and this seems to have done the trick. On test towing the track cleaning wagon. A bit more of a load, no problems on the slight incline and it will be better when the boiler is fitted properly and weighted. One thing that I have become aware of recently is that this engine is really quite small for an 0-8-0. Must sort that tree before the next gale. Brian

After quite a break since posting anything about Llanforen I think it's about time so here goes. Not a lot has changed apart from a couple of extra trees and the foliage on one has been replaced because I wasn't happy with it before. One thing that has changed is that the line has been a lot busier! Running sessions have been more frequent, sometimes just to play trains and others to do some testing or running in. In this picture the Barry D is on trial, the load in the tender is to give a bit of weight and despite this I am far from happy with it's running so I need to investigate why. The loco on the other hand is running nicely, sweeter in reverse so I'm happy with progress, slow though it may be. More details of the build can be found on my 88C's workbench thread in Kit building and Scratch building. Some of my time has been building and weathering wagons for a club layout, Sutton-in-Ashfield Town, which is set in BR days. The layout is Eastern Region so no excuse for a 56xx, but Hereford Models were advertising a BR one for a good price and I was tempted. Well I do have BR period wagons and coaches so I will be able to use them with suitable motive power. No doubt I will also end up getting a 94xx and a 16xx, well I do focus on South Wales. The 56xx will need weathering, it just looks wrong in uniform black, that's another skill I will have to learn at some time. After the recommended time running in the 56xx was hitched up to a train with suitable couplings. It runs so much better than my Mainline versions of course. That's it for now so happy modelling to you all and keep safe. Brian

Still making steady progress with the D, it might not look much but working out the best order to do things and searching through all the saved bits from etches does take its time. Please remember that this build will not be a super accurate model but, I hope, a reasonably good representation of a loco for which I do not have a lot of information. There are some drawings for the class which give the basic dimensions plus a Sharp Stewart blueprint from the NRM, however the details don't always agree. We are told by many modellers to use a dated photo for reference, fat chance! I have only been able to find 10 pictures of this class of four engines, only 3 with this style of cab. I have plates for number 35 and two photos, one dated 1906 and the other as GWR1387 after having a bit of a rebuild and that is dated 1927. My stock really fits the 1919 - 1921 period. Back to the model. I found some etched springs which I have modified to use as the ones prominent on the first two axles. Scrap etch has been filed up a bit for the equalising bar(?) and the reversing lever simply more left over etch of a suitable size. Some time has been spent fitting the boiler, not attached yet but it now clears the motor and a short test run didn't show up any problems. I have just purchase another BR loco, later period! and when I saw it alongside the D I realised that the D is really quite small, I should have realised because one of my photos shows the crew posing on the footplate and the top of the heads are about level with the top of the boiler. I will have to start trying to buy some more supplies, I have plenty of handrail knobs but of course not the size I need, some tender springs and axle boxes and a tank filler. I also need some brass for the tender flares, that is going to be a challenge to make. By the way, some of my time has been spent building some wagons for use on a club layout set in the 60s so although not WR I will need something to pull them at home. Best wishes to all, Brian

Slow but steady progress, the D is starting to look like an engine now. The plastic boiler in place, It was certainly worth the effort as I made a couple of minor tweaks to the measurements before committing to brass. The brass version, not finished by any means but placed on the footplate once clearance had been created for the motor. A good investment years ago was a set of GW rolling bars which made this job so much easier and smoother. The hardest part of making the boiler that I find is fitting the smokebox front, no matter how carefully I mark and line up it is never quite right so I am going to have to adjust the position of the handrail holes slightly, not too serious as I deliberately drilled them under size. Brian

Coming along nicely. Thanks for the updates. Brian

Work is progressing on the D albeit slowly, I have got to be in the mood otherwise it is a waste of time. Since I last posted I have cut out the chassis frames and fitted them. Had I been more careful I wouldn't have missed the other cut-out near the front. I have done it now, needless to say it was trickier than doing it before fitting. The basic tender body has been made but I don't have suitable brass to make the flared tops. Looking at how other people have tackled them I will need to make a jig and have a bit of practice. Currently I am working on the boiler, I have done one in plastic to check measurements an have marked out some brass ready for rolling, again, I will have to be in the mood to do that. Brian

It's been some time since I last posted anything on here so what have I been up to? Playing. I have been trying to give some different locos a run. This is an old Mainline 56xx bought at a train fair a few years ago for £14 as spares or repairs. It does work but like most Mainline stuff, not very well or controllably. Worth the punt but it is a long way down the list to do any work on it. Building wagons. My stash of kits has gone down. These have all been picked up cheaply at shows, the two vans are whitemetal Model Wagon Co. items, they give a bit of variety although in reality they probably didn't last too long in GWR ownership. The open wagons are the twin Ratio set and a Slaters coal wagon. Overall, I probably have too many vans compared to opens. A few wagons that I bought at the Nottingham show have been weathered, these are intended for use on a club layout but will be useful behind the Bachmann 94xx. Finishing a coach. The coach, a Comet K40 full brake, needed mainly for the parcels train even though really intended for normal passenger trains. I must admit that building coaches is not my favourite modelling pastime, however over the years I have built quite a few. Many years ago I did some PC and MAJ kits with printed sides, maybe I should upgrade these with etched sides like @checkrail is doing with some of his coaches but somehow this isn't likely to happen. Hopefully the Slaters kits will re-appear. I have also built a couple of rakes of Barry Railway coaches over the years. Apart from that progress on the Barry D is slow, and I spend more time than I should reading RMWeb. Keep safe and hopefully we will be able to go to shows and clubs again eventually. We have several dates in 2021 for various things that have been cancelled this year. Brian

All good tips above. If I can add a couple more, firstly for plastic, don’t press too hard. For both materials if you cut on the waste side of your line you can then file back to shape, cheap nail files are handy for plastic. Don’t worry if you get it wrong first time, it is all part of the learning curve, we have all been there. Brian

A Castle is always welcome. Brian

Problems! One of the Llanforen boards has to be removed whenever the gas boiler needs attention, well it did earlier this week, but at least the heating works again. When I put the board back and did some running the tracks across a joint were no longer level, fortunately the layout was built with adjustable legs and a bit of tweeking got things back to normal. The next problem is not proving easy to solve. It involves this newly completed Barry B1. When running bunker first the pony wheels regularly derail at one point in the fiddle yard and occasionally on the 3way out of the yard. What is really puzzling me is why, since I have seven older locos with the same arrangement and thy have not given any trouble. I have added weight to the truck, tried springing all to no avail. Swapping the bogie with other models suggests that there must be something different about the main chassis but for the life of me I cannot see what. Isn't modelling frustrating at times. On a more positive note I have got several projects completed, some I am happier with than others, getting a decent finish with varnish has been a pain. All engines in the picture were sprayed with Phoenix gloss GW green. On the left is the paint without any varnish. In the middle a spray, using an airbrush, of Phoenix satin varnish, a new tin well stirred. It took all the deep green away and very disappointing. On the right the same green but a spray with Humbrol satin, my usual method but it was the last of the tin. I have since bought a new tin of Humbrol, opening the tin and giving it a stir it still looked grey, there have been comments elsewhere about this. After some experimenting on old models I have since given the saddle tank a spray with Phoenix gloss with a bit of satin which has improved things a little. At least the wagon building has gone well, although I am slowly getting down my stocks. That will do for now, be careful and keep safe. Brian

It's got to be a Castle, especially with a 4000 gallon tender. Brian

Nice photos as always Robin. I particularly like the 4th one with the tree, it gives a real sense of realism. Brian

How come I have missed this topic? This is a lovely layout full of atmosphere, well done. Brian.

Welcome to RMWEB. I look forward to seeing progress and don’t forget that if you want any advice there are plenty of people here only too willing to help. Anyway it looks like you have made a good start. Brian

I thought you might know. It was built a few years ago after Tony Miller sent me the photo of part of it in the background and I took the basic dimensions from the diagram in Mountford’s book. A fair bit of guesswork needed. The C class is scratch built. As with most things Barry related photos are lacking. Brian

A bit of Barry Railway for a change. The engine is a C class 2-4-2T but what is it pulling?

Why have I read all of this, I feel hungry now. Brian