5&9Models

I'm beginning to feel like a bus, I don't post anything for ages then a string of posts one after the other. I'm keeping the posts minimal to provide a bit of bite sized interest and to avoid boring you all with the same background for all the photos. Please bear with me, it's all I've got at the moment! A few images of some early London & Brighton Railway stock. The open sided second coupe break (surely far too many titles for such a basic vehicle?) appears to be waiting for an engine of some description. The conductor (that's what they were called in those days) remains calm but his patience is wearing thin! The carriage lacks a few passengers, or perhaps the weather is so good they've all booked an open third, which conveniently leads on to the second picture. The third pic shows the roofed version of the same open third and there is an enclosed second version too, although I haven't photographed it yet. Perhaps a little job for this weekend.

Normally when you zoom in on an image of a model things start to get a bit ‘woolly’. What I love about this layout is that when you zoom in things still look as realistic as ever. Great work indeed!

Thanks Eric, I didn’t know that, handy if I build another. Cheers.

Thank you. I have no idea why they were buff and not the usual grey or red etc. I wonder if it was something to do with the make up of the paint to resist the corrosive effects of the Lime? I had wondered if in fact they weren't painted at all for that reason, and we've misinterpreted the bare wood as a buff paint scheme.

Well it's not every day you have the excuse to use the word triumvirate but today I'm feeling lucky! These three are a bit late for my own layout, but never too late for the glass cabinet screwed to my living room wall. The Beadle wagon is a recent addition to the range, crisp masters by Simon Turner, lettering transfers by POW sides. The Lime wagon and Booth Bros. wagons are revivals of excellent Woodham Wagon Works kits, masters by Burgundy many moons ago, but I made a new mould for the Lime Wagon and intend doing the same for the Booth Bros. at some point in the not too distant future. Lettering by my own fists of ham.

I’m afraid my website is hopelessly out of date. At some point I’ll get round to adding these new kits. I have some others I’m working on at the moment so perhaps I’ll add a batch when these are done.

The same arrangement would apply to anyone. Let’s say ‘Bob’ sends me a master, I make the mould, cast it up and supply ‘Bob’ with as many castings as he needs from it. If he needs more than two or three then we would need to talk about materials costs, but my ‘payment’ would be permission to include the kit from ‘Bob’s’ masters in my 5and9models range. ‘Bob’ gets his master turned into the kits he needs and I’m out of pocket until I’ve sold enough of his kits to start to cover costs! It’s not exactly a great business model but then it’s not my business (I already have a day job) so it’s not so important.

They’re not Simon’s kits, he makes the masters, sends them to me and I make the moulds and do the casting, write the instructions, sort the etched parts etc., and pack them up. He gets paid in free kits and castings and he hasn’t complained yet... In answer to your question: yes, they’re available from me (5and9models).

Ah yes, if I wasn’t modelling Bricklayers Arms I would without doubt be modelling Curzon St. If BA goes pear shaped, or by some miracle I actually finish it then Birmingham is my next project.

Really interesting question and one which I’ve mulled over, asked various people, and drawn no firm conclusions. I would have thought the veranda should face the train so the brakesman can see what’s going on. However, the dumb buffers are that end and therefore would most likely face the other way with the spring buffers on the train side. Turning it wouldn’t be an issue as it would easily fit onto any wagon turntable. I suppose the veranda facing backwards would enable the brakesman to see the faster passenger train closing in behind him blissfully unaware that he hadn’t yet cleared the time interval for that section!!!

Another vehicle to add to the London & Birmingham Railway layout I will never have! However, that’s never an excuse not to make a model of whatever you fancy is it? This little van is from a drawing by Joseph Wright of a water ballasted ‘break waggon’ pre1845. The drawing gives his London address which makes it a very early vehicle, so just right for Bricklayers Arms (if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s for completely the wrong railway), but let’s not worry about that. Excellent masters (as always) by Simon Turner and cast as a kit. Went together well so I might just have to make another one...

Very innovative Ian, well done!

5and9models.co.uk

Excellent work. I can supply a full set of castings for this model if you're interested? Buffers, springs, axle boxes, stove chimney and brakes.

Thanks. I’ve updated the information on this blog to correct a couple of errors and provide a bit more info. I’ve also taken a couple of shots which show the internal ‘gubbins’. You can see the drive train underneath, and the top of the boiler lifts off (only held on with blu-tack) and the tiny motor lifts out if necessary. I think I bought it from Branchlines many years ago. Probably one of my over enthusiastic exhibition purchases on the back of the classic excuse: “it’ll be useful one day”!

Thanks Mikkel, it has a tiny motor inside the upright boiler with a little scratch built gear train to the driving axle. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it under construction. My card was actually 'harvested' from last years calendars. I haven't done this years yet, probably need to sneak in at the weekend and do it!

Thank you. I’ve posted a lot of pics on the Facebook page ‘19th century railway enthusiasts’ if you’re on Facebook?

Thanks Ian. I’m super pleased you like the ballast as I’ve fussed over it like Goldilocks and porridge! . I tried Woodland Scenics fine buff but didn’t get on with it - too coarse and uniform. I then had a go at a weird home brew of glue, ballast, and paint which was truly awful - I still wake at night in a cold sweat just thinking about the mess! Finally I settled on glueing card (collected off the back of calendars at work) level with the sleepers. Then another layer To cover the sleepers and a strip down the middle of the track. This was then painted with a textured sandstone coloured masonry paint with extra sharp sand mixed in. Further weathering down with paints gave it a mottled appearance and we are where we are so to speak. My wife says it could do with some more weeds (and she’s probably right) but I’m so glad you approve. I never anticipated how hard it is to get right. I’ve yet to roll out the technique on a larger scale but I’m hopeful it will leave the point work refreshingly unclogged.

No, not really, but the Bury rebuild would make a lovely model too. May I drop a heavy hint to have access to that rather interesting drawing you’ve posted please?

SER ‘coffee pot’ no.126 was busy today with a little shunting. Well, at least that’s what I pretended it was doing since I don’t have enough track laid yet to actually do any shunting so perhaps we should call it a ‘photographic charter’! The loco was made at Bricklayers Arms in 1848 but not finished, (possibly due to a dispute with William Bridges Adams over patent infringement). Completed at Ashford in 1850 ( after Adams had gone bust) it made itself useful until September 1866 when it was withdrawn. It was converted to a stationary engine in Feb. 1877 and sent for pumping duties at Redhill. It was finally sold to a Newhaven scrap dealer in 1888 for £26-18s-10d.

You’re making a fine job of that, it’s looking very good indeed!

Thank you. I wouldn’t say the Broad Gauge is too modern. If I wasn’t up to my neck in standard gauge of the 1840s I’d be modelling the BG too.

I’ve wanted one of these for ages so I’m pleased to be able to complete this tiny L&BR horsebox this weekend. The excellent masters were made by Simon Turner from a drawing published in Samuel Brees’ magnum opus. The kit is very simple and went together well. Also took the opportunity to photograph a couple of other ‘bits’, my 0-4-2 banking engine, again from a drawing in Brees who claims it to be ‘Hercules’ of the London & Croydon railway. Unfortunately we now know this to be cobblers as ‘Hercules’ was a 2-2-2 by Rennie looking very similar to Sharps locos of the period. This engine looks rather too continental to be a British engine, but all the more interesting for the mystery surrounding it’s origins. Runs very sweetly thanks to the Portescap squeezed up front, and is one of my favourites. The SER coffee pot loco pulling a load of London & Croydon Railway atmospheric tubes was cast at Ashford and constructed at Bricklayers Arms where it served as a shunter. It’s a bit late for my period at BA but I couldn’t resist it. After all, it’s more relevant than the London & Birmingham stock which we can be absolutely sure never ventured south of the Thames in the 1840s!

Thanks to some great work by Simon Turner who has been supplying me with excellent masters, I have managed to start to add a few new kits to the range. They’re not ready yet but we’re up to the primer stage with the GNR horsebox, GNR open carriage truck and a general purpose 2 plank wagon by Smith & Willey of Liverpool c. 1845. A London & Birmingham Railway horsebox is in the final stages and I’ve a L&BR ‘break waggon’ to build as well. I have been told that masters for a L&BR open carriage truck will be in the post soon to go with the horsebox. It seems I need to order more rubber...again!

That looks superb. I think the way you paint the rust patches is excellent. Just needs a few streaks down the wall where the frame meets it. Great work.