Steel Grid

Turning back the clock and a bit of Rule 1... I think I said way back in my first post on Furnace Bank that I intended to run a number of different eras. Despite work being extremely busy, I have made time to escape to the cellar and have found the workbench a truly welcome relief. This post shifts the focus to the 1947-49 era. I'm really interested in the early days of nationalistaion and hope to capture some of the contrasting elements of really careworn stock that made it through the rigorous demands of wartime and the emerging new builds of the postwar and early nationalisation era. This post also proves that I have some stock that originates in the 21st Century... The pictures show my attempts so far at putting a bit of dirt and detail on the Heljan class 11. The application of Rule 1 is that 15101 only made it to Tyseley in 1951 and I've no idea what livery variation it carried by that stage. Anyway, so far I've improvised. A new 'TYS' shedcode has come from Railtec, but I suspect that 15101 would have had a BR shedplate by 1951. I've added a driver from Modelu and have yet to fit lamps; I also need to fit a buffer beam number and I think N gauge ones should be about the right size for the 11s. The shunter's truck is from Hornby - I wasn't even tempted to try any surgery on my original Triang shunter's truck...The three links on the 11 are from Jackson Evans back in the 1980s and look more like North Sea surplus than scale accessories, but they do make coupling up easier. The Heljan 11 runs beautifully and has saved me trying to convert a Lima 09 - different plans await that engine now. Other stock in the pictures includes old Hornby 21 tonners dressed up as SC ex-POs on Parkside chassis - one in black and the other still carrying pre-war SC livery. A Parkside LNER loco coal can be seen intruding into another picture and a 'Walton' ex-PO from Cambrian, commissioned by RD Wyborn many years ago. The lime wagon is a Hornby Minera Lime on a Cambrian chassis. The aim is to recreate the kinds of stock that could be seen at a Midlands steelworks in the late 1940s. I've got a fair bit on the workbench and will be posting more when the day job calms down a little. I'll also really stick my neck out and post some pictures of my attempts at modelling steam engines. The move to the late 1940s is a real challenge for me as I have absolutely no reference points. I was born in August 1968, so my only experience of UK steam has been on preserved lines. The late 40s is a purely academic exercise for me, but has been helped massively by David Larkin's recent wagon books and, of course the internet, not least other people's work on this forum. Hopefully I can get away with capturing something of the essence of the early postwar years. We'll see...

Good evening Steve @railtec-models, Many thanks for the complement and thanks also for the steer to the complete Peak transfer packs - I will certainly turn to them in the future. The complete class 44 number sets were a revelation for me. I, like many others, used to spend ages trying to align individual loco numbers. I suspect this is what made so many of my projects stall in my youth; I just didn't have the patience. Now I have the patience, but no longer the steady hand or eyesight...The complete number sets alone save hours, by the time I've waited for adjacent numbers to dry before applying the next digit. I should point out that I have no connection with Railtec, other than being a very satisfied customer. Thanks again. Pete.

More of the same, only different... I've also been active on the wagon front while bits of the 44 have been drying. The next ingot mould wagon is meant to represent a diagram 1/180 based vehicle. It uses a Bachmann body on a Parkside chassis, fitted with 51L axleboxes and Lanarkshire buffers. Everything else is the same as with the previous wagon, except this time it is loaded with larger ingot moulds (again from RT Models). I've got one more 1/180-based ingot mould to build and then three Parkside-based wagons, which I'll batch build. That will allow me to sign off the ingot mould rake. Here's River Don with both wagons and an aerial view to show the load:

Drawing a line The 44 is as finished as I want it to be at the moment - kind of. Transfers are a real mixture. Railtec provided the numbers and warning flashes, Fox the data panels, Replica the logos and the (oversize) 'M' above the number is from an ancient PC Models sheet bought back in about 1982 from W&T in Birmingham. The worksplates are Shawplan. Weathering was drybrushing in accordance with the photos I found on the internet. The underframe was Precision track colour and then brake dust, while the grilles and roof were weathered using a mixture of track colour, charcoal grey and a spot of gunmetal to give the impression of an oily sheen. I added very light grey streaking under the bodyside grilles, again, in accordance with the photos. A discussion elsewhere on this forum revealed that 44004 was down to one nameplate by 1975, which is convenient, since I have been making really heavy weather of painting the second nameplate. I may attach the nameplate in accordance with the early 1976 picture on Flickr - this would also give me an excuse to remove the 'M' above the number - an N gauge coaching stock 'M' would probably have been a better size. Lessons learned? Next time, I won't paint the fan red, I'll make smaller windscreen wipers and I'll use an airbrush. On the positive side, I've finished a model that I first took a knife to when Monty Wells wrote his article on the Peaks way, way back in the day. The materials just weren't around to finish the job. I now have a passable (from a distance) 44 that looks at home on a Midlands-based layout, or at the head of a rake of 16 toners heading for Garston. I also have a 1970s model that can run on modern code 75 track. Of course there are flaws, but the model summons up my memories of Bescot back in the late 1970s and should look all right at the head of coal and steel stock. I'm certainly happy I returned to the model and preserved some of the elements of my initial more serious steps in the hobby - for instance, the Adpak buffer beams that came from Roundhouse Models in Selly Oak, Birmingham. More to the point, I've really enjoyed the work. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures:

Hello @davidge, Many thanks for the complements. Most of my repurposing is for sentimental and economic reasons. Some old mouldings, like the Trix pig iron wagons, also offer a much faster route (for me) than scratchbuilding to a reasonable wagon. There are also some wagon conversions I intend to undertake that I just wouldn't risk on a modern rtr stock. Hacking about brand new Bachmann stock is simply beyond my wallet. However, I am very glad to take advantage of much reduced items when they appear. The standards reached by modern rtr, especially for freight stock, are superb and when I can afford it, I take advantage of the opportunity to get those items that I had previously thought I would have to bodge or scratchbuild. As for the 44, I also share your sentiments, but possibly for different reasons. I always like the look of projects before they get to the stage of being primed. i suspect this is because they still hold promise for me and I see the model in a completed state in my mind's eye, rather than the flawed reality that emerges at the end of a project. I also really like reflecting on all the work that has gone into a model, which is then completely disguised by the final coats of paint and weathering. It's why I have now started to take pictures of works in progress. One day, I'll manage to produce a loco where I can look at it and say, "Job done," without having to start thinking about how to fix the things that didn't go according to plan and that I notice every time I look at it. I guess that's both the blessing and the curse for those of us who like to refettle things. I also love the research that goes into producing a particular model and hopefully, this will be reflected in the stories behind individual locos and rakes as my modelling progresses and hopefully gets a little more momentum. Thanks again for taking the time to look. Cheers, Pete.

Peak progress... Despite being very busy with work recently, I have made time to get into the cellar and continue work on 44004. I eventually decided against modelling her in her final BR guise in green with red-backed nameplates. Instead, I have opted for banger blue, which will allow her to sit well with anything between 1976 and 1980. I do still have the nameplates, which I need to paint blue and there is a fantastic photo of Peak 4 leaving Bescot, still named in, I think, February 1976. I still have the nameplate and may yet decide to fit it. Cab handrails, lamp irons and crude representations of the body lifting rings have been fitted, as have windscreen wipers. The engine now awaits transfers and the make or break element - the weathering. I did take delivery of some of the excellent Shawplan Class 44 components, but will save these for a Bachmann model that will be detailed at some stage in the future to represent a 44 as running in 1966. 44004 has been brush painted and will probably be the last engine I approach this way. Next time, I won't fit the backs of the grilles before painting, so I can use the airbrush and then fit painted plasticard behind the grilles as one of the last jobs. I've learned a huge amount so far on this project and I reckon the next BR blue 44 (44010) to be converted from a Mainline 45 will be much quicker - that's very famous last words... The paint job shows up many blemishes that I should have noticed at the primer stage, but I did manage to rectify a lot of eyesores that simply didn't show up when the model was in fresh build form. Again, lessons learned... Here are a couple of pictures of the progress to date. I'll post again as soon as transfers and weathering are complete.

Nothing to see here... On the surface, it appears as though I haven't been making much progress in the past fortnight. Work has been very busy and my freetime has taken me to enjoy the last of the winter weather on Tryfan and then the Yorkshire Three Peaks - even my enjoyment of the hills is class 44 themed... However, I have made what I feel is a significant step with the class 44 conversion. The old mainline bogies would grind along the chairs on SMP track and were hardly the most gentle of creations to shove through Peco Bullhead points. I have therefore fitted the mainline bogies with Bachmann Peak wheels. The axle holes on the pony wheels and rear bogie wheels need careful opening up, especially given the potential fragility of the late 1970s plastic. The centre axles on the non-powered bogie were a straightforward swap and, thankfully, the old mainline driven motor bogie wheels have axles that are fractionally shy of 2mm diameter, which means that they will take the Bachmann wheels with a drop of loctite. I now have a 44 that runs smoothly on finescale track. I've also started adding some bogie detailing components from West Hill Wagon Works. I need to slim them down a little, once the cyano has thoroughly set, but they should improve the overall look of the locomotive, once painted and weathered in. I now have to contemplate the lift rings and fettling up a speedo drive. Then it's on with lamp brackets, handrails, windscreen wipers and painting. It feels like the end is in sight with the project, but it always seems to be those last little jobs that take a good while and are easy to ruin if rushed. A final thought relates to my approach to modelling. I do run some modern rtr engines and would love to be able to have a fleet of the mechanical and aesthetic standards represented by the modern manufacturers. However, my budget is limited and I enjoy carving things about. However, I really appreciate the manufacturers who make spare components available; I've got a couple of projects in the pipeline that will take full advantage of this. Equally the quality of modern detailing components is superb. I may make a virtue out of detailing stock that is knocking on for 45 years old now, but I openly acknowledge that I couldn't approach these projects without the contribution of modern manufacturers of all kinds.

Dog train These are some nice little projects to work away at when time in the cellar is short. I have a number of old wagons I just can't bring myself to bin, as well as a couple of wagons that can certainly be saved. The picture below shows three completed and one work in progress. From left to right they are: A Triang single bolster on a Parkside chassis with MJT buffers. A coil cradle has been fabricated from balsa and the coil is from A1. It awaits transfers and weathering. A Trix Pig Iron wagon, again on a Parkside chassis with Lanarkshire buffers, Accurascale couplings and transfers by Railtec. The load is removable. Next are two Mainline 16 tonners, refettled to represent the mid-1970s builds on 10ft wheelbase underframes. These were the first ones I attacked, so I didn't replace the chassis, just re-wheeled, new couplings and buffers and the top flaps removed. Scrap loads are removable. Finally, the Triang 16 tonner that has featured before. Mounted on a Parkside chassis, repainted and weathered. If it is placed between a 10ft wheelbase example and a brakevan, it's underscale length isn't that noticeable and I've had it for 48 years now... Wagons like this look all right when thoughtfully marshaled and if I squint a bit more than usual. For sure, the sides are way too thick, but the loads detract from this a little. Above all, they are really satisfying projects when time is short - a fair bit of progress can be made in an hour or so, which over the course of a week, produces some reasonable stock. PS - the 24.5 tonners in the coal train being pushed by River Don are Parkside kits dating back to 1984. I bought them from King's Cross Models on a trip to London and although they reveal all my limitations as a teenage modeller at the time, they have also been refurbished and have a new lease of life.

Past its Peak... For Furnace Bank I really ought to be concentrating on mundane traction - things like 08s, 25s, the odd 31 or 37 and, of course, 47s. However, the world of model railways doesn't work like that and while contemplating how best to fix the body of the class 40 pictured in a previous post to its new chassis, my attention turned to a very old project. Way, way back, Larry Goddard, I think, wrote an article in Railway Modeller on converting a Mainline 45 into a 44. The grille modification he carried out was beyond me, and probably still is, but I had a go anyway. The result wasn't great, but it certainly provides the basis for an interesting project. The body was stripped and a pack of A1 bodyside grilles dug out of the parts box. The roof fan and grille are modern Shawplan and the contrast is stark, but hopefully won't show too much after painting. While the knives and files were out, cutting new side apertures, I set about inserting a plasticard fillet into the nose end, above the nose end grilles. The new marker lights came from a Craftsman detailing kit and the bufferbeams are from Adpak - remember those? Also, whilst on the chassis, I removed the air tanks and boiler and also the sandboxes nearest the fuel tanks. Class 45 roof detail and the moulded paint guidelines used by Mainline were also removed. There are quite a few jobs left: windscreen wipers, lamp irons, lifting rings and bogie detailing. I also need to make a decision about the Flushglaze packs that I installed back in the 1980s. Basically a lot of jobs that make a model. The handrails on top of the noses identify this Peak as D4 and I reckon I'll finish this one as 44004 running in its final months of BR service - GFYE with light weathering. The other big job to do is re-wheeling. The old mainline wheels aren't especially at home on SMP track. I'm pleased with the progress so far and, of course, although it will never equal current rtr offerings, I think it will pass for Furnace Bank.

River Don - What's to be done with a diesel Nellie? Good evening David, Here's a quick summary of what I did to my Triang Dock Authority shunter. Like many modellers, I don't throw things away, and these days there are enough after-market materials and spares to really start lifting some of those products from the 1960s and 1970s, which is where a fair bit of my stock came from. First, the chassis. The old one was discarded and now inhabits the spares box. It was replaced with a Tenshodo MB35 motor bogie. The wheels could have done with being a larger diameter, but it runs sweetly. A new chassis frame was constructed from plasticard, weights were added and a driver adapted from a Phoenix figure. The axleboxes are from an Airfix 4MT tender and brass sandpipes were added. The body had the veranda cut off the cab rear and the buffer beams cut out. The buffer beams were replaced by Dapol class 04 buffer beams, but with RT Models industrial buffers. A conical exhaust and driver's controls were also taken from the Dapol 04 kit.Handrail wire was added and headlamps from RT Models. Etched brass Sentinel side valances also came from RT Models. Front and rear windscreen wipers were fashioned from staples and Jackson Evans 3 links dating back to the early 1980s were installed. I used a Flushglaze kit for glazing and decided to keep the airhorn that looks like it came off a factory; it's impossible to hide the model's origins and when I did the work, didn't have a brass replacement to hand. The model was brush-painted, with buffer beam waspstripes added by hand - I now have a sheet of Planet Industrials wasp stripes, so next time the results should be better. The BSC logo is from Planet Industrials and the name plate from Narrow Planet. It's meant to look like a loco that's had a tough working life in a steel works and I will eventually use it for working torpedo ladles and slag ladles. The weathering on the valances should have been blended in better, but that shows up more on the photos than it does when I'm choosing what bit of the model to look at... Overall, I'm happy with the model. There's no way I would still be running the Dock Authority engine and this bit of budget work allows a much-loved old model to keep going. Cheers, Pete. PS - thanks for all the likes, I really didn't expect many people to take a look in. Thank you.

Good evening Jim, Absolute pleasure. I hope some of it is useful. Pete.

Good morning Jim, Many thanks for the kind comments. I can't really take much credit for the weathering technique - it is taken from Oly Turner of Stoating Bank and Bottom Works Sidings fame (he provides a great explanation of his weathering technique on YouTube if you search "the railways of Oly Turner"). The technique involves mixing acrylic burnt umber and Citadel Technical Typhus Corrosion. The Citadel technical paint gives a metallic, grainy effect to the mixture. The whole bodywork is then covered in this mixture, and when it is nearly dry (still tacky), I start removing areas of the mixture with a cotton bud dipped in waterborne thinners. I work from photos from Paul Bartlett's excellent website and books. Those of us modelling the BR era owe a huge debt of gratitude to the likes of Paul Bartlett, David Larkin and Trevor Mann. Like anything else, it took me quite a few goes to get the weathering to start looking "right". I think the ingot mould wagon worked all right, partly because I used acrylic throughout, apart from the undercoat. The undercoat was Tamiya grey primer, which is pretty close to BR unfitted grey. The thinners not only wears away the burnt umber mixture, but also allowed me to scrub at the acrylic Humbrol 64 matt grey. This has given more of a layered feel to the corrosion on the wagon body. As with the prototype, the ingot mould logos were applied over the weathered body and were then, like the rest of the wagon, blended in with dry-brushing. The dry-brushing uses Precision brake dust and track colour and the axleboxes and springs are treated to rust colour and then matt black on the axleboxes to simulate oil. Everything is then toned down and blended a little with a dry-brushing of Precision GWR freight stock grey. The load comes from RT Models and is made up of the small ingot moulds. If I've interpreted Arhur Ormrod's wisdom correctly, the four moulds should equate to about 24 tons. I should perhaps also say thank you to Arthur on behalf of all steel industry modellers for the wealth of information he has placed on this forum. The moulds were painted gunmetal and then dry-brushed with silver, before being treated to rust colour, toned down with GWR freight stock grey. I wnated them to represent new ingot moulds that had travelled a fair bit on the network to reach their destination. The load is removable, having been placed on a false floor. The wagon floor itself is covered in N gauge ballast on a bed of PVA. The components used were: Parkside iron ore tippler, Lanarkshire buffers, Cambrian tiebars, Accurascale instanters, Railtec transfers and RT Models load. A big thank you to all these and especially Steve at Railtec for producing the ingot mould transfers so quickly. I have no connection with any of these businesses, apart from being a very satisfied customer. Hopefully, the pictures below give a better impression of what has been done. That I have the confidence to work on wagons in this way is due in no small part to the huge number of modellers who have posted on this forum and whose ideas I have borrowed.

Good morning David, I'll post some more photos of the dock shunter rebuild. I need to repaint part of the chassis, so it will give me a chance to take it to bits and take some useful pictures. The fence at the back is made up of Ratio chain link fence posts and cardboard panels scored with a craft knife. The panels were sprayed with Tamiya grey primer and then weathered. I used a 4B pencil to accentuate the scored line on the panel. Here's a very cruel close-up of the fence: Cheers, Pete.

Just for a flavour of my approach to motive power. This is a slow-burn project - maybe a bit like all my projects...It is a Jouef 40 body, narrowed with re-profiled nose ends, mounted on Hornby Railroad bogies, whose sideframes have also been narrowed, although probably not enough. It epitomises my approach to modelling; if I were to go into the cellar tomorrow morning and found a Bachmann paragon sitting on Furnace Bank, I would be the last to complain. However, I don't throw things away and I enjoy trying to rework the sow's ears of all those decades ago. A bit more work has gone into the 40 since this picture and it will end up as 40135 in early 1980s condition. The 20 ton mineral behind the 40 is from the 1947-49 stock and began life in the late 1970s as a Hornby Bolsover open. It passes muster as an ex-PO 20 ton open, as long as I choose not to notice the body sides that are thick enough to be battleship armour plating... More photos of the 40 to follow...

The mid-section of the layout as it is today. Grime on the buildings and another view of the ingot mould wagon - a Parkside kit with transfers by Railtec and load from RT. The scrap-loaded MCO behind is my first ever freight wagon - a Hornby 16t open bought back in 1975, fitted with a Parkside chassis, load added and repainted. I haven't the heart to throw away my old models and reckon that, at a distance, they can pass for a fair representation.

This view gives a better impression of the layout at a more advanced stage. The shunter on the left, "River Don", is a former Triang Dock Shunter, carved about and placed on a Tenshodo chassis. The sentinel sits on the line to the steel works, "River Don" on the lines to the exchange sidings.

An overview of the layout as a whole, while still under construction. It lives in the cellar. The buildings are a mixture of Metcalfe, DPM components and scratchbuilt. The signalbox is a GWR austerity 'box from Osborn's. The Barclay tank will be converted to a Pensnett Barclay and the 13 was begun way back in the 80s, but has been revisited with the advent of RT components and various Hornby and Bachmann spares (I know it's way out of place, but I love them.

Like so many others, having read these pages for many years, I have finally decided to throw myself on the mercy of the community and start a thread about my own micro layout, Furnace Bank. The pictures I will post next will show the 4x1 plank in various stages of construction and will hopefully act as a display board and test track for rolling stock. Furnace Bank aims to portray the entrance to a steel works exchange yard on the front two tracks, with the line to the steel works on the rear track. The scenery is neutral enough to allow me to get away with running stock for three distinct periods; 1947-49, 1966 and 1975-80, although I might get away with some mid-1980s stock. I hope to convey the feeling of a grimy industrial area that could pass for the West Midlands or industrial Wirral. My interest in railways was driven by ex-GWR lines in the industrial West Midlands, but also the North and West route up to Birkenhead. There is an obvious WR flavour to much of what I model, but that is not to say that rule 1 frequently applies. In terms of modelling inspiration, absolutely formative moments for me were Ian Futers' Lochside and Alan Dare's Chipping in Railway Modeller back in the day, as well as Monty Wells' diesel detailing articles. Mike Edge also has a lot to answer for - when Cwmafon appeared in Railway Modeller, it confirmed that, for me, freight trains, and especially mineral wagons and the steel industry, were the way ahead. Today I remain in awe of the modelling on EMGauge 70s and much of the material on this forum. Furnace Bank grew out of the wish to finally build something out of all the stock I had amassed over decades and to get something running. Scenically, I wanted to see whether I could make something that looked half decent and that would allow me to reignite skills that had been dormant for too many years. The track plan is deliberately simple and uses SMP track with a set of Peco Bullhead points. Stock, as will hopefully be seen over future posts, is kitbuilt, and very heavily mauled rtr dating back to 1975 at the earliest. There are items from the modern manufacturers as well, but these are fewer. I want to finish those projects I started so many years ago, but had neither the skills, money, tools or components to bring to fruition. This simple plank has brought me immense pleasure and I only wish I had made the time to dive back into railway modelling much earlier.