Charlie586

So, possibly like others, during the RMweb downtime I sort of lost the habit of checking the forum and also doing modelling at the times I used to and rediscovered other things. And am still doing other things I rediscovered. So there's no great progress to really show off yet. I deleted a load of photos off my camera a month or two back, so not sure if I'll be able to recreate all the posts from the last year. Having the time to go through them is another problem, but I'll sort something out eventually. What I did finish recently is this: Broad gauge brake van. These were convertible, narrow body on broad chassis, built in 1890 which is too late really for me, but I like them. Didn't take that long to do, and I can reuse parts to make other vans / wagons. I don't think a photo of them in the wild exists, I used the datasheet drawing. I need to get the printer working again now as I'm building up a bit of a backlog with the Metro and other assorted bits and bobs to print.

Don't know how or when the photos will come back so here's rough progress of first board before I put it away and board 2 It turns out there's not much worth photoing from the downtime. I was doing a little bit here and to track, Rover chassis, hawthorn body and signal box. Probably best to do a post on each when more done. However, on the track I've been sorting out the wibbly wobbly bit that's just above the square (you may have to zoom in to see it). I should have laid the frogs first, but thought I'd found a quicker way. Turned out I was wrong. The track is nearly all down now, I've started filing the bits of rail for the second switch, still a long way to go. The switch plates are ready 3d printed and painted so hopefully be quicker to put together than the first.

Have a good day, Annie.

We're back. Some might say this thread looks better without any photos, but I couldn't possibly comment. I've done little bits here and there over the past few weeks. I'll do a proper post over the weekend.

Thanks for all your hard work, Andy, in getting the site back up.

There's some great work here. The early water tower at Wantage Road is of a similar design, but doesn't appear to have the coaling stage or some of the bracing. The drawing will be very helpful when I get around to it. The goods shed is also roughly the same size too, but with one cart entrance around the back.

Thanks Nick, very helpful. That's yet another book I haven't got. I estimated 64.6 x 44 mm from brick courses so I wasn't too far out. I'll have a look for photos of the Bullo pill one, hopefully as it's fairly recent there should be some. I'll probably 3d print the windows, just need to adapt the artwork for the station ones I've already done.

Thanks Nick. The bargeboards are a bit of a modellers nightmare. As you say, luckily Wantage Road's are just plain. I was trying to work out if both windows would slide or just one part of them. I can't work it out from the photo.

Track progress Still a bit slow going. The mess has reappeared as well. Some of the track joins have small bumps, some as much as a mm which is enough to upset the wheels. I think it's a combination of the cork, baulks and rail being a tiny bit out depth wise in places and it's compounded in some spots. I'll need to adjust a few bits. In other news, had another look at the signal box. Did a drawing based on the photo of Steventon from Nick Gough and the photo I have of the original Wantage Road one, which is grainy and was taken a few hundred yards away. It's a completely brick building and I was hoping to reuse parts of the old ratio one I built 20 or however many years ago, but it's just not the right size in any way. I might be able to use the stairs and chimney I suppose. This one is sort of similar to what I need in terms of a completely brick one, Williton. (Image is embedded link) from the old signal box site, where I have spent many hours recently. https://old.signalbox.org/gallery/w/williton.php I'm assuming brick interior so I'll sandwich a sheet of plasticard between brick plasticard. I best get cracking and build it then.

Thanks Chris. I do like fiddling with bits of metal but it can be time consuming. I think it may have been quicker to make the base from plasticard, but I'll get the Roxey etch for future ones.

Apologies, but this may be a long post. On the subject of signal boxes, point levers etc, you may remember this recent photo A makeshift lever as modelled by George the gaffer/foreman. What I had the plan of doing is operating the points via overscale levers from the edge of the board. The signal box will be roughly where the photo is taken from. Unfortunately, it will face away from normal viewing. Rather than just look at the back of the box I thought why not leave the back off and put the overscale levers inside. The points will be worked from under the baseboard, not on top, but if I can get the levers to work it would be sort of fitting. Then I wondered just how small a scale one one would be. The broad gauge society do an etch but it's out of stock, so I dug out the data sheets and started scratch building I switched to 0.6mm brass for the lever at this point as it's not as flimsy. Around about this point, Annie posted a photo of one on her thread This has a weight that the drawing doesn't. It seems to hold / lock it in place. anyway, I cracked on Around about this point (no pun intended) I had a message off a friend, more on this later. Nearly finished today, again modelled by the foreman. Part of it still needs sticking to the wood, and a coat or two of black paint (I think it would be black). I won't lie, it was fiddly and caused a lot of swearing, especially putting the little pieces of wire in. It moves back and forward, but I haven't connected it to a point yet. I think it'll be too flimsy to work from signal box to point. So next step is to work out how big the signal box is (luckily Nick Gough kindly found most of the information a while ago), and how big to make the overscale ones. As for this one, I'm pretty certain most of the yard was hand lever operated in my era with the signal box doing the main lines. So it will be a dummy one in the yard when I get to those boards (a few years yet). Finally, the message I got three quarters of the way through. https://www.roxeymouldings.co.uk/product/853/sbm4083-gwr-point-lever-kit-old-pattern/broad-gauge-2-/ Roxey Mouldings sell an etch as well as the bgs. Theirs has the weight as well. And it's in stock. I know you could buy half a sheet of brass for 3.60 and all that, but it would have saved a week and a bit of early morning cutting out. I've soldered more track as and when too, I'll update on that next time.

Thank you for the update. The V2 on the Wantage tramway photo is very interesting, I haven't seen that photo or the interesting looking engine in front before.

Thanks Chris, Nearly 2 years have flown by already so I guess I should get started with something or at least have a rough plan. I've got the track, locos and wagons/carriages, although the locos will need a bit of fiddling with as they've been gathering dust or in boxes for years. I just need to get some track on a board to start with. It's a shame I can't combine something with the broad gauge, I did think about setting the up line, not yet laid, as oo temporarily. It would just be a straight line though at the moment though.

Thanks Lez, it's handy to have all the information in one place. I've got a very old chassis and wheels (markits I think) that did fit the 517, i think there will be a photo somewhere on this thread. The chassis and wheels are oo though so can't use on this layout. I think I said a few years ago, but I am planning a little oo layout, just a small circle and siding really, for when my granddaughter is a bit older. And so I can run all the old locos I've got in boxes too. Possibly Culm Valley inspired, but still a few years off as we've only just got started on brio.

Thanks Chris. I really should have measured it before starting. I'm not sure which box the 14xx is in either, probably the one under all the other boxes.

I did the basic bits and printed an early 517 saddle tank a few years ago, but it's well out of region for Wantage so I never went back to it. It was far too small for a 14xx chassis though.

It's on here, I knew I'd seen it before but got confused, David Bigcheeseplant's thread

Done a bit more to track and turnout, but I'll save it until there's more progress. Here's something else I've been doing. Small Metro. I've not used the 3d printer for a bit so chances are it won't print first time, but I'll find out in a few days. I'm hoping a back to front 14xx chassis will fit and the wheels can easily be swapped for p4 , but life's never that fair so I reckon I'll be making a chassis and all the related gubbins for it at some point. It's a bit too late a condition really for my time period, it's from drawings and the many photos in the Russell book. I'll have to wip the cab off and do an earlier version with weathershield and condenser pipe and pretend it got a bit lost at Paddington.

The weight arm isn't on the data sheet, which is why it stood out and got me interested. I guessed it might rotate about the lever as you say, the join has a sort of collar that would enable it to be moved to either end.

The point lever looks very similar to the broad gauge one I've been looking at / attempting to scratchbuild (data sheet 933) . The extra bit on the left, is it a weight to hold it in place. Would it rotate when swinging over the point?

Excellent little people, Chris, as always. There looks like the remains of an etch in one photo from last week, is that the unreported thing? Shirescenes carriage sides ?

I find myself saying all sorts of old man rants nowadays. It seems to be one of the pleasures of getting old. I get in a mess with keeping tools nearby to what I'm working on then not putting them away. I'll give it a week before it's a mess again.

"When i were a lad, all this were fields," said the porter Not much of an update, but I've sort of tidied up the board, which is quite a rare event. You can roughly see what track is left to lay now on this board. I'm going to need more rail soon, it's surprising how quickly I'm getting through it. I've got enough for now if I ignore the straight, up line (would be very bottom of picture going right to left), I haven't done it yet on previous board either.

Fair bit of tinkering, it's moving freer but still pings back from the diverging position. I'm pretty certain it is that the droppers haven't got enough room in their holes. There's so much junk, tools and stuff on the board that I need a good tidy up to get underneath. Don't know if I've said this before, it's a trailing point on the mainline London (left) to Bristle (right) so at it least it does default by fluke to the safe position. I'll lay the rest of track as tools are out and handy then sort the pinging when I do the underneath wiring.

There's a lot of 19th century swearing going on by all parties at the moment.