Dave John

A simple test which combines both language and mathematics.

Give me 100 numbers in under one minute which do not contain the letter "a" . 

I'll stop being silly and go and try to find my British Thornton Slide Rule with a view to converting it to EM .... 

One tip that might just work on clear plastics, particularly acrylics is to use toothpaste. squeeze some on a bit of paper, roll a cotton bud in and gently polish. Excess can be removed with a wet cotton bud. 

I really like the look of that.  Something very different, full marks for having a go at it.  

You have made a cracking start, that backscene looks fantastic and the damaged buildings are making me want a 3d printer. 

I'm another one that grew up on Airfix kits. Biggles, Hammond Innes, Alistair Maclean. The indestructible learning curve of Dublo 3 rail. Real steam in mamod engines . Real rockets in jetex engines. 

Tony and all of you are right, we learned so much from these "toys" . All the basics of physics and chemistry, possibly biology too. 

We learned about fire and steam and electricity . We learned about metal and plastic and wood. We learned that putting a candle in an airfix county cottage leads to a sore behind. We learned that wagons roll better if you don't glue the wheels in. We learned that mistakes go bang. I could go on. 

I really hope that there  are still youngsters out there that are still on the learning curve that formed us. We shall see. 

I do like creative modelmaking, some good ideas on this thread. Starting with a bit of waste water pipe I ended up with a tank wagon ;

Most of the brass bits came from an old piano. 

The Caledonian treated the digram number as an operational designation, so a variety of different build types could be allocated to the same diagram, 1316 in total to D 67.   Build dates vary between 1903 and 1918. 

I think A64 as photographed above is from order G 280, built 1909, Morton brakes both sides. 

A lot more info in "Caledonian Railway Wagons" by Mike Williams.

The CR and the PLA vans have wooden underframes. 

The brake gear of 2080 shown above has been modified since it is a later vac fitted version. 

There is one at the srps, with morton cam rather than the original either side brakes. 

http://www.srpsmuseum.org.uk/10048.htm

http://www.srpsmuseum.org.uk/10047.htm

Agreed , it is a Caledonian D 67 van. 

51 L do a wm kit. I have a couple, straightforward build.

https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/wagons/crd067/

Hi Eric, had the same issue with my 1999 plate T4 van a couple of years back. Going over the Kingston Bridge in Glasgow, stuck in 2nd. 

Got a replacement off the net , 7 quid delivered. I reckon they are all the same too. Fitting requires a bit of brute force and ignorance. Helpful to have a lump of 2x4 timber about 4 foot long handy. 

I had a look, but the mystery kit doesn't match any of the horizontally planked Caledonian wagons. 

Model Wagon Co. was mentioned as a possibilty, certainly that is how mwc cast buffers on a sprue back then. For anyone interested there is a discussion with lists of what used to be available over on the CRA forum;

https://www.crassoc.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1611&p=10905&hilit=mwc#p10905

This may be of help. Full drawings are available from the CRA. 

For urban cuteness I'd go for the Miller designed Kelvinbridge, the local station for Glasgow University ;

Gone now sadly, but imagine turning that into a house / railway room. 

I'd certainly agree with making detailed wiring lists. 

Use whatever software is freely available to you and remember to update the lists as you make changes. 

Kelvinbank is a simple layout, yet there are 30 + pages of wiring lists and 40 + pages of circuit diagrams. 

Many years ago before kelvinbank 0 I had an N gauge layout. I thought I could just remember the wiring. I discovered  that memory, like hair, is temporary ... 

Humour me il Dottore.

Junk Google. It is a sales platform not a search engine. Try Duck Duck Go, selectable under preferences > search on safari and I assume other browsers. 

Search for 1/24 scale helicopter kits. 

Note the difference. 

Hmm, I tend to think that a rtr 7mm wagon made to the accuracy of yours would cost an awful lot more than 40 quid . That brake gear is exquisite, but why did they put the horse loop at the brake lever end ? 

Compounds figures for 4mm are about right,  I reckon £10 - £15 for a scratch build wagon , heading towards the £20 - £25 mark for a kit.  

I had to look it up , but I gather a "deltic" represents about £ 250. Ouch. 

I also note that Historex are showing better stocks of rivets and bolts. It was your use of them that led me to experiment with them in 1/50 scale. Now I'm an addict .... 

Some of us have been building vans with magnetic roofs that can easily be removed for a while. Makes painting the roof simpler, weight can be added simply and it gets round the issue of an accident with glue whilst trying to stick them on. 

I totally support the idea. I have a feeling that the way things are going there will be a lot of potential modellers who have time but not financial resources. 

I have only bought a couple of OO items in years so I can't contribute anything practical. 

My own approach is the 1/50 scale project, 100 % scratch build though I'm a bit odd and lean towards the making rather than the running side of things . 

For the parts of my layout yard  that are covered in setts I used code 75 bh for the running rail and some code 55 ish N gauge rail as the checkrail. Construction was copperclad with some brass shim so that both heads were level. The effect is like that second pic , the inner rail is narrower that the running rail. 

In EM I think that the space between the running and inner rail is a bit wider than true scale  but it does mean that the sets between the inner rails are supported and it is practical and cleanable. 

As a study of the architecture of the Victorian West end of Glasgow this is a good read:

https://www.waterstones.com/book/along-great-western-road/gordon-r-urquhart/9781840331158

Also;

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31021391942&searchurl=an%3Dmorton%26sortby%3D17%26tn%3Da%2Bhillhead%2Balbum&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-image7

Had a  look through my stuff. As you say  lots of photos and video, but not drawings. Also there is preserved coach at the Glasgow  museum of transport. 

Actually it only a stones throw away , I should nip down with a tape measure .... 

Looking at the pictures I think the sector logo is stuck onto a board fixed to the side of the brake van. Since it is just coloured squares  I'd be tempted to copy the logo using a simple graphics program and print it out on a decent photo paper.

Just a thought. 

Some early ones on the Caledonian. Class 96 built 1849 but converted to 0-4-2. Class 188 built 1858, class 120 built 1872, class 631 built 1874.  Some of the 631 class lasted through the Edwardian era.

A comprehensive  study can be found in 

https://www.crassoc.org.uk/web/node/284

There was also extensive tobacco traffic in Scotland since historically Glasgow was a major import centre. The Caley had a number of D39 ccts thirled to various  companies specifically for the traffic.