thetalkinlens

Thanks for posting these pictures @Rumblestripe, I had managed to find a few through Google searches for reference, but not of all angles including the rear. It's great that Aysgarth for the most part has unaltered structures.

This week I've been working on this N.E.R. weight hut, which closely resembles that at Aysgarth in Wensleydale. I built one to the same drawings in brick last year. The downpipe fittings and chimney pot are from Modelu From the rear... And here it is next to the brick version. I have plans for both...

Correct! Though the underframe detail is the same on both, just one wagon is the opposite way round in the picture so the single side brake shoes are on the far side on 23130.

I've been working on two N.E.R. diagram K1 cattle wagons the last few weeks. One an un-started example in D&S packaging and another fully built, but in need of a refurb and some tlc. I had only intended to do the rescue job, but thought it would be an interesting exercise to compare it to a fresh out of the box build. Here is the rescue job as purchased. It's in LNER livery, with clasp brake shoes, westinghouse and vacuum pipes on the headstocks. The paint is very thickly applied loosing a lot of the casting detail. Overall, it's been built well (soldered), but finished poorly. So time to start taking things apart. The roof although the right size had not been glued in place well. The floor has been taken out, but this will go back in later... With all none metal parts removed, a thick coating of paint stripper left overnight to soak in. I repeated this three times... With the bulk of the paint stripped, the fitted details have been taken off the headstocks and the clasp brake shoes removed. The three links were a bit chunky so these have also been removed. I intend to use screw link anyway. The end hand rails were missing, so these have been added, plus some single side brake shoes to make this a none fitted example. Now to the fresh out of the box model. Little to say about this other than it went together very easily. And here are the pair together ready for painting... And then painted, transfers applied and Smiths screw link couplings fitted. The question is, is it possible to tell which is the rescue job? Any guesses? I intend to weather these and then add white paint on the two bottom planks along the sides to represent lime wash.

Thanks, that's certainly useful to know. I have read in a NERA Express article that some G4 and G6's were fitted, but I think the numbers were very small. Thanks Paul. Yes, I think I was pretty much on those thoughts, so that's good to know you're thinking the same. I suspect attempting to remove the cross bracing is going to leave a mark which will be pretty impossible to smooth off.

I have an N.E.R. diagram G4 "road van" to re-livery which came from the same source as the two G2's, eg; scratch built. The problem I have with this van is photographic evidence of G4's show either horizontal planking with cross bracing or vertical planking with no cross bracing. This model has vertical planking with cross bracing. I feel the scratch builder who made this wouldn't have got that detail wrong and would have been going off a photo of No.500346. Assuming it exists, I haven't located this photo yet. One option is to attempt removing the cross bracing, but I doubt I'd get a good finish. I'm not sure if anyone can help with this? Possibly @jwealleans or @Worsdell forever may have some thoughts?

Ah yes, I know what you''re describing now @jwealleans. This was used for vans fitted with tarpaulin double roof doors as opposed to single, and it sounds like these were a more rare variant of the G2. I've highlighted it in the photo below of 6359. Here's an extract from NERA Express issue182, page 55: I'm fairly sure 6052 doesn't have this, but I'll look at the photo of it in Tatlow's later.

No cross bracing on the ends as far as I can tell. But looking at my reference pics of G2's, I can't see any cross bracing on the ends on any of them, so may be looking at the wrong thing?

A couple of N.E.R. Diagram G2's... The first thing to point out about these two covered goods vans is they are scratch built rather than kits. The body is plasticard and the details are a combination of brass etch and white metal. I should also point out they were not scratch built by me! I picked them up second hand. I have however made some changes. Here's a look at the first van, No.98488, which started out like this in BR livery... I've removed the S&W couplings in preference for three links and changed the long brake levers for short ones, using the Mainly Trains wagon details etch from Wizard Models. The reason for this change is this van depicts the G2 with horizontal boarding and cross bracing. All photographic evidence I've found of these vans have shorter brake levers. It now looks like this in 1904 N.E.R. livery: I've opted to retain the same number; 98488. There is a reference photo in Tatlow's NER wagon book in BR livery. I haven't yet fitted a builders plate to the solebar. I'm going to make up a custom transfer sheet for that. The axle boxes I think are wrong for the N.E.R. period and the buffers are definitely wrong, but I will live with those. Next a look at No.6052, originally in LNER livery... This van differs from 98488 in that it has vertical planking and no cross bracing and also small end hatches for passing long cargo through. I've made some minor changes here too. S&W couplings removed again and three links fitted. Some G2's had no roof doors, but most had either a canvas or steel door arrangement. I've represented the steel door type with some plastic strip. Again I've opted to retain the original builders number selection of 6052, a photo showing it in LNER livery in Tatlow's N.E.R. wagon book for reference. As this is the later G2 design with vertical planking, I've opted for the later 1911 N.E.R. livery for variation to No.98488. Thankfully the buffers are correct on this one, and I think the axleboxes are too. The builders plate is in the process of being finished, adding the tiny numbers from Slater's P7 transfer sheets. Fiddly, but I've done it before so know what I'm letting myself in for! It is interesting to note that the vertical planked G2's also appear to have been built with vertical planked bottom doors, however this one has horizontal planks for that, as does the 51L/D&S whitemetal kit. I've not found any photos of G2's in NER livery like this, but plenty in LNER or BR livery. My assumption would be that as wagons needed repair, they were replaced with horizontal planks, possibly off other G2's.

Thanks, that's useful to know, I'd certainly prefer it to have metal Smiths hooks if it can be done. They're easier to hook the links over too. I've had at least 10 whitemetal wagons hung off the back of it on gradients and so far no problems.

I can help where I can, but I'm not sure exactly what you're asking for? I see Benton has the NER footbridge. You could get the Hornby Skaledale one, but if you can find the D&S etch, that will be a much more accurate model I'd have thought. It is quite rare to pick them up though. I'm not sure if Dan can still supply them. For my buildings, I ensure there are drawings available. I look in books for these or ask the North Eastern Railway Association. I then re-draw them (trace) on the computer so I have them at 4mm scale. This may seem an unnecessary step, but I personally find it invaluable, particularly if the building is complex. Benton station building looks to be brick structure, so my material of choice would be Slaters plasticard. I tend to reinforce with 1mm flat plasticard. Hope that helps, but ask any more specific questions and I will try to answer!

The stonework colour is looking good to me now.

An update on the N.E.R. station building I'm working on. The majority of windows have now been fitted and I've added the enclosed yard with gents toilet and store. The enclosed yard area left a few question marks, as the drawings didn't show where doorways and windows were on the inner walls, plus no indication of the roof type if there was one. Photographic evidence is hard to come by for this area of the various stations, with it being an enclosed. Aysgarth seemed to have a pitched roof over the store and a flat corrugated roof over the toilets, though these may have been additions at some point in the buildings lifetime, likely when the line was still open. The pitched roof seems to be unique to Aysgarth, with the other upper Wensleydale Stations of the same design either having a flat roof or completely open. For mine, I've opted for a leaded flat roof over both the store and toilets. I've also added the canopy. This is a sheet of transparent plastic, with the slate edges and framework glued on top. Some more detail, such as leading to add here before I finally glue it to the building.

Nice job Mick. How easy was it to get the coal load out? I haven't attempted that on my back conversion to NER livery one.

Over the last fortnight, I've been working on this standard design N.E.R. design wayside station building. It's based on a few stations which made use of this design. I'm using drawings from Aysgarth, but have made some minor alterations in using barge boards and stonework profile from Kirby Moorside and Sinnington on the Ryedale branch. Materials, as with most of my buildings are Slater's plasticard, re-enforced with 1mm plasticard sheet and various sizes of Plastruct. The stone sheet is Slaters 7mm scale 0420 Stone Courses, which translates to roughly 9" high stones when used at 4mm scale. This weekend I've started to add some paint. The stonework is grey primed, then two coats of an off white/grey, then lightly brushed WWS concrete dust weathering powder. Some stones have then been picked out with the same weathering powder, but with a trimmed brush to apply more pressure and precision in where the powder goes. I've also been working on the bay window this weekend. A somewhat fiddly job, which I think will now be painted before fitting the windows and frames. The paint scheme will be for the N.E.R. period as per Goathland and Levisham are on the NYMR.