Bassettblowke

On a cautionary note the Jenolite bottle carries health and safety warnings about exposure to skin and ingestion so some care in handling is needed also warnings about damage caused by spillage on paintwork and work surfaces. The Coke being designed from the outset for human consumption I am a lot more comfortable handling.

Initial reaction to immersion in fluid, because of the caramelised colouring of Coke it’s difficult to see if anything is happening and the bubbles on the surface may well be Co2. the Jenolite generates an instant reaction with the rust as can be seen by the rising bubbles and froth. another look in 24hrs time

Out of curiosity and against my better judgement I succumbed and bought a large bottle of coke. I’ve placed various rusty objects in it and for comparison purposes a test with some Jenolite.

The Jenolite was salvaged from my late fathers garage clear out I was dubious about using it as it must be at least ten years on the shelf. What I would say about it is it’s of little use on pitted or scale rust and I would suggest abrasion is still the best way finished off with a two to three day total immersion in the product. Having some experience now of Jenolite I would only use it for fiddly things like couplings, enclosed is a picture of two 3 link couplings which were dropped straight into the Jenolite, the rusty part immediately begins to bubble and this continues until the rust is changed into a grey coating. On these small parts the reaction seems to last a couple of days before the bubbling eventually dies away. The instructions recommend wiping any excess fluid off and once dry painting. I opted for Zebrite stove polish instead. i haven’t tried coke although many years ago whilst in the navy it was suggested among all sorts of other oddball things for effortless cleaning of brass and copper but was found to be borderline useless. As for it having any effect on ferrous metal I can’t offer an opinion. As can be seen in the pictures Jenolite forms a coating over the rust it doesn’t actually remove it. I certainly won’t be buying any.

It’s still struggling with the apparently cat proof top

And here a few pictures of my unwanted assistant trying to get her teeth into a three link coupling.

Fresh from the paint shop is the latest addition to my modified Hornby Tinplate lineside accessories. I have never been overly keen on the colours used on the water towers, obviously designed to appeal to children as they were marketed as toys and whilst I wouldn’t modify anything that was in anything near acceptable condition, anything with dents and rust is fair game. On this one the tank was heavily rusted and the base bent and distorted, I am tempted to keep this one in Matt grey primer as the imperfections are not so noticeable. The remains of the plastic water tubing are also shown this was replaced with a piece of heat shrink electrical insulation. The lid was made from thin ply and card and still needs a bit of fettling and the pull chain is fresh from a dip in rust remover and will be refitted shortly.

This was cobbled together from a very rough piece of island canopy bought for £8, it took a while for the light bulb moment to come but eventually I thought if dismantled it could be made to fit the Hornby wayside station. Below is a picture as purchased, I might be wrong but I think the frets may be of Scale Link origin anyway it was reassembled with a wooden roof in place of the metal one it came with and the stanchions/posts were sat on two nuts with captive washers. This made it stable and it sits comfortably under the station roof verge. It is now twice the length of the original.

Further to my modified Signal box Here’s a few pictures of a slightly modified Hornby wayside station this one is totally reversible.

The Chilwell overlays are ideal for Leeds type wagons, I’ve yet to see a photograph that shows one with any sort of brake gear although invariably the censor has always scrubbed out the Chilwell they are easy to spot thanks to the interlocked C logo ( Chetwyn and Chilwell) and the NSFF No 6. I also have a selection of Michael Badgers Chilwell overlays which are on my to do list.

Another candidate is this Hornby SR Flat but I am two minds about this one it might just get a revamp, A good scrub, coupling changeand a set of later plastic wheels

Next we have a RN stores depot bogie Van which started life as a LNER Van and then morphed into a scarlet LMS Van with corrugated effect paint work and hand painted LMS. Stripped and repainted in Grey.

I am a Lionel fan as well and have long sought a transformer load and I cannot ever recall seeing one in the UK. An upcoming trip to Florida to meet up with my brother who takes a winters break there away from the cold Canadian winter hopefully will lead to at least one day of hunting Lionel. PS Bit of a bummer it appears Panama Beach and environs is a train shop desert.

This 4.7” Naval gun was acquired cheaply because its shield had broken away, I personally prefer it minus the shield which tends to give it a more vintage look, the so called 2pdr AA gun looks nothing like a 2pdr which had a short barrel and large conical flash diffuser. However it bears a passable resemblance to a 3” AA gun. Broken they can be had for under £5, the elevating screw is the usual fault, I fix it in place with superglue, the elevating facility is lost but that is no great loss to me. And finally another Bullock gun which I consider a bit to big to be used. I had hopes the Britain’s 4.7” would fit in the well of the Trolley but sadly ‘‘twas a tad to long. And a Crescent Toys 18pdr field gun in gold paint this is destined for the dip and should provide a nice load when finished. My favourite period is between the wars and these vehicles would have been seen on the streets during the unrest at the time of the General Strike and during the rebellion in Ireland and the subsequent civil war as well as presumably being shuttled around between depots and bases. If the WW 2 conflict is more to your taste and you don’t mind modern products there is a multitude of choice from numerous manufacturers.

More Matchbox an armoured car and the Generals staff car and an Atlas Wolesley Armoured car from the TIn Tin range, the Armoured cars tend be a tad pricey but if you keep an eye out for an unboxed example £10 should be enough, damaged even cheaper.

Cheapest of the cheap and my personal favourite the Matchbox Models of Yesteryear Crossley Tender these can be picked up for under a fiver a quick degrease and a respray and it’s ready to go. These will fit nicely on a flat.

Third one up is a Trolley wagon, at the moment I can’t decide whether or not to repaint the wagon and the gun load or keep them as they are, here’s a picture of them as found. The gun is by Bullock and fits nicely in the well. Other potential candidates were Britain’s 4.7” Naval gun and the AA gun of which more later.

Next up is a substitute load for the Timber wagon this one is a dismounted gun barrel, the good thing about Naval gun barrels is they came in a huge variety of sizes. I like to think of this one as a turn of the century 9.2inch Gun as fitted to armoured Cruisers and in later life used ashore as a heavy artillery piece and coastal defence gun, somewhat handily they were long lived and stayed in service until the 1950’s. It’s actually an Astra gun that had a broken diecast base this was placed in the scrap bin and a wooden shipping cradle made from off cuts of wood.

Something I’ve been tinkering with for a while as always with a tight budget in mind, I try to source common all garden items and give them a tweak to add a bit of interest to my Vintage O gauge stock. So far it’s all been Hornby but in reality if it’s cheap it’s fair game, cheap invariably means substandard either through rust, missing pieces or damage. Anyway here we go any questions or critical comments please fire away. First up is a Torpedo load for a standard Hornby Bogie Timber wagon which was purchased as part of a pair for £8, the original colour was a gaudy yellow and green which was in poor condition this was stripped and repainted grey. The other one was in better condition and is being kept in original condition. The torpedo is a pewter desk ornament etch primed and finished in black with a red warhead which signifies a practice warhead, I couldn’t imagine them being shipped around with a live warhead attached but I could be wrong.

The Gem example is impressive and it shows the progression from a frame with rods and bell cranks to electrical control whilst still not a million miles away from the prototype. I can’t help liking this sort of stuff far more “touchy-feely” than a button. Dismantling proceeds with much heat, penetrating oil, threats and blows and waggling of parts. It’s a lot easier to tackle the rust when it’s broken down it’s becoming a veritable Dremel fest.

Part way through the Dremel attack this is what we have, I would be curious to know if anyone has an operating setup using this type of lever frame, the next step is reducing it to its component parts for a more intensive clean and repaint.

The corrosion was so bad that the only answer was an attack with a Dremel type tool and grinding bit, not fancying inhaling the resultant dust cloud I gave it a bath of hot caustic which removed all the old paint residue and a lot of the verdigris on the brass. A thorough rinse and dry with a hair dryer and it was ready for descaling.

Foraging around at the show at Leigh recently looking for a pair of B/Lowke coach bogies I came across a crusty signal box lever frame, it was initially disregarded as up until now I had no signalling of any sort apart from a Tinplate Hornby signal box. What drew me back to the frame was it’s solid construction, being made of brass and steel and having a nice “notchy” throw to the levers. When I say crusty I mean it was encrusted with dirt, peeling paint, verdigris and rust, the levers where heavily pitted and devoid of paint, the brass casting a mixture of verdigris and powdery flaking paint which looked akin to the distemper on the cellar walls, nevertheless I was hooked and a deal was struck for £8 After a bit of online research I came across the the following which illustrate what I am rabbiting on about.

I think Doncaster Colliery’s Association, I seem to recall Hornby did the self same wagon in OO, Looks pretty naff in plastic much better in O on a wooden wagon body methinks.

Good to see you here Bruce, now this is just an idle thought on my part something my wife reckons I excel at (dreaming up things for other people to do). Is it possible to scan and then by computer wizardry change the running number so that it becomes possible to run a rake of one company’s wagons all with different numbers. i seem to have struck lucky in that the BADDESLEY wagon which I have is the one that most appeals to me and I would like to add a couple more and a variety of different numbers would be a bonus.