Neal Ball

13 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

A fascinating (and useful) 'walk though' the stages of assembling a kit model. Thank you.

Thanks Mike.

20 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

Very nice, Neal. And with well positioned passengers too.

 

 

I know that one, it's particularly bad when you realize that you've forgotten one whole side of the coach.

 

There is also a danger of that... helped by the fact that my stock generally only gets seen from one side!

I should point out that the Comet etches are for the windows after they were modernised.

The original windows as per the GWR photos at the top were Beclawat windows which slid down. The whole window moved, rather than the fixed panes at the top,

2 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

When were the windows modernised? 1936?

Yes I think so, or 1938?

Excellent work @Mikkel thanks as ever for sharing. A Pantechnican sounds like a good idea for Henley-on-Thames, but I fear I have enough projects on the go at the moment 😎

Thanks as ever. 

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

 

This is one of the reasons I far prefer the forum formats to blogs.

I suppose I could have put them into the Skills / Kitbuilding section of the forum. Although, I like the idea that they are together as all my projects (I need to see if I can get the County build together with the carriages, rather on two separate blogs).

3 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

Hi Neal, good to see progress on these. The interior paint job looks very good.

 

Just as an aside, if you are already aware then ignore this:  Because you are adding photos to an existing old post, few people will get to see the new stuff. We don't get any updates and it will not appear on the main RMweb blog page. That's why I for example keep missing it. I only caught this because you posted about it in your thread. The normal approach is to create a new blog post every time there has been some progress. But you may already know and choose to do it like this of course, in which case never mind 🙂

 

Thanks Mikel (on both counts).

Yes I realised that a while back - I have started a blog page about my next carriage build - but its hidden until i have finished the build, everything will be added in one go.

Thanks for this.

Lovely looking carriage, I wonder if Slaters are any closer to releasing the GWR range again. 

It is interesting to read your thought process about carriages and what you consider you would be able to build (with ease). 

When I started out with building carriages (beyond Ratio plastic kits), i too had the same thoughts - years later I am progressing to more adventurous builds, which now includes locos (I am on my 2nd loco kit).

I have made mistakes along the way, some of which I then re-visit when I have learned "a better way" etc.

I would suggest you start by adapting a few carriages by replacing the sides of existing stock and take it from there.

There is a world of choice out there with brass sides.

Good luck,

Neal.

Terrific work @Mikkel, I'm looking forward to seeing it progress.

10 minutes ago, ullypug said:

Hi Mikkel

The solebars are included so you have to make the trussing, queen posts and fittings. There are a couple of battery boxes included with the kit but from what I can see in photos, these were removed for camping coaches along with the dynamo. 
 

Thanks for the details and photo. I am waiting for a Clerestory kit to arrive from Worsley Works, which will be my first foray into their kits. Until now all my carriage kits have been from Comnet.

Its also interesting that MJT have now introduced a 10ft Dean bogie.

Thanks again, Neal.

The view from the workbench:

The workbench itself!

The H26 will appear with original windows from Worsley Works.

January / February 2024 both 70ft carriages have had two coats of white Vallejo primer sprayed. With the under frames having their first coat of black (13-2-24)

30 minutes ago, nigel newling said:

Come on Neal, you cannot leave us in suspense like this. How has the E112 project turned out?

Nigel

Thanks for the prompt Nigel.

We’ve been in travelling to the UK over the last couple of weeks, as a result all work has paused.

Im now sat at the workbench, wondering where to start next! 
 

When we were in the UK I picked up various deliveries to enable me to complete various projects…. Plus bought a new 70ft Restaurant kit…. Plus bought a kit for a County 4-4-2T….

Ive now got loads to do!

To be continued….. 😎

34 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

Hi Neal, don't know how I missed this. The coach is looking very good. Funny how the roof ventilators transform it.

 

With another one it's going to be an impressive sight. What other types will you be mixing them with? Your stock seems to be growing at impressive speed.

Thanks Mikell, These two carriages were Brithday and Christmas presents from last year. 2023 has been the year of the carriage at Henley-on-Thames, where various projects have come towards completion. Currently these two have leapfrogged the 2 x Slaters Toplights!

I'm hoping that Santa (or my birthday) brings the 70ft Brake 3rd to go with these. I also have a couple of Sunshines on the list as well, but they will be destined for another train. 

This train will possibly be comprised of a couple of Clerestories, although I suspect that might be a while away yet!

I am currently eyeing up a Restaurant carriage kit on eBay which would suit the set very well.....

Thanks for the comments - work will switch to the E112 today.

53 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I can find 6 and I know the largest one was an individual purchase for loco axles, so possible the same pack of 5 + 1 extra.

That sounds right. I bought one of mm dimensions and then when the loco chassis arrived, I realised I needed additional sizes. 
 

They are a very useful set of tools.

1 hour ago, Clearwater said:

For those of us who have a pile of these kits to make, this is an excellent, useful and inspirational read.  Many thanks!

Good luck David, get those kits out for the winter and have a go!

25 minutes ago, melmerby said:

You learn something every day.

I've never heard them called reaming broaches before, I've got 6 or 7 of them and find them very useful.

 

To me the difference is the way they open out holes, a broach scrapes away material, a reamer is a proper cutting tool (and as Miss P said, a lot more expensive)

I bought mine as a set of 5 (I think) from Squires - only thinking I would use them for my Metro tank build. They are proving invaluable.

8 minutes ago, Miss Prism said:

Reamer = fancy broach (and considerably more expensive!)

 

Neil is using the right tool for that job - cutting broaches can be surprisingly precise.

 

 

 

Thanks @Miss Prism I wish I had used a 5 sided reamer ages ago, it would have made my earlier Bogie making a lot easier. To the point, I am thinking about remaking the earlier ones!

7 minutes ago, melmerby said:

I'm following the thread with interest as I have never built anything brass, although I have some new brass sides for the Ratio 4 wheelers, when I can get around to it.🙂

Adding new sides onto an existing carriage is also very satisfying - the ability of making something different from the RTR stock is great.

7 minutes ago, melmerby said:

 

BTW, that's not a reamer, it's a broach

 

This is a reamer:

Pretty much the same thing - The one(s) I am using are called a 5 sided reaming broach.

20 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

I'm currently mulling over Alicante to Shrewsbury this year, although the planning and logistics fills me with dread!

 

Mike.

I managed to do Alicante to St Pancras with an overnight in Barcelona and then a separate journey PDN to PZ.

Very expensive @350€ just to get to the UK! 

Excellent reportage thanks Mikkel,

In no particular order....

The SR connection was still there when we travelled through last year, although in the short space of time since all the (recent) work was completed around Reading, I was surprised / appalled at how the Buddleia has been allowed to grow at seemingly quite a rampant rate. 

Going along the mainline, you can just see the track work through the forest of vegetation. 

What ever happened to pride in the railways and cutting back gangs?

_____________

The 1930's short of Paddington is magical - I take it, its early 1930's as that looks like a County tank in Platform 1 and obviously they went around 32/34. I'm also saying 1930's due to the Collett carriages in Platform 3.... 

Thats a very nice collection / eclectic mix of carriages in Platform 2.

_____________

Re: St Erth - The signalling engineer is on here and has spoken about changes on the St Ives branch before. Which will include a passing loop and lengthened platforms etc.

I seem to recall that some of the changes for the far west, will see the manual signals around St Erth being replaced - I think this year at some point.

Thanks for sharing your journey. I wonder if we could do Spain to Penzance and whether it would be as interesting.... 😎

Great video thank you.

My Grandparents used to live at Sturmer, on the other line from Haverhill. Their cottage was just over the level crossing, down Water lane.

Excellent work @Mikkel

5 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Hi Neal, I've been following the thread but it's very useful to have this write-up here. Thanks for putting it together. Lovely work. 

Thanks @Mikkel and @Miss Prism

9 hours ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thank you Mike, also for this suggestion. I was wondering about such a solution but wasn't sure if there would be distortions. But it's worth a try, working under magnifiers is one of those things that seem very disorienting at first, but becomes second nature after a while. 

 

 

Thanks Neal, well you could do a bit of out-of period running on your layout, I would love to see a special 1904 Regatta operating sequence!

 

If you have a free evening you could add a quick little diorama showing the scene below 😁

 

Caption: Henley Regatta, Henley-on-Thames,1890s. Source: Wikipedia Commons

 

 

 

That looks very chaotic.