Brinkly

Thoughts are with you today, Chris. Very much missed.

Very fine work, Gerry. I do like the chalk markings - what did you use? All the best, Nick.

I really enjoyed this issue. I totally agree with @Not Jeremy about Steve Hall's editorial piece - it embodies what we should be encouraging in our lovely hobby. His article about Drighlington and Adwalton was very interesting to read and I have taken a lot away from it. During the national lockdowns, Steve produced a couple of videos for online Scaleforum. I've posted them below - thoroughly worth watching. More of Steve in the chair, please! All the best, Nick.

Lovely work, John. Looks spot on. All the best, Nick.

That is a rather interesting discovery, Mike. Out of interest, what is that taken from? I discovered that several of the diagrams in the Russel book were out when I put a scale ruler over them. All the best, Nick.

I don’t believe there is anything hideously wrong with the Cooper Craft kit. Geoff Kent was adapting it to a more modern variant in his book. He did replace the roof I think… I’ll have a look later. I think a decent GWR cattle van is well overdue for the 4mm modeller. The Hornby SR Maunsell and Bulleid versions show what a RTR manufacturer can do. Accurascale or Rapido, please!? Best wishes, Nick.

I believe the Dapol body is stretched to fit on their generic chassis.

A bit of a ‘lash-up’ as my old man would say!

Morning Ric, It might well be to be fair. I just remember back in 2010 it arriving and everyone being delighted till someone ran a ruler over it! Looking in the Atkins book it is incredibly similar to a W12, but it’s still 4mm too long - if the W12 is 18’ -6” over the headstocks. The end panels on the Bachmann model are 2mm too long. It also rides on BR w-irons not RCH one: very picky of me I know! I was always under the impression Bachmann sold it as ‘BR standard’ and then applied GWR branding. Warren Shepherd does produce a W12 kit in etched form. I haven’t built one myself but it does look good. If you can overlook it being too long, then it’s a very useful addition to a wagon fleet, but I found running them along side the Airfix kit, they just looked very odd! Similar to the old Mainline LMS vans compared to the Parkside kit - the Mainline/Bachmann model being 4mm too short! Run and even number of both in a train mind, and it would still be the right length! All the best, Nick.

The Bachmann one is based on the BR standard design; however, it has one major flaw - it is 4mm too long. Shame really as it is a lovely model otherwise. I think Geoff Kent wrote a piece in one of his books about adapting the Coopercraft W1/5 kit into one of the more modern variants. All the best, Nick.

View Advert Pair of Bachmann 5-Plank Wagons - 37-038 & 37-065 (boxed) Offered for sale is Bachmann 37-528C £14 plus postage. Postage will be via Royal Mail, using Second Class Signed for service (£4.45). I have other items listed and I am happy to combine postage for multiple purchases. Advertiser Brinkly Date 05/01/23 Price £13.98 Category OO / 4mm scale  

View Advert Bachmann 38-180C Offered for sale is Bachmann 38-180C £15 plus postage. Postage will be via Royal Mail, using Second Class Signed for service (£4.45). I have other items listed and I am happy to combine postage for multiple purchases. Advertiser Brinkly Date 05/01/23 Price £15 Category OO / 4mm scale  

View Advert Hornby R6824 20T Brakevan W68571 Offered for sale is Hornby R6824 AA15 20T Brake Van - W68571. £17 plus postage. Postage will be via Royal Mail, using Second Class Signed for service (£4.45). I have other items listed and I am happy to combine postage for multiple purchases. Advertiser Brinkly Date 05/01/23 Price £17 Category OO / 4mm scale  

View Advert Hornby R6713A ex GWR Vans in BR Bauxite Offered for sale are two Hornby ex GWR Bauxite vans W145747 & W145748. I'm happy to sell all both for £20 plus postage, or individually for £10 per wagon plus postage. Postage will be via Royal Mail, using Second Class Signed for service (£4.45). I have other items listed and I am happy to combine postage for multiple purchases. Advertiser Brinkly Date 05/01/23 Price £20 Category OO / 4mm scale  

View Advert Bachmann 33-086 China Clay Wagons BR Bauxite (x4) Offered for sale are four Bachmann 33-086 Clay Wagons in Bauxite (please note they are without hoods - passed to another modeller a few years ago). I'm happy to sell all four for £40 plus postage, or individually for £12 per wagon plus postage. Postage will be via Royal Mail, using Second Class Signed for service (£4.45). Advertiser Brinkly Date 05/01/23 Price £40 Category OO / 4mm scale  

My experience with the Hattons/DJ Models 14xx hasn't been great. The first one I received had a locked rear axle, and although it ran pretty smoothly, I could not free the rear wheels up enough to rotate. So I returned it and had the second one, which ran like this... I sent that one back, too and received a third one, which runs reasonably smoothly; however, ultimately, I will fit a replacement etched chassis to it as slow-speed control could be better. It is a real shame as the bodies, and livery application is excellent. Best wishes, Nick.

That is excellent work! Thank you very much for sharing. Best wishes, Nick.

And to you and all other contributors on this lovely thread. Best wishes and a Happy New Year to you all, Nick.

Greetings Colin, I have only just discovered your thread this morning and I'm very glad I have! I'm very impressed with your use of Wayne's point kits and your traverser! It really is excellent. I look forward to seeing Upper Hembury progress. Happy New Year to you, Nick.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year. I look forward to the continuing adventures of work's cat George, Norman and, of course, sheep bloke! Best wishes, Nick.

Beautifully smooth, Dave. Very fine work. Best wishes, Nick.

Just fab, Mikkel! I really enjoyed this post - huge amount of excellent work! Happy New Year to you, Nick.

Morning Russell, Really nice to see progress on Barnstaple Junction. I was up there last night just about to take 158950 back to Exeter. Really charming station and such a shame it is a shadow of its former self. Was the conversion of the Bachmann Bullied coaches an easy one? All the best, Nick. (P.S. Sorry to hijack your thread!)

Hello Dave, I really have enjoyed catching up with your build over the last couple of evenings. The Lord Nelson really is stunning. You have done a great job with it. All the best, Nick.

This is such interesting reading. Thank you for starting it, Tim. I have a couple of grand schemes which I am highly unlikely to ever do. Since joining GWR as a Guard back in March, I spent a lot of time working over the former Southern Mainline between Exeter and Okehampton and the North Devon line out to Barnstaple. Before becoming a guard, I knew very little about the lines in North Devon. One scheme I think would make an excellent model would be Yeoford. Having read a bit about it, it is a modeller's dream. Significant freight traffic being transferred out of Exeter to be stored there, along with the marshalling and re-marshalling of both passenger and freight services onto the respective routes out of Yeoford (North Devon, Bude, North Cornwall, Plymouth Mainline etc.). Several hundred cattle wagons were based there for the North Devon traffic. China clay and milk all being present on the line. Then into the mixing pot goes the beautiful range of former LSWR stock and model 1945, and you can have a few Bullied Light Pacifics in their gleaming post-war liveries. Not to mention empty coaching stock stored in sidings for strengthening services or those Saturday workings Dr Beeching put an end to. In a way, Yeoford is a massive shunting plank but with lots of through trains and stoppers passing by, immersed in rural Devon charm. Operate before 1954, and one could operate the Devon Belle... add Coleford Junction into the mix and oh... such possibilities! A more achievable idea is to build a layout scheme similar to Geoff Taylor's former Barmouth Junction empire. This would involve linking Horrabridge to Tavistock South, then, if room permitted, possibly making a model of either Lydford (although I suspect that would be way too big for any potential space I will have) or Launceston. The ambition there is the construction of both the GWR and LSWR sites. I can dream! I just need the space to achieve it. All the best, Nick.