Mikkel

That's the dilemma isn't it - whether to repair the old stuff or start with something new. If repairing an old kit entails completely disassembling it and starting over, in my view it may make more sense to build a new one. On the other hand, some people can work wonders - eg Pete and his Hall: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1037/entry-10697-gwr-hall/ Maybe the best approach is to make a judgement call from case to case.

Nothing like impure thoughts to move things forward :-) Wagons and track looking very nice indeed.

Hello Jim, do you mean you've got some of the same coaches from the same kits? That's interesting. I've always thought they were scratchbuilt by Colin Edge, using some etches he made himself in very small quantities. Perhaps they were more widespread than I thought? In any case, it's good to know there are others out there who appreciate old hand-me-down kit-builds :-)

A good point, although from looking at various photos it seems clear that both light and dark framing was used. The best example is the one mentioned earlier on the back of "Wiltshire's Lost Railways", which shows 3 boards of which one has a light frame and two a dark frame. They are next to each other and seen directly from the front, so it is not the lighting at play in that case. I commute every day on a line here in Denmark which also has its own distinct colour scheme to valances etc, and yet it is amazing just how different the shades of the colours are from station to station. I know it was a different world back then and that "standards" were taken quite seriously, but I think we need to allow for a good deal of variety between and even within individual locations. David those last couple of photos are fantastic in their own right. You should post them in "the human dimension" thread.

Great shot and great modelling. I find that acrylics are such a pleasure to work with because they dry quickly.

Yeah, I can really identify with these little coaches too :-) Happy new year!

Yes, no doubt about that!

A clever little trick Ric :-) And it has me thrown back into doubt. I did a quick and dirty greyscale conversion of the Flickr image myself just now (better not post it here as that would infringe on copyright), and to me the result leaves a clear and convincing impression of a three-tone livery - while in fact it is only two-tone with the light reflecting differently on the various parts. I'm off to check photos again, clearly double-checking is needed.

Very nice wagons. I especially like the two meat vans, very nicely done. The fiddly brake gear looks like it was worth it, I think.

Let's make it one! I think your Hall was in a much worse condition though. The basic structure of these coaches is sound, so I haven't disassembled them. But I'd like to improve my soldering, and was thinking of buying a cheap old kitbuilt loco to disassemble and reassemble for practice. I know it may be wiser to practice on a clean new kit, but funds are very low at present. I'm sure it won't be to your standards though!

Heavy snow here on the 23rd, so that helped set the scene. But melted quickly, oh well. Thanks for the tip on the drying box, I think I'll do something similar.

Some years ago I picked up a number of secondhand GWR four and six-wheel coaches, originally scratchbuilt by Colin Edge. They were lovely models but had been worn by time. I have since been gradually restoring the coaches - not to finescale standards but to general working order. This and the following blog entries is a lighthearted illustration of the work done. First job was to inspect the damage (with apologies to Chris Nevard!). The example seen here is a diagram R1 All First 4-wheeler in the lake livery. There must be a thousand coaches out there with broken or warped stepboards! Springs gone too. And the paintwork is looking a bit sad. Anyone aged 40 upwards will recognize the symptoms The roof has buckled, and the glazing isn’t so pretty anymore. So to summarize, this little R1 exhibits some very typical signs of wear and tear on kitbuilt coaches. But as long as the basic model is sound it is well worth the restoration effort, I think. More on this to follow... Go to part 2.

Yes, that would make sense. I assume they would then also have been painted there, which I suppose suggests that there was some form of central control over the original painting scheme of poster boards. But not necessarily the re-painting! I ask because on the back of "Wiltshire's lost railways" there is a photo which features three poster boards with adverts. Two of them have chocolate frames, and one of them has a dark stone frame :-) Edit: the photo I refer to is clearly from the Edwardian period.

What an excellent illustration of your point. And they say there is no evidence? I had a look through Great Western Branchlines (CW Judge), which has some interesting photos from the Edwardian period (although often undated and not the best quality). FWIW: Canopies: Three-colour scheme evident on canopies at Devizes (dated 1930s, but it looks earlier to me) p23, Chippenham (no date) p23, Brixham (1910) p41, Helston (no date) p56 Canopy glazing bars: The Brixham photo has a (not very good) underside view of the canopy glazing bars which to me are clearly not chocolate (see also canopy at Darthmouth on page 43 although that could be later in time). Poster boards: Page 45 has a photo with several poster boards in the Edwardian period. These have "Great Western Railway" in either gold or dark stone across variously 2 or 3 poster bays, with the lettering on a chocolate background. *But* the framing is clearly a stone colour, probably dark stone. Striped valances: Barnstaple (p36) and Brixton Road (p47) Regarding poster boards: Would these have been made (and thus painted) on the spot or pre-fabricated elsewhere to a standard design?

Great post Jon, and some great modelling. Funny how these little detailing jobs always end up getting more involved! I'm curious about your "drying box". A special design, perhaps?

Interesting point about stone no. 1. I've always thought that we seem to have overlooked that colour a bit. I am a little hesitant regarding the above photo though (not being argumentative here, just trying to get my head around the possible implications of dark chocolate). I see what you mean that there seems to be a slight difference between the footbridge valance and panels - but does that necessarily mean that the dark colour is chocolate rather than dark stone? For example, if we assume for a moment that the existing canopy at Kidderminster (photo here) is painted in a reasonably correct interpretation of light and dark stone (which is a dangerous assumption, I know) - would the dark stone then not also appear very dark in a black and white photo of the day? Interestingly, if the footbridge framing is chocolate, then so are the lamp posts? BTW the lamp posts illustrate quite clearly how lighting and distance can make colours appear different. Compare the lamp in the foreground with those at the back. All very intriguing. What I wouldn't give to spend just an hour at a GWR station in the 1900s!

Out of curiosity David, what makes you identify the framework on the footbridge as chocolate rather than dark stone? And would it mean, do you think, that all the ironwork on the platforms (lamps. canopy supports etc) are also chocolate?

The "Great Western Railway" poster board lettering we've discussed looks more gold than light stone to me, but hard to tell of course. Regarding the valances, are you going for the alternating dark and light stone version? I could never find out if there is a pattern/rule to where and when it was applied, and where not. It'll be good fun when someone sees your dark chocolate livery and comes up to point out how wrong it is!

These references to the dark chocolate scheme are pretty convincing to me. A well researched article on the issue would be most welcome. Not least because we may have to revisit our interpretations of other aspects of the livery schemes that are based on assumptions such as "if that colour is dark stone, then that other colour must be light stone" (eg in our recent discussion about goods depot interiors). But if the colour is in fact chocolate, then "that other colour" may in fact be dark stone - etc. Interesting. So that proves that this style of poster board did exist at some point. Are there punctuations between the letters?

Interesting topic. I did a similar search for poster board styles a while ago. As you say some seem to have had no insignia, but others did have the lettering you mention here. There's an example of "Great Western Railway" across three "bays" here: http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsh489a.htm There are also a couple of nice examples on page 44 of "Edwardian Enterprise". However, as you can see in those photos I am not sure the lettering was in fact white! I have been wondering a bit about the "GWR" type, as I don't recall seeing that in any prototype photos. I have a slight suspicion this may in fact be a misinterpretation of the heading on some of the GWR travel posters, rather than something that was written directly on poster boards. Eg posters like this one: http://eshop.wiltshire.gov.uk/getshopitem.php?id=69 I think you may have a point about the white framing, and whether that is in fact correct. It certainly mirrors the practice for other signs on stations, but off-hand I haven't been able to find any examples with white frames. Most appear to be very dark (and also more elaborate than the ones provided by the trade), eg here: http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrfc82b.htm - but then there are others that seem more light (though hardly white). Eg the one on the extreme right here (if indeed it is a poster board) looks to be light stone? http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsa505b.htm

Agree, it really has that "Hall" look. Hard to believe it's the same model!

Looks good. Can I ask how the turntable fiddle is aligned to the track? By eye?

Nice to see those on here - as we discussed in the thread, they are suprisingly rarely seen. I wonder why the Slaters coaches have never really become as widespread and popular as the Ratio 4-wheelers. Maybe because they aren't suited for a branchline (although a latter-day branch could have one) - or maybe because of those bogies?