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Mikkel

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Blog Entries posted by Mikkel

  1. Mikkel
    I've managed to finish my early GWR one-planker, built mostly from styrene. Just to recap, the prototype is one of the 18ft types with wooden solebars, originally built in the 1870s. We don't hear much about GWR one-plankers, but there were more than 2300 in service in the early 20th century. They appear to be a bit of minefield with a variety of dimensions, so mine is based on the drawing in "GWR Goods Wagons" by Atkins et al. Details are based on no. 5141, of which a couple of photos exist.
     
     
     

     
    Here she is with a light dusting of grey primer, in preparation for the rivet transfers. It seemed a shame to cover all those nice brass detailing bits, but sooner or later we all loose our shine!
     
     
     

     
    For the rivets I used Archer's resin transfers, as discussed in this thread (thanks gents!). I bought the mixed-size sheet as it is a bit difficult to assess beforehand what size you need. There doesn't seem to be many UK stockists, but DCC supplies have them. They are not cheap, but there should be enough here for several jobs.
     
     
     

     
    Pacman? No, rivet transfers. The clever bit is that you can cut out strips of rivets and therefore don't have to add each one individually. But it depends on the prototype of course. In my case I did have to add a lot of them individually to get the right spacing.
     
     
     

     
    The transfers need to be soaked in warm water prior to application. The instructions suggest retaining the backing paper until the rivets are in place, and then sliding it out from under them. I personally found it easier to tease off the backing paper with a brush while in the water, and then simply add the transfer directly to the wagon.
     
     

     
    As long as they're wet, the transfers can be gently nudged in place and repositioned as required. Once they dry up they start to harden. As RMwebber Sasquatch advised me, the transfers really do need a coat of primer to stick to if you want good adhesion. As you can see, the transfer film is fairly obvious...
     
     
     

     
    ... so as recommended in the instructions I used Microsol on top of the transfers, which interacts with the primer and transfer film so that the latter essentially dissolves.
     
     

     
    Train spotting. The transfer film is gone and the rivets are stuck in place. One of the fun things about scratch-building is that you can replicate the idio-synchrasies of a particular wagon. The real no. 5141 also had a rivet head missing on one corner plate, and lacked rivet plates on one end of the solebar. The ribbed buffers are from MJT and this close-up is a little unfair to them.
     
     

     
    Another of those little imperfections that I rather like, and that noone else will ever notice! Photos of no. 5141 show the wagon with two different wheel types, one axle with split spokes and the other with solid spokes. I'm sure it wasn't built like that, but something happened along the way. We all know the feeling!
     
     
     

     
    Here she is again after another coat of primer to cover the rivets. The brake is a bit of an enigma. We know that these wagons had a single large wooden brake block, but the details of the arrangement are not clear. The two photos that exist of no. 5141 are from the unbraked side, and the brake is only seen as a ghostly shadow. Photos of other wagons with single brake blocks suggest that there were several different types, so that is not much help. The arrangement seen here is therefore my guesstimate, based on consultations with knowledgeable RMwebbers (any mistakes are entirely my own!).
     
     
     

     
    Then came the question of livery. As discussed elsewhere, my working assumption is that wagon bodies were red right up to 1904. But what about the bits below the solebar - the axleguards etc? Were they red or grey? I tend to think grey, but looking at photos of the real 5141 it does look as if it's the same colour all over. I can't show the prototype photos, so above is a shot of my model instead, taken with the "monchrome" setting on my compact camera. As you can see the wagon is clearly the same colour all over....
     
     

     
    ...except that it isn't . This photo was taken immediately after the one above, and to me it indicates just how difficult it can be to tell colours apart in monochrome, even with today's technology. Admittedly, these shots aren't of a very good quality (they were taken with the macro-focus on), and I realize that it is problematic to compare modern photos with those of the 1900s.
     
     
     

     
     
    No doubt it also depends a lot on the colour shade and lighting: This photo was taken indoors with artificial lighting, after I had given the wagon a second coat in a different shade, and treated it with weathering and varnish. Here you can actually see a colour difference between the axleguards and the body. This may explain why the evidence from prototype photos is so ambigious. In any case, for the time being I'll stick with "red on top, grey underneath" (to paraphrase the old Kerryman joke).
     
     
     

     
    So here she is in more or less finished condition. I say more or less because the prototype photos of no. 5141 show her with broad gauge-style incised lettering on the solebars, and a variety of chalk markings on the sides. I must admit I am at a loss on how to reproduce these, especially the incised letters, so I might have to compromise and leave it off. As for the shade of the red colour, I wanted to try out something a little more worn and toned down that on my other wagons. Experimenting is half the fun of modelling, I think.
     
     

    Lady in red. Not much to look at really, and quite labour intensive. But she's all mine!
     
     
    Edit August 2015: I recently came across a photo on the web which I think may show one of these wagons. There aren't a lot of photos of them around and I have never seen this photo mentioned before in the literature. Note especially the enlargement available in the r/h column: http://www.dudleymal...ak/roundoak.htm
  2. Mikkel
    Here’s a summary of my recent 'experiments' (a.k.a. mucking about) with Modelu and other 4mm figures, and how to store them.
     
    I have previously modified figures from the Andrew Stadden, Dart Castings and Preiser ranges. So obviously, the Modelu range had to suffer too!  The resin used in these figures cannot be bent (it will break), but clean cuts with a scalpel worked OK. Joins were sanded, fixed with superglue and smoothed out with putty. Not everyone will think it’s worthwhile, but I find it relaxing and you get quick results. 
     
    This driver was shortened and had his feet repositioned to fit in the cab of my Dean Goods.
     

     
     
    Another driver had a head fitted from an Andrew Stadden figure, in order to enhance the Edwardian look.
     

     
     
    That left a headless Andrew Stadden body, so a head was transposed from a Modelu station master who I felt looked a bit too modern for my Edwardian period.
     

     
     
    I have also been experimenting with painting, especially those difficult eyes. The pro painters do some amazing work in this respect, but as a mere mortal I’m just looking for a simple way to achieve a rough indication of eyes without spending too much time on it.  The approach illustrated below has helped.  First, two black stripes across the eyes. The stripes can then be narrowed and shortened by painting skin colour carefully around them. I find this much easier than trying to paint the eyes directly. The same technique can be used for the eyebrows and mouth.
     

     
     
    Eyebrows can be tricky when hats etc get in the way, but do add character. I suppose the next step on the learning curve is to fill in those blank, black eyes. Not sure I'm up for that! 
     

     

    Reading up on brushes led to the purchase of these Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes (not the “miniature” range). The sizes are 00 for faces (right), and 1 for larger details (left). These are bigger sizes than I have normally used. This is based on online advice from pro painters. The theory is that larger brushes give better control and the paint doesn’t dry as quickly on the way to the face. If you look closely at the lady above, you can see that her face isn’t quite smooth, because I let the paint become too dry on the brush.
     

     
     
    A larger magnifying glass has also helped, although I’m still struggling a bit with the weird hand-eye coordination that this requires. The field for extra magnification is useful and tells me that it may be worth investing in an even stronger glass at some point. 
     

     
     
    Because we now live in a flat I have to pack away the layouts in-between operating sessions. This has led me to consider how to store the figures and other fragile items. If stored too casually the paint easily chips, noses are flattened or accessories break. So, inspired by Chris' storage box for figures,  I had a look around the web and came upon “pick and pluck” foam trays. These are available on ebay, or from military modelling manufacturers like Feldherr.
     

     
     
    After plucking out the foam as desired, a base layer is added, and the tray is ready to use.
     

     
     
     
    The foam trays come in different thicknesses, this is 15 mm (0.6 inch) plus a base layer:
     

     
     
    For my horse drawn wagons I used 30 mm (1.2 inches). In retrospect it would have been better to go for something even deeper so the wagons could be placed upright. 
     


     
    The trays can be stacked…
     

     
     
    …and fitted in an appropriate box. This is just a shoebox. I added an extra protective layer of foam on the top.
     

     
     
    In order to handle the figures, I fitted a bit of felt to a pair of old tweezers.
     

     
     
    Having made the trays you end up with a lot of foam cubes that are supposed to be discarded. This seemed wasteful so I decided to use the cubes for making additional storage boxes for my “second-tier” stuff. They have a sticky underside so it’s very straightforward. The box is a takeaway food container. Ever since Northroader pointed out the usefulness of takeaway boxes we have been eating a lot of Thai food!
     


       
    Some of my figures are fitted with wire in order to fix them on the layout, which takes up a lot of space in the “pick and pluck” boxes. So these are stuck into a bit of good quality dense foamboard...
     


      
    ...and fitted in yet another takeaway box (Phat Kee Mao, if I remember correctly!). 
     

     
     
    There is room for a lot of figures this way...
     

     
     
     
    ... and the boxes stack up nicely.
     

     
     
    That's it for now, I'm off to run some trains!
     
  3. Mikkel
    As mentioned in the previous blog entry, I've been restoring a small collection of secondhand scratchbuilt 4- and 6-wheelers. I should point out that I'm cutting some corners here: The premise for this project has been to see what I could do with the coaches with simple means and materials, and without breaking them down into their constituent parts and starting over.
     
     

     
    First job was to remove the rooves and discard the glazing and droplights, which were beyond saving. The coaches have etched brass sides, but have been assembled with glue. However the original builder did it properly and only the coach seen here (another First to dia R1) needed a bit of reinforcement in the corners.
     
     
     

     
    This 6-wheel First/Second Compo to diagram U16 was restored some time ago. Most of the repairs are hopefully self-explanatory. The coach was built with droplights in the luggage doors, which it shouldn't have. This mistake is probably due to an error in Russell's Great Western Coaches vol 1 (p47). Fortunately I have a copy of the Newsletter of the Great Western Study Group No. 51 (1996), which includes an invaluable list of known errors in the Russell volume.
     
     
     

     
    The windows were blinded with plastikard filed to shape. A bit tricky, but filing and fitting can be a strangely pleasing exercise, I find.
     
     
     

     
    This 6-wheeler was originally a W3 parcels van. Certainly an interesting prototype, but I already had a W1 parcels van and didn't really need another. So feeling a bit reckless I converted it to a V13 PBV, which as far as I can see has virtually the same dimensions. The main difference was that the V13 had guards lookouts, and I found some in an old K's kit that happened to have the right measurements. I wait with baited breath for someone to tell me that there was some major difference between W3 and V13s that I haven't noticed! (if so please do tell, it has not been painted yet so there is still time to change it back!).
     
     
     

     
    On some of the coaches I added new springs, while on others I repaired the existing ones with thin strips of glazing (the thinnest material I had to hand). I am not sure the latter is totally rational, but then modellers rarely are :-)
     
     
     

     
    Here we have another unusual beast - a six-wheel saloon to diagram G20, the one that is preserved at Didcot. It is currently receiving the standard treatment of repairs.
     
     
     

     
    The interior of the G20 Saloon, which has had a new lick of paint. I haven't been able to find any drawings of this diagram, so I am not sure if the arrangement of the seating and tables is correct?
     
     
     

     
    The brake gear has been replaced on some of the coaches. This is of course a simplified representation. In fact, brake gear has for too long been one of my blind spots and I'd like to learn the details better.
     
    That's it for now. So far I'm very much enjoying this work. It may not be text-book modelling, but I find it relaxing and it's nice to breathe some life back into these old models.
     
    Go to part 3
  4. Mikkel

    God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

    By Mikkel,


    Videos
    Here's a short video to round off 2023.
     
    I won’t forget this year anytime soon, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster. Our first grandchild was born, my brother got married, our daughter turned 30, mum turned 90, and then in September dad died.
     
    This christmas I want mostly to do simple and uncomplicated things while pondering it all. So here’s a little project that began in our attic.
     
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
     

     
  6. Mikkel
    I’m building a GWR 1854 class saddle tank in 1900s condition, using a modified and detailed South Eastern Finecast body kit on a Bachmann 8750 chassis. The build is also in my workbench thread, but that tends to be a rather meandering discussion, so this is a summary of the main steps without the diversions.
     


     
    I bought the kit part-assembled, but a bath in hot water dissolved the glue and allowed me to break it down into its main components.
     
     
     

     
    The Bachmann chassis I'm using is the version for the 8750 model, seen here on the right (my loco ref was 32-200, I think the recent 57xx model also uses this chassis). Note that older versions of this chassis (seen on the left, my loco ref was 31-900) are higher and the chassis block is longer, so is less ideal for conversions.
     
     
     

     
    I wanted to avoid modifying the chassis more than strictly necessary, so that it could be replaced easily in case of a failure. The only chassis modification was therefore to remove a section off the front to allow the kit to fit over it.
     
     
     

     
    The body castings require more work. The locating lugs on the side frames and buffer beams were removed, and about 1 mm was filed off the central section of the footplate and splashers each side to clear the motor. Plastikard was used front and rear to get the correct ride height.
     
     
     

     
    The body and chassis assembled. The two front splashers are 0.5 mm too far out. However with careful positioning of the body it is barely discernable, so after mulling it over I decided to accept it.
     
     
     

     
    The tank sides fit neatly over the motor.
     
     
     

     
    The two tank halves were the most work intensive parts of the kit. The “skirts” need to be cut away…
     
     
     

     
    ...allowing daylight under the boiler…
     
     
     

     
    …followed by much filing and filling to get the two halves to fit together.
     
     
     

     
    The motor intrudes slightly into the cab, so the backhead was moved 1 mm forward and a center section of the floor raised slightly.
     
     
     

     
    I replaced the main SEF white metal boiler fittings with parts from Alan Gibson.
     
     
     

     
    Other details were scratchbuilt from bits and bobs. The tank steps were later redone enitrely in brass with tabs to secure them. The footplate steps need filing to the correct straight shape as seen here.
     
     
     

     
    Liftings rings, made from soft wire wrapped around a brush handle and squeezed to shape with pliers.
     
     
     

     
    Coal rails made from wire, and fire iron hooks bent to shape from flat brass strip. The early lamp brackets are from the Broad Gauge Society, and the buffers are Alan Gibson.
     
     
     

     
    While the main build was fairly quick, the detailing has been time consuming.
     
     
     

     
    So here she is, almost ready for a good scrub and then some primer.
  7. Mikkel
    The men stood in silence and stared at the broken crate. It had fallen on its side and the contents had spilled out. There was no mistaking it: There in the middle....
     
     
     

     
    .... was a human skull.
     
     
     

     
    Station Master A. Woodcourt was the first to speak: "Well it may be a murder, but it's hardly a recent one!"
     
     
     
     

     
    At this point the director of the travelling theater company launched into a major outburst: "A murder? Are you mad? We use that skull for Hamlet! Didn't I tell you we were playing Shakespeare? And now I really must insist that your men hurry up with the unloading, or there will be no play tonight at all!
     
     
     

     
    And with that, they all got back to work. All except T. Gradgind, the carter. For a long time, he stood looking at the skull: Those cheekbones, that forehead. It strongly resembled his aunt Augusta. Augusta, the would-be actress who disappeared under mysterious circumstances a few years ago. Should he tell someone? He decided against it. They wouldn't believe him. They never did.
     
     
     

     
    Meanwhile, Station Master Woodcourt had returned to his favourite spot at the end of the bay platform. He was thinking that it might be time for a toffee (and that he rather deserved it) when one of the men interrupted his thoughts. A point failure had developed at the entrance to the carriage sidings. It was being worked on, but the problem was what to do with the Slip coach off the 15:55: It was still sitting in platform 3, blocking the up main. Would it be acceptable to store it in the bay for the time being?
     
     
     

     
    That sounded good to Woodcourt, and so the handsome Toplight Slip was propelled into the bay siding....
     
     
     

     
    ....with the trusty No. 835 and driver T.F. Oberon in charge.
     
     
     

     
    This particular Slip was a compo to diagram F15, originally introduced in 1909. Like the other Toplight designs, it clearly signalled the modern and functional style that was becoming apparent everywhere on the GWR after the beginning of Churchward's reign.
     
     
     

     
    As the coach came up against the buffer stop, a new problem became apparent: The coach would block the exit to the run-round when the first branch train arrived tomorrow morning.
     
     
     

     
    Uncharacteristically, Woodcourt decided to deal with the problem tomorrow. It had been a long day and he really was feeling his age. Perhaps tomorrow would be better. Tomorrow was June 28, 1914. That sounded peaceful enough.
     
    THE END
  8. Mikkel

    The treachery of images

    By Mikkel,

    Modellers try to recreate the real thing. But sometimes we don't know how the real thing looked. Then what? These photos show my experiments with what I think was a standard livery for larger GWR goods depots around 1907, following lots of browsing of photos in books, and a brief discussion in this thread (many thanks gentlemen!).
     
     
     

     
    The trouble is of course that photos from the period don't have, er, colour - and are full of light and shadow. So it's hard to tell grey from light stone, or light stone from dark stone, or dark stone from chocolate. Above is the same photo again, without the colour. I think it highlights how hard it can be to interpret colours in b/w photos. Also, the photos themselves are just reproductions. Alas, the treachery of images !
     
     
     

     
    You'll be forgiven for thinking that this livery doesn't look very GWR. Neither did I at first. In fact I hated it, and thought it was completely counter-intuitive. I felt that shades of dark grey would be more appropriate. Or at least dark stone which was the preferred livery for ironwork on the GWR's public station buildings. But certainly not this BR look!
     
     
     

     
    Still, the photos that I could find suggested that light stone ironwork with a darkisk chocolate base (to hide wear) was in fact common. And that it was often more clean than I would have thought. So I left it for a couple of days, and I began to get used to it. I also realized that it made a lot of sense: In a place like this you'll want things to be as light as possible.
     
     
     

     
    Looking at the results so far, I think it may need a little more weathering after all. Maybe I should also align the height of the chocolate base so that it's the same all around (at 4ft heigh?). Plus, the weathering highlights in the chocolate has made it look too grey.
     
     
     

     
    Perhaps this livery didn't just apply to goods depots. Looking at photos of other large non-public buildings on the GWR at this time seems to show the same livery (see eg the photos of the Swindon Works Road Wagon workshop in Kelley's GW Road Vehicles p27)...
     
    But then again, I fully realize that this livery may turn out to be all wrong. So, any further comments and info would be much appreciated.
  9. Mikkel

    Wagon propulsion

    By Mikkel,

    I've been testing the trackplan for “The sidings”, and got a bit carried away...
     
     
    Jokes aside, there is a more serious side to this: As previously explained, the layout is inspired by the trackplan at the back of Gloucester Old Yard. This included the very short so-called “biscuit siding” which served a private warehouse through a kick-back arrangement.
     

     
    In GWRJ No. 45 (p262), shunter Hayden Jones explains how the biscuit siding was operated:
     
     
    Photos of the siding do not show any major gradient, and I'm a bit confused as to how gravitation could be done both "in an out". I wonder if the quote refers to the use of pinch bars? Alternatively, there may have been a light gradient one way, and use of horses and (later) perhaps a powered capstan the other way.
     
    In any case, my initial reaction was to disregard these practices on my layout (which is not a direct copy of Gloucester anyway) and simply shunt the siding with a loco. I have made provision for this in the track plan and may still end up with that solution. Still, I couldn’t help toying with the idea of some form of non-loco wagon propulsion in that particular siding.
     
     

     
    The video above demonstrates my most succesful experiment so far. There’s a magnet stuck to the underside of the wagon and another in my hand underneath the baseboard. I thought I’d test it just to give it a try. The magnets are MSE and work quite well through my foamboard baseboard, and yet I have my doubts: The video shows manual operation where starts and stops can be done fairly gently. However, to make it practically feasible some sort of permanent, mechanically sliding magnet would be needed, and in such an arrangement it would be tricky to avoid sudden starts and stops, I think.
     
    So what are the alternatives? High Level do a mechanism for powering individual wagons, which looks interesting. It is illustrated in operation on the rather superb Leicester South seen below (from ca 6.17). Does anyone else have any experiences with this or other means of non-loco wagon propulsion?
     
     
  10. Mikkel
    I spent an enjoyable morning installing my two shed cranes in the goods depot. As previously mentioned, the cranes are copied from the ones used at Paddington Goods, although similar types seem to have been used in other large goods depots in the 1900s. I have not been able to find any technical specifications, but I doubt if they were able to handle anything heavier than light goods in vans and wagons.
     
     

     
    The cranes were scratchbuilt using plastikard and various other bits and pieces. I've decribed the build here.
     

     
    Looking at prototype photos I noticed that when a shed had multiple cranes, they tended to be grouped together in strategic positions. This makes particular sense with these cranes, whose purpose was to move goods from the vans/wagons to the cartage bays.
     
     
     

     
    I therefore placed the cranes so that they were able to swivel between the goods stock and the cartage bays, thereby allowing goods to be transferred directly, as per the arrangement at Paddington.
     
     
     

     
    One of the cranes was placed so that it could also reach the balcony of the mezzanine floor. This is inspired by the arrangement at Hockley. The safety chains for the balcony have been temporarily removed as I wasn't happy with them.
     
     

     
    The cranes were operated by a lever which connected to a mechanism beneath the deck...
     
     

     
    ...and the lever was protected by a small cage. The latter hasn't turned out very well and I think I will have to redo them with more care.
     

     
    We discussed the livery of GWR cranes here. In my case I opted for the wonderfully ambigious "Medium Grey". Photos of the prototypes of these particular cranes alongside wagons suggest that their colour was not far from GWR wagon grey.
     
     

     
    Finally, a photo with the roof on. I do like the look of these cranes, it's a very neat design I think.
     
    The final photo also illustrates a couple of challenges that I have to address as the next step: The weathering of the walls is a work in progress, and is tricky because it shows up too strong in photos, while it looks fine in reality. I am also repainting parts of the roof structure, as I wasn't entirely happy with the shades I had used. It never ends, does it? :-)
  11. Mikkel

    Fun with crates

    By Mikkel,

    I’m detailing my goods depot, something I’ve been looking forward to. As the layout is designed for close-up viewing I’ve been searching for goods items that could pass muster at a reasonably close range.
     
    To begin with, here is a selection of crates. I'm afraid it's my usual unholy mix of kitbuilt, scratchbuilt, modified and ready to plunk! Hopefully it will all blend in with a bit of weathering and careful positioning on the layout.
     
     

     
    First up are these rather nice crate kits from US-based Rusty Stumps (above). The kits are laser cut plywood and come in various types – these are for horizontal crates. They are HO but quite large. The instructions are very good and the kits are easy to build (I used wood glue).
     
     

     
    If you prefer a plywood side rather than planks, the kit can be modelled inside out.
     
     

     
    Parts fit together well and with care the lid can be made as a press-fit, meaning you can take it off if you wish to leave it open.
     
     

     
    Above are the built up kits next to another offering from Rusty Stumps: Ready-made resin versions of the same crates. The latter clean up reasonably well, but I think you’ll agree that the kits are worth the extra effort.
     
     

     
    As an aside, Rusty Stumps also do a range of resin workshops scenes. I have no particular use for these right now but couldn't resist having a closer look.
     
     

     
    Back to the crates. This laser-cut high quality card kit is from the German company Kotol, which Job brought to my attention some time ago (thanks again Job!). The products from this company are not cheap, and some of their items are distinctly continental. But it’s attractive stuff for those who like small details, especially as they use wood, cotton and card for their goods items – so you get lots of texture.
     
     

     
    Above are the Kotol crates built up (I made the front one different just for variety). The kits are a bit fiddly and the card is quite sensitive to glue and scratches. So care is needed. The smaller HO scale was an advantage here, as I couldn’t find any decent small crates or boxes from UK manufacturers
     
     
     

     
    The Kotol range is quite varied and has some unusual items (anyone fancy working bicycle lights in H0?). This wood kit for a set of makeshift steps was a quick and pleasant build, and comes with a convenient jig.
     
     

     
    Scratchbuilding is another option of course. Having built the above kits, I used some of the scrap ply and card to fashion a few extra crates such as the one above. This added to the output from these otherwise somewhat costly kits. The scribing etc does take time, but other than that I would certainly consider scratchbuilding as an alternative in the future.
     
     

     
    Good old Hornby do these nice ready-made crates (there are others in the package, this is a selection). Some of them are very large and would probably have been dealt with outside the goods depot, not inside. But I find the medium and small ones useful. The one at the rear is as they come, the others have been heavily dry-brushed to add texture and do away with the slightly translucent look.
     
     

     
    I found this and a couple of other bottle crates in my spares box, and thought it loooked a bit dull. So I decided to have some fun.
     
     

     
    The result was these three machinery crates from Carr & Sons, a well-known Farthing company. A tad fanciful, but I had a fun evening making them. The sharp-eyed may have noticed that “Carr & Sons" looks suspiciously like “To Carry 10 Tons” on a transfer sheet.
     
     

     
    As many will know, Carr & Sons were leading manufacturers of round tuits. The one at the bottom is the basic model. The middle one is the advanced version. At the top is another of the company’s products, the square bloke (a development of the regular bloke).
     
     
    PS: I have no connection with any of the above companies - except for Carr & Sons, where I own 51% of the shares ;-)
  12. Mikkel
    A couple of the coaches I’m restoring had buckled or sagging rooves, so I’ve been rolling and detailing some new ones from Plastikard. It’s one of those pleasing tasks where you get the satisfaction of making something from scratch without things getting too stressful - although with brass rooves it can of course be a bit more tricky. Here's a brief illustration of what I've been doing.
     

     
    “So tell me dear, should I be worried?“ In retrospect, I can see why my wife was slightly concerned! But what we have here is of course just the Plastikard roof cut to shape and rolled tight around a tube. This particular tube is 3.1 cm across, and is in fact a bit of plumbing from a sink.
     
     
     

     
    The tube immersed in a tub of boiling hot water, left for 10 minutes and then cooled down quickly under the tap.
     
     
     

     
    The resulting curve works out right for the single-arc roof profile on these coaches. The Plastikard is 0.5 mm which I think is the thinnest I can get away with while still keeping it relatively sturdy.
     
     
     

     
    Gas piping from Alan Gibson straight brass wire (should it have been a smidgen thinner?) and lamp tops from IKB. The rainstrips are plastic strips from Evergreen.
     
     
     

     
    I’ve been ambivalent about grab rails on coach ends (life is hard for the railway modeller!). Partly because it can sometimes look too obtrusive on models: If you look at a real coach, it is not really something that captures the eye. And partly because I like to have my rooves removeable, and the rails gets in the way of that. So some of my coaches only have the grab rails indicated. But now I’ve decided I want it there in full, so the rooves will just have to be fixed in place.
     
     
     

     
    A trial fit and things look OK. But it seems I’ve gone and squashed the lamp brackets – hope I can get them straightened out!
     
     
     

     
    Glueing down the roof on a V2 that I finished some time ago. I kept the original roof on this one. The coach is on a flat surface with bits and pieces stuck in below to get just the right tension on the elastic bands - enough to keep it tight but not so much as to bend/damage the roof.
     
    I realize that plastic rooves are not as good as brass ones, and they require good internal support. But so far I haven't had problems with other rooves I've done in the past, so it seems to work.
     
    Go to part 4
  13. Mikkel

    Mezzanine floor

    By Mikkel,

    Some time ago, Miss Prism suggested that I could add a mezzanine floor to one end of “The depot” for extra goods storage.
     

    I liked the idea, and sought inspiration in some of the larger GWR depots, including (very loosely) the arrangements at Hockley. I tried to build the structure to look like an afterthought, added by the GWR when it ran out of storage space on the ground floor decks. The visible part of the mezzanine is imagined to connect to a more expansive off-scene section.
     
     

    After various experiments I built the structure right across the middle of the depot, thereby dividing up the layout both vertically and horisontally. Visually, what used to be a single large space is therefore now four spaces, as illustrated here, plus the yard outside.
     
     

    The “cut-away” effect at the front follows my preference for see-through structures at the front of layouts, which I think adds to the impression of depth and forces on-lookers to view the layout up close and at eye-level height, thereby placing him or her “inside” the scene.
     
     

    The main structure was knocked up from various bits and pieces, including Evergreen H sections and tubing, Slaters Plastikard and left-overs from various kits.
     
     

    The stairs and fencing are modified and detailed Scalelink etches. These save some fiddly work but are fairly basic as they come and do, I feel, need some detailing to look right. The fences were detailed with Evergreen strips and drawing pins for posts.
     
     

    I ended up extending the stairs with plastikard to fit the necessary height. The r/h side shows the original folded-up etch.
     
     

    Goods will be moved to the mezzanine floor by way of cranes that I plan to build for the ground-floor decks at a later stage. If I’m not mistaken, that was the arrangement at Hockley, with goods lifted to balconies such as this one.
     
     

    In retrospect there are various things I would have liked to do differently. A lower and more expansive mezzanine might have increased the visual interest further, and I wish I’d copied the structure at Hockley more closely, to increase the GWR imprint on it. Probably best to move on though, it's about time this stuff recieved some paint!
  14. Mikkel

    Blue skies and horse traffic

    By Mikkel,


    Stories
    It is afternoon in the Overbourne bay at Farthing station. The all third "strengthener" rests in one of the sidings, while a worker from a local cartage company is lost in thought. The coach reveals that I'm still in the process of fitting couplings to some of the stock.
     
     


     
    The regular branch engine No. 1961 of the "850" Class shunts a horsebox to diagram N5 into the horse dock. The horse seems nervous at the prospect of travelling inside a box on wheels. Perhaps in reality horses were not brought to the loading dock before the stock was in place?
     
     
     

     
    Horse and groom wait for the staff to open the doors. The horsebox is from the old Colin Waite kit. The busy horse traffic around Farthing was inspired by the Newbury area and the DN&SR and Lambourn lines. I had no end of trouble finding a suitable racing horse as most available OO horses are either in full harness or just too poorly moulded to work with. So I ended up with this Noch example, to which I added just a bit of filler in strategic places, and a horse rug (is that the word?) made from toilet tissue. The horse is HO, but I think it works OK if we assume it's a two-year old!
     
     
     

     
    Meanwhile No. 1961 continues its work. The C10 "strengthener" is drawn out of its slumber for use on the busy late afternoon service to Overbourne, which always draws a good number of passengers arriving on the ex-London services or having spent the day in Farthing. The coach is a Triang RTR conversion job (construction notes here) and this photo is rather revealing of the various compromises involved. While I do like RTR bashing, in this case I've got an almost finished kit-built coach waiting in the wings as a replacement.
     
     
     

     
    The "strengthener" is coupled up to the standard branch set waiting in the platform, while a couple of well-to-do passengers watch with detached interest. The wicker baskets are from Hornby and are the only items on the layout that were used straight out of the packet. The baskets are very good in texture and colour, although a couple in my packet seemed to have slipped unduly past quality control.
     
     
     

     
    Next up in the formation is the horsebox, now containing horse and groom, and seen here being coupled up to the rest of the train. Horseboxes tended to travel next to the loco at the front of the train, although I've forgotten why. Was it easier on the horses that way?
     
     
     

     
    Every afternoon of every day, Miss Agnes Wilkinson sits on the bench at the end of the platform, hoping to catch a glimpse of driver T. F. Oberon, the lost love of her lost youth. He ignores her today as he has done for the past 45 years, but Miss Wilkinson does not give up. Tomorrow she will be back on the bench, for she knows that some fine day Mr Oberon will yield.
     
     
     

     
    The Overbourne train is now made up and ready for boarding. It really is a very clear day today - so clear in fact, that the entire town above the embankment walls has disappeared into thin air. Still, it beats having our cluttered basement as a background!
     
     
  15. Mikkel

    GWR 1854 Saddle Tank (2)

    By Mikkel,

    My GWR 1854 ST is now done. To recap, this is a much modified Finecast body on a Bachmann chassis.





    My original plan was to find an acrylic spray paint that gave a suitable representation of the pre-1928 green. When that failed, I was recommended the Belton bottle green which has the RAL code used for landrover green. However, while this and some of the others looked fine outside in the sun, they all looked wrong under my layout lights.





    So in the end I reverted to good old brush painting. Not my best effort but I can live with it.





    Lining is HMRS Pressfix. I never use the preprinted shapes as they rarely fit. Instead I cut out individual bits and piece them together.





    I know some people do not like Pressfix. Personally I feel that it gives good flexibility and leaves no traces of film.





    The number plates are from Narrow Planet. You enter the number you need on their website and receive the plates pre-painted. We have it easy these days. No. 1853 is for a future model of an 1813 class.





    I was going to fit a cab sheet, but on the photos I have of 1854s none actually have a cab sheet, so unless further evidence turns up I’ll leave it off. The fire irons are the Springside set for tank locos.





    Incidentally, I saw this nice fire irons fret by DJM on Mark’s blog, and ordered some from Kernow. They turned out to be a bit too long for this particular loco, but will find use on my 3232 class.





    So here she is messing about on the new layout. In my defence, there is progress at the other end of it!
  16. Mikkel
    Here’s an update on the sidings at Farthing, or "Old Yard" as I have now dubbed this part of the station.
     

     
    I have reached the point where detailing can begin. I'm going for the uncluttered look, although a few weeds etc will be added at some point.
     
     
     

     
    Inside the "biscuit shed" we find an old timber built buffer stop. Like the shed itself, it is a survivor from N&SJR days, before the GWR gobbled up the proud little station and turned it into a goods yard. Being a modest lot, the N&SJR built their stops from coffee stirrers.
     
     
     

     
    Elsewhere, standard GWR stops rule the day. These were made from the rather nice offerings from Lanarkshire Models.
     
     
     

     
    I've modified the kits slightly by removing the left hand section of plain whitemetal rail, as I needed to have proper rail as far in as possible.
     
     
     

     
    The finished kits have a nice chunky appearance. They look like they could, er, stop a train.
     
     
     

     
    Close-ups can be so cruel. Someone will be having a word with the PW gang about those chairs, not least the missing one!
     
     
     

     
    Mind you, the real thing wasn't perfect either. This was cropped from a larger photo, to illustrate that it’s OK if you bend the stay bar...
     
     
     

     
    I've also made some point levers, originally from the Southwark Models range, now available from Roxey Mouldings. They appeared around 1900 and can be seen in some sidings, yards and sheds of the period. There were two types and the kit allows for both. I chose the simplest type.
     
     
     

     
    I chickened out on the soldering. Gel type superglue worked fine though.
     
     
     

     
    The only issue I had was with the weights, which are built up from layers. They do need opening out, and the handles need slimming down to accept them properly. As you can see, I struggled a bit with this.
     
     
     

     
    This cropped detail from a larger photo shows how the levers tended to be fitted on extended timbers, with the rodding often - but not always - boarded over. The boards were arranged in various ways, sometimes parallel to the track, sometimes perpendicular to it.
     
     
     

     
    I wanted to suggest something rudimentary so went for this arrangement, although these low shots suggest that I should perhaps add some boards at the side. I wonder how shunting horses navigated the levers?
     
     
     

     
    Another crop here, showing what seems to have been the standard painting scheme, ie weight and main lever was white, the rest was black (including the tip!).
     
     
     

     
    The points - so nicely built by John Jones - use a moving timber as tie bar. I laid the boards to accommodate this, so that the timber slides below the boards. I really must trim that pin!
     
     
     

     
    I've also added some fishplates. On my last layout I used the etched ones on the left, but felt that they were virtually unnoticeable. So I decided to experiment and use the plastic variant this time, which has more pronounced moulding. These are intended mainly for isolating gaps, so a slight modification of the rear side was needed.
     
     
     

     
    But alas, I hadn't thought it through. The result looks OK from a distance, but in close-up they appear quite thick. Of course it doesn't help that there is no actual rail join in this case!
     
     
     

     
    I also had problems with wheels bumping on them, so had to file them down a bit. I'm not blaming the product, it's probably due to my incorrect use of them. This is what happens when irreverent amateurs try to be clever with finescale products
     
     
     

     
    A loading gauge has also been made, using the Smiths kit of the simple, early variant.
     
     
     

     
    The light stone livery may be a little controversial, as many modellers paint them white. However...
     
     
     

     
    ...looking at photos from the period suggests light stone on this type. Above is one example cropped from a larger photo, PM me for others. Stephen Williams' Great Western Branchline Modelling is onto something similar in his livery guide (Vol 2 p71). He says dark stone for base of post and white for the rest, but adds that some may have been all over light stone. Could it be a period thing, or was there perhaps a difference between wooden and metal types?
     
     
     

     
    Finally, a note on the backscene. After much back and forth, I ended up with my usual solution: A simple embankment wall. Once again I used the vacuum formed product from Langley. It isn't particularly well detailed but I feel it works OK as an unobtrusive background that adds to the atmosphere but doesn't steal the show. Such heavy infrastructure may seem like overkill for a handful of sidings, but I wanted to avoid a rural look, and indicate that we are seeing the margins of a larger yard and station.
     

     
    The embankment wall thereby forms a recurring feature across all my 3 Farthing layouts, as seen in the medley of photos above. I’m hoping this will help emphasise that each layout shows a small part of the same overall station. So if you think it is all becoming a bit repetitive, I have achieved my goal....
  17. Mikkel

    Kit-bashed GWR light dray

    By Mikkel,


    Horse-drawn
    I've been finalising a batch of horse-drawn vehicles for Farthing. First one done is a light one-horse dray – or trolley, as the GWR called them. It's of a type that some GWR drawings refer to as the “Birmingham pattern”. There was a variety of designs of this type from the 1890s onwards, but the main distinguishing feature was the front-mounted protective tarp, and a carter’s box seat beneath it. The name shouldn't be taken too literally. Photos and drawings show that they were widely distributed around the system, including at e.g. Slough and Ilfracombe.
     
    I’ve previously scratchbuilt another Birmingham pattern vehicle, but that took ages so this time I decided to modify a generic Dart Castings kit (ref L45). I found a drawing in 'GWR Horsepower' which is a reasonable fit, give or take a mm here and there. The following photos show the main steps.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    I initially fitted bolections to the sides, but later dispensed with them (see below). Probably shouldn't have.
     

     
    The carter was composed of a Langley body and head from the Andrew Stadden range.
     

     

     
    The horse is from Dart Castings. The subtle colouring of our equine friends is hard to capture, I find. Here I tried dry brushing lighter colours on a dark base, i.e. white from below and light brown from above. Works OK in close-up, but once on the layout you can’t really tell the difference!
     

     

     
    The tarp on these vehicles could be pulled back and draped over the load in case of rain. I folded it from a spare Smiths tarp, cut to size.
     

     
    A central box seat was made for the carter. It's a bit lower than it should be, to accommodate his short legs.
     

     
    Lettering is always a problem for company vehicles. I first used coach lettering off the HMRS sheet as per my earlier model of this type, but wasn’t happy with the result - and the font isn’t right anyway.
     

     
    After much back and forth I had a "modeller's fit", ripped off the bolections, and fitted a simple printed side. It’s not ideal, next time I’ll make my own transfers. Fortunately, photos show much variety in lettering style in the 1900s. The fine chain is from Cambrian, great stuff and still available from H&A Models.
     

     
    The new trolley posed next to my earlier model on the left, which shews a different type of headboard (and no box for the driver, must get roundtuit). The scratchbuilt one has more character I think – but the kitbashed one was a lot quicker!
     
    I'll leave it there for now, these entries are becoming too long and unwieldy! More on the other vehicles shortly.
     
     
  18. Mikkel

    Ratkin & Son horse-drawn wagon

    By Mikkel,


    Horse-drawn
    Here's another contribution to the RMweb "Horse Drawn Weekly" as Dave calls it. My efforts don't even get close to his superb models, but a horse is a horse as they say in Farthing. Today's subject is a wagon from Ratkin & Son, makers of finest jams and marmalades (or so they claim).
     
     
     

     
    The build was inspired by scenes such as this one, showing the GWR sidings at Henley and Sons cyder works (sic) in Newton Abbot, October 1908. Source: Getty Images. Embedding permitted.
     
     
     

     
    The wagon is a straightforward build of a Dart Castings kit.
     
     
     

     
    As usual I modified the parts lightly to allow the front axle to rotate freely, which adds a bit of flexibility when positioning the wagon.
     
     
     

     
    I don't know whether trade/industry wagons followed the local styles of farm wagons. If so I'm in trouble, as my model isn't a Wiltshire type, where Farthing is located. An excuse could be that it was acquired secondhand from elsewhere, or built to the standard design of a large manufacturer. The example above was built by the Gloucester Wagon & Carriage works (who also made horse drawn vehicles).
     
     
     

     
    The style of the wagon didn't allow for lettering directly on the sides, so I made a sign. Whilst browsing a discussion of marmalade on CK's Bethesda Sidings thread, I realized that I had used the Danish spelling. It's the little details that reveal who we are, as Poirot would have said!

     
    Anyway, a new sign was made, and I took the opportunity to modify the name.
     
     
     

     
    If you're wondering about the point of the name, there's a clue in this photo.
     
     
     

     
    The rear flap was detailed with interior bracing and chain from Cambrian models.
     
     
     

     
    An Andrew Stadden figure was added, and some of those nice bulky sacks from Dart Castings.
     
     
     

     
    The horse is also from Dart Castings. I thought I'd have a lighthearted go at a nosebag, made from ordinary printing paper, rolled and glued. Getting a decent fit and fold was surprisingly tricky.
     
     
     

     
    As this delightful photo shows, I really ought to add a strap to hold it in place. Source: Wikipedia. Embedding permitted.
     
     
     

     
    Wagon done. It is manned by D. Woods, formerly of the GWR and His Majesty's Prisons, now happily employed at Ratkin & Son.
     
     
     

     
    So here we are in one of the mileage sidings at Farthing Old Yard. Obviously there is work going on - but, er, what exactly?
     
     
     

     
    Ah, an unloading procedure of sorts. The work seems to be all done. The loco crew must be very impatient, as they are already removing the goods wagon. Quite unusual.
     
     
     

     
    The siding has been cleared and we get a better view. A delivery of low grade oranges has been received, soon to be recycled as Ratkin's Finest Quality Marmalade.
     
  19. Mikkel

    Messing about with trains

    By Mikkel,


    Videos
    ‘Mess about’ 
    [British, informal]
    > to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious: to waste time
    Merriam-Webster dictionary 
     
    Here’s a 1½ minute video showing my new traverser in action. Or frankly: Just a bloke enjoying his layouts. The trains run daily at the moment, maybe it’s operating in a living room environment that makes it a more natural and sociable part of my daily routine.  To my surprise, I hardly miss my man cave in the old house.
     
    Not to everyone’s tastes I’m sure, but I’m enjoying it.
     
     
     
     
  20. Mikkel
    All those close-ups of Code 100 track in my past couple of entries made me want to push ahead with the C+L track for "The depot". So here's a little interlude to the "All in a day's work" story, showing what I've been up to with the track inside the depot.
     
     
     

     
    Timbertracks panels stuck down, sleepers shortened to appropriate length, and webbing removed (see the earlier dicussion in this entry). Next time I'll just lay some individual timbers!
     
     
     

     
    The track is inside a goods depot, so I wanted that look where the timbers are almost embedded in the ground. Using the plastic filling knife in the photo, I "dragged" Polyfilla at a 45 degree angle across the timbers, until it was level with the timber tops.
     
     
     

     
    When the Polyfilla dries up it contracts a little, leaving the timbers just proud of the ground. A slight "shoulder" is left on some timbers, which I scraped away with a scalpel.
     
     
     

     
    The result was more or less what I was after: Timbers slightly proud of the ground. But they are looking a bit thirsty!
     
     
     

     
    The Polyfilla residue on the timbers was cleaned off with a wet cloth (you'll notice the high-tech approaches here!) ...
     
     
     

     
    ...and the timbers were given a bit of thinned matt varnish to restore some of their colour. I should've done this before laying the timbers, which would also have prevented the original wood stain from seeping into the Polyfilla. I managed to cover this by rubbing dry Polyfilla powder into it.
     
     
     

     
    After giving the ground a light wash of grey and cork, I laid the track. The chairs were threaded on to the rail first, and then stuck down with Butanone. I was worried if the latter would give a strong bond, since the timbers had been exposed to quite a lot at this point! So far I am satisifed, but time will tell. It seems there are as many experiences with Butanone as there are modellers!
     
     
     

     
    Hey dude, want some good dust? A heady mix of white baby talc (sic) and Carr's light grey weathering powder. Rock and roll! This was brushed across the track to blend things together and tone down colours.
     
     
     

     
    C+L etched fishplates, shortened to simulate the GWR type. I bet you can't see the gap in the rails. See how good a joiner I am? ;-)
     
    That's it then. I do wonder if the timbers are a bit too light, but things will look darker once the depot is placed around them.
  21. Mikkel

    The Biscuit Shed

    By Mikkel,

    I've been working on the “Biscuit Shed”, the first of the buildings for my new Farthing layout. It is inspired by the “beer shed” in the GWR Goods yard at Stratford on Avon, which was used as a loading facility for beer traffic from the Flower & Sons brewery.
     
     
     

     
    The biscuit theme draws on the so-called “biscuit siding” in Gloucester Old Yard, which served a small loading shed that was used by various industries over the years, including Peak Freen’s biscuit company.
     
     
     

     
    Every building has a history, and so it transpires that the Biscuit Shed was the original train shed of the erstwhile North & South Junction Railway's terminus at Farthing. When the GWR took over that line it was decided to keep the shed as a transshipment facility for the area’s blossoming industries, and in 1899 the GWR entered into contract with Badger's Biscuit Company for just such a purpose.
     
     
     

     
    This non-standard history allowed me to use some roof trusses with a "Queen Post" pattern from an old Airfix station canopy kit.
     
     
     

     
    The side was built using laminated styrene and braced as per the beer shed at Stratford on Avon. I've only just discovered microbrushes (the green thing), they are proving quite useful.
     
     
     

     
    I used a small jig to make the supporting timber posts. The jig was developed with input from NASA engineers and proved an excellent way of gluing the posts firmly to, er, the jig! :-)
     
     
     

     
    I liked the “waisted” appearance of the timber support columns in the beer shed at Stratford at Avon, so I tried to copy this by fitting a hollow section of square rod around the bottom of each post, filed lightly at the top to add an angle. This was also a convenient way of hiding any inconsistencies in the height of the support posts (purely theoretical, of course!).
     
     
     

     
    Still working on the loading dock, it will have a polyfilla surface and sleeper-faced sides.
     
     
     

     
    The footprint of the dock is a bit odd as the building will be located in the front left corner. The white pipes on the roof marks the join of the Wills slate sheets. Once painted grey I hope they will blend in - sometimes I think it is best to hide a join in plain sight, so to speak.
     
     
     

     
    So just a little more work and then it's time to paint it before embedding it on the layout.
  22. Mikkel
    Here’s an update on Farthing – and some new ideas.
     
     
     

     
    The “biscuit” and “jam” sheds have been painted and are ready to embed on the layout. The buildings are an attempt to hint at the past railway history of the area. They were originally built for the old N&SJR terminus at Farthing, which was alongside the Great Western station. When the GWR swallowed up the N&SJR, it kept the buildings and used them as loading and distribution facilities for the town’s booming industries.
     
     
     

     
    This backstory to the buildings is inspired by Witney and Stratford on Avon, where early passenger stations were also redeployed as goods facilities, for blankets and beer respectively.
     
     
     

     
    End view of the biscuit shed (not yet embedded).
     
     
     

     
    The track and chairs have finally been painted. I’ve tried to capture the effect of disappearing sleepers, but it hasn’t worked quite as I hoped. I’ve decided to live with it, but I won’t use this method again.
     
     
     

     
    Nothing like a cozy layout session to forget the cold light of day for a moment
     
    Then I started hearing voices:
     
     
    I was never a Reagan fan, but this particular advice seemed sensible enough, and so I took his cue....
     
     
     

     
    What you see above is two layouts positioned next to each other, with the backscenes removed. The current “sidings” layout is in the foreground, and the goods depot layout is behind it.
     
     
     

     
    The concept for Farthing has always been to build different parts of the same station on separate, self-contained layouts. But I must admit that this little experiment has whetted my appetite for joining the layouts together, in modular fashion.
     
     
     

     
    With such an approach, each layout would still be self-contained, but could then also be joined to form a larger layout. It wouldn't require much remedial work. The traverser could be moved to the right hand end of the sidings (nearest the camera), and the track extended accordingly, perhaps with an extra point or two for operational interest. A future module could fill the “gap” on the right. The whole thing would fit on my writing desk.
     
    Let’s see. For the time being I’ll finish one end of the sidings as planned, and then make some decisions.
  23. Mikkel

    GWR large flat dray

    By Mikkel,

    Here's the third and last instalment about my recent trio of horse drawn wagons. This is yet another GWR "dray", as they are commonly known. GWR drawings generally use the term "trolley", which I understand was the original and more correct term for what is today popularly called drays.
     

     
    The wagon was built from an old Pendon kit, picked up on ebay. There is no mention of the prototype, but it resembles a 7 ton trolley drawing in the Great Western Horsepower book.
     

     
    An illustration of the variation in length and width of three kits for flat drays/trolleys – nicely reflecting how the prototypes varied too, as vehicles do of course. On the left is a Dart Castings offering (see earlier post), and on the right is the Slater’s kit which really is quite large. The Pendon kit is the middle one.
     
     
     

     
    The only structural modification I made was the addition of the rear flap (is there a proper name?). These are usually in the down position, held by chains.
     
     
     

     
    The main part of the project involved modifying the horse, the carter (aka carman) and "van lad".
     
     
     

     
    The horse is from the Dart Castings stable. The photo above illustrates some of their range (no connection), with the measurements as stated in their lists. I like their 1:87 draft horse, which has the bulk of a strong horse but isn’t visually overpowering, as I think some horses can be in a layout context.
     
     
     

     
    I had a couple of these horses so modified one of them by raising its head. The neck from a discarded old Langley horse helped achieve this.
     
     
     

     
    On the left is the original figure by Dart Castings (as used on my “Ratkin & Son" wagon), on the right is the modified one.
     
     
     

     
    Similar work was done to make the carter, using a Dart Castings body and an Andrew Stadden head. Period photos and
    show that on flat drays like these, carters very often sat on the left side, like this. Presumably it is the safest and most practical position when you have to get on and off frequently, as they did.
     
     
     

     
    The van lad was made by modifying an Andrew Stadden figure, as seen here. He has not yet reached the grade that allows him to wear a uniform.
     
     
     

     
    A load was made using surplus items from the goods depot, e.g. my DIY cotton bales and crates, and various kits and ready-made items.
     
     
     

     
    I added some indicative roping from EZ line. Just a couple of ropes, as too much of this sort of thing tends to distract the eye in my view. In any case, the roping and packing practices on horsedrawn vehicles seems to have been more relaxed than on the permanent way. Two examples here and here.
     
     
     

     
    The other side. I tried to avoid colour clashes when building the load.
     

     
    And finally the wagon in place on the layout. That concludes this little series of horsey updates for now. Keep on trotting!
  24. Mikkel
    What goes through a modeller’s mind? 'Very little', my wife would say, and she’s not far off! Am I the only one who enters a Zen-like state of mind when operating the layouts?
     
     


    It begins like this. You decide to run some trains, forget all the worries. Get the gear out, set up on the dining table.

     
     


    The engine purrs into life, pulls a train off the traverser. You get down to eye level, begin to dream. What if there was something else behind those windows?
     
     
     


    Distant spires maybe?
     
     
     


    Lots of spires!
     
     
     

     
    Then even that melts away, and you enter a world of dreamy blue skies.

     
     


    Floating freely…
     
     
     


    …in an uncomplicated world…
     
     
     

     
    …where time…
     
     
     


    …stops…

     
     


    …and the light…
     
     
     


    …is mellow.

     
     


    Peace, man. 
     
     
     


    Then reality kicks in.
     
     
     


    It seems I’m expected to lay the table. 
     
    Ah well! 
     
     
  25. Mikkel
    Here's a little video showing scenes and train movements at Farthing station - including the arrival, shunting and departure of the Westbury stopping train. It's 2,5 minutes long. Be warned that it features music, although only a quiet piano.
     
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