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Mikkel

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Blog Entries posted by Mikkel

  1. Mikkel
    Oooh… shiny! This is the dome belonging to SECR No. 592 on the Bluebell Railway….
     
     
     

     
    …and this was the dome on my ageing GWR Buffalo class loco, painted brass on a whitemetal casting. Not a very favourable comparison, and my loco crews were in uproar.
     
     
     

     
    It was time for drastic measures. The whitemetal dome was removed by drilling from underneath. The safety valve cover caused more trouble, and had to be sawn off and filed down.
     
     
     

     
    I bought some brass castings from Alan Gibson…
     
     
     

     
    …and polished them by hand, using progressively finer grades of wet and dry to get that shiny look (other methods are available). The mould lines can be tricky to get rid of, but as Gareth kindly pointed out, if you just keep at it they will eventually disappear.
     
     
     

     
    So here is my “Buffalo” after a good clean and sporting her new fittings. She could do with a new chimney and various other mods, but for the time being I’m happy with this.
     
     
     

     
    My 517 class loco got a similar treatment, although in this case the existing fittings were unpolished brass beneath the paint, and were fixed very firmly to the loco. So I had to rub down and polish the dome and safety valve “in situ”. A bit fiddly and not quite perfect, but at least I managed to avoid major damage to the paintwork.
     
     
     

     
    So that’s it, the new fittings are in place and the footplate men are content again…
     
     
     

     
    … and feeling slightly superior about the SECR’s approach to safety valve covers.
  2. Mikkel
    The management is pleased to report some progress on the sidings. The baseboard was built some time ago. It is 10 mm foamboard topped with cork, giving a nice light baseboard which weighs in at 900 grams. So far no warping issues.
     
     

     
    The height adjusters are DIY – a simple bolt and screw, fitted with rubber pads for silencing cupboard doors. The latter are very handy, as they hold the legs firmly in place on all surfaces, and absorb vibration. There will be 8 of these in total when I’m done.
     
     

     
    The original track plan was done in Anyrail for Peco code 75, in order to get a feel for things while I pondered how far I wanted to go in terms of track accuracy. I've decided to continue with C&L track components as used on my goods depot, and will give their turnout kits a try.
     
     

     
    I’ve done mock-ups of the main buildings on the layout. This has been a very useful exercise and has led to various changes.
     
     

     
    The large building at the back will be a stable block, based on the one at Uxbridge. This had 9 stalls and a storage room. The smaller building on the right is based on Captain Kernow’s photos of the checker’s cabin at Truro. I’ve worked out the approximate dimensions of the latter, based on a count of bricks and studying Google Earth. Many thanks to Boris, Ian, Job, Chubber and Captain Kernow for help with drawings and photos of these and similar buildings.
     
     

     
    The shed in the “biscuit siding”, which will be based on the old beer shed at Stratford on Avon.
     
     
     

     
    The waterworks siding. The intention was to have a low-relief backdrop but I don’t really like the whole set-up. It looks too cramped and makes it difficult to reach the fiddle yard. I may leave this siding without scenery and consider it “off-scene”.
     
     
    As previously discussed, the idea is to use gravity shunting for the biscuit siding. The video above shows the basic concept with a 1:60 gradient and a single length of Peco track. I had hoped to achieve a slower roll (as this is not hump shunting), but it’s tricky to find the balance between the right speed and the desired length of the roll. The length of the gradient and the curve/turnout are critical factors, as is the wagon weight, wheel gauge, wheel type, bearings, rail type and the way each wagon interacts with another!
     
    I have given up trying to work out some grand formula for the gravity shunting. Instead I'll follow a simple trial-and error approach. First step is to get the actual track and C+L turnout in place. Following this, I’ll use a small selection of wagons with similar qualities to set the final gradient. I may install retarders (eg toothbrush bristles) in selected hidden places such as inside the biscuit shed.
     
    I’m thinking that, in practice, wagons would probably have been braked before they entered the biscuit shed, and then worked by other means into the shed. But on that one I’ll claim modeller’s license.
  3. Mikkel
    Farthing, 1904. With a rising sense of panic, Goods Porter E. Sparkler stared at the pigeon baskets he had just knocked over.
     
     
     

     
    A lid had opened, and the pigeons were escaping.
     
     
     

     
    The pigeons soon scattered around the goods yard.
     
     
     

     
    They were white show pigeons, en route to a prestigious event at the London Philoperisteron Society.
     
     
     

     
    One of the pigeons flew into the goods depot.
     
     
     

     
    At first it flew aimlessly about...
     
     

     
    ...then the clouds parted, the depot filled with light and the pigeon seemed suddenly to know where it was going.
     
     
     

     
    It settled on a roof truss, and immediately relieved itself of a huge dropping…
     
     
     

     
    …which fell right into the paperwork…..
     
     
     

     
    …of Goods Checker J. Vemmick.
     
     
     

     
    As he hurried to restore his notes, Vemmick unknowingly made a mistake: He recorded a crate as loaded, although in fact it was not.
     
     
     

     
    As a result the crate was left behind, and despite the best intentions of the GWR goods handling system….
     
     
     

     
    …the crate ended up in a forgotten corner of the depot, where it remained lost…
     
     
     

     
    …for 58 years. The crate was finally found in 1962, when BR pulled down the old goods depot. A scrupulous clerk decided to forward the crate to its original destination. With passing interest, he noted that it was addressed to the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg.
     
     

     
    After a circuitous route and numerous security checks, the crate eventually landed on the desk of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, who at that time was in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
     
     

     
    Upon opening the crate, Khrushchev found 15 bottles of Welsh wine labelled “Castell Coch, 1904”. The bottles were accompanied by a card, hardly decipherable after all those years. It said: "From the Marquess of Bute to Tsar Nicholas II, with compliments".
     
     
     

     
    "Well!" thought Kruschchev, "the Tsar is long gone, but that wine looks tempting!" And so he shared a glass with his staff. They stood there tasting it, then burst out laughing: The wine was terrible! Quite simply horrific! Khruschev immediately relaxed: If this lousy wine was all the West had to show, what was there to fear? The West would destroy itself, this awful British wine proved it! He might as well end this whole Cuba crisis thing. He sat down and drafted a letter to Kennedy.
     
     

     
    The rest is history. The Cuban missile crisis was over, and the two Presidents congratulated each other on their cool heads and statesmanship: They had spared the world an all-out war.
     
     
     

     
    But on that morning in 1904, Goods Porter E. Sparkler knew nothing of all this. He just stood there among the escaping pigeons, cursing his clumsiness. "Why", he thought, "can I never do anything right?"
     
     

     
    He was wrong of course, he had saved the world, but no one knew. No one except maybe a certain white pigeon. For many years afterwards it could be seen in the goods depot, flying at night, happy to have escaped.
  4. 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.
  5. 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?
     
     
  6. Mikkel

    Four o'clock blues, ca. 1902

    By Mikkel,

    Goods checker J. Peerybingle was tired. It had been a long day in the goods depot, and his feet hurt.
     


     
    Life is so dull, he thought. I should have gone to sea. I should have married Emily.
     


     
    He looked up at the skylights. There was a bird up there. Was it a crow?
     


     
    He thought: How lucky birds are, how free.
     


     
    Up on the roof, the crow looked down at Peerybingle.
     


     
    It thought: How fortunate that man is, working with the trains. He must be very happy.
     


     
    I wish it was me, thought the crow. How lucky humans are, how free.
  7. Mikkel

    Traverser testing

    By Mikkel,

    I’ve been testing my somewhat "under-engineered" traverser, and made a little video to show it in operation.
     
    It continues to work well, and I now have some faith in the basic concept. I’m in the process of re-enforcing how the tubes are fixed in the foamboard, but that is more of a pre-emptive move than a result of any actual problems so far. The running is smoother than rendered by the video.
     
    PS: I’m aware of the period inconsistency between loco and wagons, it's all still a work in progress
  8. Mikkel
    I’ve been building some “foreign” stock for the goods depot at Farthing. It’s a real pleasure, but also humbling to realize just how little I know about other companies, and how difficult it can be to obtain kit parts for other pre-grouping companies. We GWR modellers are a spoilt lot!
     
    My 1900s period is before the “common user” arrangement, so most of the goods stock at Farthing would have been the GWR’s own - but there should be room for a handful of foreign vehicles, especially from the companies close by. This included the MSJWR, which crossed the GWR's Berks & Hants line at Savernake, not far from Farthing.
     

     
    So first up was a MSWJR 3-plank dropside wagon. Over on gwr.org.uk I had seen a note by Paul Absalom that this could be made by modifying a Slater’s kit for the Midland Railway dia 305 (thanks Paul!). The MR design was used as the basis for 20 wagons ordered by the MSWJR from Oldbury works in 1899.The sides and ends of the Slater’s kit (above) are virtually identical to the MSWJR versions, so these were used directly.
     
     

     
    The running gear is a less straightforward matter. There is very limited documentation available on these wagons, and the only known photo has the underframe in shadow. A drawing has been made, but there is doubt about whether the running gear is portrayed correctly. So an informed guess is the best we can do. This led to an interesting discussion involving several RM Webbers – especially wagonman – as well as Neil Lover of the “Swindon’s other Railway” site and MSWJR historian Mike Barnsley (see this thread for details). Many thanks, gentlemen!
     
     
     

     
    To cut a long story short, we concluded that the MSWJR probably wouldn’t have gone for the fairly sophisticated and expensive Ellis axleboxes provided in the Slaters kit. So these had to go. An alternative option would have been to modify the existing axleboxes.
     
     
     

     
    Instead I fitted MJT units/W-irons (non-rocking). This required some of the framing to be carved away, but was otherwise straightforward. Packing was added underneath the units.
     
     
     

     
    The exact type of axleboxes used by the MSWJR isn’t known, except that they were most likely of the grease type. In photos of other MSWJR wagons I noticed a simple type not unlike the standard GWR grease box. So I fitted some of the latter (also from MJT) and modified/filed them to suit. The only other modification was to file away the MR build plate on the solebar.
     
     

     
    I couldn’t find any ready-made MSWJR lettering, so opted instead for the “white shaded black” letters from one of the HMRS P.O. sheets. These are slightly overscale but close enough, I think. The sheet is rather costly, but I wanted it anyway for lettering some Farthing based P.O. wagons at some point.
     
     
     

     
    The finished model. I suddenly realized that a dropside wagon might not often be seen inside a goods depot, as they tended to carry loose material, stone etc. But I’m thinking that a couple of large crates might justify a dropside, to facilitate unloading?
     
     

     
    Shunter George “Bulldog” Mullins studiously ignores the new wagon. A GWR man to the core, Mullins treated vehicles from the competition with poorly disguised contempt. In particular, he refused point blank to shunt vehicles from the MSWJR. The origin of this particular grudge was always a bit of a mystery, although some said it had to do with an unfortunate incident in his youth. The details were unclear, but apparently it involved his pet donkey, a sleepy MSWJR driver and a poorly guarded level crossing.
  9. Mikkel
    I’m building a traverser of sorts for the fiddle yard of my little goods depot layout. From an engineering perspective it’s a bit dodgy - yet somehow it works, so I’ve dubbed it the bumblebee.
     
    My original plan was to have a fiddle yard with points, but as space is becoming an issue I decided to go for a traverser instead. Trouble is, my engineering skills are equal to those of the common earthworm.
     
    So I’ve been putting it off, until I came across some bits and pieces in the local DIY and acted on impulse. What has developed is best seen as an experiment!
     
     
     
     

     
    Two aluminimum angles from the local DIY.
     
     

     
    Cobbled together, they make up a sturdy cassette.
     
     

     
    Aluminium tube, cut into sections and fitted underneath the cassette.
     
     

     
    Thinner aluminimum tube. Also available in brass - possibly better, but costly and heavy.
     
     

     
    Thin tubes slide into thicker tubes…
     
     

     
    …resulting in this beast: A traverser-style sliding cassette.
     
     

     
    Frame built from 10mm foamboard. Ahem!
     
     

     
    Plastic angle and screws, used to secure tubes to frame. Rawplugs inside the tubes.
     
     

     
    Everything fitted together. Looks OK but does it work? At first I wasn’t happy. There was a bit too much friction when sliding the cassette. The foamboard was still nice and square though, so I must have not got the tubes perfectly aligned. With four tubes there is very little room for inaccuracy.
     
     

     
    So I removed the two outermost “guide tubes” from the cassette, and fitted foam pads in their place (track underlay). The foam slides on top of the outermost tubes, meaning there is still support at the ends.
     
     

     
    With this arrangement, the cassette slides smoothly. I have added a cork underlay and am now waiting for fresh supplies of Sprat & Winkle uncoupling magnets, which will be installed in the cork-base on the right hand side so I can use delayed action S&W couplers. The wooden “lip” connects the traverser to the layout through a piggy-back arrangement.
     
    Testing suggests that so far this contraption works surprisingly well. The bumblebee flies. The big question is for how long! There’s clearly a risk that the foamboard will warp or get twisted from heavy use. If that happens, I’ll try a Mk2 version with a wood frame.
  10. Mikkel
    I’ve slowly started work on the next layout in the Farthing series. “The sidings” are inspired by an interesting arrangement at the back of Gloucester Old Yard, where a headshunt served a series of kickback sidings that gave access to a variety of facilities: One siding served a private “biscuit” depot, another served the local waterworks, and finally there was a backroad to the loco depot’s ash sidings and coaling stage.
     
     
     
     

     
    Above left is the overall layout at Gloucester (see this post for details). The headshunt is in red. On the right is the rudely simplified and manipulated trackplan that I have extracted from this to suit my available space and personal tastes.
     
     
     

     
    Trackplan
    Here is the plan again, as it will appear on the layout. The scenic part of the layout will focus on the “neck” of the headshunt (what I think the GWR would have called a shunting spur), as well as the biscuit- and waterworks sidings - all turned through 180 degrees compared to Gloucester. Also featured on the layout is the lowermost siding of the main yard, where Loco Coal and ash wagons are stored, as per Gloucester. The "backroad" siding leading to the loco depot is mostly off-scene, but still plays an important part in operating the layout. The rest of the station is represented by a simple fiddle yard. The headshunt and sidings can accommodate a minimum of 3 “standard” four-wheel wagons and a tank loco. The very short shunting spur emulates that at Gloucester.
     
     
     

     
    Operation
    The table above shows the main "moves" I can make on the layout. An interesting operational feature at Gloucester was the exchange of Loco Coal and ash wagons: These were stored in the main yard, and when needed they were picked up by the yard shunter, moved to the headshunt and turned over to the shed pilot, which then propelled them to the loco depot. The yard shunter also worked wagons into the “biscuit siding” and the waterworks. These features are carried over to my layout - although I'm taking some liberties: In reality the biscuit siding was partly operated by gravity shunting, but I’m not doing that! As for the waterworks, I don’t know exactly what the traffic was, but a bit of research and photos suggests coal in for the pumping engines, and waste ash out. As salt was sometimes used for water softening I also saw an opportunity to also run a salt wagon or two, until someone corrects me!
     
     

     
    Buildings
    I want to use this layout as a way to improve my skills at constructing prototype buildings. So I've been looking around for various prototypes that were either standard GWR or that I found interesting. Some will be replicated directly, others will be adapted.
     
    Biscuit shed. The actual shed at Gloucester wasn’t very inspiring, so I will base mine on a downsized version of the rather nice "beer shed" at Stratford on Avon. This is open at the front and thereby gives a view across the loading dock into the shed, as indicated above. It is closed at the back and thereby hides the small radius point and entry to the fiddle yard behind it.
     
    Stable block. Can’t have a Farthing layout without horses! And I’ve always wanted a stable block. It will be fairly large with 8-9 stalls, reflecting that Farthing is a medium-sized mainline junction. Similar to the one at Witney.
     
    Mess room. This was inspired by the lovely GWR building in Truro yard that CK has kindly shared some photos of here.
     
    Water works. Not sure how I will do this yet, and I may chose only to have the works lightly indicated. In any case I'm thinking something low, like these at Low Bradfield - althought it would be nice if I could find a prototype in GWR territory.
     
    Replaceable cameo. I’m pondering whether I can try out the idea of replaceable cameos in the waterworks siding, similar to the idea sketched out previously in this post.
     
     

     
    Above is an updated attempt at showing the overall scheme of things at Farthing so far. I don’t intend to actually join up the layouts in practice, but it’s nice to have a general storyline behind it all. Sadly I haven’t given much serious thought to this as I went along, which means it’s now a bit of a challenge to make it all fit into an overall plan that makes reasonable sense. Anyway, essentially we’re talking about a medium-sized junction station in a cutting, with some creative earthworks to accommodate the growing town around it. Shades of Newbury, a touch of Kings Meadow, and delusions of Gloucester!
     
    That's about it for now. My original idea was to set the layout in the 1940s, but after mulling it over I’ve decided to stick with my normal Edwardian timeframe. That won’t stop me from doing the odd “out of period” running session though!
  11. Mikkel

    GWR horse-drawn trolley

    By Mikkel,

    Here’s another horse-drawn vehicle for my goods depot, this time a scratchbuilt light trolley in the GWR’s “Birmingham” style. The model was built from styrene and bits in my spares box, with wheels bought in from Langley.
     
    Drawings and photos suggest that there was a bewildering amount of detail variation within this basic type. I based my model on a drawing on page 241 of P. Kelley's "Great Western Road Vehicles", which was built in several lots. Another almost identical version can be seen on page 243 of the same volume. Various photos of the trolleys in action at Hockley can be seen here, although my particular version is closer to one depicted at Slough on page 38 of "GWR Goods Services" Part 2A.
     
     
     

     
    The vehicles had a protective canvas cover over the driver which could be extended backwards over the load in wet weather. The canvas was held by hoops over the seat, which – unlike many other goods delivery vehicles – seem to have been permanently fitted. In typical old-world fashion, these otherwise mundane vehicles had moulded panels along the sides. I fashioned the latter from strips of Evergreen - could've done with a Silhouette cutter there!
     
     
     

     
    The wheels were a bit of a problem. The closest I could find were Langley’s 12mm wheels. These are 0.9 mm too small and have 11 spokes where they should have 12. In the end I compromised and used them. If I find better wheels I'll replace them. The springs are modified leftovers from Coopercraft wagon kits.
     
     
     

     
    The fore carriage and shafts were a nice little puzzle to build. The drawing does not clearly show the type of shafts used. The GWR used several varieties, with designs becoming simpler over the years. To cut a long story short, I chose the graceful “curvy” style of the earlier types.
     
     
     

     
    Main parts assembled and ready for painting.
     
     
     

     
    Lettering presented the usual problem when you need non-standard sizes. Photos of trolleys from the 1900s show some with serif lettering, some with sans serifs. Some have numbers at the front, others at the rear. I eventually used HMRS Hawksworth coach lettering (!), which is a compromise but not too far off for sans serif lettering. I've only just noticed the broken spoke - a fault in the casting it seems.
     
     

     
    The weather sheet fitted. Again there was variety on the prototypes. On some vehicles the sheet extended all the way down over the sides, on others it stopped short above the deck. The sheet was fashioned from a wagon tarpaulin from the Smiths range, turned over to hide the lettering.
     
     
     

     
    Final detailing included adding a few bits of this fine chain which I've only recently discovered. It is imported by Cambrian Models and has the great advantage of being pre-blackened. It is 33 links per inch, and can be obtained from Cambrian themselves or by internet order from H&A Models (I have no connection to either).
     
     
     

     
    For horse power, I chose the recently introduced "feathered" Vanner from Dart, seen here on the left together with a mate from Shirescenes for comparison. As always with figures, I prefer relaxed/calm poses - and I liked the way the Vanner was bending its head down. The bucket was fashioned from bits in the spares box. Keeping draught horses in good shape was taken very seriously, and photos show them both feeding and drinking while waiting at goods depots (eg here).
     
     
     

     
    So that's about it. It's been interesting to scratchbuild this vehicle and thereby learn about the design of these vehicles. Sometimes doing a small project like this can bring as much satisfaction (and challenge!) as a whole layout, I think.
     
     
     

     
    For a couple of other scratchbuilt GWR horse-drawn vehicles, see Jerry Clifford's lovely little vehicles, and Beachcomber Bob's dray here on RMweb.
  12. Mikkel
    There was a time when men were men and horses weren't lasagna. I’m currently building some horse-drawn vehicles for the little yard behind my goods depot. I began with Langley’s whitemetal kit for a GWR 5 ton wagon. This represents one of the standard designs often seen in photos from pre-grouping days, especially in the London division.
     
    It should be said at once that it isn't a finescale kit - indeed it's a bit rough in places. But with a little work I thought it would be OK for a position in the middle-ground of this little layout.
     
     

     
    The kit as supplied. At 20£ this is no cheap kit, though I imagine the three horses and carter are part of the reason. There is little flash, but most parts do need a bit of filing and tweaking to make a good fit. The instructions are reasonable, although some details of the assembly are left to the imagination.
     
     
     

     
    To improve appearances, I filed thick bits down to a leaner shape. I added rails between the side boards, and used wire in drilled holes to secure items (as per photo above). I compromised on the stanchions that support the "raves": These are moulded as solid triangles, but replacing them is not really practical, I think.
     
     
     

     
    In primer. The seating arrangement follows the elevated “Paddington” pattern (as opposed to the much more basic “Birmingham” style). The parts provided for this looked overscale to me, so I basically rebuilt the whole seating arrangement. The fore carriage was fitted in a way that allowed it to actually pivot.
     
     
     

     
    There are shire horses and then there are shire horses! The one on the left came with the kit along with two others. The one on the right is from Dart castings. I opted for two of the latter.
     
     
     

     
    I replaced the supplied chain with something finer. To fit the chains to the horses, I sunk bits of wire into the beasts, fitted the chain and then bent the wire to form a small loop.
     
     
     

     
    For the lettering, I needed yellow letters. There are no ready-made transfers available for these vehicles, so I plundered the HMRS GWR goods wagons sheet, building up the wording letter by letter. The spacing to accommodate the framing was also seen on the prototypes, although it is accentuated here due to the thicker castings. The HMRS sheet does have yellow letters, but not enough for my purposes, so as an experiment I used white letters and coloured them afterwards with a yellow marker. I wouldn’t really recommend this – it works OK at first but you have to be very careful with the subsequent varnishing or it will take the colour right off. I’m not entirely happy with the lettering, but life is short.
     
     

     
    Done. The chain in the middle is a rough indication of the chains and skids used for locking and braking the wheels when parked.
     
     
     

     
    I do like the ‘osses. I was going to call them "the Finching Sisters" in honour of the two lovely ladies on Robin's Brent layout. Then I realized they were male.
     
     

     
    In position in one of the cartage bays. Although one or two details don't stand close inspection on this vehicle, I am reasonably satisfied with the overall outline and feel of it.
     
     
     

     
    The wagon seen from inside the depot. Not sure what to add in terms of load. It is tempting to do one of the sky-high loads seen in some photos (eg here), but I think it might become visually over-powering on this vehicle. Maybe on the next one.
     
     

     
    Off-topic: Looks like a leftover from the new year decorations has found it’s way into the goods depot. Happy New Year everyone!
     
    Notes on the prototype
    For what it’s worth, I’ve added here some of my own notes on these vehicles. Note that they are mainly based on my own observations from photos and drawings. I do have "Great Western Road Vehicles" by P. Kelley, but despite some useful illustrations, this book does not really go into much written detail on the horse-drawn wagons. Perhaps "Great Western Horse Power" by Janet Russell is better, and worth a purchase?
     
    Design
    These wagons were used for standard and heavy goods cartage. There were different types built to this style, some with six “bays”, some with five. Some were built for a single horse, some for two or more. The tare and tonnage varied considerably across the different designs. They had the “Paddington pattern” of seat arrangement, where the seat was elevated above the wagon. Hoops could be fitted to accommodate sheeting. A light version of the same design was used for parcels delivery vans, with hard tops.
     
    Distribution
    The wagons were especially prominent at Paddington, where photos suggest they were the all-dominant type in the 1900s. However they were also used elsewhere on the system (even as far as Cardiff, according to one drawing). In some areas they seem to have been rare though, eg at Birmingham Hockley the dominant goods delivery wagon was of a quite different design. A photo from Slough in the 1920s shows the type I have modelled alongside one of the Birmingham style vehicles, so the different types did appear together at some locations.
     
    Livery
    In Great Western Way (original edition), Slinn states that by the 1900s, station names were applied to larger horse-drawn vehicles whenever there was room for it (as seen on my model above). I have a theory, though, that this practice ended sometime after 1905 or thereabouts: Looking at photos after that date, station names are no longer present, and the “Great Western Railway” and numbering is all on one plank.
     
    Slinn also states that numbering was in random positions, but as far as I can see the numbers on these vehicles were always at the front end of the wagon. Perhaps Slinn missed the fact that the relative position of the lettering and numbers was necessarily “handed”, because we read from left to right (ie on the left hand side, it would be written “667 Great Western Railway” and on the right hand side, it would be “Great Western Railway 667”).
     
    According to Slinn, the lettering for horse-drawn vehicles in the 1900s was yellow or gold, shaded or not. I doubt gold would have been used for wagons like these, and there is no apparent shading in the photos I have seen. So presumably plain yellow (but the shade of yellow not clear?). I have sometimes wondered whether the lettering was in fact white on some wagons, because it stands out with very high contrast in some photos. However, looking at photos of parcels vans (which are known to have had white letters on their hard tops) it seems that the letters on wagons were darker than white, so presumably yellow. Later in the 1930s, horse-drawn vehicles adopted a different chocolate and cream livery and a different lettering style.
     
  13. Mikkel
    "Francis, what on earth is that?"
    "I don't know, dear"
    "It says 'Monster' on the side. How terribly silly. Why on earth would they call a railway carriage something like that?"
    "I don't know, dear."
    "Perhaps it's for third class passengers? I don't suppose the working classes need much light."
    "I don't know, dear."
    "Francis, I do wish you were more knowledgeable."
    "I know, dear."
     
    As the Longbottoms fell silent, the Monster rolled past them in all its might. This was no. 484 of the P18 diagram, built to carry scenery and props for travelling theater companies. These carriages were recent introductions, and there were only six on the entire system at this time. No. 484 was the first of its kind to visit Farthing.
     
     
     

     
    Station Master A. Woodcourt was watching the approaching carriage with concern. It had arrived a day late, and the main yard was busy. So he had ordered it unloaded in the down bay. But he was worried about the loading gauge. In principle there shouldn't be any problems, but these new carriages were big, and they didn't normally use the bay for carriages of this size...
     
     
     

     
    In the cab of No. 835, the crew were also keeping a sharp eye on clearances. They had both worked this bay since it was built by the independent N&S many years ago, and they knew that the standards laid down by that company had sometimes been a bit, well, "optimistic". It would be close!
     
     
     

     
    Shunter George Mullins, ever the pessimist, was watching the scene with a sceptical eye.
    "Well the drawing boys at Swindon have done it again."
    "What's that then?"
    "Drawn something too big and impractical! It may look fine on their fancy desks, but out here in real life it only leads to problems."
    "It seems to be going well enough, though."
    "Well they've been lucky this time. But with everything getting bigger and bigger, there'll be no work left for us shunters in the end.You wait and see, in a few years a whole train will just be one long carriage!"
     
     
     

     
    Much to everyone's relief, the Monster slid neatly into the loading dock, with just a few centimeters to spare.
     
     
     

     
    As unloading of the carriage began, Woodcourt was confronted by the director of the travelling theater company, Mr Crummles (Junior). Clearly of a choleric disposition, he launched directly into an assault: "Do hurry up! This delay is totally unacceptable! Are you at all aware that we have our opening night this evening? We shall be needing our scenery and props in just a few hours. This is not some petty local act, you know, this is Shakespeare!"
     
     
     

     
    Ganger P. Quince had seen it all, and was not impressed by the fury of the theater director. With the sarcasm for which he was well known, he muttered under his breath: "Shakespeare, eh? Well, I reckon Shakespeare will have to wait for the Great Western just like everyone else."
     
     
     

     
    It was at this point that a shout of alarm was heard across the loading dock. As everyone looked up, carter Tom Gradgind stared blankly ahead of him and exclaimed: "A murder, I think there's been a murder!"
     
     
     

     
    A murder? As he took a minute to gather his thoughts, Woodcourt couldn't help but consider who might possibly commit such a foul act. The Longbottoms? Or one of his staff? Or carter Gradgrind himself? Surely not! And yet....
     
    Go to part 4
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