Stoke Courtenay

[Nick Gough]

20 hours ago, drmditch said:

I'm afraid your hopes for the Mainline/Bachmann vehicles are are in vain!

They are too short both in body-length and in wheelbase.

 

IIRC the Triang cattle wagon was of the same prototype. However, in Triang's case, they made it too long by stretching it to fit their existing chassis!

[checkrail]

12 hours ago, Biggles Dog said:

Two queries,  please:

What are your platform surfaces, as I can see paving edging, paving infill and some other form of infill, possibly tarmac or gravel. Advice would be appreciated, as most finishes I have seen are too 'heavy' in texture. All your textures are subdued and in scale to my eye.

How can I get in touch with 'Phil@ Harlequin' - I need a Signal Box nameplate, and I'm using the same Bachmann/Kernow box as the one on your layout. 

Thanks Geoff for kind comment re Stoke Courtenay (and for following all the way from the beginning!)

 

I'm totally in agreement with you about texture - it is easy to overdo - and I wanted to avoid ballast like boulder fields and road surfaces like gravel pits. The platform surfaces (as you say, tarmac or gravel - take your pick) are from 1.5 mm plywood covered with very fine grade emery paper which I was able to buy on a roll, obviating the need for joins. The central section on which the buildings stand is from Slater's paving stone Plastikard.  The edging was also from Plastikard.  I'm also pretty sure that there is an intermediate layer, probably thinner Plastikard, to bring all three elements up to the same level.  

 

But as I continued building the station and its furniture and fittings I ended up painting over the emery paper so many times (to cover marks or spills and stains) that any residual texture more or less disappeared.  Which rather reinforces your point!  I might have got away with ordinary cartridge paper.  But it sort of looks textured, so I'm happy with it.

 

I see St Enodoc has kindly answered your other query about Phil's nice signal box signs.

 

Good luck with your layout build.  Maybe we'll see it on this forum?

 

Cheers,

John C.

 

[checkrail]

Yee haw!  Get them critters movin'!  

 

Given all the interesting and instructive correspondence about cattle wagons on this thread recently I thought it about time we saw a cattle train.  So here's 6305 heading west. "Take 'em to Missouri Matt" - or at least Tavistock Junction. 

 

(Having said all that  - and with apologies to John Wayne - the observant will note that it's actually a train of empty cattle wagons.  No cows were harmed in the production of these pictures.) 

 

 

 

John C.

[melmoth]

17 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

Well it worked. I am now into wagons again with three cattle wagons on the go. Here is the first. Coopercraft Cattle as a W1, unfitted, replaced rails with wire, one shoe brake on one side, two on the other, lever brake and roof profile flattened to plan. Too hot to sleep last night, so I made good use of the time. Just needs a few tweaks and a clean up before painting.

 

There really is no need for that sort of climate-based oneupmanship on here. Lovely work though.

[checkrail]

Another couple of 6305 with cattle wagons. 

 

 

John C. 

[MrWolf]

I'm standing outside in the cold waiting for someone who appears to have all day, they're an hour late already and those pictures have made my day. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm billing them anyway, I'd go home and get on with building my cattle wagons!

[Coach bogie]

Bit of two steps forward, one step back. The two CC are complete for painting. I made progress with the W3 by shortening the Airfix, the discovered half the bits are 12,000 miles way. I decided to press on with doors made from planked plasticard which was a crazy price for a small sheet, but normal for here I am told. Then discovered I had two, untouched,  Geen, whitemetal LMS cattle wagon kits in the 'to build' box. Not sure how they got there as I do not remember packing them. I am please I have the ex L&Y one as I know this kit cannot be rerun in its' current form as the grill tooling is no longer available. So five to make now.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

 

 

[checkrail]

Nice work Mike. Those various kit & bits are shaping up to make a distinctive and authentic looking train.

[checkrail]

Nearing completion now with the D33.  Omitting the middle hinges wasn't such a good idea after all - the hinge holes became very obvious as soon as the sides were painted, and were partly above the waistline (see below).  So I applied a bit of DeLuxe 'Perfect Plastic Putty' to the back of each hole, wiping off flush with a cotton bud, then touching up the paint.  Oh, if that had been the only touching up required ..... ! 

 

Transfers were then added - a mixture of Fox and Railtec - as were luggage grilles (Brassmasters).  Lining is done with Tamiya masking tape onto which a black line has been ruled with a Pilot V5 0.5mm pen.  (I seem to be congenitally incapable of getting lining transfers on straight.)  The sides were then sprayed with Dullcote.

 

My methodology here is based on that of the old PC kits with printed sides, adopted because I find it very difficult to do the glazing etc. from inside the coach. In the photo below one side has now been glued on, using Gorilla contact adhesive which allows a bit of repositioning if necessary. 

 

But there's always a sting in the tail ... !  (To be continued.)

John C.

[checkrail]

Was nearly there with the D33 until I started adding the door furniture and started to make a right mess of my nicely painted coach sides.  (Wire and I just don't get along.) Remedial work is underway, and I think I can now downgrade this afternoon's work from 'disaster' to 'disappontment'.  Or lesson.  

 

Meanwhile here's a quiet moment at Stoke C. as 5557 rests after bringing in a train from Earlsbridge.

 

John C.

[KNP]

These things happen….

The other week I fitted not one but eight doors to the SR luggage/brake van on the internal side instead of the external side so things do happen even after the best planning efforts…….!

Keep smiling…..

In a few weeks you’ll see the funny side?

 

[Neal Ball]

4 hours ago, checkrail said:

Nearing completion now with the D33.  Omitting the middle hinges wasn't such a good idea after all - the hinge holes became very obvious as soon as the sides were painted, and were partly above the waistline (see below).  So I applied a bit of DeLuxe 'Perfect Plastic Putty' to the back of each hole, wiping off flush with a cotton bud, then touching up the paint.  Oh, if that had been the only touching up required ..... ! 

 

Transfers were then added - a mixture of Fox and Railtec - as were luggage grilles (Brassmasters).  Lining is done with Tamiya masking tape onto which a black line has been ruled with a Pilot V5 0.5mm pen.  (I seem to be congenitally incapable of getting lining transfers on straight.)  The sides were then sprayed with Dullcote.

 

My methodology here is based on that of the old PC kits with printed sides, adopted because I find it very difficult to do the glazing etc. from inside the coach. In the photo below one side has now been glued on, using Gorilla contact adhesive which allows a bit of repositioning if necessary. 

 

But there's always a sting in the tail ... !  (To be continued.)

John C.

I admire the way you build the carriages separately like that John….. but I fear I would ruin all that work…. Oops!

 

….but at least you know the end product will be great.

 

1 hour ago, KNP said:

These things happen….

The other week I fitted not one but eight doors to the SR luggage/brake van on the internal side instead of the external side so things do happen even after the best planning efforts…….!

Keep smiling…..

In a few weeks you’ll see the funny side?

 

These things happen Kevin….. but of course if you don’t tell us, we won’t know….

 

Recently with my carriage builds, I made a few gaffs…. Ive not told anyone and to be honest I need to look very closely to spot them 😎

[checkrail]

Here are the 'official' photographs of the newly completed D33.  After a bit of rescue work it now looks reasonably presentable at NVD.

 

 

So what went wrong?  Well, one minor problem I have is a corneal condition which causes double vision when looking through my varifocals and Rotacraft magnifying lamp at very small details.  This means that when offering up, say, a tiny T-handle to a pre-formed hole I can see two T-handles and two holes, which makes things a bit challenging!  But the minor scratches this caused were soon covered by applying minute amounts of Railmatch brown on the very tip of a very fine brush, in a sort of 'pointilliste' style.

 

But the worst scarring was avoidable. It happened when i came to making and fitting the vertical guard's handrails on the lower bodyside from 0.31 mm brass wire.  I kept missing the holes and scratching the sides until bits of paint and primer flaked off, exposing the bare brass.  Lessons learned were:

1. Bend up the handles and temporarily dry-fit them to the coach sides before painting. Then you'll know they fit.  I foolishly tried to bend them up afterwards and made a couple of dozen before I got a couple to fit properly, by which time the damage had been done.  And yes, I do have a Bill Bedford wire bending jig - the fault is with the user, not the tools!  (The 'couple of dozen' excludes the ones which fell off the tweezers never to be seen again.)

2. Once the handles have been bent up correctly grip them firmly and file off any burrs from the tail ends before taking them anywhere near the paintwork.

3. Drill out generous holes in the Hornby bodyshell behind the etched holes before glueing the side to the Hornby carcass.

 

I'll know next time!

 

John C.

[TrevorP1]

53 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Here are the 'official' photographs of the newly completed D33.  After a bit of rescue work it now looks reasonably presentable at NVD.

 

 

So what went wrong?  Well, one minor problem I have is a corneal condition which causes double vision when looking through my varifocals and Rotacraft magnifying lamp at very small details.  This means that when offering up, say, a tiny T-handle to a pre-formed hole I can see two T-handles and two holes, which makes things a bit challenging!  But the minor scratches this caused were soon covered by applying minute amounts of Railmatch brown on the very tip of a very fine brush, in a sort of 'pointilliste' style.

 

But the worst scarring was avoidable. It happened when i came to making and fitting the vertical guard's handrails on the lower bodyside from 0.31 mm brass wire.  I kept missing the holes and scratching the sides until bits of paint and primer flaked off, exposing the bare brass.  Lessons learned were:

1. Bend up the handles and temporarily dry-fit them to the coach sides before painting. Then you'll know they fit.  I foolishly tried to bend them up afterwards and made a couple of dozen before I got a couple to fit properly, by which time the damage had been done.  And yes, I do have a Bill Bedford wire bending jig - the fault is with the user, not the tools!  (The 'couple of dozen' excludes the ones which fell off the tweezers never to be seen again.)

2. Once the handles have been bent up correctly grip them firmly and file off any burrs from the tail ends before taking them anywhere near the paintwork.

3. Drill out generous holes in the Hornby bodyshell behind the etched holes before glueing the side to the Hornby carcass.

 

I'll know next time!

 

John C.

 

I can guess how you feel with the eye issues John. A couple of years ago I had a wet macular problem in one eye. Luckily this was arrested very quickly by the folks at Wrexham Hospital. I am short sighted in the other eye which means I have 'floaters' in that one. 

 

Everything is quite OK for day to day things but close work is a challenge. I'm best for this without glasses but the light needs to be good and if I squint with the wrong eye straight things seem bent!

 

But no complaints. There are others much worse off in all kinds of ways.

[Limpley Stoker]

Well to my aging eyes it looks perfect - on full iPad zoom. I like the very neat painting of the bolection mouldings and droplights - I wish I could do that !

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, checkrail said:

Here are the 'official' photographs of the newly completed D33.  After a bit of rescue work it now looks reasonably presentable at NVD.

 

 

So what went wrong?  Well, one minor problem I have is a corneal condition which causes double vision when looking through my varifocals and Rotacraft magnifying lamp at very small details.  This means that when offering up, say, a tiny T-handle to a pre-formed hole I can see two T-handles and two holes, which makes things a bit challenging!  But the minor scratches this caused were soon covered by applying minute amounts of Railmatch brown on the very tip of a very fine brush, in a sort of 'pointilliste' style.

 

But the worst scarring was avoidable. It happened when i came to making and fitting the vertical guard's handrails on the lower bodyside from 0.31 mm brass wire.  I kept missing the holes and scratching the sides until bits of paint and primer flaked off, exposing the bare brass.  Lessons learned were:

1. Bend up the handles and temporarily dry-fit them to the coach sides before painting. Then you'll know they fit.  I foolishly tried to bend them up afterwards and made a couple of dozen before I got a couple to fit properly, by which time the damage had been done.  And yes, I do have a Bill Bedford wire bending jig - the fault is with the user, not the tools!  (The 'couple of dozen' excludes the ones which fell off the tweezers never to be seen again.)

2. Once the handles have been bent up correctly grip them firmly and file off any burrs from the tail ends before taking them anywhere near the paintwork.

3. Drill out generous holes in the Hornby bodyshell behind the etched holes before glueing the side to the Hornby carcass.

 

I'll know next time!

 

John C.

 

You have made a great job of this carriage John. Like anything in life, if you hadn't told us about the issues with the carriage, we wouldn't know. It certainly looks the part.

 

Sorry to hear about your eyes, hope there is a fix in the offing.

 

Regards, Neal.

[checkrail]

Thanks for supportive messages and kind comments chaps. Much appreciated.  Here's a 3/4 view of the D33, which can be compared with the photograph Mike @Coach bogieposted on this thread above (p111, 9 Jan.)  This  pic and Mike's notes (plus the WW etch of course) were about all I had to go on, and the prototype was a pretty unusual beast, so some details are guesswork on my part. 

 

 

One thing I have noticed is that at the 1929 rebuild the lavatory acquired the later type window  with a little opening toplight, something not present on the etch.  I'll make this up from a bit of microstrip, paint it venetian red and stick it onto the glazing with double-sided tape.  Mike also confirmed that on conversion to electric power the now redundant clerestory lamp tops were removed.  They were easily cut off, and when their bases are filed down a bit they just look like blanking plates. This hadn't hitherto occurred to me so I suppose I'd better go back and do the same with my C16, D29 and E73 clerestories!

 

John C.

 

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, checkrail said:

Thanks for supportive messages and kind comments chaps. Much appreciated.  Here's a 3/4 view of the D33, which can be compared with the photograph Mike @Coach bogieposted on this thread above (p111, 9 Jan.)  This  pic and Mike's notes (plus the WW etch of course) were about all I had to go on, and the prototype was a pretty unusual beast, so some details are guesswork on my part. 

 

 

One thing I have noticed is that at the 1929 rebuild the lavatory acquired the later type window  with a little opening toplight, something not present on the etch.  I'll make this up from a bit of microstrip, paint it venetian red and stick it onto the glazing with double-sided tape.  Mike also confirmed that on conversion to electric power the now redundant clerestory lamp tops were removed.  They were easily cut off, and when their bases are filed down a bit they just look like blanking plates. This hadn't hitherto occurred to me so I suppose I'd better go back and do the same with my C16, D29 and E73 clerestories!

 

John C.

 

You realise I now face a bit of a quandary here John….

 

My next project is of course the Metro tank…. Do I embark on a Worsley D33 after that? Or launch into the 70footers, or finish the goods yard area. Difficult decisions to make, as that Clerestory looks very nice.

 

With its plated over panels, it’s just right for our 1930’s era…. 

 

 

[checkrail]

Here's the D33 in its train, or at least the two thirds of the train I've made so far, which are the two coaches you can see.  The plan is for them to be joined by a D95 van compo to form an E-set.

 

 

 

I shouldn't worry about any damage I made to the sides.  By my late 30s period the D33 would have seen much better days and be on its last legs (er .. I mean wheels).  Apparently they lasted until 1939/40 but for all I know 2328 pictured here spent the last half of the 30s at the back of some forlorn carriage siding waiting to be condemned.  I don't know whether any of them ever received the shirtbutton livery, though I'd doubt it, so painted mine in the 1928-34 scheme as per the photo Mike posted. 

 

John C.

[Nick Gough]

Very nice John.

 

I particularly like the juxtaposition of the panelled V plated sections of the bodywork.

Was that part of the original kit or your adaption of it?

[checkrail]

2 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

I particularly like the juxtaposition of the panelled V plated sections of the bodywork.

Was that part of the original kit or your adaption of it?

All on the Worsley Works etch including the plated-over portions, as commissioned from WW by Mike @Coach bogieof this parish. 

[checkrail]

Three more of the D33 at work behind 'Broome Hall' on a Plymouth to Newton Abbott stopper.

 

 

 

Given the pre-1934 liveries of the loco and leading coach I think there's a certain early/mid, rather than late, 1930s vibe here.  These stopping turns are usually Hall-hauled on my layout, but wouldn't this train look nice behind a Bird series Bulldog?  

 

Come on Messrs Bachmann, you've already made most of it, e.g. City, Dukedog, various tenders ... 

 

John C.

[Limpley Stoker]

Thats a very appealing set of coaches!

There have been a couple of well made white metal kits of Bulldog class locos on eBay lately, but because of the very thick running plate I was put off . I’ll stick with by Bachmann City and pretend it’s a straight framed Bulldog !

 

 

 

 

 

[Coach bogie]

You can make your own from a Bachmann Earl. Here is one where I reversed the Swindon process using a K's boiler/firebox from a wreck/scrap pile of bits bought off eBay. You can also use the Airfix City of Truro boiler which is suppose to be the larger no 4 but is on the small size. With some rubbing down a reasonable no 2 can be produced. It is easier than cutting away at the cast one to clear the Bachmann mech.  I chatted with Bachmann, at York, some time back explaining the ease to produce a Bulldog but concern of the lack of BR opportunities. I am convinced that there was a long term plan to do so. The separation of the Earl boiler and cab section is such that an alternative boiler and cab can be fitted to the existing Earl frames.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[MrWolf]

55 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

You can make your own from a Bachmann Earl. Here is one where I reversed the Swindon process using a K's boiler/firebox from a wreck/scrap pile of bits bought off eBay. You can also use the Airfix City of Truro boiler which is suppose to be the larger no 4 but is on the small size. With some rubbing down a reasonable no 2 can be produced. It is easier than cutting away at the cast one to clear the Bachmann mech.  I chatted with Bachmann, at York, some time back explaining the ease to produce a Bulldog but concern of the lack of BR opportunities. I am convinced that there was a long term plan to do so. The separation of the Earl boiler and cab section is such that an alternative boiler and cab can be fitted to the existing Earl frames.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

That's interesting to know. How difficult is it to dismantle the Bachmann Dukedog body as I have one in BR condition which I need to backdate to shirtbutton livery and taking it apart will save an awful lot of masking and imaginative language.