Churminster & Stowe Magna, Southern Railway

[Tony Teague]

Returning to TRAINS, I had a look in the archive and the only complete train that I had photographed and not then shown on here was the up mixed parcels; well in fact I had shown some 'before weathering' images of parts of it and then a small number of 'post weathering' images once Mick Bonwick had kindly worked his magic on it, however, since this was 40 pages back and, since I have recently been running through complete train formations:

 

 

Mick really did an amazing job on this set, starting with the loco which is Hornby SR Maunsell S15 No.826:

 

 

It is followed by LNER extra long CCT No.1247 built by me from a Parkside Dundas kit:

 

 

then ex-LSWR 4-wheel van No.453 which I acquired and I believe is from a  Mallard kit:

 

 

....and a second SR, ex-LSWR 4 wheel van No.1603, also believed to have come from a Mallard kit:

 

 

next we have 2 LMS 6 wheel express fish vans, nos.40239 & 40216; I built these from Chivers kits:

 

 

and then an SR bogie luggage van No.2465 by Hornby:

 

.....a GWR siphon G no.1478 by GMR / Airfix:

 

 

a GWR mink D No.28843 built from a Parkside Dundas kit by me:

 

 

..........Bachmann SR PMV no.2186:

 

 

........2 x LNER Gresley 4 wheel BY brake pigeon vans nos.769 & 6823 from Chivers kits by me:

 

 

....SR van C no.763 by Hornby:

 

 

.....and FINALLY Parkside Dundas SR BY utility van No.958 brings up the rear!

 

 

A good length train and expertly weathered by the late Mick Bonwick!

 

(Now there's nothing left unpublished, so I'll have to find some more!).

 

Tony

 

 

Edited July 1 by Tony Teague

[Podhunter]

On 30/06/2024 at 22:50, Tony Teague said:

here is Hornby SR 2-BIL

The Hornby 2-BIL has 2 cars.  Yours has three: what is the centre car?

[Tony Teague]

You're right - but the image actually shows 4 cars, because the train consists of 2 x 2 BIL's!

I'm afraid that I failed to note which one was following and as I have "several" I can't now be sure.

I'll edit the caption to better reflect what is shown.

I haven't previously shown EMU's on here because so far, they are all RTR - BIL's, HAL's & 5-BEL.

At one point I also had CEP's, an MLV, a 2H and a 2EPB , mainly because these were what I used to travel on in my teens, but they just didn't fit the era of the layout and all were disposed of.

I do have in hand the components to make a 4-COR and a 4-LAV, and every intention of building them, but where they stand on the priority list is almost impossible to say!

Tony

 

[Tony Teague]

That last post about EMU's, prompted by Podhunter's question, made me think about why I had not posted any EMU pictures in 66 pages!

 

When you consider how much effort has gone into laying third rail, first into the two bay platforms at Stowe Magna, and later around the complete main running lines through Stowe Magna and into and out of the main fiddle yards, it is a significant omission! Running EMU's is a core part of the operating sequence.

 

The 3rd rail electrification was also the justification for the colour light signalling installed all along that main line, yet when I worked back through my picture archive I could only find 3 pictures that include EMU's - the first showing the 2 x 2-BIL's that is posted above, a second very similar shot taken at the same time, and this one of a single 4-COR motor brake / driving coach from unit no.3129:

 

 

This was made and given to me by Mike Radford who (as MARC Models) was producing all the unit variations from the 4-COR family at the time and who had undertaken to provide me with a 4-COR and a 4-RES, but sadly, he succumbed to very poor health soon after and the remaining cars were never delivered.

 

As I said in my earlier post, I now have the wherewithall to make up a 4-COR unit myself and so one day this motor brake car will have something to haul! In the meantime I shall make a point of getting the camera out whenever an EMU goes past.

 

So that's 2 wake-up calls I have had in as many days - the first about the need for a hoist on my canal warehouse, and the second alerting me to do better on the EMU front! I am most grateful to followers of this thread for keeping me awake!

 

Tony💤

 

[Fishplate]

8 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

When you consider how much effort has gone into laying third rail

 

I'm just embarking on this exercise for my own layout. Somewhat daunted by the fitting of what turns out to be about sixty (real) feet of cosmetic third rail and associated insulators. That, too, is planned to include colour light signalling that accompanied areas of Kent Coast electrification. My non-mainline areas will be shown as retaining semaphore operation.

 

I've concluded overhead tramway electrification in the goods yards would be a step too far.This will be left to the imagination as far as Class 71 working is concerned. Class 73 change over to diesel is easier, as will MLV to battery.

 

I've a long way to go to reach the standard shown in your photos. . . . !

[Tony Teague]

2 hours ago, Fishplate said:

 

I'm just embarking on this exercise for my own layout. Somewhat daunted by the fitting of what turns out to be about sixty (real) feet of cosmetic third rail and associated insulators. That, too, is planned to include colour light signalling that accompanied areas of Kent Coast electrification. My non-mainline areas will be shown as retaining semaphore operation.

 

 

That is exactly my approach; there is a branch off the mainline at each of Stowe Magna & Churminster and these are 'non-electrified' and semaphore signalled. Their control systems are also different in that the colour lights are largely automatic whilst the semaphores are not.

 

Good luck with your catenary!

 

Tony

[Dragonboy]

I love the weathering on those parcels vans. 
 

Brian

[Fishplate]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

Good luck with your catenary!

 

I can imagine anything. It will be there in my head !

[Tony Teague]

Having said that the 'cupboard was bare' I came across pictures of the Down Mixed Parcels train, which presents a stark contrast to it's up equivalent as it is completely un-weathered, excepting the loco which has some light weathering:

 

 

It was hauled when pictured by Hornby SR Bulleid BB loco, no.21C163 '229 Squadron' (apologies as image is a bit hazy!); all of my WC & BB locos are stuffed with lead which makes them capable of hauling reasonable length trains.

Immediately behind the loco is Hornby LMS 50' BG parcels van no.30992:

 

 

.......followed by two Hornby SR GBLs, Nos.2359 & 2481:

 

 

Next is one of those Hornby 6 wheel LMS Palethorpes sausage vans with modified under-gubbins that I mentioned a couple of pages back - a bit bright and badly calls out for weathering!

 

 

....which is in turn followed by No.2766, Lima's interpretation of a GWR / Palethorpes siphon G - obviously to carry longer sausages!:

 

 

......and then another of those ubiquitous SR GBL's, no.2461:

 

 

.....after which is a Parkside Dundas SR CCT / PMV no. 1067 (again, apologies for the fuzzy pic):

 

 

... and then yet another SR GBL, No.2478 - this is one of the older models which has had the Roxey Mouldings detailing kit applied (as have all four GBL's in this train):

 

 

FINALLY SR Van B no. 359 brings up the rear.

 

 

Again, a reasonable length train:

 

 

Tony

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

Good luck with your catenary!

 

1 hour ago, Fishplate said:

 

I can imagine anything. It will be there in my head !

A dear late friend built Stafford circa 1963 in 00. He installed all the posts, gantries and so on but no overhead wires at all. Looking down on the layout as we do, rather than up at the sky on the real thing, the illusion worked perfectly.

[Tony Teague]

A bit more progress today on the warehouse - further coats of paint, etc, plus completion of the narrow path around it and a start on the retaining wall behind that, so that the gap in the landform can be closed up.

 

Pictures soon, but in the meantime I need to get a break from the scenic modelling every now and again, - usually I build some wagon kits - but most recently it was through releasing two Schools locos from the cripple drawer to which they had been condemned some time ago:

 

 

No.900 'Eton' had failed when it threw a traction tyre, but on examination this did not look terminal (for the tyre or the loco), and so it was re-fitted and secured in place rather than being replaced.

 

 

How long this will last - who knows - but it performed fine in subsequent testing and is now back into the operational fleet. I have spare traction tyres in stock should it fail / when it fails again. The loco is seen as it pauses to reverse back into Churminster shed following it's test runs out on the main line.

 

 

No.915 'Brighton' -seen here on the estuary bridge - had failed because of problems with the loco => tender coupling which was randomly coming unhitched and causing Brighton's train to be hauled along on the strength of the connecting wires that link the loco and tender - not a great idea!

 

 

The coupling bar has been 're-aligned ' (bent) into what is hopefully  a better shape in the hope that this problem will be avoided and whilst it performed OK under test, this is not the first Schools loco that I have which has suffered from this issue. If anyone has found a good long-term solution please let me know, however, the loco is back in the operational fleet for the time being at least.

 

Tony

 

 

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

 

 

No.915 'Brighton' -seen here on the estuary bridge

 

That's very nice Tony. Have we seen that view before? Either way, more please!

[Tony Teague]

Yet another insightful comment that has had me thinking! Having looked I can only find 37 images taken of this view out of over 6,000 that I have of the train set as a whole.

 

The building in which the railway room is located was rebuilt in 2005, but although the layout was started almost immediately I took hardly any pictures in the first 10 years! (I can find only one from 2006 in which most of the baseboards are up and some track is laid - and then nothing until 2015.

 

April 2005

 

The location that you have referred to is where the two-track main line crosses the end wall of the railway room above the staircase, and it had taken me some time to work out that if I put in a 'plank' across this wall I could gain a much longer main loop that runs around the entire outer walls of the building, however, I have no images of this in situ, prior to the painting of the

backscene by Mike Gascoigne late in 2015:

 

 

At this stage you can see where the 'plank' has been added as an afterthought to the Stowe Magna side of the layout:

 

 

A couple of images were taken in this location but I can't see that I ever posted them here:

 

P&S WJR No.757 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe'

 

Once painted, this scene became known as the "estuary bridge", but it was Mike, who having painted it, suggested that it would look far better if the 'plank' was made to resemble a bridge - and so he set about delivering just that:

 

 

The scene beneath the rail deck is painted on foam board, whilst the stone piers are added in Wills moulded plasticard to give more of a 3D effect. Mike drew all of the bridge girder structures using a ruler and marker pen!

 

 

I particularly like the way that the bridge & backscene blends into the modelled 3D structure above Stowe Hill tunnel and provides great depth.

 

Urie H16 No.517

 

Whilst the scene is really quite photogenic it is not the easiest to photograph because it has a shallow profile and due to it's location above the staircase; this probably accounts for the very small number of images that I have - and the even smaller number of these that have been posted to this thread:

 

SR BB No.21C167 'Tangmere'

 

I took a whole sequence of Tangmere (above) with my Ocean Liner set  but never used them because it was almost impossible to make anything of the image of the full length train:

 

Ironclad diner

 

Although I am quite fond of the seagull sitting atop the signal 'feather'!

 

 

Overall, looking through these images has made me feel that I should make better use of this location and will try harder!

 

Bachmann SR E4 No.2505

 

Tony

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Tony Teague said:

Yet another insightful comment that has had me thinking! Having looked I can only find 37 images taken of this view out of over 6,000 that I have of the train set as a whole.

 

The building in which the railway room is located was rebuilt in 2005, but although the layout was started almost immediately I took hardly any pictures in the first 10 years! (I can find only one from 2006 in which most of the baseboards are up and some track is laid - and then nothing until 2015.

 

April 2005

 

The location that you have referred to is where the two-track main line crosses the end wall of the railway room above the staircase, and it had taken me some time to work out that if I put in a 'plank' across this wall I could gain a much longer main loop that runs around the entire outer walls of the building, however, I have no images of this in situ, prior to the painting of the

backscene by Mike Gascoigne late in 2015:

 

 

At this stage you can see where the 'plank' has been added as an afterthought to the Stowe Magna side of the layout:

 

 

A couple of images were taken in this location but I can't see that I ever posted them here:

 

P&S WJR No.757 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe'

 

Once painted, this scene became known as the "estuary bridge", but it was Mike, who having painted it, suggested that it would look far better if the 'plank' was made to resemble a bridge - and so he set about delivering just that:

 

 

The scene beneath the rail deck is painted on foam board, whilst the stone piers are added in Wills moulded plasticard to give more of a 3D effect. Mike drew all of the bridge girder structures using a ruler and marker pen!

 

 

I particularly like the way that the bridge & backscene blends into the modelled 3D structure above Stowe Hill tunnel and provides great depth.

 

Urie H16 No.517

 

Whilst the scene is really quite photogenic it is not the easiest to photograph because it has a shallow profile and due to it's location above the staircase; this probably accounts for the very small number of images that I have - and the even smaller number of these that have been posted to this thread:

 

SR BB No.21C167 'Tangmere'

 

I took a whole sequence of Tangmere (above) with my Ocean Liner set  but never used them because it was almost impossible to make anything of the image of the full length train:

 

Ironclad diner

 

Although I am quite fond of the seagull sitting atop the signal 'feather'!

 

 

Overall, looking through these images has made me feel that I should make better use of this location and will try harder!

 

Bachmann SR E4 No.2505

 

Tony

 

Thanks Tony. A clever way to use a difficult space.

[Tony Teague]

The latest "addition to stock":

 

 

Yes, it's an air-conditioner!

 

Those in the UK may remember that we had a 2-day "summer" a little while ago, and having thought about this for over 2 years I decided now was the time to go for it!

 

Since then I have wondered about my sanity as I sat here shivering, but things have warmed up again - perhaps only briefly, so I am hoping to realise some benefit; in any event the unit is connected to an air-source heat-pump so it will also provide heating.

 

Hopefully this will somehwat extend my modelling season!

 

Tony

Edited July 19 by Tony Teague
spelling

[Tony Teague]

Having diverted back to TRAINS, I note that I have not posted an update on PROGRESS since 30 June, but there has been some, so here goes.

 

 

I needed to build the 'retaining wall' to the rear of the canal warehouse so that I could complete the landform around it - here is the work in progress, followed by the 'finished' job:

 

 

There is a lot of grassing and addition of trees, etc, to be done; the site to the right of the warehouse will be occupied by a cottage that was there before either the railway or the canal came to town. The eagle eyed will notice the basic / unfinished structures of two buildings beneath / to the left of the warehouse, and more of these can be seen here:

 

 

In my last PROGRESS report I mentioned that I might look for some suitable building kits to expedite progress in this area, and I very rapidly came across several laser-cut products from Scale Model Scenery (SMS) that might look right; that these two are unfinished can be blamed on my being a male person and, in consequence, not reading the instructions, thus making a relatively simple job complicated!

The water level in the canal has also increased again and I am really liking the reflections - it is obviously a calm morning:

 

 

The laser cut buildings are not perfect, for example they rely upon printed paper 'wraps' which look Ok but lack any texture such as you get with moulded plasticard, conversely they should be a quick way to populate the area, given that I still have several buildings to complete.

I started with the white building and in my haste I failed to notice that it was assymetric and, ignoring the fairly detailed instructions, I actaully built it inside out! - This was OK until it came to the paper wraps, two of which were of course the wrong way round...........😪 

I decided to apply them back to front as the building needed covering and I thought that I would then attempt to emulate the 'textured, whitewashed stone' effect represented on the paper, but soon after, I realised that SMS also sold sheets of the printed paper separately - so I ordered some and cut & affixed them to match the erroneus sides - this was my 2nd mistake!!

The kits have very nicely printed and close-fitting window & door frames, but with 2 layers of paper wrapped into every side of each opening, instead of 1, of course they won't fit.......

Much cursing and prolonged fine work with a scalpel and they are now going in - but any time advantage is certainly now lost; fortunately the smaller 2nd building is being built correctly.

The overall lesson is of course, RTFM!

Anyway - here is an overview of the developing scene, which is broadly what I had envisaged; this 4 shot panorama does funny things with perspective and has had the effect of sharpening the curve under the bridge:

 

 

So a lot left to do, and I haven't forgotten the external hoist to go on the front of the warehouse, as well as adding several roofs!

 

Tony

Edited July 26 by Tony Teague

[Tony Teague]

An archive pic, not previously shown - all quiet on Churminster Shed:

 

 

Tony

[Tony Teague]

I finally managed to finish the two laser cut buildings today, and overall I think I am happy with them. Did I save any time over scratch building - a little, but are the results as good - probably not, given also that I enjoy that process.

 

 

The whitewashed stone canalside stables / workshop now looks reasonable given that I built it completely incorrectly to start with; I added gutters & downpipes front & rear as I felt they were needed, but later found that a representation of guttering was included in the kit, but not in the instructions, so even had I read them I might not have known they were there. I quite like the uneven roof finish which is achieved through each strip of slates beng separately applied to rafters beneath, and I also replaced the chimneys with cast ones from my spares box. The second building is a tiny lock-up but having 'dark brick' wrappers it was quite tricky to hide the joins since they are printed on white paper (picture at end of post).

 

I have of course got many card kit buidings on the layout, of fairly ancient vintage, and these are certainly a step up from those, however, if I compare these latest results with those acheived through scratch building, then there is no question in my mind that I prefer the latter; examples of these, all built & painted by me, are Churminster Goods Shed:

 

 

St Giles Church, Stowe Magna:

 

 

The Brewey Tap public house:

 

 

and Churminster loco-shed - which is built around an original Metcalfe model of which only the internal structure remaains:

 

 

When buying the two laser cut kits I acquired a couple more as I felt that they would fit in well with the Old Churminster 'ambience' that I was trying to generate, and I will certainly go ahead and build them to fill the spaces fairly rapidly, but whether they will be the final implementation or whether they will get replaced later is anyone's guess. In the end they will certainly have saved  some time.

 

 

The job now is to complete the surrounding scenery so that these get the chance to blend in!

 

Tony

 

[Tony Teague]

Whatever I am doing on the layout, I always find the need for distraction and this has been no exception!

First we have a new addition to stock in the shape of Hornby's latest SR Lord Nelson, No.864 'Sir Martin Frobisher':

 

 

Ordered a mere 3 years ago, I never did understand why, with such well-received new tooling, Hornby had not done more to exploit their investment. The first release included 2 BR liveried locos and just one in SR olive, although this lacked smoke deflectors. At the time I acquired two of the models, fitted both with 3D printed deflectors, and re-numbered one from No.851 'Sir Francis Drake' to No.858 'Lord Duncan', but it was two further years before a third SR liveried model was announced, and then 3 more years for it to be delivered this week; perhaps this model was one of those involved & delayed in their change of factories - but who knows?

 

 

Anyway it is a fine model, and these images show it straight out of the box during test running; it now needs fitting with some bits and pieces, plus a crew, coal and headcode discs before entering the running fleet, however, there is a slight problem..........

 

 

No.864 is already in the operational fleet! This is the old Bachmann model and although it has their split chassis with tooling dating from 1992 it is (in my view) nicely weathered (but then I did it!), nevertheless the wheels, motion and many other details are coarse by compatison with the new model.

Conversely it has a good weight and hauls well - it is currently coupled to my  fairly heavy, BSL/Phoenix Ocean Liner set - whilst I have yet to test the haulage capabilities of the new model.

 

 

So the jury is out!

 

Given that I am not likely to get much for a weathered, split chassis Bachmann model, the odds are that I will retain it (along with several other Bachmann Nelsons), but whether to re-number & re-name one of the two, or just make sure that they don't both appear at the same time, again, who knows?

 

My second distraction has been towards a rather longer term project in that I decided some time ago to build a model of a Royal Train that ran on 19th July 1938 to carry King George & Queen Elizabeth from Victoria to Dover, returning on 22nd July. One of the four Pullman cars required, plus a bogie luggage van was available RTR from Hornby, whilst a second Pullman could be achieved through a simple name change - so far so good!

 

Unfortunately the two remaing Pullman cars were Guard Parlour 1sts, a model not produced by Hornby, nor likely to be - so I acquired the correct etches from Worsley Works to be applied to suitable donor vehicles, and these have then sat in my roundtuit heap for rather a long time!

 

I have applied donor sides to a coach before, but looking at what is involved here, one can see that almost every window of the donor is in the wrong place - and this also means that the internal tables will not easily be aligned to the new windows:

 

 

Having detached the body from the chassis, the further complication of the donor being fitted with lights also becomes clear.............:

 

 

........oh, and there are two of these to be completed - so I may take some time!

 

Nevertheless, in for a penny etc, so next it will be out with the dremel for some serious destruction.......

 

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

Given that I am not likely to get much for a weathered, split chassis Bachmann model, the odds are that I will retain it (along with several other Bachmann Nelsons), but whether to re-number & re-name one of the two, or just make sure that they don't both appear at the same time, again, who knows?

On the basis of maximising resale value, I'd leave the new one as is and give the old one a new identity.

[Tony Wright]

11 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

Whatever I am doing on the layout, I always find the need for distraction and this has been no exception!

First we have a new addition to stock in the shape of Hornby's latest SR Lord Nelson, No.864 'Sir Martin Frobisher':

 

 

Ordered a mere 3 years ago, I never did understand why, with such well-received new tooling, Hornby had not done more to exploit their investment. The first release included 2 BR liveried locos and just one in SR olive, although this lacked smoke deflectors. At the time I acquired two of the models, fitted both with 3D printed deflectors, and re-numbered one from No.851 'Sir Francis Drake' to No.858 'Lord Duncan', but it was two further years before a third SR liveried model was announced, and then 3 more years for it to be delivered this week; perhaps this model was one of those involved & delayed in their change of factories - but who knows?

 

 

Anyway it is a fine model, and these images show it straight out of the box during test running; it now needs fitting with some bits and pieces, plus a crew, coal and headcode discs before entering the running fleet, however, there is a slight problem..........

 

 

No.864 is already in the operational fleet! This is the old Bachmann model and although it has their split chassis with tooling dating from 1992 it is (in my view) nicely weathered (but then I did it!), nevertheless the wheels, motion and many other details are coarse by compatison with the new model.

Conversely it has a good weight and hauls well - it is currently coupled to my  fairly heavy, BSL/Phoenix Ocean Liner set - whilst I have yet to test the haulage capabilities of the new model.

 

 

So the jury is out!

 

Given that I am not likely to get much for a weathered, split chassis Bachmann model, the odds are that I will retain it (along with several other Bachmann Nelsons), but whether to re-number & re-name one of the two, or just make sure that they don't both appear at the same time, again, who knows?

 

My second distraction has been towards a rather longer term project in that I decided some time ago to build a model of a Royal Train that ran on 19th July 1938 to carry King George & Queen Elizabeth from Victoria to Dover, returning on 22nd July. One of the four Pullman cars required, plus a bogie luggage van was available RTR from Hornby, whilst a second Pullman could be achieved through a simple name change - so far so good!

 

Unfortunately the two remaing Pullman cars were Guard Parlour 1sts, a model not produced by Hornby, nor likely to be - so I acquired the correct etches from Worsley Works to be applied to suitable donor vehicles, and these have then sat in my roundtuit heap for rather a long time!

 

I have applied donor sides to a coach before, but looking at what is involved here, one can see that almost every window of the donor is in the wrong place - and this also means that the internal tables will not easily be aligned to the new windows:

 

 

Having detached the body from the chassis, the further complication of the donor being fitted with lights also becomes clear.............:

 

 

........oh, and there are two of these to be completed - so I may take some time!

 

Nevertheless, in for a penny etc, so next it will be out with the dremel for some serious destruction.......

 

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good morning Tony,

 

I'd do what St. Enodoc suggests, and renumber/rename the original Bachmann one; it should be easy enough to rematch the weathering.

 

With regard to the Pullman conversion, I've done several of these, and where lighting is concerned I just remove the lot. Since Bytham's running sequence covers the 12 hours from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, in high summer, then it's unlikely that any lights in the cars would be on; and, almost invisible if they were. The pick-ups for the lights act as 'brakes' on the axles, anyway, and, in my view, are best dispensed with.  

 

Where interiors don't line up, I've 'cheated'. By that I mean, I acquired some more second-generation Hornby Pullman cars (the Parlour First and Parlour Brake Third; those of the right length but with too-short bogies) for the sole purpose of using the interiors as a sort of 'cut-&-shut' technique to match the insides of any converted cars. The ones to look out for are older, glossy and with a curious rendition of the umber/cream - the cream being almost yellow. This means they're cheaper; even cheaper if they're tatty! The interiors are just plain white, and even in tatty examples will probably be unharmed. Other tatty examples were used as donors, of course. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Teague]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

On the basis of maximising resale value, I'd leave the new one as is and give the old one a new identity.

Yes, if I re-number at all it will be the Bachmann one.

I am philosophic about value as I consider all of my train set purchases as being consumables for my enjoyment!

My executors can worry about value.......

Tony

[Tony Teague]

3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Tony,

 

I'd do what St. Enodoc suggests, and renumber/rename the original Bachmann one; it should be easy enough to rematch the weathering.

 

With regard to the Pullman conversion, I've done several of these, and where lighting is concerned I just remove the lot. Since Bytham's running sequence covers the 12 hours from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, in high summer, then it's unlikely that any lights in the cars would be on; and, almost invisible if they were. The pick-ups for the lights act as 'brakes' on the axles, anyway, and, in my view, are best dispensed with.  

 

Where interiors don't line up, I've 'cheated'. By that I mean, I acquired some more second-generation Hornby Pullman cars (the Parlour First and Parlour Brake Third; those of the right length but with too-short bogies) for the sole purpose of using the interiors as a sort of 'cut-&-shut' technique to match the insides of any converted cars. The ones to look out for are older, glossy and with a curious rendition of the umber/cream - the cream being almost yellow. This means they're cheaper; even cheaper if they're tatty! The interiors are just plain white, and even in tatty examples will probably be unharmed. Other tatty examples were used as donors, of course. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Morning Tony

Thanks for responding; I tend to agree on Pullman lights and will dispense with them.

The Worsley etches are more or less a complete body kit, rather than just replacement sides and so one option might be to use the donor roof and chassis, build a complete brass 'box' to go between them and dispense with the plastic sides altogether, but I intend to think about this carefully as there is not much wrong with the Hornby ends and doors, and I'd want to maximise the strength of the resulting coach.

Tony

[Tony Teague]

Having given due notice of impending destruction..................those of a nervous disposition should look away!

 

 

The Pullman car formerly known as 'Ibis' took some bad punishment from the Dremel, but was starting on it's journey to becoming Pullman Guard Parlour 'Montana', however, I decided that I needed to be a bit more drastic if I was to be able to re-glaze the car without too many problems and so more of the window pillars had to go:

 

 

It doesn't look pretty but even then, I think I will need to widen the slots just a little more to give the new glazing sufficient room to adhere to; in any event, what will hapen after that, once the 2nd side has been butchered, is shown below:

 

 

I suspect my biggest problem may lie in matchng the livery of the two other Hornby cars; I have acquired the relevant Railmatch paints but the Pullman umber is looking a bit pale.......we shall see.

 

 

My decision to run with the exisiting ends of the Hornby donors was reached after I compared the doors on the Worsley Works etch with drawings I had obtained from the Pullman Society; these clearly show that the Guard Parlour cars had squared off windows in the doors, whereas both the Hornby and Worsley doors are oval shaped - so nothing to be gained from changing them:

 

 

(Anyway I won't tell anyone if you don't!).

 

 

Meanwhile, over in Old Churminster, a third Scale Model Scenery building has been taking shape:

 

 

It represents an old cottage situated on a plot that was there long before either the canal or the railway came, but has since been surrounded by both, plus the proximity of the ugly quarry building across the tracks - all in the name of progress!

 

 

Being the 3rd such kit that I have assembeled it has gone together a lot more easily, however I still have a lot of reservations about this approach and although I have one further kit to hand I am unlikely to acquire more. I won't bore the reader unless anyone really wants to know why!

 

Finally, in yet another stock acquisition, Buleid Merchant Navy no.21C17 'Belgian Marine' has arrived:

 

 

I know, I didn't need it, but I saw it for sale by auction and one just cannot have too many Bulleid Pacifics - or indeed, loco's for that matter!

 

The model seems to be DJH factory built (it is numbered underneath); the body is very heavy white metal whilst it has a 5-pole open motor. There were a few problems on arrival - it ran but only sluggishly, however, after a good wheel clean and oiling, that has been cured and with it's weight I am hopeful that it will pull well. The representation of the brake gear is made of wire and at least one joint on either side has become unsoldered, which is also an easy fix, however I suspect that given my 2'6" radius curves the ejector pipes may have to go, or be shortened.

 

I have a question, however, for those more knowledgeable than I - which is, should the wheels be the sort of dark gray that they are? I looked this up in bothe the Irwell 'Book of the Merchant Navys" - which said nothing on the subject that I could find, and then in the HMRS livery bible "Southern Style"  - and this seemed to say that the wheels should be green! Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

 

Finally, two other problems remain - as above you can see that at some point the loco appears to have had a hard landing on it's front right buffer beam, which has sheared off, and secondly, the loco => tender coupling has been broken at some point and will have to be replaced. I don't regard either of these as insurmountable and so with luck I will have acquired a further Merchant Navy for less than the cost of a new, unbuilt kit without wheels, motor or gearbox - or for perhaps a tenth of the cost of having had one professionally built!

Hurrah!

 

Tony

 

 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

Tony,

 

Have you considered / heard of Precision Labels? John does excellent stick on sides matched to Hornby colours which can make the conversion really easy. I did this conversion in Coulsdon Works a few years back

 

The labels are on his website here.

http://www.precisionlabels.com/sl6.html?
 

I hope this is useful.

 

Andy