Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[MrWolf]

10 hours ago, Fishplate said:

 

Yes, very nice to see the layout in its entirety. 

 

Thanks, I'll try taking some panoramic views, may have to stick an elbow out of the window and a foot in the kitchen.

 

10 hours ago, Fishplate said:

 

The £1000 fine in 1930's seems a bit harsh relative to annual pay 😂

 

There was another one which said: Penalty for stealing this sign £5.

 

£2 off a car boot sale, no awkward questions asked.

 

10 hours ago, Fishplate said:

Is the layout in its final position? May be the angle of the photo, but the wall looks very close to the left hand end fiddle yard exit. Having just gone through cassette / sector plate/traverser options myself, just curious what your cunning plan is for your f/yard 🤔. 

 

The scenic part of Aston is 12' long on three boards. When built, it was housed in a room 20'6" X 12'0". The fiddle yards were 4' long but not very practical as they weren't really long enough for points and sidings.

 

They also became a dumping ground for tools and materials - sound familiar?

As the new room is only 17'6" X 13', the fiddle yards have been retired, with some relief in fact.

 

The layout will be shuffled around a foot to the right and a pair of lightweight and very narrow curved boards will exit either end of the layout, carrying a single track.

 

These will connect with the walls either end of the layout and run onto a shelf containing a removable cassette of sorts.

One will run over the back of the Bench Of Bodge, the other across a bookcase filled with fusty old manuals, parts lists and tech books.

 

I've fixed another bookcase above this for some of the Memsahib's books whilst leaving a fiendishly train sized gap between the two, carefully braced just in case the cardboard walls of our apartment can't handle heavy reading.

 

[MrWolf]

There's been a lot of discussion and posting of pictures of Granges on some of the threads I follow.

 

Unfortunately I don't have any Granges, as nice as they are and the weight restrictions on the branch would bar them anyway.

 

Aston does have a Hall though...

 

Just to the left of the building is a track which runs up behind the hall, this is on the edge of the layout and my bit of fiction begins on the other side of it.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by MrWolf

[John Besley]

Good to see some more posts on your topic, I got worried that you might have fallen in the River Clun or something 

Edited July 26, 2023 by John Besley

[wiggoforgold]

Loving the dust covers. Didn’t think I would be spending the first part of Saturday morning thinking about dust covers, but there you go.

Alex

[MrWolf]

Thanks, I'll be getting the bits and pieces organised to locate them at the weekend.

 

In other unfinished business, progress had stalled on the T3 wagons due to a lack of super glue. None of the usual places had anything. I actually found some in the local Sainsbury's having gone in for tea and milk.

 

(If Miss R doesn't get a cup of tea first thing in the morning, millions will perish and the armies of darkness will march across the face of the earth etc etc....)

 

What I found was Gorilla superglue which comes with both a nozzle and a brush, this was really handy to paint a thin coat onto the top of the solebars before pressing in the floor.

I'd fitted the couplings and buffer stocks in that order, next I'll fit the steel buffers from H&A Models and give the whole thing a thin coat of Halfords grey primer.

 

 

Almost an entire train, along with the glue that made it happen. Aston's bus deterrent lurks in the background awaiting a minor canopy repair.

[MrWolf]

Buffers before bedtime.

 

[Schooner]

Tidy chain links, very nice.

[Graham T]

Speaking of three links, do you have a magnetised uncoupling tool Rob @MrWolf?  If so, what did you use for the business end?  I've bought some magnetised links and want to start using those (although I'm not looking forward to adding them to all the stock that already has three links...)

 

 

[Captain Kernow]

1 hour ago, Graham T said:

Speaking of three links, do you have a magnetised uncoupling tool Rob @MrWolf?  If so, what did you use for the business end?  I've bought some magnetised links and want to start using those (although I'm not looking forward to adding them to all the stock that already has three links...)

I use magnetic three links and you really have to make your own uncoupling hook, as I'm not aware of any available to buy.

 

You first of all need some small magnets, either 1mm dia x 1mm long or (preferably) 1mm (dia) x 2mm long, such as these - https://www.first4magnets.com/circular-disc-rod-c34/1mm-dia-x-2mm-thick-n42-neodymium-magnets-0-03kg-pull-p3623#ps_0_3776|ps_1_2906

 

The tricky bit is to form a very small brass tube, from very thin metal, to encase both the 1mm diameter magnet and the end of a 1mm diameter piece of brass rod. The top part of the thin brass tube that you make up will then be fixed to the end of the brass rod, ideally soldered.

 

It doesn't seem to matter if the thin brass tube covers all of the side of the magnet. You'd be surprised how powerful even a 1mm x 1mm or 1mm x 2mm magnet is, easily powerful enough to life the end link on a 3-link or screw link coupling.

 

The 1mm diameter brass rod (say no longer than about 6 inches) forms your shunters pole and is ideally attached to a slim pen torch. If your 1mm diameter brass rod is a bit longer, say 8 or 9 inches, then it can be easily affixed to the exterior of the pen torch using a couple of cable grips, pulled very tight.

 

Here's 'one I made earlier':

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Captain Kernow

[Graham T]

39 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

I use magnetic three links and you really have to make your own uncoupling hook, as I'm not aware of any available to buy.

 

You first of all need some small magnets, either 1mm dia x 1mm long or (preferably) 1mm (dia) x 2mm long, such as these - https://www.first4magnets.com/circular-disc-rod-c34/1mm-dia-x-2mm-thick-n42-neodymium-magnets-0-03kg-pull-p3623#ps_0_3776|ps_1_2906

 

The tricky bit is to form a very small brass tube, from very thin metal, to encase both the 1mm diameter magnet and the end of a 1mm diameter piece of brass rod. The top part of the thin brass tube that you make up will then be fixed to the end of the brass rod, ideally soldered.

 

It doesn't seem to matter if the thin brass tube covers all of the side of the magnet. You'd be surprised how powerful even a 1mm x 1mm or 1mm x 2mm magnet is, easily powerful enough to life the end link on a 3-link or screw link coupling.

 

The 1mm diameter brass rod (say no longer than about 6 inches) forms your shunters pole and is ideally attached to a slim pen torch. If your 1mm diameter brass rod is a bit longer, say 8 or 9 inches, then it can be easily affixed to the exterior of the pen torch using a couple of cable grips, pulled very tight.

 

Here's 'one I made earlier':

 

 

Thanks for that Captain K.  Is the magnet held in the brass tube just as an interference fit then?  Do you think it might be possible to fix the magnet to the brass rod using CA glue?

 

[Schooner]

Notes from a newbie:

 

In the shorter term, if you wanna have a play today, my own early experiments showed good results with gently magnetising the end of a scribe (using one of those magnetic clamps @Mikkel recommender a while back and which I think Rob also uses). So good that I replaced the S&Ws on all wagons within reach with 3 links on the spot and haven't looked back!

 

I'm still using a scribe, 'tho happily acknowledge it's not perfect. The key for me is that it is not too strongly magnetic (otherwise you lose control of what gets attracted*) and with an end finer than the coupling hook shank is long. This means you can always get the tip of the scribe (with coupling chain link attached) over the tip of the hook and simply 'wipe' the link onto it. Likewise for getting the link off again on hooks with a strong return to the tip.

 

I'll be following Oh Captain My Captain's advice for the Mk.II, but also having a go with something finer still - perhaps a dulled blade. Other general advice is to have only a single magnetic link as the final one of the three. Saves money and significant improvement in ease of use.

 

 

 

*Story of my life, but for another time

[Graham T]

3 hours ago, Schooner said:

Notes from a newbie:

 

In the shorter term, if you wanna have a play today, my own early experiments showed good results with gently magnetising the end of a scribe (using one of those magnetic clamps @Mikkel recommender a while back and which I think Rob also uses). So good that I replaced the S&Ws on all wagons within reach with 3 links on the spot and haven't looked back!

 

I'm still using a scribe, 'tho happily acknowledge it's not perfect. The key for me is that it is not too strongly magnetic (otherwise you lose control of what gets attracted*) and with an end finer than the coupling hook shank is long. This means you can always get the tip of the scribe (with coupling chain link attached) over the tip of the hook and simply 'wipe' the link onto it. Likewise for getting the link off again on hooks with a strong return to the tip.

 

I'll be following Oh Captain My Captain's advice for the Mk.II, but also having a go with something finer still - perhaps a dulled blade. Other general advice is to have only a single magnetic link as the final one of the three. Saves money and significant improvement in ease of use.

 

 

 

*Story of my life, but for another time

 

I went for the ultra-simple version in the end (KISS is always a good principle to go by, I find).  Just a piece of slim steel rod stroked against a magnet a few times, and then fixed to a piece of bamboo kitchen skewer with insulation tape.  Now I can much more easily couple and uncouple without having to resort to using my reading glasses or a penlight - win!

 

All that remains is to change the end links on all my other wagons for magnetic ones...  🙃

 

Sorry about the thread hijack Herr von W!

 

[MrWolf]

Thanks all, not a hijack at all, more like useful and informative contributions whilst I am having something of a slow period in layout construction. 😎

[Captain Kernow]

The magnet cannot be attached to the end of the brass rod just by glue alone, it is likely to get knocked off in practical use. But mine is glued to the inside face of the thin brass sleeve.

 

The point about only the end link being magnetised is also very important, otherwise it's virtually impossible to couple with any degree of reliability!

 

[MrWolf]

Speaking of three link couplings, I was reminded to add them to this:

 

 

It's been sitting on the bench for a while sans bogies. It's an old Dapol (Ex Mainline?) GWR Bogie Bolster A. Found amongst the car boot tat for £1, it was missing a coupling and painted in BR livery. Naturally the plastic stakes were missing but that's not exactly a loss!

I've already got one somewhere in GW livery, so they will join the timber workings.

 

Modifications have been limited to cutting the coupling brackets off the bogies, fitting Slater's 3 links and carving off the 'orrible moulded on brake lever. New levers are 3d printed by @chuffinghell as part of the wagons we've been developing.

 

I'll get it liveried up with the CC7 and the T3s.

 

If that flat wagon is not modelling on a budget I don't know what is!

[Nick C]

12 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Speaking of three link couplings, I was reminded to add them to this:

 

 

It's been sitting on the bench for a while sans bogies. It's an old Dapol (Ex Mainline?) GWR Bogie Bolster A. Found amongst the car boot tat for £1, it was missing a coupling and painted in BR livery. Naturally the plastic stakes were missing but that's not exactly a loss!

I've already got one somewhere in GW livery, so they will join the timber workings.

 

Modifications have been limited to cutting the coupling brackets off the bogies, fitting Slater's 3 links and carving off the 'orrible moulded on brake lever. New levers are 3d printed by @chuffinghell as part of the wagons we've been developing.

 

I'll get it liveried up with the CC7 and the T3s.

 

If that flat wagon is not modelling on a budget I don't know what is!

Those old Mainline wagons still scrub up well, don't they - certainly don't look out of place as 'layout wagons' in a train of modern Bachmann and kit-built stock.

 

My recent 'modelling on a budget' win was picking up three Bachmann wagons for under a tenner each at the Bluebell the other day...

[MrWolf]

They certainly shouldn't be overlooked, if nothing else, they make an excellent guinea pig on which to hone your weathering and painting skills before tackling your locomotives or £40 state of the art wagons.

The decking is in its original paint at present and I will be attempting to emulate the treatment for battered woodwork as per the likes of @NHY 581 and @Bluemonkey presents.... once the transfers are on, which will no doubt lead to revisiting the four Ratio MACAW wagons I have. 

The timber train is my excuse for buying and rebuilding the Oxford Rail six wheel Toad, although it's probably overkill, I like the idea. 😉

[Neal Ball]

34 minutes ago, Nick C said:

Those old Mainline wagons still scrub up well, don't they - certainly don't look out of place as 'layout wagons' in a train of modern Bachmann and kit-built stock.

 

My recent 'modelling on a budget' win was picking up three Bachmann wagons for under a tenner each at the Bluebell the other day...

 

4 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

They certainly shouldn't be overlooked….

No indeed - trains going by, you don’t notice some of the imperfections…..

 

I have started the process of painting Bachmann wagons that don’t fit in with my specific Henley model. These 7 plank wagons will have transfers applied from POW sides for the local Henley coal merchant.

 

Total cost will be around £20 for transfers for 3 wagons - way below the cost of a new wagon.

[MrWolf]

3 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

 

No indeed - trains going by, you don’t notice some of the imperfections…..

 

I have started the process of painting Bachmann wagons that don’t fit in with my specific Henley model. These 7 plank wagons will have transfers applied from POW sides for the local Henley coal merchant.

 

Total cost will be around £20 for transfers for 3 wagons - way below the cost of a new wagon.

 

That's something that I want to look into in the near future, although they will be semi fictional, a couple of kit built PO wagons lettered for Wm. Wain & Co. Timber merchants Aston on Clun, numbered in typical style as 11 and 12. White lettering on black wagons, nothing too flashy.

I'll have to get something drawn up!

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

 

That's something that I want to look into in the near future, although they will be semi fictional, a couple of kit built PO wagons lettered for Wm. Wain & Co. Timber merchants Aston on Clun, numbered in typical style as 11 and 12. White lettering on black wagons, nothing too flashy.

I'll have to get something drawn up!

 

I would suggest No 11 and 55 or similar.

 

It was common practice to show numbers wildly differently as if the business was bigger than it was.

 

Toomer R & co (Henley) had 10 wagons and I bet they are numbered up to 100 or so!

[Compound2632]

4 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Toomer R & co (Henley) had 10 wagons and I bet they are numbered up to 100 or so!

 

According to the article on this firm in Keith Turton's First Collection, the firm was based in Reading and served a large area, extending as far as Nine Elms, and including a contract for supply of Henley gas works until 1915. They ran a large fleet of wagons numbering around a hundred at the turn of the century. It's difficult to judge the total number, as many were hired, some for quite short terms.

 

It wasn't only the small merchants who went in for odd numbering schemes. One of the most curious I've come across, in the Midland PO registers, is a batch of Thomas Moy's wagons registered in 1898: fifty wagons, numbered from 391 downwards to 293 in decrements of 3.

[John Besley]

For the same reason I always run my wagons as odd numbers as it doesn't look to neat and tidy if you had a train of 4 wagons

[The Stationmaster]

6 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

 

I would suggest No 11 and 55 or similar.

 

It was common practice to show numbers wildly differently as if the business was bigger than it was.

 

Toomer R & co (Henley) had 10 wagons and I bet they are numbered up to 100 or so!

Toomers were more than just Henley as they had retail coal businesses in Wokingham, Twyford. Marlow,  Basingstoke, Fleet and Overton.    Their head office was in Reading and I think they were in the coal factor business as well.  I can't confirm it but they might also have dealt with retail coal in Reading

[LittleWesternModelRailway]

The T3 Wagons look fantastic! Whole thing 3d printed and just sprung buffers, bearings, coupling and some wire added? Amazingly well detailed! Where do I get one :D 
(Spending far too much on looking for Rolling Stock rather than actually laying my trackwork :D )

[Neal Ball]

4 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

According to the article on this firm in Keith Turton's First Collection, the firm was based in Reading and served a large area, extending as far as Nine Elms, and including a contract for supply of Henley gas works until 1915. They ran a large fleet of wagons numbering around a hundred at the turn of the century. It's difficult to judge the total number, as many were hired, some for quite short terms.

 

It wasn't only the small merchants who went in for odd numbering schemes. One of the most curious I've come across, in the Midland PO registers, is a batch of Thomas Moy's wagons registered in 1898: fifty wagons, numbered from 391 downwards to 293 in decrements of 3.

 

2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Toomers were more than just Henley as they had retail coal businesses in Wokingham, Twyford. Marlow,  Basingstoke, Fleet and Overton.    Their head office was in Reading and I think they were in the coal factor business as well.  I can't confirm it but they might also have dealt with retail coal in Reading

Thanks both, I must have confused them with another coal factor in the area then!

Thanks again, just shows my 3 planned Toomers wagons won’t be out of place.