Castle

PS: Funnily enough Miss P, having jus studied that photo, it IS a DD3 and it’s No. 43989! It’s preserved as part of the 813 Fund too! http://www.ws.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ws/WagonInfo.asp?Ref=9646 Due to lots of different liquids being carried, the top bit changed quite a lot from wagon to wagon. Thanks again! Castle

Hi Miss P, That’s a good one! Cheers! Looks like the red paint might need to be applied... All the best, Castle

Hi All, I’m currently researching the DD3 4 wheel tank wagon as built by the GWR between the 1890s and 1910s. They were an unusual vehicle, in that despite the fact that there were only 41 built, they had a wide range of different tasks, hauling a wide range of different liquids, were built over several lots over a relatively long period of time, hence a wide range of variation within the type. The vehicle I am making is of course No. 43949 of 1901 vintage from Didcot and it is another of the vehicles from the 813 Fund that has found sanctuary there. The question is this. I have pictures of these vehicles to look at in I/U service from Mr Bartlett (cheers Paul!). There is a link to this set here: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/gwrtankwagon There are pictures of them in the wagon book in GWR livery but I have no pictures of them with BR livery. I THINK it may well be all on the sole bar and go from right to left: DW439494 (they were always departmental wagons so this is a given I think) 8-18 (the tare weight usually goes at the right side but, many of the wagons in Paul’s pictures have a short obliterated mark in the middle of the sole bar - it’s either the tare or the wheelbase) 3108 GALLS (again, a bit of detective work in Paul’s pictures, some of the wagons have their capacity painted on the extreme right) Does anyone have an image they can look at to confirm or deny this assumption please? If not, are there any opinions on my massive assumption above? Many thanks and all the best, Castle

How do we grade the Railmotor roof?!?* Hat, coat, gone... All the best, Castle *Its rather pleasing to note that No. 93’s roof looks pretty similar at the moment!

Very nice work!

Hi All, If you like liked that one, you will also like the second bit of information that Mr Drew has sent through after reading our thread and allowing the little grey cells to work: “The "structure almost out of shot" is the retaining wall for the ash stowage area - see (very bad) photo [below:]” “The join in the photo is because it was scanned from an advertising pamphlet produced by the Marg. Co that spanned two pages - see [below] for an even worse example.” “The photo vantage point is I guess the signal post adjacent to the shed also shown in the bad photo. - note also the original style fogman's hut for the Brentford Branch Home Signal and the signal post height due to the bad sighting approaching the station (there is still a 5MPH approach to the station to this day!)” Sometimes, it’s not what you know but who you know... I have sent our thanks to Graham for taking the time to interact and help us here. All the best, Castle

Hi All, I wasn’t paying attention to that! Well spotted! I think that everything west of the chimney except the white (?) wall and everything below it including the Railmotor. That much is correct! I’d love to know how they did it - some clever bit of developer art perhaps? A literal cut and paste? Either that or the Photoshop version minus 28 wasn’t as good as the ones we have today... All the best, Castle

Hi Jim, I can answer most of that. It doesn’t take that long to fill the bunker on a Railmotor - it’s just not that big. They also don’t burn a lot of coal so a 20ton coal wagon would have been there for a short while at least. It wouldn’t have been in and out in a day. If it was equipment that was specific to the Railmotor and nothing else then they would have probably carried the basket on the machine as part of the tools that went with the loco and there is plenty of room in the cab to have stashed more than one of them behind the boiler. And finally, ask yourself a question. If you had a fuel that was used all over the country by both companies and private individuals in vast quantities, would you leave it in hanging around in handily moved baskets? Leaving it hanging around in wagons and at sheds is bad enough... I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi All, How about this then? I was sent this by the erstwhile Mr Drew... A Railmotor, actually being coalled at the coal stage! Interestingly in the background is the footbridge on which many decades later, the GWS was founded and as a result, the Railmotor was eventually brought back from the dead! All the best, Castle

HI All, In a massive dose of efficiency, Mr Drew of railmotor fame has got back to me already! “It's the coaling platform for the SRM that use to live in the shed that is just out of shot in the print. If you go to the GWS web site / Links / Railmotor Project / Sheds and enlarge the plan of the Southall Shed you will see the end of the siding and stop block on the far left of the drawing. Coal was unloaded onto the platform from wagons stabled on the shed road, and then later transferred to the SRM in the wicker baskets that were with the SRM (and maybe still are) when it first arrived at DRC DRC do this operation from the coaling platform adjacent to the Branch access point - this serves both BG & NG lines.” So there we are. II hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi Rich, You are a bit like me - 14 projects on the go at once! I guess it’s the default state for the species known as the wild* British railway modeller... All the best, Castle * “Wild? I was furious!” - Gerald the Gorilla

Hi All, The coaling Of No. 93 is done via the use of either (plastic!) bagged coal when we are out and about or large wicker baskets on site. I will send a link to this thread to the guy who masterminded the return to life of Nos. 92 & 93 and get his help as he has been down the rabbit hole on this lot so to speak! Interestingly, the broad gauge locos use a similar platform to refuel at DRC... All the best, Castle

Very nice project there Fatadder! I look forward to seeing this one progress! New RTR should not and indeed must not get in the way of a decent kit build. That way we all have options. I like that the autocorrect has given No. 4703 ‘shifting’ valves (autocorrect gets on my wick too!). I would like to see a shifting valve though - I thought it was called a regulator. Every time I’ve operated one in anger it gets things shifting! And yes, I had to be REAL careful with the autocorrect on the last word of that sentence... All the best, Castle

Hi Ric, Looks like you are right on that although looking at it, it might as well have been built at Swindon from the sole bars down. The bible suggests South Wales Railway origins. Should be eminently ‘bashable’ from Oxford raw materials I would have thought. All more uses for the new TOAD! I like your idea too! All the best, Castle

Hi All, I agree with the Captain here - take it one stage further and use the same company’s matt black afterwards too, inside and out and that will stop any light bleeding through. I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi All, No need to go freelance on this one - there were a few double ended GWR TOADs. There is even a picture in the wagon bible combined edition of a six wheeler with a twin veranda... Go for it guys - get the scalpels out! There is lots of mileage in these Oxford models and, as I have said before, they have made them so easy to dismantle and cheap to buy it’s almost rude not to! All the best, Castle

Sounds more like letting the TOAD out of the works to me Ric... All the best, Castle

That makes you sound like that guy from The Vicar of Dibley... I’ll get my coat. All the best, Castle

Ok Steve - leave it with me! Thanks! All the best, Castle

Hi Mikkel, This sounds like the prompt to do one of your stories! “Raiders from the North” perhaps? I’ll get my coat... All the best, Castle

Cheers OTBL! All the best, Castle

Hi Dave, That looks brilliant - well done! Were the roof boards part of the transfer sheet? It’s the thing I need to complete my set... All the best, Castle

Hi Jonathan, Fox Transfers do a range of different alphabets - including Gill Sans in a range of colours. I use the smallest sizes to do some of the work on my models. https://fox-transfers.co.uk/general-alphabets-linings I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi SS, Thanks - I think the AA7 will be a bit of shorten the roof and interior moulding, chassis cut ‘n’ shut and then new van sides and outer end. Then modify and refit all those lovely detail bits. Should be interesting but I have a few bits in the works before that including finishing the first pair of brakedown train mess and tool vans, I have a RTR bash going on to do a CROCODILE F and another mate has just asked for help with a rather nice lump of resin in the shape of 18100. He has been very good and done all the horrible clean up of the resin parts so I couldn’t say no. Having built 18000, it will be nice to do the other brother! It will keep me busy I suppose. I’ll post the AA7 on here and Little Didcot when I’m finished. All the best, Castle

Hi Mikel, All the best, Castle