John Isherwood

Correction - the final sheet was completed this evening ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Correction - the final sheet was completed this evening ! Regards, John Isherwood.

Paul, www.gwr.org.uk/notes/brakeallocations.doc As indicated, I have had to assume that some 1940s allocations survived into BR days, but there is evidence that some allocations were very longstanding. Regards, John Isherwood.

Lousy weather in Cornwall - so two more sheets today. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Lousy weather in Cornwall - so two more sheets today. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

You can get them smaller and cheaper than that; http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231512665104?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT !! Yep - I bought some, and with the cams carefully ground off, they run very smoothly. The problem is not power, it's weight; the 6mm. dia. motor has more than enough of the former. Those of us who've tried it agree that a scale Wickham cannot be made heavy enough to attain reliable pick-up or efficient traction. The wheels spin - when there is intermittent contact - but they can't grip the rails because of insufficient friction. (I will find a use for those micromotors - I just don't know what it is at present) !! Regards, John Isherwood.

I had intended writing-up the construction of the powered trolley from the N Brass Loco kit, and so I took some photos of the components. In the latter photo, two of the supplied wheels have been removed from their axle, and fitted to brass tube sleeves to fit the motor / gearbox axle. I hope that it is evident just how tiny the Wickham trolley is at true 4mm. scale; below I repeat the drawing to show how the tiny mechanism fills almost the full length of the model. The mechanism has a 6 mm. diameter 1.5 - 4.0 v motor, which I hoped eventually to replace with a similar sized 12 v motor. However, I was sufficiently committed to this project to purchase the components to build a 0 - 3 v variable / reversible battery controller - which actually drove the mechanism very well as a free-runner. But - it was not to be; (unless, of course, you know better .............. )!! Regards, John Isherwood.

The 'actual size' was printed on the kit instructions - which I reproduced to no particular scale. This kit is, without a shadow of a doubt, some of the finest etching that I have encountered - even the gear lever is etched to scale; so thin in the shank that it is no more visible than a human hair !! The clutch pedal is a two part component with a mortise and tenon joint between the two parts. Having soldered the joint, you then solder the pedal in place in the footwell !! As a test piece of one's ability to remove items from the fret, manipulate the parts without them pinging off into oblivion, and solder them in place, it is unsurpassed !! Regards, John Isherwood.

I will confess to being a former nay-sayer; I now know better. For my money, the Bachmann model is still a no-no, but Bachmann clearly think that there is a viable market for it. At least I now know why Bachmann have done what thay have done, and I too challenge anyone reading this to produce a truly 4mm. scale Wickham Type 27 trolley that is self-propelling in a realistic way, and that does not require a permanent, non-authentic trailer. I genuinely hope that someone succeeds as I will immediately copy their design. That said, I know of one of the acknowledged 'experts' in this hobby who tried the same project that I did, and also failed. Regards, John Isherwood.

Paul, A typo - since corrected. I knew that I could rely on my expert proof-readers; I'm getting a bit bleary-eyed with this mammoth project !! I've just checked the downloaded allocation list that I used; the typo. was in there - though I should have picked it up! Regards, John.

'Fraid not - this level of coverage for BR alone is quite an undertaking. Sorry, John Isherwood.

Another day - another couple of sheets; (at least this wet weather is good for something)! Available now - details on my website soon. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Another day - another couple of sheets; (at least this wet weather is good for something)! Available now - details on my website soon. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Well - proof it exists, at last !! This is a partly completed build of the test etch, which has been considerably upgraded in anticipation of it's commercial release. Suffice to say that the final chassis will be much more comprehensive that the first version that I saw. I understand that those who will be responsible for marketing this chassis are very enthusiastic about the project, and I think that it is fair to say that we are now much closer to being able to purchase it. When it is available, I will be writing a build blog here of a model of GT3, utilising all of the available components from the various suppliers. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

Two more sheets today - BL166C and BL166D-G. As usual, these are available now, and will appear on my website dreckly - as they say here in Cornwall. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Two more sheets today - BL166C and BL166D-G. As usual, these are available now, and will appear on my website dreckly - as they say here in Cornwall. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Well - there's been a steady stream of requests for BR-WR 'TOAD' transfers for at least fifteen years, but I was deterred by the research required. A list member brought to my attention the GWR Modelling list of allocations at www.gwr.org.uk/notes/brakeallocations.doc , so I got to work this afternoon. Above are the first two sheets of what I intend to alphabetic coverage of BR-WR 'TOAD' brakevan allocations. The allocations are taken from the GWR Modelling list, and some are dated to the 1940s; I have assumed that those that I used survived through into the BR period. If anyone knows to the contrary, and can offer an alternative, I will amend the sheet as appropriate. Any other comments would be welcome; these first two sheets are available now at £7.00 each, including UK P&P, for 2, 3, 3.5 & 4mm. scales; S scale - £14.00; 7mm. scale - £21.00; Gauge 1 - £28.00 Further sheets in this series will appear on my website as time permits ! Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Well - a quiet afternoon so I set to work !! Above are the first two sheets of what I intend to be alphabetic coverage of BR-WR 'TOAD' brakevan allocations. The allocations are taken from the GWR Modelling list, and some are dated to the 1940s; I have assumed that those that I used survived through into the BR period. If anyone knows to the contrary, and can offer an alternative, I will amend the sheet as appropriate. Any other comments would be welcome; these first two sheets are available now at £7.00 each, including UK P&P, for 2, 3, 3.5 & 4mm. scales; S scale - £14.00; 7mm. scale - £21.00; Gauge 1 - £28.00 Further sheets in this series will appear on my website as time permits ! Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. cctrans@hotmail.com cctrans.org.uk

Brian, Thank you for that - extremely useful ! The shunters' truck document was the basis for my transfer sheets for shunters' trucks; but I hadn't come across the brakevan document before. I'll have to look into what is possible. Regards, John.

Related to Mark's researches; if any list member has researched brake van allocations / routes for a particular geographical area, with sufficient markings to fill a sheet such as BL164 above, I would be prepared to consider adding such a sheet to my list. Regards, John Isherwood.

Mark, Sheet BL164 - Transfers for BR brakevan working restrictions; (Carmarthen and Llanelli area). Nine different working instructions are included. Allocation lettering for twenty-seven brake vans. 4mm. scale price is £7.00 As you will see, the working instructions are specific to the Carmarthen and Llanelli area. The problem with brakevan allocations is that there were hundreds - and everyone wants different ones. ..... plus, as far as I am aware, there is no documentary record of precisely how the instructions were worded. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

The numerically subsequent 1/507 B955230 was also a PADDINGTON RU :- (If anyone claims copyright of the above photos, and objects to them being posted here, I'll remove them). Regards, John Isherwood.

My observations :- upper photo - to my eye - definitely blue on yellow for the long panel; LA 277 - quite possibly all subsidiary lettering in black; though the background to the commuted charge CC and star appears to be blue as opposed to the black of the NON POOL panel; straight discharge pipes on the later LA 277, together with revised suspension and solebar strengthening plates; the 1/507 brakevan B955229 appears, in later life, in PB's photo archive. I am sure there are many other things to note - but that'll do for now. Regards, John Isherwood.

I thought that it was a model weathered by Hornby ........... Regards, John Isherwood.

Well - I indicated earlier in this thread that I had cancelled my pre-order for the Wickham trolley on seeing Bachmann's photos with the chunky powered trailer. Not wishing to forego a trolley, though, I ordered an etched kit from http://www.nbrasslocos.co.uk/ooloco.html . I also came across and ordered http://shop.kkpmo.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=G64M660P&XTCsid=433c8a6f4305797a110ba679a2d926e7, thinking that, from the stated dimensions, it might just fit the kit. Well - it did. However, the chassis in the kit required 1.5 x 1.0 mm. channel to be bent up from etched nickel silver - do-able but with some inevitable distortion. Moreover, having reduced the inner channels to allow a central 6.0 mm. wide slot for the motor / gearbox to fit in, the chassis became impossibly flimsy. So - I decided to build a much more substantial chassis using milled brass channel section and bar; this would have the additional advantage of making the chassis much heavier. I also assembled the roof for the trolley and filled the underside with sheet lead, allowing it to project a little below the lower edge of the roof. I sculpted the edges of the projection to give the appearance of the rolled and strapped canvas side screens. The chassis was assembled with no problems, and the motor / gearbox fitted like the proverbial glove. As the drawing above suggested, it appeared that most / all of the mechanism could be contained within the etched engine casing. Bench running from a 1.5 v supply via a 50 ohm potentiometer demonstrated very controllable operation with a reasonable top speed. (I hoped, eventually, to source a 6 mm. diameter 12 v replacement motor). However, having fitted pick-ups, everything started to go downhill !! Try as I might, and having trialled all sorts of pick-ups, I simply could not get reliable power pick-up or any decent traction, even with the solid brass chassis and the lead-filled roof. It rapidly became obvious why Bachmann have been forced to pursue the 'pushed by the chunky trailer' approach to their Wickham trolley. I don't like to give up on a project, but this will be one of the few to date; I will complete the kit as an unpowered scenic feature, to stand on a siding or refuge rails. A shame, but some things are not to be ! Funnily enough, the only previous project abandonment that springs to mind was a 1980s attempt to motorise a Liliput (now Bachmann) Matisa using an N-scale motor bogie; similar problems and the same outcome. Perhaps I should have learned my lesson first time round. Regards, John Isherwood.