Dad-1 - Workbench - West Bay Wagon Works

[Dad-1]

Away from the repair theme, still back with odd things.
In March I was making up a Parkside LNER Dia 207 21 ton Loco Coal wagon. When exploring Paul Bartlett's
photo files (One of the best things on-line) I found a couple of photos of a Dia 207 converted to a Gauge
Wagon. MMM although never intending to have one I've ended up with a few engineers wagons and this was
such a simple thing to do ...... Unless someone can come up with what was fixed inside for working purposes.



Alongside the ex-loco coal wagon, in their latter years they were used for general coal workings. Here my
un-painted 'Gauge Wagon' with the two entrances cut out with their associated grab rails.
Exactly how/what/why is still unknown. Being based in Stratford I wondered if it could even have been used
on some specialist work on the underground - No sign of electrification markings, so never to be used under
the wires. No additional steps added to the solebar indicating that access was to be from platforms.

Sitting in my sidings with a couple of cranes, shark brake, dogfish & catfish ballast wagons, Mermaids plus a
couple of starfish, one GWR one BR, plus loriot, sleeper, and tool van, didn't plan on an engineers corner !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Just a little update.
First I find that my Department wagon had two slits cut at the opposite end to the entrance.
With it built and part painted I had to carefully cut the slits using two hacksaw blades taped
together. Then lay in edging strips before giving a quick covering of grey paint.
I've also found out this wagon - and I think it's unique, has deep axle guards at the slit end.
These need to be constructed and painted black.

From vague information it seems this wagon, when in use, was pushed by a locomotive hence the
need for the guards as I assume this was run over freshly laid/ballasted track. As yet though I
haven't found out what exactly it was used for.

Here it is, with plenty still to do, in what I assume was it's typical environment.



This has been a plunge into the unknown and I've enjoyed it.

As I'm helping run the club's West Bay layout this weekend finishing will have to wait.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

After Chard I'm trying to make up another of my aircraft Vacuum formed kits.
First Chard,



Then the aircraft. With modern technology the vacuum formed kit is relegated to history. A sheet of heated styrene drawn over
wooden moulds with a vacuum. Apart from carving with a knife it was the only way to produce very small volume subjects.





Fine parts ended up as an outline, little more than the thickness of a piece of paper. Making detail parts out of these is not easy.
I shall use brass aero-foil strip to make the main outer wind supports, plastic will be far too weak. I will add some cockpit interior
rib impressions using fine microstrip. That tends to confuse with regards to absolute accuracy !!

This might keep me away from railways for a while .....

Geoff T.

[Peterm]

I do like that layout, Geoff. Is it of the real Chard or fictitious?

[Dad-1]

Hi Peterm,

It is as near to accurate as we could make. One club member was going to climb the hill behind to get
an accurate background, but he's never done it.
It is slightly compressed, mostly the outer siding curved away more, but we would have a lot of space
with nothing much around it. The sidings also came off a little further up, but even in scale dimension
only about 9" but that brought us on to board joins and complications like that.

There was a build thread here,

viewtopic.php?t=53313

That may have a couple of original photos, not checked it out for a very long time.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

When a few people said "Railway Modelling" is dead after the closure of Hatton's.
Many of us said what rubbish, emphatically so !!
Well something is wrong in the world, it MUST be, as here we are with no fresh postings in this thread for nigh on a Month.
This is the Workbench - the place to show your latest modelling project, one outside a specific layout, but usually part of one.
I'll admit that at the present time I'm mostly modelling an aircraft, so here it is so far.



I have also done more railway work ON a layout and will post in the layouts thread later.
BUT where is everybody ?? So little going on, even in the Layouts Under Construction thread.

Geoff T.

[Phred]

Looking at those basic styrene sheets, I wondered how you would produce anything even slightly convincing. But I thought: "wait and see.'

Well, I have waited and I have seen and it's jolly impressive. If I had attempted to cut all those bits out with a craft knife, the household would have run out of band-aids, the swear jar would be overflowing and the whole project would be in the bin.

Mrs Phred has just handed a little box to me and said: 'This looks useful for something.'
This means, of course, that I must make something out of it or be judged ungrateful. I'm starting to get some ideas but the old cogs grind exceedingly slow these days, so it may take a while to start. I'll post it in the scratch building section if it happens.

[Bigmet]

When a few people said "Railway Modelling" is dead after the closure of Hatton's. Many of us said what rubbish, emphatically so !!
Well something is wrong in the world, it MUST be, as here we are with no fresh postings in this thread for nigh on a Month...

There's always something of an observable 'drop off' when spring finally arrives in the UK, and outside activity is more practical. Perhaps the search for new supplies of s/h RTR 'feedstock' has added to the seasonal effect?

I have never paid much attention to the doomsayers, beyond inspecting for relevant evidence. Continuing expansion of RTR choice suggests to me a healthy overall situation for interest in railway modelling. That there will be shifts in interest within that must be accepted, change is a constant.

[Dad-1]

Hi Bigmet,

Always a degree of swirl, I may be drifting back towards doing more aircraft.

In the meantime I decided to start a new kit, my first 'Slaters' kit and I like what I have.
I tend to think of Slaters for 'O' gauge, but they do a few '00' models. My choice was a
LM to LMS 10 Ton van. I wanted something to look old time, I'd have preferred Caledonian,
but old Scottish outline wagons are not an everyday item.



It has decals, but no wheels, slightly more than some competitors products, so what's it like.
Well, you get an A4 sheet printed both sides giving lots of history as well as simple build advice.



I wanted to add some weight and decided the two penny pieces are cheaper than bought ballast,
I used 4, 2 at each end securely located using sprue plastic.



This is a far as I've got - doing a show with my 'Thomas' layout on Sunday and that plus gardening
putting the brakes on.



A real heavy chunky look, just what I wanted to run through my very narrow & deep cutting of
the North Circular layout, with that cutting based on the line into Port Patrick in Stranraer.

Geoff T.

[aleopardstail]

Did a few of the dapol covered vans last time around in OO, they got 2p coins as well, remarkably useful things 2p coins, and 1p coins, have a lot of 28mm Napoleonic models glued to the queens face. got odd looks in a bank withdrawing a tenner in 1p & 2p coins

[Phred]

Bigmet wrote:
There's always something of an observable 'drop off' when spring finally arrives in the UK

Railway modellers have much in common with hedgehogs...

[Dad-1]

Phred,

Laughter is the best start to any day, and you got me going !!

As to weights I did think about using £2 coins, with banks looking at charging for having an account
I though 600 wagons with say 2 coins, that's nigh on 2.5K very safe, only access could be mentally
painful. It would make the family 'work' to access their inheritance.

Geoff T

[Bigmet]

...It would make the family 'work' to access their inheritance.

If that's really your objective, leave the wagons alone for any that might appreciate them, instead cancel any will you have made, and die intestate. That's what my parents did by choice (never had wills, just told me what I was to do) and it has yielded hours of fun over three years to enable sale of their property and full recovery of their investment portfolio; for the specified distribution which is nearing completion...

[Dad-1]

Hi Bigmet,

I'm just too kind hearted, things will have to be organised. Just DON'T ask about the current railway club
committee, organisation ??? Anyway regardless of that, at least I have the keys for tomorrows public meet.

Right the Slaters kit : It's been great, pretty much everything has fitted easily with a nice flat chassis, no rock.

Then the problem - Let's face it making kits without a problem would be just too easy.

The brake gear heavily fouled. I was expecting it to be tight when they recommended Alan Gibson wheels as
these are slightly under size if I recall correctly from an in depth investigation and comparison of the various
wheels sets available that I did many moons ago.
I had thought a scrape would do, but no way. To get clearance from the wheels there would be no brake block,
or hangars left !!

I'm going to cut the brake part in half, then re-join after removing about 2.0 mm. Not exactly difficult, just time
consuming. The question that may now be asked is "Will the ride height be correct" as the Hornby wheel sets I'm
using are slightly larger than those recommended. Well you can judge by yourself, here is the wagon resting
against the buffers of my 'Anna' a Ukrainian colours Ruston DS48.



To my eye as near to correct height as possible. Of note are the kit's metal buffer heads, I love that point !!

Next this will need painting, but until then ............

Geoff T.

[Peterm]

Hi Peterm,

It is as near to accurate as we could make. One club member was going to climb the hill behind to get
an accurate background, but he's never done it.
It is slightly compressed, mostly the outer siding curved away more, but we would have a lot of space
with nothing much around it. The sidings also came off a little further up, but even in scale dimension
only about 9" but that brought us on to board joins and complications like that.

There was a build thread here,

viewtopic.php?t=53313

That may have a couple of original photos, not checked it out for a very long time.

Geoff T.

G'day Geoff,

Thanks for the link to the build thread, and sorry for being so long in replying.