West End Workbench

[jwealleans]

Moved these forward slightly and even found time while visiting Aberdeen to start a pair of Ian Kirk kits which I've had for I daren't think how long.

The van benefited from one of a new (?) range of brake levers which 51L/Wizard have started to do. Shoes, etc from ABS.



The open is very much as supplied. It makes up into a nice vehicle.



This NB van was a bit of a sod to put together. I replaced the two part floor, but ended up with a plank-sized depression at each corner which I had to use Evergreen strip to fill. I've just noticed one of the axleboxes is cockeyed as well.



This Boplate has had a new floor, interior planking scribed in, replacement trussing and brake levers, additional brake rigging and most prominent the door springs (Masokits) which are very prominent on the prototype but neither provided nor mentioned in the kit. They need cutting down a little but they do make quite a difference to the appearance.

[jwealleans]

Some loose ends to tidy up tonight. GC van had broken the brake lever. 51L do a very nice etch of that sort of thing which was just the ticket.



Then a Chivers Loco coal wagon which was missing a solebar. A bit of plastruct, plastic offcuts, rivet transfers and you'd never tell the difference (in a very poor light and facing away from it).



As the other solebar and bearing were already in place, I cut a Comet (I think) W iron unit in half and used that to hold the wheelsets. The Brassmasters jig is to hold it all square, although their 12' and the kit's were slightly at variance. I had to tweak it when almost set.



Here with MJT RCH axleboxes, some springs I had left over and buffers, end grab rails, etc. I found some Parkside brake gear of the right wheelbase and once levers, etc and the bar between the W irons are in place it won't be far away.

[jwealleans]

After a lengthy break I hope to have a bit of a burst of activity on the WB over the holidays. Over the last couple of evenings I've been catching up some half-started projects. I have two more milk tanks to put together from the Hornby original. Here I've used the Mainly Trains etch of LNER vacuum brake gear to add brake shoes, rigging, etc to the chassis.



The starting point is a Hornby GWR vehicle as it's the cheapest I could find. The replacement vac cylinder is a Parkside leftover.

Another idea I've been holding onto for a while was a conversion of the LNER cattle wagon into a GNR one. First job is to remove the doors and that's presently as far as it has got.

[Frazmataz]

Nice work there jwealleans =) I was going to had a go at the GN cattle truck conversion, but I haven't got round to getting hold of a donor kit I eagerly await the results of you work

[jwealleans]

Moved the cattle truck on a ways yesterday. I made up a new door and then cut the sides to fit. I had meant to make the door slightly over size to compensate for the side panels being slightly short, but I forgot. By a triumph of luck over judgement it's finished up 3 mm shorter than the LNER one, which is about right.



The kit also gives you the end posts as a separate component so I've stuck all of the Parkside ones at one end. That way there won't be such a contrast with the ones I'll have to make for the other.



Here it is with two LNER ones from the same kit to show the differences so far.



Today I went back to the Bill Bedford BG which has been calling to me for months to build it. This is the last of the rake of GE 50' coaches I started last year. It's interesting to compare manufacturers as all the rest of these which I've built have been from Worsley Works. Bill's etches are on slightly thinner brass and there were one or two ragged edges on droplights and panelling. You do get more components, though, and ultimately the body you produce is more detailed. To be fair to Allen Doherty he only professes to produce aids to scratchbuilding, while Bill's is the body only option from a full kit. So far I'd be hard pressed to choose between them.

[CVR1865]

jwealleans: What colour did you use on the ex ger coaches?

All looking really good by the way.

[jwealleans]

The first two were basically Precision LNER coach teak P60 with a little Humbrol brown (I don't quite recall which one) mixed in just to vary the shade slightly. I then read something by Dan Pinnock in which he described the shade as close to Humbrol 133. The second two are much more that kind of colour, though again I mixed different Humbrol browns (62, 186, 98) with it to vary it. I also tried picking out doors and some panels in a different shade to simulate patch painting. I'm less happy about the second two although it may be that I just don't like the colour. I shall be weathering them soon and that should blend the different shades more and help the effect.

[jwealleans]

Various things on hold awaiting bits... I turned my attention to ferry vans, which I have been researching for a few weeks as a kind of project. The first one I decided to have a go at is the ex-ROD 20T design which were acquired after WW I by the Belgian 'Societe Belgo-Anglaise des Ferry-Boats' and used on cross-channel traffic. This will be my first completely scratchbuilt vehicle. The prototype build has revealed some errors in dimensions when I've scaled it from drawings and photos so it has been a worthwhile exercise.








I have, thanks to the generosity of a number of contacts, accumulated quite a collection of drawings from different countries so I may have a go at something Continental once I'm happy with this van.

[jwealleans]

A few things I've been fiddling on with this week - a weathered 'Britannia' for Thurston - it's the new Hornby one and hasn't had anything done except a severe application of muck, which was them removed with a cotton bud and T-Cut to try to give a cleaned, in service look.





While I had that out I took the opportunity to run the GE rake with the new BG included. It is higher than the others - Bill's end etch is more domed than the Worsley Works one - but once that attractive yellow colour has gone and especially in a mixed rake I don't expect it will show. Photos on the Ormesby Hall layout Corfe incidentally.



I've also found time to have a go at an Italian ferry van - an Hgb insulated van from 1931 if you want to be precise - and for a first scratchbuild I'm pretty pleased with it. I've had to do some unspeakable things to the contrast settings on this shot so the white-on-white detailing shows at all.



Incidentally these carried painted lettering reading 'On hire to LNER - Not in Common User - Return to Harwich (LNER)'. I have also seen some requiring return to 'Dover (LNER)' - presumably there were sidings and/or an office there for handling this traffic?

Finally ands just to show I've not forgotten it, the GN cattle van now with end posts. From 60 thou square strip, glued and allowed to set and then all filed down together as suggested by John Hayes. It certainly works.

[CVR1865]

Lovely looking brit. I have the same model and they are wonderful, sadly mine took a dive off the edge, they don't bounce.

[jwealleans]

They are a lovely model and it looks the part on a rake of Bachmann Mark 1s.

I've been applying rivets to the Italian van and also fabricated (in almost every sense of the word) some brake gear. I have a diagram for this but it's so incredibly complicated and in the main invisible that I settled for some suggestive looking rods and pipes and left it at that. I now need to source some UIC buffers and arrange transfers.





The GN cattle van has had new end posts and I applied most of the rivet detail yesterday. Much of what I had stuck on before had fallen off so I made sure a coat of primer went on this time to hold them in place. The camera rather shows up my strapping as well - must be neater next time. This is now also stuck awaiting appropriate axleboxes/springs from ABS.

[jwealleans]

I have been quite busy working and travelling, so the ferry vans haven't moved on as quickly as I might have liked. I have also been building another 5 to go with the one shown above, which has slowed overall progress down as I've done a bit to each one in turn. Plus the one I started to build from the wrong drawing... anyway, it's all useful practice.

The original hasn't moved on very far - I've added securing loops and vac upstands and got the roof on, but it's really awaiting the transfers.





Buffers are from Andy Hart of the SNCF Society - guilty as I felt about removing some of the details from what were really nice castings, they do look the part now. The distinctive hole in the centre also had to go (hence the filler you'll see all over them).

I decided to try to get at least one moved on to about the same stage this weekend just to convince myself that I WILL have them done by Kidderminster. This is a very similar van to the first one, post war, with brakeman's hut.





Same buffers, axleboxes are a BR welded plate one from 51L with most of the rear details hacked off, springs left over from the milk tank project and brake gear, etc from (where else) the Mainly Trains LNER etch. This one awaits underframe fittings but I stocked up from Andrew H at Harrogate. She's now ready for a test flight on Monday night.

It has been a bit of a revelation researching these - how common they were at one time, how many shuttled backwards and forwards across the channel and how many countries we had direct links with in those pre-tunnel days. It makes fascinating reading.

[Frazmataz]

Stunning work there, great job!

[jwealleans]

After a weekend and a week of evenings of detailing and sticking on rivets (thank heavens for those transfers), the whole rake of vans is at the stage of needing roofs and transfers. I usually like to test run them before putting the lid on in case they need extra weight but I may have to forego that in the interests of having them ready for Kidderminster.



Two matchboarded ones from just post war. The one on the left has conventional axleboxes and springing (or will, when the springs turn up) while the one on the right has roller bearings and will have the curious double spring arrangement which most of the later builds of these vans had. Roller bearings are from an Andrew Hartshorne casting.



Another matchboarded one, this the one with brake cabin from back upthread.



The next development of the design - smooth sided (my Italian isn't good enough to tell you whether the sides are ply or aluminium). Again, roller bearings and the twin springing.



A variant of the above. I'm not sure when these doors started to be applied as the photo I based this one on is relatively recent. It makes a bit of variety in the rake, though and also makes use of the door of the Dapol kit.



The prototype, now awaiting some detail painting and the transfers. The livery is just great. Red stripes from an HMRS BR coach sheet.



Finally, for anyone who might like to have a go, this is how I did the undergubbins. The W iron units are Comet, wheels are Hornby 12mm disc ones liberated from under a coach somewhere. The V hanger units are also Comet, sold for coaches. Westinghouse cylinder is 51L, as is (I think) the vac cylinder. If it isn't it's Mainly Trains. The brake shoes are also Mainly Trains. The rest of it is wire and imagination. The more I see drawings of the brake gear on these things, the more of a mare's nest it looks to me.

[jwealleans]

Transfers have now arrived - a wonderful job by John Peck - so it's all hands to the pumps to get these ready for Kidderminster in a fortnight.