James' workbench- ex-GC locos and stock in OO

[Tony west]

Worsley works do sets of scratch aid kits for Parker stock, six types in all including the Buffet car. You can also specify the original beaded lower bodysides or the modified 'panelled' lower sides fitted from about 1904 onwards....just a thought !!.

[jwealleans]

Any news on the castings for those?

[James Harrison]

Worsley works do sets of scratch aid kits for Parker stock, six types in all including the Buffet car. You can also specify the original beaded lower bodysides or the modified 'panelled' lower sides fitted from about 1904 onwards....just a thought !!.

Certainly worth considering... trouble is last time I used a soldering iron I picked it up by the hot end! (Yes, I can be that bone headed...) If I were building several rakes of these then I think however I would go down that route. The Triang carriages need so much alteration that the job is practically a scratchbuild anyway- nothing can be used as-is.

The sides are pretty much finished now; the last of the beading/ upper panelling was applied last night and the window bars (for want of better description) were added. Once they've been painted (question- post 1907 were they stripped of all paint and turned to varnished teak [oak?] or simply painted a dark brown?), I'll glaze them. Now attention can turn variously to the underframes, the interior and the roof.

[Tony west]

Regarding the post 1907 finish. I have a photo ( sorry but don't have permission to post it here ) taken of a brake first that shows very clearly a grained finish. Now whether that is a scumbled or varnished natural finish is open to question bearing in mind these coaches would have been built with mahogany cladding. either way it looks a very deep and rich finish. The real surprise was that all the panelling appears to be lined . Whether that is in gold or a 'gold like' paint is also open to debate but it does add up to a very handsome finish.
Please pm me James re the photo.
Cheers Tony.

[James Harrison]

I've been looking at Volumes 2 and 3 of Dow's Great Central over the weekend. It seems that once my 1898 stock is built I will still have a bit of a gap; a series of 50' stock built 1903/04 that looks rather similar to the 45' vehicles, save that the roof profile is elliptical rather than flattened.

I am now wondering whether Ratio LNWR 50' kits might be useful for bashing; reusing the roof, ends and underframes and scratchbashing new sides. Hmm...

[James Harrison]

Well, the sides are practically finished. It is the interior that is going to take time now!



Corridor side



Compartment side

The beading and panelling was done in 0.5mm styrene strip and sheet. I scumbled the teak with Humbrol #83 (a light brown) as an undercoat and #113 (mid brown) for the grain. It's darker than I'm used to but paintings and photographs of GCR stock suggest a much darker, richer colour tham GNR or LNER practice.

[73082gibbers]

That looks absolutely stunning James! Hard to think that that coach started off as a Tri-Ang mk1(?) as a pseudo Caley coach !

Nathan..

[James Harrison]

Thank you (it is starting to look even better now that I am starting work on the interior- the original donor carriage had absolutely nothing inside!)

[James Harrison]

Well, I have finished the interior (using plastic sheet for a false floor and the compartments and balsa for the seats) and then started on the roof. I decided the best way to do the roof was to make a false ceiling from plastic sheet, use some thick styrene strip (2mm square) to run a pair of 'keels' along the length of it, and then do the roof proper in paper which allowed me to curve it properly. There are still a few areas to tidy up and then I have to fit the roof vents and the like, but I do think it looks rather good.









I was clearing out a cupboard a few days ago and found another pair of Caley coaches I forgot I had!- therefore I can build a total of four 1898 Parker carriages, and a pair of the Edwardian 50' arc roof versions. I have no idea which ones I shall be building yet, other than one will be a van composite and another a brake third. I have a drawing for a Parker buffet car, but I believe they had all been converted to third class kitchens by aroud 1920.

[James Harrison]

I have also been drawing up my build programme for 2016.

What with my decision earlier this year to backdate my period from 1925 to 1920 means a lot of my models will need at the very least repainting, and provides a welcome opportunity to rebuild and improve some of my earliest stock.

Therefore I do not see much new construction for the coming year.

Locomotives

Pollitt 4-4-0 #5858 (scratchbuild)- will be repainted from LNER green into GCR green as #858. I recently bought a volume of Yeadon's for the GCR 4-4-0s which has a very useful broadside shot of this exact locomotive, which shows that I will need to build a new smokebox and saddle for this engine.

Robinson B3 'Lord Faringdon'- will be repainted into GCR green as-built in 1917. I will also be investigating rebuilding the front end to follow more closely the prototype.

Pollitt 0-6-0s- I have a pair of whitemetal kits. One of them needs to be fitted with a new chassis and also requires a new tender. The other just needs a repaint.

Robinson 0-6-0- my BEC whitemetal kit will be repainted in GCR livery. I am also considering replacing the cab on it- I may be contacting Bachmann enquiring as to a spare J11 cab.

Suburban tank engines (Parker 2-4-2, Robinson 4-4-2, Robinson 4-6-2) Each of these will be repainted in GCR livery. The A5 will also be receiving new cab side sheets.

Robinson 4-4-2 'Jersey Lily'- Both my C4 and C5 will be repainted in GCR livery.

Robinson 4-4-0 'Director'- 'Purdon Viccars' will be repainted in GCR livery.

Rolling Stock

- Parker 48' stock and similar 50' stock. As noted in my previous post I am planning three of the former and two of the latter.

- Robinson post-1910 mainline stock. I have a rake of four Graham Farish mainline carriages waiting to be detailed and repainted to resemble the later Robinson mainline stock.

- 1903 Ashbury suburban stock. I have five Ratio kits for Midland suburban carriages to be converted into GCR suburbans. The underframes and sides can be used as-is, new ends and roofs will be required for the three-arc roof profile.

[James Harrison]

Whilst I've been working on my Parker all first over the Christmas break, I've gotten about 2/3 of the way through detailing the roof and became rather tired of cutting and gluing miniscule pieces of plastic sheet and sprue. So I set it aside a little while and decided to have a go at something I've been thinking about for quite some time.

I'm still experimenting with couplings; I am very happy with Kadees for my coaching stock but at anything up to £5 per packet (and one packet does two coaches) extending them to cover freight stock as well looks to be quite expensive, not to mention which to my eye it doesn't quite look right. No, the idea I went for was to use Kadees on passenger stock and NPCS and three-links on goods vehicles.

It just so happened that over Christmas I was able to put this plan into action. I have a rake of three secondhand scratchbuilt covered vans that required rebuilding; just about everything was wrong on them even down to the direction of the planking. In addition to which the existing chassis were life-expired.

I ordered a couple of Ratio underframe kits just before Christmas and whilst I was waiting for them to arrive I took the opportunity to rebuild the bodies. Once the new underframes were built, I fitted them up with some three link couplings. They're very fiddly to build up and I have also found on the brake van and three vans I've fitted with them that the supplied springs and split pins have been unneccessary or impossible to fit, but I do like the more convincing coupling they provide.

[James Harrison]

I have *finally* gotten around to finishing a few things, and taking photographs...

First up:





Parker 48' all-first. Now completed! The roof arc isn't quite right for the 1898 stock, but matches the 1905 vehicles. It does however mean for the other 1898 carriages I have planned, I have to reconsider how to form the roof.

The Christmas Project:





A trip of archaic covered vans, for which I had to completely replace the chassis and wheels and do some minor bodywork. They are largely complete save for lettering, I have a few ideas for how to go about that (not having any GCR freight stock transfers to hand) but they're an 'aroundtuit' project.

A rare ready to use purchase:



Four open wagons in GC markings (only two of these have the right-sized 'G C' on them and the other two need to be looked at when I get 'aroundtuit').

[Tony west]

James,
Quainton road models has stocks of the ex R&E models GCR transfers in 4mm.
Cheers Tony.

[James Harrison]

Thanks Tony; I had noticed them now and again on Ebay before now but never got around to actually buying any! Order duly put in...

[James Harrison]

Right, GCR wagon transfers have arrived so I guess my next quick project will be to finish the three covered vans and two opens. This then will neatly lead on to a rebuild of my GCR 20-ton six wheel brakevan.

Meanwhile, these last few weeks I've been repainting the second of my 11E Directors, #430 Purdon Viccars. I've perservered with my homebrew cabside lining and I think got an improved result. With further practice of course it will get better yet.







Now my next project (wagons notwithstanding) shall, I think, be at least one of the 1903 suburbans I planned for last year and never got around to.