Tempus Fugit - Pete Insole's workbench oddities and other things

[Peter Insole]

Tom, here are a handful of pics for the memories!

The beastie is still more or less intact, but somewhat sealed away up in the loft now!



In our dreams we can still go all the way through to Ongar!

Not sure what two grandsons and a granddaughter will think of it though?

Would it be a bit too old fashioned for them?!

Pete.

 

[cmax]

Peter,

That's looks superb, far too good to be sealed up in the loft!.

Gary

 

[Peter Insole]

Thank you Gary, but we live in a very small house and having to manoeuvre around this quite large object was testing my wife's patience!

It had already been partly dismantled to get it up the stairs, although for the life of me I cannot remember how on earth I managed to even get it that far? When a ceiling had to be replaced the opportunity was taken to lift and guide it between two displaced joists into it's preferred and final location.

I'm afraid that it might have to be cut into much smaller sections in order to retrieve it now?! Might be interesting to see how an estate agent would describe such a peculiar feature of the property though?

Amongst various other odd things that is...

...ahem, ahem!!

Pete.

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

Amongst various other odd things that is...

Don't be so hard on yourself Pete
Tim

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Would it be a bit too old fashioned for them?!

I doubt it - if there are buttons to push and handles to turn they'll love it. I wish I had that cab as a toy.

 

[Peter Insole]

Perhaps it is just as well that I never got round to fitting the whistle for push button operation?

If I ever fix it for the next generation it could yet drive the neighbours to distraction!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

Way back in the late eighties, I discovered that there was an affordable, for me at least, way of obtaining a live steam locomotive. Perchance also, my parents had at the same time bought a holiday caravan on a site at East Runton in Norfolk. We would therefore become regular visitors to the area, and rather conveniently nearby in Bodham, a company was trading in 16mm scale models. Thus one day I found myself not only the proud owner of a little Merlin "Monarch" 0-4-0 saddle tank, but with a commission to illustrate the next edition of the Brandbright catalogue !

Having settled on a "House" style by doing the box art and an exploded diagram for one of the company's latest kits, I then began my main task of drawing their more established products.

Amongst them were the earliest home produced PS1 and PS13 kits. The former was based upon an Irish, Schull & Skibereen Railway coach while the latter was a freelance brake designed as a companion.



As you might see from my scribbled annotation on the above illustration; I was even back then vaguely aware of some similarity between PS1 and the stock of a curious little Mediterranean island railway?

I have witnessed and been involved with the changes over the intervening years from the old fashioned methods of draughtsmanship and manufacturing by hand to my friend's pioneering use of CAD and laser cutting products. ​

After all the highs and lows, projects realised or regrettably abandoned and doing hundreds of drawings for them, my dear friends Richard and Shirley have now recently retired.

Given the obvious benefits of digital media, I was quite surprised to be asked to carry on with tradition by the new proprietor of the business?

Apart from a couple of additional wagons, the new Brandbright range has nothing fresh to offer the market, and so I suggested that it might be good idea to have a carriage or two to launch this year?

Recent personal life events have brought me to thinking in "full circle" terms, so I rather fancied revisiting the old original PS1, only this time it should be an "all singing, all dancing", laser cut, super scale beauty ?

How about a proper Malta Railway job, like this...?



The cardboard mock up sold it...!

Then the fun really started ?!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

Did I ever think for one moment that it would be a relatively straightforward task to track down any original drawings - where even potentially suspect general arrangements might have been a helpful starting point ?

Nah! As the search continued, it became all the more apparent that there was not only a frustrating lack of material evidence available, but amongst that which had survived there was an awful lot of depressingly dire misinformation !

Yes, dear reader, please beware of all those who would profess to be experts - and yes again, guilty as charged, I must include myself in that statement !!

Although there is still way too much guesswork for my own liking, I am now at last reasonably confident that the little Malta Railway vehicles originated from the "Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Co.", Birmingham, in 1883.

It now also appears that the Malta Railway order for nine of them may turn out to have been a convenient, and more or less "off the peg" purchase? New Zealand's Gov't and railway companies were acquiring large numbers of near identical, standard "D class" carriages (mainly just the difference between Malta's 1 metre and NZ 3' 6'' gauge) and a variety of goods wagons built on the same or slightly modified chassis - all during the same period, from 1883 onwards !



Ah-hah, thought I ?! That therefore must surely mean more than enough information should be readily available ?

Would anyone believe it ? Even more murky misnomers and measuring errors abound to confuse and confound the unwary it would seem !

In mitigation, perhaps I should point out that only one Malta body (sans chassis) has survived:- Formerly used as a garden shed, restored, rotted and re-restored, each time losing a little of it's authenticity, and three New Zealand versions, owned by different parties: Two former PW Dept., much modified but mostly complete examples, sadly still quietly rotting away, and one superbly immaculate body that has (it would appear anyway) been mounted on a slightly longer (probably ex goods wagon?) chassis. Oh, I nearly forgot there was a naked "D" chassis as an NZ fourth, that had at some time had been converted into a wagon, someone had salvaged, then dismantled with good intent, but to this day it remains only as a pile of bits !!

Needless to say; I find the temptation to get completely carried away with research is utterly irresistible.

Only after way too much fussing about, I was able to send some useable drawings to Richard, (So much for his retirement ?!) to work up in CAD. He would then send the files for cutting to Brandbright, now down at Blandford Forum, and those new parts would be forwarded to me, in Suffolk, to see if I could successfully stick it all together.

Too much mileage as well as punctuation in the previous sentence ?

With a little over one week remaining before the vital 16mm AGM at Peterborough, a box of untested prototype, laser cut plywood parts arrived by post...


There would be no time for procrastination either !

Pete.

 

[Brian McKenzie]

Peter,
I asked John Agnew, New Zealand's foremost researcher of NZ passenger cars (coaches) for any advice he could offer:

"The importations of D cars from Blighty were 1872 -1879, with a wee batch of 4 for Whangarei in late 1880 from the Midland Car Co. See my "NZ Railfan" magazine series 6.2012 for part 2 of the D cars. And yes the Malta Railway had NZR lookalikes".

I don't have the magazine. Should I try to find a copy?

-Brian McK.

 

[Peter Insole]

Thank you Brian for the tips - sorry it has taken me a while to reply.

Yes, I got the dates wrong !! Nothing new there then ?!

It is interesting to note that Midland built some in 1880. I have been under the impression that the design originated from Oldbury Carriage and Wagon, though I have not been able to confirm that. Would I be wrong in thinking that a number of D types were subsequently home built in NZ workshops as well ?

I am still reasonably confident that (despite what the authors of at least two books on the subject have to say?) the majority of the original Maltese ones were indeed from Oldbury, with a smaller follow on batch supplied by the Swansea Wagon Co. This level and degree of apparent cooperation, or otherwise blatant plagiarism between competitive companies is quite fascinating!

Then there is the question of contemporary NZ, F type Brake vans to accompany the little D's: Who on earth built those first examples...???

To add to the great mystery; a couple of published photo's reveal what is almost certainly a brake van attached to the inaugural Malta Railway train? Yet there is no mention anywhere that one ever existed at all. Frustratingly, the images are far too awkward and vague to provide any clues of origin either.

Although the Brandbright carriage is now a "done deal" as it were, merely awaiting the kit instructions and illustrations for the boxes, I continue to be interested !

While I have taken great care to ensure a level of accuracy, and accepted the inevitable manufacturing compromises, I derive much comfort in the knowledge that the plywood construction will be readily adaptable - and ripe for any modifications, updates and additions necessary !!

Pete.

 

[Peter Insole]

I really need to have a clear out around the workbench ! Dare I start though?

Meantime, here are a few pics of the carriage from before Peterborough and Albury. Putting them up now will at least enable me to start clearing the laptop...?!


The interior planking detail is very fine - perhaps slightly too much so in this case ? The partition and ends on this kit represent those of Third and Second class vehicles. They were Deal tongue and groove planked, painted and Light Oak grained on the originals.

I ended up highlighting by scribing all the horizontal joints with a 4H pencil before applying any finish.


Ends and partitions are also triple layered, with optional cut-out sections on the inner to allow customers the choice between quick, rigidly fixed or fully working, slidey doors.

The sides are similarly treated, so that with a bit of fiddly care, the droplights can be made to drop as well...!




Guess which options I prefer...??


There were only a couple of minor misses that slipped through the net: - A short stepped section on the joint edge of the balconies to form outer door thresholds were forgotten in the grand plans, leaving an embarrassing daylight gap, as well as very overly flappy sliders!

Of course, only noticed after gluing up the assemblies, the problem was easily remedied (and disguised for the show) by a pair of narrow strips cut from the waste fret of the outer skins. Once dropped and glued in place, the slightly raised lip thus created could possibly be preferable to a plain engraved line, but that's how it will have to be?!

The tab pockets and stanchion 'oles on the ends are covered later by a margin board.

Now for the naughty, compromise part:


Needs must, and all that...?

I'm afraid that these days we are faced with three choices in this field? Go for an all singing, all dancing, no holds barred, top of the range job; Cheap and cheerful - reasonably so anyway, or just give up and not bother at all in the face of plastic, straight out of the box and play...?

The cost of producing some handsome castings for the axleguards was unfortunately considered unjustifiable. Besides that, the competition seem to be merrily going the same way in 16mm?

Mmm, I really don't like it at all.

Integral, laser cut plywood W irons and axleboxes ? Once the wheels are fitted they become horribly permanent - an absolute wotnit if damaged in any way..? What about oil eh?! Garden railway, live steam hauled stock tends to get drenched in the stuff...!


The scale of this carriage is admittedly a bit cheeky. 40mm diameter, split spoke wheels running on 53mm (for Malta) or 56mm gauge track (New Zealand) would be correct for this stock, but none are either available, nor practical. 32mm being the common choice over 45, which latter might be just about acceptable, determines the order of the day!

I decided that the pinch and permanence was a step too far, so set the solebars in the 45mm slots, and then rigged a simple steel lash-up for the bearings!

The carriage could then be displayed on the Brandbright stand, occupying the same set of rails as a Roundhouse "Lady Anne" as well as any other rolling stock for comparison.



I am still happy to forgive the forced errors though - especially as the body has turned out to be a nicely delicate, and indeed fine representation of the prototype.

More later...

Pete.

 

[Tom Insole]

I really need to have a clear out around the workbench ! Dare I start though?

Meantime, here are a few pics of the carriage from before Peterborough and Albury. Putting them up now will at least enable me to start clearing the laptop...?!

View attachment 103175
The interior planking detail is very fine - perhaps slightly too much so in this case ? The partition and ends on this kit represent those of Third and Second class vehicles. They were Deal tongue and groove planked, painted and Light Oak grained on the originals.

I ended up highlighting by scribing all the horizontal joints with a 4H pencil before applying any finish.

View attachment 103176
Ends and partitions are also triple layered, with optional cut-out sections on the inner to allow customers the choice between quick, rigidly fixed or fully working, slidey doors.

The sides are similarly treated, so that with a bit of fiddly care, the droplights can be made to drop as well...!



View attachment 103177
Guess which options I prefer...??

View attachment 103178
There were only a couple of minor misses that slipped through the net: - A short stepped section on the joint edge of the balconies to form outer door thresholds were forgotten in the grand plans, leaving an embarrassing daylight gap, as well as very overly flappy sliders!

Of course, only noticed after gluing up the assemblies, the problem was easily remedied (and disguised for the show) by a pair of narrow strips cut from the waste fret of the outer skins. Once dropped and glued in place, the slightly raised lip thus created could possibly be preferable to a plain engraved line, but that's how it will have to be?!

The tab pockets and stanchion 'oles on the ends are covered later by a margin board.

Now for the naughty, compromise part:

View attachment 103181
Needs must, and all that...?

I'm afraid that these days we are faced with three choices in this field? Go for an all singing, all dancing, no holds barred, top of the range job; Cheap and cheerful - reasonably so anyway, or just give up and not bother at all in the face of plastic, straight out of the box and play...?

The cost of producing some handsome castings for the axleguards was unfortunately considered unjustifiable. Besides that, the competition seem to be merrily going the same way in 16mm?

Mmm, I really don't like it at all.

Integral, laser cut plywood W irons and axleboxes ? Once the wheels are fitted they become horribly permanent - an absolute wotnit if damaged in any way..? What about oil eh?! Garden railway, live steam hauled stock tends to get drenched in the stuff...!

View attachment 103181
The scale of this carriage is admittedly a bit cheeky. 40mm diameter, split spoke wheels running on 53mm (for Malta) or 56mm gauge track (New Zealand) would be correct for this stock, but none are either available, nor practical. 32mm being the common choice over 45, which latter might be just about acceptable, determines the order of the day!

I decided that the pinch and permanence was a step too far, so set the solebars in the 45mm slots, and then rigged a simple steel lash-up for the bearings!

The carriage could then be displayed on the Brandbright stand, occupying the same set of rails as a Roundhouse "Lady Anne" as well as any other rolling stock for comparison.

View attachment 103182View attachment 103188

I am still happy to forgive the forced errors though - especially as the body has turned out to be a nicely delicate, and indeed fine representation of the prototype.

More later...

Pete.

Still can’t believe just how well it scaled with little old “Lady Anne” on the stand, perfectly aligned rooftops that made her look like she was made to haul these fine carriages...

Looking forward to getting to see the next edition to the rake of carriages

 

[Peter Insole]

Thanks Tom, and yes, I'm just looking forward to seeing a little rake of these, let alone any new ones as well !!

Here are a few more pics to bring this up to date:

The main purpose in my part of the exercise was to test build for the instructions. I knew that Richard was also making one up, with the intention of being able to compare notes and share comments and observations as the work progressed. I got a bit carried away with the desire to make something presentable for it's first public exhibition though.

While my friend had expressed concern that he would not get his one finished in time, he did manage to, albeit by a squeak, and by his own admission, courtesy of some good old fashioned Selotape! In retrospect, it may have been better if I had concentrated on working up all the assemblies and details and leave the whole in plain wood finish. Instead, I decided that mine needed to look pretty in pink as well!



Pink...? Not quite, but nearer than you might think...!

Advised that the other one was to be in something like Malta green, I plumped for New Zealand red livery.

I believe it should be a sort of "Russet" shade; but is anything like that available in rattle can ? Instead of wearing my sensible hat, and doing a bit of research, I nipped down to my local and bought a couple of tins by colour name and label. Oh, what fool that I am: Will I ever learn listen to my own advice...??

Two full cans and far too many quid lighter, I now possess some lovely, but utterly useless Rose Pink and Madder paint! Fortunately, I still had just enough deep, purplish-red stuff that I should have made use of in the first place?

Still, the pretty bit more or less applies...?



The doors in varnished, mock Teak work reasonably well, but could have done with the brass wire handles to make them easier to get hold of and move!

There was only just enough time to get some Teak round the interior door frames, along with a hasty representation of the classic "Light Oak" scumble finish (that for generations had been more or less standard practice on all passenger stock) applied.


For the time being, all the interior sections are only held in place by snug fit. Full use of this was taken for demonstration at Peterborough and Albury, so it is all getting rather scratched and battered now.

I really must crack on soon with those instructions that I'm supposed to be writing...!

Pete.

 

[Brian McKenzie]

It is interesting to note that Midland built some in 1880. I have been under the impression that the design originated from Oldbury Carriage and Wagon, though I have not been able to confirm that. Would I be wrong in thinking that a number of D types were subsequently home built in NZ workshops as well ?

Peter,
I eventually accessed a copy of NZ Railfan for June 2012 - but then discovered I really needed the preceding issue (March 2012) for details of the early 4-wheel coaches exported to New Zealand.

Author, John Agnew recapped in the June issue that he had written of coaches supplied by The Railway Carriage Co. Ltd., Oldbury; The Gloucester Waggon Co. Ltd.; Metropolitan Railway Carriage & Waggon Ltd., Saltley; and The Midland Railway Carriage & Waggon Co. Ltd. There was also a one-off carriage from "B. S. V. A. Co. Ltd" - that John understands is probably British Standards V. Association (V for ?). He was greatly assisted by the book Tramcar, Carriage, and Wagon Builders of Birmingham by J H Price 1982.

Many of these vehicles would have been for 4' 8-1/2" and 5' 3" gauges, before the realisation that all the early railways would eventually interconnect - and should be all to 3' 6" gauge - by which time local production was well underway. The 5' 3" gauge rolling stock was sold to the South Australian government, but sadly was all lost in the wreck of the iron clad sailing ship Hydrabad in 1878.

Great job on the 16mm scale model. I especially like the interior view .

-Brian McK.

 

[Peter Insole]

Heather referred a while ago in one of her posts to a "Black dog" that visits, and I fully empathise. Mine is more like a Grizzly bear though! He is still around at the moment, but isn't crashing about and growling quite so loudly, so I'm taking the opportunity to try and get a little bit of work done ?!

To all my friends and fellow WT'ers, please forgive me for not replying to this or any other postings lately.

Pete.

 

[Heather Kay]

Mine is more like a Grizzly bear though!

I haven’t had a full-on session, where Muttley insists it’s not worth bothering to get up, dress or feed myself, for quite a time now - thankfully. There are still days which are dark, but a good kitten video on YouTube can often help dispel the mood a bit.

It’s a Good Thing, I think, that mental health is not as much of a taboo these days. I found life much simpler once I accepted the situation for what it was and I could find coping strategies.

 

[Neil]

.... It’s a Good Thing, I think, that mental health is not as much of a taboo these days. I found life much simpler once I accepted the situation for what it was and I could find coping strategies.

Wholeheartedly agree. The more we can break the taboos surrounding mental heath problems the better. I suspect that some might worry that this will lead to WT looking like a tabloid agony aunt's column. However I suspect that when we can talk about the brain going wrong with no more stigma than the rest of the body we won't have to dwell on the subject apart from wishing a speedy recovery.

 

[mickoo]

I think the symptom runs much deeper, across a larger proportion of the population, than the vast majority of people are prepared to accept.

Having been 'there' 15 years ago (on the back of a harassment and bullying case) and being very fortunate to work for my present company that helped 'fix' me....you're never really fixed....I can say it's not a place I'd wish anyone to be.

I keep telling my manager, the situation is not an issue until the candidate can no longer deal with it, that's when the problems really start to occur.

This place, believe it or not, is a bloody good fix.

 

[Pencarrow]

I can fully appreciate what Pete, Heather, Mick and others have gone through. I've had a few minor periods of blackdog over the years but this year decided it would be nice to have a full on episode. This knocked me completely for six and has taken quite an effort to even feel remotely "normal" again.



Seeing and appreciating sights like this help.

 

[adrian]

Wholeheartedly agree. The more we can break the taboos surrounding mental heath problems the better. I suspect that some might worry that this will lead to WT looking like a tabloid agony aunt's column. However I suspect that when we can talk about the brain going wrong with no more stigma than the rest of the body we won't have to dwell on the subject apart from wishing a speedy recovery.

Another wholeheartedly agree from me. After a significant and very concerning deterioration in my eldest lad's behaviour when he was young he was eventually diagnosed with a severe socialised anxiety disorder. We have been completely open about the issue and I'd like to think he is managing the issue well but the battles with the schools to recognise the issue have been difficult to say the least. As you say there is a stigma with discussing mental issues, so if anyone is suffering from this invisible illness you have my sympathy. I'm not sure I can claim to understand as I don't think I've had first hand experience but I hope like the modelling on WT we can be supportive.