4mm Farleigh - Southern Railway in 00, circa early 1930's
- Thread starter Terry
- Start date
Back in post 34 I showed the small piece of scenery which is situated in the fiddle yard to give the impression, when viewed under the bridge, that the scenery continues on the other side. On a whim I decided to extend the scenery further into the fiddle yard. At this rate there will be more scenery in the fiddle yard than on the scenic section!
This is the impression when viewed from the scenic section of the layout..
Two Royal Mail bags have been added to the platform. Courtesy of Dart Castings..
And further detailing has taken place between the tracks in the goods yard..
As far as the scenic side of the layout is concerned, this brings us fairly up to date. Some extra uncoupling magnets have been added beside the yard crane. I have a lovely red telephone box which is intended for the station forecourt. I have it in mind to add some yard lamps, but of late have been distracted by another project (see London Road Sidings).
I would like to continue this thread by giving a flavour of the rolling stock which has found its way to Farleigh.
Terry
This is the impression when viewed from the scenic section of the layout..
Two Royal Mail bags have been added to the platform. Courtesy of Dart Castings..
And further detailing has taken place between the tracks in the goods yard..
As far as the scenic side of the layout is concerned, this brings us fairly up to date. Some extra uncoupling magnets have been added beside the yard crane. I have a lovely red telephone box which is intended for the station forecourt. I have it in mind to add some yard lamps, but of late have been distracted by another project (see London Road Sidings).
4mm - London Road Sidings (formerly Poppy Lane)
I recently described on this forum how I turned a 4ft x 5.5 inch piece of mdf into a layout (of sorts!). It represented a roadside tramway and was basically a single piece of track running lengthways along the board. Named Poppy Lane, this is how it looked in all its glory.. I eventually...
www.westernthunder.co.uk
I would like to continue this thread by giving a flavour of the rolling stock which has found its way to Farleigh.
Terry
The first wagon to roll out of the paint shops is Cambrian Model Rail C33, this being a LBSC/SR open wagon to Southern Railway Diagram D1369. These wagons were originally built with round ends and tarpaulin bars, but in later life a number had the round ends cut down and the tarpaulin bars removed. The kit comes with alternative ends to allow either type to be produced and I opted for the wagon in its original form, round ends with the tarpaulin bar. The kit instructions recommend using either Gibson or Romford wheels but I fitted Kean Maygib wheels and bearings of which I have a number of packs, pre-owned but unopened, bought cheaply a few years ago from our club shop. The assembled wagon was sprayed with Halfords' Grey Primer (acrylic) followed by brush painting with Precision Paints SR Wagon Brown (enamel).
The transfers are from the old PC Models range now available from the Historical Model Railway Society, Sheet 13 - SR wagon insignia (with LSWR, LBSC, & SECR). I prefer 'Methfix' transfers rather than the 'Pressfix' variety as you are able to slide the transfer around until it is in the correct position. The wagon numbers and tare weight numerals are all added individually and it can be a bit taxing in 4mm scale to get them all lined up correctly. Still, I don't think they turned out too badly. Once applied the transfers were given a spray of Testors Dull Cote matt varnish to fix everything in place. The lower part of the wagon was given a light spray of Humbrol brown paint. When dry, the whole wagon was given a wash of thinners containing a small amount of matt black enamel paint.
This wagon subsequently received a home-made wagon sheet..
The next wagon is Cambrian Model Rail's C50 - 10 ton five plank open wagon to Southern Railway Diagram 1380. Built in 1930-31 these wagons were rebuilds using wheels, springs and axleboxes from withdrawn LSWR 10 ton wagons..
Kernow Ex-LSWR 10ton Road Van. And a very nice model too. Weathering required..
I bought this wagon at a model railway show for the bargain price of £6. A basic Dapol wagon in this attractive slightly weathered livery, shown here without the customary drooping Dapol couplings. I bought one with the view that I might try to make it look more realistic and if it didn't work out, well it wasn't the end of the world for the price paid.
If nothing else, the wagon could be improved by dispensing with the unrealistic coal load which was held in place by a large screw centrally on the underside of the chassis. Removing this screw allowed the wagon to be broken down into its component parts of chassis, metal weight, body and coal load. The interior of the body had been painted red during manufacture which wouldn't have been the case in real life, so this was a good place to start. I gave it one coat of a matt cream coloured Humbrol enamel paint to represent the unpainted wood. At this stage, I wasn't sure how high the new load would be so opted to paint the whole depth of the sides and ends.
When dry this was given a wash of thinned black enamel. The outside of the body was also toned down with thinned black enamel paint.
Whilst the interior was drying I decided to make a new coal load. Three pieces of 2mm thick greyboard were glued together thus..
PVA was brushed on and small pieces of kitchen roll were dabbed on with a PVA laden brush to form some undulations..
And small pieces of real coal were sprinkled on to the wet PVA. This was then set aside to dry..
Meanwhile attention was turned to the chassis. The couplings were simply screwed on to two moulded spigots on the underside of the chassis. They were removed and the spigots were cut off. At each end of the underside of the chassis I glued on a Parkside Coupling Mounting Block for Bachmann couplings (now sold by Peco ref. PA34). I attached some short straight Bachmann couplings to replace the original Dapol type..
The height of the bar was checked against my home-made coupling height gauge..
As I will be using the Kirby Coupling on my stock to enable automatic uncoupling, I removed the two coupling hooks and soldered the customary steel staple thereon and bent them to shape. A quick dab of matt black enamel paint soon covered the shiny solder and staples. They are quite unobtrusive once painted.
The coal load was now glued inside the wagon body. The metal weight was positioned on top of the chassis and the body attached with Revell Contacta glue. I removed the wheelsets and painted the wheel rims with matt black enamel paint. The wheels were fixed back in position and the chassis and lower body were given a light spray of Humbrol Dark Brown from a rattle can to add a bit of weathering.
Ready to take its place in the coal siding..
Terry
The transfers are from the old PC Models range now available from the Historical Model Railway Society, Sheet 13 - SR wagon insignia (with LSWR, LBSC, & SECR). I prefer 'Methfix' transfers rather than the 'Pressfix' variety as you are able to slide the transfer around until it is in the correct position. The wagon numbers and tare weight numerals are all added individually and it can be a bit taxing in 4mm scale to get them all lined up correctly. Still, I don't think they turned out too badly. Once applied the transfers were given a spray of Testors Dull Cote matt varnish to fix everything in place. The lower part of the wagon was given a light spray of Humbrol brown paint. When dry, the whole wagon was given a wash of thinners containing a small amount of matt black enamel paint.
This wagon subsequently received a home-made wagon sheet..
The next wagon is Cambrian Model Rail's C50 - 10 ton five plank open wagon to Southern Railway Diagram 1380. Built in 1930-31 these wagons were rebuilds using wheels, springs and axleboxes from withdrawn LSWR 10 ton wagons..
Kernow Ex-LSWR 10ton Road Van. And a very nice model too. Weathering required..
I bought this wagon at a model railway show for the bargain price of £6. A basic Dapol wagon in this attractive slightly weathered livery, shown here without the customary drooping Dapol couplings. I bought one with the view that I might try to make it look more realistic and if it didn't work out, well it wasn't the end of the world for the price paid.
If nothing else, the wagon could be improved by dispensing with the unrealistic coal load which was held in place by a large screw centrally on the underside of the chassis. Removing this screw allowed the wagon to be broken down into its component parts of chassis, metal weight, body and coal load. The interior of the body had been painted red during manufacture which wouldn't have been the case in real life, so this was a good place to start. I gave it one coat of a matt cream coloured Humbrol enamel paint to represent the unpainted wood. At this stage, I wasn't sure how high the new load would be so opted to paint the whole depth of the sides and ends.
When dry this was given a wash of thinned black enamel. The outside of the body was also toned down with thinned black enamel paint.
Whilst the interior was drying I decided to make a new coal load. Three pieces of 2mm thick greyboard were glued together thus..
PVA was brushed on and small pieces of kitchen roll were dabbed on with a PVA laden brush to form some undulations..
And small pieces of real coal were sprinkled on to the wet PVA. This was then set aside to dry..
Meanwhile attention was turned to the chassis. The couplings were simply screwed on to two moulded spigots on the underside of the chassis. They were removed and the spigots were cut off. At each end of the underside of the chassis I glued on a Parkside Coupling Mounting Block for Bachmann couplings (now sold by Peco ref. PA34). I attached some short straight Bachmann couplings to replace the original Dapol type..
The height of the bar was checked against my home-made coupling height gauge..
As I will be using the Kirby Coupling on my stock to enable automatic uncoupling, I removed the two coupling hooks and soldered the customary steel staple thereon and bent them to shape. A quick dab of matt black enamel paint soon covered the shiny solder and staples. They are quite unobtrusive once painted.
The coal load was now glued inside the wagon body. The metal weight was positioned on top of the chassis and the body attached with Revell Contacta glue. I removed the wheelsets and painted the wheel rims with matt black enamel paint. The wheels were fixed back in position and the chassis and lower body were given a light spray of Humbrol Dark Brown from a rattle can to add a bit of weathering.
Ready to take its place in the coal siding..
Terry
Last edited:
simond
Western Thunderer
Terry,
possibly outside the scope of your thread, but just looking at your Bognor wagon. Is it necessary to have the buffer bar of the TL so far beyond the wagon buffers? As you're fitting the couplings yourself, I presume it would be easy to move them inboard a bit which might make them less visible? Or does it stop them coupling/uncoupling on curves?
possibly outside the scope of your thread, but just looking at your Bognor wagon. Is it necessary to have the buffer bar of the TL so far beyond the wagon buffers? As you're fitting the couplings yourself, I presume it would be easy to move them inboard a bit which might make them less visible? Or does it stop them coupling/uncoupling on curves?
NHY 581
Western Thunderer
Bachmann have a short, straight TL available as a spare. I use these almost exclusively, replacing the supplied T/L as and when. I've also started to cut back the nem pockets by 2mm or so and the tongues on the couplings by the corresponding amount on the locos. This pulls the coupling back even further.
I must say the use of the kirby system is interesting.
Rob
I must say the use of the kirby system is interesting.
Rob
Hello Simon. The problem with that particular wagon is that the coupling mounting block is in danger of fouling the axle if pushed back further. As Rob notes, short Bachmann couplings are the answer.
Terry
It occurs to me that there is no universal specification for the tension lock coupling. Every manufacturer does their own thing and some of the 'big boys' even have couplings of differing heights among their product ranges. Ridiculous! In an effort to achieve some semblance of standardisation, I have produced a 'coupling height gauge'. This consists of a number of pieces of Evergreen strip cemented together to a height of 8.7mm. This is the distance from the top of the rail to the top of the bar of the coupling. Whilst I don't intend to alter every RTR item of rolling stock, it might prove useful for ensuring a standard height for the kits I am currently building and for any modified RTR rolling stock such as the Queen Mary brake van, of which more shortly.
Here is the gauge in operation..
Terry
Here is the gauge in operation..
Terry
An occasional visitor to Farleigh is this beast..
As this vehicle was intended for express goods trains, I doubt it would ever have been seen at a small country station like Farleigh. However, occasionally the branch brake van will be in for repair and on those occasions, as this will be the only available brake van some yard foreman will have it attached to the Farleigh pick-up goods. Failing that excuse, Rule 1 will apply - it's my layout and I'll run what I want!
This is the Bachmann model, so ancient it is believed to have been found in the tomb of Tutankhamun! I bought this Southern Railway liveried example from ebay for around £20. The model, as bought, was quite basic with wide tension-lock couplings, no glazing and the verandahs painted totally in dark brown, which is incorrect for this vehicle. The verandah floors were just the black painted top surface of the metal weight with no attempt at floorboards.
The first job was to dismantle the model. Quite easy as the body clips onto the chassis and the bogies and weight are attached with screws. The top half of the partition ends of the guard's accommodation should be painted Venetian Red. I used Precision Paints product for this and also overpainted the Bachmann red on the verandah ends and headstocks to match the colour throughout. Afterthought: probably the wrong colour for the headstocks and buffer housings. Must correct that. The ceilings of the verandahs were painted white. I glazed all windows, including the duckets, with clear plastic retrieved from discarded packaging. I'm doing my bit to save the planet! I scribed and painted some 20 thou styrene sheet and superglued two pieces to the top of the metal weight to represent the planked flooring in the open verandahs. The footboards were painted to match the verandah flooring and superglued to the bogies. The stovepipe chimney was given a lick of black paint and the lower part of the model was sprayed with Humbrol acrylic Dark Brown 29. Some weathering powders were brushed onto the roof and end platforms to finish. I decided not to replace the moulded handrails as they don't look too bad and I didn't fancy the idea of trying to carve off all of the handrails whilst trying not to remove all of the moulded bolt heads.
The original large couplings were part of the bogie moulding. I cut them off and hacked about two Parkside Dundas NEM coupling mounting blocks (now sold by Peco). These were superglued in place just inside the bogie ends and Bachmann couplings fitted using my home-made height gauge as mentioned previously.
Overall, I am pleased with the improvement to the original model.
Terry
As this vehicle was intended for express goods trains, I doubt it would ever have been seen at a small country station like Farleigh. However, occasionally the branch brake van will be in for repair and on those occasions, as this will be the only available brake van some yard foreman will have it attached to the Farleigh pick-up goods. Failing that excuse, Rule 1 will apply - it's my layout and I'll run what I want!
This is the Bachmann model, so ancient it is believed to have been found in the tomb of Tutankhamun! I bought this Southern Railway liveried example from ebay for around £20. The model, as bought, was quite basic with wide tension-lock couplings, no glazing and the verandahs painted totally in dark brown, which is incorrect for this vehicle. The verandah floors were just the black painted top surface of the metal weight with no attempt at floorboards.
The first job was to dismantle the model. Quite easy as the body clips onto the chassis and the bogies and weight are attached with screws. The top half of the partition ends of the guard's accommodation should be painted Venetian Red. I used Precision Paints product for this and also overpainted the Bachmann red on the verandah ends and headstocks to match the colour throughout. Afterthought: probably the wrong colour for the headstocks and buffer housings. Must correct that. The ceilings of the verandahs were painted white. I glazed all windows, including the duckets, with clear plastic retrieved from discarded packaging. I'm doing my bit to save the planet! I scribed and painted some 20 thou styrene sheet and superglued two pieces to the top of the metal weight to represent the planked flooring in the open verandahs. The footboards were painted to match the verandah flooring and superglued to the bogies. The stovepipe chimney was given a lick of black paint and the lower part of the model was sprayed with Humbrol acrylic Dark Brown 29. Some weathering powders were brushed onto the roof and end platforms to finish. I decided not to replace the moulded handrails as they don't look too bad and I didn't fancy the idea of trying to carve off all of the handrails whilst trying not to remove all of the moulded bolt heads.
The original large couplings were part of the bogie moulding. I cut them off and hacked about two Parkside Dundas NEM coupling mounting blocks (now sold by Peco). These were superglued in place just inside the bogie ends and Bachmann couplings fitted using my home-made height gauge as mentioned previously.
Overall, I am pleased with the improvement to the original model.
Terry
I realised that I had another Dapol wagon which I had bought before the pandemic from the model shop in Eastbourne. I decided to give it the same treatment as the previous Dapol wagon, i.e. change the couplings and replace the coal load. In an effort to cover the rather orange Dapol 'weathering', I overdid it with my Humbrol 'Dark Brown' spray can. It's not really 'Dark Brown' more mid-brown I would say.
Getting shafted by Bachmann!
I purchased online this Bachmann wagon. I don't even remember from whom I bought it. It is an old model but arrived in the unopened packaging. It had been sitting on my workbench for some time awaiting some attention.
A lovely wagon. Imagine my pleasure and delight (not) when I turned it around to reveal this.
YES, IT'S A FRIDAY AFTERNOON WAGON! Does that work the same way in China I wonder? Despite being well and truly shafted I fortunately had the HMRS wagon transfers to hand to remedy the problem, although it's a job I didn't really need.
It was a fairly quick job to replace the missing letters/numbers with HMRS SR wagon transfers. They were fixed with a blast of matt varnish and here is the wagon awaiting weathering..
Terry
I purchased online this Bachmann wagon. I don't even remember from whom I bought it. It is an old model but arrived in the unopened packaging. It had been sitting on my workbench for some time awaiting some attention.
A lovely wagon. Imagine my pleasure and delight (not) when I turned it around to reveal this.
YES, IT'S A FRIDAY AFTERNOON WAGON! Does that work the same way in China I wonder? Despite being well and truly shafted I fortunately had the HMRS wagon transfers to hand to remedy the problem, although it's a job I didn't really need.
It was a fairly quick job to replace the missing letters/numbers with HMRS SR wagon transfers. They were fixed with a blast of matt varnish and here is the wagon awaiting weathering..
Terry
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
With the art-deco concrete fittings perhaps the line should be electrified with new 2-Nol and 2-Bil units.....
No chance!With the art-deco concrete fittings perhaps the line should be electrified with new 2-Nol and 2-Bil units.....
Terry
The bespoke signs from Sankey Scenics, as suggested by Dave, were received some days ago, and very nice they look too. I'll have to think about how to replace the originals without causing damage to the infrastructure already in place.Nice little SR diorama/layout - instantly recognisable as SR.
In my pedant mode I would note the Arial typeface/font is incorrect for BR(S) and SR (and apologies for this as it's one of first things I notice having spent ages tracking down the correct typefaces/fonts for 1948-65 and post 1965 British Rail, P22 Johnston London Underground and 1950s-89 Deutsche Bundesbahn). Pedant mode now switched off
For BR(S) 1948-65 it should be Gill Sans which is available as a free download from here. British Railway Fonts and Typefaces - ScotRail & British Rail Fonts - Railway Modelling & Tutorials
For pre-1948 SR they had their own typeface/font. Bespoke signs in the closest typeface/font - including the psuedo SR Roundel - are available from Sankey Scenics 4mm Bespoke Southern Railway Combination Pack | Sankey Scenics Signs
Terry
