Garden Railway Forum

FWLR wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 7:59 am Was I wrong in doing that...

It's your railway, and if you are content with it, it is all that matters

FWLR wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 7:59 am ...Was I wrong in doing that...

I agree with JimmyB, it is your railway, you do what satisfies you to see on your models. My railway is mostly freelance with a proviso that where possible it should have been at least possible.

Jimmyb wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 9:43 am

FWLR wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 7:59 am Was I wrong in doing that...

It's your railway, and if you are content with it, it is all that matters

Perfect timing Jimmy, you have saved me from explaining this away......
.

Yet another addition to the Bug Box fleet.... Jerry Irwin to the rescue once more when I was searching for a Flying Bench. The super detailing on the seating units of Jerry's coaches make this first choice so, no contest....... .
I have had a minor setback when running the Bug Boxes on my railway, there seemed to be one area on the line where two of the coaches derailed themselves. I thought it was due to my track-laying, but only two were affected. On closer inspection I found they were climbing off the rail and, having checked the B to B they were both wide. It turned out that both were I.P sets, one supplied with the I.P coach, the other from my old stock to replace a plastic set (as supplied by The Lineside Hut), so there may be a long-standing production issue? It never occurred to me to check before fitting but removal after fitting was a bit of a nightmare. Correction is a simple matter so it is well worth measuring first, be aware!
I do like the weight of these I.P. wheel-sets and will continue to use them.

A rare occasion today when some of my stock turned wheels on my railway. Perhaps it is due to running out of kits to build, or possibly the warm, dry weather?
I decided to make it a Ffestiniog/Welsh Highland Railway day so all of the Bug Boxes could come out to play......

. A couple of other Ffestiniog items watched from the sidings.... While we were in the North Wales area I put together some local railway items in the disused quarry...... I enjoyed it really, but it probably will be some time before it happens again!

Good to see the rails being polished again at BURPS. The first pic. is very typical in my mind, sitting in the sun in a car waiting for the train to pass, perhaps counting the carriages.
Grant.

LNR wrote: ↑Tue May 26, 2020 12:28 am The first pic. is very typical in my mind, sitting in the sun in a car waiting for the train to pass, perhaps counting the carriages.
Grant.

Ah, nostalgia ain't what it used to be!

Your line inspires me so much Peter. I look at your photos and I instantly think back to my childhood days in the Lakes remembering the great holidays I had with the family in Coniston.

Thank you

There's something enthralling about seeing a train of four wheel coaches - even more so when hauled by a double Fairlie!
A great set of pics, Peter.

Rik

Lovely shots Peter,

As Rik says, the bug boxes look absolutely right behind that loco. The disused quarry is a masterpiece, dripping in atmosphere. Last but most certainly not least, your planting works extremely well. How do you tame you plants?

Andrew

Thank you all for your kind comments, I too am pleased with the Bug Boxes, they make a nice splash of colour (probably not to Ffestiniog modellers) and make good use of the Fairlie. As for the planting, I know even less about them than I do about railways, and that is saying something.
Fortunately Diane has knowledge about certain types and just advises, I stick 'em in, neglect them, and attack violently when they misbehave. I have problems identifying weeds from 'proper' plants and often allow them to flourish until she notices. How it has turned out looking acceptable is beyond me.

Same for Anne and myself on the planting side of things. Some would argue on the railway side also...

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 10:05 pm I too am pleased with the Bug Boxes, they make a nice splash of colour

They look great - the train reminds me of the FfR in the 90s, when they were beginning to come out of their "paint everything red" phase...

A "sentry box" brake would complete the rake nicely... https://www.festipedia.org.uk/wiki/FR_Brake_Vans

Thanks for the pictures,

Andrew.

Andrew, a Sentry Box Brake is now on its way to me from Jurassic Models, so I can add another kit-build to my thread. In the meantime I have been busy with yet another Jerry Irwin 'kit', by that I mean a partial 'special' kit which probably will not be added to his list of kits on general sale?
This is one I haven't seen modelled before (I may be wrong?) but is an important vintage carriage to add to the Bug Box train..... The 'Flying Bench Tent', based on the Flying Bench kit from Jerry but with special 'pagoda' style roof and some additional end pieces which I asked for.
The first (of many) difficult parts is bending the brass (not supplied) roof supports to follow the shape (nearly!) to the design of the prototype, which I have never seen in real life, and only have the above picture to work from....
A coat of paint, transfers (not supplied) and lacquer complete the basic structure ready for the fabrics to be added.... This is the reason it probably won't be available as a kit as the fitting of the roof fabric (not supplied) took almost a whole day and the side sheets (not supplied), another half day. However, now it's done I feel quite happy with the result and it looks well alongside the others.... So, only the Sentry van to add to the train.

Replicating the way canvas, cloth, and other soft materials appear on the real thing is always a challenge in my view, but you have certainly nailed it there once again Peter. The creases, and sag just right. Very well done.
Grant.
PS I'm wondering did Diane have a hand in the hemming of the awning?

Now that is a superb model again Peter. It's looks just brilliant on the train. Jealous about how you come to think of these wonderful models..

LNR wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 12:50 am Replicating the way canvas, cloth, and other soft materials appear on the real thing is always a challenge in my view, but you have certainly nailed it there once again Peter. The creases, and sag just right. Very well done.
Grant.
PS I'm wondering did Diane have a hand in the hemming of the awning?

Thank you Grant, as explained in the description of the build, the awning was the most difficult part to replicate as material is not easy to scale down to behave correctly. Having been a picture framer for most of my professional life I am used to stretching embroideries etc. This was a great advantage when fixing the material to the framework of the roof. It is bonded using PVA which gave some 'wiggle time' but then took a while to set, hence the long time-scale.
In the past, when making tarpaulin sheeting, I have asked Diane to sew hems for me, unfortunately her machine makes far too large loops in the cotton, which is not what I was trying to achieve, so, no...... no stitching this time!

As Grant says, you've modelled the canvas covers really convincingly. Another masterpiece!

Rik

Hi Peter,
Wonderful build, I would have had a hard time covering up the excellent work on the greater portion of the coach.
On the prototype, were the strangely shaped uprights to keep tension on the canvas?
Tim

Hi Tim and thanks for your comment, much appreciated. I have absolutely no idea why the supports are the shape they are, other than it was built during a period of ornamentation to anything being constructed, however, I imagine they could have a stabilising effect on sideways movement too? I think an engineer is needed to answer your question.