Garden Railway Forum

Hello all,

I've made a start on the next (WH)WHR rolling stock project, goods an number 2:


I'm currently without a closed van while WKLR van 11 awaits repairs to damage sustained through being stored in the tunnel, and anyway it's time I got back to building genuine NWNGR/WHR vehicles...

I've got no fewer than three drawings of this van, all different, but analysis of photos has resulted in a version I'm happy enough with. It's really quite a small vehicle, but that's because it's just a coal wagon with a few added planks and a corrugated iron roof...

Here are the basic bit, hacked rather badly out of 6mm ply:


These bits will just form a basic shell, with individual planks and other details added over the top.

Parts have started arriving for another vehicle to be built alongside this one - more on that in due course...

Cheers,

Andrew

I like the 'barn door engineering' look of that wagon, particularly the roof.

This van and its sister, No.4, were pretty much cobbled together from bits and bobs. The doors on this one used the ironwork from the original doors of the coal wagon it started life as, and those on No 4 were curved - probably because they were pinched from a Ffestiniog flour van. I'll make a model of No 4 at some point too, but I thought No 2 would be a quicker job, with a better chance that the completed van might see service this summer.

Cheers,

Andrew.

No. 2 was believed to have started off as a "ridged-roof" wagon. These were used in passenger trains as a possible luggage van before the large Pickering's made an appearance. Both van 2 and 4 had doors on both sides, so don't forget the other door!

JMORG wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2019 4:15 pm No. 2 was believed to have started off as a "ridged-roof" wagon. These were used in passenger trains as a possible luggage van before the large Pickering's made an appearance. Both van 2 and 4 had doors on both sides, so don't forget the other door!

I quite fancy having a go atone of the ridge-roofed vans at some point too! And yep, was going to go for doors on both sides - I'm guessing you read the same WHR Heritage Group Journal that I did that debunks the "doors on one side" myth? Judging by the article in this one - https://www.welshhighlandheritage.co.uk ... -No-64.pdf - No 2 was built from a coal wagon though? The similarities in the shot of the van standing next to a coal wagon are striking... I really must get around to joining the Heritage Group...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Just read another article, suggesting that although Van 2 was converted from a coal wagon in NWNGR days, the doors came from the ridge-roofed van it was intended to replace...

What I'm supposed to be doing at the moment is packing to go away for a few days - researching really obscure details of railway history is more important, isn't it??!

This will be another brilliant build Andrew. Looking forward to the up coming photos of its progress...

On holiday ourselves at the moment in North Yorkshire Moors Railway country....For Anne's Birthday....

Hello all,

With the weather having taken a turn for the worse again I've done a little more work on the WHR wagon project


The basic shell of the van has been assembled and now awaits planking. I would have added running gear but realised that I've got through my stock of Binnie wheels - again! I'll place an order soon...

In the foreground are the bits for an open wagon, like one of these:




These little wagons were used for both slate and general merchandise - I'll probably build three of them eventually. For years I've been put off trying to recreate them because of the unusual axleguards, quite unlike anything available commercially. I think I've come up with a cunning plan there - more to follow, if it works...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Looks awesome Andrew! Will be looking at doing the two plank wagons at some point.
One thing we're working on at the moment is maintenance; some carriages are looking tired. Examples include the VoR carriages and the IP "big" Festiniog carriages.
I'm thinking of repainting these out of the Victorian plum and into something easier to maintain. Has anyone on here done any research into the FR pre-revival liveries? Apparently a maroon livery existed at the turn of the century; did this actually exist or was it misidentification?

Hello!

Going by the 7mm NG lot's FfR drawings book (written in conjunction with the Heritage Group and seemingly pretty well researched), it sounds like there was a maroon period, after the ornate (and then less ornate) Victorian liveries, but before the Stephens era "Kentish Green".

I built a couple of 4 wheel Ashbury vehicles a few years ago - some of these ended up grounded as huts on the old WHR and mine were intended to suffer the same fate, but I couldn't bring myself to do it! I decided that those would probably have carried maroon livery, so mine ended up like this:





They're tiny, even compared to a "bug box", and don't tend to see much use, but I sometimes like to run a rake of all 4-wheelers or include them in a generic light railway style mixed train...

It's difficult to spot, but I did line around the windows, droplights and upper panels in cream - again, as I recall, that was mentioned in the book... I'll check when I'm at home, but I think there's a photo of one of the bogie vehicles in that livery...

For easy maintenance I reckon I'd go for green, even if it does get a bit "samey" after you've painted a few!

I'll post more soon - the open wagon is now assembled and I've started planking the van, hoping to get both on their wheels by the end of the week. That will involve testing out my NWNGR wagon axlebox design for the open...

Cheers,

Andrew.

I think they look great Andrew. To me they look has if they have done loads of work......

Glad you like the carriages Rod! I think those are about 10 years old now.

Little-by-little I've been making progress on my current rolling stock project, the two NWNGR/WHR goods vehicles. Both are now at the same stage, with the bodies assembled and the planking in place:

With luck I'll find the time to sort out running gear this weekend, and/or starting the painting. I like to get wagon bodies painted before adding strapping etc because having the sides unencumbered by detail parts makes it easier to age them a little by attacking them with fine sandpaper.

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2019 8:28 am Glad you like the carriages Rod! I think those are about 10 years old now.

Little-by-little I've been making progress on my current rolling stock project, the two NWNGR/WHR goods vehicles. Both are now at the same stage, with the bodies assembled and the planking in place:

Van and open.jpg


With luck I'll find the time to sort out running gear this weekend, and/or starting the painting. I like to get wagon bodies painted before adding strapping etc because having the sides unencumbered by detail parts makes it easier to age them a little by attacking them with fine sandpaper.

Cheers all,

Andrew.

Really 10 years.....WOW.

Your new wagons look just has good Andrew.

Like Rod, I do like those four-wheelers. You're right, a train of four wheelers really does give a line a light railway feel. Wishing now I'd made some four-wheeled coaches for the PLR.....

Rik

ge_rik wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2019 3:35 pm Wishing now I'd made some four-wheeled coaches for the PLR.....

Some of these would look nice Rik, original R&E 3' 4-wheelers - and they're straight-sided with square windows and beading, no pesky curves to cut... Just a little project for when you've finished those sand hoppers...




Have a good weekend everyone,

Andrew.

Andrew wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2019 3:49 pm Some of these would look nice Rik, original R&E 3' 4-wheelers - and they're straight-sided with square windows and beading, no pesky curves to cut... Just a little project for when you've finished those sand hoppers...
Andrew.

You little devil, Andrew ....... tempting me with a juicy photo! It just do happens I bought up the spare stock of laser-cut panelled coach sides from Mark Addison when he gave up selling his Maddison coach range. I've been wondering what to do with them ........

Rik

You didn't take much arm-twisting Rik!

I've had some success here with my cunning plan to recreate the distinctive axleboxes the NWNGR used on some of their smaller wagons... While chatting with my son, it occurred to me that Lego pieces would do a decent job of making the basic shape I needed - I wasn't sure that how I could make that work with 16mm wheelsets, until I came across a website dedicated to Lego train-makers. They've discovered that a 5mm roller bearing (intended for model cars, I think) is a push-fit (well, hammer tap) into a standard-sized Lego hole - and I found that I could buy those bearings with a 2mm hole, which would work with Cambrian wheels and axles.

Here are the bits:


And here's the test wagon we hastily knocked up on my son's bedroom floor:


Success! So far so good, and - as you'd expect, I suppose - it looks like it will be incredibly free-running...

Next up is turning the various bits of Lego I purchased into something a bit more realistic looking...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Brilliant idea Andrew.... I have been searching for a supplier of suitable bearings but not found one so far, please let us know where you got yours from.

Peter Butler wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2019 10:19 pm Brilliant idea Andrew.... I have been searching for a supplier of suitable bearings but not found one so far, please let us know where you got yours from.

Yes please do Andrew. You have come up with something that most of us have in our cupboards. I know we have for when the Grandkids come round......

Glad you think it's got potential...

The bearings I used were these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10pcs-2x5x2M ... xy~hdR23kX

The Lego pieces came from a supplier called Gray's Bricks, via a kind of eBay for Lego called Brick Owl...

I put the axleboxes together this morning, adding some plasticard, biro inner and - of course - nail art gems to come up with these:



They're outside at the moment waiting for a coat of primer to dry...

Cheers,

Andrew