Breaking My Golden Rule

There's an old saying: Never assume, it makes an ASS of U and ME. And it's never more true than when modeling the modern FR.

This time, though, I've taken a gamble and jumped ahead of Boston Lodge Works with construction of Superbarn 121, or, at least, further ahead than I have photographic evidence for.

The added complication is that the FR's carriage shop makes it up as it goes along. No, really, they do. I shall prove it.

121 is the second of a new design dubbed the Superbarn. When I came to model the first, 103, I was provided with a drawing by my mole inside Boston Lodge.

The drawing, it turned out was wrong. (The layout of window pillars did not match the finished carriage.) I thought I'd been slipped the wrong drawing and went back to my source to ask for a copy of the correct one.

'But that's what I gave you,' they said.

'No, it's wrong,' I insisted. 'Go and compare it to the carriage.'

'Ooh, so it is!'

So we are driven to the conclusion that they built the bodyshells for the new carriages paying no attention whatsoever to the original design.

And so, you can also see why I have justifiable reason for doubting whether 121 will turn out looking exactly like 103? (I already know that the windows on the carriage ends are taller than on the first one).

Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, I have (rashly, perhaps) pressed ahead and made the vestibule door and end units even though they were very far from completion when Himself photographed 121 in the works in October, as you will see below.




For the purposes of this model I have assumed the beading detail on the doors and ends will be identical to 103.





Don't let me down now, Boston Lodge.....