Sizing Up

My recent visit to Wales (in fact my only visit of the year) was a chance to catch up on the research for all the models on my 'to do' list.

Among those are the new class of BZ wagons which have been built at Boston Lodge.

I'd seen quite a few photographs of the two which have been completed so far and have written posts on here about the differences I have noticed on them.

(If anyone's looking for a business idea to take on Dragons' Den I reckon you could make a fortune out of a series of 'spot the difference' quiz magazines each one featuring a nominal class of FR rolling stock. It would keep the people who buy these sort of things engrossed for hours!)

What I hadn't accounted for is that these two wagons would be different sizes, but looking at them in the sidings at the front of the yard, loaded up with locomotive ash, it looked as if one was taller than the other.

I couldn't be sure that this wasn't an illusion created by a difference in the track elevation, but stupidly I hadn't brought a tape measure with me.

Himself was very quick thinking and headed for the erecting shop to see if he could blag one (thanks Bob!) and together we ran the rule over them.

I'm sure it won't surprise you to know that one of them is 2 inches taller than the other, naturally.

I suspect this is probably because the one on the left appears to have been made by cutting down an existing B wagon whereas the one on the right had new side pieces fabricated at the works.

I was resigned to having to make two completely separate sets of masters for the resin castings of the sides but now it turns out I will have to make different sets of end pieces as well.

Lucky, lucky me!