MOTW - 'Russell' (Cut Down Version)

This week we have a much older version of a younger representation of a classic WHR loco. If that sentence doesn't make any sense at the moment it will by the end of this post.

This model of Russell is built from a Chivers whitemetal kit for the 1923 Boston Lodge butchered version of Russell from the days when the FR and WHR were first connected - a botched attempt to make the locomotive fit the FR loading gauge which legend records was declared a paint-scratching, bodywork-denting failure in the depths of the old Moelwyn Tunnel.

The model came about for two reasons. Firstly we had a spare bespoke outside framed chassis for Russell (built for me, very kindly, around 20 years ago by renowned Colorado NG modeller Mick Moignard) when our first Chivers kit was superseeded by the exquisite Backwoods Miniatures kit.

The other reason was because the Artistic Director wanted something to wind up the punters at exhibitions and a model of Russell in its controversial cut down form fitted the bill perfectly. (He also tells them he thinks the WHHR should restore the locomotive to this condition)

The old hand made chassis still works a treat and so our ugly duckling still takes a wander around Bron Hebog to amuse the operators and the public alike.

Here, in a scene that will surely never be repeated in reality, we see it passing that other narrow gauge sight-for-sore-eyes, K1, at Beddgelert station on Bron Hebog.

A Blanche From The Past

We had a few carriages left over when the stock was put out on the layout for the first day of Railex. Specifically a trio of the original Winson carriages, 2020, 2090 and 2041.

(The operation was being supervised by a current FR trainee controller who insisted upon setting out the carriage rakes in the current formations!)

Come Sunday I thought this a bit of a waste of good rolling stock so we put them on the track and hooked them up to Blanche which was very reminiscent of the days when this 'Lady' was based on the WHR for running off-peak services between Caernarfon and Dinas in the late 1990's.

The period scene is completed with a glimpse of the Parry People Mover in the siding in the background.

Please do get in touch via the comments section if you'd like to send us any pictures or videos you took of Bron Hebog at Railex at the weekend.

Railex - A Gutt Day Out

A few snaps from the first day of the Railex show at the Guttman Stadium at Stoke Mandeville near Aylesbury.

We had some lovely compliments about the layout, and were delighted when a couple of folk came over and said the chance to see Bron Hebog was the reason they made the trip.

The team had some fun changing about the formations and there were quite a few FR / WHR volunteers around to keep us right on the finer points of operating the layout in accordance with the rule book.

Towards the end of the day we ran the wagons together into a set typical of one of the 'Superpower' events with our NGG16's at the head.

And if you've ever wondered what the famous Himself looks like, he's the one with the very self-satisfied smile in the background in the picture above.

Pane-staking Work

The Parry People Mover has gained some glazing.

Himself has spent a number of hours on the very tricky task of fitting the flush glazing in the front windows of the railcar, and then trying very hard not to ruin them while applying tiny amounts of super glue and / or pva to fix them in place.

Our home made transfers for the big, red , bi-lingual stickers have also been stuck on, the bling headlamps inserted into the appropriate slots and windscreen wipers fitted.

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I am delighted to have got it completed in time for another spin on Bron Hebog at Railex this weekend - the last confirmed appearance for the layout at the moment

Do say hello if you're coming along to the exhibition, it's always nice to put a face to a blog hit count.

MOTW - K1

I've been putting this one off for a while but the eve of Bron Hebog's last exhibition appearance of 2012 seems as good a time as any to wheel out the 'Mother of all Garratts' on Model Of The Week.

Our K1 is built from a Backwoods Miniatures kit and is pretty much put together as Pete intended.  One of the most obvious alterations is the extended railings around the coal bunker at the back.

The loco has also been through wired connecting the motors on each bogie which has transformed the performance of the machine which was previously prone to sticking on points with its relatively shortly four coupled bogies.

Himself is, justifiably, proud of the lining job on this model which took weeks to complete.

The two colours were applied separately and included small areas like the panels on the back of the front water tank which you can see in this shot below.

If anyone needs any introduction to K1 the story is it was built, in Manchester, for the North East Dundas Tramway in Tasmania in 1909, retired in 1929 when the line closed and shipped back to the UK for display at Beyer Peacock in 1947.

It was bought by the FR in 1966 'for future use' according to the official stock book. Not being around at the time it's a decision which has always intrigued me.

It strikes me there was either a top rate clairvoyant on the Board who foresaw the FR reopening the WHR one day or they were prepared to butcher any locomotive to within an inch of its life to make it fit for service on the FR.

(The third explanation, that it was bought for the sake of preserving an important landmark in articulated steam locomotive design seems frankly perverse for a railway that did not have a shortage of things to spend its money on closer to home in the 1960's.)

Whatever, K1 was bought, and ten years later was punted off to the National Railway Museum for 18 years before an eleven year overhaul, and a new boiler, saw it return to service on the WHR in 2006.

It hasn't seen much use in recent years as train loadings on the completed line have got beyond it, but volunteers are currently tinkering with it at Dinas and we're being promised it will appear in service again.

Big And Small

We've received another batch of FR crests from Precision Decals, this time in the smaller, or you might say standard, size.

Nothing is simple these days with the FR carriage fleet.

Once upon a time all the locos and carriages wore the same size garter crest stickers, but when they started rebuilding the Observation Carrs. a few years ago a larger version of our Prince of Wales-feathered friend turned up.

You can spot the difference in this picture of 'recycled' top end Obs 123 (formerly 101 of 1970-vintage). It has the bigger crest on the end but the smaller one on the side.

We've been supplied with 99 of these smaller crests - at a truly astonishingly competitive price - and so Himself is considering going back through the fleet replacing the existing dry rub transfers with these superior waterslide ones.

Thin Blue Lines

The Parry People Mover has been formally handed over to Himself to apply the finishing touches.

I am pleased to report that it survived its 400 mile journey at the hands of the Royal Mail intact.

The last job I did before packaging it up was sticking on the blue lining which straddles the raised waist panel.

For this I used 0.75 lining from the Fox Transfers range which was a pleasure to use as always.

So what's left to do?

The bodyshell requires a coat of satin varnish.

There are headlight jewels obtained from the USA to be inserted in the holes in each corner at the front.

I have pre-cut some glazing sections for Himself to fit, followed by etched brass windscreen wipers.

The very last thing will be a big bilingual transfer along each side saying Welsh Highland Railway / Rheilffordd Eryri .

Steve (of Narrow Planet fame) has kindly knocked up some artworks for us and we'll see whether a DIY transfer will do the job, otherwise it will be another commission for Precision Decals.

I'm looking forward to seeing it on Bron Hebog again at Railex next week.