Finishing Line In Sight

Finally I can see the end of the Gwyrfai project - it at least my bit of it.

Last night I finished the outstanding jobs on the interior, fitting the bulkheads, lowered the tables in the front saloon and fashioned something to represent the shelf at the front that actually hides a demister unit on the real carriage.

The remaining construction tasks now are to fit some steps, the electrical connections at the corridor end and fit some channels under the ceiling to help hold the glazing in.

After that I will deliver it to Himself - without breaching social distancing (!) - and he can have the dubious pleasure of painting and lining it.

Won’t that be fun!

* I should probably point out that I am a key worker & Himself lives on my route to work.

They’re In

So last night I decided to stop faffing about and get the interior fixed into Gwyrfai

The tricky bit is always making sure the seat backs are lined up with the window pillars precisely, but the slow setting super glue helps with this.

I have still to make up the bulkheads and I also need to cut down the height of the small tables in the front saloon where the windows come down lower.

It feels like a big step forward has been taken, though.

Princess

There are two options here - either Himself is very bored with his self-imposed confinement already, or there’s a tricky task he’s trying to avoid!

Out of the blue last night there popped into my inbox news of a new project to make up an ancient white metal Small England as an unpowered, tow-around Princess.

Naturally I approve of this plan because I just love the England engines.

We already have a redundant old Ibertren chassis to mount it on.

The question, of course, is what livery to paint it in?

The current Victorian lined maroon in museum condition?

Or just liberated from the plinth in Blaenau condition with faded green and red frames?

For some reason I’m fascinated by tatty, Garrawegian brutalism, perhaps because it’s something I just have a vague memory of as a child?

I Might As Well

I wasn’t intending to do this but I suppose there’s no particular hurry just now....

Months ago when I was casting the seats for Gwyrfai I couldn’t be bothered to add on the styrene arm  rests, reckoning that you can’t really see them anyway.

However, yesterday afternoon when I was meaning to begin fixing the chairs into position in the carriage I decided perhaps it wouldn’t do any harm to add them on?

I think it was probably an avoidance tactic so I didn’t have to commit to setting them in position - there’s always something unsettling about the prospect of getting out the Super Glue I find - not a very subtle modelling material at all...

Inside Story

A few week ago I received the vital information I needed to complete the interior of Van 51 more accurately.

The Engineering Consultant managed to grab a few pictures of it while he was in Minffordd yard on business.

I suppose now I’m going to have to try and make a tiny kettle.

Rolling On

With Himself locked away in his box for goodness knows how long I suppose at least there’s the chance to work through the backlog of unfinished projects.

(Who knows, he might even line out Conway Castle which was last touched before he moved to Scotland!)

In the meantime the 2-8-0 chassis has been getting more running in using the rolling road I bought him a number of years ago.

Glad to see it getting some use.

TT Time

While I’ve been plugging away at the observation car Himself has been getting the 3mm scale Hawksworth carriages to run with the 2-8-0 tank ready to paint.

Being etched brass they are quite a weight!

The resin cast roofs work really well and Himself has added some lovely details, such as the lavatory pipe work.

There’s one more still to make to complete a trio and they’ll be finished in BR maroon.W

The Importance Of Model Railways

In times like these when there is so much uncertainty, so much than can leave us fearful, I am reminded what a wonderful hobby model railways is.

It occurred to me as I was stubbornly attempting to force flat styrene sheet into a complex curved valance at the front of Gwyrfai that I’d completely forgotten about the Coronavirus and everything that goes with it.

It doesn’t have to be model trains, of course, because any practical hobby which requires you to focus on a task is brilliant therapy at an anxious time in all our lives.

With it looking like so much of our day to day lives are about to enter a prolonged slumber here in the UK (and elsewhere) it might be that I have more time to spend at my workbench, and if I do I shall be glad of it.

You’ll see from the photo that I’ve also applied and shaped the Milliput dome and I think it’s looking quite good, although a coat of primer will soon expose any flaws.

I think the next big job will be to fit the interior which is already cast.

In the meantime everyone...

Over The Top

The roof has been the focus of work on Gwyrfai this week.

In the photo you can see the structure I use with the flat false ceiling, longitudinal ribs and the styrene skin over the top and glued only at each edge.

I’ve also made some shapers to help form the sloped end at the front.

The voids will be filled with Milliput, which although it takes longer to set provides a much smoother and more solid structure than filler ever could.

Brass Bands

Garratt 130 inches forward still.

Now the cladding is being sorted out on the real one Himself has added the brass strip around the boiler tube to create the effect.

One of the biggest unknowns - to us at least - is what form the big steam pipes out of the ideas of the smoke box will take.

As far as we can tell each of the WHR Garratts is different.

Who knew?

Van Production

Part of the weekend was take up with fulfilling the first orders for Van 51 kits.

The castings provide a body for the van in its current condition after many rebuilds over the last half century, including the balcony steps and fits neatly onto a Dundas Quarryman’s carriage chassis - which is what the real one used.

Builders can choose to make a roof out of styrene or brass and fit their own balcony rail.

Plastic Surgery

The camera can be unforgiving sometimes - this is not as rough as it looks when seen with the Mark One eyeball.

I’ve faced the brass former at the front of Gwyrfai with styrene and added the second layer of panelling detail.

The next job will be one of the most testing ones - to fit the roof skin and form the sloping front section.

Keeping Pace

Himself keeps a close watch for online updates on progress with NGG16 130 at Dinas to see when it’s safe to add more bits to our Backwoods kit.

Now that some of the big external pipe work is being fitted he has followed suit.

What with Welsh Pony taking a big leap forward these are exciting times to be modelling the contemporary FR / WHR.

Take The Floor

I had one of my most productive days in a while at the weekend getting to grips with the returned Gwyrfai.

The first task was to replace the temporary floor with one that fits all the way to the curved front, which will help to make it more rigid during handling.

I also knocked up the skirts along the side which hide all the brake gear and other ancillaries underneath.

Once that was done I prepared the false ceiling which will be used to secure the top of the body sides and will have the roof skin formers added next.

It is also the base for the domed end which will be shaped in Milliput.

Brass Front

It was a delicate operation but Himself has done a brilliant job fabricating and fixing on the brass front piece of Gwyrfai.

Now it’s my job to laminate it with a thin styrene surface and make a proper chassis to replace the temporary one it has just now.

I think it’s definitely captured the look of the real one, don’t you?

The challenge for us both will be to complete it in time for the Perth show at the end of June.