Interior Done

It's all come together in a rush.

In a couple of sessions work I've got all the seats and tables in position.

In fact the most awkward bit was completing the cupboards in the vestibule.

Once again I was very pleased with the performance of the 60 second Loctite glue which gave me enough time to adjust the pieces into the right spot but not so long that they would move before they were properly set.

Himself found the same when using it to assemble the latest B wagon.

The major outstanding items now are the tanks and various brake bits hanging underneath and the bad pipes.

I know that Himself simply can't wait to paint it and tackle all that ornate lining....

Seats In

I've been rather putting off fixing the interior into place in carriage 150.

Quite why I was being hesitant I don't really know, it was just one of those things I felt uneasy about.

I decided the other day, however, that I couldn't put it off any longer so I have made a start with the vestibule at the corridor end of the carriage.

It is unusual because the interior partition has a curved profile at the top to match the underside of the roof - normally they are flat because of the false ceiling we fit.

I've also taken it to extremes and included the step up in the middle.

So the first two saloon seats are fixed in position helping to keep it nice and vertical.

There's a long way to go yet, though.

Brass Bits On The B

The latest B wagon is ready to be sprayed in its red oxide colour scheme.

There are lots of bits that Himself has added in in to bring the basic resin kit alive.

The most obvious is the step which hangs down from the right hand side of the frame and the piece of brass in the centre which is there to stop the door damaging the brake hanger when it is dropped down I suppose.

As usual he's also added the vacuum brake hoses and the pipe work which wraps itself around the reservoir and seems to be a feature of the alterations made to this particular wagon at some point in its life.

Because the paint job on these wagons is ludicrously simple I don't suppose it will be long before it's ready to join the fleet.

Fencing Repairs

One of the many little jobs on Himself's 'To Do' list is to fix some of the small instances of damage to the layouts during their cross-border migration and the time in storage last winter.

A corner which suffered was the fencing around Bron Hebog level crossing which is being replaced.

He makes up the fences using styrene strip sections of various sizes - the main horizontal bars are 20 x 60 thou for example.

These days the safety regulations demand that a veritable maze of fences are erected around a level crossing - and there are no shortage of them on the big S bend out of Beddgelert - and so we find ourselves getting through a lot of styrene.

And with the stuff retailing at nearly a 40p per foot these days the price is probably to scale too!

More B's

There are usually part-built and untouched kits lying around in a drawer in a modeller's home and Himself is no different.

A couple of years ago I cast him a job lot of B wagon kits and there are still some he hasn't got around to making up.

So he's decided to get on with one of those to kick-start the autumn modelling season.

This one, he tells me,  is number 1125, and I am not in a position to argue.

My encyclopedic knowledge extends only to carriages, not the finer details of wagons.

To me they're all sort of reddish-brown utility vehicles and I've never studied them enough to tell one from the other.

Himself has paid a little more attention, however, and I believe he has altered the position of the vacuum reservoir on this one and I can see the the handrail at the top right is the opposite way round to normal.

I can only assume this is correct for this wagon, and I know there are some of you reading the blog who'll be happy to correct me should I be proven wrong.

Wiggle Room

No it's not a radical new design of carriage - although it's an interesting idea - it is in fact the chassis of our latest Superbarn 117 on test.

The purpose of the test run is because we've discovered that these carriages, fitted with my own design of proper-sized FR bogies, do not have sufficient swing to traverse the tightest curves on Dduallt.

Previously, when we have run superbarns on the layout, they have all been fitted with Parkside Dundas Vale of Rheidol bogies dressed up to look (not a lot) like FR carriage bogies.

Although the new FR bogies were fitted to carriage 119 it had only run on Bron Hebog, where the geometry of the curves is more generous.

The root of the problem is the way the frames are inset below the doors at either end - a consequence of the designer attempting to squeeze the absolute maximum amount of carriage into a loading gauge designed for horses and slate waggons!

Himself has been hacking away at the underneath of the chassis to give the bogies a little more wiggle room.

He sent me this picture, but now I think about it I realise that he didn't actually say whether or not it was a success....

Fully Furnished

After two weeks making masters, moulds and then castings I've finally assembled all the seats and tables to make up the interior of new Observation Car 150.

I'm pleased with the way the tables have come out which is going to be a lot more elegant than the previous way of doing it with a big supporting pillar in the centre.

Before I can fit in the carriage I'll have to make up the rear bulkhead and the shaped screens which divide the observation saloon from the armchair section behind.

And to do that I'll need to very carefully remove Himself's curved glazing without scratching it. Eek.