EM Gauge Layouts, Models & Projects

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Recent activity in the Hornsey Workshops has involved revisiting a few items of rolling stock starting off with the Carflat rake. It would appear that most of the information regarding new car deliveries, was the tendency to have the vehicles facing rearwards. The 'tail end Charlie' has had the 3 cars turned around and reaffixed with a dab of PVA. Various colour mixes have been prepared to match the body colour, and the number plates painted out on the Ford Cortinas. An additional 57ft Carflat (Oxford Models) has joined the existing wagons, so is in works for replacement bogies, couplings, weathering and loading.

It's a bit brutal and certainly not pretty, but some surgery is required on the underside of the chassis to give enough clearance for the wheels, if it's a preference to have the wagon sitting on the correct bogies with 14mm diameter wheelsets. Parts of the chassis were removed using a small diameter slitting disc. Bachmann LMS pattern bogies are used, so the mounting spigot requires 3mm of packing (shown here using spacers and washers) to accomodate the changes.

With the bogies centred on short lengths of styrene tube, pan head screws can be used to secure them in place, tightened down onto the tube and still allowing the bogie to move freely.

The Carflat is now finished and into service. Luckily I didn't have this particular wagon number in the rake, so that saved some time not having to change it.

Brush 4 number 1932 heads north with 35 Ford Cortinas from Dagenham on a mixed 10 wagon rake.

Shortly afterwards a BRCW type 3 - 6572 follows on with a block train of Cemflo wagons.

6572 is given the road ahead and is about to cross over onto the GN lines for a trip up the ECML.

Some of these 16 ton mineral wagons have been in service on various layouts for over 25 years now, so they have been in the works for load refreshing and fitting out with bits and pieces that have either fallen off or were missing when the Parkside kits were built. Numerous Bachmann versions are also featured, but even these require some additional work and weathering.

The 40 wagons are run as an unfitted train with a handful of vacuum braked examples flanking the rake for use as a fitted head.

This working is assumed to have originated from the East Midlands coal field and is heading for a large industry east of London.

Although designated as a coal working, we're still a bit unsure as to what it actually is. It looks like coal and has that slight glint to it, but tests have shown it to be more like glass with some very sharp edges. We've carried out a few destructive tests to make sure it's not combustible and is happy to stay in place flooded with diluted PVA.

With just some small finishing off jobs to complete the rake, all the running gear has been serviced and they are seen here with a pair of EE type 1s 8145 & D8077 in charge.

A rather more chunky type of coal is being carried in these 24.5 ton hopper wagons, probably more suited for a gasworks. Greg's 4 scratchbuilt HUO wagons are joined by a growing number of his Accurascale versions and EE type 3 number 6742.

Here's a trio of snaps sent in by a Mr Shackleton, recording some of the daily goings on at Hornsey Broadway. The Eastwell Ironstone Company's Insley model K Back Hoe is featured here (hired in as part of a redevelopment project), whilst some maintenance is being carried out on a bulldozer behind. Both models are from the Woodland Scenics HO scale range (ref D237).

"yes, I can drive a milk float, when can I start boss?"

A track gang taking a break.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

PETE JOHNSON

After a few weeks away from the hobby bench I finally got back to opening some paint pots to finish off the hopper wagons. Using a grime-tinted matt enamel varnish this Coke has been completed as it might have appeared after a mid-life works visit.

This example is more badly rusted, but with some patching of the end plating.

The vacuum piped example, in a rusted bauxite finish, adds a bit of variety to the string.

After more research I concluded that the late pattern wagons were badly rusted from quite an early stage. B449126 was the only example of the type I ever saw, awaiting the cutters at Woodhams, Barry, in the early 1980s.

Most of the 21 ton coal hoppers have also been completed. This HTO is finished as it might have appeared only a year or so after being re-bodied in the BR workshops.

The same goes for this HTV. The pair will feature in late 1970s sequences on the layout.

Offering a wider timespan, this ‘HOP21’ branded unfitted example would not look out of place from the late 1960s to the mid-1970s.

To allow the radio control crewbus to have a wider timespan on the layout a green liveried bodyshell of the Base Toys model is undergoing conversion, although prototype photos of any green BR road vehicles seem to be pretty scarce.

Late October saw the layout appear at the Hazel Grove exhibition just a handful of miles from where I grew up. North British 0-4-0 ‘D2774’ is seen on the dock branch during the Sunday morning.

During the opening sequence of the Saturday, Class 03 ‘D2027’, with a rather cluttered footplate, shunts a couple of vans.

During the same 1970 sequence Western ‘1010’ waits in the headshunt.

A model that has tended to avoid the camera is late-type Hudswell-Clarke 0-6-0 ‘D2511’. It is pictured standing in the yard during the Barrow 1963 sequence opening Sunday morning.

Earlier in the same sequence the loco makes its way towards the exchange sidings with a rake of 16 tonners.

D2284 runs around the stock in the reception sidings.

With the R W Paul building in the background, a pair of Class 08s get ready to leave Canada Street sidings with a selection of grain wagons and brake van.

Looking down from the roof of the Paul's building across the yard, showing a wide variety of wagons ready to be marshalled.

Another shot looking down with the opportunity to study the roof of a BR Derby type 2, which has obviously suffered a loss of coolant at some point.

And finally a long distance shot looking along the quay as a Class 03 shunts stock.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

HYWEL THOMAS

With the new operations system fully working we see a Newport-based class 25 having arrived with a spoil train. Having shunted the sidings it will head back east with a brake van. But I discovered that although having a substantial fleets of spoil wagons when it came to scrap traffic I was rather lacking…

The wagons we see heading back up to the exchange sidings won’t see any more scrap as they’ve been transferred to steel coil traffic so the yard in the background won’t be doing any loading until a few more mineral wagons join the fleet!

And here’s the culprit - the new card system for delivering wagons for loading at the scrap yard. I found I could have empty wagons in the actual yard; loaded wagons awaiting departure from the BR yard and more empties in the fiddle yard. It was time to raid the kit stash and the ancient salvage heap from the long-gone OO-gauge layout…

An indication of how long these old favourites had been in the box - how much is the Dapol 16-tonner nowadays?

Having found an old Ian Kirk kit for the GWR N23 coal wagon I figured it was probably a bit ancient for 1972 but then found in my South Wales records details of at least five that survived modified to the three-door N28 conversions into 1972 so I had to add the extra doors….and all those rivets!

After some kit building, some salvage, a visit to a toy fair for some well-priced Bachmann examples and a few other bits and bobs this was the result (with another six kits still to build!).

A closer view of the N28 after priming and next to it a very unusual real-life visitor to a colliery in South Wales during 1970 - a LMS diagram 1951 Soda Ash wagon. One of ten built and irresistible for my scrap fleet - more rivets and, more unusually, a tarpaulin bar still in place when it arrived at the colliery, no doubt to the surprise of the screen operators!

The new wagons are still to be weathered and will then join the paltry ‘fleet’ visible at the back of the yard here.

And finally a view looking the other way…and soon to be filling up with various mineral wagons of scrap.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************

GREG BROOKES

I've been fitting the new SM68D/CBA test etches for the CBA hopper, as produced by Phil Eames and Colin Craig of Stenson Models.

Appleby Model Engineering cast resin hoods (which are no longer available) have been fitted to the Hornby HAA hopper, then finshed off with the new Stenson etches.

Although the etches (and potentially the hoods) are not in production due to other projects in the pipeline, Stenson Models welcome enquiries with the potential for special orders.

The conversion is to a CBA which were built in the late 1960s, originally running from Tunstead to Margam, later switched to Hardendale to Margam carrying powdered lime for the steel works at Port Talbot.

Showing the first 2 of a planned 14 wagon rake.

Leaving the steel works exchange sidings, we see hired-in 08951 trundling over the main line heading for the locomotive depot for attention.

Before departing the steel works depot, a quick look back sees an ex-BR Class 04 being stripped of parts.

Down at the stabling point Class 08 shunting loco 3748 is captured between shunting duties.

There's obviously a problem starting D7026 judging by the battery charging equipment which has been brought down by the duty fitter to give them a bit of a boost.

Jonny Duffet has built a FW3 / type 23 pillbox from plasticard, and after taking a mould of it, has cast a few extras in resin for friends. Here's one after painting and weathering. A separate cast of steps will slot in from the underside.

Protruding steel rungs were originally fitted for external access, but would have been removed when the pillbox became redundant.

Another pillbox has been planted in a strategic position above Shenston Road tunnel. For more information on this type of structure, have a look at the Pillbox Study Group website.

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************