A Cunning Plan - Part 1 - The Heywood Flat

"I have a cunning plan..." or words to that effect, muttered only to myself but possibly broadcast on the NGRM Online forum a couple of months ago. The plan directly affects both 'Odsock Corner' and 'To The End' but starts in the acquired box of Owen Ryder O9 bits with a wagon floor casting.

I didn't need an operational wagon but one that would look good hidden behind a fence (more about where in another instalment), so not having the correct axleboxes wouldn't be an issue. The top of the casting had the plank lines re-scribed using a Olfa-style cutter which made for a very neat finish once painted. Owen's coupling castings add some much needed detail. However, what lies underneath is a very different story...

A scrap Farish brakevan chassis was hacked into bits to provide some running gear. Too much hacking in fact as one W-iron actually fell off and had to be surgically reattached. This prompted me to add Heywood style suspension, much modified 3D prints from the same friend as those on the brake van. These actually had no axlebox so the original was covered with styrene strip. The original W-irons hang below the cosmetic ones, but the fence will hide a lot!

Painting was the usual black-grey wash, followed by weathered wood effects on the planking and Vallejo 'Leather Brown' as the main colour, with metalwork in black-grey. Enough weathering has been applied to give a work-a-day look ready to be placed in it's new home. It is sitting on a set of Matheson 7mm diameter wheels that had developed a bit of a wobble, ideal for a non-runner!

More soon.

Colin

Heywood Brake Van - The Paintshop

I'm pleased to report that the Heywood brake van is now complete, painted and ready for service...

Now you may be thinking that we have missed a stage somewhere as last time it appeared on the blog it was still in raw materials, and you would be right, This is the missing photo of the primed model, as always the coat of primer has brought the various elements of the build together as one, I was very happy with the finish and the way the parts sit together, my careful attention to any gaps seeming to have paid off. 

Painting started with a wash of black-grey to get in all the plank lines and corners, an under-shade so to speak. Vallejo 'Flat Earth' was used as the main colour for all the woodwork, dry-brushed as far as possible to leave the shading in the recesses. The shade of the 'Flat Earth' was varied for a light second coat, lighter on the interior and darker on the exterior, just to add variety. Metalwork was finished in black-grey with a dry-brushing of gunmetal grey and the roof in a mid grey. The plate on the bodyside was painted black with the lettering dry-brushed off-white, using an improvised mask made using a hole punch and a post-it note!

After a coat of Humbrol acrylic matt varnish from an aerosol, the painting stage was complete and I am pleased that the joins in the roof have all-but disappeared, only visible if the light hits at the wrong angle! Couplings are Greenwich for use on 'Odsock Corner' and to save building a new set, these were <ahem> "borrowed" from my recently built 8-seat coach, as was the passenger. A decision will be made about that vehicle soon...

More Heywood soon...

Colin

Denton Road - O9 at Kirklees

The annual Kirklees Light Railway gala weekend has rolled around again, this year's theme is milestones, with the 60-year old 'River Mite' and 50-year old 'Northern Rock' visiting from the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. 

The Ratty was also represented in miniature by Daniel Winter's 'Denton Road', an O9 combination of elements from several railways. but with a strong Ratty theme to to the stock.

20 years ago I was building freelance O9 stock from bits of plastic kits and eventually evolving to scratchbuilding prototypical equipment. Daniel has embraced 3D printing to produce those components that are required over again, such as R&ER enclosed stock, but still scratchbuilds other items, including the Rivers Irt and Mite seen here with the proposed Greenly 0-8-4T single Fairlie.

There's even an Atlantic, which has prompted me to consider getting my long-stalled project out again (well, that and a visit to Rhyl during the summer...)

Not everything is unique to the layout - the Chivers Finelines open coach makes an appearance, one of the few commercial O9 items that represents true miniature railway practice. A reminder that if you wish to order one, they are only available directly from Chivers Finelines.

This was the first occasion that I have seen and had the chance to ride behind 'Northern Rock', a very impressive machine indeed, so much so that I had two rides up the hill behind her, I usually try and get an uphill ride behind all visiting locos but having ridden behind 'River Mite' before I made an exception, opting for a downhill run instead.

If you're reading this as soon as I post it, there is still a chance to see it all on Sunday 13th September!

Colin