Tullygrainey

I do wonder sometimes why we do it but then... when it works, I remember why.

I started this trio of BCDR vans ages ago then lost interest in them for a while. Bar couplings, they're just about finished now. Resin bodies. Chassis made using bits from Alan Gibson kits giving one fix and one rocking axle. Gibson wheels. W-irons fabricated from MJT etches. Springs and axle boxes are white metal castings, also from MJT.

A lot of modelling challenges arrived together on that 4-6-2T chassis David - bogies, pony trucks, six-coupled wheels, outside frames and cranks! Plenty of variables to keep the problem-solving gene exercised. I hope you've nailed them all now.

In a previous post you mentioned looking for seats for your 6 wheel coaches Paul. I got these from Slater's 4mm range recently. Enough in one packet for 12 bench seats.

I think solder before paint might be the better option. In my experience, the edge to edge nature of the joins makes it difficult to do neatly, so needing an element of fibreglass brush work to tidy up afterwards. Trying to avoid damaging an already applied paint job would make that job even harder. But.... from the evidence above, your soldering is very tidy so maybe it's not a problem. Good luck with it, whatever order you decide on.

That is frankly astonishing progress for a couple of days of work. Looking good Paul. There seems to be no end of ways to arrange the underpinnings of 6 wheel coach kits to make them get round curves without falling off. I think I've just about worked out from your photos how this one works but it seems quite complicated. I'll watch this with interest. I have 3 Bill Bedford BCDR 6 wheeler kits calling to me from the drawer.

KiIlmore's official photographer @Patrick Davey came by the other day and tried out his new wide angle lens. It was a cold day and the stationmaster has just lit fires in all the grates. In other news, a grounded van has appeared in the goods yard.

Subtle weathering but convincingly grubby. Those are perfect Patrick.

That is really delicate work Paul and as far as I can see, you're making a great job of it, modifications included. The soldering looks fine to me! Good luck with the rest of the build. I'll watch this one with interest.

A wagon for Kilmore. This is the Weighbridge Fitters' van, apparently a one-off with no number. Desmond Coakham speculated that it was built on the chassis of a ballast brake ordered to be broken up in 1908. I used plasticard for the body with some brass strapping from an Alan Gibson etch. The sides apparently differed from one another but the two photos I was able to find were both of the same side so I guessed the layout of the hidden side based on the description in Desmond Coakhams' book. (The Belfast and County Down Railway, Colourpoint, 2010) The chassis uses an MJT compensation etch to create one fixed and one rocking axle mounted on a brass floor. These will do the work of carrying the wheels behind the scene. Brake details came variously from Gibson and Brassmasters wagon chassis etches. All of this then hides behind the outside W irons typical of BCDR rolling stock. They are cosmetic in this model and are superglued to the sole bars. Along with spring units, they are pre-production 3D printed items from Enda Byrne (ckprints.ie) which I got the opportunity to try out (many thanks to Gareth Brennan, Kieran Lagan and Enda for moving this along). They're finely printed and suit this project well. I used tissue paper to texture the roof, flooding it with liquid poly to bond it to the plastic card. The skylight is also a guesstimate since the available photos don't show it well. Next, paint, transfers and weathering. Some couplings, then it's just about ready to go. There are a number of errors (should have a window in each end for one thing) which I'm not going to lose sleep over.

Ah… I’d been wondering who this new bloke Colonel was

Not a lot happening at the Kilmore goods shed today.

Excellent! I really like that last photo. A real sense of being in the landscape, standing lineside.

That's all coming together nicely.

or Northern Ireland