Wednesday 28th March

Worklist:
Wagon lettering
Main building update
Cassette end stops

A full house and an interesting session that ultimately focused on the wagon lettering.

Stephen and Geoff had been bouncing lettering ideas back-and-forth during the week. Stephen had searched for dry rub-on and waterslide sheets, but white lettering had proven elusive. He'd then created the artwork to have a bespoke set made. John's principle wagon lettering used the notation Worton Court Minerals, but this didn't suit the new wagons, so W C M Ltd had been proposed. An A5 sheet would be £35-40 (enough for 17 wagons and some spares), so approximately £2/wagon.

Geoff had been pursuing the idea of laser cutting a stencil for the each letter using self-adhesive paper and spraying the lettering. However, this had turned out to be more difficult than expected and the the results were not very precise, but these issues might be correctable, if pursued.

As it happened, Geoff had already moved onto Option 2 - laser cutting white DIY waterslide transfer sheets. Instead of the Helvetica/Arial font, he'd opted for a prototypical 'railway' font, with chunky serif's. The first letters were duly cut out and soaked. The surrounding waste material came off easily, but the letters were found to be fused around the edges and took a lot of patience to release. This was exacerbated by the shallow cut selected, so another batch were made in the simpler font and a deeper cut setting. The letters were still incredibly flimsy¹, and difficult to release and place, but a coat of Microset ensured the transfers were properly bedded on the wooden bodies. Although a decent finish was produced, the time they took was considered impractical, let alone the nervous exhaustion suffered.

Option 3 followed immediately. Geoff took a sheet of clear waterslide paper and over-sprayed a thin coat of gloss white paint. Once dry, this was used for another batch. These were stiffer and easier to work with and despite the additional paint, the Microset worked well again. Numbers and the tare labels were also made and applied. However, the lowercase letters proved too awkward to manipulate and so '4 Tons' was abbreviated to the often-used '4T'.

The lettering was noticeably thicker than the first batch but still very acceptable. Maybe a thinner coat of paint next time?

So, we now had three branded wagons (on one side at least) and a viable method of repeating the process. Numbers and tare will go on all wagons, but we probably won't brand them all. Or maybe we'll do them all on one side and mix them up - very prototypical.

Laurence had kept his head down while the madness ensued and had completed the set of end stops for the cassettes.

Stephen then set-up the main building in place so he could tailor-make timber threshold strips across the garage openings. Both garages now had their floors glued in place and the 'workshop' had a bench, tool wall rack, shelving and a barrel.

The exterior walls had been painted white and the individual roof slates had been painted a mixture of colours. It looks a bit unnatural at this stage, but a grimy overcoat might make it more realistic.

The emulsion paint was mixed with plaster filler powder, for added texture, which also appears to reduce the gaps between the stones.

Footnote:

1 - We subsequently realised that the flimsiness of the first batch of transfers was due to us not applying a coat of varnish to the sheet. The spray paint coat certainly proved that an extra layer was beneficial, so we're going to try a coat of varnish over the white waterslide paper and then laser cut the lettering out, just to see if it makes any difference!

Wednesday 21st March

Worklist:
Wagon load preparation
Building interiors and decoration
Cassettes
Wagon fittings

A full house this week and a productive session 'to boot'.

Stephen had brought his grit-colouring paraphernalia again, and set up to show Laurence the method he had used before. Grit (mixed sizes) was placed in a plastic pot to which neat acrylic paint was added and stirred-in thoroughly. White was added first, then brown, yellow and more white until a colour close to an element of the bridge wall was attained. This was spread out onto paper to dry. Another batch was then prepared of a slightly different shade and spread out again. What's required are subtly different shades that, when mixed together, reflect the wall colours, without any standing out.

When fully dry, the coloured grit can be easily separated/crumbled to individual stones.

Geoff then had a go creating two mixes, but after allowing to dry a bit, these were considered to be too different from the first two and will require recolouring.

Stephen had also brought the building back and displayed the new floor panels and a workbench. The latter fits at the end of the left hand bay, which has a planked-over floor pit, and will be the vehicle workshop.

Stephen had carried out some tests for whitewashing the building. After investigating real walls and noted little dark crevices that many had, test panels with black and grey spray base coats had been prepared. Top coats of neat white acrylic, matt emulsion and both thickened with filler powder were applied. However, thickened emulsion on the plain white plastic sub-base was found to be the realistic. Plants growing out of crevices have still been insisted on!

Laurence finished making and fitting the pins for the cassette end plates.

Geoff displayed his wagons fitted with wagon door protectors. These had been laser cut from basswood to match those found on a vintage standard gauge wagon he'd photographed. A packet of them were handed to Stephen to complete his rake.

Wednesday 14th March

Worklist:
Wagons
Main building decoration

Unfortunately, an important delivery was delayed until lunchtime, which stopped Laurence attending, so just Geoff and Stephen.

Geoff was in full-flow fitting brake gear and wheels to his rake of wagons, and 9 appeared during the session. One or two will need their axles fettled a little to ease running, and the remaining couplings fitted, but we're close to having a full working set. Then, we just have to weather them, number/brand them, fill half with loads, etc., but they are looking good and well worth the effort.

Stephen had brought the main building back for two purposes - fitting the lighting electrics and a repaint. Plugs and sockets were fitted to the supply wires and holes cut to feed them through to the sub-board area where the voltage regulator was fitted and wired-in.

The walls of the building had originally been painted dark grey using acrylic paint. However, this turned out to be 'child-friendly' acrylic paint that was readily wiped off with the merest hint of moisture on a hand. The only answer was to wash it all off, which Stephen had done, and to start again. The dark grey was quite dingy and the idea was to match the warmer, brown colour of the bridge with some new 'proper' acrylics. Before starting that process, Stephen decided to fit the garage floor inserts. These cardboard panels had been agreed weeks before in order to raise the inside above the external paving and take the opportunity to add a planked-over floor pit. Whilst this was being measured and cut, the white building started to look quite 'at home'. Eventually, Stephen and Geoff discussed the possibility of keeping it as a whitewashed building and agreed it would clearly not be out-of-place, albeit that a slightly dilapidated condition would be required. Stephen to investigate peeling whitewash, mouldy growths, blocked downpipes etc.

Re wagon loads - Stephen had brought his load paraphernalia comprising acrylic paint, painted grit samples, mixing bowls etc, in order to demonstrate his method of colouring. It was planned to match the stone colour of the bridge, which we had determined was the typical output from the quarry. However, as Laurence was absent (and the unpainted grit left at home), this will be held-over until next week.



Geoff acquired a new chair this week and found himself working more comfortably than he ever imagined. It also enabled him to swivel between the desk and laser cutter rather than having to stand up and turn the chair around - such opulence!

Wednesday 7th March

Worklist:
Wagons
Cassettes
Tank

After early showers, it became a lovely sunny, spring day and our spirits were high.

Geoff had completed all of the detailing on his wagons (9 so far...) and had given them a spray coat of grey primer earlier in the morning. He then moved on to assemble some more chassis units and managed to produce his first complete wagon.

The extra 3mm dia brass rod had arrived, so Laurence went back to assembling the cassette stop-ends.

Stephen had brought his rake of wagons down to have a test run with the cassettes. It was soon apparent that with the safety blocks in place and using the BO-BO diesel, there was space for 7 wagons rather than the 8 planned, but 7 still makes a good train.

The stop-ends worked well, but some protection for the Kadee couplings was needed. Foam pads were agreed, engaging with the buffer face either side of the coupling. Geoff provided a choice of self-adhesive foam strip and made-up a test block using four layers, which worked perfectly.

Stephen had made an oval tank for his second tar wagon, but set it aside in favour a round tank. For fun, he'd mounted it on a timber frame stiffened with diagonal rods and angle iron. However, when dropped into the IC loco area, it looked so good a permanent position was sought. Three positions were debated, but it was finally located centrally, requiring the timber decking and abandoned engine to be moved.

All three had been searching for suitable wagon load material in their local garden centres and aquarium supply shops. Laurence and Stephen had brought samples which were almost identical.  The texture of the material - a mixture of sizes from 6" to fines was generally approved. Stephen had also prepared some coloured using his method of 'churning' grit in neat acrylic paint, for discussion. Batches of slightly different colours mixed after drying produces an acceptable mix, but it was agreed that the final colour would need to be closer to the bridge wall material. Experiments will take place next week.

All agreed it was a very good session.

Wednesday 28th February

Worklist:
Wagons......

Laurence had problems with the snow, so just Stephen and Geoff.

Stephen unpacked his rake of wagons and discussions ensued regarding the latest assembly tweaks. Geoff provided four more axles to enable him to finish the underframes of the last ore wagon and the new tar wagon. The rake of eight mixed ore wagons (four flat top and four arched top).

Geoff was in full production, working on his underframes. A total of ten wagons is currently planned - eight for a working train and two for spares/variety. So far, there are still nine bodies awaiting card detailing and bolt heads (just 140 bolts per wagon Geoff!).

Stephen had experimented with the supplied brake gear and had fitted it on both sides. However, Geoff had planned to just fit brakes to one side, so Stephen will remove his superfluous gear. As Geoff worked, a pile of 'cropped' V hangers accumulated and a quick test showed that they could be refitted on the solebars in the correct relationship to the brake pivot. Furthermore, the brake handle and hanger also fitted well, albeit an offset will need to be applied to the handle.

Stephen's second 'in-progress' tar wagon with newly fitted underframe, wheels and couplings. Bolt heads and lid details required. Although smaller than their standard gauge equivalents, both tar wagons probably need ladders to access the lids.

Both tar wagons outside the workshop.

Concerned about the weight of the wagons, a check was carried out and both wagons would have weighed-in around 3-3.5 tons, i.e. less than the 4 ton of stone the open wagons will take. But how did they get the tar out?

A lot of discussion took place regarding how the wagons are to be finished:

Colour - Halfords grey primer is perfect for the undercoat, but it's also growing on us for the final colour - TBA. And what about the underframes - should they be different? Geoff intends to paint one wagon in ex-factory condition, with black metalwork.

Lettering - Stephen had assumed that wagons would be 'Private Owner' status, with 'Worton Court Minerals' on the side, but Geoff had assumed plain, with just numbering. The GVT had a mixture of simple GVT lettering and the PO Ceiriog Granite Co. railway wagons, so perhaps we could do the same. Then there's how the lettering is applied. We ruled out hand painting, but apart from some proprietary decals, bespoke seems the only option, as homemade 'white' decals do not appear to be possible. Research and decisions required.

Loads - John had used heavily applied, light-coloured weathering on his stock, but we don't know exactly what it represented. As we weren't terribly keen on the effect, we decided to create our own story. Worton Court has a quarry, but what is it producing/transporting and, more importantly, what colour and size are the 'lumps'?  Research over lunch disappointingly provided very little photographic information of typical loads. Descriptions gave more detailed information e.g. sandstone used in construction was often shipped in slab form, but granular material loads were more appealing. Crushed granite and limestone was used in road, railway and general construction in specific sizes such as 14/19mm chippings, 38/50/63/100mm for drainage and groundwork, 150-200mm gambion fill etc. Mixed sizes i.e. graded to dust were used for load-bearing ground situations.

However, all this depends on the crusher location. Assuming that the crusher was 'further up' the line, producing a range of products, we could use any of these sizes. Alternatively, we could select the largest size, to be in the process of being transported down to the crusher, close to the final distribution point. Some experimentation with different materials should help us to decide.