August '26 update

Hello again, this time a little update on some of the O gauge range of rolling stock, North British Railway goods vehicles formerly part of the Port Wynnstay range.

First up, PW 7O4, the North British Railway designed Empty Cask Wagon (LNER diag 65B). A slightly unusual vehicle being something of a cross between a long wheelbase van and a high sided open. As the name suggests they were designed solely for the purpose of returning empty whisky casks and beer barrels to the many and various Scottish distilleries and breweries served by the North British Railway. As a load of empty barrels is essentially high volume but low density, the wagons were lightly constructed with slatted sides and ends, and initially rated at just 8 tons.

NBR Empty Cask Wagon from kit PW 704

Kit PW 704 represents the first form of these wagons, fitted with conventional hinged doors (often referred to as cupboard doors) and a single pair of 'T' section straps which gently curved across the top to act as ties preventing the top rails from bowing outwards when fully loaded. As barrels were typically stored outside at the breweries, there was no need to protect them from the elements during transit, thereby saving the expense of a full roof.

The second kit is PW 7O5, the younger sibling of PW 7O4 in that it represents the later development of the cask wagon (LNER diag. 67B). These shared a similar slatted bodywork to that used on the original wagons, but were provided with sliding doors that would have been more convenient to use in the tight confines of goods sheds and loading bays.

Ex NBR Cask Wagon from kit PW 7O5.

Below deck, these vehicles had thicker journals and stronger springs permitting higher loading, initially 10 tons and later 12 tons. This higher rating enabled them to work both ways, carrying both full and empty casks, thereby making much more efficient use of the vehicles. Two pairs of 'T' section roof straps were provided to constrain the sides, reflecting the heavier load. Not being common user, these wagons would have rarely strayed outside their native territory and as such are a signature item of rolling stock for Southern Scottish pre-nationalisation layouts. A handful of the heavier rated wagons survived into the early period of British Railways, some photographs showing them converted with oil axle boxes.

In a slight change to the original Port Wynnstay kits, these are now supplied with cosmetic resin axle guards rather than the white metal ones previously used. The wheels are then carried in an etched brass compensation unit (not supplied). This is what I have been advocating for some time for use with my O gauge Coach Builder packs. There are various manufacturers that supply this type of unit, with different degrees of sophistication and complexity to suit most tastes. On these test builds I used units supplied by CRT kits. I must stress this is not an explicit recommendation, they were merely selected for being relatively simple and economical. Initial test running has confirmed that the track holding of these longer wheelbase wagons is vastly improved by the use of compensation.

Compensation unit fitted to a Cask Wagon.

I should however point out a couple of potential pitfalls that might catch out the unwary. Firstly, there were no instructions provided with the etch, so it helps to have some experience in order to know what you are doing -these are internal bearing therefore you will need to dismantle the wheelset and cut off the narrow ends from the axle. Secondly, the axle hole is etched over size so you will need to source a suitable bearing appropriate to your axle diameter. In this case the issue was solved by slicing some rings of K&S brass tube and soldering in position to act as bearings. When the compensation unit is folded up, a pin or piece of thin wire is used as a pivot allowing the unit and axle to rock very slightly. Before fitting to the wagon, the ride height was adjusted by using plasticard shim between the compensation unit and the underside of the floor.

The second axle of the vehicle should be fixed. This can be achieved by either drilling the back of the axle boxes and fitting wheel bearings in the conventional manner, or by using another compensation unit, but this time locked up with either solder or glue to prevent rocking. This is often referred to as 3-point compensation as the principal load bearing points form a triangle. One additional benefit of the CRT unit is the various bits of brake gear that is included on the etch - always handy to have in the spares box.

The third vehicle in the ex NBR trio is PW 701. This is a large 6-wheel covered van rated at 15 ton (LNER diag. 44B). These handsome vans were in some ways simply a stretched version of the contemporary 4-wheel vans in use by the company at the same time. Originally introduced in 1904, the first vehicles of this body style featured a flexible wheelbase, using a fixed centre axle and two outer pony trucks. The diagram 44B vans were a later build arriving in 1921 but using a fixed wheelbase chassis. Many of the earlier vans were subsequently converted to the rigid form.

Ex NBR 15 ton, 6-wheel van built from kit PW 701

In rigid form and with oil axle boxes, a good number of these vans survived into the early BR period where their internal capacity and long load length must have been an advantage. Photographs suggest they were widely travelled, with examples in BR days being captured at both Neasden and Cambridge.

The test build model shown here attempts to depict a vehicle in BR light grey livery. The running gear once again makes use of CRT compensation units. The outer units are allowed to rock, whereas the centre unit is fixed, creating 3-point compensation either side of the centre axle. The centre unit was first modified to be narrower to allow for a greater degree of side play on curves. The exact minimum radius is yet to be established. Before the roof was fitted, a small amount of weight was added inside the body at each end.

I feel I should add a note on lettering and numbering. The cask wagon models shown above are in an almost finished state. Lettering still required includes 'return to' instructions adding to the lower right side, together with 'cask traffic' or 'ale traffic' branding. The numbering of all three vehicles here is illustrative rather than strictly accurate. It is my understanding that the numbering policy used by the NBR was somewhat ad hoc and ultimately disjointed which makes placing individual vehicles or tracing number sequences very difficult. Some sample numbers can be determined from photographic evidence, but in the case of the 8 ton empty cask, I do not currently have that information, hence the 1234 on the number plate. Personally speaking, I am becoming increasingly minded not to finish rolling stock with numbers that have appeared in published photographs, lest they should attract the unwanted attentions of obsessive 'rivet counters' which can get very tedious. As such I have tried to create numbers that are at least plausible, in line with general company or regional practice. If it turns out I have made an error, they can be changed at a later date. As far as rolling stock on layouts is concerned, if it looks something like and most importantly creates the right atmosphere, then I'm happy with that.

The kits featured above will be added to the website shortly when the first batches of parts are ready.

Finally, we do not have any shows booked for the remainder of this year, which in theory at least, should allow a little more attention to be directed to the web shop. That said, I will however be attending Guildex this year as part of the operating team with our club layout 'Invermire'. Its blue diesels in the Highlands, completely different from the day job. The distillery in Invermire is served by imposing bogie bulk grain hoppers, and the products taken away by road, so sadly no requirement for cask wagons.

If you are around at Guildex, stop by and say hello.

May 26 product news

Hello again. To kick off this post, a quick update on a couple of buildings that have been under development.

First of all a timber platform goods store building (BK35).

This features horizontal overlapping boards (weather board) and is intended to complement the North Eastern Waiting room kit BK24. Buildings of this style could be found employed in a number of roles around a station. For the purposes of this display model I have imagined it being used on a platform as a parcels office with a small goods store room behind the double doors. It could however just as easily be used as a porters room and barrow store at a larger station. Alternatively it could function in the station yard as a stores building or maintenance workshop.

The kit follows the same construction style as the NE waiting room, depicting the characteristic modular buildings used by that company, later inherited by the LNER and BR(NE) region. As such the display model is wearing a representation of the LNER green and cream colour scheme. The modular nature of these buildings readily lends themselves to modification or 'kit bashing' with a few simple cuts allowing sections to be moved around into new combinations perhaps with parts from other kits for a larger building.

A second building project has been this 'Tin Tabernacle' - a relatively low cost chapel often associated with isolated rural communities linked to industries such as mining or fishing.

This is not yet a kit, it is still at the development stage. The model shown in the photos is a combination of new castings for the main walls, combined with roof parts adapted from other kits, plus some scratch built details.

It is intended to have the model available for inspection at shows and I will be canvassing opinions from customers. If you cant get to a show but have some thoughts you would like to offer, please feel free to drop me a line using the contact form. If all goes well it could be a kit before too long.

Moving on now to developments in the narrow gauge stock list.

The reworking of the NG10 ventilated / milk van is almost complete, the first test build is shown below unpainted.

Similar work has been taking place on the NG11 Goods Brake Van shown below partially painted.

Finally, completing this trio of long wheelbase vans, the cattle wagon (NG19) is now available following its upgrade.

These vehicles are freelance designs intended to capture the feel of the larger common carrier narrow gauge lines and as such take their inspiration from designs once found on the Isle of Man and in Southern Ireland. These systems operated on 3 foot gauge, but to keep in proportion with O-16.5 track, the vans have been reduced in size slightly. Typically 92mm long by 42mm wide they would particularly suit a layout of 16.5mm gauge depicting a 2'6'' gauge prototype operation.

Previously only available as body kits, these now come complete with chassis and metal wheels. The patterns for the body castings have been slightly modified and detailed, and also include an all new floor casting to accommodate the 3d printed underframe. Coupling arrangements are left to the builder.

The next show is the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association annual show in Burton Upon Trent on Saturday June 13th. We aim to have many of the new products available, plus the usual show specials, bargain rummage boxes and possibly some ex-display buildings for sale. Hope to see many of you there.

February '26 update part II

I know what you are thinking - you wait ages for an update, then two come at once. So to explain, I thought it might be better to split the update as it became clear it was turning into a very long post!

So to continue, I mentioned in the previous post about new narrow gauge wagon chassis. Visitors at the Trent Valley Group's modelling day in Mickleover may have noticed a small collection of wagons on the stall with the sign 'Under development'. Here's a quick summary of what was on show:

First up, two of the long wheelbase 4-wheel wagons; NG09 covered van and NG25 3-plank drop side open with curved ends.

Test builds of NG09 & NG25 with revised chassis.

The covered van has a new cast floor which accommodates 3D printed underframes with leaf springs as are used in the 4-wheel coach kits but with the addition of long brake levers and single brake shoe each side. The 3-plank features the popular one piece cast body which will be supplied with the usual cast head-stocks and end stanchions, but will now include new 3D printed underframes featuring coil springs. These are similar in style to those used on some WHR stock and some more recent RNAD vehicles, many of the latter entering preservation. It is intended that all the revised wagon kits will be supplied with brass bearings and spoked metal wheels as standard.

Also receiving attention have been the NG01 2-plank open and NG28 1-plank open, both of which have only been available as bodies for some time.

NG28 1-plank wagon.

These have a shorter wheelbase chassis, also with coil springs, single either side brake and brake lever. The chassis assembles separately which is then fitted to the remastered body castings. In many ways they are new kits.

Finally the steel open. This wagon has been on the periphery for some time, a few were available on eBay and at shows while I tinkered around with the design.

Steel Open wagon.

The steel open again has a one piece cast body and shares the same chassis as the 1&2 plank opens. I hope in this latest form it will prove a popular addition to the wagon fleet.

Hopefully the first of the new kits will be available from the web shop in the next few weeks, suppliers permitting!

When time allows the cattle wagon, ventilated van and tool van will also be given new chassis.

Moving now to some scenic accessories, following requests for stone wall capping to be used with the stone building sheets, I have developed a flat style of capping to represent riven / split stone, typical of slate walling. The photo below shows a test piece used in conjunction with a strip of wall cut from the BC23 slate wall building sheet.

Riven stone / slate wall capping.

The second form of capping depicts slanted stones, a style commonly used in dry stone walling. The test piece shown below uses a strip from the BC21 rough stone walling sheet.

Slanted dry stone wall style capping.

Currently the wall cappings are only available at shows. As they are still a very new product I'm keen to canvass customer views before committing them to the product list.

Whilst on the subject of the building sheets, the B32 weatherboard planking sheet is now available. Sometimes known as lap board on account of its horizontal overlapping planks, or clapboard siding, it is a classic feature of many lightly constructed railway buildings. The building below was constructed to illustrate a possible use.

Scratch-built office building constructed using BC32 weatherboard sheet for the walls.

I often get asked about the best way to cut resin sheets. In the past my preferred method has been to 'score and snap' using a couple of passes with a heavy craft, then snapping along the score line. Recently however a customer suggested the Tamiya scriber II tool. I tried it out when making the model above. This cuts using a hooked blade. When pulled lightly towards the user it easily cuts into the resin, removing a satisfying curl of resin swarf in the process. A few passes are needed to get through the sheet, but the end result is a very clean cut. If you've not used one before, they take a little getting used to at first, but do give very good results. Probably best done on an old cutting mat, as a new blade is very keen and will go through the surface of the cutting mat before you have realised!

Our next show dates are in March, with Narrow Gauge North on the 14th in Pudsey and then Howden show on the 21st where the narrow gauge stock will be swapped for the standard gauge items. Hope to see you soon.