Rapido arrives in 009

Last week I completed another circuit of the sun, and was rewarded with gifts, including this lovely Kerr Stuart Sirdar by Rapido.

It is truly small but delightfully detailed. I picked the yellow not just because it is attractive, but it reminded me of the Minitrains Bagnall which was my first ready-to-run 009 model. The Rapido model is a brighter shade - it looks more yellow in the photograph, which is odd as it looks more orange in reality - although I expect it will tone down with a oily-cloth finish weathering. I'm pleased to say it runs as well as it looks too.

I also got a couple of the new Rapido wagons. I have plenty of kit-built wagons, but I couldn't resist some with witty liveries! They could work well in Loctern's shunting challenge, although I'd need to change the couplings. There's also another Peco Glyn Valley coach which will complete a short rake for Hexworthy. 

There was also a loco kit - more on that another day. I have to say that Rapido's arrival in 009 looks to be excellent, and will complement the products of Peco, Kato, Heljan and Bachmann. 

Glyn Valley Bridge

The July BRM has a second article from me - the build of the Dapol kit for the narrow gauge girder bridge. This is based on the design used on the Glyn Valley Tramway, three of which took the railway across the Ceiriog river, and at least a couple of them still stand today.

The kit uses laser-cut card in the same way as the loco shed which I featured in the April BRM. Careful neat assembly paying close attention to the instructions results in a nice structure. I think the planked deck works particularly well, with gaps between the planking. After painting, it's hard to recognise that this is made of card. 

I was also rather pleased with the river, which I modelled on the Ceiriog at Dolywern where one of the original bridges is just visible from the road bridge. It uses the same heavy gloss acrylic medium I used to add waves to the stream on Hexworthy, with the waves formed using the airbrush. 

Of course, you don't need to model the Glyn Valley Tramway to make use of this kit!

It's great to see the trade supporting 009 with suitable structures.

Loctern Quay prep for Salisbury

Next weekend I'll be taking Loctern Quay to Salisbury Railex, which looks to be a good show in an interesting location - Thruxton motor circuit. 

Loctern doesn't need much prep, having been out once already this year, but I do check operation carefully including the couplings as they are critical for reliable operation on a shunting layout.

At Tonbridge I found the new "Whiting" tram loco couplings didn't behave, sometimes refusing to stay coupled. I think this was a combination of the longer shank couplings I'd used to clear the cowcatcher, and the curved approach when collecting wagons. I found a short shank coupling fitted and would work, just clearing the cowcatcher, and with a little adjustment it seemed to behave in testing with all wagons. 

There's only an extra couple of millimetres in the length of the shafts, so I wonder if the issue is as much about the leverage against the spring as it is the overhang. 

I also tested the WD Hunslet, since it is now running nicely, and it does look good on the quay. However, like the WD Baldwin when that is used, it must run cab end to the wagons since the overhang (from leading driver to coupling) at the smokebox end is so long. 

Look how far the coupling swings from the track centre-line!

I just need to finish loco testing and pack up. Do say hello if you are at the show.

Hexworthy preparation for Narrow Gauge South

Hexworthy will be at Narrow Gauge South at Eastleigh on Saturday, so I have been carrying out the usual preparations (a quick vacuum) and testing (running all the train combinations I can think of). There were a few minor jobs to do too, including looking at the exhibition fiddle yard following some occasional issues at it's last outing at Chatham last year. 

The probable cause of the occasional derailment or unwanted uncoupling was mismatched rails between the lead track and the traverser.  A couple of rails needed lateral adjustment, but several had a slight change in height. The rails are soldered to PCB strip either side of the join, so adjustment meant applying a soldering iron until the solder melts and holding the rail in the right place (including up slightly where needed) with pliers while it cools. All seems good now, hopefully it will stay that way!

The deck had become stiff to turn, and had started squeaking when turned. The pivot is simply a bolt which had a washer, nut, and locking nut underneath - the lock nut preventing the nut coming undone. When I looked underneath I found the nut had wound itself tighter upward into the wood support, forcing the washer with it - while the locking nut stayed where it was. Here, I've removed the lock nut and the normal nut is about to be removed, but the washer remains embedded about 2-3mm into the timber.

The solution was a bigger washer, and using just the lock nut which shouldn't loosen or tighten. The tightness has been adjusted so the deck spins freely but there's no vertical movement. The old washer remains embedded in the wood - I guess it can act as a bearing!

The end gates for the deck folded down to rest on the rails. The problem is when the deck is slid back and turned, they could catch on the fixed tracks, and the resulting jolt derails most of the stock on the deck unless it is turned very slowly and carefully! The solution is simply a screw (seen centre) acting as a lower stop, holding the gate high enough to clear obstructions when turning. 

I also made an adjustment to the latching arm release mechanism underneath. This pushes the sprung notched aluminium arms (seen lower left in the photo) away from the alignment pegs so the deck can traverse smoothly. I took a photo, but it doesn't really help explain things unless you know what your looking at - so suffice to say the lever doesn't need to be pressed so far to allow smooth deck movement. 

My operating team say that the birds on the canopy are not sufficient to accurately position the train for uncoupling. Something to do with the operating position being four feet away to the end of the layout. In an attempt to make uncoupling easier, I've added tufts of grass. The idea is that with the overscale blue tit in line with the coach roof and the grass by the end of the footboard, together being easier to judge from an acute angle, the coupling should be over the magnet.

The other tuft of grass of course aligns with the robin, the marker for the Microtrains uncoupler magnet. In both cases the trick is to stop beyond the magnet, then set back to the markers to uncouple. We shall see how much the grass tufts help...

Now I just need to pack up for the show. It looks well worth attending if you can - do say hello. 

Coach upgrades

I've been doing a spot of work on some coaches. Firstly, a couple of older models. The Five79 Dundas Tramway coach was built in 2015 for Awngate, while the Dundas kit for a Vale of Rheidol brake van is even older and also saw service on Awngate. However, having adopted a darker shade of green for the Ashover coaches more recently, I thought these would look better in a matching shade rather than the lighter green used on Awngate. 

I removed the roofs, glazing, and vacuum pipes, and some of the seating from the coach came out too, but didn't strip the existing paint. The Tamyia deep green acrylic paint was brush painted, thinned with a little water to flow well and not dry too quickly, and allowing 3 coats for full opacity without obscuring the detail. The frames were painted off-black, and the window frames picked out in pale brown (a fiddley job but worthwhile). The roofs were sprayed with grey primer, the coach roof was given a covering of masking tape first though I didn't bother on the van since the lamp top was well fixed. 

The pair were then weathered in my usual way: a dirty brown wash over the underframes, a track brown airbrushed over the underframes and just onto the lower edges of the body, and an off-black airbrushed over the roofs and ends. These vehicles retain their Microtrains couplings, and can accompany a pair of the Ashover coaches with which they fit well, to form a longer train of mixed but matching vehicles for Hexworthy. 

This pair of Peco Glyn Valley Tramway coaches are much newer, having been acquired ready-to-run in the last year. I expect they will add to the stock suitable for use with smaller locos, such as quarry Hunslets, on Hexworthy. However, like most RTR stock, they look too clean and plasticky, even for a preserved railway. 

End details of steps, handrails, and brake levers were touched in with off-black, as were the underframes and lamp tops to take away their shiny finish. Foot steps were painted weathered brown, and inside, the seats painted green although this is barely visible through the windows. I had some seated figures left over from previous coaches, so both got a scattering of passengers. 

Weathering follows the same process as the other vehicles, the "soot" being even more effective on the white roofs. Not really visible here, but I've added wire droppers to the couplings to allow magnetic uncoupling. 

WD Hunslet remotoring

Some years ago I built a WD Hunslet using the Langley Models whitemetal kit. I was very happy with how the model came out, but the running was a bit rough and unreliable, so it has never seen much use. It uses a Minitrix N-gauge 2-6-2 chassis, quite an old chassis and although generally robust, the kit required significant modifications including moving the cylinders and motion. I spent some time adjusting the motion and ensuring quartering and gearing were in sync when I built it, yet running was still rough and occasionally the loco stalled without apparent reason.

It was time to do something about it. With the body removed, I removed the motor clips and released the motor from the gearing. This allowed me to check that the chassis rolled freely. The chassis is robustly rather than finely engineered, but rolled easily without any snagging or binding. However, turning the motor over revealed that wasn't so free, with serious cogging, possibly something catching.

Fortunately, Tramfabriek offer a remotoring kit for this chassis. The kit includes a coreless motor, worm, brass flywheel, and 3D printed motor mount. Fitting the upgraded motor is a little fiddly, the most tricky part being soldering the wires. It didn't help the pickup contact on one side of the chassis snapped off, leaving very little to solder to, but the motor contacts are very small too, and I could have done with finer wire (a pity wire wasn't in the kit). My epoxy glue had dried up, but UHU seemed to work. However, the online instructions are excellent, the motor and its mount a perfect fit, placing the worm precisely in mesh with the gear. I had to trim a little of the whitemetal footplate from the inside of the loco body to clear the wires, then the body refitted without issue. 

Even better, it worked straightaway, and the motor upgrade has made a big difference. The loco now runs smoothly and is controllable even down to slow speeds. It is still noisy, due to the coarse brass gearing, and it can be slightly hesitant when setting off from rest. So, perhaps not quite up to the running standard of modern RTR locos, but vastly better than the old motor could manage and easily useable on the layout. I've since been testing it on a rake of coaches; it has plenty of pulling power, and with a controllable crawling speed, coupling and uncoupling is reliable. Finally, this fine loco can be used at exhibitions - expect it to be in service at Narrow Gauge South later this month!

Glyn Valley Tramway Loco Shed.

April's BRM magazine shows another of my projects as a step-by-step guide. This one is is a Dapol laser-cut card kit for a narrow gauge engine shed. 

The prototype for the model was the Glyn Valley Tramway engine shed at Glyn Ceiriog, and still stands and can be seen on google streetview. 

It's a fine kit that makes a nice model. A first for me was using colouring pencils on the brickwork, which has worked really well. I modified assembly to allow the roof to be removed, and sat it on some card to lift it so my Glyn Valley Tram loco fitted through the door. I suspect the prototype was measured from current ground level, which might be equivalent to what was once rail height! 

It's nice to have a building kit that is intended for narrow gauge models. It will hold 3 009 locos, and would suit layouts in many different settings.

Much Ditheryn

The Sussex Downs 009 Group has been working on its layout, Much Ditheryn. It has been shown a couple of times while under construction, including at the group's members' day exhibition last year. There's still much to do, but scenery is continuing to develop. I recently took some photos, some of which have appeared with a short introduction to the layout and the group in the March 009 News.

The layout is set in the Welsh-Shropshire boarders, and hopefully the architecture of the village fits that. 

A river runs through the layout in a ravine.

The track runs on different levels.

Round the back, there is a double-deck train turntable fiddle yard, and a mimic diagram control panel.

Much Ditheryn will be at the Wealden Railway Group exhibition at Steyning on Sunday 8th March. More details of the show here.  Do say hello!

Fourdees Whiting Hunslet-style Tram Loco

After the push to get Whittingly ready for the deadline, then prepped for the NEC, it was time for an easy and quick project. This Fourdees kit seemed ideal. The 3D printed body kit "Whiting" is a tram loco inspired by Hunslet designs, and fits the Kato 109 chassis.

Very little prep was required. I cleaned up some printing marks and burnished some faint layering on the boiler. I also opened out the square coupling pockets for Microtrains couplings, this took a few minutes with a file - it's not often that fitting Microtrains is this easy.

The body, plus separate roof and backhead detail, and some crew, were primed. One of the crew is a poor quality whitemetal casting of unknown origin, but his face won't really be visible and his weight might help. The other is from my favourite recruitment agency - Dapol. The body was sprayed with a Halfords green enamel aerosol, which turned out to be problematic as the can seemed to be leaking propellant, clogged the nozzle, and when I realised I'd missed an angle it would only dribble. Fortunately, I could dribble some into a jar and touch-up the final bits with a brush!

The remaining painting was done with acrylics and a brush. The backhead detail is rather good, the half-height cab rear means there is a chance of seeing it though the crew mostly hide it. 

The resin body needs some weight, which helps the light chassis too - the Kato 109 runs smoothly enough but doesn't have much inertia. Roofing lead was cut and squashed to fit through the gaps into the side tanks, and a length was stuck under the boiler. 

Chassis fitted, and couplings installed with the screw through the coupling pocket. I had to use long-shank Microtrains to clear the nice cowcatchers. 

Crew stuck into the cab before fixing the roof (with PVA so it can be removed if needed). A little crushed coal was added over the moulded stuff in the bunkers. 

And complete. A very light weathering of water soluble oils has been applied, more may follow but I think it will stay reasonably clean. This view shows how good the print is, with no obvious layering, 3D printing has come a long way since the early days. The handrails and cab roof are a little clunky, perhaps the only clues of it being a 3D print?

I took a couple of photos with the new camera too.

And the final shot, a viewpoint on Loctern Quay that has been very difficult to capture due to the depth of field needed to get both loco and background buildings in focus. The new camera, set to F32, manual focus, and a long exposure on a tripod, can do it with no post-processing.

As expected, this kit has gone together quickly and easily, with most of the time painting it. It's a good looking and smooth running loco, which I hope will fit in well on Loctern Quay. The Fourdees kits are a great introduction to 009 loco kits, especially using the good value Kato chassis. 

Weathering 009 Coaches in BRM

December's BRM magazine has another of my articles. This time it is covering subtle weathering and detailing of ready to run coaches, for which I used a couple of 009 coaches for Hexworthy. 

The techniques are those I've used on other 009 coaches and have described here. I do use an airbrush, but in a very simple way, and the basic tasks include painting details and adding figures as well as adding shadows, smoke, and road dust.

The coaches look so much better for the small investment in time, and remain smart enough for use on a preserved railway, but have lost the box-fresh plasticky look for a more real-life appearance. 

Wessex NG Modellers Open Day 2025

Yesterday the Wessex Narrow Gauge Modellers held an open day, a rather smaller affair than the Narrow Gauge South exhibition held by the same group on "even" years. However, the community hall venue had two rooms allowing a good number of 009 (and HOe/HOn30) layouts as well as the 009 Society sales stand and a trader. It was also an appropriate location for a community of like-minded modellers to meet, with lots of chatting going on.

The first layout I saw was Nic Arthur's Bowcombe. I've liked all of Nic's layouts and this one is no exception. The subtle scenery and detailing create an atmospheric scene.

Back to the 70's by Tim Ticknell takes an old Cyril Freezer "rabbit warren" track plan and makes it work while looking natural and plausible, and unmistakably Welsh. I love it. 

David Marshall helped his grandson Daniel to build Harringford, he said the Inglenook track plan was partly influenced by Loctern Quay. It reminds me of my son's layout Slugworth, built when he was 11, which also used adapted Metcalf kits. Viewers were invited to have a go at the shunting puzzle.

Saith Ar Hugain by Christopher Payne is built in a plastic storage box, and shows a delightful layout can be built in a very small space and easily stored.

Wissey Creek by Stuart Reeve captures the Fens with a lovely composition. 

Julian Evison's Selborne, which was built as part of a group modular scheme, but is cleverly designed to work just as well as a standalone layout.

Richard William's Gemto: Ikkehavn is a quirky layout set on an island between Denmark and Norway. Richard demonstrated that like my layout Hexworthy, despite having just four points, the layout can hold four trains...

East Quay by John Niblett

A couple of modules of the "Freem009" modular layout by the Wessex NG modellers.

Devil's Bridge by Andy Cundick, the well-known prototype modelled in the early 1900s.

Kaninchenbau is a computer-controlled slice of the Alps by Iain Morrison. Since the trains move apparently at random, I was quite lucky to capture 5 in one shot!

A great day out and I do hope it is repeated in future.