The wrong transfers, for the right reasons

 

Despite painting this VER in the wrong livery, I have been doing a little research. And that research shows me that the livery varies between cars, even today. While the body colours remain the same, the typeface used at the ends seems to vary. 

To make things even more interesting, I can't find any transfers available that match. So, it's a case of commissioning something, which will take ages, or using the closest I have in my stash. Which is what I have done for the VER.  

Under the letters, there should be a number, and I was really struggling to find something suitable, until I dug out a sheet that my Dad had bought many, many years ago, to letter a London E2, the first whitemetal kit he ever built. Now, pedants will point out that it looks nothing like those on the real VER cars, but it is the right size. So I'm going to use it. 

I love the idea that mt Dad has had a little input into this project, and that matters more than perfect fidelity. Besides, hardly anyone will actually notice.  

Making Peco OO9 slate wagons go around really tight curves

 

My railway under a cake cover goes down very well at shows. The only whinge is that the Peco tippers are a bit of a fiddle to couple up, as they all have Bemo couplings, and keeping them on the track whilst shoving them hard enough to couple up isn't easy. 

Salvation should have come in the form of the same company's slate wagons. These are designed to be used in rakes. There is a simple loop and pin between each wagon, and you can replace this with a supplied Bemo at the end if you want. 

So, I put them, on the track, and set the loco moving. They fell off. Again, and again. Fortunately, the hoppers ran all weekend perfectly.

Now, the problem with the cake cover railway is that the curves are very tight. I used Peco flexi track, as the set track isn't tight enough to fit. And I bent it around my knee to produce something that would fit. 

Back home, I investigated. Moving the wagons around, it seems my curves are just a little severe for the hook and look couplings. They seem to bind at the extremes. 

So, with nothing to lose, I thinned down the outside of the loop with a fine abrasive. Not a lot, just enough for the coupling to work more loosely. At the same time, I gently carved out a little material from the inside of the loop with a sharp knife. The amount removed was tiny, I'd guess less than 0.1mm, but it seemed to do the job. The hook ran much more smoothly around in the loop. 

The results were good, but not perfect. But, these are very light wagons, so I cut some bits of lead flashing so they fitted in the bottom, and allowed the plastic slate load to fit over the top. 

Result - wagons that would now follow bit the diesel and Hunslet around the model reliably for five minutes. 

Final job, hack away the box insert so the wagons can go in with the Bemo fitted. Really Peco, you might have done that bit... 

 

Fiddle yard envy

 

I felt a pang of envy at Doncaster. 

Waiting to get started with a photo shoot on the Friday evening, I watched the guys putting stock in the fiddle yard, and remembered when that was me.

Back in the days when I was an exhibitor. You turned up, moved the layout to your allotted space and set up. The layout was your little world for the duration of the show. You were responsible for everything in that world, but nothing else.  

I'm not really sure what I yearned for at that moment. Maybe things were simpler then. As a regular exhibitor, you went through the same actions at every show. As long as things went well, it was a whole load of fun. Playing trains to an audience, being told what you've built is amazing. Sometimes being asked interesting questions about the prototype, or how you've made a particular model.  

Dunno. But I definitely felt it.  

Saturday Film Club: Toton Yard Hump-shunting 1950

An interesting film, made up of a lot of clips I think, showing Toton hump shunting yard in operation. A really fascinating thing to watch. 

Paint on the VER car

 

A quick update on the Volks Car - painting has started using the closest colours I have to hand. Precision Paints LNER coach cream for the top, and Humbrol 73 (Wine) for the lower section. 

Looking at photos, they aren't a bad match for the current colours. Yes, I know Car 2 never made it into this livery, but I'm keeping things simple so the model actually gets finished.