Pre owned carriages

Hi All.  I may have mentioned this before, when after 40 odd years I returned to model Railways, I dreamed of a room size layout, with a six track Viaduct on the approach to a mainline terminal. But didn’t realise how much space was required. I purchased a load of pre owned carriages from that famous North West Model Railways shop, my question is “ did I purchase a load of rubbish “ meaning not actual scale representation models, but a work of fiction. Needless to say I have never run the carriages on any of my Planks/ Modules ( which do clamp together, eight foot and counting so far) . Of course if I had a chance to proceed, with caution, then I could either adapt or extend my present project. Meanwhile did the Hornby carriages ever represent the real thing close enough to satisfy the Rivet Counters or just those viewing from three foot away??? Best wishes Kevin 

What's a rivet Kevin …………………… ?

I'm about as far away from bothering about rivets as anyone could be but, if memory serves me right, some early Hornby coaches were quite good whereas others were an approximation - in that they had windows, 2 nondescript bogies and were roughly a similar colour to the original.

Naturally, in terms of accuracy and detail, by today's model standards, they were proper "toy trains".

Hi Petermac. Thank you for your reply. Exactly that, I was not thinking about too much detail at the time of purchase, I just got this crazy idea to catch up with the past. But there you go. Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin,

Beauty is in the eye of….


It depends on what you bought. Some are good, some indifferent, some, well 'nuff said. However, with a bit of work and detailing even the bad can look good. Flush windows, interior compartments, roof seaming, new bogies, air/vacuum tanks, brake details, dynamo and belt, roof ventilators, door handles, diaphragms, etc., do wonders. Go the whole hog and get some etched brass sides. And it is amazing what a judicious bit of weathering does.


Of course this all comes with a price. I would only do the above if a decent rtr model was not available. Which it often is not. Most modelers stop or even never start worrying about this. If you are not using them sell them. No point in hoarding unless you know you are going big. 


Nigel

Hi Kevin

I agree that beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and Rule 1 ALWAYS applies.

Exhibit 1 M'Lord - cheap and cr4ppy Hornby Clerestory coach repainted, populated and weathered to look like an ex NER Howlden all 3rd.  Of course it looks nothing like these actual vehicles but Rule 1 applies plus (1) my layout will never appear in Model Railway Journal and (2) them that don't like it don't have to look.


Exhibit 2 M'Lord - when assembled on the layout, it looks alright to me.  Nuff said.


I'm not advocating using repainted Mk 2F coaches on a 1960's layout - just suggesting that you allow yourself some "modellers license"  

Kind regards

Barry

They look brilliant Barry - well done !!  :pathead :pathead

I agree that re-hashing "less-than-perfect" models is usually a big improvement but one has to be careful just what one actually does.  Nigel, you said, for example, add etched brass carriage sides - yes of course but, if your cheap coach is a scale 6 inches shorter than it should be, the new sides won't (or shouldn't) fit !!

Often, as Barry has done, a tart-up with some new makeup, a bit of dirt and some people will make a huge difference - for no real cost.

Love the idea of a "tart-up" !!!

Here is what a Howlden coach should look like (Bill Bedford kit - photo from catalogue)



Mine is a very poor substitute but, as I said, Rule 1 applies.  (Also, 99% of people who have looked at my railway wouldn't know a Howlden coach from a wombats tail - until a few months ago, neither did I  )

Barry

Hi Barry.  Thank you again. My carriages range from clerestory coaches to “ faux “ BR(s) , but all my projects are way behind at the time. I will attempt to catch up soon. Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Barry and interested parties. “ Beauty is in the eye of the beholder “. I picked three Hornby jolly Green carriages at random, a stop on the way to pompey. Anyway from a distance they are okay the first one was a Corridor with big windows, then there was a Brake 3rd, and a Composite . Apart from maybe the bogies maybe? I am not that fussy.Best wishes Kevin 

Petermac wrote:

They look brilliant Barry - well done !!  :pathead :pathead

I agree that re-hashing "less-than-perfect" models is usually a big improvement but one has to be careful just what one actually does.  Nigel, you said, for example, add etched brass carriage sides - yes of course but, if your cheap coach is a scale 6 inches shorter than it should be, the new sides won't (or shouldn't) fit !!

Often, as Barry has done, a tart-up with some new makeup, a bit of dirt and some people will make a huge difference - for no real cost.

Of course they fit! You are starting with a cheap coach, cut and shut applies.The original sides go anyway. 

I was looking at the latest GWR autocoach from Bachmann. Which is the Hawksworth model. Around £60.00 Ouch. Versus an old Airfix/Hornby for a third of the price, which is a Collett model. Hmm? And I want matchstick sides. which is a Churchward design. Hmm? What about a Lawrence Goddard Blacksmiths brass kit with matchstick sides for only £200?  So…cut and shut that very nice new model, cut and shut the old one, or a brass etch of the real thing? Or scratch build? Short or long version? autocoach or trailer? Decisions, decisions. 


Now I gave all of this a minute of pondering before making a decision. Life is too short to agonize over this, unless your are a fine scale modeler and you start agonising over the seating and the color of the plush. Three feet rule applies here. If it looks the job, job done. The stalwart team of Scratchit, Bashit and Bodgit are once again heading into pastures unknown. The end result could be an autocoach parcels van. Must have been a prototype somewhere. 


Kevin, as said, Rule 1 applies. Run them as is, weather them, detail them, modify them, it is your model railway.


Nigel

Hi Nigel and interested parties.  My headlong rush at buying preowned carriages when I returned to model Railways has left me with various items of rolling stock, and of course my Schools Class Loco Repton that could look brilliant running around the track, but not so on my Planks. I should have waited and got views on the subject before  â€œsplashing out on stuff that wouldn’t fit into the space available “. The Hornby Push Pull two car Set may not be everyone’s perfect starter, but, it could be perfect as a starter for a Branch Line and when your Layout grows one can still have a Branch Line.   Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin,

The waiting game. Past experience shows me that without a definitive plan you could end up accumulating a room full of model railway stuff (not a bad thing though) and never using it. Unless you plan on opening a model railway shop, be brutal. I have a very simple sytstem: One year and it's on the watch list, 2 years not needed and off it goes. And if I buy something, I have to Sell something. Sell it, trade it, give it away. Just avoid the lure of the shiny sirens. All you are doing is providing storage space, which is not cheap. Just buy what you need to match what railway real estate you have.


Nigel

Hi Nigel.  Thank you again. Ah , the Lorelei and the Rhine Maidens, that would be an interesting diversion. Meanwhile back to Model Railways? Of course you are correct, probably. As for cut and shut, I do have some practice material and plenty of time ( God Willing?) on my hands. It is just the will to get back up the stairs to do the work or to remember to bring it down with me. I am currently building the buffer stops and Presflo Wagon Kits, getting carried away with the fumes of the glue, I must open the windows. Best wishes Kevin 

Hi Kevin,

Based on extensive sampling (me) plus observations on fellow modelers (lots of them) it ain't probable. It's definite. Case in point - I'll be an eebuygum for the next month getting rid of the 2 year stuff. In my case another change in scale and railway. Not too many "why not It's a bargain" items but more than the layout would handle. An order arrived from Hatton's yesterday with a brochure filled with tasty inticements.  I have a deliberate disincentive - the cost of doing the EM conversions. Plus the time frame - 1920 pre-grouping - means a lot of kit building or scratch building. See my previous comment re the GWR autocoach. Hattons have some older ones for around £20.00, tempting for a bash but is that what I really want? It isn't exactly what is required. 


Sleepy branch line maybe one locomotive in steam for the passengers, one for when it is off to have a boiler wash, plus one for the morning and afternoon pick-up goods. As opposed to having a sample of every steam engine the company ever built. Helps if you restrict the time frame modeled. Going big needs more, as in Barry's case, but even then there is a plan. Or timetable. 


Just an obervation, but it seems to me that without a timetable, even if fictitious, and a storyboard, along with a Freezer-type pack-um in layout, the temptation to buy more is that much stronger. One reason I like modeling prototypes.  If you think about it most railway companies only had 4-5 different types - shunters, light goods, heavy goods, mixed, passenger. Is there a distinction between a model collection on a layout and a model railway on a layout? Now that's a discussion for another day.


Nigel

Hi Nigel.  Following your earlier advice. I looked for “ eebuygum “ but there wasn’t any sign of it. But of course you are correct. I have always been the same ie I have loads of fishing tackle, and if I hadn’t developed the “ toppling over “ for want of a better description when I turn around fast and “ hit the deck” then it is more than likely that I would never came back to Model Railways, and still been chasing the slippery beasts. from the deep . I will leave it there for now. Best wishes Kevin