New Wagon Kits.

 New wagon kits in 7mm scale only are to be issued shortly by Scottish Wagon Works.

These are for a diagram 6A 3 plank wagon and a fish van.

They will be a limited edition so if you want one (or more) I advise you to get your orders in soon. I understand the 3 planker goes live on their site from 1st October, the fish van a little later.

On the evidence of previous kits these will be quality products. But if you hang about, you may be too late.

Sacre 2-4-0t (Class 12AT/AM)

Tentative proposals are in place  for a 7mm kit for this loco. Expressions of interest are sought.

If you are a member of the Gauge O Guild, please go to their Forum and look for a thread called "Slaters outside cranks and axles" in the Modelling Section. This is the place to express interest.

If you are not a member, but would like a kit, please leave your name in the comments below and I will try to pass on your expression of interest.

No guarantees at this time, but the greater the interest, the more likely it will

go ahead.

4 wheel coaches.

Kits for the MS&LR 4 wheel PBV and Composite coach are now available from Alphagraphix. The PBV is £50, the Compo £60, plus £4 postage. These are etched brass kits.

More GC 4 wheel coach kits?

Alphagraphix, who already produce kits for MS&LR 4 wheel thirds and firsts, are interested in the possibility of producing two further kits:
1. 4 wheel PBV.
2. 4 wheel composite, as per the example at Ingrow.
*However* they need six firm expressions of interest for each before proceeding.
If you are interested, please write to Alphgraphix, 23 Darris Road, Selly Park, Birmingham. B29 7QY. stating which kit (preferably both!) you would like. There has already been some firm expressions of interest, so it should not take that much of a shove. But please do not leave it to others, or the kits may not happen!

You can also contact Alphagraphix at  sirberkeley@outlook.com.

D&S Kits

I have recently received a price list for D&S 7mm kits.

Currently available GCR items:

DS68-7 15 ton Double Door Van.  £55   (This is diagram 15)

DS 69-7 15 ton Brake Van  £55  (Every GC layout needs one!)

DS 73-7  5 ton Milk and Fruit Van  £59-50

DS 75 Horse Box  (ex LDEC)  £59-50

DS 77-7 CCT 4 wheel,  £59-50


UK Postage £3-75 per kit.

Intriguingly, the following are listed as RTR only, but no price is given:

DS24-7 Third Class Coach (Code 5050)
DS26-7 Composite Coach (5139)
DS27-7 Brake Third Coach (5101)

Also available DS50CB1 10' 6" bogie, £25, plus postage as above.

Also:
DS801-7 Cowans Sheldon Crane (Mark 1) suitable for MS&LR
DS802-7 As above, but Mark 2 (GCR)

These are £195 each plus £6-50 P&P. For these cranes enquire before ordering as production is not constant.

D&S Models, 46, The Street, Wallington, Baldock, Herts. SG2 6SW


D&S also produce GE 4 wheel coaches. I hoped these might be the type supplied to the LDEC, but a check of the data confirms they are not.

The GE Lowmac Wagon (DS104-7) £37 plus P&P, is however, very similar to the ones supplied to the LDEC and can almost certainly be used in a GC context.

GCR 8N Class (LNER B6)

According to a post on the GCRS Yahoo Group, David Andrews is considering a kit for a GCR 8N (LNER B6) but needs more expressions of interest before proceeding.

David Andrews usually only produces kits in batches nowadays, so if you want an 8N this may be your one and only chance. Expressions of interest to David Andrews in the first instance.

There were only three of these attractive engines, so a very rare and unusual prototype.

Diagram 7 open wagon

Tucked away in the Gauge O Guild Gazette is a mention that Quainton Road Models are planning a 7mm scale kit for a diagram 7 wagon. Built from 1911 these were the most numerous Great Central wagon of all, more than 6,000 in number. So if you have a GC layout you will need at least one. If you have a large GC layout, you really need about ten! Moreover, after 1917 when these became common user, they would be a fairly common sight everywhere. From Kyle of Lochalsh to St.Ives and from Red Wharf Bay to Dereham. So anyone modelling a British railway up to roughly 1939 could do with one too.

QRM are now only doing limited editions, so if you want one of these you need to reserve one. It's no use waiting until they are ready, because if you do, they won't be, as far as you are concerned. So order one (or more) ASAP.

This is a venture which needs supporting, because if anything in the way of a GC product is to be popular, this should be it.

4 wheel coaches.

MS&LR 4 wheel coaches are now available from Alphagraphix, 23 Darris Road, Selly Park, Birmingham, B29 7QY.

The kits are third class and first class. Other types may become available later, so please support this venture to encourage this development.

Furness Wagon Company

I understand from Marc at the Furness Wagon Company that the following LDEC wagon kits are (or shortly will be) available:

15ft 5 plank open
16ft 5 plank open
16ft box van
16ft 3 plank drop-side (Labelled Taff Vale Rly) 
16ft 10ton Brake van



This is practically a whole goods train all in one swoop! I hope I need not tell anyone reading this that these wagons all became GC property in 1907. Although, obviously, they would have taken a while to repaint and some would still have been in LDEC livery for a while.

Furness Wagon Company are on the web and also often attend Exhibitions, especially GOG ones. Their kits vary in complexity, as is explained on the site.

As an aside, I should mention that there is some debate about the LDEC wagon livery. Dow says chocolate, but there are other sources that say grey. So take your pick, unless anyone has definite information. "Chocolate" in early 20th Century terms does not necessarily mean what we generally mean by "chocolate". It could be "lake" as per LNWR coaches, which look brownish or reddish according to light - and perhaps the viewer's colour perception.

So perhaps GCR grey is safest after all. 

By the way, good luck finding photos of these prototypes. They are rare at best, and for some, like the brake van, make hen's teeth look relatively commonplace.

Former GP Models kits

MBS have announced that they have taken over the former GP Models range. It is not yet clear whether all the models will be re-released, but it seems the Barnum coaches are high on the list of priorities. Given the dearth of available GC coach kits, this has to be good news.

4 wheel coaches

Alphagraphix of 23, Darris Road, Selly Park, Birmingham B29 7QY have introduced a brass kit for K&ESR coach no 11, which was an ex CLC 4 wheeler. This costs £60 plus £6 postage and has a compensated chassis. Cheques payable to BRUMTRAMS.

A nice photo of two similar coaches appears in Manchester Road and Rail by Edward Gray, p78. The coaches in question were used second-hand by Trafford Park Estates to partially replace gas trams. Yes folks, gas trams, and don't ask me how they connected them to the mains!

MS&LR variants have been requested in both first and third class formats. If you would like one (or, preferably, several) please contact Roger Crombleholme at the above address with a firm indication of how many you want. If too few people respond, this simply will not happen, so, if you're interested, please be prepared to say so. 

Exactly when these particular coaches were withdrawn is hard to say. I have found evidence that four wheelers were being used in full trains in the Manchester area (including first class) as late as 1909. Many will of course have survived much later in departmental use and almost certainly in 'Paddy Trains' for miners and other workmen.

Garth Patrick

This post is to record the recent sad passing of Garth Patrick, at one time owner of GP Models, the source of many valuable GC kits.

Garth was a lovely man, and it was always a joy to talk to him at exhibitions. Sadly, due to his ill health his kits have not been available for some time, but they filled an important gap in the market, and many modellers of the GCR in 7mm scale will possess at least one or two.

May he Rest in Peace.

Tia Rescue

Once more I find myself mentioning my favourite charity Tia Rescue.

Tia do a brilliant job rescuing unwanted greyhounds and lurchers and also shire horses. They are unfortunately struggling for cash at the moment.

How you can help:

Send a donation.
Sponsor a greyhound (or other rescued animal)
Give a home to a greyhound or lurcher. (These dog make wonderful pets).
Visit the new cafe and visitors' centre.

Read their website for details.

Tia are located down a country road, but they are actually quite handy for the A1 or M18 if you are in that neck of the woods. Quite near to Doncaster or Bawtry.

The address?

Tia Rescue
Mill Race Farm,
Wroot Road
Doncaster
DN9 3DY

I know that all donations, however small, will be much appreciated right now.

Updates - important note

I have tried to update some of the outdated information relating to suppliers on this blog. However, I can only pass on what I glean from the model press and similar sources. Details such as addresses should always be carefully checked, especially if you are sending money.

There has been a great deal of change lately, and sadly most of it is in a negative direction as traders have retired/fallen ill or generally fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately this has not been matched by Dapol (or anyone else) bringing out RTR GCR items! This trend is likely to continue, so please support the remaining traders and buy what you can when you can.

If anyone has additional information, or wishes to correct errors or outdated data, please let me know. Similarly, if suppliers would like their products mentioned I am happy to oblige. I do not make any charge, as my objective is simply to help other modellers of the GC.

Finally, although I try to keep things factual and rarely offer criticism, I have quite likely made mistakes and do not accept responsibility for any difficulties or loss caused thereby. Or to put it another way please check for yourself that any product I mention is suitable for your needs, and is still available before dishing out any money.

Gladiator Loco Kits

Gladiator is now under new ownership. As I understand it, they will be slowly reintroducing the kits, and for the GC the Director is first in line. If you want to buy one, or one of the other GC kits, or if you want to 'encourage' the J10 that Geoff Stratford was working on before he retired, the best way forward is to contact the new owners with expressions of interest.

GCRS Website

The GCRS website is now blessed with a growing number of online drawings from the archives. The great majority of these are only available to Society members through a password. However, this is a very good reason to join the GCRS, as the subs are very modest by modern standards.

For example, I didn't know that the GCRS had a dining saloon 'for football parties'. But I do now, and what's more I've seen the drawing.

GCR Signalling

I just wanted to share a couple of URLs that give access to some very interesting GC siganalling diagrams. However, please note that most (but not quite all) show post-1923 amendments and so must be used with care when GC era arrangements are what you want.

LNER Signal Box Diagrams  As you might guess from the title this site is not just about the GC. But it does have an extensive selection of GC section diagrams and some from the joint lines.

Lymm Observatory   Another exceedingly useful collection. Again, not just the GC, although for the GC there is a particular focus on Woodhead and the adjoining lines.

For anyone wishing to make models there is an excellent thread on RMWeb. Suffice it to say that the OP, Jon Fitness, has probably forgotten more about making signals than I shall ever know. He works in 7mm scale but the principles apply to all scales.

Manvers Main Wagon

Some time ago I mentioned the sad fact that the extremely useful Manvers Main wagon had vanished from the Slater's range.

I am glad to note that Manvers Main transfers and/or pre-lettered kits and RTR kits are now available from Powsides. This is excellent news. The reference is ID0956.

There are of course many other wagons that are suitable for the GCR (or parts of it) available from Powsides. Although for the present the South Yorkshire coalfield is lamentably under-represented, while there are hosts of wagons for obscure railways serving the south and west of England. This probably reflects customer demand, as it certainly doesn't reflect the proportions of prototype wagons.

If you are modelling pre-group, avoid anything intended for 1923 standard wagons. This ought to be obvious, but observation at exhibitions suggests it isn't. If you look at the Powsides online catalogue, the pictures of the various transferred can be 'zoomed'. This does not always, unfortunately, enable the subsidiary lettering to be read. Again (obviously) for pre 1923 any reference to LMS or LNER (or indeed SR) should be avoided. If in doubt, ask Powsides. The converse is not necessarily true, as pre-group designations on wagons remained, in some cases, until BR days!

As ever, I recommend the excellent books by Keith Turton and Bill Hudson on this subject. One thing is certain - if you are modelling the GC at any time up until the 1960s you will need some PO wagons, and if you are modelling pre 1939 you will need (relatively) a lot. After 1939, they did get grubbier, and some were eventually repainted plain grey. Again, do check the published works for details.

N4 (GCR 9A class)

The owner of Gladiator Models is retiring at the end of March 2015, and at the moment (sadly) it looks as if this valuable range of loco kits will vanish.

Some months ago I bought a kit for an N4/N5 class. After much pondering I decided I wanted to build it as an N4 (GCR class 9A) with a round top boiler. Essentially to make it as different as possible to the N5 I already own. This meant procuring a different cab front from Gladiator, which should be winging its way to me very shortly.

The main difference between an N4 and and N5 is that the former had Joy valve gear. This has made me think. Should I fit working Joy valve gear? Have I got the ability? Well, it would certainly be pushing the envelope a bit, let's put it that way. Building a Connoisseur models diagram 17 van is within my scope - but a locomotive with working inside valve gear? Possibly a bridge too far.

Well, we shall see. Truth is, I shall probably bottle it!

The 9J (J11) - Devil in the details.

I am, on and off, researching a 9J (J11) to build. I thought I had figured out the tender options - I was wrong! - but now I have noticed something else. As with the Q4s, the presence of an external exhaust pipe along the RH side does not necessarily signify a superheated engine. The early boilers had internal exhaust pipes, but after a certain date external exhaust pipes were fitted. And as boilers were swapped about (a lot) it is impossible to be sure whether or not the model ought to have one unless you have a dated photo showing the RH side.

This warning is probably not relevant to anyone modelling the LNER era or later - you can pretty much assume an external pipe - but for those of us working in the mid to late GC era it's another flipping nightmare. Sadly good photos of 9Js in GC condition are not two a penny. The very early ones are only useful if you are modelling that era. The later ones beg the question as to whether the same boiler was carried at the date being modelled - if not, did the earlier boiler have the external pipe? Yeadon is only of limited assistance - it gives the date of boiler changes - and the RCTS books still less on this matter.