4 wheels on my Brandbright wagon

 

The Brandbright wagon kit is back! 

Thanks to the very generous Steve from Bole Laser Craft, I have a set of wheels, which he dropped into my hand at Doncaster show. I should point out that Brandbright also offered me a set - both really appreciated, as were all the kind words about my missing modelling mojo. 

Anyway, work starts by glueing the bufferbeams in place, then laminating the solebars. I've also stuck the spacers behind the bufferbeams, and after this photo was taken, will PVA the other solebar in place. The instructions tell you not to do this with the spacers. We will return to this in a later post. 

The W-irons are screwed in place. A long, thin screwdriver is a good idea to poke around the sides of the wheels. 

Access is pretty good - I've known kits that try this, only for the screw heads to be blocked by the wheels! It's easier to put the whitemetal parts on the ends of the axles, then drop them between the solebars. Trying to wiggle the axles in with one end already screwed in place is next to impossible. 

Once done, the chassis rolls freely, so I know I will have a working piece of rolling stock. Love those heavy metal wheelsets too.

Midlands Garden Rail Show haul

 

On the basis you can't leave a show without having bought a box of something, I picked up this kit for a couple of micro cars. I've always been fascinated by the things, and since I'd never fit in the real thing, models will have to do. Regular readers know my fascination for wierd plastic kits, so this won't come as a surprise. I'm not even going to pretend there is a model railway use for these, I just fancy sticking them together. Painted red, as I found several cans of the colour in my stash recently.

On the right, ceramic wick, for a project that will appear on here in the not too distant future. On the left, something actually useful - insulated track clamps. My garden railway is clamped together, but this causes an electrical problem as the points don't self-isolate. Plastic clamps are the solution. I need four, and had to buy 10, but I'm sure the spares will come in handy one day...

Finally, tiny plastic ducks. Several wagons were running around with some in, and eventually I spotted them on sale from Tony Green Steam. For a quid a pack. I bought two. No idea what to do with them yet, but I'm sure they will be duckerating something soon!

Midlands Garden Rail Show 2025

Cake - Excellent. On Saturday, Amie and I enjoyed Victoria sponge, and carrot cake. I tried the sponge on Sunday, and can report that it was just as good. In fact the food at the WEC is, as I've said in the past, better than pretty much any exhibition venue. Saturday lunch was a giant Yorkshire pud with sausages, onion gravy, mash, peas and carrots, for a tenner. And it was delicious. 

The show seemed a little quiet, but it is very difficult to judge. I spent a lot of time on the stand chatting to people, many of whom were complimentary about Garden Rail. We signed up a few new subscribers too. The new stand looks good, and was quick to put up, and pack away. 

Opposite us was some tinplate train action. They spent the whole time rattling around the layout, just as these things were designed to do. 

Plenty was on offer to tempt money out of your pocket. Yes, I bought a few things, I'll show you tomorrow. What was impressive was the amount of new products on offer. I think I can probably fill the normal "Product News" section in the mag just from this show. 

RC Trains demo of their controller using  Brio setup was nifty. The layouts were good, but you can't fit large scale on a small trade stand!

I did miss out on one run - the G1 layout  promised a stunning looking LMS railcar at 3:30 on Sunday, and I forgot. One to look out for later in the year. 

All in all, a pleasent weekend, helped by it only being 10 minutes drive away for me. Back home at 4:30 on Sunday, having packed and loaded the stand? Yes please!

Saturday Film Club: To & From the Seaside on a Summer Saturday

Good grief, was this only 1991? It seems like a very different world on the railways now. Proper nostalgia.

A real life giraffe wagon

 

Regular readers will know I love the Tri-ang Giraffe wagon. Enough to have aquired 20 of them over the years, but thanks to a post of Facebook, I find that there is a prototype, of sorts. 

It seems that The Great Eastern Railway once had to transport a stuffed giraffe from Harwich docks, and came up with this loading diagram to get it within their loading gauge. OK, the animal was both dead, and wrapped in canvas, so no ducking under bridges, but it's not bad. 

The griaffe can now be seen in Ipswich museum, and there is a short video about it here.