The Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR/SR Beattie class 0298 well tank was first produced back in 2011. Incredibly for a class that since the 1930’s had only three members, with a restrictive sphere of operation, albeit into the late 1960s, on the Bodmin and Wenford branch, the model has been extremely popular resulting in no less than five production batches, the last being under the EFE Rail brand as recently as November 2020.
THE KMRC Beattie well tank 3314 with crew added
Being by nature a very small locomotive, space within the cab is quite restrictive on the real thing let alone the model, finding loco crew to fit has always been a bit of a challenge.
After receiving many requests, my friends at scanning and 3D printing specialists, MODELU have now added a bespoke Beattie well tank crew to their Loco Specific Crew range.
These MODELU crew have been actually scanned on one of the preserved locos and then modified to specifically fit the footplate of the model.
This ensures the poses are both natural, realistic and can be easily fitted to the model.
The MODELU figures as supplied and a cruel enlargement following painting
The highly detailed and crisply 3D printed MODELU crew are supplied free of all sprues and ready to paint without the need for any fettling or primer. To aid painting I lightly glue the crew to a wooden string stick to make handling easier, I then firstly paint, nowadays using acrylic paints, all clothing matt black to act as a base and eventually give shadows within creases, folds and any inside edges.
Using matt acrylics, my prefered range is Vallejo, I apply the top colours using almost a dry brush allowing the black within clothing folds and inside edges etc. to still be visible to give the effect of darker shadows etc. and to bring out the exquisite detail within the 3D print.
I was able using tweezers and a small dab of UHU glue fit the crew into place without disassembling the model in any way and immediately bring the loco to life.
The numerous LSWR 10 ton covered vans were built between 1885 and 1922 to a few different diagrams as the design was developed. Different body styles were combined with either timber or steal chassis with two axlebox types; Panter or Warner’s, and several different brake systems.
The low roof, sliding door Diagram 1410 covered vans were the most common LSWR covered van with well over 1000 built. Although many were scrapped or entered departmental use before Grouping many passed into SR ownership at grouping with a number, many in departmental use, surviving beyond nationalisation.
Brake gear varied from: single sided double block, ‘Morton Clutch’, the rarer for this diagram ‘Lifting Link’ and most commonly what the SR called ‘Freighter’ that had independent brake gear on each side.
Ten covered vans to the Diagram 1410 were built for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) they differed from the LSWR versions as they did not have the end vents and only single sided brakes. They later were absorbed into SR stock and had end vents fitted, become identical to D1410 vans.
The tooling suite for the models allows for bodies with either 8 1.2” or 6 1.2” end planking with and without the end vents on steel chassis, 8 open spoke or 10 closed spoke wheels, and single sided, Morton, freighter or lifting link brake styles. The specification of the model includes highly detailed body and chassis, prototypical brake gear and safety loops fitted, beam compensation, sprung buffers and a sprung coupling hook fitted with metal three link couplings.
The models have been produced and are currently being shipped, the initial price is £66.95 each, that is the special early-bird price and only applies payment is made in full at the time of ordering. For those not wishing to pay in full, it will not be possible to place an order until after the models have arrived. These subsequent orders will be at the prevailing price of £77.95 and not the early-bird offer price.
The T.Mitchell RCH 7 Plank PO wagon. Picture courtesy and copywrite KMRC
Thomas Mitchell was originally the proprietor of a brick and gravel merchant, that by the early 1900s had become Thomas Mitchell and Sons, brick and tile manufacturers, with a large brick works at Guildford Park. By 1902 they had their own black with white lettered 10ton Private Owner wagon for the transportation of coal to the works.
Colour perception, especially with models, is an often debated topic especially when manufacturers occasionally, and some more than others, appear to get it wrong. There can be several reasons why colours on models do not always appear correct. In this post I look at some of the issues and reasons that can influence getting colours correct. I have been constructively critical in the past of some manufacturers attempts at getting colours / liveries correct and often try to get colours and liveries corrected, if possible, and have done so again only recently with some proposed SR locomotives (naming no names but fingers crossed they arrive OK).
Diagram 1530 Bullied Cattle truck in a close SR Goods brown livery
I will use LSWR/SR Goods Wagon Brown as a case in point; for example, Hornby have had multiple attempts to achieve the correct SR colour. Back in 2016 their excellent SR Diagram 1530, as per my review here, was released in a good, if not very slightly too dark, representation of the SR Goods Wagon Brown.
Perhaps the fact that the official name of the correct dark brown colour is “Chocolate Brown” they chose milk chocolate instead?
Getting closer Hornby’s subsequent Warner’s brake van release
Hornby have subsequent released further versions of this model in a darker version but is still slightly too light and lighter than the colour they used on the cattle truck!
In my day job I therefore, for my own satisfaction / reputation, had to ensure that the LSWR/SR Goods Wagon Brown on the Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR Diagram 1541 Road Van that I was responsible for producing was as close to the correct colour as possible. I undertook a lot of research to be able to provide the factory with the correct paint references, although this is not as simple as it sounds as I will discuss below.
The KMRC Diagram 1541 Road Van in what I believe to be a good representation of LSWR/SR Goods Wagon Brown
Following much historical research and checking many contemporary references I was able to provide the factory with a suitable British Standard paint colour reference, however even this is complicated by the fact that such a historical British Standard reference is now obsolete so not readily available for the factory to obtain! Careful checking and agreeing decorated samples ensured that I was happy with the factory’s interpretation of the colour to allow production to commence.
I am also only too happy to share my researched colour references with some other manufacturers, to try to achieve some consistency of colours for all Southern Railway modellers alike.
A Bachman SR Diagram 1579 brake van is a good rendition of the brown (although the sole bars should also be brown not black)
This included for example my good friends at Rapido Trains UK, and they specified with their factory my SR Goods Wagon Brown colour reference for their splendid ex SECR /SR open wagons.
To demonstrate this, I have now given one of the Rapido Trains UK wagons a simple single spray coat of Testers Dullcoat matt varnish and when pictured alongside the KMRC Road Van and one of the original Rapido Trains UK factory finished wagons the effect of the type finish and its perception of the same base colour can be clearly seen.
I will now apply the same treatment too all my Rapido Trains UK wagons from this batch (and I have also shared the results of this simple change of finish with Rapido Trains UK ).
The effect of the matt finish on the 5 plank open compared to the 7 plank open can be seen
It should be noted that I have purposely taken the comparison picture under the same lighting conditions. Different forms and types of lighting either when viewing the prototype, for example bright sunshine or a cloudy day, or models for example under warm or cool white lighting (see my post here about white is white…) can totally change the visual perception of a colour. I am also of course aware that you will be viewing this post on different devices and screens that will also create different perceptions of the colour!
In addition to historical superseded / obsolete colour references and paint finishes there are several other factors that need to be considered when specifying and choosing the correct colour.
Firstly, care should be taken when using old colour photographs, or for that matter preserved rolling stock, as there are so many variables that can affect the representation / comparison of any colour. As well as the lighting conditions at the time the image taken the use of different film stocks at the time and variations in any subsequent printing can give different colour hues. Something published as fact, even repeatedly or copied is not necessarily always factually correct and can still include errors or subjectivity.
Another factor to take into account especially with models is that of colour scaling; our perception of colour does not scale and will vary depending on the distance at which it is being viewed and also the size and the area of the colour, for example if you painted a model with exactly the same paint as a full-size example the model will appear darker when look at in isolation. This is therefore also an issue when using a small swatch of colour as an original reference, and this has been the case, in my opinion, with a small number of colours as referenced in otherwise excellent and well respected livery reference books.
Sometimes a model manufacturer will sometimes need to counter this by using a colour slightly lighter on the model than the full-size prototype so it ‘looks right’ to the eye.
Go on try it… you know you want to…
It should also be noted that adjacent different colours to our chosen colour will affect the perception the hue, see the example shown left.
This is often highlighted when initially painting a model for example compare a lined and unlined model that uses the same base colour.
The same loco and same lighting conditions showing the colour perception change due to the lining
Finally, one further complication for model manufactures is the process used to recreate the often-complex liveries on a model. This is often achieved by a mixture of both paint and print applications, whereas the prototype is more often than not painted (although some modern liveries are via printed vinyls) . Different specifications are used for paint and print colours. For example, paint colours are usually specified to British Standard (both current and obsolete) or RAL numbers; whilst printing inks are usually referenced Pantone colours. There are often no direct conversions between some paint and print colours and errors can creep into the process when conversions take place. For example, sometimes a paint reference could give multiple close Pantone references, and it can even be the case that when some are converted back, they end up as a different RAL number!
It is therefore imperative that such conversions between paint and print references during the process are checked and agreed at every stage. It is the reason that creating an approved set of livery artworks must then be checked and further approved at the decorated sample stage (actual physical sample not photographs from the factory!) before production. Skipping some of these steps in the process, usually for apparent cost reasons, can easily result in mistakes, such as has occurred with the production of some models in the past and therefore be a false economy.
I hope this little walk through the hues and lows of the processes involved in getting the colour / more importantly, the perception of colours as correct as possible has been of interest, perhaps the first of an occasional “Insider insights” series? As always, I welcome and enjoy reading and responding to comments.
The much-anticipated ex LSWR / SR Diagram 1541 10T Road Van produced as an exclusive model by the Kernow Model Rail Centre have now arrived (appropriately via Southampton Docks) and are being despatched to customers and all pre-orders being fulfilled (but please expect this to take a few days). This is not a review for obvious reasons, but hopefully the photographs will speak for themselves.
All ten versions of the ex LSWR 10T road vansThe SR pre 1936 livery version shows off the separately applied lamp irons, handrails and window glazing bars.The BR grey Isle of Wight version shows the cranked step board hangers.The underframe is fully detailed with brake gear and all pull roddingS54663 shows its ribbed style buffer shanks. She was the last road in service in 1958 and is now preserved on the Bluebell RailwayA post 1936 SR livery version is shunted at Canute Road QuayThe pre-grouping LSWR version.
First introduced by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1884 they were later classed as Southern Railway Diagram 1541. Almost 500 of these were built between then and 1905 making them the most numerous LSWR Goods Brake Van. Brake Vans with side doors through which parcels or other goods could be loaded were known as road vans.
The pictures show the high level of detail and multitude of separately fitted parts including: flush glazing, hand rails, brake gear with pull rodding, step boards and lamp irons to accurately portray a number of different versions of the prototype. These options include alternative buffer shanks with a ribbed option as fitted to some vans including those preserved on the Isle of Wight and Bluebell steam railways and either straight or cranked step board supports, the latter as fitted to the majority of those transferred in 1925 to the Isle of Wight.
Care and research has been undertaken with the various liveries to to ensure that the correct livery specifications have been met, especially for the LSWR / SR Good Brown. The application is crisp, as we would expect, and includes legible solebar cast number plates.
I hope that those whom have have had these models on pre-order for some time are pleased with the final model.
All ten versions of the much-anticipated Kernow Model Rail Centre 00 ex LSWR / SR Diagram 1541 10T Road Vans have now been manufactured, are on route to the UK and due for the dispatch of pre-orders at the beginning of July.
All ten production versions are shown here together.
First introduced by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1884 they were later classed as Southern Railway Diagram 1541. Almost 500 of these were built between then and 1905 making them the most numerous LSWR Goods Brake Van. Brake Vans with side doors through which parcels or other goods could be loaded were known as road vans.
Included within the ten versions are different liveries from the original LSWR, both Southern Railway variations, early British Railways, departmental through to as preserved examples. The tooling has also catered for the Mainland and Isle of Wight versions with either straight or cranked step board supports (as fitted on the IoW versions) and round or ribbed shanked buffers.
The models will arrive in in the UK at Southampton, that was appropriately the main docks for the London and South Western Railway, at the end of June. KMRC have included in the range van number 56046 as preserved on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. that we originally laser scanned, and number S54663 that was the last road van in service based at Wadebridge, although officially withdrawn in July 1958, it survived in some form of service until 1961. It was then purchased by the Bluebell Railway as their first item of goods rolling stock in May 1962.
The Kernow Model Rail Centre, and therefore by default myself, have advised that the much-anticipated ex LSWR / SR Diagram 1541 10T Road Van has been approved for production. This follows the careful review and approval of the Engineering Prototypes received last year and the decorated samples of all ten of the versions being produced that were received last week.
First introduced by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1884 they were later classed as Southern Railway Diagram 1541. Almost 500 of these were built between then and 1905 making them the most numerous LSWR Goods Brake Van. Brake Vans with side doors through which parcels or other goods could be loaded were known as road vans.
The decorated livery samples can be seen above, (note that some of the samples were only the body assembly). Approval for production has been given subject to a couple of minor amendments to the printing on the solebar cast plate for two of the SR livery versions, the spacing (Kernow correcting the Kerning – a designers injoke) of the numbers on the LSWR SB003B version and the solebar and buffer colour on three of the BR grey versions.
SB003H LSWR Road Van number 54611 in pre-1936 large SR lettered livery is illustrated and shows the correct SR Goods Wagon brown, lettering style and the solebar cast plate that has wording “SR” “54611” an “Eastleigh Works” all perfectly legible.
KMRC anticipate production to commence at the end of March 2021 (following Chinese New Year) with shipment to the UK during May 2021 (subject to shipping availability) and hope to have them in stock for fulfilment of orders at the end May /early June 2021.
The Petersfield type 3a signal box was built c1885 and is located on the Portsmouth Direct Line between Havent and Guildford (where of course the 2nd Kernow Model Rail Centre store opened in 2019).
Petersfield station was opened by the Portsmouth Railway in 1859, it was leased by the London & South Western Railway, who bought it outright in 1861. The station was extended and enlarged in 1864 to accommodate the traffic from the new Petersfield Railway to Midhurst.
The box is unique as it combines features of both ex LSWR type 2 and type 3 designs. It protects the Station Road level-crossing and it formerly controlled the junction of the Midhurst branch that was closed 1955. Although the closure of the goods yards occurred during the 1970s, the volume of passenger traffic and the need to guard the busy level-crossing has ensured that the signal box has remained in operation. It still contains a ten-lever Stevens (Railway Signalling Co.) frame and locking rack (c1880), together with a circuit diagram, blockshelf and block instruments.
The Kernow Model Rail Centre have received the first Engineering Prototype (EP) from the tooling for the much-anticipated ex LSWR / SR Diagram 1541 10T Road Van. First introduced by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) in 1884 they were later classed as Southern Railway Diagram 1541. Almost 500 of these were built between then and 1905 making them the most numerous LSWR Goods Brake Van. Brake Vans with side doors through which parcels or other goods could be loaded were known as road vans.
The CADs, based on a laser scan of the preserved example at the Isle of Wight steam railway, were approved for tooling earlier this year.
KMRC advised: “The first Engineering Prototype samples have been carefully evaluated and we are very pleased with how the EP has turned out. We are currently discussing directly with the factory a very small number of slight modifications before the next stage of livery samples can be produced. The production of the livery artwork is in progress.”
The pictures show the high level of detail and multitude of separately fitted parts including: flush glazing, hand rails, brake gear with pull rodding, step boards and lamp irons to accurately portray a number of different versions of the prototype.
These options include alternative buffer shanks with a ribbed option as fitted to preserved No. 56046 on the Isle of Wight steam railway and either straight or cranked step board supports, the latter as fitted to the majority of those transferred in 1925 to the Isle of Wight.
In light of further research, a small number of the available versions have been changed with corrected running numbers and liveries as BR Bauxite would not be appropriate for the available options of this road van.
I am delighted to announce that, after spending 15 years in the Road Safety and Traffic Management sector, spending some time out due to Covid 19 has resulted in a decision to change lifestyle, I am delighted, having already hinted a new role, to be taking up the newly created role of Development Manager with the Kernow Model Rail Centre (KMRC) working alongside Chris Trerise the KMRC Managing Director. I will officially start the role on 1st October.
Canute Road Quay has seen the addition of a semi permanent photographic light box in preparation for the new role
The new role is responsible for the research, development, and project management of our commissions along with some aspects of PR, Social media, website development and, once they are taking place again managing their presence at some exhibitions.
Obviously as regular readers will know I have already assisted KMRC with a number of their model commissions in the past (and a few for the future) so I am already familiar with their projects and the team.
My appointment provides KMRC with additional resource to develop and manage the wide range of their ongoing and planned projects.
Don’t worry the appointment will not affect this blog and or its future content.
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The model railway world and mainly Southern Railway meanderings of Graham 'Muz' Muspratt