N gauge cattle wagons

[Jim Martin]

Precursor Models made a very nice and easy to assemble model of a 1920s/30s LMS cattle wagon (Plastic body on a brass chassis) - often wonder what happened to them??

N Brass have a page on their website titled "Precursor Models". It says: "This is the remaining stock from Precursor Models, once gone it is gone". It's virtually all gears and transmission bits: some wheel overlays and a cast boiler for an LNWR Coal Tank.

Jim

[exmouthcraig]

Since all the information has been given I've been trying to make these less 'box fresh' so they've had a few washes with various bits and pieces.

The chassis still needs weathering before a full over weather  dusting will happen.

Tie bars have been added BUT I can see why Peco dont bother, as soon as its sat on the rails you cant see whether you have fitted it or not 

The left one in the picture has had the body weathered, still roof and chassis to go but I have fitted vacuum pipes and metal wheels, the right hand one is as it came out the box just to compare.

I did put 8 cows in 15 of these BUT now the roofs on and their coupled together, surprisingly you cant see their in there!!!!

[emjaybee]

Ah yes, but at least YOU know they're in there.

[exmouthcraig]

I'm relatively happy with how this ones turned out. The only problem is it's taken about 6hrs with drying time and working bits out and I have another 44 to do  :'(

[guest311]

better get on with them Craig 

[exmouthcraig]

I look forward to the long grim winter weve been told werd getting, tuck myself up in the barn, heater blaring, gold on the radio and the wind, rain and snow beating down on the tin roof 

[Southerngooner]

It might be a stupid question but why do you need 50+ cattle wagons? Given your chosen time period the use of such wagons would be diminishing, so unless you have photos of long trains of them surely a rake of six or seven in a train would be more than adequate? We did a lot of research for James Street which is set in the 1958-62 period, although not in SR territory (I wish!) and couldn't see many photos of more than 10 in a train at any time. Why not just detail 20 and leave the rest?

Just trying to save you a lot of work!

[exmouthcraig]

Not a stupid question @Southerngooner, we have got a few photos of decent quantity of cattle Van's, never running in more than 8 or 10 in a rake but abattoir traffic was quite high and there was still quite high market traffic either side of our location of which Van's went both Up and Down.

And it's a big layout with plenty of yard sidings for loose stock.

We had a productive night last night and are now upto half way through 

[Newportnobby]

I'm not a vegetarian but I don't have a beef with empty cattle wagons

[guest311]

I'm not a vegetarian but I don't have a beef with empty cattle wagons

shouldn't that be in 'todays groaner' ? 

[emjaybee]

I'm not a vegetarian but I don't have a beef with empty cattle wagons

shouldn't that be in 'todays groaner' ? 

No, do NOT encourage him, for everyone's sake.

[trkilliman]

As a lad a Christmas present from an Aunt was the Ian Allan trains annual 1966. I still have it and there is an article by the late R.C. Riley on the Brocolli specials from Penzance.
They used cattle wagons to transport much of the fresh Cornish produce, as it allowed air to circulate around the produce during transit. By the time the train reached Bristol it could have as many as 60 cattle vans in tow. Here some would be taken off for Bristol and Wales, the rest making it's way toward the Midlands and eventually Scotland.

On this bassis you could run a train of a large number of cattle vans as a perishables express.

There are some remnants of the Brocolli/fresh produce loading bays at Ponsharden, a mile or so from Penzance station. If you enjoy shunting it could make an interrsting layout with it's loading bays and long gone goods shed.
I may just be tempted to model it one day...as I have track plans and pictures of the goods shed.

[exmouthcraig]

Thanks @trkilliman I have read somewhere very recently about the seasonal produce being transported in cattlevans.

Assuming BR (S) followed the same practice as GWR and then BR (W) I think that gives us another excuse for running another rake over our metals 

[martyn]

I'm pretty sure I've seen a documentary, many years ago, a la BTF, for the broccoli traffic; it showed locos from as far away as Wolverhampton and South Wales (I think) being 'borrowed' to cope with the very high seasonal requirement for this traffic, at least on the WR.

But I can't remember the name of it, and its not obvious in a list of BTF films which I found

Martyn

[exmouthcraig]

With the risk of this having to be shifted to 'My workbench'    mods

After today I am now left with 14 left to weather but these were kits so I need to work out what decals I'll be sourcing for them, I reckon I've got some in the box that will be near enough but that's for another day.

Quite happy with how the roofs have come out on these, the good / bad thing is I can only do 4 at a time (i dont want to put more then 4 on my spray booth turntable to make sure i get good even varnish cover) so the result is very different on each lot because no matter how hard you try the outcome is never the same, but that's weathering. No 2 should be the same.