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Hello
Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips and unboxing videos located at the bottom of the newsletter.
Inspiration
Brian Trotman sent us these pictures of his layout. He explains: "These are my latest pictures of my scratch build coal barge and crane. The crane jib was made from old track. The cabin was an old thimble box my wife threw out. The pulley wheels are simply brass cup washers soldered together. The grab bucket is a piece of pipe cut in two then fixed to a clip off a pair of overalls. The barge is a piece of balsa wood. With real coal of course." Click on the pictures to see them in full size.
This week in history
In June 1942, the first of a batch of 0-6-0 American tank engines entered service in Britain! The class was officially known at the time as the USATC S100 and was designed for shunting duties in Europe during WWII. After the war a small number of locomotives were retained and used by Southern Railways and a few industrial operators and became known as the USA Class.
Tarpaulins and Wagon Loads
Pick up freights were once a common sight on our railways, picking up and dropping off wagons and goods at most stations along even the sleepiest of branch lines. The goods delivered were unique to a towns requirements and could be anything from daily essentials to a bespoke piece of machinery destined for the local mill or farm. Readymade wagon loads are a good quick and easy way to add realism to your wagons or goods yards and feature a variety of goods including coal sacks, milk churns and drums to name a few, but, another less considered feature of drop off freights is tarpaulin-covered loads.
Tarpaulins were commonly placed over the loads to protect them from the elements and to keep smaller loads in situ whilst the train was in motion. Tarpaulins were an expensive necessity for the railways and as such had the company's name and identification marks painted on them. In model form, tarpaulins are readily available from several manufacturers but some older versions can appear a little pristine and papery. Modern alternatives such as Peco's range of 00 gauge tarpaulins are particularly convincing thanks to them being made from a cloth that serves well to replicate the materials once used on the prototype as well as the rapid ageing that real-life tarpaulins suffered due to a hard, working life. They are also nicely detailed with identification markings depicting the companies of the Big Four as well as BR making them a viable and worthwhile consideration for many modellers wanting to enhance the appearance of their pick up freights.
Of course, the bigger the gauge you're modelling in, the more important details become and Peco's 0 gauge version of the wagon tarpaulin is a particularly welcomed edition. Their features are the same as in 00 being made from a cloth material and depicting ownership by the Big Four as well as BR. But what about 0 gauge wagon loads? For 0 gauge wagons without tarpaulins, there's a surprising choice of loads available with ready-to-go and unpainted variations being offered. A quick search will reveal Langley who's renowned for their white-metal models produces a very nice unpainted set of 0 gauge coal sacks, Unit Models can offer us painted oil drums and Peco, a set of unpainted milk churns so it's always worthwhile taking a little time to check what is available.
Modelling tips
Unboxing videos
You want to know what is inside the boxes of modelling products? We open them for you!
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You can access all the unboxing videos by visiting this page or simply click on the link called "videos" on our website.
Do you need to order?
Send us an email or give us a call to check
availability or to reserve anything, whatever scale you model in. As
usual, if we do not have in stock what you are looking for, we will
order it for you and you will get it fast (usually within a week if the
manufacturer has it in stock). We place weekly orders with most
suppliers.
Remember, you can park for free for one hour on the High Street. So no excuse not to come and visit us!
Upstairs Downstairs is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am till 4.30pm. Obviously, our website is open 24h a day and we can post to most locations, including Europe, USA and Australia.
Upstairs Downstairs
3 Pier Street
Sandown, PO36 8JR
Isle of Wight
Tel: 01983 406 616
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