Commission: Garden Railway logging cars...

Last year a customer approached me to build some G-scale logging related garden railway items from American made craftsman kits. The commission evolved to include repairing some items he'd bought in an estate sale that were badly damaged through delivery...

Some of these models were wonderfully made, but the trucks, handrails and steps had all been damaged. It appears whomever packed them had just wrapped them in bubble wrap and put all the items in a big box together. I received a package of very sad looking models and full of loose broken parts. The first job was to trawl through all of it and see what could be salvaged. The trucks had been badly damaged and several side frames were broken. Unlike body detail these were un-repairable so from the four items I reckoned there were enough bits to repair the caboose and one of the skeleton cars.

The corner steps were badly broken, probably the most damaged item. These have been pieced together carefully and reinforced with brass strip before painting to blend in with the rest of the model. The trucks were smashed to bits, just loose parts in a box but having assembled those of a very similar design on the Water Car (below) that was a new kit, I managed to assemble two pairs of functioning trucks, and the caboose set with a full complement of brakes. The body had also been damaged with missing doors and a broken cupola, but nothing that careful work with superglue and a craft knife couldn't address. Just time and a genuine care for restoring something that had been lovingly made, back to some form of it's previous glory. These repairs are delicate, but then the model will only see occasional use - it was important to preserve as much of the original as possible.

The skeleton car was in many ways harder to work on, as there is no where to hide! The brake gear on one end was badly twisted and other parts were missing - loose in the big box. Again working through the pile of loose parts I managed to salvage enough from the pair of skeleton cars to build one - and this is the result. Originally a more 'sandy' brown I gave it a wash of the same colour I'd used on the water car (below) to blend the items in more closely. Again the metal surfaces were painted a similar colour to those on the water car, to give the lot a coherent look.

Finally, the water car, the model that started it all, complete. This was a long build, but a pleasurable one. Part fit was good, instructions excellent - it's only the physical size of the model that caused me any problems. It wasn't always easy to find space to work with all the parts laid out, so often the floor of the bottom room became littered with wooden laser cut sprues whilst I worked out what part I needed next!

There are some fiddly parts on this model too, these end steps are ripe for snapping off - hopefully the packaging I spent a few hours on will protect it on it's airfreight adventure to Florida. There was one part missing in the detail bag, but I managed to replace it with something I made by hand. I'd challenge you to spot it, but at least to my eye that isn't too difficult. The overall effect is pleasing though. One thing I love is the real wood overlays on the tank. The end platforms and tank ends are laser cut ply which is less pleasing, as the grain crossed between planks. I've tried to disguise this with paint during finishing but those sides, the tank, it's wonderful to look at, I'm going to miss seeing the model on my window sill!

If you've got a flat kit waiting to be assembled that you either lack the time or skills required then get in touch and I can help make that model a reality. If you've got an older model that has been damaged or no longer works, I can help make a repair either electrically or cosmetically - it's important we try to preserve old models, rather than seeing them end up in landfill. Get in touch via the contact form on the website, Facebook or one of the forum messaging systems. Until next time, more soon...