GWR w3 cattle wagons

Posted byTrevorPosted in7mm GWR equipment, Great Western Railway in 7mm scale
This is always a watershed moment in any construction project. The bodies are now assembled: All the rest is detailing.

Apparently, spending a couple of days last month at the 2024 Great British Train Show was exactly what my modelling mojo required.

Over the past few days I’ve been spending mornings in the workshop – building more 7mm scale, Edwardian era equipment for my Great Western Railway. This time, my subject is three photo-etched brass kits for diagram W3 cattle wagons.

So far, I’ve added braces and other details to the sides and ends, and have now assembled 12 flat pieces into three bodies. They’re square and level and I’m basically down to adding a few more details before their trip to the paint booth.

I’ve done almost two dozen brass kits from Walsall Model Industries – but these are my first from Powsides. They’re similar enough that the Walsall kits provided an excellent foundation as I tackle these. One major difference is these Powsides kits feature a rigid suspension, whereas the Walsall kits employ a compensation rig that allows one axle to rock side to side so the wagon can better negotiate uneven track. Fortunately, Walsall offers its compensation units as separate kits at a very reasonable price and they should be easy to retrofit to these wagons, so I’ve submitted an order.

It feels good to be firing up my soldering gear again. Back to the bench!

Published by Trevor

Lifelong model railway enthusiast and retired amateur shepherd who trained a border collie to work sheep. Professional writer and editor, with some podcasting and Internet TV presenting work thrown in for good measure.