Penrhyn carriage "H" as Talyllyn #7 in 7/8" scale

[Wayne Slaughter]

Here is another of my 7/8" two-foot narrow gauge models, Idlenot Light Railways #7. The prototype started life as the quarryman's carriage "H" on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. When the Penrhyn was abandoned in the early '50s, the Talyllyn brought six of these carriages to Pendre. Carriage "H" was reconstructed into an "open third" carriage with a roof. Later, when that started to fall apart, it was reconstructed into the "Tea Van" that was hauled up to Abergynolwyn on the first train of the day to serve refreshments.

The model is scratch-built largely from basswood. The roof is made from brass and tinplate covered with cotton cloth. The running gear is from Sierra Valley Enterprises and the couplers are Accucraft choppers.

I worked primarily from old photos and plans in Bernard Rockett's book Penrhyn Quarry Railways, Part 1. In addition, Great Railway Eras No. 9 Talyllyn 60 has nice photos of No. 7. The Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modelers' Penrhyn Quarry Railway Modeler's Guide had a few pages on building 16mm kit versions of these carriages and that was helpful.

John Bate's tome, The Chronicles of Pendre Sidings, provided much behind-the-scenes information – he was there, after all! I learned of the channel underframe stiffeners from the text and a photo showing No. 7 tipped partly over. The stiffeners were added to stop the shimmying that caused misalignment of the axle boxes. That's certainly something we want to avoid on the Idlenot.
 
In deference to its Penrhyn roots, the finish coat is a dark, brownish, purplish eggplant color. Not having a color sample to work from, I mixed Polly Scale PRR Maroon and AT&SF Blue to get a shade I thought close – maybe aubergine.

Now, I don't want to give the impression that everything went smoothly. I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Ask my wife about the film of rubber cement I left on her iron. Some ideas just didn't work out. I can be ham-fisted and sometimes a little impulsive. Part of the model-building craft is learning to overcome or at least skillfully hide your mistakes. Don't be afraid to throw out a part or an entire assembly for that matter and do it over! The first body for No. 7 went straight to the tipper. I didn't like it. It just didn't look right.

In the end, though, I must say No. 7 looks quite the tart – making the scene in aubergine!

The outdoor photos were taken on Rich Chiodo's nearby Isle of Shoals Tramway.

Wayne Slaughter
Manchester NH

[Ray Dunakin]

Very nice!

[finescalerr]

The hi-res photos really show off your work. -- Russ