Here on the blog, I’ve pontificated on all manner of matters relating to Rewanui (real and model), but it has been a while since the line’s raison d’être has featured. The extraction, movement to the bins and loading of the coal is outside the scope of the model (taking place ‘off scene’ as it were),…
New product update: Q1 and Q4 hopper wagon kits. These kits have been promising for a while. Final test builds have been completed, instructions are nearly written and stock is on order. So here’s a preview… The Q1 and Q4 were both unbraked iron bodied hopper wagons that could be found in both the Westport…
If you aspire to a model railway, the thing you need most of is wagons. This post is a little retrospective of my wagon-building journey and a preview of new kits on the way. I have a long-standing enthusiasm for West Coast coal railways and my first scratchbuilt wagon was a Q5. Scratchbuilt in styrene,…
A summary of a chat group discussion mainly contributed by John Brouwer and Kevin Crosado. It is clear from photographs that Q wagons were not painted according to the official diagram, and that furthermore the Westport and Greymouth fleets were significantly different. These differences appear to be related to the working of the inclines at…
