A Model Railway depicting Thurstaston station on the Hooton to West Kirby branch on the Wirral Peninsula

As progress has been painfully slow over the last few years, especially in getting any models to a finished state and photographed for inclusion in the Model Photographs page, I have started additional pages to show work in progress. As well as showing what I'm working on, it will show progress on some of the various items before they progress to the Model Photographs page.
As the number of items in progress has increased, and I'd like to show some of the stages in the build of some of the items, I've split the original single workbench page into three for locos, coaches and wagons plus an extra for trains of as yet incomplete stock.

Please get in touch if you want more information on anything here or on any other page.

	GWR Large Prairie #1 This is the updated body for an ex-GWR 41XX now with the top feed and pipework, so just awaiting the paintshop. I have had a Martin Finney kit maturing for nearly thirty years, but saw this Airfix RTR body on eBay back in 2010 and thought it would be a quick build to give a second loco. After removing the plastic handrails, much other detail has been added, mostly pipework. The chassis to go with it is a Comet one with the rear pony replaced with a dummy radial truck. The initial plan was to have this as 5176 as it appears in the brief video at the head of the non-stop passenger in ex-works black with large early British Railways totem and a red numberplate.  Having bought a completed Martin Finney kit, this Airfix / Comet loco will now be a more workaday 4126. The lower photo shows progress to February 2020 with painting to complete before adding the large early totem, weathering and putting the chimney top back on.
	GWR Large Prairie #2 Since getting the Martin Finney prairie, I've stripped the body paint and made the modifications specific to 5176 in my period. The main changes were to the ATC equipment and cabling, plus removing the bunkerside steps and associated handrails which were added later in the prototype loco's life. The photo of the loco at Mollington Street on return from Swindon Works in May 1951 shows a patch repair to the tankside just in front of the left had side cab door.  I've tried to replicate this at the painting stage.
	GWR Large Prairie #3 Another eBay purchase, this is the latest version of the Hornby RTR model already converted to P4 with the Brassmasters Easi-Chas.  This version of the Hornby model from around 2021 already includes all the details which I added to the old Airfix RTR body for large prairie #1. My plan is to make this into 4129 showing the G W R lettering applied in the early 1950's as per the Colour Rail slide taken at Parkgate.  Even though this photo is in colour, it is difficult to determine whether the tanks are painted green or black, I will go for black.
	GWR Pannier #3 Another secondhand purchase.  The model is a Bachmann RTR conversion to P4, DCC fitted. It will be renumbered to 9651 which was a long term Mollington Street resident.
	GWR 14XX #2 Birkenhead had 2 GWR 14XX tank locos for working the autotrains in the early 1950's.  1417 in British Railways lined black was finished a good while ago.  The other loco was 1957 which had the G W R lettering in the same manner as 4129 above. Both Birkenhead 14XX locos had boilers without a top feed whilst having one was the normal prototype condition.  As such, the RTR bodies and most kit built locos have a top feed so I needed to remove the one from the Airfix body for 1417. I was able to find a secondhand P4 loco without a top feed so snapped it up.  The chassis needs some work to get it running again.  I may look at seeing if it could just go on 1417's chassis and just swap bodies for variety.
	LMS Jinty #1 This is the body for 47627 awating the paintshop, like so many others. The basis is a London Road Models kit, with added details. The part in front of the loco is a representation of the slide bars and crossheads using a spare set of High Level brackets. The middle photo shows the completed loco and chassis, after the initial visit to the paintshop. The bottom photo shows the painted and lettered loco awaiting weathering.  The cab is only loosly fitted at this time.
	LMS Jinty #2 The upper photo shows the modified Bachmann RTR body for my second Jinty, 47507.  This will work the goods train shown leaving West Kirby shortly before closure, and will also be a spare for the pick up goods. I've added the vacuum and steam heating pipework plus the bunker side change for the Vulcan Foundry build. The bottom photo shows the High Level chassis, which is my first to have CSB suspension. Having build the 2 Jinties, I'm looking into swapping the chassis between them as the later one is more suitable for a shunting loco, leaving the other to just run through.
	LMS Crab This loco will work the final freight from Hooton to West Kirby in May 1962, crossing with 42229 at Thurstaston. The model is a Bachmann body on a much modified Comet chassis for the loco and a Lanarkshire Models CSB tender chassis.  It has many of the parts from the Brassmasters detailing kit. The modifications to the loco chassis are to include split frame power collection and CSB suspension.  As CSB allows easy removal of the coupled axles, I've also allowed for the cylinders, valve gear and brake gear to be removeable and for the sand pipes to be adjustable. The first photo shows it assembled before painting.  The boiler hadn't been fixed down and was not sitting correctly at the front which makes it look odd. The second photo shows it painted, lined and lettered.  The photographs I have of the prototype loco taken in 1962 show that the tender was so dirty that the lining and emblem are completely invisible so I didn't get them put on.
	British Railways 2MT tank This loco will be 84003 to work a LMS style Push Pull set which I understand only operted in service in the last 6 - 7 weeks of the line's passenger service in 1956. The model has already had a convoluted history and I haven't really started: 1) I bought a DJH kit plus the wheels, motor & gears in anticipation of constructing the model from the kit. 2) I was offered a completed professionally built DJH kit, built in EM as 84009.  I bought a Comet chassis as a replacement, planning to use the wheels, motor & gears from above. 3) At Scalefour Crewe in 2024 I was able to buy a completed DJH kit built in P4 as 84029. I'd identified a while ago a number of corrections and enhancements to apply to 84009.  Having looked at both bodies, 84009 is better than 84029 so I will strip the paint from the body of 84009 and update that along with the chassis from 84029 to make my model.  I can then sell a) the DJH kit, b) the EM chassis with 84029 body and c) the Comet chassis kit and wheels.
	British Railways 2MT I have no record of any member of this class working on the branch and the only photo seen of the earlier Ivatt version is on a special railtour. However, I was able to buy this completed P4 loco.  It turns out to have been professionally built by Jim Lord which was a bonus. 78032 and 78033 were allocated to Chester in the early 1960's so may have visited the area.  Of these two, only 78033 was AWS fitted so I will renumber this model to that and change the tender totem.