Early in April 2002 a harmless looking email arrived from Carl Arendt, containing a pre-production photo of Steve Bennett’s latest O9 Avalon Railcar kit. “Look at this” he wrote. “Don’t you think this would make a great model in Gn15?” I had to agree. The Apple Valley would need a passenger vehicle at some time. Carl closed his email with the comment “Wanna race?” …

© Ian Holmes

Not one to baulk at a challenge, I accepted. So I looked at Steve’s photo closely and then compared it to a drawing I had of the Sand Hutton Light Railway coach. By trial and error, comparing proportions and actual measurements, I produced the drawing that Carl and I agreed captured the spirit of the model. I then picked up a Bachmann Brill trolley car in the “Happy Holidays” livery (it was dirt cheap, out of season, and I hate that phrase anyway).

The bodywork is made of varying thicknesses of plasticard, .060, .040 mainly with some .040 rod and .080 tube. For fun I added bench seats and LGB passengers inside.

© Ian Holmes

The paint is my usual pollyscale acrylics in “British Crimson” and “Freight Beige”. It was meant to capture the spirit of the Irish County Donegal Railcars, but to me ended up feeling more like Ffestiniog Railway. But that is no bad thing in my mind.

All in all this is a really simple beginner’s project - no difficult curves to bend, all straight lines. The trolley car chassis even has several ledges and screw holes moulded into it so that the new body is easy to mount and secure.