I've a few models of brake vans with very different origins, a plastic kit of a 20T one, an AA24 from metal kit, a scratch built one and now one an AA8 from a 3D print.

AA8

Here's how far I'd got on 24 June. I'm not looking forward to doing the lettering!

My review of the 247 Developments kit has been published in the Welsh Railways Research Circle Newsletter №178 Summer 2024 page 41, and may be viewed here. The story of building it is on a separate page.

4589 of 1865

This was built back in 1983, when I lived in Brasil, and was based on drawing 6426 of the OPC/BR collection. It has a guard in the fully detailed interior but this is hardly visible - it must have been a cold job as no stove was shown.

Could this have been used on the very steep branches from Pontnewynydd before the special brake vans were built? It would suit more than a more modern van and the drawing was annotated "sent to the north" which could have included Pontypool Road... I have a feeling I should repaint it red but that will have to wait quite some time! Pity I left the safety chain across the coupling hook for the photo.

AA24

This is the later BR brake van built from a Falcon Brass kit over a period of many years. There were quite a number of deficiencies in the kit that I compounded by fitting the roof the wrong way round! I can just remember seeing these at Pontnewynydd on holiday trips to Blaenavon; but I was too young to take any notes.

When visiting an Easter Show at the Central Hall I spent quite some time looking at an excellent model and the builder approached me to discuss it: he then sent me a reprint of his article about it (Model Railway News, September 1961 page 328). Thanks to Mel Hodges for his paper, and probably for being the cause of my taking up fine scale modelling.

20T

This was built from a Ratio plastic kit and has inside bearings so does not run very smoothly. Built in 1976 it has had a much longer life than my previous model, a K's kit, that only survived from 1962 to 1967.