Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

They are marketed by Gaugemaster.  Try this link: http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=VN4551&style=&strType=&Mcode=Viessmann+4551

 

Frank

I spelled it with a 'W'. Doh! 

[AndyID]

Same in many parts of Australia, as Tony knows...

 

Also Pittsburgh, USA.

[Nickey Line]

They are marketed by Gaugemaster. Try this link: http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=VN4551&style=&strType=&Mcode=Viessmann+4551

 

Frank

Ah! 'V' not 'W'! Thanks. Edited December 17, 2018 by whinge-n-moan

[Mallard60022]

Go to 07. 26 and then proper job 08.00 minutes for nostalgic sight and sound  Tony. Rest of vid is OK but I do hate silly music on railway vids.

I have a starring role along with a fellow enthusiast from Worksop and a young dad with little daughter who was astonished when this monster (not me) raced through.

 

/www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+union+of+south+africa+15%2f12+18&view=detail&mid=F96652B0881DF7381618F96652B0881DF7381618&FORM=VI

All the best,

Phil

Edited December 17, 2018 by Mallard60022

[Clem]

A couple of months ago I started the London Road Models J5 kit. It has very recently been released. I still regard myself very much as a beginner in etched brass construction and I take my hat off to all of you who have been doing it for years. During the build, I had 'a fall'. I only put it that way because I'm over 65. In reality I was showing off by running down from the bus stop to the corner to see if the bus was coming when I tripped over at full pelt and smashed my skull against a paving slab in a whiplash type of movement. I can't believe how well I've recovered. I think Chris (my other half) is a little disappointed that my character didn't change a bit for the better after my head injury but unfortunately, I'm still the same person. Anyway, I digress...

This kit has the makings of a very good kit but as it stands, there are 3 or 4 dimensional errors in the etchings which (don't quote me on this) I believe is being addressed by the kit's designer, Paul Craig who I think is looking at the possibility of a supplementary etch to the kit containing the corrected parts. Anyway, I've managed to get round these problems with the parts supplied and the kit is now just about constructionally complete. The only remaining item to add is the engine/tender connection. In the kit this connection has been designed in a permanent arrangement which goes against my predilection to be able to separate engine from tender easily for servicing and maintenance. But I haven't yet decided on just how I'll do it.

A quick note on the prototype. It's not the most well-known locomotive class and to be honest I was fairly surprised when I learned London Road were doing it.

The J5s were Ivatt's first stab at a fast mixed traffic locomotive but it was pretty well immediately superseded by his piston valve version (the J6), and only 20 J5s were built. Both the J5 and the J6 were classified J22 under the Great Northern. The class mainly operated in the Southern section of the GN around Retford, Colwick and Peterborough but by the late 1940s the class congregated at Colwick, Nottingham. The engines were all withdrawn 1953 to 1955. The J5 was the first locomotive I could distinguish as a 3 year old when my brother who was 10 years older than me took me linesiding in the pushchair. He got me into railways from the word go. We called the J5s 'coffee-pots' due to their long chimneys, but he knew all the correct classifications as well. 

Here are some pictures of her. 65498 was one of the last 2 withdrawn in December 1955. 

I have to say I made a number of rookie errors during this build but learnt a lot during the process. This proves that the journey can be just as enlightening as the destination.

 

 

[Nickey Line]

Viessmann part 4551 http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=VN4551 (other suppliers are available). Not cheap but very good.

 

Edit: Frank beat me to it!

Not cheap? No kidding!

[Richard E]

Not cheap? No kidding!

About the same price as a Dapol signal in both OO and N. At least using these you can then build signals appropriate to your own layout circumstances rather than being confined to the set up the manufacturer thinks you should buy.

 

I'm going, when I recover from this confounded slipped disc, to be using MSE parts to build the first bracket signal I need. Motive power (can you call it that?) will be provided by servos driven by a MERG unit. If it works out I then have at two or three more to build ...

 

Ah well, first physio session at 13:00. Going by bus just in case I'm in a state such that I cannot drive. Thank goodness for bus pass!

[Enterprisingwestern]

Not cheap? No kidding!

 

They must be cheap, it says only!

 

Mike.

[Denbridge]

Viessmann part 4551 http://www.gaugemaster.com/item_details.asp?code=VN4551 (other suppliers are available). Not cheap but very good.

 

Edit: Frank beat me to it!

£18.99 at Kernow. As I discovered the day after I bought 6 from gaugemaster.

[Tony Wright]

A couple of months ago I started the London Road Models J5 kit. It has very recently been released. I still regard myself very much as a beginner in etched brass construction and I take my hat off to all of you who have been doing it for years. During the build, I had 'a fall'. I only put it that way because I'm over 65. In reality I was showing off by running down from the bus stop to the corner to see if the bus was coming when I tripped over at full pelt and smashed my skull against a paving slab in a whiplash type of movement. I can't believe how well I've recovered. I think Chris (my other half) is a little disappointed that my character didn't change a bit for the better after my head injury but unfortunately, I'm still the same person. Anyway, I digress...

This kit has the makings of a very good kit but as it stands, there are 3 or 4 dimensional errors in the etchings which (don't quote me on this) I believe is being addressed by the kit's designer, Paul Craig who I think is looking at the possibility of a supplementary etch to the kit containing the corrected parts. Anyway, I've managed to get round these problems with the parts supplied and the kit is now just about constructionally complete. The only remaining item to add is the engine/tender connection. In the kit this connection has been designed in a permanent arrangement which goes against my predilection to be able to separate engine from tender easily for servicing and maintenance. But I haven't yet decided on just how I'll do it.

A quick note on the prototype. It's not the most well-known locomotive class and to be honest I was fairly surprised when I learned London Road were doing it.

The J5s were Ivatt's first stab at a fast mixed traffic locomotive but it was pretty well immediately superseded by his piston valve version (the J6), and only 20 J5s were built. Both the J5 and the J6 were classified J22 under the Great Northern. The class mainly operated in the Southern section of the GN around Retford, Colwick and Peterborough but by the late 1940s the class congregated at Colwick, Nottingham. The engines were all withdrawn 1953 to 1955. The J5 was the first locomotive I could distinguish as a 3 year old when my brother who was 10 years older than me took me linesiding in the pushchair. He got me into railways from the word go. We called the J5s 'coffee-pots' due to their long chimneys, but he knew all the correct classifications as well. 

Here are some pictures of her. 65498 was one of the last 2 withdrawn in December 1955. 

I have to say I made a number of rookie errors during this build but learnt a lot during the process. This proves that the journey can be just as enlightening as the destination.

Splendid work, Clem,

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Your pictures show an interesting feature (actually, they show loads) - the breather cones still in the bunker space. Post-War any Ivatt tender 0-6-0s would have lost their water pick-up apparatus, but, in many cases, the cone vents were left on the tenders. I fell into the trap once of, seeing these, I assumed water pick-up gear was still present on a J6 tender - I fitted it; in error! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

They must be cheap, it says only!

 

Mike.

For a high-quality product, 'good value' is probably a fair description, Mike.

 

As I've already mentioned however, they are incredibly sensitive. As part of our bartering, Graham Nicholas built a signal and installed all the operating mechanisms for the main line ones on LB. Thus far, about four/five Veissmann units have failed. Graham has replaced them all. We think they failed because their adjustment was not quite spot-on. By that I mean it would appear that, although the signal arm had apparently moved from 'on' to 'off' (and vice versa), electricity was still being fed to one of the poles. Thus, in time, they just 'cooked'. Not dangerously, but enough to destroy the solenoid.  

 

I believe Graham has had one or two fail on Grantham in this manner. 

 

Since the problem has been identified, no more failures have occurred, and they do work beautifully. 

[Lecorbusier]

 

I have to say I made a number of rookie errors during this build but learnt a lot during the process. This proves that the journey can be just as enlightening as the destination.

Looks smashing to me ... what a characterful little engine - excellent.

 

....... now for the paint shop.

[Tony Wright]

As part of my demonstration of building plastic rolling stock kits at Peterborough, I dug out an old Kirk Gresley, and started to build it.

 

It's now complete, apart from painting/glazing.

 

 

It would seem that these old kits (because they're no longer produced?) are 'desirable', and command high-ish prices on ebay. I still think they're still all right (apart from the armoured sides), and, certainly, an end-door TK is not made by Hornby. I've replaced several of the plastic components with metal items, though I've used the plastic bogies (unusual for me). It runs very well.

 

We'll see what it looks like once I've painted it. 

[31A]

A couple of months ago I started the London Road Models J5 kit. It has very recently been released. I still regard myself very much as a beginner in etched brass construction and I take my hat off to all of you who have been doing it for years. During the build, I had 'a fall'. I only put it that way because I'm over 65. In reality I was showing off by running down from the bus stop to the corner to see if the bus was coming when I tripped over at full pelt and smashed my skull against a paving slab in a whiplash type of movement. I can't believe how well I've recovered. I think Chris (my other half) is a little disappointed that my character didn't change a bit for the better after my head injury but unfortunately, I'm still the same person. Anyway, I digress...

 

 

 

That sounds frightful Clem; hope you soon make a good recovery!

 

The J5 is looking good ....

[jwealleans]

Easier done in the flat, Tony, but replacing the moulded door handles and adding MJT commode handles lifts these vehicles disproportionately.

 

Replacing the undergubbins with MJT/Comet bits also ballasts them just where they need it. The bogies are surprisingly good but we've found with the ones we run at Ormesby Hall that they fail after a few years use. All the Grantham ones have MJT bogies.

Edited December 17, 2018 by jwealleans

[Tony Wright]

Easier done in the flat, Tony, but replacing the moulded door handles and adding MJT commode handles lifts these vehicles disproportionately.

 

Replacing the undergubbins with MJT/Comet bits also ballasts them just where they need it. The bogies are surprisingly good but we've found with the ones we run at Ormesby Hall that they fail after a few years use. All the Grantham ones have MJT bogies.

Thanks Jonathan,

 

I replaced the handles on the triplet set I built recently. That, of course, had heavy-duty replacement white metal bogies.

 

I think these old Kirkies look better in teak than they do in maroon (and certainly in carmine/cream) because the thick window reveals aren't as noticeable, or, at least, not in my view. 

 

I suppose if someone were to reintroduce the range they'd sell well. As reported earlier, un-built triplet sets sell on ebay for well in excess of £100.00. I find this weird, because a Comet triplet is probably less than that. However, folk fight shy of making things in brass if there's something in plastic available.

 

Do you know who has the moulds at the moment? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[uax6]

Aren't the moulds in the black hole of Coopercraft? And sort of modified to fit a machine that doesn't work?

 

Andy G

[MikeTrice]

Tony, another simple improvement is to have a close look at the window apertures. You will note that they have a draft built in to help remove from the moulds. This does not help the visible thickness of the sides.

 

Assuming you have not painted the coach yet, file out the window apertures to remove the draft.

 

Left as supplied, right after treatment:

 

The right hand coach has also had the moulded draft removed from the top of the sides and a strip of styrene added to make the sides taller then fitted with a MJT roof. The MJT roof makes the coach appear less top heavy.

 

Fitting the MJT roof completely changes to appearance of the ends as can be seen here. The original moulded ends are simply filled with filler (and not very well either):

Edited December 17, 2018 by MikeTrice

[uax6]

The subtle change in the profile to the MJT roof is very noticeable. That MJT bloke is a damn good modeller.....

 

Andy G

[Tony Wright]

I think many 4mm modellers of the LNER and BR ER/NER/ScR should be very grateful for the Ian Kirk Gresleys down the decades (and not just those railways/regions, because the Gresley cars got all over the country).

 

I've certainly used them, though not so much since etched brass equivalents became available.

 

 

 

A Kirk Gresley FK was used in The Scarborough Flyer on Stoke Summit for years, coupled to an MTK (yes, MTK!) RTO. Both have now been sold-on.

 

 

Other, now sold-on Kirk carriages can be distinguished in this very mixed set operating on Stoke Summit. It's now over 23 years since this very successful exhibition layout first made its appearance. 

 

 

This summer also saw a very successful LNER weekend on Little Bytham. This train is principally Jonathan Wealleans' work, and I'm sure he's used some Kirk kits in it.

 

 

The last carriage in this train of otherwise-modified Hornby vehicles is a Kirk non-gangwayed BT.

 

I think that Kirk Gresleys still have their place today. A pity they're no longer available. 

 

Does anyone else have examples of them, please? 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Tony Wright

[thegreenhowards]

Good afternoon Andy,

 

Mechanising signals?

 

With particular thanks to Graham Nicholas, the main line signals on LB are driven by Weisseman dampened solenoids. 

 

They work beautifully, but they are very sensitive and need to be adjusted exactly. 

 

Signals 05.jpg

 

Signals 06.jpg

 

Signals 07.jpg

 

Signals 09.jpg

 

How they work is explained in my Crowood book.

 

Thanks Tony,

 

I’ve now looked up the reference in your book which is helpful, but the Viessmanns are quite expensive, especially once you add on MSE parts. Would they be suitable for motorising Ratio signals, or are they too fragile for motorisation?

 

I’m going to start with a couple of Dapol SR lattice signals which look very good. I’ll see how that goes, and then I might try something more adventurous.

 

Andy

[Tony Wright]

Thanks Tony,

 

I’ve now looked up the reference in your book which is helpful, but the Viessmanns are quite expensive, especially once you add on MSE parts. Would they be suitable for motorising Ratio signals, or are they too fragile for motorisation?

 

I’m going to start with a couple of Dapol SR lattice signals which look very good. I’ll see how that goes, and then I might try something more adventurous.

 

Andy

Andy,

 

I don't know if I'm the right guy to ask the question about motorising Ratio signals. I assume you mean the plastic LNER lattice types? 

 

I built one or two some years ago, but could never get them to work properly, even using simple mechanics. A bracket distant worked for a while (using the cranks supplied) but the signals are so vulnerable to the slightest damage that I gave up. One thing I did do (heresy!) was to convert some old Hornby-Dublo signals I had to lattice types by painting the posts matt black and then sticking the Ratio lattice on top of them, even adding the finial to the top. I lopped off the huge HD counterweights, and the signals were made to work with simple wire cranks. I used them on my original Soke Summit with some limited success. From a distance (great?), they looked passable, and were far more robust.  

 

I don't think the Viessmanns will damage any signals (probably the other way round), so I'd just try it and see what happens. LB's signals are all-metal, of course, and quite robust. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

I've just had a request for information about Essendine South signal box. 

 

In the spirit of asking questions on this thread, can anyone help with pictures or references, please? I have none immediately to hand.

 

In my days of taking Modern Railways, I seem to recall a picture shot at Essendine of a new Brush Type 4 passing the 'box on a freight train. It would be sometime in 1963.  

 

Thanks in anticipation. 

Edited December 17, 2018 by Tony Wright

[Barry Ten]

Here's how I've motorised my Ratio signals, in this case a starter and shunt arm on the same post:

 

 

The mounting bracket is a few bits of thick plastic glued together, and the servo motors are glued permanently in place.

 

The servos themselves are very cheap and reliable - about 4 pounds each - but the expense is in the electronics board which is needed to

drive them. I used a Megapoints board which costs around 63 pounds and will operate 12 arms, with built-in "bounce". Ignoring the

cost of the servo connectors themselves, a power supply, and any associated switches, you're then looking at a bit under ten pounds

per operating arm. The servos give a gentle action so there's little danger of damaging the intrinsically fragile Ratio components and the

boards are easy to "program", it all being done by push buttons on the board itself. 

 

I've also used a similar set-up to remotorise a failed Dapol signal, and my control board is operated using a DCC Concepts lever frame,

which adds to the fun of working the signals.

 

I admit I wasn't aware of the Viessmann product when I decided to use servos, but having seen a demo on the Megapoints stand at an

exhibition, it all looked pretty simple and I'm pleased with the reliability of the end result.

 

Al

Edited December 17, 2018 by Barry Ten

[drmditch]

Re: Glazing of Kirk kits.

 

I write with some trepidation, because I have so far completed only one of these. (In fact it is the CL shown crossing my girder bridge on page 1210.)

I have however used the same glazing technique on several RTR conversions/modifications.

 

I cut out individual Windows from acrylic sheet. Leaving the moulded return mentioned by Mr Trice above in place means the window can be cut and pushed in as a 'plug fit', and then be secured using an appropriate adhesive on the inside.

 

My models do not have to cope with much handling, which is well as there is always the danger of dislocating a window. So far however of five vehicles so glazed, only one window has had to be replaced.

 

This process is quite labour intensive, and each piece has to marked and cut individually. The factory mouldings do need tidying up, and the apertures are not entirely uniform along the length of the vehicle.

 

If I have misunderstood, and everybody else is doing this anyway, then I apologise for my temerity!

There is an example on page 10 of my 'Make do and Mend' thread on the LNER forum.

Sorry, haven't worked out how to copy links on this tablet computer yet.)