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Tony Wright

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Tony Wright last won the day on January 1 2023

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  1. Good morning John, From the days of the great cricket commentators; along with Brian Johnston, there were the likes of John Arlott, Peter West and Jim Swanton to entertain and educate us about the gentlemen's game. Last night, I watched a 20-20 final on telly from Pakistan; certainly entertaining and exciting (though being non-partisan, I cared not who won), but some of the commentary was akin to being excoriated! Good (even great) cricketers the commentators might have been, but there their talents ceased (this is even more so with football commentators). What about the other great cricket quotes, such as 'The bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey' or 'He's just got his leg over' or 'Botham has just clipped one of Thompson's balls all the way to the boundary'? At least one is attributed to the 'master'. Regards, Tony.
  2. A request, please. Does anyone have a spare Bachmann B1 tender body for sale, please? It needs to be in BR lined black (the BR device doesn't matter - early or later). The reason for this need is that I sprayed a Bachmann V2 BR lined green tender body this morning with Halfords car rattle can acrylic satin black, and it 'attacked' the lining/BR device; it just blistered! I've cleaned it off, but rather nasty marks have been left and re-spraying hasn't disguised these (do you see why I usually leave painting to those who know what they're doing?). I've never come across this reaction before - not with acrylic. I'm happy to buy a complete tender if necessary. I recall at one show, a trader selling RTR tender bodies (including Bachmann B1s), but who and where are lost in the mists of time. Many thanks in anticipation.
  3. Good afternoon Alan, I take it that's a cricket box? Years ago (about 1968) I was playing cricket for Edge Hill College of Education's team, and one of out batsmen had an aluminium box. Needless to say, an opposition bowler of considerable pace got a ball to rear up, hitting him smack bang where it hurts the most! He jumped a bit, squeaked a lot, then wrested with his jockstrap to release the metal box - to reveal a great big dent in it! It would appear no permanent harm was done because he later became a father. Regards, Tony.
  4. I don't know. I never asked the question. Regards, Tony.
  5. I can't for the life of me remember what the second loco I have which is fitted with Hambling's drivers, though I know 61448 certainly has them.......... There was not the slightest problem with her running on Stoke Summit because the track was either hand-made or SMP, with plenty of clearance above the chairs on the inside. In this early test on Bytham, she's fine on the SMP plain track but clouts the chairs on the pointwork; meaning, I don't run her much. Built over 45 years ago from a Nu-Cast kit on a scratch-built set of frames, perhaps a mechanical rebuild is called for. At the time, Hamblings were the only wheels of the correct diameter I could source. Using the firm's press, they're obviously self-quartering and certainly won't shift on their axles (the steel axles have splined ends which bite into the wheels' brass centres when they're pressed on, meaning the only way they'll ever come off is by sawing through the axle. At least they have nickel silver tyres - the other one has brass tyres to its drivers - but what and where is it? Does anyone else 'lose' their locos? Mind you, I could well have sold it by now!). Models don't have to be 'old' to give 'problems' running on C&L trackwork............. This is my only (much-modified) Bachmann A1, and though the loco's drivers ride fine over C&L pointwork, the tender's wheels have deep flanges which clatter on the chairs (the bogie wheels are replaced, anyway). The same 'phenomenon' is present.............. With Bachmann's Austerity, where the tender's wheels don't half bounce through pointwork. It's not a running problem because the two Bachmann locos are kept as no more than 'curiosities, hardly ever being used on LB. Has anyone else noticed this 'discrepancy' with regard to Bachmann's steam-outline locos with tenders?
  6. Thanks Tim, I'm not sure about the epithet 'master'. I've worked closely with DJH down the years (test-building/testing/building prototypes/photographing the firm's products/writing instructions) and there was real concern when Mashimas ceased to be available. Where the new motors were sourced from, I have no idea but the motor mounts on the gearboxes were altered to accommodate them. The only area of 'concern' I have with regard to DJH's AM9 and AM10 gearboxes is the size of the grubscrew; it really is small and is prone to vanishing without trace when attempts are made to fit it into the final gearwheel. My advice is to NOT fit it before the 'box is installed or for testing. Though that sounds daft at first, it's better than losing the grubscrew by having it fitted first. Set up the 'box with an axle installed (with a flat filed on it where the grubscrew will engage), apply a dab of Evo-Stik to the end of a small screwdriver and then push this into the slot of the grubscrew. It's then dead easy to fit the screw into the gearwheel, and tighten with the grubscrew attached to the screwdriver. That done, it won't slip and you won't lose it. Luckily, I have scores of spare grubscrews, obtained after losing so many! Perhaps of interest, DJH used to supply the gearboxes as kits. However, so many were returned 'messed-up' that the firm decided to only supply them 'ready-made'. They are 'precision' products and were 'jig-assembled' at base for accuracy. Regards, Tony.
  7. Good morning Paul, C&L track was used principally on Charwelton, and there was initial concern when all the locos running on the older Romford drivers and Hambling's drivers (remember those?) 'clouted' the tops of the chairs. A simple tool was made (using a scalpel blade and a piece of brass set to gauge) which 'lopped' off the tops of the chairs on the inside of the rail when pushed along the track. Problem solved, no loss of integrity with regard to the track and impossible to detect when accomplished. Though Bytham's plain scenic-side trackwork is SMP, Norman Solomon used C&L components for the pointwork. Since I have so few locos now shod with older Romfords, it's not a problem but when I run the two (very old) locos running on Hambling's drivers, they don't half bounce! Actually, they're both so heavy that with perseverance they might just wear the tops of the chairs away! Regards, Tony.
  8. Me again, The O4/7 clip has the AM10 in it. https://1drv.ms/v/s!AiRP3jVN2v0ptC01GdLi6z0hNrwj?e=R5Kx7Q I'll see if I can find the others............ Regards, Tony.
  9. Good evening, I have no idea whether DJH's motors are 'cheap and nasty 3-pole jobs from China', but I very much doubt it. They're certainly not cheap and they're certainly not nasty! This is the AM9, recently installed in a DJH A1. And this is the AM10, recently installed in a Nu-Cast K2. Obviously, 'static' shots like this give no real indication as to how well these units run. However, if you'd like to look back through some recent pages of Wright writes (quite a few back, because the thread flies!) you'll see moving footage of both the A1 and K2 in action. I must have used 20 of the new-motored DJH gearboxes with complete satisfaction. The new motors are certainly the equal of equivalent Mashimas, if not superior. Regards, Tony.
  10. I mentioned that last Monday's running session on Little Bytham was shy of A3s............ In fact, only one member of this historic class saw service on the day; in the form of 60111 (SE Finecast/Wright/Haynes), hauling this 14-car kit-built rake (something RTR LNER Pacifics won't touch!). Another class which was 'under-represented' was the V2. A train often hauled by a big 2-6-2 during the LB sequence is this Down express goods.......... But on Monday it was New England's A2, 60533 (Crownline/Kinsey/Wright/Rathbone) which was in charge. In fact, only three V2s saw use............. 60862 (Pro-Scale/Hammet/Geary) had the Down cement block train. 60905 (Nu-Cast/scratch/Wright) hauled an Up Newcastle (including the Comet triplet). And 60948 (Nu-Cast/Comet/Wright) took one of the Up fitted freights. 60905 is almost 40 years older than 60948, which rather indicates how little my loco-building has 'developed' over almost four decades! At least both are all my own work. In fairness, Geoff West brought some visiting locos which were used in the roster, probably taking the place of a further A3 or V2. I hope next month's running day will redress the balance, though A1s will still dominate (as they did in reality).
  11. Good evening Captain, The Scalelink wheels are plastic-centred (though they are self-quartering). I have used them, but in my experience they're not quite so concentric as the more-recent Markits ones, nor are they as robust. The ones I used were more 'generic' as well, rather than a specific prototype. They do, however, represent a viable alternative, especially as Markits wheels are difficult to obtain right now. Regards, Tony.
  12. Regarding Markits, it's my understanding that Mark Arscott has been recently incapacitated by a trapped nerve, necessitating him taking time off to recover. I'd like to wish him all the best for a speedy recovery.
  13. Good afternoon Tony, Do you remember Ynysibil Fach (my spelling is probably miles out!), a South Wales colliery layout in O Gauge built by the Gibbons brothers? At one show at Ipswich, short of operators one day, elder son Tom was press-ganged into operating its working coal tipplers. By the day's end, he looked exactly like my late uncle Percy just coming off shift (he was a miner at Dinnington pit). Regards, Tony.
  14. Good afternoon Andy, The builder's name was Norman Clarke, who, very sadly, died young. He built 'Scene in London' in the '70s, at the same time Wolverhampton MRC started, and the layout was always of interest at our first few shows. Not only were there moving trains on belts, but marching bands as well! A memorial cup was awarded each year to the best in show as a recognition of Norman's work (he also built some of the structures for Fordley Park). I have no idea what happened to his creations. Regards, Tony.
  15. Good morning John, How stupid of me to not realise that Little Benton is north of Newcastle (which rather makes my guess wonky!). If it had previously been carrying passengers (which it isn't in the picture - it's empty stock), it could not be a stand-alone consist because there is no guard's compartment in a catering triplet, nor any lavatories. It would have been attached to a gangwayed brake vehicle with lavatories at least (in the picture, is the guard accommodated in an ex-LMS BG?). So, a real puzzle. Could it have conveyed guests to an event in Berwick, or Edinburgh, and is now returning south? Either way, it's just ex-works (no more than a few days, judging by the pristine state of the roofs). One point I should have clarified regarding the white windows on the corridor side of the Kitchen Car. This was a feature in later LNER days and BR days. Some of the earlier triplets had clear glass in the corridor-side windows of the Kitchen Car when built. Regards, Tony.
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