Castle Aching

[DonB]

7 minutes ago, Annie said:

Oh do Martians often call in there to grab a snack on the way to Alpha Centauri.

Of course they do, The place obviously has a reputation for accommodating unexpected visitors.

[James Harrison]

4 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Hopefully. when I get to it, I'll find they haven't mucked up the Pullman thing too badly.

 

I'm watching His Dark Materials avidly.  It has a very different feel to the film, very much... darker.  It ventures away from the book in places but Pullman has a credited role as producer so if he's happy to put his name to it then I'm happy to accept it for what it is. 

[Edwardian]

I have done what I should have done to begin with; not rely upon memory, but go back to the text.

 

A couple of points emerge.

 

First (i) plans in the last years of the 19th Century and (ii) attack in the first years of the Twentieth:

 

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely ... And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment.

 

Second, we are given one date to work from:

 

During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen on the illuminated part of the disk, first at the Lick Observatory, then by Perrotin of Nice, and then by other observers. English readers heard of it first in the issue of Nature dated August 2. I am inclined to think that this blaze may have been the casting of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their planet, from which their shots were fired at us. Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.

 

This was reported in the English scientific press in early August, we are told.

 

Now, I know b8gger all about astronomy, but I gather from a NASA website that an opposition occurs when: 

 

Mars and the sun are on directly opposite sides of Earth. From our perspective on our spinning world, Mars rises in the east just as the sun sets in the west. Then, after staying up in the sky the entire night, Mars sets in the west just as the sun rises in the east. Since Mars and the sun appear on opposite sides of the sky, we say that Mars is in "opposition." 

 

How often do they occur?

 

NASA says

 

Mars oppositions happen about every 26 months

 

Wells counts 2 oppositions on - when the "peculiar markings" were to be seen, which probably takes us to Autumn 1898, and then says

 

As Mars approached opposition, Lavelle of Java set the wires of the astronomical exchange palpitating with the amazing intelligence of a huge outbreak of incandescent gas upon the planet. 

 

It seems reasonable to assume that this is the third opposition since 1894.  Again, using NASA's rule of thumb, that takes us to something like October 1900. 

 

Obviously, it took some time for the cylinders, but this, albeit rather amateurish attempt at a chronology, seems to confirm my impression that Wells, writing in 1898, saw the invasion coming around the turn of the century, at the beginning of the Twentieth.  This, by the way, would have involved much the same military technology in opposition to the Martians, but would pit a Victorian army in scarlet and blue against the invaders. 

 

So, the book seems to offer me no clue as to why the BBC chose to change the opening words to ... 

 

No one would have believed in the first years of the Twentieth Century we were being watched .... 

 

... or why 1905 in particular was chosen for the invasion date. Jules Verne died and it was a good year for Alfred Einstein, but I'm still struggling to discern meaning and intent here. 

 

 

[webbcompound]

I think you have provided, by having to do calculations to understand the sequencing, your own answer. When Wells wrote his audience would have understood perfectly well how the last years of the 19th century were followed by and related to the first years of the 20th. today most people would be confused. For most people, most of the time, historical time is viewed in discrete packets. Being told that things happened in the 19th century, and then showing something clearly 20th century would not match their understanding. We see the Victorians and the Edwardians as somehow different. On the ground there was no observable transition.

[Donw]

Regarding the Norwich Central layout exhibited by Peter thompson and David Smith, this layout is I think the one we were supposed to have at Rail Ex Taunton 2018 but Peter had some last minute problems and they brought David's home layout which was never intended for exhibition use and I posted some photos on here.  Peter said he was taking it to the NEC. I dont know if any of these locos are the ones you wanted to see.

 

I have repeated them hear because I do not believe James will object to them being repeated. 

 

Don

[Donw]

It is almost impossible to come up with totally unique ideas for a layout however Norwich is a rather obvious place to site a M&GN terminus.I have not seen anything with the well developed storyline and the whole WNR history, to match CA, bits like the Wolveringham link blend well with reality and the concept is well rounded. Add to this a village which is one of the best I have seen and the buildings are not copies of what others have modelled does make it rather unique.  

 

Don

[TT-Pete]

2 hours ago, webbcompound said:

 We see the Victorians and the Edwardians as somehow different. On the ground there was no observable transition.

 

As when the wofeful day in the not-to-distant-future arrives when we will all transition from "New Elizabethans" to, er, um, "Charlies"... 

[Edwardian]

24 minutes ago, TT-Pete said:

 

As when the wofeful day in the not-to-distant-future arrives when we will all transition from "New Elizabethans" to, er, um, "Charlies"... 

 

Proper Charlies!

[brack]

Donw - thanks for the photos. I have to say I really like the concept of a visible fiddleyard on an exhibition layout where each type of loco is labelled on its cassette. I imagine it's at least partly to help the operators organise and store them, but as a nosey observer I think it's great - satisfies curiosity, especially on a more esoteric layout where the locos are more curious than the norm.

[TT-Pete]

52 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

 

Proper Charlies!

 

I thought we had agreed not to bring Brexit into it?

[Regularity]

53 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

 

Proper Charlies!

I believe he wish his regnal name to be George, so we will become Georgians.

[Edwardian]

Finally, I have managed some modelling!

 

This is courtesy of Mr Tom Turbosnail of this parish, who had asked me for some suggestions for pre-Grouping wagons that he might turn his hand to as a 3D-print product.  Among the suggestions was one for a LB&SCR open to SR diagram 1371.  I suggested this because it has a same but different quality.  It looks in general like countless of the company's open As with its high round-topped ends, but these were built by outside contractors and had a number of distinguishing features.  1,250 of these were built between 1896 and 1900.

 

The typical open A of this ilk had wooden under-frames and external diagonal bracing.  D.1371 has a steel under-frame and internal diagonal bracing. Many LB&SCR opens had a wheel-base of 9'3", including SR dia. 1369, which is represented by the Cambrian Kits model (and was also the subject of a white-metal Nu-Cast kit). D.1371 has a 9'6" wheel-base.

 

It struck me that this wagon would add variety to a Brighton train, but was fairly unlikely to be tackled in any other format, but the ability of 3D-print to produce small volumes without the need to expend costs on tooling or moulds, seemed to make a subject worth tackling. 

 

 

To my delight, Mr T took up the Dia.1371 and most kindly sent me a 'review sample'.  i said I'd have a go at it and post the results here.  and so I have.

 

The contractors concerned were Cravens and Birmingham C&W.  I understand that both builders' wagons will be represented.  This is a BC&W as it has cutaway ends to the head-stocks and sheet 'bobbins' in triangular mounts. 

 

Here is what arrived 

 

 

The supports need to be very carefully removed in order to avoid damage to the model; particularly the buffers and brake gear. 

 

I tried my best, but, somehow, I had managed to lose one of the door bangs on the brake side.  This I replaced with some styrene.

 

It is hard to evaluate the model in this state, due to the translucent nature of the material.  There are two amendments I would suggest,  First, the solebars have 4 low-relief discs.  These are actually supposed to be holes.  I gently drilled them out, which cracked the solebars.

 

The second is that I would add the base for the sheet rail on the ends. 

 

Otherwise, it all looks good at this stage.

 

The body has mounts for NEM couplings.  I removed these as I will use 3-links.

 

 

The axle-boxes have perfectly sized journals for a tight friction fit for the Alan Gibson bearing cups that I use. 

 

 

Tom has told me that he paints the components before assembly.  I tried to glue them together before painting.  Plastic cement has no effect. My trusty Roket super glue failed to impress this material either. Finally, I broke out the Special Stuff; this is the gel that God gave use to save us from low-melt soldering. It worked.

 

  

 

This material is both slightly flexible and quite brittle! 

 

This is doubtless why the solebars are printed sperately.  Having guled them, however, I did find I could just flex them enough to pop the wheel-sets out for painting. Another reason for painting first?

 

I made a temporary sheet-rail from florist wire, but really need to make a more detailed attempt in a material that will allow the wire's ends to be flattened as per the prototype. 

 

As I had run out of day, I decided that this was the point at which to break out the Halfords grey primer. 

 

Here I will repeat that it is very difficult to judge anything, I find, while this material is unpainted.   The fact that one is seeing the detail on both sides at once is confusing!

 

When primed, we can more clearly see the problem; one end of the wagon appears to be warped upwards.  The distortion of the body is also manifest in the break in the end stanchion.

 

I will try to re-glue the solebars, strapping the parts together in the hope that this will suffice to cure the problem, but that is working against the warping, so I don't know.

 

 

You can see the excellent detail that Tom has achieved, and It runs very smoothly indeed.   Note, for example, the initials L B & S C Ry, clearly discernable on the axle-boxes.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by Edwardian
spelling!

[BlueLightning]

Looks Great!! Many congratulations to @TurboSnail for his hard work on this product!

 

Good to see someone else make one, As I to have one to built, this shall be done on my livestream at some point however. I shall be reading this post again on the day that happens!

 

Gary

[TurboSnail]

1 hour ago, Edwardian said:

It is hard to evaluate the model in this state, due to the translucent nature of the material.  There are two amendments I would suggest,  First, the solebars have 4 low-relief discs.  These are actually supposed to be holes.  I gently drilled them out, which cracked the solebars.

 

The second is that I would add the base for the sheet rail on the ends. 

 

This is doubtless why the solebars are printed sperately.  Having guled them, however, I did find I could just flex them enough to pop the wheel-sets out for painting. Another reason for painting first?

 

When primed, we can more clearly see the problem; one end of the wagon appears to be warped upwards.  The distortion of the body is also manifest in the break in the end stanchion.

 

I will try to re-glue the solebars, strapping the parts together in the hope that this will suffice to cure the problem, but that is working against the warping, so I don't know.

 

 

The holes are not holes for precisely that reason! At some point, I had to compromise between accuracy and practicality - fewer holes also means less warp.

 

I tend to add primer first, and paint after construction. This gives the glue something to key onto.

 

The warp is almost certainly down to the print orientation. I have just printed a couple more in a slightly different way, so I'll see how they've come out. Incidentally, I have now run out of the translucent green resin, and am using a much easier-to-work-with whiteish colour. I am still getting to grips with the support generating software, so I might go a little heavier on it next time. This type of printing is never going to be perfect with regards to slight warping in places, but I can mostly get this down to a level that's quite difficult to discern.

 

Glad to have got you back to the workbench!

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Edwardian said:

Among the suggestions was one for a LB&SCR open to SR diagram 1371. 

 

It struck me that this wagon would add variety to a Brighton train, but was fairly unlikely to be tackled in any other format, 

 

 

Bah!

 

 

- last paragraph.

 

But watch that space!

[Donw]

4 hours ago, brack said:

Donw - thanks for the photos. I have to say I really like the concept of a visible fiddleyard on an exhibition layout where each type of loco is labelled on its cassette. I imagine it's at least partly to help the operators organise and store them, but as a nosey observer I think it's great - satisfies curiosity, especially on a more esoteric layout where the locos are more curious than the norm.

 

Er no Knowing the layout owner and being a club member I was able to go round the operator side to take the photos. Having the cassttes labelled so the right loco is stored avoids the problems when someone puts a small tank in the pacific cassette and also with a stand-in operator when the carefully written up schedule says  'small sharpie on passenger' they know which loco you mean.

Don

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, TurboSnail said:

 

The holes are not holes for precisely that reason! At some point, I had to compromise between accuracy and practicality - fewer holes also means less warp.

 

I tend to add primer first, and paint after construction. This gives the glue something to key onto.

 

The warp is almost certainly down to the print orientation. I have just printed a couple more in a slightly different way, so I'll see how they've come out. Incidentally, I have now run out of the translucent green resin, and am using a much easier-to-work-with whiteish colour. I am still getting to grips with the support generating software, so I might go a little heavier on it next time. This type of printing is never going to be perfect with regards to slight warping in places, but I can mostly get this down to a level that's quite difficult to discern.

 

Glad to have got you back to the workbench!

 

Can I ask your reasons for not printing the wagon body  flat on the bed? 

[Edwardian]

45 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Can I ask your reasons for not printing the wagon body  flat on the bed? 

 

'cause it's easier sat at a desk?

 

hat .. coat ...

[monkeysarefun]

Just as long as you wear appropriate safety gear cos that resin is toxic!

 

 

Edited November 25, 2019 by monkeysarefun

[Hroth]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Just as long as you wear appropriate safety gear cos that resin is toxic!

 

 

 

Good LORD!!!!!

 

I've seen some unboxings, but......

(To paraphrase Sid The Sexist, "Kit oot fer lads!!!")

 

[TurboSnail]

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Can I ask your reasons for not printing the wagon body  flat on the bed? 

 

As the print lifts up from the LCD screen, it creates suction - the larger area being printed, the more force you get. Angling the print reduces the area being printed in one go, reducing the force therefore reducing the likelihood of the print being pulled off the bed and failing. In theory, at least. More practically, it helps fit more parts on in one run.

 

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Just as long as you wear appropriate safety gear cos that resin is toxic!

 

I'd never get away with that - it's far too cold in my flat to not be wearing the appropriate PPE...

[Annie]

9 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

Just as long as you wear appropriate safety gear cos that resin is toxic!

That is the most ridiculous tech video I have ever seen.  Plainly its purpose to attract votes and advertising revenue by the use of naked female skin since it has almost no technical merit whatsoever.

 

Plainly the young lady is in need of moral correction.

 

 

[Hroth]

13 minutes ago, Annie said:

That is the most ridiculous tech video I have ever seen.  Plainly its purpose to attract votes and advertising revenue by the use of naked female skin since it has almost no technical merit whatsoever.

 

Plainly the young lady is in need of moral correction.

 

 

 

Yesss.....

 

You can see her ANKLES!!!

 

[sem34090]

9 minutes ago, Annie said:

That is the most ridiculous tech video I have ever seen.  Plainly its purpose to attract votes and advertising revenue by the use of naked female skin since it has almost no technical merit whatsoever.

 

Plainly the young lady is in need of moral correction.

I concur (though can't see the photo you've attached).

 

[Tongue in cheek]

 

But in this modern age, who are we to dictate what a woman should or shouldn't be allowed to wear? How could you possibly suggests that videos with such a thumbnail could be as you suggest - She's a liberated woman, wearing however little she pleases - this is quite clearly the case, and so obviously nothing to do with advertising or encouraging men to click on it. How dare we suggest that this is inappropriate.

 

[/Tongue in cheek.]

 

Sometimes (Hah!) I really do not understand the modern world. Personally I find that sort of video offensive, not out of a belief that a woman shouldn't be allowed to wear however much or little she likes in the public domain but out of a belief that it further encourages the objectification of women and demonstrates how, counter to how I generally think, we have yet to get all that close to gender equality in some areas. Needless to say I did not consider it to be a good use of my time to watch the video - The thumbnail tells me all I need to know.

[Annie]

At risk of starting an unseemly arguement and outraging members of the parish I will simply confine myself to the statement that young women do themselves a great disservice by dressing in such a manner to act as click bait.  Despite the old photo I posted above I would not like to see things come to a pass where there are modesty police patrolling public spaces and arresting people for immodest dress.  People have free will to choose how they dress no matter how foolish their choice might be.  It is a symptom of the rot in our society that a video such as that one even exists and I do not see any kind of cure for it save the sudden arrival of a large asteroid on a direct path to collide with our planet.