Dapol Announce New OO Gauge Functioning Water Tower

[Steamport Southport]

3 hours ago, truffy said:

Do model water towers have a gauge? Scale, yes; gauge, no.

 

Although, presumably, the EM and P4 4mm scale modellers are unlikely to entertain such frippery.

 

Some do.

 

To tell you how much water is left in them....

 

 

As for frippery and scale modellers, you obviously don't remember Dave Lowery's Bevleys, pre grouping LNWR with gnomes....

 

 

 

Jason

[Oliver Rails]

 

A short clip showing Dapol’s new OO gauge motorised water tower with sounds!

 

Available to purchase :

https://railsofsheffield.com/news/articles/3391-motorised-oo-gauge-water-tower

[dave parker]

hi does it play the wurzels greatest hits by any chance

[big jim]

Who did they get to do the voice, jethro?

 

just needs a “train don’t stop cambourne Wednesday” and it would be complete!

 

 

 

 

 

[philiprporter]

54 minutes ago, Oliver Rails said:

 

A short clip showing Dapol’s new OO gauge motorised water tower with sounds!

 

Available to purchase :

https://railsofsheffield.com/news/articles/3391-motorised-oo-gauge-water-tower

Gimmicky madness but I love it! 

[Georgeconna]

1 viewing for me was enough for the novelty to disappear. If you closed your eyes and listened to that would you guess what the noises we off?

 

 

[The Johnster]

I’d be ok with the speaker disabled and just the swinging arm function

 

 

[Steamport Southport]

Swinging Arm? That's a bikers pub in Birkenhead.   

 

 

 

Jason

[malcolmt]

Does anybody have the dimensions of the base?  I’ve ordered one and need to figure out placement on my layout.

Thanks,

Malcolm

Calgary, Canada 

[Free At Last]

29 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

Swinging Arm? That's a bikers pub in Birkenhead.   

 

 

 

Jason

A regular haunt for me.

[Jenny Emily]

I’ve made a full video reviewing, installing and using the tower. It’s a reasonable little model bringing some playvalue to the hobby, hidden in a pretty good scale model. 
 

It weathered up pretty well too. 
 

 

 

 

[fezza]

I mainly model diesel era but I think this is great fun! 

 

It would be good to have more station buildings with sounds... pa announcements, people moving about, cars revving, dogs barking, signal Bell repeaters, passengers querying whether their Super Saver is valid in the 9.12....

[tomparryharry]

No criticism here, but just an observation.  I can't help but notice the lovely swan neck on the delivery pipe. I don't think I've ever seen one like that. The 10" odd pipe carries an awful lot of water, and the swan neck would impose a great deal of weight on the swivel bearing. Plus, of course, it will have a greater propensity to freeze, brazier or otherwise. 

 

The railway at Havenstreet (Isle of Wight Steam railway) have a first class example  of the water crane, just like the Dapol model, even down to the brazier. The one thing that's missing, is the swan neck. I'd guess that a version of a horizontal neck would be spot-on.

 

Nice model, though; I quite like it. 

[tomparryharry]

12 minutes ago, fezza said:

I mainly model diesel era but I think this is great fun! 

 

It would be good to have more station buildings with sounds... pa announcements, people moving about, cars revving, dogs barking, signal Bell repeaters, passengers querying whether their Super Saver is valid in the 9.12....

 

I'd suggest  a 'disappearing' model, with a drunk urinating over the 3rd rail. All of a sudden,a large flash, and the figurine disappears. I suppose we could use a flashbulb....

 

[coeurdelyon]

1 hour ago, tomparryharry said:

No criticism here, but just an observation.  I can't help but notice the lovely swan neck on the delivery pipe. I don't think I've ever seen one like that. The 10" odd pipe carries an awful lot of water, and the swan neck would impose a great deal of weight on the swivel bearing. Plus, of course, it will have a greater propensity to freeze, brazier or otherwise. 

 

The railway at Havenstreet (Isle of Wight Steam railway) have a first class example  of the water crane, just like the Dapol model, even down to the brazier. The one thing that's missing, is the swan neck. I'd guess that a version of a horizontal neck would be spot-on.

 

Nice model, though; I quite like it. 

Actually there is one with the swan neck delivery pipe at NOTHIAM on the K.E.S.R. where we recorded the sound several years ago for the Dapol 0 scale terrier model. I have attached a picture for reference although the ladder,etc. is different

[tomparryharry]

Well, thank you! I've learned something today! Prototype for everything department!

 

Cheers,

Ian.

[Harlequin]

44 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

Well, thank you! I've learned something today! Prototype for everything department!

 

Cheers,

Ian.

Well, maybe...

 

The Dapol model is specifically a GWR Water Tower so ideally we'd like to see a period photo of a GWR tower with a cranked arm.

 

I know that some water cranes were given cranked arms so that they cleared the larger tenders that were developed over the years. Never seen that on a tower, though.

 

[Steamport Southport]

4 hours ago, Harlequin said:

Well, maybe...

 

The Dapol model is specifically a GWR Water Tower so ideally we'd like to see a period photo of a GWR tower with a cranked arm.

 

I know that some water cranes were given cranked arms so that they cleared the larger tenders that were developed over the years. Never seen that on a tower, though.

 

 

There's a brand new one at Corwen but it's a straight arm.

 

Photograph here. Click to enlarge.

 

https://www.llangollen-railway.co.uk/corwen-development/

 

 

 

Jason

[Bulleidboy100]

I'm expecting the "silent" version to be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully it will be in one piece?

[Damo666]

23 hours ago, tomparryharry said:

No criticism here, but just an observation.  I can't help but notice the lovely swan neck on the delivery pipe. I don't think I've ever seen one like that. The 10" odd pipe carries an awful lot of water, and the swan neck would impose a great deal of weight on the swivel bearing.

 

22 hours ago, coeurdelyon said:

Actually there is one with the swan neck delivery pipe at NOTHIAM on the K.E.S.R. where we recorded the sound several years ago for the Dapol 0 scale terrier model. I have attached a picture for reference although the ladder,etc. is different

 

The picture shows a tie-bar on the swan neck, which would have relieved some of the stresses tomparryharry was referring to. Cannot see that on the Dapol model from the pictures I've seen so far.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Damo666
Clearer Picture (levels adjusted)

[The Johnster]

I had to go back to the Rails link to check, and I actually had not noticed that the grey flat top version has a swan neck pipe.  I agree with Ian that it looks wrong without any support and that the bracket and bearing would be under a lot of strain.  Now, this might seem like a daft question, but this is a GW water tower, so does than mean that the Northiam and Havenstreet towers are ex-GW or that towers of this design were built by an independent supplier and could be seen on other railways?  I have certainly only ever seen the conical top ones on the GW.  

 

This leads me to another possibly daft question; bear with me it's past my bedtime...  What was the reason for the conical tower?

[tomparryharry]

6 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I had to go back to the Rails link to check, and I actually had not noticed that the grey flat top version has a swan neck pipe.  I agree with Ian that it looks wrong without any support and that the bracket and bearing would be under a lot of strain.  Now, this might seem like a daft question, but this is a GW water tower, so does than mean that the Northiam and Havenstreet towers are ex-GW or that towers of this design were built by an independent supplier and could be seen on other railways?  I have certainly only ever seen the conical top ones on the GW.  

 

This leads me to another possibly daft question; bear with me it's past my bedtime...  What was the reason for the conical tower?

 

In certain circumstances, wind would whip out the water, and affect the float valve. then, the water would 'top-up' and be whipped out again. A bit of a perpetual cycle.Also, it keeps out stuff you don't want, like pigeons & Johnny Weismuller....

[tomparryharry]

I don't think we should be too harsh on the model. As it stands, I'd guess it can be 'worked up' to look exactly like the real thing. Sure, there are parts (perhaps) to be added, but at least you don't need to hack it about to get it looking right. Add some coal, possibly with a bunker, tone it down to look like rust, you get the idea. Only preservationists paint the brazier, so it looks 'nice'. Try painting that in January! Clinker; Lots of clinker. Every time a loco crew take on water, a fireman worth his salt will chuck out the big bits.  The drip cone is to catch the water, where ice will form on the floor surface.  If you gone AOT (ar$e over t1t) , then  you will know what I mean. Sometimes you will see them where the crane also has a platform ramp.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by tomparryharry
added text.

[Robin Brasher]

I thought that Jenny's video about the working water tower was brilliant. I think that it looks similar to the water tower at the end of Swanage station platform.

[The Johnster]

No indeed, as a ‘static’ model of a GW water tower, no working swinging arm, that does’t talk to itself in a West Country accent despite Cockney,Welsh or Brummie being more commonly heard on that railway, it’s perfickly cromulent, and I’m delighted to see that spellchecker no longer underscores ‘cromulent’ in red!  All we need to do now is work on ‘perfickly’!

 

Working up on the lines you suggest, and weathering, will make it even better, but I cannot fathom why Dap have provided the concrete base and fire devil in white!  I imagine that the projected market for the ‘full fat’ all singin’ all dancin’ operating version will leave these parts unaltered, and incorrect.  Mine is intended to represent a recently painted WR tower in the early 50s, and I have very lightly weathered it with rust streaks at the top of the feed/overflow pipes and the swinging arm pivot. The fire devil is painted matt black and also mildly oxidised.  Bit of clinker and possibly a coal bin, but it must be lockable; this is the Valleys and unlocked coal left unattended goes walkies...  

 

I reckon at my sort of location a porter goes up from the station building with a bucket of coal as needed; this is how the signalbox grate is supplied.  Think I’ll go with the clinker, and the drip catcher if I can find it.  I can use real clinker from the fire basket or the ‘cue.  The concrete base was not repainted at the same time as the tower, and is already a bit overgrown. The drain is a bit rusty, but the chains look freshly painted.  
 

This area off the end of the platform is developing almost unplanned into a busy little cameo; water tower, timber crossing, yard light, per way cabin and privy, and the girlfriends, I mean sheep.  There’s a Ratio standpipe somewhere as well, one of 4 that came with concrete fence posts, and this can go by the per way privy, which doesn’t run to a cistern.  It had a cast iron one which froze solid and cracked in the bad winter of 1947, but it’s not been replaced.