Jump to content
 

Deliberately Old-Fashioned 0 Scale - Chapter 1


Nearholmer
 Share

Recommended Posts

9 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Very good.

 

Don't stop now.

I couldn't.. I've been thoroughly caught..;)

I will actually enjoy playing trains with this stuff.. rather than being afraid to break tiny bits off fiddly Bachmann locos and the like..

I love the way everything is solid heavy metal like a proper locomotive (or indeed any railway stuff) should be.

  • Like 3
  • Agree 2
  • Friendly/supportive 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, brianusa said:

A good start, don't let yourself fall for the mint and boxed items, enjoy the trains as they are.  Whoever has seen a squeaky clean engine or item of rolling stock anyway!:good_mini:

      Brian.

 

Good point.  I think the patina of those recently acquired items adds significantly to their appeal.

  • Like 1
  • Agree 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Absolutely gents 100%....I very much appreciate well used stuff that's had a life and looks the part ! I could have had for a similar price an identical set that looked very clean and shiny but actually preferred the ones I got for the very reasons you mention !

I got these rather nice old signals too...

I assume the lower one should technically be a yellow distant , tho rest assured I won't be repainting such a great looking piece of kit!

IMG_20200125_145744_292.JPG

Edited by Porkscratching
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Distants began life red and white, and gradually became yellow and black from, IIRC, about 1900 to the mid-1920s. Hornby's were cirrecect for some places when they were first introduced, but I think they hung on to them a bit too long.

 

Hornby signals are superb, but so seriously out of proportion to the trains that they don't do it for me in 0 scale/gauge - I prefer to see them with 16mm/ft scale trains, where they seem about right.

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Isn't it funny how we differ in our hobby.  I find Hornby signals to be the essence of the toy train thing, big though they may be.  Were they the correct size, they might have been too fiddly for younger enthusiasts.

          Brian.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
37 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Distants began life red and white, and gradually became yellow and black from, IIRC, about 1900 to the mid-1920s. Hornby's were cirrecect for some places when they were first introduced, but I think they hung on to them a bit too long.

 

Hornby signals are superb, but so seriously out of proportion to the trains that they don't do it for me in 0 scale/gauge - I prefer to see them with 16mm/ft scale trains, where they seem about right.

 

28 minutes ago, brianusa said:

Isn't it funny how we differ in our hobby.  I find Hornby signals to be the essence of the toy train thing, big though they may be.  Were they the correct size, they might have been too fiddly for younger enthusiasts.

          Brian.

 

Having built some 16mm stock for a garden railway I think the size ideal for Kids and the Hornby Signals do look quite good with them. I think 16mm battery power trains are ideal for young children.

Don

  • Like 2
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Interesting stuff gents, one always learns something on here!..

Even if the signal is a bit oversize with the Hornby O gauge it'll be about right for the Mamod live steamer ! 

I'm not too fussed about  being totally period correct with anything , I'm just acquiring appropriate bits that I like the look of hopefully at a reasonable price.;)

I can see me doing a bit of scratch bodging too with buildings and stuff..I'm even toying ( pardon pun) with the idea of making up an experimental tin loco myself at some point.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

“In 1925 The Ministry of Transport issued a requirement to make Distant Signal arms yellow with yellow lights“

 

But, some railways in some places were using yellow arms, yellow lamps, or both well before that, including I think odd installations on the GWR. 

 

Having googled around, it seems to have taken several years for the railways to make the changes, so there were probably red distants on backwater lines into the 1930s, which is later than I thought. The SR was pretty swift on it because they had a lot of Coligny-Welch indicators, which they wanted to get shot of as fast as possible, and I have an inkling that the SECR had gone over to yellow pre-WW1 in busy areas.

Edited by Nearholmer
  • Informative/Useful 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Things are very quiet at Birlstone and Paltry Circus while I concentrate any time on the Nelliebahn, but not entirely silent.

 

I’m gradually rationalising the Pre-nationalisation loco fleet, and selling whatever non-0 things I can force myself to part with, and moving more 1950s (Giant Hornby Dublo), on a “sales must fund purchases” basis. 


Out went an SR mogul and Lionel Hall, in came a Drewry 204hp, which seems to quite like shunting carriages.

 

4DAA7734-0A66-41B5-967A-DAF6EDA31C18.jpeg.bacb3adda1b13694306b7b8c0b3ed116.jpeg

 

The next batch of sales will fund an EE Type 1 (= Class 20).

  • Like 7
Link to post
Share on other sites

Its best not to slide them, if you can avoid it, because it scratches the finish off and encourages rusting, but some are stubbornly resistant to the 'proper' method, which is:

 

Gently press at the corners with your two thumbs, then, keeping the pressure up, slide thumbs towards the middle, and the roof should (might!) pop off.

 

If you think Hornby ones are difficult, try a Bassett Lowke 'blood and custard'. The roofs will come off, but it is a very testing job, requiring a surprising amount of carefully-applied force, which is why there are so many dodgy re-paints around, clearly done without dismantling the coach!

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Informative/Useful 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

If I can find away of doing a three handed job, I will photograph the process.

 

Here you are - you’ll have to imagine my right hand doing the same thing at the other end.

 

Firm, but gently upward pressure with the thumbs.

 

ED047816-524E-49E8-9D98-DC83DE3B80AC.jpeg.ec62f082854790fa5a0ad19408204e3b.jpegC90F7493-6951-47FE-AA91-7D1C6E206576.jpeg.ddbb0d021019a538f6bc3e4aef8a32e3.jpeg

Edited by Nearholmer
  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

A brief, but I hope interesting burst of old-fashioned 0:

 

Went to the sodden valley of the Welland yesterday for our periodic old 0 buffs gathering, which was nominally themed around Compounds.

 

Here is mine leading a class mate with different number on a parcels, fish an milk train.


A42002E0-CCB7-4846-BE1B-5612BD5DAC75.jpeg.0d16473009b9be659774d5d6da8ad7b7.jpeg

 

The really, really, really interesting locos weren’t compounds though.

 

This unique animal is from G P Keen’s railway, weighs about 10kg, and I think is an imaginative melding of two early 1930s experimental locos, the Armstrong-Whitworth ‘universal’ diesel-electric, which was used for a period on the LNER in the northeast, and a German diesel-pneumatic locomotive. The DE was a very practical machine, but the DP was a rather daft idea that revisited a concept that had been shown wanting, both in theory and in practice, by Deutz in the early 1890s.


DA070E37-B506-44B7-91E0-672A40D2D9F9.jpeg.011c8ecaf3cd17707ed851bb6380e4b8.jpeg

 

Real Diesel-Punk, eh?

 

The other mega rarity I got so excited about I forgot to photograph! It was a Gauge 2 electric loco by Butcher of Watford, a maker who is believed to have sold-out to Bassett Lowke pre-WW1. It has the ‘boiler motor’ described in detail by Greenly in his 1910 book about electric model railways, and the present owner has restored it far enough to get it working ...... the resto has a long way to go yet, but having a Butcher loco at all is super-rare, and having one working is super-super-rare.

 

Its a model of the LBSCR J Class ‘Abergavenny’, itself a one-off, so here’s a picture of the real thing.

 

F881EA72-2351-4B68-BBF0-77786ED25486.jpeg.aa9d5686983ffc5506b929907606babf.jpeg
 

Finally, much more mundane things. I collected the EE 1000hp Bo-Bo that has been funded by recent cupboard-clearing, so The Modernisation Plan continues to impact Birlstone. Lovely runner, and the plumage isn’t bad.
 

4E8E4A5C-F03A-4263-9B7E-4A96C52D2D64.jpeg.6618f1c256349843758e1a2d9c46eb96.jpeg

 

 

  • Like 11
Link to post
Share on other sites

It is.

 

Twin power bogies, each with clutch drive.

 

The loco was originally commissioned from them by modern Bassett Lowke, and when Hornby dropped that range ETS retained the rights to the tooling. The BL and pure-ETS versions are subtly different and I’m not totally sure about the colour ....... I think the BL ones were darker/duller, like the old Hornby Dublo version.

 

But, the price demanded for s/h BL ones is considerably higher than the price for a brand new ETS one. It’s faintly mad!

Edited by Nearholmer
  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...