Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

On 2/2/2019 at 2:02 PM, MJI said:

A message for Tony

 

As the forum now puts a mad T next to Tony can he please be given an avatar, something Little Bythamy would be nice.

 

 

Martin

Martin,

 

I do not have the slightest idea of how to produce an avatar. Obviously, a picture of the real me would be horrid, but, maybe, a picture of the model me? 

 

I'll ask Andy. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

[Andrew P]

Hi Tony, Good to see you even if briefly on Saturday, I hope Mo continues to improve.

 

Re the Avatar, go into your profile and add a photo to where it says add Avatar, a nice smiley Tony would be good.

 

John and I Hope to get down again this year.

 

All the best,

Andy.

[bbishop]

The model Tony might be better.

 

Bill

[Manxcat]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Martin,

 

I do not have the slightest idea of how to produce an avatar. Obviously, a picture of the real me would be horrid, but, maybe, a picture of the model me? 

 

I'll ask Andy. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

A photo of Little Bytham, surely?

 

How about this one?

 

[The Johnster]

6 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

A Bothy for those in the land to the north?

Bernard

I was going to suggest a 'cabin' of enginemen for the rest of us, but based on experience of real drivers and fireman, have to go for a 'grumble'...

[RThompson]

It was good to meet you Tony on Saturday at the Stafford show.

 

My only personal purchase that day model wise was a 2nd hand David geen whitemetal 14t tank wagon kit and I got stuck into it that evening.

 

It is almost finished bar the securing wires, buffers and couplings.

 

Its always nice to build something different plus add to my quite large wagon collection, virtually all kit built and mostly hand lettered with a mapping pen, inspired by Geoff Kent.

 

Maybe that should be my small layout to get on with, a goods yard?

 

I will pop some photos up shortly.

Edited February 4, 2019 by RThompson

[Woodcock29]

Hello Tony

 

A week or so ago I purchased the newly arrived (at least in newsagents in Oz) December RM with your J6 article in it. The construction photos certainly come out very well.

 

I note that the accompanying drawing of the J6 shows crankpins in line with the spokes. All the ex GN 0-6-0s had crankpins in between the spokes, although its often very difficult to tell from photos. I guess this comes from one of the very few errors in John Edgson's drawings - probably one of his early ones as his drawings for J1 to J5, which I have, all show the crankpins in between the spokes.

 

Regards

 

Andrew     

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, Manxcat said:

A photo of Little Bytham, surely?

 

How about this one?

 

Thanks Archie,

 

It's a quite-pleasing picture, but now a bit out of date. The cottages in Station Road are missing, as is the point rodding.

 

I think I'll just leave the big 'T'.

 

Apart from the valve gear being put on, your K3 is now complete. I'll post pictures when it's finished.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Clem]

I see that Tony is Green 'T' (tea?) whilst Tony Gee is Blackcurrant - er sorry... Purple 'T'...

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

Hello Tony

 

A week or so ago I purchased the newly arrived (at least in newsagents in Oz) December RM with your J6 article in it. The construction photos certainly come out very well.

 

I note that the accompanying drawing of the J6 shows crankpins in line with the spokes. All the ex GN 0-6-0s had crankpins in between the spokes, although its often very difficult to tell from photos. I guess this comes from one of the very few errors in John Edgson's drawings - probably one of his early ones as his drawings for J1 to J5, which I have, all show the crankpins in between the spokes.

 

Regards

 

Andrew     

Good morning Andrew,

 

In fairness, I've found John's drawings contain very few 'serious' errors (unlike many others one could name). Whether 'pins-in-line or between (or not) constitutes a 'serious' error is, I suppose, dependent on the driving wheels being used. My aversion to friction-fit drivers is well-known, so it's the appropriate diameter Romford/Markits always for me. Though many Markits drivers are now specific, most of the Romfords are/were generic, merely being offered in various diameters. I used the appropriate diameter underneath the J6 I built, delighting in blissful ignorance as to whether or not the 'pins were in exactly the right place! 

 

Though this might seem to be my showing the usual dual-standards, many of my older Gresley/Peppercorn 6' 8" Pacifics run with Romford  26mm drivers in their frames - with two too many spokes! Let alone whether their 'pins are in the right place.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Jesse Sim]

Evening Tony, 

 

Any luck with that D2 I sent over? 

 

Hows Mo feeling? 

 

Ps, only just received the March edition, loved the LB piece, as well as the convention one, many thanks. 

 

Have not yet watched the DVD. 

 

 

Jesse 

[Pebbles]

4 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

Hello Tony

 

A week or so ago I purchased the newly arrived (at least in newsagents in Oz) December RM with your J6 article in it. The construction photos certainly come out very well.

 

I note that the accompanying drawing of the J6 shows crankpins in line with the spokes. All the ex GN 0-6-0s had crankpins in between the spokes, although its often very difficult to tell from photos. I guess this comes from one of the very few errors in John Edgson's drawings - probably one of his early ones as his drawings for J1 to J5, which I have, all show the crankpins in between the spokes.

 

Regards

 

Andrew     

John Edgson's drawings of  the J6s - Drawing Nos 301 and 302 - were initially drawn in August and November 1966 respectively. I recall that drawing 301 was used to support an article of building of two J6s in a copy of Railway Modeller -  July or August 1968?  New and revised drawings were drawn in January and February 1999. These revised drawings show the correct between spoke crankpin. Rather confusingly the revised drawings retained the old reference numbers. No idea how an old superseded drawing crept into so recent a publication.

[Barry Ten]

While RMweb was down I spent a few days re-organizing my workbench, adding a new LED magnifying lamp, throwing away assorted junk and generally having a good tidy-up. I'm not the neatest of modellers but I find that if I give the bench a good tidy every six months or so, some kind of order prevails - and prevents my modelling projects spilling over into our "communal" art room, which is not really cricket.

 

With the bench clear, I made a start on a new project, building a PC models coach kit. I obtained a couple of toplights a few years ago at a very reasonable price, but never felt in the mood to tackle them until this week. Both my kits came in same style of box, with a very neat sort of canvas bag inside it containing the white metal parts. It all feels like a glimpse into another modelling era, but the kits (on the basis of the one I've started) are nicely designed and go together well. I've built the main skeleton of the coach, and will soon be tackling adding the screen-printed sides, about which I'm a bit trepidatious, suspecting this may be one of those jobs where you only get one go at it. However, we'll see. 

 

Has anyone tackled one of these old kits lately? I'd be interested to know if it's feasible to add some etched detail in the form of commode handles, handrails, etc, over the printed representations.

 

Al

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Barry Ten

[Bernard Lamb]

I have not built any recently but I do have a few Gresley teak versions in a box that I will get round to renovating one day.

From memory. The wheels have very fine flanges. The bogies are rather crude. This combination does not lead to good running and so I fitted a springy brass cross piece to the bogie which seemed to gave just enough movement without the need for proper compensation. I would not try to drill the sides for handles etc as the slightly raised area of the printing would render accurate drilling rather difficult. I would rather keep them to the spirit of the original design. I cannot remember any problem in fitting the sides. Just make sure that there are no structural parts showing through the top lights. A dry run will soon show up any problems. The end section behind the end top window on the Gresley BG required some delicate carving away while leaving enough area to take a dab of glue. 

I  think the kits cost £2.30 each when I bought them from Blunt's.

Bernard

[Barry Ten]

Thanks, Bernard. I think there is a lot of sense in keeping to the spirit of the original design. Having looked at some built examples on ebay, the coaches seem to have a good overall presence so the eye isn't immediately drawn to the printed relief.

 

My concern with the sides is that they have to take a bend slightly and if anything they're slightly tending to flex in the other direction, so I worry that any glue I use won't be strong enough to force them to conform.  Perhaps I'm worrying needlessly.

 

The bogies seem OK; they came with blunt-ended axles so I fixed them directly into the castings with no bearings, and they seem to roll quite nicely and hold the track. They are very simple, though - just two side pieces and a cross member! 

 

There's no price on my boxes, but I'd like to know when they date from.

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Evening Tony, 

 

Any luck with that D2 I sent over? 

 

Hows Mo feeling? 

 

Ps, only just received the March edition, loved the LB piece, as well as the convention one, many thanks. 

 

Have not yet watched the DVD. 

 

 

Jesse 

Good afternoon Jesse,

 

I haven't looked at it yet. Please give me time, I have other things to do first. 

 

Mo is much better, thank you. 

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony.

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Barry Ten said:

 

There's no price on my boxes, but I'd like to know when they date from.

I built a few Midland Clerestories that came in boxes like that.  I would have bought them between 1975 and 1978.

Good luck with them.

 

Jamie

[AY Mod]

21 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I do not have the slightest idea of how to produce an avatar. Obviously, a picture of the real me would be horrid, but, maybe, a picture of the model me? 

 

I thought I'd help out. 

 

At least there's a nice profile pic if people click on your avatar.

[Tony Wright]

22 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

I thought I'd help out. 

 

At least there's a nice profile pic if people click on your avatar.

Thank you,

 

Though I think the picture makes me look even worse than normal!

 

Progress to date on the SE Finecast K3. Just a few details to put on, then erect the motion.

 

 

 

[Headstock]

23 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Thank you,

 

Though I think the picture makes me look even worse than normal!

 

Progress to date on the SE Finecast K3. Just a few details to put on, then erect the motion.

 

 

 

 

Crikey, it's Tony the tank engine, I think that I may have preferred the green T. Whoever came up with the cheesy circular avatars needs to go stand in the corner of the art class for a week.

Not to worry, the K3 looks much more pleasing to the eye.

[Chamby]

Tony, you might start a new trend with that new Avatar...  The pic in your profile is most excellent though.

[Jesse Sim]

4 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Jesse,

 

I haven't looked at it yet. Please give me time, I have other things to do first. 

 

Mo is much better, thank you. 

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony.

No no that’s fine Tony, I honestly am in no rush for it. 

 

I am glad to hear it. 

[Tony Wright]

Ah, PC litho-printed carriages.

 

I once saw Peter Chatham's litho press, courtesy of Colin Albright. 

 

I built this PC Gresley BCK in 1973, substituting BSL ends and bogies. I also made the trussing out of metal. 

 

There is little surface relief, and the printing is fuzzy around the windows....................... However, as a layout coach it's done yeoman service down the years. At a distance (the further the better?) is it acceptable? Not against current standards, but what other general carriages of 46 years old are?  

 

 

Another PC coach kit from 1973, this time a Gresley BG. I bought this kit from John Love in Bagnall's in Stafford. What an excellent model shop that was. Imagine going into a 'model shop' today and being able to buy complete coach kits, loco kits, wheels, motors and all the bits and pieces needed to complete such things. 

 

Apparently, in my ignorance, carmine/cream on Gresley BGs was very rare indeed; very, very rare. Thus, this one probably has the wrong number and is deficient (wrong) in detail. Still, at so many years old, it's definitely a product of its time. After all, what were the alternatives? BSL (all that beading to add)? Tri-ang/Hornby (all wrong and too short)? Kirk (better, but armoured sides)? Remember those Trix printed paper sides for Gresleys as well? 

 

I did build/acquire several PC Gresleys in teak, but gave them to the Grantham project. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Tony Wright]

Something has just occurred to me (I admit, I'm slow).

 

Without the slightest trouble, I've accessed the new RMweb and been able to insert pictures with ease.

 

I still don't like my face on the front of that Audrey locomotive. Am I the only one of my generation who disliked the Thomas books? 

[Killybegs]

When I was working in the Donegal Railway museum, my workshop was next to the room where the same Thomas the Tank engine story was shown on a continuous loop. It drove me mad after a while and so I started working from home.