Wright writes.....

[CF MRC]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Returning to the theme of internal splashers on V2 models....................................

 

 

It's only from an elevated view that they can be seen (just). 

P2s also have these internal splashers. This is how I made them.Scarcely visible, but noticeable if absent. 

 

Tim

[thegreenhowards]

11 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

'Re: Sales prices for OO vs. EM/P4/S4, surely this is simply a function of supply and demand and even simpler maths.'

 

Though I've always struggled with 'hard sums', I think you're right. 

 

I also think one of the main reasons why OO is more easily sold-on than EM or P4 is that both the finer and finest gauges attract actual modellers. Modellers who actually model - make things for themselves. Why should they pay for something built by someone else when they can make it for themselves? 

 

If, as you guess, 98% of model railways are OO, I'd say at least 90% of that percentage is made up of RTR/RTP systems. Thus, when stuff comes up for sale, it'll be the OO material which is the most 'desirable.' Not only that, unaltered OO stuff. I've been astonished at the times when much-improved RTR OO models I've had for sale reach a lower price than those unaltered. ' You've changed the couplings. That's no good to me!' is one frequent bleat. 

 

As a sort of empirical 'proof' regarding OO's 'popularity', in my days as a professional model builder, what must have been 99% of my output was in OO (I just built a few locos in EM; never in P4 - not skilled enough. Plus a few in O Gauge). Almost without exception, I built locos (in OO) which weren't available RTR. In the beginning (near-30 years ago) there were far more types to choose from to build, and even if any equivalent loco was available RTR, it was usually a dud; so, I built a kit instead. Though I no longer build professionally (except for mates, at mates' rates, including a current GWR 517 Class in EM!), such is the quality of more modern RTR locos and stock that the need to kit-build has diminished immensely; except that I still prefer that way. 

 

When John Houlden's currently on-loan locos and stock for Retford come up for sale, I'll be narrow-gauging the lot. For obvious reasons!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Tony,

 

Just back from a week’s scout camp with no mobile signal - hence my radio silence.

 

I agree with Northmoor over the pricing of EM stuff. At a show or face to face where you normally sell, the number of EM modellers must be quite small, so the chance of finding someone who wants the loco except at a bargain price is slight. On eBay (which I know you avoid), the market is much bigger and, in my experience, EM gauge stuff sells for reasonable prices, if slightly lower than OO on average.

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

On 03/08/2019 at 16:05, Tony Wright said:

 

 

 

Bern Mundy of the East Beds Club also built a Nu-Cast V2, putting it on to a brass chassis. I bought it off him, fitted a replacement DJH motor/gearbox combo for the old Romford Bulldog, and cheerfully sold it for a profit to The Green Howards. I hope it's still working well, Andy. 



Tony,

 

It's still working very well thanks. And in order to kill two birds with one stone, as you were asking about rescued Kirk kits, here is a picture of it on a ECML relief. Seven of these coaches are Kirk kits rescued from Ebay or toy fairs ranging from unopened kit to complete, but in need of fixing. All have been built/ finished off/ repaired by me. The formation is BSO, 6*SK (D.155 end vestibule), BSK as was typical on reliefs to the North East. The fifth coach I made from Mousa brass sides on a Hornby donor. In some ways I prefer the Kirk kits as the window arrangement is wrong on the Mousa sides (it had no ventilators which is correct for the 1930's but they had ventilators added on alternate windows by the 1950's - see photos below). Obviously the flush glazing and Hornby underframe are superior to the Kirk kits, although one or two of the Kirk kits have had MJT underframe fittings. The coaches ride on a mixture of Kirk, Hornby, Bachmann and MJT bogies.

 

 

Here is a close up of the Kirk kit with the correct ventilator arrangement.

 

And here is the Mousa version with no vents on the corridor side. I see I need to get that handrail straight!

 

 

As for the V2, she runs very well and is so stuffed with lead that she'll pull anything. She is a little on the slow side though so I use her mainly on fitted freight Here is a video showing the rake in action - this is top speed for the V2.

 

 

Andy

[Bucoops]

It's been a little while since I've been able to get some modelling done with work commitments but I've managed to get a bit more of my Stelfox N7 done. It's the fiddly bits that remain - I know I need to adjust some of the footsteps but I'm rather pleased with the destination board brackets considering how SMALL they are. I need to trim the injector front bit as well before anyone notices that  Constructive criticism is of course welcome. I think the next step is pipework for the Westinghouse pump, lubricator etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Bucoops

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Tony,

 

It's still working very well thanks. And in order to kill two birds with one stone, as you were asking about rescued Kirk kits, here is a picture of it on a ECML relief. Seven of these coaches are Kirk kits rescued from Ebay or toy fairs ranging from unopened kit to complete, but in need of fixing. All have been built/ finished off/ repaired by me. The formation is BSO, 6*SK (D.155 end vestibule), BSK as was typical on reliefs to the North East. The fifth coach I made from Mousa brass sides on a Hornby donor. In some ways I prefer the Kirk kits as the window arrangement is wrong on the Mousa sides (it had no ventilators which is correct for the 1930's but they had ventilators added on alternate windows by the 1950's - see photos below). Obviously the flush glazing and Hornby underframe are superior to the Kirk kits, although one or two of the Kirk kits have had MJT underframe fittings. The coaches ride on a mixture of Kirk, Hornby, Bachmann and MJT bogies.

 

 

Here is a close up of the Kirk kit with the correct ventilator arrangement.

 

And here is the Mousa version with no vents on the corridor side. I see I need to get that handrail straight!

 

 

As for the V2, she runs very well and is so stuffed with lead that she'll pull anything. She is a little on the slow side though so I use her mainly on fitted freight Here is a video showing the rake in action - this is top speed for the V2.

 

 

Andy

Thanks Andy,

 

I think that speed is about dead right (or even too fast?) for a V2 on that curve, though which road is the train supposed to follow? Judging by the signal, it's one which splits!

 

Speaking of 'spitting' signals, there's one image in the current Modeller which shows exactly the same thing - both boards being 'off', which is daft. I wonder why the photographer submitted the image. Doesn't he know? 

 

I know I keep on about working semaphores, and my own insistence on having them. However, proper working signals (if they're working properly; and thanks to Mick Nicholson, Graham Nicholas, Tony Gee, Roy Vinter and Ray Chessum, mine are) couldn't be set for such conflicting nonsense. 

 

Love the train, by the way.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, Bucoops said:

It's been a little while since I've been able to get some modelling done with work commitments but I've managed to get a bit more of my Stelfox N7 done. It's the fiddly bits that remain - I know I need to adjust some of the footsteps but I'm rather pleased with the destination board brackets considering how SMALL they are. I need to trim the injector front bit as well before anyone notices that  Constructive criticism is of course welcome. I think the next step is pipework for the Westinghouse pump, lubricator etc.

 

 

 

 

 

What beautiful craftsmanship!

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Bucoops]

53 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

What beautiful craftsmanship!

 

Thanks for posting.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Thank you Tony, that means a lot coming from yourself - and thank you everyone for your supportive likes etc. 

 

Now if only I could speed it up a bit!

[thegreenhowards]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks Andy,

 

I think that speed is about dead right (or even too fast?) for a V2 on that curve, though which road is the train supposed to follow? Judging by the signal, it's one which splits!

 

Speaking of 'spitting' signals, there's one image in the current Modeller which shows exactly the same thing - both boards being 'off', which is daft. I wonder why the photographer submitted the image. Doesn't he know? 

 

I know I keep on about working semaphores, and my own insistence on having them. However, proper working signals (if they're working properly; and thanks to Mick Nicholson, Graham Nicholas, Tony Gee, Roy Vinter and Ray Chessum, mine are) couldn't be set for such conflicting nonsense. 

 

Love the train, by the way.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

They were set correctly before I started filming, but you know what I’m like for forgetting signals! It’s only a stand in old Hornby signal with the arms held in place with blutac. I’m planning to build an MSE one to replace it, but that could be some time.

[Tony Wright]

An interesting point - no names, of course.

 

If someone is asked to review something, and generally gives it an excellent report, but just happens to point out a couple of errors (of fact), why should someone take great exception to it? 

 

What is the point,then, of an honest and factual review? 

[Chuffer Davies]

Hi Tony,

You are currently unable to receive PMs.  Can you drop me a PM with your email address so that I can contact you that way please?

Thanks,

Frank

[Tony Wright]

Just now, Chuffer Davies said:

Hi Tony,

You are currently unable to receive PMs.  Can you drop me a PM with your email address so that I can contact you that way please?

Thanks,

Frank

Frank,

 

How does one send a PM? 

 

I used to be able to do it with ease on the old RMweb, but not now! 

[Buhar]

Hi Tony

 

Click on the envelope symbol at the top right of any RMWeb page (between your name and the notification bell icon).  You can then proceed to write a message.  Begin to type in the recipient's user name  in the "To" box and options from the membership list will whittle down in front of you as you type more letters or numbers.

 

Alternatively, to contact a member, click on their name or picture symbol in any post they've made to bring up their profile (use right click and new tab if you want to keep the existing page open for reference).  Just along from their name is the same envelope icon.  Click on that that to bring up a message box with their name all ready.

 

It seems you get a great many messages as it's not that long ago that Andy gave you a spring clean.  If, after you've read a message, you want to delete it, there is a yellow "Options" box to the top right of the message you are reading.  Clicking there gives you the chance to delete the conversation and so keep your mailbox a little under control.

 

Alan

 

 

[jamie92208]

35 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

An interesting point - no names, of course.

 

If someone is asked to review something, and generally gives it an excellent report, but just happens to point out a couple of errors (of fact), why should someone take great exception to it? 

 

What is the point,then, of an honest and factual review? 

The O Gauge Guild still has reviews of kits, as well as construction articles. The kit producer is always given the oppotunity to respond to points/criticisms made. The system seems to work well.

 

Jamie

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, Buhar said:

Hi Tony

 

Click on the envelope symbol at the top right of any RMWeb page (between your name and the notification bell icon).  You can then proceed to write a message.  Begin to type in the recipient's user name  in the "To" box and options from the membership list will whittle down in front of you as you type more letters or numbers.

 

Alternatively, to contact a member, click on their name or picture symbol in any post they've made to bring up their profile (use right click and new tab if you want to keep the existing page open for reference).  Just along from their name is the same envelope icon.  Click on that that to bring up a message box with their name all ready.

 

It seems you get a great many messages as it's not that long ago that Andy gave you a spring clean.  If, after you've read a message, you want to delete it, there is a yellow "Options" box to the top right of the message you are reading.  Clicking there gives you the chance to delete the conversation and so keep your mailbox a little under control.

 

Alan

 

 

Thanks Alan,

 

I think I've managed it!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Ray Flintoft]

On ‎03‎/‎08‎/‎2019 at 16:05, Tony Wright said:

Considered by many to be Gresley's finest locomotive, I've had a bit of a trawl through my photo archives to find some model shots of V2s............................

 

 

 

Farish produce an N Gauge V2 (does it still have solid wheels?), which probably isn't that bad, though the valve gear looks a bit 'armoured' to me. 

 

 

Bachmann has had a V2 in OO its catalogue for many years. This one has the old split-chassis (which splits) and it's the old-style (and rather inaccurate) body. The complex livery is well-applied, though. I can't decide which of the industry-standard couplings is worse - the N Gauge or the OO Gauge respectively! 

 

 

Friend, David West, must have thought the original Bachmann V2 worthy of doing some work on. This one still has the original chassis, and he's made a nice job of detailing it and weathering it. 

 

 

I did a similar job of detailing/weathering the body on a Bachmann V2, but couldn't 'live' with the poor chassis, so built a Comet substitute. 

 

 

Eventually, I couldn't live with the body-limitations either, and thus put a Graeme King V2 body on top of the ready-made chassis.

 

 

Which Geoff Haynes then painted (as the same loco) perfectly. I then sold the original body for a fiver!

 

 

Now with a much better RTR chassis, the Bachmann V2 is improved beyond comparison with the original. However, despite Tom Foster's brilliant weathering, I still couldn't live with the body limitations (despite fitting a new dome), so I gave this one away to a friend. 

 

Obviously, the original Bachmann V2 was considered good enough to see service on The Gresley Beat...............

 

 

 

And very natural they look, too. This one has been repainted.

 

 

I was so impressed with the Graeme King resin V2, that I made another; again making a Comet chassis for it. 

 

However, my preference is still for making metal kits.

 

 

Here's an old Nu-Cast one I made earlier this year (currently being painted by Geoff Haynes). I made a Comet chassis for this as well (did anyone ever get the original white metal lump of a chassis to work?). 

 

 

It goes with my 40 year old original Nu-Cast V2; I scratch-built a chassis for this one. 

 

 

Bern Mundy of the East Beds Club also built a Nu-Cast V2, putting it on to a brass chassis. I bought it off him, fitted a replacement DJH motor/gearbox combo for the old Romford Bulldog, and cheerfully sold it for a profit to The Green Howards. I hope it's still working well, Andy. 

 

 

Crownline (now PDK) produced a pretty good V2, which I built some time ago.

 

However, I'm not a particular fan of resin boilers...................

 

 

So, for this one, I substituted a metal boiler - spare from a part-wrecked ancient Nu-Cast one, which I bought for a song. Ian Rathbone painted both these Crownline V2s for me. 

 

The old Jamieson V2 still makes into a reasonable representation of the class.

 

 

Especially when painted by Geoff Haynes. I made this for service on Grantham, and it saw use during the LB LNER weekend last year. However, I've now sold it on. 

 

In O Gauge, nobody scratch-builds locos for everyday use as well as Barrie Walls.

 

 

Doesn't this look good? 

 

 

Finally, is this the most 'notorious V2 kit? Alan Hammet built this Pro-Scale example, and it saw service on Stoke Summit and Charwelton, before being sold to Gilbert Barnatt for use on Peterborough North. Except, it was no use, because it had a D13 motor, which is incompatible with DCC. I part-dismantled the chassis and fitted a DCC-friendly unit, installing the chip at the same time. 

 

What do others think of V2s? 

 

I wonder how many models are out there of them? May we see some, please? 

 

 

 

Probably Gresley's finest class , able to do anything on the main line . My first model was from Nu-Cast & yes it still has the original chassis & an X04 motor & is still a fair performer even though it is about 35 years old . 209 pacific's ! a bit beyond us all ,I think .

                                                            Ray .

[ScRSG]

Does Mr King still supply the V2 bodies?

[gr.king]

I regret that I cannot supply any more resin V2 bodies for the foreseeable future. I made just one silicone rubber mould in which to cast them. They were fairly popular for a while, in fact I had to do a couple of minor repairs to the mould to cater for the last few sporadic requests after demand slowed down. I currently only do the resin casting on a very limited basis, in spare time, as an extension to "normal" railway modelling activities. Finding time to re-make fairly complex moulds such as the whole V2 body has become more difficult as time has gone on, partly because I now have lots of moulds that have long passed the peak-demand phase and which are certainly past their best, so re-making them all would be a major undertaking. When I decided not to try to re-make the V2 mould "for the moment" it seemed as if a new, accurate Bachmann body might be just around the corner anyway, but a couple of years on it seems hard to tell if the new body is any closer to production!

 

Crystal ball anybody?

[Tony Wright]

24 minutes ago, gr.king said:

I regret that I cannot supply any more resin V2 bodies for the foreseeable future. I made just one silicone rubber mould in which to cast them. They were fairly popular for a while, in fact I had to do a couple of minor repairs to the mould to cater for the last few sporadic requests after demand slowed down. I currently only do the resin casting on a very limited basis, in spare time, as an extension to "normal" railway modelling activities. Finding time to re-make fairly complex moulds such as the whole V2 body has become more difficult as time has gone on, partly because I now have lots of moulds that have long passed the peak-demand phase and which are certainly past their best, so re-making them all would be a major undertaking. When I decided not to try to re-make the V2 mould "for the moment" it seemed as if a new, accurate Bachmann body might be just around the corner anyway, but a couple of years on it seems hard to tell if the new body is any closer to production!

 

Crystal ball anybody?

'it seemed as if a new, accurate Bachmann body might be just around the corner anyway, but a couple of years on it seems hard to tell if the new body is any closer to production!

 

Crystal ball anybody?'

 

Graeme,

 

A couple of years ago, I was told 'next year'; but not which year it was 'next' to!

 

How many of your V2 bodies did you actually make? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[CF MRC]

Watson engines are well known for having a protracted gestation, but I must say that my model of the 9P “Valour” is making remarkably fast progress.  In under two months, Valour can now pull itself along the test track.  Pickup is currently (ouch) only from the tender.  The flywheel imparts about a revolution of the driving wheels when she is stopped from a reasonable speed.  I am very content with the running, with the tender picking up well on its own and the body riding steady and stable.  There isn’t any significant weight in the engine, whilst the tender is very rattly with little weight to bear down, so performance should improve with more weight from both.   More details of construction are on the 2mm part of RMWeb.

 

Tim

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by CF MRC

[Tony Wright]

Another most-interesting day, spent in the company of good friends.............................

 

One of whom was Ben Jones, Heljan's UK representative. He brought these Heljan pre-production locos along....................

 

 

 

 

It must be remembered that all of these are pre-production examples. All have alterations to be made and additions to be fitted. The Class 25 and Class 86 are hand-painted, and the railcar is in 'proving' plastic. 

 

All three ran superbly.

 

Thanks for bringing these, Ben. 

 

 

[Barry Ten]

Back from my holiday and enjoying catching up with Wright Writes. Although I may have sneaked a peek or two while away, it's just not the same when you're miles away from your workbench. This afternoon, after lugging the suitcase upstairs, I fixed that broken coupling rod on the prairie - again. This time I beefed up the soldered joint with some wire reinforcement on the back of the rod, and the resultant mend certainly seemed robust as I filed it and deliberately handled it a little roughly. Time will tell.

 

A question that I think may have come up recently - I've lost a DJH grub screw (the type for the gear that goes on the axle) and rather than pinch one from another gearbox, I thought it might be a good idea if I knew where to obtain a few as spares. Can anyone shed any light on the specification, and whether another manufacturer's equivalent (Branchlines, etc) would be suitable?

 

That Heljan railcar looks very nice. I must have missed the announcement that such a model was forthcoming.

 

Al

Edited August 6, 2019 by Barry Ten
typo

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

Back from my holiday and enjoying catching up with Wright Writes. Although I may have sneaked a peek or two while away, it's just not the same when you're miles away from your workbench. This afternoon, after lugging the suitcase upstairs, I fixed that broken coupling rod on the prairie - again. This time I beefed up the soldered joint with some wire reinforcement on the back of the rod, and the resultant mend certainly seemed robust as I filed it and deliberately handled it a little roughly. Time will tell.

 

A question that I think may have come up recently - I've lost a DJH grub screw (the type for the gear that goes on the axle) and rather than pinch one from another gearbox, I thought it might be a good idea if I knew where to obtain a few as spares. Can anyone shed any light on the specification, and whether another manufacturer's equivalent (Branchlines, etc) would be suitable?

 

That Heljan railcar looks very nice. I must have missed the announcement that such a model was forthcoming.

 

Al

Good morning, Al,

 

The grubscrew in the DJH 'box is a standard thread, but they're really too small in length. I've mentioned this to DJH, and they'll be supplying longer ones in future.

 

As with any gearbox (whoever makes it), I'm surprised that only ever one or two (as many as are needed) are supplied. What do they cost? 20p, 30p, 50p? Why not include spares, because they always make breaks for freedom?

 

Markits will sell you a bag of appropriate grubscrews - the sort used on worms and gears. I must have lost dozens!. One tip; if one grubber does escape on to the floor, wave an old motor around just above the floorboards, lino or carpet. That way, the magnet might just pick it up - or anything else that's ferrous! 

 

Another tip is to put a smear of Evo-Stik on the end of the small screwdriver used to tighten the grub. Then, pick it up with that. Not only should it hold the little bl**der, but it'll help guide it into place.

 

Or, believe it or not, if one is lost, a cut-down BA screw (12, I think) will fit, as long as a flat is filed on the driven axle. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

A request, please....................

 

Has anyone heard of Benyon Gates? It's a location on the ECML, but I've never heard of it. 

 

I have a picture (a magnificent picture) of Deltic D9018 BALLYMOSS on the Up 'Flying Scotsman' and the only note with it is 'Benyon Gates'. 

 

There appears to be a big church in the background - Selby Abbey?

 

Many thanks in anticipation.......................

[dibateg]

I've been away from the thread for a while, and there has been a lot of chat to catch up on. 60831 was a Leicester GC engine and I also built a model of it from the Nu Cast kit, with that lovely cast whitemetal chassis! I think my 4mm Proscale V2s - both built by Allen Hammet went to Gilbert. I had to have one in 7mm, as they are just such magnificent engines. Here is my Finney one in the process of being weathered.

[Chamby]

9 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

A request, please....................

 

Has anyone heard of Benyon Gates? It's a location on the ECML, but I've never heard of it. 

 

The only reference to Benyon Gates I can find relates to the arched entrance gate of Englefield House near Theale, west of Reading....  It is not adjacent to either of the railway lines running that way.

 

Could it be the photographer’s name?

 

Phil