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54 minutes ago, Arun Sharma said:

It's really very simple - "Its" is a Possessive Pronoun therefore by definition it doesn't require an apostrophe. "It's" is an abbreviation for "It is" where the apostrophe represents the missing letter. By combining the two words into one, the apostrophe more accurately replicates how the word is pronounced in normal speech. If you miss out the apostrophe, then it allows you to add emphasis in speech on to one or other of the two words - as you wish.

My generation learnt all of this in school and the use of the apostrophe is second nature. 

yes Arun, I've always understood it. My comment was really about why some people might get confused. Rules are easy when you learn them. However, some people find rules hard unless they can see the reasoning, the logic behind it. My comment was about why some people get that one wrong. Their logic behind the mistake.

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3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I've got some 0.45mm brass wire, Slaters I think. You're welcome to a length or two. I might even have some handrail pillars.

 

Should that be Slaters'?  Or if they have sold it and no longer possess it, does it lose the apostrophe?

 

This is a good game!

 

 

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4 hours ago, gr.king said:

It's all the fault of the Normans for bringing French features into the English language, on top of the established features from the Germanic family of languages. Hence we now have words ending in 's' to denote possession (a Germanic feature I believe) and words ending in 's' to denote the plural (French). It would have been much easier to stick to 'en' for plurals, as in oxen and children, eliminating the possessive apostrophe.

Now, Mr King don't you blame my ancestor because you Danes wouldn't learn a proper language.

 

Quote

We must look to France for the early origins of the name Mortimore. For it is here that early records this family descends from Walter, Lord of St. Martin, Normandy who married a niece of the Duchess Gunnora c. 980. Roger, Sire de Mortimer was a leader of the army of Duke William and helped defeat the French in 1054. His son Roger de Mortimer was a leader at the Battle of Hastings and was granted a great barony for his efforts. From him, descended the Lords Mortimer of Wigmore, Earls of March. The name, however, is a reference to the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Moretemer, in the Seine-Maritime region of Normandy. [1] Mortemer derives from the Old French "mort," meaning "dead," and "mer," meaning "sea."

 And here is a picture of Roger de Mortimore

209.jpg.aa5553551c91aa70f7a8547bd62fc830.jpg

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13 minutes ago, Clem said:

I'm approaching completion of the signal box with just guttering, roof slates, name boards and outside step board (not sure what you call it) plus some final bits of painting. A quick question for 4mm building people (I've seen some great work on here). What do you use for guttering that's to scale?

 

IMG_4239.JPG.36209e9dbe60e2b9e39e921b19b946c6.JPGIMG_4240.JPG.89f0f5f8f7fb6fefaa69e162f3d8f61b.JPG

 

Edited by micknich2003
Clem, what have you used to colour the rails etc? It all looks very realistic.
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On 10/12/2019 at 08:06, Tony Wright said:

Good morning David,

 

I've only glanced at the latest Isinglass 3D-printed Gresley stock, and, without doubt, it's far superior to what was first available. I made-up one of Andy Edgson's original GE Section BTKs and it wasn't very good (I'll see if I can find the pictures). The 'witness marks' were like a wash-board! 

 

The new 'alternative media' might well make any cars lighter than those constructed in 'traditional' brass/nickel silver/white metal, but I'm not sure they'll be for me. The Mousa Models single resin casting ex-GNR Brake Third I made turned out very well, and that medium suits paneled carriages very nicely, but it had to be glued together, and I don't really like glue! I also replaced the resin trussing with brass section because the former just broke as I cut it from the parent sprues. 

 

No, all-metal in my case, despite the weight. It's just a compatibility thing with me, I suppose. I've built very heavy trains (I don't add weight, by the way), and I build heavy (and powerful) locos to pull them. For those more-reliant on RTR motive power, then the new media might just be what's needed.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.    

Thanks Tony, I spoke with one of the guys on the LNER society stand. Positively singing the praises of the 3D isinglass prints. I think he'll be at expo em I'll take a look then.

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12 minutes ago, micknich2003 said:

Clem, what have you used to colour the rails etc? It all looks very realistic.

Hi Mick,

It's been a while since I did it. It think it was Phoenix Precision can't remember for definite what shade but I pretty sure it was bog standard track colour.

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4 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Hi Tony,  Thinking back to a conversation earlier this year in which you recommended the Poppy’s Woodtech jig for chassis building, I am a bout to finally get round to ordering one one before I start my next loco build.  
 

bit I have a question to clarify before I do.  Given they are available in several different lengths, is there any down side in just buying the biggest version available? Or are smaller versions better suited to different chassis lengths?  
 

my expectation is that most of what I will build will be six coupled.  However there will be at least one 4 coupled loco next year (Bulldog) and at some point in the future there’s a good chance of building something that is longer (I fancy a WD 2-10-0 as a one day build...)  So given it’s only a couple of pounds extra I was thinking I should just buy the 5 axle version.   Before I do I just wanted to check there are no downsides 

 

I initially bought the 6 coupled box but quickly found that it wouldn't take short wheelbases (I build quite a lot of these) but the 8 coupled box would. I now have both boxes but only one set of dummy axles and can cope with most wheelbases. I've never used a frame building jig before, thinking they were too complicated and expensive but the Poppy's jig is cheap and very effective.

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The mention of street names brings one local to me, to mind. A new development build on a wartime airfield features RAF aircraft related street names – Lancaster, Mosquito, Lysander and so on. One road is called Sterling Way which always makes me laugh. 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Anglian
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31 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

I initially bought the 6 coupled box but quickly found that it wouldn't take short wheelbases (I build quite a lot of these) but the 8 coupled box would. I now have both boxes but only one set of dummy axles and can cope with most wheelbases. I've never used a frame building jig before, thinking they were too complicated and expensive but the Poppy's jig is cheap and very effective.

 

Is it possible to build an 8-coupled loco on a 6 coupled box by first building it as a "6" and then simply moving the chassis "along one" in order to fit the remaining axle?

 

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2 hours ago, Clem said:

I'm approaching completion of the signal box with just guttering, roof slates, name boards and outside step board (not sure what you call it) plus some final bits of painting. A quick question for 4mm building people (I've seen some great work on here). What do you use for guttering that's to scale?

 

IMG_4239.JPG.36209e9dbe60e2b9e39e921b19b946c6.JPGIMG_4240.JPG.89f0f5f8f7fb6fefaa69e162f3d8f61b.JPG

 

That looks very nice.

 

I have used various different things for gutters and down pipes over the years but my current favourite is plastic rod and half round section from Evergreen. 1.5mm for smaller gutters and 2mm for larger ones.

 

When on a building, the lack of a channel inside the gutter is not noticable.

 

Previously I made a groove along the edge of a sheet of plastic sheet with a rat tail file, then rounded the edge off with a file and cut a strip from the edge of the sheet wide enough to mount the gutter the right distance away from the wall.

 

I know some people go to the trouble of putting joints and proper fixings on but I have never bothered.

 

Modelu have just introduced some rainwater products that look very nice but I haven't used them yet. 

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20 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

That looks very nice.

 

I have used various different things for gutters and down pipes over the years but my current favourite is plastic rod and half round section from Evergreen. 1.5mm for smaller gutters and 2mm for larger ones.

 

When on a building, the lack of a channel inside the gutter is not noticable.

 

Previously I made a groove along the edge of a sheet of plastic sheet with a rat tail file, then rounded the edge off with a file and cut a strip from the edge of the sheet wide enough to mount the gutter the right distance away from the wall.

 

I know some people go to the trouble of putting joints and proper fixings on but I have never bothered.

 

Modelu have just introduced some rainwater products that look very nice but I haven't used them yet. 

Thanks Tony. Your help is very much appreciated. I've tried hollow half rounds but they looked overscale and so I felt a bit stuck and I've bypassed doing it up until now. I'll try the evergreen half rounds.

 

Cheers,

 

Clem

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I long time ago I read of someone forming gutters from kitchen foil. Cut a long, thin strip, fold over so it's (abbreviation of 'it is') even thinner then fold round a tube of suitable diameter - if you've got the width right then you should have a commendably thin half round.

 

I did try it once. Quite effective but very fiddly and not robust for multiple handling. But if it's (another one) for a permanent layout then worth a try?

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1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

 

He brought the other two V2 proving models with him. They ran beautifully as well, even with their cylinder drain cocks fixed on, and one had the flanged Cartazzi wheelset in place. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing these pictures of the new Bachmann locos - they do look very good!  Does your comment re. the Cartazzi truck wheels imply that they have a fixed arrangement (with alternative wheelsets) like the Hornby Pacifics, rather than the sliding axle mounting that Bachmann have used previously in the A1, A2, V2 etc.?  There are pros and cons to each arrangement .... 

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2 hours ago, Anglian said:

The mention of street names brings one local to me, to mind. A new development build on a wartime airfield features RAF aircraft related street names – Lancaster, Mosquito, Lysander and so on. One road is called Sterling Way which always makes me laugh. 

 

 

 

 

One of the new estates in Shildon has several errors - we ran a feature on it in the SLS Journal recently. It is not the nameplates that are wrong - the Street Naming & Numbering Officer has failed to check properly before signing off on the names. Pre-retirement (thank God that is over 11 years ago now!!) one of my roles jointly with another officer was making sure such cock-ups didn't happen, BUT with  all the recent cut backs on L Govt expenditure I expect in most authorities there is not even a proper SN&NO role anymore.

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4 hours ago, Clem said:

I'm approaching completion of the signal box with just guttering, roof slates, name boards and outside step board (not sure what you call it) plus some final bits of painting. A quick question for 4mm building people (I've seen some great work on here). What do you use for guttering that's to scale?

 

IMG_4239.JPG.36209e9dbe60e2b9e39e921b19b946c6.JPGIMG_4240.JPG.89f0f5f8f7fb6fefaa69e162f3d8f61b.JPG

 

I have used below good quality and detail.

Wills SS46 Building detail

 

 This kit contains:
• 24 Tall chimney pots
• 24 Short chimney pots
• 2 Large chimney stack cappings (Takes 4 pots)
• 2 Small chimney stack cappings (Takes 2 pots)
• 8 x 80mm lengths of round roof ridges
• 8 x 80mm lengths of angled roof ridges
• 8 x 80mm lengths of chimney stack trim
• 16 x 80mm lengths of guttering
• 8 x 80mm lengths of small down pipes
• 8 x 80mm lengths of large down pipes
• 4 x 80mm lengths of barge board strips
• 2 x 80mm lengths of window sill strips
• 8 down pipe hoppers
• 8 wall tie plates
• 4 soot/drainage manhole covers

 

£7.55 on ebay

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Tony,

 

I just read your LB article in Railway Modeller and loved how you encapsulated so much of what you have opined on in the past on Wright Writes. Great photos too.

 

Thanks again for letting RM use some of your photos of my Fairhaven Road layout for my article in the same issue. It feels like a rather unusual privilege to grace the same issue as LB.

 

I'm so glad the editorial team credited you with the photography, as I requested. 

 

Archie

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7 hours ago, Arun Sharma said:

It's really very simple - "Its" is a Possessive Pronoun therefore by definition it doesn't require an apostrophe. "It's" is an abbreviation for "It is" where the apostrophe represents the missing letter. By combining the two words into one, the apostrophe more accurately replicates how the word is pronounced in normal speech. If you miss out the apostrophe, then it allows you to add emphasis in speech on to one or other of the two words - as you wish.

My generation learnt all of this in school and the use of the apostrophe is second nature. 

 

"Dave's dad's dog's dead" is a nonsense as "dog's dead" isn't an acceptable abbreviation [in the written form of english] for "dog is dead". Just because what you hear sounds like that, doesn't mean that you can write it like that. In the days when dictation and comprehension still formed part of scholastic testing of english in exams, that would be a fail - whatever part of the country you lived in.

 

 

6 hours ago, Clem said:

yes Arun, I've always understood it. My comment was really about why some people might get confused. Rules are easy when you learn them. However, some people find rules hard unless they can see the reasoning, the logic behind it. My comment was about why some people get that one wrong. Their logic behind the mistake.

I learned it at primary school when it was drummed into us by rote without any real explanation - much like the times tables (times' tables?). I learned virtually no English grammar in English classes - that came largely from French and German and especially from English lessons in a German "Gymnasium" when I was an exchange student in 1969.

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2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

The first decorated sample of the 94XX was also brought. 

 

94XX.jpg.007c1275116f5d7861df0d1801db7cd7.jpg

 

This has a coreless motor, and ran so quietly we forgot it was still going. It took nearly 40 kit-built wagons with ease.

Looking forward to getting one of those to replace my rather ancient Lima/Bachmann lash-up.

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1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

I long time ago I read of someone forming gutters from kitchen foil. Cut a long, thin strip, fold over so it's (abbreviation of 'it is') even thinner then fold round a tube of suitable diameter - if you've got the width right then you should have a commendably thin half round.

 

I did try it once. Quite effective but very fiddly and not robust for multiple handling. But if it's (another one) for a permanent layout then worth a try?

Even longer ago I seem to remember reading of folk using umbrella ribs. Probably not a state-of-the-art solution now (or then, come to that).

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1 hour ago, 31A said:

 

Thank you for sharing these pictures of the new Bachmann locos - they do look very good!  Does your comment re. the Cartazzi truck wheels imply that they have a fixed arrangement (with alternative wheelsets) like the Hornby Pacifics, rather than the sliding axle mounting that Bachmann have used previously in the A1, A2, V2 etc.?  There are pros and cons to each arrangement .... 

It's a sort of in between, Steve,

 

It's not as fixed as Hornby's, but there isn't the same amount of sideplay as in the A1 and A2 arrangements. The loco went round 3' curves with ease.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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4 hours ago, Clem said:

I'm approaching completion of the signal box with just guttering, roof slates, name boards and outside step board (not sure what you call it) plus some final bits of painting. A quick question for 4mm building people (I've seen some great work on here). What do you use for guttering that's to scale?

 

IMG_4239.JPG.36209e9dbe60e2b9e39e921b19b946c6.JPGIMG_4240.JPG.89f0f5f8f7fb6fefaa69e162f3d8f61b.JPG

Excellent stuff Clem, really looks the part. 
 

Guttering, well if you change it to an Australian layout, you won’t need it, as we don’t know what rain is....

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33 minutes ago, Manxcat said:

Tony,

 

I just read your LB article in Railway Modeller and loved how you encapsulated so much of what you have opined on in the past on Wright Writes. Great photos too.

 

Thanks again for letting RM use some of your photos of my Fairhaven Road layout for my article in the same issue. It feels like a rather unusual privilege to grace the same issue as LB.

 

I'm so glad the editorial team credited you with the photography, as I requested. 

 

Archie

Thanks Archie,

 

I've yet to receive my copy.

 

As a long-time contributor (articles/photographs/etc) I'm on the complimentary list, and the issues for the likes of myself aren't sent out so quickly as (I assume) the subs. 

 

There's no need to thank me for the use of my pictures of Fairhaven Road. They were taken, as you know, on spec at Glasgow a couple or so years ago, so I'm delighted they've been used. 

 

Good to see you over the weekend, and I'm glad ROBERT THE BRUCE is still going strong despite its plummet to the floor. If the 'deflector had been busted, I've got spares. Some friends dropped a loco of mine on loan some time ago, but I'm afraid it's beyond redemption. The chassis (built like a battleship from one sixteenth brass) was unharmed but the (scratch-built) sheet-metal loco and tender bodies just crumpled.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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