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Wright writes.....


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A few more Pullman shots going to the online Pullman magazine..................

 

Some were taken a few years ago.

 

2033943252_DownTees-TynePullmanpassingUpQueenofScots01B.jpg.8936805ddc6d12b6fcd7440a4dae2f66.jpg

 

1960811837_DownTees-TynePullmanpassingUpQueenofScots01C.jpg.e350efe5ae1b85316167c7e508a9ff0c.jpg

 

Pullmans passing.

 

98371561_HornbyCometKeanPullmanTK.jpg.04ed88228a7d60220577391493e236bd.jpg

 

A Hornby/ Comet/Kean (or is it Keen?)/Wright/Rathbone Third Kitchen.

 

1920608134_HornbyCometTriceWrightRathbonePullmanFK.jpg.b47531768c14c3fc62386f239f37ff20.jpg

 

And a Hornby/Comet/MJT/Wright/Rathbone First Kitchen. 

 

460120607_ModifiedHornbyPullmanFK.jpg.08c77d9c07aa729309b134354ba0cdf3.jpg

 

A modified/weathered Hornby First Kitchen.

 

933040074_TwomodifiedHornbyKcars.jpg.f09a1bdf93bf78398e393cef2c3a02a1.jpg

 

Two modified/weathered latest Hornby Pullmans, including LORAINE. The mods were no more than adding curtains, whiting-out the kitchen window and applying weathering to the roofs and underframes, as well as changing the couplings and fitting concertina gangways. 

 

748259540_HornbyCometTricePullmans.jpg.b702e6c0a12d29f3b30bcaac187da134.jpg

 

206559550_Trainsrunning34B3onPullman.jpg.97b0f0c734b9c36e1c54dba005f49c18.jpg

 

Scenes from 2018's LB LNER weekend.

 

1888147210_YorkshirePullman02.jpg.3aff1731ee6f8f7b9d35085f466beb3b.jpg

 

And an elevated shot of the Up Yorkshire Pullman, with Tony Geary's A1 in charge. 

 

And not a Thompson Pacific in sight! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Denbridge said:

Mind you, Hornby have in the past demonstrated that they can produce locomotives capable of hauling a heavy train. Just the other day I stumbled across your video review of the P2.

Yes,

 

And wasn't that a 'poke in the eye'! 

 

Would it surprise you that a couple of days later, I packed 60501 with more lead? Then it pulled more than the Hornby P2! 

 

I've never found an RTR express passenger loco which is as capable of great haulage as Hornby's P2. Anything else from the same stable (A1/A3/A4) just gives up on a heavy LB rake, let alone over 20 cars (as do Bachmann's A1s/A2s). 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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15 minutes ago, micklner said:

I can remember Bachmann blanking the Thompson's a while ago when asked to make them, Dennis Lovett replied saying no wants them . I thought it was a short sighted attitude, as Bachmann already had the A2/3 Tender made.  Time will tell if that it was a big mistake by Bachmann. Hopefully Hornby  will sell the lot .

Shame that are not tooling for the original A2/2 version , perhaps they are waiting to see how much demand there will be for them first.

 

Another bigger  surprise is they are still not making the Mikado Streamlined P2 when again most of the chassis already which already has the correct front end casting and Tender is also already tooled.

Yes, interesting Mick,

 

Some little time ago (I'm sure I mentioned it here), when I was assisting Bachmann with the Thompson carriages, I let them borrow an A2/3 conversion from an A2, which Graeme King did for me. They were interested, but thought it wouldn't have enough 'appeal', even though a fair bit of it (in one form or another) was already made.

 

Time will tell, but I'm sure Hornby's Thompson Pacifics will just fly!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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1 minute ago, Tony Wright said:

Yes, interesting Mick,

 

Some little time ago (I'm sure I mentioned it here), when I was assisting Bachmann with the Thompson carriages, I let them borrow an A2/3 conversion from an A2, which Graeme King did for me. They were interested, but thought it wouldn't have enough 'appeal', even though a fair bit of it (in one form or another) was already made.

 

Time will tell, but I'm sure Hornby's Thompson Pacifics will just fly!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Or slip perhaps? On a LB train at any rate.

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4 hours ago, Bucoops said:

I'm glad to see the ATP-P - DJM was supposed to be doing that but we all knows what happened there!

Another company that also looks to be coming to the end of its days unless anybody has contrary information is Golden Age Models. The Registrar of Companies published on 10 Dec 2019 that unless shown to the contrary the company will be struck off the register & dissolved not less than 2 months from that date & that all property & rights vested in or held in trust for it will belong to the Crown. It's sad both for the proprietor Quentin Poore & for those who paid for models in advance as I did for an 00 gauge streamlined Merchant Navy in full & deposit on a streamlined P2. Hopefully Hornby will produce the latter in due course as others have mentioned on this blog.

 

William

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1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

You're cranky and you're a git (among many other gifts), but you've not lived long enough to be classed as 'old', Jesse. Yet!

 

That said, I understand exactly where you're coming from. There is an 'exclusivity' in having made/built/altered/modified/improved/weathered/etc something yourself, which no straight-from-the-box model or model built for 'you' will ever have. The last-mentioned are just possessions (desirable though they might be). 

 

And, as I said in an earlier post, seeing something like a Thompson Pacific on a layout (or the W1 in any of its forms) meant that someone will have built it. Whether it is as good as the RTR one will be is irrelevant in the long run (at least to me), it's the personal model-making which is crucial. 

 

As I've stated on many occasions, I've been very lucky in my model-making, in that where I've had any 'success' (open to question?), it's always been through working in a group. I've thus been able to concentrate on doing what I like - building locos/stock. Thus, when visitors come to see LB, or watched Stoke Summit and Charwelton at shows, they know/knew that what's running will have been built (not just by me, of course); unique, and not just the product of an ability to 'open the box'! 

 

The above said, from what's been just announced by Hornby, there'll be a load of very happy people who just can't wait to get their hands on those red/yellow boxes, and open them! 

 

I'm just not one of them, that's all; even though I've helped with the research on what's inside. If they're right (and they will be!) it'll be down to Paul Isles and his diligence. If they're wrong (and they won't be!) it'll be down to me. It comes with the territory............. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Ahh I see, I haven’t reached that level of prestige yet. 
 

Don’t get me wrong I do love the kick you get when you open up a new box to show a nice new loco you’ve purchased, but nothing beats watching something you’ve made run, like the Department train. I will be happy to unbox the W1 when it is released, but I feel it’s just another ‘out of the box’ loco that everyone will have now. Who knows I might still make one in the future and I can stand there and say “ahh but I made that one”. 

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1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

There probably will be, David,

 

But most of those 'feelings' will be of joy. 

 

For those who wish to make a BR steam ECML layout, then Thompson Pacifics (and 60700) are essential. Hitherto, it was up to folk to make them (or get others - like me - to make them for them). By next year that won't be necessary (unless the trains are very heavy).

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Modelling will still be required to have authentic trains though given the lack of RTR LNER-design catering cars, or any Gresley stock which is vaguely the correct shape.

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1 hour ago, robertcwp said:

Modelling will still be required to have authentic trains though given the lack of RTR LNER-design catering cars, or any Gresley stock which is vaguely the correct shape.

A good point, Robert,

 

Though whether any RTR manufacturer will ever produced 4mm gangwayed Gresley stock which is anything near correct is a moot point.

 

As you say, still a strong need for actual 'modelling' in that regard.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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And of course if like me you model pre 1903 Midland .... well there just aren't many RTR options ... and those you do have would need pretty drastic alteration to suit - bad on the one hand but Brilliant on the other.

 

Bachman's 1f is a nice model ... but it has rivets where it shouldn't, the wrong dome, wrong chimney & safety valve bonnet, wrong smoke box front, It is Belpair rather than round fire box, it has coal rails which I don't want, the handrails are incorrect, it has front steps which I don't, lamp irons are in the wrong place ... it is of course 00 rather than P4 and not CSB sprung so needs a new chassis anyway ..... so for me taking the Craftsman kit is a much better start point - and at the end of the day it will be my model.

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14 minutes ago, Lecorbusier said:

And of course if like me you model pre 1903 Midland .... well there just aren't many RTR options ... and those you do have would need pretty drastic alteration to suit - bad on the one hand but Brilliant on the other.

 

Bachman's 1f is a nice model ... but it has rivets where it shouldn't, the wrong dome, wrong chimney & safety valve bonnet, wrong smoke box front, It is Belpair rather than round fire box, it has coal rails which I don't want, the handrails are incorrect, it has front steps which I don't, lamp irons are in the wrong place ... it is of course 00 rather than P4 and not CSB sprung so needs a new chassis anyway ..... so for me taking the Craftsman kit is a much better start point - and at the end of the day it will be my model.

Wonderful, Tim,

 

The words of a real modeller!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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17 minutes ago, Lecorbusier said:

And of course if like me you model pre 1903 Midland .... well there just aren't many RTR options ... and those you do have would need pretty drastic alteration to suit - bad on the one hand but Brilliant on the other.

 

Yep, know what's it's like and got the certificate.

 

For me there's almost bu99er all RTR for BR(S)/NSE in N/2mm for the quarter of a century from the mid 70s to the end of the last millennium.

 

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3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

A few more Pullman shots going to the online Pullman magazine..................

 

Some were taken a few years ago.

 

2033943252_DownTees-TynePullmanpassingUpQueenofScots01B.jpg.8936805ddc6d12b6fcd7440a4dae2f66.jpg

 

1960811837_DownTees-TynePullmanpassingUpQueenofScots01C.jpg.e350efe5ae1b85316167c7e508a9ff0c.jpg

 

Pullmans passing.

 

98371561_HornbyCometKeanPullmanTK.jpg.04ed88228a7d60220577391493e236bd.jpg

 

A Hornby/ Comet/Kean (or is it Keen?)/Wright/Rathbone Third Kitchen.

 

1920608134_HornbyCometTriceWrightRathbonePullmanFK.jpg.b47531768c14c3fc62386f239f37ff20.jpg

 

And a Hornby/Comet/MJT/Wright/Rathbone First Kitchen. 

 

460120607_ModifiedHornbyPullmanFK.jpg.08c77d9c07aa729309b134354ba0cdf3.jpg

 

A modified/weathered Hornby First Kitchen.

 

933040074_TwomodifiedHornbyKcars.jpg.f09a1bdf93bf78398e393cef2c3a02a1.jpg

 

Two modified/weathered latest Hornby Pullmans, including LORAINE. The mods were no more than adding curtains, whiting-out the kitchen window and applying weathering to the roofs and underframes, as well as changing the couplings and fitting concertina gangways. 

 

748259540_HornbyCometTricePullmans.jpg.b702e6c0a12d29f3b30bcaac187da134.jpg

 

206559550_Trainsrunning34B3onPullman.jpg.97b0f0c734b9c36e1c54dba005f49c18.jpg

 

Scenes from 2018's LB LNER weekend.

 

1888147210_YorkshirePullman02.jpg.3aff1731ee6f8f7b9d35085f466beb3b.jpg

 

And an elevated shot of the Up Yorkshire Pullman, with Tony Geary's A1 in charge. 

 

And not a Thompson Pacific in sight! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Tony

 

I do like those low level photos you have taken its as though you were standing on the embankment, and the sky background it gives extra realism to the photo.

 

Regards

 

David

 

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1 hour ago, landscapes said:

Hi Tony

 

I do like those low level photos you have taken its as though you were standing on the embankment, and the sky background it gives extra realism to the photo.

 

Regards

 

David

 

Thanks David,

 

The sky in the pictures of the Pullmans passing each other is real, of course, superimposed in Photoshop. Those pictures were taken some little time ago (before the station buildings and footbridge were made). 

 

I no longer put anything 'real' in my pictures, because it's not showing the model 'as it is'. I do take out 'clutter' in the background, by merely putting in a neutral colour cloned from my backscene. 

 

As for fake smoke......................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

...

 

As for fake smoke......................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Did someone call my name?

 

92245_9F_Somerset_and_Dorset_Devonshire_Tunnel_7abcdef_r1500.jpg.66a595ebbc972bed0e1c300df7c8a8fa.jpg

 

cheers and best to all from an imagined south portal of the 1-in-50 S&D Devonshire tunnel c1962.  Also imagining 390 tons behind!

 

 

Edited by robmcg
typos, addition.
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5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Time will tell, but I'm sure Hornby's Thompson Pacifics will just fly!

 

They will sell well because a significant proportion of loco models sold will never be asked to pull anything

 

Hornby's business model changed when they realised that they could sell glorified toys to be used on train sets for £50, or highly-detailed models to cash-rich, time-poor professionals/retired collectors, for £150.  If one of those collectors has a preference for the LNER, they will buy every type of RTR LNER loco they can afford.

 

I'm not criticising Hornby for doing what they did.  It saved the company.

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5 hours ago, robertcwp said:

Modelling will still be required to have authentic trains though given the lack of RTR LNER-design catering cars, or any Gresley stock which is vaguely the correct shape.

I would like to see photographs of the formations that Tony Wright made, which would be a great reference for the stock I would like to model.

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17 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

'The first thing I thought of when I saw the Hornby announcement was a certain Mr Wright, who'd built tens of Thompson pacifics, and his claims that one would never appear RTR.'

 

A cunning TW ploy to encourage more people to get kit-building....  :jester:

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It is my ambition   to show mr Thompson how he should have rebuilt the 2-8-2 thing of mr Gresley that by the way had better been a 4-8-0 based on a  2-10-0 with round top boiler.

Full size is out of question going through the heavenly doors so 1:76 will have to do.

I am therefore looking for a model of  A2/2 and Evenings star that can serve.

Asking mr Wright to modify will probably not work and funds are not unlimited either.

There is a DJH kit of A2/2 on ebay but  question is how long before the Hornby thing is for sale and what would be easier to modify?

Will the top of the model (round topped boiler)  be sold separately?448678086_4-8-0caproti.nyeste.jpg.852dab19a3e3eec7990a8b087b6fb2a4.jpg

 

 

 

689888526_ThompsonA2forhjul.jpg.a739260f617b767b25a8b39ac9fb9462.jpg

Edited by Niels
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1 hour ago, Niels said:

It is my ambition   to show mr Thompson how he should have rebuilt the 2-8-2 thing of mr Gresley that by the way had better been a 4-8-0 based on a  2-10-0 with round top boiler.

Full size is out of question going through the heavenly doors so 1:76 will have to do.

I am therefore looking for a model of  A2/2 and Evenings star that can serve.

Asking mr Wright to modify will probably not work and funds are not unlimited either.

There is a DJH kit of A2/2 on ebay but  question is how long before the Hornby thing is for sale and what would be easier to modify?

Will the top of the model (round topped boiler)  be sold separately?448678086_4-8-0caproti.nyeste.jpg.852dab19a3e3eec7990a8b087b6fb2a4.jpg

 

 

 

689888526_ThompsonA2forhjul.jpg.a739260f617b767b25a8b39ac9fb9462.jpg

An interesting exercise, indeed.

 

I assume you mean round-topped firebox? As far as I know, most steam locos had a round-topped boiler. 

 

You're definitely right that 'Mr Wright' would not be interested, at any price! 

 

Anyway, the original 6 '2" wheels would have precluded using the original wide firebox, and Thompson was restricted in being only able to use as many existing parts as possible - hence the short connecting rods. 

 

Your altered picture of No. 995 suggests how Thompson might have rebuilt the P2s, which would have meant the boiler needing shortening less (if at all), resulting in a shorter smokebox. The positioning of the cylinders would also mean a much more-rigid arrangement at the front, but who knows?

 

Down the years on this thread (and with now over 1,600 pages!) the Thompson Pacifics have been discussed (to death?). They are a matter of history. I saw them, so make models of them. I don't build 'make-believe' models, nor take/manipulate 'make-believe' pictures of them, because I strive to show them exactly as they are. I was minus one and a fair bit when the last P2 was rebuilt, so I can't even claim that I was 'in existence' so to speak when they were still running.

 

Their names were the best of them - the best of all! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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11 hours ago, jrg1 said:

I would like to see photographs of the formations that Tony Wright made, which would be a great reference for the stock I would like to model.

Please, look back through the pages of this thread.

 

Just about all the ECML prototype trains I've made will have been shown at some time or another on here. I've made them using BR's own Carriage Working Notices and prototype photographs; mainly from kits, or adaptations/modifications of RTR products. Some of them also appear in my Crowood book. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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There seems to be a lot of talk about RTR locomotives here recently - no doubt due to the Hornby announcements. It's amazing what makes so much froth particularly at this time of the year. Here in the south the froth on our beer is looser and more restrained than the whipped up frenzy of foamy cream on a pint in the north.

 

But back to some modelling. No-one guessed the wagon I'd started making as a first New Year project (posted some pages back now) so here's the latest progress on the body (should anyone be interested).

 

DSC_8978.JPG.ea36e6c1600c2528023d900df68d492d.JPG

 

It's an Interfrigo refrigerated ferry van, see here: http://www.railalbum.co.uk/railway-wagons/ferry/italy-interfrigo-van-1.htm and here on RMweb: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146128-interfrigo-ferry-van/page/2/

 

For what is a simple smooth box structure it's surprisingly fiddly, especially in N/2mm scale. And there's still lots to do.

 

 

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43 minutes ago, grahame said:

There seems to be a lot of talk about RTR locomotives here recently - no doubt due to the Hornby announcements. It's amazing what makes so much froth particularly at this time of the year. Here in the south the froth on our beer is looser and more restrained than the whipped up frenzy of foamy cream on a pint in the north.

 

But back to some modelling. No-one guessed the wagon I'd started making as a first New Year project (posted some pages back now) so here's the latest progress on the body (should anyone be interested).

 

DSC_8978.JPG.ea36e6c1600c2528023d900df68d492d.JPG

 

It's an Interfrigo refrigerated ferry van, see here: http://www.railalbum.co.uk/railway-wagons/ferry/italy-interfrigo-van-1.htm and here on RMweb: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146128-interfrigo-ferry-van/page/2/

 

For what is a simple smooth box structure it's surprisingly fiddly, especially in N/2mm scale. And there's still lots to do.

 

 

'There seems to be a lot of talk about RTR locomotives here recently - no doubt due to the Hornby announcements.'

 

There has been a lot of talk about it, Grahame,

 

One correspondent seemed to be 'angry' at what Hornby were going to produce. Angry? How can one get so worked-up about model railways? 

 

The simple answer is (and I know it's easy for me to say - or you?), if it's something that 'you' don't like or is of no use to 'you', then don't buy it. Simple. If it's something 'you' need or want, and (outrageously!) the RTR manufacturers don't make it, then make it 'yourself'. Or, get someone to make it for 'you'. If not, then 'you'll' have to do without.

 

Keep on doing what you're doing Grahame. Self-reliant and proper modelling - personal, highly-creative and unique. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited by Tony Wright
typo error
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1 hour ago, grahame said:

There seems to be a lot of talk about RTR locomotives here recently - no doubt due to the Hornby announcements. It's amazing what makes so much froth particularly at this time of the year. Here in the south the froth on our beer is looser and more restrained than the whipped up frenzy of foamy cream on a pint in the north.

 

But back to some modelling. No-one guessed the wagon I'd started making as a first New Year project (posted some pages back now) so here's the latest progress on the body (should anyone be interested).

 

DSC_8978.JPG.ea36e6c1600c2528023d900df68d492d.JPG

 

It's an Interfrigo refrigerated ferry van, see here: http://www.railalbum.co.uk/railway-wagons/ferry/italy-interfrigo-van-1.htm and here on RMweb: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146128-interfrigo-ferry-van/page/2/

 

For what is a simple smooth box structure it's surprisingly fiddly, especially in N/2mm scale. And there's still lots to do.

 

 

 

That should be a very interesting wagon, Grahame.

 

I built the Kitmaster/Airfix/Dapol Interfrigo van once (to a different design than yours) on the assumption it was 00 scale (as marked on the kit) but by the time it was finished, it was pretty obviously HO scale - and it went banana-shaped (appropriate?) so I think it took a quick trip bin-wards.

 

Al

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