Wright writes.....

[CF MRC]

2 hours ago, burgundy said:

As Richard has pointed out, there are two different Craven singles, Dieppe and Polegate, described on the thread entitled Mr Craven's Engines.  And both are EM gauge!

The original Craven livery on Chichester is rather striking though. 

Best wishes 

Eric 

Do you put the motors in the domes?

 

Tim

[jwealleans]

Jumping back a few posts, the concensus is that the LNER did not resume applying the '3' after the war and the photographs we have collectively examined do not show any vehicle carrying it, whether LNER or pregrouping.

[Headstock]

2 hours ago, jwealleans said:

Jumping back a few posts, the concensus is that the LNER did not resume applying the '3' after the war and the photographs we have collectively examined do not show any vehicle carrying it, whether LNER or pregrouping.

 

Morning Jonathan,

 

Is the locomotive in the photograph carrying its pre 1946 number?

 

To answer my own question. It took a little while to track down as I don't have the relevant book/documentation. 7236 is the locomotives post 1946 number.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Headstock
Answer own question.

[uax6]

On ‎19‎/‎02‎/‎2020 at 10:03, Tony Wright said:

<clippty - clip>

 No. 2573, as seen on page 20 in M&GN In Focus, by M D Beckett and P R Hemnell, Becknell Books, 1980.

 

Well that's a blast from the past! Becknell Books was set up by Mike Beckett, who happened to work in the same office as my Dad. They were both good friends. Dad actually authored two of the Becknell volumes (Steam in the East Midlands and another which I can't remember the title to now. One was yellow bound the other red. They were dedicated to my brother and I) and although of low print runs, all the volumes seemed to sell out.

 

Mike was a driving force in getting the local council to support the electrification of the Kings-Lynn - Cambridge line, and as part of that drive, whenever we were travelling by train (we didn't have a car) Mike asked us to record passenger numbers getting on and off the trains at each stop, so that accurate (ie non-BR!) figure was available to present the case. His hard work paid off, so much so that now (28 years after electrification) I'm sat here in the box watching the down platform here at Littleport getting extended to allow 8 cars trains to run all the time to alleviate the overcrowding that is endemic here now...

 

Andy G

[petrovich]

Hello ? no post in 19hours !!!!!

 

My iMac must be broke.

 

Regards Peter.

[gr.king]

Broken.

 

There you are, that's set the ball rolling again.

[petrovich]

That must have been a record though, 19 hours! oh apart from the forum actually being down.

 

Regards and thanks.

[t-b-g]

That is what happens when Tony runs Hornby Gresley carriages behind a RTR loco (in a dodgy livery) on Little Bytham.

 

We don't know what to say!

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, t-b-g said:

That is what happens when Tony runs Hornby Gresley carriages behind a RTR loco (in a dodgy livery) on Little Bytham.

 

We don't know what to say!

Perhaps a number of people said things but they were removed by the Profanity Police...

[D-A-T]

13 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

That is what happens when Tony runs Hornby Gresley carriages behind a RTR loco (in a dodgy livery) on Little Bytham.

 

We don't know what to say!

Because people were gobsmacked to discover our “hero” had feet of clay...

Edited February 21, 2020 by D-A-T
Typo

[Chamby]

It’s been half term week... I (and many others I expect) have been somewhat pre-occupied looking after grandchildren whilst their parents are at work.  Haven’t even had time to think about modelling and am totally exhausted!  

 

Where DO children get all that energy from?

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Chamby said:

It’s been half term week... I (and many others I expect) have been somewhat pre-occupied looking after grandchildren whilst their parents are at work.  Haven’t even had time to think about modelling and am totally exhausted!  

 

Where DO children get all that energy from?

They suck it out of their grandparents...

[ecgtheow]

23 hours ago, D-A-T said:

Because people were gobsmacked to discover our “hero” had feet of clay...

Though it's written in jest let's be careful taking the Micky out of Tony. Nobody has a skin like an armadillo & things can easily get out of hand & hurt people even though that's not the intention.

 

William

[Bucoops]

12 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

They suck it out of their grandparents...

 

And parents!

[Erichill16]

43 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

 

And parents!

And uncles and aunts!

[Compound2632]

I was leafing through my pile of numbers of the Model Railway News from the late sixties that I inherited many years ago and came upon this in an article describing an exhibition layout; it made me think of this thread:

 

"At the recent exhibition, some trouble was taken to eliminate proprietary locomotives and stock. The average eight-year-old will recognise a Triang locomotive for what it is; he almost certainly has one at home. If it is not one that he recognises, then he will assume it is hand built, and therefore a 'proper model'. The fact that it is probably only a whitemetal kit does not matter." (My emphasis.)

 

Those eight year olds are now sixty and just as capable of recognising the latest Bachmann, Hornby, etc.

 

[Model Railway News Vol. 44 No. 524 (August 1968) pp. 372-375: Rosedale, exhibition layout of the Middlesborough Model Railway and Tramway Club, described by A.J.K. Goode.]

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

I was leafing through my pile of numbers of the Model Railway News from the late sixties that I inherited many years ago and came upon this in an article describing an exhibition layout; it made me think of this thread:

 

"At the recent exhibition, some trouble was taken to eliminate proprietary locomotives and stock. The average eight-year-old will recognise a Triang locomotive for what it is; he almost certainly has one at home. If it is not one that he recognises, then he will assume it is hand built, and therefore a 'proper model'. The fact that it is probably only a whitemetal kit does not matter." (My emphasis.)

 

Those eight year olds are now sixty and just as capable of recognising the latest Bachmann, Hornby, etc.

 

[Model Railway News Vol. 44 No. 524 (August 1968) pp. 372-375: Rosedale, exhibition layout of the Middlesborough Model Railway and Tramway Club, described by A.J.K. Goode.]

 

Afternoon Stephen,

 

Fortunately for me, I wasn't born in 1968. In the case of the Hornby Gresley carriages, of course they stand out, they are being sold as scale models when they are grossly inaccurate and expensive. Whether they are recognizable as RTR Bachman or Hornby is not really the main point. There is only one way to get a scale model of a Gresley gangway carriage. That was true in 1968 and it remains the same in 2020.

[jacko]

Said an all too brief hello to Tony at Glasgow today. Was being dragged left, right and centre  by my grandson so barely had time to drop a few quid in the cancer research box before I was whisked off to look for a couple of trucks for his Thomas layout.  Great show incidentally. My favourite layout was Alloa. 

 

Graeme

[dibateg]

I spotted the Special Cattle Van earlier. I built one in 7mm for a client from a WEP kit.  There were lots of little pieces to put on. This is where the resistance soldering came in useful with all the surface detail:-

 

It looks better in faded crimson:-

 

From my log, I think it took me around 40 hours in total, ah well, not bad for a weeks paid work...

 

Regards

Tony

[Anglian]

That looks superb in every respect.

[great northern]

On 19/02/2020 at 18:12, thegreenhowards said:

I look forward to the ‘proper’ D16/3 - they look much more distinctive with the valance. Is there any way of telling which locos had valances and which didn’t in BR days other than finding a photo? Yeadon doesn’t seem to provide a list.

 

Andy

 

 

Your 1950s Ian Allan will tell you Andy, or RCTS Volume 3C.

[thegreenhowards]

10 hours ago, great northern said:

Your 1950s Ian Allan will tell you Andy, or RCTS Volume 3C.

Found it! Thanks for that Gilbert. Sadly putting all the data together there is no D16/3 which worked Cambridge - King’s Cross in the late ‘40s and carried an ‘E’ number which is what I wanted to renumber my Hornby E2524. But having narrowed the range down using the RCTS book, I’ve found a good photo online of 62525 in unlined black with no valence, so that will be my choice.

 

Andy

[Keith Turbutt]

On 19/02/2020 at 21:13, Tony Wright said:

Only by photos, Andy,

 

The last one, 62613, retained its decorative valances to the end.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

[Keith Turbutt]

Hi Tony,

 

Thought I would join in on this thread.

 

The RCTS 'Green Bible' Vol 3C deals with the D16s. On page 32 it mentions that the D16/2 rebuilds to D16/3 retained their decorative valences. Apparently this was because there were no modifications to the footplating and distinguished them from the earlier D15 rebuilds to D16/3 which had this valancing removed. The exception, and there is always one (!), was Royal Claud 8783 which lost its decorative valancing following repairs due to an accident.

 

36 D16/2s were dealt with in this way. Pages 53 - 55 summarise the D14, D15 & D16 Classes and indicates those D16/3s 

that retained the decorative valancing.

 

I have amongst my (too many) unbuilt kits a Mallard D16/3 and was wondering whether a shortcut would be to build the body and use a Hornby chassis (or is it a mechanism?) but I'm not sure it would fit. However I think I know what your answer would be!

 

Looking forward to arranging our 'annual' visit to LB later in the year.

 

Regards

Keith

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Having not long returned from the Glasgow Show, a brief appraisal/comment might be of interest?

 

Firstly, a great big thank you to Ian Porteous and his team for putting on such a fantastic event. The standard of the layouts has never been higher in my opinion. The whole three days were entirely enjoyable.

 

It was my privilege to be invited to be the judge of the Association layouts.

 

 

I gave the 1st prize to Law Junction, built in N Gauge by the East Neuk Club. It looked the part and ran perfectly whenever I watched it. 

 

I would have loved to have considered a Stockton & Darlington essay in P4, but, on the three different times I watched it, it was plagued with derailments. Not a good advertisement for the correct gauge! In fairness, some OO layouts had the occasional issue as well (see later).

 

Another N Gauge layout I took the opportunity of photographing was The North of England Line 2, by the Scarborough Club.

 

 

Though 'freelance', it had elements of Scarborough, Darlington and Monkwearmouth in it, among lots of other inspirations. It ran very well.

 

Speaking of running, I loaned a 'Britannia' of mine for use on Shap. This is one of the best layouts on the circuit at the moment, and I also have the privilege of some other locos I've built running on it. 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, when first put on, 70054 wouldn't pull this 8-car rake. Shame indeed! It just slipped. It's an old Hornby tender-drive body/tender on Comet frames (described some time ago in BRM), but it was too light. So, I acquired some 'Liquid Gravity', and stuffed some more into the body, fixing it with superglue. However, I added too much, and the motor (a Portescap) then wouldn't quite fit back in. I didn't realise that 'Liquid Gravity' is ferrous (not lead), so the too-much-extra-amount took some shifting with a Stanley knife, including sparks! One thing crossed my mind was, with it surrounding the motor, might it affect it in some way? It certainly ran perfectly afterwards. I say 'perfectly', but that's not quite true. I was watching it with puffed-out pride as it ambled up Shap, only for it to derail on entering the fiddle yard! Who mentioned 'feet of clay' earlier? 

 

Shap certainly proved popular, but what spoils the illusion for me is the plethora of tension-lock couplings, many on passenger stock; resulting in a daft gap between adjacent cars. Concertina gangways chaps? Or, better still, junk the tension-locks. I know it's 'work in progress', but think of all that time spent on somewhat dubious TV programmes! That said, don't miss seeing Shap next at York. It's well worth 'watching the trains go by'. 

 

For our part, Mo and I made almost £150.00 for CRUK. May I please thank all those who donated most-generously as I fiddled with their duds? 

 

Successes? Completely rebuilding a Hornby Railroad FLYING SCOTSMAN after an autistic youngster had totally dismantled it - including removing the driving wheels from the axles! Getting an ancient Tr-ang 0-6-0 to go again. Making new pick-ups for a kit-built pannier. Un-jamming and fixing the 'metal spaghetti' valve gear on a Shap 'Duchess'. Cleaning and oiling a range of RTR locos, and making them sweet again.

 

Failures? Being unable to even try to fix two more-recent Hornby locos where the gear train had failed; they just whirred! Being unable to resurrect an Airfix tender-drive 'Royal Scot'. The pancake motor had died. The hardest part was finding out I had to remove the tender buffer beam in order to remove its body! Being unable to fix a 'dead' Farish N Gauge 4F. And so on..........

 

Best moment? Taking a couple of kids and their respective dads to talk to Simon Kohler, taking with them a non-working Thomas and a wee Caley 0-4-0T, and his promising to have them repaired. What a great guy!

 

Further reports to follow..............