Wright writes.....

[St Enodoc]

19 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

I see it all the time in the Facebook groups, but that’s another matter 

Don't go on Facebook then...

[Barry Ten]

Yesterday I had one of those sessions in the modeling room where it would have been far better if I'd kept out.

 

My Fowler chassis was nearly done so I thought I'd take care of the last few bits. One of the first orders of business

was to unscrew the pony truck and put the right type of shouldered bolt in - I'd used the wrong, rounded type

for testing. But the bolt wouldn't go in easily. Why not? It's the same pitch as the wrong type. Rather than doing

the sensible thing like getting out my tap and die set, I tried using a beefier screwdriver to persuade it in. Wrong!

The soldered nut inside the chassis came loose, and then I was in real bother.

 

I couldn't get a pair of pliers in to grip the loose nut while I tried unscrewing the bolt, although in the process

of trying to I managed to break the pony truck in two, severing the front bit from the yolk. OK, annoying but

repairable, But I still had the loose bolt to deal with. I tried cutting it with Xuron snippers - no joy. So in final

desperation I got my cutting disk out and got through the bolt that way. Great - but in the process (being

a berk) I managed to saw the bottom off the right front brake shoe. Now I had that to deal with as well!

 

Then my wife called me down for dinner.

 

Afterwards, with a clearer head, I went back up and set about undoing the self-inflicted damage! The

pony truck was repaired quite easily. I then found an etch of Southern brake shoes in my scrap pile

and managed to splice in a fix for the damaged shoe. Finally, I found a nice set of nuts and bolts and

redid the pony truck mounting from scratch. The loco was re-assembled and derailed on the first curve! But

I'd introduced a twist into the pony truck which was easily straightened. Back to testing, and all's well. But I

could have easily spared myself a couple of hours of grief by not being a lazy sh**e and doing the job properly

the first time.

 

Al

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Headstock]

7 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

Yesterday I had one of those sessions in the modeling room where it would have been far better if I'd kept out.

 

My Fowler chassis was nearly done so I thought I'd take care of the last few bits. One of the first orders of business

was to unscrew the pony truck and put the right type of shouldered bolt in - I'd used the wrong, rounded type

for testing. But the bolt wouldn't go in easily. Why not? It's the same pitch as the wrong type. Rather than doing

the sensible thing like getting out my tap and die set, I tried using a beefier screwdriver to persuade it in. Wrong!

The soldered nut inside the chassis came loose, and then I was in real bother.

 

I couldn't get a pair of pliers in to grip the loose nut while I tried unscrewing the bolt, although in the process

of trying to I managed to break the pony truck in two, severing the front bit from the yolk. OK, annoying but

repairable, But I still had the loose bolt to deal with. I tried cutting it with Xuron snippers - no joy. So in final

desperation I got my cutting disk out and got through the bolt that way. Great - but in the process (being

a berk) I managed to saw the bottom off the right front brake shoe. Now I had that to deal with as well!

 

Then my wife called me down for dinner.

 

Afterwards, with a clearer head, I went back up and set about undoing the self-inflicted damage! The

pony truck was repaired quite easily. I then found an etch of Southern brake shoes in my scrap pile

and managed to splice in a fix for the damaged shoe. Finally, I found a nice set of nuts and bolts and

redid the pony truck mounting from scratch. The loco was re-assembled and derailed on the first curve! But

I'd introduced a twist into the pony truck which was easily straightened. Back to testing, and all's well. But I

could have easily spared myself a couple of hours of grief by not being a lazy sh**e and doing the job properly

the first time.

 

Al

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Al,

 

Looking on the bright side, at least you don't need a smokebox dart on a Fowler tank.

[Barry Ten]

Just now, Headstock said:

 

Afternoon Al,

 

Looking on the bright side, at least you don't need a smokebox dart on a Fowler tank.

 

I noticed!

[Tony Wright]

11 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Of course it was tongue in cheek, taking in criticism is how you learn, I wouldn’t be the modeller I am today without making mistakes and correcting them. 

Not to steer the thread away to another discussion, but it infuriates me when you give constructive criticism to someone and they just bring out the rule 1. I see it all the time in the Facebook groups, but that’s another matter 

Good afternoon Jesse,

 

I've heard of Facebook, but I've had no dealings with it. Nor, do I want to have, judging from what I've seen (admittedly, second-hand). 

 

Making mistakes is, indeed, how we learn. How do you think I've learned anything? 

 

This subject has been aired before, but I'm convinced that if one shows off work - whether that be at an exhibition, in the printed media or via electronic media, then one automatically invites 'criticism'. I would not have it any other way. 

 

If one is so sensitive to 'criticism' (and the word is often misused), then don't put work on show.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Jesse Sim]

18 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Jesse,

 

I've heard of Facebook, but I've had no dealings with it. Nor, do I want to have, judging from what I've seen (admittedly, second-hand). 

 

Making mistakes is, indeed, how we learn. How do you think I've learned anything? 

 

This subject has been aired before, but I'm convinced that if one shows off work - whether that be at an exhibition, in the printed media or via electronic media, then one automatically invites 'criticism'. I would not have it any other way. 

 

If one is so sensitive to 'criticism' (and the word is often misused), then don't put work on show.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

I completely agree with you Tony, as you said earlier to me, there will always be the nit pickers and there will always be criticism, how you deal with it, whether it’s ignoring the morons or fixing the problems, is what counts at the end. 

[Clem]

1 hour ago, Barry Ten said:

Yesterday I had one of those sessions in the modeling room where it would have been far better if I'd kept out.

 

My Fowler chassis was nearly done so I thought I'd take care of the last few bits. One of the first orders of business

was to unscrew the pony truck and put the right type of shouldered bolt in - I'd used the wrong, rounded type

for testing. But the bolt wouldn't go in easily. Why not? It's the same pitch as the wrong type. Rather than doing

the sensible thing like getting out my tap and die set, I tried using a beefier screwdriver to persuade it in. Wrong!

The soldered nut inside the chassis came loose, and then I was in real bother.

 

I couldn't get a pair of pliers in to grip the loose nut while I tried unscrewing the bolt, although in the process

of trying to I managed to break the pony truck in two, severing the front bit from the yolk. OK, annoying but

repairable, But I still had the loose bolt to deal with. I tried cutting it with Xuron snippers - no joy. So in final

desperation I got my cutting disk out and got through the bolt that way. Great - but in the process (being

a berk) I managed to saw the bottom off the right front brake shoe. Now I had that to deal with as well!

 

Then my wife called me down for dinner.

 

Afterwards, with a clearer head, I went back up and set about undoing the self-inflicted damage! The

pony truck was repaired quite easily. I then found an etch of Southern brake shoes in my scrap pile

and managed to splice in a fix for the damaged shoe. Finally, I found a nice set of nuts and bolts and

redid the pony truck mounting from scratch. The loco was re-assembled and derailed on the first curve! But

I'd introduced a twist into the pony truck which was easily straightened. Back to testing, and all's well. But I

could have easily spared myself a couple of hours of grief by not being a lazy sh**e and doing the job properly

the first time.

 

Al

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've all been there!

 

To be honest whilst being completely empathetic (as I said, we've all been there.. and in my case on many occasions), I have to admit that I couldn't help a chortle when I read it. It put me in my of the Father Ted episode where he spots a tiny dent in the brand new car he is looking after and decides as it's only small, he can knock it out himself. Needless to say, it ends up a write-off.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Clem

[Woodcock29]

1 hour ago, Jesse Sim said:

Thanks for all your help Andrew, very much appreciate it.

 

The coal rails, should they be squared off or? 

I would square them off that was more typical but we should try to find a photo of one of those shedded at the ex GC shed at Retford mentioned yesterday to check if possible. I'll have a look in Yeadon.

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

I think it's pretty-obvious why an inner handle on a smokebox door locking mechanism should be set to '6 o'clock', but, since I first asked the question...........

 

It's equally-obvious that, on a few occasions, it was set to '12 o'clock', which is what I speculated on. One would have to ask a fireman why he set it to '12 o'clock'. 

 

Daft, or not. 

 

Good afternoon Tony,

 

the examples given are pretty dubious, all the Cambrian locomotives featured, not even being in the same century, let alone geographical location as Clems GN, Notts layout. It is noticeable that all of the 20th century images of Cambrian locomotives have the locking handle set at 6 0'clock. It is quite possible that the 19th century position may represent an archaic locking mechanism, one that was designed to lock that way and long since replace by standard GWR equipment. Neither it, or the mechanism and practice on narrow gauge locomotives, have any relevance to how locomotives should be modeled on the Grantham - Notts line in 55/56, or on LB in 57. Surely it is much better to look at locomotives from those two geographical areas and time periods, in order to provide good modeling reference.

[Steven B]

Mk1s are apparently boring, unless that is you've built or modified them yourself:

 

Laboratory 6 Prometheus:

Lab 6 Prometheus RDB975422

 

Lab 12 RDB975136

 

Lab 14 Wren RDB975427

 

Lab 6 and Lab 12 are both conversions of old Graham Farish Mk1 body shells using the Ultima Etched sides (a RTR BSK wasn't available in N until Bachmann/Farish launches their blue-ribbon range. The under-frames have also been replaced with etches from Ultima. Pre-Bachmann, Farish had two ranges of Mk1 coaches. These are based on the older type which had basic plastic bodies with removable strips for the windows. Later Mk1s used a clear body shell onto which the coach sides were printed.

 

Lab 14 was a repaint of the Mk1 Pullman PKF, long before Farish did it RTR.

 

They were all done about 15 years ago. Looking back there's some silvering on the transfers and Prometheus needs some attention - the mounting of the pantograph would soon prove a shocking experience for anyone touching the vehicle and I really need to do something about the couplings having recently replaced the BR1 bogies with the BT10s usually fitted to Mk3s.

 

Steven B.

 

[Barry Ten]

23 minutes ago, Clem said:

We've all been there!

 

To be honest whilst being completely empathetic (as I said, we've all been there.. and in my case on many occasions), I have to admit that I couldn't help a chortle when I read it. It put me in my of the Father Ted episode where he spots a tiny dent in the brand new car he is looking after and decides as it's only small, he can knock it out himself. Needless to say, it ends up a write-off.

 

Ha, yes, one of my favorite Father Ted moments as well - and  entirely appropriate!

 

I'm also reminded of the visiting priest who keeps testing Ted's shelves to destruction, except in my case the destruction was self-inflicted!

[Tony Wright]

9 minutes ago, Headstock said:

 

Good afternoon Tony,

 

the examples given are pretty dubious, all the Cambrian locomotives featured, not even being in the same century, let alone geographical location as Clems GN, Notts layout. It is noticeable that all of the 20th century images of Cambrian locomotives have the locking handle set at 6 0'clock. It is quite possible that the 19th century position may represent an archaic locking mechanism, one that was designed to lock that way and long since replace by standard GWR equipment. Neither it, or the mechanism and practice on narrow gauge locomotives, have any relevance to how locomotives should be modeled on the Grantham - Notts line in 55/56, or on LB in 57. Surely it is much better to look at locomotives from those two geographical areas and time periods, in order to provide good modeling reference.

Good afternoon Andrew,

 

I can't really believe we're having this 'conversation'.

 

Where did I ever state that it was not much better to look at locomotives relevant to where one was modelling?

 

I merely speculated that there might have been the odd (very odd) occasion where an inner handle pointed to '12 o' clock' From the evidence presented, however rare (dubious? Not sure if that's right), it would seem that that was the case.

 

Daft, though it might be.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Tony Wright
to clarify a point

[Blandford1969]

7 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

I completely agree with you Tony, as you said earlier to me, there will always be the nit pickers and there will always be criticism, how you deal with it, whether it’s ignoring the morons or fixing the problems, is what counts at the end. 

Unfortunately some of those who point out this or that is wrong never show anything they have ever made. Therefore its easier just to do it yourself and not bother posting, certainly in some Facebook groups and on here.  Having watched the comments aimed at one person they were neither constructive or helpful, "just why are you bothering". There also appears to be a demand for rapid progress.  (sorry) personal rant over. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Blandford1969
grammar

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Andrew,

 

I can't really believe we're having this 'conversation'.

 

Where did I ever state that it was not much better to look at locomotives relevant to where one was modelling?

 

I merely speculated that there might have been the odd (very odd) occasion where an inner handle pointed to '12 o' clock' From the evidence presented, however rare (dubious? Not sure if that's right), it would seem that that was the case.

 

Daft, though it might be.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Good afternoon Tony,

 

I am insuring that it is appreciated that the evidence presented is only applicable to the Cambrian Railway in the 19th Century, this should not be extrapolated to draw general conclusions about other railways or time periods. It is unclear if your speculation is specific to a time and place, ie LB 57, or generally aimed at railway history. Either way, it isn't supported by the evidence. Thus it remains speculation. I welcome any evidence that shows that 12 o'clockgate was general railway practice or specific to LB, then I can model it. Until any evidence is forthcoming, my advice to people would be don't model it, unless you modeling the Cambrian Railway in the 19th Century. For the majority of railway modelers who build things, Stick to 6 0'clock, or thereabouts and you can't go far wrong.

[Ray Flintoft]

In the spirit of lockdown here are my two latest projects . The first is a coal drencher built from bits in the spares box , an ideal project for when the modelling mojo is at a low ebb . The other Thompson A2/3 No .60517 OCEAN SWELL from Heaton shed . This is a lengthened & much modified Millholme kit ( sorry , Tony! ) towing a Nucast tender .

  Any comments , good or bad ( but not rude!) welcome , 

                                                    Ray .

[Atso]

9 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

It's starting to look very-natural, Steve,

 

I look forward to seeing its completion.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Thank you Tony,

 

Not quite complete, but very close now.

 

[Daniel W]

Quick question for the chaps and chapesses regarding glass fibre brushes. When the end starts to get dirty and a bit frayed, is it best to trim it using a blade or scissors, or just continuing using it as eventually the worn fibres will fall out anyway?

[polybear]

8 minutes ago, Daniel W said:

Quick question for the chaps and chapesses regarding glass fibre brushes. When the end starts to get dirty and a bit frayed, is it best to trim it using a blade or scissors, or just continuing using it as eventually the worn fibres will fall out anyway?

 

Me - carry on using it

[PJT]

35 minutes ago, polybear said:

45 minutes ago, Daniel W said:

Quick question for the chaps and chapesses regarding glass fibre brushes. When the end starts to get dirty and a bit frayed, is it best to trim it using a blade or scissors, or just continuing using it as eventually the worn fibres will fall out anyway?

 

Me - carry on using it

 

Me too; it will trim itself naturally and surprisingly quickly, too, without any further help from you.   Just in case you haven't yet discovered, make sure you clean your workbench scrupulously after using one - the splinters the worn-away fragments give you are small in size but big in discomfort.

 

Pete T.

 

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, Ray Flintoft said:

In the spirit of lockdown here are my two latest projects . The first is a coal drencher built from bits in the spares box , an ideal project for when the modelling mojo is at a low ebb . The other Thompson A2/3 No .60517 OCEAN SWELL from Heaton shed . This is a lengthened & much modified Millholme kit ( sorry , Tony! ) towing a Nucast tender .

  Any comments , good or bad ( but not rude!) welcome , 

                                                    Ray .

You've disguised its origin very well, Ray,

 

At first glance, I assumed it was a DJH kit. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

I must admit to not having done much in the way of loco-building in the last week or two; I've been busy doing other things.

 

Nonetheless, I've continued with the Craftsman 3600 this afternoon..................

 

 

 

Progress has been pretty rapid, and completion shouldn't take too long. 

 

An excellent kit; proving that not all GWR locos look the same! 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Mention of a Millholme A2/3 made me delve into my picture archive......................

 

 

I built one for a friend, many, many years ago. I only built it, and he painted it. It used to run on Biggleswade. 

 

Some little time ago, another friend said he'd bought a loco which he thought I'd built. He brought it along, and I squirmed with embarrassment! 

 

Isn't it awful? Yes, I did build it. In my defence (and it better be good!), all I was asked to do was build it 'as supplied'. I told my friend that the tender was rubbish and the whole thing was too short. 'Just build it, please'. So, I did, and I hoped that would have been the last I'd ever see of it. No such luck! 

 

In the realms of really poor loco kits, the Millholme A2/3 and A2/2 kits must be among the worst ever offered. My attempt at disguising the origin of this one was totally unsuccessful.

 

John Houlden made a much better job of building OCEAN SWELL than I did of 'creating' OWEN TUDOR................

 

 

 

Built from a DJH kit (an infinitely-better starting point than the Millholme pile of heavy-metal), it's seen running on the now-cremated Gamston Bank. 

 

It's now the property of Geoff West. 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Willie Whizz]

4 hours ago, Ray Flintoft said:

In the spirit of lockdown here are my two latest projects . The first is a coal drencher built from bits in the spares box , an ideal project for when the modelling mojo is at a low ebb .

 

 

Nice work ... however, pardon my hignorance, but what is the purpose of a 'coal drencher'; and indeed where were they to be found?  Thanks.

 

[MJI]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I must admit to not having done much in the way of loco-building in the last week or two; I've been busy doing other things.

 

Nonetheless, I've continued with the Craftsman 3600 this afternoon..................

 

 

 

Progress has been pretty rapid, and completion shouldn't take too long. 

 

An excellent kit; proving that not all GWR locos look the same! 

 

 

 

 

Great Western locos look as similar as LNER Pacifics.

 

Seem similar at first but lots of little differences.

[Woodcock29]

8 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

I would square them off that was more typical but we should try to find a photo of one of those shedded at the ex GC shed at Retford mentioned yesterday to check if possible. I'll have a look in Yeadon.

Jesse

5807 or 5808 would be good nos to choose for your J10. Both had the Pollitt 4000 gallon tender and most likely squared off coal guards as the tenders they were paired with at Retford GC shed in the mid - late 30s had never been paired with 4-4-0s according to Yeadon.

Andrew