Wright writes.....

[johndon]

2 hours ago, jrg1 said:

I think the Brassmasters Easychas and detailing kit would be a good starting point for the Hornby A4

 

That is how I'm planning on doing it when I get round to building SNG as preserved.

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, micklner said:

Tony

      Interesting comments .

 

Quite sad the "fig" comment perhaps a throw away comment, you are in a very priviliged postion and extremely lucky to have what you have . Many people are however not so lucky and never will be.

 

30 year old Locos are what they are, of their time . Luckily for everybody better examples of models  exist of many prototypes, and in general getting better every year. From China mainly ,but we are very lucky to have them.

 

As already said r.t.r in general are not designed to pull heavy loads , why should anyone expect it too.  They are now bringing out bodies made of mainly metal , so things are looking up on that front.

Motion wrong on the the Loco , very simple the crank faces the wrong way. Reason why ?  to change the Crank angle is a new mould to change the angle on the fitting of the Crankpin. You then pay for the mould ,and then a seperate assembly line to make and fit the gear on one side the other way around .

Result ? prices higher to cover the new mould and assembly line wages . Hardly surprising it is ignored by the makers and 90% or more of the buyers dont even notice or are bothered about it if they do. R.t.r is price driven people simply  wont pay for such corrections, as a result the makers sell less and go bust or just stop making things.

 

Obviously I presume  the overheating  Bachmann A1 is referred to , it simply had a defective motor when released, Bachmann did the right thing and changed the motors at no cost to the buyers, so well done Bachmann. Not surprising you were taken to to task over it , did you really expect any other reaction. Even the prototypes fail on such trains, even in preservation !!

 

Everybody needs will always be different and always will be .

 

regards

 

Mick

 

One of mine de valanced A4 Merlin, as Hornby still havent done a post war Blue A4 . I know what I prefer !!

 

 

 

Thanks Mick,

 

A very nice model of MERLIN, though shouldn't the tender be black above the beading? 

 

'Obviously I presume  the overheating  Bachmann A1 is referred to , it simply had a defective motor when released, Bachmann did the right thing and changed the motors at no cost to the buyers, so well done Bachmann. Not surprising you were taken to to task over it , did you really expect any other reaction.'

 

I have to say I find this statement astonishing! I conducted a review and found the loco's performance to be inadequate. Not only was it incapable of hauling prototype-equivalent loads, even on lighter ones it just ran hot after a short time. As a coincidence, a friend showed me one he'd got and the plastic firebox had literally collapsed because of the overheating motor.

 

So, I'm taking to task for having told the truth and you're surprised about it? Let's take the opposite view then; though I find major faults with a new loco's performance, I don't mention it in my review and merely say nothing, or even heap praise about its abilities. The manufacturer is happy (remember, I got the sample before the majority went on sale), folk read the review and buy the new loco is all happiness. Only to find that, oh dear! It melts itself, won't pull the skin of a rice pudding and when it tries, the motor burns out! What value or any credibility would any review have if that were the case? The firm is to be congratulated on putting the matter right, but the initial response to the problem was rather hostile (or is it that you're not surprised at?). 

 

I'm certainly not claiming credit for having been a 'whistle-blower', but the fact that all the models had to be recalled rather says it all. In fact, the problem was far worse than I'd indicated. 

 

As for my being privileged in having a large trainset, you seem to think that it's rather fallen into my lap. 'Privilege' in my dictionary is described (in part) as having a right. I have no automatic right to it at all. I've worked hard all my life (I'm still working part-time well into my 70s), have made the locos and rolling stock for it over the decades and have worked collectively with others to achieve what I've got. I'm not really sure luck has a great deal to do with it. Do you give a 'fig' about my having it? 

 

It's probably wise if this correspondence ceases here (though I'm not saying I insist on having the 'last word'). Please respond if you wish, but that'll be that. 

 

Kind personal regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tony Wright
to add something

[micklner]

Tony

 

Re the astonishing statement. 

 

I missed the review part mentioned in your post , hence my reaction to your comments . I still think you comments read as unecessary to a MD of a company re its pulling power  , totally correct re the motor problem.

 

Regards and I wont say anymore as its just repetition.

 

A4  colour above the Beading I will have a look , a easy fix if needed.

 

My conversion of Merlin  is on my own thread, about two three years or longer ago. Basically cut the Valances off a Mallard or similar Hornby A4  , shape  the remainder ,touch up the paint and it is done. Any other advice please ask on my thread please as listed below.

 

Mick

[Iain.d]

13 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

Hi Iain

 

It's far from scientific, but I made up a swatch of Humbrol 101 (one coat on white plastic card) and offered it up to the Railmatch malachite:

 

 

It's not too far off, is it?

 

Al

 

Thanks for taking the time to do a comparison Al, scientific or not it works for me!  It does look close - I'm happy with that.

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

[BMacdermott]

Hello Tony and everyone

 

Bachmann has produced in the past a BR Mk1 Restaurant Car RU with Gresley bogies as running number E1926 (code 39-101).

 

The Parkin Mk1 book shows a photo of this coach but - as far as I can see - does not go into any detail of how many were fitted with Gresley bogies nor what duties they were used on.

 

And were they running as such in 1960/61?

 

Can anyone provide details?

 

Thanks

 

Brian

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by BMacdermott
Line added for dates.

[Staffordshire]

   Hello to all, 

 

       Apologies if I have missed something in the recent posts concerning the A4, 

 

      Was wondering why nobody mentioned the Martin Finney  / Brassmasters kit for the A4 ?

 

      With thanks, 

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, Staffordshire said:

   Hello to all, 

 

       Apologies if I have missed something in the recent posts concerning the A4, 

 

      Was wondering why nobody mentioned the Martin Finney  / Brassmasters kit for the A4 ?

 

      With thanks, 

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Finney/Brassmasters A4 of late.

 

All-in-all, it probably is the best 4mm A4 available, but it does take some building. 

 

I assume SPARROW HAWK is one in your picture? If so, have you changed the tender, because all the Finney A4s I've seen as-supplied come with a 1928 corridor tender (inappropriate for any Gateshead-allocated A4)?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[drmditch]

Caution: This post does not contain any wheels or locomotive valve gear, and only a small amount of (quite tricky) soldering.

 

A long time ago (on this fast moving thread) on June 13th I did post some progress on one of my lockdown projects.

.....here....

 

 

Left to do are:-

Access steps (awaiting supplies)

Guttering and downpipes.

LEDs for interior lighting.

 

 

I hope you will forgive the several required small corrections which this mornings pictures have shown up.

I'm sorry for the quality of the interior shot - but I quite like the effect!

Edited August 6, 2020 by drmditch

[queensquare]

38 minutes ago, drmditch said:

Caution: This post does not contain any wheels or locomotive valve gear, and only a small amount of (quite tricky) soldering.

 

A long time ago (on this fast moving thread) on June 13th I did post some progress on one of my lockdown projects.

.....here....

 

 

Left to do are:-

Access steps (awaiting supplies)

Guttering and downpipes.

LEDs for interior lighting.

 

 

I hope you will forgive the several required small corrections which this mornings pictures have shown up.

I'm sorry for the quality of the interior shot - but I quite like the effect!

 

 

That's lovely, I've said it many times before but I do like a signalbox,

 

Jerry

[Iain.d]

In the spirit of showing what we’re building, I thought I’d post a bit more progress on a 3 coach set of LSWR stock I’m part way through building. They’re similar to Al’s a post or two above but not as far advanced. Happy to show photos if others are interested.

 

The subject of couplings came up a page or two back and I thought I’d show how I couple my sets together. Its not my idea – I have no idea whose it was – it’s a copy of that shown in Stephen Williams’ The 4mm Coach Part One (page 20). First off I solder a 1mm piece of wire rod behind the headstock/on the buffer bases. I do this on both ends on all the coaches.

 

 

I then make up a simple hook from 1mm wire rod, bending it to shape and winding round a bit of thin wire from old electrical cable to represent the hose ribbing. I may add representations of hose couplings from washers or twists of thicker wire, if the mood takes me, all secured with tiny dabs of solder. The part with the hook is maybe a mil or two lower than the opposite end that passes through the headstock as it has to go below the headstock of the following coach – seems obvious, but I’ve got it wrong so many times.

 

 

I temporality fit the corridor connectors to get the right tension / correct (ish) distance between the coaches. I realise these are too far apart compared to full size stock but it doesn’t look too bad as the void has something in it. I then solder the hook to the headstock.  The hook rubs on the bar – this seems smoother than it just rubbing on the back of the headstock. These LSWRs will go around 3ft radius curves on a test track without issue. I have no idea how they might fare on a full layout, reverse curves or a crossover….we’ll shall see one day! Nor do I know how the compressibility / tension of the bellows will last…time will tell.

 

 

The reason I put a bar behind every buffer is in case I decide to add further stock at a later date and it’s easier to fit at the build stage.  The process it the same for plastic bodied stock/underframes except I use glue.

 

 

This is how the set looks, the corridor connectors are held in place by friction for the picture and the photography has shown how grotty the sides are. They’ll get scrubbed over the weekend and if the weather is warm they might even see a coat of primer.

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

Edited August 6, 2020 by Iain.d
Missing word

[Staffordshire]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

I don't think anyone has mention the Finney/Brassmasters A4 of late.

 

All-in-all, it probably is the best 4mm A4 available, but it does take some building. 

 

I assume SPARROW HAWK is one in your picture? If so, have you changed the tender, because all the Finney A4s I've seen as-supplied come with a 1928 corridor tender (inappropriate for any Gateshead-allocated A4)?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

   Hi Tony, 

 

       Yes changed the tender as required, am now having 60010 built with the 1928 corridor tender ...

 

         It is so easy to make a mistake, but the devil is always in the detail ...   such as a Schools with

8-Wheeled tender ... 30912 Downside.

[Barry Ten]

1 hour ago, Iain.d said:

 and the photography has shown how grotty the sides are.

 

 

Ha, call that grotty? II'll show you grotty...

 

Seriously, lovely work. As promised, I'll take some close-up shots of mine (including the bellows and coupling arrangements) but would you be so kind as to take a roof shot of your brake? I had trouble interpreting the layout of the ventilators on mine and think I may have added too many.

 

Al

Edited August 6, 2020 by Barry Ten

[Iain.d]

15 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

Ha, call that grotty? II'll show you grotty...

 

Seriously, lovely work. As promised, I'll take some close-up shots of mine (including the bellows and coupling arrangements) but would you be so kind as to take a roof shot of your brake? I had trouble interpreting the layout of the ventilators on mine and think I may have added too many.

 

Al

No problem, it’ll be tomorrow as it’s late now!

 

I don’t think my ventilators are 100% right though, the instructions say something like “vents marked ‘x’ might not be present’ so I guessed! I have a LH and a RH brake, I did each roof differently - for no reason other than I could!
 

Kind regards

 

Iain

[Tony Wright]

With the discussion regarding A4s of late, I thought I'd take new pictures of Bytham's current stud. The scenes are in context, and I've not put them through the various processes in the photo programme. 

 

What they show is the range of trains operated by LB's A4s.

 

The first five.............

 

 

60002. This is an original Bachmann A4 (amazingly, still on its split chassis - but for how long?). I detailed it and altered the motion to something less toy-like, and fitted a Crownline non-corridor tender, complete with strip at the bottom. Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

 

60008. This is the detailed/repainted Hornby one seen yesterday. It handles this nine-car Morning Talisman rake, made up entirely of modified Bachmann MK.1s, but it can't be used on the heavier trains. Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

 

60014. An old Wills kit on a scratch-built chassis. Ian Rathbone painted it.

 

 

60017. A South Eastern Finecast kit. Painted by Geoff Haynes. 

 

 

60022. Built from a Pro-Scale kit. Painted by Ian Rathbone. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

The next five A4s on Bytham. Ian Rathbone painted all of these (apart from the GA example).................

 

 

60024. Built from a Pro-Scale kit.

 

 

60026. Featured yesterday, MILES BEEVOR is built from a South Eastern Finecast kit towing a Crownline streamlined non-corridor tender. 

 

 

60027. A Golden Age A4. I'm still puzzled why I bought it, especially since it's hardly used. It cost me more to have it supplied without DCC. 

 

 

60030. A SE Finecast kit.

 

 

60034 Another from yesterday; made from a Bachmann body, SEF chassis and tender. 

 

I hope readers think that these ten Bytham A4s look all right (in a layout context). They're all definitely 'layout locos', and should be assessed as such, despite the numerous differences. 

 

What many of the pictures show is Bytham's necessity for locos which are very powerful and sure-footed. 

 

Looking through, what's missing is an A4 named after a Commonwealth country. 60010 (my next build from an SEF kit will put that right).

 

At the moment, 60007 is being painted by Ian Rathbone, which will then (along with DOMINION OF CANADA) make a dozen A4s available for service on LB. I think that'll be enough! 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tony Wright

[davidw]

12 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

T

 

At the moment, 60007 is being painted by Ian Rathbone, which will then (along with DOMINION OF CANADA) make a dozen A4s available for service on LB. I think that'll be enough! 

 

 

 

A dozen - probably not....

[Tony Wright]

8 minutes ago, davidw said:

 

A dozen - probably not....

Thanks David,

 

The 'wise' observer might conclude that if LB needed more A4s, then just populate it with a few extra renumbered/renamed Hornby ones, restricting them to the lighter trains.

 

However, that's not in the 'spirit' of Little Bytham. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

And now for something completely different......................

 

I originally built these two locos for Charwelton and both were painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

Since they technically running as 'guests' on LB, there is no need for their carrying of lamps (or discs).

 

 

30925. Built from a SE Finecast kit. 

 

 

34094. Built from a Crownline kit. 

 

Since their lives now consist of just living in a cabinet in my workshop, I thought I'd give them a spin this afternoon. 

 

 

[rowanj]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks David,

 

The 'wise' observer might conclude that if LB needed more A4s, then just populate it with a few extra renumbered/renamed Hornby ones, restricting them to the lighter trains.

 

However, that's not in the 'spirit' of Little Bytham. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Are you not a bit "light" on A4  locos from 52A? 

Edited August 6, 2020 by rowanj

[Willie Whizz]

17 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

...

 

Meanwhile, the stricken defective coach has somehow got to make its way back home and there was a network of ECS workings to facilitate such moves. It could sometimes take several weeks to get the vehicle back home, repaired and back in its planned set ... by which time other 'things' had happened and so it went on, a continuous game of running to stand still.

 

...

 

Interesting post, thank you.  But in regard to the above paragraph, do you have a view on how much effort would actually be made to get a specific carriage "back in its planned set"?  Rather than just "one of the right type"; or even "one that'll be near enough to do till next time there's a problem? " I know that for the very top expresses there were sometimes earmarked sets of carriages with purpose-built interiors or other specialised features, but in the Great Scheme of Things I'd have thought that for most rather more routine workings it wasn't so pressing.

[drmditch]

In relation to your 12 A4s, does that mean you need the same percentage of the A1/A3s?

(I would make that about 24)

Edited August 6, 2020 by drmditch

[30368]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Since they technically running as 'guests' on LB, there is no need for their carrying of lamps (or discs).

 

 

30925. Built from a SE Finecast kit. 

 

 

34094. Built from a Crownline kit. 

 

Since their lives now consist of just living in a cabinet in my workshop, I thought I'd give them a spin this afternoon. 

 

Tony good evening, and very pleasant it is, at least in South Wiltshire.

 

Good to see these two "guest" ex SR(BR) locos running on LB. Fine models and great prototypes, with, in the case of the WC, a significant Doncaster input. I often wonder how things would have evolved if Bulleid had stayed at Doncaster and succeeded his boss. Given the size of the LNER pacific fleet would he have been able to build his pacifics? Perhaps, but the drawing office team at Doncaster would have influenced the outcome so no chain driven valve gear?? What would a Bulleid mixed traffic 4-6-0 looked like???

Sorry, pointless speculation really.

Lovely pictures of a great layout, thanks.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, rowanj said:

Are you not a bit "light" on A4  locos from 52A? 

Not in 1958, John,

 

In 1958, many 52A locos will have come on/off trains at Grantham, exchanging for Top Shed equivalents. Grantham was still an important loco-changing post in 1958, though later on the through workings took Gateshead's locos right through to Kings Cross. A few would have changed at Peterborough, taking them through Bytham.

 

I did have another 52A A4 at one time

 

 

 

 

This is just a Hornby 60018, fitted with new bogie wheels, proper 'plates and heavily-weathered. I gave it to Ian Wilson.

 

It was some time ago, and the old girder bridge is still present.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[LNER4479]

3 hours ago, Willie Whizz said:

 

Interesting post, thank you.  But in regard to the above paragraph, do you have a view on how much effort would actually be made to get a specific carriage "back in its planned set"?  Rather than just "one of the right type"; or even "one that'll be near enough to do till next time there's a problem? " I know that for the very top expresses there were sometimes earmarked sets of carriages with purpose-built interiors or other specialised features, but in the Great Scheme of Things I'd have thought that for most rather more routine workings it wasn't so pressing.

Hi WW,

 

Good question and I was tempted to expound a little on this subject in the original post.

 

What I saw (late 1980s) was largely the 'one of the right type' philosophy in practice. That at least was quite important from the seat reservation point of view.

 

I do recall at the time BR attempting to introduce 'fixed formations' ie keep the same vehicles in the same sets - with mixed success. The big advantage of 'fixed formations' from a railway operations point of view is that the vehicles all remain in sync. for maintenance. Under the BR coach maintenance regime (CMS123), coaches were due heavy maintenance every 36 cycle days (roughly six weeks). Each set was stood down for 24 hours (and the maintenance set sent out in its place) to facilitate this happening. It was thus advantageous for all vehicles to be at the same point in the cycle for maintenance, otherwise you ended up having to maintain coaches individually, which was far less efficient.

 

I can't really comment on earlier times although I strongly suspect your hunch is correct in that 'fixed formation' philosophy really only applied (and only really practical) to the prestige sets.

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by LNER4479

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, drmditch said:

In relation to your 12 A4s, does that mean you need the same percentage of the A1/A3s?

(I would make that about 24)

Percentages means sums! 

 

I suppose, since the A3s were the most-numerous of LNER Pacific types then there should be more of them than the A4s. 

 

The ones available for service on Little Bytham are 60039, 60048, 60054, 60062 (being painted at the moment), 60063, 60077, 60080, 60102, 60103, 60104 and 60111. Awaiting building are 60036 and 60088. Should there be more A3s? 

 

The A1s should probably be the most-numerous through Little Bytham, since they tended to monopolise the West Riding services.

 

Those available for service on LB are 60114, 60116, 60117, 60119, 60120, 60121, 60125, 60128, 60130, 60136, 60146, 60149, 60155, 60156 and 60157 (being painted). Others awaiting building include 60147 and 60148. 

 

All the above locos, with two exceptions, are kit-built.

 

Then there are the various Thompson Pacifics and the Peppercorn A2s, all built from kits with one exception. These comprise 60113, 60500, 60501, 60504, 60506, 60508, 60513, 60515, 60516, 60523 (being painted), 60526, 60528 (on a running-in turn) 60533, 60538 and 60539. I have no plans to build any more A2s or their variants. Not because Hornby is bringing out the latter; I won't have either of those types, anyway. 

 

Plenty to choose from. 

 

Whether the percentages are right, I have no idea. Every single loco listed has a place in my memory!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error