Wright writes.....

[Headstock]

11 minutes ago, Porcy Mane said:

Hello,

 

My name is Porcy...   and I'm a collector.

 

A collector of "bits"!

 

 

 

Are you sure your not a dismemberer? There is something slightly sinister in the way you go about collecting your bits!

Edited September 12, 2020 by Headstock

[drmditch]

Somewhere above, there was a post concerning the post of a Hornby K1 to the K1/1.

(There is also a separate thread  .....here.....)

 

Last year I acquired a K1 at what seemed a reasonable price. I do really like K1s, possible influenced by subliminal childhood memories. Together with B1s they seem to me to be everything a 'proper' steam engine should be!

 

My ideas were either to convert the very nice Hornby K1 to the K1/1, or to paint it green as No.2005.

(In which livery the surviving engine ran for a number of years.)

 

 

 

These are assembled from the usual RCTS and Yeadon sources.

I do have some additional pictures of the K1 (now in black BR livery) and the K4 likewise.

When I can find them I will add them to this post.

 

I was/am planning to use a spare Replica B1 body for the smokebox and front footplate.

(the K1/1 boiler is of course a shortened Dia 100 boiler)

The cylinder and part of the motion could come from the same source. I have some old Jameson components for the motion bracket.

I see this as the most difficult part of the conversion.

 

I do have a 'small' standard tender, but it is in use on another locomotive.

I think that the illustrious Mr King did discuss adapting a 'large' standard LNER tender somewhere on his LNER Forum thread, and I was considering doing that.

 

This project has got rather 'log-jammed' behind my appallingly slow rate of progress this summer.

 

[Bucoops]

I've done a bit more on the GE Shortie full brake -

 

 

I used the soldering iron to seam the body ends to the sides but everything else has been using the RSU. I've not done any cleaning up yet beyond a wash under the tap to wash off flux from the ends.

 

The solebar overlay on the side visible has a couple of ripples unfortunately, the other side is much neater but I wanted to show the guard ducket. I think I saw somewhere the design is closer to LMS than LNER but it doesn't look too bad.

 

I've been successful to a point with attaching white metal parts using the RSU - works very well at a relatively high voltage for about 1 second, with the probe against the brass only.

 

One little slip however and...

 

 

1 bolster melted. From the outside it's barely noticeable however so I shall ignore it. It's certainly well attached.

 

Does anyone know of a source for GNR oval(ish) buffers? The one I am modelling was built at York with these buffers instead of the Clipped top ones.

 

 

 

[Porcy Mane]

12 minutes ago, Headstock said:

Are you sure your not a dismemberer?

 

Maybe dismantler. My name is not Robert Knox.

 

P

[Headstock]

5 minutes ago, Porcy Mane said:

 

Maybe dismantler. My name is not Robert Knox.

 

P

 

Nor would it be Frankenstein, assuming a similar proficiency of assemblage as shown in your dismantling, or should that be remantling? I'm sure the thread guardians of English are ready to pounce.

[Bucoops]

I've been shying away from starting the roofs because I keep reading that modern glues are a shadow of their former selves - victims of modern safety standards.

 

@bertiedog elsewhere recommended Gorilla glue. I'm aware of the stuff from adverts but I don't tend to take much notice of those. However, I can also recommend Gorilla glue as suitable. Obviously i have no idea if it will still hold in 30 years time but at the moment it has done the job admirably.

 

 

 

The instructions say to clamp the parts together as the glue expands. I couldn't think of a way of doing that so just had it upright with the weight of the dome end holding itself in place (hence the runs inside). Seems to have done the trick

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Bucoops
Shocking spelling.

[Tony Wright]

30 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

I have never been a collector but I do have a few friends who are.

 

It is like any hobby.

 

There are many hobbies around that I don't follow or really understand but that is my problem, not the fault of the people who do enjoy the hobby.

 

One of my former clients was the late Horace Dunkley, who collected Matchbox items.

 

When he told me that he was paying me from the proceeds of the auction that sold his collection, I looked him up on Google. He lost interest when he reached the age of 70 and realised that for the last few years he hadn't found anything that he didn't already have. It was very much the thrill of the chase, finding the rare and sometimes unique items. Once there was nothing left to find, the thrill vanished.

 

As "our" sorts of hobbies generally, the older collectors pass away and very few new ones are joining in, so collections come on the market, supply exceeds demand and prices drop. 

When I was asked by Horace's widow to sell some things of his after he'd died, there was very little Matchbox stuff left.

 

What I was asked to find new homes for were several of the buildings Horace had commissioned from Geoff Taylor. They were, as expected, exquisite. Which, if nothing else, proved to me the difference between the cost of commissioning (in this case GWR buildings) something and the (potential) resale value of those items. The difference was huge, despite my doing my best to achieve as high a price as I could. Thousands, in fact! 

 

A lesson there? Don't expect what you've asked a professional model-maker to make for you (the generic 'you') to achieve anything near the same price if it's later sold-on.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

How does one define a collector. I have a collection of model railway items.

 

Am I a collector as I have all the boiler variations of Black Fives, plus a double chimney one and one ear marked to become a Caprotti one?

Am I a collector in as much as I seem to be building up a a good selection of BR Mk1 coaches converted from Tri-ang/Hornby or Lima coaches, recent conversions include a SR proper 2nd class open, S15000 the Mk1 prototype, a Bullion Van and a diagram 25 RKB?

 

I am not building up my collection because it will be valuable one day, or to try and impress people. I am doing it so I can play trains and I like model making. But it is a collection.  

 

In the past I have been rummaging through my stock boxes and found something I had purchased but never run, is that me on the path of a real collector or just me being stupid?

'How does one define a collector.'

 

I imagine there are far too many 'definitions' to come to one answer, Clive. In your case I don't think you're going down the 'path of a real collector', and you're certainly not stupid.

 

To me 'collecting' is passive in comparison with 'modelling. Nothing is done in the former circumstances (apart from, perhaps, displaying) but the latter requires some things to be made.

 

In my view, what you've done is build up a collection of models; models you've made.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, Tony Wright said:

When I was asked by Horace's widow to sell some things of his after he'd died, there was very little Matchbox stuff left.

 

What I was asked to find new homes for were several of the buildings Horace had commissioned from Geoff Taylor. They were, as expected, exquisite. Which, if nothing else, proved to me the difference between the cost of commissioning (in this case GWR buildings) something and the (potential) resale value of those items. The difference was huge, despite my doing my best to achieve as high a price as I could. Thousands, in fact! 

 

A lesson there? Don't expect what you've asked a professional model-maker to make for you (the generic 'you') to achieve anything near the same price if it's later sold-on.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

Indeed. I had been going down to work to the layout and it had got as far as having the track down and mostly wired when he became ill.

 

The amount that he had paid to me was tied up in a non portable layout that would have had a value of a fraction of what he had paid me to get it that far.

 

I remember him telling me that his collection needed two full weekend auction sales to dispose of and that some of the prices were records at the time. I recall that one rare vehicle went for nearly £5000 pounds. I can't remember the totals he raised but it was in the hundreds of thousands of pounds.

 

I know he kept just a handful of the really, really rare stuff.

 

He was a really nice bloke and I really enjoyed my days there. It was really sad that it ended the way that it did.

 

 

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, landscapes said:

Hi Tony

 

Thank you for the explination, the photos are so clear they look like O gauge locomotives, please don't tell me they are.

 

Regards

 

David

They're not, David,

 

Just OO.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

[Woodcock29]

Something different from me. From time to time I have mentioned I'm building /supplying the stock for my mate Gavin's model of Spilsby, although we've called it Spirsby as we've added signallling.

 

Here's my model of a GN signal box based on the one at Authorpe on the East Lincolnshire line. Its a work in progress but I placed it on the layout which had its first showing to a few of our friends here in Adelaide today. I'll post some photos of the layout a bit later. As you can see there's still quite a bit to do but the basics are there. I hope to finish the box over the next couple of weeks and will show the finished product then.

 

Andrew

[ScRSG]

A trio of Trice's,

 

 

Three of Mike Trice's most excellent V2 bodies added to Comet chassis and weathered to typical Scottish Region standards of the early 60's.

A couple of comments on the building of these, if I may, firstly , watch the delicate steps! They are extremely fragile (ask me how I know). Secondly, due to the method of detaching the Comet chassis, the first move is to lower the rear end and then move the chassis backwards slightly to release the front. This, unfortunately can put pressure on the front part of the footplate which can cause a fracture (again, ask me how I know!) So to help this I added strips of brass as strengtheners as shown here -

 

Hope this helps, but they do all make up very nicely.

 

Chas

[ScRSG]

On the subject of all things "K" and due to the non-availability of a kit, is there any way a K4 could be produced from kit-bashing various (available ) bits?

[davidw]

34 minutes ago, ScRSG said:

A trio of Trice's,

 

 

Three of Mike Trice's most excellent V2 bodies added to Comet chassis and weathered to typical Scottish Region standards of the early 60's.

A couple of comments on the building of these, if I may, firstly , watch the delicate steps! They are extremely fragile (ask me how I know). Secondly, due to the method of detaching the Comet chassis, the first move is to lower the rear end and then move the chassis backwards slightly to release the front. This, unfortunately can put pressure on the front part of the footplate which can cause a fracture (again, ask me how I know!) So to help this I added strips of brass as strengtheners as shown here -

 

Hope this helps, but they do all make up very nicely.

 

Chas

Those look stunning. I must free up time t get on with some of mine next year.....

[Jon4470]

1 hour ago, Bucoops said:

 

Does anyone know of a source for GNR oval(ish) buffers? The one I am modelling was built at York with these buffers instead of the Clipped top ones.

 

 

 

 

Hello

 

I’ve used these oval buffers from 247 Developments recently. They are close but could probably do with filing a flat on the top and bottom.

 

 

Jon

[Bucoops]

4 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

 

Hello

 

I’ve used these oval buffers from 247 Developments recently. They are close but could probably do with filing a flat on the top and bottom.

 

 

Jon

 

Thanks Jon, I see they offer a couple of oval coach buffers - 

 

M52 Turned Brass Oval Coach Buffers

BU9 Midland Oval Coach Buffers

 

Do you recall which ones you used?

 

Thanks

 

[Jon4470]

5 minutes ago, Bucoops said:

 

Thanks Jon, I see they offer a couple of oval coach buffers - 

 

M52 Turned Brass Oval Coach Buffers

BU9 Midland Oval Coach Buffers

 

Do you recall which ones you used?

 

Thanks

 

 

I used the M52 buffers.

 

Jon

[Porcy Mane]

2 hours ago, Headstock said:

assuming a similar proficiency of assemblage

 

No fun in that.

[drmditch]

Another 'catch-up' post.

 

My first kit build was a Wills J39 on a Triang chassis. The picture on the box was in green livery and this was 50 years ago, so I painted mine green.

In later years, when I knew a little better, I built an SEF J39 which is now one of the stalwarts of my fleet. While I was finishing that Bachmann produced their split-chassis version. 

The Wills version was de-constructed and used as the basis for an attempt at a J27. This would have been about 35 years ago, and still not knowing as much as I have been able to learn since, the only drawing I had was a dimensioned diagram in one of the NELPG publications.

I think the only bit of the Wills product remaining is the basic boiler barrel (with all detail stripped off and replaced. The wheelbase was adjusted, and everything else om the locomotive scratchbuilt.

The tender is from Dave Alexander. 

 

I don't know (at this distance in time) why I didn't replace it entirely with a Dave Alexander version. Cost would have been an issue for me then, and I would also have been nervous about building a chassis. Such fears have since been overcome, although I have still to attempt a big engine with external valve gear of the sort which so many people on this thread seem able to produce in little time and with high levels of accuracy!  Anyway, this engine is mine and I built it!

 

 

 

Sorry for the old poor-quality picture. The locomotive is still stored away at the moment, awaiting the moment when the new railway is sufficiently advanced for the 'great unpacking' to occur.

It may have several errors, but it was a good learning tool. Yes, I know the livery the NELPG used back then was inappropriate for a 1923 built locomotive, but my railway is my railway!

 

So:-

Converted Triang chassis block.

Big ugly Airfix 5 pole motor protruding into the cab.

Romford wheels.

Live chassis with the tender live to the other side and an insulated drawbar. (This is still my preferred method.)

Coupling rods filed from NS rail.

I can't remember the source of the dome, but I think the chimney was for a Q6 and had to be shortened.

 

Sorry also for the front coupling, I think I may remove that now. I did experiment with three-link couplings back then, but when this locomotive and a train of Slaters NER Dia 7 coal hoppers filled with loose coal buffer-locked in the most inaccessible storage sidings I decided that function took priority over form.

 

I do really like the big-boilered NER engines. Most of my stock is weathered and dirty. But there have to be some smart ones for special events. Then what could look better!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by drmditch

[jrg1]

Assistance, please.  I have acquired various models form a deceased estate, and this includes the enclosed horsebox, for which there are no instructions or any means of identification.  Can anyone supply details of the vehicle in question, and the model manufacturer, please?

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, ScRSG said:

A trio of Trice's,

 

 

Three of Mike Trice's most excellent V2 bodies added to Comet chassis and weathered to typical Scottish Region standards of the early 60's.

A couple of comments on the building of these, if I may, firstly , watch the delicate steps! They are extremely fragile (ask me how I know). Secondly, due to the method of detaching the Comet chassis, the first move is to lower the rear end and then move the chassis backwards slightly to release the front. This, unfortunately can put pressure on the front part of the footplate which can cause a fracture (again, ask me how I know!) So to help this I added strips of brass as strengtheners as shown here -

 

Hope this helps, but they do all make up very nicely.

 

Chas

You're quick off the mark, Chas,

 

They look excellent. 

 

My pair is still being painted.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, jrg1 said:

Assistance, please.  I have acquired various models form a deceased estate, and this includes the enclosed horsebox, for which there are no instructions or any means of identification.  Can anyone supply details of the vehicle in question, and the model manufacturer, please?

It looks like a Parkside LNER horsebox (PC83).

 

I'm not sure about the rainstrips on the roof, however.

 

 

This is one I built.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Tony Wright]

One or two more shots of the two latest Pacifics on Little Bytham.

 

 

GREAT EASTERN now gives me 15 A1s (with two more still as kits). That should be enough!

 

 

I think Geoff Haynes' painting of the crest is delightful.

 

 

One thing of interest (at least to me) is how much Hornby's forthcoming A2/3 will pull. 60523 has 13 all-metal carriages behind her.........

 

I now have five A2/3s, so I don't need any others. 

 

[Clem]

31 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

That should be enough!

I've heard that one before! 

[Darryl Tooley]

Just now, Tony Wright said:

I'm not sure about the rainstrips on the roof, however.

The two or three examples of this diagram in the Seabrook Collection all have rainstrips.  They are also indicated on LNER drawing No 13232N.

 

 

 

D

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by Darryl Tooley
photo of right diagram