Wright writes.....

[Headstock]

21 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

Great post! All duly noted for Carlisle reference ...

 

Lovely rest. car as well

 

There were some marvellous trains running over Shap, not all of the expresses were big. The Lakes Express for example, it departed Euston with up to fourteen bogies behind the drawbar. By the time it reached Shap summit, It was down to one tank loco and a three/four carriage portion for Keswick and Whitehaven . The destination boards still proudly proclaimed it as, The 'Lakes Express'.

 

It makes me lament what happened to the trains that ran on Tebay. I know that a stunning model of the West coast postal was sold off a number of years back and I think that an equally superb model of the Midday Scot is still in existence though broken up.

 

What a fascinating train that was, with its semi open firsts, Kitchen cars and even an ex GWR BCK picked up at Crewe. At exhibitions, we had a Princess Royal on the Saturday train, I forget which one, somebody will have spotted it. People would ask for 71000 on the Midday Scot. in less spoilt Hobbyist times, the reply would be, sorry, Duck of doom is running on the Sunday service, you will have to come back tomorrow. They would too, armed with their little books and pencils rather than credit or debit cards.

[Tony Wright]

Following a request regarding GWR long wheelbase vans, here are three of Bytham's...........................

 

The nearest one is that from the grabbed shot off the moving footage. Built by John Houlden. I need to replace the plastic tie-rod with metal! 

 

The middle one was built by Rob Kinsey (don't ask me what it is, please). 

 

The furthest one; well, I have no idea about this. Unlike the other two kit-built ones, this has a white metal chassis (with a plastic body). Again, what is it, please? I bought it at the Preston show last year for the princely sum of £3.00. Once the property of a deceased modeller, it was built in EM, along with a number of others. Any equivalent OO SH stuff just flew, at much higher prices. I re-gauged it in moments. Odd isn't it, that some OO modellers will pass up the opportunity of acquiring a bargain because re-gauging a model van is beyond them? 

 

 

[thegreenhowards]

I managed to finish off one final project for the year just before Christmas but it took until yesterday for me to find the time and some weak sunshine to photograph it. It is an O gauge Gresley D.105/125 T/BT twin built from an Ian Kirk kit.

 

It was a lovely kit to build. More details of the build are on my Coulsdon Works thread starting here.
 

As an interesting comment on societal trends, it was designated 100% smoking. This tested my supply of the blue ‘smoking ‘ rectangles but John Peck at Precision Labels came to my rescue with a special print of just those.

 

I think it needs alarm gear but I’m not sure exactly where as the photos I have are all side on. I assume it would be at the brake end only. Is that correct? 
 

Andy

[Dunsignalling]

29 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Following a request regarding GWR long wheelbase vans, here are three of Bytham's...........................

 

The nearest one is that from the grabbed shot off the moving footage. Built by John Houlden. I need to replace the plastic tie-rod with metal! 

 

The middle one was built by Rob Kinsey (don't ask me what it is, please). 

 

The furthest one; well, I have no idea about this. Unlike the other two kit-built ones, this has a white metal chassis (with a plastic body). Again, what is it, please? I bought it at the Preston show last year for the princely sum of £3.00. Once the property of a deceased modeller, it was built in EM, along with a number of others. Any equivalent OO SH stuff just flew, at much higher prices. I re-gauged it in moments. Odd isn't it, that some OO modellers will pass up the opportunity of acquiring a bargain because re-gauging a model van is beyond them? 

 

 

The middle one is a Mink B or C, if it's plastic, it's most likely from a Kirk kit.

 

Grey one is a Mink D. Current plastic kit by Parkside/Peco. Maybe an older version of that with the chassis replaced?

 

Down side. By LB's period, most (if not all) GWR vans had the sliding shutters replaced with twin bonnet vents as on the Mink G.

 

John

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Dunsignalling
Retrieving a right mess!

[grob1234]

1 hour ago, thegreenhowards said:

Tom,

 

As nobody else has answered you, I’ll have a go based on my experience. I think the simple answer is ‘no’, or at best ‘not readily’. I have three makes of 10ft bogies running on Gresley Jn; from Mailcoach, D&S and Marc Models. Mailcoach is lost in the Coopercraft morass and were plastic anyway so maybe not what you wanted. Marc Models I believe is effectively dormant. And D&S is probably the same unless you are on good terms with Danny.

 

I think your best bet would be a phone call to Danny but I wouldn’t hold out a lot of hope.
 

If others know of a current source then please do share.

 

Andy

 

Hi Andy, thanks for getting back to me.

 

I was thinking if I could just get hold of 1 (any) LNER 10' bogie, I could make resin castings.

 

Do you have a spare you could send me in return for some resin castings?!

 

I could try Danny but I know he's had a few issues to deal with outside the hobby, and I'm reluctant to trouble him with something so trivial.

 

1 hour ago, MikeTrice said:

A secondary question is are any of them correct? The Kirk/Mailcoach ones are not. If anyone has photos of the others I can confirm or otherwise their accuracy.

 

They're certainly more accurate than the 8'6" ones I've currently got... 

 

I'm not sure if you could 3d Print me a couple could you Mike?

 

Just a thought, as I'll be needing a few 10' bogie frames, and I could then produce additional castings from the masters.

 

I've got the Flying Scotsman Triplet to make up, hence my desire for the 10' patterns....

[thegreenhowards]

12 minutes ago, grob1234 said:

 

Hi Andy, thanks for getting back to me.

 

I was thinking if I could just get hold of 1 (any) LNER 10' bogie, I could make resin castings.

 

Do you have a spare you could send me in return for some resin castings?!

 

I could try Danny but I know he's had a few issues to deal with outside the hobby, and I'm reluctant to trouble him with something so trivial.

 

 

They're certainly more accurate than the 8'6" ones I've currently got... 

 

I'm not sure if you could 3d Print me a couple could you Mike?

 

Just a thought, as I'll be needing a few 10' bogie frames, and I could then produce additional castings from the masters.

 

I've got the Flying Scotsman Triplet to make up, hence my desire for the 10' patterns....

Hi Tom,

 

I don’t have any ‘spares’, but I could lend you one of my in service examples if you promise to return it.  I suggest that I photograph them first and let Mike pronounce on their accuracy? Then we can decide on a course of action.

 

Andy

[Northmoor]

57 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

The furthest one; well, I have no idea about this. Unlike the other two kit-built ones, this has a white metal chassis (with a plastic body). Again, what is it, please? I bought it at the Preston show last year for the princely sum of £3.00. Once the property of a deceased modeller, it was built in EM, along with a number of others. Any equivalent OO SH stuff just flew, at much higher prices. I re-gauged it in moments. Odd isn't it, that some OO modellers will pass up the opportunity of acquiring a bargain because re-gauging a model van is beyond them? 

 

If I weren't trying very hard to avoid buying any more stock, Tony, this is exactly how I would be acquiring bargains.

 

About 10 years ago I won an eBay job lot of about 40 BR steam-era wagons, mostly Mainline, Airfix, Parkside and a few others.  All were EM and most had 3-link or screw couplings (which I've kept) and the wheels were almost all replaced with OO ones I had as spares, except for a few kits whose frames were spaced for EM and couldn't be changed.  I sold the EM wagons and then the EM wheels as an eBay job lot, for about 75% of what I'd paid for the original job lot, so each wagon eventually cost about a quid each.

 

Rob

[MikeTrice]

1 hour ago, grob1234 said:

 

I'm not sure if you could 3d Print me a couple could you Mike?

 

Sorry, I have not done a pattern for them.

[Chas Levin]

23 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

Tony,

 

Try brushing the 'fog' away with a dry, stiffish brush.

 

If that doesn't work, a coat of Klear will deal with it - and the abrasions on the glazing.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Cyano fogging is an absolute bu^^er! I even bought some very expensive cyano that claimed to be 'low fogging' but it doesn't seem to be much different.

I can second John's experience - the blom seems to disappear under varnish...

[teaky]

3 hours ago, MikeTrice said:

A secondary question is are any of them correct? The Kirk/Mailcoach ones are not. If anyone has photos of the others I can confirm or otherwise their accuracy.

 

1 hour ago, grob1234 said:

 

Hi Andy, thanks for getting back to me.

 

I was thinking if I could just get hold of 1 (any) LNER 10' bogie, I could make resin castings.

 

Do you have a spare you could send me in return for some resin castings?!

 

I could try Danny but I know he's had a few issues to deal with outside the hobby, and I'm reluctant to trouble him with something so trivial.

 

 

They're certainly more accurate than the 8'6" ones I've currently got... 

 

I'm not sure if you could 3d Print me a couple could you Mike?

 

Just a thought, as I'll be needing a few 10' bogie frames, and I could then produce additional castings from the masters.

 

I've got the Flying Scotsman Triplet to make up, hence my desire for the 10' patterns....

 

Tom - I think these are Mailcoach and therefore incorrect.

 

Mike - Are you able to confirm from this photo and explain why they are wrong please.

 

[Bucoops]

3 hours ago, MikeTrice said:

A secondary question is are any of them correct? The Kirk/Mailcoach ones are not. If anyone has photos of the others I can confirm or otherwise their accuracy.

 

I will see if I can find a better picture but these are the MARC models Silver Jubilee bogies.

 

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Headstock said:

RC's were used quite a lot when only a portion of a train was likely to take advantage of dining. 

I use a number of RCs and also RUs as substitutes for the correct types on my foreshortened trains (60% of prototype length, rounded up).

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Odd isn't it, that some OO modellers will pass up the opportunity of acquiring a bargain because re-gauging a model van is beyond them? 

Last year I managed something similar but different. I bought a few old Airfix wagons at a show for about $5 each, not because I wanted the wagons but because they all had Jackson wheels. I removed those for future use and replaced them with various old plastic wheels from the scrap box. When (if) shows resume I should be able to resell them for, say, about $5 each.

[Bucoops]

Well assuming the Isinglass drawing is correct, all the bogie sides in the MARC models silver jubilee are wrong as they are standard, not heavy duty:

 

 

 

In fact they are quite poor castings as well with missing damper shaft bits and poor definiton. So add me to the list of people looking for some!

Edited December 30, 2020 by Bucoops

[MikeTrice]

43 minutes ago, teaky said:

Tom - I think these are Mailcoach and therefore incorrect.

 

Mike - Are you able to confirm from this photo and explain why they are wrong please.

 

The prototype has a strengthening plate around the axlebox.

 

[thegreenhowards]

These are my Gresley 10ft bogies.

 

1. D&S (I assume) fitted to one of their Coronation Twin kits (ex Gamston Bank).
 

2. Marc models on one of their Silver Jubilee RTS kits (again ex Gamston Bank).

 

3. Mailcoach on a ex West Riding BTO/TO built by me from bits I persuaded Coopercraft to sell me and finished off with MJT and 247 bits. I’ll be interested to know what’s wrong with these. Despite being plastic they run fine in a 13 coach train.

 

 

Andy

 

 

[Headstock]

2 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

I managed to finish off one final project for the year just before Christmas but it took until yesterday for me to find the time and some weak sunshine to photograph it. It is an O gauge Gresley D.105/125 T/BT twin built from an Ian Kirk kit.

 

It was a lovely kit to build. More details of the build are on my Coulsdon Works thread starting here.
 

As an interesting comment on societal trends, it was designated 100% smoking. This tested my supply of the blue ‘smoking ‘ rectangles but John Peck at Precision Labels came to my rescue with a special print of just those.

 

I think it needs alarm gear but I’m not sure exactly where as the photos I have are all side on. I assume it would be at the brake end only. Is that correct? 
 

Andy

 

Good evening Andy,

 

the alarm gear was fitted to each individual carriage, on twins it was located high up on the outside ends. You also need jumper cables, vac and steam heating pipes and lamp brackets would be handy if you are carrying a tail lamp. There will be a switch box and equipment somewhere, the location can vary quite a bit from diagram to diagram.

[MikeTrice]

None of the above are correct. Should be like this:

[micklner]

Silver Jubilee Set ran on 8' 6" Bogies till Nov 1937 , that makes life a bit easier !!.

 

Drawings here

 

http://www.marcmodels.co.uk/Picture Gallery - Drawings.html

 

In case anyone is not aware Marc Models owner is suffering a long term illness , I believe??. Surprised the site appear to be still taking orders ??.

 

If correct, buyer beware.

[Iain.d]

11 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

Good evening Iain,

Nice work, have you considered beefing up the Comet underframe trussing? As it comes in the kit, it looks a bit spindly, just like Hornby valve gear. I use to solder angle iron to the back face of the fold down etch whilst it was in the flat, if improves the look no end.

With regard to the workings of Dining cars on the LM. A couple of expresses that I recall being modelled for Tebay.

The 11.15 am Birmingham Glasgow express, worked by Peppercorn A1 60161. The catering was provided by a period II RF and two period III TO's, marshalled ahead of the saloon end of the RF. 

The 10.08 am Euston Perth was a Crewe Duchess turn and had a period III RT, with two period III CO's, again marshalled next to the saloon and two period III TO's marshalled at the kitchen end. 

One of the nicest looking catering carriages, was in the combined afternoon Liverpool Manchester express. This was a multi portion formation that could load to fifteen bogies. The Dining car was an awesome looking Period I RC, in WCJS/ LNWR style. It survived in late style LMS livery well into the fifties. No other carriages were marshalled alongside it for dining. The train often had a Black 5, a Jubilee or even a Clan at the head in the early fifties. It was often piloted rather than banked over Shap, by an Oxenhome or Tebay 4-6-2 tank.

 The lakes express was another multi portion express that provided a single RC, in this case bound for Windermere. RC's were used quite a lot when only a portion of a train was likely to take advantage of dining. The other portions could often be attached and detached outside of traditional meal  times.
 

Hi Andrew,

 

Thanks for your comments. I didn’t think of beefing up the truss rods on this particular construction, although I have tried in the past with earlier Comet Coach builds. What I found was that I couldn’t seem to get the brass angle perfectly in line with the etched trussing, they were in some way out of parallel and therefore the addition was obvious. This was a fair few years ago so having another go, with a fresh view is definitely on the cards. I will be looking to purchase another Comet Coach kit (LMS D1718 RF) and revisit the idea you suggest and see if I can make some foolproof method of lining up and securing the brass angle before soldering.

 

On looking at this carriage ‘in the flesh’, the trussing is not as spindly or fine as that in the photo; it may be that that the white background highlights the thinness.

 

For all of the RTR rebuilds I do, I make my own underframe up from brass strip and 1mm brass angle. I’ve always felt this trussing is a little ‘fine’ but I prefer building this sort of thing in metal rather than plastic…I can be pretty heavy handed at times.

 

 

I get this angle from Eileen’s Emporium and note that they also supply it in 1.2mm width so maybe I’ll put some of that on the next order. That being said, I have already batch built the underframes for my next four RTR rebuilds and only have to build an underframe for an old BSL/Phoenix carriage.

 

On your information relating to dining cars on the LM – the marshalling of the additional dining seating next to the saloon end of the restaurant car is a point I considered on this build. I’m not sure whether there was a ‘normal’ system or method. I chose to put the first class end of the CO next to the kitchen as I considered the distance the waiter may have to walk/serve food. If how I did it is wrong, it’s easy enough to remarshal the stock.

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

Edited December 31, 2020 by Iain.d
wrong word used

[Bucoops]

5 hours ago, micklner said:

Silver Jubilee Set ran on 8' 6" Bogies till Nov 1937 , that makes life a bit easier !!.

 

Drawings here

 

http://www.marcmodels.co.uk/Picture Gallery - Drawings.html

 

In case anyone is not aware Marc Models owner is suffering a long term illness , I believe??. Surprised the site appear to be still taking orders ??.

 

If correct, buyer beware.

 

Not if you model 1939

 

So anyone up for the challenge of producing some accurate 10ft sides?

[dick rowland]

17 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

Some recent posts about using plastic frames for locos prompted me to dig out some antiques since I remembered that I used to do this with Kitamster and Airfix kits quite routinely.

This Kitmaster BR 4MT dates back to 1971, some of the motion was replaced, Hamblings wheels and a Triang XO4 motor.

From underneath the bushes in the frames can be seen, otherwise it's nearly all Kitmaster. Flangeless centre wheels in those days, before I built my first "proper" layout. 76020 hasn't run for a long time as the old couplings demonstrate but it did run many miles on exhibition layouts for years - and it does still work.

92017 is another Kitmaster from 1973, Stephen Poole wheels this time with all appropriate flanges on - pickup from the tender. Some of the motion is still plastic, including the slidebars, this one has worked much more recently (on Herculaneum Dock before it was backdated) and has DG couplings. The tender was modified into a BR1C with some plastikard.

From underneath, another XO4 motor driving the 4th axle, press studs to connect the wiring to the tender. A quick clean of the tender wheels and it still runs pretty well, might try it out on  Wentworth Junction when the weather gets a bit warmer.

I've also got an LMS Garratt and an Airfix Drewry done in the same way but the fact that these locos are still OK after nearly 50 years proves that there's nothing wrong in principle with using unconventional materials. Thinking back these have probably all survived attacking with WD40 in the past with no apparent detrimental effects.

 

Back in around 1962 I assembled a Kitmaster 9F Evening Star using black shoe polish on the wheel bearings. I think that I got the shoe polish idea from a magazine article.

The result ran extremely well. If I could have found a motorised tender chassis it would have been a viable working loco.

[johndon]

A question for the LNER coach experts...

 

I have a Cooper Craft (ex Ian Kirk?) kit for a Gresley Open Third Brake that I'm going to build albeit in it's later, departmental form, as part of the British Rail weed killer train which will mean some modification to the kit sides and ends.

 

I'm told that the end profile is wrong as is the roof shape.  To be honest I can probably live with this but wanted to check if there were any alternatives to the kit, I've done a search and can't find anything but figured I'd ask anyway...

 

John

 

[Major Clanger]

4 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

Not if you model 1939

 

So anyone up for the challenge of producing some accurate 10ft sides?

They're in the Comet pattern maker's list of things to do. 2021 sometime?

 

[grob1234]

1 minute ago, Major Clanger said:

They're in the Comet pattern maker's list of things to do. 2021 sometime?

 

 

The best way for me to ensure that it happens is for me to make 10’ bogie sides. Then it is guaranteed that a week later they will be available commercially!