Wright writes.....

[Denbridge]

12 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

'Flying Scotsman's spare boiler ?'

 

And an A4 one at that..............................

 

Wonderful images!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Flying Scotsmans spare boiler was indeed an ex A4 example. She ran with that boiler for several years before the last heavy overhaul. The A4 boiler was then sold to Jeremy Hosking as a spare for Bittern.

[Tony Wright]

23 minutes ago, Clearwater said:

One last point for me on this debate, Sam is comparatively young.  Like most people on this thread, my teens and twenties were before the days of universal camera phones, status updates and live tweets.  How many of us would cringe if views, which we sincerely held and thought were groundbreaking insights, we'd expressed in our teens and twenties to our mates were preserved for all eternity on the internet?

David

A sound defence, David............

 

'Like most people on this thread, my teens and twenties were before the days of universal camera phones, status updates and live tweets.'

 

I'm not sure if your above statement is true. In my case, 'Like most people on this thread, my sixties and seventies were before the days of universal camera phones, status updates and live tweets'. It'll be the case into my eighties as well, if I make it! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony

 

[Tony Wright]

3 minutes ago, Denbridge said:

Flying Scotsmans spare boiler was indeed an ex A4 example. She ran with that boiler for several years before the last heavy overhaul. The A4 boiler was then sold to Jeremy Hosking as a spare for Bittern.

Wasn't it SALMON TROUT's boiler?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Denbridge]

Just now, Tony Wright said:

Wasn't it SALMON TROUT's boiler?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I dont know. Was Salmon Trout fitted with an A4 boiler at the end of its life. I do know that the spare cylinders Peglar purchased came from that locomotive.

[grahame]

28 minutes ago, Paddy said:

Ah, great thing about YT is that you can just skip past the boring bits. 

 

Wouldn't it be quicker just not to watch any of it. That'd save more time and prevent any chance of getting bored.

;-)

 

[Tony Wright]

25 minutes ago, Paddy said:

Hi Tony,

 

These were/are (?) a great series of videos and I purchased most of them on DVD at the time.  I will never forget you trying to spray a loco (black if memory serves) as the can squirted paint all over you.  Every time I think of that bit I have a chuckle.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

Good morning Paddy,

 

You're right; I was trying to spray the Gibson 4F I'd built. Not long into my spraying, the nozzle of the rattle can just decided to spray the paint in all directions, including at me. Chris Walsh was filming (fortunately, we were outside) and just said carry on. Which I did. 

 

After a shower and change of clothes, I resumed. What amused me the most was not that others found my predicament amusing (which it was), but that some had had the same experience and were pleased that it had also happened to me. 

 

Ian Rathbone (who showed you how to paint properly in the second part of the presentation) was horrified. 'That's not how to do it' he admonished. 'I know!'.

 

But, in the end, the 4F's painting turned out just fine.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Denbridge]

2 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Paddy,

 

You're right; I was trying to spray the Gibson 4F I'd built. Not long into my spraying, the nozzle of the rattle can just decided to spray the paint in all directions, including at me. Chris Walsh was filming (fortunately, we were outside) and just said carry on. Which I did. 

 

After a shower and change of clothes, I resumed. What amused me the most was not that others found my predicament amusing (which it was), but that some had had the same experience and were pleased that it had also happened to me. 

 

Ian Rathbone (who showed you how to paint properly in the second part of the presentation) was horrified. 'That's not how to do it' he admonished. 'I know!'.

 

But, in the end, the 4F's painting turned out just fine.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Those DVD's are a godsend for me, for reasons i explained to you. I shall be forever grateful to you for producing them. Many Thanks.

[Tony Wright]

9 minutes ago, Denbridge said:

I dont know. Was Salmon Trout fitted with an A4 boiler at the end of its life. I do know that the spare cylinders Peglar purchased came from that locomotive.

It wasn't, I've misled you. My apologies. 

 

It must have been the Dia. 107 boiler from PRINCE PALATINE, the other surviving A3 at the time.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Compound2632]

9 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

I quite enjoy Sam's reviews. I find he is one level above the chap who buys a  red engine this week because he bought a green one last week.

 

Oh, I don't know. Surely such a person is someone who has Seen The Error Of Their Ways?

[DougN]

I have to agree with people's review of Sam's videos they can be very annoying. He must how ever be given his dues as he try's to be even in his reviews praising what he sees as good and points out the poorer parts. I try not to watch his videos as they can be at a level which is too far away from my knowledge but also not on subjects I have any interest. As others have said if you don't like them don't watch them! 

 

I am interested in the new loco reviews and also his views on things like the Hornby 6 wheel generic coaches when they match my interest. Between Sam and Jenny Kirk they showed how sensitive the magnetic switch is to the lights. The answer was very!  So just be selective in your choices of what to watch! 

[Paddy]

8 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

It wasn't, I've misled you. My apologies. 

 

It must have been the Dia. 107 boiler from PRINCE PALATINE, the other surviving A3 at the time.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Blimey, even Mr Wright can be er... wrong on occasion! 

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[gr.king]

Before any recipients of recent high-priced, badly assembled RTR loco models decide to keep them, for fear of not getting one at all if they complain and request exchange, should they think very honestly about whether the model is good enough at the price, good enough compared to claims and expectations, and whether they will be annoyed and embarrassed by the thing for ever more if they do keep it?

 

Re-sale second hand might be a way to recoup cost now or later, but that won't result in those responsible for the faults being required to either rectify them or return the money.

[James Fitzjames]

14 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening David,

 

I strongly suspect that many of Sam's followers are five year olds, and probably not as bright as your son. 

 

I've no doubt that Youtube is popular and there are many followers of it, but that doesn't necessarily make it a 'good' thing all round. I admit to watching all of Sam's piece on the Hornby A2/2 (though I squirmed throughout it), but if anyone he 'influences' starts to believe that it's good practice to lay track very badly, on the floor, then perish the thought for their future development. Which responsible reviewer would assess a scale model's performance by running it over track laid on the floor? Fine, if it's a kid's clockwork or push-along train set (that's what they're designed for), but not this. I was staggered! 

 

Thanks for mentioning the Right Track DVDs (I'd like to think they were better-made and far more responsible than Sam's efforts), but the irony is they should not be on Youtube. Whoever put them on, acted illegal by infringing Activity Media's copyright. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Tony,

 

I have to agree that YouTube is not necessarily a '''good' thing all round". My own layout co-collaborator is (just about) of that generation. Having persuaded me to model a fairly unfamiliar prototype (to me), it's transpired that he knows little about it himself!

 

I've now acquired most of the books dealing with our wee chunk of 'chosen' railway and, as is my norm, spend significant amounts of time immersed in them. When questions have arisen, I have offered to lend books that will clarify, but this is never taken up (he does read, just not about railways apparently!) Knowing that people learn in different ways, I thought, perhaps, some of the Right Track DVDs would be the answer, if visual learning was the issue. But no. Rather than watching the best in the business doing their thing, I hear about reviews and 'How Tos' by various YouTubers, including Sam. 

 

I don't want this to come across as generation-bashing and acknowledge that my lack of comprehension might be just that. I also acknowledge that there are some very good modellers inhabiting YouTube, but I'll admit I'm bemused by those who seem to find watching demonstrations by the finest practitioners in the hobby off-putting, rather than inspirational. Why, for example, would someone who has Norman Solomon's DVD available to him prefer to rely on 'some Aussie guy on YouTube' for 'gilt-edged' advice on track-laying? Perhaps YouTube is somehow less 'daunting'?

Edited February 12, 2021 by James Fitzjames
Clarification

[Compound2632]

4 minutes ago, James Fitzjames said:

Why, for example, would someone who has Norman Solomon's DVD available to him prefer to rely on 'some Aussie guy on YouTube' for 'gilt-edged' advice on track-laying? Perhaps YouTube is somehow less 'daunting'?

 

As a nation, we've built up over the last 40 years a mistrust of experts and expertise, preferring the less-well informed opinions of people who are "just like us". Unfortunately, the chickens have now come home to roost.

[FarrMan]

12 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

As a nation, we've built up over the last 40 years a mistrust of experts and expertise, preferring the less-well informed opinions of people who are "just like us". Unfortunately, the chickens have now come home to roost.

There are times, though when these experts are more ex than pert, but what is not recognised is that they are very much in the minority. One of the things we tried to instill into our students (with difficulty) was how to check the reliability of their information sources.

 

Lloyd

[Compound2632]

8 minutes ago, FarrMan said:

There are times, though when these experts are more ex than pert, but what is not recognised is that they are very much in the minority. One of the things we tried to instill into our students (with difficulty) was how to check the reliability of their information sources.

 

It is sadly true that all to often the experts have contributed to the public decline in confidence in expertise through abuse of their position. I'm sure that's not something Tony Wright could be found guilty of.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Compound2632

[LNER4479]

My view is that it is not a generational thing at all . There have ALWAYS been so called 'experts' telling us how wonderful something is - and there have ALWAYS been people daft enough to believe them. It's just the medium of communication that changes / evolves. Witness Billy Connolly's side-splittingly funny 'incontinence trousers' routine, an ode to ridiculous ads in Victorian newspapers.

Edited February 12, 2021 by LNER4479

[Compound2632]

9 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

There have ALWAYS been so called 'experts' telling us how wonderful something is - and there have ALWAYS been people daft enough to believe them. 

 

I was hoping to distinguish between 'experts' in the sense you mean and people with genuine expertise. Unfortunately the best word I have to hand for such people is 'experts'. If you're going to use 'expert' as a term of abuse then we're well and truly sunk.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Compound2632

[LNER4479]

Noted. I just have a belief that this is not a modern phenomenon as such, just the current way of doing it. Accepted that we might not exactly be talking about the same thing!

[Steven B]

I suspect Sam's approach to model railways is more common than most readers of this thread would like to admit.

 

The world of model railways is dominated by those who run what they want with little regard for prototypical operation. Those who spend their time crafting fine miniature works of art are very much in the minority. Why else would Hornby carry on churning out Smokey Joe?

 

 

Steven B.

[copleyhill007]

YouTube has been a blessing during lockdown by allowing us to watch real and model trains ... Sometimes without getting out of bed!!

[The Fatadder]

4 hours ago, Chamby said:

It’s not just Sam’s video’s, the ‘unboxing’ theme is used by several you-tubers and I usually find them very tedious.  When it takes up to 15 minutes of inane waffle before the product even emerges out of the box... it just detracts from any real value in the opinions of the reviewer when they finally get there.

There is a reason for all of this mindless waffle on the start of these videos, the youtube ad algorithm requires videos to have a minimum length in order to monetise them.  So naturally youtubers all pad out their videos to get over that limit. 

 

I tend to have a lot of automotive youtube on in the backdround (it kind of replicates the inane  background noise in the office), this week there was quite an interesting bust up around one person building a project car requesting a parts manufacturer pay him 25k plus a % of the profits of future sales for him to use their parts on his build.  When there's all these kinds of kickbacks going on it does rather make you doubt the impartiality of youtube reviews...  I wonder how  much of it goes on in the railway world (smaller values of course, but still...)

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

It is sadly true that all to often the experts have contributed to the public decline in confidence in expertise through abuse of their position. I'm sure that's not something Tony Wright could be found guilty of.

You're very kind, Stephen,

 

'Expert' is a very difficult thing to describe (one wag once said an ex is a has-been and a spurt is a big drip). I wonder if I resemble that remark at times! 

 

How does one become an 'expert', I wonder? By acquiring knowledge and becoming an 'authority' on a subject? By becoming known for having that 'authority'. 

 

One thing I would claim is that any 'expert' should stand up to scrutiny. Returning to the Right Track DVDs, after I'd been part of the making of the first two, Chris Walsh asked me about which others to make, and who to present them. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I suggested the likes of Ian Rathbone, Barry Norman, Geoff Taylor and Norman Solomon (among others) because I was confident of their expertise. A confidence not misguided. All of these blokes had 'done the hard yards' so to speak. Their work spoke for itself, in their writings, their showing of their work at exhibitions and in their tutoring/demonstrating. They were the best! None of them came along in their 'yoof' and decided that they would tell the world about model railways (not that there was social media then, of course). They waited until they'd 'earned their spurs', had become masters of their disciplines and could make responsible comments and give responsible, tried and trusted (and proven) advice.  

 

As an example of 'expertise', may I present the following picture, please? I use the term 'expertise' with some caution here, because I'm the 'expert' who's been asked to comment on this wonderful picture of MALLARD. I'm writing a piece on the fastest steam loco, and this was one of the pictures submitted; though it won't be used because we're going with more colour. There were no details provided with the image.

 

 

I first ask myself the four principal questions. These being where, what, why and when? Some combine and overlap, of course.

 

So, where? I'd guess Grantham because the loco appears to be being turned (it's in reverse gear, though, strictly-speaking, the lamp should be over one of the buffers for backward, light engine running). Grantham had an interlaced triangle for turning locos, and the track configuration suggests the location. So does the hill in the background.

What, is axiomatic. 

Why, is also axiomatic, given the comment for 'where', though one could add that it's probably worked a train Down from Kings Cross and is being turned in readiness to return with an Up service. One might also add that it's been coaled already. 

When, is a good question. The electric warning flashes were fitted in early 1961, so I'd guess it's soon after that, especially given the winter look of the hedge/small trees. By the spring of the same year, her nameplate had a red-painted background; here, it's clearly black. By early-'62, the background to the name was black again, so it could be then as well. That said, by March '62 her corridor tender had been changed to a streamlined sort. In this view, it's a 1928 corridor tender; thus, my guessing 1961.

 

Anything else?

 

Obviously, reference to the standard works is advisable in writing captions, but many are at odds with my own findings - especially dates and tender changes (MALLARD swapped tenders more than any other A4). 

 

What does the above show (if anything)? That I should get out more? That I'm on some spectrum regarding my state of mind?  

 

What I hope it shows is that if I were asked to assess a model of an A4, I'd come at it from the point of having a little knowledge and understanding about the class. And, certainly not set myself up as a 'reviewer' of a product where I was totally ignorant of the subject. Which is what appears to be happening now in all kinds of social media. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2021 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Tony Wright]

A question, please?

 

Does anyone know anything about the Corkickle soda ash trains operating in the NW? 

 

Many thanks in anticipation..................

[LNER4479]

Hello Tony,

 

Pretty certain that's Grantham. Not immediately apparent, but if you look closely behind the tender, to the left, you can see the wall of the 'new' shed (ie the larger one at the south end of the yard). In front of that is the slightly raised road of the coal siding out the back of the old coaling plant. AS you say, the raised ground in the distance is 'right' for Grantham.

 

As the loco is reversing, then it is completing the last third of its turning manoeuvre and will therefore be pointing south, ready for its return working back to London.

 

Correct lamp position only applies for running lines; it doesn't matter on a shed when there are many back and forth movements at no more than 5mph (on a good day). The lamp is probably still in the same position it was when it came on shed.