Wright writes.....

[robertcwp]

9 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Never mind Commonwealths, at least one WR Mk1 (a BCK) received B4s whilst still in chocolate and cream.

 

John

That was the test pair I believe. A trial batch of 50 B4 bogies was then made, most of which found their way on to the Bristolian and Red Dragon sets in 1961. The Bristolian was all B4 apart from W1646. There is colour footage of the set at Reading on its steam-hauled Saturday working.

 

This looks like it's the up Red Dragon:

 

D7028_OOC_RedDragon_21-8-62 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

[Dunsignalling]

5 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

That was the test pair I believe. A trial batch of 50 B4 bogies was then made, most of which found their way on to the Bristolian and Red Dragon sets in 1961. The Bristolian was all B4 apart from W1646. There is colour footage of the set at Reading on its steam-hauled Saturday working.

 

This looks like it's the up Red Dragon:

 

D7028_OOC_RedDragon_21-8-62 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Interesting demonstration of the loads a little 1700hp Hymek could handle on the steam timings. 

 

I've always thought that building another 150 with single cabs and coupling them in pairs might have been a better investment than the Westerns. 

 

John

[Tony Wright]

11 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

That was the test pair I believe. A trial batch of 50 B4 bogies was then made, most of which found their way on to the Bristolian and Red Dragon sets in 1961. The Bristolian was all B4 apart from W1646. There is colour footage of the set at Reading on its steam-hauled Saturday working.

 

This looks like it's the up Red Dragon:

 

D7028_OOC_RedDragon_21-8-62 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

A wonderful picture.

 

It looks like the second man hasn't bothered with the train identification blinds. '3' is rather menial for a crack express. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[St Enodoc]

43 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

A wonderful picture.

 

It looks like the second man hasn't bothered with the train identification blinds. '3' is rather menial for a crack express. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

3 would be ECS - plausible?

[robertcwp]

9 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

3 would be ECS - plausible?

It might be the ECS for the evening down train but there is not much doubt that it's the Red Dragon set.

[MJI]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

Interesting demonstration of the loads a little 1700hp Hymek could handle on the steam timings. 

 

I've always thought that building another 150 with single cabs and coupling them in pairs might have been a better investment than the Westerns. 

 

John

 

 

Hmm BRs type 3s, 3 designs all great.

 

Only power range with no real junk.

 

All 3 were very capable.

[jrg1]

It would be interesting to see through life costs for the class 35 versus the class 31-one class scrapped too soon, and the other over heavy and expensively re-engined, and in service much longer.

[Tony Wright]

Speaking of Hymeks.................

 

 

Nobody expressed an interest in acquiring this detailed Hornby one, the proceeds going to CRUK.

 

 

Over four years ago, 'Westerner' and friends visited, bringing this detailed/weathered Heljan Hymek.

 

 

[grahame]

Here's something a little different (although I'm not sure if I've already posted it) - a scratch-built road sweepers hand cart made from plasticard and wire. The broom is three parts: the handle and head (like Triggers) and the bristles. In N/2mm it's tiny and the photos reveal I need to undertake a bit of tidying up, perhaps sort those wheels out, and finishing.

 

 

 

 

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, MJI said:

 

 

Hmm BRs type 3s, 3 designs all great.

 

Only power range with no real junk.

 

All 3 were very capable.

And they all worked well "straight out of the box".

 

It took the better part of two years to exterminate the gremlins infesting some Type 4 designs that later attained iconic status.

 

John

[Brit70053]

4 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Speaking of Hymeks.................

 

 

Nobody expressed an interest in acquiring this detailed Hornby one, the proceeds going to CRUK.

 

 

Over four years ago, 'Westerner' and friends visited, bringing this detailed/weathered Heljan Hymek.

 

 

Tony, I'm surprised you have not received an offer for this to date. I'll be sending you a PM shortly.

 

Regards,

 

                John

[grahame]

.  .  .  .  and a little slow progress on the two 3D printed 1/148 scale Ford Cargo trucks (which were 'International truck of the year' in 1982), although, unfortunately they are still not yet finished. But I am happy with how they are starting to look.

 

[Tony Wright]

6 hours ago, Brit70053 said:

Tony, I'm surprised you have not received an offer for this to date. I'll be sending you a PM shortly.

 

Regards,

 

                John

Thanks John,

 

I've replied. It's yours.................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

With recent discussions regarding various transfers, I've started putting them on the now-repainted Nu-Cast V2. 

 

 

 

The black is Halfords rattle can satin acrylic, applied straight from the can (and all over my hands and face - nothing changes!). 

 

The lining is Modelmasters' BR mixed traffic waterslide product. The numbers/BR totem are Pressfix (off a sheet where they'll release and aren't filled-in). 

 

Both are soaked in water (filtered, because this part of Lincs is limestone country), then, when in place, covered in Decalfix (which accounts for the staining). This really sucks the transfers down, but softens them in the process. I find it best to leave the Decalfix to thoroughly dry (at least three hours in a warm environment) before removing the residue with filtered water. 

 

Varnishing/weathering will then complete the job.....................

[robertcwp]

1 minute ago, Tony Wright said:

With recent discussions regarding various transfers, I've started putting them on the now-repainted Nu-Cast V2. 

 

 

 

The black is Halfords rattle can satin acrylic, applied straight from the can (and all over my hands and face - nothing changes!). 

 

The lining is Modelmasters' BR mixed traffic waterslide product. The numbers/BR totem are Pressfix (off a sheet where they'll release and aren't filled-in). 

 

Both are soaked in water (filtered, because this part of Lincs is limestone country), then, when in place, covered in Decalfix (which accounts for the staining). This really sucks the transfers down, but softens them in the process. I find it best to leave the Decalfix to thoroughly dry (at least three hours in a warm environment) before removing the residue with filtered water. 

 

Varnishing/weathering will then complete the job.....................

Was this the one that was bright green the other day? Quite a transformation. 00 or EM?

[Tony Wright]

Just now, robertcwp said:

Was this the one that was bright green the other day? Quite a transformation. 00 or EM?

It was Robert,

 

At the moment it's in OO, but I might well build an EM chassis for it for service on Retford. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

Occasionally I'm asked to photograph some really eye-popping RTR items...........................

 

 

Heljan's latest O Gauge ex-GWR railcar.

 

A full review will be appearing in BRM. 

[cctransuk]

2 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Occasionally I'm asked to photograph some really eye-popping RTR items...........................

 

 

Heljan's latest O Gauge ex-GWR railcar.

 

A full review will be appearing in BRM. 

 

When Heljan do something properly, it is the best !!

 

John Isherwood.

[davidw]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

With recent discussions regarding various transfers, I've started putting them on the now-repainted Nu-Cast V2. 

 

 

 

The black is Halfords rattle can satin acrylic, applied straight from the can (and all over my hands and face - nothing changes!). 

 

The lining is Modelmasters' BR mixed traffic waterslide product. The numbers/BR totem are Pressfix (off a sheet where they'll release and aren't filled-in). 

 

Both are soaked in water (filtered, because this part of Lincs is limestone country), then, when in place, covered in Decalfix (which accounts for the staining). This really sucks the transfers down, but softens them in the process. I find it best to leave the Decalfix to thoroughly dry (at least three hours in a warm environment) before removing the residue with filtered water. 

 

Varnishing/weathering will then complete the job.....................

Good evening Tony, 

The V2 looks very good. I wonder though. Would you know if any v2's were still in black (other than grime) by 1960? I should have said the photos I've found tend to suggest no, and difficult to say definitively.

Thanks

David

Edited February 23, 2021 by davidw
Clarification

[Flying Pig]

11 hours ago, grahame said:

Here's something a little different (although I'm not sure if I've already posted it) - a scratch-built road sweepers hand cart made from plasticard and wire. The broom is three parts: the handle and head (like Triggers) and the bristles. In N/2mm it's tiny and the photos reveal I need to undertake a bit of tidying up, perhaps sort those wheels out, and finishing.

 

That takes me back...  In the 1980s, I worked over the road from what became the Globe Theatre, but was then partly a stabling point for some of Southwark Council's allocation of such vehicles.  The area still had some active warehousing (now no doubt luxury flats) and I used to watch the drivers reversing artics across the narrow road and into an opening with about six inches clearance all round.  There were black redstarts breeding in a derelict building and singing from Bankside Power Station.  Classic London from a time before the money really began to leak out of the City.

[Tony Wright]

11 hours ago, davidw said:

Good evening Tony, 

The V2 looks very good. I wonder though. Would you know if any v2's were still in black (other than grime) by 1960? I should have said the photos I've found tend to suggest no, and difficult to say definitively.

Thanks

David

Good morning David,

 

Though I don't know for sure, I'd be surprised if any V2s were still in black (officially) by 1960. Certainly, in Bytham's set year (1958) there would still be a few in BR lined black, all with the early totem (there'd be some in green carrying the early totem as well). 

 

My model of 60876 is based on a picture in Peter Coster's Book of the V2s (Irwell Press), which shows the loco (very clean) at Doncaster, in 1955; still displaying its worksplate on the cabside. That's three years before my depiction of Bytham, but I find I'm becoming more 'flexible' with the timescale on LB now. 

 

My recent alteration of Hornby's 60501 to 60502 is really too early for Bytham. The loco still has its numberplate high up on the smokebox door, still has a rimmed chimney and it still carries the early BR totem on its tender. That dates it at the latest as 1955/1956 (three/two years too early), but, since I'd started trainspotting by then, I don't mind. I might well have seen A2/2s in that condition, but I was only nine/ten and wouldn't really have noticed. 

 

I run the Prototype DELTIC, but that didn't appear on the ECML until 1959, and I love A3s with double chimneys and German blinkers (the latter fitment, applied after Bytham's station was demolished). In 1958, at least one of my A4s would still have had a single chimney, but the locos are far better looking with a double Kylchap. As for the production Deltics? Well, I must have some of those!

 

Does all of the above offend the purists? If I say 'I don't care', I hope I'm not perceived as being dismissive. As is well known, my modelling is entirely self-indulgent. In 1955/'56, when I began trainspotting, detail features on steam locos just described were commonplace, but by the time I'd finished, diesels were in the ascendancy. 

 

Rule 1, I think.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Dylan Sanderson]

Good morning everyone,

 

I got a pleasant email from Hornby last night, saying that they have ordered new bodies to correct anyone's dodgy A2/2! They haven't told me any more details apart from that, but it sounds like if you've got an A2/2 with a dodgy cab fit, you can get it corrected.

 

Top marks to Hornby there, although it really shouldn't have happened in the first place!

[gordon s]

Thanks Dylan. As the loco runs so well, I'm inclined to keep mine and have it weathered to tone down the green bodywork. I had already been in touch with Hornby regarding my wavy footplate and missing parts, so have mailed them this morning to hopefully secure a new body shell.

[grahame]

45 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

I find I'm becoming more 'flexible' with the timescale on LB now. 

 

No harm on reassessing and resetting your standards, expectations and self imposed 'rules'. After all, as time passes you learn and experience more and your memory expands and fills with it.

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by grahame

[richard i]

Help please.

there was discussion on transfers on here so can someone help.

I am not getting on with these transfers. The water slide are old and break apart when lifted off the backing. The pressfix do not come away from the paper so you can see exactly where they need to line up. The writing on the paper does not exactly match the transfer. What do people paint on to save old transfers? What is the solution to the press fix ones?

many thanks richard