Wright writes.....

[Woodcock29]

4 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

The 0 gauge C12 which I put on here a few weeks back when I was having problems with the cab roof is now nearly complete.

 

 

My soldering is not very neat but it’s smooth and will disappear under the paint. The filling on the roof corners seems to have worked well so thanks for the help on that.

 

I now have a MSC motor gearbox fitted which works very well and it’s nice and smooth on my test track even with only two pick ups per side. I haven’t tried it round corners and point work yet though and I’ll wait to do that before I tackle the brake gear in case of any problems which need filing back.

 

 

I have a question though about the cab interior which is built.

 

 

However, it’s a very tight fit into the body as these two photos hopefully show.

 

 

 

This means that when I fit the rear step and pipe work which goes under the cab, I won’t be able to get the cab out. So I’m wondering whether I need to paint it first. If so, how do how prevent overspray when I paint the outside? If anyone has a clever solution to this, I’m all ears!

 

One final question is what is this casting?

 

 

It looks like a bit of reversing gear. But I can’t see any evidence of it on prototype photos and there’s no mention in the instructions. I wonder whether it’s part of the Ramsbottom safety valve assembly as there’s no lever in the kit.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Andy

Andy that casting looks like the regulator to be fitted in the centre of the backhead.

I also note you have fitted the reverser incorrectly. It's not a vertical screw reverser. It should be fitted so it angles up from the front on the box you've fitted it to if that makes sense. 

I'm also not sure the other device that is fitted on the floor is in the correct position as it would get in the way of using the reverser. I presume its the brake handle but it looks incomplete. I think it was probably located close to the front of the bunker on the other side of the cab.

Andrew

Edited May 13, 2021 by Woodcock29

[thegreenhowards]

15 minutes ago, Woodcock29 said:

Andy that casting looks like the regulator to be fitted in the centre of the backhead.

I also note you have fitted the reverser incorrectly. It's not a vertical screw reverser. It should be fitted so it angles up from the front on the box you've fitted it to if that makes sense. 

I'm also not sure the other device that is fitted on the floor is in the correct position as it would get in the way of using the reverser. I presume its the brake handle but it looks incomplete. I think it was probably located close to the front of the bunker on the other side of the cab.

Andrew

That makes sense on the regulator.

 

you’re probably right on the other two levers. The screw reverser was shown as being mounted on that box but it didn’t say anything about angles. Do you mean it should be angled so that it is pointing backwards? At about 30 degrees or more?

 

I had to guess where to put the brake handle as the instructions were quiet on it and I couldn’t find it in a prototypical picture. I’ll move it over as you suggest.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Andy

[Woodcock29]

6 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

That makes sense on the regulator.

 

you’re probably right on the other two levers. The screw reverser was shown as being mounted on that box but it didn’t say anything about angles. Do you mean it should be angled so that it is pointing backwards? At about 30 degrees or more?

 

I had to guess where to put the brake handle as the instructions were quiet on it and I couldn’t find it in a prototypical picture. I’ll move it over as you suggest.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Andy

Yes the screw reverser should be mounted on the box so it's higher end is at the back and the handle is at the back.

From the Isinglass drawing it appears to be actually centered on the inner edge of the box. 

The regulator is horizontal and in line with bottom of spectacles. The end that is cranked out should be on the driving side, ie the righthand side.

Looking further into the brake handle - it should be centered on the back of the lefthand tank by the cab doorway.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

Edited May 14, 2021 by Woodcock29
Added comment and typos

[Tony Wright]

7 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

That makes sense on the regulator.

 

you’re probably right on the other two levers. The screw reverser was shown as being mounted on that box but it didn’t say anything about angles. Do you mean it should be angled so that it is pointing backwards? At about 30 degrees or more?

 

I had to guess where to put the brake handle as the instructions were quiet on it and I couldn’t find it in a prototypical picture. I’ll move it over as you suggest.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Andy

Andrew's got it right with regard to the position of the screw reverser. Its actually base is on the right hand side of your photograph.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

Good to see you posting again, we've missed seeing how your models are progressing Andrew.

 

I can assure both you and the authorities that at no time have 'the Clayton lot' broken any lockdown rules.  Perish the thought.....but as a result there has been no activity on the Clayton layout itself since March 5th 2020.  I'm looking forward to getting back into the clubrooms (albeit socially distanced) in a couple of weeks and testing the several locomotives that have been built during lockdown.  I can at last find out what the reworked Q2 with its motor in the tender can haul.  Think we might need to do some track cleaning first though....

 

Hope to see you at club soon.

 

Frank  

 

   

I would think that most (if not all) club layouts have had nothing done to them for over a year, unless the boards are split and worked on by individuals in their own homes. 

 

Which, obviously, means their completion date/exhibiting dates have been pushed back by at least that amount of time - maybe more. 

 

I wonder if it means that many projects might never see an exhibition and/or completion. The builders are more than a year older, and a year of greater decline to boot! 

 

I'm aware already of a few layouts which (even though nominally complete) will never be exhibited again; their builders/operators being incapable any more of taking them out. 

 

I can cite my own case in a way. I had planned one more exhibition layout; Kiveton Park. Provisional plans had been mooted and a sort of team of builders  was being assembled. Then, Covid, and an end to those very-early plans. It just isn't worth my carrying on with the notion now. Assuming a four-year build before it might be exhibited (I'm slowing down!), then I'd be almost 80 by then. No chance, even though I enjoy good health, of embarking on a ten-year programme of exhibiting - even assuming shows will be continuing in the future. I have my doubts that many will just not be viable in future, for a variety of reasons.

 

Those who do most of the work on a layout themselves (Graham Nicholas with his 'Hills of the North' last great project, for instance) will continue, and good luck to the likes of him. They have my admiration, but I don't really see the brightest of futures for many exhibition layouts.

 

I wonder if I'm too lugubrious, but one side effect of Covid might mean a reluctance on the part of many traders to attend exhibitions in the future. Why should some of them? In many cases, they've had a bumper year; never busier, using mail order and online. All without paying out for a stand/accommodation/fuel/van hire. 

 

Any thoughts? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

[MJI]

Want to play a joke on anyone you know?

 

Go to railcar site and look at the drawings, some show the parking brake wheel.

 

Then ask someone what it is.

 

Obviously a railway site.

 

50% I get steering wheel

Edited May 14, 2021 by MJI

[LNER4479]

33 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 I don't really see the brightest of futures for many exhibition layouts.

 

I wonder if I'm too lugubrious, but one side effect of Covid might mean a reluctance on the part of many traders to attend exhibitions in the future. Why should some of them? In many cases, they've had a bumper year; never busier, using mail order and online. All without paying out for a stand/accommodation/fuel/van hire. 

 

Well I for one - and I think I speak for most of 'Team Grantham' - are raring to go and can't wait to back out on the exhibition circuit. We're beginning to be contacted by show managers who have the unenviable job of having to juggle things about, shuffle layouts forward into future years, respond to layouts no longer available etc. Some are driven by what the venue can / can't do (for example Wigan is cancelled again this year ... because the Robin Park Leisure centre is in use as a Covid vaccination centre). I think it'll take till the 2022/23 season for things to be back to anything like the new kind of normal.

 

But being upbeat - we're definitely making plans to attend Leeds show with Grantham in October (that's all been OK'd by the venue) and there's reasonably positive vibes about both Ally-Pally and York in the early spring (Shap). One or two of our other current diary 'possibles' may well come to fruition as well in the current maelstrom of decision making for the 2021/22 season.

 

I can't speak for the traders but I'll make one, possibly controversial(?) comment if I may. Would a slight thinning down in terms of the overall number of shows going ahead actually be a bad thing? It did seem to me at times, pre-pandemic, as if we'd reached saturation point and beyond ...

 

Just a thought.

 

 

[gr.king]

Distant, major exhibitions without a decent selection of actual model-makers' traders, both the "quality" ones and any bargain ones that happen to exist, as opposed to mere sellers of red or blue boxes, would be vastly less attractive to me as a paying visitor, since my justification for attendance in some cases involves off-setting savings in delivery charges against the costs of travel, admission, overpriced cups of tea, overpriced sandwiches etc.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, MJI said:

Want to play a joke on anyone you know?

 

Go to railcar site and look at the drawings, some show the parking brake wheel.

 

Then ask someone what it is.

 

Obviously a railway site.

 

50% I get steering wheel

Heard this story second-hand:

 

Young lad sat in front seats of a 1st Gen DMU asks, "Dad, how does the driver steer the train, is it with that wheel?"

Dad replies, "No son, if you watch he steers it with those levers in front of him".

 

[Chamby]

There’s no doubt that things have moved on following Covid and the ‘gap year’ re: exhibiting.  We’re reconvening under the ‘rule of six indoors’ next week and I can already sense a shift in attitudes regarding both holding an exhibition, and taking the club's exhibition layout on the road again.  

 

It is going to take time for some people to emerge from the languishing negativity of the past fifteen months, doctors already refer to ‘Post Covid Anxiety Syndrome’ that lingers as a result of the persistent ‘stay at home’ message, and a resultant fear of socialising and travel.  It seems to be affecting a surprising number of people in the ‘vulnerable’ demographic, which covers a large proportion of our club members.  

 

‘Maybe next year’ seems to be a common sentiment, those keen to leap out of the starting blocks are there, but in a minority.  It is likely that we will therefore take time out from ‘the circuit’ as a club and focus on building a new exhibition layout until things get back closer to normal.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Chamby
Tweaked grammar

[john new]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

---- snipped --

 

I can't speak for the traders but I'll make one, possibly controversial(?) comment if I may. Would a slight thinning down in terms of the overall number of shows going ahead actually be a bad thing? It did seem to me at times, pre-pandemic, as if we'd reached saturation point and beyond ...

 

Just a thought.

 

 

 

As a visitor I would say probably not for the small local one's where the socialising and buying a bit of second-hand or new is as much part of it as the layouts. Also doable with your partner as a two-event type of day out. However, most of the larger one's are out of reach for a day trip so whether there are two or thirty makes little difference. Example - in the past we have looked in on the small show at Mere as part of a trip to Stourhead.

 

Big shows? - if the punters still come the issue to organisers will not be income but getting traders/societies, layouts and show crew in. The more there are the higher % you have to miss, if that makes sense, as cost and travel become a burden. Volunteering is in decline as a general trend and that also will impact on larger shows where those who will assist become both more elderly and less in number.

 

It will be interesting to see how it all goes.

[SD85]

1 hour ago, LNER4479 said:

I can't speak for the traders but I'll make one, possibly controversial(?) comment if I may. Would a slight thinning down in terms of the overall number of shows going ahead actually be a bad thing? It did seem to me at times, pre-pandemic, as if we'd reached saturation point and beyond ...

 

Just a thought.

 

 

 

I do think you have a point there. There was something of a saturation being reached.

 

I think the current situation has probably just sped up a process that would have been occurring anyway. Most of the exhibitions I attended a few years ago were still patronised by quite a few younger people and families, but the average age of those attending was at least over 50 and probably over 65 in some cases. As noted above there is a fear of socialising again in large numbers, particularly amongst the older and more vulnerable age groups. Can't say I blame them.

 

The British railway modelling scene has basically enjoyed a golden age since the early 90s. Without wishing to over-generalise (and my apologies to anyone posting here who I may inadvertently offend), the post-war generation in the 90s/00s/10s mostly settled into stable careers followed by long retirements, enjoying disposable income and free time levels hitherto unknown. Up til then serious British RTR modelling had been marginalised by the major manufacturers in favour of the Xmas toy trainset retail approach, but the last few decades have seen the emergence of a large audience who remember steam and have the space, time and cash to recreate their memories. At the same time, the wholesale shifting of production to the Far East has enabled high quality models to emerge that not only stand alongside the best of the Continental manufacturers outputs but could be sold at half the price or less of Marklin et al. China has had various factors align over the decades that have made it the sweet spot for the West in terms of consistency, quality of supply, and labour costs. It's been a perfect alignment of high demand and relatively cheap supply costs that frankly any manufacturer would have been insane to not try and capitalise on. This has meant that it's been a very favourable time for exhibitions and exhibitable layouts as a whole - there's just been more of everything available to people for a long time.

 

However, cornucopias don't last forever, and time inevitably shifts. The younger generations on the whole do not enjoy the same stability and long-term planning in terms of finances, careers and living arrangements on anywhere near the same universal level as the generation or two before them. Time and money are relative luxuries. Additionally, owing to China becoming less cheap as a manufacturing base as the years pass due to improving living standards there, price increases in RTR are getting larger and more frequent - we've already passed £200 for an express passenger loco, and I'd expect to see Bachmann and Hornby become similar in price to Marklin and Fleischmann over the next decade or two. Clubs, meanwhile, are in a mixed situation - some seem to be quite dynamic and have a wide range of age groups participating, but others don't seem to have managed to entice anyone under 50 for decades. There are many factors feeding into this - time and money (as mentioned above), different interests across generations, the rise of computers and the Internet, maybe also a lack of openness on the part of some organisations.

 

I don't think exhibitions or modelling are going to completely go extinct. After all, there were exhibitions being held straight after WW2 finished, despite the fact that modelling in the immediate post war years involved scratchbuilding literally everything and in some cases sourcing one's own raw materials to do so.  What I do think will happen is a trend towards smaller cameo style layouts, or shunting puzzles etc. These type of layouts can be set up in a small space, have flexibility of operational interest, lend themselves to easy relocation and reassembly, can be added to or extended as needs be, do not require a huge amount of stock and crucially can be operated by one person, with maybe a friend brought along to help. Bigger layouts will I think become more of the preserve of clubs in an exhibition context (to some extent they already were), however I think that the club scene will probably consolidate over time due to the factors mentioned above.

 

In summary, I think the future of exhibitions outside of NEC/Ally Pally will be: more Bottom Works Sidings, less Ambergates or even Engine Woods. I think the typical GWR branch line layout or cross country railway (like Engine Wood) may be caught in the middle of all this; such a layout is just too big to be set up at home or taken on the road as a one/two person job, but it's probably too small to be taken on as a club project. Meanwhile you will still get layouts like Mostyn, but they will be rarer and very dependent on the dynamics/organisation/interests of a particular club or group.

 

The other trend emerging is that of permanent home mega-layouts (like Little Bytham) and extensive systems, often in their own dedicated spaces. Such projects are usually the preserve of the retired or those with time, money and space. There will possibly be a correlation between those who are in this bracket and those who are wary of venturing onto the exhibition circuit for fear of extensive socialising as noted above; their modelling may focus more on their home setup as a result. This is an revival of the inter-war years in some ways, when most modelling centered around large and extensive home based systems constructed by those with money, space and time on their hands. It will be interesting to see what happens in future decades as the builders of these systems pass on.

 

One final point which hasn't been made by anyone AFAIK is automation and how this might play into layouts of all shapes and sizes. Peter Denny could operate Buckingham single-handed with The Automatic Crispin; he was ahead of his time in this regard. I have seen several exhibition layouts which utilise computers to assist in the operating process; this could overcome the issues of manpower and staffing to a degree although the space to set up a layout at home to test it is a more intractable problem. Bottom Works Sidings can be operated from a smartphone.

Edited May 14, 2021 by SD85

[30368]

1 hour ago, Northmoor said:

Young lad sat in front seats of a 1st Gen DMU asks, "Dad, how does the driver steer the train, is it with that wheel?"

Dad replies, "No son, if you watch he steers it with those levers in front of him".

 

I seem to remember that Richard Branson made a similar comment when he was eying up the Gatwick Express franchise - that and "we need to incentivise drivers to go faster".

 

How innocent it all was then....

[Barry O]

Well, the trade for our show to be held in October are keen to attend as are the layouts and the venue. It all depends on Government controls etc for it to happen. Video based shows are ok but I miss the ability to converse with traders and layout owners on skill, techniques and materials they use.

 

Problem we have is.. who is catering for the lockdown railway modellers new to the society?  

 

Baz

Edited May 14, 2021 by Barry O
its lockdown not lickdown.. DOH!

[thegreenhowards]

3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I would think that most (if not all) club layouts have had nothing done to them for over a year, unless the boards are split and worked on by individuals in their own homes. 

 

Which, obviously, means their completion date/exhibiting dates have been pushed back by at least that amount of time - maybe more. 

 

I wonder if it means that many projects might never see an exhibition and/or completion. The builders are more than a year older, and a year of greater decline to boot! 

 

I'm aware already of a few layouts which (even though nominally complete) will never be exhibited again; their builders/operators being incapable any more of taking them out. 

 

I can cite my own case in a way. I had planned one more exhibition layout; Kiveton Park. Provisional plans had been mooted and a sort of team of builders  was being assembled. Then, Covid, and an end to those very-early plans. It just isn't worth my carrying on with the notion now. Assuming a four-year build before it might be exhibited (I'm slowing down!), then I'd be almost 80 by then. No chance, even though I enjoy good health, of embarking on a ten-year programme of exhibiting - even assuming shows will be continuing in the future. I have my doubts that many will just not be viable in future, for a variety of reasons.

 

Those who do most of the work on a layout themselves (Graham Nicholas with his 'Hills of the North' last great project, for instance) will continue, and good luck to the likes of him. They have my admiration, but I don't really see the brightest of futures for many exhibition layouts.

 

I wonder if I'm too lugubrious, but one side effect of Covid might mean a reluctance on the part of many traders to attend exhibitions in the future. Why should some of them? In many cases, they've had a bumper year; never busier, using mail order and online. All without paying out for a stand/accommodation/fuel/van hire. 

 

Any thoughts? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

I’m happy to be able to provide counter evidence on this one. Our club has conceived, planned and built  an O gauge layout in the last eight months. It was just a kernel of an idea in my head last Summer. I bounced the idea of several members when we were meeting again in the Autumn and then put a budget and plan together in Lockdown 2. 

 

Having got approval in late November, a fellow club member started building the baseboards and delivered them to me one by one. I then laid the track and wired it one baseboard at a time in my dining room (I have a tolerant wife but did have to stop over Christmas!). We now have a complete working layout on four baseboards which fold in pairs for ease of transport. It will be delivered from my garage to the club rooms on Monday ready for the scenic work to start. We hope to be exhibiting in a couple of years but we need to build some more stock first! The layout is an urban terminus based on the Minories plan and is written up here if anyone is interested. 

 

Lockdown seems to have been positive for the club membership as well. We picked up a couple of members after the first lockdown and I have three more who want to come for a visit with a view to joining after we reopen this time. A couple of people have stopped attending and may not come back, but overall, I think membership will be up....and definitely younger! There seem to be a number of middle aged people who have always intended to get back into the hobby and have used the time in lockdown to do so.

 

So it’s not all doom and gloom!

Andy

 

 

[Tony Wright]

25 minutes ago, thegreenhowards said:

I’m happy to be able to provide counter evidence on this one. Our club has conceived, planned and built  an O gauge layout in the last eight months. It was just a kernel of an idea in my head last Summer. I bounced the idea of several members when we were meeting again in the Autumn and then put a budget and plan together in Lockdown 2. 

 

Having got approval in late November, a fellow club member started building the baseboards and delivered them to me one by one. I then laid the track and wired it one baseboard at a time in my dining room (I have a tolerant wife but did have to stop over Christmas!). We now have a complete working layout on four baseboards which fold in pairs for ease of transport. It will be delivered from my garage to the club rooms on Monday ready for the scenic work to start. We hope to be exhibiting in a couple of years but we need to build some more stock first! The layout is an urban terminus based on the Minories plan and is written up here if anyone is interested. 

 

Lockdown seems to have been positive for the club membership as well. We picked up a couple of members after the first lockdown and I have three more who want to come for a visit with a view to joining after we reopen this time. A couple of people have stopped attending and may not come back, but overall, I think membership will be up....and definitely younger! There seem to be a number of middle aged people who have always intended to get back into the hobby and have used the time in lockdown to do so.

 

So it’s not all doom and gloom!

Andy

 

 

It's good to see something positive coming through Andy,

 

I wish your layout all success. 

 

You're right; it's not all doom and gloom, but I sense a bit more gloom than there might have been before. The clubs I'm involved with have built nothing since lockdown(s). One might not even last much longer!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

One further thing I'm assisting Hornby with is promoting the alteration/modification/improving/renumbering/renaming/weathering/etc, of its locomotives. 

 

This sort of thing.....................

 

 

This Hornby A4 has been detailed by me and repainted by Ian Rathbone. It's arguably the most accurate in overall appearance of any of the A4s I have, at least with regard to the body shape (though the motion leaves something to be desired). 

 

On nine plastic RTR carriages, it's quite happy, though limited when the heavy (and longer) kit-built rakes are evident. 

 

At least Hornby's (and other RTR manufacturers') current locos are worthy of consideration for use on 'prototype' layouts now. Time was (tender-drive, moulded handrails and battleship valve gear) when I wouldn't have considered their use. 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Tony Wright
typo error

[gr.king]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

Well, the trade for our show to be held in October are keen to attend as are the layouts and the venue. It all depends on Government controls etc for it to happen. Video based shows are ok but I miss the ability to converse with traders and layout owners on skill, techniques and materials they use.

 

Problem we have is.. who is catering for the lickdown railway modellers new to the society?  

 

Baz

 

Lickdown? Not the kind of thing we want with viruses around, surely.

 

And I entirely agree that being face-to-face with the maker, or knowledgeable purveyor of a specialist product is rather better than internet or phone contact, particularly if the product is there for you to assess with your own eyes, from every angle, at suitable range and in appropriate light, as well with your own hands, if permitted. Size, finish, quality and other factors can be harder to gauge from a photograph, which, if taken reasonably well can make almost anything imperfect item appear perfect.

[Jon4470]

The future of exhibitions?

 

I do hope that they will come back, and I certainly feel that I will attend some. ( Leeds is in the diary!) I might be a bit more selective than in the past though ... balancing my own risk/ reward equation - at least for the next 12 months.

 

Ideally, for me, an exhibition has some layouts that I really like, plus trade support for kit building bits and tools, and, finally, some demonstrators to watch, ask, chat with. It’s all a very personal mix, I think. 

 

You never know I might even join a club.......not that I’d really reduce the average age

 

Jon

 

[Northmoor]

25 minutes ago, Jon4470 said:

The future of exhibitions?

 

I do hope that they will come back, and I certainly feel that I will attend some. ( Leeds is in the diary!) I might be a bit more selective than in the past though ... balancing my own risk/ reward equation - at least for the next 12 months.

 

Ideally, for me, an exhibition has some layouts that I really like, plus trade support for kit building bits and tools, and, finally, some demonstrators to watch, ask, chat with. It’s all a very personal mix, I think. 

 

You never know I might even join a club.......not that I’d really reduce the average age

 

Jon

 

I agree, that's pretty much what I want from an exhibition. 

 

I seem to remember discussing with Tony at Woking a couple of years ago, that there were probably too many exhibitions chasing too few really good exhibition layouts.  During the main "season" there are usually about five shows every weekend, with an average of ten layouts(?); consider that most owners or clubs won't exhibit at more than two or three shows per year, while a lot are exhibited only once.  That requires about 6-800 exhibitable layouts to be available.  

[Theakerr]

23 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Quite splendid!

Did not mean to tag Tony's response to Barry 10's video,  but cannot find out how to delete this response once started.  Anyway.  now it is started. I agree with Tony  Barry 10, loved the Allotments.   When you say tender drive is that a shaft drive or tender drive like the old Hornby?

[Jol Wilkinson]

9 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I would think that most (if not all) club layouts have had nothing done to them for over a year, unless the boards are split and worked on by individuals in their own homes. 

 

Which, obviously, means their completion date/exhibiting dates have been pushed back by at least that amount of time - maybe more. 

 

I wonder if it means that many projects might never see an exhibition and/or completion. The builders are more than a year older, and a year of greater decline to boot! 

 

I'm aware already of a few layouts which (even though nominally complete) will never be exhibited again; their builders/operators being incapable any more of taking them out. 

 

I can cite my own case in a way. I had planned one more exhibition layout; Kiveton Park. Provisional plans had been mooted and a sort of team of builders  was being assembled. Then, Covid, and an end to those very-early plans. It just isn't worth my carrying on with the notion now. Assuming a four-year build before it might be exhibited (I'm slowing down!), then I'd be almost 80 by then. No chance, even though I enjoy good health, of embarking on a ten-year programme of exhibiting - even assuming shows will be continuing in the future. I have my doubts that many will just not be viable in future, for a variety of reasons.

 

Those who do most of the work on a layout themselves (Graham Nicholas with his 'Hills of the North' last great project, for instance) will continue, and good luck to the likes of him. They have my admiration, but I don't really see the brightest of futures for many exhibition layouts.

 

I wonder if I'm too lugubrious, but one side effect of Covid might mean a reluctance on the part of many traders to attend exhibitions in the future. Why should some of them? In many cases, they've had a bumper year; never busier, using mail order and online. All without paying out for a stand/accommodation/fuel/van hire. 

 

Any thoughts? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

"Small Suppliers" often produce unique products and also have a different relationship with their customers than retailers' selling commonly available RTR items. A physical presence at relevant shows important for keeping that relationship with existing customers and meeting new/potential customers. For retailers a comprehensive website, competitive pricing and availability are probably more important. So I expect the Small Suppliers will be keen to attend shows again.

 

It may be that fewer shows will appear on the calendar though. I think that the Society shows will continue as before but some of the more general and local shows may not start up again for some time. I know one exhibition organiser of a very good one day show which has about fifty percentage attendance by families is unsure whether they will still attend.  The latest news on the Indian strain of the Coronavirus may also impact on how we view attending events, especially if/when other variants appear.

[Lemmy282]

9 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Heard this story second-hand:

 

Young lad sat in front seats of a 1st Gen DMU asks, "Dad, how does the driver steer the train, is it with that wheel?"

Dad replies, "No son, if you watch he steers it with those levers in front of him".

 

Not only kids. I drive trams at the Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire and one day a 40 something dad of two came up to me and said,

" I see how you make it go and stop, but I haven't figured out how you steer it" I looked down, kicked the rails and replied "If all goes well the tram tends to follow these on its own".

Exit one red faced dad and two chuckling kids!

 

Nigel L

 

[Barry Ten]

2 hours ago, Theakerr said:

Did not mean to tag Tony's response to Barry 10's video,  but cannot find out how to delete this response once started.  Anyway.  now it is started. I agree with Tony  Barry 10, loved the Allotments.   When you say tender drive is that a shaft drive or tender drive like the old Hornby?

 

It's just the bog-standard Airfix tender drive which I think Hornby continued using without much modification. I could never get these to run all that satisfactorily on DC but for some reason they respond very nicely on DCC, with just a basic decoder. The back to backs on the loco wheels need adjustment to get it to run smoothly through code 75 (but oddly the chunky tender wheels seem fine) and it remains one of my favorite locos for slow running and shunting. I have a 2P with the same mechanism which is also good, although inevitably a tad noisier at passenger train speeds. In general I would agree with the usual sentiments around here that tender drives aren't up to much but there are still a few hold-outs on my layout where the running seems good enough for my standards, which I accept may not be for everyone.

 

Al

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

It's just the bog-standard Airfix tender drive which I think Hornby continued using without much modification. I could never get these to run all that satisfactorily on DC but for some reason they respond very nicely on DCC, with just a basic decoder. The back to backs on the loco wheels need adjustment to get it to run smoothly through code 75 (but oddly the chunky tender wheels seem fine) and it remains one of my favorite locos for slow running and shunting. I have a 2P with the same mechanism which is also good, although inevitably a tad noisier at passenger train speeds. In general I would agree with the usual sentiments around here that tender drives aren't up to much but there are still a few hold-outs on my layout where the running seems good enough for my standards, which I accept may not be for everyone.

 

Al

The 'proof of the pudding' as is said, Al.

 

Though I've never managed to get any tender-drive mechanism (British) to work to my satisfaction, but then I avoid DCC at all costs. 

 

Actually, the original Airfix 4F wasn't that bad a model in general appearance, though I think the splashers were at twitch over-sized. I have two running on the top bit of Little Bytham, though not with the original mechanisms (of course!). 

 

 

This is the first - just renumbered/detailed/weathered with a new set of frames.

 

 

And the second; the same mods with the addition of a Stanier chimney.

 

Both 'perfect' as 'layout locos' in my view and both run splendidly - quiet, smooth and powerful.

 

These are their respective drives.....................

 

 

Though I can't recall which is in which. The one to the right (Comet/Mashima) is visually-superior to the one on the left (DJH/Mashima) because it can't be seen beneath the boiler (though in the shots of the locos it's impossible to tell what is in what). The frames are SE Finecast and the wheels are Markits.

 

The current Hornby 4F (ex-Airfix body) has a (rather visible) drive in the loco....................

 

All I've done with this one is to detail/renumber/weather it, fitting a Stanier chimney as well. I did for one of Ian Wilson's birthdays. 

 

More Little Bytham 4Fs later......................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Tony Wright
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