Wright writes.....

[Andy Y]

13 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Something has just occurred to me (I admit, I'm slow).

 

Without the slightest trouble, I've accessed the new RMweb and been able to insert pictures with ease.

 

I still don't like my face on the front of that Audrey locomotive. Am I the only one of my generation who disliked the Thomas books? 

 

A victory for technological Luddites the world over!

 

I'll sort you out with something better tomorrow but I may put you back to a Green 'T' for now.

 

 

[Bernard Lamb]

The frosted window at the right hand end of the Brake Compo does show very well the point I made about there being very little 'land' on which to apply glue.

Seeing those B&C models Tony it does makes me want to get on with getting mine into running order. I did post a photo of the Restaurant Triplet set some time ago in this thread.|Bernard 

[5 C]

37 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

Another PC coach kit from 1973, this time a Gresley BG. I bought this kit from John Love in Bagnall's in Stafford. What an excellent model shop that was. Imagine going into a 'model shop' today and being able to buy complete coach kits, loco kits, wheels, motors and all the bits and pieces needed to complete such things.

 

 

Bagnall's was such a huge part of my childhood in Stafford. A Saturday morning trip into town wasn't complete without a mooch round Bagnall's, drooling over and dreaming of all the stuff I would never have and couldn't afford! 

 

Even when we moved away, I still made a regular pilgrimage.

[Manxcat]

45 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Something has just occurred to me (I admit, I'm slow).

 

Without the slightest trouble, I've accessed the new RMweb and been able to insert pictures with ease.

 

I still don't like my face on the front of that Audrey locomotive. Am I the only one of my generation who disliked the Thomas books? 

No, I am in the "Cannot stand Thomas" camp as well. One of our club's members is a volunteer at a local preserved railway. He tells me that when they have a Thomas day at the railway their licensing agreement requires that anyone playing The Fat Controller actually has to be sufficiently rotund. 

[AY Mod]

11 minutes ago, 5 C said:

 

Bagnall's was such a huge part of my childhood in Stafford. A Saturday morning trip into town wasn't complete without a mooch round Bagnall's, drooling over and dreaming of all the stuff I would never have and couldn't afford! 

 

We're too young to remember the South Walls shop but similarly Saturday mornings would include a trip upstairs at Bagnalls past the Trix cabinets at the top.

 

Maybe the hobby's not changed much as it always seemed to be 'old' men upstairs? I think upstairs may have closed in the late 80s and it never felt the same.

[RThompson]

Bec models in Tooting Bec, Sarth London was my local shop.

 

Oh if only I was knowledgable back then with all those BSL coach kits in the cabinet. 

 

But the shop kept in stock all sorts like Romford wheels and gears where I would attempt to convert locos or scratch build.

 

whilst such shops are virtually none existent now, we should be lucky that shows are as plentiful as they are, especially with the cottage industry people present to get those specialist or odd ball bits.

 

Down the road from where Bec Models was is Janes Trains in Tooting which is still going and I believe the only model shop left in London now, how times have changed from 15 to 20 years ago.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by RThompson

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Ah, PC litho-printed carriages.

 

I once saw Peter Chatham's litho press, courtesy of Colin Albright. 

 

I built this PC Gresley BCK in 1973, substituting BSL ends and bogies. I also made the trussing out of metal. 

 

There is little surface relief, and the printing is fuzzy around the windows....................... However, as a layout coach it's done yeoman service down the years. At a distance (the further the better?) is it acceptable? Not against current standards, but what other general carriages of 46 years old are?  

 

 

Another PC coach kit from 1973, this time a Gresley BG. I bought this kit from John Love in Bagnall's in Stafford. What an excellent model shop that was. Imagine going into a 'model shop' today and being able to buy complete coach kits, loco kits, wheels, motors and all the bits and pieces needed to complete such things. 

 

Apparently, in my ignorance, carmine/cream on Gresley BGs was very rare indeed; very, very rare. Thus, this one probably has the wrong number and is deficient (wrong) in detail. Still, at so many years old, it's definitely a product of its time. After all, what were the alternatives? BSL (all that beading to add)? Tri-ang/Hornby (all wrong and too short)? Kirk (better, but armoured sides)? Remember those Trix printed paper sides for Gresleys as well? 

 

I did build/acquire several PC Gresleys in teak, but gave them to the Grantham project. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I seem to recall that only two Gresley full brakes received crimson and cream liveries, one steel paneled type and the other teak clad. One (I forget which) had a very distinctive livery, a large crimson band below the cornice that came down below the top lights, it's so many years ago now that I have forgotten all the details but I have photographs and the relevant info somewhere. I think that they where both allocated to the East coast stock. Off course it hasn't stopped people producing crimson and cream liveried Gresley BG's over the years, non of which match the liveries applied to the two original carriages.

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

We're too young to remember the South Walls shop but similarly Saturday mornings would include a trip upstairs at Bagnalls past the Trix cabinets at the top.

 

Maybe the hobby's not changed much as it always seemed to be 'old' men upstairs? I think upstairs may have closed in the late 80s and it never felt the same.

It might have been 'old' men upstairs at Bagnall's who were customers, but the two shop assistants between 1973 and 1979 (when we lived in Stafford) were most-attractive young ladies. Not only were they good-looking (I hope these observations don't contravene site rules) but they were also extremely knowledgeable about what they were selling. John Love might be asked a 'highly-technical' question, but those girls really knew their stuff.

 

I recall one day, one old duffer complaining that he wanted 'to be served by someone who knew what they were doing' after one of the girls failed to meet his 'expectations'. He was very rude. I can't recall exactly the problem, but not only was his question nonsense but he didn't know what he was talking about (in fairness, that's never been a hindrance to me!).  I couldn't resist intervening, and suggested he apologise. He huffed and puffed, especially after I pointed out the nonsense in his questioning. 'I'm never coming here again' was his parting comment, not an apology. The girls thanked me. What must they be now? Into their 60s? 

 

It used to be great during the Stafford Show. Just visit the Town Hall, then pop across the road into Bagnall's. 

 

Other 'local' shops from the period or a bit earlier? Pepper's in Hanley, and Modellers Mecca in Wall Heath. Wolverhampton had a couple of decent model shops as well. Also W&T in Birmingham. Others?

 

Great times. 

[Buhar]

10 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

Thanks, Bernard. I think there is a lot of sense in keeping to the spirit of the original design. Having looked at some built examples on ebay, the coaches seem to have a good overall presence so the eye isn't immediately drawn to the printed relief.

 

My concern with the sides is that they have to take a bend slightly and if anything they're slightly tending to flex in the other direction, so I worry that any glue I use won't be strong enough to force them to conform.  Perhaps I'm worrying needlessly.

 

The bogies seem OK; they came with blunt-ended axles so I fixed them directly into the castings with no bearings, and they seem to roll quite nicely and hold the track. They are very simple, though - just two side pieces and a cross member! 

 

There's no price on my boxes, but I'd like to know when they date from.

MikeOxon (see his blog) has used bookbinder's adhesive to laminate photo quality printer paper to styrene when doing some printed sides.  He says it is adjustable by sliding for a short while.  This is just passed on, I've not tried it and don't quite know where it might be obtained.

[CF MRC]

Is it me, or ‘Wright writes’disappeared from the topic listing in this section?

 

tim

[St Enodoc]

17 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

I have not built any recently but I do have a few Gresley teak versions in a box that I will get round to renovating one day.

From memory. The wheels have very fine flanges. The bogies are rather crude. This combination does not lead to good running and so I fitted a springy brass cross piece to the bogie which seemed to gave just enough movement without the need for proper compensation. I would not try to drill the sides for handles etc as the slightly raised area of the printing would render accurate drilling rather difficult. I would rather keep them to the spirit of the original design. I cannot remember any problem in fitting the sides. Just make sure that there are no structural parts showing through the top lights. A dry run will soon show up any problems. The end section behind the end top window on the Gresley BG required some delicate carving away while leaving enough area to take a dab of glue. 

I  think the kits cost £2.30 each when I bought them from Blunt's.

Bernard

Yes, PC wheels have very fine flanges and also very narrow treads, which makes them rather fussy about what points they will run over.

 

Blunt's was my local model shop when I was growing up in Mill Hill in the 60s.

[St Enodoc]

9 hours ago, Andy Y said:

 

A victory for technological Luddites the world over!

 

I'll sort you out with something better tomorrow but I may put you back to a Green 'T' for now.

 

 

I missed what what there before as it was the middle of the night here, but I support Tony's own earlier suggestion of the Modelu model of him with his camera.

[AY Mod]

3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I missed what what there before as it was the middle of the night here, but I support Tony's own earlier suggestion of the Modelu model of him with his camera.

 

Would you have a link to a pic of a mini-Tony please?

[Chamby]

3 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I missed what what there before as it was the middle of the night here, but I support Tony's own earlier suggestion of the Modelu model of him with his camera.

With one of his A2/2’s behind, perhaps?

[thegreenhowards]

Doesn’t Ian Allen at Waterloo count as a model shop in London?

 

On the subject of childhood model shops,I spent mine at a mainly, if not exclusively, second hand shop in a back street near Penge East station. It had a very approachable proprietor and a fantastic range of (crude) models for my teenage eyes to feast on. Does anyone else remember it and what it was called?

 

Andy

[Bernard Lamb]

Found it. A photo of my PC Triplet. Please excuse the incorrect setting. I don't think they ever reached Maldon.

Bernard

[Richard E]

Local model shops - mine was Max Williams in Bristol. Ever so helpful and knowledgeable, the model side closed when he retired, the cycle shop part kept on by his family for some years after as I recall. Kits, parts, whatever you wanted seemed to be in stock or he knew where to get them from.

[PMP]

22 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

There's no price on my boxes, but I'd like to know when they date from.

 

Mid to late 70’s is likely. When I started at MRM in 82, we had some stock but not much of it. By the time I left the full time job to hitch across the US and Canada in 85, they were even more rare and I think the few we had were sale items. Ariund that time I think W&T from Birmingham were the distributors, they were also available from W&H in London. I can certainly remember the days we closed for stock taking and they’d be in the same drawer almost saying ‘let me out!, buy me!’

I’ve only ever seen a few built, but they do make a very nice coach, or certainly did back in the day.

 

edit: my local was the other Blunts at Welwyn, which ended up having competition within a few hundred yards from Ritz Toys, both long long gone!

Edited February 5, 2019 by PMP

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Would you have a link to a pic of a mini-Tony please?

Andy, there's one a few pages back (standing on the platform at Little Bytham) but I couldn't find it in a hurry. I'm sure that he could find the original for you.

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Would you have a link to a pic of a mini-Tony please?

This do?

 

[AY Mod]

12 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

This do?

 

I shall let you be the judge!

[Barry Ten]

When my Dad built my first train set on a 4 x 8 board for me, in the very early 70s, we were living near Truro. I remember a small shop in some sort of arcade or unit which sold second-hand items, among other things; I seem to remember we obtained some trees, Peco foam and a Tri-ang dock shunter from the place. 

 

Later - around 73/74 - we moved to Barry and my local model shops were either the famous Bud Morgan's in Cardiff, or the toy department of Dan Evans department store in Barry, which had a selection of Hornby items. Purchases were few and far between, though, rarely going beyond one or two wagons per year, with more expensive items such as coaches or engines being reserved for occasional Christmases and birthdays. The 4 x 8 layout was dismantled by then and most of my interaction with the hobby consisted of reading Hornby or Wrenn catalogues and imagining the layout I'd like to have.

 

Later in the 70s my local shop was not the not-so-local Holt Model Railways in the Gower, and then - going into the early 80s - DW Models in Bridgend, which was run by a very nice

man called Ken who was also a member of the Bridgend model railway club. I remember DW Models as being the kind of place where the RTR range was a bit limited, but you could  always buy HMRS transfers, handrail pillars, Coopercraft kits and so on - a "proper" model shop, in other words. At 14 or 15 my pocket money still didn't stretch to buying engines but my Dad was always generous if he knew I wanted a model badly.

 

I dropped out of the hobby in the early 80s and DW Models had long gone by the time I returned. Bud Morgan's had moved, but retained the name, eventually becoming Antics, and although it's moved twice since, it's still a fixture in Cardiff, albeit with only a small railway section.

 

Al

[t-b-g]

10 hours ago, CF MRC said:

Is it me, or ‘Wright writes’disappeared from the topic listing in this section?

 

tim

 

I had a similar problem. It seems to me that the default setting is to list threads that you have not contributed to if you click on "unread content". There seems to be setting to change and there is an option that alters it to ones you have posted in.

 

All the "activity streams" stuff just baffles me! I have no idea what one is or whether I want one or not!

[Jesse Sim]

25 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

This do?

 

Wow, that figure turned out really well Tony, I can actually hear you muttering something about my tattoos again! Hahaha 

 

how do you go about getting scanned? 

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

When my Dad built my first train set on a 4 x 8 board for me, in the very early 70s, we were living near Truro. I remember a small shop in some sort of arcade or unit which sold second-hand items, among other things; I seem to remember we obtained some trees, Peco foam and a Tri-ang dock shunter from the place. 

 

Later - around 73/74 - we moved to Barry and my local model shops were either the famous Bud Morgan's in Cardiff, or the toy department of Dan Evans department store in Barry, which had a selection of Hornby items. Purchases were few and far between, though, rarely going beyond one or two wagons per year, with more expensive items such as coaches or engines being reserved for occasional Christmases and birthdays. The 4 x 8 layout was dismantled by then and most of my interaction with the hobby consisted of reading Hornby or Wrenn catalogues and imagining the layout I'd like to have.

 

Later in the 70s my local shop was not the not-so-local Holt Model Railways in the Gower, and then - going into the early 80s - DW Models in Bridgend, which was run by a very nice

man called Ken who was also a member of the Bridgend model railway club. I remember DW Models as being the kind of place where the RTR range was a bit limited, but you could  always buy HMRS transfers, handrail pillars, Coopercraft kits and so on - a "proper" model shop, in other words. At 14 or 15 my pocket money still didn't stretch to buying engines but my Dad was always generous if he knew I wanted a model badly.

 

I dropped out of the hobby in the early 80s and DW Models had long gone by the time I returned. Bud Morgan's had moved, but retained the name, eventually becoming Antics, and although it's moved twice since, it's still a fixture in Cardiff, albeit with only a small railway section.

 

Al

"Proper model shops".

 

I was lucky over the years. Blunt's in Mill Hill to start me off; Harburn Hobbies in Edinburgh; Dick Buckley's at Wakefield wasn't too far from Leeds; Kemp Models in Brighton (Hove, actually); the Train Shop at Lichfield wasn't too far from Polesworth; Scale Rail in Eastbourne (then after it moved the Hobby Box at Uckfield); then I moved overseas - nothing in Singapore but there are a couple in Sydney.