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Wright writes.....


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12 hours ago, StephenB said:

Not knowing Roy personally, it seems inappropriate to post in the obituaries column. I only came across him once, at Wells, when he was assisting with Black Lion Crossing. He was explaining why he was wearing two pairs of glasses. His lasting legacy will be his wonderful modelling. RIP sir.

 

Stephen

 

Only two? He normally had four about his person and still couldn't find the right ones...

 

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Tony,

 

I consider myself very lucky to have known Roy and to consider him a friend. He was always extremely kind and generous to me. He let me stay at his house a number of times and we spent the day chatting and playing with the railway. I felt it was a tremendous priviledge to be allowed to operate Retford which I consider to be be one of the greatest achievements in the art of the model railway.

 

Roy was one of the greatest modellers of the last fifty years and I think his influence was enormous in that he modelled a real place with real and accurate representations of the locomotives and stock which would have run on the line. There are a number of layouts like this now but I think that Roy was a pioneer in this type of modelling and he certainly influenced me in trying to model a real place at a specific time with models of the actual stock which operated on the line and in EM gauge.

 

I send my condolences to Geoff and to Chris and to all the family and I am sorry to have lost a great friend and I think the model railway world is diminished as a result of his passing.

 

Sandra

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I never met Roy, but I was a big admirer of Retford and the workmanship that had gone into the layout and its stock. The hobby has lost one of the greats and my sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends. 

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I think it's a shame the relevant posts regarding Roy haven't been made in the appropriate obituary topic set up https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/145166-roy-jackson/ - that way it would have been a supportive topic for his family and friends to read at some point rather than them becoming lost in time within this extended topic. Feel free to contribute to that topic too.

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23 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

I think it's a shame the relevant posts regarding Roy haven't been made in the appropriate obituary topic set up https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/145166-roy-jackson/ - that way it would have been a supportive topic for his family and friends to read at some point rather than them becoming lost in time within this extended topic. Feel free to contribute to that topic too.

 

Andy

Could they not be copied across - I can't see anyone objecting.

(Some including myself, have posted in both).

Tony

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2 hours ago, AY Mod said:

I think it's a shame the relevant posts regarding Roy haven't been made in the appropriate obituary topic set up https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/145166-roy-jackson/ - that way it would have been a supportive topic for his family and friends to read at some point rather than them becoming lost in time within this extended topic. Feel free to contribute to that topic too.

My apologies Andy, 

 

It was certainly not my intention to have comments on Roy 'lost in time'. 

 

As I said in my first post, I wanted it to be personal because I knew him as a friend. I also wanted to add some more personal anecdotes (which I'm doing), which seemed more appropriate to this thread. 

 

As Tony Teague has suggested, can the comments of others not be copied across? As he said, nobody is going to mind. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited by Tony Wright
to clarify a point
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38 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

:laugh::D

 

A knowing chuckle there I think. Many years ago I unwittingly bought an unbuilt MJT non gangwayed 3rd off this chap on EBay. The follow up messages basically telling me how to go about building it and that he considered it one of the best coach kits on the market were not really necessary but I tried to be polite. It went on and on and was accompanied by a long litany of bad experiences he had had with other kit manufacturers including the attempts to pursue them with trading standards. It then moved on to a number of bad experiences with various society workings.  Frankly it all got pretty uninteresting and I decided it was time to employ a bit of Roy Jackson style diplomacy. This was sent along with a couple of photos of stuff I had built to “prove” my credentials. As those “in the know” will know the last word had to be his. He conceded that “you obviously know what you are doing”.:angry:

 

Morgan

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I was reminded of Roy (once again) last evening, as I embarked on another loco-build. This one's much more up my street so to speak.

 

1047702032_DJHA16015701.jpg.7fabea23cf65db77bc36c408c0033cc3.jpg

 

Do I 'need' any more A1s for Little Bytham? Of course not, but so what? I have around 15 which I've built, so why not 16? 

 

The great man sprang to mind all through my commencement of this DJH kit. He once said (and repeated it with wisdom) that don't expect to build anything model railway-wise of any size or substance if one frequents the pub every night, watches telly all the time and just spends time wind-bagging (the last point I need to keep in mind). Then, when one achieves nothing, don't moan that there's no time. Or, blame anyone else for one's lack of progress. He had no time for fools, so I count it immense privilege that we became good friends. Another thought crossed my mind with regard that I'm only five years Roy's junior, so I'm determined to keep on building (and building!) whilst I still can. He did. 

 

Returning to the A1, apart from the boiler/firebox joint having been made and the tender frames being soldered together, everything else is still just loose. That gap at the base of the firebox will disappear with a bit of trimming and solder. The cab has been modified to create the lean-in towards the eaves - something impossible if erected as supplied. Wen finished, it'll become roller bearing-fitted 60157 GREAT EASTERN; one I saw regularly. 

 

Another loco on the go is miles away from the above...........

 

1147083826_AlanGibson517Class02.jpg.82138876c68613cd1056dd879a163a1e.jpg

 

It's an Alan Gibson GWR 517 Class being built for a customer in EM. It's good to have more than one project on the go.

 

 

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Hi Tony. 

 

When we were talking at Kettering on Saturday, you mentioned that many of the locos brought to your clinic just needed a good clean of wheels and pick-ups and a drop of oil. 

 

In addition to LB, you have been associated with many large layouts with associated locomotive collections, and rightly expect a high standard of reliable running.  What have you found to the best methods of cleaning track, wheels and pick-ups?  (and maybe Seep turnout motors!).

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11 minutes ago, 2750Papyrus said:

Hi Tony. 

 

When we were talking at Kettering on Saturday, you mentioned that many of the locos brought to your clinic just needed a good clean of wheels and pick-ups and a drop of oil. 

 

 

 

Nothing new about that. Average Joe Public simply don't know that the wheels need to be kept clean.

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This looks like a pair of before and after shots the wrong way around:

 

bird8.jpg.0625514f5d05c2ebcad939ba42d89577.jpgbird9.jpg.31f8ca3975c78a7f38a01c562c17c96e.jpg

 

The top picture shows the Bird class as it was a few days ago, whereas the much messier-looking one is how it now stands. I decided to remove the handrails, saw off the front of the smokebox, and graft in an extension piece to get a better approximation to the longer smokebox of the Birds and Bulldogs. While I was at it, and with the handrails off, I started re-addressing some of the areas which hadn't been smoothed properly before. It's set me back a bit but the outcome will be better for it, I hope!

 

Al

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1 hour ago, 2750Papyrus said:

Hi Tony. 

 

When we were talking at Kettering on Saturday, you mentioned that many of the locos brought to your clinic just needed a good clean of wheels and pick-ups and a drop of oil. 

 

In addition to LB, you have been associated with many large layouts with associated locomotive collections, and rightly expect a high standard of reliable running.  What have you found to the best methods of cleaning track, wheels and pick-ups?  (and maybe Seep turnout motors!).

Good questions.................

 

If track is clean initially, then running a model railway usually keeps it that way. If track does need a clean, I use a track rubber available from DOGA. It's not as crumbly as Peco ones, but it's a similar sort of thing. Of course, dodgy pick-ups and dirty wheels will exacerbate any pick-up problems. Several goods brake vans have a felt pad clipped to one of their axles. Nothing is put on this, but it just keeps dust off the rails. The pads are made by Noch and are available from Gaugemaster. They really work well. 

 

I clean loco drivers with a fibreglass propelling pencil. Rolling stock wheels need to be kept clean as well. I use a small, flat-blade screwdriver to do that. 

 

My pick-ups are made from .45mm nickel silver wire, rubbing on the rear of the driving wheel tyres. This, in my experience, is far superior to phosphor bronze or brass. In normal service, they're self-cleaning. 

 

Seep point motors? I'm replacing mine as they fail!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

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48 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good questions.................

 

If track is clean initially, then running a model railway usually keeps it that way. If track does need a clean, I use a track rubber available from DOGA. It's not as crumbly as Peco ones, but it's a similar sort of thing. Of course, dodgy pick-ups and dirty wheels will exacerbate any pick-up problems. Several goods brake vans have a felt pad clipped to one of their axles. Nothing is put on this, but it just keeps dust off the rails. The pads are made by Noch and are available from Gaugemaster. They really work well. 

 

I clean loco drivers with a fibreglass propelling pencil. Rolling stock wheels need to be kept clean as well. I use a small, flat-blade screwdriver to do that. 

 

My pick-ups are made from .45mm nickel silver wire, rubbing on the rear of the driving wheel tyres. This, in my experience, is far superior to phosphor bronze or brass. In normal service, they're self-cleaning. 

 

Seep point motors? I'm replacing mine as they fail!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

I’ve Started to use wooden cocktail sticks instead of a fibreglass pencil for cleaning off the black crud that accumulates on the wheels, especially after a running session on club layouts.  I find they are cheaper, work just as well, avoid those nasty broken off bits of glass fibre bristles, and are biodegradable of course.

 

I haven’t tried those Noch pads though, they sound like a good idea.

 

Edited by Chamby
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I used to use a fibreglass propelling pencil type tool to clean loco wheels but now I have replaced the fibreglass with a brass refill. No more broken off bits sticking in the fingers and the wheels get cleaned just as well. With a wire soldered to the brass and a return with a small crocodile clip, it turns the wheels as you clean.

 

We also have a proprietary wheel cleaner something like this:

 

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaugemaster-GM-GM60-Scale-Wheel-Cleaning/dp/B011RCQARQ/ref=asc_df_B011RCQARQ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310841416716&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13310715461792957372&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9041122&hvtargid=pla-563843659123&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

Which does both sides at once!

 

Loco cleaning and servicing is another reason why I prefer to use rigid mechanisms in EM Gauge. It makes adjusting pick ups easier, as you know that when you have it right and turn the loco right way up on the track, it will still be right. Also, the wheels don't flop around while you are cleaning them.

 

 

Edited by t-b-g
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3 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good questions.................

 

If track is clean initially, then running a model railway usually keeps it that way. If track does need a clean, I use a track rubber available from DOGA. It's not as crumbly as Peco ones, but it's a similar sort of thing. Of course, dodgy pick-ups and dirty wheels will exacerbate any pick-up problems. Several goods brake vans have a felt pad clipped to one of their axles. Nothing is put on this, but it just keeps dust off the rails. The pads are made by Noch and are available from Gaugemaster. They really work well. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

I installed 3 or 4 of those pads under brake vans about 3 years ago after seeing them on LB.

I probably don't run my railway as often as Tony does but I almost never clean the track, just occasional troublespots, so they must do some good.

Conversely, every loco, coach or wagon that comes in for servicing gets a thorough wheel clean.

 

Tony

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5 hours ago, t-b-g said:

I used to use a fibreglass propelling pencil type tool to clean loco wheels but now I have replaced the fibreglass with a brass refill. No more broken off bits sticking in the fingers and the wheels get cleaned just as well. With a wire soldered to the brass and a return with a small crocodile clip, it turns the wheels as you clean.

 

We also have a proprietary wheel cleaner something like this:

 

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gaugemaster-GM-GM60-Scale-Wheel-Cleaning/dp/B011RCQARQ/ref=asc_df_B011RCQARQ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310841416716&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13310715461792957372&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9041122&hvtargid=pla-563843659123&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

Which does both sides at once!

 

Loco cleaning and servicing is another reason why I prefer to use rigid mechanisms in EM Gauge. It makes adjusting pick ups easier, as you know that when you have it right and turn the loco right way up on the track, it will still be right. Also, the wheels don't flop around while you are cleaning them.

 

 

Does this cleaner sit on EM gauge track? 

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23 minutes ago, mullie said:

Does this cleaner sit on EM gauge track? 

 

The one we have is a similar design but made be a firm from mainland Europe. I can't remember the name and it is not here at the moment. Possibly ROCO. It has a blue plastic body and is shorter than the Gaugemaster one. I used that to illustrate as it was the first one I found on the net.  It was designed for H0 but we cut it down the middle and put in enough plasticard so the spacing is right for EM. It probably would sit on a bit of track but we put the loco in a cradle with the wheels in the air. That way we can see when it is clean and we can also move it to each pair of wheels individually, which shows any faulty pick ups.

 

Just had a second look on the web and found a similar one by Trix. Not blue but very like ours.

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5 hours ago, timbowilts said:

Tony, you’ve just done wonders for Gaugemasters sales :biggrin_mini2:

What are you replacing them with?

 

Tim T

Tim,

 

I can only speak as I find.

 

When I bought all the track and fiddle yard point motors for Little Bytham some 11 years ago, I was 'seduced' by the fact that Seep point motors were at least a quid cheaper than Peco. Since near 90 were needed, that was a fair bit of cash saved. Except, in my experience, it was a false economy. In the intervening decade, over 10 Seep motors have failed (10% in ten years - a nice round figure). I consider this to be an unacceptably high failure rate. It's always the same - one pole fails, rendering them useless. Several more are becoming 'sticky'. I'm replacing each one as it fails with Peco surface-mounted ones, with 100% success.

 

When I bought all the point motors for Stoke Summit's fiddle yard (some 50 odd) I chose Peco. During some 70+ shows, spread over 15 odd years, not one Peco point motor failed on Stoke. That was far more in the way of use than anything on LB.

 

Both systems had/have a standard CDU to fire the points via an electric pencil. All standard practice, of course. 

 

No, never again with regard to non-Peco solenoids. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

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3 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Tim,

 

I can only speak as I find.

 

When I bought all the track and fiddle yard point motors for Little Bytham some 11 years ago, I was 'seduced' by the fact that Seep point motors were at least a quid cheaper than Peco. Since near 90 were needed, that was a fair bit of cash saved. Except, in my experience, it was a false economy. In the intervening decade, over 10 Seep motors have failed (10% in ten years - a nice round figure). I consider this to be an unacceptably high failure rate. It's always the same - one pole fails, rendering them useless. Several more are becoming 'sticky'. I'm replacing each one as it fails with Peco surface-mounted ones, with 100% success.

 

When I bought all the point motors for Stoke Summit's fiddle yard (some 50 odd) I chose Peco. During some 70+ shows, spread over 15 odd years, not one Peco point motor failed on Stoke. That was far more in the way of use than anything on LB.

 

Both systems had/have a standard CDU to fire the points via an electric pencil. All standard practice, of course. 

 

No, never again with regard to non-Peco solenoids. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

I have had one side of one Peco motor fail on my layout in nearly 20 years, out of over 100 motors.

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