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Ray, don't let your previous experience of the HRCA  colour your opinion of it,it has changed quite alot in the past 20 years,and the magazine has changed beyond recognition.

 

You have done it again Robin,another friend in your latest photo!

 

Cheers, Mark

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Hi Mark,I always thought the HRCA was ok,i used to buy a lot of spares from the suppliers but time moves on & at the time,working & building a 5" gauge live steam 0-6-0,finishing it & starting a 5" gauge 2-10-0 WD loco,job relocation & building a large N gauge layout.Since the HD was packed away,i just let my membership lapse.Now that i`m retired,i still don`t have enough time to fit everything in.

 

 

                             Ray.

 

PS,i forgot to mention a large collection of Meccano from which i built the large walking dragline that took the place of the blocksetting crane that was on the cover of the manuals.Took me 6 mths to build that did :)

Edited by sagaguy
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Pretty sure that Dave Upton who used to produce an online magazine for the 3 rail enthusiast called just the ticket is taking over the HRCA Journal so if his efforts on just the ticket are anything to go by it should be a good read, I went to a HRCA meet last year very welcoming and a good afternoon very friendly knowledgeable people  would recommend the association!...

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As a paid up member since 1983, it has been a great asset for me.  The Journal, the spares, the general help I've received and recently the on line forum have kept me and other expats from the UK, in touch with the Hornby train world back home.  Just like this site!

 

Brian.

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For those of a certain age who like to wander down memory lane,do you remember Modelcraft single card kits.I found this really useful site while trawling as you do.

 

                 http://www.micromodelle.micromodels.de/7.html

 

I`m always grateful for the people who take the trouble to put these on the web.

 

                         Ray

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One of my first layouts was courtesy of Micro Models. Track proved expensive so we bought some wallpaper rolls and drew in track on the plain side - went on for miles with yards, stations and other card infrastructure. Covered the floor and great fun!

 

Brian.

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This should bring back some memories!.If you resize to A4,it should print out ok.This is an excellent part of the forum,collecting & vintage is a very broad church!!!.

 

                           Ray.post-4249-0-16729700-1423118290_thumb.jpg

Edited by sagaguy
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I am amazed that not that many people know about the modern stuff like Ace, darstaed,WJ Vintage, to name a few even down my local club it seems if it isn't "mainstream" the news doesn't seem to get out! Even in the Guild Gazette articles are few and far between I think the last article I saw in print was on Roy James dream city Railway.Would be nice to see more modern tinplate at exhibitions hopefully would get more people interested in it ! By the way that Jinty looks superb in SDJR Blue!..

Maybe the price of the modern tinplate items puts owners off publicly exhibiting them, as 'bumps' often happen at shows either while running or handling. It's not such an issue with vintage trains. My live steam trains may look scruffy, as live steam tends to do, but at least I can relax and enjoy using them and the public don't seem to mind what they look like.

 

Trevor.

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Maybe the price of the modern tinplate items puts owners off publicly exhibiting them, as 'bumps' often happen at shows either while running or handling. It's not such an issue with vintage trains. My live steam trains may look scruffy, as live steam tends to do, but at least I can relax and enjoy using them and the public don't seem to mind what they look like.

 

Trevor. 

To further clarify the above post I mean that the rough & tumble of exhibition conditions may deter owners of expensive items, new or old, from operating them at exhibitions.

 

Trevor. 

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 Here's a question. What real life rolling stock is the Hornby O gauge 'fibre wagon' meant to represent, or is it not based on real life?  The books have much to say about it's history and variations etc but never about what it's actually for. 

Hope this isn't a silly question but, as a London policeman once told me "Sir, there is no such thing as a silly question".

 

Trevor.

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I think the "fibre wagon was based on a French prototype for some reason but i suppose that because Hornby trains were a toy & not a scale model(for instance,the Princess Elizabeth,nice toy but a lot of liberties were taken ergo.,the trailing truck),i don`t think Meccano worried about it.There`s a bit about it here.

 

                   http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=43981

 

   Ray.

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I think the "fibre wagon was based on a French prototype for some reason but i suppose that because Hornby trains were a toy & not a scale model(for instance,the Princess Elizabeth,nice toy but a lot of liberties were taken ergo.,the trailing truck),i don`t think Meccano worried about it.There`s a bit about it here.

 

                   http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=43981

 

   Ray.

 

post-21098-0-09272200-1424292910_thumb.jpg

 

Must help the ratings!  LMS No.2 Compound beside a Meccano water tower which is one of the joys of tinplate.  You don't have to fret about scale or authenticity to enjoy the trains.  Hornby were past masters at recognising this and produced odd balls like the Fibre Wagon, Barrel Wagon and the Wine Wagon which were a concession to its French connection.

 

Brian.

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Thanks for the prompt replies.  I enjoy the 'toy' i.e. non-realistic side of this hobby & actively seek out the off-beat and unusual. Some of my recent finds are a Marklin treadle-operated level crossing (the barriers don't close until the train is right on top of them!) and some wonderful JEP bogie goods wagons.  However no matter how whimsical these items are, they are usually based on real life prototypes, which brings me back to wondering what the 'fibre' depicts. Hay? Straw? Sugar cane? Maybe the answer is "whatever one wants it to be".

 

Cheers,  Trevor.

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825

I have wondered about this ever since acquiring one some years ago (less fibre load). I would have thought a real load of this nature would have been sheeted. I'll just treat it as a generic bolster wagon. Why they chose all over blue for it is a mystery however. :scratchhead: I also have a red barrel wagon less barrels. I have found one odd barrel since, but it looks like it was chewed by a past owner's dog, being covered in dents. Fill and repaint or leave well alone?

 

I have one of the Märklin crossings (H0 3 rail). It came less booms and shed roof, but this has since been made good*. The booms bounce as a train goes over. The booms both work from the same end, but should pivot on opposite (RH) sides, of course.

 

* I can't really say 'restored' (more like bodged!).

834
Edited by Il Grifone
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When I was a young lad (I was once, honest!) I used to love the big fat bulb in the smokebox door especially at night with the room light turned off.  Who cared if a (nominally) GWR 0-4-0 tender loco had a light on the front?!

 

Wish I still had it...................................... :cry:

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I like all the working parts in goods trains. Here we have a crane on the Goods Shed that could lift a container from an open wagon onto the goods platform or onto a Dinky Toys lorry. The Goods Shed crane had a handle connected to a Meccano like gear to rotate the jib. There was a similar crane mounted on a wagon which you had to rotate by hand.

 

The Goods Shed also had a sliding door. Eventually Hornby Dublo made a similar plastic Goods Shed.

post-17621-0-60925800-1424420206_thumb.jpg

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post-23718-0-02919200-1424616712_thumb.jpg

 

Here is the previously mentioned Marklin level crossing with a clockwork Marx M10000 approaching. Also featuring an Ives Freight Station and an unknown, possibly Bing, signal.   You can see that the crossing booms won't lower until the nose of the streamliner is practically half-way across, but never mind, that is the charm of it for me!

 

Trevor.

Edited by trefin
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Why the sudden rush of photos?    

My son has just shown me how to do it!

More to come. 

 

Regards,  Trevor.

 

PS. I googled 'images' of 'sugar cane on railway wagons' and the resulting pictures look remarkably like the Hornby Fibre Wagon.

Edited by trefin
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post-23718-0-36936900-1425226929.jpgpost-23718-0-02167800-1425226957.jpg

 

Here are a couple of pictures of my own-build live steam O gauge locomotive, made with a Mamod boiler and pistons/cylinders and Meccano gears on my own design 'Garratt' type frame. It is a consistent & reliable performer, going at a steady speed for about 10 mins on 1 fill of meths. It took a fair bit of tweaking to get it to achieve its present level of performance, however that was part of the fun.

A regular turn at exhibitions, it attracts a lot of attention with its unique appearance, its 'snaking' action and all its working parts on display. A spectator has posted a clip of it on youtube. To find it put in "not a Shay", his words not mine, but I am happy with the Shay reference as it does look like a logging loco and it is geared!

 

Regards,  Trevor.

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