Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[lezz01]

3 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

Some time back I read somewhere that we were rapidly approaching the point where 40% of the value(*) of a new car was the electronics.  I wouldn't be surprised if we are now past that point with infernal combustion cars.

 

* the manufacturers view of the value, not necessarily that of the user.

 

Adrian

I think mine has 4 CPUs 3 cameras, radar and all sorts of other tech that I don't understand at all, but all in all I love it. Although I would like an old banger I could fettle and fiddle with something like an MG or Triumph, even a real Mini but I have to say that it would be as well as my Pug not instead of. 

Regards Lez. 

[MrWolf]

11 hours ago, lmsforever said:

I learnt to drive in a Triumph Herald lovely car to drive wished I had bought one instead went for a mini van  which saw well in my travials across the UK but I still would not mind owning a Herald.

 

My father learnt to drive in a Herald in 1964 having ridden motorcycles since about 1956. My great uncle bought a brand new Herald 13/60 in 1970 and it lasted him until he passed away in 1983. A 1969 Herald 1200 was the first car I had after passing my test, it's still on the Swansea computer but hasn't been taxed since 1997. (If anyone knows where KEX326G is now, please let me know, last seen in Rearsby, Leicestershire.) 

The Memsahib's mother had a Herald as her first car and her grandmother had a Herald brand new in the sixties.

Apart from the sentimental attachment, the practicality and low running costs made another one the logical choice when the memsahib passed her test.

 

There's also a couple of handy seats for servicing the engine too...

 

[88C]

All this talk about Heralds brings back memories of LVH528E, the one we had when we got married 51 years ago. A lovely car to drive with superb visibility and what a turning circle. It did break a few universal joints and had some rust problems when we sold it on but we have a real pang of nostalgia whenever we see one.

 

Brian

[Siberian Snooper]

An friend of mine had her Herald written of, after being hit by an oncoming boat at Red brick hill on the A30 to the west of Okehampton. The boat had not been secured to the trailer, the car towing it braked for the bend at the bottom of the hill and the boat carried on, over the car and ran into the front of her car.

 

I bet the insurance company staff had a laugh when they read the claim form. " I was proceeding in a westerly direction along the A30, when I was hit by an oncoming boat ".

 

 

[kingmender]

On 25/06/2023 at 19:56, MrWolf said:

This dropped into the news feed on my phone, it doesn't look good:

 

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-12224383/Hornby-shares-hit-buffers-6m-loss.html

Picking up commentary from Sunday on Hornby, I had a look at my purchase rate since returning to modelling at the end of 2010. My initial high aquistion rate from both Red and Blue boxes reflected my desire to replace as much of my original 70s and early 80s models with new DCC compatible across the Big 4 and a few BR standards, but also reflected the availability of new models particularly of Swindon origin. 2011 to 2016 averaged 5.4 Hornby locos and 4 Bachmann. 2016 to 2023 Hornby has averaged 1.4 per year and Bachmann 0.6 reflecting availbility of new attractive locos with Hornby actually dropping to 1 from 2021 onwards (I beg forgiveness from this thread as 2022 and 2023 are LNER W1 and P2, if it arrives this year). Similarly Coaching stock has evaporated since Hawksworth introduction (2010) and Collett bow end corridor and non corridor more recently, no GWR stock for a couple of years from Hornby and nothing from Bachmann. Wagons: lots of Bachmann early on (Hattons bundles at silly prices) but had dwindled hugely in the last 5 years, Hornby few and far between with some nice models (GWR and LMS horseboxes, SR luggage van). 

So having little to abuse my wallet with, Hornby hasn't drawn across the market, largly ignoring an area of high interest for many modellers with what looks to be a focus on the collector of LNER with mutliple variants of W1 and countless Flying Scotsmans, and that is ignoring the reissue of the Great Gathering. I can't comment on the diesel market but I think they have stiff compettion from elsewhere. Delivery delays continue to impact them, having been an issue long before Covid. The original Great Gathering was a while after the actual event (the following year?) and the debacle with their retailers and cancelling their forward orders hasn't helped.

The ensuing vacuum is being filled though. Dapol has resurged with multiple locos and new coaches soon, Accurascale (oh my, how amazing are the photos of the Manor?) and Rapido bringing amazing quality to the market. And with higher prices too, but justiifed by the quality. I appreciate that times are tough for many, but the market proves that quility still sells and if you haven't got anything to treat you loyal customers with, attracting new ones at their expense is a costly excercise.
Hornby and Bachmann are in danger of becoming (or have become) Ford and General Motors. Letting market dominance ebb away, convinced that their own hype will save them. Not even Ford's ambition to be as sexy as Ferrari in the 60s could change the enevitable and GM have now withdrawn from Right Hand Drive market completely. I haven't owned, or driven, their products for over 25 years and am unlikley to do so in the foreseeable future.

[Donw]

I find it a real pleasure to be driving our 23 year old motorhome. No central locking, wind up windows, no computer, you feel you are in control not some vehicle that might do want you want if computer says yes.

 

Don

[MrWolf]

Even allowing for the vicissitudes of old age, there's much less to go wrong. I find it exasperating to see breaker's yards full of cars which would be perfectly useable had some electronic component not gone pop.

[The Stationmaster]

On 27/06/2023 at 12:42, MrWolf said:

 

Probably your last chance saloon for buying a car that runs on petrol and can't be switched off by the manufacturer. 

Apparently if a Tesla is written off, a spike can be sent to all of the modules so that they can't be reused on another car. 

This is allegedly for safety reasons.

Keeping an old car going with used, surplus or remanufactured parts uses way less energy and resources than junking it for a supposedly greener replacement.

And according to press reports if an electic car is invlved in a minor shunt it's likely to be written off because there is no way odf assessing if the battery has suffered any damage without removing it and carrying out lots of tests.   And it might even be unsafe to remove the battery..

 

From the more and more I hear about them I reckon electric cars are about as green as the Black Country was at the height of its industrial period.  And probab;y won;y t last as long as heavy industry did in that area.

[chuffinghell]

A glorified milk float isn’t practical for me (no off road parking)

 

however I’d be more than happy to go nuclear

 

 

1957 Ford Nucleon nuclear-powered concept car

 

Only have to fill it up every couple of thousand years 🤪
 

Edited June 29, 2023 by chuffinghell

[lezz01]

Personally I think that the way forward will be hydrogen, either fuel cells or by splitting water on board into hydrogen and oxygen. All combustion engine vehicles can be converted to run on hydrogen. All it needs is the political will. Battery cars are a cul-de-sac technology and it takes more CO2 to produce an EV than the same vehicle with an ICE would produce in it's normal lifetime and that isn't including the CO2 produced when charging them. The whole EV thing is just a con. We could switch all our gas powered power stations to run on hydrogen with every little capital outlay. The claim that hydrogen is dirty to produce is just nonsense. Every school child is taught how to produce hydrogen with a jam jar and a 9V battery and it's easy as pie to scale that up. It's even possible to pull electricity out of thin air but until governments have the will to brake free from energy corporations it's never going to happen. Until they do we're stuck with the dead end technology of EVs.

Regards Lez.          

[MrWolf]

On 28/06/2023 at 09:40, 88C said:

All this talk about Heralds brings back memories of LVH528E, the one we had when we got married 51 years ago. A lovely car to drive with superb visibility and what a turning circle. It did break a few universal joints and had some rust problems when we sold it on but we have a real pang of nostalgia whenever we see one.

 

Brian

 

One of the axle UJs on our Herald has started rumbling, so this weekend will be spent in The Profanium (Worksop!) fitting a new pair. 

 

That promises to be fun, The Memsahib wants to learn how it's done, but although I am certain that she wouldn't have a problem with the how, she simply isn't strong enough to be able to tackle The Leaf Spring Of Doom. 

Fighting that is like spending three days at the gym!

 

[lezz01]

Good luck with that.

Regards Lez.

[MrWolf]

4 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Good luck with that.

Regards Lez.

 

Thanks, fortunately it's not my first rodeo with Triumph driveshafts. It's probably the only awkward job on the entire car.

[Winslow Boy]

15 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Thanks, fortunately it's not my first rodeo with Triumph driveshafts. It's probably the only awkward job on the entire car.

 

Well good luck with that. I will be volunteering my horticultural knowledge to help maintain our local church paddock.

 

By the way remind me not to take you to a civic amenity site as if you were horrified by the cars that are junked, you'll drop down dead when you see the perfectly good stuff that 'people' - other terms are available, just tip. Makes me weep.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Winslow Boy
Speeling

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

One of the axle UJs on our Herald has started rumbling, so this weekend will be spent in The Profanium (Worksop!) fitting a new pair. 

 

That promises to be fun, The Memsahib wants to learn how it's done, but although I am certain that she wouldn't have a problem with the how, she simply isn't strong enough to be able to tackle The Leaf Spring Of Doom. 

Fighting that is like spending three days at the gym!

 

 

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Thanks, fortunately it's not my first rodeo with Triumph driveshafts. It's probably the only awkward job on the entire car.

The joys of independent rear suspension.

 

By the way, why do you have to go all the way to Worksop to get it fixed (boom boom!)?

[MrWolf]

The question is more why would you go to Worksop at all? Done it once, never again. 

Because I had capitalised the first letter of workshop, auto correct immediately changed it to Worksop. 

It's rather like some of the alleged academics I have to put up with who evidently have a masters in "Everyone else is wrong"....

[MrWolf]

It's been a busy week so modelling has taken a bit of a back seat, but I have managed a little.

 

The CC7 is now painted and glazed, I haven't fixed the roof on yet though. 

The transfers have been ordered from @railtec-models and as soon as those are applied and varnished it's time for a little bit of weathering.

 

 

I've made a few more interior panels for the autocoach and the driver figure that was on back order from Modelu has arrived along with some other goodies for both locos and the layout, so I've begun painting those.

 

 

There may be some danger of catching up with @MAP66 on this project at last.

 

Or maybe not!!

 

 

[MAP66]

Hi Rob, you have a more than fair to middling chance of catching me up and overtaking me, as I have done absolutely zilch with the auto coach since my last post. I’m stumped on finding a satisfactory solution for fitting the roof on. My last idea was a friction type fit but that wasn’t working out as planned. So, to take my mind of it, I’ve been taking my frustration out with some hard grafting in the garden. Now, suitably knackered from digging footings for a retaining wall, I guess there’s no excuse for me to get my thinking cap back on and get back to the coach roof.

[MrWolf]

31 minutes ago, MAP66 said:

Hi Rob, you have a more than fair to middling chance of catching me up and overtaking me, as I have done absolutely zilch with the auto coach since my last post. I’m stumped on finding a satisfactory solution for fitting the roof on. My last idea was a friction type fit but that wasn’t working out as planned. So, to take my mind of it, I’ve been taking my frustration out with some hard grafting in the garden. Now, suitably knackered from digging footings for a retaining wall, I guess there’s no excuse for me to get my thinking cap back on and get back to the coach roof.

 

As it was originally the incredibly thick glazing (Think Stalin's limousine.) which held the roof on, I had an Idea.

As I'd managed to get the roof off without snapping the lugs and get the glazing out without totally wrecking it I think that I can measure and mark where the lugs went, saw out the section with the lug on it and glue it back into the correct position.as all of the lugs are away from the window apertures out of sight and we're using the Shawplan flush glazing kit.

 

If of course I can remember where the hell I put it....🙄

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

It's been a busy week so modelling has taken a bit of a back seat, but I have managed a little.

 

The CC7 is now painted and glazed, I haven't fixed the roof on yet though. 

The transfers have been ordered from @railtec-models and as soon as those are applied and varnished it's time for a little bit of weathering.

 

 

I've made a few more interior panels for the autocoach and the driver figure that was on back order from Modelu has arrived along with some other goodies for both locos and the layout, so I've begun painting those.

 

 

There may be some danger of catching up with @MAP66 on this project at last.

 

Or maybe not!!

 

 

 

Never knew Churchill moonlighted as a train driver. Probably got bored with brick laying so thought I'll have a go at driving a train.

[MrWolf]

26 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Never knew Churchill moonlighted as a train driver. Probably got bored with brick laying so thought I'll have a go at driving a train.

 

Not to worry, with a bit more painting I'll have him looking like Reg Varney....

 

Pic: British comedy guide 

[MAP66]

8 hours ago, MrWolf said:

As I'd managed to get the roof off without snapping the lugs and get the glazing out without totally wrecking it I think that I can measure and mark where the lugs went, saw out the section with the lug on it and glue it back into the correct position.as all of the lugs are away from the window apertures out of sight and we're using the Shawplan flush glazing kit.

I hope you can find  the bits as that is a great solution. Unfortunately, I was unable to remove my glazing without it shattering, for some reason the bottom edge had been glued in place to the inside of the coach body on each side and it wasn't shifting. I had to nibble it away bit by bit and ended up with a thousand pieces. Me being me, I also completely removed the roof lugs as I found that they were fouling on my partitions. I need an ingenious way to solve this, I think my friction fit idea could work if I can execute some exacting measuring and marking out (something I'm not known for) more of a bish, bash bodger me 🤪

[Limpley Stoker]

I haven’t tried it myself yet but I was thinking neodynium magnets to secure the autocoach roof.

[MAP66]

46 minutes ago, Limpley Stoker said:

I haven’t tried it myself yet but I was thinking neodynium magnets to secure the autocoach roof.

Funny enough, magnets were my first go to option but I couldn't get them to fit right due to the curvature of the roof, I did try to cut one down at an angle but without success. I think magnets could work but I just can't figure it out. I think you would need quite strong magnets and that makes it bigger and harder to fit and disguise 🤔

[NHY 581]

12 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Not to worry, with a bit more painting I'll have him looking like Reg Varney....

 

Pic: British comedy guide