Aston On Clun. A forgotten Great Western outpost.

[MrWolf]

Ahem.

 

Somewhere in these boxes helpfully marked Fragile! Railway Stuff! is number 23 and the tools I need to build her.

 

I would blame @chuffinghell, but there's no denying that I started this madness.

 

[Winslow Boy]

50 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Ahem.

 

Somewhere in these boxes helpfully marked Fragile! Railway Stuff! is number 23 and the tools I need to build her.

 

I would blame @chuffinghell, but there's no denying that I started this madness.

 

 

I see you didn't go with the duodecimal system then? Just the 'oh that box's big enough' and the 'don't need to label that I won't be needing it for ages yet' system.

 

Its a lot tidier than my loft where I use the 'pile it high' system.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

Indeed.

 

But if I told you.... 😄

 

A lot of the research and empirical evidence into how valuable to society as a whole the oddballs, misfits and often misunderstood people are has been hushed up. 

 

Now children are labelled as AD or autistic and it's seen as a disability or negative behavioural trait. Lumped in with them are the refusers who realise they can pretty much get away with murder and children whose parents are simply incapable of bringing up their offspring. Muddy waters indeed

It's part of the reason both of us decided that teaching wasn't for us, despite being pushed into it.

 

Nature likes chaos. Chaos produces variety and variety gives possibility. Its man who seeks order in chaos as he believes that by bringing order he has control.

 

I'll leave you to surmise what I think about that.

[MrWolf]

Not too bad. Number 23 was only in the 12th box I looked in.

 

This loco as I stated on @chuffinghell's Warren Branch thread, was originally intended to be a modern (ish) take on the original Tri-ang Jinty conversion.

 

 

Picture GWR modelling org

 

It soon went beyond even that as I had mentioned to Chris what I was working on and we both found that we had copies of what little information there is on this machine at he set about creating a 3d model with as much detail as possible and as near to scale dimensions as the information would allow. Something that the straight Jinty conversion isnt quite. It's a little short in footplate, tanks and cab and zero rivet detail.

 

That said, it's something that has held my imagination since I was about ten years old, so well done those who have converted the original.

 

As Chris is planning on a separate topic of exactly how it all came together. I'll leave you with some photos that explains the first prototype, with a modified Hornby chassis, which then became the 3d chassised model using salvaged Bachmann running gear he has almost finished.

 

 

The "kit",  the block of metal front and center is an ex Dean goods boiler weight. I'm not sure why Simon Templar has photo bombed the pic, someone's idea of a joke and I didn't spot it!

 

 

Bare shell, 

 

 

Bunker detail was the result of educated guesswork, no pictures survive.

 

 

Hornby Jinty chassis with the rear wheels transposed to the centre axle and the block milled away.

[MrWolf]

19 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

I see you didn't go with the duodecimal system then? Just the 'oh that box's big enough' and the 'don't need to label that I won't be needing it for ages yet' system.

 

Its a lot tidier than my loft where I use the 'pile it high' system.

 

It was a case of:

 

*Boxes we could get for free.

*Boxes that could be carried easily down from first floor flat by one person.

*Boxes we could easily stack in a 66 year old van.

* Even a crisps box full of books or sheet music is F. heavy.

 

Those boxes have temporary leave to stay in our bedroom during renovations. So not long!

 

[MrWolf]

21 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Nature likes chaos. Chaos produces variety and variety gives possibility. Its man who seeks order in chaos as he believes that by bringing order he has control.

 

I'll leave you to surmise what I think about that.

 

Probably much the same as me. I have little time for control freaks who think they can force the respect of others when they can never be noble in spirit.

 

But that's one of those philosophical conversations for when sitting around a bonfire and drinking beer at three in the morning.

[wiggoforgold]

10 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Strange that the mortar hardly shows up in these photos. I do need to blend in the base of the building to the ground.

Anyone know a neat way to do it?

Wrap the building in clingfilm and put it on the layout. Fill in round the base with Das or similar air drying clay. Let it dry. Remove the building and take off the cling film. You should be left with a hole in the .about the building will neatly fit in.

Alex.

[Alister_G]

7 hours ago, wiggoforgold said:

Wrap the building in clingfilm and put it on the layout. Fill in round the base with Das or similar air drying clay. Let it dry. Remove the building and take off the cling film. You should be left with a hole in the .about the building will neatly fit in.

Alex.

 

That's what I said... nearly...

 

:D

 

Al.

[MrWolf]

Just a quick shot of the cab interior. This version has thy bunker front and toolboxes installed but not the cab floor as it needs to be fabricated to fit around the Hornby chassis. It's almost a shame to fit the roof!

 

 

Once again I have to thank Chris @chuffinghellfor taking what was a casual conversation about those projects that take forever to happen and turning it into something that I believe the RTR boys should sit up and take notice of.

 

We've come a long way since those cast resin body kits of twenty years ago.

 

I hope to do it justice.

[John Besley]

Buchering Airfix loco kits is going to become a thing of the past.... Such joys a making a Brittania out of a Evening Star kit and a Triang Princess .... Or Southern Electric stock out of Kitmaster coaches

[Winslow Boy]

14 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Probably much the same as me. I have little time for control freaks who think they can force the respect of others when they can never be noble in spirit.

 

But that's one of those philosophical conversations for when sitting around a bonfire and drinking beer at three in the morning.

 

Sounds much to high brow for me and certainly for this forum.

 

Let's just stick to choo choos and puff puffs.

 

I wonder if you could make one out of pastry?

[MrWolf]

Maybe, maybe not. Though I always found it frustrating that the lining was moulded on to the tender on the City of Truro.

I remember building the BR standard 2-6-0 when I was nine or ten and feeling very pleased with myself that I had got all of the motion to work as Airfix intended.

 

I'm still chopping up tatty Tri-ang clerestories and a lot of my scenic models are heavily modified kits or cannibalised from them.

 

I don't think that the modeller's inability to leave things as they come out of the box will ever die out. Which should also make the collectors happy too, as their mint boxed originals become rarer.

[MrWolf]

1 minute ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Sounds much to high brow for me and certainly for this forum.

 

Let's just stick to choo choos and puff puffs.

 

I wonder if you could make one out of pastry?

 

Would that be a pie with sticky toffee chew chew filling and puff puff puff pastry?

 

You had me fooled though, I was starting to believe that underneath you were deep and philosophical.

 

I'll try to keep things to the usual inane banter... 😉

[Winslow Boy]

1 minute ago, MrWolf said:

 

Would that be a pie with sticky toffee chew chew filling and puff puff puff pastry?

 

You had me fooled though, I was starting to believe that underneath you were deep and philosophical.

 

I'll try to keep things to the usual inane banter... 😉

 

That's better. I'm more of a morning person I'd like to go to bed early.  There are several disadvantages to having that discussion at 3 am. Firstly I don't drink- used to but but not now. Secondly if I was awake at 3 am I wouldn't be discussing such elevated things as man's ****** ********* (censored) and thirdly well I'd think of something.

 

It's got to be short crust pastry puff pastry just isn't.

[MrWolf]

Some of you might be thinking why number 23?

It spent it's days running between Swindon and Marlborough and even the Midland and South Western Junction didn't order more than one.

I like the look of it because it is so un- Great Western. They never took to the 0-4-4 wheel arrangement, possibly due to some fairly spectacular accidents during William Dean's time that led to the few they did build being recycled as 4-4-0 tender engines.

Most absorbed engines were heavily Swindonised, but the changes didn't really affect 23's appearance.

Number 23 must have had some merit, the GWR ran it until 1930. Presumably it was either superceded or completely worn out.

 

My excuse is that it was sitting around at Swindon pending withdrawal and sent to stand in for the ancient 517 class which hauled the regular Clun valley passenger service when it went for general overhaul. It's ex .MSWJ bogie brake third went too as an upgrade on the four wheelers normally used.

 

Once it had turned left at Craven Arms, like the erstwhile Clun Valley Railway, the Great Western forgot they had it.

 

The light loads and the intervention of world war two kept it working until 1947 and that was despite experiments with auto trains and a diesel railcar.

[MrWolf]

When I have the loco built I'd better dig out its companion and finish that to

 

[Nick C]

37 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Once it had turned left at Craven Arms, like the erstwhile Clun Valley Railway, the Great Western forgot they had it.

When you start looking into such things, it's amazing just how often that appears to have actually happened - unthinkable in these days of computerised record keeping, but it seemed quite frequent for, particularly wagons, to go missing for ages...

[MrWolf]

I would think that is why wagons began to be branded "Return to xxxxx GWR. Not common user". 

It might be unthinkable in these days of computerised record keeping, but it still happens, artic trailers go missing, your direct debits get screwed up. Nobody feels the need to follow things up, because the assumption is that the system is infallible.

[MrWolf]

It looks better for a few coats of paint. Seen here between two genuine (ish) GWR  coaches.

 

[MrWolf]

It looks better for a few coats of paint. Seen here between two genuine (ish) GWR  coaches.

 

[MrWolf]

For some strange reason, the last post loaded twice and I got a pop up that said the post cannot be edited.

 

Unthinkable in these days of computerised... 

 

Sorry Nick!

 

Whilst I agree in principle with your comment the comedic timing was perfect!

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by MrWolf
Stupid predictive text

[Alister_G]

The advent of computers has introduced whole new and inventive ways for administrative tasks to be screwed up.

 

An aphorism, variously attributed, says:

 

"The good thing about computers, is that they do exactly what they are programmed to do.

The bad thing about computers is that they do exactly what they are programmed to do"

 

Very small errors or oversights in programming can lead to all sorts of surprising outcomes.

 

Al.

[John Besley]

Computer says No...

[MrWolf]

How's this for computerised Catch 22?

 

Last Thursday my phone died. I took it to the fix it while you wait phone store.

The battery was lunched and of course no spares are available.

They could sell me a reconditioned one for around £250.

Being a bit broke, I went into the library and logged onto my eBay account and found a major brand phone, reconditioned and guaranteed for a little less than half the price and next day delivery.

 

So I hit buy it now.

 

I generally buy things off eBay on my phone, so when the bank computer saw a different IP address than usual, it asked me to confirm my email address then wanted to send a one time security code-

 

To my phone.

 

The phone I am trying to replace because I can't even switch it on....

 

I went to the bank in person and explained the situation.

 

Is there anything I can do? I asked.

 

No.

 

Rode over to a friend's house, borrowed his old phone, dismantled both, fitted my sim card in the working phone....

 

And clicked buy it now.

 

 

 

[Nick Gough]

4 hours ago, MrWolf said:

When I have the loco built I'd better dig out its companion and finish that to

 

 

Nice cut & shut job!