RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 24, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2012 Is there any chance of you posting a picture or two of 61637 Thorpe Hall when you have a minute.I am sure someone will post a photo of the prototype at P N (even if its been manipulated) To stop any of those it never appeared there negative posts. Kind Regards,Derek. I don't yet have access to Thorpe Hall, Derek, and sadly neither did Tony yesterday. He has got his hands on it today though, and so we can enjoy it on Little Bytham. Rest assured several will be seen at Peterborough soon, as this is one of my all time favourite classes of loco. Thorpe Hall will not feature though, as she was an Ipswich engine in the '50's, and I doubt that shed had any duties that included Peterborough North. There will be some of my old March favourites though. Anyway, here are Tony's photos. There will be at least a part review and more pictures on the BRM website, probably on Monday. Tony's comment to me? "It's a brilliant model". Praise indeed, and clearly it has been well worth waiting for. 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted November 24, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 24, 2012 That B17 is certainly a very nice looking loco,mind you the D11 isn't bad either. Thank goodnes I am away from model shop temptations at the moment. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 24, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2012 Good Grief! There is hope for me, and perhaps all of us, after all! Gilbert (if I may), I have been a long-time lurker, liker and admirer of your outstanding realisation of Peterborough, but I know that my efforts will always pale into the shade, mainly because I have been running the occasional non-prototypical trains or locomotives (well, I have to have the Bournemouth Belle, don't I, as I used to go to school on it!). Now that I see a chink your armour with the D11, I can at last feel a little less guilty. Incidentally, I used to 'spot at Offord from 1958 or so, a little further up the line from you, therefore so much of what you do resonates with me. If only I had known to keep better records! Ah, those were the days, when you could safely bicycle a couple of miles and spend the day on your own, aged 10-ish. Keep inspiring us, please! Anthony Hi Anthony, good to hear from you directly! You have been very generous in hitting the "like" button, which has been much appreciated. Should I ever win the lottery and be in a position to have a new railway room with house attached, Offord would most definitely feature. I'd love to have a go at those reverse curves, and the river and water meadows. Peterborough would still feature as well of course. As you say, what a different world we lived in back in the '50's. I feel very sorry for today's kids. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Hi Anthony, good to hear from you directly! You have been very generous in hitting the "like" button, which has been much appreciated. Should I ever win the lottery and be in a position to have a new railway room with house attached, Offord would most definitely feature. I'd love to have a go at those reverse curves, and the river and water meadows. Peterborough would still feature as well of course. As you say, what a different world we lived in back in the '50's. I feel very sorry for today's kids. I'm in total agreement about Offord. I was looking at photos taken by the Great Ouse, with the church spire and an A1 on the Queen of Scots Pullman, oh and as you say those reverse curves....... plans for another layout..... I must avoid that temptation. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 24, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'm in total agreement about Offord. I was looking at photos taken by the Great Ouse, with the church spire and an A1 on the Queen of Scots Pullman, oh and as you say those reverse curves....... plans for another layout..... I must avoid that temptation. Easily avoided Tom. Like me, you don't have the room........ or the funds. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 (edited) Easily avoided Tom. Like me, you don't have the room........ or the funds. Might do one day Gilbert.... Edited November 24, 2012 by Tom F 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 (edited) Hi Anthony, good to hear from you directly! You have been very generous in hitting the "like" button, which has been much appreciated. Should I ever win the lottery and be in a position to have a new railway room with house attached, Offord would most definitely feature. I'd love to have a go at those reverse curves, and the river and water meadows. Peterborough would still feature as well of course. As you say, what a different world we lived in back in the '50's. I feel very sorry for today's kids. If only I could model Offord - when I got hold of a 16' x 9' garage, I thought I was in clover - what luck! - but it is only when you start planning that you realise just what a restrictive space it is, so I have ended up with a rather generic ECML layout, which is a dreaded continuous run, as I have totally failed in all my strenuous attempts to acquire your allergy to work, therefore I have built it so that I can have trains running while I am working on it in the odd moments I have. Indeed, kids today have suffered so badly from all the wonderful 'improvements' in life. Sorry to go off topic, as this is really all about your inspirational work, which has persuaded me to be tougher with myself, but I am afraid I am a poor student - by which I mean a bad older follower, rather than an impecunious youth! Anthony Edited November 24, 2012 by Anthony 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 24, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 24, 2012 Might do one day Gilbert.... I should start saving if I were you Tom. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 25, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2012 Right, we will now get away from the cascade of new models which are suddenly appearing, and turn instead to another very interesting subject. TW will be doing an article for BRM soon which should be quite fascinating. I'll not say much more yet, but it did involve his asking me if he could photograph some of Tim's A2 conversions. He has also given me permission to post the results on here, so below you will see two TW A2/2's, plus the one Tim did for me.He also photographed my two A2/3's, and will no doubt be getting some comparison shots of more of his own. This might give you some idea of what his piece in BRM will be about. First up is Tony's build of Mons Meg, from the Crownline kit, with modified cab sides- those supplied with the kit just weren't right. Staying in numerical order, here is Thane of Fife, as recently done by Tim as a RTR conversion. Last comes Wolf of Badenoch, built by Tony from the DJH kit. Both of Tony's engines have Ian Rathbone paint jobs. There you are then - three A2/2's all posed as nearly as possible in the same way. TW and I would be interested to read your comments. I shall now photograph TW's A2/3 which I have on loan, and then do a similar exercise with A2/3's. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Three A2/2s......mmmmmm Lovely angle to take photos from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidw Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Looking forward to the results Gilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I cannot claim any knowledge of the prototype, but the most striking thing on seeing your photos is the different distance between running plate and cylinder. Each loco has a different dimension as far as I can see. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUTLER2579 Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I cannot claim any knowledge of the prototype, but the most striking thing on seeing your photos is the different distance between running plate and cylinder. Each loco has a different dimension as far as I can see. Would agree with your remark in relation to 60504 in comparison with the other two,but I don't think there is much variation between 60505 & 60506. Regards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tetleys Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Gilbert, The Thompson A2's are God ugly and when converted and weathered by Tim to represent an attack by colour blind graffiti yobs they look even uglier and dis-reputable. When my new layout is finished I'd just love to purchase a similar 'heap' from Tim, the most photogenic loco you have by a country mile and a credit to Tim's craftsmanship, until I saw your weatherd example I would never have considered a Thompson Pacific. Now we just need some accurate RTR LNER corridor coaches to hang on the back, come on Heljan or might Hornby just come up with some Thompsons when their non corridor versions sell in spades as they surely will? 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) I hope that to top all this Thompson publicity off, Tony Wright's article spurs one of the plastic RTR companies into producing one of the three sub-class variants. The A2-3 might be the best bet but an A2-2 'Cock '0 The North' would offer the eye-catching publicity... Peterborough is so photogenic, the layout must rate as one of the best in the country now............Todays Borchester in fact. The Thompson A2's are God ugly An A2-2 is a streamlined Pennsy Duplex against a Lanky Belpaire 3F 0-6-0 & Tender.... Edited November 25, 2012 by coachmann 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post great northern Posted November 25, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted November 25, 2012 As promised, here are the A2/3's. First is TW's model of Hycilla, built from the DJH kit. Then Tim's two conversions, first Sun Stream and then Sun Castle The one of Hycilla shows both the limitations of my camera, and those of my photoshopping, but good enough I hope for a fair comparison. My personal view is that we should not be thinking "RTR versus kit built". One is not comparing like with like, on a number of different levels. Price for a start, then materials - fine etches are bound to look better than factory plastic. Then there is with Tony's models the superb Ian Rathbone finish. OK, the kit built ones are "better", but how much better? Anything TW builds runs perfectly - he won't let it out of his sight till it does - but my experience over many years is that few other professional builders achieve anything approaching perfect running. On that score, conversions using RTR chassis which are machine built do have an advantage. OK, not all RTR chassis are perfect, we've all had the occasional one which runs like a bag of nails, but the vast majority now are very good indeed. That is a very important consideration for anyone, for which read most of us, who can't make chassis work like TW can, or can't afford to pay someone who can, and who want our locos to run, rather than sit in a nice display case. So, the conversions you see also have their advantages, more no doubt for some than others. They also involve "proper modelling". I know that TW and others are sad to see the need to make things being blown away by the ever increasing influx of RTR, and I understand that. I also understand their view that layouts are becoming more and more alike, because the same RTR appears on so many, though I still think that individuality can be achieved in other ways, For me, what we see in these photos is a sort of half way house. Modelling and individuality live on, in a wholly healthy and complementary way to "old fashioned modelling". I see that as a good thing, TW is not so sure, but we would both be very interested to hear other views. 20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Lovely Gilbert. I love the gleam on Sun Castle! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium great northern Posted November 25, 2012 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2012 That's a lot of Thompson, so to redress the balance, here is a bit of Gresley. An immaculate Top Shed loco heads a late afternoon Clarence Yard - Niddrie Class C. It's a bit dark over Bill's mother's again. 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted November 25, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 25, 2012 The comparison photos are excellent. Personally I like the idea of RTR, mainly because I don't have the skills to kit build or the money to pay others to do the work for me. Equally I fully understand those with the skills wishing to continue to build their own kits. Difficult one. Mike 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom F Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 What lovely moody sky Gilbert. Very atmospheric! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted November 25, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2012 Gilbert, This RTR v KIT/Scratchbuilt is beginning to become more of an issue I think, but the effects manifest themselves in differing ways. During the last couple of months I have been going through old Model Railway Constructor, and Model Railway News (and I now may start on old RM's too) scanning the drawings and the articles that take my fancy. The early issues (upto, I would say, the early 80's) have many layouts that feature very fine kit or scratchbuilt locos and stock, and the plans pages have article after article of scratchbuilding wagons and coaches, but the scenery on this layouts is often diabolical! Now it would appear that with the advent of much finer RTR locos and (some) other stock, the skills are now being diverted into the scenery, which is light years ahead of what it was, but it does make very boring reading in some periodicals where all the stock description is just the reading out of the manufacturers list. Has the RTR industry also caused the lack of longevity with layouts these days too? We very rarely read about layouts built into bedrooms or garages these days, the models all seem to be exhibition ones, which seem to be replaced as soon as they are finished. Is it the fact that there is such choice of locos that people just need to build layouts to allow them to buy more? For me, I like a mixture. I've chosen to model in the late '20s early '30's era, in an area where there are very few RTR available, so I have to kit-bash or scratchbuild. Not that I'm in the league that you show above, I have but average skills, but i still find my bumbling efforts very satisfactory, and as a result, my layout will not be the same as everyone elses. It will also probably take the rest of my life to build! Andy G 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Hopefully Bachmann are reading this ? if they dont produce a A2/3 after this publicity then they are bonkers/daft !! Cracking photos thanks for posting I look forward to the mystery TW article !! p.s My LNER versions of the A2/3 & A2/2 conversions are from page 13 on my workbench thread. Edited November 25, 2012 by micklner 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westerner Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 "We very rarely read about layouts built into bedrooms or garages these days, the models all seem to be exhibition ones, which seem to be replaced as soon as they are finished. Is it the fact that there is such choice of locos that people just need to build layouts to allow them to buy more?" I'm pleased to say that Wencombe is built in a spare Bedroom and is in this Dec, RM I feel that many small layouts that one does see in the mags which are exhibition layouts appear to be there to "advertise" an exhibition that is coming up. I also think that the editors of the mags see these layouts at exhibitions and ask the owners to do articles. Those of us who do layouts that never leave home have to have the brass neck, I suppose, to send pix to the editors in the hope that they might want to publish the layout. (Thats what I did more or less) Prhaps people feel their home layouts won't come up to scratch and therefore don't bother to get in touch with the mags. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted November 25, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 25, 2012 Alan, I suppose you are correct. In fact I do wonder if we will ever get back to having 'home' layouts back as the main type anytime. I also miss the plans features that you used to get, but again I suppose that all the draughtsmen that used to measure stuff have sadly dropped off the perch. The drawings I have amassed for older coaches and freight stock from MRC and MRN is fanstastic, but sadly they just don't appear in every issue as they did. I look forward to the day I can commander a room and get building! Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullie Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I found Steve Flint at the Modeller very approachable and he even came over on a Sunday morning to take photos of a layout consisting of just four box files. The photos took over two hours to complete and made the layout look far better than I could have imagined. What can be a surprise is the lead time between submission and publication Upbech St Mary was in the July or August 2011 issue (can't remember as I sit writing this). I took some photos with a basic digital camera and sent them by email with a basic article. I have never exhibited a layout either although I do sometimes think I might be tempted to have a go. It takes me a considerable time to build a layout as it has to fit round work and family commitments, I certainly could not just start a new layout just because one is finished, besides when is one ever finished? Sorry to to digress from the main subject of this thread, this layout is amazing and I do look for updates every day, like many others I'm sure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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