A new face for Thomas

[wasdavetheroad]

I am planning to convert a Thomas E2 'inspired' loco to battery power and radio control. Despite it's shortcomings this model has one advantage, you can disassemble the body, removing the cab and boiler top which allows for easier fitting of the batteries and receiver. I don't plan to change the cab windows but may consider lowering the bunker. The loco will end up in a simple black livery. I am happy for rule 1 to apply as it will run on a far North West inspired layout.

 

Questions -

1. The smokebox is 20mm dia, is there any alternative door available

2. Is a shorter funnel available

3. where can i source a replacement safety valve?

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

It's more a question of what style of door, chimney and safety valves you are after. A typical detail parts supplier list:

https://www.247developments.co.uk/loco_detailing.html

 

If  you go ahead, I am good for a fiver for Thomas' fizzog.

[wasdavetheroad]

5 hours ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

It's more a question of what style of door, chimney and safety valves you are after. A typical detail parts supplier list:

https://www.247developments.co.uk/loco_detailing.html

 

If  you go ahead, I am good for a fiver for Thomas' fizzog.

Please translate 🙂

[uax6]

 I am good for a fiver for Thomas' fizzog. ie I'll give you 5 English pounds for Thomas's face.....

 

Ag

[westernfan]

I knew what you meant without thinking. Are you a fellow Westcountryman perchance?

[KeithMacdonald]

6 hours ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

I am good for a fiver for Thomas' fizzog.

 

Just so long as he does go down Snozzel way and get lost among the emmets.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

9 hours ago, westernfan said:

Are you a fellow Westcountryman perchance?

Maternal grandmother was a Devonian, but brought up her entire family including Ma in London, so what I got from her was the rhyming slang, and some of the mob's parlance, what with Gramps being a regular who neatly served in both wars by joining underage in 1917.

 

'Fizzog' was common parlance during my schooling in central Hertfordshire, mostly from older beeefy types offering to 'fix it' or 'wipe that grin off' for you.

[Fair Oak Junction]

Fizzog was common in our family, and we're from the Midlands so it seems to be quite widely used.

[GDR]

Fizzgog common in N.West  in 70s/80s.

[GDR]

Anyway,  LEAVE THOMAS ALONE !!  You'll only upset Annie & Clarabel & wellard Gordon'll come after you! Can't say you haven't been warned...........

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

22 hours ago, GDR said:

Anyway,  LEAVE THOMAS ALONE !!  You'll only upset Annie & Clarabel & wellard Gordon'll come after you! Can't say you haven't been warned...........

Then again, I have been getting away with sticking copies of this inside the back cover of TTTE books for over ten years without retribution. Could make a good modelling subject...

 

“Ouch, that stings a bit,” said Thomas.
He couldn’t see what was happening behind him, but had a real pain in the bunker region. This and
the fact that he had been staring at the back of James’ tender for three weeks with not a sign of his
driver and fireman had put him in a bit of bad mood.
“Nothing to worry about” said a voice from somewhere behind his bunker. “Just a bit of work
required here on your buffers”. Thomas thought to himself that if only his crew had made a nice fire up in him, he could give the man fiddling with his buffers a bump to show him his place.
‘Where are Annie and Clarabel?” asked Thomas. “It will soon be time for the summer traffic, and
they will be stiff after sleeping all winter. I really should give them a run or two to make sure they
are ready to go”. The voice replied, “Didn’t they tell you? They have retired as a holiday bungalow
for the thin controller. He’s had them placed in a nice field with a sea view, and a roof over the top,
they are really enjoying it very much.” Thomas thought about that and then asked, “Well what will I
do then?” The voice replied “Don’t worry, the fat controller has given special instructions for all you
most valuable engines”.
Thomas felt very pleased, he knew he was a valuable engine, and the fat controller was of the same opinion. “Where are the other engines then?” asked Thomas. “Well”, said the voice “Gordon, Emily and Spencer were so special that they have gone to a special home for really important engines at York. Stepney’s gone off down South to gather bluebells I believe, while Henry was very pleased to be allowed to retire to Bootlitz holiday camp; he is going to get a new coat of paint, and children from all around the country will come to admire him on his plinth. James is here with you, but won’t talk to anyone since his brass fittings were removed for safekeeping, and Skarloey just fell apart the moment I looked at him, and has had a complete melt down”.
“I see” said Thomas, who really didn’t understand what was going on. “Then what about the others
like Edward, Percy and Duck?” The voice replied, “They were a bit too valuable for me, and went off
with Cutter and Smelt. I think most of the rest like Toby, Dugald and Donald and so on went with
them as well”. “Does that mean our family has been broken up?” Thomas blurted out. “Afraid so”,
said the voice, “They are big operators, and had everyone who went with them broken up inside a
month”.
Thomas thought a bit more, and said, “But that’s not right, the fat controller was keeping us here
together forever as a happy family, what has happened?” The voice sighed and said, “Look even fat
controllers have bosses, and the incredibly corpulent controller had different ideas, that’s all”.
Thomas would have blown off steam if he could and said, “Can you bring this incredible controller
here for me to talk to?”. At which point, fearing he would either go hoarse or insane from the non-
stop questions, the man walked round to Thomas’ front and cut his face off with the gas axe to shut him up. It also made it easier to get at the nice heavy fittings in the smokebox that would quickly bring in a good price for scrap.

 

Non-canonical.

[wasdavetheroad]

1 hour ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Then again, I have been getting away with sticking copies of this inside the back cover of TTTE books for over ten years without retribution. Could make a good modelling subject...

 

“Ouch, that stings a bit,” said Thomas.
He couldn’t see what was happening behind him, but had a real pain in the bunker region. This and
the fact that he had been staring at the back of James’ tender for three weeks with not a sign of his
driver and fireman had put him in a bit of bad mood.
“Nothing to worry about” said a voice from somewhere behind his bunker. “Just a bit of work
required here on your buffers”. Thomas thought to himself that if only his crew had made a nice fire up in him, he could give the man fiddling with his buffers a bump to show him his place.
‘Where are Annie and Clarabel?” asked Thomas. “It will soon be time for the summer traffic, and
they will be stiff after sleeping all winter. I really should give them a run or two to make sure they
are ready to go”. The voice replied, “Didn’t they tell you? They have retired as a holiday bungalow
for the thin controller. He’s had them placed in a nice field with a sea view, and a roof over the top,
they are really enjoying it very much.” Thomas thought about that and then asked, “Well what will I
do then?” The voice replied “Don’t worry, the fat controller has given special instructions for all you
most valuable engines”.
Thomas felt very pleased, he knew he was a valuable engine, and the fat controller was of the same opinion. “Where are the other engines then?” asked Thomas. “Well”, said the voice “Gordon, Emily and Spencer were so special that they have gone to a special home for really important engines at York. Stepney’s gone off down South to gather bluebells I believe, while Henry was very pleased to be allowed to retire to Bootlitz holiday camp; he is going to get a new coat of paint, and children from all around the country will come to admire him on his plinth. James is here with you, but won’t talk to anyone since his brass fittings were removed for safekeeping, and Skarloey just fell apart the moment I looked at him, and has had a complete melt down”.
“I see” said Thomas, who really didn’t understand what was going on. “Then what about the others
like Edward, Percy and Duck?” The voice replied, “They were a bit too valuable for me, and went off
with Cutter and Smelt. I think most of the rest like Toby, Dugald and Donald and so on went with
them as well”. “Does that mean our family has been broken up?” Thomas blurted out. “Afraid so”,
said the voice, “They are big operators, and had everyone who went with them broken up inside a
month”.
Thomas thought a bit more, and said, “But that’s not right, the fat controller was keeping us here
together forever as a happy family, what has happened?” The voice sighed and said, “Look even fat
controllers have bosses, and the incredibly corpulent controller had different ideas, that’s all”.
Thomas would have blown off steam if he could and said, “Can you bring this incredible controller
here for me to talk to?”. At which point, fearing he would either go hoarse or insane from the non-
stop questions, the man walked round to Thomas’ front and cut his face off with the gas axe to shut him up. It also made it easier to get at the nice heavy fittings in the smokebox that would quickly bring in a good price for scrap.

 

Non-canonical.

Nice, yesterday I Hannibal Lectered Thomas' face as someone had used polystyrene cement to weld his visage into the smoke box. I presume the same person used the same stuff to add coal to the bunker. If they had used PVA I could have just dumped him in a glass of warm water for an hour or so. I got the gunge off after several hours with some slight damage, the coal rails had to go.

 

The good news is Peters spares have Smokebox doors and Phoenix Precision Paints have the Ramsbottom safety valve /whistle but only post on Friday. ,I am not going to bother with the chimney. The doors were posted today. Shapeways have them as well.

 

The chassis was interesting, something  called a super strong pulling power jobbie with TRACTION TYRES and a compensated rear axle. Luckily I have a newer normal chassis bought as a spare a number of years ago. The next job is to run it in without the body followed by an endurance test with normall full load to determine the power requirements of the loco.

 

Talking of coal rails i have updated my Bachmann Hughes Crab from LMS livery to BR black. The replacement body and tender body cost £60 from Bachmann spares-ouch!. No coal rails for the tender though. Did the Crabs ever have railless tenders or for that matter run with a different tender. They would look a lot nicer with a BR B1 tender (not my idea but I agree and rule 1 might apply, the excuse is the famous Scalesgill accident when a black 5 ran into the back of a Crab, destroying its tender and derailing itself. Luckily the crew and tender managed to detach themselves before the 5 went over the edge of the Whin Sill - Oops, totall write off.

 

Thinks - did I use PVA when coaling the LMS version, maybe not as it was second hand.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

6 minutes ago, wasdavetheroad said:

...Did the Crabs ever have railless tenders or for that matter run with a different tender. They would look a lot nicer with a BR B1 tender...

Not a clue, but if you need one I can write you a variation permit.😅

 

I am in for some tender mixing, the Gresley V2 especially looks so much better with an eight wheel tender.

[DCB]

On 03/03/2024 at 15:29, GDR said:

Fizzgog common in N.West  in 70s/80s.

Fizzog   and words like Cropodist (Bloke who crops yer toenails)  and Loyer (lawyer/liar) are sadly disappearing from country areas as house prices start to look like mobile phone numbers and only those with a public school received pronunciation eck-sent can afford to live in Country areas

[westernfan]

15 hours ago, DCB said:

Loyer (lawyer/liar)

I've always found those two things to be one and the same. 😠 😈

Edited March 5 by westernfan

[F-UnitMad]

On 03/03/2024 at 11:50, Fair Oak Junction said:

Fizzog was common in our family, and we're from the Midlands so it seems to be quite widely used.

 

On 04/03/2024 at 16:26, wasdavetheroad said:

someone had used polystyrene cement to weld his visage into the smoke box.

Midlands here, too, and well aware of 'Fizzog'. Many years ago my mom explained to me that it was the British corruption of the French word 'Visage' - interestingly, used in the above quote - and came from WW1, where the Tommys - the vast majority of them abroad for the very first time - came up against French & Belgian and proceeded to completely mangle both languages, the most famous examples of which were calling the towns of Ypres & Ploegsteert "Wipers" and "Plug Street" respectively.

So "Fizzog" was how they pronounced "Visage", & brought such words back to Blighty with them, if of course, they were lucky enough to return. The fact "Fizzog" is well known in various widespread regions of the UK would appear to back up this explanation. My paternal grandfather & maternal great-grandfather both served (& survived) in France in WW1, so I for one have little reason to doubt it.

 

Now, where were we? Ah, yes, Thomas meets Mr D. Woodham, Esq., .....