Wright writes.....

[richard i]

To tie with mallard's run I visited the national railway museum (Green Bay Wisconsin) and saw my neares A4. I was struck by seeing the front buffer springs, is his a post preservation modification or one BR I'd to some of the locos?

It was connected to Eisenhower 's armoured train, not seen it modeled before. Good use of a Hornsby donor?

It looked tiny next to the big boy.

Richard

[Tony Wright]

I'm currently building a B16 from a PDK kit. I've made a number of modifications to enhance the basic model. If it is of interest I may post further pictures as the build progresses. The project has been stalled for some time due to the unavailability of driving wheels. Nobody does a proper B16 wheel in 4mm scale, they are rather distinctive as they have nineteen spokes that are round in cross-section. Markits could only offer 5' 8'', 18 spoke Maunsel wheels, they proved to be unsuitable in a number of respects, not least of which was two faulty axles that caused all sorts of problems trying to fit the wheels. A blessing in disguise as the Maunsel drivers have a crank throw that is miles out for a B16. This is the first time I've ever had an issue with a Markits product, the good news is that Markits are intending to introduce a proper B16 wheel in about six months time.

 

 

The nearest and best equivalent for the B16 is the 8' 6'', 18 spoke LNER wheel as fitted to such Gresley locomotives as class K3. Unfortunately, these have been unavailable for some time, and are unlikely to be available again for a number of months. Fortunately, I have just managed to acquire the last set in Christendom and they have been tested with motor and rods temporary in situ. All is running sweetly so the next job will be to manufacture some springs as these are not present on the chassis as supplied.

 

Other alterations to the basic kit include the widening of the tender frames and the respacing of the buffer housings to NE dimensions, the remodeling of the separate tender wheel chassis, so that daylight is visible through the tender frame lightening holes this allows the representation of the bottom of the tender water tank and scoop in silhouette. I also adjusted the brake pull rods as the hangers are of different lengths on the real loco

 

The main work on the body is making sure that the boiler sits at the correct centerline in relation to the running board. I also extended the firebox to represent the diagram 49a boiler. I don't like over scale etched boiler bands, these were filed of the separate smoke box overlay. Being lazy, I removed the etched rivets at the same time, it being more important to me to get a perfect boiler tube rather than an obvious joint. The rivets will be reinstated with mighty Archers product and a more scale representation of the boiler bands added.

 

Little details include the lowering of the front step that allows access to the smokebox, this should sit beneath the height of the lifting holes in the front frames. With the cab, a bit of filing down of the rear cab window frames allows it to be represented as open rather than shut, in contrast, window surrounds were added to the spectacle plate.

 

In addition to the springs that require adding to the chassis, a better representation of the brake gear is on the list of things to do. In particular the pull rod to the brake cylinder under the rear frames, this is visible in silhouette. A representation of the inside valve gear will also be required.

 

Despite the above comments, I do feel that the kit is good value for money, with some very good etches, generally accurate and the parts fit very well.

Thanks for posting, Andrew,

 

It's excellent work (as always).

 

Regarding B16s (of all types), they regularly get mentioned as a future possibility for RTR-production, but nothing is on the horizon, as far as I know. Good, because it'll mean there's still a market for kits. 

 

A bit in 'over-kill', mode, I have five B16s running on Little Bytham, only one built entirely by me. At least two are ex-Charwelton, where B16s were regular runners. Little Bytham will have seen a few, but most of their activities would have been north of Doncaster; the ones I saw were, at Doncaster and York, as a trainspotter.

 

 

This is a PDK B16/1, built and painted by Paul Hill of PDK, originally for Tom Foster. Tom weathered it. I tweaked the running, and fitted correct 12-spoke NER-style bogie wheels. It's now my property, in exchange for my building Tom another PDK B16/1, but in LNER condition. That now sees service on Grantham. I thought it was an excellent kit (though I didn't take it as far as you're going with yours), and the chassis was fine for OO. 

 

 

When Tony Geary 'graduated' to O Gauge, I acquired one or two of his ex-Stoke/Charwelton locos, including this B16/1 he built/painted/weathered it using a DJH kit. He made a new boiler for it. Again, I've tweaked the running. I think it looks wonderfully-natural. 

 

 

PDK also does a B16/2, as illustrated here. Mike Edge built this for Tom Foster, and Tim Easter painted it in late-LNER/early-BR condition. Tom then changed time periods, so I repainted it in full BR-guise, and he weathered it. Again, the running was not up to LB standards, so I fitted a replacement motor/gearbox in exchange for the original, noisy Branchlines one. This is still Tom's property.

 

 

The trio of PDK B16 types is completed here with a B16/3. This was also built for Tom Foster, by John Houlden, who painted it as well (I think Tom's weathered it). I acquired it via some bartering. Once again, I've fiddled with its mechanics to get the running I insist upon, and it performs very well. 

 

 

I've included this, if nothing else to show how standards have moved on. I built this Nu-Cast B16/3 when the kit first came out (40+ years ago?), scratch-building a chassis to replace the original white metal lump. It has Hamblings driving wheels and an MW 005 motor. It still runs (very well), but it's a bit basic to say the least. It also shows my rather blobby painting/weathering. 

 

Do I 'need' so many B16s? Of course not, but they're still nice to have. Round at Peterborough North today, it was revealed that no B16s were present. Food for thought? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

[Tony Wright]

To tie with mallard's run I visited the national railway museum (Green Bay Wisconsin) and saw my neares A4. I was struck by seeing the front buffer springs, is his a post preservation modification or one BR I'd to some of the locos?

IMG_5995.JPG

IMG_6001.JPG

It was connected to Eisenhower 's armoured train, not seen it modeled before. Good use of a Hornsby donor?

IMG_5996.JPG

It looked tiny next to the big boy.

IMG_5999.JPG

Richard

Thanks Richard,

 

The buffer springs on the A4s have always been there. 

 

Is that carriage 'Bayonet'? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Clive Mortimore]

To tie with mallard's run I visited the national railway museum (Green Bay Wisconsin) and saw my neares A4. I was struck by seeing the front buffer springs, is his a post preservation modification or one BR I'd to some of the locos?

IMG_5995.JPG

IMG_6001.JPG

It was connected to Eisenhower 's armoured train, not seen it modeled before. Good use of a Hornsby donor?

IMG_5996.JPG

It looked tiny next to the big boy.

IMG_5999.JPG

Richard

Oi Richard

 

Where is the photo of the GG1, one of the worlds most successful classes of loco. I can see it hiding behind the Big Boy.

[richard i]

Thanks Richard,

 

The buffer springs on the A4s have always been there. 

 

Is that carriage 'Bayonet'? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

It is more the cover plate which looks too small to my eye as if repainted without replacing the rusted away section. I have not seen the spring exposed on the A4 like it is on the A3.

[richard i]

Oi Richard

 

Where is the photo of the GG1, one of the worlds most successful classes of loco. I can see it hiding behind the Big Boy.

Will this do?

Attempt at an arty shot.

[richard i]

Thanks Richard,

 

The buffer springs on the A4s have always been there. 

 

Is that carriage 'Bayonet'? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.

 

On checking it is bayonet.

Richard

[Headstock]

Presumably meant to be 5' 8"?

 

I don't know were 8'6'' came from, the closest I can think of is 8' 11'' from rail height to the center line of the boiler.

 

Thanks for posting, Andrew,

 

It's excellent work (as always).

 

Regarding B16s (of all types), they regularly get mentioned as a future possibility for RTR-production, but nothing is on the horizon, as far as I know. Good, because it'll mean there's still a market for kits. 

 

A bit in 'over-kill', mode, I have five B16s running on Little Bytham, only one built entirely by me. At least two are ex-Charwelton, where B16s were regular runners. Little Bytham will have seen a few, but most of their activities would have been north of Doncaster; the ones I saw were, at Doncaster and York, as a trainspotter.

 

B16 1 61477.jpg

 

This is a PDK B16/1, built and painted by Paul Hill of PDK, originally for Tom Foster. Tom weathered it. I tweaked the running, and fitted correct 12-spoke NER-style bogie wheels. It's now my property, in exchange for my building Tom another PDK B16/1, but in LNER condition. That now sees service on Grantham. I thought it was an excellent kit (though I didn't take it as far as you're going with yours), and the chassis was fine for OO. 

 

B16 1 61416.jpg

 

When Tony Geary 'graduated' to O Gauge, I acquired one or two of his ex-Stoke/Charwelton locos, including this B16/1 he built/painted/weathered it using a DJH kit. He made a new boiler for it. Again, I've tweaked the running. I think it looks wonderfully-natural. 

 

B16 2 61437.jpg

 

PDK also does a B16/2, as illustrated here. Mike Edge built this for Tom Foster, and Tim Easter painted it in late-LNER/early-BR condition. Tom then changed time periods, so I repainted it in full BR-guise, and he weathered it. Again, the running was not up to LB standards, so I fitted a replacement motor/gearbox in exchange for the original, noisy Branchlines one. This is still Tom's property.

 

B16 3 61454.jpg

 

The trio of PDK B16 types is completed here with a B16/3. This was also built for Tom Foster, by John Houlden, who painted it as well (I think Tom's weathered it). I acquired it via some bartering. Once again, I've fiddled with its mechanics to get the running I insist upon, and it performs very well. 

 

B16 3 61448.jpg

 

I've included this, if nothing else to show how standards have moved on. I built this Nu-Cast B16/3 when the kit first came out (40+ years ago?), scratch-building a chassis to replace the original white metal lump. It has Hamblings driving wheels and an MW 005 motor. It still runs (very well), but it's a bit basic to say the least. It also shows my rather blobby painting/weathering. 

 

Do I 'need' so many B16s? Of course not, but they're still nice to have. Round at Peterborough North today, it was revealed that no B16s were present. Food for thought? 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

 

Thanks, Tony,

 

I'm probably never going to get into multiple numbers of the same class of locomotive unless you count variants of O4. As a result, I may as well fiddle around in a bit more detail with a more limited number of locomotives. That said, a third V2 should make an appearance this year, three of the same class will be a record for me.

 

[Headstock]

On checking it is bayonet.

IMG_6004.JPG

IMG_6005.JPG

IMG_6006.JPG

Richard

 

No doubt it was picked because of the superior bogies.

[Clive Mortimore]

Will this do?

IMG_6022.JPG

Attempt at an arty shot.

Thank you Richard.

[Hollar]

Has anyone else bought Chinese-made sub-1mm drill bits from Ali Baba?

 

They are amazingly cheap, and you can run through quite a few in a session before you get near the price of a pot of paint.  My experience has been mixed, though, and I would be interested to hear that of others - including pointers about which of the many similar sellers are better quality.

 

Firstly, there is something slightly scary about Ali Baba and I hesitated before committing my credit card number to  who knows whom.  However, I have had no problems at all.  Everything I've bought has arrived and usually as quickly as many cottage-industry suppliers in the UK.  Used carefully, the better-spec ones seem no more liable to break than the ones I used to buy from Mainly Trains (who are sadly missed).

 

There are problems.  My purchases have been either unsorted to start with or so loosely packed they were unsorted by the time I got them.  This means that I've had to put the whole damn lot through the micrometer.  Also, I've found a significant proportion are faulty and bore holes as effectively as a cocktail stick.  Easy enough to throw them away and only a few pence lost, but irritating when the creative juices are in full flow.

 

Tone

[Jol Wilkinson]

I now only buy branded drills such as Busch from CooksonGold or other jewellery or specialist tool suppliers. I prefer the large shank variety and in over twelve months have only broken one .5mm drill. I've found it help to use a pillar drill (Proxxon TBM220 in my case) whenever possible .

[Colin_McLeod]

 

 

It wasn't just the record-breaker, though. There were another 33 A4s to cop, including 60026 MILES BEEVOR (the most inappropriate A4 name?), heading north on the Down Scotch Goods.

 

Not really inappropriate Tony. Like at least one other A4 60026 was named after an important officer of the company. From the Wikipedia article about Miles Beevor:-

 

"He became chief legal advisor for London and North Eastern Railway in 1943, a post he held until the LNER was nationalised. In light of his service, on 1 November 1947 the LNER named an LNER A4 Pacific after him.

Just before nationalisation, Beevor was acting chief general manager for LNER in June 1947, after which he became Chief Secretary and legal advisor for the British Transport Commission between 1947 and 1951."

Edited July 5, 2018 by Colin_McLeod

[MJI]

To tie with mallard's run I visited the national railway museum (Green Bay Wisconsin) and saw my neares A4. I was struck by seeing the front buffer springs, is his a post preservation modification or one BR I'd to some of the locos?

IMG_5995.JPG

IMG_6001.JPG

It was connected to Eisenhower 's armoured train, not seen it modeled before. Good use of a Hornsby donor?

IMG_5996.JPG

It looked tiny next to the big boy.

IMG_5999.JPG

Richard

 

I wonder how much more powerfull the Big Boy is than the A4 regarding its much greater weight?

 

I did read that the Duchess shocked the Americans due to its small size but plenty of performance.

[jamie92208]

I wonder how much more powerfull the Big Boy is than the A4 regarding its much greater weight?

 

I did read that the Duchess shocked the Americans due to its small size but plenty of performance.

 

I think it weighs about 540 imperial tons and is reckoned to be about 8000 Hp with a grate area of 140 square feet.  I don't have access to the figures for an A4. It could get through at least 7 tons of coal per hour though anything up to 20% of that went straight up the chimney.

 

Jamie

[Headstock]

2450 HP was the maximum recorded power output for an A4. Mallard herself holds the record with an epic ascent of Stoke bank. Many observers regard this performance as superior to the more famous record-breaking speed run.

Edited July 5, 2018 by Headstock

[Clive Mortimore]

I think it weighs about 540 imperial tons and is reckoned to be about 8000 Hp with a grate area of 140 square feet.  I don't have access to the figures for an A4. It could get through at least 7 tons of coal per hour though anything up to 20% of that went straight up the chimney.

 

Jamie

 

2450 HP was the maximum recorded power output for an A4. Mallard herself holds the record with an epic ascent of Stoke bank. Many observers regard this performance as superior to the more famous record-breaking speed run.

The GG1 had a continuous power rating of 4,620hp, and sort duration output of 8,500hp with a top speed of 100mph on regular service passenger trains.  They were contemporary with both the Big Boy and the A4s.  Awesome, some might say. 

[Tony Wright]

Not really inappropriate Tony. Like at least one other A4 60026 was named after an important officer of the company. From the Wikipedia article about Miles Beevor:-

 

"He became chief legal advisor for London and North Eastern Railway in 1943, a post he held until the LNER was nationalised. In light of his service, on 1 November 1947 the LNER named an LNER A4 Pacific after him.

Just before nationalisation, Beevor was acting chief general manager for LNER in June 1947, after which he became Chief Secretary and legal advisor for the British Transport Commission between 1947 and 1951."

Thanks Colin,

 

Except it had been KESTREL. Surely more appropriate? 

 

I'm sure many great men deserved to have a loco named after them (or great women), but when it replaces a name just about everybody will understand - a beautiful raptor, graceful in hovering and swift in flight, I wonder whether that is appropriate. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Headstock]

If you put the 2450 HP in some sort of perspective, this is a greater effort required than the 126 mph run made by Mallard to break the speed record. Chapelone was right, in that he calculated that the A4 was capable of 130 mph or just over. A second attempt was organized to break through the 130 mph barrier but was canceled due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Looking at various test data, a sustained rather than maximum HP of about 2,200 was capable with the big class 8 Pacifics and a single fireman, without killing the latter. This equates to the remarkable performance recorded by A4 Capercaillie. The locomotive ran a 21 coach, 720 tons gross, train up to 75.9 mph and maintained this speed for 25 miles. When Mallard recorded 2450 HP, the locomotive maintained a speed of 80 mph on the climb to stoke summit with a trailing load of 11 carriages of 450 tons gross.

These figures are well beyond the norm required to run everyday steam services on British Railways or the LNER before it. Of course, if you standing on the footplate of an A4, a single fireman has to shovel less coal to reach the higher HP outputs than some other engines that could be mentioned.

[ArthurK]

Not really inappropriate Tony. Like at least one other A4 60026 was named after an important officer of the company. From the Wikipedia article about Miles Beevor:-

 

"He became chief legal advisor for London and North Eastern Railway in 1943, a post he held until the LNER was nationalised. In light of his service, on 1 November 1947 the LNER named an LNER A4 Pacific after him.

Just before nationalisation, Beevor was acting chief general manager for LNER in June 1947, after which he became Chief Secretary and legal advisor for the British Transport Commission between 1947 and 1951."

 

here he is in person, Kings Cross May 1962. 

 

ArthurK

[APOLLO]

The USA Railroads named very few locomotives, and whole named classes were a rarity.

 

One railroad, the Frisco (St Louis - San Francisco - SLSF) named a fleet of passenger locos after racehorses and other famous horses of civil war generals etc, They were E7 & ED diesel locos. Names were painted on the cab. 

 

The E7's were 2000 - 2005. the rest are E8's. 

2000 Fairplay ...Racehorse whose fame was as a sire, sire of Man of War (Big Red)
2001 Ranger .... Col. Henry Lee's horse 
2002 Comanche .... only survivor at the battle of the Little Big Horn 
2003 Steel Dust ...Famous Texas horse of the mid 19th century
2004 Dan Patch ...Greatest harness horse in the history of the two-wheel sulky
2005 Winchester .... Gen. Phillip Sheridan's horse 
2006 Traveller .... Gen. Robert E. Lee's horse 
2007 Whirlaway .... 1941 Triple Crown winner 
2008 Messenger.... English race horse 
2009 Jet Pilot .... 1947 Kentucky Derby winner 
2010 Count Fleet .... 1943 Triple Crown winner 
2011 Gallant Fox .... 1930 Triple Crown winner 
2012 Flying Ebony .... 1925 Kentucky Derby winner 
2013 Sea Biscuit .... 1937 leading purse winner 
2014 Truxton .... Andrew Jackson's horse 
2015 Twenty Grand .... 1931 Kentucky Derby winner 
2016 Citation .... Triple Crown winner 
2017 Pensive .... 1944 Kentucky Derby / Preakness winner 
2018 Ponder .... 1949 Kentucky Derby winner 
2019 Cavalcade .... 1934 Kentucky Derby winner 
2020 Big Red .... Nickname for Man-O-War, a famous horse in the USA      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_o%27_War
2021 Gallahadian .... 1940 Kentucky Derby winner 
2022 Middleground .... 1950 Kentucky Derby / Belmont winner this name was copyrighted and was changed to Champion, Gene Autry's horse.

 

 

Not quite an LNER Pacific on "The Coronation" (or anywhere near as fast !!), but the Americans sure liked their "Streamliners" in the late 40's & 50's before the jet airplane took over.

 

 

I have a Rivarossi model HO scale twin diesel and train (but nowhere to run it these days !!) - A beautiful train indeed, she lives in a showcase in the dining room.

 

Brit15.

[uax6]

here he is in person, Kings Cross May 1962. 

Book 6 12_2.JPG

 

ArthurK

The near rail in that Miles is stood on has caught my eye, what is bolted to the inside face? It doesn't look like another full rail, so is it some sort of detection bar?

 

Had a very pleasant couple of hours with Sir this morning, and I have to say that I was very impressed with what I saw, quite inspiring. The trains were running very well, and we only had one on the road failure.....

 

Thanks again Tony.

[Chamby]

Not really inappropriate Tony. Like at least one other A4 60026 was named after an important officer of the company. From the Wikipedia article about Miles Beevor:-

"He became chief legal advisor for London and North Eastern Railway in 1943, a post he held until the LNER was nationalised. In light of his service, on 1 November 1947 the LNER named an LNER A4 Pacific after him.

Just before nationalisation, Beevor was acting chief general manager for LNER in June 1947, after which he became Chief Secretary and legal advisor for the British Transport Commission between 1947 and 1951."

Is there any particular reason why the LNER would choose to rename a 10-year old A4 in preference to assigning the name to a shiny new A2, as these were in build at the time?

[Bucoops]

Is there any particular reason why the LNER would choose to rename a 10-year old A4 in preference to assigning the name to a shiny new A2, as these were in build at the time?

 

The Gresley fan in me wants to say because the A4s were still considered superior

 

But in reality it doesn't really make sense does it?

[Headstock]

They were probably the only steam trains the board had ever heard of. It would have been rather amusing if they had accidentally marked down A5.