Wright writes.....

[uax6]

It would be interesting to know how many on here have more than just railway modelling as a hobby... 

I can claim RM as my first hobby (introduced to it by Dad.. we had a large layout around three walls of the largest bedroom of the house), but I soon acquired my second hobby of vintage telecoms in my early teens (BT engineer left behind our old wall phone... and I soon wanted it working), and finally my Moggy Minor obsession in my late teens.

 

All three have cross-overs to them, the modelling needs wiring, mechanical knowledge, and general construction skills. The telecoms needs wiring skills (lots of it!) DC power knowledge, mechanical skills (1930's strowger takes a fair bit of fettling to make it work well) and the moggys need mechanical, electrical and general modelling skills.

 

All three have helped my modernise and look after my 1850's cottage, and help others out in times of need. They give a whole range of useful life skills, I loose count of the times that the modelling tools and materials come out to help fixe a household issue.

 

Do I talk about RM? I find that when I mention it they see it as more normal than collecting old telephone exchanges! That hobby is seen as being very weird and makes RMing seem normal! But I do clarify that I play trains in work, and that I MAKE models of real trains at home.

 

Its interesting that I went to a Military modelling exhibition in the local Market Town some years back with the daughter (when she was about 6 or so) and they did a 'build a kit' course in one part of the hall. I naturally took her to build a spitfire (it was free, so why not?) and I got chatting with the bloke running it, and when I said I did RMing he was initially a bit jokey about it, but when I said that I build white metal kit locos and scratchbuild carriages, he apologised and said that he wished he could do things like that....  

 

Andy G

[St Enodoc]

7 minutes ago, uax6 said:

It would be interesting to know how many on here have more than just railway modelling as a hobby... 

Rugby, cricket, music, sailing, flying, just for a start. All passive now due to the march of time years but formerly very active in all three.

[Iain.d]

3 hours ago, uax6 said:

It would be interesting to know how many on here have more than just railway modelling as a hobby... 

....  

 

Andy G

 

My second hobby is landscape/seascape photography -

 

 

Third hobby is kayaking -

 

(Apologies for the wonky horizon (but I wasn't the photographer, mind you, with it being me in the kayak, you probably worked that bit out...!))

 

Plus travelling as a hobby, which is a bit curtailed at the moment.

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

Edited January 27, 2022 by Iain.d
add a bit

[thegreenhowards]

I think I have the ‘box set’ of hobbies. Apart from railway modelling, I can claim Munro bagging, following QPR, restoring and running an MGB, running an allotment and, of course, 1:1 railways - particularly English Electric and Alco diesels.

Of those, I’m ashamed to say that it’s normally railways which I mention last to a new acquaintance. It normally gets met with a roll of the eyes or complete disinterest but occasionally someone is fascinated.

 

it’s just as well I’m retired and have an understanding wife!

 

Andy

Edited January 27, 2022 by thegreenhowards

[bbishop]

17 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Unfortunately the same culture can often be found at cricket matches these days, when some of the crowd seem to be plastered even before the first ball has been bowled.

One of my activities (I Can't really call it a hobby) is providing first aid at a major cricket ground.  Overall the level of drunkenness has probably decreased over the last decade.  A problem is T20, where there is a culture of getting tanked up before arriving at the ground.  Less so with The Hundred, with afternoon and evening games, which are pitched as a family outing and there is strict control over inappropriate behaviour.  Bill

[rockershovel]

I've always enjoyed the culture of amiable inebriation which is central to rugby. When I lived in Cambridge, a sunny afternoon in a deckchair at Fenners with the newspapers and a good supply of g&t was an occasional treat (I've never really seen any other point to cricket). 

 

I quite enjoy an occasional day at the races, but betting while drunk has never seemed to me, a particularly wise approach...

[rockershovel]

16 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

She obviously didn't know the difference, namely that a gentleman washes his hands after he's been to the toilet, whereas an engineer...

The engineer washes his hands after surveying, designing and constructing the toilet and associated drainage system...

[Tony Teague]

20 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

What I find incomprehensible is anyone not finding things to do that really interest them.

 

Life's a bit like a Waiting Room I think: we were somewhere before we arrived here (no idea where, doesn't really matter) and we're clearly going somewhere else later (opinions on exactly where or what that is vary but again, not relevant) so while we're here, it makes sense to me to find things to do that we enjoy.

 

I agree on both counts, although I find that people with absolutely no interests or hobbies die very quickly after retirement.

 

My 'other' hobby is photography, however, those who follow my thread may be forgiven for thinking that it is certainly not the photography of model railways.

 

A further observation I would make is that when somebody chooses to mock railway modelling as a hobby it is generally quite easy to return the 'complement', after all, most hobbies may be viewed as pointless or boring to those who have no interest in them.

 

Tony

[Ollie K]

Enjoying the conversation over people's perceptions of railway modelling as a hobby, and their reactions to it. 

 

Among my thousands of days at school, one of my most vivid memories would've been about 2004, taking a Model Rail magazine supplement in to read in the morning 'form tutor period'. It featured all the new RTR releases for the year. I'd have been 13 years old.

 

"Err, what are you reading?" It was snatched away and handed round the class, the usual 'aww, choo-choo' sound effects and laughter (and oddly, silence from the two chaps in my class who I knew had layouts and also enjoyed playing trains). Definitely the first time I learned the wider perception of modelling railways was something 'uncool', and likely to be ridiculed. But then, teenagers are very cruel at times! This was an all boys' school as well - no-one was doing it to impress the girls.

A few months later my first girlfriend came over to the family home. At that time I had a layout on a 6x4 baseboard that folded down from my bedroom wall. She clapped eyes on it and immediately giggled "oh my God, you have a train set!" It was dismantled not long after (the layout, not the relationship).

Since getting back into the hobby in the last couple of years I've met several of the fine people on this forum including Mr Wright himself, who in turn have introduced me to their mates. Made acquaintances at exhibitions too. Thanks to railways and modelling I have friends I otherwise wouldn't. So much for it being a reclusive or embarrassing guilty pleasure.

It's also taught me a lesson - don't ridicule other people's interests, even when it's safer to follow 'the herd'. I've caught myself about to 'take the mickey' out of bands, football teams and suchlike before, but stopped myself on the basis that one person's harmless banter is another's dismay at their wholesome leisure pursuit being slandered. 

Basically, live and let live. 

Edited January 27, 2022 by OliverBytham
typo

[Compound2632]

23 hours ago, Adam88 said:

Herbert Hoover, one time president of the USA, was in casual conversation with a lady who asked his profession to which he replied: "I am an engineer".  "Oh", said she, "I thought you were a gentleman".  Appearances can be deceptive.

 

She was no lady. If she thought he was a gentleman, why did she ask him his profession? 

[Jon4470]

Likewise, I am also enjoying the conversation about the perception of the hobby.

 

I have to admit that I keep very quiet about it generally......just to be on the safe side!

 

With some very good friends, though, I was recently involved in a conversation that turned to retirement plans. One friend said he was worried about what to do in retirement because he had no interests outside of work and rugby. I then said that I would have no problem filling my time......I’ll be building my model railway. My friend’s  immediate reaction was to try to make fun of the hobby. He soon stopped though, when the other friends with us responded by showing interest in my plans

I thought it was very funny to see him realise that he was the only one who thought it was a strange hobby.

 

Jon

[Barry Ten]

An anedote that I've doubtless shared on Wright Writes before:

 

When I took up a new job in the Netherlands in the early 90s, I was at a loss for things to do in the evening. I joined the local climbing club (artificial walls, obviously )and thereby met my wife-to-be, who was a keen climber. I also took up horse riding, something I'd never considered before but which looked like it might be fun. I took lessons at a nearby stables run by a formidable older Dutch gentleman named Aard, who clearly lived for his horses and riding business. About ten years later Aard decided to retire, and over beers in the bar after a riding lesson, declared that now he could do the thing he'd always wanted to  - play with model trains! A collection went around and Aard was soon the owner of a nice Marklin trainset. I hope he got many years of enjoyment out of his new hobby.

 

Al

[Northmoor]

3 hours ago, Tony Teague said:

I agree on both counts, although I find that people with absolutely no interests or hobbies die very quickly after retirement.

I don't know if they die quickly, but I've met a couple who once they didn't work - usually a high status career - they probably wished they'd die quicker as they judged themselves and others entirely by career and status, so once they were just "retired", they had nothing.

 

1 hour ago, Jon4470 said:

One friend said he was worried about what to do in retirement because he had no interests outside of work and rugby. I then said that I would have no problem filling my time......I’ll be building my model railway.

When my Dad took early/temporary retirement at 50, he wondered how he'd ever found time to go to work (still never built the model railway though!), he had so many jobs to do on the property, supported the community council, went to events he'd never had time for, etc.  He did return to work for a few years as that helped fund the house renovations at the "retirement property", but once that was done, he was "free" again!

[Tony Wright]

Some fascinating insights into this hobby. 

 

Thanks so much for sharing them. 

 

I don't know whether interest in railways (both real and model) has declined of late among the young, though I certainly don't see any schoolboy trainspotters any more. I don't think it died with steam because, on taking up a post in a new comprehensive school in 1976 which was adjacent to the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line, during break/lunchtimes a fair number of boys (never girls) would be noting the trains (all loco-hauled, apart from DMUs in those days, of course). Some were very keen, and I'd organise minibus visits to depots on Sundays. Some even scratch-built OO Gauge brass locos with me, getting very high marks in their GCSE Metalwork exams. I don't think the hobby was 'ridiculed' back then; certainly, during my photographing Deltics at Doncaster and York at the same time, there were loads of schoolboy 'spotters. They particularly liked to make crayon rubbings of the mighty Type 5s' nameplates using plain wallpaper - something I never did as a 'spotter, especially as most steam loco nameplates were out of reach! 

 

When I finally left teaching for good in the mid-'90s, there were no trainspotters at all. 

 

As for other interests/hobbies of mine. Well, there's (obviously) photography, cricket (though I no longer play), after dinner speaking (is that a hobby?), ecclesiastical architecture (even an atheist can appreciate great church buildings), capital ships, travel and general non-fiction reading. 

 

One thing I would note, is that I'd be unable to do any of these things above to any great extent without the support of my most-understanding wife. 

[Tony Wright]

Linking railway modelling/photography, one thing I'm trying more of is to take shots of the same train, but with different lenses........

 

As with this pair..............

 

35mm at F29.

 

 

60mm at F45.

 

Just different............

 

 

[Tony Wright]

I popped over to see Retford today. 

 

Thanks for your hospitality, Sandra.

 

I took some pictures, including............

 

 

A modified Hornby A4 on the Down Talisman.

 

 

CLUMBER on the boat train. I'm delighted this model of mine is still working well, and handling this heavy train.

 

 

I sold Sandra this O4/8 from the estate of a deceased modeller, and she's now converted it the EM Gauge. It runs really well, which I'm delighted about, because previously it hardly ever turned a wheel. 

 

One of the reasons for going over was to get a close-up of Retford's W1.

 

 

Which is a Graeme King conversion of a Hornby A4. 

 

When I got back home, I took a similar picture of my own SEF W1.

 

 

Made by me and painted by Ian Rathbone.

 

I also took a comparative shot of Hornby's latest W1.

 

 

This, of course, is just as supplied, with none of the details added and no weathering. 

 

Of the three, I think the Retford W1 is best (not because it's EM, but overall). 

 

The only bit in which mine is best (other than the painting) is the droopy conduit for the steam supply to the chime whistle! 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

On 26/01/2022 at 21:41, t-b-g said:

 

I don't normally quote my own posts but I must apologise for the blurry photos! I took them using the camera on my tablet and on the tablet screen they are quite sharp. On my computer screen, which I am looking at now, they look awful.

 

Good evening Tony,

 

Blurry or not, those pictures showed what a good job you'd made of that Kirk carriage.

 

I only have one or two on Little Bytham which I've made.....

 

 

Including this Kirk end door Gresley TK.

 

And, in comparison with................

 

 

A Kemilway end door Gresley TK - Kemilway sides and bits on a Hornby donor.

 

 

And an MJT Gresley RTO - MJT sides and bits on a Hornby donor.

 

All three are in the same train and, in my opinion, are quite adequate 'layout coaches'. 

 

What's even better is that they're all my own work (hence their being 'layout coaches').

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[t-b-g]

20 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening Tony,

 

Blurry or not, those pictures showed what a good job you'd made of that Kirk carriage.

 

I only have one or two on Little Bytham which I've made.....

 

 

Including this Kirk end door Gresley TK.

 

And, in comparison with................

 

 

A Kemilway end door Gresley TK - Kemilway sides and bits on a Hornby donor.

 

 

And an MJT Gresley RTO - MJT sides and bits on a Hornby donor.

 

All three are in the same train and, in my opinion, are quite adequate 'layout coaches'. 

 

What's even better is that they're all my own work (hence their being 'layout coaches').

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

Thanks Tony. I had pretty much forgotten doing that Kirk, so it was quite a pleasant surprise when I saw it and thought "Did I really do that?". As I looked at it, the memory kicked into gear and I could recall the modifications that were made, which were many and quite hard work.

 

Sandra mentioned that you were going today, so I should have put my brain in gear and asked you to take a better photo of it.

 

I notice that the grab handles on yours (apart from the have Kirk one) and the door handles are maroon body colour. I have always tended to make them a brass finish. Have I been doing it wrong? I never checked which was correct when I was building them. Maybe they were painted but became brass coloured as the paint wore off, so both versions could be right. I am no expert on BR period stuff!

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, t-b-g said:

 

Thanks Tony. I had pretty much forgotten doing that Kirk, so it was quite a pleasant surprise when I saw it and thought "Did I really do that?". As I looked at it, the memory kicked into gear and I could recall the modifications that were made, which were many and quite hard work.

 

Sandra mentioned that you were going today, so I should have put my brain in gear and asked you to take a better photo of it.

 

I notice that the grab handles on yours (apart from the have Kirk one) and the door handles are maroon body colour. I have always tended to make them a brass finish. Have I been doing it wrong? I never checked which was correct when I was building them. Maybe they were painted but became brass coloured as the paint wore off, so both versions could be right. I am no expert on BR period stuff!

Good morning Tony,

 

When I'm next up, I'll take a picture of it for you.

 

Brass door furniture? Probably. On metal-bodied cars, I solder all the door handles/grab rails securely in place. What I should do is scrape the paint off afterwards. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony

[Tony Wright]

One thing I should have pointed out regarding the W1s I posted pictures of yesterday is that only the Hornby one has the correct-length bogie (3" longer in scale than an A4). I assume the conversion has the Hornby A4 bogie, and, certainly, the SEF example has the A3/A4 bogie from the kits.

 

It must have been tempting for Hornby to just employ the bogie they already made. It is, after all, just 1 mm short. 

 

Let's hope the model W1 bogie doesn't collapse! 

[gr.king]

45 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 I assume the conversion has the Hornby A4 bogie,

 

It certainly did when I handed it over to Roy. I know that he subsequently fitted Brassmaster main frame overlays to control the behaviour of the axles more tightly, but nothing was said to me about any change of bogie.

Edited January 28, 2022 by gr.king
grammar

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

One thing I should have pointed out regarding the W1s I posted pictures of yesterday is that only the Hornby one has the correct-length bogie (3" longer in scale than an A4). I assume the conversion has the Hornby A4 bogie, and, certainly, the SEF example has the A3/A4 bogie from the kits.

 

It must have been tempting for Hornby to just employ the bogie they already made. It is, after all, just 1 mm short. 

 

Let's hope the model W1 bogie doesn't collapse! 

 

Good morning Tony,

 

your SEF W1 has the correct roof though, neither the Hornby or Hornby conversion have it right. At one time and due to it being erroneously flush, Hornby just painted the V shape on to the boiler cladding, on some more recent examples they no longer seem to bother painting it on and it is thus missing completely.

 

[Denbridge]

13 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Some fascinating insights into this hobby. 

 

Thanks so much for sharing them. 

 

I don't know whether interest in railways (both real and model) has declined of late among the young, though I certainly don't see any schoolboy trainspotters any more. I don't think it died with steam because, on taking up a post in a new comprehensive school in 1976 which was adjacent to the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line, during break/lunchtimes a fair number of boys (never girls) would be noting the trains (all loco-hauled, apart from DMUs in those days, of course). Some were very keen, and I'd organise minibus visits to depots on Sundays. Some even scratch-built OO Gauge brass locos with me, getting very high marks in their GCSE Metalwork exams. I don't think the hobby was 'ridiculed' back then; certainly, during my photographing Deltics at Doncaster and York at the same time, there were loads of schoolboy 'spotters. They particularly liked to make crayon rubbings of the mighty Type 5s' nameplates using plain wallpaper - something I never did as a 'spotter, especially as most steam loco nameplates were out of reach! 

 

When I finally left teaching for good in the mid-'90s, there were no trainspotters at all. 

 

As for other interests/hobbies of mine. Well, there's (obviously) photography, cricket (though I no longer play), after dinner speaking (is that a hobby?), ecclesiastical architecture (even an atheist can appreciate great church buildings), capital ships, travel and general non-fiction reading. 

 

One thing I would note, is that I'd be unable to do any of these things above to any great extent without the support of my most-understanding wife. 

Until fairly recently, I travelled into London regularly. It was unusual not to see spotters of all ages at the north end of Clapham Junction.

[StephenB]

A recent conversion in my local book shop in Pershore indicated a lack of interest in railways. Cars, planes, boats but not railways.

 

Stephen

[lee74clarke]

Good Morning Tony,

I hope you and Mo are well? Can I ask a question regarding Thompson A2/3's please, or more specifically their boilers?

Did diagram 117 boilers always have a round dome, and diagram 118 always have streamlined domes? Would the dome always be in exactly the same position, or would any engineering changes mean slight repositioning? I'm sure this is an easy answer, but as with anything, you only know if you know.

With the information sources I have, 117 round / 118 streamlined seems to be the case, but I am piddling about renaming/renumbering a Hornby A2/3 and want to ensure it's somewhere near. 

My thanks in advance.

Edited January 28, 2022 by lee74clarke