Wright writes.....

[MikeParkin65]

13 hours ago, Hollar said:

Does anyone know where to buy a single large sheet of extruded polystyrene, for a 6x2 foot ultraportable layout?  I spent a lot of time this morning searching the web, and the smallest quantity I could find was a pack of 18 sheets, which would be enough to build somewhere to house it.

 

I'm able to collect it anywhere around Greater London.

 

Tony

Have you considered using foam board? Im experimenting with it at the moment using double upped 5mm board. 

[Barry Ten]

33 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

...which is why, in the good old days, Tri-ang and Tri-ang Hornby trains had a buffer heights of 16mm not 14mm.

 

I thought the main (daft!) reason for that was to allow for the upswing of front bogies when going from level to sloping track?

[St Enodoc]

8 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

I thought the main (daft!) reason for that was to allow for the upswing of front bogies when going from level to sloping track?

I think that's probably true too. Bogie movement in all planes seems likely. Another mitigating measure would be small wheels. Has anyone got access to an original Rovex Princess that they could measure up for us?

[Barry Ten]

58 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I think that's probably true too. Bogie movement in all planes seems likely. Another mitigating measure would be small wheels. Has anyone got access to an original Rovex Princess that they could measure up for us?

 

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a correct dimension anywhere on the Rovex Princess, as beloved as my two examples were.

[polybear]

17 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a correct dimension anywhere on the Rovex Princess, as beloved as my two examples were.

 

Yet they still managed to create many hundreds of thousands (millions?) of happy hours amongst their owners - and continue to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

[Coach bogie]

On 08/08/2023 at 20:11, The Fatadder said:

This is then compounded by the majority of the RTR GWR stock being very time limited as well

 

Thankfully plenty of designs are available as kits! 

We GWR modellers are very fortunate when it comes to kits and sides, especially when you consider how many different coach diagrams there are compared to say Stanier's standard designs for the LMS. For those not into the GWR, as an example, there are 166 different composite designs, 83 different all 3rds etc. Where would an rtr company start with that level of choice?  The famous, GWR standardisation never quite extended to coaching stock at Swindon.

 

As Fatadder states, there is a plentiful supply of kits and sides. Sadly some of the ranges are no longer available. At the time, I did not have the money to buy enough of ranges such as Trevor Charlton who produced sides for over 90 different GWR coaches, more if you include the South Wales absorbed stock. Luckily take home pay had increased sufficiently when the Tony Hammond range became available producing nearly all the TPO diagrams. More recently, Just look at how many sides Worsley Works now offer and outstanding work by Geen and Needham to bring their extensive range of toplights and 70 footers to market in recent years.

 

I appreciate building coaches is not in everyone's skill base but there are enough sides now available, designed to fit rtr bodies. Bettabitz was mentioned as the overlays/replacement sides for the Hornby clerestories. Worsley Works have improved on the range and produced additional diagrams that will fit rtr. The Hornby clerestory composite, as produced, (and the Bettabitz brass sides) only existed for a short time with that compartment layout, with all rebuilt by WWI. Worsley Works kindly produce the rebuilt side so you can alter it to the later guise as an all 3rd with the middle toilets replaced by another compartment, that lasted through to BR (just).

 

Full marks to Dapol for their work on the non corridor toplights and the panelled  autocoach. The toplights are a bit limited by area for me but I have ordered a set - they deserve the support.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Barry Ten]

Continuing with my South Wales valleys terminus project, now starting to add some smaller details, most of which still

need painting in-situ.

 

 

[grahame]

On 08/08/2023 at 12:47, MJI said:

 

SR Tons missing, no SUBs 4CORs or anything like that

 

It's even worse in N gauge!

 

 

[Erichill16]

Saw this in an antiques shop today, book certainly not antique so not sure what its doing there! 😉
Made me smile. 

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

I thought the main (daft!) reason for that was to allow for the upswing of front bogies when going from level to sloping track?

Good afternoon Al,

 

I think you're right with regard to the ride height of Tri-ang's locos. As a boy, I expected mine to climb the quite ridiculous gradients imposed by the use of the graded piers sets; which they did, without problems.

 

When I bought a Tri-ang FLYING SCOTSMAN (not as a boy), I was disappointed to find the front framing was extended by some distance. Reading the contemporary model press, it was because it needed to 'cover' the front tension-lock coupling, otherwise it would have protruded too far, sticking out from the bogie. That said, I was more disappointed by the wrong dome and the wrong tender. I didn't keep it long!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

3 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Saw this in an antiques shop today, book certainly not antique so not sure what its doing there! 😉
Made me smile. 

I doubt if very much was asked for it!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Barry Ten]

Sir gets everywhere! See art credit on back of LP:

 

 

[Ncl]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone recall a set of photos and an explanation of using microscope slides for coach glazing please? It was earlier in Wright Writes (I think) but I can't seem to find it now.

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Regards

 

Nick.

[cb900f]

Nick,

 

I have been in contact with Iain with regards to the same subject and even asked him the same question.

 

He obligingly replied with the answer page 2911

 

Regards  Pete

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Barry Ten said:

Sir gets everywhere! See art credit on back of LP:

 

 

Not me, Al.

 

Though I do like Steve Winwood's music.

 

Last week I watched an old B&W movie called The Spaniard's Curse, starring, among others, Tony Wright. Not me, either!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Ncl]

21 minutes ago, cb900f said:

Nick,

 

I have been in contact with Iain with regards to the same subject and even asked him the same question.

 

He obligingly replied with the answer page 2911

 

Regards  Pete

Many thanks, much appreciated.

 

Nick

[Bucoops]

50 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Not me, Al.

 

Though I do like Steve Winwood's music.

 

Last week I watched an old B&W movie called The Spaniard's Curse, starring, among others, Tony Wright. Not me, either!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Are you sure - you were, if I recall, an art teacher after all? 😉

 

I believe I have one item of "Tony Wright Merch" as the youngsters may call it - The book of the LNER Pacifics.

 

 

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

Are you sure - you were, if I recall, an art teacher after all? 😉

 

I believe I have one item of "Tony Wright Merch" as the youngsters may call it - The book of the LNER Pacifics.

 

 

I hope you like the book, Rich.

 

I tried to get one for Jesse Sim, but Irwell had sold the lot. In a way I was delighted, because any royalties went to a children's hospice in Kent.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Bucoops]

Very much so :)

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Not me, Al.

 

Though I do like Steve Winwood's music.

 

Last week I watched an old B&W movie called The Spaniard's Curse, starring, among others, Tony Wright. Not me, either!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I had a colleague in Birmingham whose name was Tony Wright. He wasn't you, either.

[MarkC]

9 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I hope you like the book, Rich.

 

I tried to get one for Jesse Sim, but Irwell had sold the lot. In a way I was delighted, because any royalties went to a children's hospice in Kent.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

There are a few copies on Amazon - but an eye-watering price.

FROM GBP76.44, PLUS GBP2.79 postage.

😲

 

There's also one on eBay - a more acceptable GBP20.30, including postage

 

Mark

Edited August 10, 2023 by MarkC
To add something

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, MarkC said:

There are a few copies on Amazon - but an eye-watering price.

FROM GBP76.44, PLUS GBP2.79 postage.

😲

 

There's also one on eBay - a more acceptable GBP20.30, including postage

 

Mark

Thanks Mark,

 

Irwell's George and Chris thought my The Book of the LNER Pacifics Modelling Options was one of the 'prettiest' books they'd ever published. Several others must have thought the same, because it sold out! Those prices you quote are, indeed, high. 

 

It was published in 2010, and, obviously, at that time was current. It shows how useless my crystal ball was (still is), because I claimed that an RTR Thompson Pacific would never appear. What do I know? 

 

It came about almost by accident. At the time, Irwell were publishing the Pannier Papers, and I was asked if I had enough photos of model panniers to make a complementary publication. 'About a dozen' was my answer. 'However, I have hundreds showing model LNER Pacifics'. And, that was that. 

 

Most of my books (bookazines) for Irwell have been equally 'accidental'. When I was asked how many prototype pictures of green diesels I'd taken, my answer was 'A few. However, I have thousands of pictures of diesels in BR blue, taken by me in the '70s and '80s. Thus, I became the author of volumes visually-describing most of the BR diesel classes, particularly featuring Class 47s, Class 50s and the Deltics, among others. My writing career has never looked forward since! 

 

Never, at the time I took my pictures, did I think they'd ever be published. It was just a hobby, undertaken in the school holidays, mainly; meaning many (most) of the pictures were taken in August. My trusty Pentax K1000 (the best 'budget' 35mm camera ever in my view) just about wore out, but the second-hand Nikon F (should electricity ever become too expensive) could still be going strong. As for the Pentax 6X7 I eventually used, apart from giving me fantastic pictures, it enabled me to participate in the competition to find 'The World's Most Perfectly-Ruptured Man'!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

Edited August 10, 2023 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Willie Whizz]

22 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

...which is why, in the good old days, Tri-ang and Tri-ang Hornby trains had a buffer heights of 16mm not 14mm.

As Northmoor said, detecting a 2mm variation in a dimension of less than 50mm is easy, to which one might add that such things are more noticeable in some directions than others. 

[MJI]

25 minutes ago, Willie Whizz said:

As Northmoor said, detecting a 2mm variation in a dimension of less than 50mm is easy, to which one might add that such things are more noticeable in some directions than others. 

 

Most length issues are things like buffers.

[john new]

On 08/08/2023 at 21:13, Hollar said:

Does anyone know where to buy a single large sheet of extruded polystyrene, for a 6x2 foot ultraportable layout?  I spent a lot of time this morning searching the web, and the smallest quantity I could find was a pack of 18 sheets, which would be enough to build somewhere to house it.

 

I'm able to collect it anywhere around Greater London.

 

Tony

Another option is three cardboard fruit trays from the supermarket (free) and for a single large sheet of cardboard to cut for the top ask at Halfords or any other cycle shop for the wrapper their bikes are delivered in. Some bracing needed, again with free cardboard, and it is ready to go. I didn’t progress this project as I found issues with N gauge but the base lasted from 2017 through to last year. It only got scrapped because bad storage led to it twisting, not the concept. One tip - double check the trays are identical. You will note the black one I used is very slightly larger, only a mm or two but noticeable.

 

Just a thought.

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by john new
Extra picture from the initial two box trial.