Wright writes.....

[Richard_A]

50 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good evening,

 

Which specific period are you interested in? The Big Four? Or BR?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Both, I find the overlap with nationalisation and change of region interesting, plus it allows a bit of variety of stock and infrastructure, although I doubt much changed in reality. 

[Tony Wright]

39 minutes ago, rka said:

Both, I find the overlap with nationalisation and change of region interesting, plus it allows a bit of variety of stock and infrastructure, although I doubt much changed in reality. 

My library is extremely limited when it comes to Welsh railways (other than North Wales, where trains in their legions used to pass through Chester on their way to the coastal resorts on summer Saturdays).

 

I suppose the Central Wales line, being ex-LNWR, would have retained a fair bit of LMS stock; certainly well into BR days as well. If one considers the Marches line and the Cambrian lines from Shrewsbury, a fair bit of Mk. 1 stock would be evident, too. Whether that got on to the CWL in numbers, I don't know. The Middleton Press volumes probably cover it.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[DenysW]

2 hours ago, Northmoor said:

There was only ever one Central Wales line; the ex-Cambrian route was always known as the Mid-Wales line, the Central Wales line always referred to Swansea-Shrewsbury.

This is Tony's thread where punctilious use of grammar is emphasised. You've capitalised the Central, which the original post did not. Both routes are central. Only one is Central.

[Northmoor]

10 minutes ago, DenysW said:

This is Tony's thread where punctilious use of grammar is emphasised. You've capitalised the Central, which the original post did not. Both routes are central. Only one is Central.

Fair point.

Unfortunately you'll have to explain the word "punctilious" to me, as I went to Comprehensive school.....

[Camperdown]

9 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

For the Great Western there is a set of books authored by J.H.Russell.  Great Western Coaches Parts1 & 2, plus the Appendix.

Frank

They were first published a long time ago.  I got my Russell vol 2 (the most useful one) as a birthday present in 1977.

[DenysW]

14 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

as I went to Comprehensive school

You youngster you. Not a possibility in the (now cancelled) West Riding of Yorkshire when I were a lad. A local authority so paranoid about theft that WRCC was burnt into the underside of the benches in the Chemistry lab in my secondary school.

[westerner]

Also for GWR coaches there is Great Western Coaches in Colour by Kevin Robertson which as the title suggests has colour photos of GWR coaches in BR times.

[jrg1]

6 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

 

Beautiful work as usual, Iain: may I please ask, how are the bogies' white-metal sides fixed to the brass frames? Soldered, glued or mechanically? I can see what looks like some small bolts and plates but I can't tell  if they're cosmetic or structural...

Tin the brass with 188 solder.  Turning the iron temperature down and changing the bit. tin the WM with 90 solder.  Line up the two components and clamp.  Run 90 solder around the edges.

Far easier and quicker than glue, just don't forget to adjust the temperature for WM......................

[Richard_A]

12 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

My library is extremely limited when it comes to Welsh railways (other than North Wales, where trains in their legions used to pass through Chester on their way to the coastal resorts on summer Saturdays).

 

I suppose the Central Wales line, being ex-LNWR, would have retained a fair bit of LMS stock; certainly well into BR days as well. If one considers the Marches line and the Cambrian lines from Shrewsbury, a fair bit of Mk. 1 stock would be evident, too. Whether that got on to the CWL in numbers, I don't know. The Middleton Press volumes probably cover it.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I have a few books on the central Wales line, which show mk1s and ex LMS stock, with what I assume is ex GW.

 

As someone who has been predominantly interested in diesel traction, my steam era knowledge is very limited, learning is all part of the fun. 

 

I hope to try my hand at building a steam locomotive kit over Christmas, and I'm starting small with a craftsman 1f kit, a which a few we're allocated to Swansea Paxton Street shed in the early 1950s.

 

I have many unbuilt kitmaster mk1s to construct but nothing from the pre-nationisation era coaching stock wise. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by rka

[Chamby]

16 hours ago, MarkC said:

What, no button for the sound effects when executing the other use for the firing shovel, mentioned upthread? 😉

 

Mark

I sense that we’re getting very close to the origins of the well known phrase “like **** off a hot shovel”…

 

The diversity of content within this thread continues to amaze!

[Iain.d]

16 hours ago, Chas Levin said:

 

Beautiful work as usual, Iain: may I please ask, how are the bogies' white-metal sides fixed to the brass frames? Soldered, glued or mechanically? I can see what looks like some small bolts and plates but I can't tell  if they're cosmetic or structural...

 

Hi Chas,

 

Thank you for the kind words. The bogie sides are just attached with glue, two-part epoxy. There was such a good fit between the castings and the etch material that just a thin smear was needed.

 

Kind regards,

 

Iain

[lezz01]

8 hours ago, rka said:

I have a few books on the central Wales line, which show mk1s and ex LMS stock, with what I assume is ex GW.

 

As someone who has been predominantly interested in diesel traction, my steam era knowledge is very limited, learning is all part of the fun. 

 

I hope to try my hand at building a steam locomotive kit over Christmas, and I'm starting small with a craftsman 1f kit, a which a few we're allocated to Swansea Paxton Street shed in the early 1950s.

 

I have many unbuilt kitmaster mk1s to construct but nothing from the pre-nationisation era coaching stock wise. 

The Craftsman 1F kit is a good choice for your first etched brass kit mate. It was my first etched brass loco kit as well. It goes together very well although I would go with a different motor than the suggested one. My one is currently undergoing refurbishment.

Here she is ready for paint and a new chassis. The loco is now on her third chassis although there's not a lot wrong with her current one I have one of Dave Basford's excellent chassis kits to go under her. Good luck with yours I hope you enjoy the build.

Regards Lez   

[Steamport Southport]

15 hours ago, westerner said:

Also for GWR coaches there is Great Western Coaches in Colour by Kevin Robertson which as the title suggests has colour photos of GWR coaches in BR times.

 

Also Great Western Coaches from 1890 by Michael Harris is a good guide.

 

Quite common on eBay, Amazon, second hand book shops, etc. Shop around, this is just pointing out the book.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Western-Coaches-Michael-Harris/dp/0946537828

 

Much easier to source than the LMS trilogy. I spent ages getting a set. I managed it eventually and paid less than £25 each. You just need to keep watching eBay and places like Rail Books, they do come up occasionally. No qualms about paying full price for new books, but I'm not willing to pay a lot for old ones just because someone thinks they are rare and collectable.

 

 

Jason

[Richard_A]

49 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

The Craftsman 1F kit is a good choice for your first etched brass kit mate. It was my first etched brass loco kit as well. It goes together very well although I would go with a different motor than the suggested one. My one is currently undergoing refurbishment.

Here she is ready for paint and a new chassis. The loco is now on her third chassis although there's not a lot wrong with her current one I have one of Dave Basford's excellent chassis kits to go under her. Good luck with yours I hope you enjoy the build.

Regards Lez   

Hi lez, 

 

I bought mine second hand, the kit had been glued together and part of the chassis is missing, so I have bought one of Dave's chassis kits for mine to replace it. 

 

I have to clean up the body etchings and just get stuck in now, and as I have no layout set up I am planning on building to em gauge standards too. 

[lezz01]

11 minutes ago, rka said:

Hi lez, 

 

I bought mine second hand, the kit had been glued together and part of the chassis is missing, so I have bought one of Dave's chassis kits for mine to replace it. 

 

I have to clean up the body etchings and just get stuck in now, and as I have no layout set up I am planning on building to em gauge standards too. 

I would go with Dave's suggested gearbox and motor combo as well mate. High Level GBs are very good. Is it your first EM gauge build? If so welcome to EM modelling.

Regards Lez.

[Richard_A]

19 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

I would go with Dave's suggested gearbox and motor combo as well mate. High Level GBs are very good. Is it your first EM gauge build? If so welcome to EM modelling.

Regards Lez.

I have one of his motors and will be ordering the gearbox this week. 

 

It will be my first em gauge build, I have been building Parkside etc kits in oo gauge, but as I said I don't have a layout to be restricted by so I might try and build in a more accurate gauge. 

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, lezz01 said:

The Craftsman 1F kit is a good choice for your first etched brass kit mate. It was my first etched brass loco kit as well. It goes together very well although I would go with a different motor than the suggested one. My one is currently undergoing refurbishment.

Here she is ready for paint and a new chassis. The loco is now on her third chassis although there's not a lot wrong with her current one I have one of Dave Basford's excellent chassis kits to go under her. Good luck with yours I hope you enjoy the build.

Regards Lez   

Good afternoon Lez,

 

I'd agree that the Craftsman 1F is an excellent starting point for anyone 'new' to the delights of kit-building. 

 

I had two kits for sale recently on behalf of a modeller who is now too infirm to carry on his hobby, and they both sold very quickly. 

 

In fact, I'd recommend any Craftsman loco kit for any builder. I've built several and have had several through my hands. A few Craftsman examples...........

 

 

I sold a Craftsman 1F on behalf of Brian Lee's widow. 

 

However,

 

 

 

 

 

What price a kit-built 1F now that there's a Bachmann RTR version?

 

 

Master Piece even does a bespoke crew for it.

 

 

A Craftsman 0-4-4T from the Brian Lee collection. Is there an RTR version of this now?

 

 

 

Tony Geary built/painted/weathered a Craftsman A5, altering the bunker to the correct proportion. He built it for Charwelton, and it now sees service on Little Bytham (I replaced the bogie/pony wheels with those with the correct number of spokes). 

 

I built a Craftsman A5 for a friend several years ago, but I don't have any pictures of it.

 

Bytham does, however, have...........

 

 

Another Craftsman A5. I bought it off the estate of a deceased modeller, and it didn't run all that well. It does now! I also replaced the bogie/pony wheels on this one.

 

Who would have thought there'd ever be an RTR equivalent of this?

 

 

But there is now, from Sonic. 

 

One class that is highly-unlikely to ever appear RTR (though who knows?) is........

 

A C12. I built this Craftsman example for Ian Wilson as a Christmas present a decade and more ago.

 

 

Subsequently painting it.

 

 

Which Tom Foster then (beautifully) weathered for Ian (much more-natural).

 

 

And it now runs on Ian's Edenham (which might be for sale - please PM me if interested).

 

It's in company with a South Eastern Finecast example, which I rebuilt/painted and Tom Foster also weathered.

 

 

Someone brought along this Craftsman GNR example.

 

 

 

I bought another Craftsman C12 from the estate of a deceased modeller (builder unknown). It didn't run too well (haven't we heard this before?), but it does now. It was painted in a glossy finish (as was everything else in the collection). Geoff Haynes toned it down for me and she now performs as a light engine in Bytham's running sequence.

 

 

I've even built a Craftsman GWR 2-4-2T for one of Geoff's customers!

 

Though I don't have any more Craftsman 1Fs for sale, I do have...........

 

 

This MPD equivalent. Complete with wheels, motor and gears, I'm asking the princely sum of £50.00 (it's from the estate of the infirm modeller).

 

Anyone, please PM me if interested.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Richard_A]

18 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Lez,

 

I'd agree that the Craftsman 1F is an excellent starting point for anyone 'new' to the delights of kit-building. 

 

I had two kits for sale recently on behalf of a modeller who is now too infirm to carry on his hobby, and they both sold very quickly. 

 

In fact, I'd recommend any Craftsman loco kit for any builder. I've built several and have had several through my hands. A few Craftsman examples...........

 

 

I sold a Craftsman 1F on behalf of Brian Lee's widow. 

 

However,

 

 

 

 

 

What price a kit-built 1F now that there's a Bachmann RTR version?

 

 

Master Piece even does a bespoke crew for it.

 

 

A Craftsman 0-4-4T from the Brian Lee collection. Is there an RTR version of this now?

 

 

 

Tony Geary built/painted/weathered a Craftsman A5, altering the bunker to the correct proportion. He built it for Charwelton, and it now sees service on Little Bytham (I replaced the bogie/pony wheels with those with the correct number of spokes). 

 

I built a Craftsman A5 for a friend several years ago, but I don't have any pictures of it.

 

Bytham does, however, have...........

 

 

Another Craftsman A5. I bought it off the estate of a deceased modeller, and it didn't run all that well. It does now! I also replaced the bogie/pony wheels on this one.

 

Who would have thought there'd ever be an RTR equivalent of this?

 

 

But there is now, from Sonic. 

 

One class that is highly-unlikely to ever appear RTR (though who knows?) is........

 

A C12. I built this Craftsman example for Ian Wilson as a Christmas present a decade and more ago.

 

 

Subsequently painting it.

 

 

Which Tom Foster then (beautifully) weathered for Ian (much more-natural).

 

 

And it now runs on Ian's Edenham (which might be for sale - please PM me if interested).

 

It's in company with a South Eastern Finecast example, which I rebuilt/painted and Tom Foster also weathered.

 

 

Someone brought along this Craftsman GNR example.

 

 

 

I bought another Craftsman C12 from the estate of a deceased modeller (builder unknown). It didn't run too well (haven't we heard this before?), but it does now. It was painted in a glossy finish (as was everything else in the collection). Geoff Haynes toned it down for me and she now performs as a light engine in Bytham's running sequence.

 

 

I've even built a Craftsman GWR 2-4-2T for one of Geoff's customers!

 

Though I don't have any more Craftsman 1Fs for sale, I do have...........

 

 

This MPD equivalent. Complete with wheels, motor and gears, I'm asking the princely sum of £50.00 (it's from the estate of the infirm modeller).

 

Anyone, please PM me if interested.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very tempted by the kit, but I already have many to build. 

[MarkC]

Another vote for Craftsman's kits - and also for the MPD models. That 1F is an absolute bargain at GBP50 👍

 

Mark

[Tony Wright]

2 hours ago, MarkC said:

Another vote for Craftsman's kits - and also for the MPD models. That 1F is an absolute bargain at GBP50 👍

 

Mark

Good evening Mark,

 

 'That 1F is an absolute bargain at GBP50 👍'

 

Indeed, so much so that it sold immediately (commiserations to the other three who wanted it - sorry C.A.T.Ford, I can't reply to your PM). 

 

Perhaps I should take pictures of some of the other remaining kits, since it's almost a month since the original list was posted. 

 

The prices were set by Graham Nicholas; round about 50% of what a current kit price would be, and often including wheels as well as gears/motor. I'm surprised others haven't been snapped up. With that in mind, I will take pictures of some of the remaining kits.........

 

Take, for instance, a DJH 8F I have for sale. DJH list a current kit at £202.88 (ex-wheels and motor) yet I have one for around £120.00 which includes all wheels and a motor. Similarly so with a 9F and Fairburn tank, among others. 

 

Please, all, watch this space. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

When Rob Kinsey saw the pictures of his O4/7 last week, he's very kindly sent me the bits to complete it!

 

 

Including the balance weights and brakes (I've yet to fit the latter). 

 

Thanks for the bits, Rob.

 

It must be remembered that the loco is 30 years old; built at a time when several locos were needed for Leighford, in double-quick time. Meaning that some detail was omitted, for that was the 'standard' of the time - a 'standard' I was happily building to at the same period. A standard which included the likes of..............

 

 

A Wills A3 on a scratch-built chassis, towing a Jamieson tender - seen here running on Stoke Summit, post-Leighford. 

 

 

And still running on Little Bytham.

 

 

And another ex-Leighford/Stoke/Charwelton A3 from the same source. 

 

These two models are all my own work.

 

However, by current standards.............

 

 

They're not there; built by me from a DJH kit, painted by Geoff Haynes. 

 

More than 30 years ago (around 40+).

 

 

I was building A1s from Wills A2 adaptations on scratch-built chassis.

 

Again, all my own work.

 

 

But compared to what I'm producing now.................................  Built from a DJH kit, painted by Geoff Haynes (I've still to fit a shedplate!).

 

 

Possibly even an ex-Fordley Park loco; built from a Jamieson kit. Brakes?

 

And, the point of the above? I'm more than happy to still run those veterans illustrated, including Rob's O4/7 (which I think is still a splendid 'layout loco'). 

 

There are over 200 locos which can be called upon to operate Bytham's trains, and if some of them are 'less than the current standard', then I say to myself, 'so what?'. All are no more than layout locos, made to be viewed at 'stand-off' scale. From that perspective, they visually 'work'. Or, at least, I think so............

 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Richard_A]

This is my intended victim as bought, a dip in some cellulose thinners to dissolve the glue, then start this kit building lark. 

[MJI]

16 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Lez,

 

I'd agree that the Craftsman 1F is an excellent starting point for anyone 'new' to the delights of kit-building. 

 

I had two kits for sale recently on behalf of a modeller who is now too infirm to carry on his hobby, and they both sold very quickly. 

 

In fact, I'd recommend any Craftsman loco kit for any builder. I've built several and have had several through my hands. A few Craftsman examples...........

 

 

I sold a Craftsman 1F on behalf of Brian Lee's widow. 

 

However,

 

 

 

 

 

What price a kit-built 1F now that there's a Bachmann RTR version?

 

 

Master Piece even does a bespoke crew for it.

 

 

A Craftsman 0-4-4T from the Brian Lee collection. Is there an RTR version of this now?

 

 

 

Tony Geary built/painted/weathered a Craftsman A5, altering the bunker to the correct proportion. He built it for Charwelton, and it now sees service on Little Bytham (I replaced the bogie/pony wheels with those with the correct number of spokes). 

 

I built a Craftsman A5 for a friend several years ago, but I don't have any pictures of it.

 

Bytham does, however, have...........

 

 

Another Craftsman A5. I bought it off the estate of a deceased modeller, and it didn't run all that well. It does now! I also replaced the bogie/pony wheels on this one.

 

Who would have thought there'd ever be an RTR equivalent of this?

 

 

But there is now, from Sonic. 

 

One class that is highly-unlikely to ever appear RTR (though who knows?) is........

 

A C12. I built this Craftsman example for Ian Wilson as a Christmas present a decade and more ago.

 

 

Subsequently painting it.

 

 

Which Tom Foster then (beautifully) weathered for Ian (much more-natural).

 

 

And it now runs on Ian's Edenham (which might be for sale - please PM me if interested).

 

It's in company with a South Eastern Finecast example, which I rebuilt/painted and Tom Foster also weathered.

 

 

Someone brought along this Craftsman GNR example.

 

 

 

I bought another Craftsman C12 from the estate of a deceased modeller (builder unknown). It didn't run too well (haven't we heard this before?), but it does now. It was painted in a glossy finish (as was everything else in the collection). Geoff Haynes toned it down for me and she now performs as a light engine in Bytham's running sequence.

 

 

I've even built a Craftsman GWR 2-4-2T for one of Geoff's customers!

 

Though I don't have any more Craftsman 1Fs for sale, I do have...........

 

 

This MPD equivalent. Complete with wheels, motor and gears, I'm asking the princely sum of £50.00 (it's from the estate of the infirm modeller).

 

Anyone, please PM me if interested.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MR 1P

 

There are two boiler variants so need to look at the kits carefully.

 

The one I i would want would involve carving up a brand new Bachmann, would rather do a kit!!!!

[Compound2632]

16 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

However,

 

 

Ah yes but.

 

Bachmann have only done the Belpaire-boilered version - Belpaire boilers were fitted in LMS days, from 1925 IIRC. If you want the round-topped version, it's either clever hacking (which I have seen done very well) or the appropriate version of the Craftsman kit. Fortunately Bachmann have done both versions of the 1532 Class 0-4-4T.

[Compound2632]

On 17/12/2023 at 17:16, Northmoor said:

There was only ever one Central Wales line; the ex-Cambrian route was always known as the Mid-Wales line, the Central Wales line always referred to Swansea-Shrewsbury.

 

On 17/12/2023 at 19:20, DenysW said:

This is Tony's thread where punctilious use of grammar is emphasised. You've capitalised the Central, which the original post did not. Both routes are central. Only one is Central.

 

The Central Wales line does incorporate the Central Wales Railway, opened in 1862 between Knighton and Llandrindod, and the Central Wales Extension Railway to Llandovery, open throughout in 1868, by which time both companies had been absorbed by the LNWR. The Mid-Wales line incorporates the Mid-Wales Railway, opened in 1864 between Penpontbren Junction and Three Cocks Junction. So (rather to my surprise) both terms preserve the memory of the very origins of the routes.