Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

11 hours ago, The Fatadder said:

Thanks again, amazing what one small change makes.  It now is running much nicer, if a tad noisy.  So I’ve applied some oil and will give it a run on the rolling road before replacing the cylinders.  Thanks again for the assistance 

 

and it also works with the left hand cross head/rod assembly added.  The right hand I appear to have cut a couple of mm too short so it ends up just falling out of the hole when at full extension.  

Good morning Rich,

 

Glad it's improved the running.

 

In order to obviate the too-short piston rod, solder a washer of appropriate thickness (or two) over the end of the hole in the rear of the cylinders. How do I know this?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[The Fatadder]

20 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Rich,

 

Glad it's improved the running.

 

In order to obviate the too-short piston rod, solder a washer of appropriate thickness (or two) over the end of the hole in the rear of the cylinders. How do I know this?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Thanks for the suggestion, I hadnt thought about that having got it in my head that I needed to solder a short length of brass bar onto the end!  I will have a go at lunch and see how I get on.  For the time being I have 4707 being ran in on the rolling road next to my laptop while I work.

 

 

[sandra]

11 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Some more shots of Hornby's forthcoming A2/2..................

 

 

 

 

Far better bogie wheels than in the past. The drivers are the right pattern, too. And the valve gear is superior to what's gone before.................

 

Despite the prototype's perceived unpopularity, this model is going to be a winner! 

 

 

Tony,

 

I do like this model and indeed I must be one of the few people who actually prefer these locomotives in their rebuilt form. I think they have a rugged, brutalist look to them. Retford already has two, 60501 built by yourself and 60506 built by anon but rebuilt by me. The question arises of whether I should buy the Hornby model. 
 

The numbers on the cab side look too yellow but that can easily be changed. The model depicts the loco post 9/57 after the fitting of a 117 boiler with the dome in the forward position. Thus it’s just out of period for Retford which is set in the summer of 1957 however the dome, with difficulty, can be moved. The crest on the tender would also have to be changed to the early crest.

 

The 117 boiler had a round dome without steam collector but for some reason 60505 was given a special streamlined dome which was higher than normal to clear the fitting for the round dome. Hornby don’t seem to have depicted this, the dome looks like an ordinary streamlined dome. This is a minor criticism of what otherwise looks to be a good model.

 

Will I buy one for Retford and make the modifications necessary? The answer is almost certainly yes as I do think Retford has too few locomotives to cover all the trains on the layout. There are only just enough, with no spares. I would like the railway to be entirely stocked with kit-built locomotives but this is a long term aim and realistically there will be a number of converted Hornby and Bachmann locomotives for some years to come.

Sandra

[Anglian]

I know this is only a test model but the cab side numbers are a bit out. If they've been printed, rather than hand decorated, then the system that prints them needs an adjustment. The 60 portion is high and the 505 low. ie the baseline rises towards the back of the cab (this observation is allowing for the font and the cursive letterforms).

[rowanj]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Rich,

 

Glad it's improved the running.

 

In order to obviate the too-short piston rod, solder a washer of appropriate thickness (or two) over the end of the hole in the rear of the cylinders. How do I know this?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I recently had exactly the same issue with an SEF K3, and resolved it by fitting the rod through a piece of brass tube from the spares box,  I opened out the hole in the cylinder block to allow a tight fit, checked the crosshead rod ran freely, then soldered it in place, This had the desired effect of keeping the crosshead in place, but also made the thing run more smoothly, and produced the protuberance on the prototype where the crosshead enters the cylinder block. It worked so well, I refitted the other side, I wonder where I got the brass tube from?

I think this was a trick I picked up from Dave Alexander , to use when assembling motion where there is a pronounced dip in the cylinders, as on his Q7.

Edited December 11, 2020 by rowanj

[gr.king]

5 minutes ago, rowanj said:

I recently had exactly the same issue with an SEF K3, and resolved it by fitting the rod through a piece of brass tube from the spares box,  I opened out the hole in the cylinder block to allow a tight fit, checked the crosshead rod ran freely, then soldered it in place, This had the desired effect of keeping the crosshead in place, but also made the thing run more smoothly, and produced the protuberance on the prototype where the crosshead enters the cylinder block. It worked so well, I refitted the other side, I wonder where I got the brass tube from?

I think this was a trick I picked up from Dave Alexander , to use when assembling motion where there is a pronounced dip in the cylinders, as on his Q7.

 

Probably worth doing in many cases, if only to allow the piston rod to glide in a nice straight, smooth bore in the brass tube.

[Chuffer Davies]

1 hour ago, gr.king said:

 

Probably worth doing in many cases, if only to allow the piston rod to glide in a nice straight, smooth bore in the brass tube.

A close fit between the piston rod and the tube can lead to an interesting side effect if the back of the tube is closed, especially after lubrication.  You can get a build up of air pressure in the tube which makes the chassis run erratically, much like a quartering issue.  To avoid this I always drill a hole in the side of the tube to eliminate the risk.  
 

Frank

[rowanj]

26 minutes ago, Chuffer Davies said:

A close fit between the piston rod and the tube can lead to an interesting side effect if the back of the tube is closed, especially after lubrication.  You can get a build up of air pressure in the tube which makes the chassis run erratically, much like a quartering issue.  To avoid this I always drill a hole in the side of the tube to eliminate the risk.  
 

Frank

Interesting, Frank. I've only done this a couple of times, but always make sure that  the front of the tube is not fitted so far forward that there is a decent gap behind the front/interior of the cylinder block and the front of the tube.

Incidentally, I just used bits I had from a source unknown. What would be a typical inside diameter to fit a typical 00 cast/brass crosshead?

Edited December 11, 2020 by rowanj

[Chuffer Davies]

38 minutes ago, rowanj said:

Interesting, Frank. I've only done this a couple of times, but always make sure that  the front of the tube is not fitted so far forward that there is a decent gap behind the front/interior of the cylinder block and the front of the tube.

Incidentally, I just used bits I had from a source unknown. What would be a typical inside diameter to fit a typical 00 cast/brass crosshead?

Hi,

I’ve not used cast piston rods for many a year.  Etched kits typically use n/silver or steel rod (0.8mm is my preferred diameter) hence the increased risk of a close fit in the tube.  You only make the mistake once because it is a real head scratcher trying to work out why the chassis suddenly starts binding.

Happy days...

Frank

[Clive Mortimore]

Back to Hornby's BR green. I like all the methods people use to improve it , but most are nearly as drastic as repainting. 

 

Hornby just cannot do BR green and us modellers should not have to do anything to improve it, either that or shut up and get on with enjoying being a railway modeller.

[gr.king]

2 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

A close fit between the piston rod and the tube can lead to an interesting side effect if the back of the tube is closed, especially after lubrication.  You can get a build up of air pressure in the tube which makes the chassis run erratically, much like a quartering issue.  To avoid this I always drill a hole in the side of the tube to eliminate the risk.  
 

Frank

Fancy that. I'd never imagined using such a close fit of rod and tube, nor so much oil,  as to produce an air compression problem - or possibly even hydraulic lock if swamped in oil.

[Tony Wright]

16 minutes ago, gr.king said:

Fancy that. I'd never imagined using such a close fit of rod and tube, nor so much oil,  as to produce an air compression problem - or possibly even hydraulic lock if swamped in oil.

I never make mine a tight enough fit to cause such a phenomenon. There are more than enough other points/joints which can cause erratic running.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

Back to Hornby's BR green. I like all the methods people use to improve it , but most are nearly as drastic as repainting. 

 

Hornby just cannot do BR green and us modellers should not have to do anything to improve it, either that or shut up and get on with enjoying being a railway modeller.

Surely part of the 'joy' of being a railway modeller is having/being able to improve/correct/alter/change what's provided by manufacturers.

 

I don't think there'd be much fun in just opening boxes where everything was done (perfectly) for you. 

 

And, I think Hornby 'can' do BR green. It just needs 'bringing out', that's all. Such fun!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Headstock]

Best wishes for a happy Christmas, at what ever distance your doing it, and a better New year.

 

 

 

[Steamport Southport]

14 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Connor, the references to Klear are to something called Johnson's Klear, which I believe is some sort of floor treatment. Down here it is sold as Pledge One-Go (if you can find it...).

 

Humbrol Clear is virtually the same stuff.

 

They made it due to demand from plastic kit modellers when supplies of the original Klear dried up. Pun unintended.

 

Also available in Satin and Matt. Cheaper from shops though.

 

https://www.humbrol.com/uk-en/shop/coatings-thinners/varnishes/humbrol-gloss-clear-125ml-bottle.html

 

 

 

Jason

[Chuffer Davies]

2 hours ago, gr.king said:

Fancy that. I'd never imagined using such a close fit of rod and tube, nor so much oil,  as to produce an air compression problem - or possibly even hydraulic lock if swamped in oil.

Did I say I swamped it?  If the fit is close even a tiny amount of oil can make the difference.  Nor am I necessarily recommending it as an approach.  All that I was suggesting was that it has happened to me in the past and on the first ocassion it led to a baffling situation that I confused with a quartering issue.  I thought that by sharing this, should anyone else be in the same situation they can avoid my mistake.  Is that not what we try to do on WW?

Frank

    

Edited December 11, 2020 by Chuffer Davies

[Clive Mortimore]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Surely part of the 'joy' of being a railway modeller is having/being able to improve/correct/alter/change what's provided by manufacturers.

 

I don't think there'd be much fun in just opening boxes where everything was done (perfectly) for you. 

 

And, I think Hornby 'can' do BR green. It just needs 'bringing out', that's all. Such fun!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Hello Tony

 

I do not disagree with you about having fun improving/correcting/altering/changing what's provided by manufacturers. It is when people moan about things not being right and do bu88er all about it.

 

Conversely it would be nice not to have to improve/correct/alter/change what's provided by manufacturers on simple matters like getting the colour as close as they can.

 

The enjoyment doesn't stop at doing the improving/correcting/altering/changing what's provided by manufacturers. But what can you do with the left overs. Oh look I have enough to do an end door BCK. Those Hornby shortie Gresley's just keep giving.

 

[Michael Edge]

5 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

A close fit between the piston rod and the tube can lead to an interesting side effect if the back of the tube is closed, especially after lubrication.  You can get a build up of air pressure in the tube which makes the chassis run erratically, much like a quartering issue.  To avoid this I always drill a hole in the side of the tube to eliminate the risk.  
 

Frank

I've never seen that happen in any scale and I normally seal the front end of the piston tube with the front cylinder cover. Drilling a hole is more likely to create a burr on the inside of the tube which will cause problems.

[Tony Wright]

It's getting towards that time of year when we look back at what we might have 'achieved' in our railway modelling over the last 12 months.

 

From a personal point of view, I've not had such a productive one for many a long year - a tiny silver lining in the Covid cloud?

 

Anyway, a selection of what I've built/completed this year....................

 

 

Originally built by a friend of a friend's late father, this MPD 3F was given to me as a donation for CRUK. Built in EM Gauge, it didn't go. I built an OO set of frames and completed it (the centre steps have since been removed), painted it and weathered it, and sold the EM chassis to a friend on behalf of CRUK, making a donation to CRUK myself. 

 

 

Seen more recently, a DJH 8F. Geoff Haynes is painting this.

 

 

And also recently, yet another SEF A4 (also with Geoff Haynes now for painting).

 

 

A Craftsman 36XX, built on commission for Geoff, who's also painting it (watch this space).

 

 

A Mallard/Little Engines D16/3, painted by me.

 

 

A part scratch-built J6, from the estate of Roy Jackson. I completed it, erected a chassis for it, made a tender for it and painted it.

 

 

Another J6, this time a Nu-Cast/SE Finecast one. Built for Geoff Haynes, who eventually painted it. I've also made a further SEF J6 (for myself). 

 

 

A Crownline J17 (the originator of 'fireboxgate'!), painted by me, and now with Tom Foster for weathering. 

 

 

An MPD Lanky 0-6-0. Geoff Haynes will make the EM chassis for this go  - friction-fit wheels! He'll then paint it.

 

 

A superannuated McGowan B12/3. Bought for not much, really just a 'layout loco'. I painted it. 

 

 

An equally ancient Millholme 2P. The property of a friend, I built a new chassis for it and weathered it.

 

 

The brace of MJT 3D-printed V2s; almost now completely painted by Geoff Haynes. Watch this space.....................

 

 

And another one with almost-finished painting by Geoff. A further SEF A3. Again, watch this space..................

 

 

I built the body and frames for this Alan Gibson 517 Class. Geoff made it go and painted it.

 

 

A Model Loco Black Five, with a Bachmann tender. Seen recently, this is now with Geoff for painting. 

 

And the latest (so far; there's still some time to go in 2020, and I can't stand Xmas TV); the (almost) completed Millholme Ivatt 4MT. Can you tell the expansion link is the wrong way round on this side? I'll paint this one.

 

Along with completing Little Bytham, getting several more donated locos to go and repainting them, and building a carriage or two and several wagons, I'm quite pleased with this year's tally.

 

Anyone else like to show what they've done this year? 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by Tony Wright
typo error

[Chuffer Davies]

17 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

I've never seen that happen in any scale and I normally seal the front end of the piston tube with the front cylinder cover. Drilling a hole is more likely to create a burr on the inside of the tube which will cause problems.

Well it happened to me so now I always drill a ventilation hole just to be on the safe side.  This hole is always at the very back of the tube for the very reason you have mentioned Mike.  In that way there is no opportunity for the piston rod to interfere with the hole. 

 

I'm staggered that such an innocent observation about something that happened to me in the past is generating so much critical observation.  Well done to all those who've never fallen foul of this situation.  But you have been warned..

 

I think I'll get back in my box.

 

Frank

[LNER4479]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I don't think there'd be much fun in just opening boxes where everything was done (perfectly) for you. 

On that theme ... and whilst there seems to be a latest - and enjoyable - outbreak of 'show n tell':

 

 

 

 

Only taken me nine months (albeit no more than 4-5 hours a week).

 

Who can spot the deliberate mistake?

 

[Beechnut]

36 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

It's getting towards that time of year when we look back at what we might have 'achieved' in our railway modelling over the last 12 months.

 

From a personal point of view, I've not had such a productive one for many a long year - a tiny silver lining in the Covid cloud?

 

Anyway, a selection of what I've built/completed this year....................

 

 

Originally built by a friend of a friend's late father, this MPD 3F was given to me as a donation for CRUK. Built in EM Gauge, it didn't go. I built an OO set of frames and completed it (the centre steps have since been removed), painted it and weathered it, and sold the EM chassis to a friend on behalf of CRUK, making a donation to CRUK myself. 

 

 

Seen more recently, a DJH 8F. Geoff Haynes is painting this.

 

 

And also recently, yet another SEF A4 (also with Geoff Haynes now for painting).

 

 

A Craftsman 36XX, built on commission for Geoff, who's also painting it (watch this space).

 

 

A Mallard/Little Engines D16/3, painted by me.

 

 

A part scratch-built J6, from the estate of Roy Jackson. I completed it, erected a chassis for it, made a tender for it and painted it.

 

 

Another J6, this time a Nu-Cast/SE Finecast one. Built for Geoff Haynes, who eventually painted it. I've also made a further SEF J6 (for myself). 

 

 

A Crownline J17 (the originator of 'fireboxgate'!), painted by me, and now with Tom Foster for weathering. 

 

 

An MPD Lanky 0-6-0. Geoff Haynes will make the EM chassis for this go  - friction-fit wheels! He'll then paint it.

 

 

A superannuated McGowan B12/3. Bought for not much, really just a 'layout loco'. I painted it. 

 

 

An equally ancient Millholme 2P. The property of a friend, I built a new chassis for it and weathered it.

 

 

The brace of MJT 3D-printed V2s; almost now completely painted by Geoff Haynes. Watch this space.....................

 

 

And another one with almost-finished painting by Geoff. A further SEF A3. Again, watch this space..................

 

 

I built the body and frames for this Alan Gibson 517 Class. Geoff made it go and painted it.

 

 

A Model Loco Black Five, with a Bachmann tender. Seen recently, this is now with Geoff for painting. 

 

And the latest (so far; there' still some tme to go in 2020, and I can't stand Xmas TV); the (almost) completed Millholme Ivatt 4MT. Can you tell the expansion link is the wrong way round on this side? I'll paint this one.

 

Along with completing Little Bytham, getting several more donated locos to go and repainting them, and building a carriage or two and several wagons, I'm quite pleased with this year's tally.

 

Anyone else like to show what they've done this year? 

 

 

 

 

 That pipework on the Ivatt looks complicated, if that was done by me my eyesight must have been a lot better twenty five years ago. I suppose that goes without saying, it certainly can be a struggle at times now.

 

Brendan

[Tony Wright]

31 minutes ago, Chuffer Davies said:

Well it happened to me so now I always drill a ventilation hole just to be on the safe side.  This hole is always at the very back of the tube for the very reason you have mentioned Mike.  In that way there is no opportunity for the piston rod to interfere with the hole. 

 

I'm staggered that such an innocent observation about something that happened to me in the past is generating so much critical observation.  Well done to all those who've never fallen foul of this situation.  But you have been warned..

 

I think I'll get back in my box.

 

Frank

I shouldn't worry about it, Frank.

 

You know what Wright writes is like. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, I've never had the problem you've described. I think my work is far too 'sloppy' for that.

 

Keep on posting, please.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

1 minute ago, Beechnut said:

 That pipework on the Ivatt looks complicated, if that was done by me my eyesight must have been a lot better twenty five years ago. I suppose that goes without saying, it certainly can be a struggle at times now.

 

Brendan

It's mostly yours, Brendan.

 

I've only added a little. As I say, your work is excellent.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Clive Mortimore]

37 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

On that theme ... and whilst there seems to be a latest - and enjoyable - outbreak of 'show n tell':

 

Only taken me nine months (albeit no more than 4-5 hours a week).

 

Who can spot the deliberate mistake?

 

Hi Graham

 

The train alarm indicators on the brake end of the twin set. 

 

Lovely looking coaches.