Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Jamiel said:

I have (more or less) finished the London Road Models L&Y Class 23 I have been building. My second brass loco kit, and the first one completed. Many thanks to those who offered advice here and on my Ellerby thread.
 

I say more or less finished as there are some little things that will need doing at some point. When I can get to a craft shop, I will get some little black round paper stickers to go over the wheel centre nuts, which can then be weathered back.
 

Photos always show up odd things too, a bit more dirt to cover the silver of the brake wheel the diver is holding (I think it is a brake wheel?). I may also weather back the little bits of the numbers showing too bright by hand. I cleaned them after airbrushing, but overdid it. It would have been better to just leave them.
 

It will also need a bit of running in when I have access to a layout, I suspect mine will be stored for quite a few months still, and also a little lubrication to the gears.

I am pleased with the weathering, which is a little too much, but when out off direct sunlight is less obvious. My experiment with running thinner on the tank was a little too successful, maybe more akin what would be seen on an oil tanker, but after a light coat with the airbrush to tone it back I feel it gives it character. Character might just be a euphemism for mistake.

 

 

 

 

Thanks again for the help in building this to everyone who contributed, or ticked images shared to give encouragement.
 

Hopefully I will finish and share pictures of the Comet Caprotti Black 5 I hope to finish before too long, which was the first loco build I started.

Jamie

That's splendid work Jamie,

 

Access to a layout? When allowed and restrictions are lifted, PM me and we'll fix up a date when you can visit  Little Bytham and give it a really good run (I assume it's OO). 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Michael Edge]

54 minutes ago, Leander said:

Very nice! It's the Horwich style reverser actually.

Yes it is (to both comments) - and the designer who put screw reverse on a shunting loco must have been very popular with the drivers.....

[Tony Wright]

Another request for help...........................

 

 

Clearly a B17, on an express in the late-'20s/early-'30s. But where?

 

Judging by the discs it's on the ex-GE section; a section of four tracks, paired by speed, not direction (note the signals).

 

Romford?

 

Brentwood? 

 

Anywhere else? Footbridge in the distance and new houses being built to the right...........................

 

There's a TPO pick-up/deposit installation to the left.

 

What about the train?

 

All answers/suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks in anticipation. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

5 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

But then you'll never learn?

 

 

 

 

(stand by ...)

Learn what? 

 

Stand by what?

 

I'm trying to remember off the top of my head how many LMS/ex-LMS locos I've built down the years (three - at least - in the last 12 months). 40? 50? 60? More? Granted, only a fraction compared with what I've built of LNER/ex-LNER origin (over 400!). 

 

How much more have I got to learn? A lot, because it's only an idiot who believes he/she can learn nothing more.........................

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Tony Wright
to add something

[Jesse Sim]

18 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

 only an idiot who believes he/she can learn nothing more.........................

 

Oh I don’t know, I reckon I’ve learnt pretty much every swear word, in English and Maltese! 

[john new]

33 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Another request for help...........................

 

 

Clearly a B17, on an express in the late-'20s/early-'30s. But where?

 

Judging by the discs it's on the ex-GE section; a section of four tracks, paired by speed, not direction (note the signals).

 

Romford?

 

Brentwood? 

 

Anywhere else? Footbridge in the distance and new houses being built to the right...........................

 

There's a TPO pick-up/deposit installation to the left.

 

What about the train?

 

All answers/suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks in anticipation. 

 

 

13 miles from somewhere according to the milepost.

 

[jwealleans]

33 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Clearly a B17, on an express in the late-'20s/early-'30s.

 

Post-1928 with the number on the cab side.  GE 50' stock - presumably the 6 wheeler is a private party or strengthener.   I have a picture of Tottenham Hotspur on a train on a similar looking 4 track section, but irritatingly it's captioned 'unknown location'....

 

 

[john new]

4 minutes ago, john new said:

13 miles from somewhere according to the milepost.

 

If it is from Liverpool St then just east of Romford. Wikepidia has Romford at 12 miles 30 chains. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romford_railway_station

[LNER4479]

29 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Learn what? 

 

Stand by what?

Ignore me. You had your tongue in cheek with your 'stick to LNER/ER' remark'; GW County Tanks and Jinties prove that not to be the case, you 'modeller of the year', you.

 

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of tackling something NOT LMS/LMR - even if I've only ever completed as many loco kits in my lifetime as you have in one year. Fun ones that spring to mind include a Jidenco 'Paddlebox' and Jamieson F8, both in original pre-grouping livery.

[Tony Wright]

29 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

Ignore me. You had your tongue in cheek with your 'stick to LNER/ER' remark'; GW County Tanks and Jinties prove that not to be the case, you 'modeller of the year', you.

 

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of tackling something NOT LMS/LMR - even if I've only ever completed as many loco kits in my lifetime as you have in one year. Fun ones that spring to mind include a Jidenco 'Paddlebox' and Jamieson F8, both in original pre-grouping livery.

Fun?

 

Jidenco kits fun? 

 

One wag once said to me (he having just completed a Jidenco kit) 'Building this is about as easy as having sex, in a hammock, standing up! The hammock, by the way, is in hold of a small ship, in the middle of a hurricane!'. 

 

Since I've only ever tried the former (building a Jidenco kit - and giving up), I cannot comment from personal experience, but I didn't doubt his word for a moment.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Manxcat]

On 14/03/2021 at 15:47, Tony Wright said:

For those who've not been following the virtual exhibition, here's my now painted/weathered (by Geoff Haynes) DJH 8F running.................

 

 

A splendid kit, a delight to build, and super-smooth with DJH's latest motor/gearbox combination (the small one!). 

Tony,

 

What are the three vehicles in the lay by siding nearest the girder bridge please? Are they kit built and, if so, whose kits please?

Many thanks.

 

Archie

[Northmoor]

35 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Fun?

 

Jidenco kits fun? 

 

One wag once said to me (he having just completed a Jidenco kit) 'Building this is about as easy as having sex, in a hammock, standing up! The hammock, by the way, is in hold of a small ship, in the middle of a hurricane!'. 

 

Since I've only ever tried the former (building a Jidenco kit - and giving up), I cannot comment from personal experience, but I didn't doubt his word for a moment.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I assume building the kit would probably induce much less giggling?

[Darryl Tooley]

1 hour ago, john new said:

If it is from Liverpool St then just east of Romford.

Just here, unless I'm very much mistaken:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5778853,0.1940482,710a,35y,180h/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

 

The houses are on Carlton Road, the footbridge in the distance can be seen just prior to the divergence of the Upminster line.

 

D

[Keith Turbutt]

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Another request for help...........................

 

 

Clearly a B17, on an express in the late-'20s/early-'30s. But where?

 

Judging by the discs it's on the ex-GE section; a section of four tracks, paired by speed, not direction (note the signals).

 

Romford?

 

Brentwood? 

 

Anywhere else? Footbridge in the distance and new houses being built to the right...........................

 

There's a TPO pick-up/deposit installation to the left.

 

What about the train?

 

All answers/suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks in anticipation. 

 

 

Yes, I agree with the previous comments that the location is just East of Romford on the GE mainline.

I believe the bridge in the background is a footbridge and is at the point where the Upminster branch diverges from the mainline.  This footbridge, which is still there (and can be seen on Google Earth) but may not be the original, was popular with train spotters. The clincher would be if anyone is able to confirm the location of the TPO apparatus.

 

I started my trainspotting days just down the line at Gidea Park around 1958/9 which has lead to a lifelong interest in railways and many valued friends. These friends include school friends and when it was popular to be part of the 'in set' we were known as the 'train set'!

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Keith Turbutt
East not North

[Tony Wright]

41 minutes ago, Manxcat said:

Tony,

 

What are the three vehicles in the lay by siding nearest the girder bridge please? Are they kit built and, if so, whose kits please?

Many thanks.

 

Archie

Archie,

 

From right to left we have a Mousa Models (Bill Bedford) resin ex-GNR non-gangwayed Brake Third (now in Departmental use - as are the other two), then an etched brass ex-NBR four-wheeler (kit name indecipherable; builder unknown, but completed/painted by me) and finally a K's white metal ex-LBSR (I think) ancient van.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[robmcg]

Ah the joys of 00 modelling and photography, here below is a phone-camera photo by copleyhill007 of recently released Hornby 60523 'Sun Castle', which struck me as being a perfectly good example of typical layout light.

 

copleyhill007 kindly let me tidy the picture up with photo editing, PSP6 and Picasa, I added a background and foreground, in an unlikely running-in turn or turning on a triangle adjacent to colliery sidings,  rule 1 indeed.

 

For me, apart from being a very fine model, it demonstrates how lighting so affects the rendition of Brunswick green. Vertical light source as per midday prototype pictures, and suddenly out flat dull Hornby model has shine, depth and shadows.    Isn't photography wonderful?

 

 

I enjoyed some time messing with brightness and contrast, and matching the engine to a scene, thus.

 

 

 

Thank you copleyhill007. Thank you Hornby, and thank you Tony for your input into the model's specification.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by robmcg
correction

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, LNER4479 said:

Fun ones that spring to mind include a Jidenco 'Paddlebox'

Ha ha ha.

[LNER4479]

For the avoidance of doubt, I meant 'fun' with more than a tinge of irony. 'Fun' as in a challenge. I wasn't displeased with the result though.

 

 

But if you want to see something really impressive, just watch how this guy tears into a Jidenco Claughton kit last year. Only took him five weeks from start to finish (despite the dire warnings from others in the first few responses):

 

Edited March 16, 2021 by LNER4479

[drmditch]

14 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Another request for help...........................

 

 

Clearly a B17, on an express in the late-'20s/early-'30s. But where?

 

Judging by the discs it's on the ex-GE section; a section of four tracks, paired by speed, not direction (note the signals).

 

Romford?

 

Brentwood? 

 

Anywhere else? Footbridge in the distance and new houses being built to the right...........................

 

There's a TPO pick-up/deposit installation to the left.

 

What about the train?

 

All answers/suggestions gratefully received. Many thanks in anticipation. 

 

 

 

A very hesitant suggestion, but assuming it is somewhere on the GE main line, would the locomotive shadow suggest it is travelling in the down (E or NE) direction?
 

[Tony Wright]

12 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Archie,

 

From right to left we have a Mousa Models (Bill Bedford) resin ex-GNR non-gangwayed Brake Third (now in Departmental use - as are the other two), then an etched brass ex-NBR four-wheeler (kit name indecipherable; builder unknown, but completed/painted by me) and finally a K's white metal ex-LBSR (I think) ancient van.  

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I know it's not really the done thing to quote ones own posts, but I've just remembered who the builder of the NBR four-wheeler was; the late Gerald Scarborough. It was all but finished, and all I did was add some detail and paint it. 

 

It runs in an engineers' train as part of the LB running sequence, where it's shunted into a siding, departing later....................

 

 

Here, the set containing it is being reversed back into the headshunt.

 

 

I use a variety of different locos on the diagram, and mix the vehicles up. The old girder bridge is just visible in this shot.

 

 

 

An account of how I built the Mousa Models non-gangwayed Brake Third appeared in BRM and also in my Crowood book. 

 

 

John Isherwood kindly provided me with the appropriate transfers for the vehicles, I painted/glazed/lettered/numbered them and Richard Wilson weathered them.

 

Ancient vehicles like these, long past their revenue-earning careers, were common sights during the period modelled on LB. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by Tony Wright
to add something

[LNER4479]

13 hours ago, Keith Turbutt said:

Yes, I agree with the previous comments that the location is just East of Romford on the GE mainline.

I believe the bridge in the background is a footbridge and is at the point where the Upminster branch diverges from the mainline.  This footbridge, which is still there (and can be seen on Google Earth) but may not be the original, was popular with train spotters. The clincher would be if anyone is able to confirm the location of the TPO apparatus.

 

I started my trainspotting days just down the line at Gidea Park around 1958/9 which has lead to a lifelong interest in railways and many valued friends. These friends include school friends and when it was popular to be part of the 'in set' we were known as the 'train set'!

 

 

 

Not my part of the world at all but I do love a good 'where is it?'

 

This picture is reported as taken from said footbridge

http://www.history-in-pictures.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=5341

 

Presumably this was prior to quadrupling? The left hand line is about to diverge (Upminster branch) and therefore must be on the extreme left hand side of The B17 photo but hidden from view?

 

Just in case that helps either 'nail' or disprove the suggestion.

Edited March 16, 2021 by LNER4479

[Tony Wright]

20 minutes ago, LNER4479 said:

For the avoidance of doubt, I meant 'fun' with more than a tinge of irony. 'Fun' as in a challenge. I wasn't displeased with the result though.

 

 

But if you want to see something really impressive, just watch how this guy tears into a Jidenco Claughton kit last year. Only took him five weeks from start to finish (despite the dire warnings from others in the first few responses):

 

You've made a terrific job of that Jidenco 'Paddlebox' (or should that be 'Paddleboat'?) Graham,

 

I've probably mentioned this before but I was once asked to build a pair of Jidenco 'Claughtons', one original and one with large boiler. The commissioner had started them, and made a mess! 

 

I started to undo his work, but too much of the wafer-thin brass had cockled. Not only that, there were no apertures in the footplates to accommodate wheels and motor. I started to cut them out with a piercing saw, but then noticed footplate and chassis parts didn't match.

 

I handed the sorry messes back, charging the guy nothing (though I should have asked him why the box contained several hairs as well as the kits!). 

 

My hat's off to the guy who built his.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.   

[Tony Wright]

1 minute ago, LNER4479 said:

 

Not my part of the world at all but I do love a good 'where is it?'

 

This picture is reported as taken from said footbridge

http://www.history-in-pictures.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=5341

 

Presumably this was prior to quadrupling? The left hand line is about to diverge (branch to?) and therefore must be on the extreme left hand side of The B17 photo but hidden from view?

 

Just in case that helps either 'nail' or disprove the suggestion.

Thanks Graham,

 

I think that proves the location (obviously prior to the quadrupling). The upper quadrant signals in the B17 picture I posted suggest the quadrupling took place in LNER days. Does anyone know when?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[LNER4479]

11 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

You've made a terrific job of that Jidenco 'Paddlebox' (or should that be 'Paddleboat'?) Graham,

Every reference I've ever seen or read is 'paddlebox', Tony. I believe it refers to the shape of the enormous splashers over the wheels and the central see-through hole / cover which was reputedly for lubrication purposes - this supposedly gave it the look of the central covers for paddle-steamers (the ones with paddlewheels either side amidships like the 'Waverley'), hence the 'box' that covers the paddles?

 

I gather it was a somewhat derided feature and was removed during the subsequent rebuilds along with fitment of mechanical lubricators.

 

Perhaps others more expert on all things Southern / LSWR can confirm? I'm a LMS/LMR man really; I just had 'fun' building the thing! (one of my first commissions)

[LNER4479]

25 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

The upper quadrant signals in the B17 picture I posted suggest the quadrupling took place in LNER days. Does anyone know when?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

According to the Wikipedia page for the Great Eastern Main Line:

 

'In 1931/32 the LNER quadrupled the tracks to Shenfield which became the terminus for inner-suburban operation'

 

Romford (12 miles 30 chains) comes before Shenfield (20 miles 16 chains) hence it must have been included in the quadrupling. That mileage incidentally ties in nicely with the 13 milepost (already noted earlier) as the location is (obviously) a little beyond Romford station itself

 

(I had to look all that up. I'm a LMS/LMR man really!)

Edited March 16, 2021 by LNER4479