Wright writes.....

[Steamport Southport]

11 hours ago, john new said:

The lost mid-way house between advanced beginners moving into kits and those with enough skill then become expert builders. I agree that was a past era, and yes the results had deficiencies, but it is the baby and bath water scenario.  Taking out that progression layer took out the associated learning curve for building and then painting kit built items. The key aspect once white metal bodies using adapted r-t-r chassis disappeared was building valve gear. The stopper item.

 

ISTR that the RTR chassis needed altering for the K's bodyline kits.

 

Nowadays you would probably be better using a Comet chassis. They aren't that difficult for a simple 0-6-0T. Basically two side frames, spacers, bearings, coupling rods and a few bits of brake gear.

 

https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/locomotive/lcp22/

 

 

That's my plan. Got the GWR 97XX and MR 3F 0-6-0Ts recently, and both seem to be reasonable kits of prototypes which I don't think anyone else makes. Also ended up with a LNER J50 which was a bargain at £10 although it did have a couple of minor parts missing. They do pop up quite often still attached to the card for less than £20. 

 

 

Jason

[robertcwp]

12 minutes ago, Kirby Uncoupler said:

Thanks Robert, these are two very useful photographs. Apart  from the roller bearings and added centre door detail on the Twin First, look closely at the guttering. It's not continuous at either end, with sections removed?    BK

Hard to tell for sure even on the full-size scan but it might be that part of the guttering has been replaced and the colours don't match. The far end is out of focus.

[paul.anderson@poptel.org]

Some thoughts on prices for kit-built locomotives – a bit late, but never mind. Like a lot of people, I think, I’m a mix of builder, collector and trainset operator – and they’re often  conflicting enthusiasms.
 

I’ve been putting together a (fictional) 1920s-1930s Widened Lines layout for years, which is way off photographable though the basics work; I love building locomotives; and I can’t resist the latest RTR.
 

I know what motive power I need for the layout; I’ve a backlog of kits and conversions to build or finish (the nearly-theres are two N1s, two J52s and a J55, a condensing C12, a GWR Large Metro and a 633 and two 97XXs – you get the picture); and I am not made of money.
 

But I’m way behind on my schedule and need to catch up, so I sometimes shell out on a built kit, as I’ve done recently for a beautiful Fowler 2-6-2T from the Peter Lawson collection, which I’m afraid I’ve already defiled by repainting and will soon add  condensing gear to complete the transgression.
 

I also pick up second-hand RTR and kit-built that’s much too big or simply inappropriate for my layout but might be usable when I build that Hertford loop station of my dreams. Why I need a GER E4 I’m not entirely sure, though there was one in Hitchin for a time I think ... or it might be dream layout three, Derby Road Ipswich 1939, which of course is why I need a C14 GCR Atlantic tank. But what about the LNWR Precursor tank that’s sitting in the to-do box?
 

I’m more than happy to pay £200 or £300 for a kit-built loco that works well and fits with my plans, a lot more than I’d pay for second-hand RTR, but I’m also cautious, because there’s a lot of rubbish out there at inflated prices. I’ve been burnt a couple of  times by sellers on eBay offering badly made kit-built locos that simply don’t work though they look OK in the pics (and the seller says it runs).  I’m as capable as anyone of putting badly glued-together whitemetal kits into boiling water to take things back to bits, and installing a new motor doesn’t faze me --  but the risk of having to do that  is ever present. I would always trust you, Tony, not to flog an overpriced dud, but that doesn't apply in the market as a whole.
 

A foible, perhaps, is that I’d never buy a big locomotive kit-built unless I needed one and it wasn’t RTR (very limited now – I’m talking NER and GCR Atlantics and GCR 4-6-0s at best). Even a really lovely Peppercorn Pacific would leave me cold.
 

So... Kits – essential for small locomotives, the tanks and 0-6-0s and 2-4-0s, particularly those not preserved, Built kits: pretty much ditto but only if I’ve not got a kit on the go. Not so much for Pacifics and BR (and Big Four) standards. But I’ve got enough to keep me going until I’m well past 80, so I’m not in the market that much.

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, thegreenhowards said:

Tony,

 

Regarding the price/ value of kits, I think you’re comparing the price of new RTR locos with second hand kits. Surely a fairer comparison would be the price of a second hand RTR loco which is typically quite a bit lower - £100-£150 for a modern tender loco. Less than £100 for an older tender loco like a Bachmann A1.

 

I think the price obtainable for working well built second hand kits is very comparable or better than those prices. 
 

Andy

 

 

 

 

Good evening Andy,

 

I'm comparing the price I'm asking with the price of the component parts of the kits.

 

For instance, I sold a very nice DJH Crab today for £150.00 (anything higher, and it won't move). It works well and is very well-finished in lightly weathered condition. The last price I can find from DJH (yes, I know the range has gone to Squires, but the prices are unlikely to come down) is on parity with that, or a bit more. So, all the wheels (Romford/Markits) and the drive (Mashima and gearbox) are effectively 'free', as is the build-time and painting. Total cost of all the parts? At least £100.00 more! 

 

I don't think it's a comparison, it's a contrast. 

 

My preferences are well-known. I generally have less time for layouts which are RTR-dependent with regard to locos. As you know, Bytham has very few (which are never used, anyway!), and the locos from the Peter Lawson collection are far more interesting to me than anything RTR, new or second-hand. Interesting to me, but not to the 'general' population of 'modellers' out there it might seem, at least not interesting enough to pay what I'd consider a 'fair' price. That said, my thanks to those who are buying them. I assure you, you've got some real bargains!

 

I'll be posting pictures later this week. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Edited April 7 by Tony Wright
tautology

[Tony Wright]

Just to report on a splendid show at Cotgrave over the weekend.

 

My thanks to the organisers, the exhibitors, traders and visitors with whom I spoke.

 

All together I made over £110.00 for CRUK, thanks to material donations sold, direct donations placed in my CRUK collecting box and donations for my fixing 'dud' locomotives. I fixed quite a few, but one defeated me - an N Gauge big Prairie which was completely dismantled and presented to me in a polythene bag. Even the rods had been taken off the wheels! 'It didn't work, so I took it apart. Do you think you can fix it?'. 'No!'. 

 

The most amusing 'fix' involved a Scotsman who handed over a Tesco bag with four Tri-ang Hornby locos piled on top of each other. 'My grandson bought these at Ally Pally last month off a second-hand trader. He was told that they worked. They don't'. A clean of the wheels/pick-ups, a clean of the commutators, brush adjustment and a few drops of oil, and away they all went. His donation was generous!

[Woodcock29]

On 07/04/2024 at 10:06, john new said:

The lost mid-way house between advanced beginners moving into kits and those with enough skill then become expert builders. I agree that was a past era, and yes the results had deficiencies, but it is the baby and bath water scenario.  Taking out that progression layer took out the associated learning curve for building and then painting kit built items. The key aspect once white metal bodies using adapted r-t-r chassis disappeared was building valve gear. The stopper item.

I guess I must be one of a rare few as I find building valve gear quite a pleasure. I started though not with building a full kit but with fitting Ks Black 5 valve gear to a Triang Hornby 'Silver Seal' (I think that's right) Black 5 back when I would have been about 20. I had previously built a few w/m kits from age 16 - glued at that time of course but none with outside valve gear up to that point.

 

Andrew (currently in Doha on my way to the UK!)

[Jesse Sim]

Evening all, 

 

Last week a friend from the UK visited, we spent the morning down at Thirlmere Railway Museum before heading home to run the sequence. Ashley has a decent fan base on Instagram and is fantastic at taking videos which just an iPhone, so whilst I operated the sequence he filmed some of the trains passing by. I have since edited that footage into one, added an intro, and some voiceover work. 
 

I hope you enjoy seeing some trains run, the layout is still very much a work in progress, as is the stock. 
 

Sorry for hijacking Tony.

Edited April 8 by Jesse Sim

[Jesse Sim]

8 hours ago, Woodcock29 said:

 

 

Andrew (currently in Doha on my way to the UK!)

I’ll get my shopping list emailed to you. 

[Barry Ten]

30 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Evening all, 

 

Last week a friend from the UK visited, we spent the morning down at Thirlmere Railway Museum before heading home to run the sequence. Ashley has a decent fan base on Instagram and is fantastic at taking videos which just an iPhone, so whilst I operated the sequence he filmed some of the trains passing by. I have since edited that footage into one, added an intro, and some voiceover work. 
 

I hope you enjoy seeing some trains run, the layout is still very much a work in progress, as is the stock. 
 

Sorry for hijacking Tony.

 

Nice vid, Jesse (and Foo Fighters of course). Some friends of mine were at Thirlmere on Easter Monday.

[Jesse Sim]

28 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

Nice vid, Jesse (and Foo Fighters of course). Some friends of mine were at Thirlmere on Easter Monday.

I thought some of my other taste in music my scare some viewers.

[lezz01]

Personally I haven't built any outside valve gear as there is very little with it on the Midland although I do have some in stock to build at some point, Stanier 8Fs and a couple of S&D 7Fs. I do have some inside motion kits that I intend to fit at some point. I wouldn't say that I'm frightened of them but I am a little apprehensive as I've not done them before although I have done an inside motion as a separate unit that worked quite well. I would like to do the rail motor and the Deeley dock tank, the problem with those isn't that they have outside valve gear it's that the valve gear is so small and the old mince pies ain't what they used to be. 

Regards Lez.   

[MJI]

1 hour ago, Jesse Sim said:

I thought some of my other taste in music my scare some viewers.

 

OK try us?

 

Then I will do my story of out doing and being out done.

[MJI]

We were chatting in the office back in pre covid era, a youngish lad who goes to see bands was raving about the guitarist (not sure who), saying best he has seen and best there is.

 

Anyway I have see some of the best in the world, so mentioned seeing Van Halen in 1984, at the time Eddie Van Halen was probalby the best guitarist there was. Others including Gary Moore.

 

Then I mentioned that the older boss, can out do that. He mentioned going to a festival with friends, and who was there? Jimi Hedrix.

So I outdid with EVH and I was outdone with Hendrix.

[Richard_A]

2 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

I thought some of my other taste in music my scare some viewers.

 

This is the type of thing I'd listen to, when I was a young lad back in the late 90's. 

 

I'd wager this will scare more people than you could. 🤪

[Bucoops]

1 hour ago, MJI said:

We were chatting in the office back in pre covid era, a youngish lad who goes to see bands was raving about the guitarist (not sure who), saying best he has seen and best there is.

 

Anyway I have see some of the best in the world, so mentioned seeing Van Halen in 1984, at the time Eddie Van Halen was probalby the best guitarist there was. Others including Gary Moore.

 

Then I mentioned that the older boss, can out do that. He mentioned going to a festival with friends, and who was there? Jimi Hedrix.

So I outdid with EVH and I was outdone with Hendrix.

 

Just need someone to say they've seen George Formby and you're all top-trumped. Best guitarist? I'd say Knopfler personally. But it's largely down to personal taste. Clapton, technically, superb guitarist - but just too "technical" for me, not enough "feeling". 

[30368]

On 08/04/2024 at 16:06, Richard_A said:

This is the type of thing I'd listen to, when I was a young lad back in the late 90's. 

 

I'd wager this will scare more people than you could. 

 

What is going on here? Where is Clive?

 

 

Edited April 11 by 30368

[Richard_A]

11 minutes ago, 30368 said:

 

What is going opn here? Where is Clive?

 

 

Can I assume, that you're not a fan? 

[Clive Mortimore]

15 minutes ago, 30368 said:

 

What is going opn here? Where is Clive?

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Richard_A said:

Can I assume, that you're not a fan? 

Hi Richard A

 

Richard (30368) is possibly referring to my slightly off the beaten track music I share on the Sheffield Exchange thread. I must say for a "rave" song it wouldn't have been my first choice, especially as I was expecting something sort of in the death metal mode by the record label. Thankfully there is so much good music of varying different taste to make most people happy.

 

To me there are only four types of music.

1, the stuff I like

2, stuff that is listenable

3, stuff other people like

4, Oh (not a RMweb word) 'ell turn the radio off, its that (not another RMweb word) song by (yet one more non RMweb word) Queen.

[Richard_A]

14 minutes ago, Clive Mortimore said:

 

Hi Richard A

 

Richard (30368) is possibly referring to my slightly off the beaten track music I share on the Sheffield Exchange thread. I must say for a "rave" song it wouldn't have been my first choice, especially as I was expecting something sort of in the death metal mode by the record label. Thankfully there is so much good music of varying different taste to make most people happy.

 

To me there are only four types of music.

1, the stuff I like

2, stuff that is listenable

3, stuff other people like

4, Oh (not a RMweb word) 'ell turn the radio off, its that (not another RMweb word) song by (yet one more non RMweb word) Queen.

Hi Clive, 

 

I listen to some of the music you link on said thread, and it is very eclectic indeed, rave music is quite a strange genre and I understand when people describe it as noise, I soon gravitated to trance and the harder types of house music, as I found it had more going on soundwise to keep me interested than the type I shared up thread. 

 

My choice of music is categorised in a similar fashion to your list. 

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, Bucoops said:

 

Just need someone to say they've seen George Formby and you're all top-trumped. Best guitarist? I'd say Knopfler personally. But it's largely down to personal taste. Clapton, technically, superb guitarist - but just too "technical" for me, not enough "feeling". 

I saw Jeff Healey play live in 1993 and claim my £10.

[lezz01]

Err my wife's cousins include.....Justin and Chesney Hawkes.

I kid you not although we don't talk about Chesney............

Regards Lez.

[46444]

45 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Err my wife's cousins include.....Justin and Chesney Hawkes.

I kid you not although we don't talk about Chesney............

Regards Lez.

 

Not the one and only Chesney..🙉

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Evening all, 

 

Last week a friend from the UK visited, we spent the morning down at Thirlmere Railway Museum before heading home to run the sequence. Ashley has a decent fan base on Instagram and is fantastic at taking videos which just an iPhone, so whilst I operated the sequence he filmed some of the trains passing by. I have since edited that footage into one, added an intro, and some voiceover work. 
 

I hope you enjoy seeing some trains run, the layout is still very much a work in progress, as is the stock. 
 

Sorry for hijacking Tony.

Great stuff Jesse,

 

Hijack away! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[46444]

8 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

Evening all, 

 

Last week a friend from the UK visited, we spent the morning down at Thirlmere Railway Museum before heading home to run the sequence. Ashley has a decent fan base on Instagram and is fantastic at taking videos which just an iPhone, so whilst I operated the sequence he filmed some of the trains passing by. I have since edited that footage into one, added an intro, and some voiceover work. 
 

I hope you enjoy seeing some trains run, the layout is still very much a work in progress, as is the stock. 
 

Sorry for hijacking Tony.

 

Well worth watching. 

 

Thanks for posting Jesse.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[Tony Wright]

The usual LB operating team gathered today, and we almost ran the sequence without fault (I set a road incorrectly). No matter, because much enjoyment was had. 

 

Geoff West brought along.............

 

 

This DC kits Derby Lightweight DMU, built/painted by the late Ken Gibbons originally for Gilbert Barnatt. Gilbert later sold it to Geoff (presumably because it's not RTR?).

 

It's run on Bytham before, but not that well because the two cars were coupled by tension-locks attached to the inner bogies. Running caused the bogies to 'jump', so Geoff has arranged the couplings to work via the headstocks. The result? Perfect running. 

 

Last month, David Rae bought a 3D-printed body off me for a Lambton tank (donated for CRUK - thanks Les). A Bachmann pannier chassis came with it. 

 

 

 

I made a pony truck for it, and David married it to the chassis, completed it and painted it; to make this rather splendid (and unusual) loco. 

 

The appropriate wagons are kit-built. 

 

Thanks for bringing these, chaps. 

 

 

 

Edited April 8 by Tony Wright
typo error