Wright writes.....

[Anglian]

Tim,

 

It's not a lens distortion (though the angle exacerbates it), I've just not formed the sides well enough in that area. No matter, I'll dismantle the carriage and adjust the angle. The windows and their surrounds should have a slight angle, anyway, tapering in towards the roof. 

 

One never gets anything for nothing. Take a picture with pieces of kit costing thousands of pounds and there's no hiding place! 

 

Interestingly, elsewhere others have blamed lens aberrations for producing 'bendy' carriages and so on, including wobbly track. In my opinion, that's tosh. Any half-decent camera will give you exactly what it 'sees'. If it's bent or wobbly in the picture, that's because it is!  

 

 

The other side looks perfect. Can the slight outward bend be eased back into position with light pressure or do you have to go through a more rigorous process? I have to admit that when looking at images of the real thing I'm surprised how certain elements don't line up, even in matching sets of coaches. Whilst I'd dearly love the Bluebell Railway the track can look diabolical in certain images.

 

Cameras can be very unforgiving of model making,a s you've already noted. I've been horrified when I've taken close up images of figures I've painted. The brush strokes can look as if the model has been finished with a scale 4 inch brush and household emulsion. 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Anglian

[Barry Ten]

In Tony's case at least we know that any irregularity in the coach rakes isn't the fault of the track, which always makes me cry whenever I look at how smooth and level it looks, even in telephoto shots. Tony's track might be Norman Solomon; mine's more Norman Wisdom...

 

Al

[Clive Mortimore]

Ah Clive .... but you see I enjoy rock climbing and mountaineering as well - not to mention cycle touring    ... so in that sense the camper might be regarded as luxury! .... sad I know 

Hi Tim

 

So you wouldn't be in for roughing it on a padded sunbed by the pool with waiter service at the bar. :sungum:

 

For a few years the army gave me a camper van like this one complete with lathe, pillar drill, grinding wheel etc. and if that was not available luxury accommodation similar to this.

[Lecorbusier]

Hi Tim

 

So you wouldn't be in for roughing it on a padded sunbed by the pool with waiter service at the bar. :sungum:

 

Ah .... but then you see I am an and/also rather than an either/or type of bloke ..... just need to make a little more money though - paying for five adds up pretty quickly

Edited December 30, 2017 by Lecorbusier

[Tony Wright]

In Tony's case at least we know that any irregularity in the coach rakes isn't the fault of the track, which always makes me cry whenever I look at how smooth and level it looks, even in telephoto shots. Tony's track might be Norman Solomon; mine's more Norman Wisdom...

 

Al

Most amusing Al, and many thanks. 

 

I'm also fortunate in that my baseboards were built by another Norman - Norman Turner, a retired carpentry lecturer. 

 

 

As you say, even in tight perspective the trackwork is excellent (though is that a tiny kink in front of the A4?). 

 

What this shot also shows is that a rake of RTR cars (Bachmann's Mk. 1 Pullmans in this case) don't all line up in every department (just like the prototype?). 

 

 

 

I will admit that how light strikes shiny surfaces can give a false impression of reality. In this picture, the Up fast might appear to have a few wiggles, but this is caused by different tubes illuminating different sections from different directions. At least I've sorted out the ride heights of the artics in this train (well, almost).

 

 

Certainly, tight perspective shots will show how jumbled a rake might look. My poor old Mopok Hawksworth BG is sagging a bit and some of the other kit-built vehicles are a bit wobbly in places. 

 

I've been illustrating a piece for BRM written by Ian Wilson with regard to the classes of trains denoted by headlamps/discs, and this one depicts a parcels train or empty stock. The K3's lamps are Springside's BR ones, which are a bit too big. However, at least they're there. Rather than use LB for every train type, I've been searching through my picture archives to show different classes of trains. Some hope! On over 90% of the layouts I've photographed the locos carry no lamps or discs at all. This is a serious omission in my book, and something I'd never tolerate. 

Edited December 30, 2017 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

The other side looks perfect. Can the slight outward bend be eased back into position with light pressure or do you have to go through a more rigorous process? I have to admit that when looking at images of the real thing I'm surprised how certain elements don't line up, even in matching sets of coaches. Whilst I'd dearly love the Bluebell Railway the track can look diabolical in certain images.

 

Cameras can be very unforgiving of model making,a s you've already noted. I've been horrified when I've taken close up images of figures I've painted. The brush strokes can look as if the model has been finished with a scale 4 inch brush and household emulsion. 

It can be put right with light pressure, though only after the body is removed, ensuring is properly supported. 

 

Your figures stand the closest of photographic scrutiny. They're beautiful, and thanks so much once more for donating them. 

[Northmoor]

Why do these folk revel in the 'open road' idea. Yes, open to them, but not to others. Have you ever driven from Barrow to Whitehaven behind a succession of caravans, even in a (potentially) fast car? 

 

I don't disagree Tony, but take care to note what is sometimes heading the queue.  I've been held up for miles in holiday queues on the A303, led by the local farmer who thinks the road belongs to him.

 

We toured a lot with the caravan when I was a kid; when we had a Maxi (great tow-er but not quick) dad would often pull over on single carriageways.  Once we had a 2-litre Montego we would often be held up by other people.  I well remember us following an old dear in a Metro for about 15 miles through North Wales, until we got to a long straight where we (or indeed anyone) could get past, because she refused to do over 40mph.  I bet the whole queue behind us was cursing "that b***dy caravan up ahead".

[Tony Wright]

I don't disagree Tony, but take care to note what is sometimes heading the queue.  I've been held up for miles in holiday queues on the A303, led by the local farmer who thinks the road belongs to him.

 

We toured a lot with the caravan when I was a kid; when we had a Maxi (great tow-er but not quick) dad would often pull over on single carriageways.  Once we had a 2-litre Montego we would often be held up by other people.  I well remember us following an old dear in a Metro for about 15 miles through North Wales, until we got to a long straight where we (or indeed anyone) could get past, because she refused to do over 40mph.  I bet the whole queue behind us was cursing "that b***dy caravan up ahead".

Living in a rural county, as I do, then tractors are very common. And yes, I agree, they do block the roads. 

 

Am I right in thinking that it's the law if a certain number of vehicles are held up by a tractor (or slow-moving agricultural vehicle), then it must pull aside and let them through? Following a massive tractor all the way along the A52 one day from Radcliffe to Grantham, the driver must have thought it was a hundred! Though there were several places he could have pulled over, not he. 

 

Fortunately, in my model railway world, I have the equivalent of a dual-carriageway!  

[Barry Ten]

My "theory" about track laying is that's difficult for the eye to judge the alignment accurately until the ballasting has been completed, because it's only then that the rails stand out clearly enough ... but by which time it's usually too late to correct any mistakes. I know from the Right Track DVD that Norman's method is to lay and ballast simultaneously, but he obviously has great experience, as well as the benefit of starting with a level foundation in the case of the boards.

 

I've just watched the most recent Youtube video on Little Bytham, by the way, and very much enjoyed it. A credit to all involved in both the layout and the creation of the video, which was very well done. A bit of Holst in the music, too, if I'm not mistaken.

 

Al

[kingfisher24]

Tony

 

I have a Hornby a4 which began life as 60003 in the original train pack from Hornby a good few years ago. I have had the loco for many years and it must have run many actual miles, as opposed to scale miles. however after the said many years of bad running the loco failed at the last outing when my club had Newcastleton at the Doncaster show last year, following which the loco simply sat in its box.

over the Christmas holidays I took the decision to give the loco a make over, it has had a full repaint, new pick ups ( the originals were well and truly worn out, hence the failure) extra weight added and a new tender and double chimney fitted. the loco now runs beautifully.

I would like to take the detailing a stage further, especially at the front end, I remember seeing a detailing kit for the Hornby a4's, but cannot for the life of me remember what supplier does the detailing kit. I seem to remember a kit which had dummy front frames as part of the kit with the rear buffer beam detail also.

could yourself, or indeed another point me in the right direction. I assume markits would do the correct bogie wheels too.

 

 

 

best wishes for the new year.

 

thanks

 

gary patterson

Edited December 30, 2017 by kingfisher24

[micklner]

Brassmasters do various Pacific detailing kits , excellent products.

[glo41f]

Kingfisher looks lovely a real credit to you and indeed to Hornby as the basics look right. Interesting gallop on tractors caravans and the like yet another topic for the record. You never know what is going to pop up here!

 

I have spent a lot of time recently looking at old magazines. I used to regularly read and avidly look forward to the Meccano Magazine in the 1950's/60.s. It had everything in it that a lad could want except I never had enough pieces to make the models featured therein. On the railway front they often published pictures of readers layouts and almost without exception they were all circular ones of the train set type. Did anyone try to create a model railway in those times using Dublo products?

 

Love these pictures of trains running through LB. Surely carriages would ride at differing heights due to load, springs and other "odd" factors. The bottom line is that the trains look wonderful as they whoosh past so who notices?

 

Martin Long

[kingfisher24]

Brassmasters do various Pacific detailing kits , excellent products.

 

thanks, brassmasters was in the back of my mind, its really just the dummy frames I need but it may be worth going for the whole detailing kit and see how things go.

 

thanks again.

 

gary

[micklner]

The frames etc, are all on the same sheet .

[mullie]

When we lived in Essex tractors would often pull over to let traffic pass, since moving to Dorset in 2004 we've noticed that whilst tractors now go slightly faster they no longer pull over, neither do JCBs or slow moving cranes. 

 

On a trip to Bournemouth airport one August some years ago we challenged our girls to count the caravans to pass the time, when they got to 100 they were bored and we were only half way!

 

I don't drive a fast car (though it is nippy and my wife reckons I drive it like a Mario kart!), my argument is that drivers should drive at the relevant road speed, tourists driving along at 30mph on a 50 mph road in perfectly good conditions is right pain in the a**e as they take in the view.

 

Martyn

[St Enodoc]

Kingfisher looks lovely a real credit to you and indeed to Hornby as the basics look right. Interesting gallop on tractors caravans and the like yet another topic for the record. You never know what is going to pop up here!

 

I have spent a lot of time recently looking at old magazines. I used to regularly read and avidly look forward to the Meccano Magazine in the 1950's/60.s. It had everything in it that a lad could want except I never had enough pieces to make the models featured therein. On the railway front they often published pictures of readers layouts and almost without exception they were all circular ones of the train set type. Did anyone try to create a model railway in those times using Dublo products?

 

Love these pictures of trains running through LB. Surely carriages would ride at differing heights due to load, springs and other "odd" factors. The bottom line is that the trains look wonderful as they whoosh past so who notices?

 

Martin Long

A regular contributor to MM (and also Railway Modeller) in those days was Sydney F Page, whose Longdon, Newborough & Easthyde Railway was based on the Southern end of the GN main line and used mostly Hornby-Dublo and Tri-ang equipment. His articles often described how he had modelled a representation of some new feature on the full-sized railway, such as Railroaders. Not a scale model railway by any means, but hugely inspirational for a young lad like me.

[St Enodoc]

Whilst I'd dearly love the Bluebell Railway the track can look diabolical in certain images.

That's because some of it is! See http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/trust/appeal/about.html.

 

Tony, apologies for the hijack.

[gr.king]

my argument is that drivers should drive at the relevant road speed,  

Martyn

Relevant to the time of day and the traffic conditions too, with full alertness and mental processing power at all times! Some shouldn't be allowed on the roads at all at certain times of the day!

 

Quite apart from the un-necessary amount of cross-town traffic that is generated by parents choosing remote rather than local schools for their children, in the futile belief that the right school will turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, I am regularly infuriated (particularly in morning traffic as I struggle to get to work in a reasonable time, although similar things happen in afternoons) by those "all the time in the world" grandparents who have been deputised to take little Jimmy and his siblings to school, painfully slowly and carefully, and who then like nothing better than to continue to saunter around clogging up the roads on the way to buy an oddment from the supermarket, or just to see the sights....

I also boil because of the numbers around here who go totally brain-dead (listening to the radio, fumbling with their blasted mobile phones or whatever) once in a queue, say at traffic lights, and who thus lose opportunities for self and others to move off. Equally infuriating are those who cannot interpret multiple vehicle movements at junctions, mini-roundabouts in particular (though I've even seen it at huge empty roundabouts) and who thus NEVER approach at moderate speed, assess, and drive through, but who have to stop dead, regardless of conditions / priorities / vehicles behind them, and wait for a written reassurance that the road is clear for a mile in every direction before they move off again!

 

Sadly, I'm not aware that compulsory pull-over rules for goods vehicles, agricultural vehicles and other crawlers have ever been adopted in this country.

Edited December 31, 2017 by gr.king

[Paul Cram]

There was an article in the paper within the last year where a tractor driver was convicted of inconsiderate driving when he failed to pull over to allow a long queue of trafficto pass.

Link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3674032/The-conviction-motorist-cheer-Tractor-driver-fined-190-trundling-slowly-queue-FIFTY-cars-trapped-him.html

 

Edited to add link

Edited December 31, 2017 by Paul Cram

[grob1234]

My pet hate is the 40mph club on country roads. They saunter along at 40mph in the open countryside, where invariably, 60mph is easily and safely achievable, then, in villages (where threats are much higher and a lower limit is totally valid) with a speed limit of 30mph, they continue at 40mph. It boggles my small mind.

[Tony Wright]

Tony

 

I have a Hornby a4 which began life as 60003 in the original train pack from Hornby a good few years ago. I have had the loco for many years and it must have run many actual miles, as opposed to scale miles. however after the said many years of bad running the loco failed at the last outing when my club had Newcastleton at the Doncaster show last year, following which the loco simply sat in its box.

over the Christmas holidays I took the decision to give the loco a make over, it has had a full repaint, new pick ups ( the originals were well and truly worn out, hence the failure) extra weight added and a new tender and double chimney fitted. the loco now runs beautifully.

I would like to take the detailing a stage further, especially at the front end, I remember seeing a detailing kit for the Hornby a4's, but cannot for the life of me remember what supplier does the detailing kit. I seem to remember a kit which had dummy front frames as part of the kit with the rear buffer beam detail also.

could yourself, or indeed another point me in the right direction. I assume markits would do the correct bogie wheels too.

 

 

 

best wishes for the new year.

 

thanks

 

gary patterson

Gary,

 

A lovely job - my congratulations. 

 

Just two observations, if I may, please? KINGFISHER's front numberplate only ever had the incorrect style of curly-tailed '6', not the true Gill Sans sort. And, in every picture I've seen where 60024 has red 'plates, she's carrying electric warning flashes. 

 

Hornby's pick-ups are not too good. They're so flimsy on the loco and too easy to get out of alignment. On the one Hornby A4 I still own, I've replaced them with .45mm nickel silver wire. I've also taken out the ridiculous amount of slop in the chassis by fitting Peco one eighth fibre washers. You don't have to take the wheels off, just nick a piece out of the washer a bit tighter than one eighth, then push each one on to the axle with tweezers. Not only does it stop the loco waddling so much, but it also means the pick-ups don't need too much springing - just enough. It's a dodge which can be applied to any RTR steam-outline OO Gauge loco. 

 

Re-reading Ian Rice's rather complimentary letter in the MRJ recently, he mentions that (even big) RTR locos can negotiate tight radii (20", or less?). I rather chuckled at that, because I have so few RTR locos, and none I build will go round anything as tight as that. As I've mentioned, my tightest radii on the running lines is 3', so I'm able to take out the chassis slop in RTR chassis with no subsequent problems in running. 

 

Could the detailing kit be made by Brassmasters? I've fitted such things to a Jinty and Stanier Black Five.

 

Markits do the correct bogie wheel, a scale 3' 2" with ten spokes. 

 

Regards for the New Year,

 

Tony.  

 

Edited because I've now read the other posts - it would appear to be Brassmasters. 

Edited December 31, 2017 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

Kingfisher looks lovely a real credit to you and indeed to Hornby as the basics look right. Interesting gallop on tractors caravans and the like yet another topic for the record. You never know what is going to pop up here!

 

I have spent a lot of time recently looking at old magazines. I used to regularly read and avidly look forward to the Meccano Magazine in the 1950's/60.s. It had everything in it that a lad could want except I never had enough pieces to make the models featured therein. On the railway front they often published pictures of readers layouts and almost without exception they were all circular ones of the train set type. Did anyone try to create a model railway in those times using Dublo products?

 

Love these pictures of trains running through LB. Surely carriages would ride at differing heights due to load, springs and other "odd" factors. The bottom line is that the trains look wonderful as they whoosh past so who notices?

 

Martin Long

Martin,

 

The 'LNER' system has been mentioned, and I thought it was inspirational, too. 

 

In the main, though, any layout in those wonderful, far-off days which used RTR equipment would appear in the 'Proprietary Modeller' section of the RM. Almost without exception, any 'Railway of the Month' would have items on it which had been made - either from kits or from scratch. 

 

That is not the case today. As I've mentioned before, many, many layouts which one sees in the press or at shows use RTR/RTP equipment. If one is lucky, it'll have been improved/altered/detailed/weathered by the owner(s), but this is not always the case. It's not just mainstream OO either - even O Gauge layouts now feature much more stuff on them that's 'out-of-the-box'. 

 

This is progress, and it's been argued (with justification) that we've never had it so good. However, I wonder whether some modellers actually look at the real railways they're trying to recreate, either through direct observation or from historical sources. If they did, perhaps we'd see fewer of my personal pet hates...........

 

Including........... 

 

Trains displaying no lamps or discs. 

 

Even though front detailing is included for the RTR loco, this is left off (revealing holes in the bufferbeams) because of the retention of the dreaded tension-lock couplings.

 

Platforms which are far too high. During my research into building LB's platforms, the highest I found came to halfway up a buffer head. Many were much lower. On some featured layouts (aimed at the beginner), the platforms are so high they'd interfere with the opening of doors. 

 

Non-working signals and/or signals placed in the most unsafe positions.

 

Facing crossovers (at through stations), direct leads into goods yards (off fast running lines) and no trap points. 

 

Trains made up which just don't make sense (a gangwayed Buffet Car in a set of non-gangwayed carriages. In fairness, it could have been empty stock, though no lamps were displayed).

 

Nothing weathered. I'm not just mentioning stock here, but things like pristine roofs on ancient (chocolate box top?) buildings. 

 

No sense of place or time on a layout (often an affliction seen on vast OO, club systems).

 

As for running - we've been here before. 

 

Does anyone else have a list of 'pet hates' (mine's just the beginning)? It could be that some pet hates lists include those who list pet hates. 

 

As I've said before, nobody has a right to dictate in a hobby what folk should or shouldn't do. However, if a person's work is seen on display in the press or at shows (and both), then surely there is a responsibility on the builder's part to get things as right as they can, especially if a project is aimed at the beginner. 

[Poggy1165]

I have a long list of "pet hates" - most of them come down to lack of observation. It's as if some people can love railways for 10, 20, 30 years without ever looking at them - or photos where appropriate. Or indeed, the world in general. 

 

(As an aside I can think of at least one place where a facing point, or rather a slip, led straight from the down main into a goods yard. Hyde Road, near Manchester. But I agree, it is not the "norm" even on those railways who were not too tight to pay for point locking where needed.)

 

The main problem with model railways is practicability. I dislike all forms of automatic couplings, bits of bent wire "virtually invisible, ha, ha," and so on. But I freely concede that the minimum practical size for proper couplings, unless you have the eyes of a falcon, is 7mm scale. Then you need the arms of a gibbon if the board is above 3 ft wide, which rules out many prototypes. The only solution would be tiny, robot shunters. Maybe in another hundred years or so. Similarly, most of us (bar those living in stately homes) do not have the room for scale curves or accurate station lengths. (Though it is a strange fact that many small stations built to scale in 4mm look too long as models. This probably has something to do with how our eyes perceive things.)

 

I wonder if there is a case for saying "this is a model railway" and just enjoying oneself. Because ultimately the objective of the hobby is not to provide pretty photographs, although some magazines certainly imply this. 

[EHertsGER]

Relevant to the time of day and the traffic conditions too, with full alertness and mental processing power at all times! Some shouldn't be allowed on the roads at all at certain times of the day!Quite apart from the un-necessary amount of cross-town traffic that is generated by parents choosing remote rather than local schools for their children, in the futile belief that the right school will turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, I am regularly infuriated (particularly in morning traffic as I struggle to get to work in a reasonable time, although similar things happen in afternoons) by those "all the time in the world" grandparents who have been deputised to take little Jimmy and his siblings to school, painfully slowly and carefully, and who then like nothing better than to continue to saunter around clogging up the roads on the way to buy an oddment from the supermarket, or just to see the sights....I also boil because of the numbers around here who go totally brain-dead (listening to the radio, fumbling with their blasted mobile phones or whatever) once in a queue, say at traffic lights, and who thus lose opportunities for self and others to move off. Equally infuriating are those who cannot interpret multiple vehicle movements at junctions, mini-roundabouts in particular (though I've even seen it at huge empty roundabouts) and who thus NEVER approach at moderate speed, assess, and drive through, but who have to stop dead, regardless of conditions / priorities / vehicles behind them, and wait for a written reassurance that the road is clear for a mile in every direction before they move off again!Sadly, I'm not aware that compulsory pull-over rules for goods vehicles, agricultural vehicles and other crawlers have ever been adopted in this country.

I have the solution! Send them all to me for the weekend, where they can drive me around town. Tee hee.

[Clive Mortimore]

Relevant to the time of day and the traffic conditions too, with full alertness and mental processing power at all times! Some shouldn't be allowed on the roads at all at certain times of the day!

 

Quite apart from the un-necessary amount of cross-town traffic that is generated by parents choosing remote rather than local schools for their children, in the futile belief that the right school will turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, I am regularly infuriated (particularly in morning traffic as I struggle to get to work in a reasonable time, although similar things happen in afternoons) by those "all the time in the world" grandparents who have been deputised to take little Jimmy and his siblings to school, painfully slowly and carefully, and who then like nothing better than to continue to saunter around clogging up the roads on the way to buy an oddment from the supermarket, or just to see the sights....

I also boil because of the numbers around here who go totally brain-dead (listening to the radio, fumbling with their blasted mobile phones or whatever) once in a queue, say at traffic lights, and who thus lose opportunities for self and others to move off. Equally infuriating are those who cannot interpret multiple vehicle movements at junctions, mini-roundabouts in particular (though I've even seen it at huge empty roundabouts) and who thus NEVER approach at moderate speed, assess, and drive through, but who have to stop dead, regardless of conditions / priorities / vehicles behind them, and wait for a written reassurance that the road is clear for a mile in every direction before they move off again!

 

Sadly, I'm not aware that compulsory pull-over rules for goods vehicles, agricultural vehicles and other crawlers have ever been adopted in this country.

Of course people could always live near their places of work and walk there, taking more cars off the road and improving their cardio-vascular circulation. We have become accustomed to living away from our place of work, where we shop, where our children go to school etc. then blame others who are doing just the same.

 

 

There was an article in the paper within the last year where a tractor driver was convicted of inconsiderate driving when he failed to pull over to allow a long queue of trafficto pass.

Link http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3674032/The-conviction-motorist-cheer-Tractor-driver-fined-190-trundling-slowly-queue-FIFTY-cars-trapped-him.html

 

Edited to add link

I have always be patient when behind a tractor, a lot of the time they are not going to far. Now I have moved to Lincolnshire if I need to go somewhere I expect to find a tractor on route so factor that into my journey. It does seem a daft interpretation of a law designed to make motorways safer being used to penalise someone going about his business. We tend to forget that farming is not a past time but a very important industry.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Clive Mortimore