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MatthewCarty

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Everything posted by MatthewCarty

  1. I'd be interested in hearing other's opinions on this, but one area that has always stood out for me on models is shiny silver crossheads. On most engines I've worked on the crossheads have usually been painted black, and are often quite grubby after a day's service due to dirt sticking to the oil which naturally ends up on them. Having made this point, I equally dislike the plastic looking thing on Dapol's pictures. When up close, this part of an engine has so much detail which (to my knowledge) has never been well captured or represented on models. At the same time I don't believe in adding detail for the sake of detail, but a little thought could go a long way in this area. Either way, these models are certainly looking wonderful and shiny silver crosshead or not I will certainly be purchasing. Edit: Just seen pictures of cab detail as well, definitely got to be one of the best yet, but for completeness the following stuck out to me, but probably too late to make changes. The brake handle would never be left pointing straight up, would probably be best in the brakes 'off' position, as even once stopped (to correspond to the 0 readings on both pressure gauge and dual brake gauge) most drivers will put it back into the 'off' position. Personally I think I would model with boiler pressure showing and brake gauge showing brakes off, but this is very subjective. Even more minor would be the shiny mason valve and pipework to steam heat pipe. In preservation there is almost always insulation round the pipe, but I certainly wouldn't want to claim any knowledge of whether this was done 'back in the day'.
  2. I have fitted a standard plux22 DCC decoder to my two. The only catch is that a standard plux22 decoder only has 21 pins so without making a simple mod you can't get one of the lighting functions to work (from memory it might be the Cab interior at 1 end). The SLW sound chips are a special 22 pin version which allows for this extra function. From memory the change is a simple reversible change of just moving the connection onto an alternative place non-used place. I can't rate mine highly enough with the only weakness being the nem coupling design which for some reason can start to sag, but again this can be fixed quite easily.
  3. Austin 1 has been in steam twice over the last week (I posted a video on the railway's unofficial Facebook group for those interested) and will go on hire to the S&D at Midsomer Norton for the summer. 7754 was always unlikely to be sold due to the huge amount of volunteer time and money that has gone into its overhaul. Hopefully this overhaul will be completed over the next 12 months and will then be an important engine for the line. Jennifer's future will become clearer over the next month, but should be steam tested at Llangollen in a few weeks time.
  4. Here is the official press release. For those who may be interested, the coach purchased by the trust is TSO 4858. The 2 coaches purchased by a supporter were the function coach and TSO 4472.
  5. Those in charge will comment with exact details when everything is fully confirmed, but overall the outcome was probably about as good as could be hoped for given the very competitive nature of the auction. I believe some were slightly shocked that the bidding went as consistently high as it did. £38 000 for a MK1 certainly makes the 1:76.2 scale Bachmann models look cheap at roughly a thousandth of the price!
  6. As a volunteer at LR, I can tell you that things have been feeling ‘brighter at Llangollen’ since the new board took over and gave some clear and frank updates as to what the financial situation was. Only way is up now! The auction ends middle of next week, with the accessible adapted TSOs, 12 ton crane and road railer being the priorities for the trust to purchase. After this we will really be able to start to think about getting things ready for services to begin again. A lot of work has been taking place in the background but work should start to be more visible soon (particularly with the easing of COVID restrictions as well). Thank you to anyone who has made a donation. If anyone feels able to make a donation no matter how big/small, they are appreciated. The appeal page can be found here https://llangollenrailway.enthuse.com/cf/rolling-stock-appeal
  7. I'm sure you're right about the use of 'standard', I was just interested to see the drawing of the intermediate tank, as I'm not sure I've seen any drawings (even simple ones like these) of this tank before.
  8. Interesting to see the intermediate tender pop up here, referred to as standard in the text, also the frames seem to be what we’d expect on an intermediate.
  9. Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to these tenders? My first thought was Collett 3500 because of the height and fenders going round the back, but they're on Churchward frames with Churchward style handrails.... Also found pictures of 2927, 2931, 2933, 2937, 2945, 2971 with intermediates, can post links if wanted...
  10. Similarly here is 4092 with what is presumably tender 2376 https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=4092&loco=4092 A slightly confusing one is 4032. According to https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=4032&type=S&loco=4032 4032 was never fitted with a 'standard' Churchward 3500g tender. Yet there are photos showing it with one at the time it was supposedly with intermediate 2381!
  11. Interesting you mention 4089 with tender 2210. This is one of those reported to been converted to an intermediate pattern. This tender is now preserved with 4073 but has standard sides (http://www.ten.rhrp.org.uk/tens/TenderInfo.asp?Ref=19). According to https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&type=S&id=4073&loco=4073, this was also the tender 4073 was fitted with from new. Coincidence?!? Also strange is that when you click on the tender details on br database, 4073 isn't listed... only 4089 as you mentioned. Maybe a picture of 4089 between 08/07/1925 and 04/1926 when it gained T1785 can be found. Here is a picture of 4016 in 1926 with what presumably is 2380 according to https://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=4016&type=S&loco=4016
  12. It's an interesting question to consider. I suspect the only way to get an answer now would require a lot of research to try and find a period of time where you could pinpoint high sided tenders connected to more than 10 locos. I don't think this is quite impossible but would certainly be very difficult. The other thing is (as with 7812 above) there are plenty of questionable identifications. I've just another one here which claims to be of 7822, but the absence of any other pictures of 7822 with high sided tenders makes me doubt it (Picture from The Transport Treasury)
  13. Yes I think a similar angle photo of a manor with a standard Chuchward tender is required to be sure either way with 7821. I've just been having another look at the Waters Manor book and he similarly misidentifies 7814's Collett tender as an intermediate, but the Collett frames and fender round the rear are clearly visible in both the book and this one Another interesting point from the Waters book is he mentions at the start that the intermediate tenders were nos 2374-2383, and that tenders 2210 and 2222 were converted to intermediate pattern tenders (presumably just the tanks, not the slightly different frames as well). If correct it would seem 2210 was converted back again as I think this is the tender now behind Caerphilly Castle. There is also a picture of 7806 with an intermediate tender which he says is 2343, so either this was another convert he didn't mention at the start or the number is misquoted. Either way I'm often shocked by how frequently these pop up in pictures given there were so few of them.
  14. Is that not the Collett 3500g one? I think it's the only Manor to have been recorded with the Collett tender. The more I look at that picture of 7821, the more I think it must be an intermediate. The join between the tender side and fender looks to be about in line with bottom of the cab window and the characteristic row of rivets is just about visible (in line with where the top of the numberplate would be).
  15. Yes, I’ve been caught out by a couple of the captions before, but the photo apparently of 7812 isn’t from there. I did wonder whether the picture of 7821 might be of the hybrid preservation tender, but I think it’s got the early chimney which presumably rules that out...
  16. Handrails on the Collett tenders didn't have that 90 degree bend towards going towards the back at the top of the handrail, so don't think it's a Collett... It was not having seen a picture of 7812 will an intermediate that caused me to look again, could well be incorrectly labelled, although there do seem to be a few less documented Manor + intermediate pairings I don't think 7818's pairing is particularly well documented online, but there seem to be a few picture to suggest it happened: This one behind 7821 is another that has had me wondering, difficult angle again..
  17. I wonder if those more knowledgeable than I could confirm whether I have correctly identified this tender as one of the intermediate tenders. Not possible to really make out, but it's meant to be 7812 at Stoneycombe. If I'm right then hopefully it's in an appropriate thread!
  18. Problem with your argument is this is prototypical for preservation. Plus it’s a different colour which makes it stand out from all the other black/green ones. I don’t think you’ll convince Dapol to change this, best chance is to hope this one sells well then ask for another in grey/black.
  19. To correct some of what has been stated, Llangollen only runs a one train service for most of the year with two trains used at weekends during May, June, July and August. Midweek it has usually been DMU during any February, March, April and October running and steam during the summer months (school holidays have usually been steam midweek too). Weekends always have at least one steam (two in August) but the second train is diesel/DMU during May/June/July. There are often small tweaks each year but this is the base pattern which can be recognized in all recent timetables (Events often deviate from this pattern). Interestingly the 2021 timetable has possibly the biggest move away from this setup for some time with diesel/DMU Fridays for most of the year and no service on Mondays. These talks of needing "five working biggish engines" are a thing of the past for a railway operating one steam for most of the year. Three is probably what is needed with a fourth probably an unaffordable luxury these days (engines which sit around don't have the money to pay for overhauls). On the subject of choice of motive power, last August the railway ran DMU on Monday and Tuesday, diesel hauled Wednesday, steam Thursday and Friday and steam + diesel/DMU at the weekend. The steam services were very full throughout August and full the first couple of weeks (clearly train capacity was lower than normal with compartment stock mainly in use). However the DMU/diesel services were fairly empty midweek and the weekend diesel/DMU services were cancelled after the first weekend because they were almost operating ECS. After the first couple of weeks of August's services had been looked at it was decided September would be 100% steam. Whilst the previous board clearly struggled to get some major decisions right, I cannot imagine they took this decision if the numbers in front of them didn't tell them that this was going to bring in the most money.
  20. I meant 'only' in the more literal meaning i.e. exclusively, rather than in the 'merely' sense. I know this was the main gripe with the previous version as it is a major difference from the prototype. I'm sure it will make a huge difference to the overall feel of the model, I'm just concerned that once again we might end up being left with a Modified Hall that isn't quite right. I was just disappointed that on this third attempt it seems Bachmann still haven't taken the time to go and have a proper look and careful examination of what they are trying to produce. It seems all the way through the Modified Hall project all they have done is very basic reading of a description of the main differences between the two classes. I'm sure that's not the case, but there does seem to have been this constant feeling of them not knowing the prototype thoroughly. An equivalent (when doing the LNER A2) would have been to take the A1 and adjust it slightly to take smaller wheels without considering any other details. Sorry if I'm being pedantic, but it just always feels like Bachmann have been a step behind on this project.
  21. I have two of them and they are both excellent runners straight out the box on DC and have been wonderful on DCC too. Judging on this thread maybe there is a slightly higher number of problem ones than normal, but I would rate the two I’ve got as among the best running engines I have. I would recommend anyone who doesn’t get one which they are satisfied with to try and return/swap. For me the gearing isn’t a problem as they will go as slow as I could possibly want (almost imperceptible) and are perfectly smooth. The only problem you could say is that the top speed is too high, but there is a very simple solution to that! I’m almost certain the fender lining is prototypical as I’m sure there have been a couple of photos found to prove it. I don’t know the dates for the early crest models, and unless anyone on here has done the research and has them to hand the best bet is searching around for photos. My two haven’t had much use yet, but I plan on keeping the tender permanently attached as much as possible to minimise the risk there, but no sign of any problems yet.
  22. There are plenty of pictures of the modified Modified Hall on the Bachmann website that I hadn’t noticed before. To my eyes it looks like the only changes since the last release are the bogie and smokebox saddle. Other than the front of the bogie which has been mentioned many times now, the only little thing which didn’t look correct to me was the curved sections of the front footplate (in front of the valves). These seem to be detailed with inspection covers and rivets as on a Collett Hall not the Modified Hall ones which are comparatively plain. The washout plugs are also overdone, but that’s always been the case on all the Bachmann Halls.
  23. I would check coupling rods for catching, sand pipes or any other under frame detail that might be catching on sleepers etc, pickups in case one has got bent out and is getting caught in the spokes of one of the driving wheels. This sort of thing can often be tracked more carefully by seeing if it only happens in one direction, using rolling road, removing the body etc to try and eliminate some of these options from being the cause. If I was sure it wasn’t any of these I would be getting a little more worried it was coming from the mechanism and would be considering returning as it is a very new model. I’m sure others will come up with more options as well.
  24. I think they're the best done of the other western 4-6-0s. I would be surprised if Hornby aren't looking other their shoulder with the Black 5 and 8f though...
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