Johnson044

Indeed we did, 32475! Eismops.pdf

Thanks Captain Slough! I'll DM you a little later today.

Oh- ok- yes - quite understand. Definitely food for thought though. I was wondering how feasible it would be to alter a Dublo clockwork mechs from six to four coupled. I see Tri-ang clockwork saddle tanks on ebay and at exhibitions from time to time, often at very low cost and, like the Dublo ones, the Tri-ang ones look like they are of decent quality. I have various half-baked notions for carving them about. I did wonder if every second spoke could be removed, some longer axles fitted and the Tri-ang saddle tank could be a good starting point for an o gauge industrial. Hmmmm...

This I like! Presumably clockwork or are the two rods just loosely placed to wedge the mechanism in?

Whilst on the subject of all things pug- my neighbour gave me this motorized example from her late husband's collection. I don't know if this is a Perfecta example or another manufacturer's. it looks like a commercial conversion- very neatly done. the XT-60 just squeaks in. there are new tyres to the Airfix wheels (i assume it's Airfix as it has brakes- am I right in thinking the Kitmaster ones didn't?). There is a shaped weight in the tank and another one loose that looks like it is intended to fit behind the front spectacle plate (but can't as the cab roof is on and the safety valves get in the way). What puzzles me is the plastic representations of the springs- looks like a commercial plastic component intended to form a skirt under the boiler where the original boiler and springs have been cut away. The template used for cutting the hole in the footplate for the motor is included too.

Well- the spikes do rather let the cat out of the bag (what a wonderful mixed metaphor!). Indeed- the Icepug cometh!

Same here but one issue is the device misting up- most of the work I do tends to be in a cold shed. I really need something better now as I have at last had diagnosis confirmed of Age Related Macular Degeneration (don't try it at home- it's not much fun). Basically a small permanent area of radiating irregularly shaped rings of colour (think of a tiny Palethorpes Sausages logo) or, depending on tiredness levels, a flash of light directly over whatever it is I'm focusing on. I'm 60 btw. I think, personally, it's the last 20+ years of Autocad- certainly, I think, an aggravation, if not the root cause. I shall get myself a long-promised Optivisor and maybe experiment with the Borg device.

Curiouser and curiouser....

What, oh what, is going on here?

It's a difficult one. If the break is recent and clean then just superglue it back together. Good if you can because the pony casting has a representation of the underneath of the cylinders. Could you not mask off the area and grind off the remains of the white metal bit between the frames with a suitable cutting bit on a Dremel or other mini-drill? Or using a fine burr make a centre pop in the middle of the retaining pin and drill or grind it out? If you go for the first option- to cut away the white metal in-situ you would hopefully be able to get a better look at the retaining pin and see if there is any evidence of it being threaded in place (in which case you might be able to un-thread it with a pair of pliers)- or soldered and you'd get a better idea of how the pin could be got out and replaced. The main thing is to protect the rest of the loco from being covered with metal debris. You could then source another bit of metal to make another pony, maybe salvaging the cylinder detail?

Your workmanship, as ever, is just so meticulous. Really lovely job.

A quick update as I must try to get at least some work done today. Paul, my daughter's fiance, found on local social media that someone seen pushing red motorbike on local street at 6.30 this morning. Tim & I found Honda (wet but seemingly undamaged) behind some bins two streets away and Ducati minus alarm, some wiring and toolkit in car park not far away. Have moved them both to a lock up which will hopefully be safe. Police are aware and will hopefully follow up. Just waiting for glass repair man to come and fix car. A stressful morning and feel a bit invaded but damage hopefully limited.

Woken at 5.40 by Liz's car alarm. Some low life forced the garage door, broke her window, pushed her car across the road and stole my son Tim's two motorbikes. Beautiful, immaculate 1973 450cc Honda that he'd spent many, many hours on a complete ground-up restoration plus his 600cc Ducati. Some £12k worth of bikes plus the hours of effort put into them. It’s absolutely soul destroying. Awaiting crime scene people who will come within six hours. Liz’s Glucometer also taken (she is a Community Nurse who manages End of Life Care for people in south Canterbury) and her car and sterile things full of glass. Liz using my car today as her work is essential, so I’m doing what work I can from home. Absolutely SICK of living in Dover.

Take one Tri-ang Blue Pullman and a hacksaw?

I find AI to be absolutely terrifying. I'm sure it's just a collection of algorithms and much of it is good, but the genie is well and truly out of the lamp now and we will very quickly become even more dependent on the internet as a result. My wife is a Community Nurse working in a largely rural area with many clients who are being given End of Life Care and needing precise and vital medication- yesterday in the big storm the internet was down and she was absolutely stuffed. On a more cheerful note, the railway giant kitty images remind me of a painting I once saw called "Shrewsbury station when you're not looking"- must have been in the late 90's - with a giant Siamese looming over a slightly psychedelic Shrewsbury station building. Can't find it on the internet though - pity as I'd love a copy!

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Back to kitbashed and customised engines found in the wild- how about this? A sort of single Fairlie. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355158597164?hash=item52b11a1e2c:g:fSwAAOSwYCplQ-l3

They are absolutely gorgeous! Especially the NER 2-4-0

Are the wheels on the Fletcher 0-4-4T insulated? If not (probably not!) you'd have to change these too - trouble is (I speak from bitter, regretted experience) once you start altering a model like this you end up doing more and more and either lose the character of the original completely or (like me) end up with a handful of ruined pieces of tinplate and brass!

I must admit, I agree- although the paint job is pretty rough, as you say, it is charming- and all its history is in the top 1/2mm of surface.. I'd probably do the absolute bare minimum to try to stabilize the rust and otherwise keep it as it is.

Ephraim Shay came up with something pretty similar many years later.

Yes, it's a bit short but a very fine Princess conversion that convinces. A nice piece of work.

What a beautiful model, and I'm so relieved that it has gone to someone who appreciates it. This is pioneering stuff- almost everything (aside, possibly, from the mechanism, or parts of it) made entirely from raw materials. So - either the builder(s) chose not to use available components or they were not available- through shortage (WW2 deprivation of some kind), or overseas, or - maybe the components just didn't exist yet and we are in the Bing Table Railway era, at the dawn of small scale modelling? This is a priceless piece of work. There must be a story there to be found- it would be great to ensure it doesn't get lost- I think the seller said something about the models being part of their father's collection? Might be worth a quick email to them. What on earth uses a volute spring in a small tube to provide plenty of controlled power? Googling has not helped- parking meters, clocks, music boxes, spring guns- so maybe the mechanism was entirely purpose-made. I now understand why the coupling rods are cranked!

Absolutely- let's not compound the issue! I think the Webb compounds had Joy gear on the high pressure cylinders and a slip eccentric on the low pressure one. You'd have to get out and push in the opposite direction for a bit. I'm finding it difficult to avoid six eccentrics on Ophir.