DavidB

This is excellent news Colin - I really enjoyed all of your previous builds and it's great to have you posting again on RMWeb with a new project. I am hugely looking forward to this one - bring it on!

 

David

They were native to Cornwall in the late 70s and early/mid-80s, when W55025, 26 and 33 were all allocated to Laira at various times and regularly worked to Looe, as well as strengthening St Ives services. In terms of the mid-60s, there is an undated photo of a GSYP 121 at Halwill Junction bound for Wadebridge (p50 of John Vaughan's Diesel Days - Devon and Cornwall), which must be between 1964 and 1966. There is also a photo of W55029 at Okehampton in 1969 in the same book - again the photo was taken in Devon, but as a Laira-allocated unit it is helpfully showing both Liskeard and Looe on the destination blind. Not definitive, but compelling evidence that it's likely to have crossed the Tamar while based in Plymouth.

 

David

Cracking work Phill - your railway just goes on getting better and better! Thanks for continuing to keep us all posted on the latest updates.

 

David

My Katie light load, about 20psi runs for about 65 mins outside but no gradients totally flat Roundy,  Roundy .  phil

 

You get a 65 minute run time from a Katie?  Wow - I thought I was doing well when I sometimes manage to get 45 mins from mine - that's seriously impressive.  Does anyone know how long the Hambleden lads manage to get per run from their shunting locos?

 

David

Very impressive - I hadn't seen this thread before, but I'm definitely going to follow your progress with this project.  I love the your Slo-Mo style inertia device - very clever.  I've tried all sorts of things over the years to get my live steamers to run slowly and smoothly, and the only thing that has consistently worked has been running them at 10psi or so below the normal operating pressure and loading them up well (for example my Welsh Highland 7 car rake weighs in at 18kg, which tames them nicely, until they have to run around the stock at the end of the line, when they revert to type again) - and of course this approach is no use on a shunting layout.  So I'm really interested in how this all works out with your Lady Anne. Thanks for sharing,

 

David

Brilliant stuff Idris - looking great, and I love the double-header, as well as the way that Countess looks to have a realistically-scorched smokebox door from working hard.  I really like the way that you and Bob have locos that look so real.  So many 16mm locos (including my own) look far too clean, but you both have locos that look like real honest hard-working machines, rather than shiny museum pieces that never turn a wheel in anger.  I clearly have work to do on my own fleet....

 

David

Very tasty Bob - I don't know how you do it, but I love all these live steamers of yours.  Each one looks SO much better than the out-of-the-box versions - oozing character and realism.  I'm dead jealous! 

 

David

Can I ask what a chuffer is? I'm guessing some sort of device for the blastpipe that makes a nice noise?

 

I have six Summerlands chuffers in use at the moment, with two more on order.  The sound they produce varies depending on a number of factors (e.g. the height and diameter of the chimney).  My loudest is the one fitted to my Roundhouse Linda, followed by the Darjeeling B Class.  The others are quieter, but still very noticeable - the volume is greatest when working on a full regulator with the boiler pressure some way below maximum.  They have the added bonus of diverting 90% of the oil spatter that you get from the exhaust of an un-equipped loco (it drips down beneath the loco instead), but best of all is the way that you can drive the loco (assuming radio control is fitted) when it's out of sight, simply based on the sound of the exhaust beats.  They are also helpful for those of us who like to keep garden railway speeds at realistic levels, as the enhanced exhaust quickly blurs into a continuous buzz like a small petrol lawnmower when driving too fast.  My wife has confirmed that she can clearly hear my Roundhouse Linda from 100 yards down the lane when I'm driving the loco flat out uphill at 20 mph (as measured using the Bole Laser Craft speedometer wagon) on 7 heavy FR/WHR cars.  I like the way that I can find a sunny spot and settle down by the lineside out of sight of the station before I ease open the regulator.  After a few slips, just like the real thing starting away uphill from Tan-Y-Bwlch, the sound of the exhaust beats starts to rise as Linda punches her way unseen out of the station before curving into view through the bushes 15 or so seconds later, accelerating slowly and noisily towards line speed with a lovely staccato beat filling the air.  It never fails to bring a grin to my face - deep joy!  And thankfully the neighbours haven't complained yet.

 

David

the firebox is still odd

But not as odd as the completely missing section of the boiler.  It didn't look so obvious in earlier photos, but that side-on Hereford Models photo makes it look very stark to me.

 

David

waiting over a month for a chuff pipe didn't help

 

I'm waiting for a couple of chuffers too - if it's coming direct from Nigel in Weymouth, Chris Bird told me that there's a delay of several weeks due to a backlog of orders.  If it's anything like the chuffer in my Roundhouse Linda, it'll be worth the wait though - not quite as loud as the real thing going up the hill to Blaenau, but not too far off!

 

Sorry to hear about the op Bob - hope you're fighting fit again before too long. 

 

David

Sorry to hear about the problems last night Idris - all too familiar to me as well.  After weeks of fault-free operation, last week I had flat battery issues, a leaking gas adapter, a broken gauge glass, a loose tyre, the collapse of a white metal bogie and a broken fishplate that caused a derailment (the first time in 35 years of using Peco track in 4 different gauges where I've seen a rail joiner fracture in the middle of a joint).  I had to console myself with the thought that I'm running a real railway in miniature, and there are reasons why real railways have strict maintenance regimes, but I was really fed up at the time. So I'm right there with you and Phil.

 

David

owentherail has previously posted a photo on RMWeb of St Paddy running L/E on the down main at Moreton Cutting http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/6221-55001-19175jpg/.

 

David

If it's as good as his earlier Withered Arm book, it will be well worth the price.  Peter Barnfield's photos in that book were great and he has a very engaging style of writing - informative, enthusiastic and with a nice turn of phrase that does a great job of conveying the atmosphere of his travels in the South-West 55+ years ago.  

 

David

It's a cracking edition this month - the Nantlle Branch is one of my favourite garden railways (OK, so I'm biased because I model the modern F&WHR too), with some very tasty upgraded locomotives and scratchbuilt stock in a great setting, while all of the other articles are well worth a read too.  Highly recommended.

 

David

But if the servo is hooked up to the reverse, shouldn't you be able to use that to regulate the speed, albeit with a more coarse speed control, assuming she can be notched up

You're right to use the word 'coarse' Killian.  My Accucraft Lyn came with single servo r/c on the reverser - it was a right b*****d to drive smoothly and pulled several couplings out through lumpy starts and stops (despite only having 4 driving wheels, it's a seriously strong engine that can easily take my 18kg 7 car Welsh Highland rake round my line).  I tried all of the tips on the internet about trying different regulator openings to make it run more smoothly.  I nearly sold it, but in the end I gave in and arranged for Rod Blakeman to fit a second servo to control the regulator.  It's now a completely different engine - smooth, sophisticated and highly controllable.

 

David

Ah - I now understand why my lunchtime train to London firstly overtook 800003 running slowly on the Up Relief at Burnham and then passed an Up Freightliner running through Slough on the Down Relief, even though the Up Relief was unoccupied.  I couldn't work out what was going on, so thank you for explaining yesterday's special event.  800003 was sitting outside North Pole a couple of hours later, with one driving car named Queen Victoria and the other named Queen Elizabeth, so there seems to be a developing theme of GW Class 800s having different names at each end.

 

David

47500 must have been the widest 47 on BR the number of times it was tarted up for Royal use

And it always looked a real treat, as did the other 5 Old Oak 47/4 namers in the early 475xx series, as well as the London-based 50s in the mid-80s (Furious, Glorious and Ark Royal always looked particularly smart at the time, and made their Laira-based classmates look tatty by comparison). The five giant postage stamps that 47500 wore briefly in 1985 presumably made it even wider for a short while.

 

But it was the hydraulics that always fascinated me, where the stressed skin bodywork on the Warships and Westerns was apparently covered all over with the 1950s/60s equivalent of car body filler to smooth out the surface before painting, and the paint then flaked off when it lost the battle with the washing plants, leaving some remarkably shabby and piebald locos at times. I remember seeing Warships in service in the late 60s and early 70s where there was clear evidence of green, maroon and blue paint on the same loco.

 

David

Loving the open hopper ventilators - a very nicely observed touch, and you've got the angle just right. I remember the originals on the SWD and this is one classy bit of modelling - can't wait to see the finished unit.

 

David

Not a model, but this is my kind of polling station https://twitter.com/StephenJoseph7/status/872775356431949826/photo/1

 

From Wikipedia, I'm guessing this is Pressed Steel DMBS W51353, but someone may know better.

 

David

 

 

W22 at Didcot is definitely low geared, with great acceleration from a standing start.  The demonstration branch line is very short, but W22 easily gets into 3rd gear in little more than a few carriage lengths, so I would be surprised if it's capable of much more than the quoted maximum of 40mph (if it could ever be unleashed).  BTW, it's a beautiful machine with superb engine and gearbox sound effects, deep seat cushions and a very softly-sprung suspension that causes it to rock and bounce gently - interestingly it's about as different as it could possibly be from the tram seats and hard ride of Didcot's fabulous GW railmotor.

 

David

You've got one hell of a good eye for this stuff Larry - you make it look so easy to get great results. From the platform edging to the non-slip bricks, this is all shouting BR(W) to me - it's already brimming with character. 

 

David

Some experiences have a value far beyond their price. The chances are you will only do it once so go for your favourite loco and hang the expense.

I totally agree. Driving RH&DR No 8 Hurricane non-stop through New Romney and across The Willop at maximum speed, and taking Earl of Meirioneth up the hill to Tan-y-Bwlch and then through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Beddgelert and beyond were experiences that will stay with me forever.

 

David

That's a real work of art Bob - bursting with character and realism. Maximum respect!

 

David

Brilliant work Idris - very jealous of the length of run too!

 

David

Very nice Mike - and what a bargain too! Looks like you had a great afternoon.

 

David