Tony Wright

Thanks for your help, Paul. One can only take 'decent' pictures if the subject matter (I mean the whole layout, not my couple of locos) is of a high standard. Your club layout certainly is! It was a pleasure to photograph it. Regards, Tony.

Mo and I have spent a splendid day at the Colne Valley HQ of the Braintree (I think) MRC, my photographing 'Little Colne'. It's really rather nice................. The group was kind enough................. To let me take a picture of a couple of my (appropriate) locos on it. Thanks chaps, and look out for it in BRM in the future.

Fairburn 2-6-4Ts have been popular on Little Bytham........... This is my own modified/detailed/renumbered Bachmann one, weathered by Geoff Haynes). The prototype appeared on a train for Gorleston at Saxby one summer Saturday. Another altered Bachmann one, brought a few years ago by some SR modelling friends. I sold one from Brian Lee's collection, built from a DJH kit. And another DJH example, from another collection. Stanier 2-6-4Ts don't seem to have been anything like as numerous......... Apart from the Peter Lawson one, this Hornby pair is all I've got in my photo library.

Oh, I should point out from the post above that these three ex-GWR coaches are all that remain of Peter's carriages (which I've been selling - the ex-LMS and ex-LNER carriages went even before I needed to take their pictures; just an email or phone call!). And, all that's left locomotive-wise is this pair.......... A DJH Fairburn 2-6-4T (Portescap-powered), now just £130.00. And a Nu-Cast Stanier 2-6-4T, now just £90.00. Anyone interested, please PM me.

Good evening Al, Seen before a few weeks ago, but maybe forgotten by now............ Is this the same diagram as one of yours? Built by Peter Lawson from a BSL kit, I'd originally asked £50.00, but now I'm asking £40.00. Another ex-GWR carriage from a BSL kit, also now £40.00. And a much-detailed/modified/weathered RTR autocoach, now £30.00. Anyone interested, please PM me. Regards, Tony.

Despite my getting that original Mainline 75XXX chassis to 'work' again, the racket from it has proved too much! So, I've decided to put a set of Comet frames underneath it. It looks as if they're designed to fit exactly underneath the body. A Rolls Royce chassis underneath a (very) second-hand Ford 'Pop' body? Perhaps, but that body is very good, especially considering its age. Can it be justified on Little Bytham? Very unlikely, though some 75XXXs were repaired at Doncaster. That being the case, if running-in, it would probably be clean. Rule 1? Especially as I've got multiples of all the classes that would have been seen. Maybe one didn't turn left at Helpston!

Good afternoon Giles, Probably Dia. 354 (page 103 in LNER Carriages by Michael Harris, T&L 1994), built originally for service in the post-War 'Flying Scotsman'. Regards, Tony.

Good morning Mike, What isn't widely known is the fact that the Tri-ang B12/Hall chassis was the same block as used underneath Tri-ang's A3, but turned round and with larger drivers. It's the one in the foreground, with block for the glowing firebox at the rear and extension for the cylinders at the front. From the same 'duds' drawer, I bought enough parts to 'make' a Tri-ang/Hornby A3. The bogie and the later valve gear needed modifying to suit this earlier (1960s) FLYING SCOTSMAN. Someone had gone to great lengths to remove the moulded-on handrails, presumably intending to replace them with wire ones. I certainly won't, but will hand it over to an 'inexperienced' modeller (I have a 15 year-old in mind) to practise on. Total cost? Little more than a fiver. With still some bits left over! Including that other chassis/motion seen in the earlier shot. Is that 'scale' seagull faecal matter? Regards, Tony.

Fantastic stuff, Roy.......... Thanks for showing us. My BLUE PETER (from much the same source as your HAPPY KNIGHT) still gets used......... She has no problem in hauling heavy trains. Granted, it's not in the same league as Bytham's other Peppercorn A2s; the likes of............. TUDOR MINSTREL (DJH/Wright/Rathbone) on a Donny running-in turn. OR BRONZINO (DJH/Wright/Rathbone). Or SUGAR PALM (DJH/Wright/Haynes). Actually, 60526 isn't on Bytham at the moment; riding on her EM frames, she currently sees service on Retford. Or my own HAPPY KNIGHT (Crownline/Kinsey/Wright/Rathbone). Or even my detailed/renumbered/renamed Bachmann RTR VELOCITY (weathered by Tom Foster). However, Who knows? She might well be running in another 50 years' time! Regards, Tony.

Thanks for all the comments on my 'budget modelling'; the discussions about wheels, bearings and axles have been enlightening. As far as the Tri-ang Jinty goes, that really is as far as it goes. From an initial cost of four quid, by adding vacuum standpipes, ejector gear, buffers, lamps and a crew, plus the cost of paint and transfers, I've probably taken it over a tenner! And, that's the point in a way. By buying effectively 'duds', spending a little bit of time and resources, then a 'useful' model can be the result; at a very low cost overall. Yes, the Tri-ang wheels are gross, but they'll run on current set-track and Peco Code 100, which many modellers use. I'm taking it no further; it's satisfied the brief.

Good evening Captain, I had to fit Romford bushes to a Hornby Jinty chassis (over) 50 years ago to get Romford axles to fit (bushing the gear wheel as well). I then put a BEC J11 cast metal kit body on top of it, instantly becoming a 'scale' modeller. Where that dismal creation is now, I have no idea, though flushed with success................... A year later, I did the same thing to a Tri-ang Britannia chassis, turning down the Romford wheels so that I could get all-flanged drivers, and made Jamieson valve gear for it. I latterly even fitted brakes! What did it go underneath? A modified Wills A2 kit, towing a DJH tender some years later. A shot taken in Bytham's early days. And one from last year. Now in her 51st year (or thereabouts), I still keep her. The old XO4 still goes well, though not with the finesse of much more-modern motors. If nothing else, with the whole thing being my own work, it shows how much (or how little?) I've progressed with my model-making in the last half century. Regards, Tony.

I've just completed the latest pair in my series on 'budget modelling' for BRM. I picked this up from the Grantham Model Shop after rummaging through the 'dud' drawers. This Bachmann B1 was a bit dusty, and the split-chassis mechanism was in a bit of a mess! The centre drivers had slipped on their axle, effectively locking everything up solid - a not-unknown state of affairs. The previous owner's weathering of the motion with scale 'mud' didn't help, either. There was no tender. 'How much, please?'. 'A fiver!''. 'Done'. On investigation, I released the wheels, twisted them back into quarter and pushed them back into their muffs, with a bead of superglue applied. I was amazed; it ran really sweetly! I've never seen an original split-chassis B1 run so well. So, worth taking it a bit further? But, not as a St. Margaret's-allocated B1. How about this one? One day, I'll appear in a steam-age picture standing on Retford's Up platform. Fortunately, thanks to readers' generosities of late, I had a spare Bachmann B1 tender. Thus............... With a change of identity, some detailing, the mud removed from the motion (new weathering applied), a crew on board and lamps fitted, I was astonished how well this previously-wretched runner bowled round Bytham. Not bad for a fiver............ Will I keep it? I'm not sure, though if I do I'll make a Comet set of frames for it. As I did................. With this other Bachmann B1; detailed and weathered body by Geoff West. What next? This old Tri-ang Jinty was even less - just four quid (it might have been a fiver had it still got all its steps). No buffers, a replacement step required and in need of new brushes for its ancient (though still-working) XO4. And, after a few hours' 'fiddling' and a repaint.......... This what it looks like now - Crewe South's unique Darlington-shopped 47482. This is obviously a 'staged' shot because not only do the gross flanges ride on the chairs, they're on the sleepers as well! And, no, it's not on a Class 1 job, but is acting as station pilot. Worth it for a bit of fun? I think so, and I'll probably give it away to a (worthy) young modeller (as long as he/she has Tri-ang track or its equivalent).

Speaking of the P2s, especially the new-build 2007..................... Having shot and had edited a video of Hornby's splendid 'smoking' model of PRINCE OF WALES, does anyone have a photograph of the real 2007 under construction, please? One which can be used in the video (with due credit), because trying to get copyright permission for a graphic from the A1 Trust's website is turning out to be beyond 'publication' dates. If anyone has a shot we could use, please PM me. Thanks in anticipation.

Good morning Stephen, 'Handsome is as handsome does, they say, and I never heard that these engines couldn't 'do'!' Despite recent claims to the contrary, the A2/2s 'couldn't do' what they 'could do' as P2s (I'd sooner believe the first-hand writings of those now long-dead who worked the giants during the War than some more-recent work). 'Relegated' to English depots with little top-link work, they accrued the lowest mileage of any other LNER Pacific class, and (apart from three of the Raven A2s) 60505 was the first LNER-built Pacific to be withdrawn (at the 'tender age' of 16. Yes, I know SOLARIO went at much the same time with a cracked frame - at 36 years old! And, yes, some A1s only made 15, but they went as part of the mass cull in the '60s). I wonder if any group is contemplating a new-build A2/2? Regards, Tony.

Good evening Stephen, Will this do? It's certainly big and (very) ugly, in the form of Thompson A2/2 60504 MONS MEG (Crownline/Wright/Rathbone) hauling a train made by Ken Wilson. Ken and his (real railway) driver mate, Andy Swan, popped down from Newcastle today for one of their twice-yearly visits to operate Little Bytham. They always bring things with them they've made; things of great interest, and today was no exception. Interesting things such as......... This Buffet Car built by Andy. And this scratch-built M&GNR wagon; Andy's work, and a gift! Some of the vehicles made by Ken included............ His BR version of the same Buffet Car. This 12-wheeled Kitchen Car. A steel-panelled Gresley BG. And this suburban pair. Thank you gentlemen, for your tolerance of my operating incompetence, your hospitality at lunchtime, the gift and for your donation to CRUK. I'll leave it up to Ken to describe the models above. Regards, Tony.

Good evening, I don't know about the aerial weaponry in the later Dunkirk, but what stopped any belief in its authenticity was seeing green BR Mk.1s as the survivors journeyed back to London. The original (John Mills) B&W Dunkirk from the late '50s was far superior. Why is it that when railways are shown in movies (or on TV), very little thought seems to have been given to make sure they're 'accurate for period', or even place. James Bond, on his journey back from Istanbul in From Russia With Love, appears to be travelling overnight in an all-green train hauled by a Royal Scot! Shadowlands got it right, and Loughborough 'could have been' like Oxford in the film, especially as the locos were weathered. Regards, Tony.

Good afternoon, 'Streak', of course. Shouted at the tops of our voices when one of those famous front ends made its presence felt at Gamston, Retford, Botany Bay, Bawtry, Doncaster, Selby, Riccall, Thirsk and Darlington - all the places where I saw an A4. I suppose the epithet was a 1950s/'60s schoolboys' phenomenon - Eric Fry once chided me for using it in his presence; 'Streamliner', he said, but he'd seen them in their pre-War heyday. Though I rather doubt it, wouldn't it be nice to hear '91'!, '91'! shouted in a pre-voice-breaking squeal at Retford today? Regards, Tony.

A splendid play on words, though I never heard of the A3s referred to as 'Racehorses' - only ever A3s in my short-trouser days. CENTENARY was one of the few not named after an equine sprinter. Years ago, a commentator once suggested a current loco (say a Class 47) should be named RED RUM, in honour of the National's most-famous multi-winner. A nice thought, though it showed an 'ignorance' of the policy of the LNER/BR when it came to naming its speedsters. All the equine names commemorated winners on the flat, usually the Classics. Regards, Tony.

Good morning, Story? It's a normal Up parcels/empty stock working at Greenwood between the summers of 1961 and '63. The train's consist? A steel-panelled Gresley BG (wooden-bodied; note angle trussing), not sure, 12 ton four wheeled van (recently-painted), BR CCT, BR Mk.1 BG and can't tell. Regards, Tony.

Good evening Frank, I had my (first) hearing test late last year. I was told my hearing was good for a 77 year old, and I didn't need a hearing aid. After finding the diction in Oppenheimer mainly incomprehensible, I watched an old B&W movie yesterday starring Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, Lee Marvin, Broderick Crawford and, I think, Joan Fontaine (Not as a Stranger). I could hear every word perfectly. Regards, Tony.

Good morning Bernard, Thank you for your comments. The tall signal is meant to be dominant! Right from French's time as signalling superintendent on the GNR, where possible, he insisted on sky backgrounds. In reality, that signal was over 50' high (pity the poor lamp-man). A much darker sky? During daylight, apart from during approaching thunderstorms and when the scenery is snow-covered, the sky is usually the lightest tone in any scene. I was once astonished during my art school days when our tutor took us outside after a recent snow-fall. He put a mirror, flat on the snow, and the overcast sky was still as light as the snow! I don't know many layouts where the lighting depicts the actual time of day (didn't Dave and Shirley Rowe produce a lighting masterclass on their Iberian layout?). Bytham's room lighting is a lot (LED strip-lights), spread consistently so as not to give too deep-shadows. I know this doesn't replicate the sun, but there's isn't enough 'internal atmosphere' to soften the shadows were I to have a single, powerful light-source. Cloudy but bright is what I try to achieve. Ballast colour? The ECML was usually ballasted using limestone, and very well-maintained. Norman Solomon used limestone for ballast on LB. The rail sides would be rusty, but the overall ballast wouldn't be brown. Regards, Tony.

Good morning Andy, Could you make-out all the dialogue? That was the weak point for us. Looking at all the buttons on the TV's remote, which one turns on the subtitles? Regards, Tony.

Chris Walsh and I edited the moving footage I took of Hornby's latest steam-generator P2 on Gilbert Barnatt's Peterborough North a week or more ago (readers might recall, I couldn't get DCC to 'couple-up' to Little Bytham). My thanks to Gilbert for this. The video will appear on World of Railways soon (the TMC one made by Howard Smith is already on Youtube). It steamed well. I mused over what carriages it might pull when the prototype is completed (nothing on PN was suitable, so it ran light engine). I thought Hornby's latest EWS Mk.2s might suit, so this afternoon............... Staged these two static shots (the loco is programmed not to work on DC. If I ask a friend to programme it for DC as well, will the smoke generator work, I wonder? Anyone know?).

I've fully-processed the two A4 shots I left unaltered last night........... Apart from some foreground cropping, this is full frame. This has been cropped to the left, a bit on the right and in the foreground. I don't know which is 'better' (if either) but both show the overall excellence of the Nikon 24mm prime lens (and, no, it didn't cost even near a thousand!).

Good evening, And I thought paying a thousand pounds for a lens got me a 'best' one! Regards, Tony.