Long John Silver

Referring to Al (Barry Ten’s) lovely City 4-4-0 and Tony’s comments about durability and cost/value, there should hopefully be a photo of my oldest loco that still runs with the original mechanism. It’s a Bulldog 4-4-0, built in 1990, it is not a great model, GWR experts could find much that is wrong with it. It is built from a K’s body and a West Coast Kit Centre chassis. No brake gear, DS10 motor, Romford Wheels. If I was building it now, I would have replaced the smokebox door and chimney. On the positive side it runs well, will pull 4 kit-built coaches and needs little maintenance beyond the occasional wheel clean. It is also my own work warts and all. I think it was the sixth loco kit I built and was the most expensive loco I had at the time, when all costs were taken into account. It was a gamble; I didn’t want to waste money on something that was beyond my limited skills, but my wife, who is very supportive of my hobbies, encouraged me to give it a try. Thankfully it worked out well. I had to have a 4-4-0, I just like them, but if you model the dark green railway company in South Wales post war, you have a very limited choice. Calcutta was the last Bulldog at Pontypool Road, and so is OK for my area, although I wonder how much it would have been used . Those of you who model the Southern and LNER of course, have a wonderful choice of pre-group types still running at that time. Good value – yes, but it was a significant outlay at the time. However, it has outlasted all the r-t-r locos I had at the time. Which worked out better value in the long run? By comparison the oldest r-t-r loco I have with the original mechanism, which still runs regularly is a Bachmann Collett Goods at 20 years old and is beginning to show signs of age. It is however a much more detailed and accurate model. Modern r-t-r runs better, as to model longevity, the older I get the less I worry about it. Anything I buy or build now that lasts 28 years will probably outlive me. Jon

Good Afternoon Tony, This is the first time I’ve posted on RM Web despite being a long time lurker hereabouts. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed our conversation on Friday about the state of the hobby, the image the hobby has, and the state of the valve gear on one or two of my kit builds. I will try the solder and pin method when I rebuild one of my Ivatt Moguls, and if I make a dog’s breakfast of it, I will bring it in to see the doctor if you’re at Bristol next year. I hope my ramblings didn’t bore you too much. My modelling will never reach the standards set by you and others on this thread, but I’ll keep trying to improve. If I can get the hang of the RMweb technology I will post a few pictures of what I’ve built and the Brecon Castle Layout we spoke about. It’s not great modelling, and certainly not great photography, but it is my own work. The layout is getting a bit tired now, but I still find it satisfying to operate, and operation is my major interest. I do get pangs of guilt now and again and start building things and have one loco kit and a couple of wagons on the workbench at the moment. I know that a number of the younger modellers who have come through our club and are now in their late teens early twenties have been inspired by you, as well as older 10 thumbed modellers like myself. It is important to help and assist those who are starting out at whatever age ; hopefully when they are skilled modellers they will remember that help, and pass on their knowledge to the next generation – but always with the caveats check “facts” and don’t be afraid to try your own way if that works better for you. Thanks again Tony, and I’m glad you had a good weekend at the show. Jon