goldfish

On the theme of parody locomotives. A few years ago there was a lot of interest in the possibility of Merkur producing a tinplate LNER J94. Well the wait has ended and the Merkur J94 has arrived. Or at least it has popped up on their website, which is not necessarily the same thing. Available in LNER black and LMR blue. https://www.merkurtrain.cz/britska-tendrova-lokomotiva-typ-j94-s-oznacenim-lner-8025 https://www.merkurtrain.cz/britska-tendrova-lokomotiva-typ-j94-s-oznacenim-lmr-195

The original Hornby press release for the centenary edition included comparison photographs of pe-production samples and the originals. https://uk.Hornby.com/community/blog-and-news/engine-shed/2020-centennial-celebration-Hornby-brand The original models in the photograph, to me at least, look more like the 1920 version shown on page 11 of Graebe than anything produced later. It certainly has the smaller wheels.

In my opinion the actual vintage versions are both better value for money and much better looking. Modern Hornby just copied the original version when they made their edition. The original version was not a great success and was replaced a year or so later incorporating a better mechanism with a longer wheelbase. The bodies are essentially the same but the longer wheelbase makes quite a difference. Hornby would have done much better using the revised version as a pattern, it would also have allowed them to use a standard ETS drive unit rather having them produce a custom one.

Something I omitted to point out in my previous post, was that although post war 0-4-0s look better with a No.1 Special tender, they can have problems with the control rods fouling against the tender. Or at least the examples I have foul the tender. My pre war examples have control rods that sit more horizontally than the post war control rods, which rather droop. A little judicious bending would probably provide enough clearance to keep the rods clear. What would definitely benefit from a replacement tender is the Hornby parody Centenary Special. I had one for a few months with the idea of giving it a make over. The locomotive itself had potential, but the only way I could see to improve the tender was to simply replace it.

The Hornby 0-4-0 tender locomotives are usually considered to be toy like and totally unrealistic. What is easy to forget is that when Hornby were designing their first locomotives the last 'proper' standard gauge 0-4-0 tender locomotives were still operational, in the form of the NBR/LNER Rebuilt Wheatley Y10. Although the Hornby designers were most likely unaware of the Y10. their early 0-4-0s are very close to the size and general proportions of the Y10. The thing that really lets the Hornby offering down is the undersize tender. Ironically if Hornby had simply reused their wagon chassis and bolted a tender body to it the result would have close to the size and proportions of the NBR tender. As shown with this crude card mock-up. In fact any of the Hornby 0-4-0 tender locomotives can be easily improved by pairing them with a No.1 Special Tender. Drawings of the N.B.R. / L.N.E.R. Rebuilt Wheatley Y10 are to be found in : The Model Railway News, Vol. 21, No. 245, May 1945, Page 101. The Model Railway News, Vol. 28, No. 329, May 1952, Page 106. Railway Modeller, Vol. 17, No. 192, October 1966, Page 310.

Unfortunately Peco SM32 track is not fully compatible with Hornby clockwork, and no manufacturer is currently producing universal points.

If genuine this would be rare. "Early 19th centurty antique bassett and lowke model speedboat.Original motor." https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115968363591? The description does get it correct.

Railway modellers were a much more pragmatic bunch back then.

Hardly a 'mistake', just a sensible compromise. Set track points are designed to replace a standard straight and a standard curve, and so are constrained by a rigid geometry. Peco chose to follow the pattern of the track they manufacture for Lenz and used the same geometry. The only reason why Hornby ended up with 18 degree steel points is that the steel track is designed to fit in with the geometry of 2 foot radius, 22.5 degree points. Hornby did at least have the good sense to supply 36 degree curves, because 18 degrees results in far too many track joints on small radius curves. There is also a a minimum arc length for each radius below which the sleepers on adjacent track sections overlap, for the Peco 1028 mm radius points that minimum radius is around 19 degrees.

Hornby code 100 track on Aldi light grey. It sprayed on bare wood and really needs another coat.

Possibly you are referring to this :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqrEiEOE-VQ

There were a few people experimenting with that idea. One of the outer springs is anchored to the body, the other outer spring is anchored to the drive shaft, and the middle spring is connected to the other two springs through a couple of discs that are free to rotate on the shaft. It gives longer endurance, but the downside is the time it takes to wind the thing up/

The classic example of a volute spring is the spring on secateurs, the double ended springs that slide inside themselves. A volute spring would operate an escapement mechanism by pushing a rack against a gear train. It would be compressed flat and return to a conical shape as it is released. I have a vague memory of a such an arrangement being used to drive the shutter on a mechanical high speed camera. You probably get very high torque but low endurance.

A bit off the wall, but volute springs were used in suspension/shock absorber units. Perhaps the mechanism was built around a spring and barrel recovered from a none clockwork application.

For Peco O gauge bullhead track the Peco part is SL-10 Rail Joiner. It is the same joiner used for code 100 rail.

Apparently the T 800 with exposed motor brushes was built from 1938 until 1947, so old if not rare. It would run better with four complete wheels.

Somebody is confused, and not just the previous potential buyer. The listing title is "Heljan Dapol Lionheart Skytex O gauge Layout". item specifics - Type : Diesel Locomotive. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235242374042?

Depending upon your intentions, 2400mm x 400mm works for my shunting plank. Remove the fourth track and it would squeeze onto 300mm.

Sam's Trains did review of the B4 which might help. The interesting part is at about 27 minutes in. Unfortunately he only shows the B4 pulling short wheelbase wagons through Set Track points not pushing them through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7Wz_p-Du7c

Thanks for that. I will keep an eye out for the website reappearing.

The Maldon Track website has disappeared. Does anybody know if the company ceased trading?

It might have been a golden age for r-t-r but it was one confined to a very small well heeled section of society. As a commercial reality r-t-r didn't exist before Hornby came on to the scene. The high point of the second golden age must have been Hornby's introduction of the No.2 Specials in 1929.

Zinc pest can crop up in the most unexpected places. I have some course scale track were the chairs are just crumbling away.

Incompatibility actually crept into rtr 0 gauge as early as 1915, when Rex Steadman introduced Leeds wheels with a tyre width of 5.5mm rather than Greenly's 7mm. Apparently Greenly wasn't happy with that and used his position as editor of Model Railways and Locomotives to criticise Steadman, insisting that steamroller wheels were essential. As with all Greenly's pronouncements it is worth remembering that in modern parlance he was an influencer, sponsored by Bassett-Lowke who was basically a box shifter. Greenly couldn't support innovation because in doing so he could render a lot of product in the Bassett-Lowke warehouse obsolete. As the editor of his own magazine, in an age when discussion was carried out through the letter pages of periodicals, he was in the position of being able to shout the loudest.

As an afterword to this discussion, I recently acquired a Hornby No.1 Special clockwork mechanism that, for whatever reason, has the back to back set to 29mm. It will not fit on solid rail track, but runs superbly on Merkur tinplate track. Possibly the increased B-B was designed to improve running on tinplate track.