petrovich

On 13/12/2019 at 11:20, Tony Wright said:

'Coming home at Lime St I closely observed the new Trans Pennine loco hauled Scarborough train, a new something or other diesel electric loco an a new push pull coach set. Coaches looked nice and comfortable, loco looked quite swish & modern'

 

I think this is what you saw.................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taken at York on the 15th of October, after I'd been invited to the announcement about the Wainwright D. Entering, stationary and departing..................

 

I have to say I'm ambivalent about the aesthetics of the above. 

 

 

I have no ambivalence about the aesthetics of the Wainwright D. Surely one of the most beautiful locos of all time, with a (complex) livery to match. A livery which complements the forms to which it's applied, not something which looks like 'dazzle' camouflage! 

 

Speaking of aesthetics............................

 

 

I'm not sure about this.

 

Taking this picture, my mind's eye went back to the first time I was at York, as a ten year old, 63 years ago.

 

Back then, I saw the likes of this........................

 

Granted, this is about three/four years prior to 1956, but it's apposite. Aesthetics here? Indeed!

 

Note the 'spotters to the left - boys. There was none in October. Just old git 'spotters like me! 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

Note the spotters to the right in the distance....

4 hours ago, KNP said:

 

Red arrow marks possible location of camera shot from adjoining shop next to station building.

 

Good evening Kevin, your layout is a real inspiration, absolutely stunning modelling. 

Thank you for sharing.

Regards

Peter

20 hours ago, Brinkly said:

Going back to weathering techniques, I repainted this trio of Bachmann 16 ton mineral wagons using Ammo by Mig products. 

 

This was my first go at weathering, however, I think the results are quite convincing so far. I need to finish weathering the chassis and look at adding powders but they are coming along. 

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes

 

Nick

Those are absolutely like the real thing great work Nick.

I would like to thank Tony and Mo for their hospitality at the Portsmouth exhibition, it was our yearly catch up and most enlightening it was as well.  Also "Sir" solved a N gauge loco problem or two for someone, taught me how to not mix up solders and generally pointed me in the right direction on other matters of life.

Regards

Peter

2 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks Craig,

 

I really don't have much of an idea what the 'DX' and 'FX' descriptions mean, but there must be an obvious difference. 

 

I know both the Nikon digital bodies I have were (at the time) the 'pro'-spec for the company, both giving full-frame capability. Strangely, the Df didn't prove as popular as anticipated (the digital equivalent of the legendary F), but I love mine. It has all the controls on the outside of the body - all dials and so on. All worked by digits!

 

 

 

'Ancient' (on the right) and 'modern' (on the left). Both are naturally 'used' (and abused), and both are all-black - the only colour for 'pro' cameras. The old 'F' (the camera type which went to Vietnam, where the photographer was blown up and the next guy just picked it up and carried on taking pictures. One actually saved the picture-taker's life by deflecting a bullet!) has the new lens attached. 

 

I've no wish to turn this into a thread about photography (but, gosh, it does go off in all directions), though I hope this topic is of some little interest. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

The Df was Nikons foray into digital cameras but with a smaller body rekindling the look of the F film camera but with a full frame digital sensor. A very good camera it is too. I had a whole raft of the original Pro Olympus lenses so decided to stay with their retro offerings of the OM range.

Regards

Peter

On 14/10/2019 at 19:38, Tom F said:

Productive day on the workbench. These two commissions finished, an ex GCR J11 and J10, depicted towards the end of their working lives.

 

 

 

They really do look the part especially for that time on the network.

Regards

Peter

On 06/11/2019 at 16:51, Tony Wright said:

'many look as if they have been driven across a ploughed field or a tank training course'

 

How true!!!!!

 

 

Some more examples of degrees of weathering.................

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether one would apply limescale streaks from the washout plugs on otherwise pristine locos is a moot point. Or 'burn' the lower smokebox door, or squirt emulsified oil all over the place, and so on.....

 

As always, observe prototype pictures.

 

And (all), please observe copyright restrictions.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I would say wonderful photos, and they are, but the first one is taken at either early morning or more probably late evening with that lovely orange glow and therefore everything looks brighter. I will try not to make this too technical but coal has a shine to it the same applies to coal dust, water with lubricating oil in it  etc.etc. therefore the light at the time and the film used (that old chestnut) will cause various degrees of reflection and absorption therefore you cannot trust the colour on any film, glass plate and even an early digital camera image. All will differ if taken at the same time, place and light conditions.

My advice is you model it, therefore you weather it as you see fit, do not worry about what others say. Social media and forum threads have a lot to answer for (apart from this one).

Regards

Peter

19 hours ago, Kier Hardy said:

Will this do Clive? It's to my usual fuzzy standard, snapped on my trainset.... and fits the bill.

Absolutely wonderful would love to see this for real !!!

Regards

Peter

Hi Mick

Great work, and an interesting subject to boot.

Regards

Peter

Good morning Tony and a belated "Happy Birthday" to you.

I have made progress with my home layout and altered the type, shape and design of it completely. It is now an end to end of 19ft x 2ft with a GWR / Southern terminus at one end and fiddle yard at the other. I have got as far as putting the underlay and track down livening up some temporary wiring and testing the circuit with some old locomotives, all is well and the track has no dead spots and all in analogue using an old four track controller and point levers.

It is being built in the style of how I remember some of my childhood, so Triang / Airfix / Hornby buildings, all sorts of track, old locos etc etc but I have three locos I am building from kits plus numerous wagons and coaching stock to convert and weather and eventually in the next year I will have a childhood model railway but the stock and formations and timetable will represent a more realistic scene.

So extremely happy at present out in the garage will post some images soon. 

Regards

Peter

8 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

I'm humbled Tony,

 

What was my comment about that MTK Cravens DMU you were building which you brought for me to see? Something to do with faecal matter I think!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Tony is like a really good teacher / lecturer, you do not appreciate what was conversed and discussed till you have time to reflect. He has amused, taught and pointed out to me at a few shows now and looking back all of it was relevant and a good grounding to the hobby.

Long may it continue.

Regards

Peter

All

I have positioned myself to avoid the thrown knives and axes but why is it that the LNER produced probably the two finest looking late design engines, the P2 and the W1 but only in small numbers, surely someone at the time reported how good they were or was it bad management that did for them.

Regards

Peter

7 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

Photos (by Ian Rathbone) of two W1 models I have built, Ian seems to have gone with the lighter shade.

This one is 4mm from the SEF kit.

This one scratchbuilt in 7mm scale, the boiler casing is probably the most difficult forming job I've ever done. The trailing axles are in internal pony trucks, one as designed, the Cartazzi axle on its equivalent radius - I have tried building radial axlebox arrangements but haven't found them very reliable, they either tend to stick or are too slack to keep the wheels at the right angle.

Absolutely stunning..................

Regards 

Peter

10 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good morning Andrew,

 

'more to do with individual photographers and their cameras than the actual colour of the locomotives.'

 

I'd made that assumption. Not to mention different lighting as well?

 

Which just goes to show, be very careful of any colours in photographs, be they of the real thing or models!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

All to do with film type or glass plate material then the chemicals, fixes formulas on top of that.

Regards

Peter

All

The Black Five photo looks as though it has had an element of HDR applied to it somewhere.

Regards

Peter

17 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Yeah, right...

Really !

19 minutes ago, zr2498 said:

I also have the Antex 660 TC which serves me well. I see the equivalent analogue and digital replacements have been posted.

I would very much like to mention how much I have been impressed with the RSU (from London Road Models). It's got to the state where I often have both operational and switch between them depending on the task in hand.

When I first used the RSU I guess it was a bit scary, but over time it been an enormous help with difficult tasks. It has been especially useful for soldering tinned (with the Antex) joints where there is limited access. Below are a couple of applications - sorry about the untidy working area!

The last photo shows a method to solder two parts back to back which are clamped via pieces of balsa (for heat and electrical isolation). In this instance 2 probes are used instead of one probe and a connected plate.

David

 

The Antex is not available anymore except on Ebay where I managed to obtain one that had hardly been used. It is a very good unit and was recommended to me by Tony at the Woking show I believe

Regards

Peter.

On 02/05/2019 at 12:39, Corbs said:

Hello,

 

I'm working on a project which I hope will become something bigger, a UK based railway podcast covering all and any railway or model railway related subject.

 

I've done a rough test record of the first episode and would like some honest feedback. Would anyone be willing to help me? If so please let me know and I will send a private link (not to be shared publicly) to the test record. It's about 12 minutes long.

 

Many thanks

Corwin

More than happy to help especially if you want someone interviewed down here on the South Coast.

Regards

Peter

31 minutes ago, Clem said:

Beautifully recalled! Yes, I think those of us of a certain age were blessed. Blessed with the preponderance of steam. Blessed with the childhood freedom that is no longer available to most kids. I mentioned to some friends who had come over for dinner that I ventured on my own from my home in Nottingham to Lincoln, Newark, Grantham, Derby, Crewe and Tamworth mainly off my own bat when I was seven and eight years old and they almost died of shock and horror. It just wouldn't happen these days and if it did, the parents would be facing losing their kids to care. But it was extremely common in those days. You'd travel anywhere up to 70 miles to trainspot and come across people you knew locally... And that joy of seeing a class of loco for the first time where you'd only seen it in photos.... Magic!

Totally agree Clem, I was lucky in that living in Central London I could bus hop to all the big Four Termini and then travel a few miles to their local sheds hence the variety of sightings in my ABC's. Never had a problem, no mobile phones, ah they were the days.

P.S. No they were not, we had big smogs you could not see past the next lampost, most people died before aged 70, I had to have a job for pocket money, I had two in fact an evening paper round and a milk round very early in the morning and go to school in between, and the less said about our outdoor privy the better. 

Regards

Peter

On 21/04/2019 at 23:01, cypherman said:

Hi all,

My go to glue is hafix. It will glue anything to anything and is solid as a rock when set. It even managed to glue the plastic used in the Amercom model engines given away with the Great British Locomotive magazine.

https://www.hafixs.co.uk/products/profglue/index.html

This is a product that Iain Rice uses or at least used to do. Remember him somewhere saying the same thing about what a good permanent bond it gave.

Regards

Peter

24 minutes ago, Mallard60022 said:

Could you just share that 'info' Peter? Just seen this and it would save me some searching if you would not mind and enable me to seek some out at York. At the moment I am using plastic tube for some op's and  I can see it isn't always going to be suitable for certain tasks. 

Phil

Hi Phil 

Link below, I am only using the piano wire and PTFE tubing .

http://www.lytchettmanor.co.uk/lytchett-manor/mercontrol---point-control

Hope it helps

Regards

Peter

14 hours ago, petrovich said:

All

 

Could someone explain to me copper tube diameter and wire thickness for operating points with motors placed some distance away say 4 to 6inches.

 

Regards

 

Peter

Good morning all

Have now found tube and wire at Mercontrol which will be ideal.

Regards

Peter

All

Could someone explain to me copper tube diameter and wire thickness for operating points with motors placed some distance away say 4 to 6inches.

Regards

Peter

4 hours ago, KNP said:

Point rodding can really transform the appearance of a layout as can be seen looking at before/after pictures of LB.

It certainly did on my layout and mine was retrospectively fitted as well, but I took the simpler route and used Wills.

For what it's worth here is how I painted mine, sounds complicated but wasn't really but then I didn't have the quantity you have!!!

 

A base colour of Lifecolor Roof Dirt

Vallejo Medium Grey various number of wash coats (and not to particular in wash density) to get variation

Lifecolor Weathered Black for rollers, cranks, arms, pulleys .

Vallejo Oil & Grease dabbed on around moving joints to give a tonal variation.

 

A quick picture to give an idea of what I'm on about.

 

 

Hope it provides some 'food for thought'...?

 

 

That is really superb I am gobsmacked (not a word I would use normally).

Regards

Peter

"There is a very big difference. Those indicators are based on perceived merit.

The gold badge is paid-for, regardless of merit."

Could not agree more.

Regards

Peter