nzgresleyfan

Hi Jack.

I've just spent a happy few evenings digging through your thread from the start. I don't normally get too far into Southern themed topics but the local connection and the photos of Chelwarton piqued my interest. I was involved in the later development of this layout and the ones that went before it. The boards for Limpetness (built by a member and eventually gifted to the club) are now in my possession after being moved on again. It's good to see that Chelwarton is still in action.

No club membership for me these days; any modelling I do is solitary. Looking after two 1:1 scale trains and renewing my tram motorman's ticket are my focus these days.

Keep the projects coming please. Hopefully we can catch up at Railex this year, assuming Auntie Cindy and Uncle Grant let everyone out in time.

Incidentally, the photos you put up of Railex '19 caught my attention too. I initially thought that narrow gauge layout you posted was the work of Kerry Willard. Not so sure now I look at it again. I'll check with him next time I see him.

I suspect the "museum" may have just told him what he wanted to hear to get him out of the door again. I hope he never gets a Lima Western Enterprise and thinks it's unique.

51 minutes ago, Madmart2908 said:

No I’m positive that it as not been repainted or resprayed - that was my first thought that it had been repainted -  I have tired to scratch abit of of the paint work to see if it had been repainted - no it hasn’t been - the gold lettering is also embossed into the body work and slightly raised .  The paint work on the inner frames of the windows is also gold not cream. I’m wondering if it was a pre - sale mass production model that was never factory paint  experiment model but received the painted gold lettering and numbering and some how escaped the factory into a collectors hands   ? 

Why are you so positive? 

The gold around the windows, and apparent over painting of it on the right hand windscreen tend to suggest it's after market. As others have told you, there is no evidence of the prototype being anything than choc/cream or BR red. In my 40 years of collecting Lima models I nor anyone else I've met has heard of a factory made model in this scheme.

I would certainly be very interested in seeing evidence of it being so.

On 02/08/2019 at 07:19, AyJay said:

I think the bus is not the right scale,  but I do like it.

If it's the EFE model (and it does look like it) then it's bang on for OO scale.

Yep, they're Peco. I have a few myself for operating the handful of catch points I have. These have larger mounting holes than the other points and as Derek notes above, the motors clip in rather than have metal tabs to fold over.

1 hour ago, Colin_McLeod said:

 

 

In fairness the rant/announcement was delivered on time.  If you live in a different time zone that changes nothing. 

Though perhaps your comment was  in jest. 

 

Yes, definitely in jest.

I do feel very sorry for those who have probably lost money as a result of all this. I feel for those who may potentially have customers lose confidence in them through no fault of their own, when all they are trying to do is produce a model themselves through a crowdfunding scheme.

I'll still be following progress of the project I expressed an interest in. I wish all the best to that manufacturer and others like him who have been up front and in contact. I certainly have not seen anything from him directly that would indicate concern. But I can't help feeling that the actions of DJM over the past few days have hurt those others specifically, and the hobby as a whole.

It's a sad day.

Actually, although I have had no previous experience with this company I'm miffed already. Despite promising his announcement on the 1st, it was the 2nd here before we saw it. Bad form.

I am concerned about the possibility of this event tarnishing the efforts of other companies with a similar business model. There is one in particular that I even registered interest with for a model he'd announced. Unable to meet the deadline I offered my apologies. "No problem", he said, "you may still be able to get in and if you really can't do it then there may be a few left at the end that you can buy". Great service and I hope that people aren't put off projects like his simply because another trader did a haka. I do have to admit to wondering whether I dodged a bullet through not having the readies in time. Time will tell.

On a lighter note though; I am reminded of an event decades ago that provided great written entertainment for months after. An extremely well written contributor to a magazine we all know wrote a less than flattering, but truthful, article about a less than satisfactory etched loco kit. The proprietor went nuclear and withdrew the range straight away, having been particularly aggrieved that another writer confirmed the findings of the first. I still pull the article out for a giggle every now and then. This time I'm prepared as it's happening in real time rather than three months later when the magazine hits the bookshelves.

Is it worth making some popcorn this time around or is the show nearly over?

On 30/04/2019 at 00:45, cctransuk said:

 

I was suggesting 3d printing the distinctive centres, to fit into the recesses of Peter's Spares new wheels for Lima models.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Yep, thanks. I got your meaning but was verbalising (writing?) my thought that buying them from a UK manufacturer might be a PITA. Given the limited interest here in Godzone it would be unlikely that many would want them. Hence having to think about doing them myself...

53 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

 

An ideal opening for someone with a 3D printer.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Thanks for the idea! Don't have one myself but I'm sure I can find someone who does. Might be easier than getting them sent across the planet from Blighty. Maybe I can convince the teenage daughter to run a few off on the school machine...

Will you be doing wheels that have the correct centres for Westerns and Warships please? The lack of them on the Lima locos stands out more than the flanges IMHO.

There was a good article in one of the early Model Rail editions as well. I have a copy somewhere and can look it up if you'd like to know which one.

My apologies, I forgot to mention the layout is DCC, would this still be the case?

Yes. You still have one polarity crossing the other whether it's analogue or DCC. I had the same problem with Zero 1 thirty years ago. DCC makes insulating rail joiners even more essential as the track is permanently live.

What you have is a situation where your wheel treads are wide enough to cause a short at the frog. One polarity is crossing the other which is fine with dead frog points such as these but as soon as you introduce a wheel to the equation; game over. If you had live frog points here then nothing would move. As the post says above, you need to have insulating rail joiners between the two sets of points, and also on the main running lines just beyond the frog. Then have it wired so that the polarity changes with the points.

That's the theory, don't ask me how to do it in practice. I leave it to whichever sparkie is wiring up the layout I'm working on at the time...

Any reason you're asking the same question in two separate threads? You already got an answer in the first one. People might get a little irritated if you continue...

A bit late entering the discussion, however I must agree with those who feel the rejected request to join was not down to elitism but was more to do with the fact that it was not the person interested in the group who was applying. I follow a number of NZ aviation pages whose admins make it quite clear that requests will be considered only after checking to make sure the applicant's profile does actually indicate an interest in aviation. It stops randoms getting in and doing things like advertising sunglasses and insurance. I would suggest that the OP's partner's profile demonstrated no connection to railways, model or otherwise, so the request got the flick.

I trust the issue was sorted.

Lima Western. I got two one Christmas and fell in love with them. Completely outclassed now of course, but I still entertain the idea of replacing the pizza cutters and investing in the Brassmasters conversion. Given I have 6 to upgrade, it may not happen.

I suppose it depends on the time of year you are modelling. Many windows open in summer months, just the odd sliding vent open in winter.

 

I am modelling a terminus station so perhaps I should at least have the guards window down, if not his door open. It would be hard to replicate the doors being open as the train slowed down to the buffers but a few droplights down even in winter on a train entering the station would look right.

 

But not necessarily one leaving, which reminds me of a time when I caught a train from Liverpool Street back to Chelmsford. I never use to catch the first one I could when I arrived at the station but the next or even the third if that was already in the station, so I had a seat. This particular very hot day the train home was a 312, I was one of the first passengers on board. Myself and another chap opened all the windows at our end of the coach before many others boarded so the journey home would be comfortable. Seconds before the guard blew his whistle on gets this geezer, suit and coat on, closes the drop light as he closed the door. He plonked himself next to me. Within seconds of the train starting to move he got up and closed the other windows, without asking the 30 so nearby passengers if that was OK. I reopened the droplight before Bethnal green. He slammed it shut. "I don't like drafts". For the rest of his journey he sat next to me in his smelly coat and suit with sweat beads on his forehead. When he got off at Shenfield there was a mass opening of the windows. How one person who seem oblivious to the fact it was a hot day make the journey of 30 odd other people physically uncomfortable and by his actions emotionally uncomfortable as it wasn't a day to be confrontational is beyond me. Thank goodness for modern trains having air conditioning, plus when modelling them you don't have to think about open windows.

This reminds me of a story I once read:

Two women were sitting opposite each other in a full compartment on a crowded train. They had the seats closest to the window and were having a heated argument about whether it should be open or closed.

"I want it closed, I'll catch my death of cold if it's open", said one.

"Open", said the other, "Or I'll suffocate in the stale air!"

The guard hears the ruckus and comes to investigate. Sadly, neither woman will compromise.

A retired Army Colonel has been quietly observing from an opposite corner of the compartment.

"Might I offer a solution?", he asks.

"Gladly", says the frustrated guard.

"Lock the window", says the Colonel, "And that will kill one of them. Then open it, that will kill the other. Then the rest of us might just be able to finish our journey in peace and quiet."

In a post-EXPO EM bout of activity, the Prestwin 1/274 variety, has inched onward a bit. The brakegear is now as complete as I wish to make it which leaves me free to concentrate on the upper works, springs and changeover levers permitting. It looks relatively busy but includes only about half of what *should* be there, but can you tell?

 

Prestwin_024.jpg

 

Prestwin_025.jpg

 

In other news, here's a long dormant project, Brighton Works:

 

Terrier_28.gif

 

Terrier_30.gif

 

Work is less than obvious in this first view, but I've levelled the chassis and started work inside the cab; splashers and seats have appeared, together with the driver's brake valve - the Branchlines casting is nice and its prominence is worth the money, I tell myself. The cab backsheet has been painted and stuck in and the excuses for putting off the maze of pipework are rapidly running out. That said, the boiler needs painting first. But blow that, the evening is sunny and there's a Nightingale, of all things, singing outside my window.

 

Adam

 

PS - thank you to NZGresleyFan who seems to have been working his way through the thread over the last week or so - I hope you are enjoying it (and that goes for everyone else, too).

You're welcome! And yes thank you, I'm loving it. Work and family commitments meant I took a year off from the forum and I've only recently come back. Most of the threads I just picked up from the date I went offline, however I went right back to the start with yours! 

I will keep following with great interest.

Ok well thanks to all who have provided assistance on damask red. Markeg is a lot closer, I will either find a local car paint mixer/ to get to the right colour or use humbrol 20. I have gone through looking for Rover damask red but as the number of rovers in Australia is definitely in a minority compared to Holden and fords it is not a standard held colour. Also it appears Halfords doesn't export into Australia. OK to get a tine would cost a minor fortune in postage for the hazardous clearances. I have done a LMS horse box years ago in a "red" which was as close as I could get so that may be the solution. (I will have to find the rattle can and read the description!) 

 

Thanks to all

 

Doug

I have recently logged back into RMWeb after a year away and am horrified to see the profanity being used. What is the word "Holden" doing on a site like this? Shocking!    

There was also kit 755.

I'm pleased to see this one come up as I scored one really cheap a while back, it wouldn't normally feature on my purchase radar.  I know very little about these vehicles and have wondered whether they made it into BR days, my research efforts have so far been inconclusive.  Can anyone confirm one way or the other please?

I won't be upset if you say they didn't, I'll probably just paint them black anyway and invoke Rule 1 for their use on my future trainset!

Great start to your workbench, looking forward to seeing them finished, is it possible to construct whitemetal kits using superglue instead of solder?

'scuse me for butting in and answering a question on someone else's thread but as I looked through and didn't see an answer, I thought I'd stick my nose in!

Yes, it is possible to use superglue, or other suitable adhesive, but I'd really recommend trying the soldering option.  Not only is it a lot more permanent but it's also much more time-efficient, as you don't need to wait for the glue to set before moving on to the next stage.

Have a look on here for advice, (I've seen lots of discussion on soldering kits in the past) or have a chat with someone at a show or your local club.  I did this after building my first kit with glue (Harrow Models chassis for the Dapol railbus).  One of the chaps in the club I belonged to hosted us at his home one day and let those of us who were interested loose on a spare kit that he had on his workbench.  I was hooked and have soldered ever since! 

I posted a film of the Wellington trolleybuses on RMweb a while back. What amazed me was how fast they were on battery power.

One of the new generation vehicles I take it?  All previous Wellington trolleys stopped running as soon as the power went off!

Hi Rob

 

Feel free to post a pic of a Wellington trolley here; preferably an old one!

Thanks!

Unfortunately I'm a numpty when it comes to posting photos on RMWeb.  I tried and it didn't work...

So instead I'll post a link to our Society for you to have a look at.  The particular bus I've chosen to take you to is my favourite, B.U.T. RETB/1 #88.  Built in 1964 she was refurbished in 1981.  The initial plan was to upgrade the whole fleet but with the down-sizing of the network and purchase of 20 new vehicles from a cancelled Auckland order further refurbishment was deemed unnecessary.

88 ended up being the last B.U.T. to operate in scheduled commercial service here, when I took it on my regular shift to promote the festival we were running to celebrate 50 years of trolleybuses in Wellington.  That was in '99 so unless other cities were still running British trolleybuses, she's the last to have run anywhere (with the exception of preserved networks of course).

http://www.omnibus.org.nz/fleet/88.html

We're also here:

https://www.facebook.com/OmnibusSocietyNz

If anyone wants to see more photos please PM me and I'll see what I can organise.  There are a few photographers I'm in touch with but don't want to post links to their collections without their OK.

Enjoy!

Loving the talk about the prototype.  I spent 12 years driving trolleybuses here in Wellington and am still involved in the preservation of them.  The overhead and pole technology hasn't changed much, the carbons are checked each night, and they still dewire.  These days however we have automatic retrievers to stop the poles swinging up and ripping down the overhead; they usually work!

Commission build, done as requested by owner.

Fair enough, can't argue with that!

Looking forward to your next project.

Just had another look at the photos and I see that you've left the steam pipe on the left hand side.  Was that standard?  My understanding was that they were inside on the prototype and the outside ones portrayed on the model were an error on Hornby's part.