Neal Ball

There was talk over at Helston  with @Andy Keane who has just placed an order for a Dapol 28xx, whilst at the same time Phil @Harlequin has cancelled his order.

I have two Hornby locos, only one is DCC enabled, the other is in my "Sell to Hattons" pile.... It was my fathers when he had a layout, but given I also have a 72xx; Dean Goods and a Collet Goods, I don't think I need 2 x 28xx.

Seen here with a mineral train arriving into Henley-on-Thames:

At 10 wagons plus a Toad it was well within the limits of the loco. Obviously I doubt the real Henley would have seen such a loco on the branch.

9 hours ago, longchap said:

Ah, I had quite forgotten that. Mind you, don't the glazing sections pop out for dropping in sme supplied partly open units, or am I dreaming of an easy painting solution?

 

I have much experience however with bolection painting from Aifix B set and Ratio 4 wheeler happy days and still have my Clifton Downs set to paint 

I don’t think the Dapol windows pop out Bill. However, the windows do pop out on the Rapido B set.

2 hours ago, Andy Keane said:

I have not built many kits for locos and rolling stock but each time I do I struggle with trying to fit couplings. While modern RTR stuff pretty much always now has a NEM pocket, most kits seem to have little provision built in. I like to fit Kadee couplers to my stuff so am currently trying to fit a pair to my Mallard 517 kit. With Kadees it seems the arm that protrudes forwards has to be pretty close up to the underside of the buffer beam to get things at the right height. On  my 517 I can just about squeeze in a standard coupler with its little plastic box at the front, but at the rear I have had to cut the box down. I have it working but it feels rather precarious. It makes me wonder if anyone has ever found or made metal boxes for Kadee whisker couplings - if I had one in brass it would be much better and I may set to and make one to replace my current botch job on the plastic box - note the little plastic bits that stick out beyond the buffer beam are to accommodate the whisker springs which are just about visible in my phot:

Have you tried the Dart castings brass fittings? I’ve started to use them on my carriage bogies to good effect.

You then fit the Kadee NEM couplers in and so far they have been very good.

https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2580.php

Hopefully that will work for a loco - might need some adapting.

Good luck, Neal.

1 minute ago, Harlequin said:

 

I have one word to say to that: Bolections. 😉

 

i wont be painting bolections where the carriage is already glazed....

1 hour ago, longchap said:

 

Mine are in the second batch, which I did not realise when placing my order with Kernow. So picture the scene: Here I am sat on a ferry to the UK with a free Saturday to myself and Guildford only an hour up the road and I can't think of any reason not to pop up to see the chaps and grab some first batch toplights, thus saving the Brexit tax in France.

 

Ah, decisions, decisions .  .  .

 

I think if someone has the first batch in stock when we are next in the UK I will be tempted to do the same. My preference will still be shirtbutton livery - but if they are delayed, I might have to change my mind.

On 12/03/2024 at 21:08, trainsandco said:

Seeing all these pictures is getting me a little jealous for mine in the next batch! Has there been any word on when the next batch are due? Or any confirmation on what the livery of set 2 will look like? (Hoping for this)

On 12/03/2024 at 21:37, phil-b259 said:

That’s what I’m hoping for

 

its more than a little annoying Dapol haven’t provided any images of decorated samples - in contrast to the 1st batch.

My understanding is that decorated samples were due at Dapol after Chinese new year - maybe in the last couple of weeks and production of the next batch will start shortly after.

I am guessing that we are probably looking at a summer delivery.

6 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

That railmotor much be about 50 years old. I was still at school when I first saw it on Pendon. For my 18th birthday money was requested the Mallard kit, but at £26 + wheels and motor , it was still out of reach. I wonder if the rtr will still run at the same age?

 

Mike Wiltshire

There must be quite a bit of stock at Pendon that is of that sort of age and still regularly running. Guy Williams built them to last!

I assume the SRM was built by Guy.

5 minutes ago, checkrail said:

It always does!

Not bad seeing as its only my 2nd time of using the bow pen - I need to go back to the Slaters Toplights and finish them off.

17 hours ago, Toton said:

My Rapido Mink As and O11/O15 arrived hot on the heels of my Dapol Toplights but Dapol, unlike Rapido, have done the slightly annoying (but very common thing) of not saying where the details fit. Before I make a mess of it please can someone confirm which way round the vacuum and steam pipes go and which is which?

• I'm guessing the one with the 90° valve is the steam heat pipe and goes to the right of the coupling hook?
• Where the valve is on the above hose on this hose there is a thingymajig that points down. I guess this is the vacuum pipe and goes left of the  coupling hook?

Thanks in advance!

This will help: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/slip-coaches-back-when-british-express-trains-detached-passenger-cars-at-speed/  Dont worry about it being a slip carriage, the principle is the same.

New video from Pendon museum:

Im hoping to have time to get over to Pendon on our trip back to the UK this summer.

1 hour ago, gwrrob said:

Talking of the B set and Rapido have shewn a render of the interior including a framed image of St Michael's Mount. Delightful.

 

I also like the idea that a window can simply be popped out and a half open droplight added in its place. Amazing.

19 minutes ago, melmerby said:

If they have a bass reflex port, how are they also sealed, a port is just that, a hole that sound can exit from.

Which is all well and good - but do you have any suggestions about how to make it louder?

Just now, mikesndbs said:

 

What you have done is very clever and I like how it looks, however the rear of the speaker should not be sealed. The sound from the rear of speakers is important. In hifi speakers it is both passed through baffles and ported to produce base. Constraining the cone also stops it moving properly. If you are happy with how it sounds that great but as an ex speaker producing company employee it's best to leave the back open.

Im not a speaker expert…. But our Hifi speakers at home have a piece of hardboard over the back. The front of the speaker of course has a piece of mesh.

I think Phil’s development is very interesting - anything that can make the sound louder is to be applauded.

1 hour ago, BWsTrains said:

 

I suspect senior management at Kodak /Polaroid said that when the first digital cameras came out, Ditto IBM re Apple and PCs. Nokia re iPhones. Where are those older companies now?

 

The rate of change for new /emerging technologies is notoriously difficult to assess, not something at all simple to forecast.

I have a 3D printed yard crane courtesy of @Harlequin and the detail is amazing.

The fact that there can also be 3D loco, just blows my mind. 
 

The rate of change is amazing and of course if you were to say Kodak / Polaroid to the woke generation, they probably wouldn’t know what you are talking about.

Change at this level is good and to be encouraged.

10 hours ago, Darwinian said:

Having had them sitting in my cabinet for several years I decided that this week I would finish the ropes on a Coopercraft  GWR five plank bar with sheet support and while at it do the more recently built 4 plank that doesn't have a bar too.

 

Having done them here they are, the camera never lies -

 

 

 

Oh bother, I really had never noticed that the bar on the five plank is higher at one end! It is accentuated here by the tarpaulin not being level at the bottom, it's less obvious on the other side which is level. I've been using it on the layout and it's been sat in a display case but only now that I've photographed it here did I notice. 

I also realised that the 4 plank didn't get weathered before I stuck the sheet onto it. Going to be tricky weathering the wagon now, the body is more visible on the other side, and making the sheet look different and weathering around the ropes will be necessary too.

 

I will have to live with these as I cannot easily take of the tarpaulins as they are glued in place and I'd have to do all that fiddly rope work again!

They both look good. If one side is better, simply place the wagons that way round and no one will know.

I have a viewing side and an “other side” to a lot of stock and it works really well. (Don’t tell anyone 🤣)

That loco is looking very good Andy.

8 hours ago, brumtb said:

I'm really pleased to see how the County Tank has come together.  Excellent work Neal.

Tony

Thanks Tony, I’ve been very pleased with how the loco and also the Clerestory carriage have come together.

It was the harder option to build and then adapt the SE Finecast underframe, but I think it’s a better result. 
 

Thanks again.

Neal.

That looks to be a good project Mikkel. Ive seen these 3D prints on Facebook and also on Rich's thread, they all look very interesting.

There is another fitting in the photo, on the smokebox side, just above the saddle, that is not on the 3D print. Is it the lubricator pipework? Is it then the same on the other side?

Good luck with the conversion, its going to look very good.

Neal.

There is an excellent blog post this weekend on the GWS pages, celebrating last weekends 100 celebration of 4-6-0 4079 Pendennis Castle: https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/product.php/78/going-loco/5421cc4213cc24263c943eda4c34417a

Drew, aka @Castle has put together a good article about the weekend, it was a shame we couldn't fly in.

There was also a video from one of the YouTubers from the weekend: 

21 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

I also enjoyed the video. Nice smooth running all round - not least the County tank. Very impressive, Neal.

 

Thanks Mikkel. I am very pleased with the County tank (pleased with all my kit bit items, but particularly the 4-4-2T).

It needs quite a bit of weight to be added yet before it will be able to haul anything. Given it is only my second kit-built loco, I am thrilled.

I know I have a lot of projects on the go / in the queue, but I do fancy having a go at the County 4-4-0 as a complete kit build.

12 minutes ago, Danemouth said:

Some lovely rolling stock there Neal,

 

Well done 😀

 

Dave

Thanks dave, I am very pleased how it has all come along.