Standard Cowans Sheldon 15T Crane (mk1 and mk2 Jib) announced!

[Halvarras]

22 hours ago, micklner said:

The NER/LNER  version used a Plate wagon.

 

Well that's handy, Hornby can dust off that old plate wagon tooling from eons ago, that one they moulded in green plastic, labelled 'Winkle' with a bit of folded metal for a load and mounted on a TTA chas.........er........OK, forget it 😬!

[Compound2632]

Just as a bit of encouragement for Oxford, it has to be pointed out that for most jobs, one needs two cranes not just one; most things need to be lifted at both ends:

 

 

Leicester Lancaster St. bridge during construction (10-ton hand cranes - this was shortly before the Midland bought its first batch of Cowans Sheldon 15-ton steam cranes) [embedded link to DY466 at the Derby Registers pages of the MRS website]. 

 

 

Silkstream Junction, Hendon, 18 June 1907 [embedded link to catalogue thumbnail of MRSC 67059].

 

Both jib types there, so no excuse...

 

Double the sales!

[MarkSG]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

Both jib types there, so no excuse...

 

Double the sales!

 

If their marketing department is on the ball, they'll do a twin pack!

[Michael Hodgson]

On 25/11/2023 at 12:52, Johan DC said:

The crane Will now include a match truck. Announced on IG.

 

An excuse for the price increase we all took to be inevitable given the delay in getting this to production?

[Fair Oak Junction]

While we don't know the price yet, I think an increase was inevitable regardless of the match truck.

 

£19 was insanely cheap for such a model! 😄

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

£19 was insanely cheap for such a model! 😄

 

But it got our attention!

 

[Fair Oak Junction]

Indeed it did

[Downer]

It will be the most expensive match truck in history.

[Michael Hodgson]

2 hours ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

While we don't know the price yet, I think an increase was inevitable regardless of the match truck.

 

£19 was insanely cheap for such a model! 😄

You was robbed!  Pre-ordered from Rails for £16.50 !

I expect just a match truck would cost more than that these days.

[spamcan61]

On 25/11/2023 at 21:16, Ravenser said:

So much for rationalisation of Hornby's branding into a coherent structure

Oxford Rail are a bit of an enigma, in theory owned by Hornby, but still operating more or less as a stand alone company, albeit not a very prolific one. I'm certainly not going to complain if that continues to be the case - looking at the value for money of their recent (ish...) wagon releases versus Hornby's.

Edited November 27, 2023 by spamcan61

[stephennicholson]

On 25/11/2023 at 13:05, Bucoops said:

3. What type of match truck as railway companies typically supplied their own?

 

The answer I got today is that its likely to be based on those used on the Midland

[PaulG]

8 hours ago, stephennicholson said:

 

The answer I got today is that its likely to be based on those used on the Midland

 

The Crane Runner, 961658, for the Colchester Shildon crane was a converted ex GER double bolster and Guard Truck 961657 a converted ex GER Diagram 17 high sided wagon.

 

 

Paul

[farren]

Well that’s nice to know they will be making a match truck too it will help the sales for those people lacking the confidence to build scratch built truck. The question now is should I buy one to go with my other Crain, I’m tempted, are two Crains parked in a siding too much. 

[Hroth]

10 minutes ago, farren said:

Well that’s nice to know they will be making a match truck too it will help the sales for those people lacking the confidence to build scratch built truck. The question now is should I buy one to go with my other Crain, I’m tempted, are two Crains parked in a siding too much. 

 

As mentioned by Compound2632 above

 

 

two cranes are essential for longer/heavier lifts.  And you can have one of each jib type too!

 

 

 

[The Fatadder]

If either Oxford produce the GW cab varient or I get round to converting it, I quite fancy getting one to run with my Bachmann crane and printed mess / tool vans on its way to some bridge lifting job.  Gives a good excuse for the pair of them to be running

[Compound2632]

11 hours ago, stephennicholson said:

The answer I got today is that its likely to be based on those used on the Midland

 

That is, i think, inevitable, since two of the four models initially announced are Midland cranes - and the jib rest seen sitting in a PO wagon upthread appears to be of the Midland design; moreover there's a readily-available works drawing. But they have then painted themselves into a corner on the other two models.

 

Does anyone know if the improvised roof is detachable / will be fitted to all models?

[Dunsignalling]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

That is, i think, inevitable, since two of the four models initially announced are Midland cranes - and the jib rest seen sitting in a PO wagon upthread appears to be of the Midland design; moreover there's a readily-available works drawing. But they have then painted themselves into a corner on the other two models.

 

Does anyone know if the improvised roof is detachable / will be fitted to all models?

 

I've already promoted one of my Chivers "Ling" kits nearer the top of the to-do pile in anticipation of receiving my SR crane, having decided the Rapido SECR 2-plank that was "Plan A" probably won't be long enough.... 

 

A Hatton's Riding van plus tool van will go at one end of the ensemble, and a Cambrian Dancehall at the other. 

 

John

[Compound2632]

Well, we'll wait and see, but if what Oxford make is a half-decent representation of a Midland match truck, I'm happy to receive cast-offs from those who want to substitute a more authentic match truck for their non-Midland crane!

[Fair Oak Junction]

I've not found any info on what match trucks the SR 15t cranes would have run with, so I'll probably just use a generic ex-LSWR 3 plank with the jib rest from the wagon it comes with.

[Zunnan]

Its great to see some progress finally, and news of the inclusion of a match truck is very welcome. I have my fingers crossed that as half of the proposed models are of Midland origin that the match truck will likewise be of Midland origin. Failing that I have my contingency plan lined up based on an ungodly mix from the Slaters long cattle van chassis and a stretched 3 plank body. That should at least lead to an approximation along the lines of the NSR, GN and the surviving UT vehicles. 

[MarkSG]

17 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

Oxford are a bit of an enigma, in theory owned by Hornby, but still operating more or less as a stand alone company, albeit not a very prolific one. I'm certainly not going to complain if that continues to be the case - looking at the value for money of their recent (ish...) wagon releases versus Hornby's.

 

Oxford Rail isn't exactly prolific, but Oxford Diescast has been, and continues to be, busy.

 

I do agree that Hornby doesn't seem to have been particularly sure what to do with Oxford. At one point it did look as though they were going to make it effectively a sub-brand of Hornby, similar to what Bachmann have done with EFE Rail. But the latest signs are that they want it to operate separately, more akin to Corgi or Airfix which are also owned by Hornby Plc but aren't marketed as part of the same range. That would fit in with Hornby's established pattern of working with its wholly-owned brands.

 

The main difference, of course, is that Oxford, unlike Corgi and Airfix, does make products which directly compete with those sold under the core Hornby brand. But I suspect that Oxford Rail is a sufficiently small part of Oxford as a whole for that not to really matter. And, of course, their joint ownership should at least enable them to avoid unnecessary duplication.

[Dungrange]

On 27/11/2023 at 10:42, Compound2632 said:

the jib rest seen sitting in a PO wagon upthread appears to be of the Midland design; moreover there's a readily-available works drawing.

 

23 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

if what Oxford make is a half-decent representation of a Midland match truck, I'm happy to receive cast-offs from those who want to substitute a more authentic match truck for their non-Midland crane!

 

Assuming the do make a half-decent representation of a Midland Railway match truck for which drawings are available, would that present an opportunity to produce any other general merchandise wagons of Midland Railway origin?  Do the match trucks share a common chassis with other Midland railway wagons?

[micklner]

From Facebook today.

 

 

[Compound2632]

22 minutes ago, Dungrange said:

Assuming the do make a half-decent representation of a Midland Railway match truck for which drawings are available, would that present an opportunity to produce any other general merchandise wagons of Midland Railway origin?  Do the match trucks share a common chassis with other Midland railway wagons?

 

Unfortunately not. The match trucks for the 15-ton steam cranes were 17' 11" over headstocks and 10' 6" wheelbase, dimensions not shared with any other Midland wagons. The nearest approaches are cattle wagons and sleeper wagons, 19' 1" / 19' 0" over headstocks and 11' 0" wheelbase. These match trucks were a lengthened version of the match trucks used with various 5 and 10-ton hand cranes, which did use the standard 14' 11" over headstocks, 9' 0" wheelbase underframe.

Edited November 28, 2023 by Compound2632
grammar tidy

[Compound2632]

4 minutes ago, micklner said:

From Facebook today.

 

I'm pleased to see that they have taken into consideration the crane's feelings.