Schooner's (Mostly Maritime) Musings

[Schooner]

Touched by the support, thank you. Absolutely everything remains WIP...but it is slowly starting to come together, and to suggest an alright spot to spend half an hour watching the goings-on :) Just don't watch too closely yet!

 

On 09/05/2022 at 05:30, Annie said:

engines that worked over mixed gauge trackwork.

...or perhaps with inside-framed stock... 😇

 

On 09/05/2022 at 18:01, Regularity said:

...but comparisons are...

 

...indeed!

 

On 07/05/2022 at 22:49, Schooner said:

One step forward, a near-equal stagger back...

Sub-optimal...'tho I never did like that method for S&W coupling loops.

 

Way forward currently uncertain; 330 granted temporary stay.

[Mikkel]

Oh no. A fall?

[MrWolf]

Jammed safety valve? Anti tank round? That doesn't look good at all.

 

Can you get another, (I'm assuming 3d printed?) body shell?

 

I like the diplomatic use of the phrase sub optimal though.

[Edwardian]

7 hours ago, Schooner said:

Touched by the support, thank you. Absolutely everything remains WIP...but it is slowly starting to come together, and to suggest an alright spot to spend half an hour watching the goings-on :) Just don't watch too closely yet!

 

...or perhaps with inside-framed stock... 😇

 

 

...indeed!

 

Sub-optimal...'tho I never did like that method for S&W coupling loops.

 

Way forward currently uncertain; 330 granted temporary stay.

 

Oh my goodness, that is a shame. I would be grinding my teeth and cursing for some time in such circumstances.

 

From here it looks awfully like a replacement body may be called for, which I would find an aggravating prospect and an unwelcome expense, as I fear you must do too.  Though I suspect it would be worth it to keep such a lovely little loco in the roster, after all, you still have the Peckett chassis, which I assume still works?

[Schooner]

On 11/05/2022 at 05:34, Mikkel said:

A fall?

A fail!

 

On 11/05/2022 at 09:19, MrWolf said:

Anti tank round?

Not too far off...a Kinetic Energy Penetrator, perhaps!

 

In filling the smokebox, backhead and NEM sockets with Liquid Gravity, a few shot got stuck to the inside of the tank, preventing the body sitting tidily on the chassis; in trying to gently pry these out I snapped a blade and so reached for The Wrong Tool...

 

I was under the impression the body was adequately supported by the Peco loco servicing cradle.

 

I was wrong. 

 

Valuable learning opporunities abound:

• All up weight was looking to be >90g. Not bad, and a definite improvement in adhesion and (particularly) contact/running qualities.
• 3D prints are brittle - I know this (look at the cab and footplate damage from the build process), you know this, everyone knows this! If know better, do better :) 
• Apart from the fact it's now an area-effect eyesore; the loco was a success. I enjoyed getting it up to its penultimate stage, and have learned ways to improve the next one.
• The decision to have a discount W4 and RTR Dapol wagons as 'working up stock' for the layout was a sound one. There's a reason the nice things are wrapped up; continue to keep them safe until the layout is a safe environment for them!
• Don't model first thing in the morning.

 

On 11/05/2022 at 09:49, Edwardian said:

...a replacement body may be called for...

Agreed. The works plates are in the post from Light Railway Stores and I need something to put them on! Sadly I know that those plates belong to Manning Wardle  H Class 752/1880; Millwall Dock Co's No. 7... :) 

 

Resisted the tempation to buy a new Peckett (if a Daphne-gorgeous livery was available with an open cab, I wouldn't have held...), because you are right to assume the chassis is still in full working order. It's smooth, near silent, and although the gearing is far less pleasing than the Neilson's High Level mechanism it's amazingly controllable when it's in the mood.

 

I've also heard very good things about the Dapol B4 chassis and would be very interested in a comparison - anyone come across one/in a position to make one?

 

So for now, back on the Peckett body goes (as I should've left it until the layout is built...); no real harm done in the grand scheme.

 

In time, I'll stop in to Hardy's for another bodykit (and probably buy new fittings from RT Models too - they made a big difference). I'll also chop the back of the Peckett cab out, by way of another 'practice' project. Given that I'm viewing all this as a sort of apprenticeship for a proper return to the hobby one day, I'm glad to take all the lessons available with minimal wailing or gnashing of teeth. If I have to keep forking out for the dentist, I won't be able to afford the @5&9Models wagon order that's coming together...!

 

Apropos of nothing,

Fox Walker 325/1877 Aid, of the Cape Government Railway for the construction of Port Alfred.

 

:)

[Edwardian]

Yes, the Dapol B4 is superb for its running qualities, better even in my experience than the W4, good and smooth though the Hornby model is. 

[Schooner]

Just need to wait for interesting bodykits for the B4 then! I think Rails are still doing the rather garish Sussex at a discount...

 

Mind you, maybe the next layout moves  Hamworthy-ward. Hang on to your 330s!

[ChrisN]

4 hours ago, Schooner said:

THese 

Fox Walker 325/1877 Aid, of the Cape Government Railway for the construction of Port Alfred.

 

 

 

These guys looked as about fed up as you probably are..

 

maybe next time fit the liquid gravity before the impresive paintwork and lining.

 

Commiserations.

[Schooner]

 

...or not cobbled?

 

Failed to find any useful photographs and I can't decide, so opening it up to the floor. A paved hard standing of some sort gives a bit of interest - a dray and a stack of empty crates under a tarp, perhaps - and helps age the area around the warehouse, but does it make it all too busy and cramped? Opinions please :) 

 

Paving sorted, roadway laid and that's this end of the layout sorted! Well, for a first pass... :) 

[ChrisN]

1 hour ago, Schooner said:

 

...or not cobbled?

 

Failed to find any useful photographs and I can't decide, so opening it up to the floor. A paved hard standing of some sort gives a bit of interest - a dray and a stack of empty crates under a tarp, perhaps - and helps age the area around the warehouse, but does it make it all too busy and cramped? Opinions please :) 

 

Paving sorted, roadway laid and that's this end of the layout sorted! Well, for a first pass... :) 

 

I would go with cobbled, if it is different from the roadway, and have the horse and cart and maybe someone loading the boxes into the cart.  I do not think it would look too busy.

[Edwardian]

Setts rather than cobbles, i should have thought

 

[MrWolf]

Don't know if it helps, but these are the setts outside our front door, c1873.

 

 

The gaps appear to be filled with sand and sealed with pitch. Every few rows, there is a double row of narrower setts.

 

 

The edge of the road and the ramp into the Profanium (Garage / workshop to the uninitiated!) Note the alternating courses across the pavement.

[Schooner]

1 hour ago, Edwardian said:

 

Cheeky! Trying not to think too much about that neck of the woods till Ingleford's up and running!

 

But agreed re setts - I meant only to differentiate from the setts on the wharf really. Got one of the Wills packs looking at me hopefully....but see below.

 

57 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Don't know if it helps, but these are the setts outside our front door, c1873.

Always, thank you! That's the sort of thing (and period) I'm aiming for with the paved section of the wharf and it's a dead good reference, cheers! 'Profanium'...nicely :)

 

As for around the warehouses - c. a century older than the New Wharf development - I thought maybe something along these lines...

 

...?

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Schooner
Wurdz

[MrWolf]

I should be around town tomorrow, I'll head down to the older part and the quays, see if I can get some pictures of 18th century stuff.

[Regularity]

 

Like the word “staithes”, the word cobbles tends to be misused to refer to a group of things, rather than a specific part/form within that group.

Natural and round: cobble.

Quarried and squared off: sett. (They seem to be thicker than flags, and curbs seem to be much longer in one dimension that the other.)

There are also “cubes”, a form of sett with each dimension the same.

[Edwardian]

6 hours ago, Regularity said:

 

Natural and round: cobble.

 

 

I must be a cobble, then

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Edwardian said:

I must be a cobble, then

 

I'm flagging - kerb your wit, for those of us sett in our ways. 

[Regularity]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I'm flagging - kerb your wit, for those of us sett in our ways. 

Stone me…

[MrWolf]

I didn't get as far as the canal today (somebody wanted to go out and play in the sunshine before we're back to 362 days of winter.) but I did get to the backs of the warehouses, all cobbled, possibly to provide better grip for horses.

 

 

There are some fancy bits though.

 

 

It's a very steep descent beyond the yard. I very soon regretting taking out my vintage Tour de France bicyclette de le vasectomy instante.

 

 

The Memsahib had taken a more sensible bicycle in the form of her 1955 Audrey Hepburn Deluxe complete with wicker basket and went down that alley at about 90mph.

I still have double vision...

 

 

 

[Schooner]

20 hours ago, Regularity said:

 

 

What to do for the second half of Eurovison?

 

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

...but I did get to the backs of the warehouses, all cobbled...

 

Ah! Might take a little longer, mind. Thanks for those pics, fascinating, and I'm having that gutter drain! Cracking arvo to be out, hope you and RRH enjoyed it despite (because of?!) choice of steed,

[MrWolf]

It looks as though the last of the canal yards has been des. res'd out of all recognition recently. In 2018 it was a big untidy cobbled / flagged yard with a crumbling stone warehouse and numerous rusty tin sheds.

Now all that remains is the crane and the moorings (along with a lot of signs saying that you can't use them!)

 

 

But I was looking for cobbles and setts.

 

A modern repair nearest and the originals behind..

 

 

Today I used a more suitable bike...

 

 

Each of these is about 8" X  3".

 

Much of the surfaces have been tarred over, but some of the footways are untouched.

 

 

The ramp up from another warehouse that is now a pub and restaurant, where we may have gone off mission...

 

The modern bit nearest is obvious!

 

 

Top of the same ramp which uses smaller setts for a footpath joining from the other side of the water.

 

 

Hopefully there's something of use amongst that lot!

[Schooner]

31 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

crumbling stone warehouse and numerous rusty tin sheds.

 

Sounds dreamy!

 

Thanks for taking the time to grab and post those pics, lots of nice details in there and can never have too many references :)

[Schooner]

All pretty ad hoc, but does the gutter/drain situation raise an eyebrow or a smile?

 

 

...and why do these things invert at random?!

[Regularity]

35 minutes ago, Schooner said:

why do these things invert at random

Are you using an iPhone?

If so, then the orientation of the phone when taking a photo is recorded with the image file.

To sort this out, open the photos for editing, make a minor change such as cropping or rotating the image through 4 right angles, and the photo should be automatically saved in your photo stream and be the right way round when you upload it.

[Caley Jim]

On 18/05/2022 at 15:05, Schooner said:

All pretty ad hoc, but does the gutter/drain situation raise an eyebrow or a smile?

Entirely plausible IMHO.

 

Jim