The Night Mail

[BSW01]

I know nothing, I am from Barcelona 

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[iL Dottore]

6 hours ago, BSW01 said:

I know nothing, I am from Barcelona 

¿Qué

[iL Dottore]

Like other posters on TNM, I too have too many kits than is good for me. But unlike many, my kits (for the most part) only date back to the early 2000s at the very earliest. Having said that, I do have a few old Airfix kits as well as some RTR rolling stock of the same era.

 

Now it may be just an erroneous impression on my part, but I get the impression that as RTR models have gotten better, plastic model railway kits have gotten worse (especially in regards to the quality of plastic used). Whether or not this is due to me being unlucky with more modern kits, or that the moulds for such kits (many of which seem to have had multiple owners) are wearing out, I don’t know.

 

Fortunately (?), I have not had the misfortune to build a K’s kit, but from comments posted on RMWeb about them, it would seem that – at best – they could be charitably described as “scratch building aids”

[jamie92208]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

¿Qué

Does  he still have the impression of a spoon on his bonce or is it just a thumbprint these days.

 

Jamie

[ian@stenochs]

10 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

The only one I have is the Caledonian 0-4-4T. It was given to me by a colleague around 1973 because he couldn't figure it out. The castings just do not fit together (not even close) The wheels do not run anywhere close to true and the N/S tire fell off one. The brass LH and RH chassis pieces are different lengths and the motor fell to pieces. Apart from that it's great 😀

 

I might eventually sort it but if I do not much of it will be from the original kit.

 

 

 

The Caley pug was the first loco kit, other than Kitmasters. which I bought. It was sometime in the 60's when I was a student and from Glassfords model shop in the Cowcaddens are of Glasgow, long gone now!  It went together well enough and ran OK as an 0-4-0 with the bogie just along for the ride.

I parted with it when I changed over to P4 in 72 and saw the late Mike Gilgannons version of the same kit.  Chalk and cheese!

Ian.

[bbishop]

Bit scary, The Night Mail is discussing topics that should be on Wright Writes, and vice versa.

[jamie92208]

I have a K's LMS Garratt that does run.  When first built it would hardly move with the supplied K's motor under the front tank.  I modified it and put an MW5 under the rotary coal bunker. With thectwo motorscit would pull as many trucks as I could put behind it.

 

Jamie

[Northmoor]

Reading RMs in the 1970s and 80s - before the RTR ranges really took off - many layouts seemed to be stocked with locos built from K's (and other) kits; they looked good and presumably ran well enough to satisfy the owner.  For all the denigration of K's kits, they must have been OK if that many got built successfully.

[Happy Hippo]

I've never knowingly built a K's kit, although I remember them bring all the rage when I first started 'serious' railway modelling in my early teens.  The only 4 mm white metal kits that remain in the cupboard of sin are a Kemilway 3MT 82xxx Prairie and a SE Finecast (Wills) 94xx Pannier tank.

 

The morning was spent in the front garden pruning two of the three apple trees, the final one will get it's trim tomorrow morning.

 

This afternoon was mainly taken up with the funeral of our friend who was killed in the RTC at the beginning of this month.

 

I have just been tasked with creating the evening meal, with Nyda requesting a Mega Pie (Enhanced Cottage Pie).

 

This will not be a problem, but I do find that when I am being artistic in the kitchen, alcohol does help the creative juices to flow.  

 

The perfect excuse to finish off the last of the Tamnavulin single malt.

 

Fortunately, I already have another bottle of Speyside malt lined up, just in case I need more inspiration.

 

Alexa!  Play AC/DC 'Highway to Hell'.........

 

 

[SM42]

A job has been postponed by Mrs SM42. 

 

No flat pack building till next week. 

 

When I don't know as I'm at work everyday.

 

Andy

Sat surrounded by boxes of Christmas decorations

[Winslow Boy]

12 minutes ago, SM42 said:

A job has been postponed by Mrs SM42. 

 

No flat pack building till next week. 

 

When I don't know as I'm at work everyday.

 

Andy

Sat surrounded by boxes of Christmas decorations

 

Ooh you have more than one box of Christmas decorations. How extravagant.

 

Mind you now that you have another wing at SM42 Towers that will explain it.

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

We need a wing in the Hippodrome just to store the Christmas decorations.

 

I have just negotiated the disposal of a 19 litre box which is full of lights. (Although I might save the transformers...just in case.)

 

Since they were suitable for outside deployment, I was afraid I might have been tasked with threading them through the recently(today) pruned apple trees.

 

I didn't get a chance to finish the Tamnavulin, but there might be the opportunity for a finishing off session later on this evening.

 

Well, I live in hope...

[SM42]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

Ooh you have more than one box of Christmas decorations. How extravagant.

 

Mind you now that you have another wing at SM42 Towers that will explain it.

 

 

 

Yes we do. 

 

They are surprisingly bulky things. 

 

Pink job they are 

 

Lights and tree:  blue job

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

I took down the Christmas cards today. 
Then I dusted the table they had been on and put them back. 
Aditi made her contribution to the family get together on Boxing Day. She made a chickpea curry. Aditi’s sister is hosting the event and she said she isn’t messing about with different menus for people,who don’t eat various items so it will be Indian vegetarian. We were going to make some desserts (not Indian) but apparently my BiL has arranged a lot of Turkish pastries. We removed the turkey we bought at Easter (special offer then) from the freezer this morning. 
One parcel with two little boxes arrived this morning. Aditi thought the locos were very pretty. They can be decorative until after Christmas as the required decoders seem to be in Plymouth sorting office. I didn’t expect them before Christmas anyway. 
Tony

edit.  Decoders are in Chelmsford but I don’t think they will progress much further now. 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Tony_S

[BoD]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

We need a wing in the Hippodrome just to store the Christmas decorations.

 

I have just negotiated the disposal of a 19 litre box which is full of lights. (Although I might save the transformers...just in case.)

 

Since they were suitable for outside deployment, I was afraid I might have been tasked with threading them through the recently(today) pruned apple trees.

 

I didn't get a chance to finish the Tamnavulin, but there might be the opportunity for a finishing off session later on this evening.

 

Well, I live in hope...

Tamnavulin?
Outside lights?

Trees?

 

Naaah.

[Dave Hunt]

11 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I have a K's LMS Garratt that does run.  When first built it would hardly move with the supplied K's motor under the front tank.  I modified it and put an MW5 under the rotary coal bunker. With thectwo motorscit would pull as many trucks as I could put behind it.

 

I too built a Ks Garratt and like Jamie's it would just about move itself with the supplied motor but when I changed it for..... can't honestly remember now but it was one of the state of the art ones available in the early 70s........ it ran very well and would pull really big trains on the club layout. For the life of me I can't remember what happened to it but I suspect that I gave it to a friend when I decided to concentrate on pre-grouping MR.

 

Dave 

 

[AndyID]

4 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

I too built a Ks Garratt and like Jamie's it would just about move itself with the supplied motor but when I changed it for..... can't honestly remember now but it was one of the state of the art ones available in the early 70s........ it ran very well and would pull really big trains on the club layout. For the life of me I can't remember what happened to it but I suspect that I gave it to a friend when I decided to concentrate on pre-grouping MR.

 

Dave 

 

 

Just as well you didn't give it to HH. He'd have melted it down and recast it as a couple of those green paneers he's always on about.

[PhilJ W]

Last week I put in some commission bids at a model railway auction, the first time I have ever made a proper auction bid. I bid on four items and won the following two,

 https://auctions.specialauctionservices.com/m/my-items/won. The courier is due to deliver them tomorrow. I put in commission bids, one went to the line and I thought I'd lost it until the hammer went down. The other item I'd put a commission bid in of £100 but the hammer went down at £90.

Edited December 22, 2022 by PhilJ W

[Dave Hunt]

Sometimes the good guys win. We've just been to a friend's house for drinks and nibbles and there was a chap there whom I know from Probus who asked me if I liked single malt whiskies because he had been given one by his old firm and he didn't drink whisky so would I like it. After several nanoseconds to consider the offer I agreed to take it off his hands and am now contemplating the first drop of.....

 

........Lagavulin. Mmmm.

 

Dave 

[AndyID]

9 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

 can't honestly remember now but it was one of the state of the art ones available in the early 70s

 

 

A Romford Bulldog perhaps?

 

The thing about motors is to get the fattest one that will possibly fit. That will get you the greatest amount of torque and let you use a low ratio (more efficient) reduction gear. The best motors I've ever found were made by Sagami. I wish I had bought a lot more before they went out of business.

[Dave Hunt]

1 minute ago, AndyID said:

 

A Romford Bulldog perhaps?

 

That rings a bell - it could well have been.

 

Dave

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[Northmoor]

12 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Last week I put in some commission bids at a model railway auction, the first time I have ever made a proper auction bid. I bid on four items and won the following two,

 https://auctions.specialauctionservices.com/m/my-items/won. The courier is due to deliver them tomorrow. I put in commission bids, one went to the line and I thought I'd lost it until the hammer went down. The other item I'd put a commission bid in of £100 but the hammer went down at £90.

You'll have to elaborate, that's a page of your "wins" on a personal page linked from your account.

[PhilJ W]

1 minute ago, Northmoor said:

You'll have to elaborate, that's a page of your "wins" on a personal page linked from your account.

Lot 581 in Sale 110580 Trains Galore: Part One - Three Day Auction

The Model Shop Harrow 00 Gauge Kitbuilt London Underground Battery Locomotives and other stock, grey powered Battery Locomotive with Tenshodo Motor bogie, in original box and another similar unboxed model, grey bogie maintenance wagon with open centre, grey bogie Maintenance Van and brown District Railway Baggage Car, all built and finished to a good-very good standard, G-VG, box G (5)

Auction has ended

Kitbuilt 00 Gauge London Underground Metropolitan wooden Passenger Stock, Hamblings style Trailer Car and Coach, The Model Shop 'Dreadnought' or similar nine Compartment Coaches and seven Compartment Coach and 4-wheel Baggage Car, all built and finished to a good to excellent standard, G-E, boxes G (5)