Accurascale's First Steam Locomotive; GWR Collett 78xx Manor Class!

[Halvarras]

8 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

I was given a couple of packs of Bachmann's ready made resin loads, and this is what I did with them.

 

The white plastic is Wills planked sheet, which minimises any need for marking out. 

 

No need for magnets, except with the slope-sided ones, which don't allow the load to tip. Those have a steel wagon weight (CooperCraft?) added to the sandwich, allowing them to be removed using one of those telescopic workshop magnetic retrieval aids. 

 

The rest are digitally operated, I just poke one end down with my little finger and pick up the other between thumb and second finger.😀

 

John

 

I made up 8 loads for the old Mainline 16T minerals (on Airfix underframes) back in the 1990s - real coal on a carved-to-shape dense foam layer on a thick cardboard stiffener on a lump of balsa wood - the whole thing bears (as I still have them) a remarkable resemblance to yours and operates the same way, to run fulls one way and empties the other with minimum effort. Great minds etc.....!! 🤪

[Dunsignalling]

6 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

I made up 8 loads for the old Mainline 16T minerals (on Airfix underframes) back in the 1990s - real coal on a carved-to-shape dense foam layer on a thick cardboard stiffener on a lump of balsa wood - the whole thing bears (as I still have them) a remarkable resemblance to yours and operates the same way, to run fulls one way and empties the other with minimum effort. Great minds etc.....!! 🤪

Agreed, I really dislike the idea of having such wagons arrive and depart loaded, and even if running through coal traffic, removeable loads can halve the number of wagons one needs.

 

Most layout operating sessions have two halves like a football match, though with more indulgent refreshments. "Fulls" in the yard due to leave later will get unloaded at half-time, whilst any that are to stay until the next session remain loaded. The operating card will therefore read "unload x coal wagons". These will not necessarily all be together or even in the same siding, giving the operator some shunting to do on his/her return.😉

 

Conversely, (though I'm not there yet) I intend that any wagons with loads that have to be visibly fixed (with chains etc.) will have empty duplicates, to be exchanged as appropriate (sometimes empty in, loaded out) on a similar basis.  

 

Getting back (more) on-topic, there's no reason why locos shouldn't be provided with bunker loads of varying sizes, to be selected on the basis of how far they are supposed to have travelled. If they leave full from a shed on the layout, they can return half-laden or near-empty, later in the sequence.  

 

John

Edited August 3, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[1466]

19 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

Agreed, I really dislike the idea of having such wagons arrive and depart loaded, and even if running through coal traffic, removeable loads can halve the number of wagons one needs.

 

Most layout operating sessions have two halves like a football match, though with more indulgent refreshments. "Fulls" in the yard due to leave later will get unloaded at half-time, whilst any that are to stay until the next session remain loaded. The operating card will therefore read "unload x coal wagons". These will not necessarily all be together or even in the same siding, giving the operator some shunting to do on his/her return.😉

 

Conversely, (though I'm not there yet) I intend that any wagons with loads that have to be visibly fixed (with chains etc.) will have empty duplicates, to be exchanged as appropriate (sometimes empty in, loaded out) on a similar basis.  

 

Getting back (more) on-topic, there's no reason why locos shouldn't be provided with bunker loads of varying sizes, to be selected on the basis of how far they are supposed to have travelled. If they leave full from a shed on the layout, they can return half-laden or less, later in the sequence.  

 

John

I recall the Rev. Peter Denny had removable coal wagon bodies which he swoped  from full to empties .this was on Buckingham in the late 1950s .Possibly Hamblings printed card  but which he scored  for planking and dirtied . Presumably the under frames were weighted .

[Mallard60022]

1 hour ago, Dunsignalling said:

Agreed, I really dislike the idea of having such wagons arrive and depart loaded, and even if running through coal traffic, removeable loads can halve the number of wagons one needs.

 

Most layout operating sessions have two halves like a football match, though with more indulgent refreshments. "Fulls" in the yard due to leave later will get unloaded at half-time, whilst any that are to stay until the next session remain loaded. The operating card will therefore read "unload x coal wagons". These will not necessarily all be together or even in the same siding, giving the operator some shunting to do on his/her return.😉

 

Conversely, (though I'm not there yet) I intend that any wagons with loads that have to be visibly fixed (with chains etc.) will have empty duplicates, to be exchanged as appropriate (sometimes empty in, loaded out) on a similar basis.  

 

Getting back (more) on-topic, there's no reason why locos shouldn't be provided with bunker loads of varying sizes, to be selected on the basis of how far they are supposed to have travelled. If they leave full from a shed on the layout, they can return half-laden or near-empty, later in the sequence.  

 

John

I sort of got to that conclusion more by accident than design. Decided that Down Pacifics at Seaton Junction would be ones with less/a lot less tender load and Up Pacifics would be almost over/fully loaded. Fortunately a lot of my fleet can have the Tenders swapped without compromising the 'Tender Trap' or trickery issues, which is really useful.....

Other engines just need looking at through 'squinty eyes', as I CBA to have loads of Arthurs or S15s just to have Up or Down coal loads in tenders. 

 

As for Meldon Ballast; up 'sets' are loaded, down wagons are rarely in my timetable as, honest Guv,  they ran at night! However I do have a few empty Walrus and Dogfish that will run, as they did appear on weekdays during the day and Weekends in the Winter TT but often in a Goods Train consist.

 

The Only Coal I can identify in quantity was the down Exmouth Junction Supply from up Yeovil way. Otherwise it is a few loaded and or empty both down and up. There wasn't much in the way of Goods on the WOESRML and rarely on Summer Saturdays (my premier operations days).

I'm lucky really.

P

[Cofga]

I have made coal loads by carving a block of dense extruded polystyrene foam to fit the coal bunker, then painted it black and glued on the coal using PVA or epoxy. With a steel washer embedded in the block you can lift it out with a magnet. I also have done coal and rock loads for my hoppers (American models) by making foam masters, then using those to create silicone rubber molds. I then cast the basic loads in 2 part casting epoxy with an embedded steel washer. Finally afterwards I added the coal to the top using either type glue. As for the coal size I seem to remember reading it varied a lot based on source and time period. There is a reason hammers were part of the fireman’s kit, breaking up large lumps of coal apparently was a common necessity.

[Dunsignalling]

5 hours ago, Cofga said:

I have made coal loads by carving a block of dense extruded polystyrene foam to fit the coal bunker, then painted it black and glued on the coal using PVA or epoxy. With a steel washer embedded in the block you can lift it out with a magnet. I also have done coal and rock loads for my hoppers (American models) by making foam masters, then using those to create silicone rubber molds. I then cast the basic loads in 2 part casting epoxy with an embedded steel washer. Finally afterwards I added the coal to the top using either type glue. As for the coal size I seem to remember reading it varied a lot based on source and time period. There is a reason hammers were part of the fireman’s kit, breaking up large lumps of coal apparently was a common necessity.

 

Though coal dispensed by concrete "Cenotaph" coaling plants tended to be "pre-smashed" which should at least have saved the fireman some sweat....

 

[The Johnster]

As my layout, Cwmdimbath, is situated in a South Wales mining valley and has a colliery, coal is of some importance!  I am restricted to 10-wagon trains, and am currently running 9-wagons, and there are 21 of them altogether, a mixture of Bachmanns, Oxfords, Parkside kits, and Hornby & Dapol 21tonners.  I use real coal and fill the wagons with it; it is from a supply given me a couple of years ago by Tomparryharry and he mined it himself at Blaenavon Big Pit.

 

Working is as follows; a train of empties arrives in the exchange sidings, and the BR loco uncouples from it and couples to a train of loadeds, which departs.  The colliery loco then propels the mt rake over the weighbridge for the tare weights to be established (the difference between the empty and loaded wagon weights will be the basis of invoicing).  This done, the rake is placed on the 'empties' siding and the loco removes 3 wagons from underneath the washery loader and places them on the 'loaded' siding: we will come back to these 3 wagons in a moment!  'Time out' from the timetable is allowed to actually load the wagons, simply dipping them into the plastic coal box, which conveniently weathers them as well.

 

The mts in the mt siding are then shunted 3 at a time under the loader, and 'time out filled' with coal, then shunted to the ld road, and coupled to the original 3 until a 9 wagon train is made up.  We are now back to the previously mentioned 3, left in the mt road and now placed under the loader.  The loaded train is drawn over the weighbridge, and then set back into the ld road for collection by BR.  The colliery is now ready to deal with the next train of empties, and in the meantime the loaded wagons are removed from their road in the fy and emptied into the plastic coal box.  The 3-wagon 'overlap' ensures that there are mts under the loader to accept coal at all times, in order to keep the men at the coalface underground productively employed; like many South Wales pits, there is limited space at the surface to stable mts and a continuous supply of fresh mts is essential to keep the pit working.  One pit in the Rhondda Fach required a clearance of lds and supply of mts every 30 minutes!

 

My system is a bit faffy, picking wagons up off the layout to load or unload them, and I am working on fixed loads of the sort described here to remedy this, but I like the look of the real coal and the heft of the loaded wagons.  I am able to have loaded and empty trains simultaneously on the layout, a busy colliery shunting regime, and, operating to real time (Cwmdimbath Clock is electric and can be stopped at my convenience, but no train movement may take place during 'time out' or even assumed work such as train examining, brake tests, walking to the signal box to collect the token and such).  The downside is that my coal is not particularly well screend for size, and I inted to rectify this when I eventually acquire that long delayed essential item, a round tuit.

Edited August 6, 2022 by The Johnster

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

21 hours ago, The Johnster said:

a round tuit.

The rarest of items at the best of time,just dont put your mo jo down or finding it again is to say the least a tad difficult. You need to market the real Welsh coal from your mine to load up the Manor tenders.....we know how Accurascale like it correct.

[Cofga]

I went back and looked at the photos of the samples on the Accurascale website and I can see why they suggest against uncoupling the tender on a frequent basis. They appear to be using a multi-pin JST type connector for the wiring and those can be a pain to disconnect and you run the risk of pulling wires loose in the process. When working with the 9-pin JSTs on a decoder I use a hemostat to grip them but you can’t likely do that given the lack of space between the tender and engine. It will be interesting to see just how easily they do come apart, however given all the attention to details they have gone too so far I bet they have a solution for us!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by Cofga

[1466]

14 minutes ago, Cofga said:

I went back and looked at the photos of the samples on the Accurascale website and I can see why they suggest against uncoupling the tender on a frequent basis. They appear to be using a multi-pin JST type connector for the wiring and those can be a pain to disconnect and you run the risk of pulling wires loose in the process. When working with the 9-pin JSTs on a decoder I use a hemostat to grip them but you can’t likely do that given the lack of space between the tender and engine. It will be interesting to see just how easily they do come apart, however given all the attention to details they have gone too so far I bet they have a solution for us!

 

 

 

 

Hi 

just got  a message from support at accurascscale inviting me to activate my new account .,Is this genuine or a scam ?

[McC]

3 minutes ago, 1466 said:

Hi 

just got  a message from support at accurascscale inviting me to activate my new account .,Is this genuine or a scam ?

 

Rather unrelated to the Manor thread, but it's from us, reminding customers who have bought from us, but not yet activated their accounts (thereby missing out on the loyalty credits)!

[1466]

4 minutes ago, McC said:

 

Rather unrelated to the Manor thread, but it's from us, reminding customers who have bought from us, but not yet activated their accounts (thereby missing out on the loyalty credits)!

Grand . Thanks for your clarification and reassurance .

[melmerby]

22 minutes ago, Cofga said:

 They appear to be using a multi-pin JST type connector for the wiring and those can be a pain to disconnect and you run the risk of pulling wires loose in the process.

 

Never have a problem with them.

I use a pair of tweezers or similar over the wide side so they are under the lip and use them like a lever, plug pops out no problem and no strain on the wiring.

I find re connecting them more difficult, as they need lining up correctly before pushing home.

[Neal Ball]

6 hours ago, McC said:

 

Rather unrelated to the Manor thread, but it's from us, reminding customers who have bought from us, but not yet activated their accounts (thereby missing out on the loyalty credits)!

Hi Stephen,

Any news for your customers in the EU about the loyalty scheme.

 

Apologies for topic diversion!

 

Thanks, Neal.

[McC]

4 minutes ago, Neal Ball said:

Hi Stephen,

Any news for your customers in the EU about the loyalty scheme.

 

Apologies for topic diversion!

 

Thanks, Neal.

Hi Neal

 

weve consolidated our Irish stock to the accurascale website so UK based customers can avail In that direction. 
 

Next phase is to sort the loyalty Programme for EU accurascale and IRm customers. It’s next on my todo 👍

[JST]

17 hours ago, McC said:

 

Rather unrelated to the Manor thread, but it's from us, reminding customers who have bought from us, but not yet activated their accounts (thereby missing out on the loyalty credits)!

I have now activated my account but it is showing "no orders". I have orders including a sound fitted Manor for which I have paid in full. Should I worry?

 

[McC]

20 minutes ago, JST said:

I have now activated my account but it is showing "no orders". I have orders including a sound fitted Manor for which I have paid in full. Should I worry?

 

 

Check the email you ordered with versus the one you activated? Sometimes customers sign up with multiples emails, or PayPal emails, etc

[JST]

Yes, it seems my original order was on the .eu site whereas the "activation" email took me to the .com site. I guess that as my orders show up on the .eu site (I am in the EU), all is well.

[Ian Hargrave]

On 08/08/2022 at 15:45, McC said:

 

Rather unrelated to the Manor thread, but it's from us, reminding customers who have bought from us, but not yet activated their accounts (thereby missing out on the loyalty credits)!

On the strength of which I believe I have sufficient credit for the purchase of a Siphon G .Question is….which one ? Constant flitting between rival ( ? ) Manor threads and video viewing ( The heat being a disincentive to do much else ) has led me,fickle soul that I am,to return here and place an order for yet another Acc.Manor. Whisper it softly but it’s the one with those dreaded red backed nameplates. Yes,but you see in my adolescent train spotting days,even Castles sported them,in addition to the usual suspects .Thus then in current dotage,back to a miss-spent youth it seems.The Siphon G will have another companion.

 

 

[gwrrob]

10 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

 but it’s the one with those dreaded red backed nameplates. Yes,but you see in my adolescent train spotting days,even Castles sported them,in addition to the usual suspects .

 

 

 

 

[Trainsandtravel]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned so far but I noticed that the hook that the front coupling is stored on is on the wrong side on your pre production models. I note that in your Manor update email, you stated that refinement to the front coupling will be made to ensure it can be stored on the hook but did not mention it was in the wrong side. I have put a photo screenshot from the Accurascale website along with a photo I took of Dinmore Manor earlier this year for reference. 
 

I am no expert at all so please forgive me if I am completely wrong. 
 

The Model is looking absolutely stunning so far!

Edited August 12, 2022 by Trainsandtravel
Correct spelling.

[melmerby]

However

7808

7808, earlier in it's life:

7819

[Coach bogie]

Preserved locos tend to have the hook moved to the drivers side due to the extra steam heating pipe fitted for working tender first. As built the hook was on the fireman's side as the model.

 

Steam heating fitted GWR tank engines, such as 61xx had the hook on the driver's side from new to avoid the hung coupling hitting the steam heating pipe.

 

Using preserved locos as a reference does not always represent as built. The tender on one of the preserved Manors has a new tank made to new plans to suit preserved requirements and not Swindon's plans

 

Mike Wiltshire

Edited August 12, 2022 by Coach bogie

[Trainsandtravel]

That’s very interesting. Thanks. I was not aware that preserved examples had the hook moved. You learn something new every day. I shall be checking the hook position each time I see a manor locomotive on a Heritage railway. 

[McC]

On 12/08/2022 at 23:47, Trainsandtravel said:

That’s very interesting. Thanks. I was not aware that preserved examples had the hook moved. You learn something new every day. I shall be checking the hook position each time I see a manor locomotive on a Heritage railway. 

Exactly that. The locos in this run are mainly in service so would have the hook stowed on the correct side.