Wright writes.....

[MJI]

Met Tony today,a very friendly and knowleagable chap

[46256]

I visited Warley yesterday....today was the good food show with my better half. I met Tony and Meredith yesterday and had great pleasure discussing all things railway. I also met Graeme King.....he was discussing resin moulding and the maths required to make up the mixture. I stress this was with two other gentlemen....maths and I are not the best of companions. In conclusion a great pleasure to meet the aforementioned, one of the bonuses of shows like Warley. I was also pleased to see a number of the smaller suppliers in attendance....the usual scrum around the Bachmann sales area for returned stock was also evident....where were these guys when the home nations needed them against the Southern Hemisphere last month?

[The Stationmaster]

Met Tony today,a very friendly and knowleagable chap

... and very generous with his knowledge as well which was most helpful.   And to my surprise he even greeted me by my real name duly reminding me of when we had last met  (Tony, 20 years ago was about right, I checked the bookazine when I got home yesterday evening and it was published in 1996).

Edited November 29, 2015 by The Stationmaster

[46256]

Without ...I hope betraying a confidence, Tony mentioned how even people he has known for many years , have adopted these "avatars"... Tags...whatever when on these websites....I offered the opinion that certainly in my case , this is to protect my true identity if my models when viewed on these sites are not met with universal acclaim. Tony then said ....my aim is to encourage,...I may add in a a way that installs a desire to improve. In my case my best model will be my latest....hopefully not my last. In conclusion a great pleasure meeting Tony, have done so at numerous exhibitions particularly when he lived in my area ( Black Country)...at one he saw a kit I had purchased.....he saw it and cautioned me.....no matter what you do you will never make a good model out of that......straight back to the vendor...money refunded ....thank you Tony...

[John Isherwood]

....I offered the opinion that certainly in my case , this is to protect my true identity if my models when viewed on these sites are not met with universal acclaim.

 

Try not to be so sensitive about the reaction to your output - after all, we are our own most stringent critics.

 

I know that the models that I post are not up to the standard of many of those here - but then I know that many more members,( including one very close to this thread), adopt my own view that life is short and there's no point in modelling every last split-pin if you will never have time to produce a viable stock-list.

 

Declare yourself, take the knocks and learn from them; 'twas ever the best way to improve !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Tony Wright]

Thanks for all the kind comments. 

 

Thanks, too, to all the members of the audience who seemed to enjoy the talk I gave on both days at Warley. 

 

But my greatest pleasure was to meet up with so many old friends, acquaintances, modellers, conversationalists, etc, etc after nearly five years. Not only old friends/acquaintances, but a newcomer, too - one Robin Smith (his dad is a cricket fan). A talented newcomer to boot; he brought along a Bachmann J39 for which (quite rightly) he'd made a Comet chassis as a replacement. I was told there was a slight tight spot, and that the running was erratic. He was almost there. So, a tweak of a bit of the brake gear (to eradicate an intermittent short circuit), an adjustment of one pick-up, off with a rod one side to broach the holes a twitch more, and off she went. Sweet, smooth, quiet - a joy! He's only early-twenties, so keep it going my friend! 

 

May I apologise, please, to all those with whom I was in conversation, when I was diverted, distracted or my attention directed elsewhere, thus not being able to say thank you or even goodbye before they moved on? I must have appeared very rude at times. It was not intentional. 

 

I didn't get to see much of the show, though what I could see seemed to be the usual high standard. No doubt the new RTR stuff will be discussed elsewhere on this site, but it doesn't really interest me a great deal. Almost every 'modeller' I spoke to thought our like was a 'dying breed', but then extinction is the natural order of things - unless there are more Robin Smiths on the horizon. Bill Bedford had some very interesting and innovative ideas, however. In due time, I hope he'll make them public. Innovation and new thinking is going to be needed if kit-building (in particular) is to survive.

 

Having said the new RTR stuff didn't really interest me, I did take a look at Hornby's 'mock-up' B12. At the show, Ian Rathbone handed over five locos he's just painted for me (as usual to perfection), including a B12/3 I've built from a PDK kit. Andy York took pictures of the two (by way of a comparison?), and might well post them elsewhere; I don't know. I'll post pictures of mine when she's been finished off - cab glazing, coal, lamps, front coupling, etc. I'll also post pictures of the others when they're completed in detail. 

 

I also looked at Dapol's OO A4. Did someone say it was over £400.00? I hope the silver one (SILVER FOX) is still in the course of development, because none of the silver A4s (in silver) ever ran with a 1928 ex-A1/A3 corridor tender; they all had 1935 streamlined corridor tenders - no beading, very small turn-in at the front and the rear curved to match the end-profile of the streamlined stock. 

Edited November 30, 2015 by Tony Wright

[Bernard Lamb]

Try not to be so sensitive about the reaction to your output - after all, we are our own most stringent critics.

 

I know that the models that I post are not up to the standard of many of those here - but then I know that many more members,( including one very close to this thread), adopt my own view that life is short and there's no point in modelling every last split-pin if you will never have time to produce a viable stock-list.

 

Declare yourself, take the knocks and learn from them; 'twas ever the best way to improve !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Very much in agreement John.

Many years ago I had a collection of part built models that were abandoned when I found it impossible to obtain information regarding certain details.

Eventually I reached the point of getting items to a working state rather than leaving them unfinished.

What does surprise me, is that however crude these models appear to be to me, when I do post the odd photo I receive several favourable comments.

However bad  your modelling might be, or however obscure your subject matter, it does seem that details will be of interest to some readers of this forum.

Bernard

[Headstock]

Try not to be so sensitive about the reaction to your output - after all, we are our own most stringent critics.

 

Declare yourself, take the knocks and learn from them; 'twas ever the best way to improve !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

It sounds a bit like modeloholics anonymous. In the spirit of the above and on the thread of the master of the LNER pacific, I stick my head above the parapet.

 

Just shut your eyes, think of England and................post.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

What's not to love about 'Enterprise' in BR blue, lightly travel worn, towing a teak coach.  Leicester, around 1956 perchance?  

 

Was Enterprise one of the A3s on shed at Leicester in the early days of BR?

 

A smashing bit of small scale engineering.  Tarted up Hornby? DJH? Other?

 

Lovely!

[Headstock]

The cab and running plate are Hornby china made, with replacement or extra bits added. A new boiler was grafted on (somebody seemed to have melted the original) but striped back and major components repaced. The chassis is comet, as is the valve gear, with a couple of mods. The tender is Crowline, so a real Frankensteins monster but I can't resist sticking bits and bobs together.

 

The era is late 1949, when Enterprise was still a Neasden engine and freshly painted in the new livery. The train will be the 3.50pm off Manchester London Road, Enterprise will have come on at Leicester for the return run to Marylebone.

 

Edited because I fogot to mention the Brass Masters front end.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Headstock

[Barry Ten]

That's a lovely-looking engine. Perhaps it's down to subliminal memories of the Wrenn catalogue as a youngster, but I've always had a liking for BR express passenger blue.

[Barry O]

Tony delieverd good "lectures" and provided what we want from a demonstrator at Warley - advice and support for free.

 

Mind you him and Mr King moved quickly to inspect a set of V4 etches on Mike Edge's demo stand...

[stewartingram]

I only caught the tail end of one of Tony's lectures, on the Sunday, concerning compression. As always and likewise from his posts, a gentleman Keep it up Tony, you are needed. You've certainly got me into the idea of catching up on some (hopefully most!) of my unfinished projects, which I intend to post on here when the time is right.

Thanks, Stewart

[Tony Wright]

The cab and running plate are Hornby china made, with replacement or extra bits added. A new boiler was grafted on (somebody seemed to have melted the original) but striped back and major components repaced. The chassis is comet, as is the valve gear, with a couple of mods. The tender is Crowline, so a real Frankensteins monster but I can't resist sticking bits and bobs together.

 

The era is late 1949, when Enterprise was still a Neasden engine and freshly painted in the new livery. The train will be the 3.50pm off Manchester London Road, Enterprise will have come on at Leicester for the return run to Marylebone.

 

Edited because I fogot to mention the Brass Masters front end.

What splendid work indeed - my most sincere compliments. 

 

When did you make her? I ask, because you've used the earlier style of Romford 26mm wheels, with 22 spokes. Markits make the correct-style LNER A1/A3/A4 driving wheel now (have done for some time), with 20 spokes. 90% of my big-wheeled locos are wrong in this respect, so take no notice!

 

Mods to the valve gear?  Jolly good, because you've put it in forward gear. However, the union link should pivot outside the combination lever in the gear's simplified form. In reality, the union link was forked at its ends to pivot both sides of the combination lever's bottom end. Not a lot of folk bother with that. Apart from on a couple locos, I don't, because it can't be seen unless in extreme close-up. 

 

Did you take off the higher wiggly pipe on the smokebox on the other side? It should really only be on the RH side. Hornby put it on both.

 

It's good to show the work of others, but I understand folk not wanting to post a picture of a model where they might feel it might be the subject of 'ridicule'. As I've said many times, my aim is to encourage others to have a go, post pictures of what they've done and invite constructive criticism. That way they (and I) learn. Where I do find it a slight puzzle is where, on some threads, any mere observation of something not being quite right is seen as 'out of order' so to speak, the usual response being masses of 'likes'. That's good, but a more critical eye should be focused at times in my view. This is not to disparage what someone has done, but just to give a sense of balance. 

 

The work of experts who charge accordingly should be good; that's why they're paid. The work of those who do things for themselves and try, though it probably isn't as good (though you'd be surprised - or probably not) is much more worthy of 'likes' in my opinion, even with warts and all. But, the warts, and whatever other surface blemishes are present, should not be ignored in case it hurts feelings. The wise man/woman takes note of constructive criticism. 

[Andy Y]

 

Having said the new RTR stuff didn't really interest me, I did take a look at Hornby's 'mock-up' B12. At the show, Ian Rathbone handed over five locos he's just painted for me (as usual to perfection), including a B12/3 I've built from a PDK kit. Andy York took pictures of the two (by way of a comparison?), and might well post them elsewhere; I don't know. I'll post pictures of mine when she's been finished off - cab glazing, coal, lamps, front coupling, etc. I'll also post pictures of the others when they're completed in detail. 

 

 

I'm finally catching up on image finishing from the weekend. I'm certainly not qualified to offer any comparison on accuracy but I can say that Tony's B12 is a delight.

 

 

[stewartingram]

Has the Hornby smokebox lost the flat bottom and become circular?

 

Stewart

[lanchester]

I like the phrase imagaineering, I am somebody who was born too young to remember steam on the main line so imagineering and an awful lot of research is all i've got. My first memory of getting up close to a real steam engine was been taken to see Blue Peter in Wellington street goodsyard in Leeds when I was a little lad. I was enthralled by my fathers memories of seeing LMS garrats at York in the 1930s and of raceing an A4 on the Harrogate Leeds line during the war. He said that the "acselerator was flat to the floor and we could see the road whizzing by through holes in our little Austin van", the needle on the spead dial had run out of numbers but the A4 was still pulling away from them. one of his favourite tales, was when on the climb to Witby west cliff, just after the War, the fire man of the train engine, a B1, lost his shovel in the fire, the train got slower and slower and the noise from the pilot engine, a G5, got louder and louder as the exhaust rocketed into the sky. Eventualy they reached Witby west cliff, were the fireman of the B1 tock the shovel from the G5, and the fireman of the G5 commandeered the shovel from the little coal scutel in stations waiting room. Eventualy after much rebuilding of the fires of the two engines they proceded on their way.

 

In1953, he traveled on the Plant centenarian, with the two veteran Atlantcs. Driver Hailstone was on 990 and driver Hoole was on 251, the train was a heavy one with no less then two Thompson kichen cars, my Father was ensconced in the Restaurant Buffer car from the pre war Fying Scotsman. The decent of stoke bank was made at 96 miles per hour, with 990 doing all the work. At king cross, driver Hoole was apparently, "spitting blood", that is engine couldn't steam propley.  On the return journey Hailstone had his usual engine, Silver Link and a fast climb to stoke summit was made, as they entered stoke tunnel they met an A1 coming the other way and there was a noise like a sonic boom as the two train passed, It tickled him pink, that the coffe he was atempting to drink, was doing a wall of death around the mug. I was never a witness to any of this but I can certainly imagine the excitment of it all.  I recal onTebay, when the twins failed on the Royal Scot and we had to call on a humble WD (resplendent with headboard) from the shed to take the train forward, an event that actualy happend in reality. There was much joviality from the crowd on the barriers as you would imagine.

 

F Teale at the contols of the Hush Hush, with his solution to the problems of failing eyesight and compression.

I think Hoole's problem with 251 would be that when it was restored, it was taken back as far as possible to original condition, which unfortunately was non-superheated. I wonder if anyone had told him?

[Tony Wright]

I'm finally catching up on image finishing from the weekend. I'm certainly not qualified to offer any comparison on accuracy but I can say that Tony's B12 is a delight.

 

Hornby_B12_small.jpg

 

TW_B12_small.jpg

Many thanks Andy,

 

A very interesting comparison. 

 

Just at a glance I'd say both the chimney and dome are too low on Hornby's proving model and the vacuum ejector pipe is too straight. It should be straight, but look at prototype pictures. 

 

I'd also say the bufferbeam standpipes are too low, but mine could be a touch high. Neither reversing lever is right - mine has too much of an angle and Hornby's is near horizontal. 

 

Hornby's wheels will probably be more accurate, because mine are generic Romford/Markits. 

 

The painting is peerless on mine, thanks to Mr Rathbone (a chequebook modeller me!). It's now been glazed, the front coupling attached, the correct tender sub-frame screwed in place (Ian forgot the one on Saturday), the tender coaled, lamps fitted, a crew added and the chassis weathered slightly. I'll post further pictures this evening. 

 

One final comment - what price a kit-built B12 next year?

[Headstock]

He he, I knew you would spot the driving wheels, I must admit I didn't notice the union link, drrrrrrr. Its actualy the first chassis I ever built but it lay fallow for some years while I decided what to put on top of it. Finaly, it was revived thanks to the donation of a damaged Hornby body, I loved the cab and I thought I could replace the boiler, so the old chassis came out of the box, I must admit however that I've never quite got around to fitting a whistle. In the same box, is a nice set of modern Romfords, although they are all insulated (another drrrrr) and the loco is one of my only two with single sided pickups, i'll get them on one day. I think (stand to be corrected) the wiggly pipe is the steam cock for the atomisers, all the moulded pipe work was removed and reinstated with fuse wire but I did notice that Hornby had duplicated this on the other side.

 

I've never posted anything to a website before and it has tacken me aboutt fithteen to do anything for a magazine, so you do have a certain amount of trepidation as regards how your work will be received. If you seek perfection then you will be a long time looking, excellence is a good enough standard to aim for, I may get there one day.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Headstock

[Mallard60022]

Has the Hornby smokebox lost the flat bottom and become circular?

 

Stewart

Nope. Is it supposed to be like Tony's? if so it is OK as it is I think (Enlarge the pic. and see....)

Handsome Loco.

P

[Headstock]

I think Hoole's problem with 251 would be that when it was restored, it was taken back as far as possible to original condition, which unfortunately was non-superheated. I wonder if anyone had told him?

Yes he knew, I think there was a test run before hand and my farther was on the second and better of the two runs made for the actual centenary. Hoole, in the most colourful language, expressed the belief that the two locomotives would have exceeded the one hundred miles per hour, if his locomotive had not been sabotaged by those who no not what they do.

Edited November 30, 2015 by Headstock

[micklner]

Many thanks Andy,

 

A very interesting comparison. 

 

Just at a glance I'd say both the chimney and dome are too low on Hornby's proving model and the vacuum ejector pipe is too straight. It should be straight, but look at prototype pictures. 

 

I'd also say the bufferbeam standpipes are too low, but mine could be a touch high. Neither reversing lever is right - mine has too much of an angle and Hornby's is near horizontal. 

 

Hornby's wheels will probably be more accurate, because mine are generic Romford/Markits. 

 

The painting is peerless on mine, thanks to Mr Rathbone (a chequebook modeller me!). It's now been glazed, the front coupling attached, the correct tender sub-frame screwed in place (Ian forgot the one on Saturday), the tender coaled, lamps fitted, a crew added and the chassis weathered slightly. I'll post further pictures this evening. 

 

One final comment - what price a kit-built B12 next year?

Hornby B12  reversing lever appears to match the bottom non valanced B12/3 picture on here

 

http://www.lner.info/locos/B/b12.php

 

Yours appears to match the earlier valanced Locos in the other pictures, perhaps they were modified after the Boiler change to the B12/3 design?.

 

Kit price for a B12 will have to be bargain basement price, as Hornby appear to be doing a good job on their new version !

 

GER modellers have never had it so good !!

Edited November 30, 2015 by micklner

[Herbert Nigel]

Nope. Is it supposed to be like Tony's? if so it is OK as it is I think (Enlarge the pic. and see....)

Handsome Loco.

P

Hmmmmm difficult. Comparing against a photo' of the genuine article it seems Tony's smokebox may be a touch over flattened and the Hornby under flattened (if anyone understands that). The Hornby smokebox door looks wrong as well. Of course the Hornby is one of these 3D printed thingys they do to test the CAD so final tooling will probably be better. I won't say which is best 'cos people'd say I was creeping to "Sir".

(Oops what a giveaway).

[Clive Mortimore]

I don't know all you purist.....A Tri-ang B12 with a rake of Hornby shortie Gresley coaches, open the controller and you are on your way to two weeks in the sun on Clacton's finest beaches :locomotive:

 

I know most of you are steam modellers who comment on this thread but have you seen the Sulzer Bo-Bo that Rail Exclusive are selling? Wow is only way I can describe it.

 

Now where is that half built MTK class 24, it is not in the same box as the Silver Fox one. I have found the Craftsman conversion kit but seemed to have mislaid the donor Class 25.

 

When I get my Rail Exclusive class 24 I will be happy to run alongside my Hornby 25 into a 24 conversions, mainly because you cannot take away that "I did this" feeling no matter how good the next RTR is. So I will enjoy both.

[Headstock]

I'm finally catching up on image finishing from the weekend. I'm certainly not qualified to offer any comparison on accuracy but I can say that Tony's B12 is a delight.

 

Hornby_B12_small.jpg

 

TW_B12_small.jpg

It's difficult to comment on the Hornby B12 as it looks like a rough print.  The chimney and dome do look a little odd, B17 perhaps?

 

The only negative comment I would make about your B12 is that the vac ejector pipe looks a little heavy. That may be because its standing a little too proud of the boiler, or just heavy shadow from the lighting.