Wright writes.....

[Headstock]

59 minutes ago, gr.king said:

 

Is it not almost inevitable that there will be squeal and drag on most model railway curves when wheels towards the end of a loco of that length are provided only with side-play and are thus compelled to "crab" around bends with flanges grinding against the rail heads? The decent manufacturer would at least provide clear scope for their mounting in a bogie,  a pony / bissel truck, or radial axle boxes so that the axles remain reasonably square to the rails and the flanges in line with the rails.

 

Good morning Mr king,

 

are you still producing your cast resin containers? If so, I would be interested.

[t-b-g]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64518788@N05/8194785187

.

I found this while browsing the internet.

 

It is a nice clear view showing the valve guides on 60700. I don't know if it is a well known photo or has been published but in view of the discussion I thought it worth adding a link. The description doesn't, sadly, include a date.

[Headstock]

4 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64518788@N05/8194785187

.

I found this while browsing the internet.

 

It is a nice clear view showing the valve guides on 60700. I don't know if it is a well known photo or has been published but in view of the discussion I thought it worth adding a link. The description doesn't, sadly, include a date.

 

Morning Tony,

 

I didn't use that photo as evidence because I was not sure about the date. There are photographs of the locomotive with the late crest and the later style of valve spindle guide as in the photo above. The RCTS photograph predates the Hornby model and would suggest the loco always had the late style guide and not the early type as modeled by Hornby.

[davidw]

Returning to the W1 and for that matter the Thompsons. 

 

On these locos (BR period), the front of them locos tender are green. I'd have thought they should be black. Is my thinking correct?

Edited January 23, 2022 by davidw

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, jwealleans said:

We do have a WSM C1 on Grantham, Tony.   I can't take the credit for it, it was built by the late Phil Giffen, a lovely man who was President of Ely Club when I joined.   It was showing its age when used on the layout in the early days:

 

I repainted and detailed it and put a modern mechanism into it.   It's also been weathered (I must get round to weathering the others).   It seems to be camera shy too: I have well over 500 pictures of Grantham and this is the best I can manage of it, behind the B17 on shed.

 

 

Phil made an excellent job of building it, within the limitations of what is a very poor kit.  I was impressed to find, when checking details, that he'd correctly removed the smokebox saddle for 4411 as it was one of those which was never fitted with one when the valves were changed.

Please remind me which one it is at Doncaster, Jonathan.

 

I'll then see if I can take its picture.

 

Did you bring it when we ran LB in 1938 mode? If so, did I take its picture then?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, gr.king said:

 

Is it not almost inevitable that there will be squeal and drag on most model railway curves when wheels towards the end of a loco of that length are provided only with side-play and are thus compelled to "crab" around bends with flanges grinding against the rail heads? The decent manufacturer would at least provide clear scope for their mounting in a bogie,  a pony / bissel truck, or radial axle boxes so that the axles remain reasonably square to the rails and the flanges in line with the rails.

I'd say 'entirely inevitable Graeme,

 

I think Hornby have produced a compromise with regard to the W1's back end. For train set curves, it's non-flanged wheels, and for those with more-generous radii, then the flanged ones 'work'. As you know, Bytham's minimum radius (on the main running lines) is 3'; a bit tighter on some of the kick-back sidings. I ran 10000 on the Up fast (which is 3' 2" minimum, give or take for the vagaries of my track-laying). On the Down fast it was easier (two extra inches), and on the Down slow (a further two inches) it got better and better - and so on. 

 

Were either of these models mine (I need neither, despite Hornby's 60700 being more accurate in body proportions than my SEF one), I'd be tempted to investigate making a kind of 'internal' bogie at the rear (as I have done with my model). The problem would seem to be the cast block in which the rear axles run; shifting that would be a lot of work. 

 

Since, from normal viewing distances, the non-flanged wheels are all but invisible, I'd just remove the flanged ones and live with the anomaly. Both run superbly, are very powerful ad will find homes on many, many layouts. Those with tight curves will have to go flangeless and those with greater radii (more than 3' for comfort) will run the flanged ones; or, they'll live in a glass cabinet (the models, not the owners). 

 

You're right, though. Perhaps a better 'compromise' might have been reached.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[PupCam]

5 hours ago, jwealleans said:

........  the late Phil Giffen, a lovely man who was President of Ely Club when I joined. 

 

Phil was also the CMRA rep for many years for Ely, I remember him attending many delegates meetings back in the 80's & 90's.  

 

As you say, a real gentleman and very nice to have a reminder of him.

 

Alan

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

Morning Tony,

 

I didn't use that photo as evidence because I was not sure about the date. There are photographs of the locomotive with the late crest and the later style of valve spindle guide as in the photo above. The RCTS photograph predates the Hornby model and would suggest the loco always had the late style guide and not the early type as modeled by Hornby.

Good afternoon Andrew,

 

Great photo (I first saw it in The last Steam Locos of British Railways). Those rear carrying wheels could almost be flangeless!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

4 hours ago, t-b-g said:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/64518788@N05/8194785187

.

I found this while browsing the internet.

 

It is a nice clear view showing the valve guides on 60700. I don't know if it is a well known photo or has been published but in view of the discussion I thought it worth adding a link. The description doesn't, sadly, include a date.

Sorry Tony,

 

I should have credited you with having provided the P. Ransome-Wallace photograph.

 

Date? Looking at the A1 in the background, does it have a rimmed chimney? If so, the early-'50s at the latest.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

 

 

[t-b-g]

55 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Sorry Tony,

 

I should have credited you with having provided the P. Ransome-Wallace photograph.

 

Date? Looking at the A1 in the background, does it have a rimmed chimney? If so, the early-'50s at the latest.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

 

 

 

Hello Tony,

 

I am not sure that I did provide it. I just saw it on the internet and posted a link to it. I didn't know whose photo it was as it wasn't credited to anybody on Flickr and I am not even sure that whoever posted it there should have been doing so but I thought it illustrated the piston valve guides nicely.

 

I wonder if it has ever been published anywhere with a caption that gives a date.

 

Regards Tony

[Tony Wright]

3 hours ago, t-b-g said:

 

Hello Tony,

 

I am not sure that I did provide it. I just saw it on the internet and posted a link to it. I didn't know whose photo it was as it wasn't credited to anybody on Flickr and I am not even sure that whoever posted it there should have been doing so but I thought it illustrated the piston valve guides nicely.

 

I wonder if it has ever been published anywhere with a caption that gives a date.

 

Regards Tony

Good evening Tony,

 

It's been published in The Last Steam Locos of British Railways, Ransome-Wallace, Ian Allan.

 

I have a copy somewhere............. somewhere!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

No, I haven't changed scale!

 

 

I've been asked by BRM to just make a few 'improvements' to this Graham Farish A2. 

 

It didn't take too long! 

[Headstock]

4 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Good afternoon Andrew,

 

Great photo (I first saw it in The last Steam Locos of British Railways). Those rear carrying wheels could almost be flangeless!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Good evening Tony,

 

I can't remember where I saw the photo first, possibly British Pacific Locomotives BY C. J. Allen, or maybe my missing copy of the green book? It's nice to be reminded it's a P. Ransom-Wallis image. I think the A1 in the background of the photo has a lipped chimney.

 

The trailing truck arrangement on the model of 60700 doesn't bother me too much. Perhaps it is because, if I was so well inclined, I could replace it or modify it if I wished. It is after all a design choice rather than an error. I would definitely have at it as far as the valve spindle guide and the lack of window surrounds on the spectacle plate are concerned. Once you get into improving the valve gear and the cylinders, then I could better spend my time on a more relevant project. If you were buying a loco for an imaginary display cabinet, I think the Hush Hush looks more like an all round goody two shoes buy.

 

On another note, RM web is the most glitchy site that I use on the Interweb, it is terrible.

[John Isherwood]

1 hour ago, Headstock said:

On another note, RM web is the most glitchy site that I use on the Interweb, it is terrible.

 

Careful - such talk can have serious consequences !!

 

Your name too vill go on zer leest!!l

 

CJI.

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, Headstock said:

On another note, RM web is the most glitchy site that I use on the Interweb, it is terrible.

Like everyone probably, I assumed it was just me (I also had Chrome crash on me today) but multiple instances of VERY slow page loading and 522 Errors (timed out); today has been the worst for some time.

 

Sympathies to Andy because he probably gets all the moans (entirely unfairly) directed at him, but whoever is hosting the RMWeb site is almost certainly NOT providing the service BRM are paying for.

[MikeParkin65]

2 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

 

On another note, RM web is the most glitchy site that I use on the Interweb, it is terrible.

I’ve literally never had a problem with RMweb

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

Careful - such talk can have serious consequences !!

 

Your name too vill go on zer leest!!l

 

CJI.

 

Excellent! If I top the list, do I get a model mini me shipped from China.

 

32 minutes ago, MikeParkin65 said:

I’ve literally never had a problem with RMweb

 

You're a special golden chap.

[Headstock]

46 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

Like everyone probably, I assumed it was just me (I also had Chrome crash on me today) but multiple instances of VERY slow page loading and 522 Errors (timed out); today has been the worst for some time.

 

Sympathies to Andy because he probably gets all the moans (entirely unfairly) directed at him, but whoever is hosting the RMWeb site is almost certainly NOT providing the service BRM are paying for.

 

I tried both Chrome and Firefox, both were working fine, apart from on RM web. I don't use the Microsoft browser due to its lack of colour management, it's a nightmare on a wide gamut monitor. I have other constant problems that have been repeated across computers, mainly being chucked out of RM web when halfway through composing a post and having to re edit the issuing mess. Usually I have to type really fast before wham!

[Ian Rathbone]

8 hours ago, davidw said:

Returning to the W1 and for that matter the Thompsons. 

 

On these locos (BR period), the front of them locos tender are green. I'd have thought they should be black. Is my thinking correct?

BR  never specified paint colours for ‘non public’ areas so the various works continued to carry on as before. It had been the Doncaster tradition to paint the cab interior and tender front in the main body colour, so it continued under BR. As far as I am aware eight wheel tenders continued to have a green tender front. I don’t know about V2 tenders when the locos were painted green after 1956. Likewise I don’t know the Stratford practice for B2s and B17s. Does anyone in this group know?

 

To complete the picture ex LMS locos’ cabs were black below the waist and white above, WR body colour, SR black below and Light Stone above. I am trying to document the minefield that is the BR livery, so all comments welcome.

 

Ian R

 

 

[Bucoops]

3 hours ago, Headstock said:

On another note, RM web is the most glitchy site that I use on the Interweb, it is terrible.

 

You want to try ordering lateral flow tests if you want a glitchy site

 

It certainly has been a bit wobbly this evening, but it's not like facebook that has a gazillion servers in every incontinent. RMWeb is a bit of a victim of its own success really, and as it's run by a commercial venture getting the pennies for uprgrades etc. is no doubt hard work.

[Headstock]

1 hour ago, Bucoops said:

 

You want to try ordering lateral flow tests if you want a glitchy site

 

It certainly has been a bit wobbly this evening, but it's not like facebook that has a gazillion servers in every incontinent. RMWeb is a bit of a victim of its own success really, and as it's run by a commercial venture getting the pennies for uprgrades etc. is no doubt hard work.

 

Thanks Bu,

 

RM web is by no means unique in being a relatively successful but smaller operation, it's still the most glitchy of its kind.

 

My own experience of lateral flow tests is that they lost the results. I only found out by ringing them up as nobody bothered to inform me. I have no idea if my ten days of isolation over Christmas was of value or a complete waist of time.

[Chuffer Davies]

8 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

 I have other constant problems that have been repeated across computers, mainly being chucked out of RM web when halfway through composing a post and having to re edit the issuing mess. Usually I have to type really fast before wham!

Hi Andrew,

When posting anything significant to RM Web what I do is write up my text as a Word document and then cut and paste it into RM Web at the end adding any pictures.  In this way in the event that RM hangs on me I still have the original text to recover from.  

Frank 

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, Ian Rathbone said:

BR  never specified paint colours for ‘non public’ areas so the various works continued to carry on as before. It had been the Doncaster tradition to paint the cab interior and tender front in the main body colour, so it continued under BR. As far as I am aware eight wheel tenders continued to have a green tender front. I don’t know about V2 tenders when the locos were painted green after 1956. Likewise I don’t know the Stratford practice for B2s and B17s. Does anyone in this group know?

 

To complete the picture ex LMS locos’ cabs were black below the waist and white above, WR body colour, SR black below and Light Stone above. I am trying to document the minefield that is the BR livery, so all comments welcome.

 

Ian R

 

 

Good morning Ian,

 

It's interesting that of the dozens (scores?) of BR green locos you've painted for me (mostly ex-LNER/BR Pacifics with eight-wheeled tenders, those tender fronts are black in the main; I think a couple of more-recent ones are green). Does this represent a more-recent finding?

 

I'm not complaining at all - the painting is wonderful. Any I've painted myself (not many in comparison) have black tender fronts. Geoff Haynes also paints the tender fronts black. 

 

Since I own so few RTR equivalents, I can't say which colour their tender fronts are painted.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

[Chamby]

10 hours ago, Headstock said:

 

I tried both Chrome and Firefox, both were working fine, apart from on RM web. I don't use the Microsoft browser due to its lack of colour management, it's a nightmare on a wide gamut monitor. I have other constant problems that have been repeated across computers, mainly being chucked out of RM web when halfway through composing a post and having to re edit the issuing mess. Usually I have to type really fast before wham!

 

Same here with Safari on a Mac and iPad.  Has been worse since the ad issues arrived late last year.  

 

AY deserves our support right now, he has a thankless task keeping on top of it all.

[t-b-g]

Several threads have been locked after becoming discussions about all that is wrong with RMWeb.

 

I have much sympathy with Andy York over this. He and others are clearly aware of the problems and are trying to resolve them but have perhaps run short of patience over people moaning about the situation. It would be a shame if "Wright writes" went down the same route of people complaining about either the adverts or the speed and it ended up being locked.

 

My suggestion would be that we keep clear of that discussion and stick to model railway matters, just to be on the safe side.