Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

12 hours ago, Northmoor said:

During a visit to Dad over the weekend I found the part-built "Claud" he'd picked up at least ten years ago, which I thought was from a Little Engines kit but now think it might be much older (and not just because of the box it comes in, or parts with price in old pence.....  It's been rather nicely assembled, but there is no chassis for loco or tender so that's going to position it to the right on my learning curve, although wheels for bogie and tender are completed.  Anyone recognise the motor?

 

 

Good morning,

 

The motor is, as others have stated, a Hornby Dublo one.

 

Because the loco appears to be made of nickel silver, I'd say its origins were Jamieson or scratch-built.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

Edited August 8 by Tony Wright

[Tony Wright]

12 hours ago, Barry Ten said:

 

Going back a bit, but the post above mentions three unmotorised GWR locos that were (I believe) donated to Tony by Andy R during a visit from New Zealand. The locos had come from a late friend of Andy's, also based in NZ. I subsequently acquired them and have been intending to get them motorised and running. I picked up a set of motor/gearbox combos from the Branchlines stand at Railwells, so over the last couple of nights, I set to work!

 

I decided to start with the 3200 class Dukedog "Earl of Eldon", because I reckoned if I could get a motor into this one, the other two would be a (relative) doddle.

 

 

My main concerns lay in dismantling the loco and finding sufficient room inside. I had to do a little unsoldering at the bottom of the outside frames (removing the straps at the bottom of the wheel slots) but once that was one, the chassis came out without too much trouble. I put in a 50:1 gearbox with a Mashima motor. The motor was a bit wider than desirable (if I'd been clever, I'd have checked first), but I was able to find room by grinding away some of the brass on the inside of the boiler, and then cutting a triangular notch in the top of the chassis to allow the motor to sit at a lower angle. At all stages I was careful not to overheat the parts or risk any cosmetic damage. As can be seen, the outside cranks had to be removed but since the model was very free-rolling as it came, I was confident all would go back together well provided I preserved the quartering. Addition of pickups proved to be straightforward since there was plenty of room to work under the chassis.

 

The loco runs smoothly and I think it will have a fair bit of power, but it now needs weight adding. Luckily, there's plenty of room over the drivers, so I don't think this will be a problem.

 

I do plan to repaint this one as the varnish is a bit gritty but it looks fine for now.

 

Here's a very brief clip of the loco under power:

 

 

Hope this is of interest, and thanks to Andy R and Tony for providing the locos.

 

 

 

 

Good morning Al,

 

A terrific achievement. There probably isn't a more-satisfying feeling in this hobby than taking a non-runner (in this case a previously never-runner) and turning into such a sweet performer.

 

Thanks for showing us.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

6 hours ago, DCB said:

I have a horrible feeling that the cab is as per the first batch of  A1's to the GNR loading gauge.  They didn't stay that way for long being cut down to the LNER composite loading gauge  by lowering the cab roof and I suspect shortening the cab sides which made them look more muscular and powerful

Good morning,

 

Looking more-closely, I agree, especially linked with the large cut-out to the rear of the cab windows.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Bucoops]

2 hours ago, Flying Fox 34F said:

I’ve noticed some unusual about this chassis etch.  The driving wheel axles drop in from the top.  Interesting idea, though does it make setting a chassis up any easier?

 

Paul

 

It is rather odd - and not the original design for the kit. This is where I am up to with it so far.

 

 

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

There probably isn't a more-satisfying feeling in this hobby than taking a non-runner (in this case a previously never-runner) and turning into such a sweet performer.

Up to a point, Lord Copper...

 

For me, the most satisfying feeling is watching a long china-clay train hauled by a 42xx 2-8-0T trundle round my layout, non-stop under clear signals, from Tregissey to St Dennis Junction (and yes, as it happens, the whole train bar the brake van is kit-built - and it carries the correct lamps too, front and rear).

Edited August 8 by St Enodoc
missing comma

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

Up to a point, Lord Copper...

 

For me, the most satisfying feeling is watching a long china-clay train hauled by a 42xx 2-8-0T trundle round my layout, non-stop under clear signals, from Tregissey to St Dennis Junction (and yes, as it happens the whole train bar the brake van is kit-built - and it carries the correct lamps too, front and rear).

Each to their own...................

 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[Tony Wright]

Yesterday, some friends gathered at Little Bytham.

 

They brought some fascinating stuff, including...............

 

 

A first on LB.

 

 

And another.

 

 

And another.

 

I'll let the builder comment on these.

 

 

Another first - a Silver Fox body on top of a scratch-built/Southern Pride mechanism.

 

 

And a Lima/Craftsman(?) DMU conversion.

 

Thanks Richard and Rob for bringing these. 

 

 

[Izzy]

1 hour ago, Bucoops said:

 

It is rather odd - and not the original design for the kit. This is where I am up to with it so far.

 

 

 

If you’ll please forgive that looks exactly the same to me. Square bearings dropping in from the top. Are there hornblock guides of some sort, simple fold up strips perhaps? To stop the bearings rotating and hold them in position at the correct ride height. Or compensating beams or springs that do the same job? 
 

Bob

[richard i]

47 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Yesterday, some friends gathered at Little Bytham.

 

They brought some fascinating stuff, including...............

 

 

A first on LB.

 

 

And another.

 

 

And another.

 

I'll let the builder comment on these.

 

 

Another first - a Silver Fox body on top of a scratch-built/Southern Pride mechanism.

 

 

And a Lima/Craftsman(?) DMU conversion.

 

Thanks Richard and Rob for bringing these. 

 

 

I claim the top three.

the class 89 is a silver fox kit plus extra detail like scratch built windscreen wipers, with a Lima chassis cut about and fitted to look like the 89. A small side project when the pre grouping gets too intense.

the D7 is from Mr King’s resin castings with a scratch built chassis. All lining except for boiler bands and tender sides is freehand . That side of modeling  is definitely a work in progress. It needs more weight and most likely tender pick ups.

the C4 is some worsley works etches which get you started with adaptions and alterations to make up the model so far.More details on my thread about the necessary work on it.  It has a high level gear box and motor vertically in the firebox. I think there are about another 70 to 100 parts to make / add before it is ready for painting. That might take as long as the build with all the different livery colours and lining for the full GCR express passenger livery. 
many thanks Tony for such a great day. 
Richard 

[Barclay]

14 hours ago, Northmoor said:

During a visit to Dad over the weekend I found the part-built "Claud" he'd picked up at least ten years ago, which I thought was from a Little Engines kit but now think it might be much older (and not just because of the box it comes in, or parts with price in old pence.....  It's been rather nicely assembled, but there is no chassis for loco or tender so that's going to position it to the right on my learning curve, although wheels for bogie and tender are completed.  Anyone recognise the motor?

 

 

That's a lovely model and deserves to be completed. 

[Bucoops]

1 hour ago, Izzy said:

If you’ll please forgive that looks exactly the same to me. Square bearings dropping in from the top. Are there hornblock guides of some sort, simple fold up strips perhaps? To stop the bearings rotating and hold them in position at the correct ride height. Or compensating beams or springs that do the same job? 
 

Bob

 

This is part of an original chassis - 

 

 

The newer version has strips to act as compensation beams. The original has the bearings incorporated into the beams. 

[Michael Edge]

That's the Mallard kit, with brass overlays on a nickel silver etch. The driving wheels were mounted in a rocking subframe which included the ashpan, the idea was good but as usual there was far too much up and down movement. A very early etched kit, it was the first one I built, doesn't look too good now but it still runs occasionally on Herculaneum Dock.

[Tony Wright]

Rob Kinsey has been in touch with regard to the models I showed this morning...............

 

'DMU

 

The DMU is a 3 car LIMA Class 117 which has had one of the Driving Motor Brake Second vehicles modified with a Silver Fox kit to represent a Driving Motor Second to give the correct set formation. Both ends have been detailed mainly with Craftsman parts but other's bits as necessary. The head code boxes have been built up to their correct shape and size. South Eastern Finecast flush glazing finishes the appearance.

 

The original 'pancake' motor has been retained but all vehicles have been re-wheeled with DC Kits products, they had the appropriate shorter axle length, making them a direct replacement for the LIMA originals. 

 

It was built about 15 years old and very much 'of its time', not as good as the current RTR product but it's mine and only cost about 20% of the price.

 

Class 22

 

The North British Type 2 Diesel Hydraulic is a Silver Fox body, with the side windows opened out and glazed. It's fitted with a scratch-built chassis, incorporating bogies from Southern Pride Models and white metal cosmetic bogie side frames form Mainly Trains (many years ago), a DS10 motor buried in one bogie driving both axles provides the power. Detailing parts from several sources have been used along with the vac-formed glazing supplied by Silver Fox.

 

Typically, I completed this model just before Dapol announced their RTR model.'

 

Thanks Rob.

 

[Major Clanger]

21 hours ago, DCB said:

It's the 1/2" Hornby Dublo - Wrenn motor from the pre ringfield  8F and Castle, the R1 and the Wrenn N2 (which had a stretched R1 chassis.  A very nice solid motor with singe start worm so a lot lower geared than a X04.  The motor takes the 5 pole double ended armature  from the Airfix MRRC range if the armature shaft is shortened , NOT the X04 clone which has an armature which is too short, that makes it lovely and smooth if gutless .

The Claud is beautiful, almost a shame to paint it.  It might be possible to drive the leading coupled axle  with a motor in the smokebox as per the Guy Williams book, or from the tender with a drive shaft under the floor a la original  Pendon 28XX but otherwise you risk a cab full of motor.  I would stick with a heritage motor, some of my H/D motors are 60 years old and still going strong while my DS10 and 11 are in the scrap box.  The Airfix 14XX motor works well as a Tender motor / loco drive solution.  The Comet chassis is a nice display solution but in my experience hopeless for hauling trains especially when compensated as wear rapidly builds up and running deteriorates to be worse than 1960s RTR   Couplingrods and crank pins are particuar weaak spots.

Comet have never done a Claud chassis, so what are you actually referring to?

 

[Barry Ten]

6 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Rob Kinsey has been in touch with regard to the models I showed this morning...............

 

'DMU

 

The DMU is a 3 car LIMA Class 117 which has had one of the Driving Motor Brake Second vehicles modified with a Silver Fox kit to represent a Driving Motor Second to give the correct set formation. Both ends have been detailed mainly with Craftsman parts but other's bits as necessary. The head code boxes have been built up to their correct shape and size. South Eastern Finecast flush glazing finishes the appearance.

The original 'pancake' motor has been retained but all vehicles have been re-wheeled with DC Kits products, they had the appropriate shorter axle length, making them a direct replacement for the LIMA originals. 

 

It was built about 15 years old and very much 'of its time', not as good as the current RTR product but it's mine and only cost about 20% of the price.

 

 

 

 

That's how I feel about mine, it's not up the standard of the Bachmann 117 but a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it!

 

 

Mine needs the headcode boxes built up as per Rob's example as they are a bit weedy as they stand.

 

 

[Tony Wright]

1 minute ago, Barry Ten said:

 

That's how I feel about mine, it's not up the standard of the Bachmann 117 but a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it!

 

 

Mine needs the headcode boxes built up as per Rob's example as they are a bit weedy as they stand.

 

 

Beautiful!

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Tony Wright]

10 hours ago, richard i said:

I claim the top three.

the class 89 is a silver fox kit plus extra detail like scratch built windscreen wipers, with a Lima chassis cut about and fitted to look like the 89. A small side project when the pre grouping gets too intense.

the D7 is from Mr King’s resin castings with a scratch built chassis. All lining except for boiler bands and tender sides is freehand . That side of modeling  is definitely a work in progress. It needs more weight and most likely tender pick ups.

the C4 is some worsley works etches which get you started with adaptions and alterations to make up the model so far.More details on my thread about the necessary work on it.  It has a high level gear box and motor vertically in the firebox. I think there are about another 70 to 100 parts to make / add before it is ready for painting. That might take as long as the build with all the different livery colours and lining for the full GCR express passenger livery. 
many thanks Tony for such a great day. 
Richard 

Thanks for that, Richard, and thanks for a great day, too. Most amusing. 

 

Also, thanks for your and Norman's hospitality.

 

Regards,

 

Tony.  

[Northmoor]

52 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

That's how I feel about mine, it's not up the standard of the Bachmann 117 but a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into it!

 

 

Mine needs the headcode boxes built up as per Rob's example as they are a bit weedy as they stand.

 

 

Was this an(other) error with the Lima model then?  Curve-topped headcode boxes were fitted to the Class 118, flat-topped on the Class 117.  Until recently I'd always thought it was the other way around.  Of course 118s ran in the South West, 117s were built for the Thames Valley (and barely left it in their first 30 years) , so a 118 is correct for your layout.

[robertcwp]

10 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Was this an(other) error with the Lima model then?  Curve-topped headcode boxes were fitted to the Class 118, flat-topped on the Class 117.  Until recently I'd always thought it was the other way around.  Of course 118s ran in the South West, 117s were built for the Thames Valley (and barely left it in their first 30 years) , so a 118 is correct for your layout.

A few 117s had curved top boxes too.  Per the Railcar site: "The power cars in the first three Class 117 sets and the DMBS from the fourth set (51332/3/4/5 and 51374/5/6) had the same curved top, but all the others had a much more subtle and flatter looking top."

 

The improved Lima 117s shown in this thread do look good and much better than my effort 34 years ago. My final Lima 117 is now redundant following the announcement (at last) of a blue one from Bachmann. I might even have two.

 

L430-L403_5-3-77 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Edited August 9 by robertcwp
Add a bit.

[Tony Wright]

Speaking of DMUs...............

 

They only appeared through Little Bytham on Saturdays from the summer of 1958 until the intermediate stations between Peterborough and Grantham closed a year later. One service from Peterborough to Lincoln return ran via the ECML until it turned off at Barkston, to then run along the long-closed 'bottom of the escarpment' route from Honnington to Lincoln.

 

I've represented this using Bachmann's Cravens DMU (I couldn't build any diesel-outline model to anywhere near this standard)...........

 

High standard it might be at source, but it definitely benefits from some detailing/weathering (the former by me, the latter by Rob Davey).

 

 

Nothing more so than the inter-unit coupling (mine) and the concertina gangways (Modellers Mecca). 

 

I used Ian Wilson's DMU destination blinds...........

 

 

 

To give the appropriate information.

 

One other thing I did was to remove the connections to the supplied lights (too much like searchlights!) and add a rear tail lamp.

 

And...........

 

 

 

It definitely looks the part (though The Elizabethan and Tees-Tyne Pullman didn't run on Saturdays, but they're in Bytham's sequence - Rule 1 and all that). 

 

There's also a Bachmann Derby Lightweight DMU used from time to time...............

 

 

Detailed/weathered by me (an appropriate blind has since been fitted).

 

 

The towing of vans at peak periods was not uncommon. 

 

I'm told that Bachmann DMUs of both the Cravens and Derby variety are now very difficult to obtain. 

 

A DC Kits Derby Lightweight DMU has also run...............

 

 

Built by the late Ken Gibbons for Gilbert Barnatt to run on Peterborough North, this is now Geoff West's property since Gilbert's stock is almost exclusively RTR now. 

 

 

 

 

[Barry Ten]

12 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Was this an(other) error with the Lima model then?  Curve-topped headcode boxes were fitted to the Class 118, flat-topped on the Class 117.  Until recently I'd always thought it was the other way around.  Of course 118s ran in the South West, 117s were built for the Thames Valley (and barely left it in their first 30 years) , so a 118 is correct for your layout.

 

I'm not too sure - I just had the impression that the boxes were a bit too small. I tried sourcing some cast spares (I'd assumed someone must do them) but to no avail.

[ecgtheow]

19 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Speaking of DMUs...............

 

They only appeared through Little Bytham on Saturdays from the summer of 1958 until the intermediate stations between Peterborough and Grantham closed a year later. One service from Peterborough to Lincoln return ran via the ECML until it turned off at Barkston, to then run along the long-closed 'bottom of the escarpment' route from Honnington to Lincoln.

 

I've represented this using Bachmann's Cravens DMU (I couldn't build any diesel-outline model to anywhere near this standard)...........

 

High standard it might be at source, but it definitely benefits from some detailing/weathering (the former by me, the latter by Rob Davey).

 

 

Nothing more so than the inter-unit coupling (mine) and the concertina gangways (Modellers Mecca). 

 

I used Ian Wilson's DMU destination blinds...........

 

 

 

To give the appropriate information.

 

One other thing I did was to remove the connections to the supplied lights (too much like searchlights!) and add a rear tail lamp.

 

And...........

 

 

 

It definitely looks the part (though The Elizabethan and Tees-Tyne Pullman didn't run on Saturdays, but they're in Bytham's sequence - Rule 1 and all that). 

 

There's also a Bachmann Derby Lightweight DMU used from time to time...............

 

 

Detailed/weathered by me (an appropriate blind has since been fitted).

 

 

The towing of vans at peak periods was not uncommon. 

 

I'm told that Bachmann DMUs of both the Cravens and Derby variety are now very difficult to obtain. 

 

A DC Kits Derby Lightweight DMU has also run...............

 

 

Built by the late Ken Gibbons for Gilbert Barnatt to run on Peterborough North, this is now Geoff West's property since Gilbert's stock is almost exclusively RTR now. 

 

Tony,

 

Adding details is good but where is the driver?

 

William

 

19 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

 

 

[MJI]

Some of my DMUs

 

116

 

119

 

120

 

 

 

[MJI]

Also have another 116, two 117, 118, two 101s, and a 128.

[Clive Mortimore]

53 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

I'm not too sure - I just had the impression that the boxes were a bit too small. I tried sourcing some cast spares (I'd assumed someone must do them) but to no avail.

Hi Al

 

Not too hard to build up from plastic card.

 

 

A wee bit harder is trying to make a Tri-ang Met-Cam the right length and height.

The doctors say that if I am kept in a room with nothing sharp there is a small possibility I might recover.

 

For more recent DMU cutting and shutting nip over to Sheffield Exchange.