Wright writes.....

[Tony Wright]

Final testing of the completed K before Geoff Haynes collects it for painting................

 

 

Half this train is made up of metal kits. It presented no haulage problems.

 

 

 

Neither did this heavy Pullman set (I assume Ks hauled Pullmans on the SR?). The leading van in both trains is a coupling converter vehicle. 

 

Just a few minor tweaks were necessary before 'perfect' running was achieved. 

 

 

[Michael Edge]

That chimney looks far too tall to me, have you measured the height above rail?

[TrevorP1]

44 minutes ago, Farang said:

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this but I ask all you loco modellers.

I bought a Hornby Britannia but it arrived with the smokebox door dart snapped off.

Is is impossible to repair. Does anyone know where I should look for a suitable replacement - probably a lost wax casting?

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Wizard Models?

[1471SirFrederickBanbury]

On 01/09/2024 at 17:22, Keith Turbutt said:

Talking of Brighton locomotives, I went to the Bluebell yesterday to see and ride behind the new build Brighton Atlantic, Beachy Head .They've made a wonderful job of it and was made possible after the discovery of a GN Atlantic boiler, virtually identical  to the LBSC Atlantic boiler which had been in use as a stationary boiler at a wood yard a few miles from where I live.No exposure problems with my phone camera!

I wish my phone camera wouldn't keep trying to actively ruin the exposure in my shots.  Yorkshire grass especially gets it to go completely insane.  How jealous I am now from your lack of having to fix your phone's photos!

[30368]

6 minutes ago, 1471SirFrederickBanbury said:

Talking of Brighton locomotives, I went to the Bluebell yesterday to see and ride behind the new build Brighton Atlantic, Beachy Head .They've made a wonderful job of it and was made possible after the discovery of a GN Atlantic boiler, virtually identical  to the LBSC Atlantic boiler which had been in use as a stationary boiler at a wood yard a few miles from where I live.

 

Lovely images and another treat for those of us that like SR steam locomotives. What a truly great job they have made of this (part?) re-creation.

 

Kind regards,

 

30368

 

Anyone interested in re-creating a Drummond 700 class 0-6-0?......

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Michael Edge said:

That chimney looks far too tall to me, have you measured the height above rail?

No.

[John Isherwood]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

No.

 

Surely it should look like this?

 

The chimney is MUCH shorter.

 

John Isherwood.

 

[Tony Wright]

22 minutes ago, John Isherwood said:

 

Surely it should look like this?

 

The chimney is MUCH shorter.

 

John Isherwood.

 

Thanks John,

 

But the chimneys on several other Ks in BR condition look thinner and taller (Profile of the Southern Moguls).

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Keith Turbutt]

3 hours ago, 1471SirFrederickBanbury said:

I wish my phone camera wouldn't keep trying to actively ruin the exposure in my shots.  Yorkshire grass especially gets it to go completely insane.  How jealous I am now from your lack of having to fix your phone's photos!

Thanks. My phone is a Nokia 7.2 and the app is Google Photos which includes photo enhancement tools such as brightness which I have used as the weather was dull.

I've never needed to adjust colours.

 

A couple more photos taken in May this year at the Epping Ongar railway when they had visiting locos - new build Saint 'Lady of Legend' and Jubilee Leander. Hope you enjoy them.

Edited September 3 by Keith Turbutt

[Dunsignalling]

On 02/09/2024 at 16:02, Tony Wright said:

Thanks Keith,

 

The Ks were built with two domes, but I think your picture shows one, with the cover removed and plonked further forward.

 

Interestingly, the A3 has a 94HP boiler (erroneously called 94A by the RCTS) with a round dome. 

 

I wonder how many times in service an A3 was smokebox-to-smokebox with a Q1?

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

On 02/09/2024 at 16:07, Keith Turbutt said:

Hi Tony,

Yes, you are right! Before I posted I looked on Rail online and 32343 with a late emblem only had one dome. I did think it was a bit odd ! Just shows how easy it is to get caught out. I will edit my posting.

Thanks

 

I wonder if a member of the scrapyard staff knew a bit of K class history, and was having a little joke... 

 

Edited September 3 by Dunsignalling

[Jack P]

1 hour ago, Tony Wright said:

Thanks John,

 

But the chimneys on several other Ks in BR condition look thinner and taller (Profile of the Southern Moguls).

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

Hi Tony, 

 

I would implore you to change the chimney out for the smaller one, and the same with the dome. I appreciate that it looks like BR condition locos might have the larger fittings, but it's going to be a perception thing (or the castings are a bit average). The reality is, the cutting down of boiler fittings on ex-LBSC locos that exceeded the loading gauge, was not an ad-hoc thing, it was applied to all of them, and in the case of the K's was usually done around/at the same time as the Cab. 

 

If you can give me the number it's going to be I'll find what I can in the LBSCR tomes I have kicking around for when that loco received cut down fittings and cab.

 

Hopefully the below photos highlight the issue. 

 

The first image is the original dome and chimney, which you've fitted to your K.

The next two images are the cut down versions, and are the same, but on the 'Southern' liveried version they look far more squat and flat than they do on the BR version. To further muddy the water, there is a flat topped dome (cut down) and a rounded top dome (cut down), but both are proportionally smaller than the original LBSC versions. 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully this is helpful.

Edited September 3 by Jack P

[Tony Wright]

9 hours ago, Jack P said:

 

Hi Tony, 

 

I would implore you to change the chimney out for the smaller one, and the same with the dome. I appreciate that it looks like BR condition locos might have the larger fittings, but it's going to be a perception thing (or the castings are a bit average). The reality is, the cutting down of boiler fittings on ex-LBSC locos that exceeded the loading gauge, was not an ad-hoc thing, it was applied to all of them, and in the case of the K's was usually done around/at the same time as the Cab. 

 

If you can give me the number it's going to be I'll find what I can in the LBSCR tomes I have kicking around for when that loco received cut down fittings and cab.

 

Hopefully the below photos highlight the issue. 

 

The first image is the original dome and chimney, which you've fitted to your K.

The next two images are the cut down versions, and are the same, but on the 'Southern' liveried version they look far more squat and flat than they do on the BR version. To further muddy the water, there is a flat topped dome (cut down) and a rounded top dome (cut down), but both are proportionally smaller than the original LBSC versions. 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully this is helpful.

Thanks Jack,

 

The problem is both the lower chimney and lower dome provided are far too low - really squat in comparison. 

 

I'll search around in my spares boxes.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[Compound2632]

6 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

 

The problem is both the lower chimney and lower dome provided are far too low - really squat in comparison. 

 

Why not finish the model in condition and livery appropriate to the fittings provided?

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Why not finish the model in condition and livery appropriate to the fittings provided?

Because the customer wants it in BR condition.

 

I'll discuss what to do with Geoff Haynes (it's his commission; my acting as 'sub-contractor').

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[thegreenhowards]

On 26/08/2024 at 08:36, St Enodoc said:

Funny, isn't it? Ballyconnell Road looks fabulous in photos but when I saw it at Warley last year it didn't work for me - it was very small and no matter how I looked at it, there always seemed to be too much "off-stage" distraction.

I’ve been away so I’m catching up and replying to this very late. I do find that several layouts I’ve seen at Warley didn’t leave an impression but then I’ve seen them again later and loved them. I put this down to there being so much to see at Warley that I don’t linger if a layout doesn’t grab me immediately. Personally, I love Ballyconnell Road having seen it twice at small shows where it was one of only two or three layouts worth seeing. I find the operation fascinating and the operators are very engaging to talk to. But I do think it’s a layout that you have to spend time watching before you appreciate it.

 

However, I don’t even remember it being at Warley last year! My tactic at Warley is to whip round and check out what might be worth coming back to and then return to digest those layouts at leisure. Last year, South Pelaw, Long Melford Jn, and a few of the larger O gauge layouts took my attention. I probably ignored Ballyconnell Road having already seen it.

 

One inspirational layout that I don’t think has been mentioned is Leicester South GC - one of my all time favourites.

 

Andy

[bbishop]

If we look at Jack's second and third domes, we can see they are very different.  

 

Bradley quotes the LBSC heights above rail height as a nats difference off 13' 4" for chimney, dome and cab.  The cut down heights were 13' for chimney, 12' 7.5" for dome and 12'9" for cab.  This "saucepan" dome is demonstrated by 2339.  Someone in authority must have seen this abomination and substituted the more ascetically pleasing dome seen on 32353.  Not a good angle to judge height but somewhere near 12' 9".  The there could be a third dome, same height but slightly chubbier.

 

A guide for chimney spotters is that the original chimney was flush riveted to the smokebox whilst the rivets on their replacements stand out.  I've done a fairly extensive search and I can't find an image with a flush riveted chimney and cut down cab.  I'm agreeing with Jack's suggestion that the chimney and dome were replaced and cab cut down at the same works visit.

 

I've attached Don Bradley's own image of 32337, obviously positioned for his benefit; please respect the copyright of the South Western Circle.  She has a saucepan dome.

 

But ..... let us remember Rule 1.  It's Tony's loco and he can finish it how he wishes.

[Michael Edge]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Why not finish the model in condition and livery appropriate to the fittings provided?

You can't do that without putting the original cab roof.

[gr.king]

On 02/09/2024 at 10:10, Tony Wright said:

Some little time ago, I commented on my not liking Bachmann's O4/1 because of its solid footplate.

 

 

Of course, it's not visible from this angle.

 

 

But from here...............

 

Clearly, the entire footplate is a separate piece, and what puzzles me is why Bachmann hasn't done all the variations possible by creating (just) new boilers/cabs - O4/5, O4/7, O4/8, etc.

 

I think this O4/5 conversion is the work of Graeme King..............

 

 

 

Running on Grantham. 

 

 

The O4/5 is indeed mine, although all I had to do was to tidy up Bill Bedford's 3D printed boiler and cab, make it fit the running plate nicely, and paint it.

The solid Bachmann running plate isn't ideal, but even if it were "open" between the tops of the frames what would it reveal, other than the equally solid block that is Bachmann's chassis? Instead of the flat slab, would a token cast representation of some inside motion fit the shallow space and look acceptable? Would the chassis block have to be re-designed and re-tooled too? I think it's a moot point, as I suspect that Bachmann's decisions are governed by assessment of potential profit, rather than by what needs to be done to achieve strict accuracy.  The wide portion of the O4 running plate above the cylinders extends too far towards the rear, but has not been corrected in re-runs of a model first launched several years ago (except in the different GWR version), presumably because change costs money and customers still buy the model as it is. I imagine that's why the other boiler variants haven't been offered either.  The 04/4, O5, and O4/6 would I imagine be least likely to appear, the first of those requiring a new longer running plate, the other two requiring one that is wide all the way from the cylinders to the rear of the cab. If they were really serious about accuracy regardless of cost, they could exploit the same chassis for some S1 tank engines, for Robinson's unique colloidal fuel burning loco (and bogie tender) or in slightly cropped form for the Q4 class too.  But if Bachmann were to do the necessary work, how many would by the models, especially at today's "pretentious boutique" prices?

You can turn out a perfectly adequate DIY 04/8 by combining the running plate and mechanism of the Bachmann O4 with a carefully re-worked cheap old boiler and cab from a B1 - but you don't just plonk them on...

Likewise, before Hornby came up with an RTR 01, I combined some more re-arranged parts of a B1 body and its cylinders/motion with the O4 Bachmann chassis.

Edited September 4 by gr.king
Clarification

[Tony Teague]

Who knew that a chimney could cause so much angst?

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, Tony Teague said:

Who knew that a chimney could cause so much angst?

 

I recall reading that Robinson (of GCR fame) once wrote something about the importance of getting the chimney looking just right. Something about it being the finishing touch to how a loco looks, rather like a hat to a gentleman. I may have butchered the quote but I can't be bothered to search out the proper words to check. 

 

One of my personal dislikes is seeing chimneys (and domes) that are not fitted to the loco very well. Great big gaps, really thick visible edges and casting lines all appear regularly on kit built models. Chimneys with no holes to let the smoke out are another fairly common sight. It is one area where the RTR people seem to do better than the kit builders. It only takes a few minutes to clean them up and do some work so they fit better and to thin the visible edges but many folk don't seem to bother.

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, bbishop said:

It's Tony's loco and he can finish it how he wishes.

I thought it was a commission, in which case it's how the customer wishes, be that "right" or "wrong".

 

Customers are always right, even when they're wrong...

[Compound2632]

55 minutes ago, Tony Teague said:

Who knew that a chimney could cause so much angst?

 

It's normal, surely? Per the Robinson quote, they impart the final touch of character to an engine. 

[micklner]

2 hours ago, gr.king said:

The O4/5 is indeed mine, although all I had to do was to tidy up Bill Bedford's 3D printed boiler and cab, make it fit the running plate nicely, and paint it.

The solid Bachmann running plate isn't ideal, but even if it were "open" between the tops of the frames what would it reveal, other than the equally solid block that is Bachmann's chassis? Instead of the flat slab, would a token cast representation of some inside motion fit the shallow space and look acceptable? Would the chassis block have to be re-designed and re-tooled too? I think it's a moot point, as I suspect that Bachmann's decisions are governed by assessment of potential profit, rather than by what needs to be done to achieve strict accuracy.  The wide portion of the O4 running plate above the cylinders extends too far towards the rear, but has not been corrected in re-runs of a model first launched several years ago (except in the different GWR version), presumably because change costs money and customers still buy the model as it is. I imagine that's why the other boiler variants haven't been offered either.  The 04/4, O5, and O4/6 would I imagine be least likely to appear, the first of those requiring a new longer running plate, the other two requiring one that is wide all the way from the cylinders to the rear of the cab. If they were really serious about accuracy regardless of cost, they could exploit the same chassis for some S1 tank engines, for Robinson's unique colloidal fuel burning loco (and bogie tender) or in slightly cropped form for the Q4 class too.  But if Bachmann were to do the necessary work, how many would by the models, especially at today's "pretentious boutique" prices?

You can turn out a perfectly adequate DIY 04/8 by combining the running plate and mechanism of the Bachmann O4 with a carefully re-worked cheap old boiler and cab from a B1 - but you don't just plonk them on...

Likewise, before Hornby came up with an RTR 01, I combined some more re-arranged parts of a B1 body and its cylinders/motion with the Bachmann chassis.

You can also use the chassis for a Thompson Q1 tank engine.

[davidw]

O4/8: I don't know who produceds this or if it will fit the Bachmann O4 chassis. Here's an alternative approach 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/KYYMUFD6T/b-76-gcr-o4-8-loco

 

3D print. It looks a simple starting point

[gr.king]

13 minutes ago, davidw said:

O4/8: I don't know who produceds this or if it will fit the Bachmann O4 chassis. Here's an alternative approach 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/KYYMUFD6T/b-76-gcr-o4-8-loco

 

3D print. It looks a simple starting point

By he/they who was/were/is/are Rue d'etropal?

 

Print quality and design accuracy would be vital of course. Not enough detail in that image to confirm these, but the front lip of the running plate looks thick, the smokebox door fails to convince me, and is the chimney too tall/narrow?

 

But I thought Shapeways had now joined the dinosaurs, the do-do and the great bustard.