Train spotting at Finsbury Square

[31A]

8 hours ago, lezz01 said:

Yes he would.....after he had turned the wheels in a lathe first.

Regards Lez.

If only I HAD a lathe.  We have to make do here, it's not Neville Hill you know....

[31A]

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

I know. A real engineer would have used a strip of emery cloth...

 

I'm not a real engineer.... 🙄

[lezz01]

On 05/02/2024 at 09:28, 31A said:

If only I HAD a lathe.  We have to make do here, it's not Neville Hill you know....

Well then would you like one? It's not a full working lathe you understand and you will need to find a motor and belt pully and sort it out properly. It has a faceplate but you will need to find a chuck that fits but the bed and saddle are in good working order. I don't even know what make it is although I've seen working ones on eBay and with a modern motor and speed controller you can do away with the over complicated system of belts and pullies the original used. I keep meaning to dig it out and flog it on eBay but if you would like it as a project you're welcome to it mate. PM me!

Regards Lez.

[31A]

2 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Well then would you like one? It's not a full working lathe you understand and you will need to find a motor and belt pully and sort it out properly. It has a faceplate but you will need to find a chuck that fits but the bed and saddle are in good working order. I don't even know what make it is although I've seen working ones on eBay and with a modern motor and speed controller you can do away with the over complicated system of belts and pullies the original used. I keep meaning to dig it out and flog it on eBay but if you would like it as a project you're welcome to it mate. PM me!

Regards Lez.

 

Thank you Lez, that's very kind of you, but in reality I'd have nowhere to put one.  I'm very lucky to have a nice house but one thing I'd really like would be room for a proper workshop, instead of using an old computer desk in the same room as the model railway.

[lezz01]

Well the offers there if you change your mind Steve. It was given to me as a project 30 odd years ago. The plan was that my late Father and I would recommission it together, both being toolmakers you understand, but time got away from us and unfortunately he passed before we made a start on it. Now it just hangs around in the back corner of my workshop filling me with regret every time I look at it. It was supposed to be our last big project you see but as I said he passed away on me before we could make any progress with it.

My God than old man was a great engineer, I'm not bad even if I do say so myself but his skills made me look like an infant in comparison. At least I have his tools and tool chest and yes I do use them as well but his knowledge is the real loss.

Regards Lez.     

Edited February 6 by lezz01
typo

[Mallard60022]

I iz not an hengineer, but in a Lathe wot I uzed in skool, the job turned and the cutter or whatever Tool was fixed/adjusts as required.

With Steves method, the job Turned and the Tool was adjusted! Unless you are after fractions of mmls accuracy then I can't see the worth of faffing with a Lathe. It is my conclusion that the wheels on a Hornybee or Bakky Engine, unless sprung, can be fettled with a suitable File and or abrasive Paper.

Also the job can be reversed. 

I respect any Engineer for their skills, however this job was/is actually a Toy and not a hand built scale model and worked satisfactorily. K.I.S.S. Steve matey.

A. Bodgedit. 

 

[lezz01]

1 hour ago, Mallard60022 said:

I iz not an hengineer, but in a Lathe wot I uzed in skool, the job turned and the cutter or whatever Tool was fixed/adjusts as required.

With Steves method, the job Turned and the Tool was adjusted! Unless you are after fractions of mmls accuracy then I can't see the worth of faffing with a Lathe. It is my conclusion that the wheels on a Hornybee or Bakky Engine, unless sprung, can be fettled with a suitable File and or abrasive Paper.

Also the job can be reversed. 

I respect any Engineer for their skills, however this job was/is actually a Toy and not a hand built scale model and worked satisfactorily. K.I.S.S. Steve matey.

A. Bodgedit. 

 

OH DEAR.....Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear......I'm off for another lie down.......😵

Regards Lez.

[St Enodoc]

7 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

I iz not an hengineer, but in a Lathe wot I uzed in skool, the job turned and the cutter or whatever Tool was fixed/adjusts as required.

With Steves method, the job Turned and the Tool was adjusted! Unless you are after fractions of mmls accuracy then I can't see the worth of faffing with a Lathe. It is my conclusion that the wheels on a Hornybee or Bakky Engine, unless sprung, can be fettled with a suitable File and or abrasive Paper.

Also the job can be reversed. 

I respect any Engineer for their skills, however this job was/is actually a Toy and not a hand built scale model and worked satisfactorily. K.I.S.S. Steve matey.

A. Bodgedit. 

 

Fair comment but when improvising like this you do need to take care as the tool you are using isn't fixed to anything.

[31A]

Well, apologies to the Engineers amongst us and others for the display of rough engineering on 61646's driving wheels.

 

To calm nerves, here's some pictures from the weekend before last, when I visited the preserved Great Central Railway, for their Winter Steam Gala.

 

Despite the theme of the weekend, the main reason for my visit was to see and hopefully ride on the beautifully restored NER Petrol Electric Autocar.

 

 

Despite the crowds, I did get to ride on it and it looks as good inside as out.

 

 

 

Because of the crowds, and maybe not always helped by the island platform layouts of the stations, it wasn't always easy to take photos of the trains.  The double track section was being used to the full, and there were goods trains running in between the passenger trains, so at times it seemed there was hardly a time when there wasn't an approaching train on the horizon!   Full marks for main line atmosphere.

 

 

There was some interesting steam motive power to be seen as well.

 

 

I don't think I've ever seen a 78000 working before:

 

 

But not one but two turned up.

 

 

And consecutively numbered!

 

 

The Griddle Car with its All Day Breakfast meant there was no need to stop for lunch.  The sun was over the yardarm, honest!

 

 

A restaurant car with a view;

 

 

In fact one of the many good things about the GCR is the 'atmosphere' at the beautifully restored stations.

 

 

 

As I was staying overnight in the Loughborough Travelodge, I was able to make the most of the day's ticket, with the atmosphere changing as the evening drew on.

 

 

 

 

 

So, top marks to the GCR for a cracking day out!

 

[St Enodoc]

6 minutes ago, 31A said:

The sun was over the yardarm, honest!

A dear old (he's 100 now) yachting friend of mine said that his boat had an adjustable yardarm, so that the sun was always over it.

[lezz01]

1 minute ago, 31A said:

Well, apologies to the Engineers amongst us and others for the display of rough engineering on 61646's driving wheels.

Let's call it Bush Engineering shall we?

That at least has a air of respectability about it and is allowed to happen by proper engineers when you're out in the middle nowhere and your tanks just gone to hell in a hand cart and the REME section can't get to you for 2-3 days minimum.

Next time don't go into all of the gory details about how you hacked at the wheels with a blunt file and just say "I bush engineered the wheels and it all works fine now". That way us sensitive micrometre wielding souls won't need to have a lie down in a darkened room with a wet flannel over our eyes and a stiff drink in our hands.

BTW the cooked breccy looks fab.    

Regards Lez  

[Chas Levin]

21 hours ago, 31A said:

Well, apologies to the Engineers amongst us and others for the display of rough engineering on 61646's driving wheels.

 

To calm nerves, here's some pictures from the weekend before last, when I visited the preserved Great Central Railway, for their Winter Steam Gala...

 

Splendid pics of what was clearly a splendid day Steve - thank you for posting them!

 

It's a great railway and I'm especially fond of it as a did a Driver Experience there a few years back and drove that 9F in one of your pictures - it left me with an enormous feeling of gratitude towards an organisation that would let me actually drive a machine like that!!!

[31A]

3 minutes ago, Chas Levin said:

 

Splendid pics of what was clearly a splendid day Steve - thank you for posting them!

 

It's a great railway and I'm especially fond of it as a did a Driver Experience there a few years back and drove that 9F in one of your pictures - it left me with an enormous feeling of gratitude towards an organisation that would let me actually drive a machine like that!!!

 

Thank you, Chas.

 

You're very lucky to have been able to do that!  Word going round was that the 9F was going to be withdrawn for overhaul after the weekend.  Later on, we were hauled by it, but it did look particularly suitable on the demonstration goods train.

 

It is a line I should try and visit more often!

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Chas Levin said:

 

Splendid pics of what was clearly a splendid day Steve - thank you for posting them!

 

It's a great railway and I'm especially fond of it as a did a Driver Experience there a few years back and drove that 9F in one of your pictures - it left me with an enormous feeling of gratitude towards an organisation that would let me actually drive a machine like that!!!

Nearly fifty years ago I spent a number of weekends digging trenches for S&T cables, among other things, rehydrating afterwards with a few pints of Bass in the Great Central Hotel. Happy days.

[JamieR4489]

23 hours ago, 31A said:

But not one but two turned up.

 

 

And, up until recently, '19 had a Kylchap exhaust designed by Chapelon for the owner, Charles Newton (no connection to the namesake of 60005) and a RH&DR style chime whistle!

 

I, too, visited the GCR gala and had a fantastic time. Even though I'm an LNER man, I couldn't deny that the Modified Hall made the best noise.

 

92214 will be withdrawn on the 25th February.

 

Jamie

[31A]

15 minutes ago, JamieR4489 said:

And, up until recently, '19 had a Kylchap exhaust designed by Chapelon for the owner, Charles Newton (no connection to the namesake of 60005) and a RH&DR style chime whistle!

 

Interesting!

 

15 minutes ago, JamieR4489 said:

I, too, visited the GCR gala and had a fantastic time. Even though I'm an LNER man, I couldn't deny that the Modified Hall made the best noise.

 

Didn't get to be pulled by the Hall; it always seemed to be going in the opposite direction!  A pity they haven't got any LNER engines there, but it was quite an impressive collection of BR Standards.

 

17 minutes ago, JamieR4489 said:

92214 will be withdrawn on the 25th February.

 

Thank you.

[31A]

28 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Nearly fifty years ago I spent a number of weekends digging trenches for S&T cables, among other things, rehydrating afterwards with a few pints of Bass in the Great Central Hotel. Happy days.

 

One of the things I liked about the GC was the comprehensive signalling installations, etc. (see below).

 

Since my visit I've been wondering how (or whether) to add signal wires to Finsbury Square.  I did buy some pulleys from Wizard Models a while back, but haven't got around to using them yet.

 

 

 

[Chas Levin]

6 hours ago, 31A said:

 

One of the things I liked about the GC was the comprehensive signalling installations, etc. (see below).

 

Since my visit I've been wondering how (or whether) to add signal wires to Finsbury Square.  I did buy some pulleys from Wizard Models a while back, but haven't got around to using them yet.

 

 

 

That's something on my to-do list as well; they're quite low-profile (literally and figuratively) so they often pass unnoticed on both full size and model railways but the moment they're added to a model you find yourself wondering why I hadn't noticed their absence!

[St Enodoc]

53 minutes ago, Chas Levin said:

That's something on my to-do list as well; they're quite low-profile (literally and figuratively) so they often pass unnoticed on both full size and model railways but the moment they're added to a model you find yourself wondering why I hadn't noticed their absence!

Personally I'd fit the posts and pulleys but not the wires.

[31A]

4 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Personally I'd fit the posts and pulleys but not the wires.

 

Thank you; that is my favoured thinking too at the moment!

 

[LNER4479]

On 07/02/2024 at 22:52, 31A said:

 

So, top marks to the GCR for a cracking day out!

 

'Tis indeed a cracking railway. Nice photos.

 

I've been a member since the first days of the 'Windcutter' project. I got to know the line well (and some of the folks then there) in 2008 during the commissioning of Tornado, including footplating the full route and even having a wee drive of the loco. Also witnessed 60mph test running track force tests, as part of mainline acceptance. Heady stuff.

 

'Tis a few years since I've been though; so probably due another visit myself.

[Clive Mortimore]

On 07/02/2024 at 23:12, lezz01 said:

Let's call it Bush Engineering shall we?

That at least has a air of respectability about it and is allowed to happen by proper engineers when you're out in the middle nowhere and your tanks just gone to hell in a hand cart and the REME section can't get to you for 2-3 days minimum.

Next time don't go into all of the gory details about how you hacked at the wheels with a blunt file and just say "I bush engineered the wheels and it all works fine now". That way us sensitive micrometre wielding souls won't need to have a lie down in a darkened room with a wet flannel over our eyes and a stiff drink in our hands.

BTW the cooked breccy looks fab.    As

Regards Lez  

R. E. M. E. can't get to you?????

 

If you stuck to the planned route we would be behind you to fix what you broke. 

 

31 Battery RA In a field on Salisbury Plain, our sergeant Jeff, comes back to our vehicle and tells Dom who was driving our 1tonne Land Rover the route back to Colchester, A303, A30 North Circular then A12. As the battery fitter team we were at  the rear  to pick up and where possible to fix any breakdowns. Battery HQ leave the field by turning right, followed by E Troop. F Troop's know it all commander leads his troop out the field by turning left. Jeff says a non RMweb word and suggests that Mac and I follow F troop on foot. He then changes his mind and says let's have a cuppa in the cafe at Larkhill before seeing if we can find E troop. We got back to Colchester before half of F troop that got lost down by the Embankment in London. No M25 in those days. 

Edited February 10 by Clive Mortimore

[lezz01]

1 hour ago, Clive Mortimore said:

R. E. M. E. can't get to you?????

 

If you stuck to the planned route we would be behind you to fix what you broke. 

 

31 Battery RA In a field on Salisbury Plain, our seargent Jeff, comes back to our vehicle and tells Dom who was driving our 1tonne Land Rover the route back to Colchester, A303, A30 North Circular then A12. As the battery fitter team we were at  the rear  to pick up and where possible to fix any breakdowns. Battery HQ leave the field by turning right, followed by E Troop. F Troop's know if all commander leads his troop out the field by turning left. Jeff says a non RMweb word and suggests that Mac and I follow F troop on foot. He then changes his mind and says let's have a cuppa in the cafe at Larkhill before seeing if we can find E troop. We got back to Colchester before half of F troop that got lost down by the Embankment in London. No M25 in those days. 

It was just one of those EXs where just about everything broke down and we were the last in a long list. In the end we got dragged back to the rail head by a wrecker because they had run out of replacement pacs.

We had 2 launchers, 1 LT, five 432s, two 4 tonners, three 8 tonners and 6 landies all brake down within 2 days. It was mostly down to contaminated fuel but just to be awkward my 43 chucked a conrod and sounded like a bucket of bolts being shook. The REME boys looked like the walking dead coz none of them had any sleep for days.

Regards Lez. 

Edited February 10 by lezz01

[31A]

I've just brought this Bachmann Thompson Brake 2nd into service.  I bought it some time ago, when the maroon ones first came out, but have just got around to doing the necessary modifications to suit my purposes.  I say "necessary" but in reality these are such beautiful models there's very little that can be done to improve them.

 

 

So, my modifications are:

• Remove the copper bearing / pick up strips from the bogies and replace with conventional bearings.  This is necessary to stop the bogies bridging section gaps which can lead to all sorts of electrical problems with conventional cab control.
• Fit MJT 'folded paper' gangways.
• Shorten the NEM coupling mountings.
• Weathering of underframe, ends and roof.

Another Hornby BCK bites the dust.  I just need to do some of those things to the Mk 1 that it's coupled to!

 

[31A]

An animated rush hour scene at Finsbury Square this evening; the Authorities must have been desperate for coaching stock - Set 85 can't have been painted for over 10 years!  Things don't seem to be much better on the Motive Power side, either....

 

 

I thought I'd give my Ian Kirk Quad Art set a bit of a spin under the pretext of 'Clearance Tests'; it's part of my 1930s collection that doesn't get out much these days.  The Black 5 44668 is part of the regular roster though, although using it on the GN is a bit of a stretch really!