18 inch gauge shunting engine

Peter Insole

Western Thunderer
I have just had another look at my reference, and there is an 1891 image of "Wasp", new and in photographic grey - in original condition, albeit with motion guards! Another image of her 1891 built sister, "Fly" in a similar photographic grey shows it in modified form with saddle tank, and that image can be positively dated to 1902. With that information in mind, plus the surviving drawing date of 1899, I suspect the previous assumption that it was only "Mouse", "Midget" and "Bee" that were built in the later form, while the five earlier engines were modified on an ad-hoc basis from 1899 onwards?!

It is so frustrating that as far as I am aware, not one single photograph has come to light of any of those earlier engines operating in completely original condition! Particularly galling as the LYR do not appear to have ever been shy in the publicity department!

Pete.
 

michael mott

Western Thunderer
Yes thanks Ian for putting up the list. If I were independently wealthy, I would get copies of them to make the drawing all that much easier, especially if I were building a 1:1 model. I have already spent a fair bit of coin of the realm purchasing the print and digital copies of the drawings I already have. I also have to keep reminding myself that this is a hobby and that I only have so much time left (25-30 years) if I am lucky and behave myself and don,t eat too many biscuits with my tea.
Needless to say that I already have enough projects to last three or for lifetimes at the pace that I seem to be working at. As an aside yesterday Judy and I visited a chap who I sold a white metal casting set up to in 1989, he was a model railroader from childhood, He used the white metal equipment to make these types of road equipment There were all sorts of cases with these types of model in.

IMG_0858x1024.jpg and Upstairs in his Barn studio he showed me his railroad, An empire built in On3 with lots of laser cut stuff
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we had a wonderful afternoon evening out at his acreage in the country. Ray used to show his street railway when he could
In his office was this amazing model of the worlds largest tube bender.
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The take away for me is that I am going to help him get more proficient at the Corel Draw program that he uses to operate his really nice laser cutter. Oh yes and Ray is 82 and now doing a lot more playing for himself. I learned a great deal about new materials I had never used or seen before.
I took one of my chunks of MDF that I had been carving the brinks for the Crewe Diorama
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and he put it face down into his laser cutter Then a quick drawing of a couple of courses of bricks set it to raster and a few minutes later
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The demonstration of how easily it did the bricks was a revelation for me, they are a bit too crisp and mechanical but with some artistic work on the brick drawings and a rougher surface than the smooth MDF and I think the possibilities are amazing.

Oh well if Pete can bomb my thread so can I.
But it was a great day yesterday and we watched the sunset
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Michael
now back to normal programming....
 

michael mott

Western Thunderer
Tony thanks for this, I have not seen this picture before. Wow that one chimney looks pretty corroded, that or somebody had no idea how to use a rattle can;)

Michael
 

Peter Insole

Western Thunderer
Ah Tony, you are a champion! I have been looking for a decent version of that that first, (front ends) and vital image for absolutely yonks!

I am sorry that I missed it back in November last Tony, and please believe that I wasn't ignoring you - I just presumably hadn't picked up the thread and seen it there until now!

Incidentally, I have seen other published photographs (all frustratingly conventional, plain, side-on views) of that same scene, clearly on the same day, but some appear to have been taken by different photographers. Not that the latter is so surprising really, as the only time that any form of "public" access was during specially organised visits. On this occasion, the appointed supervisor does seem to have been reasonably obliging, and was clearly happy to have the "dead" engines moved about for the benefit of the assembled party. Your posted image now at last clearly reveals how that task was accomplished - as evidenced by the hefty iron pinch bar lying on the ground between the locos. That bar only appears in this particular shot, but not in any of the others!

Thanks again,

Pete.
 
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