Dog Star
Western Thunderer
I shall look forward to seeing how you have done the exhaust injector pipe on DJ... and the cylinder drain cock rod... and the vacuum train pipe... Anything else which needs to considered?
regards, Graham
7mm Dikitriki's Dark side: A WD 2-8-0
- Thread starter Dikitriki
- Start date
I shall look forward to seeing how you have done the exhaust injector pipe on DJ... and the cylinder drain cock rod... and the vacuum train pipe... Anything else which needs to considered?
regards, Graham
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
And when you do your A4... do not forget the two sets of brake pull rods!
Buckjumper
Flying Squad
Im slightly surprised to hear you (as an S7 modeller) say thatThe same argument could well be applied to inside motion or indeed details like track chairs..... In for a penny and in for a pound and all that
ill open my can of chocolate worms
And a nice big bucket of worms it is too
TBH it wasn't a difficult decision to make. Events over the last couple of years meant that I had long, long hours of thumb-twiddling with little opportunity to do to anything except sit and think or read or write. To turn that negative time into something positive, one of the things I did was create list of compromises I'm prepared to make to enable the railway to progress as and when the opportunity rose to work on it. At that time there was no indication whether that situation was going to last weeks, months or even years, so once the pros and cons of using AGH wheels had been listed it was a simple decision to drop them into the 'can do without' pile, along with working inside motion for locos with side tanks, working brakes, reversers, opening smokebox doors, opening carriage doors and so on.
Bullhead chairs representing the individual companies slipped easily into the 'things to retain' pile for two reasons - 1. they are on permanent view, and are seen from all angles, 2. butchering them could be done during the long thumb-twiddling hours, so it wasn't time wasted.
Here are the pertinent points which contributed to my decision not to use AGH wheels:
1. Alan's wife had died and he was very ill himself, and it looked like he was going to begin wrapping the business up. This turned out to be the case and as far as I know the range has now been discontinued, and no one has taken the option to buy the business.
2.. The range was limited and covered only a small proportion of wheel types I need, so Slater's wheels were going to make an appearance anyway.
3. Archaic tanks feature heavily on BF, most of which will run in tunnels or deep brick-lined cuttings. I once remarked that I might end up modelling the most detailed S7 carriage roofs in the country but have them running around on brio wheels and 8" lumps of 2" x 2" and no one would ever notice...
4. The aforementioned tanks invariably have outside brake pull rods, some have condensing pipes running between the frames underneath the axles. Just how much hassle do I want to commit myself to just to install some wheels which for half the time won't even be seen, and for the rest will be subject to motion-blur? Remember I'm not thinking in terms of half a dozen locos in total, but eventually somewhere between 40 and 50. It's quite an undertaking.
5. All the express locos and suburban tanks on GE lines are almost always going to be over 4' away on a viaduct with parapet walls. They are almost always going to be running at speed which means the subtleties of the AGH wheels simply won't be seen.
Now, here at the bright end of that long and dark tunnel I've not regretted those decisions. However, if I was building a bucolic branch and AGH were available for the one or two locos needed to run the line, I've no doubt that my opinion on the matter would be skewed in favour toward their use and all the extra time needed to build in demountable brake hangars, pull rods and the like would be time well spent.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
You can be sure that one or two WTers would notice.... Jordan might especially if the colour could be considered as "on the dark side".... Simon D would just to get even...
I might remark that the running numbers (1, 1, 1... 1 again) were not those extracted from the GWR carriage registers.
regards, Graham
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Well, I was not going to mention that.... and as you have... Alan Harris closed the business on 5th April 2012 so the question about using AGH is now an academic point.
regards, Graham
Buckjumper
Flying Squad
A number of people have said as much to me over the last couple of weeks, so that info was already very much in the public arena.
S
Simon Dunkley
Guest
Oh no, you've got me completely wrong there. I wouldn't say anything negative - I mean, when someone wants to improve their modelling standards, I am all for encouraging them.
Even no-hopers like Adrian.
Especially people like Adrian, who need all the help they can get.
Actually, I am with Adrian 100% on his choice and his reasoning, for both his project and also for what I would do in the bucolic branch line scenario. Life is too short - and each day, the remainder of it gets shorter.
Buckjumper
Flying Squad
28ten
Guv'nor
I think you have mastered the ability to compromise, which is something that failed me in S7. I couldn't wrap my head around scale track and non scale curves, but that is another thread altogether.
Buckjumper
Flying Squad
Just a case of ensuring non-scale curves are not seen from normal viewing positions, and anything that should have a continuous check rail will have. However, I pretty well covered as the GE had some stinkers in the area I'm modelling, including a 2.7 chain radius curve(!) on a 1:30 gradient.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Sounds like a recipe for a good grinding of flanges.
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
The A4 is being built by my son. Graduating from Uni and then starting employment with a multi-national has taken its toll on his time and energy... to the point where Peter has asked me to help with the completion of the model. There have been some set-backs along the way, for example:- working out where to fit the sound decoder, re-manufacture of the conencting and coupling rods to reduce the excessive side-play (from use of scale width wheels and S7 standards), changing the method of fixing brake hangers to allow for removal of the wheelsets... all of which have required some element of first-principle-thinking and then drawing on help from others to produce a viable solution.
One day... one day soon I hope.
regards, Graham
Dog Star
Western Thunderer
Not at this time.
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
I've been wading my way through all this Front of the Class technical stuff, and I think that statement is by far the most profound, and a good way to approach almost any modelling - if compromises have to be made, as they inevitably must, just so long as you can live with them then that is all that is important.....
P.S. I only tend to notice blocks of wood when they're used as track gauges.....
S
Simon Dunkley
Guest
And yet you have gone up a scale to One32?
As well as hiding the underscale curves, there is also the issue of sideplay, which the prototype dealt with in a number of ways, many of which would be impossible to replicate on a model, but conversely can be easily dealt with by allowing a little more sideplay than the prototype would allow if scaled up.
It's really just a question of understaning tolerance - engineering and social skill versions!
You have to make some compromises - model anything exactly to scale and it would probably seize up - and once you accept the requirement, you can work out which compromises you are prepared to accept and relax about it.
And not ram it down everyone else's throat as the panacea for all railway modelling evils, as some have been known to do in the past!
28ten
Guv'nor
And its a lot easierAnd yet you have gone up a scale to One32?
why? the idea of a roundy - roundy is so impractical that unless you have a garden line the temptation to squeeze stock round silly curves isn't a problem and in my mind I am making dioramas with movement not attempting a layout. Problem solved Maybe its just me, but I couldn't compromise on curve radii in S7, having gone to all the trouble of correct frames, wheels etc. Strangely in f/s it isn't a problem to me, but that is probably because the whole affair is starting from a compromised position.
S
Simon Dunkley
Guest
OK, so disabusing yourself of the requirement for a roundy-roundy was the key. Now that you have done that, your reason for leaving S7 is invalid.the idea of a roundy - roundy is so impractical that unless you have a garden line the temptation to squeeze stock round silly curves isn't a problem and in my mind I am making dioramas with movement not attempting a layout. Problem solved
Where's that wooden spoon...
If you are doing ScaleOne32, then it is all but Proto:32 already. I should know...