Mickoo's BR modelling

[mickoo]

37s are good in whatever livery.... Sectorisation locos in triple grey look pretty good.

In case the recent HJ releases have escaped your notice - there is now cast and fabricated bogies as options for classes 37, 50 and 55.

Only in audio

Sad to say my interests died late 83 and dribbled into 84 ad hoc. Sectorization was one of the down sides, the upsides were money, cars, beer and girls....maybe not the last one in hind sight mind she has put up with me for near on 40 years.....

When I started spotting there were still three green locos, possibly more as the 'gen' was hard to come by back then with out the internet, mobile phones, chat groups etc.

Large logo and wrap around yellow nose is by far the best suit a 37 can wear, whoever designed that had both eyes fixed firmly on how it would look on a 37, in fact I'm trying hard to think what large logo didn't suit.

Class 50 is certainly on my list of models to add to the collection, but it'd have to be pre rebuild, they sounded so much better before the refurb I thought. They probably sounded exactly the same truth be told but an unrebuilt was always spine tingling when they wound them out at Royal Oak after the tail end cleared Paddingtons point work; on a good run you knew you were spanking for a ton all the way to Reading, sometimes a little more 109/110 was the quickest I ever clocked. Mind I'd take a large logo refurb if offered, it'd be rude not to

 

[Brian Daniels]

I got 112mph out of 50049 driving it on load 5! between Reading and Padd and 110mph out of 50047 on load 8 from Padd to Reading. Doing 100mph past Hanwell! That thing flew, it was on an ECS to Oxford and I can still picture it now coming out of Sonning cutting and seeing, yes I got greens through Reading, 80mph through platform 4 or there about. 50's were definitely the best loco's I drove.

 

[Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen]

Hi Mick,

Go S7 with the BR diesel fleet, easy conversions. There's a couple of large layouts where you can run them.

Tim

 

[mickoo]

I got 112mph out of 50049 driving it on load 5! between Reading and Padd and 110mph out of 50047 on load 8 from Padd to Reading. Doing 100mph past Hanwell! That thing flew, it was on an ECS to Oxford and I can still picture it now coming out of Sonning cutting and seeing, yes I got greens through Reading, 80mph through platform 4 or there about. 50's were definitely the best loco's I drove.

Maybe it was the same train I clocked I think ton+ was quite common back then, certainly on the WCML 86's & 87's were regularly over the ton, roarers were a bit harder but could do it running down from Tring.

Great friend of mine (fireman at Cricklewood in steam days) footplate rode with his dad on an 86 out of Euston and she lost her feet in Watford tunnel at 100, red lined and tripped the breakers. Watford tunnel was always a shower in there (you'd get soaked if you had your head out of the window) and always very slippery.

I had one run on an AM10 (Rugby - Euston) where the driver placed his newspaper over the speedo so us sprogs behind the zoo glass couldn't see how fast we were going, it was fast and it rode really well. Liverpool Street - Colchester was booked 60 mins, driver was in a hurry on the last train out, AM9 2+4+4, did it in 48 minutes and it never slowed a jot up Brentwood, good old days....misty eyed...

 

[mickoo]

Hi Mick,

Go S7 with the BR diesel fleet, easy conversions. There's a couple of large layouts where you can run them.

Tim

Tim,

I see the appeal.....but......it doesn't.

Besides, BR blue doesn't sit well with Love Lane, though a Peak or Deltic with MK2's would look good on Croscombe

 

[warren haywood]

I remember LLB when it was introduced, 1979?? I think, I was an 11 year old spotter and wow did it look good
56036, 50023 and 47170, 47711&712 where the first treated. Not sure what the first 37 was but I’m guessing one of the 37/4s

 

[Osgood]

......
That opens the door to play around with super detailed 3D bogies and such like kicking around.

Do you by any chance have this source in mind, Mick?
I keep looking at their (to my untrained eye) nicely detailed power units though I've no idea (as yet) how I could make use of any of them.

Workshop & Depot

westhillwagonworks.com

 

[mickoo]

I remember LLB when it was introduced, 1979?? I think, I was an 11 year old spotter and wow did it look good
56036, 50023 and 47170, 47711&712 where the first treated. Not sure what the first 37 was but I’m guessing one of the 37/4s

47 170 was a regular GEML Stratford loco, they did an interim scheme just before large logo, we called them Zorro's due to the black sash across the windows.



It wasn't many weeks/months before that translated to the large logo I believe, I have a feeling Stratford were the driving force and it was then adopted nationwide. Stratford was always bold with their silver roofs and then the two union jack examples; now those did look good.

Here's 170 fresh from works, can't remember if this was the first run, but I know it was the first day she ran like this; very unusual for a Norwich express to use P4 at Ipswich so no idea what was going on there.

 

[mickoo]

Do you by any chance have this source in mind, Mick?
I keep looking at their (to my untrained eye) nicely detailed power units though I've no idea (as yet) how I could make use of any of them.

Workshop & Depot

westhillwagonworks.com

No I didn't have them in mind, whilst I know about them I was thinking home grown. Buying those is a bit like having a guard dog and barking yourself at the burglar.

They're good, but there are a few niggles (of which most folks would never notice) that would annoy me.

Is it more cost effective to buy them and turn a blind eye? Yes.

Will I do that? No

 

[James Spooner]

Maybe it was the same train I clocked I think ton+ was quite common back then, certainly on the WCML 86's & 87's were regularly over the ton, roarers were a bit harder but could do it running down from Tring.

Great friend of mine (fireman at Cricklewood in steam days) footplate rode with his dad on an 86 out of Euston and she lost her feet in Watford tunnel at 100, red lined and tripped the breakers. Watford tunnel was always a shower in there (you'd get soaked if you had your head out of the window) and always very slippery.

I had one run on an AM10 (Rugby - Euston) where the driver placed his newspaper over the speedo so us sprogs behind the zoo glass couldn't see how fast we were going, it was fast and it rode really well. Liverpool Street - Colchester was booked 60 mins, driver was in a hurry on the last train out, AM9 2+4+4, did it in 48 minutes and it never slowed a jot up Brentwood, good old days....misty eyed...

The great thing about the Clacton units was that a ten car set had more power than a Deltic. Also, standing in the corridors between sets, you could see the speedos in the inner driving compartments…

Nigel

 

[mickoo]

The great thing about the Clacton units was that a ten car set had more power than a Deltic. Also, standing in the corridors between sets, you could see the speedos in the inner driving compartments…

Nigel

Certainly were, though the best were the REP's, a solo 4 car set was blisteringly quick.

On the AM9 run the driver never eased off at section gaps so the ABB was blatting open under full power and lighting up the countryside all around. The only problem with arriving at Colchester early was the extended wait for the Marks Tey DMU to trundle in and pick us up, it headed for Ipswich where it was serviced overnight before returning early the next morning for the Marks Tey shuttle. Colchester is very cold and wet at gone midnight mid winter

Recently I took one of the Greater Anglia sets to London, there were signaling issues in Ipswich so we were late away and there was nothing in front. It's the fastest I've been up Belstead bank, much faster than a 90. I timed it out of Manningtree up the hill there, 110 seconds to 100 up hill, out of Colchester is was 62 seconds to 100; that's the beauty of distibuted power even with it's plastic seats

 

[OzzyO]

Hello Mickoo, all,

I think that Chris Green up in Scotland was going along the same route with Scot Rail.
Good days.

ATB

OzzyO.

PS. I'll have to do an update on Lochmaben soon.

 

[mickoo]

A little free time to poke the BR 37 models.

Overall I'm happy with the fuel tank but the water tank has failed at one end quite badly, not sure why as both are supported and orientated the exact same way....but obviously not in some sort of manner. Several ribs have stepping which on complex shapes like this is hard to avoid, all you can do is push them into areas that are easy to post process and clean up, though I failed on the intertank bracket which needs some thinking on orientation to resolve. The stepping will reduce on the final renders at 30 microns but even so may need a little post processing to finally smooth out.

The outer brackets are part of the main tanks and the inner one is a sub assembly with NS wire to the adjacent tanks for securing.

No idea yet how I'll fit them to the chassis but one one criteria is there must be a gap between tank top and underfame, so no tank fixings in the middle of the tanks.

I've also spotted a double overlayed inspection hatch at one end and missing bolts on one of the gauges. No supper for the 3D Elves tonight!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

No idea yet how I'll fit them to the chassis but one one criteria is there must be a gap between tank top and underfame, so no tank fixings in the middle of the tanks.

Yup - you've got to have daylight visible in the right places when viewed at the correct height.

 

[richard carr]

I have to admit I never knew there was daylight between the tank and the frame.
Personally I would fix them through the middle with a small square piece acting like a washer. You will still get a gap around the edge that will go quite a way in. Otherwise you are just making life difficult for yourself for something that you can't see anyway.

Richard

 

[Brian Daniels]

Are you sure you can see daylight under the tanks?

 

[mickoo]

Yes as the tank is not hard up against the engine room floor, and now (typically) I can't find the photo that showed it

I was sure it was one of your walkaround ones but it's not.

This photo clearly shows the difference in height from the tank top to the support brackets, possibly 2-3"

Untitled by Cliff J Williams, on Flickr

Whether you can see it from normal viewing angles is probably mute and yes it is making work for myself and yes I might revise that and just opt for a solid centre like everyone else, it's not as though the Heljan or JLTRT are that accurate in other details.

 

[mickoo]

I have to admit I never knew there was daylight between the tank and the frame.
Personally I would fix them through the middle with a small square piece acting like a washer. You will still get a gap around the edge that will go quite a way in. Otherwise you are just making life difficult for yourself for something that you can't see anyway.

Richard

Well there is that option of course

I'm undecided as at least one of these models is planned to go on trestles in a workshop style diorama with a planned high(ish) viewing height.

For something like your layout and running then no, it's not a detail worth bothering about, but as a close up static view then it might be worth considering.

 

[mickoo]

Found it, here you can see daylight right across the top of the tank, there's a clear gap below the body side and top of the tanks and the engine room floor does not extend beow the body side edge; like it does on say a class 47 with it's fishbelly frame under the engine.

IMG_8557 by Cliff J Williams, on Flickr

 

[richard carr]

The reality is that you can't see that unless you look at it from that angle and you aren't going to look at a model from there.