Cookie's Workbench - 7/8ths Alan Keef K40

[Simon Dunkley]

This time round its an S scale Midland PO wagon.

To be pedantic (me?) it is an ex-PO wagon bought by the Midland - a "Midland PO" is a contradiction in terms...

OCD disassembly - my secret is out

I suffer from CDO: it's just like OCD, but the letters are in the right order...

 

[marsa69]

I suffer from COD now and again. Usually after too many chips first

 

[Steve Cook]

That's a beauty Steve, what livery will it get? I had the good fortune to be able to study Maurice's St Juliot recently, its a little stunner and demonstrates the appeal of S to perfection.
Jerry

Cheers Jerry - its going into MR livery circa 1894 with a hefty dose of 'grubby' (Midland Wagons, Essery, Vol1, Page 31, Plate 22).
I haven't seen St Juliot in the flesh yet, but I'm looking forward to it based on the photos that Maurice has sent through, its looks very nice indeed!

Steve

 

[Steve Cook]

As you say it is very nice - I was very nearly swayed by S scale in my youth, more substance than 2mm but a bigger vista than 4mm. In the end the engineering possible in 7mm won the day for me but I can still appreciate what is still a predominately scratch builders scale - and in Christian units as well!

You seem a bit confused between 3mm and 3/16" (S) there Adrian, I got your meaning in the end though

There are enough parts available from the S Scale Society to reduce the 'daunting aspect' of it, but not so many as to make it easy. Then you see what Scott W and JimG produce on here and it seems a lot more daunting all of a sudden I'm hoping patience, practise and application will help in the long run! I find the imperial units the difficult bit, I have to convert into mm

Steve

 

[Steve Cook]

Been playing trains today, both old and new
The chap I sit next to at work brought these in the other day - they were left in the garage when he moved into his house about 6 years ago and as I'm the 'train bloke' could I see if they worked or not. The Jinty works after a good clean of wheels, bushes, pick ups and re-soldering all of the wire joints, its had a good hour of running about and giving off that smell that old locos do Princess Elizabeth refuses to work at all, but with about 1/8" of end float I'm not really surprised, both locos show a lifetimes worth of wear and tinkering, at least they have served their purpose. I'll tell him to stick them on ebay and use the proceeds to buy his boys something newer that won't require the same level of attention.


While the test track (two sheets of Knauf Eco Board and a set of 2nd radius curves) was out for the Triang trains, I thought I might as well run through some of the locos stored in the loft for 'one day' projects.




The Pug has completed its two hour session and the 26 is on the verge of finishing its running in, the coaches have been on for last half hour so I can lie on the floor and grin like a six year old The 27 is up next, then I might go through the box of OO stuff from many years ago and see what works...
Steve

 

[lancer1027]

Steve ( 40126) will like the last pic as he very much likes 26's.

Its good to play trains its really what its all about. Just hope we get some dry weather this year so i can make enough progress in the garden so i can play trains

Rob

 

[iploffy]

couldn't agree more

 

[Steve Cook]

Its good to play trains its really what its all about. Just hope we get some dry weather this year so i can make enough progress in the garden so i can play trains

There's lots of us hoping for a drier year this time around, there is a lot of building and playing to catch up on

 

[Captain Kernow]

I love those old train sets and the photos on the box lids, showing huge, extensive and complicated layouts that were in reality far beyond the reach of most schoolkids! Great stuff - keep on playing, Steve!

 

[Dog Star]

My first trainset was just like the R3R in the photo... except my Jocko had the first British Railways emblem as the set was a present for Christmas 1955. I chose a model railway over a bike and that choice has stayed with me ever since - as has the Jocko and the wagons although the Standard track left more than four decades ago.

 

[Steve Cook]

I love those old train sets and the photos on the box lids, showing huge, extensive and complicated layouts that were in reality far beyond the reach of most schoolkids! Great stuff - keep on playing, Steve!

Will do Capt'n The box art is fab, the fact that 'Dad' is shown with pipe in hand harks back to a different time entirely - mind you, I think the layout is beyond the reach of most of us now, let alone schoolkids!

Well, as the 27 neared the end of its run, a couple of old girls from my past came down from the loft and out of their boxes where they've been stored for a good 20 odd years. A bit of IPA on a cotton bud was all that was needed to clean the wheels up and they were set on the track. I couldn't believe it, neither needed a push start or anything, just power on and go Admittedly they run a lot better now they've had a chance to warm up and I shall be adding a bit of lube to the mech and giving them a general once over, but for now it was good to get them going again First up was my pride and joy, a Hornby Princess Royal

Shes not very keen on the 2nd radius curves with a significant amount of 'hip swing' present, but she trundles round OK - just wish I had room to put eight coaches on the back like I used to

Next up was an Airfix Royal Scot - I've got two of these, exactly the same loco and both were supremely reliable and consistent from what I remember. They spent most of their life being double headed with every wagon I had on the back, Railfreight through to PO coal wagons...and I bloomin' loved it Just the one out today, and it was like it had never been put away, it just worked.



Think I might get the other one down tomorrow...

Now I just need to find someone local with a large roundy-roundy OO layout...Arty....

 

[Phill Dyson]

Nice to see the old Triang stuff Steve

I too started my interest in model railways with those two S/H train sets at about the age of 5, the only difference was my Princess Elizabeth was BR green

 

[lancer1027]

My first train set was the old hornby ( triang ) Hymek and a 37. I think all i had stock wise was 2 x 16ton minerals and a 12ton box van with some awful transfers. My dad had a Jinty and some other kettles but i didnt take a lot of notice about them.

One of the first bits i bought with birthday money was the Wrenn blue S van. Then Lima came along

Ooops sorry for hyjacking your thread Steve

Rob

 

[Steve Cook]

Don't worry about it Rob I enjoy listening to reading about peoples memories of the train sets of years gone by - I'd guess for the vast majority of us its what started our obsessions / interests off and we all have similar emotions that are sparked off by other peoples comments - all good as far as I am concerned
Steve

 

[Simon]

Great stuff - pushing against an open door as far as I'm concerned on the small trains nostalgia front

We had another "Junior Enthusiasts Day" in the shop on Saturday, as a result of which I took home a defunct 1980s Hornby LNER "Flying Scotsman" to fix for one of the dads . Problem was a broken piece of steel rail causing a short up in the chassis, removed it, cleaned everything up and it runs well, although needing a bit of lubrication which it will get tomorrow.



I also looked at a Mainline Std 4, but this has the "wheels coming apart from plastic axle centre" syndrome which is a problem, and it runs like a bag of nails anyway so I'm leaving well alone

Simon

 

[Arty]

Now I just need to find someone local with a large roundy-roundy OO layout...Arty....

I spent quite a lot of the weekend playing with my "train set" so the rail tops are nice and clean and I've got some new Gaugemaster controllers - it's all ready for you !

Rich

 

[Steve Cook]

Top man I'll be in contact once the loco's have had a quick service, looking forward to some mileage accumulation

Steve

 

[40126]

I suffer from COD now and again. Usually after too many chips first

+1

Steve

 

[mickoo]

Years of fun as a kid with OO roundy roundys LOL, but my unswerving memory was when my father somehow procured a Fleischmann catalogue (quite rareand expensive in those days in the UK I believe) in the front was a picture of a layout and I drooled over it for years and made copies of the track plan and tried to squeeze them into my 10x3'6" LOL.

I'd forgotten about it for nearly twenty years and then something triggered my memory and by this time I had no idea which catalogue it was, so several aborted purchases on Ebay and eventually I procured a copy (82-83)

This image was a real driving force in my early days, utterly unattainable but sheer fantasy.


I sold most of my OO a few years back to get into O gauge, but did keep any that were presents or gifts, swap meets and car boot purchases etc were all sold, some I've never run and never been out of the box, some haven't run for years, I can foresee a circle of track making its way onto my floor in due course LOL, as if I didn't need any other distractions or anoraks leaping out of the cupboard to mug me.

I actually grew up with my dads three rail on the floor, I know there was a Duchess and a black one and the coaches were steel side with windows painted on, wow that was over 40 years ago and this post just jogged that memory to the fore!
Then he went two rail with an 8F (which he still has) and a BR 4MT, the 8F in its gorgeous red box with yellow inside still runs well, or did last time it ran....about 20 years ago LOL.

 

[40126]

This image was a real driving force in my early days, utterly unattainable but sheer fantasy.
View attachment 16965

Look at the control panels


Steve