Monday Variety

 TTa - Thanks For Tanks

fbb reported his minor outbreak of insanity by buying an OO model of a wagon that never ever existed! The 50 year old basic design, introduced by (Triang) Hornby in 1972 is dated in many ways. The underframe detail is poor, being replicated in a flat moulding as part of the solebars. There is nothing solid between the two sides.

Q

And Coca Cola never travels in tank wagons!

The age of the model is also indicated by the brakes! The brake shoes are nowhere near the wheels on which they should operate.

The "tension lock" coupling is huge ...

... and the ladders should extend below the solebar so that the tank top can be accessed from ground level.

Here is a real TTA with longer ladders.

You can get really geeky with wagons. The TTA below has longer ladders but a different access platform on its top.

Here we have ladders in the middle of the sides ...

... one ladder centrally at the end ...

... and an end ladder with dinky little handrails to help you heave yourself up onto the walkway.

But one thing you do notice with pictures of the real thing is how mucky they are. So the keen modeller takes his newly acquired pristine wagon and makes it filthy. Here is one chap who changed this ...

... into this.

Another keenite started with a damaged model, missing some buffers and its ladders ...

... and created this; with sprung buffers, three link couplings, replacement ladders and even more grime!

But still with poor underneath detail.

Or, to save yourself the trouble (and the expense) you could buy a Bachmann version of the same model, already "weathered" ...

and - Tta Da - with brake shoes in line with the wheels plus longer ladders and, generally, much better detail.

You pays your money ...

Fortunately, fbb is acquiring samples of "unreal" wagons to augment his already extensive collection of tankers - so will not be covering his Diet Coke model with extra grime.

Excitement knows no bounds, however, as fbb has a few more unreal tank wagon models wending their way to fbb mansions via various delivery services. Bet you can't wait!

Not A Knotty Problem?

The Stafford (or Staffordshire) Knot is an ancient heraldic device that appears on the county's coat of arms ...

... and its flag.

The North Staffordshire Railway Company ...

... which was absorbed by the LMS at the "grouping" of 1923 has its two knots whilst the present day heritage railway company ...

... manages with one! The original "Knotty" was fiercely independent and built its own steam locomotives ...

... of which one (above) is preserved and capable of steaming. The company also had an innovative battery electric shunter.

No. 1 was built according to the specification of NSR’s Locomotive Superintendent J A Hookham and Electrical Engineer A F Rock. It was designed to be able to contend with the narrow internal railway of Thomas Bolton & Sons Ltd. Copper Works; the locomotive worked at Bolton’s Oakamoor Works for all of its working life, from 1917 to 1963. On one charge, No. 1 could run for up to six hours and haul a load of more than four times its weight at 11mph, a fair speed for a shunter.

The locomotive entered the National Collection in 1975.

The once-extensive copper works ...

... has been deleted completely from history with the millpond (bottom left) and the railway's vegetated remains entering from top right being the only tentative reminders of Thomas Bolton's cuprous Oakamoor empire.

But the knot has returned to public transport in the Stafford area. Here is a new First Potteries livery.

It is carried by buses on route 101.

Needless to say the new brand is Knot mentioned anywhere on the company's web site!

There have been previous branding efforts for the 101; a bland brand ...

... a better brand with a band at cantrail level, plus numbers as above but obscuring the windows (horrid) ...

... and even a weak brand back in PMT days.

What next?

Two Tone Nostalgia

This vehicle was parked outside fbb mansions yesterday.

You blogger is no petrol head (or even battery head!) and had not identified the marque before its owner sped away from the time-limited parking applicable from 1st May. The "two tone" livery sent the chubby one's memory back to a Dinky Toy development in his childhood.

Dinky announced several cars with so-called "two tone" colours.

The models were still very basic with no "glass", no interior and crude detailing. But, two colours - how we coveted these toys!

Snailbeach - a P.S.

In the interests of even handedness, fbb should report that you can buy a Snailbeach hopper wagon kit from Dundas Models.

The cheapest price is from Peters Spares.

But if you go to the Peco web site and search for Snailbeach ...

... there is no information.

If, however, you enter SnailbeNch ...

... you find a half hearted reference to the Dundas kit and no word about their own product, leaving it to Hattons and others to reveal all!

Good, innit?

 Next Timmy And Siddy blog : Tuesday 10th May