Fred Graham Clockwork Models

[Galteemore]

Many years ago I was brought to see Fred Graham’s clockwork layout / think Drew Donaldson but GNR. When Fred downsized, we bought some of his models, quickly loaning them to a museum. So I haven’t seen them for years, but this week they returned to family custody  and I was sent some pics. The blue is original Dundalk paint. Should I try a 36.75 conversion @David Holman? The bubble wrap holds a 5” gauge S class…..

Edited 18 hours ago by Galteemore

[seagoebox]

David,

I have two of Fred's loco models, and a couple of GNR(I) coaches.......

[Galteemore]

Lovely, Michael. Had a vague memory you did. Bizarrely, the images arrived on the very day I was putting my first ever GN 4-4-0 back together after painting. It’s an etched kit but Fred’s work matches what any kit designer can churn out. 

2 minutes ago, seagoebox said:

David,

I have two of Fred's loco models, and a couple of GNR(I) coaches.......

 

[jhb171achill]

Mighty stuff indeed!

He's got the "real" GN blue - even Cyril Fry wasn't able to manage that!

[Patrick Davey]

Wowzers!

[Mayner]

In one of his letters' magazine articles in the early 70s Drew wrote about a friend who modelled the GNR Main Line in the 50s and used BCDR locos to represent Railcar workings. Drew's view was that nobody was interested in watching railcars.

Is it possible that Fred Graham the modeller that Drew was referring to are there any BCDR locos in the collection?

[Galteemore]

17 minutes ago, Mayner said:

In one of his letters' magazine articles in the early 70s Drew wrote about a friend who modelled the GNR Main Line in the 50s and used BCDR locos to represent Railcar workings. Drew's view was that nobody was interested in watching railcars.

Is it possible that Fred Graham the modeller that Drew was referring to are there any BCDR locos in the collection?

Absolutely so John- that’s Fred. We also have a BCDR tank loco that Fred built -  one of the large 4-4-2Ts. Don’t have a pic. He also did a fine WT class. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Galteemore

[David Holman]

My word, they look stunning! Give every impression they would be happy on fine scale track too.

 The bubble wrap needs to come off the S so it can be fired up immediately - though suspect it's a bit more complex than that...

 Was in a junk shop in Rye today, idly musing over some Hornby tinplate. Horribly crude, but not without charm. These models compare very well with the best that is available today. 

 Looking forward to finding out more.

[Horsetan]

We don't hear much about clockwork models nowadays but, many years ago, the Norman Eagles layout was one of the best-known. 

[Galteemore]

3 hours ago, Horsetan said:

We don't hear much about clockwork models nowadays but, many years ago, the Norman Eagles layout was one of the best-known. 

Indeed it was. I remember being awed by pictures of it when I was a child. Drew Donaldson was convinced clockwork would make a comeback. It does have the ‘authenticity ’ of having an  onboard, finite source of power, like the real thing. Also requires some skill in loco management.
 

Having seen Fred and Drew’s stuff, even the Palitoy Mainline stuff of the late 70s seemed really anodyne. Nothing quite like the roar and sheer mass of a heavy clockwork train moving at speed - captures something of the physical presence of the real thing that DCC sound (due, I suspect, to such physical constraints as the Doppler effect) cannot. Google a video of ‘Hornby O gauge clockwork’ and see what I mean. Oddly enough I always found that running Hornby Dublo on a hard floor produced a similar effect. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Galteemore