G3 Clubroom

The Forum for Gauge 3 Model Trains

Collet "Goods" 2251 class 0-6-0, by Richard Down, no 3219 (last one actually built under B.R) in B.R lined livery, single cylinder slip eccentric meths fired loco. The only one built by Richard and possibly the only live steam version of this stunning model. £4600.00 tel Jon Buxton, 07595023749

QuoteSorry if you though I was lighting rockets John.

Robert,

That comment was intended in the nicest way ... you actually originated the most intensive exchange of views in a long while! You brought the forum back-from-the-dead!
Regarding the kits being produced by Ant Terranova : Please don't pre-judge them on the basis of your experience with the signal box parts.
Ant uses the same type of Bambu Lab printers that I am using and the finish is in a different league to that of the machines used by the producer of your signal box parts. 

Regards,
John.

P.S. Since typing above I see Ant has responded.

Totally understand Robert. There are lots of people out there selling bits that are 3D printed but sadly its all too easy to buy a printer and push print without them understanding how to perfect settings and parameters to achieve quality.

Lots of people are sadly happy to send out any old print and think they have done a wonderful job which leads to a flooded market with silly cheap prices but equally low quality. Some are good and even better than I can get but we charge accordingly. The costs are not simply a printer and a bit of plastic but my time and knowledge to get it right because I am not interested in churning out poorly produced rough prints.

I presume from your comments regarding not being interested in dreadnought coaches and presuming quality would be as poor as a different vendor, you did not see the quality of those models on display at the AGM a few weeks ago?

Sorry if you though I was lighting rockets John. - Just pointing out the absurdity of posting a list of 'items to come' when they are already promised to a sales partner. I am not interested in those files myself.

Now I have seen the issue of the bedplate sizing limitations, it is unlikely that I will progress the Gresley Buffet Car and don't wish to purchase Dreadnought Kits after my previous experience with the LNWR signal box fittings debacle.

As for transferring the website database, whilst I used RMWeb as an example, I would also prefer Western Thunder over RMWeb anytime!

Robert

Firstly lets all be grateful and thank those who have done and do so much to keep a small society alive. It is though quite apparent that times are changing and many railway linked societies are suffering from ageing and declining membership numbers. 

The benefit to the society of the free membership deal may be debateable but it does provide potential insights into the interests of these new members, what they'd like to see and what would encourage them to renew after the initial free period (assuming a resource to make the analysis).  Relative to many similar societies the AGM attendance is actually a quite significant % of total membership which indicates some success but does anybody know what proportion of this attendance was the new "free" members who migth hopefully bring new ideas and contributions to society activity.

This forum was my first contact with Gauge 3 so it has some sentimental value to me. I wouldn't say it "got me interested" in Gauge 3 because that was happening anyway, but it made me think there were others around who wanted to do the same sort of thing that I did - build locos, and not just run steam locos built by someone else on a small range of garden railways, which otherwise seemed to be the staple for Gauge 3.

But when I posted a question or two here, the response was either none or completely off the point, so I realised that I'd have to work it all out for myself. More importantly, it suggested that in fact there wasn't that much activity in Gauge 3 building. Also, the activity on this forum has gradually diminished, not increased, in the ten years I have been a member.

The same is true for the G3 section of Western Thunder. There are now fewer of us posting than there used to be, because people who used to do so have given up or succumbed to anno domini and have not been replaced in similar numbers. I continue to post on WT but I get more response from non-G3 than G3 members. That's not a bad thing, by the way, because it helps to publicise our scale outside G3.

So, yes, there is a small and probably declining G3 activity on the internet. Maybe the pressures of space and time have made G3 less attractive to younger model railway builders, who can't afford the large houses and large gardens and workshops to build a model railway. I don't think one can blame it entirely on the committee though it is true that they don't participate much in the internet. As Roy Horrocks said recently about the lack of running on the test track at the Annual Show: "we provide the track, you provide the trains". And you can see his point. If members don't make the effort nothing will happen.

I won't exonerate the committee entirely. They could be providing more vision and leadership than they do, and some of what they currently do is certainly quite opaque to the rest of us (e.g. what was the point of the "free" membership deal and what did it achieve?). But I don't see a line of volunteers waiting to take up committee positions, do you?

If that all sounds a bit gloomy, that is because it is. There are some rays of light: John and Ant's initiative, other manufacturers "testing the waters" with new products (let's hope enough people buy them), a couple of new garden railways opening. Meanwhile I'll carry on ploughing my lonely furrow because, in spite of everything, it gives me pleasure, and producing the Newsletter because, well, someone has to.

Nick

Speaking personally, the different platforms each have different uses and I am very grateful to John and Ian for the work they do and have done for a long time now.  MMS is immediate and private.  This forum is also private but I find it easier to access archived messages on here, so its also a library.  Facebook (which my granddaughter says is only used by "oldies") on the other hand is good for publicity and reaches a more general audience.  Specialist ones like Western Thunder are generally used by the more serious modeller and those who actually make things.  I don't post much these days but select the best for what I'm trying to get across.  The loss of any would leave a hole.

But I do think that by ignoring the Internet our committee are mising the opportunity to get across their official messages and publicity.  I am however optimistic that may change soon.

Returning to the subject of this topic, John and Ant are doing a great job for Gauge 3 and you are already having an impact as others look at G3 with envy.  John, we need you to keep going for at least another 20 years please.

Mike

"The forum content is safe for the present but I am approaching 78 and (when the time comes) I am not expecting my Executors to continue to run the websites and meet the related expenses"

I thought it might be useful to add a few thoughts of my own to John's comments above. I have been the G3S Webmaster for some years now, although I should be clear that I am not on the Committee (so do not speak for the Society as such). I'd like first to clear some misconceptions (that have been said to me) about our 'web' presence.

The Society's website is a fairly static object, in that it requires a degree of effort (and knowledge) to compose and present the information it presents (e.g it is not exactly 'user friendly') unlike most Forums. In some ways running the website is a little like being the Newsletter Editor (something I have also experienced) in that you need constant new content to make it really useful (new content that rarely arrives btw). So the website performs a different task to the Forums. It is however based on a commercial platform which is paid for by the Society.

The static nature of the website is partly why I introduced MMS in December 2021. MMS is based on GroupsIO, an email based service. MMS is very different in nature to most 'Forums' (and I won't bore you with the detail here). I have been using various 'Groups' for many years and thought it would be useful for G3S Members to have their own (private) Group. GIO also had several advantages from my point of view. First (most importantly) it was "free". It didn't cost the Society anything to set-up and run. Secondly, it didn't require any deep technical skills. Skills that (unlike John) I don't posess, most especially in terms of site security and systems back-up. It is therefore very simple to maintain. The one drawback is that the message & file storage is limited.

I'm making these points because I'd like people to understand that neither the G3S website or MMS were intended to (or indeed can) replace the existing (public) G3 Forums. They are all different in nature - both technically and in access terms.

That being said, both the Website and MMS are owned and managed by the Society. There will be other G3S Webmasters following on after me. As I've already stated, MMS has limited file space but the G3S Website does have unused storage that could be accessed by Members (or made public) if needed. Should John decide to retire (and therefore close this forum) then whilst we can't replace it, I would certainly be very happy to help. Perhaps by making selected '3D' files available via the G3S Website for instance.

Personally, I have always enjoyed this Forum and would miss it if it was "retired" but as my Grandson likes to say "This is the Way!" (some things are unfortunately). 

Regards

IanT (G3S Webmaster) 

 

Thanks to Ant for his very thorough response which cleaarly sets out his position. 

There are a number of factors "in play" when it comes to the availability of free downloads for Gauge 3 Society members.

Several of the early files I withdrew since they were designed for my Snapmaker A350 printer and components were too large to fit the more common 200/250 sizes of printer. Some have  since been revised but not yet organised into a form suitable for uploading.  With several newer projects under way, time is limited for "housekeeping" in respect of the older projects/downloads, hence the recent lack of updates.

The original uploads were intended as aids to scratchbuilding and not designed to be sold as as kits. I have spent hundreds of hours reworking files so the kits will be simpler to assemble and this has complicated matters, leaving two sets of files for many designs and making many of the original uploads now outdated.

There are now two categories of designs : Firstly, those which I chose to produce for my own purposes and, secondly, those which I have been asked to produce.

As Ant mentioned, he has a substantial financial stake in the second category, which includes several BR standard wagons. These are not items which I would have chosen to produce (since I model the 1930's period) so would not have been produced if Ant had not become involved.

To summarise current situation : There are several projects (including those listed by Robert /"Doddy") which are agreed can be made freely available for personal use (not to be shared with third parties and that includes commercial 3D printing services) but the BR standard wagons are to be reserved for production of kits, together with any future projects which fall into the same category.

The question of when the uploads will be expanded/updated all boils down to finding spare time, currently in short supply!

Watch for news of updates!

John.