David Taylor
Western Thunderer
I bought this book basically to find out what JvR type A B & C boilers were - much mentioned but never described in any book or magazine I have!
The book is a compilation of JvR's contributions to the G1MRA journal. The photos are all black and white except for the covers and mostly grainy. The drawings are reproduced a bit more legibly - good enough to get the idea of what he's talking about.
That sounds a bit harsh and I assume this is due to the fact they've been scanned in from copies of the journal or something.
Having said all that, it is an excellent book! Probably the best thing I can say about it is it makes me want to go to the workshop and build something. I refuse to work on anything else until my 5" gauge loco is finished but after that I have decided to try a G1 live steam loco and this book has already given me an idea for how to do an inside twin cylinder block made from layers after seeing his idea for a fabricated outside cylinder/inside valve set-up.
The contents include letters JvR wrote, either with ideas, explanations, or in reply to other things going on at the time; articles he wrote about boilers, cylinders, and valve gear; notes about his involvement with Aster and his various attempts to see if 'cheaper' live steam models would be good sellers (his answer: not really); descriptions of his own locos and railway, etc.
JvR's writing is great - easy and fun to read for the most part and he seems to know what he's talking about backed up with long experience. I've been convinced to give meths firing a go given he was so satisfied with it.
Given the contents of the book it is ideal for casual reading - picking it up and turning to a random page to find something you haven't read yet. I can only think of one piece that runs more than 2 pages.
It is a real shame so much good info is hidden away in back issues of various magazines. This book is an excellent way of gathering some of that and making it more easily available.
Highly recommended if you are a loco builder or like a bit of history. Maybe not so much if you're more interested in laying track and running RTR models.
The book is a compilation of JvR's contributions to the G1MRA journal. The photos are all black and white except for the covers and mostly grainy. The drawings are reproduced a bit more legibly - good enough to get the idea of what he's talking about.
That sounds a bit harsh and I assume this is due to the fact they've been scanned in from copies of the journal or something.
Having said all that, it is an excellent book! Probably the best thing I can say about it is it makes me want to go to the workshop and build something. I refuse to work on anything else until my 5" gauge loco is finished but after that I have decided to try a G1 live steam loco and this book has already given me an idea for how to do an inside twin cylinder block made from layers after seeing his idea for a fabricated outside cylinder/inside valve set-up.
The contents include letters JvR wrote, either with ideas, explanations, or in reply to other things going on at the time; articles he wrote about boilers, cylinders, and valve gear; notes about his involvement with Aster and his various attempts to see if 'cheaper' live steam models would be good sellers (his answer: not really); descriptions of his own locos and railway, etc.
JvR's writing is great - easy and fun to read for the most part and he seems to know what he's talking about backed up with long experience. I've been convinced to give meths firing a go given he was so satisfied with it.
Given the contents of the book it is ideal for casual reading - picking it up and turning to a random page to find something you haven't read yet. I can only think of one piece that runs more than 2 pages.
It is a real shame so much good info is hidden away in back issues of various magazines. This book is an excellent way of gathering some of that and making it more easily available.
Highly recommended if you are a loco builder or like a bit of history. Maybe not so much if you're more interested in laying track and running RTR models.