Good evening all!. I have just seen that it is nearly 4 months since my last post. Since then there have been events such as I got the Fowler tank to run but, as mentioned on the Forum, I cannot get it to run well through the points. In November I purchased a new Hornby R3553 and in December part of the crank mechanism fell apart. Since sending it back from here for repair under guarantee would have cost me more than twice what it cost me to have it sent out, I used devious means to have it taken to London and forwarded on from there. I assume (and hope) it is in Hornby's hands and I await news. For m herey 85th birthday in February, my four children gave me money to spend on railway modelling and yesterday I placed an order for an 0-6-0 tank and an autocoach and other minor items.
To-day I decided to do something of which I have done very little in the ten and a half years since I started the layout and it was play trains. I got out my vintage City of Glasgow (purchased way back in 1975) and the four Hornby BR coaches I have and got them running with some success. However, a four coach train is a bit long for my particular 8x4 layout because it won't fit in any of the six sidings that the layout has. I could remove the sleeper car or the buffet car, but it would always be biased towards 1st class passengers, Perhaps it would be better to run the new locomotive with the composite brake car and the autocoach and the DMUs which will fit everywhere.
Apart from that, the layout needs tidying up, some repairs and completion of all the scenic work.