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As I’ve put in another thread my mum died this morning at 03:10 with us all at her bedside, I’m just sat on the bed feeling somewhat numb at the mo, the rest of the family are milling around the house as well, no one feels like sleeping have a look at the “cancer ward” thread for my mini tribute to her goodbye mum, love you loads

My mum, Vera, passed away this morning at 03:10 with her husband and children at her bedside, there was my stepdad, 2 elder brothers and sister as well as 2 of her grandchildren who had raced over from Stoke and Accrington respectively she wasn't in pain, simply stopped breathing very calmly and slipped away to the next life holding on to my stepdad and sisters hand, I gave her a final kiss goodbye told her I loved her just before she went I originally really didn’t want to be there when it happened but so glad I was there to see her off to know she went with dignity and with no pain, she now looks so peaceful and fragile lay in the bed awaiting further developments regards the doctor and undertakers she certainly lived a full life, born in stoke on Trent in 1945 to the sound of what turned out to be the last ever air raid warning siren sounded in the city during the war! she had 3 brothers, Derek, Alan, Graham and a sister Doreen (derek, Alan and Doreen are still alive) She married her first husband Derek in stoke had 3 children, Wayne, Steven and Lisa before marrying my dad Chris in 1973 and having little old me in 1975 she then went on to re-marry again to my stepdad Derek in 1990 to whom she’d been married for 29 years last month (yes I know 3 Dereks in this story gets confusing!) she moved from stoke to wales when she married my dad in 1970 and lived here ever since, lived all over the place though, stoke with her 1st husband, Llandudno, mold and llwyngwril with my dad and Mold, Anglesey and finally llwyngwril again but with my stepdad! Always a good laugh even if she didn’t get some of our jokes, never took herself seriously, a great mum to us all, tough but fair and we all have lots of fond memories to look back on rest in peace Mum, love you Vera Crump 4-3-45 to 25-4-19

Some more photos at Carlisle between 1986 and 1988. As usual it was cloudy on each visit. Carlisle 87002 and 86415 up freight 26th Aug 86 C7966.jpg Carlisle 08690 and 47553 le Leeds to Carlisle 1 Sept 87 C9091.jpg Carlisle 47346 down freight 1 Sept 87 C9105.jpg Carlisle 90004 12th April 88 C9412.jpg Carlisle 37184 down empty oil 12th April 88 C9423.jpg David

Sincere condolences to Big Jim. Since it's my birthday I'm being treated royally this morning and am opening cards whilst consuming muggercoffee in bed. Further bulletins will follow in due course. Have the best day you can. Dave

Dear all I’m afraid I have some very sad news. I’ve just received a phone call from Lou Trollope the better half of Jack or Shortliner to most of us. Jack passed away in his bed on Wednesday morning. According to Lou, he had a massive heart attack and it was all over within a couple minutes. She said he went the way he wanted to go. In his bed and quickly. There will be no funeral, he will be cremated and his ashes returned to Lou. He will leave a massive hole in my life, and will be sorely missed. I’m not sure what else to say Mods If this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it

Following on from the lengthy debate about single track workings, here is a picture that was posted on a social media site a few hours ago. Apparently a group of train spotters visited Encombe Town to get a picture of the small Prairie but their friend, who was new to the hobby, didn't plan ahead This was the posted result.... Obviously he came in for a lot of stick about a loco with one of largest name plates ever seen etc. etc. Strange what you find on the internet...…? Or is it!

Waiting for my copy of May's BRM to drop through the letter box. They had it in Tesco's this morning. But meanwhile, as the April issue is now history, I can start showing you some of the outtakes from Andy's photoshoot. First up shows Tiverton Castle on an up express overtaking the Earlsbridge branch train as the latter slows into Stoke Courtenay to end its journey. John C.

Good morning one and all, with condolences to Big Jim I managed to find a suitable new jacket but not without a struggle. It is blue, a welcome change from the grimy beige with which I have become associated. Unlike many on sale these days, it also has an inside pocket in which my wallet is a snug fit. I regard the absence of an inside pocket as a fundamental design flaw. The beige jacket has been laid aside and if the necessary heavy duty detergent can be obtained it may yet rise again in a state of uncharacteristic cleanliness. Don’t hold your breath … Today Poorly Pal and I will feast on stir fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce and assorted vegetables. Later we expect to enjoy a talk by Paul Chancellor of Colour-Rail. In between times some m*d*ll*ng should take place in the shed where the layout lives, fatigue and clumsiness permitting. Best wishes to all Chris

Many thanks to everyone who has ordered and shown interest in the model. Whilst we wait for some decorated samples, I thought I'd share an image of the CAD design which shows the level of detail the van has.

Anthony Yeates kindly sent me a picture taken at the excellent York show last weekend which I attach below along with a snap taken in the workshop showing the card mock-ups of the SDJR shed and coal stage which really help to fill out the scene. Just to give some orientation, the shed scene is sat on what will eventually be the Midland goods yard. Jerry

Death touches us all throughout our lives. Yesterday was the anniversary of my mum's death a few years back and today I see that Big Jim has lost his mum too. I neither knew her or really know you Jim (other than through you interesting contributions here) but I offer my condolences and thoughts to you all. A parent is for many a significant rock that stands the test of time and has resisted the crashing of sometimes stormy seas. Memories will at first make that loss feel raw but will in time bring a smile and peace to you. After the death of both my parents, I thought about what they would have done or said when an unusual situation arose and I still do. In that respect, they are always around. Enjoy your better memories Jim, the last months cannot have been easy for either her or the rest of your family so put those recent memories behind you. Best, Tony

Ey up! Sad to hear about Big Jims' mum. Extra positive thoughts to Debs, Elsie , John and Sandy. John could it be that tomatoes are sugary but can also be "sharp". Stormy at sea.. volume of sh1tehawks is at +10 this morning. Off to scarbados so that Dr Eldest Herbert can board a train to return to Mancland. This means her indoors may want to go shopping. Pah!!! Enjoy whatever you do today! Baz

Do we need to hold our breaths until the cleaning substances have been found?. Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, A better nights sleep as some of the weekends aches and pains have eased a little. Ben the Border Collie was happier this morning, out under blues skies with just the odd cloud. I've been to Leicester 3 times, twice to help a friend by towing a horsebox full of his stuff to his new house there. He had just left the RAF and was joining Leicester police as a scenes of Crime officer (civilian). Then I went there once for myself as I had a job interview there. I turned the job offer down as the pay was stupidly low.. There was slight evidence of some wetness had fallen from above on the way into work, the cracks in the failing tarmac had evidence of dampness. The first village I pass through had a bit more water on the road, for the third time in as many years, there is a watermain burst in roughly the same spot, so they can just dig up their old bad repairs to the road. Well I left the new ish major equipment awaiting the boss to do a bit, as he hasn't completed a programme for me to generate correction files for it... I'm not expecting anything will have happened. So today it should be resistor measuring day, I have 22, 1 G ohm resistors to measure.. Time to head for the lab... and find out what I'm doing..

Despite being under forty (for a couple more years at least) and planning/building a reasonably complex layout, I have no interest in DCC. However, I do enjoy building kits and therefore would like to share the following N gauge and 2mm etches I've been building recently.

Another Andy York shot of 5041 and its train. I particularly liked this one, which shows the ancient Hornby ex-Airfix Siphon G to advantage. It now rides on 247 Developments American bogies. Before I take any more pictures myself from this angle I think I'll dab some paint on the inside of the platform canopy! Could do with touching up the cream paint around the leading droplight too. John C.

The County 99% completed, just some final adjustments to the pickups to make. While I designed the body, it was 3D printed. The handrail knobs, buffers, coupling hooks, lamps, bogie and nameplates were all sourced from various suppliers. I didn't draw my own wire, nor did I wind the wire on the vacuum pipes (although I did bend them up). Finally, the chassis was sourced and adapted from a Farish Black Five. I wonder what Mr E. F. Carter would have made of all this and what would he have classed me as?

Thane of Fife is seen again this morning, on what must be another Class C running out of course, as it can't be the Craigentinny- Wood Green. Meanwhile in number one bay, 60514 is getting ready for the light work involved in taking the 1033 to Kings Cross.

Good morning all, Very sorry to hear your news Jim, it's never easy losing a much loved parent. A rather dull start here and rain in assorted quantities along with some loud bangs is a possibility. The first of three expected bin lorries and operatives have made their noisy way down the road. The bins were replaced correctly and not left strewn across the pavement as sometimes happens. Sainsbury's on the agenda first thing and then I may think about some garden planning. I was thinking of weaving a railway line into the landscape but I have been given a subtle hint that that might not be the most popular thing I could do. I might wait a bit and work out a suitable bribe. Have a good one, Bob.

Good morning everyone First of all, my condolences to Big Jim. I had a text message this morning, it was just after 7:00, saying some of my order will be delivered between 7:30 and 10:30. I have the ability to live track it, it looks like the van is about 1 1/2 miles away, but it keeps making stops along the way, but it could be here any minute! Back later

A couple leftover from the other day that was just sitting in the folder so I thought I might as well post them here....

Condolences to Big Jim. From those of us who have been there we know what you're feeling like. Had two medicals today - one from my own doc who now doesn't want to see me for a year. My PSA is constant and low, so at the moment no return of Prostate enlargement. The second was progressing my medical claim for when my car was written off. Things are progressing, albeit slowly, for Debs.

Morning All Condolences to Big Jim it's never easy losing your mother. Last night was a success Her enjoyed her meal out but she did wonder why I bundled her out of the place just before 9pm some of my old boozing mates use the place as a watering hole on a Wednesday and I didn't want to bump into one of them a rather c0cky feckwit who constantly bleats on about Beeeeeeeeeeeeemaaaaaaaaaaaars and never owned one, he always drools over other peoples wives Her hates it she said he looks like the Italian greaseball. Today is more modelling, weathering and filling up many empty wagons with various loads, more items to be purchased at Epsom show Saturday if any traders are there selling them. must get on I.M. Appee.

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/04/24/sandys-chemo-day-120-of-147/

I've had an itch for a long time. An itch to model a canal interchange shed; I'd initially looked at the still intact Chillington Wharf on the west side of the Stour Valley route from Wolverhampton High level. Photo by D.J.Norton I came across this picture in the steel terminal's office whilst I was given a tour of Chillington Wharf by staff showing pre-nationalisation activity with bolsters and opens with the sort of loads which would come from a rolling mill. This would have required a board depth greater than the space I wish to now place the scene in. Moving onwards; not a million miles away from the spot though was a similar interchange shed, built by the Midland Railway off the Wolverhampton to Walsall line tucked away behind the British Steel site which sits beneath the level of the junction just SE of Wolverhampton High level station. The shed disappeared in the 1950s when the land was acquired by the steelworks but it's not a ridiculous premise to see that shed last a few decades more in the shadow of an expanding works. The shed and basin are long gone now but the site can still be seen from the access road to the works here. Details are scant as it wasn't of conventional photographer's interest really, a couple of line drawings on a local history site including side elevations plus an end photo from Bob Yate's book shown in the introductory blog entry. The scene will not be a true recreation due to some compression needed, realignment to fit a workable space and the wish to give something with a little more operational interest.

Happy Birthday Dave!

Morning all. Condolences to Jim. Not much planned for today. Tony

Thanks Rob. I do have a soft spot for ventilated vans. Once Bleat is sorted I hope to get back to working on a bit of stock. They do add to a scene....... (.....sneak view of Bleat...not finished yet) Rob.

Your punishment for such decadence is the possibility of seeing me and Gordon at the NWOG show at Leigh on Saturday.

Enjoy the day Dave; I am only a moment from my next b'day in the greater scheme of things and wonder what will befall me as a result of the apparent manoeuvres presemtly being considered between SWMBO and daughter. I fear it will result in further stress, either to my wallet, to me or to both!

Next on the Up is a Craigentinny to Wood Green Class C. Once again, if anything foreign and interesting was on it earlier, it came off a mile up the road, and Thane of Fife is on the way south. I keep reading captions claiming that the train shown in the photograph is the Up Scotch goods. Does anyone happen to know which of the services from Scotland was given that unofficial name? There is another side to this, and one which is much easier to photoshop.

Thoughts and condolences to Big Jim, celebrate the life shared. Happy Birthday Dave. BIN day, quiet at present for some inexplicable reason, usually by now the BIN trucks are ever present, calm before the storm I guess. Good meeting with the sub-committee yesterday evening, enhanced by sharing a decent beer and pizza at a place we'd not been before. Sounds like at least we'll have plenty of support and help as we take our place in the planning for this event. 11 and cloudy first thing, 21 for the high later with partial sun. Still forecasting a high of 3 (low -2) Saturday with sleet and snow, possibly some accumulation. Carry on.

Reg wouldn’t like us. There is moss growing on Aditi’s car. My excuse is that it is due to our exceptionally clean air locally. I suspect it will be cleaned up before the service. We wouldn’t want the garage technician to get grubby. I had better explain though that the interior is immaculate. My car seems to be the target for gulls and pigeons in competitive poo bombing games. I may not have planned much but today so far we have sorted out possible days to go to Dublin to retrieve Matthew’s possessions from the Guards (stored in Finglas now). Also I have got my unavailable anywhere (for 6 weeks) medication today. I was almost down to looking under the bed for dropped ones. The final thing was that Aditi has booked a week in Italy at the end of June. At least a lakeside holiday won’t require me to walk up and down hills. We may even get a train ride while there. Tony

Happy birthday Dave! May a tincture or two of Scotland finest pass your lips today!. Dr Eldest Herbert delivered to the Station. Shopping done but at a smallerror cost than usual. Baz

You have to gauge the moment GDB, personally I would think nothing less than G for a member (and garden) of such stature!

Good progress these past two days... ...the new sections dwarf Goathland seen behind. The impact in the garage is huge! I managed to get the cork down all the way through the hidden sidings, around the back end and right up to the station throat. This got sped up when I discovered that by applying the glue to both the base board and the underside of the cork, then giving it a bit of a rub when laid it holds very well without pins or weight. (Basic cabinet stuff really?) Some track has been pinned down already. Two more pics worth posting are this one of the mill which has been placed temporarily on the hidden sidings behind Goathland. Didn't recognize it did you? And this one of the mill with a Bradford Daimler bus on the bridge Just to give an idea of what I'm aiming at with Grim up North.

Noting GDB's attendance at Nescot, I thought of taking my first aid kit, then remembered the exhibition have St John Ambulance in attendance - actually an Advanced First Aider. So he will be in safe hands. Phil, look out for the scruffy git with a 'tache and a yellow hi-viz. That's me. Bill

This lady found out her dog could hardly hear so she took it to the vet. He found that the problem was hair in its ears. He cleaned both ears and the dog could hear fine. The vet then proceeded to tell the lady that if she wanted to keep this from recurring she should go to the store and get some "Veet" hair removal cream and rub it in the dog's ears once a month. The lady goes to the chemist and gets some "Veet" hair removal cream. At the register the pharmacist tells her, "If you're going to use this under your arms don't use deodorant for a few days." The lady says: "I'm not using it under my arms." The pharmacist says: "If you're using it on your legs don't shave for a couple of days." The lady says: "I'm not using it on my legs either; if you must know, I'm using it on my schnauzer.." The pharmacist says: "Stay off your bicycle for at least a week." Groan button ready.... Lost on a rainy night, a nun stumbles across a monastery and requests shelter there. Fortunately, she's just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips she's ever had. After dinner, she goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. She is met by two brothers, "Hello, I'm Brother Michael, and this is Brother Charles." "I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?" Brother Charles replied, "Well, I'm the fish friar." She turns the other brother and says, "Then you must be...?" "Yes, I'm the chip monk.

Here's one for you Phil Reg across the road has conned his son into buying a car why I don't know I would well imagine just to block any one parking in front of their house the word is out about the lads lack of skill around the driving schools we haven't seen one for a good few weeks the lad took 5 minute just to do a 3 point turn to get out of the close on his last lesson Reg went in doors after the tenth maneuver with embarrassment the poor sod is clueless. Reg doesn't spend one minute with the poor sod teaching him to drive unless it's an insurance thing, the car has sat for 2months collecting dust only to be shuffled round with his Reg's car and her truck he spent the entire day washing and polishing the 3 of them on Monday with his pile of 50 duster or more, 8 buckets, 2 hoovers ,a power wash and thousands of car cleaning bottles of liquid the guy is a total Nerd.

Happy Birthday. Enjoy the day . Will there be cake?

Ooops, suddenly realised I got that wrong. The printing company were next door in this building - another unfinished model. I must get around to completing them and the close up photography is very cruel but they are N/2mm and at least are representative of actual structures and not RTP or generic Metcalfe kits: It has now been converted in to apartments and is called 'Printworks House'. 'Roberts and Leete Printers' produced many famous posters some of which can be seen on this website: http://epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/RobertsLeete.html G

Thoughts with you Jim

condolences to Big Jim and happy birthday to Dave

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Bill, I'll be at Romford on Saturday all being well. Just look out for the scruffiest old git there. The flowing grey beard and the walker identifies me.

Good evening everyone The pool was fairly quiet when I first got there, but it got busier later, but thankfully it didn’t impede my swimming and I managed about 100 lengths in total. By the time I’d got out the sun was shining and it had got warm. So a quick walk to the butchers to collect the pies and it was home for a well earned muggertea. After dinner I finally remembered to place an order at SEFinecast for a chassis and a few spare bits for and upcoming project I’ve got planned. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing until the arrival of the grandkids, which as great as it is to see them, really shatters the piece and quiet! Well the pies went down well, so well that they’ve all asked if they can have them again, which as far as I’m concerned isn’t a problem, they are the nicest pies I’ve had in a long time and I’ve had quite a few. It started to rain just before we sat down, whilst we were eating it started to get quite heavy, the. We got some thunder which was followed by a bit of lightning too! Thankfully it didn’t last long, but to be honest, there wasn’t enough really to do the garden any good. Goodnight all

It wouldn't surprise me if Chrisf was there either ... Chris

Here's an update on my Schools project, for those that are interested. It got to about this state last summer, and then (as mentioned) I managed to drop it about five feet onto a wooden floor. Actually what happened was that the Schools chose to derail on the one part of the layout (about a foot's worth) that wasn't protected against such accidents - a lesson learned! The damage was confined to the body, as the tender remained on the layout and the chassis came away mercifully unscathed. However, the cab was wrecked. The spectacle plate had shattered between the two forward windows, and the side-sheet on this side of the engine had snapped in two, with a clean break right through the numbering. The drag plate was also badly damaged, as were the footsteps. The other side plate, and the roof, had separated without too much damage. I didn't manage to find all the parts, so some plastic card had to be carefully spliced in and blended in places. The whole lot was reassembled/repaired, and since I was about it I decided to remake the vertical handrails in brass, rather than the original plastic, which I think was an improvement. After that, it was a lot of repainting and re-lining/re-numbering, some of which is still in progress. However, at least she's back together now, and I'm moving forward again. Still to be done: wheel balance weights and glazing, among other details, and a decision about which colour to leave the smoke deflectors. Al

There's been a bit of a hiatus on here largely a bit of confusion with RMWeb after the software update! I have been busy playing about with my model and if anyone continues to be interested, here is a photographic update. These photos concentrate on the upper level of the background scene where my Metcalfe-meets-Dalmanock factory has been evolving:

Here we go then. Prepare yourselves for a sorry excuse for a railway... First looking south. Then the middle. And north.

I might be changing rooms. Well since the youngest has moved on to uni we have an empty bedroom, so I might move into his room and make my bedroom into a workshop. Not put the idea past the management yet.......wish me luck.