Leaderboard

This morning we have the shuttle service from East to look at, and a D16 adding one more to its mileage, and the inevitable call to works, where there can only be one result. That means we celebrate them while we can, so every available camera was focused on 62530 as it approached journey's end. On with some work now.

No freight train pics made it to the BRM article, but here are a couple of 8709 with the pick-up goods approaching Stoke C. And another of it setting back into the yard. (Andy posted a b & w version of this a while back as a 'teaser'.) John C.

Now for today's BR photos - once again later than usual as I was involved in something else this afternoon. The photos are once again taken along the ECML in Northumberland. The photos are in order from south to north. The first four show the nice empty Northumberland countryside quite near the coast. Longhirst 56114 up coal ex Butterwell 28th Nov 87 C9283.jpg Buston Barns 47302 up ICI Grangemouth to Haverton Hill 22nd Dec 87 C9301.jpg Alnmouth Class 47 Edinburgh to Kings X Aug 81 J7567.jpg Little Mill Class 254 up April 83 C6030.jpg Taken from the roadside at the level crossing. Berwick on Tweed Class 253 up working wrong line 28th June 87 C8564.jpg David

I couldn't decide whether this works better in colour or black-and-white, so here's both. There's a feeling of winter sunshine about the lighting. Al.

Just to reiterate the above, big thank you to all who organised this year again. Far too much yapping by me to take photographs but here are some I managed to get on my iPhone Well worth travelling to ! G

This morning's photos are once again from Sewstern and Market Overton, beyond the end of the High Dyke branch on ex British Steel lines. D2381 was one of Bill McAlpine's locos. Sewstern 03 D2381 with Flying Scotsman spare boiler July 73 J3237.jpg Sewstern A3 4472 Flying Scotsman Oct 73 C1433.jpg Sewstern 03 D2381 shunting Barclay Harlaxton and LMS van Oct 74 J4054.jpg Market Overton Smith Rodley steam crane Oct73 C1417.jpg Market Overton A3 4472 Flying Scotsman Oct 73 C1437.jpg Market Overton Avonside Fred Oct 73 C1419.jpg David

My random selection of photos from today...

Judging by the amount of money I've paid (and still pay) the revenue over the past 52 years I suppose technically I employ them but I've yet to discover what it is they actually do for me! After thinking about that decided I needed a(nother) large brandy before retiring. Night all. Hic.

Morning all The view outside appears to be of Taunton this morning. A somewhat uncomfortable ride was not enjoyed on the Marrow from Paddington yesterday with constant vibration through an inadequately soft seat accompanied by occasional loud thumps and bumps from what passes for suspension on a modern train. Woeful. A bus ride followed to the Lydeard of Bishops and a gathering around an impressive model of Bath Green Park. There followed a convivial and rather good meal in the Lethbridge Arms before retiring for the night. I shall shortly be setting out on the Staplegrove Crusade with the intention of relieving myself of a few pasty tokens. Messages received from SWMBO indicate she has had a reasonable evening. We reunite tonight back Upon the Hill of Strawberries. Best wishes to all. At least the wind has abated here.

Afternoon from a still overcast south east coast although its possible that the sun will make an appearance later. Having spent most of my working life living and travelling to and from the Far East I've now decided that my days of international travel are over especially as I've seen most of the places I want to see. Instead I've decided that I must see more of the UK starting with a number of day trips by train. Having visited Snowdonia a couple of weeks ago a few day trips have been organised for the rest of the year. First trip is May 11 by Hastings Thumper to Lowestoft. Will join the train at Tonbridge and travel through south, west and north London onto the Great Eastern mainline at Stratford and then to Norwich and Lowestoft for a break of around three hours which will allow me some time to explore the north part of Lowestoft which I missed do on my visit last year. Yesterday my copy of the latest issue of Tramfare (magazine of the Tramway & Light Railway Society) arrived which gave details of the TLRS AGM to be held in Birkenhead on May 18. Having attended and enjoyed last years AGM held at the Docklands Museum in London suddenly thought why don't I pop up to Birkenhead this year. Headed for National Rail Enquiries and found that such a trip (with reserved seats on the Virgin sectors) is feasible although it does mean starting with the 06:02 Javelin to St. Pancras giving me enough time to have a quick breakfast at the Golden Arches before catching the 07:35 Pendolino to Crewe changing to a London North Western train to Liverpool Lime Street arriving at 10:11. Return journey starts at 17:47 with arrival back home at 21:32. The AGM is being held at the Wirral Transport Museum for which we will be issued with a souvenir ticket which will give one day access to the museum and unlimited tram rides. Also thinking of taking a ferryboat across the Mersey, last time I did something similar was a trip on a paddle steamer on the Woolwich Ferry! In the meantime the azaleas, bluebells and clematis are in flower in the garden, summer just round the corner: Have a good day, Keith

I have empathy, but with those who had to deal with the aftermath of the incident not with those stupid enough to cause it in the first place

Back home after a particularly tiring weekend, Exhibiting at Luton on Saturday up at 6, and only got down to Weston at 9.30 last night, up again at 7 this morning and back home at 7 tonight. Was it worth it, You bet it was, the standard of layouts that Stu organised was far better than the offerings the day before, ( my own included), and that was a commercial Exhibition. Coupled with again catching up with some of the nicest people I know, it made the day a positive joy, and a few thanks are in order. Firstly Stuart for organising the layouts and demonstrators, it's going to be difficult to top this years selection. To the layout owners and demonstrators thanks for some stunning work, it's why I keep coming back, even though I'm a foreigner. Huge thanks to the cake providers, without your help the event wouldn't work, so please pass on my thanks to those who made all the cakes, not only do they help fund the lunches for the Exhibitors and demonstrators they provide a boost to the Charitable donation that results from the event. Thanks to Tim for fetching the pasties, that are also one of the underpinnings of the day. Thanks to all the others who helped with things like the second hand stall, tidying up, getting chairs and benches out, arranging insurance etc. etc. And finally, last but not least, to Graham, without whose help the kitchen would have been much more chaotic, I know he was a pain to you all with his hard selling of cake, but without that help we would have raised far less money. Graham has a clashing Exhibition commitment next year, so I'm looking for a bit of assistance, if any hard sell snake oil sellers are available you will be welcome to help next year. I managed to get some photos that I will put up when I get a minute, right now I'm just about ready for bed. Just to update everyone on the catering side, here are the end results of all your hard work. Income from sales £336.50 Costs of pasties tea coffee, consumables etc. £148.61 Money raised by the catering for Charity £187.89 This is in addition to the fact that we provided meals for the Exhibitors and Demonstrators. Once again thanks to all, Exhibitors, Demonstrators, Organisers, and Customers who made it such a special day.

A few stills of both panniers at rest by the coaling stage at Little Muddle. I now have two 'working' locos that need weathering and detailing. Namely 8701 and 2534...

Just went to print out a single sheet on my printer only to have it start printing 7 copies of a 26 page set of recipes that SWMBO had told it to do. What she actually wanted was a single copy of two pages but by podging buttons at random set in motion the aforesaid paper forest. The big problem was that I couldn't stop the printer; even switching it off didn't work as when it was switched back on it took up where it had left off but the print management section didn't show anything in the print queue. Fortunately No. 1 son, who is a software systems engineer, was on hand and managed eventually to sort things out but not before it had printed about sixty sheets. SWMBO is now taking lessons from No. 1 son on how not to screw up print jobs. Apart from that the day is going swimmingly. Dave

Well, it's miserable and wet in North Salopshire this morning but at least it's not blowing a gale. On Friday evening we had a beautiful, blossom laden cherry tree in our front garden; this morning there is a cherry tree with a few blossoms clinging to it whilst surrounding it and covering a large area of garden is what looks like a pale pink, soggy snowdrift. Today we (SWMBO, Dad, No. 1 son, two grandchildren and me) are supposed to be going out for lunch but SWMBO is coughing fit to bust and her voice has reduced to a croak so we'll have to see. This evening No. 1 son and offspring return to Derbyshire so relative peace will be restored here just leaving the wreckage of what was once quite a reasonable house to be sorted out. How small children can devastate their surroundings so quickly never ceases to amaze me. Mind you, once the cleaning up process is finished I may well be able to get in some decent workshop time. Whatever your plans are for today I hope that they work out and you have a good one. Dave

Ey Up! Sunny here this morning so part 3 of my umpiring schedule may go ahead.. House is full of plaster dust. Our plasterer/painter reckons he will be finished next week. The furniture move will start then..although her indoors is now saying that we need new carpets fitting before we move everything back in. Pah! Have as good a day as you can! Baz

Today yesterday was a busy day. Golf - avoiding the worst of the showers to play in our annual "Lancashire v Rest of the World" golf match. I won my game 6-3 and the overall result was 1 point in front for the Red Rose County - YAY! Then my old favourite layout NB was dispatched to new climes in the North East. Modelling tokens were earned in exchange for it. They will be duly exchanged for models in due course............ Finishing the day with a visit to the Blackburn Hawks end of season presentation night, where NB Junior picked up her sponsored player shirt (fully washed and any bloodstains removed.......) Currently researching transatlantic flights to potentially meet up with our US friends for Thanksgiving later in the year. Although Mrs NB can fly a couple of days earlier than me, I will have to wait until the day after the NEC/Warley show for my travel. Currently, I've found £376 return for a 2 stop trip via AMS and BOS to RDU. Not a bad deal methinks. Next research will be suitable model stores in NC........ Work tomorrow today. Have a good Sunday folks. Cheers, Mick

Good afternoon all, A bit dull out but it may brighten up later. Late here today but I was up much earlier and in time for a hearty and (un)healthy breakfast. It's S-Day minus 2 and excitement is building! I've spent the morning clearing out a lot of carp from this laptop, something like 2000 emails deleted so far. Why on earth I kept most of them and for so long I'm blowed if I know. The hunt for the new laptop continues and has been narrowed down to 3 with one a clear favourite. Steve is doing a bit more research before a decision is made. I'm leaving it to him to decide. (He thinks I'm quite good with computers for my age as long as I don't do much more than switch them on. ) Enjoyed both rugby matches yesterday even if "my" team were narrowly beaten in the end after a bad start. Another match to watch this afternoon and possibly the F1 highlights later. Have a good one, Bob.

Whilst Chris, Colin, Tim ,Rob,Stu and others enjoy their SWAG jolly in Taunton , here's a few shots of Manor class 7804 Baydon Manor on a stopper.

Please can I make a non-railway point here. I have recently undergone complex, difficult and successful surgery provided by the NHS. We do ourselves and the generations to come no service if by constant denigration we reduce perceptions of the NHS to the level at which it is regarded as 'second rate' or 'failing' and a target for unscrupulous and/or self-interested politicians to dismantle. Obviously, given the extent of the services provided, different people will have different experiences. For complex situations, the same consultants operate in both 'public' and 'private' sectors, the differences being the waiting times. For myself, coming back from Africa very ill in 2010, the welcome I received from my GP's practice when I 'phoned from the airport ('come straight away, we'll fit you in') was deeply comforting and re-assuring. (Mind you, I always take care to be polite and to get on well with the doctors and the practice staff, this being common-sense as common courtesy.) That was also the time when leaving the surgery at a busy time of day, having been travelling for 36 hours, a young 16/17 year old lady offered me her seat on the bus. This country has so much that is good. Let us work to improve the 'not-so-good', but don't let us throw away what we have. I won't apologise for intruding here with my personal views. Thanks to the NHS, I am, at the age of 67, healthy, fit, sane, and (mostly) functional. I need to be because I have a large railway room and at current rates of progress I will need some years to get the railway to a satisfactory condition. Now, back to topic. I have tried to take some pictures of my cattle train headed by one of my J39s - proudly displaying lamps! This loco has a re-worked Bachmann body with a Comet chassis and gearbox and big Mashima motor. Like all my locomotives thus equipped it runs very well. However, I have not yet found a way to produce the lubricator drive on the RH side which Bachmann did produce on their split-chassis. Being a very mediocre modeller (at least in that I have a lot left to learn) I would be very grateful for advice from my betters!

Good morning from a cloudy Surrey. yesterday we had a good day at Rotarail with a firend new Swiss layout. Usual teething problems with any new layout at its first shwo depsite testing beforehand - never the same till in a show environment but he has till November to tweek it before Warley. Red car was fine till we got up the top of the lsip road off the M27 then no power and load of lights on the dashboard. Pulled over switched off and restarted, all fine til next roundabout so had to do the same and oncem ore when we arrived at the venue. The trip home and all was fine, so hopefully just the managemrnt system having a once in a lbue moon wobbler. Today I am deciding on whether to proceed with the price for the shed base which had gone up quite a bit after changing ot ply and adding underfloor insulation. He has given me a cheaper price for moisture resistant baord (need ot aks what sort of board) but do require insulation. If i do give the go ahead they will order tomorrow and commence Tuesday. I know that I could do the base myself for less than half the price but they have the ability to get it done level and true and quickly allowing me to then build the shed sooner with a decent base to work off.

The very ordered day yesterday proceeded quite well and even managed to cope with a curved ball added by son who needed assistance determining how he will construct and enclose six power supplies for his astral photography set-up. I was amazed how many different bits are involved beyond those which a basic pic-taker would expect! My dentist managed to complete the restoration of a smooth surface to one of my teeth that had developed a pothole, shame our local council can’t do the same with our roads. SWMBO duly minded the babes (now six, going on 12) during the afternoon and it’s seems that various rugby clubs managed to align their scores to best suit my team. We didn’t do too badly in the village quiz last night, fourth out of fifteen teams of eight in a packed hall - no need for coats or sweaters! A somewhat circuitous return home as SWMBO had taken much Sauvignon Blanc and struggled to walk in a straight line, not helped by a gusty winD. Sunshine is being rapidly replaced by grey clouds streaming in from a northerly direction suggests work outside will be short lived today. Kingzance may see some more progress unless fresh orders are received. Be good or be careful one and all.

It's raining second Muggacoffee needed before shed work..

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, A good nights sleep, but I've woken up with back pain, breakfast plus pink pills required. Ben the Border Collie got me up, the ground is wet but there are no deep puddles so we haven't had the amount of rain expected. I forgot to mention Ben has bandages on.. While charging around he manage to remove a dew claw again, it doesn't seem to bother him though. Even when he did it he was more interested in his ball. Scattered clouds, a cool north easterly breeze, not strong enough to stop roof building shortly. Yesterday my sailing club had a special sailing event, or rather didn't because sailing and 50mph winds don't go together. Time for that breakfast..

Here's some gratuitous train porn. Al.

this photo might be of interest here, its one of the earliest if not the earliest photograph showing any kind of railway, it shows Cheltenham shed about 1848, with Star class Polar Star, Pyracmon class Alligator and Sun class Javelin standing to attention by the turntable, Alligators tender has had to be turned separately as the turntable was too small diameter

I do not like high winds at the best of times, and still less when on the golf course. Today though I survived being blown about, kept my concentration, won the competition and reduced my handicap. Happy bunny time again. One more look at Wild Swan would be good, and this is the view from the bottom of the ramp on platform 2 as she glides along Platform 3. Then another of the occasional looks at stock formation. The Norseman had plenty of catering cars.

I suspect it won’t be as significant as the changes to Aditi’s sister’s Golf. Apparently the variation in some actual production engines exceeded some specifications. Nothing to do with NO emissions. I suppose I might notice if the fuel economy changed but probably not acceleration or speed. I will give the dealer I bought it from a a call tomorrow. I won’t be calling the new nearer dealership. I wasn’t at all impressed with how they dealt with my neighbour’s car engine problem.

Good morning everyone The sun is shining and the sky is blue, but there are a few clouds about though. Later up this morning after having had breakfast in bed. Now sat in the kitchen with muggertea No2, in about 45 minutes or so we are are to a local pub for lunch, we will be meeting up with Vickie, Ian, and kids, James and Amelia, Mike and Sarah plus the rest of Ian’s family to celebrate Vickie’s birthday. There will be about 30 people there all told, so no doubt it will be a loud, but very enjoyable afternoon, we probably won’t get back home much before 5:00! The sunshine should make the walk there and back very enjoyable, I’m so glad the bad weather was with us yesterday. After that we don’t have anything else planned for the day, probably just relax once we’re back home. Back later

Been windy here most of yesterday but dry and now calmed down. See what today brings. Good Morning all (Happy Sunday)!

Good evening everyone The weather today has been bl00dy awful, rain, rain, lots of rain which has lasted all day. We also had some very strong winds late afternoon and into the early part of the evening, but thankfully they’ve now subsided, but we are still having the odd strong gust of wind every now and then and it’s still chuckinitdarn! Max and I had a good time in the workshop this morning. I showed him how to use a few hand tools, files etc, but he’s a bit too small to reach my bench vice properly at the moment, so he really struggled when it came to filing. I’ll perhaps have to think about making a raised footboard he can stand on until he gets a bit taller. He also had a go with the soldering iron and he actually made his first soldered joint today. He was particularly pleased when he couldn’t break it! We even found time to play engines too! I got the impression that he would like to spend a bit more time in there with me in the future. Vickie and Ian were due to pick the kids up at around 12:00, but I got a text from Sheila just before 11:45 saying they were here! Max was gutted that he had to leave early, but apparently they needed to go shopping early, as Vickie was off out again in the afternoon, meeting up with a friend. After dinner I sat down at the table in the dining room and made a quick sketch of wooden support bracket (I’ll be making 4). When the plaster and plasterboard was delivered on Thursday, they were on 2 separate pallets, so there is quite a bit of wood to play with and there should be more than enough for what I’ve got in mind, there should even be some left over. I will then to use these supports to hold the plasterboard in place when it comes to fitting the new ceiling. Goodnight all

Enjoyable day to day. Trains, cider, chips, trains, model trains, pub, food, pub, live band, pub, bed...

In answer to those who 'hate' my description of layout locos (which is actually a description first used by Iain Rice), may I offer the following four pictures, please? In view of the comments regarding various disfiguring medical conditions and suggestions of spending too much money putting a kit-built chassis underneath a 'poor' body, I offer these as a 'justification' for building layout locos. These B1s are all from the same source and modified by me. That is, Bachmann/Replica/Mainline bodies on Comet frames with Markits wheels (LB's trackwork is good). All have been renumbered/renamed and weathered by me. Various detail additions are evident. This is similar, but this time it's Tony Geary's work. Tony also fitted a GN-style smokebox door. What do they show, if anything? That in a 'layout context', they're acceptable? There are four more from this source, and I honestly cannot see myself altering these now, even one at a time.

On the last lap with stock for Ely show now - mainly containers as I don't think we have had enough. These are the low hanging fruit from the batch as I didn't have to wrestle with any chains to complete these. That pleasure awaits this week. I'm also weathering other completed stock as I do batches so they can go into the boxes ready to travel. The General van has been seen before, a find at Middlesbrough Show a couple of years ago. The Parkside van was in a job lot and was bought for use as a weathering prop. On a whim I sorted out the (missing) brake gear and added better buffers and here it is. The chips in the roof are nowhere near as noticeable with the naked eye. Traders labels have been a feature in pictures I've been looking at and one has found its way onto here too. The two opens are for some variety; the steel high was another exhibition rummage box find which tidied up adequately and the LMS one I built. Bits and bobs of tidying up to do, I see - it's remarkable what the camera sees, isn't it?

Afternoon Awl, knackered I be, totally, with pain from my neck and shoulders to the base of my spine. Coffee and pink pills at the moment before heading for a long hot bath. On the ball City!!! I have no idea what that means but I believe is shouted at Norwich city football club, and there will be a lot of happy people at work with promotion to what ever the top division is called these days.. The shed roof is on however, the first panel was a disaster as nothing would line up. I went round the route of checking plans and the part numbers several times. So I put the opposite panel on no problem. This lead me to unscrew the first panel from the middle beam where I started. And found it lined up top and bottom so screwed that on. Eventually I came to the conclusion the middle beam had been miss drilled, so I drilled new holes in the beam. The next 10 sheets went on OK, the killer was going up and down the step ladder twice for each sheet then out of the shed round to the bottom of the sheet and a step stool. From previous experience I did remember however to put the centre ridge "tiles" on as I went along. How you are supposed to reach when the roof is assembled as per the cartoons I have no idea. Left to do, doors, trim, some floorboards. Coffee and pills consumed, time for that bath..

Whatever the excuses, I really hope that these culprits are made to restore the victims’ property (including any fencing) to its status before their anti-social actions and at the perpetrators’ cost. Sadly, I suspect that won’t happen.

Overcast today in sunny Teignmouth. Three teens who were part of a larger group who were involved in smashing up an elderly couples summer house yesterday have handed themselves in to the police this morning. Amazing the power of your photo bring posted on Facebook. Earlier this morning I thought about going to SWAG at Taunton but I didn't.

We are open !! This is a typical scene, much repeated around the hall.

Morning All Up very early I had a flit through the red button to catch up on the scores of yesterdays snooker Her constantly turning channels most of the day yesterday I gave up and watch a few frames in peace this am. I've almost finished building the wagon kit which was purchased yesterday, I glued the lead weight in last night with contact adhesive and let it set up overnight the roof and detail parts will go on it shortly and a rattle can is on stand-by for this afternoons fun if it warms up a bit outside. enjoy your day I must get on A.Waggunmaka

Time for an update... The skirts got a slap of paint... ...as did the missing fascia on Goathland. Not before the last signal was hooked up mind. Having spent most of this afternoon dealing with a broken 3 way turnout that's been sitting in the box for 25 years or so, I'm satisfied with the outcome. Both frog feed wires had broken off! The fix involved cutting away some webbing and filling with solder to replace another missing wire. New frog feeds have been added to the underside of the rail joiners. I then struggled with mounting two old Peco solenoid motors to it and had to figure out how to wire the thing up. It's live frog, so I hot-glued two switches to the motors. Using the multi-meter I made a colour coded sketch of the rails and labeled it "L" for left, "N" for normal and "R" for right which are upside down to the sketch! I marked one set of frogs orange and the other red, these go to the commons on the switches. The feed rails are black and green. I then painted the underside of the turnout with corresponding colours to my sketch then wired the whole thing up incorporating a 4 block connector and tested to see if it worked. Disconnecting the fan end wires from the block It was placed in the pre-cut holes so that now all I need do is reconnect the 4 wires. Simple! Not a fan of Peco solenoids. That done I could proceed with track laying. I got as far as the goods yard head shunt (the line with the BG on it) before I stopped and ran a train on Goathland. In the dark! The last train to Whitby is glimpsed passing under the road bridge while last orders are called in the Birch Hall Inn. The DMU creeps past the signal cabin... ... and squeals to a halt in Goathland. Shaun.

A colleague and I are heading off to Lille next Saturday (day trip by train) to see what Trains Mania is all about. Anyone else going?

My late FiL "worked" for was employed by received a paycheck from the revenue

Evening all. Thanks to all for the organisation of what was the nicest of days. Everyone present contributed to a lovely day out. Bleat Wharf saw some wonderful motive power including a superbly weathered D600 Warship, Herr Rover the Deutsch Terrier, a class 33, a Prairie, Bunty and a splendid J70. It seems almost impolite to single anything out but Sandy Shores was simply wonderful. A splendid model railway in every sense and beautifully presented. Oh and the Kitcheneers whose efforts truly sustained the event. A highlight of the year without a doubt and a pleasure to be part of. Rob.

Thanks chaps for a splendid day out, most enjoyable! I particularly liked "Sandy Shores", what an unusual and really well executed layout, Fab! Dave

Since my last post I've been battling with representing water. Usually I get it right first go, this time it's taken four turns before I've got a finish I'm happy with but at least it's there now. I've also went shopping on e-bay for one of those drinks company promotional lorries, a Mercedes Benz L322 and trailer. It's required some effort to get to this stage, rebuilding the rear hubs and dropping the load bed lower on the chassis, but I'm pleased with how it's coming along. Stuff like this is very much my cup of tea and while it might seem to be faffing about with details I think it's just this sort of thing which gives a layout character.

If I've missed your point, Mick, I apologise. Of course, the term 'layout loco' is very 'flexible' and every layout builder will probably have a different definition dependent on their own particular needs. May I illustrate the point with the following images, please? Where one has a layout built to the standard of Kevin Wilson's 7mm Bucks Hill, then the 'layout locos' running on that would grace any museum display case. As would the O Gauge locos shedded at 82G. I built this O Gauge Tower Black Five for service on John Emerson's Gifford Street. I put far more detail into this than I would into any LB loco, but it's still a 'layout loco'. A decent one, I hope, especially with Ian Rathbone's painting. I probably did a bit more than I would on a Little Bytham loco when I built this Mercian Super D in EM Gauge for service on Rob Kinsey's Merthyr Riverside. Its 'layout loco' status is illustrated by the 'goalpost' coupling. That top lamp is too big and too modern! Ian Rathbone painted this loco as well. Bachmann B1 bodies on 'proper' chassis are acceptable on Retford in EM. You've mentioned a fair bit of RTR, and, as the standards have improved, we now find many, many examples of better-quality, out-of-the-box motive power running on exhibition layouts. Such as this Hornby 'Arthur' running on Cadiford. Good as a 'layout loco' it is, it would be much-improved by a screw front coupling, vacuum standpipe, front steps, that dreadful NEM pocket removed, discs displayed and for being weathered. All of those things could be easily achieved by any 'average' modeller. Obviously, my 'layout loco' needs are different from yours. You seem quite happy to use RTR mechanisms, but they're of little use to me because they're not powerful enough. But, that's not their fault, and nowhere in RTR advertising does it claim that, say, a Hornby A3 or A4 will haul 14 heavy, kit-built, all-metal cars. Your locos suit your layout needs entirely satisfactorily. As I mentioned, we all have our 'blind spots'. For me, my locos have to operate on a (largish) system, hauling very heavy trains, often at high speed on very well-laid track. The only way I can ensure they do that is by building the mechanisms, whether they're to go underneath a modified RTR body or a complete kit-build. If several, close-up details aren't quite right, then I live with those. What I cannot live with is poor running, and I've seen far too many kit-built mechanisms which run really badly. That's not acceptable in any 'layout loco'. Regards, Tony.