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Thanks Tony, As always, a sensible and measured post. Regarding magazines, I'm actually paid to (proof) read BRM each month, though I don't manage to always intercept every blooper (the difference between 'birthing' and 'berthing' this issue, though I'm not sure I saw the caption in question). I think the MRJ is a very good magazine (though I don't always see it). In my view it's by the far the best with regard to what appeals to me in modelling. However, it's not exempt from 'variable quality photographs' in my opinion. The most-recent issues show Geoff Kent's absolutely beautiful Black Lion Crossing. Can there be a better example of subtle and natural observation applied to a model railway? Yet, in my view, I thought the pictures showing it were either too 'flat' or the colours weren't that subtle at all. I assume Barry Norman took the pictures? He's one of the finest model railway photographers ever. I offer some of my humble efforts by way of a comparison. An article (I hope) will eventually appear in BRM. Is this the 'finest' model railway on the circuit right now? I can think of none better. Regards, Tony.

Good morning one and all Life is full of pleasant surprises. I spent a few hours yesterday actually working on a model which I promised ages ago and very publicly to make for somebody else. It’s baby steps at the moment and I’ve no idea how long it will be before it all gets too difficult, the confidence issues kick in again and I have to lay it aside. The task did not have my wholly undivided attention, for I discovered in time to watch it that “Battle of Britain” was on Channel 5 for most of the afternoon. Nonetheless it has done much to take my mind off other things. Today I need to do the fodder run and a bit of laundry. What is life without a bit of routine? I discovered on Saturday that one of my pieces in Railway Bylines has attracted a letter to the Editor. This proves that someone has read it! The Editor clearly likes the way I do things and I still get a childish thrill to see my efforts in print. Best wishes to all Chris

I apologise for quoting my own post, but yesterday we went for a walk in the forest behind our yard. Here are a couple of pictures. To give an idea of scale, I've circled my 6'2" son in the second one.

Afternoon. Had a call from Mum mid morning. She had a call from my other halfs Mum to say her Dad had die in the early hours. he had been in a care home after a few strokes over recent years and with his eyesight failing he wasn't in good health having been in and out of hospital a few times recently. Other half taken it well as this was expected. My Dad died exactly 5 years ago this day - how weird, one date both of us wont forget. So now have two funerals in Chichester to attend, one this week that is my fathers long time work collegue. he had asbestosis after being in the shipyards on the Clyde when he was much younger. Its been threatening to rain here all morning but started to brighten up so set up the chopsaw then the heavens opened.. sods law. I have the parasol covering it at the moment in the hope it stops soon.

Good morning from the Charente. There is some blue sky and a strange yellow object to be seen. Breakfast has been had and shortly I will be off to the office of particular taxes in the Danglies of St John, to hand in my 2018 tax return. Then it's straight home, pack the car and off to Angleterre to meet little Emily for the first time. Chris keep the modelling up. Jamie

Hello. Now at Dublin airport. Just had breakfast here as we are much too early for the hotel. Very unusually there were long queues at Southend this morning. Much scanning of babies, toddlers seemed to be the delay. We made the very final last call. Tony

Next we have another V2 to look at, but being a KX engine, it is considerably better turned out. There is a lot of clutter to avoid when taking pictures from this angle, and this time the photographer was not entirely successful. No such problems with the next one though. Off to see our golf professional to find out why I am so cr*p at it.

Morning All, It is another somewhat damp morning. There was some fairly heavy rain overnight, and everywhere looks very damp. The rain is obviously doing the vegetation good as everything looks very green, but of course the downside means that the hedge is growing again already - I think it is probably going to need cutting twice this year. Time for a coffee! Have a good day everyone...

Morning all, The editor requiring clearance seems to have rejoined me but as he's easily despatched that's no problem. The sky looks very cloudy and threatening rain but none is forecast for an hour or three but I shall no doubt be whistled to provide transport home if Mrs Stationmaster gets caught buy a sudden downpour once her errands in town are finished (or even before they are finished). The Good Doctor is enroute to Kiev and I managed to persuade the printer to do the necessary with various of her E-tickets (if that's what they are called?) yesterday including the one for a day trip to Chernobyl Jamie to note that an illustrated PM has been despatched - have a good trip. Have a good day one and all.

Another day, another dollar but in my case it will be spent rather than earned. Muggerteas made and consumed, “what are you doing today?” Has been asked but we all know that is a rhetorical question. I fear a trip chauffeuring to The Centre, MK is on the cards so I may take my MacBook to Apple for a niggling little touchpad issue. The sun is presently showing through clouds, the dance of the seven earthmovers is well underway on the building site and some scenic progress to report on Kingzance in terms of formwork for Twerton cutting. When this is complete, I can add a scenic break and build the next stage round that becomes the quayside for Kingzance Station. Have a good day everyone, whatever may ail you.

Good morning Have another good trip Jamie. Yesterday we eventually decided to try for an early train out of Moor Street. At 07.45 there was a queue of Aston Villa supporters forming but staff told us that we didn't need to join the queue and directed us through the normal entrance to the platforms. The main platform 1 (through platform) was wedged wit h fans for the 07.51 so we decided to board the 08.11 from ne of the terminal platforms and chose suitable airline seats. The train did fill up with fans and was very noisy but luckily none were chanting unlike others on the earlier train. Bailed at Banbury hoping to see a freight that was showing on realtime trains but it didn't materialise so caught the next XC service to reading then on home by mid day. So, some shed building recommenced mainly consisting of using up another can of expanded foam. All gaps around the door frame and windows now filled. I also tested the Cat5e cable again with a different PC. This time no problems with internet speed downloading live webcam and video music simultaneously, so think it was the laptop I was previously using. The wifi is very weak so hoping to improve that once another wifi booster arrives today. Must call an electrician to give me a price for wiring up the shed and also change our fuse board to RCB a consumer unit then we will have a premanent supply to the shed.

Rained overnight here again. Her indoors said the plants needed it. Before our trip to Marple today I have some parcels to post so a trip to the local sub post office is required. Positive thoughts to all who ail! Have a great time today wherever you are on planet Earth! Baz PS have a safe journey Jamie

Good evening everyone Well the predicted rain came, but it was very sporadic, however when it come it was quite heavy but thankfully only in short bursts. More progress has been made in the cellar. The access door frame has been installed, the packing around the front of the framework has also been added. I even had time to make a temporary door out of a piece of MDF, which was left over from when I made the radiator covers last year. The next stage will be to apply the waterproofing solution to the walls, but hopefully that will be done on either Wednesday or Thursday. Goodnight all

Just finished a pair of EB1s built from Mike Edge's excellent 2mm etches. Only one EB1 actually existed, it was a Shildon - Newport locomotive (No. 11) that was modified to become a banker on the Woodhead line. It was subsequently transferred to Ilford and renumbered, before being scrapped in 1964. here are a couple of photos taken at Railex by Tim Shackleton of 26510 on Alan Whitehouses superb Mini-MSW layout.

Some more trains on the ECML between Newcastle and Morpeth for today. I must be getting old - I canremember the Metro Cammell dmus (the Class 101) when they were new. Now even the Pacers will soon be gone. Dudley Class 254 down going away 31st March 86 C7349a.jpg Damdykes crossing Class 254 down Aug 80 J7063.jpg Damdykes crossing Class 101 Morpeth to Newcastle Aug 80 J7062.jpg Cramlington 143025 Morpeth to Newcastle 9th June 86 C7580.jpg Clifton LC Class 142 Morpeth to Newcastle 10th April 96 C20869.jpg David

When I worked at said establishment, I would say to people in jest that I did glow in the dark, and it was amazing the number of people that actually believed me! I had a friend in the industry who did a Chernobyl Trip and found it quite fascinating. The sun has appeared today, so it is back to the hedge trimming. Steady progress is being made, but now with a muggercoffee break.

Good morning everyone The early morning rain has stopped, for the moment at least, but is due to continue for most of the day. Breakfast has been consumed and I’m just waiting for Sheila to be ready then I’ll drop her off at the hairdressers, as I’ll be passing the place on the way to complete the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix. After that I’ll have a rummage in the shed to see if I’ve got a small doorknob that is suitable for the new access door. After that, I’ve not much else planned except for my dive into Salford Quays in the early evening. Enjoy you day, back later.

A covering of light cloud meets the North Salopian eye this morning after a somewhat wet previous day and evening - good for the garden of course and no sign yet of last year's scorched earth that is still evident in a few small patches of scrappy lawn. SWMBO recently spent some time re-seeding said bits and is pleased that so far there has been no need for watering. A slow start for me with the second mugocoffee being consumed before taking Mum's clothes to the charity shop. There are still more to be sorted out but we're leaving that job for a while; I have to confess that it was a bit of a traumatic exercise and I'm not looking forward to doing it again but it will have to be faced in the near future, just not today. Do any ERs have experience of getting personal monitors/alarms for anyone? I want to get my Dad one of those devices that alerts others, the emergency services etc. in the event of a fall, illness etc. and wondered if any of you could offer advice? I'll also be making some catering preparations for a friend coming to stay for the weekend. We'll be going to the GOG show at Doncaster on Saturday along with another pal where I'm hoping to see Jamie and maybe some other RMWebbers. Apart from a few odd jobs that SWMBO says she has lined up, that's my day, although I have fond hopes that somewhere in there I can sneak in some workshop time. Cheers everyone. Have the best day you can. Dave

Mooring Awl , Inner Temple Hare, A very good nights sleep, 6 hours plus 1 on the sofa. A bit late on parade this morning, I have so far taken, then typed in 400, 8 digit measurements and processed their results ... All good so far. It's now on some automatic measurements, having got the boss to sort out his cockups.. He'd moved some files for the process, so the computer got lost and sat there ignoring me.. I saw a programme recently, they said that unless you go right to the centre zone of the Chernobyl site, you get more radiation on the flight over there.. The MRC Open Day is over.. On to the 3 Rivers Race, the first few boats are moored up outside the club ready for Saturday, 100 boats this year, from 14ft to 40ft.. The forecast now says 13mph South westerly which is better for wind strength but worse for direction. It's also 22C meaning that it will be very hot during the day, which will make the cold of the night seem worse.. On Friday, I'll have to go to the SC to collect all the gear and attend the last briefing (no rogering on the radio). Then drop in on the MRC on the way home to find out the final scores on the doors for visitors. Time too.. Wait for the programme to finish..

Never Miss Marple!

My 10 year old grand daughter is fascinated with grandad's model trains and comes along every Thursday night when I go to work on the layout. She's been able to use the DCC controller since she was 5 and is more than happy to stop off at Tyne Yard to see what is there and what is going past on the ECML or to come along to local shows, she even did York show with me a couple of year ago. 5 years ago I never thought that the interest would last but here she is last week: She is also absolutely determined that she will get to drive the first train on the new layout. Whether the interest will last much longer remains to be seen but I'm enjoying it while it lasts... John

What a few days! Thought I had more money in the PayPal account than I have, so no Taurus + coaches yet. New boiler in, works okay. Fridge broke... right after I spent £50 on cat food (raw food that needs freezing). Queue me taking an extra trip to work to fill the fridge and freezer there with as much as I could. Old airing cupboard is now a linen cupboard. B&Q £2 "to clear" flooring for shelves, the old baton shelves as shelf holders. Put up a mirror but broke it as I was screwing it in. Might change the rawl plugs to "better" ones as the holes aren't that great (my drill won't drill any further into the wall than what I have already). Fridge fixed today (£350 odd in total) means I can relax a little more. However I did solve my points problem by wedging a coffee stirrer under it - the motor pin snagged on a bunch of trains but I couldn't cut it any shorter. has been fairly reliable so far so happy about that!

Good morning, we have some blue sky, still a lot of threatening looking rain cloud but odd glimpses of the sun, I now have that Beekles song in my head and it won't go away, I was never a huge fan of McCartneys songs. I might try fishing again today if the rain keeps off or I may do a tip run to deposit some of that "I'll keep that it might come in handy one day" stuff that has been bagged up after the mammoth TOSH clearance yesterday. A visit to the big orange diy shed may be in order as some shelf brackets are require for the baseboard fitment. Have a nice dayyyyyy

The furthest west slip working on the GWR was Exeter. Once the working was over, the fun began as they had to get the coach back to Paddington. That was when you would see slip coaches working as a non corridor compo, being put in other trains to eventually be worked back east. Not west enough, but there are images of slip coaches being used in Bristol of Filton local trains prior to worked back to base. There is an excuse if you want one.Worsley works produces a single ended slip coach set of sides if anyone wants to have a go at concerting an rtr. For 'specials' my favourite reason is because it is Tuesday where you would see a van for the Hotels and Refreshment depart sending out supplies. My Aunt worked in the laundry at Swindon and always called the vans the linens as she was part of a large team of mainly women who unloaded the dirties and reloaded with fresh table clothes, bedding etc and Tuesday was the day the West country run took place. In addition, the working involved the coach, being dropped off and picked up by a later service to give enough time to be loaded/unloaded. Below is the most memorable vehicle on the run in the form of one of the two ex Royal train full braked 1069/70. I was lucky enough to pick up a pair of extra brake etches from Tony Hammond when he produced 5 coaches of the Royal Train for a brief time. If Robin form ANTB is reading, this coach was used well into the 1950's on this type of duty. There were many different vehicles used on the 'linen'. A more common van is the ex K15 rebuilt to several different diagrams with the lookout removed and some had a corridor connection fitted. This one is now K29. The Dean bogies were replaced by Americans on several vans. If anyone prefers plastic to brass the ex K's are still around on eBay, and even though prices have reached £30 sometimes, it is still a reasonable price to get something different. Brass ones have been available from several sources, Hammond, Dart Castings, Roxey. This is one was produced with some of the panels plated over. It has had the gas replaced with electric lighting etc. They were so common, and appear at the head of trains in many 1930's images. They were used for many different purposes, not just parcels. If you see one of these at Bristol- it could contain sausages. Mike Wiltshire

It was a letter to the students and parents; that's understandable.

Evening all, As seems to be standard for my updates on this thread, I must start this update with an apology for 18 months of radio silence. It wasn’t intention, I promise, and I have good reasoning. I (finally!) bought a house after talking about it and saving for a very, very long time. It’s been very good to finally have a front door to call my own although, coupled with a chaotic period at work, did mean that I had to drop out of the Aldershot exhibition mentioned in the previous update. A lot of free time has been spent trying to bring the new house into the 21st century – the previous owner’s hobbies seemed to include questionable DIY bodges, horrific pink carpets, Anaglypta wallpaper and cigarettes. Many, many cigarettes. It’s been quite a battle but I’m now on top of the nicotine-stench and the house is a sea of neutral colours and wood floorings. As a 30th birthday present to myself, I pushed on and completed my office--workbench ready for the Winter Modelling season. I’d vastly outgrown the small space at my parents so it’s nice to a home for everything at last; it’s odd to have some spare bookshelf space too. Whilst the office is intended for little modelling jobs, there’s a rough plan to build a ‘proper’ workshop at the bottom of the garden later in the summer that will be kitted out for messy jobs - a lathe and spray-booth would be good for 2mm stuff; welding equipment and a grit blaster for Cavalier tinkering. The eagle eyed may spot a new layout on the wall – this is my DJLC entry that’s based around an IKEA Lack. The prototype is the Gakunan Railway in Japan; a 1067mm gauge industrial line that threads its way through various industries near the city of Fuji. Whilst the layout is to 1/150th scale, the track is to 7.12mm gauge – I’m unaware of the correct name for this combination but I’ve start to refer to it as JFS150. Being lathe-less at present, I’m very grateful to Alan Smith who turned up the roller gauges for the layout whilst the crossing nose gauges came from the unlikely source of 9/32” diameter throttle cable nipples intended for Triumph motorcycles. The layout is probably best described as ‘getting-there’; I really need to spend some time on the scenic details, however it will be appearing as a work-in-progress at GlobalRail in Didcot on Saturday 15th June (https://grs-uk.org/shows/2018/09/08/globalrail-2019-announced.html). Parkend hasn’t quite made it to the new place yet, but after much arm twisting from Bryn and Pete Matcham I’m very pleased to say that it’ll be at the 2mm Association Meeting in Tutbury on Saturday 8th June (Two exhibitions on two consecutive weekends – this is new ground for me!). The layout did make it’s exhibition debut at GlobalRail 2018 where it operated well and proved relatively easy to move but ever since has sat at my parent’s place gathering dusts. A lot of dust at that too; I was amazed at just how much it had acquired in a relatively short period of time. I spent several hours this weekend very carefully brushing and hoovering it off, before slowly coaxing everything back to life. Please go easily on me at Tutbury – I’m not quite prepared as I would like to be. The Cavalier has progressed a little too; the new place included a powered and lit garage which means I can finally get to work on it (Well, once the house is finished at least). Previously it has been stored in a relatively remote place without running water, electricity or any place to work on it so everything had been carried out in the street – not ideal, but at least the car itself was under cover. She will turn 40 next year which means MOT and tax exemption; the intention is to keep it running for a couple more years before taking it off the road to give it a full mid-life overhaul. Mechanically and structural it’s now very good, it just needs a few flaky bits of tin work dealing with, starting with the passenger wing. The intention isn’t really for it to be concourse as I want it to be a working car, but I’d like it to make approaching that level. Preparations for these works have meant traipsing around the country when another appears. An eBay listing lead me to an example in a scrap yard in Evesham that was so corroded we had to cut through the door skins to get to the glass, cut the boot off to get to the fuel tank and cutting the roof to salvage what was left of the interior. Being February it hammered it down with rain all day too – good times! I’m indebted to my two ever present friends for helping out with these recovery missions. Another road-trip to the East Midlands ended up requiring a van to cart home a huge amount of parts from two people’s collections. I certainly found out my other half is an open minded soul when I dumped most of the salvaged parts in our back garden for a week or so. I’ll give it a couple more weeks before leaving bits to soak in the bath, mind you. Not everything has ended up in the parts store; some life expired items have been turn into furniture for the house – I was quite pleased with my speedo clock and steering column reading lamp. So, that’s the last 18 month in a couple of photos. I’m hoping to resume some 2mm modelling properly this year now that things are calming down again at home – watch this space. See you at Tutbury and Didcot. Cheers, Pix

Greetings all from LBG where it is turning colder and is cloudy with hints of rain. A fairly busy weekend including a trip to the Historic Masters F1 at Brands hatch, with supporting races. The F1 cars were impressively noisy and there was some good racing. The minis/cortinas/falcons/mustangs were very entertaining, with some of the minis getting sideways as they drifted through Paddock Hill bend and up Pilgrim's. The gravel trap was kept busy. Mrs Lurker's sister and BiL enjoyed it - but their boys got bored. More pleasingly Elder Lurker, who was persuaded to come, enjoyed it more than he thought he would, so a harmonious day!

Morning All Just back from the dentist nothing wrong just twenty odd quid less in the pocket and it was a bit on the cold side walking there and back very overcast here at the moment Had a bit of luck at the week-end I found a Mikes Models GWR crane on Ebay I've been searching for more years than I care to remember and some HMRS Southern Railway wagon transfers have arrived another job to be getting on with at least 10 that require these graphics with 2 more in the post. Her has gone out for a couple of hours modelling will commence and lunch today will be burger ding. enjoy your day I Will

An SLS visit to Shwt. Pulled into the old station, the Jinty the uncouples, pulls up to the old signal box and runs round the train ready for the return trip

I spent the weekend exhibiting Sherton Abbas at Railex http://www.railex.org.uk/ accompanied by Al (Barry Ten), to whom I'm indebted for all his hard work setting up the layout and for his ninja like operating skills🙂 We arrived in Aylesbury around 6.30pm and took about 90 minutes or so to unload the hire van and get the layout set up in the exhibition hall. Everyone was very helpful and welcoming, particularly David Lane (David Bigcheeseplant) who's the exhibition manager. Setting up Image courtesy of Kevin Wood Once the layout was set up we headed for the "bright lights" of Aylesbury and enjoyed an excellent curry at the Bengal Blue Indian restaurant. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186222-d2546313-Reviews-Bengal_Blue-Aylesbury_Aylesbury_Vale_Buckinghamshire_England.html This was followed by a couple of pints in the Bricklayers Arms http://www.bricklayersarmsaylesbury.co.uk/ a particular treat for a London boy who's been living in Wales for the last 30 years! London Pride On the stroll back to the accommodation we crossed the railway line and I took this picture, I've no idea what the stock is, but it most certainly isn't Edwardian Great Western!:-) 21st Century Railway! The following morning the exhibition started at 10.00 am, so once fuelled by a fry up and coffee we arrived back in the hall for 9.00 am. The exhibition was very well attended, but because of the well managed layout of the hall it never felt cramped or congested. Exhibition in full Swing photo courtesy Anthony Mead Al doing sterling work shunting at Sherton Abbas David Lane had arranged a social event for the Saturday evening, so we were taken by vintage bus to the Hop Pole pub https://www.aylesburybrewhouse.co.uk/thehoppoleaylesbury which has a remarkable range of real ales on tap, my particular favourite was a beer called Gravitas, definitely recommended! A convivial time was had by all, chatting and eating pizza:-) I arrived back in the hall on Sunday morning to make some minor adjustments to the level of the layout, on Saturday we’d experienced some free running wagons catching up with the locomotive after uncoupling and I was keen to rectify this! Some judicious packing was required under a couple of legs which seemed to clear the problem:-) During Sunday afternoon David brought his rather lovely Lee Marsh 517 along which ran beautifully, though for some reason he declined my offer to drill its buffer beam and fit a wire suitable to couple with my Spratt and Winkle fitted stock! Lee Marsh 517 class Towards the end of Sunday afternoon I was surprised, though delighted to be told that Sherton Abbas had been voted “Best Layout” at the show. This was particularly gratifying on account of the many excellent layouts on display at the exhibition! I was presented a rather nice plaque by Jerry Clifford which is now in pride of place on the front of the layout🙂 Photo curtesy of Anthony Mead Pride of place! It was a thoroughly enjoyable, though tiring weekend, my knees are only just recovering! It was great meeting the many RMweb members who have commented on this blog over the last few years, thanks to all of you for your encouragement. Finally thanks must go to the Risborough & District Model Railway Club and David Lane in particular for holding such an excellent event. Best wishes Dave

Ian (Roundhouse) condolences to the Mrs and you. Doesn't matter how expected it is, it's still a moving experience. Celebrate the good times. Chewsday moaning to all. Weekend was a flurry of endeavors starting with getting the rental van and transporting the Mrs row boat to the cabin for the season. Saturday mostly a relax in the sun, putting off any chores till "later". Out to dinner at "Fishers Club" the only restaurant (fortunately a decent place) in town. We're summer season regulars and do enjoy the place. Their ribs are spectacular and the Mrs loves the walleye dinner, a local favorite. Sunday we had Trevor and Meagan (and dogs) join us, so more sitting around, boating and eating; Mrs off for her first row of the year... Trevor, Meagan and the dogs returning after a canoe tour of the lake! We left Sunday evening, knowing we wanted to spend Memorial day at home and working on the pother house. Additionally, it was expected to rain Monday, which it did, buckets of the stuff!! Managed to get the entire floor in the basement living area, bedroom and closet finished as well as a variety of other smaller tasks. So here we are back at work! 9 first thing and mostly sunny, expecting 20 for a high. More rain supposedly tomorrow. Carpe diem.

I do hope the Good Doctor does not return with a GLOWING report (as one who remembers the '80s sketch on Winscale, central heating for kids). Apple will see me tomorrow so I may get a bit more Kingzance done!

The final three shots of horse box action shew the train heading down the branch. (I notice now that the Vallejo 'grey-black' on the cylinder cover has dried with a sheen. Typical of me and paints - what I want to be shiny dries matt, what I want to be dead flat dries shiny, whatever it says on the jar, bottle or tin. Hey ho.) John C.

A very interesting film that shows mining and quarrying operations of Stewarts & Lloyds, with both standard and narrow gauge featured and with lots of mining equipment in use. https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-iron-ore-in-britain-1956-online

I hope an update on my Bird class will be of interest to some. I do need to improve my riveting technique, as this picture rather cruelly illustrates. I hope it'll all be satisfactory once painted and lightly weathered, though. Dave Stone and I had a very enjoyable weekend at RailEx and were delighted when Dave's layout won best in show. Dave is a bit older than me but we're both in our fifties, and neither of us (as far as I'm aware) has any direct memory of steam. Dave's layout, set in 1904, went down well with many younger visitors and I've enjoyed learning a bit more about the Edwardian-era GWR from handling Dave's exquisite models and listening to conversations with knowledgeable types about such learned matters as whether tank top fillers should be painted green on a round-top firebox Dean Goods and so on. I do have a great deal of confidence about the longevity of the hobby, possibly in slightly more "niche" form, for years to come. I think if railway modelling could weather the millennium, which it did, then it should be good for a few more decades. Al

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/05/27/sandys-treatment-day-160/

Things have moved on a little, literally. The 9F is slowing for the inevitable wait, as Book Law takes charge of its express. a few minutes later, our man having climbed something again, we see Book Law leaving, while the 9F still waits.

Starting jury service tomorrow, so brief appearances for up to a fortnight. Bill

Dave, Can't offer advice re: services given I'm on the other side of the pond, however, when the late MiL was issued one, our biggest challenge was that she would rather call us if she could, since she "didn't want to bother the folks on the service with her problems!" You may face that sort of issue, and it's not easy to overcome, but we did eventually manage to convince her to actually USE it if she needed to...

Mrs W Station and I are back from our holiday and have had a great time, I have brought you all a stick of rock for you to break your teeth on while you peruse what the moaning builders have been up to in my absence. First off as soon as I arrived on site the forman started on me, saying you took the bl..dy plans with you on holiday, (not suprising really as the only plans that exist are in my head and then I make it up as I go along). so we have just had to guess what you wanted, hope you like it. to bad if you don't, I heard him mumble to his mate. His stick of rock will give him something to concentrate on while he extracts it. The outer walls have been made from mount board, and the door has been lifted from a picture on the internet with the addition of a personnel door added, this will be altered later with the addition of some sign writing on the large doors. Enjoy Your Rock. All the best Adrian.

LNER T1 & A6 There seem to have been a few scratch builds, featured on here, which have used plasticard as the main building medium. So here are a couple of photos of locos which have also used plasticard for the main superstructure. In both cases I bought Little Engines kits, one of the T1 and one of the A6 and in both cases all I finished up using were the smokeboxes, cab front plates, the etched coal rails and some of the castings. In both cases, the loco bodies are .010" plasticard laminated onto .030" plasticard sub-structures, using an impact adhesive rather than any methyl ethyl ketone based fixative, which can warp the lamination. By this means none of the .030" plasticard is visible, so the footplate and all of the loco platework which is visible is .010" plasticard. Beading is normally .015" plasticard cut to 1.0 mm wide strips. The T1 chassis was scratch built; the A6 chassis is one of Arthur's etched versions. Both locos have their side tanks, bunkers and boiler fronts filled with sheet lead with the T1 scaling in at 16 ounces and the A6 at 12, so adhesion is not a problem. The T1, which was my first build on returning to this hobby after a thirty five year lay-off, was built in 2011 and the A6 in 2012, so both have stood up quite well to a few years of running. My first loco posting for a while as a bout of some 'lurgi' hit me for a week or two, and then a project to rebuild a 12"/1 foot scale garden wall took up around three weeks. Having worked in offices, all of my working life, then brick laying is now a wonderful counterpoint, though it takes me far longer than it would for a professional. Anyway, now back to the B1's and another ex-NER 4-6-2 tank, which is not an A6 or A7. So that only leaves the A8! Cheers Mike

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I order my tea online as none of the supermarkets bother to stock large leaf loose tea. The latest batch arrived last week but when I opened a pack it turned out to be fine leaf which is unusable in filter teapots. A complaint has been dispatched and I am awaiting their reply. In the meantime I have scoured the kitchen cupboards and found some of the right kind of tea in airtight tins so I have just enough to last today and tomorrow. Have a good trip Jamie, and the good doctor.

The actions of young people just mirror the society we live in, thankfully those who cause problems are the very small minority. The majority of young people are a thoroughly decent set of folk, whilst in some ways they may have different values about belongings, in other ways far more active in making a more caring, tolerant and cleaner environment for all to live in.

I just can’t understand that attitude, exhibitions are the hobby’s showcase and if something innovative has been discovered why not share it with others! If it wasn’t for modellers like Gordon Gravett and Iain Rice sharing their ideas by writing books I know my modelling would be much the worse for it. Come on chaps this is railway modelling, we’re not in the magic circle!

Evening all, I decided to start the annual task of hedge trimming this morning. I made good progress until after lunch when the rain came. I would have carried on, but thought that using an electric trimmer in the rain wasn’t a good idea! We have now had a bit of rain on each of the last 3 days, after nothing for ages. I am really quite happy with that, as the garden really needed it. Vegetable seeds are starting to come through, and needed some moisture in the soil.

1. Propelling the horsebox across the up main and into the branch platform. 2. Coupling up to the B-set. 3. The lamp has now having been switched to the other end of the loco, and the train departs for Earlsbridge, horse on board. John C.

Birmingham International and New Street this afternoon. The photos were taken on a trip Dad and I made to the Motor Show in 1980. You have seen my photos of some of the trains before, these are Dad's versions. Birmingham New Street 46033 l e Oct 80 J7254 Birmingham International 86234 Birmingham to Euston Oct 80 J7260.jpg Birmingham International Class 310 New Street to International Oct 80 J7264.jpg Birmingham International Class 86s up Oct 80 J7266.jpg Birmingham New Street 87002 down and 86252 le Oct 80 J7272.jpg David

SWMBO was called late January, ended up doing over 5 weeks. You may be some time Captain Oates.

Evening all! Game umpired...so much better than the one on Saturday. Yorks won (1"England player for Yorkshire v 2 England players including the England Captain Sarah for Sussex) AND it didn't rain!! Tomorrow it's Yorkshire Ridings over 60s v Lancashire at Marple. Rick was demoing at a show in Cornwall at the weekend..... Baz

Evening. Busy weekend of bike stuff, it being TT time. Today was rainsunrainsunrainsun, so the classic racing was OK this morning but this evening's modern practice cancelled. Knackered after the weekend so back to work tomorrow will be tough. Two staff on holiday too, and a three day weekend's worth of orders to process means a busy NH and crew.