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The northernmost reaches of the Blyth and Tyne today, starting just to the north of Winning with a loco on the viaduct over the River Wansbeck and then moving to the east of Ashington in the Woodhorn area and ending up at Lynemouth with an NCB locomotive. Behind the loco is what was then the Alcan power station for the aluminium smelter. It now supplies the National Grid burning wood chips. The Woodhorn photos were taken just to the east of the bridge over the spine road (A189). North Seaton Wansbeck viaduct Class 56 l e Nov 87 J9368.jpg Taken from the north bank of the river, looking east. Woodhorn 37410 empties Lynemouth to North Blyth 31st Oct 92 C18130.jpg Woodhorn NCB Class 14 empty coal and mobile crane Oct 85 J8434.jpg Woodhorn Grant Lyon Eagre 0-4-0 dm down ballast May 88 J9495.jpg Lynemouth NCB Barclay Nov 85 J8467 David

Update Thank you for your patience with the van project. Due to the finesse and level of detail produced on the van (like the horse hooks on the sole bar!) it made painting and decorating the van quite tricky. Alterations and new jigs have had to be produced, new paints / ink has been used and various trials carried out all to make sure the finish on this van is perfect. Dapol have done a fantastic job and we are now very pleased with the decoration finish. Please see attached a couple of shots from the latest sample. All the above has caused a delay but we felt it was crucial to get the finish right. I am pleased to say that now the process has been perfected we should start despatching the first batch of vans in the next 2 to 3 weeks!

A couple more shots of Silver Fox this morning, again from on high. Well all right, this is actually from platform level, and the spotters wouldn't move.

Morning fellow ER’s. A quick check in after a hectic day. Yesterday our first foster child arrived a few days earlier than expected - no more I can say on that of course. Last night was a certain tv show. A fair portrayal of what happened although one or two things were edited to tell the story, including the final points. We actually lost by only a point and not the margin shown on screen. I think that after last night I am well qualified to be a silent movie actor - andyram license to hide in the background Best wishes to especially to those who ail. Andy edited for typos

That's what the last girl said.

Sandy on extra morhine because of the pain. Hopefully radiotherapy will be able to ease it. https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/10/05/sandys-treatment-day-291/

Flu jab - appointment system - got there early for my appointment - no queue - go straight in - they recognised me so i didn't even have to give a name - which in itself is a tad worrying - and out. Off to co-op for fresh croissants - get home five minutes before my original appointment time.

A slim margarine, (edit - Andy was 'speelchucked' - he's corrected it now) Andy? Slippery customer. Good effort though by your team, the layouts have been getting much better since the first episode, that left me not so much cold as frozen.

No, it's so long I'm frightened of it....

There's a bright spot on this morning's horizon. Our friend who is having chemo and radio therapy is being released from hospital today although we're still not sure why she was admitted in the first place; doubtless we will find out in due course. In fact, there is another bright spot as reports from the village in Spain where we are going on Tuesday say that the weather is excellent and forecast to stay that way for the foreseeable future. With what's been happening recently, a couple of weeks doing very little in the sunshine sounds just about right. Now, if the rugby today goes well....... With thoughts for those not having good days and thanks to all ERs who have been so supportive - it does make a difference. Dave

"We wuz wobbed!"

In Brighton for the weekend celebrating rail replacement buses 24 years of being knot-tied. The actual date is Monday but we both have to work so ........

Afternoon All Great to see so many missing ERs are contributing again - Pete, Ian, Debs, and Andy to name a few. John - hope Sandy gets some relief from the radiotherapy. Generic greetings to everybody else, as usual. Dave, it never rains but..... And at least the news about your friend is better. 30747's boss's husband was diagnosed with cancer in May, was operated on, had chemo, and was recovering, then an MRI found tumours at the base of his spine, which were terminal, and he died a couple of days ago. It really is a b@stard of a disease. Should be getting to logs in tomorrow, and perhaps just light the stove gently, to allow the rope seal adhesive and the fire cement to set once I've done them tomorrow morning. Back tomorrow, hopefully. Regards to All Stewart

Mornink. Green wires are for frogs, Baz - because frogs are green..... In other news....disturbed night for us both, the curry (home made) was, er, windy. Like, trombones and a trumpet voluntary. TMI sorry, but we're not sure why that happened as we eat curries all the time and the contents were managed as it was all home mead with the same things as usual. I've also got a touch of the lurgy, it threatened last week but it hit in yesterday, but not the full blown killer version thankfully. Having the flu jab (minutes before symptoms started!) won't have helped. Ah well. Off to the tip with seven bags of sycamore leaves - the first fall of autumn, only another two tons to go - lot of trees at the bottom of the garden.

Ey up. Been Chopin. Her indoors has had a belated extra birthday present from me. For the cost of 3 Comet coach kits she is now the proud owner of a Alto in C Gemshorn (ie a modified cows horn) all is well.... Time to catch up with a loada emails TTFN Baz

Bon apres midi to you all. We now have a fourth wheeled vehicle to add to the shunting puzzle in the house. Beth's late fathers buggy. It works a treat and today we put it into the car to go choosing bathroom fittings with our builder and his wife. A good but tiring day has been had and the little scooter worked a treat round various French equivalents of the big orange shed. We then went for lunch at a Buffalo Grill. We all enjoyed that. Now it's chill time on the sofa and probably eyelid inspection. Then off to put our friends chickens away and see if they've left us any little presents. We've had 4 in 3 days so far. Good rugby score. Jamie

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Rather dull and overcast but the seaweed wranglers say it should stay dry. Will be going out shortly to the Ilford & West Essex showcase. Thats despite a dose of the lurgy, in fact fresh air seems to keep it at bay. Tea has been drunk, be back later.

Set up and almost ready to go

Afternoon all, First a mote for ChrisF the lad did Marrakech to home by train earlier thos year and apart from the food poisoning he picked up in France (or maybe Spain) it was a nice straightforward and fairly interesting trip, especially the bit south of the Straits of Gibraltar. So seemingly thoroughly recommended (and I can no doubt get details of the restaurants which are on his suspect list for his compylobacter poisoning ). And 'isn't it nice to be back home' - or rather not have to get up and catch a commuter hour of the day train and then sit around all day in either freezing cold jurors' lounge or an equally cold court room with no chance of getting a hot cup of any sort of drink because the machine that dispenses such essentials had broken down. I'm wondering about putting a comment on Trip Advisor but at least my feedback form has been suitably worded (and I hope that doesn't stop them paying my subsistence allowance). GMRC was quite interesting last night even if I did happen to know who the winners were before the programme had really got under way. Having attended the final it's more or less unavoidable that you are going to know who won their way through but it hasn't reduced the enjoyment of watching the show. I hope Andyram didn't get bored by the two presenters doing constant retakes when they muffed their lines - I understand from one of the Aberdeen team from last year that the record number they counted was 16 retakes and one of them got up to around a dozen on one occasion at this year's final. All good fun and we are wondering about entering the accompanying competition as it would be interesting to stop at Danesfield House Hotel - I wondered if the £1,000 spending money would probably just about cover dinner and drinks on the second night there Enjoy the rest of your day one and all. A suggested treat for Hippos interested in Japanese i ce cream - wasabe flavoured ice cream (consume with care and keep a muscle relaxant or fire bucket handy

Afternoon all, we have dinner guests tonight, so I'll be missing in action, however my mate is also a muddler, so sure some playing with trains...er I mean serious discussion about things muddling may well take place lol

Morning All Dry and overcast Up early to get on with household chores most of them done now just a clean duvet cover and other bits to go back on the bed once its had a good airing. I've been invited out for a curry tonight I hate the stuff they turnout around here just a load of hot mush and me with 11 women I don't think so I've no ear defenders. Off to the shops to gets some bits & pieces and a couple of reading books the library is empty now. Enjoy you day H.Appy-shopa

We set off at just after 9am to join what looked like most of the over 65 population of Benfleet going for flu jabs. We then went to the shops. I went into the chemist to get Aditi some more micropore tape and sterile dressings (her scald injury is healing nicely). There was a queue at the pharmacy of people wanting flu jabs who didn’t want to queue at the doctors. It is quite a pleasant morning here. Have a good day. Tony

Too late with the warning about ice cream. We ended up with what is best described as a trifle in a cone. Fruit jelly and cream, but definitely no ice cream. Using a JR Pass to get around. The railways here puts the UK system to shame. Fast, punctual and clean, plus a high traffic density.

Good morning all, Up earlyish today as there is some rugby being played. There is a better than fair chance I'll be watching it. Have a good one, Bob.

Mooring awl, inner Temple Hare, 4 hours plus 2 hours sleep not too bad. Time to get up shortly, walk Ben the I'm still knackered collie, breakfast, I'll set off for the show at 06:00, the doors open for traders and exhibitors at 07:00, I need to be a bit early, manoeuvring a landrover and trailer is not easy in a small car park. Forecast today cloudy but dry. Perfect for the show, we've got an old bus running every half hour between the BVR, and the hall. Still looking very very soggy tomorrow. Time to.. Rest for another 10 minutes..

Big day out yesterday! I went to the post office to mail some items MrsID sold on E-wotsit. As I was leaving town I saw a really strange helicopter taking off. I'm pretty sure it was a K-MAX of some sort. It might have been delivering a big tree for the upcoming festivities but or maybe just a roof-top A/C unit as there is also a lot of construction in town at the moment.

Ey up! Mugatea being drunk. Plans for today...control panel building... Have a great day! JoynDMJ.. i have known Steve Flint for over 40 years so I can have a gentle dig when required. Black for common..mmh you must have not have had Triang electric point motors. The PECO ones don't make sense ..just saying. Positive thoughts to all who ail! Baz

Good morning one and all During eight hours at the beer festival yesterday I had some interesting conversations. One was with a friend of surprisingly long standing who served as a LibDem councillor for 11 years. Another was with a couple who travelled to Marrakesh and back by train. I like the sound of that very much but it will have to wait until my savings account has recovered from other demands made on it. Who will be at the festival today and what seeds will they plant in my mind? Today the LGBT social group will be meeting for breakfast. The original idea was to gather at 10 am. Now expecting me to wait until nearly lunchtime for breakfast is nothing short of cruelty. I told them that I would be there at 9 and await their arrival. Now it appears that there is some sort of promo and at least a few will be there at a more sensible hour. I will get my money's worth and return to the beer festival at 11.30 for the final spurt. Today I shall be wearing my second new shirt of the week. After sporting a Brains shirt that I won on the "shut the gate" stall I now have one which says "Nobody knows I'm a fraud". I bought it at the Grace Petrie concert on Monday. Is it appropriate? You decide! These new shirts will have to be laundered sooner or later, That may give a clue as to what I will be doing tomorrow. Oh joy. Best wishes to all Chris

Big decision time. I got the post and there was October's Modern Railways. They screwed up last month and September's is en route as well.do I A) Read the October one today or B) wait till the September one arrives and read them in sequence. Answers on a postcard please. Jamie

Talking of scenery I’m quickly refreshing each of the completed 28 4’ frames. I give them a vac then liberally spray matt varnish over absolutely everything making sure I wipe the tops of the rails. I use spray matt varnish for a lot of things but to refresh scenery it works a treat bringing out colours again, plus everything looks more vibrant.. I use Rustoleum Matt Spray Varnish. This is frame 1 so treated with a bit more runny superglue tipped down the ‘stonework’ to give the damp effect..

Good evening everyone Well the rain finally stopped falling sometime after dinner, then the sun came out for a few minutes then it went dark again, but didn’t rain. As predicted, this morning’s Trafford Centre trip was a lot longer than if I’d been on my own, but we were able to get all that was required, so bonus points earned there. The return journey took us via the butchers for our weekly meat rations, I came away with a pastie for my dinner so all was well in the end. After dinner we we had a quick trip to Costco and that could have been a lot worse than it was. Home just in time for a mid afternoon muggertea then a quick eyelid inspection was carried out before our guests arrived. However, tonight James and Amelia were joined by Charlie, which was very nice, as we don’t get to see him now he’s working. I probably won’t look in in the morning as I’m off to the Wigan show, Mick, I’ll drop by and say hello. Goodnight all

Ey up! Wiring still being done on train set. Next time I see Steve Flint he is getting an earful. Peco point machines have 3 wires, red , green and black. Since time immemorial black has been common. Not for Peco it isn't. Green is the new black. Pah! Control panel nearly finished so some progress has been made. Positive thoughts to all who ail. Baz

You wouldn't want to connect black wires to track on my layouts. That's 16 V ac. I use red and blue for track feeds / common since my first exhibition layout back in 1980. Evening from A worm on way home from the Cross after sampling old and new LNER services to and from Peterborough. Luckily we are in the rear first class on the GW Worm as they are declassified in the rear of each train. Not many know that but we rarely use it but enough fo during the peak hours so often full by the time they reach our station. Better than standard class ironing boards Had a great day Sampling various ales in Oakham, Stamford and Peterborough

I'd read the October one now and the September one later. Then I'd read October one again because, by then, I'd have forgotten most of it from the previous reading.

On behalf of the 3 Millers can I thank people for the positive comments. I agree our operation was a bit basic, but that wasn't the intention. We had planned a more extensive demo but electrical issues (which we managed to keep quiet from the producers ;-) ) and time - the flooding of the polder was not as fast as you might think from watching TV - meant we had to keep it simple. I agree with the assessments made here that the best team won, but I think we gave them a good scare at times. WCR did stick to the format required a lot better than we did, in fact we probably did ourselves no favours regarding points on the board by being a bit pedantic and "purist" - as Steve Flint might say. In fact on the last morning Steve asked me if we were worried about our reputations. Well no, Steve, if we were worried about our reputations as finescale modellers we wouldn't have been within a hundred miles of Fawley Hill. Our red lines though were that the layout had to be consistent in terms of stock, scenery and historical context and that individual items were to be made to a high standard. Obviously tambourines and shuttlecocks presented a problem there. What we hoped to show though is that it is possible to be serious railway modellers and still enjoy taking part in something like the Challenge. We just wish we'd still had the energy we had twenty years ago. And we hoped to show that it's possible to build a "proper" layout and still make something fit for TV. I think we achieved those aims.

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/10/04/sandys-treatment-day-290/

Another shot where I considered in advance what cropping could do for an otherwise ordinary picture. I persuaded one or two of the spotters to get out of the way for a while, which gave me this view from the far end of Platform 3. An A4 can be seen in the distance, but we always have the whole place covered, so here it is in close up. With permission, of course, our man has climbed the signal ladder, and is safely positioned to get a higher level shot. This is the 2.00pm Newcastle, two cars shorter than the relief we saw earlier.

It never quite captured the look of the real thing, did it? Having compared the model with a drawing, the deficiences became apparent, and a list of improvements was drawn up. WINDOWS & WINDOW VENTS; (too shallow, completely spoiling the proportions of the model). BUFFERBEAMS; (they should have a much deeper coupling recess); DRIVER'S CABSIDE WINDOWS; (the model represents these as a printed line on the glazing); LUGGAGE DOOR WINDOW POSITION; (the droplight and blank doors are transposed on one side of the model); GUARD'S DOOR WINDOW BARS; (these are missing); GUARD'S & PASSENGER DOOR STEPS; (the recesses are too shallow); PROP. SHAFTS; (for the BR period, the shafts which join the axle gearboxes were removed); ROOF VENTS; (too two-dimensional); HANDRAILS; (moulded - should they be replaced with wire?); WHEELS; (poor profile and oversized, leading to the model being too tall); COUPLINGS; (for my purposes, these need to be Peco Simplex, but mounting them in NEM pockets would be ideal). MECHANISM; (it ran reasonably, but control was poor and the whole thing was unacceptably noisy). FINISH; (poor rendition of early DMU green and generally toy-like finish). This is how it turned out. WINDOWS & WINDOW VENTS; the horizontal sections of the vents were removed and a new full width horizontal was fitted, and the windows themselves were deepened by 0.75mm. - see below. BUFFERBEAMS; the buffers were discarded and replaced by cast ones fixed to the chassis moulding; recesses were cut in the bufferbeam to fit around the resited buffers. The coupling recess area was cut away from the body to reveal the chassis moulding, which was fitted with drawhooks and vacuum etc. pipes. DRIVER'S CABSIDE WINDOWS; the droplights and adjacent window pillars were modelled in sheet and strip plastic card; the droplight frames were solid sheet, with the window openings subsequently drilled and filed to shape. LUGGAGE DOOR WINDOW POSITION; a new droplight was filed in the LH door, and the incorrect window in the RH door was filled with plastic sheet and filler. A sharp blade enabled me to remove and resite the moulded door furniture. GUARD'S DOOR WINDOW BARS; the new window bars are transfers applied to the inside of the glazing; (as are the passenger window curtains). GUARD'S & PASSENGER DOOR STEPS; these recesses were cut right through the body mouldings; thin plastic strip was cut and fitted to the chassis moulding within the recesses to produce a clip-fit body. This enabled the body fixing pillars and screws to be removed / discarded. PROP. SHAFTS; the redundant sections were removed. ROOF VENTS; these were filed off and replaced with cast items. HANDRAILS; I decided that, on balance, the moulded items were to scale and that I could not really better them with wire. WHEELS; Alan Gibson 12mm. DMU wheels were fitted. COUPLINGS; I fitted NEM pockets to the modified Lima bogie mouldings, within which are fitted modified Peco Simplex couplings. Any NEM standard coupling can therefore be fitted if required. MECHANISM; a High Level Lo-rider (scale 8' - 6'' WB) was obtained and built, adapting it slightly to accommodate a Mitsumi rather than the intended Mashima motor; pick-ups are fitted to all wheels. The result is far-and-away the smoothest and quietest model mechanism I have ever produced or seen. FINISH; the mouldings were stripped in minutes using methylated spirits, and the body repainted, mainly in Phoenix Precision BR early DMU green; the chassis and bogies were sprayed with Halfords Satin Black primer. The transfers are my own items. I know that a new RTR model is on the horizon, and if it equals what can be achieved using the Lima model as a basis, it'll be excellent. Regards, John Isherwood.

G'day Folks I'm sure a C16 has been through Peterborough, on a Butlin's, Christmas-in-July, Ladies of Fife knitting circle day out from Inverness to Southend, 9d single 2/6d return, and many a Scot bought his wife a single ticket. manna

Indeed Andy, Mrs NHN is red/green colourblind (although she can tell the difference, they're just not red and green to her, but shades of brown/improved engine 'green') but the pay-off is incredibly sharp vision, something to do with distribution of rods and cones on the retina. She can read the number on the front of a bus before I have seen the bus! I don't let her do wiring though.

Am happy to report that the "bricked" laptop is now "unbricked". Apparently it was in the middle of some sort of update when I shut it down and it was in a confused state. The tech support counter at a local computer store frightened it back into action. (I swear I had tried exactly what he did.) It's a shame that these battery powered devices can't be unplugged. (The battery on this machine is integral. Pulling the battery requires unscrewing the case - 10 mini screws.) When it initially booted it complained about needing a network to finish whatever it was that it was trying to do without first telling me. All this "back door" / "phone home" crap makes for very unreliable operation - not to mention the built-in cameras and microphones and their privacy / "big brother" / espionage implications depending on where your equipment comes from and where the software you use comes from. I don't invest in Mr. Bezos' eavesdropping devices, but even my cable TV remote control has a microphone. Like the mobile 'phone or the laptop, whether it is on without first pressing the button, who can say? "Smith! 6079, Smith W.! Yes, you! You've not completed your system update this morning. You can do better than that. You're not trying. ... That's better Comrade!"

No takers yet?

Interesting to read the comments about the episode as one of the “non-speaking” members of the Titfield Thunderbolts. Firstly, the branch line alluded to above was a requirement of the show. The idea is that any semi final and final layouts bolt together to form a continuous run. As regards our layout, we suffered because of the spread out nature of the team of strangers we were. The prebuild track sections were laid by only three team members. They were responsible for the helix which was far too tight for the train to traverse. An 0-4-0 may have managed it but the captain wanted to stick with the Jinty. The original track plan was much simpler but the captain altered it to the more ambitious layout to include the flyover (ski-jump) and the helix. These were the areas that cost us valuable time during the first two days and left some of the scenics to be completed in a rush. A few of the team had argued this case in the build up to the show, feeling the plan was over ambitious. We knew that it would be spectacular or a crash and burn, sadly the latter became the case with the layout drifting away from the computer game theme. I was very pleased with the scenic work having completed much of it with the volcano completed on day 1 along with the main cliff area. The dock and the industrial area completed on day 2. Harun’s excellent scratchbuilding helped the effect too. Interestingly, we were told that the final marks left us one point adrift of the winners with only the functionality score costing us. That was presented very differently in the show where only provisional points were shown. The reason for the British stock was because partly to fit in with the storyline. The 00 Jinty was in weathered WD livery so we chose it to fit the gun battle scene. The captain also required an off the shelf matching N gauge model. The Southern Pacific was simply chosen because of its name “Sir Francis Drake” which fitted in with the computer game story - the search for the lost treasure of the explorer of the same name. Ultimately the experience was fantastic. Despite only meeting as a team of six the night before, we have become good friends. A few of us are planning a new exhibition layout based on the Huntley and Palmer factory. Hopefully we will get that done in a year although geography is against us. Although I remained hidden for much of the show, I was pleased the shop was featured. A lovely shot of the outside as well as some interior views.

I only use red and black for the track supply. Points have other distinct colours. The red-green-black is NOT unique to Peco. Besides that, Steve is the editor of a Peco publication; he may or may NOT represent the technical side of their operation.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Been OK all day but the lurgi is back. A Lem-sip fortified with a drop of rum before I go to bed tonight is on the cards.

Evening awl, Knackered am I. Feet hurt.. A lot. By combination of going to and from Aylsham I covered yesterday's route home mostly twice. Absolutely no sign of the of the trailer upper door. The show went well, we had queues at the door at opening time, the actual numbers we won't know for a few days as those coming via the BVR aren't issued at the door tickets. It seemed well attended till the last hour. I got conned into doing a spell on a layout during the owners lunch... It was a shunting layout with three link couplings ....... arrrgghhhh... Two incidents, our chairman while operating our layout , stepped backward catching a chair and fell over hitting his side on the way down. He recovered but very bruised. Not good he's well into his 80s At final packing up time a silver ring was found on the entrance hall floor , this was passed to the secretary , who after a general discussion walked across the room to speak to the lady with the trader and exhibitor list. He said to her "can you put out an email to all in the list we've found a silver ring," where upon the club member standing alongside side looked down at his hands and said... It's mine.... BBC radio Norfolk turned up and wandered around interviewing traders and exhibitors... I've had the turkey dinner, SWMBO made during the day. I suspect an eyelid inspection is about to occur.

You need to watch your step with black wires here. Could well be 120V 60Hz. I seem to remember that the UK dumped red for live, green for earth because red/green colour blindness is fairly common. I don't like driving in Boston for that reason. A lot of the traffic lights are (were?) strung from cables above the road and they are horizontal rather than vertical. Mind you, drivers in Boston pretty much ignore traffic lights so it might not make a lot of difference.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Took two hours to go the 35 miles from my friends place in South Benfleet to the I&WE showcase in Becontree Heath. The reason for the delay was they are replacing the bridges over the A13 at the Orsett Cock (up) forcing the traffic to go up the slip roads and down the other side, in single file. The traffic queues commenced at Stanford-le-Hope, about two miles before the roadworks. Coming back I used the A12/A127 which apart from the usual heavy traffic around Romford was far better.

Regulations required the banker to assist only as far as the end of the platform, and the driver of the N5 has complied. In the south bay, 62530 is waiting to make the short trip down to East, and our man thought that with severe cropping there might be a good picture to be had.