Leaderboard

Time for a 9F. After which 61143 heads for home. Advance warning. I am likely to come over all philosophical later.

It's been a long time since I've posted any photos taken at Bressingham, so here are some from 1972 plus one from 1973. Bressingham 10.25 inch gauge Royal Scot class Aug 72 C1126.jpg Bressingham Hudswell Clarke Bronllwyd Aug 72 C1131.jpg Bressingham LSWR B4 30102 Aug 72 J3083.jpg Bressingham Britannia 70013 Oliver Cromwell Aug 72 J3087.jpg Bressingham Hunslet Gwynedd Aug 72 J3095.jpg Bressingham 6100 Royal Scot Sept 73 C1390.jpg David

Thanks Mick, Interestingly, the black bands on the arms of the signals you've built for LB are in slightly different positions from those built by Graham Nicholas. Yours on the left, Graham's on the right. From this side, they appear to be the same. Speaking of Graham.................... Here he is installing the mechanisms to make Bytham's signals work. And they work really well, despite more than a 50% failure rate of the Veissman signal motors (now being addressed). He's installed the same systems on the beautiful signals he built for Grantham. Finally, Little Bytham's main line signals in context............. Beautiful examples of the modeller's art, and I'm very fortunate to have had such skills available to me. Also including the signal-making skills of Tony Gee (you made the posts for these). And Roy Vinter. Regards, Tony.

Re the ECG's, When I had my Heart Attack, The one done at the Doctors the week before showed me to be fit and healthy despite chest pains, (the Doctors words not mine), then first one done by the Paramedics showed me to be O.K. but they wanted to get me to Hospital for a proper check up. Then the Yellow Box arrived and they did another ECG before loading me into the Ambulance, and there was just a small sign of the actual start of a Heart Attack with a shallow dip below the line. Once at the Hospital another was done, things went into panic mode, and I was bundled into another Ambulance with a Heart Team Nurse stuck on drips etc and Blues and twos to Stoke. When I arrived they were Gowned up and ready for me in theatre, so it does show how quickly things can change. Just as a note, I saw my Surgeon, Prof Nolan, last Wednesday, and he said I was a very luck chap, as I was in a very bad way, and he was pleased they picked it up so quickly after it happened, I have now been signed off, so very pleased, not only with my treatment but also for all the ECG'g.

For this evening we have one from Kingmoor and four from Carlisle station on various dates. Kingmoor 86404 up ecs 22nd April 87 C8413 Carlisle Class 85 up freight 27th Oct 89 C13820 Carlisle Class 143 Carlisle to Barrow 24th Oct 90 C15410.jpg Carlisle left 37293 and 37040 up steel and right pw down 24th Oct 90 C15414.jpg Carlisle Class 47 up sleepers 14th March 92 C16730.jpg David

I have a confession to make: it wasn't a sonic boom, it was me at 20000 feet suffering from excessive wind!

Gooooood morrrrningggg aaaallll!, Well, I made it and at 3.00am another orbit was completed. As Merle Travis almost said "Another day year older and deeper no longer in debt." The overnight frost has disappeared so next door neighbour ( a lady bouncer or door security person if you or she prefers, you wouldn't want to argue with her) was able to leave for work as usual at 6.30 (She works at racecourse exhibitions and stuff like that) and was able to drive off without windscreen scraping. The Boss was up at 5.45 starting preparations for today's minor event and brought me up a muggatea about 6.45. I'm just thumb twiddling for now although later I will be involved in cooking the roast beef but that's not difficult or strenuous. Kids, grandkids, sister in law, niece and friends arriving about middayish and a very good time will be had by all. (The Boss has decreed it) Have a good one, I certainly intend to, Bob.

White Rabbits! Blooming eck where did 2019 go??? Chris you are correct regarding Mrs Warringtons Welsh Cakes. I first had one at York Show in 1977. At that time I was intoduced to the "Viet Gwent" and I enjoy their friendship. GDB..just do exactly what the Doctors say. You are allowed time in the shed but will need your good lady to help. John, thanks for your update. Singing lectures? Will ask Dr Eldest Herbert if he should be doing that. He is getting a bit fed up as every time he is setting his politics lectures up some numpty changes the rules of engagement. I have been informed that I can do whatever I want to today (Go for a trip in a Typhoon dear?...apparently not). I see the fly boys caused a stir by going through the barrier near Luton. Hope it wasn't the same non responsive Air France crew that caused a similar boom over Yorkshire some time back. We seem to have a few ERs who have not been around for a while. Hopefully they are well. Positive thoughts to all who ail! Especially loco driver, airplane maker and pilot Debs ,john statto colby and..of course..GDB. Hopefully Rick and Sharron are enjoying a nice weekend in Zumerzet. Mugatea awaits so TTFN Baz

Wedding in a Air Raid https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2019/11/30/slow-road-wedding-in-an-air-raid/

Not unless you are wearing your Y fronts over a pair of tights. Then you can jump off or over anything:

I have re-fitted the backscene again this afternoon. It seems Dick Wolsley was in the area and visited to take some snaps. 1458 arrives with a short goods working, which will terminate at Bethesda Sidings and return, once some connecting traffic has been worked in from the Vale of Radnor Light Railway: Dick took a general view of the yard, once 1458 had positioned some of it's wagons: I think he might have picked up the odd tip from Ben Ashworth here, as he seems to have climbed into a tree to get this view: Now waiting for the incoming goods service from the light railway to arrive: Which duly arrives behind the light railway's 'Planet' 0-4-0 diesel 'Dorothy': Some further photos in the Cameo Layout section -

Hello Tony Yes, they're all operational with servo motors and operated from an MSE leverframe with electrical switches at the back. Some examples below of the cantilever signal under construction, an Alan Gibson Junction Signal, and a reduced height Post (for sighting purposes) with the servo arrangement underneath. Edmund

Happy birthday GDB and commiserations over what I sincerely hope was your medical 'blip'. Apart from cooking the roast beef I think that in several ways you have earned a day with your feet up. SWMBO and I are out for lunch today and I will be raising my glass to you. Andy, we have a tenuous link as a week on Monday I am taking my Dad for a cardiologist appointment at Stoke to see Professor Nolan, whom he has seen before at Telford. Next Saturday I will be attending the Manchester show with my mate Crimson Rambler. Any other ERs planning to be there? With thoughts for Sharon, Rick, Debs and other ERs who ail. Have a peaceful and pleasant day. Dave

Mooring awl, inner Temple Hare, 1 hour plus 3.5 hours + 2 hours, during one awake period, I did hare a distant thud. The typhoon of course is a perfect example of an aircraft which is designed to be unstable, the pilot commands where it is to go, the computers fly it. Something other junior officers should remember, they command what is to happen, the SNCOs make it happen. When junior officers get too directly involved things go pear-shaped.. I've been out with Ben the I want out Collie, no frost this morning, in fact almost pleasant. Since we've been back in he's crept upstairs to assure himself SWMBO is up there.. He then he has positioned himself at the bottom of the stairs, neither of us can leave our current situations without him Knowing. Plans for today, there is a little filling inside the hull to do, then some painting. In order to make it more pleasant a fan heater on low heat will be deployed. This heater I bought back in 1979, to use illegally in my barrack room, when there was snow on the ground but the RAF didn't turn on the heating because it's hadn't been cold enough for 10 consecutive days.. The fan is getting a bit lot loose on the bearings I might have to look for a replacement. After that some toolbox construction to start. Dad's part of the cause of queues in hospital, he's back in again as of late last night.. Time to... Finish Muggacoffee 2, then put the overalls on.

Pleased that you are OK but disappointing to hear about the delays for all those patients. A couple of years ago, I had some strange feelings in my chest and eventually my wife took me to the hospital at around 11.00pm. After explaining to the receptionist, she said ' Go through the door marked 'No Admittance' and we'll see you straight away'. Within five minutes I was wired up to ECG, had various test and was kept in overnight. Next morning I had a 'stress test' running on a treadmill (first time running in almost 50 years!) and at the end I was totally knack**** . There were 4 or 5 staff looking at the monitor and said my recovery rate wasn't very quick - what the **** did they expect !! Angiogram a few weeks later was inconclusive so now I'm on tablets 'just in case' but no further problems seen (or felt). Agreed. A nice bright start to today and not so cold. However I was nice and warm yesterday in the kitchen for our model railway club swapmeet - cooked about 60 bacon cobs and served goodness knows how many cups of tea. Mike

Good morning one and all It is good that my visit to Nantgarw has evoked some memories for Stationmaster and Happy Hippo. It tugged at a string or two for me as I passed the surviving pier of Walnut Tree Viaduct on my way in. I see that I drove 335 miles yesterday. This is more than it should have been. A few minutes into the outward journey I realised that I had left my EMGS membership card behind and went back for it. Thanks to that aberration I had to wait until 9.30 for my full English with extra fried bread, which I enjoyed. In the early part of my trip the temperature dropped steadily - most disconcerting - but by the time I reached Nantgarw it had climbed to 5 degrees. Fortunately the fog had lifted. On the way home I could not find the exit from the M4 to the Sainsburys at Newport so pressed on to Cribbs Causeway in my search for sensibly priced petrol. Morrisons' petrol station was closed, at not long after 5 pm, and it took me too long to find Asda but find it I did. Leigh Delamere services has not lost its ability to disappoint. I would have liked the chance to buy pie and chips but had to settle for sweet and sour cardboard box with chicken and noodles. A bonus was that the venue at Nantgarw has Welsh cakes on sale. They were not Mrs Warrington's but Welsh cakes are Welsh cakes! Tonight I must remember to attend the Lucy Ward concert at The Stables. Before that I need a few things from the supermarket, including Sunday lunch! With any luck I will not need to remove a glacier from the windscreen this time. I also need to respond to a message arising from my seasonal greetings cards which says some nice and reassuring things. The person concerned and I go back a long way and I had feared that he reacted badly to last year's big news. Phew! Later today also I should catch up with the latest episode of Great Australian Rail Journeys if only to see what Portaloo does with an injured koala. After poor little Lewis hit the headlines all over the world, and quite right too, I'm not sure I can cope with any more tear jerking. Best wishes to all Chris

John a couple we danced with said that after their wedding, he went off to sound the first air raid of the war in Edinburgh. Early up for propane; then to ballet. Home about 6 and a lengthy nap.

Evening all, Sorry to hear about that Bob (and don't 'they' like doing ECGs in situations like that - when i keeled over in the ensuite a while back I went through a similar series of ECGs, like each lot who did one didn't believe the previous one done by the other lot). Anyway glad all was well in the end and you are now due to be waited on hand and foot for the next month. This evening we have been quiz night'ing and fortunately Mrs Stationmaster got back from visiting a friend in Bath in time for Round 3 - mainly about musicals - and helped us to 10/10 on that round. There was also something called a marathon round - 60 questions to be answered in your own time as the quiz went on and that was in addition to the 6 'ordinary' rounds. Prior to adding in the marathon result we were a few points ahead of the second place team but we got 50 out of 60 on the marathon and finished with a total of 105 with the second place team on 92. Wide variation in scores behind them and the team which came last only had 49 points in total and the last but one had 52. So yet again we triumphed - that makes four on the trot for us. So bowls club quiz duly won tonight, complete with a fish & chip supper from the Sikh run chippy. Next up is the golf club one evening next week but their supper is cooked on the premises and we shall again - as tonight - be in the Mayor's team although tonight we also had three other councillors in our team

It's all looking very black at PN just now, as two Immingham B1s share the limelight. Shoddy 61143, though still with front end adornment, will take the 8.57 to Grimsby, while 61079 will carry on to London. The fish gets one more exposure. See what I did there, clever, huh? We need a new ladder.

Morning. Hope you're OK Bob - you do worry us sometimes. Reet frosty again, that's three days now, most unusual here. A morning wasted again, this time on overhauling the family cordless Dyson, that has symptoms of battery death but which YooToob assures me is in fact due to clogged up internal bits. De-clogging attended to, but it wasn't all that bad to battery death still suspected, we'll know soon. It's only a couple of years old. Mrs NHN now off to field archery, loaded with suitably Ch&^%$massy targets. Looks cruel to me, shooting cute bears and Santas, although I am no lover of said festival's overkill. OK, qualy time. Oh, Debs aircraft - there's a similar pusher machine flies from the airfield over the back to us on occasion, must pay more attention next time, it has a very distinctive sound that generally makes me look up (well hopefully up!) for it.

Some signals at Finsbury Square: They all work, but not by electricity and have now been properly 'planted' as per the last two pictures. This has been done by roughly cutting pieces of sandpaper to fit round the post & ladder and gluing them above the signal base plate, then painting to (try and) match the surrounding ground. Almost as niggling as the lack of working signals, is exposed base plates in holes in the ballast! I'm soon going to have to face up to making working discs ....

Sadly, there are a few of us on here who have required chemical or invasive rectification of faults developed in our (sometimes abused) bodies and I am grateful that I have generally enjoyed a decade after my little event. Oh that I had the will-power to lose a few stone and give myself a further extension, repaying the efforts of the medical professionals involved but there are apparently many around who (from reports in the media) were only born in the last thirty years and feel that I as a baby-boomer am to blame for the state of the world today. They perhaps would recommend a diet of processed fatty meats fried in trans-fats for me . Taking my instructions from The Times yesterday, I shall increase my intake of bottle-fermented beers just to defy them!

At just after 4:15 I was awoken by what I assumed was The Great Awl breaking the sound barrier on her way to do a GDB flypast. What a wonderful gesture! Keep orbiting friend, I am sure I am not alone in enjoying your contributions. The clan demolished the pig’s armpit that had been lovingly prepared yesterday. Those who had not sampled such delights previously recognised what they had missed and I was again asked how I make crackling so crispy without it breaking teeth. I managed to last until almost 11:15 before the cacophony of 22 people of various generations drove me to seek quieter parts, eg KZ Towers. First muggertea made and downed. Today will see me resting my inflamed plantar fasciitis which struggled to keep up with me yesterday. I shall also watch 20 small cars rush around a marina roads circuit. No attempts to visit any local Christmas Fairs (or fayres) are scheduled as we do our bit to limit our CO2 footprint. Given the methane that the pulse and bean based vegetarian chilli sin carne offered as an alternative / accompaniment to the famed pig’s armpit may generate, we have to be careful. Commiserations to Tigerburnie but those are offered with a saintly smile at the outcome of the most hotly contested local derby (pause here for a Jeremy Clarkson voice lowering and delivery) in the world resulted in (another) win for us. Be good, be careful and to those brave enough to share their struggles on here, I offer the words of Robert Zimmerman: “we shall overcome”.

Bbo - Have a very good day.

We're expecting snow tonight at low altitudes (>500'). I'll watch the forecast on local TV tonight before bed. It's not clear what I'll see here - rain, freezing rain, wintry mix or a dusting of snow are all possibilities, but I don't think there will be much precipitation. The forecast on my 'phone is changing and it might not even freeze. (It's about 3°C now and feels colder than that when I open the door.) Time will tell. I need to stir myself. At some point I intend to put up festive lighting and other decorations. Two days of procrastination have passed on that one so far. It's been cold outside. I was under-dressed to collect the mail but fortunately that does not take long. I also have a printer to install. It's still in it's box from a week ago. The college football is still on this evening. Three NFL games will be broadcast tomorrow. Foraging meant leftovers this evening. So I "had another Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat."* (That's now three turkey dinners in a row, having gone out to dinner with my younger son and his wife last night.** This might seem excessive, but it's probably twelve months since the last one.) * Apologies to Arlo Guthrie. (I feel remiss not having listened to this yesterday.) ** We went somewhere where I thought (correctly) there might be a turkey dinner, in case my son and daughter-in-law were missing turkey, having had a Chinese dinner on Thursday. Apparently they weren't. I was the only one who ordered turkey. Hope everyone has a good Sunday.

The Tractors are coming! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Joining the fleet today are two absolute trainspotting bangers from the 1990s - blue 37055 'RAIL Celebrity' and maroon Wisconsin pioneer 37057 'Viking'. I've strong memories of seeing both on multiple occasions at Didcot "back in the day", most often either loitering in the Yard or shuffling about on small MOD workings, so it was only a matter of time before both were brought back to life in model form. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr My modelling 'to-do' list dates back many years, and I'd actually purchased Bachmann's Mainline liveried 37242 a few years back to eventually tackle 37055 - it had the correct livery but would need new split headcode ends, bodyside changes and roof amends, so I was bowled over this year when Bachmann actually announced they'd produce 37055 in the very condition as a 'retailer special'! Now I'm normally loath to pay the crazy high prices for new RTR locos when it's a long-since released model like the Class 37, but here it just seemed to make so much sense, saving hours of fiddling with the redundant 37242. So, the wallet was reluctantly emptied for a shiny blue box, and I set to work! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Bachmann's model is nearly right - it just needed some minor end adjustments and fuel tank modifications, but is otherwise pretty much bang on! I'm portraying the model in its early 1998 condition, grubby but otherwise intact, and shortly before it lost its attractive nameplates. Shawplan roof grilles replaced Bachmann's but I've refrained from fitting anything else to avoid damaging the pleasing Mainline blue finish. Over in the red camp, Bachmann's 2007 model of 37114 is the donor model for 37057 - 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr The model here is a pretty good donor, only requiring work on the roof and fuel tanks to pass it off as the mighty Viking. When I say roof work - it's some strange roof work at that! 37057 is notable for having a roof-mounted NRN pod on the No.2 end, I cut this from a discarded Turbostar roof and grafted onto the roofline, as well as making the boiler plating and rivet strapping modifications to best represent how 37057 is different from the donor model. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr After this, the 37114 EW&S lettering and numbers were removed with enamel thinners and replacements from Fox Transfers added, along with matching nameplates. The whole model was varnished with Railmatch Matt Varnish, before weathering started. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Working with a cheeky bit of Freya Ridings, Humbrol Matt 32 was washed down the sides and gunmetal grey dry brushed over the grille areas. Spot rust patches were picked out with my usual recipe for 5-shade rust as per the Yang Ming container above - by 1998-99, 37057 had picked up a number of patches, as well as a few spots of undercoat showing through - and only a few years had passed since it's famous 1996 unveiling. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Spanner in the works time though! I carelessly missed that one set of lower bodyside steps needed filling in, on one side of the body only, until after the weathering stage, so I had to mask off the local area and carefully apply Humbrol body filler and carefully weather in the new surface to match, quite annoying! Eventually, everything came together though, and the locos reassembled, ready for final weathering. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr I airbrushed the 37s with a variety of Phoenix Paints' brake dust, track grime, roof dirt, dirty black and finally my custom dark blue mix for the immediate exhaust area, as a finishing touch. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr One of the more fun parts about modelling the two locos was recreating the knocks, scratches and rust marks - 37055 has a noticeable bonk on the nose at the No.2 end for example, while 37057 has a deep scratch on it's left hand nose in the photo above, all good fun to recreate! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Brian's Shawplan Extreme Etchings roof grille shows up well in this view, they are delicate little things! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr Undoubtably as a kid, one of the main attractions of 37055 was its RAIL Celebrity nameplates, an instant connection with that loco to the magazine that I was diving into John Menzies for each fortnight to find out the latest railway news, in those heady dial-up days where the only internet access was in the school library or at home, but strictly after 6pm on weekdays or Sundays when no one else was using the phone! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr I think '057 is among many people's favourites, it's just one of those 90s celeb locos that appeared in many a photo and just seemed to turn up in a lot of places and on some unusual workings, let alone it's previous incarnation as a dirty stopout in BR large logo blue! I actually dislike the first version of EWS livery with the ampersand and the boring Helvetica lettering, but 37057 is one of the few locos where I was that keen to model it, it didn't really matter! 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr 37057 sadly got heavily graffitied in early 1999 and I was actually debating modelling it in that condition, but in the end opted for a more conventional finish! The two locos had mixed fortunes; 37055 was soon shorn of its nameplates but continued in service until 2000, finally seeing the axeman's torch in 2008, whilst 37057's celebrity career has gone from strength to strength after retiring from EWS usage, moving to Harry Needle and then Colas, subsequently being outshopped in classic BR Green and still hauling mainline trains in 2019. 37055 and 37057 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr As always, it's been great fun getting these locos into service, and clearing out a bit more of the old 'to-do' list to bring more trainspotting favourites to life - keep an eye out, there's many more still to come! Cheers, James

Afternoon awl, Sadly I was unable to find our ancient fan heater, suspicion is SWMBO has put it somewhere safe. So to make it reappear I've ordered a new one. On removing the boat covers, I reviewed what work was needed, the first thing was to hover out all the saw dust, this took three emptyings of the Hoover. Not because it was full, but because the filters were blocking with the fineness of the dust it wasn't settling into the base of the vac can. This now revealed various bits still needed grinding, so that was done, followed by more hoovering. Then it was time for the bilge paint. This is thick stuff and hides a multitude of sins. As that now had wet paint that was endex on the boat. Further sanding and coat 2 Next Week, Two of what were 7 equal length sections are now basically done, Just 4 to go Trying laying out bits and pieces, from the railway muddling tool box on a future drawer base and also measuring the depth. The decision on the number and depth of drawers has been made. At this point I was feeling cold so retreated to the house for a Muggacoffee, it was then I realized I was suffering from cold soak and felt distinctly chilly. So after a break and a warm up, Everything was packed away, Just collecting a few items needed ready for actual construction. Haggis and chips is promised after returning from a long soak in a hot bath...

Blimey nostalgia trip today........Nantgarw, The canal nature reserve and walking to the 'Ton', Brains beer ( darrrrrkkkk) Clarkes pies.... riding my bike up the valleys road and meeting my mate ( who worked at Nantgarw pit) and spending Sunday dinner time watching strippers in the estate club before going home to his Mams Sunday roast lamb........and then of course helo dunking drills! Best flights...... Brunei sitting outside of a Scout with feet on the skids bandannas around heads, as we flew over the rain forest at canopy height, then flying Hueys and abseiling into the Oolu with our Vietnam Vet USMC Gunnery Sgt showing us how to survive.....and fight. Amazing what little things jog the memories!

I've extracted some NHS guidelines about hypotension, adding three causes specific to GDB and ageist advice. Bill Low blood pressure (hypotension) Low blood pressure is a reading of 90/60mmHg or less. It does not always cause symptoms, but you may need treatment if it does. Get your blood pressure checked if you keep getting symptoms like: lightheadedness or dizziness; feeling sick; blurred vision; generally feeling weak; confusion; fainting This might mean your blood pressure is too low. If you get symptoms when you stand up or suddenly change position, you may have postural hypotension. Important If you're 40 to 74 years old, you should have your blood pressure checked at least once every 5 years as part of the NHS Health Check. If you're 75 or older, you should be dead already so don't bother reading any further. Treatment for low blood pressure depends on the cause If a cause can be found, your GP will be able to recommend treatment to ease your symptoms. For example, they may suggest: changing medicines or altering your dose, if this is the cause wearing support stockings – this can improve circulation and increase blood pressure Medicine to increase blood pressure is rarely needed because simple lifestyle measures or treating the underlying cause is usually effective. How to ease low blood pressure symptoms yourself Do get up slowly from sitting to standing take care when getting out of bed – move slowly from lying to sitting to standing raise the head of your bed by about 15cm (6 inches) with bricks or heavy books eat small, frequent meals – lying down or sitting still for a while after eating may also help increase the amount of water you drink Don't do not sit or stand for long periods do not bend down or change posture suddenly do not drink caffeinated drinks at night do not drink too much alcohol Causes of low blood pressure Your blood pressure can vary depending on the time of day. It gradually increases throughout the day. What you're doing and how you're feeling can also affect it. There are many possible causes of low blood pressure. It may be low because you're fit and healthy, or you may have inherited it from your parents. Some people develop low blood pressure as they get older. It can also be caused by: being pregnant regular blood loss some medical conditions, such as diabetes watching rugby on television hereditary patterned baldness some medicines

The aforementioned video from a few days ago shows 40181 (a JLTRT kit) storm up the 1:137 gradient with a load testing train of 37 Dapol MGR’s. Not nearly as heavy as a Heljan 40 I was surprised it managed it. Still, I aim to add 1kg of lead to 40181 to give it improved traction..

Dudds doesn't Sherry complain about all your flying antics. Morning All Yes I've had my turn riding in a hurt van with the blues and twos going 20 years ago the chest pains were a mild Heart attack, I had some pains Thursday plenty of deep breaths and some aspirin with my feet up on the bed I was OK an hour later stress no doubt over all the agro' of buying this flat. Last night another lady contacted me through the dating site I'm awaiting a reply fingers cross she is extremely attractive. Must get on enjoy your day Dick. Y. Ticker

I had a real push last year to build working Alan Gibson and MSE signals for my layout. Some of the examples shown below. I'd been sitting on most of these unmade kits for 15 years.

The errant aircraft, the typhoons went to play with, is reported as an unresponsive empty 747 on a delivery flight from Israel. Aircraft on autopilot, crew asleep?

Morning All Appologies for the short visit yesterday - I really do have a stinking cold, and I was going to update, as I was resting upstairs, but 30747 called me down to help with a few tasks. Bob - please take care, and rest up a bit, and have a great birthday, Debs, great to see your images of the plane again. And of course, generic greetings to everybody else. On Friday I was unable to get a bank print, but not for the usual IT reasons - seems the place was broken into in the night, and there was a lot of investigative work needed. Writing class ended, but I'm going to enrol again for the winter term as soon as the class is announced tomorrow. Saturday, back into Lancaster to get the bank print, successful. Then to some charity shops, an antiques and collectibles fair where we saw all the usual suspects, who sell locally, the to the last knockings of a craft fair. Today it's checking the bank print and credit card, then another Christmas Fair - wow we know how to live. Oh, and tiopping up the log supply, coal hod, kindling, etc, and giving the stove a good riddle. Ir's freezing outside again, and for some reason our heating cut out at 6.30 this morning, while we were sound asleep under the duvet, and I had to reset in all manually to get some warmth, so once 30747 has had her shower, it's my turn, Regards to All, Stewart

Not normally a contributor to this thread, but I've been awake since 4.15 thanks to the sonic boom. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-50618956

Evening all, Up has been caught and good to hear that GDB has been suitably enjoying his day - many happy returns and plenty more of them Bob. Today we introduced the cats to the great outdoors. Well we tried to but notwithstanding her frequent patrolling of the (locked) cat door Poppy seemed fairly disinterested although eventually she ventured out during the second opportiunity. Charlie on the other hand showed considerable interest in exploring the most inaccessible places he could find such as the middle of the front hedge and the second largest bramble patch in the back garden and has spent a lot of time since his second excursion demanding to be let out again (he hasn't been). Train times have been sorted for tomorrow's expedition to an OFs' lunch at The Ship Anson in Portsmouth. As we decided to shift our Christmas meal this year to there from The Imperial in Exeter It was no doubt inevitable that some bunch would decide go on strike on SWR thus producing a need for creative journey planning. Seemingly SWR are intending (hoping???) to run various services tomorrow but if they don't there is an excellent alternative which not only totally avoids their trains but is also a bit quicker - all it needs is for Cross Country and GWR to deliver what they are supposed to deliver when they are supposed to deliver it; we shall see. Regrettably my trip involves me spending 8 minutes on one of makes me very cross rail's non trains but no doubt the standing (In order to avoid the low seat backs) will probably do me more good than harm. Enjoy the rest of your day one and all.

Ah, I see that we are now "experiencing performance issues - I sort of knew that about 20 minutes ago. Cold has caught up with me big style, and is just about the worst I have experienced for some years. It is worse than manflu, and actually feels a bit like real flu. As I am taking Lily to see a specialist vet tomorrow about her ears, I think I need to rest up for tonight, and have an early night. I am actually typing this while lying in bed keeping warm. Q - I think that 30747 must have been trained by your RAF people, as her attitude to the heating is somewhat similar to theirs - although maybe not quite so bad.

Bob has got a date with a very attractive lady, we spoke about nice things on the phone for nearly 2 hours. Lunch beckons Juan Sheet.

Consider yourself suitably informed, Bob.

I'll just add one of mine. Sorry no lamp on the brake van! All signals operated with Seep solenoids/

Happy Birthday to GDB. Noice on the windscreens here in't north. Regards to all and warm thoughts towards Debs and Rick and Sharron. Jamie

Thought I would post an update on where I have got to on my first etched loco kit attempt .... the Craftsman 1F 0-6-0 tank (I have built an etched wagon and etched 3 wheel coach prior to this). Compared to Sir, the progress is shall we say leisurely !!!! .... but then all of this is pretty new to me and I can't dedicate as much time as I would like to modelling. The upside is that it is a great way of unwinding after a busy or stressful day As I am working to P4, the craftsman chassis was no good, so I am working from a pair of Gibson milled frames .... in the end the only parts of the original kit I have used for the chassis are the cast white metal sandboxes. I am using this as my first bash at CSB springing and have decided to have a go at building it as a set of sub assemblies so I can take it apart for painting and maintenance... the wheels drop out by sliding the CSB wire out of the horn-block tags. Here are the various assemblies. The brake gear springs into the capillary tubes set into the frames and the sand pipes locate into holes set in the base of the sand boxes. The ashpan and spring etches were kindly sent to me by John Redrup at LRM from his spares/scrap bin. I have made them into two separate assemblies which bolt directly to the chassis. The gear box is a high-level offering and the horizontal in line restraint a design suggested by Dave Bradwell. The horn blocks and guides are also by High Level. Here is a picture of everything assembled onto the chassis - I notice from the photo that the pull rods at the back need a tweak to set them level ... luckily this is easily done. The coupling rods are the universal inside motion etch which Dave Franks has recently added to his arsenal. And finally a couple of pictures with the body ... as far as I have currently got ... mounted on the chassis. In the second pic the chimney, dome etc have just been loosely placed in position. A bit rough here and there ... but overall I think its ok .... the photos are pretty unforgiving - which is why I find the work posted here by experienced modellers so inspirational.

Some different photos to those shown in the 'Layouts' section just now - There is still some scenic work to be done, including some post and wire fences along the back of the grassy bank and some trees behind and around the road over bridge. A couple of years after Dick Wolsley visited and took the photos showing 1458, Hugh Valentine was passing through the area and observed a D63XX in the yard on the then twice-weekly goods working, no doubt waiting for traffic off the light railway:

I've had dealings with various elements o the US armed forces, and like ours they can be variable. However, working with the USMC Force Recce was just brilliant as were their Scout Snipers.

Thank you, Stewart.....it was nice for me to share them, for with all the 'other' stuff that's happened in recent times, it's often too easy to focus on the sad. My first is in a Master's and also by cord. My second is hard, but might be soft. My third may be wet or dry; but perhaps still considered dry, when it is very wet .......dear stove; what am I?

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Glad to hear that GDB is recovering from his episode and wishing him a happy birthday. A bit of a late riser this morning. my excuse is that last Sunday I was up before sparrow fart to go to Warley and I'm making up for it. Now to catch up on the rest of the day, be back later.

Morning all. No sonic booms heard here, I was probably asleep. I need to go and inflate my tyres as a warning light came on to inform me that the right rear was at 29psi instead of 32psi. Aditi’s sister thought her husband had fallen over in the bathroom.

I think that Black Rat and myself would consider RAF heating in the hotels they always appeared to stay in, to be far superior to a partially flooded ditch on Sennybridge or Dartmoor which was our allocated accommodation..................... It made us the men we are today................................. Arthritic, grumpy, old but still Welsh.

I think it’s a slight rail alignment issue but I’m minded to leave it, as I too like the sound.! Here’s good old Heljan 37191 on the same test train. This was originally a 37/0 that was converted before the 37/4 was announced. The Heljan locos with their heavy diecast chassis seem to be able to pull trees out of the ground..I reckon it’ll manage 55-60 on this 1:137 gradient