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Back to an elevenses photo this morning. Another look at Doncaster running through.

2 trips rugby to hams hall yesterday as the trains were going via the west mids and Sutton park 66754 on the first one And a filthy 66779 on the 2nd one something different later, conducting the Caledonian sleeper via the west mids just booked a trip for the family in it too, crewe to Inverness then we are going to hire a car for the return journey over 4 days via fort William, oban, Glasgow and Dumfries and Galloway back to our caravan in Cumbria, looking forward to the break

The other side of that 9F. It is that clean only because it is nearly new. It also had to get through onto the slow line smartish, as the 5.05 Newcastle was following close behind. 60048 Doncaster, a recent transfer to 34A, has the job.

Good moaning from the Charente where it's sunny but there is a threatening sky to the south west. Thanks again for all the warm thoughts about Beth. Nurse Ratchett reports that the patient has achieved a sort of mobilisation and us currently breakfasting in the kitchen. The logistics of her lying comfortably in the sitting room have been discussed and I need to tidy my end off settee. She is certainly trying to avoid lying in bed and knows that she needs to keep moving. Regards to all. Jamie

I guess if the surgeon didn't need them anymore they were Spare rib cutters.

Once again I've just made my coffee so its time to post photos and read through the overnight posts on RMWeb. This morning we are back the the Kent and East Sussex railway in the second half of the 1970s. As usual the weather was variable - it was often sunny when I left home in Basildon and dull or wet by the time I got to Tenterden. Tenterden Hunslet Austerity 26 entering station Sept 78 C4147.jpg Tenterden Bank RSH 26 and Terrier 10 Sutton l e 26th Dec 79 C4909.jpg Tenterden Bank Hunslet 23 Rolvenden to Tenterden Town 19th June 76 C2799.jpg Tenterden Bank RSH 26 and Terrier 10 Sutton Tenterden to Wittersham Road 26th Dec 79 J6737.jpg Rolvenden SECR P CLass 11 Pride of Sussex Aug 75 C2411.jpg Wittersham Road Class A1 10 Sutton running round March 77 C3256.jpg I think the bright green patches on the loco are a scanning artefact, probably becasue the slide was in poor condition. I don't remember the loco looking like that. David

Morning. Off to experience the rumble of wheels on rail, the growl of motors and gears, and a touch of ozone perhaps. Not a model so do I get away with it? It'a a bit windy outside but we were hoping there would be a 'toastrack' power car or trailer on, as we are a bit....windy. Curry last night has had a profound effect, too many onions perhaps. 'Library photo' (mine, though!) Laxey 2018.

Ey up! Long day at the office yesterday.. not helped by both teams not wanting to do any of the sanitisation/ staying safe in recreational cricket guidance and being just plain stupid. A niggledy match and my colleague and I spent more time sorting them out than being able to concentrate on the game. All not helped by colleagues who didnt follow the guidance the week before. Pah! If today is no better I will stop umpiring..it isn't safe to continue! But..it stayed dry, the ball was only despatched into the river 5 times, no boat was required to get the ball back..great! My game today starts at 2pm. Hopefully it should be calmer than yesterday. News from Horsetan.. he is fine but his citroen is awaiting some major repairs. If you work in a place where you have a "bottomless" funds you find it easy to throw away items than to look after them. Time to get some grip on reality .... note I didn't use the dreaded words "use common sense" as this seems to be unintelligble to some of our population. Enjoy Sunday! Positive thoughts to all! Baz

I once heard the phrase "you're only as old as the woman you feel" So that automatically makes me 3 years younger....................

Photos around Croxdale today, both to the north and souith of the site of the long closed station. Croxdale is on the ECML between Darlington and Durham. The area is also known as Sunderland Bridge. Croxdale Class 43 Aberdeen to Kings X 30th May 95 C20205.jpg Croxdale Class 43 up 30th May 95 C20208.jpg Croxdale Class 142 Saltburn to Newcastle 30th May 95 C20210.jpg Croxdale 47738 up parcels 30th May 95 C20213.jpg Croxdale 37095 up p w 16th Oct 93 C19143.jpg David

I was once told that you are middle aged when you have to sit down to put your socks on and old when you have to sit down to put your underpants on. Unfortunately I have to sit down to put my shirt on..... Have a good Sunday everyone. Dave

Never mind cricket, I am amazed at how lax people are getting about social distancing. Do they not understand how massively damaging it will be to all of us if there is a second Covid lockdown? I spent ages carefully placing our outside tables, with assistance as they are heavy. Within minutes of opening, several had been moved, one all the way across the car park, to create social bubbles of up to 12 people. Perhaps the re-imposition of self-isolation for anyone coming back from Spain will concentrate minds. But I very much doubt it. And with the virus still thriving in many parts of the world, I don't see how we avoid a second "spike" in the UK without a serious effort.

Meaux - nothing to do with a herd of French cats, is it? And providing another candidate for the missing button.

Back to the main line....

Oh please.....

Oh, you've heard about the killer koalas too ... Chris

Yes, No, Not good, I'd be NINE Years Older.. but I'm still classed as a Toy Boy.

Greetings one and all, with warm thoughts to Jamie and Beth The week ahead should have been so different. After several days of packing and stowing, I would have set off for Sidmouth on Thursday at an early hour, cunningly timed to avoid nearly all the rush hours between here and there. Sadly Sidmouth folk festival has fallen victim to that ruddy virus, like so many other things. I would have had to rethink part of my outward journey. Until last year I would have stopped in Bristol for a cuppa with my aunt. Since then she has moved out of her inter-war semi in Sea Mills into a care home in Shirehampton. I am not at all sure that inmates are allowed visitors at 8 am. As for the festival, I have only missed two since my first visit in 1975 and there is a sense of longing - what the Welsh call hiraeth. There will be two festival related virtual broadcasts next weekend from a secret location. I shall watch them out of curiosity as to how much of the festival atmosphere comes down the line but you would be right to detect a note of scepticism. At least next year's event is paid for. As befits Sunday, there will be Sunday lunch. I had intended to feast on coq au vin but circumstances dictated otherwise and rump steak must suffice. Oh, the hardship. The day will be spent quietly unless I am inspired to do something else. Somehow I doubt it. On Wednesday evening I am supposed to be subjecting myself to Zoom again, this time in the name of the HMRS. Another evening of technical hitches awaits. Before it gets under way I must set the digi box to record Portaloo's latest continental rail journey. I do not know the city of Salamanca but it aroused my curiosity because e-friend Harry studied there. That's what he told me, anyway. There are still aches and pains to be soaked away and still some Radox in the bottle. Best wishes to all Chris

I got 'thhe look' when I saidcthat. Yet another piecebof evidence for the need for thatboft requested groan button. I have been educated on ER's and not for the first time. We also prefer Brie de Meaux but I had no idea of the name's derivation. Thanks. Jamie

Agreed! For me a steak is something special as compared with what I eat during the week. I enjoy cooking - I have to because I have no-one to cook for me - but I do not enjoy making a palaver out of it. I am glad that Flavio mentioned leftovers. This commodity has become so under-rated in recent years and awareness of its potential needs to be raised. My heart sank when I found frozen bubble and squeak on sale. In all seriousness I am going to suggest that our friend should share his culinary talent with the world and write a cookbook, majoring on leftovers. I'd buy one - only if it was autographed, mind. Chris

An art collector is walking through the the city when he notices a mangy cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a pet store. He recognises that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable, so he walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for £10. The store owner replies “I’m sorry, but the cat isn’t for sale” the collector says, “Please, I need a hungry cat around the house to catch mice, I’ll pay you £50 for that cat” And the pet shop owner says “Sold”. Then the collector turns and says “Hey, for another £10 could you throw in that old saucer, the cat’s used it and it’ll save me from having to get a new one" The owner replies, “Sorry pal but that’s my lucky saucer, so far this week I’ve sold 68 cats”.

Spot on. And I cant believe Holiday Makers are moaning that the Government has not given them enough notice, WELL SORRY, this is a fast moving situation, Spain have acted and we must do the same otherwise we will be back to square one in no time. It seems that all people want to do is complain these days, well, we have a Global Pandemic, we thought it was being beaten, but obviously not everywhere, so if a second lockdown comes, it will not be the Governments fault entirely, it's down to common sense and respect, (now there's a word you don't hear that often these days). Keep your distance, cover up as required, it's a lot better than a Ventilator or BOX. RANT OVER, well for now at least.

When I worked in a North East outpost of London, I often had to visit the French Office at Quincy Voisins and was usually billeted at Meaux. That's where I encountered the pork in mustard and pastry, delicious! However, I also encountered the best Brie I have ever tasted. Unlike every other wishy-washy bries I have tried, Brie de Meaux has a strong flavour. While occasionally, Tess coes may have it on their shelves, it also features in the Lidl Deluxe range.

Mooring Awl inner Temple Hare, 1 hours sleep, wake up, turn light out, put book away, go back to sleep, 6hours sleep. Needed that, I may get more. The woman I feel, makes me two years younger, but 34 years ago she was asked if I was her father... She also got refused service at pubs while well into her 20s for being under age... Yesterday evening we got a visit from Thor hammering away at his anvil, this was accompanied by large amounts of water. Instant deep puddles everywhere. Ben the scaredy Collie hid in his cage, it was shaking, he was an unhappy Collie for some time afterwards... I've remembered I didn't work on the jib club yesterday, I'd put it to one side safely out of the way, it is annoying because I had time to work on it. If I'm not two knackered from barbeque area building, I might do that this afternoon. There are several wooden loose items for the boat that needs varnishing and one or two that still need to be made, I need to make them, and get them lined up to do them at the same time. Now let's see if I can get more sleep Time to.. Put this tablet down.

After which, I'm sure the rest of the week looked much more bearable. Quite recently I heard an elderly caller to our local radio station expounding on making a brains substitute from cold porridge and egg white. My reaction was that things would have to be pretty dire before I'd consider needing a substitute for offal. If I'm ever that broke I think I'll stick with me grains and pulses thanks.

Is that like knackered, but doubly so? Of course, it is a matter of personal preference and taste (de gustibus and all that) but for me a “Proper Sunday Lunch“ has to be something more than, and something different to, a regular dinner dish. Coq au Vin or Rump Steak are - for me - weekday meals (and if you are a fan of steak, I suggest you look into getting and cooking a hanger steak. It does take a little bit of prep work and care and attention to cook and it is slightly chewier than a rump steak, but it has bags of flavour and well worth the effort. It’s also considerably cheaper than rump steak). Unfortunately, a traditional “Proper Sunday Lunch (PSL)” can be rather time-consuming to cook. However I do manage to get away with preparing a PSL with minimal work. I cook my joint of meat sous-vide for about 24 hours (which means I can use tough cuts of beef that are very flavourful and which after 24 hours of sous-vide cooking become as soft as butter). The meat is then seared in a very hot sauté pan before resting, the juices are used to make the gravy. The cabbage is steamed above the pan of boiling water in which the carrots are cooked, I have an idiot proof no fuss roast potato recipe and after the roasties are done, and whilst the meat is resting, I then cook the Yorkshire puddings. The biggest drawback of any sort of PSL is that there are generally lots of leftovers. Although I am happy with that, because it means I can then live on roast beef sandwiches for a couple of days. Sadly, it would seem that the one of the villains of the piece is NHS procurement. I know clinicians, working in A&E, who have told me stories such as having to open a multipack of a sterile item, use only one item and then throw the rest away as there can be no guarantee that the items will remain sterile for future use. Procurement bought multi packs because they were cheaper, per item, than buying individually wrapped sterile items.... Quite frankly, “funding“ shouldn’t be just about how much money can be obtained, it should also include sensible and prudent use of that money... As opposed to her telling the truth uncomfortably in the dining room? Curious minds want to know.... To put on my Captain Cynical outfit again, it would seem that – thanks to the inconsideration and blind wilful stupidity of much of the population-we will see the pandemic play out as nature intended, to wit: Wave 1: Virus kills the extremely vulnerable, Wave 2: Virus kills the very vulnerable Wave 3: Virus kills the vulnerable Wave 4: Virus makes a lot of people slightly sick. Obviously, not all diseases play by these rules, but I think the above is a good rule of thumb. As an interesting aside, it would seem that people whose ancestors managed to recover from the mediaeval plague (a.k.a. The Black Death, and yes there were some), seem to be less likely to get infected by HIV. Syphilis, which would kill you inside of one or two years back in Georgian times, nowadays will eventually kill you – if untreated - after a few decades. From a biological perspective, it makes no sense for a disease to be so lethal that it kills of its’ host quickly before the disease has time to adequately propagate. So, eventually, the strain of disease that predominates will be the one that either doesn’t kill its’ host or only kills its‘ host after a long period of time. It would seem that Mother Nature, far from being an all embracing and a nurturing earth figure, is actually more akin to a vindictive ex partner who - at the best of times - only barely tolerates you and would cheerfully see you dead given half-a-chance (although, at the moment, who could blame her). Don’t believe me? Look at Australia; the sole purpose of the flora and fauna (i.e. Nature) of that continent is to kill humans.

My first Stock Car meeting of the year at Aldershot today. Train from Wimbledon to Aldershot and then a 30 minute walk to the track. Everyone on the train being sensible with masks and distancing. Looking forward to a great afternoon.

If the Government turn around and announce they can't afford to pay out furlough money again then perhaps people will start to realise.......

I have been thinking about my train set, now it is a fictitious place so it cannot be accurate. I can strive for things to be as accurate as possible but I have given up on that and feel that "visually compatible" is my now preferred route than 100% historical accuracy. So if a steam loco and the types of carriages it is pulling were withdrawn before a diesel multiple unit was introduced but the if liveries carried are those that are contemporary with each other then to me that is fine.

Luckily, so far I havent seen anyone move furniture at a pub (we have visited dozens since 4th July) and all customers have been sensible but we dont tend to be out late. What is dissappointing is that most pubs have a very restricted range of ales even those that used to have a big selection, some just having one. However, I gather from talking to staff that its both getting hold of supplies and being cautious. I know that our local Harveys pub that they are very quiet despite plenty of space and another local pub, they posted a photo of them setting up gazeboos over each table in the rain yesterday as they only have outside seating. On our 5 mile walk yesterday avoiding most of the rain we visited a back street pub. Interesting that htye had seats at the bar but the bar is deep and there is a perspex screen all the way around so effectibely its a table where the stools have been positioned ' not to be moved' and the pub was quiet. Locals were talking about having their outbound flight to Spain cancelled but not the return flight. That was before the announcement yesterday day evening reintroducing the 14 day quarantine form Spain.

I started to tidy up the ballast today. First I went round all the ballasted track vigorously with a scrubbing brush - the sort that is sold either as a nail brush or a laundry brush - to get rid of most of the stones that were loose or in the wrong place. I vacuumed these up and reclaimed them for future use. Next, I filled the more obvious gaps. This included a bit more ballast round the tiebars of the first lot of points and slips that I ballasted a few weeks ago, which has reduced the visual impact of the big dark gaps a lot. After that, i started to clear the flangeways. To do this, I cut a square end on a coffee stirrer (a lolly stick would also do) and ran it along the gauge face of every rail. In most cases any bits of ballast just chipped away but where it was more tenacious the 1/4 inch non-wood chisel came into play again. At the points and slips I made sure that all the flangeways were clear and that the blades moved fully and freely. Once I'd done all this I checked the track again, this time with a wagon. I used an ordinary 4-wheeled open, pushing it with my forefinger pressed very gently on the wagon floor. This meant that I could feel any bumps where a bit of ballast was left so I could clear it with the coffee stirrer or non-chisel. I didn't quite get round the whole layout before it was time to stop, so next time I'll finish off, give the layout another good vacuum and then touch up the brown paint where it has chipped off or worn away. Finally I'll clean the rail heads, again with a coffee stirrer or a Gaugemaster track rubber if more oomph is needed, and run a train or three to celebrate. No photos today as I reckon I've taken enough pictures of ballast over the past few weeks.

Well I hope this post shows that at least one young modeller is prepared to actually make something. This is one of Mike Trice's new V2 bodies and it'll go on an updated Bachmann chassis. Inspired by Graeme King's cut'n'shuts of Margate teaks a few years ago, I've started a pair of my own. This will be a D25 TK... ...and this will be a D149 BFK. Neither of these will be perfect models of the real carriages, but it's a quicker and cheaper way of getting more coaches than building full metal kits (I do have some to build in the future). On a different note, this may be of interest to Tony: It's a DJH kit and it's been glued together (not by me!). The paint finish is quite nice so I'm tempted to leave the bodies alone but I'd like to rebuild the chassis as it's got a tight spot and the valve gear sometimes catches (plus the Portescap whines). I've tweaked the motion with pliers and a soldering iron but it really needs a full rebuild to sort it out. I know the model isn't entirely accurate (60147 was named after GWR green had been applied and the chimney should be plain for this livery) so I may try to make the necessary modifications. Regards, Jamie

Fish from New Clee tonight. Followed by more 9F hauled coal.

I’m surprised no one else has started a thread on the passing of one of the greatest British guitarists (IMHO) - those early Fleetwood Mac albums provided a big part of the soundtrack to my teenage years and definitely went a long way towards showing me that there was more to music that the contents of the singles charts. After getting into the Mac, I picked up on his earlier work with John Mayall and still listen to “A Hard Road” from time to time. I just hope he found peace in his later years.

Today I had planned to cut the pyrocanthus hedge back a bit but it has been a bit blustery so I decided it was safer to leave it alone i don't fancy losing an eye along with my other problems. Hope for a better day tomorrow, to pass a bit of time watched a you tube vid on ghosts on the underground, quite interesting

60048 heading on passes 61282 heading home with the 5.52 from KX. And if our man swings round, he can catch the B1 again before it disappears into the gloom.

Today's fun was to hoover the whole house. White fur everywhere, strangely.......

Morning all, Seems I'm back to perpetual clearing of the editor on this thread (although not in other threads). That excellent view of Laxey is very nice to see, a place which I always enjoyed visiting and great fun on the evening cars from Douglas with all the lights in the trees etc - a good reason for moving to the IoM. Here in the depths of the Thames Valley the weather forecast got it almost right yesterday although we didn't have the thunderstorm and the timing was a bit off but we had considerable quantities of torrential rain - the water butts have not yet been checked but should be well replenished after that lot. Although the rain had by then subsided his ladship was duly collected from the local (railway) station having spent c.12 hours and travelling on 6 trains to get here from Marseilles (probably coded MSC or MSE?); the 6 of course included trains travelling beneath the streets of Paris & London. Generally noted that travel requirements re separation and masking were well observed on all trains and elsewhere in France although not in Marseille itself. It would seem that here a part of the population is working on a par with those in Marseille - fortunately not too many but enough to be noticeable although some of them were clearly grockles and had perhaps not taken their brains on holiday with them. Talk of Sunday repast takes me to dinner this evening which will be roast chicken with a multiplicity of veg in accompaniment. The Good Doctor has risen after a short slumber (those with experience of coming off night shifts will understand that) and is, so I;ve overheard, currently tasked with preparing the chicken. Enjoy the rest of your day one and all and stay safe (and avoid people returning from Spain).

Just been reading the debate on the re-use of surgical equipment and it reminds me of an incident at my MRC. I was doing a bit of track laying and had forgotten my side cutter so one of my friends said here borrow mine. When he got them out I said ‘where did you get them from?’’found them in a bin he said.’ What he had were a pair of pliers used by surgeons to cut through ribs ! They were a bit on the large size but cut through the rail with no problems. Robert

Finally got round to finishing my 1:24 Renault TN6. Made from an early Heller kit it had a few missing parts - and some very interestingly shaped large sections of rather brittle plastic! The trickiest part was making a completely new windscreen, along with trying to straighten out the floor and platform. Any way I looked at it the other day an thought I must finish it, so here it is. Les

A brilliant Running / Photo / Videoing session this morning, just using Seven Mills as a Stabling Yard, and so multiple light engine movements. The Videos will be tonight as we have a BBQ to attend, complete with face mask and a garden fork to pick up the food so as to stay a safe distance from the rest of the Family. Here is just one photo as a taster.

I'd send them a pack of..

I bet he'll flat line the whole test. My friend has nerves of steel, especially when he get's that thousand yard stare in his eyes.

Last night I ordered a Cover for a Garden Bench, after ordering and paying for it, I realized it's coming from Accrington, Blackburn, so it will be well sanitized when it arrives. I spoke to my Cousin in Blackburn last night night to see how Lockdown was affecting him and the Family, and one of his Sons is a Head at a School, and they have to re organize class sizes from 36 ish down to 8, and considering that most classes have to have interpreters in as well, it's going to be difficult. Again, Social distancing has to be a must for some time to come, and if it takes another year, then so be it, we will have to learn to adjust our thinking to suit todays climate. RANT 2 OVER,,,,,,,,,,,for now at least.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Been raining here on and off all evening but seems to have stopped now. Goodnight all.

Good evening everyone After this morning’s short shower, thankfully the rain held off for the rest of the day. In the workshop more progress has been made on the turntable control panel. Firstly, a few final tweaks were needed to the line (track) diagram that I’d drawn on last weekend were made. I then marked where each hole for the point switch would go as well as marking where the indicator LEDs would go. I then got out the drill, the fascia is too wide to go on my bench drill and I can control the speed easier with my hand drill. Lots of holes have been drilled in it today, starting at the rear where I drilled and fitted the sockets for the 12v control and 3v, motor supplies and another for the supply to the drive motor itself. I also made a start on the fascia, holes were drilled for the start button, the selector switch, both rotation direction buttons and the holes for the sequence on, rotational direction and emergency stop button activated LEDs were drilled. Tomorrow I’m hoping to get the point activation switches and indicator LEDs drilled, I can then make a start on painting the control panel. Goodnight all