Leaderboard

We stay on the West Coast Main Line this afternoon heading south with a first stop by the lineside south of Low Gill back in April 1995, a mere 25 years ago. Then we move further south to look at Preston some 49 years ago, almost to the day, in November 1971 with Class 50s and Mk1 sleeping cars on a very dull damp day. I think my personal Tardis did well today enabling me to get these photos! Low Gill DVT up 11th April 95 C20036.jpg Low Gill 86260 down 11th April 95 C20063.jpg Low Gill 87022 pushing up 11th April 95 C20064.jpg Preston Class 50 down ex pass in rain Nov 71 C766.jpg Preston 2 Class 50s down Royal Scot Nov 71 C767.jpg Preston sleeping cars Nov 71 C768.jpg David

We'll start today with a set of photos from visits to the Kent and East Sussex Railway in the late 1970s. They were all taken at Tenterden and on Tenterden bank where there is a convenient level crossing with a parking space and a good view - I wonder if it is different now? Tenterden Hunslet 23 Holman F Stephens 19th June 76 C2795.jpg Tenterden Hunslet 26 Tenterden to Wittersham Road Sept 78 C4144.jpg Tenterden Hunslet 26 Wittersham Road to Tenterden Sept 78 C4151.jpg Tenterden Hunslet Austerity acting as banker on Tenterden Bank Sept 78 C4141.jpg Tenterden Bank RSH 26 and Terrier 10 Sutton l e 26th Dec 79 C4910.jpg Tenterden Bank RSH 26 and Terrier 10 Sutton Tenterden to Wittersham Rd 26th Dec 79 J6735.jpg David

I never store or leave either of the boats in the harbour just in case I knock them when going through the door. So quite often, when i take a picture, there is nothing alongside and its only after I take the picture and look at the end result and think - should've put something there, I realise not always but sometimes. It looks a bit........open! Now playing with the idea of an old rowing boat alongside the steps in a semi derelict condition, I also think there should more waste in the corner as if washed in by the tide and trapped there!

So here's the new branch platform up starting signal, installed and in operation. Once again I've discovered a new angle, only to find that it exposes one of my lazy short cuts from layout building days, long before I'd considered any photographic possibilities. Just been rummaging around for any leftover brick-embossed Plastikard but without success so will need to acquire some more. Of course, as I'm sure you'll all quickly spot, the brick platform facing isn't the only thing missing! Cropping this picture gets rid of the incomplete brickwork and gives a closer view of the approaching down stopping train. So what's approaching the new signal? It's the daily Earlsbridge branch goods returning to Hackney Yard, and as it has nothing to drop or pick up at Stoke C. it's going to amble through the branch platform and straight out onto the up main. Watch this space! John C.

The New Clee fish gets closer, and we can see that the loco is one of ours, 61023. A few minutes of quiet follow, after which 92188 starts its journey to Ferme Park with more coal.

A Johnson 3F arrives with a local from Evercreech Jct: Photo by Chris Nevard, courtesy of Hornby Magazine.

Greetings one and all Knowing my luck, the light at the end of the tunnel is the one on the front of the train heading towards me. Tut, tut, that wasn't very positive, was it? Well, no. There is more in prospect than will actually happen. With one cancellation already in for an event in May, can others be far behind? Who knows? I have made a bit of progress on researching the next episode of the Class 116 saga and was heartened to stumble across a post on Facebook which was complimentary about it. Writing the narrative will be fun though. As light relief from all sorts I have dipped into YouTube and found myself chuckling at the antics of baby koalas and the occasional rhino calf bouncing around its paddock. I ordered a book from *m*z*n because I understand that bookshops are classed as non-essential for lockdown purposes. A CD is on its way from the organisers of Towersey Festival. It commemorates the life and work of the late Roy Bailey, whose control of his audiences was masterful. Among the good stuff on it is a version of Tom Robinson's anthem "Glad To Be Gay". Now there's a candidate for sharing with the world at large via the in-car CD player and open windows! As a taster I found some versions of that on YouTube too. Full marks to BBC1 for showing some culture last night. I refer of course to Blackadder. What did you think I meant? Strictly Come Prancing? [conspiratorial whisper on] Actually, don't tell anyone but there's some good stuff on Strictly this season. Will it be won by Bill Bailey or HRVY? [conspiratorial whisper off]. Today I see that "633 Squadron" is to be shown. I shall time my ribeye steak lunch accordingly. Tomorrow there will be phone calls from medical people which have the capacity to alarm. Until then, carry on regardless. Best wishes to all Chris

The high point (literally) of today’s drive:

Stroll down memory lane, by the side of the quay with the noise of the gulls overhead and waft of fish from every angle, smell of coal smoke everywhere.....and add a hint of rain in the air. What's not to like about model railwaying....

Engineering work was undertaken at Stoke Courtenay last week to replace the final non-working semaphore signal with one of the new Dapol single-arm bracket signals. This involved excavating a hole in the platform, and of course Sod's Law decreed that a stripwood cross bearer was found at that spot! But I carved it out bit by bit before drilling a pilot hole. This was used to drill the required 15mm hole from below. You can see here how I've cut back the signal base to the minimum possible footprint, and extended the black paint up the signal post so it looks to be platform mounted. After installing the signal the hole in the platform was made good with Plastikard to suggest wooden planking or an inspection hatch to get at the below-platform gubbins. After clipping on the operating unit under the baseboard and wiring up the signal was successfully tested. All seemed to be well until i reached over the layout to retrieve a screwdriver and accidentally depressed the signal arm momentarily (it was 'on'). At that instant the nearest adjacent point motor started 'acking' uncontrollably and would only stop once switched to the other road or power turned off altogether. On restoring power it started again. In the past I've stopped such 'acking' by ducking under the baseboard and squeezing the plastic sides of the motor box or tapping it lightly with a pin hammer. Didn't work this time, so the motor had to go in the bin. Good job I still had a couple of spares left. (Obviously this could all be a coincidence - there are already 9 other Dapol signals fed from the same accessory bus as the points - but it was absolutely simultaneous with my accidentally nudging the signal arm.) But my troubles weren't over. This is the most inaccessible motor, right at the back of the layout and the only one not under the point itself, due to a last-minute track plan tweak back in 2012 which placed the point tie-bar over a baseboard cross-member! It's taken me all week to restore the linkage and get the point blades to throw and close properly and I'm surprised I've not done more damage to the layout details, leaning over the baseboard awkwardly with a soldering iron, day after day. I did break the tie-bar connection to one of its lace pins (since resoldered with the help of a small mirror) and knocked a capful of flux onto the yard surface, but thank goodness, all is now sorted. Anyway, at long last I can correctly signal trains to move from the branch platform onto the up main line. Only took eight years. John C.

Been a while since the last update. I've been busy building some low relief flats to go somewhere behind the scrapyard scene. I used the cricut maker machine I've had for a while to assist me. No way was I going to cut all those windows by hand! Lots of detail left to add but for now I'm going to take a break from it. Looks right at home overlooking the scrap yard.

There are many cars, drivers and races from history I would love to have seen but we've seen a moment of history today. The craft of Clark, speed of Senna, planning of Prost, leadership of Stewart and heart of Hunt all rolled into one. The rest must feel like chucking it all in or clubbing together for a golden handshake he can't refuse as it looks like others won't stand a chance for some time yet. But what will he do next? One more?

Morning all. Yesterday morning saw me and the boy sprawled on the sofa laughing like drains at a sitcom he'd found on netflix. Not sure I approve of the language but in such a woke world it was quite nice to see a modern comedy with few holds barred. Fridaye Night Dinner? Whilst others watched the dancing last night I had my head down in a pile of cardboard and glue at the dining room table. Fingers crossed I'll be able to update my thread later with a photo of my efforts. In the meantime I've a tip run booked this morning.

Ey up! Won £30 on the lottery last night... now what can her indoors spend it on I wonder? Watched France Women v England Women Rugby yesterday. Some interesting referee interference but a good win for the Red Rose. Highlights of the England Georfia game are on tonight at 11pm... letting that money grabber bozo take the tv rights may have generated more money for the rugby elite but it may end up like cricket ..as in if you can't see it for free people stop getting involved in it.. As for today.. well not sure yet but it will involve a few mugsatea and mugsadecaff no doubt. Grab Sunday and enjoy what you can! Baz

An excellent principle to live (model) by. I think though that the point made by the original poster, remains; in the annual wish-lists, people plead for a RTR model of a "LNER J101". Then: Hornby/Bachmann/Heljan/Oxford Rail/whoever produce one. Some people complain it's over £100 and it'll kill the hobby, others buy one. Some complain the cab roof is the wrong shape, two years later the manufacturer releases a modified version (when all they'd done was make it according to a (what everyone assumed was accurate) drawing. Then people complain that after three years, there isn't a J101/5 variant with the different bunker shape (there were only two J101/5s anyway). A couple of years later, the J101/5 variant appears and half the pleaders now complain that they've made it with the wrong number for their own personal preference, or that it isn't available in BR black BRITISH RAILWAYS livery which it carried for at least 6 months in 1948. Oh and why isn't available ready-weathered, with DCC sound and for under £80.....? If I was an RTR manuafcturer, at shows I would keep a stock of Airfix beginners kits under the counter, the ones where you get a Red Arrows Hawk jet, glue, the correct paint and even a paintbrush. Anyone who makes one of the above complaints should be offered one of the kits at a discount, "Here look, have a go at one of these, don't be scared....".

Good moaning from a dryish Charente. It's certainly cooler here and the wind is getting up. The jungle was attacked again yesterday and victory is in sight. The chain saw will be deployed on Monday. I'm glad to see signs of mojo returning. No big news here but I may well make a trip to the market this morning. The G word has been banned for today so I may even head for the shed and see if my modelling mojo is hiding there. Regardscto all. Jamie

Mooring Awl, inner Temple hare, Cool and windy out there, signs of recent heavy precipitation.. It took a long time to get off to sleep, so I've just had 4 hours plus 1 hour Ben the alarm clock Collie gave me a lie in of 30 minutes, he didn't spend long out there, but seemed happy charging around.. The annual pension report from my biggest pension came in which was mostly good. In payments from employees are twice the size of current out goings.. and the company paid in 1/13th of the current black hole... A little more money in.. £1......billion. The current directors must really regret the actions of the 1980-90s taking pension payment holidays.. Keep paying it in, I will want the money in two years.. How I'm going to build the library shelves was running round my brain cell again, a decision has been made. But I really could do with the orange shed reopening it's cutting service, I'm hoping it will happen at the end of lockdown #2. Some measurements will be taken today.. As it is I've decided for the purposes of library building, the first equipment trolley for the workshop will be for the bench (disk) saw . So hopefully I'll extract that out of storage today, so I can measure up. I have realized that the saw needs to be sunken into the trolley so it's surface matches that of the work bench.. This will also apply to the band saw, and the lowest position of the pillar drill table. Lowering the equipment has other advantages such as lowering the C of G of the trolleys, and consuming less wood. Once the store room area is constructed that lowering may allow another shelf above.. Time I think to get breakfast..

Morning all, Nothing won on the lottery - as usual. Maybe I'd get a result if I bothered to buy a ticket but I doubt if it's anything like the two Premium Bonds my mum bought me when they first came out and which have returned absolutely nothing over the years decades. Ah well lottery tickets not bought = money not spent wasted. Now I'm greatly surprised that our resident Bear did not mention a programme specially broadcast for him last night - all about the largest cake factory in Europe, the Mr Kipling manufactory at Carlton near Barnsley. Absolutely fascinating programme and the staff seem to really enjoy their jobs which suggests the company is a good employer. My personal highlight was seeing how they make their exceedingly good Battenberg cakes - absolutely brilliant manufacturing process and apart from some human skill needed to control the mixing of various ingredients actually putting the things together is done on an automated production line with some human check supervision. The other interesting thing was the sonic cutter used, for example, on the French Fancies line, which cuts strips of cake into individual slices - done that way as using cutting blades would require frequent cleaning. In one case - limited I think by the length of the production line they made a Battenberg which was not cut into portions for wrapping but remained in a continuous length of 31.5 metres, a wotrld record (they claim). One of the best programmes I've seen on C5 - watch out for a repeat if you're salivating. Now quite sunny outside so presumably today's monsoon has passed. it was definitely up to full monsoon standard earlier with swathes of rain being blown down the road - quite impressive (except for the bloke out walking his dog). No major, or minor, plans for today but somehow the mouse has escaped from the corner so a further mouse hunt might be needed. Not that it would be any use employing the cats to assist. Have a good day one and all.

3775 arrives under the bridge with empties for the local colliery.

Morning. Sun has just shown its face after a very very wet night. Rain gauge not yet inspected. We had a nice Thai carry-out at Jayne's last night, from the pub a few yards from her gaff. It may be I had a tincture or twain, very unusual these days when one beer is all I have once a week - a pint whilst waiting for the meal and a bottle of NZ white with the meal.....oops. I was hoping that would induce a better nights sleep, but it was not to bee. Four bad nights in a row, not sure why, although the very wet weather isn't helping the broken bits. Mrs H off to an archery competition later, she'll need wellies - the glen is wet at the best of times, it may be too wet to get to all the targets today. A couple of the crew have called off, more chance of a win! It is some kind of a handicap thing, I can't pretend to understand how it works, but will be more fair than the last competition where an archer used a compound (steady, Jamie, not that type!) bow which isn't allowed in barebow recurve! Raining again.....

Good morning all, Sill wet and windy here after a lots of the same overnight. More to come but it may brighten up later. Two rugby matches duly watched but I'll keep my thoughts to myself in case anyone watching highlights (Baz) doesn't yet know the results. France v Fiji today has been cancelled due to Covid in the Fiji camp. I have recorded the women's match from yesterday so will watch that along with the F1 highlights later. That could be interesting. A book is due today from Amazon. It's about the author's battle with autism and I should declare an interest as he is a family friend and is also Steve's partner. Other than that no firm plans (yet again) for today apart of course from eggs, bacon etc which The Boss has just offered in a little while. Have a good one, Bob.

For my modelling, I haven’t done as much I would have liked to in the last week or so; work was busy and took me away from home for a few days. I have managed to solder the bodies together on the LMS D1938 Restaurant Composite and the GWR A44 Driver Trailer I’m currently doing. This is the A44 Driver Trailer with roof loosely fitted. The body work is pretty much done and the next job will be to focus on the interior, then the roof and prepare the buffers and all the whitemetal bits for the underframe. The kit came with the Ratio style plastic seating but this is ‘too thick’ such that the seat edges will be visible in the compartment windows – there’s nothing wrong with the seats, its because the compartment partition to the window frame on these carriages was so narrow. The D1938 Restaurant Composite came with much narrower backed seating (same as used to come in the Ian Kirk kits) so I’ll use this instead for this coach and the Ratio stuff in the restaurant carriage. I had intended to have the roof as detachable but I think it’ll need to be glued on, its such an integral part of the coach’s strength. This is the D1938 Restaurant Composite. Its in a similar state to the A44 and the intention is work on this ones interior also. I also need to think about how it will couple up to the the adjacent carriages in the rake. I normally use a rigid hook and bar system but given the length of this carriage I'll try and engineer / cobble up something that articulates. Apologies for the photos looking so grubby. I try and clean off the flux residue and heat staining from what I’m building pretty much after every session. They did get done yesterday, but maybe I had greasy fingers before photographing them. We had take out for tea... What the images do show is that I need to trim and fettle the roofs a bit more, though this is not so readily apparent in real life. Kind regards, Iain

Morning, dry here at the moment, I can even see small bits of blue amongst the clouds, no plans are made, but as we are not allowed out of the county a walk rather than a drive may be the order of the day, stay safe all.

One of the B16/1 photos jogged my memory. Yes - the coupled wheelbase was too far forward on the DJH kit - that was why I hacked it apart. It's interesting to look back at some of these models in the light of more knowledge., knowing that we'd do it completely differently now! We are having a J6 fest - mine is grinding along to completion.. I think yours will be finished long before mine Tony. Watch out for the tender though - most kits seem to cater for them in GNR condition. There appear to have been changes to the front coal plates in LNER days....

Hmm, I thought by the weather radar we would be in a gap now, but it has managed to line up the torrential rain bang on Fraggle Rock. I have had to bravely go out and pump the Koi pond down as the water was over the railway and heading for total innundation. This will score brownie points, but when Mrs NHN comes back from archery she will be like a drowned long-tail so point scoring will likely be ignored. I had better light the fire and start dinner, and then keep out of range. I know what's good for me......

12°C SW 21kt, gusting 46kt Showery start to the day though drier and brighter conditions hoped for this afternoon (before the next band of rain, at least). Still we wait for quotes for our roof repair; the second roofer to visit did however clear a lot of debris which has helped no end. Our drive is now finished, ready for a ceremonial return of cars later today. Mrs C and I had been due to holiday in Cornwall this week, so for a second time this year I'm having to use my annual leave during a national lockdown. Our first wedding anniversary is Wednesday so a to visit to Wakehurst, Ardingly is planned. For now I return to my coffee and continue to ogle over @NHY 581's Sheep Dip in December's BRM. Stay safe.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Overslept this morning, same as others I couldn't get off to sleep last night until about five this morning and only woke up half an hour ago. Sad news this morning, Des O'Connor has died at the age of 88. A bit more of my yoof no longer with us. Now time to run a late bath, be back later.

You owned up to winning money?? Fatal...

Well I was right about Mrs NHN looking like a drowned long-tail! Had an awful round, came 4th, not happy. Having dinner almost ready was a gooood move! This lot could help, Poly.....no guarantees about work ethic though. Known troublemakers in fact.

40mph SWS, heavy rain at the moment...Ben the I want out Collie will have to wait... A couple of more bits of woodwork fitted, but I really do need a couple more packs of battens.. Wiring extended connected from consumer unit, to charging station, to lathe supplies, which was already connected to junction box to right hand side of work bench.. Also extended from consumer unit to left hand side of work bench. All powered up and tested, so the work bench has been cleared of charger, and a couple of other cables. Just the keel on there now, and that has been filled bedded one side, it's got week to set before I get block and tackle out to lower it to the floor. When that's out of the way, I can get up on the bench, to complete the mains power wiring, and alter the routing for lighting.. The weather radar indicates it will stop chuckinitdarn shortly.. so time to drink this muggacoffee before paddling out..

Just installed the saucepan hanging rack in the kitchen - but more saucepans to hang - can't at the moment as I've run out of hooks - more arriving tomorrow. [EDIT] I initially thought that a couple of dozen would cover it - I was wrong.

And the weather forecast for South Hampshire is;

Just what is wrong with these Bozo's??: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-54943588 Perhaps they should read this - but I guess they'd just say it was fake news: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-54938735 - both are from today's BBC News website. Rant over. For now... More drilling and chiselling of walls for leccy back boxes (x3) and conduit. Deep joy.

I installed 52/48 signal today but not 24 disc. In fact I nearly installed 24 in the wrong place, and cut a hole for it, but realised just in time that it belongs with 50/44 (Up Branch Starting), not 52/48 (Up Main Starting), so now I've got a hole to fill next to the Up Main. Never mind. I got 52/48 working without too much trouble for once, then worked out the exact position for 50/44 and 24. These have to fit between 22A's point motor and a joist. I won't drill the holes until the signals are ready though. Then I had a big decision to take - should I start to dismantle the old 6305 or run a few trains? No contest - I ran a few trains, sitting at the signal box to watch them go by at Porthmellyn Road. All the main line signals are installed and working now, so that was quite fun. Here's a driver's-eye view of 52/48. You can see the spurious excavation in front of it. Back indoors, I've started the next few signals - the two double-arm single-posts (with calling-on arms) and a disc (25, which will have a yellow stripe). I mentioned before that I thought I might do some things slightly differently on the next calling-on arms and here is one of those. Rather than build up the "prism" with layers and filler, I decided to use some Evergreen quarter-round strip. Here it is in place. Once it's set I can file it to shape.

From the point of view of the Lurker household, paying for the Ocado Smartpass works well; we have a Christmas slot and we have not missed a weekly order apart from possibly one at the beginning of Lockdown 1.0. Mrs Lurker is currently in the mid a self isolation period after a child in her year tested positive- Joe Wicks is her exercise salvation at the moment... currently “will you?” by Hazel O’Connor playing on Spotify

Good evening everyone Although the weather was cool and dull this morning it wasn't too cold dry and I was able to leave the workshop door open. However, this afternoon was a different story, it started to rain so I had to shut the door! Before I started work on the turntable control panel, I added an extra road beside the engine shed and drilled a few extra holes for a switch and 2 LEDs. The new road will be the area in which the standby breakdown crane will be parked. Whilst the paint was drying on the control panel, I had a rummage and located a suitable piece of MDF for the turntable. This was then marked out into a perfect square and also for the centre so I can cut a hole in it for the turntable well to sit in. This will need to be done outside, so I’ll have to wait for some dry weather. Once the turntable well has been fitted and glued in place, along with some short pieces of track for the exit/entry roads, it will mean that the whole turntable can be fitted or removed as a single unit onto the layout, should any sort of maintenance be required. I then turned my attention towards the turntable control panel, where quite a bit of progress has been made. My first task was to fit the hinges so that the top and the base could finally be united. The rotary selector switch was then fitted, the 4 bridge control push buttons and LEDs. I then fitted the 19 point control switches, but that’s where today’s efforts ended. I just need to fit the 44 point position LEDs then I can make a start on the wiring, I’ll make a start on that tomorrow.

02 on its way, and signalled into the yards. and after it has dragged its load across the Up main and out of the way, the first New Clee fish can head south.

One from the archives before she retires due to a new model being available. A Collett 93XX Mogul on an up parcels of which I hope Dapol do eventually.

Managed to get the third tube in this morning and all three are wired and working. Still some work to do with the fascia, but overall pleased with the outcome. The telling thing for me is that standing at the bottom of the right angled staircase up to my railway room, it appears that the room is flooded by daylight. It’s not until you enter the room can you see it’s dark outside and the blinds are shut. Well worth the effort....Just three more sides to do.

Not done a lot today other than glue the stone walling to the other side of the road and attach the gate I had to clear away some of the ‘over grown’ grass from the road edge, hence the bald patches which I’ll sort out another day Used a left over post from the ratio post and wire fence kit Not sure it it’s in the right position visually Personally I think the curved wall to the entrance looks quite good

Fitting the servos and testing........ The servos I'm using on this signal are fairly small, of conventional design, with a weight of only 3.7gms. As usual I created a bespoke mount from plywood and beading. This starts with a horizontal plate with a hole to match the signal's "foundation tube". In this case it is 1/2in dia. This plate is secured to the baseboard by a couple of screws. The three servos are mounted in a second piece of plywood, which in turn is glued to the first plate, with beading re-inforcement of the joint. The alignment of the servos to the operating wires is determined by "rack o'th eye", with the intention of giving as straight a pull as possible. The wooden servo mount in place on thge Transport & Test frame. With the servos connected to GF Controllers, they are set to mid-throw by the "Safe" feature. The servo Horns are aligned on their splines. The holes for connecting the operating wires have been opened up to 1/16th in. The connections between operating wires and servo horns are made from 1/16in Brass tube, This is a sliding fit over the 1/32in tube re-inforcement of the operating wires, and a good fit into each horn. Each connection is individually formed to suit the location. The sliding fit between the operating wire and the connection tube allows the signal arm to servo relationship is be adjusted prior to soldering the joint. The servo is already set to Mid-Throw by the GF Controller. The signal arm is set to the corresponding "mid throw" position. Once the connecting tube to operating wire positionh is correct, a drop of liquid flux is placed over the small hole ready for the solder. A little solder on a hot iron and the job's done. Here the first two connections have been made. Adjusting the signal movement is straight forward. First the Stop is set. Then the Clear. The very small amount of movement of the servo required is seen in the following two photos: Stop. Clear. By ensuring the thickness of the Transport &Test frame correponds closely with the railway's baseboard, the signal can be installed with confidence everything will be within the range of adjustment available. The connecting tubes are easily released from their servo horn to allow the servo assembly to be removed downwards, and the signal upwards. On installation a short length of 1/12in tube or rod is used to align the servo mount whilst it is screwed in position. I hope the above has been informative. I hope to have a short video prepared soon... Steve.

I put the new J6 through its paces this morning................... Obviously running with a borrowed tender, it took 40+ loaded coal wagons with ease. A useful addition to LB's loco stud

Moaning awl from the Far East. Well, not actually! Scattered cloud ceiling and 12ish °C, and I have a sore throat. Probably something Annika brought with her from the kindergarten as she's sniffling as well, though for the moment, I don't think it's anything related to The Virus. And for a bit of comic relief, see the attached image and imagine singing "Hack Job, Hack Job" to the tune of the Stingray main theme… Later...

Morning all. It is raining and breezy here. I am not planning to go out so not a problem. My personal weather forecaster suggests this afternoon will be more pleasant for walking. The motor racing from Istanbul is quite conveniently timed after breakfast and before lunch. Tony

The locomotive move went well today, apparently. A friend watched on his computer and said that at one point they managed to put a tender axle off the end of the track. (the local paper referred to the "rear part" of the locomotive.) We drove by but the parking was non-existant. https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/a-great-day-to-move-a-locomotive-16-photos-2879346

Picture the scene if you will, my fellow ER'ers...... Bear has spent the morning chasing out probably seven feet of wall for leccy conduit, along with three holes for single gang back boxes. There was dust - and some - and Bear knows the next step is clearing up..... Bear now bears (ouch) a closer resemblance to a Red Panda than a Poly. Bear wonders if it's twelve o'clock yet. The conversation goes like this: Bear: "Alexa, what's the time" Alexa: "It's 1-58 pm - hope you're having a great afternoon" Sarcastic Cow. Any more of that and I'll flick the switch and divorce her PDQ. And if she thinks she'll sue for half my leccy and half my internet bandwidth then she's sadly mistaken. She'll be down the dump and in the WEEE Waste Bin** quicker than she can spell out the word lawyer.... (**Not the mains adapter though, that might just come in useful one day)

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Haven't even ventured out to Tess Coes today but that has allowed me to catch up on Farcebook. The local pub although closed under lockdown has a stall outside selling seafood either hot or cold. I might give it a try by all accounts as all that I have spoken to have no complaints about it. Also Southend pier are replacing the pier railway stock next year and are selling off the souvenir stock re. the old trains, click and collect. Mostly mugs and some crude static models that look as if they are solid resin, well solid something anyway.

Evening, Good to hear Andrew P and Baz are feeling good and Chris is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not so good though the news from Switzerland. Tinned baked beans and sausages with a bottle of lager is not as bad as it may first sound but definitely worth avoiding celebrity cooking and dance programmes on TV. Weather been terrible here all day so we’ve been doing inside diy jobs. I think tomorrow will be he same except there will be the F1 highlights and the Belgium vEngland football match. With that in mind I’d better get an early start so I will bid you all a good night. Robert

Our two are very appreciative of the changing of the seasons... You know it's the only way to spend a wet and grey blustery lockdown Saturday afternoon whilst mummy and daddy polish off the white wine watching Inspector Gently and Midsomer Murders... They also like model railways, Just like my beloved and much-missed Minnie who I got from Cats Protection aged 3 in 1999 and who shared my life for the next 17 years they leave paw prints on your heart...