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Snowflake still in port, but might be getting ready to leave. Tides right, cargo loaded, just need the crew to arrive.......

Digging through some more of the old files......................... Some early pictures of Retford. These must have been taken not long after it was in its permanent home. Several appeared in the MRJ at the time under Retford Rising. Does anyone know when that was? I think this one was on the front cover. The GN fiddle yard is small, isn't it? I wonder what happened to MALLARD? Even one of my locos ran on it. The same one which ran on Narrow Road and the frames from which are now under COCK O' THE NORTH. It looks like somebody had started that signal, Graham................. But, where is it now? 'The Elizabethan' was still under construction. South 'box was still awaiting completion and painting. Roy had just completed the B16/1 on shed. Did someone mention Kitmaster coaches? North Junction. Just one building completed. There's a superb footbridge in place now. What a vision!

Rick: It may be part of the job, but I don't know if I could be successful carrying it out.

Now then me hearties, don't get TOO excited just yet, but ... We've broken out of the top of Shap bank! As you can perhaps tell, this is distinctly temporary just for the time being, although this first piece of wood (a salvaged piece of 9mm ply on a 3 foot radius curve) will probably end up being here for keeps in due course as it fits lovely. Having this piece in position for a bit is good for weighing up access options. This is one of the highest points of the layout and I can duck under here without too much problem; however, I intend it to be some form of lifting flap or door in the fullness of time. Complicating things a little is the fact that there are two more layers below this also curving round in the area so the mechanics of any door / flap is going to be quite complicated. Otherwise, for now, this is just a temporary fiddle yard set up (using one of the Shap fiddle yard boards) so as we can run trains up and down the Shap bank scene to and from Central station. This will thus give a Y-shaped end to end layout for the time-being, Central to Garsdale (S&C) or Shap (WCML) More soon.

Just a light engine this morning. B1 61282 has run down from New England, and is now reversing into number 1 bay.

Good evening everyone First off Rick, well done that man! The weather has been a real mixed bag today, I set off to the butchers in beautiful sunshine, it was so bright I needed to wear sunglasses. On my way home it started to rain, luckily I wasn’t far from home so didn’t get wet. On my way home from the Trafford Centre, it went really dark and started hail stoning! When I got to the butchers this morning, there was a bit of a queue outside, that’s not been the case for the last few weeks. The good news is that they had pasties available today, so that’s what I had for my dinner. But even more surprising was the Trafford Centre, when I got there the car park was almost deserted and the shopping centre itself was dead! I’ve not seen it like that for a very long time. This meant that I wasn’t there long at all and was back home just after 12 o’clock. The afternoon, Sheila was on the phone to one of her Zumba friends, so I read the latest copy of RM. My back seems to be getting much better, I’ve not needed a cushion behind me this evening whilst watching TV, something that I’ve had to use for most of this week. So I’ll continue to take it easy for now, although I do plan on spending sometime in the workshop over the weekend.

Thanks Pete, These next two pictures were taken before the shed-in-the-shed was in place. The GC fiddle yard. And the 'creator' and his creation. I hesitated in posting this picture out of respect for Roy, but it shows him and the breadth of his vision, even in the earliest stages. It has appeared before, but years ago. If anyone is upset by my including this shot, please let me know. The first pictures I took of Retford were in 'Brooklyn', the barn across the way and in the crumbling Methodist Chapel. Those were all on film and are part of a very amusing story. When I write my memoirs, I'll tell it. On subsequent visits, I recorded progress. Progress such as this................... Even with scenic work on the grand scale, let's not forget beautifully-crafted little details such as this. Regards, Tony.

Well, perhaps not a tropical island but Captain Cynical (tm) has a soft spot for endearing furry critters and the destination would be pleasant (and whilst CAKE wouldn’t be guaranteed, Lady Bears would be) If I don’t recognise the number I reply by saying “PSG (the initials of my company’s name), how can I help you?” this usually results in a hang-up. If they persist, and a few do, I listen for a minute and then say “please hold, I’m putting you through to IT security”. It’s my WMD for such callers and is effective. I agree. Well done Rick. Sadly I’ve “been there, done that, used the body bag” more than a few times. Sometimes all it takes is a sympathetic ear at the right time (and at the right place) to defuse self-destructive behaviours. Not everyone needing such help gets it. Now let me get this straight: if it “doesn’t have time to touch the sides”, then - presumably - beyond biting off chunks, little mastication is involved with a concomitant disuse of the tastebuds. Ergo, we must conclude that LDC is consumed for its calorific content alone. So, why not bypass the complex baking stage and just mix up the ingredients and ingest those? A belated Happy Birthday to Mick. Time to finish my muggacoffee and start on baking the French Pear Cake promised to Mrs iD (the mise-en-place has been already set up, so CAKE in 90 minutes!). Enjoy the day iD

Just as I was finishing the last bit of text I suddenly had an eyelid inspection, I must have pressed send without thinking. The photos.

Good Morning All, A right cold 'un it is here. Fog hanging in the air in much the same way that bricks don't. Warnings of yellow snow and ice neither of which will materialise. Turning on the hot water has resulted in Neighbour (Upstairs) being steamed out as the combi vented far more visible vapour than I have ever seen it do before. All that and the forecast for Moan-day morning suggests it will feel like -7C when the llama call sounds. Dr. SWMBO is currently using her Livi account to discuss a painful earache with a GP somewhere. She consulted NHS111 last night which site suggested ear problems can be referred to your local pharmacist. She popped round to the pharmacist - no small deal for her as she hasn't been into any form of shop for almost a year - and was offered some drops and the advice that, contrary to NHS111, ear issues had to be managed by a personal consultation with a GP. Those are like hen's teeth of course and not helped by our local surgery having been half-demolished by a car on Boxing Day. The consulting rooms are OK but there is no longer any reception and public entry. They are taking only the most urgent cases on an escorted-in escorted-out system via the fire door. Nothing much else being planned nor reasonably possible I might actually get to furtle in the waddlemarsh later and perform tasks unmentionable in this place. Stay warm, stay well, stay away from the virus and don't eat the yellow snow.

I'd better sort some stock out for 1957 sets and shewn before but apt as the kit has recently been re-released by Five 79 https://five79.co.uk/RC416/. Built and painted my yours truly but weathered by @mattingleycustom a few years ago now. Not too bad to a blind man on a galloping horse, it will look great running with my Hornby subs.

A bit of a restless night has just passed culminating in Jill deciding she needed tea and toast at 0430 but eventually I drifted off to the land of nod. I was then about to get up an hour ago when I looked out of the window and saw that North Hipposhire had turned white again so the arising was delayed. Not quite sure why but it just seemed like a good idea at the time. The white fluffy stuff has now stopped and I've finished muggocoffee 2 so some carpeing of diems is in order. Exactly what form that will take is still unclear but I'm working on it. Since we have BT call guardian we don't get many scam callers but yesterday was an exception when a caller from Sky told me that I was due a refund on my subscription and he would like my card details to do so. The fact that we don't have Sky was a bit of a giveaway but rather than telling him that straight away I suggested that instead of a refund maybe he could put the excess toward an expanded contract. His attempts to sidestep this and get back to the scam were quite impressive for a while but eventually I got fed up and told him to p*ss off instead. Have a good day everyone. Dave

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, 6 hours solid sleep so far, very good for me, it was helped by a glass of red. It was definitely 1960s the main touring of Europe was underway with bands, , I believe the earliest was mid 50s. The Beetles famously were in Germany in 1960 , and The Troggs in 66. But Iirc an earlier version of the Troggs had previously toured. Would you believe the current line up of the Troggs is planning to be in Germany this year!! I see that Simon is modelling the Nelson monument in Trafalgar Square. The one in Great Yarmouth is older. Plans for today, I definitely need to move the keel out, the expected weather is dry but cold. The keel board needs turning over and glassing the other side. With that done, then shelving units need swapping, so I can paint the other one.. Ben the snoring Collie is asleep, something I intend to join him.. Time to ..put this tablet down.

Back on New Year’s Day I started a simple Ratio 12 Ton box van that had been sitting on my shelf for far too long. Last night I finished it. I’m quite pleased with it; although a humble wagon kit it’s the first one I’ve made in many, many years. I added some additional detail to the underframes, Alan Gibson sprung buffers and a set of adapted/modified screw couplings. Its brush painted with a bauxite(ish) colour and then sprayed with Mig Ultra Matt varnish. I did a bit of weathering using a Vallejo umber wash and a Games Workshop Nuln Oil – a first for me – and then a bit of dry brushing. Not on par with much of the weathering shown on here, but it’s a start. Currently on the go I also have two recycled Hornby Stanier coaches; the build is close to completion. I might get chance to photograph those and show them tomorrow. Kind regards, Iain

Normaly I have no reaction to the fly jab but one year about an hour after having it I was talking to my mother which was odd as she had died about 20 years previously

Well my "quick, easy and painless" line after having the vaccine came back to bite me big time. By the time I went to bed my arm was starting to hurt and after half an hour in bed I was feeling very unhappy with life. Woke up around 3am in my usually warm bed but freezing with my teeth chattering. I got an extra blanket to put over the duvet and that started to get me warmed up but by now both arms and the rest of my body felt like a bad case of flu and I failed to have much sleep for the rest of the night. When I finally got out of bed to get a coffee I had added a king size headache to the list! Hopefully I'll improve fairly quickly as I currently feel like death warmed up and I am not keen on the feeling.

Editor cleared, is that my good deed for the day?. Good moaning one and all. After givingbus a rest yesterday the wind seems to be getting up. We had a lovely meal with some friends yesterday but were home in time for curfew. Before we wentbout I had managed to sawcup a weeks worth of logs and do some carpentry making a box to hidecsome pipes in the bathroom. Today the first, and most important, job is to talk to Emily and her mums. After that Beth is off out with a mate so it's time for me to paint the newly applied paper in the passageway. Some more carpentry may well be done and I might even start to apply the tiles to the boxing. Not a lot elsecto report apart from the fact that it's time for breakfast. Regards tonall. Jamie

Morning all, A decent frost again although it appears to have come down quite late on because when I got up to, er 'water the horse' it was quite misty outside and no sign of frost. But the sunshine, through thin high cloud, has now arrived. Interesting how things change over the years. Back in BR days if we had what we considered to be a potential suicide on our hands we were supposed to do our best to keep them talking etc while professional assistance was summoned. And obviously in the meanwhile not to let them out of our sight on any account - let them off the station or put them on a train and how do you know they're not going to do it somewhere else? Regrettably however those with really serious intentions tend not to make any sort of fuss or create attention - they just wait and hope they're not noticed until their moment arrives. At stations the ones to really worry about are those who hang about quietly on the platform minding their own business and are best sympathetically dealt if at all possible. As Flavio said the other end of things is dealing with the successful ones and even a train at low speed can do an awful lot of damage to a human being so you are rarely involved in recovering a body. I'm told that 'we' are going to Waitrose today but in fact this will take its normal course of herself walking down and doing the shopping then summoning one of us to collect her 'from the usual spot' outside the shop. As far as vaccinations are concerned we've heard nowt so far; there have been two big sessions locally but I don't think they've even got down to the third priority group (over 75s) yet. With typical NHS centralised inefficiency it seems to be progressing at different rates in different parts of the country So it seems to be, apart from their inability to vaccinate people in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions, yet another fine mess the chair polishers have created. Ah well back to the gentle pleasures of RMweb. hav ea good day one and all and stay safe - even if you have had just one shot of the vaccine.

Another bright and frosty start in North Somerset, although traces of fog are now hovering around the church and so I had better not get too optimistic. Apparently, we are going to get a rare event (for these parts, given we are only 5 miles from the coast and almost at sea level) tomorrow; namely snow. I will await this potential christmas card scene with camera at the ready. I got into trouble yesterday for making the observation that I did not consider driving to the garden centre for seed potatoes (to plant on the allotment in April) as an essential journey. Apparently, to SWMBO, an essential journey is any journey she wishes to make but not for others, who will be criticised for helping to spread the virus. I wonder how long my visit to the dog house will be for?

This afternoon I laid the track base between Porthmellyn Road and St Enodoc. I used strips of cork between the centre lines of the two tracks and DCC Concepts foam, split lengthwise, on either side. This eliminates the "valley" that Phil @Chamby pointed out was wrong when I did the main line ballasting. I marked the centrelines of the points too. You also can see the markings on the edge of the ply that will let me mark those centrelines again after the cork has been painted grey. The map pins hold the edges of the foam in line while the PVA dries. I slit the cork where the two tracks are superelevated. I'll trim back the edges of the ply later, when I've worked out exactly where the signals will go. With luck, this will have dried by tomorrow. If so, I will paint the cork. You can see the points here too - tracklaying isn't far away now.

Only 364 days to go to a significant orbit completion. Thank you for the best wishes. An email popped into my inbox tonight regarding an event where there was a plan to meet up with Barry O. [*] It has been postponed for a second time. First wass from Dec 2020 to April 2021 and now moved to September 2021. This has meant an alteration to my accommodation plans for a second time. Damn and blast the price has reduced - again....... There is work to be worked Saturday. Have a good one folks! [*] Genesis at Leeds Arena

Some from today, crewe to EMG crewe and stabled at EMG to get an idea of the size of the place this is the public view (from the passenger seat of the van) of the site coming from the airport, it’s barely noticeable from certain angles then as you get further along the road you can see the unloading lines, my train is on the nearest and that is 18 wagons long (2000ish ft) with plenty of room to spare at the end of each road

Also getting there is their LMS long low wagon, now painted in Railmatch LMS grey. The floor was done in my usual way using Lifecolor and AK products.

Ey up! A tad frosty here this morning. @Erichill16 and @brianusa.. it is the WACA in Perth. No longer a Test Match venue but far friendly than the new Optus donut ring in use for Big Bash matches. Parcels to make up and post today, a king prawn stir fry to prepare for tea later, other than that the day is my own. @newbryford thanks for letting me know. Youngest Herbert gets the emails and then forgets to let me know.. lets hope it all happens in September. Enjoy your day! Baz

Here's a selection of running shots of 9402 from earlier this evening. Lots of GWR stock (earlier era's I know, but it's what I had out) and a mix of passenger and freight. There is some slower running towards the end and the best I could get from the firebox.

I had a good day today with the second end made and fixed in place. Just the small doors to do and fit. I feel more confident that this one will succeed and I have corrected the faults on the first one, There is still a long way to go but the basic shell looks right to me.

Some more photos of the Tyne and Wear Metro for this afternoon. Tynemouth Metro 4080 Tynemouth to Haymarket Aug 81 J7563.jpg The line was only open to Tynemouth then, so only one platform was in use. Cullercoats Metro Pelaw to St James 20th May 95 C20157.jpg Backworth Metros 4038 and 4036 St James to Pelaw 14th Jan 95 C19947.jpg The Blyth and Tyne line to Blyth, Ashington etc is on the left. Newcastle Metro on QE2 bridgeAug 82 J7675.jpg Taken from the High Level Bridge Beyond are the King Edward Bridge, old Redheugh bridge and the new Redheugh bridge being built. Pelaw Junction T&W Metro to South Shields 15th Aug 85 C7133.jpg In the foreground is the line to Sunderland David

Hopefully we are at the beginning of the end of the mess this virus is causing. I'm posting this sitting in the car waiting for my parents to return from having their first vaccine dose. They are early 70s so the NHS is ploughing through the groups I know it's not a railway related post but it's a good news one and we need a bit of that!

Greetings one and all An e-mail received yesterday invited me to purchase a particular double CD. Unfortunately I responded to an identical one on 9th October and had been idly speculating as to what had become of it. I made some enquiries. It would appear that my original purchase had not registered, my card was not debited and my CD was not despatched. This sort of thing can happen when a fundraising website is involved. Looking back a couple of years, I recall having similar difficulty in pledging a donation to Exeter Pride and getting my reward of a hoodie. The happy ending to this case should be in the post shortly. Another happy ending concerns my phone. Lennie the engineer duly arrived and set about the task of diagnosis which, with the little respect due to those in charge at Openreach, cannot be done at all satisfactorily without a first-hand inspection. Something in the exchange was found to be making the phone ring after the receiver had been lifted. Whatever it was has now been replaced and merry hell will not be raised. No doubt the first episode of “It’s A Sin” will have polarised opinion. It is a story which was long overdue for telling and even Russell T has fought shy of it until now. The use of 1980s music is not only absolutely right but has flashes of brilliance. I would never have imagined “Hooked On Classics” being deployed in the way it was! The remaining four episodes are on All4 already and I’m sorely tempted. If I remember rightly, today should have seen the Cardiff Small Show held in the intimate surroundings of Pontcanna Scout Hut. I think nothing of driving 150 or so miles each way if there is a good reason. I look forward to the return of this fine social occasion in 2022. All things being equal, I hope to be in attendance. . Best wishes to all and one more “well done, Rick” Chris

I could only afford the Ferrari as it was a reconditioned one bought at the outlet in Glasshoughton. It still cost... HOW MUCH! I need to use it more regularly. Her indoors wanted to buy me a Gaggia Sputnik for our 30th wedding anniversay.. but the 4 figure price tag put her off. Time to get thre rest of Saturday sorted.. Baz

Dirty shed... from a different view.

The word is that such visits start the moment the ring goes on the finger and continue until such time as you're staring up at the lid of the box.....actually, beyond that time as you'll still be getting blamed for all for all those jobs you promised to do but never got round to... Time for the army to step in me thinks: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55778930 Bear heard that a friend at work lost his wife to C-19; he's in his early/mid 50's and the whole family had it & she never got thru' it. So bl00dy unfair.

I haven't noticed that before, is it anywhere near the river Tay or is it on the Glasgow side of Perth.....................................................

Morning all. If we were going anywhere we would need to wait for the frosty car windscreens to clear but we are not going anywhere. While I was making tea this morning a wren was hopping about in the ivy at the bottom of the garden. It did investigate a nest box but not for long. I don’t know what we are doing today, I suppose a short walk, eat some food and have a couple of phone calls with Aditi’s Mum. Tony

Does anyone recognise this cricket ground, I’ll give you a clue, it’s not the the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados?

Taking photos of Robbie was quite difficult. That is why so many are of him asleep. If he saw a camera being pointed towards him he would rush forward and jump up!

We had to go out for a few things, and on our way back the views to the north and east were stunning, inbetween snow showers. The air was very clear, such a crisp day (1c). This the Point of Ayre, our 'John O'Groats', and the hills are Scotland.

Hey this is serious! There was about a centimetre in Onchan, so plod closed the road......#sigh#

Afternoon Awl, Below you'll notice two photographs, one you see Ben the poser Collie, as I found him when I returned from collecting this gadget to take pictures of the keel. The other is err, the keel. An hour before the photos there was an inch of snow. That's as far as I got with the keel, the wheels of the trolley were sinking in, so it's going no further till I get another board or two to move the trolley on. Before that I took the new axle to the garage, after getting it out of its wrapping.. Cardboard box wrapped round and round and round etc, with brown packing tape. Inside a cheap cloth like cheap tarpaulin material. Wrapped round and around etc with brown packing tape. The ends were inside more card board wrapped round and round etc with..ever more brown packing tape... I'm impressed with the new axle, I've checked the end plates match the suspension units I have.. They do. Galvanizing paint has been ordered to paint the axle before use. Though doing the inside of a. 2inch square tube will be interesting.. That galvanized me...to measure the trailer some more... I had always known it was a bit big but....The new axle will be mounted nearly 3ft forward. Therefore I don't need to extend the trailer aft to support the stern, I can mount the supports on the old axle beam. After I have removed the old flat bed from the triangle of chassis frame. More complicated is creating a channel for the keel to sit in... One painted shelving unit has been installed in position, the other is in the workshop now having had one side painted. Ben the posing Collie then took me for his walk , we had barely done 1/4 of his normal walk when three shotgun shots were heard, that was it he wanted home..

And now for something completely different, as someone once said. A chance exchange of PMs with @gwrrob about road vehicles on railway wagons turned my thoughts to this, that had been in my stash for years (yes they did used to sell them unpainted!): I've already got a couple on the layout but hadn't got any that represented the version built by the LMS as Vacuum Fitted. So I found another one of the good old Parkside PA16 underframe kits in the Stores, and set about doing this: Apart from the Parkside solebar mouldings, the headstocks are from Evergreen 1/8" Channel, buffers from Lanarkshire Model Supplies and other bits from bits & pieces. The plastic of the body didn't seem to like Mek Pak very much, but EMA Plastic Weld worked OK. I'd had an Oxford Diecast Fordson tractor for years; I bought it intending to use it as a wagon load but had always thought it look a bit toy like in the engine department, being a solid block. Then I remembered the picture in Part One of Geoff Kent's wagon building trilogy, which shows a tractor on a wagon with a tarpaulin over its bonnet, so I did this: It not being the weather for painting by aerosol in the back yard, I painted this one in the old fashioned way by brush. For the BR Brown, I used Humbrol 100 Red/brown, which I hadn't used before. I thought it was a bit bright at first but looks better now weathered. Transfers were found on various Modelmasters sheets; the running nimbler is in the right series although I didn't have a picture of that exact wagon.

Well, I think it's time to look at a new Internet Provider. Been with Virgin for 8+ years and recently the line has become more and more unstable. Would have gone for BT but they're just expensive 24 month contracts. The old favourites like Plusnet or Zen are both expensive so gonna risk TalkTalk. They have a fairly good deal with 6 months half price. 18 month contract but I can deal with that. Hate having to mess about like this but hey, after the 18 months, I can always re-join Virgin as a new customer and get a better deal than I am on now.

Good morning everyone It's snowing, we have just under 1"of the white stuff and it seems to be staying put! I'm currently in the workshop about to start working on the turntable, I've got some off cuts of cork flooring (I knew they would come in handy for something) that I'm going to glue on the scenic part of the board. Whilst that is setting, I'll try the printed labels I did the other day on the control panel. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

Just been out for a quick look at the River Axe before coffee and its drying better and quicker than I thought it would.

Snow here. Not thick by any means, the grass moss is showing through.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I haven't looked out this morning so I've no idea of what the weathers like. Looking out to the back garden is not a reliable check on the general conditions as it has its own micro climate. The car in front of the house can be rimed with frost but none to be seen in the back garden. The postie has just delivered Railway Bylines so its be back later.

More from 1989 Cuxton with relay boxes Charlton Lane Crossing Shepherds Well Selling Chartham

Before i bid you all goodnight i will share with you what i have been building in fits and starts between pain spasms visits from a black canine and home schooling A lego model of Trafalgar Square The crocodile loco kit is next

Speaking of flooding on the River Trent, here’s a picture my mum sent from her flat near the centre of Newark. There should be a walkway/towpath in front of the flats on the opposite side. Her flat is about 4ft above the bank at this side which is still just above the water. Fingers crossed. Dont know why the pictures upside down, I’ve rotated it but however the image is saved it alway appears upside here!

B17s always merit at least two shots. Milton got three. An interesting day. Wall to wall sunshine, so I was able to both run and photograph quite a few trains. What's more, now that I have identified all the Hunt couplings I had installed upside down and put them in correctly, any lingering problems melt away, at least until I find another one I messed up. On coming downstairs I found a brown envelope on the mat, and inside was an invitation to make an appointment to be jabbed. However, when I tried I got a recorded message saying that there was excessive demand, and I should try again on the 28th! And now a recommendation. If you find some mushrooms in the fridge which are quite well past their use by date, do not consume them, even if they look OK. I spent last night paying for that.