Leaderboard

Study is almost finished, how come those final tweaks sometimes take weeks to do, or even get overlooked with the passing of time. Ive a list 'to do' so a few more will be ticked off today. A colleagues funeral today, we aren't allowed to go due to the restrictions but some of us will be lining the street as he goes on his final journey, a lovely man in all respects. We also lost my Mother in Law yesterday ( non Covid), which wasn't entirely unexpected but it's al ways a shock when it happens. Often the butt of my recycled MiL jokes, she put up with me for over 35 years with good humour. We had a laugh yesterday talking about when I first met her and what she must of thought (she had heard so much about 'Marines' ) and after 2 weeks I was asking for her daughters hand in marriage. That she didn't bat an eyelid, and threw herself into arranging our marriage 6 months later speaks volumes. She was a good woman, and I for one will miss her. Stay safe one and all.

So after a day of looking in books, comparing to drawings, and making many pages of notes. I can finally write up my thoughts on Hornby's 4 wheelers. I will also be doing a video on these on my YouTube channel, which will have more detail as I have permission to display some of the drawings from the LB&SCR Carriage books in video, but not on the web generally, I am just waiting for permission on a couple of the drawings before I can make and upload the video. (I already have permission to show the drawings of the buffers in the video, so you can look forward to that!) I will start by saying that the models run very well, they are extremely free running, and at circa 50g per vehicle are an ideal weight. So in that Hornby have done very well. Now on to the design. A picture of them in formation with my other makes of LBSC carriage, from the back we have Bachmann, the Laser cut kits by @Skinnylinny, then K's and finally the Hornby's at the front, they don't look very generic do they? and as we cover the carriages in detail they will continue to look just as generic. So firstly some general points that apply across the whole range. The carriages in general are very nicely modelled, and details look very good, and the livery is very nicely applied, albeit with a lightly plastic-y finish, with the company name on the garter being visible, although not legible, which for a carriage of this price I think is quite acceptable, although I'm sure others wont. As can be seen above the moulding for the doors is a groove above the waist panel, and a ridge below it. This is correct for Stroudley carriages. Overall excepting the baggage brake, the major dimensions of the carriages match their Stroudley equivalent. This includes the panelling, windows, and doors, as well as the size of the carriages. On the ends of the carriages the pipework matches that of LBSC type, having smooth brake hoses matching the Westinghouse air brakes that are fitted to the model. All the carriages have lamp irons both ends, and steps at one end, this does not match LBSC prototype, and if these were suburban sets as their numbering indicates only the brake ends would have these, photos of mainline stock shows steps on one end of the carriages, but only lamp irons on the brake carriages, although the preserved ones do have lamp irons. The grab handles on all of the carriages are incorrect for LBSC pattern, however we will get back to that later The underframes are very sparse as has been noted many times, on this thread, however they are realistically sparse from an LBSC perspective, the prototypes only had a footboard along the bottom of the solebar, except the brakes, which had a small lower footboard, only under the guards compartment doors. other than that the underframes were completely bare when built, only later having brake equipment added, this being the Westinghouse system, which Hornby have modelled reasonably accurately. There are sections of the brake rigging missing from around the wheels, however I again feel this is reasonable to leave off in this price bracket for the complication it would cause, and how hidden it would be. The missing rigging would have to be a separate part added after the wheels were fitted as it crosses under the axles. The buffers, which Hornby have decided to make concave because they were fooled by light. The buffer housing seems to match reasonably well to the housing of the buffers that the carriages were built with in the 1870s, these buffers were quite long, protruding 1'11" from the buffer beam, however Hornby have fitted them with shorter buffer shanks than that style, so they only protrude a scale 1'6" which is how far the later buffers extended from the buffer beams, but these also had a different style of housing, these shorter buffers were fitted from 1880, and slowly the longer buffers were replaced with sorter on the older stock. and onto the individual carriages. starting with the 4 wheel Brake Third which is numbered as per a Stroudley D34 Brake Third, so I have used this as my basis for comparison, along with it's mainline equivalent. For those that have the LBSC Carriage books, this one can be found in Volume 1 on page 152 Firstly the overall length, width, height, panelling, compartment profile, ducket position and profile all match exactly on the model and the prototype, as do the positions of the lamps on the roof, and the steps, lamp irons, and handrail on the brake end. The handrail on the roof however is far too far back, and should be hanging over the end end of the roof to allow it's usage by whoever was climbing the vehicle, something which the position on the model rather precludes. The combination of a single lamp and quaterlights is odd as these carriages were built with halflights and no partitions meaning one lamp could be seen in all 3 compartments (I don't want to say it could light them!) and later received a lamp above each compartment when rebuilt with partitions and quarterlights, however there is a photo of number 1077 on page 152 of LBSC Carriages Vol. 1 showing the combination of 1 lamp, quarterlights, and no partitions above the seats, as per Hornby's model, so it happened at least once. The last notes on this vehicle are related to the underframe, where it should have the short lower footboard under the guards compartment door, as mentioned above. Stroudleys brake vehicles also had 9 spoked wheels rather than Mansell wheels, and most photos show them like this, however once again the photo of 1077 shows it fitted with Mansell wheels, so there is at least one example of a carriage being how Hornby have modelled it, it just seems a shame they didn't use 1077 as the number for this model! 4 Wheel 4 Compartment All First this is numbered as a Stroudley D30 4 Compartment All First, so again that is what I have used for my comparison along with it's mainline counterpart. For those that have the LBSC Carriage books, this one can be found in Volume 1 on page 147. Much like the Brake Third above, the overall length, width, height, panelling, and compartment profile all match on the model and the prototype. The lamp positions on this carriage are also good, but the position of the handrail on the roof suffers once again by being too far back, and in fact on the suburban carriage should not exist at all! Photos from the LBSC carriage books seem to show the mainline versions of these with no lamp irons, so that is incorrect on this model. The underframe is good and matches with my previous comments above. If we are being very pedantic, the compartment interiors only seat 6, whereas the prototype seated 8! 4 Wheel 5 Compartment All Third this is numbered as per a Stroudley D33 5 Compartment All Third so his is where my comparisons come from, along with it's mainline equivalent. For those that have the LBSC Carriage books, this one can be found in Volume 1 on page 151. Much like the above carriages, the overall length, width, height, panelling, and compartment profile all match on the model and the prototype. The lamp positions on this carriage match the mainline version rather than the suburban version, for the suburban version there should only be 2 lamps, at the same positions as the outer lamps on the model. The position of the handrail on the roof suffers once again by being too far back, and in fact on the suburban carriage should not exist at all. Photos from the LBSC carriage books seem to show the mainline versions of these with no lamp irons, so that is incorrect on this model. The carriage also matches the D32 5 Compartment Second which did have 3 lamps, so Hornby could theoretically re release this as a second class carriage with no issues, the LBSC ended second class on suburban services in 1909, (it continued on mainline serves until the 1st June 1912) so this could represent a D32 after this date. The underframe is good and matches with my previous comments above. As Hornby released this model with 2 different numbers, it has been the first that I have "played with" having removed the grab handles, and added replacement Stroudley style ones from Roxey Mouldings, this was a very easy job, and could be done by anyone, ad makes the carriages feel that much more like LBSC prototypes. I ordered the grab handles after the carriages arrived yesterday, and they arrived today, so great service from Roxey there! 4 Wheel Baggage Brake this is numbered as a Stroudley D47/222 baggage brake so that is what I used for my comparison. For those that have the LBSC Carriage books, this one can be found in Volume 2 on page 115. This is the outsider of the bunch, being 7' longer than it's prototype, the doors are the right size, and so are the panels themselves, so this could be corrected by cutting the model down from it's current 5+3 panelling to the prototypes 3+1, however if someone does this the underframe will prove more problematic, as the wheels are too far from the end, the springs almost reaching right to the buffer beam on the prototype vehicle. The lamp over the baggage compartment would also need removing, as there should only be a lamp over the brake compartment. Much like the Brake Third this vehicle would usually be seen with 9 spoked wheels not Mansells, and I have not seen a photo of one with Mansells, so in this case I cannot see a prototype for it. The baggage compartment door should have a grab handle, which the model does not, the only case over the whole range where one is omitted. and finally once again the lower footboard under the guards compartment is missing, I am wondering if these could be bashed out of the full length footboards Hornby supply, but it is probably easier to make one from scratch! So in conclusion, Hornby have not made a bad job of making some LBSC Stroudley carriages, they are not prefect, and I expect that is by design, but they most certainly have not made generic carriages, and for anything but LBSC I would strongly recommend Hattons over Hornby. So I will wrap up for now, once permission for the last few drawings has come through I will make my video showing these with the drawings, and link it here. As of writing I have permission from 2 of 3 required parties, so hopefully it won't be long. If you've made it to the end of this post I thank you very much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed, or at least found it informative. Gary

A new arrival, IFAIK, on the butchery of innocent locomotives - an Oxford chop. Triggered off by a photoshopped pic on the FB page, it is a sort of cross between a Duke of Sutherland's private loco -he had these things - and Peter Drummond's take on his brother's Bug.

Another day WFH on the phone and email. We have a few customers that just don't "get it" "Your stuff worked OK last month with my XX. I have now changed my XX to a shiny new YY and now your stuff doesn't work anymore." "Have you considered that it might be your new YY that is causing the problem sir?" "It can't be, my new YY must be good as it's still doing some of the stuff that YY did, but it won't work with your stuff" "Quite sir, but what have you changed from last month to this month that has stopped our stuff working" "I've swapped my old XX for my new YY". "Do you not think that's a coincidence sir?" "No"..... I have since found out that he asked the same question elsewhere online 3 days ago, with others saying that the new YY has a flaw with it.. He hasn't accepted there that his YY isn't perfect either. An email arrived a couple of days ago with about 7 questions (a "war and peace" type enquiry) and I was getting around to it , when another email appeared in the inbox "I've done a bit more homework and I now only have 1 question" I was just about to type send on that one when the phone rang. About 20 minutes in, I twigged that it was the same guy.... Another 10minutes and I finally had the chance to answer his one question. I still pressed SEND anyway................ Mrs NB happened to be near on one phone call and at the end of it said "I now understand why you sometimes get frustrated" as I'd just dealt with someone who had questions about four different manufacturers stuff - none of them ours or even stuff we sell............... Even Mrs NB knew that. But hopefully, he went away happy and will eventually buy some of our stuff. At least the stack of 60 unanswered emails from yesterday was down to less than 20 when I turned off the work email at the end of the day. And that included dealing with an extra 20 that had replied to the 40..... I have learnt to have a few minutes away from the screen each hour, as well as letting the phone ring out for the same few minutes. I mentioned earlier about Mrs NB having to do a twice-weekly CV19 self test. Although it's a serious matter, I haven't yet had the amusement of her sticking the swab up her nose - yet Junior NB has. Junior NB learnt today that she now has an temporary part-time job (to fill in the gap from her school swim teaching) at the same place. My words to her beaming face were "Congratulations - I now have double the swab entertainment to watch." Her smile quickly disappeared.................... At least WFH means an extra hour in bed and a freshly made bacon butty before the phones start ringing. Have a good HUMP day folks. Cheers, Mick

The Tyne and Wear Metro in North Tyneside for today. Shiremoor Metro 4026 Pelaw to St James 16th Aug 95 C20485.jpg Tynemouth 17th July 93 C18730.jpg Tynemouth 4061 and 4024 St James to Pelaw 9th May 92 C16833.jpg Tynemouth Metro 11th July 87 C9028.jpg Willington Quay Metro broken down being pushed by following train 28th Dec 89 C13889.jpg David

Morning, from a gently pleuting Fraggle Rock. 6c though! @Mike Bellamy I like to try to protect people's anonymity, hence not name dropping you - you might not have wanted folk to know where the drawings came from. They are very much appreciated, and indeed have caused some ripples in the IoM Railway Continuum. We love a good rumour. @newbryford I feel your pain....I certainly don't miss those e mails and calls, including the ones saying you had ignored their previous e mail - sent an hour ago - etc etc! Folk wanting to return goods that they didn't even buy from us was another regular especially after Christmas, as they couldn't recall where they had bought things so ring around trying it on until they get a result......using the technique of verbal abuse and threats of trading standards to try to browbeat you, until they recall maybe it wasn't us they bought it from - yeah we know, we checked our system....... Returned items that had obviously been abused to the point of being almost smashed to bits....full of soil in one case... I could go on. No, glad to be out of it. Such a shame as we had loads of absolutely great customers, but the tiny percentage of those 'other' ones put such a bad taste in your mouth. Oops, ranting.

Ey up! @chrisf.. you got a blood test.. at a surgery.. think yourself very lucky! The Marie Celeste sails on .. other than a text demanding we contact the surgery by email only my diabetic blood test has not been done since last march.. luckily as part of the trial I have been undertaking my hb1mac levels have shown some major improvement. Problem is.. I need to talk to Sister ir Nurse Drac... fat chance! Snow is melting.. garden is flooding .. frabjoy! Today we have a list of jobs to do. This includes house hoovering, post office visiting and (hopefully) the procurement of more bacon and sausage supplies. Have a great day everyone! For Captain Sir Tom... FEAR NAUGHT! Baz

Good evening everyone It’s rained on and off for most of the day, (it’s still raining now) so it meant that I had to time any visits to the shed and/or workshop well, luckily I managed a couple of trips without getting wet. Apart from the short visits mentioned above, I spent most of the morning re-organising the underfloor storage area and managed to make room to store the 8 boxes of laminate flooring. Despite there being more stuff in there than there was before, because it’s now tidier, there seems to be more space in which to crawl about in. This lo5 was done just in time to have some dinner. After dinner I took down the trestle table, which the laminate flooring had been stored on, this table stood in front of the fireplace. Once the table was down, I was then able to sweep the floor up and give the fireplace a clean, something I’ve not been able to do for well over 6 years now. It was whilst I was sweeping up that I had one of those, ‘I wondered where that had gone’ moments, as I found one of my micro Swiss files on the floor amongst the dust and debris. My next task will be to sand down the 2 old chairs I mentioned yesterday and then paint them, this I’m planning to start tomorrow morning. Hopefully at some point next week, I can make a start on removing the paint of the wall opposite the fireplace and that which surrounds the fireplace itself. Despite the fact that it won’t be seen once the layout is built, I’ve been instructed to make a feature of the fireplace! It’ll mean a few extra days work to strip and repaint it and I agree it will look better, but it won’t be seen, so I don’t see the point. But to keep the domestic situation cordial, I’ll comply with her wishes. The fireplace Finally, the last section of wall that need the paint removed, thankfully I only need to do the bottom 18 inches, so it shouldn’t take too long to do.

Mutt is back . Doesn't he realise that it's chucking it down outside?

Greetings one and all Yesterday morning I went for a blood test. Its results will inform the next diabetes clinic in due course. In the past I have simply walked in, waited, had a hole drilled in my arm and a plaster applied before I walked out again. Not this time. There was a lengthy and slow-moving queue outside the building. As I drew nearer to its head I could read the posters on the windows. Two phrases struck dismay into my heart – “new procedure” and “improving the patient experience”. If queuing outside represents an improvement over going straight in I would love to know what they mean by making things worse. We shall see whether the sought-after improvement has been achieved next time I go for a blood test but I was in the Civil Service long enough to acquire a healthy scepticism of alleged reforms. Mr Grumpy here was greatly cheered by the short film shown yesterday on the 1 pm BBC news of pandas frolicking in snow at an American zoo. The footage is on YouTube but without the inspired piano accompaniment of “Rondo a la Turque”. At the end, presenter Simon McCoy said: “We needed that!” Too right! The repeat showing at 4 pm was just before the sad news broke of Captain Sir Tom’s passing. Had he seen it I’d like to think that he would have chuckled. Chris

I duly went for my jab yesterday. I'd assumed it was at the surgery but Mrs mole looked up their website and told me they were using the University medical centre, which I checked but was dubious about as the last update was 6th Jan. After a visit to Sainsbury I got a bus to the Uni with plenty of time to spare if needed, which it was as the jabs were indeed being done at the surgery. Another bus took me there. (we have a local bus company, Unilink, that uses the Uni as a transport hub). I got there a few minutes late and joined a queue waiting for the door to open. We were processed quickly, with at least four rooms being used, and received the AZ vaccine. The surgery is down a short, narrow side street and shares a car park with a Co-op; the parking and access by car was chaotic. I have no side effects other than the slightly achey arm at the jab site, which is normal. I have an uncontrollable urge to install Windows 10.... Stay elfy, Pete

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare, 5 hours sleep followed by very little dozing Captain Moore started as a conscript private in the Army 1940, but after 8 months was accepted for officer training. So he showed some promise right from his early days. At the end, of his career in the army he was Technical Adjutant of the Armoured Vehicle Fighting School in Bovington.. Where there was a good chance he may have met my Grandfather RSM 7th RTR, but was a WO IC training after WW2, Although granddad was based near Barnard Castle he would have been to Bovington several times in that period. I'm hoping they can organise, some sort of proper Military send off even in these time..... Ben the changeable Collie refused the chance of going out this morning .. No apparent reason No rain no strange noises outside.. I note there is a advanced notice closed for road works on the effin clown town / Wroxham bridge.. That will cause chaos.. The writing was too small to read the details.. I did a little measuring of trailers when I go home yesterday.. eer umm.. I had never realised because they've never been parked together , but the 750kg max all up trailer being modified , I had built by a friend in Saudi has steel tubing 30% larger than the 2 ton carrying ability commercial trailer.. That means the 750kg, is heavily overbuilt,, so my worries of weakening it are somewhat overstressed.. I note they are saying 8.8 % of the population have had the virus, but I've just worked out 15% have now had the jab. What is noticeable is that they haven't finished doing the over 80s and are just starting over 70's, it just shows how much of the retired population is invisible and generally ignored by the world. By the time they get to those nearing retirement it will be 20%.. but the only things I see aimed at us (and generally badly missing) are funeral schemes, Saga and Fred Olsen Holidays.. This weeks major system is on finals , just one test is being repeated, which looks like a hiccup.. So I'm working on another major system.. A new one, it's been on repeatability trials for a couple of months , but this is it's first proper measurement. 5 new "trainings" have arrived in the inbox, Assessing your staff ... I'm one of the pond life.. I have no staff Bribery.. fat chance, I have no contact with the outside world. Financial responsibilty.. I don't even get involved with quotes, I'm so low on the tree. Equalities recruitment.. I'm just lumbered with the people THEY choose.. Digital privacy.. Don't give out company secrets.. I don't know any.. Also arriving are lists of over thirty must attend meetings, over the next 6 months.. 1/2 are in the USA.... or if online are after I finish work.. During the writing of this rubbish , 5 Tests have been carried out after zeroing of the test equipment.. Time for test 6

Good moaning to one and all. There is some light outside the windows but none in the fire, so that's my first job. I got the tiles grouted yesterday and things are looking good. Not a lot got done in the afternoon but a new comic was partially read. In the evening Beth was nattering to her mate so I actually headed for the shed and did some modelling. As a result of my efforts something may move on strips of metal today. Still no news about vaccination, France seems to be making a real pigs ear of it. The only good sign is that Novelle Aquitaine, our region, is still doing more than 12% of all jabs in France. Anyway, the major task for today is to plumb in the drainage pipe from the safety valve under the water heater. When a new valve was fitted, the overflow is rather different to the previous design. After that it might be more time in the shed. Regards to all. Jamie

A few leftover pictures of 7768.

MiL seems to,quite like me now but at one time everything was wrong about me and she hadn’t even met me. After Aditi and I got married she still wasn’t happy. Eventually she got more accepting. I knew everything was ok when she starting telling me about how she wasn’t happy with something her beloved little brother had done.

To balance Mike's comments about MiL's, or M'siL.....I have two, and they're both evil bitches! Step-MiL is probably the worst, but she's on the other side of the world thankfully. Mrs NHN will be very happy never to see either again. Life, eh.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis predicted the rain was coming and Carol has confirmed so. BBC Breakfast were doing a special on Capt. Sir Tom this morning and I was struck by the piece on the little disabled boy who had never walked but was inspired to do a walk for charity just like Sir Tom. In my eye that counts even more than the millions raised for the NHS.

Transfers did arrive yesterday so they were applied and 6 hrs later I went for the weathering. Looking at the photos the roof edges might need a little work. The guard (Modelu) was put in this morning and roof glued on. On the whole I'm reasonably pleased with it.

Chris - Father-in-law (88) has one of those - he only wanted to pay £3 a week so that we were called out if he fell - but we live 50 miles away and so it would be over an hour before we got there. As SWMBO had Power of Attorney with control of his bank account she made sure he got the £5 week option for a local responder from the alarm company to be called with a commitment they would be there in 30 mins. He fell backwards in the middle of the night getting off the loo and banged his back on the toilet bowl. Responder then called ambulance as he had broken his shoulder blade. Now at the end of his third week in hospital whilst we wait for physio and assessment about where he can go next. Original proposal was to put his arm in a sling and send him home - we protested as it was obvious that he had been assessed on a trolley and A&E had no idea that he wouldn't be able to stand up without putting weight on his damaged arm as he uses a walking frame to shuffle across the lounge to his stair lift and another walker upstairs to get to the bedroom and loo. Carers already visit 3 times a day but he just isn't safe to be on his own any more as the company had already logged 16 calls in six months and they were just the times when he couldn't pull himself up on the furniture. Hi Neil - actually I'm here every day but don't often post unless it is in response to something else from another ER as I can't think of anything original to say that others might be interested in . . . . . . . . .

The Late MIL I'd describe as "Mostly Harmless" the worrying thing is she died 20 years ago,, SWMBO reaches the age MIL died next year. Family history of heart disease, all death certs have had it shown....

We add bankers on South Pelaw as per the prototype location:

Morning all, Condolences Neil on the death of his MIL. It always make me wonder when so many of us seem to end up with very nice MILs just where all the jokes used to come from. or were we the exceptions that proved the rule? It seems the 'N' continues to be very absent from what is officially called the NHS. Our GP surgery has so far been rather like the Windmill Theatre and it has never closed although it is somewhat short of dancing girls etc. (but being distinctly human I shouldn't fail to mention some very cuddly looking Practice Nurses and the GD tells me there are also some rather fanciable male doctors there). And no queues outside but originally strict instructions not to arrive early for your appointment and currently similar hints but some seating available in the waiting area - probably a consequence of the wintry weather in recent months as the outdoor blood letting tents has also been dismantled for the colder season. And, seemingly compared with many places, we have had to wait for our Covid jabs while lower priority groups are getting attention elsewhere, I am called for my first shot of Oxford AZ juice at 08.12 on Saturday morning. Mrs Stationmaster - currently a numerical year younger than me although in reality only few months behind - asked if she could have one too and that was duly confirmed. it will be interesting to see if there is any sort of scrummage outside the door as a result of those unable to read watches or clocks stupidly turning up well before time. Meanwhile the weather stands reasonably dry with occasional peeks of sunshine (very occasional) and it obviously isn'r misty either as the oligarch's palace is well visible across the valley. Anonymity seems to still remain protected elsewhere. Have a good day one and all and stay safe.

This was the distraction: 66731 "Captain Tom Moore" working 6S94 Wembley-Irvine clay tanks. RIP Captain Sir Tom

' morning all from red dragon land. Dry and overcast, sun expected, later - so 'they' say. I am still plodding on with the magazine articles - nearly finished the spreadsheet for the first file (66 records so far!). There is another pile of articles waiting to be filed, and several piles of magazines to go through - another file's worth, or more. It is not a particularly fast method: I keep reading the articles - on the grounds I may need to note down items of interest, which has proved to be quite valuable, already. However, time for a toot on the flute and maybe a bit of gluing of plastic and metal bits, later. Fitt and Elfie managing to keep up. Take care all and play safe. _________ Best wishes Polly

This morning we have a9F in silhouette.

A mixed day – two Good Things, one Bad Thing. First good thing – a health claim for dental insurance premiums, which have been refunded without question for 10 years, was refused. A phone call to the insurers, a quick check by the rep on the phone, yes – it was a mistake, you should get a cheque within the week. The bad thing – we may have to get a new fridge. The freezer drain blocked on Friday and water started dripping inside the fridge. I've cleaned out the drain line as well as I can – hot water, baking soda solution in the top of the line, wire up from the bottom end, hot air from a hairdryer in both ends – nothing has yet worked for more than a couple of hours, and I've basically run out of ideas. There was a small bit of broken plastic in the drip tray at the top of the line, and I'm wondering of there's a bigger piece stuck in the line. Without major dis-assembly, there's no way of seeing inside the line. Any other suggestions are welcome. Actually, the fridge is 19 years old – it doesn't really owe us anything. Second good thing – UPS finally delivered a book that's been in the local depot since January 15, having 'Cleared Customs' from the US on January 13. On the 16th, I got an invoice from UPS for about 50% of the cost of the book, made up of $2.54 local purchase tax and over $21 for preparing the documentation to clear customs (!?). I phoned to complain and was told to refuse the delivery and UPS would then send me the required paper to clear it through customs myself. (But I thought it had already cleared customs?) I refused delivery on the 18th, then phoned on four separate days, the last time on the 29th, to ask where the paper was. Every time, UPS Customer Service told me they would get the local depot to send the paper – it never arrived. Then today, a UPS driver dropped the book at our door, in a wrapper clearly marked 'C.O.D.' and drove off! Who knows what tomorrow may bring!

I lost Mil 10 years ago to Cancer she was only 49. She used to love winding me up and i used to give enough back all in the best possible taste. I once bought her a witches hat from Tesco and she put it on and took it in good sport like the time i bought fil a sympathy card for a wedding anniversary.

Good morning all, Commiserations to Neil on your recent losses. Staining readily here and has been all morning. It may brighten up this afternoon. Late to bed, late waking up, late getting up, late breakfast and late here. Also got a splitting headache which parrotseatemall hasn't shifted yet. Butcher visited yesterday and some some lovely beef and lamb steaks and also sausages are now residing in the freezer. New hoover acquisition is on hold until the Dyson dies completely. If I keep hitting it hard enough that shouldn't be much longer. Nothing else to report so I bid you farewell for now, Have a good one, Bob.

It's a dry and cloudy start here in North Somerset, but the cloud looks thin and I can see hints of blue sky in the distance. Had a big multiple food delivery day yesterday, and now my freezers have enough meat and pies in them to last me a few months. On the subject of old fridges/freezers which have lasted decades without failing, the chest freezer in our utility room was purchased towards the fag end 0f 1977 - not long after we were married. It is still going strong after 43 years, although I leave it well alone; unless adding/removing frozen items, in case my presence upsets it and it switches off forever. There are a lot of yellow crocuses appearing now (the blue ones we have are a week or two later, usually; and I noticed a couple of snowdrops just beginning to show a flower. Unfortunately, the real cold air has yet to arrive; but is likely to begin to show its teeth during Sunday.

Commiserations to Blackrat on the passing of his MiL. My MiL passed away nearly 19 years ago and I still miss her as we also got on really well. Not much going on here today as it has rained all morning and shows no sign of stopping. Some ballasting has been done, with more to follow if the rain continues this afternoon. It is slow progress at the moment getting the track bed ready for the ballasting, which is comparatively quick!

Morning all, wild wet and windy up here, no plans to do much, though I may be spending some muddling tokens, awaiting an email when something comes into stock, given up on the circus that is ebay, there are again items for sale second hand that are dearer than brand new items and no extras either, some folk are either chancers or daft, or maybe hoping the purchasers are daft. Stay safe all and enjoy your day.

Another high level 9F shot. Much more successful than the last one. Well, I think so anyway. Been jabbed today. All very efficient and well organised. No side effects as yet, but a rather sore arm.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I see Eurostar is on its uppers, all down to covid which has caused a 95% drop in traffic. Having never been married I of course have never had a M-i-L. From what I recall of my various girlfriends mothers there was never any that were hostile indeed one or two fussed over me as if I was their son and not their daughters boyfriend, much to the chagrin of their daughters. One in particular the girlfriend was reluctant for me to see when I did meet her I could understand the girlfriends reluctance for me to see her. She had a house full of cats that stank to high heaven and her language was disgusting. I could understand why the girlfriends parents were divorced and she lived with her dad who was one of the nicest people you could ever meet.

@skipepsi it happens to me too.. it must be the resident "iconeatingsoftware" bug? @BlackRat - yes my MiL was a star.. otherwise known as the DoB (Daft Old Bat) age was brilliant and it used to annoy her indoors as me and the DoB would do things which were supposedly "outside he comfort zone" I miss her a lot. After a long walk to the post office and the butchers I have had a home made meat with a very small amount of potato pie from the butchers for lunch.. excellent. I must also try their "potted meat" Have a good afternoon/ morning/night wherever you are! Baz

Supportive rays sent to the other Neil - a difficult time for a bereavement.

A bit more modelling… I have recently completed my rebuild of two LMS BSK D2161s. I’m pleased how they have turned out. I managed to finish them a little while before I thought would, mostly due to Perth having a lockdown from 6pm Sunday just gone, to this Friday at 6pm (assuming no more Covid cases). This meant I got about 3 hours a day back from my travel to/from work. The paint went on quite well, the transfers were a different story. I generally use HMRS Pressfix, with one lining sheet doing three or four carriages depending on livery. I opened a new sheet but found that the printing alignment was so out that they weren’t yellow/black/yellow but black/yellow/black/ and then another separate yellow… To complete these carriages, I hacked the whole sheet and used part of another (new) sheet. The single yellow/black that goes above the windows started black/yellow at one end and then twisted to yellow/black at the other, so they were cut each side of the changeover and fixed on. One line is a waistline transfer carefully scalpeled down the middle! Each line has multiple joins, but some judicious use of Microset and Microsol has limited their visibility. They need a bit of weathering, especially the guard’s windows in the brake ends. With my carriage numbering, I have scoured photographs in my books to try and identify particular vehicles which traversed the Somerset & Dorset. Its not so difficult with the first carriage behind the engine given the line lent its self to trains stopped at signals where there were changes from double track to single or trains entering tunnels. One carriage has been numbered as that allocated to the Eastern region. I have a photo of this carriage at Birmingham New Street as the lead vehicle in the 10.05am Bournemouth West – Derby on 1 July 1961 (Steam Railway – The Glorious Years (1996), page 124-125). I’m always fascinated (sad maybe…) by the variations in these carriages in terms of some having the BR roundel and some not, some having two grey panels on the guards, some only one - and then on different doors - and some none, some having door vents and some not and so on. And this is them in formation with an open second in between; there will be a CK, TK and a BTK to the right. Kind regards, Iain

THE PRECIOUS!!!! IT IS HERE!!!! IT HAS ARRIVED!!!! PRECIOUSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Calm down Johnster, it's only a loco. No it's not, it's the PRECIOUSSSSS!!!! I've only unboxed it and given it an intitial examination once over, but impressions are very favourable so far. Everything that should be attached to the locomotive is attached to the locomotive, rear steps no problem you just lift the loco vertically out of it's clear plastic holder and they come away sweetly enough. Nice lump of weight, and the first loco I've bought with separate etched brass number plates to go over the printed ones on the cab sides, nice touch, and an etched works plate to go with them. Won't be using these as I'm renumbering to 8448, a Bagnall, but it is a nice touch and enhances the feeling of a quality bit of kit. Separate cab doors are another Good Idea. I also like that the brake rigging is factory fitted rather than a separate retrofit detail; the usual pipes and hooks are supplied in a details bag of course. Finish and printing are about as good as it gets, and the level of detail beneath the tanks and boiler is a step forward in what is expected of RTR volume production; well done Blue Box. I waited a long time for this, complained vigorously when it was put back time and again, and it is only right that I should express my satisfaction now that the beastie is in my chubby little hands. It feels like it was worth the wait, but it was a very long wait! The new number and works plates have already been ordered along with a Modelu loco crew pack (driver, firemen, and full set of lamps). I paid £106 at Rails of Sheffield, but this is still the most expensive single item I have ever bought for my layout, and will probably remain so until Hornby bring out a retooled 2721... I feel the price is fair in modern times for what is an exceptionally well detailed and finished model, and have no complaints on that score, though the Squeeze's eyebrows raised a bit when I ordered it last year. Running in (workbench because I don't have a continuous run test track) and running trials on the layout later. I have already confirmed that the pickups contact correctly across the entire range of side play, so running should be fine. I will check back to backs before trials. She'll run as 9487 until the 8448 plates arrive. As for the firebox glow, like Mr Isherwood I think it's a bit gimmicky especially for DC, and am glad to hear that it is pretty subdued at low voltage. I'll give it a chance, though, and so long as it doesn't bother me in normal ambient light I'll leave it as it is; I do run low lighting sessions sometimes when it might be nice to have. Probably not hard to disconnect if I find it intrusive.

There should be a 'something in my eye' button to click.

There is a company with a similar name to ours and we regularly get their customers ringing up and complaining about item ZZ not working and wanting an exchange etc. I quite enjoy letting them vent their frustration and then telling them they have phoned the wrong people. How I wish I could see their faces.................... One of today's breaks is planned to coincide with a passing train. Hopefully I will post a pic later - it is of a topical subject.

Greetings all from Sidcup which is grey and drizzling. Someone up the road has just had a skip delivered. That's about as exciting as it gets. One of our fridges is also playing up. It's a built in one and one of the hinges seems to have broken or nearly so as the door is now difficult to shut. We've been here 17 years and the fridge was built in before then so it is probably the best part of 20 years old and still works well. In fact all of the white goods built in to the kitchen still work well. I hope that's not a harbinger of general doom. Anyway, someone will come round to have a look at it for us.

Thought I’d just bore a few of you and perhaps send the others into the land of nod. The orange cake I showed yesterday was made by SWMBO and it’s made like pineapple upside down pudding. That is, the fruit is placed in the bottom of the tin and the mixture poured on top. The recipe included polenta and almond flour but as I’m allergic to almonds, peanut flour was substituted. I’m not sure if this actually made a difference to the end product. What I have noticed and remember I’m no good in the kitchen, is that in most recipes wheat flour is substituted by at least two other types of flour and often the recipe contains xanthan gum. Pea flour, potato flour and rice flour are also popular alternatives to wheat flour but they all leave tell tale taste. Buckwheat like Oates are naturally gluten free but are often contaminated with wheat so I have to look out for certified gluten free packs. For example Quaker do a gluten packet of Oates. SWMBO is a good baker but like me gets disappointed when something does not come out as the picture in the recipe book. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for Polybear SWMBO does make a very nice coffee cake with not too much icing or buttercream. Also her pastry is very good so good lemon/jam/coconut tarts and mince pies. SWMBO has always wanted to have her own ‘bun shop’. I have a friend in Whitby who owns a few ‘bun shops’ and a bakery and assures me it hard work, not that SWMBO doesn’t like hard work. Enough rambling, I hope I’ve managed to push a few over the edge and into a deep, restful sleep. Robert

Just hiding!

Good morning everyone A dull, but dry start to the day here in England’s northwest although the sun is desperately trying to shine! The overnight rain must have stopped some time ago as there are no puddles in the back garden, although everywhere is still very wet. Today the plans are to give those two old chairs a good clean, a light sanding and any repairs, if needed done etc. Hopefully by the end of the day they should both have had at least one coat of primer. Other than that, there isn’t anything else that’s exciting, but each bit of stuff that’s sorted and removed from the cellar is one more closer to it becoming a model railway room. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

Good morning all. It isn’t raining but probably will later. It seems that parcels are arriving today via DHL, DPD and Royal Mail. Aditi has an art society lecture to Zoom into this morning. Then she wants to go and collect medication from our local pharmacy. I am not sure what I will be doing. Tony

I have just the loco for them!

HUMP day... Another "nothing to see here" day yesterday with more of the same today looks like. Will be going for groceries later and perhaps a short walk with Whitney. Expected to get a LOT colder over the next few days so walks may be curtailed. -8 and sunny. Expecting a high of +1. Stay safe and well.

Neil (Black Rat) condolences - great to hear that she was a'good egg'. The Q - hope that history does not repeat itself and wishing Aditi many more happy years. Covid jabs. Dave and Jill - what a nightmare for you, possibly one of the problems of the 'double edged' attack viz the NHS and then/or previous the GP Simon - seems you have very reason to be 'pi**ed' off from what you are experiencing. Electricity complaint follow-up. Had a letter with apology and then a letter this am asking to make an appointment for a visit to read the solar power meter stating that they had twice visited and not gained entry and would cut off if we did not reply. Not that chuffed as one or other of us has been in constant 24 hour residence for months. The number provided asked for responses to automated questions but seems incapable of recording correctly spoken English - boy was I mad and SWMBO informed me that I had eventually replied to said automated system quite angrily. Eventually the option was hang on for a person ... so I thought let's see how long that takes ... it was answered after 15 minutes by a very pleasant lady who I politely thanked and asked if she would be willing to accept a complaint before proceeding with request. She said that she would do so willingly when told it was about the automated system. We now have a date for 'the reading check visit' to which the lady then added - if you are not going to be there please ring nearer the time to let us know. Thanked her again - wish the company was a god as she was. Mil - have had two - the latest was a lovely lady, the first thing that comes to mind on the other, admitted into hospital, was her reply stating that she did not have a daughter when her daughter rang to see how she was. Fortunately her brother was on the other line and confirmed that she was in fact her daughter. As you can imaging this, in my experience, was not a surprise.

As an interim update it's not been possible for Flangeway to be able to give a meaningful answer as the issue is still being investigated between Dapol and China so Flangeway are waiting on hold too. As has been evidenced further back in the topic they're happy to deal with customers' wishes on a case by case basis.

I fully understand your point of view and until about two years ago would I have agreed with you. However since then I have been taking my wife to a local hospital on a regular basis. The TfL website says the journey will take 20 minutes to which I add 10 minutes at each end walking to and from the bus stops plus 10 minutes wait for the bus and 10 minutes to allow for any delays. So we always used to leave home an hour before the appointment. In the last two years we have been half an hour late and thirty five minutes early. With the importance of not being late we now leave 90 minutes before the appointment and have arrived between 45 minutes and five minutes early. I just don't know how to arrive at any consistent time.

Amazon are obviously having a bad week, they sent two parcels from MK for here, one arrived , the other arrived in Enfield!! Where according to Amazon, they corrected the address...? Since the address is correct on the web site and the other parcel arrived here, why are they saying I've got to correct it? What failed to arrive? Yep, the tail lights that were missing from the last order...