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I have painted the two finished girders and stuck them in place, with the third half built. This has enabled me to stand the roof spans in place to see how they look, For obvious reasons the roof will be made to lift off, in three sections. Peter

Still waiting..... but from a different angle.

A warm late summer evening, blue sky with just a few fluffy clouds, and a well turned out locomotive to admire. What more could one ask?

Annan, on the Glasgow and South Western line from Carlisle to Glasgow today. The photos were taken on 19th May 2007, either on the way to or from the model railway exhibition which used to be held at Dumfries. Annan 19th May 2007 DSC_1143 View towards Glasgow Annan 19th May 2007 DSC_1148 View towards Glasgow Annan First Engineering DR73915 19th May 2007 DSC_1149 Annan 156503 Glasgow C to Carlisle 19th May 2007 DSC_1153 Annan 156503 Glasgow C to Carlisle 19th May 2007 DSC_1157 David

I have just noticed that my hair is somewhat “tufty” so I have requested the services of my in house barber to do some remedial work. That won’t take up much of my day!

Morning all, A slightly different view to the earlier post. A mistier feel to this one. Rob.

Front detail now added although no lamps as yet , here we see 18000 on the down Royal Duchy. More anon.

Final view of the 08 for a bit. Bleat Wharf.

Early morning.............A waft of diesel and wet grass on the breeze, a nip of creosote under foot, gentle birdsong breaking through the distant mutter of the 08 ticking over and from somewhere close by there's an occasional drip of water from a broken stand pipe.......

Hail smiling morn! Being awake and out of bed is a good enough start to the day. I will be leaving shortly for Uckfield. What could possibly go wrong? Everything! Will the ticket office be open in time for me to catch the train I need, which is the electric from Corby and so something of an unknown quantity? Yes, I know I should have bought the tickets yesterday afternoon but it's a long time since I have done a journey like this. Will there be a recurrence of cramp in my thigh, which kindly struck while I was putting on my trainers? I do hope not. We can discuss the relative merits of sandwiches and a full English tomorrow. Let the adventure begin! Best wishes to all Chris

It's always a poo ya pants moment when you move a pile of stuff aside and spot a scaly body hiding in amongst it all. That jJust happened to me when mulching a pile of prunings I'd not had a chance to do last weekend cos the rain came. Luckily like this time it's usually a blue tongue lizard rather than a snake, I think in my time here I've had 3 Eastern Brown Snakes, half a Dozen Red Belly Blacks and a Tiger Snake but about 2 dozen blue tongues. They are harmless unless you really annoy them then they'll latch on which is meant to be painful but won't make you drop off your perch, unlike the Browns or Tiger snakes. Perceived wisdom is "it's good to have a blue tongue in your yard cos they keep the snakes away" but no one's ever explained how they do that cos their stumpy little arms are way too small to wield the snake deterrent of choice, a bloody big shovel* *(Disclaimer it's illegal to harm wildlife including the world's second most deadly snake and huge fines apply so if one is encountered a local wildlife organisation or snake wrangler should be called who will come and catch it and rehome it closer to someone else's place)

Looks like we've got a weather window .... Clear Prop, Contact! And it didn't have loads of gadgets, programmes and modes that no one want or uses. I could easily be tempted next time. And as for those other makes that put lasers on the B things so "you can count and measure the dust particles collected" - who gives a flying fig! Just clean the carpet will you? Oh sorry, that's not one of the features that the vacuum cleaner has ... No, that sort of thing is not for Puppers! I'm not a pet person and as for so-called Exotic Pets, why on earth would you? In the early days of my employment I used to use a pillar drill with a plate on the side proclaiming "Admiralty 1904". Used to work a treat and would still be doing so if the factory was still there and that historic airfield at Hatfield hadn't been flattened to make way for various Distribution Facilities, posh car showrooms, offices for mobile phone companies, McDonald's and gravel extraction- what a complete an utter waste of our industrial heritage. Precisely! A friend has been building a 1/3 scale Fokker DVII (and a might fine thing it is too). To replicate many of the details e.g. radiator, machine guns, instruments, magnetos, engine valve gear etc he taught himself 3D modelling. He was going to buy a semi-professional 3D printer to print the components with a possible view of developing a new line for his business but at the time they were out of reach so he coughed up and had them printed professionally. If I recall, the print of the radiator alone cost him ~£400 but it (and all the other bits) are works of art. I can't think of any other way of reproducing the hundreds of hexagonal holes in the radiator core. If you are thinking of a drill and a file, good luck! To be honest, I don't get the "it's not real modelling unless you've made it out of brass and drilled and filed it to shape" argument at all. Drills, files, lathes, mills, chisels, scalpels, scissors .... are just tools and so are CNC machines whether that be foam cutters, routers or 3D printers. I'm all for such technology and as to why anyone building a m*d*l r*ilw*y would chose to use anything other than a servo to operate points and signals in this day and age is completely beyond me. (I'm trying my hardest to drag a certain Bear into the digital age but it's hard going). Anyway, take a gander at these photographs and tell me that is not modelling to the very highest standard. Excellent! I bought my Unimat 3 in about 1983. What a fantastic and versatile little tool it's been. Did I ever tell you about the time I used it as an "optical bench" to do some experiments with video camera chips and lenses. Just like Meccano and Lego, the things you can do with a Unimat are limited only by your imagination. Sounds like you use the same stylist as me. Very cheap, doesn't go blathering on about their holiday but never asks "Would you like something for the weekend Sir?" In other news: Irrespective of your political affiliations, what a terribly tragic event occurred yesterday. Thoughts are with all affected and, to some degree, that is every single one of us. Seems like I over did it yesterday with the physical activity. Not a good nights sleep for a number of reasons and as confirmed by my newly acquired continuos O2 monitor. So today I am mainly doing nothing. The fitting of the next (already cut to size) pieces of garage door lagging will have to wait until tomorrow. Have a good one and stay safe! Alan

Not our fellow humans? Now there's a surprise. We have a friend who has always been "horsey". She and hubby bought a rural property in the Gippsland hills after they married. It included a small stable and tack room. They invested in a couple of horses. All was well between them until one day one of the horses bucked his head whilst being groomed and caught her a heavy blow on the side of her head. The hospital discovered damage to the upper part of her spine - the important bit where it meets the skull had been cracked and slightly displaced. Undeterred she carried on after a period of recovery only to be felled by the other horse in what she still maintains was a friendly greeting. She was run at, it seems, and either the horse misjudged the distance or she was doing something else which caused an impact between them. Down she went and had to be removed by airlift. Once more the skull had been knocked this time upwards and backwards. She has never fully recovered, her personality is completely changed and she has developed insensitivity to making inappropriate comments. Such as casting nasturtiums about SWMBO on the antisocial media from which we have had to block her. Sad. Two horsey events either of which might have been much more serious and which resulted in her becoming a different person.

This was computer day. The laptop stopped working, apparently. It looked like the mouse left button was kaput. So we bought a new mouse. And that didn't work either. Then I found that it was the icon line at the bottom that was not responding -- icons on screen would work. Back to Staples with the full kit and nice tech discovered that it was caught in the middle of an update. We were advised to take it home and let the update have its way. So we bought a new iPad to replace the one that was dropped a few weeks ago. It was supposed to setup and align itself with the old one, but the old one needs V10 or better and we have 9. For years it has told us it would update, but after a half hour of playing by itself it goes to sleep and forgets about the update. So I'm trying to do it by myself. I'm not sure if I've managed to get everything up in the clouds. And I can't see where to put in the SIM card.

Many years ago my spouse spotted a snake in the back yard (in the Chicago suburbs). It was green and not very big and looked pretty harmless to me. However as a child she had stepped on (and was, of course, bitten by) a western cottonmouth viper* that was sunning on the back step and she was understandably afraid of snakes. * If I remember the species correctly from her stories. (It might have been a rattlesnake.) I was instructed commanded to dispatch the snake to the great beyond and turned (as one does) to the big shovel. The next day the next-door neighbours asked "Have you seen a snake, our daughter's pet is missing?" We said nothing.

Somebody got a nice lie in this morning in exchange for borrowing her car to go to Warrington model railway exhibition. A dozen really good layouts, good mixture of scale, gauge and both British and continental themes. The one that really caught my eye and most relevant to this thread was Ellesmere. I had a quick chat with the very friendly and knowledgeable operators / builders and asked if they wouldn't mind me taking some photos. I always make a point of asking first because who wants unexpected camera flash when they're trying to operate something?

Good morning everyone We are both getting our flu jab this morning, mine is at 11:30, Sheila’s is at 11:36! As the surgery is only 1/4 of a mile away, we are walking there and back together. After that I will go and collect Ava and Evie, yes, Evie is joining her today, apparently she has express wish to come on a Saturday, but has never been out of bed, fed and watered in time before today! They will both be spending most of the day here and will both be joining us for tea, which tonight will be pizza for a change! The plan for the day is to bake some almond scones and possibly the usual tray of rocky road, will see if we have enough time. I doubt any model making will take place as I just don’t think we’ll have enough time. Time to get the kettle on for a muggertea before we set off to the surgery. Back later. Brian

I've had word from Little Muddle and the blokes will be down as soon as they've finished with the crate up there.

Good evening everyone After dinner, as there was nothing else planned, I decided to sit down an write email to my cousin in Malvern and my (half) sister in Canada. I’d promised to let them know if the proposed operation I may need was to go ahead! I did intend it to be just a short message. Yeah right! I ended up adding things I’d remembered I wanted to tell them and a few photos too, regarding what I’d been up to over the last couple of months and the email went into several large paragraphs. So, once I’d finished writing it I added a new sentence at the beginning in which I advised them both to put the kettle on and make a drink before reading any further! I usually do write them both long emails, but this one is a fair bit more than usual.

One problem I have is that I can't put the loco shed in my workshop; if I did I wouldn't have room to do anything. Instead i have been assembling sections such as the inner wall and then gluing them in place as finished items. The wall was cut out of 40 thou/12mm plastic and the openings cut out, the idea being that this wall is part of the original shed that was incorporated in the 1958 rebuilding. Photo's suggest that the walls were painted white inside the shed so after painting the edges of the openings in grey I began adding printed papers representing the painted brick. This is the finished wall ready to glue in place. The various openings and the pipes add interest to what is basically just a blank rectangle. The concrete pillars correspond to the positions of the metal girders. I have also tidied up the other side of the shed: On the outside wall I have used different coloured brick to suggest the original and new structure. The porch will be standing the right way up! Yes, it is sitting on the kitchen table! Peter

17 years in Australia. Only lived in Victoria but visited every state and territory bar WA (which I have seen many times but only from the air). Stayed in mud-brick bush houses, on rural farms, in various remote outback spots in the campervan and was always closely connected with native bushland at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. In all of that time I saw the grand total of two snakes. Both brown snakes. One on the beach of all places and the other on my very last full day in the country when I collected SWMBO from her last day working at Cranbourne; brownie was crossing the road there. Always had “snake-drill” in mind though. Let them know you’re there, give them space, back away if they rear up and remember what they look like just in case. There’s a part of Australian first-aid courses where you learn to apply a snake-bite bandage. It might buy time by slowing the spread of venom but it also slows circulation risking the limb affected. It’s almost always a limb. Colleagues who drove country and interstate trains would tell of meeting large numbers of deadly critters in the dry grass out bush. You wore thick cotton trousers and boots for protection; or you wore shorts in the heat and took your chances. I’ve seen too many spiders to count, some of them potentially deadly and most venomous to some degree. I’ve had a few blue-tongues in the garden; you knew they were there because they set the chickens off squawking madly. And once we had a goanna. Quite big and definitely not what you expect to find in your backyard. The closest thing I’ve seen alive to a dragon. I’m happy to remember the snake bites I had as a young lad when some publicans would serve them or at least turn a blind eye if they saw you mixing two pints in a spare glass. A couple of those and your troubles would blur into a haze ….. until the next morning

Good morning all, Cloudy here with a hint of brighter sky to the East. Some rain is possible but it should be dry this afternoon with the chance of some sunny spells depending which forecast is correct. Rugby watched last night and a good result for one team but not mine. Mind you I don't think they've won up there for 6 years. Never mind, there is another match to watch later. Some financial stuff to do today as both my pensions landed this week and I've won a prize on the Euromillions. Don't normally do this one but decided to have a punt for the big prize. Didn't quite make that but have recovered £4.60 of my £5 investment! Hope those going to Uckfield enjoy the show as much as I did the Farnham show last weekend. That visit did something to rekindle my enthusiasm so I plan to visit The Shed today and at the very least turn the power on and play with some toys. Have a good one, Bob.

Modern Image at Bleat Wharf. Rob.

Good evening all I looked at Dysons when I bought a vacuum cleaner many years ago but they seemed to have too many plastic bits that I'd probably break. Instead I bought a Henry. Not so elegant or clever, rather heavy and a bit awkwad to store but, as an essentially industrial product designed to work for eight or more hours a day every working day, I figured it would be pretty bomb proof and so it's proved. Twenty five years later it's still working as well as it did when I bought it. It's also built in Britain and though I'm no jingoist that is, given how our indutrial base has been hollowed out, a definite consideration. Apart from a briskish 31/2 mile walk before lunch I've been pretty well head down all day editing and writing so only saw the news quite late. I'm shocked and saddened. In my experience, and I have through my work, both paid and uinpaid, had dealings with a goodly number of them, the majority of ordinary MPs, even those I disagree with vehemently, do go into it from a sense of public service and, with a few exceptions, do try to serve their constituents.

One of them survives, due to it being used for internal NCB duties at Ashington colliery. Now at the Tanfield Railway, having been originally preserved at the NYMR 2009_0822_154153 | John Irleand | Flickr

Morning. Missed last night! Collet/Churchward/Hawksworth, all the same just like their locomotives.... (for the benefit of doubt, this is a joke). Today is going to be mostly... The recently rebuilt Car 7, rather splendid. Then a bit of this....

Herself has been and had her jab..no queue! Great start to the day. Baz

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare. About 4 hours sleep followed by 2 hours sleep, woken with a headache, for which pink pills will be taken shortly.. Ben the I want out Collie dragged me out, and then it was just a splash and dash even though it's daylight.. He's now snoring in his pit. Junior doctors sound like some junior military officers, some think they are god's gift, some think they should interfere with everything, as they try to "make impression " in their career. They forget while officers command the military, SNCOs run the military. It doesn't help the officers position that in the more technical jobs the serviceman may have a degree,(sometimes better than the officers) and is not the uneducated poor who needs to be told every detail of what to do. Plans for today, more boat work, shelving work in the mobile home, more mowing. This will however not be while wearing the new riggers boots. They are trying to mould my lower paws not the other way around, all ankles sides are sore as is a ring around my calves at the top of the boots. Other boots today to give lower paws time to recover. Time for a muggacoffee and those pink pills.

Negotiating the dog's leg curve now is the 4.15 KX-Cleeethorpes, an Immingham B1 job as usual.

I am just back from the flu jab at the doctors. All very efficient. I was only away from home for about 20 minutes. Most exciting bit was seeing someone in a small brown car attempt a prohibited right hand turn at the A13 junction (Tarpots for the locals). I have also received a link from our GP about a booster vaccine but although the link works there aren’t any appointments available. If I don’t get one by Wednesday I’ll need to wait a while as my hospital appointment for more gastro stuff must be at least 2 weeks after a Covid booster. Tony

Yippee, the bin men turned up. They even emptied the bins! Finances dealt with and I seem to have found a small surplus so that’ll go in the toy fund. Tufts have been removed so I now once again look like a bald headed old git. The “barber” did ask what I’d like for lunch so I settled for a bacon sarnie and that was very enjoyable. Rugby kicking off at 3.00 so I’m going to The Shed until then.

It's the summer of '57 as Western Region gas turbine 18000 heads west with the Royal Duchy.

Bear has just been looking up the 3 nasties mentioned above - what do those who live miles from anywhere do if they get bitten? Can you keep anti-venon at home until help arrives? Prevention is better than cure. Don't be a nong, stay out the long grass, just be snake aware. Like Gwiwer said, wear long pants and thick shoes if out in snake country. Actually for the amount of venomous things, we have very few fatalities. Crocs and sharks aside, I don't recall a death from our wildlife recently, they are rare enough to make the news. In fact a popular trivia quiz question is to name the animal that kills more Australians than any other annually. Everyone goes shark, croc, snakes etc but it's actually the horse.

Another hole in the pincushion that doubles for my upper left arm. Just about to walk back home then think after lunch I may take a trip to New Mills where it is advertised that some old boys will be playing with their toys in public today.

Good morning to all and of course Sundry, from a distinctly cool Charente. A good dayvwas had yesterday, chatting about models over lunch then a couple of hours at Tours watching the real things. No injuries were incurred and I got home safely. The hens are now out and their pen/coop will be cleaned this morning. Not a lot else is on the agenda but that might well change. Horrible about the MP. I used to have to sit in the surgery for Merlyn Rees when he was in our village. Quite what I would have donevif a PIRA hit squad had appeared I do not know. Nice fellow though who cared about people. O.He gave the family gotva tour of the Houses of Parliament. Chrisf I hope you enjoy your jaunt. Jamie

Nah mate, in fact in 1978 while my mates were getting surfboards and AC DC cassettes I saved up my pocket money for yonks until I could buy a 2nd hand Unimat SL with a few attachments. I still have it albeit with a 21st century electric scooter motor in place of the feeble mouse in a wheel that it came with. I'll never sell it although it's rarely used now. But once you see some little model that you've designed forming and rising slowly out of a vat of resin in a 3d printer it's like science fiction and there's no going back after that..just think, you just need a bottle of goo and a beam of light and you can make anything you want! I just like sticking it to the bear cos he knocked lamingtons a few months ago and to an Aussie that's as bad as accusing us of having anything to do with Fosters.

That’s exactly my experience as well (and I’m in “the biz“). I’ve worked with some of the most well-known and respected key opinion leaders of their fields: Consultant doctors who set the standards that their colleagues follow. And whilst they can be demanding, they are generally very easy to work with. It’s the younger doctors who believe that they know everything that can be total PIAs (I remember a newly arrived to pharma junior colleague [an oncologist] returning from his first meeting with our marketing and regulatory team spluttering with indignation that he - a medic - was being told what to do by a non-medic. Which was a bit rich coming from somebody who was so wet behind the ears that he wouldn’t recognise an NDA [New Drug Application] if it had bit him on the bum) A very nice workshop indeed. But that reminds me of a story I read about two industrial museums that were being set up about the same time in the 80s. The curators in Germany had to hunt around to find antique and vintage industrial machinery to fill the museum; the curators in Britain just went along to newly closed factories to collect Victorian machinery that only recently had been turned off for the very last time (but having said that there are some quite ingenious pieces of industrial machinery that the Victorians came up with that have never been bettered). Just one piece of incredibly important advice for this situation: Take - A - Picnic I would say that this would be in addition to the workshop featured above, not instead of (am I to conclude from his ageist comment, that our amusing simian acquaintance is one of those tattooed and pierced purple haired millennials?) I see that we have another NeoLuddite amongst our ranks (I will be kind and not “out “the other NeoLuddites amongst us). Given that polybear is using a computer (or tablet computer) to post on ER, I suspect that rather than “embrace technology” the bear gritted his teeth and offered technology a limp handshake (pawshake?) or am I being a tad unkind here? Yet another piece of evidence to support my contention that “when you gotta go, you go pro” Professional equipment is designed for long-term and constant heavy usage, it eschews the bells and whistles that might look good in a showroom but bring nothing to the machine’s function and furthermore it is designed to be repairable. A busy day ahead: I have three cakes to bake, a Bistecca alla Fiorentina to cook sous-vide (before finishing on a white-hot griddle pan as my guests sit down to eat), spuds to prep for the patate al forno and a rummage in the cellar for a suitable wine. And that’s before I start tidying up the workshop. As you may have sussed we have guests tonight. The menu? Bruschetta ai funghi; Bistecca alla Fiorentina, patate al forno, spinaci saltati al limone; castagnaccio, sweet ricotta and a vin santo (OK, you could claim it’s “just steak and potatoes”, just as you could claim that Ferrari is “just a fast car”)) And not a microwave or deep fat fryer will be used! Have fun boys and girls iD

Hi Grahame, As you have stated, as well as 6 wheeled coaches the GNR had 8 wheeled (rigid) coaches designed by Howldon. The 8 wheelers used the same w iron arrangement on the inner axles as was used for the centre axle of the 6 wheelers. The main features being; the inner axles had their W irons mounted outside the sole bar, longer leaf springs and flexible spring hangers. I have drawn up etches for one of the Howldon 8 wheelers because these were subsequently converted for use in various articulated sets including the quint sets found on the Queensbury lines, but for which no kit existed. One of my colleagues (Russ Whitwam) is building stock for our Clayton layout and is in the process of building one of my etches in the original 8 wheeled rigid form. The method of mounting the inner axles can be seen in this part finished model along with a 6 wheeler for comparison. Only the outer axles had brakes. Regards, Frank

Flu jab was done at the House of Fun on the first available day. I was, in fact, the third person to be done on that day which was luck of the draw more than anything. Bookings were not taken rather it was turn up at the appointed time and place. Which happened to be where I was working and only a half-hour after I clocked off. It was worth waiting. Both Covid jabs were done some while ago and while we are both in line for boosters our time is not yet. But soon based on local vaccination rates as they are cracking through the seventy-somethings and I'm in the next age bracket. Dr. SWMBO isn't prioritised by age but by medical need and had both her initial jabs within 24 hours of mine despite being the best part of 11 years my junior. We generally understand that to refer to gastro-intestinal matters. In Her Majesty's Antipodes the term "gastro" is used only to refer to the many forms of gastro-enteritis and is a very common reason fora absence from work or education. It saves the blunt, if truthful, statement to whoever that ""I'm sorry mate, I've got the sh1ts" And probably some instances of the Technicolor© Yawn as well . So why does the UK have these venues called "Gastro Pubs"??? Public houses where one may acquire such an infection? Or does it in fact refer more to the word "Gastronomy" and the assumed higher-than-average quality of food served thereat? I shall leave the answer to your own experiences, dear ERs, as it may well vary among us. Suffice to say our Aussie friends declined the invitation to dine at the local "Gastro Pub" when they visited a couple of years back ......... so we ended up with the same meals being delivered from there to here.

Last night of it yesterday Here we go again Oh look, Coventry! Rugeley New st, got off the unit for some grub last night Last night we got to Lichfield high level as there was no possession on And back to base 66030 passing by with a steel train, must have been banked up the lickey as it waited there while the banking loco passed it heading back to bescot night off tonight then taking a train off a possession in banbury tomorrow afternoon

First one to say they can see Andy Y in that poster has their membership deleted instantly. Oh bother.....

Here’s the earlier trialed diseasal: 12006 in 1959 at Parsley Hay. There’s going to be a Heljan/Model Rail version of this next year apparently. Second photo shows the same loco grinding to a halt on Gotham curve, ending the trial.

Ey up! A mugatea has been delivered. Good job herself checked her flu jab appointment..she thought it was 10:13..wrong..its 08:13..close but no cigar. For a technology developed to produce replacement tools in space stations the 3D printing malarkey is coming on leaps and bounds. It was used toroducebparts to keep the RAF VC10 L1 tanker fleet flying. Today has been designated "dowhatever you want day" by her indoors.. this sounds very ominous as it generally means "things which need doing" will be added to my morning job list for the next few days. PAH! @chrisf and others enjoy your show today.. we have ours next week. horrified reading the news. Not a lot else to say. Stay safe! Baz

1978, eh? You write much younger…. Like you, I’m very much in favour of 3D printing and I’m just waiting for when hobbyist machines approach the quality of the (currently very expensive) professional machines. 3D printing in metal is a particularly appealing possibility (and it’s just occurred to me, following the discussion about repairability, that a good 3D printer that can print in a variety of materials could allow for the easy replacement of otherwise unavailable spare parts). As for your final point, I am shocked, yes - shocked, that an ostensibly “cake loving” ursine should be so cavalierly dismissive of one of Australia’s great contributions to culinary pleasure (another being the Peach Melba). An egregious insult, I agree (that’s much, much worse than claiming all Aussies drink Foster’s). But I have noted that for a patisserie loving Ursus maritimus, P Bear has distinctly limited palate. Perhaps we should feel sorry for him. Cut off as he has made himself from a wide world of patisserie pleasure?

I go by the three-foot rule: "If it looks good at three feet, then it is good enough." Lets face it, the vast majority of the time, the models are out on the layout running around in a train and not really noticeable except as scenic backround. Another one that bugs me is underbody detail. Unless one has a major dust-up, all of that detail is quite hidden from view; except for the brake valve, brake cylinder, air reservoir, and maybe the triple valve. All of the piping is up under the floor and well hidden. One example is this 86' hi-cube where nothing is visible: I am real happy with this car as I built it myself (back when I had steady hands!) from a Lykens Valley kit. That SF "target" decal was a real bear to install without any ripples, bubbles, etc! And there were two of them!! The Shock one was not any easier, either. That car has survived several moves and many operating sessions so I must have done something right. Oh, and it is still living in its original box when not running. Oddly, I did not write a completion date on the bottom (I usually did back then) but my estimate is somewhere between 1976 and 1980. Even more oddly, today(!!), @43 years after leaving the erection floor, it is getting Intermountain metal wheels to replace the original Athearn plastic ones! Another Lykens Valley kit that I assembled and has the same provenance as the Hi-Cube: This car has build date and the modification dates: BTW, that hexagonal rod replaced the wood centersill as the car was way too light and that length of brass rod worked wonders. Another example of the three-foot rule, when these are viewed from further away and at the usual "looking-down" angle, the lack of piping is not apparent: The HEATBATH* sides (with a BLT 1-41 date) were offered by a modeler who worked for them. One sent in an S.A.S.E. and received a set of sides in your supplied stamped and self-addressed envelope. The sides had no door so it was up to the individual as to what kind of final product they would have. Note the yellowed bottom car; a common practice back then was to varnish the car when complete, today almost all of them have yellowed with age and now nothing can be done about it. The top one's colors are correct. *The Heatbath Corporation was around until 2015 when DuBois bought it out. Note that Heatbath NEVER owned or leased any freight cars. See what riding on the train they call The City of New Orleans The Night Mail has done to me: 1. Green pannier acquisition 2. Working on a particular car after 43± years 3. Lecturing on old freight cars 4. What next?? I better post this now or I might be rambling on and on! Ciao. Edit: Wheelsets just changed out at 1452 16oct2021; after 43± years!!

I think the word you may be anticipating is Mañana. (Though I did hear from a Welsh speaking friend that he didn't know of a word in his preferred language that could express that degree of urgency) I used to love the compressed air powered model steam machines in the Science Museum- especially those in the Marine Engineering section. My favourite was the steam steering gear where you turned a wheel that represented the ships's wheel and the thing would chuff round after you. I never expected to see a real one until I made a film about the SS Shieldhall (while it was still in service with Southern Water) and there it was. Two triple expansion engines and that - engineering heaven!

Another layout with point rodding is D.A. Williams Metropolitan Junction. Note that the rodding is NOT cosmetic, it actually operates the points and signals. I took these very hasty snaps on Thursday when Richard had set the layout up for a running session.