woodenhead

So another eventful trip but £20 coming my way care of a late arrival home. At midnight last night I got a message from Avanti - my return train was cancelled, I should get the one before (1853) or the one after (1933). You can guess what I and most other people who got that message did - we went for the earlier service. What did Avanti turn out for a train they knew was going to be busy, the first off peak to Manchester in the evening knowing the next one had been cancelled, a 9 coach Pendolino! They played games, said it was platform 14 (and there was a Pendo parked in 14 at 18:30) but decided to swap to the Pendo that had just arrived at platform 1 at 18:40 instead. So I had arrived at Euston from Euston Square at 18:28, I went to the loo (near platform 1) because I expected the train to be busy, so off to platform one for the loo, then returned to platform 14 for the train and joined a polite queue (barriers open, no Avanti staff manning it). After 5 minutes standing the platform changed, so back all the way to platform one again so really getting the steps in today. Got onto the train on the unreserved coach C and the train filled and filled, people crowding outside trying to get on. The guard politely suggests those standing might like to catch the 19:33 and when that doesn't work pulls a new stunt - if you don't get off then the train will have to go slowly to Manchester. Yes the guard actually tried to guilt standing passengers into getting off the train because it would be their fault sitting passengers will be late getting home - unbelievable. Me, I spy a partial refund voucher, there was already trouble at Tring, and the train though scheduled to depart at 18:53 actually left 15 minutes late, so I was looking at the positives. In the event it arrived 20 minutes late back at Manchester having got stuck behind a stopper I think between Colwich and Stockport, then held at Ardwick. Certainly I did not notice the train going 'slowly' as threatened by the guard. One pizza later, it's time for bed. Night all.

Early rise, didn’t go to bed to 23:30. Off to the big smoke for a long day. Getting light early now

@PhilouCardiff station is wired but west of Cardiff isn’t I believe. I would imagine as it is the GWML the Welsh Government expect the UK Government to foot the bill to Swansea and they will pay for the local lines(I.e. as they are doing). So when Network Rail get it sorted there will be wires to Swansea.

Bit of low level flying by bombers in WW2.

All sorts to pick from this image - it's a diversion on the ECML, it's running vans first so it arrives vans last after reversing at Carlisle, it's a Motorail service and the DVT is mid-marshalled due to the vans having to be at the 'wrong' end. Here's how a normal Motorail operated in the DVT times: Edit, of course Northbound they would be hanging off the DVT otherwise how would the driver see!!!

This is quite a sad story - imagine being told your babies had died when in fact they were being sold on an adoption black market. Even when reunited there is no happy happy ending as there is no family bond beyond knowing they are family, even the adoptive parents appear innocents in this. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68055420

@Dagworth Thanks for that, exactly the sort of anxiety inducing crowd I avoid.

Interesting on the 08, I've read plenty that say the opposite, but I guess that's where a choice of models is good, you pick the one you like the most. I reckon a 153 will come from Heljan, perhaps with a 155 off the back of that too seeing as they've put a lot of effort into a 7mm one. The HST is not something I reckon anyone will touch except Accurascale. Though Bachmann might be doing the prototype (and so far only the surviving one) with no coaches proposed then unless they are about to surprise us all I think they are doing just the single power car. Accurascale if I recall have a HST fan in their team. The 67 might be a future Dapol item, they like their bo-bo diesels and the N model may be due a refresh so why not do both. We know what happened with the 91 when someone came along to offer one, I don't think they will be trying again but Accurascale do have someone modelling the ECML in modern times but that's not enough to say there is a market for another one just yet and the HST surely would come first with many more regional applications / livery variations.

Yes there was nothing ordinary about my conception 🤣

If nothing else it's a useful template to follow for your own version. Thanks

When it came to decorating our hall and landing I looked at the top floor (third storey) and did not like the idea of having to be on a ladder on stairs or on a platform to reach the ceiling. The answer was I painted the walls at the top of the house the same colour as the ceiling - white, then I did not need to consider edging in at a ridiculous height for a house. I needed though an extra long extension to the long pole that had the roller on and it was great fun trying to put it into the tray to apply the paint to the roller.

Sheffield Midland or Victoria (pre 1955) - but then you'd have to pick a side Eastern or Midland. I'd stick with Exchange....

Reminds me of this Marlon Brando interview, so people thinking in black and white, right or wrong, good or bad terms has been with us much longer than it seems, but perhaps is more obvious now due to the internet allowing more and more people to simply express things in these terms.

There is a scene in Oppenheimer where he describes to his potential mistress (then later wife) how we are all made from atoms and it is only how attracted these atoms are to one another that creates the falsehood we are solid and don't simply pass through everybody and everything we meet because they too are atoms creating a false solidness through attraction. I've had a low level tinnitus in my right ear for years, quite tuned out from it now so it generally doesn't bother although sometimes it can escalate. But since early this year a new louder one has started in my left ear and when I am in bed it does impact what I can hear. It could be the headphones I wear to listen to music, but it doesn't tend to so high it would have done this damage, or it could be related to pressure within my cranium I guess as I've been having other symptoms such as a pain in the neck which characterises my lifelong condition. Whichever it is, I think the tinnitus might be here for good as it's not noticeably subsided.

They were Nike and everybody knows it was all about Adidas Samba back then 😄

TT120 only exists because of the hole Hornby got itself into, if it could make OO pay and those dang competitors stopped nicking it's models then there would have been no need for TT120. And then there will be the money it has borrowed to create TT120, has that been paid back yet because by no means is TT120 fully profitable yet. It needs to keep re-running models and selling those out too.

Or two of every steam loco, if you can't afford that how about one side half empty and the other side full 🤣

Can you not model all half empty and then have an extra coal load you can add on top after the loco visits the servicing area?

What's wrong with just drinking out of our hands?

Which reminds me of a sketch by Stewart Lee where he talks of a certain leader of a certain political party asking the brightest and best people who arrived in boats throughout the ages not to come to Britain bringing their language, skills, cuisine and wares. "The brightest and best fish need to stay in the sea and concentrate on making it aquatically prosperous"

Some might argue that's a superpower not a disability. 😄

Speak for yourself, my ancestors were fish that left the water. 😄

You know we cannot talk of those people on this forum, they are always watching and will come down on the mods like a ton of bricks to remove any reference to them. Our Masters and Overlords is the correct description.

It's interesting that simple designs can be interesting to operate as complex ones. But I think it's important to operate them in a manner that elicits interest, an example is a model I saw operated at Stafford, it had no fiddleyard and represented the end of a small short line. This first time I saw it I spent a good half hour or more watching the shunting and it really got the brain juices going to replicate it myself. Then I saw it again very recently but a different operator driving this time and the shunt moves were just too quick, the locomotive would run too quickly and then it would be on with the emergency brake; I just walked away in less than a minute. Completely different feeling about the same model with the same stock but operated like a 1970s train set with just stop and go being the two speeds.