snitchthebudgie

Borjormi, Georgia in 2000. This is Stalin's personal station close to some beautiful forested and ski-ing areas. The multiple unit is about to leave for Tbilisi. There is an interchange with a metre gauge overhead electric line - unfortunately I was working and couldn't get any pictures of the stock there.

Off topic, really, but here's the confirmation.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53195980

Perhaps the positive thing from the previous comments is the diversity of approaches to our hobby. We all do it differently, and that can only be a good thing!

I've done more modelling in the past three months than the past five years! And I'm an exhibition manager, who has valued this thread, red herrings and all, to get a feel of what people think - in all their extremes.

For railway modellers, the symptom of loss of taste shows itself as a sudden urge to model Kazakhstan Railways in Gauge 3 - or perhaps even the GWR. (Hat, coat, rapid exit stage left and right.)

Thank you, Marc, for your open and honest post. Surely, this is just irresponsible? I assume the delay in cancellation is to try and limit liability for cancellation, or just to hope that the government will say COVID has gone away and it's all right to have an exhibition. We have just dropped to COVID-3 alert level, I see, but that still means there is a pandemic about, and some measures are needed. Doesn't such prevarication just push the risk of loss onto the traders, and the risk to life and limb on to the exhibitors? Whatever the months ahead bring, and we hope that will include an effective treatment and perhaps a vaccine, it is prudent just to write 2020 off, as most people have, and regroup for 2021?

And remember context - statue thrown into harbour = nasty mob. Chests of tea thrown into harbour = brave freedom fighters. All depends who you support at the time.

Dangerous to get involved in this one, but here goes..... I think the Mayor of Bristol got it exactly right. It shouldn't have been pulled down - but it should have been moved years ago. He'd have it placed in a museum - remembering the past but not celebrating it. Don't forget that most Confederate statues were put up relatively recently to reinforce Jim Crow laws and segregation. Good riddance to them!

In fairness, Magnet very kindly refunded premiums for cancelled shows (at least earlier in the year.) But we can't guarantee that this will continue.

So that was you I saw on the news, sardined on the beach at Southend?

Perhaps we could cut out the trains and just have a Zoom exhibition?

Thank goodness so many people are taking a negative - or should I say realistic - view of the situation. Things have got a lot better over the past month, but we're not out of this pandemic yet. Some of the best articles that I have read on COVID are clear that the high risk areas are places where people are close together - for example restaurants, family gatherings and religious meetings. Although railway modelling doesn't require hugs and kisses, and it's not religious (except perhaps P4) the scrum around traders stalls and the best layouts in show - even in quite small exhibitions - must be a high risk situation. Please let's stay fluid in our response to COVID, and keep these discussions going. Perhaps some good ideas may come up as to how to stage a show in future?

Many thanks, Unfortunately, no drawings in Russell, except one side view. And Golden Arrow is unfortunately the wrong scale!

Has anyone seen drawings of the various Isle of Wight 2-4-0T's, that were the mainstay of pre-Southern days, and kept running into Southern Railway days? I've always wanted a model of one, as they were all most attractive little engines. Many thanks, Jon

We've just started planning N Gauge SouthEast, aiming at our usual dates in April 2021. In one way, it's easy to do as we will first be inviting all those who were coming to our cancelled show this year. I'm sure a few will have to drop out, but are hoping that most will be available. Yet who knows whether we can hold the exhibition then? We just have to do the groundwork, and go ahead only if it looks safe to do so.