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This has prompted another memory of Conflats parked outside the Triang factory at the very end of the spur . I may have misremembered the Triang Pram stickers on them

Yes I saw the freight once when my car broke down and I had to walk to work . It was a C2X if I recall correctly.

Yes the river Wandle was the midwife to early industry hereabouts so the Wandle and the Surrey Iron Railway were intertwined. There is still a path/alley called Tramway Path in Mitcham which lay alongside S.I.C. The line is now the Croydon Tramlink . There was also a goods only spur ( when I were a lad) from Tooting Junction to Merton Abbey . The erstwhile passenger station became a goods shed depot . Tooting Junction was still called Tooting Junction locally long after the points were lifted . Finally Lord Nelson had a home close to Merton Abbey Mills .

I’m not sure if you are familiar with Merton Abbey Mill , St Enodoc ? It used to be sites of industrial activity - leather tanning , cardboard manufacturing , a bus garage and the like . Then a superstore Sainsburys took over and the Mill area is now a centre for small shops , small firms and a lovely riverside pub . The river Wandle flows past it and was the source of water power in the early Industrial Revolution era . I have this vision of the low melt solder being sold from a craft shop rather than being manufactured in a dark , satanic mill .

I believe that Alan Gibson makes plastic brake blocks . From memory, they are on a circular sprue .

Re the invitation to railway vandals to meet at Wimbledon. It reminds me of the sixties when Mods and Rockers would shout “ Boxhill” to each other as they passed on Lambrettas and Triumphs . An invite to a rumble at a Surrey beauty spot.

Thanks for posting , Frank . I was “treating” my wife to Abingdon and we left in sufficient time but roadworks delayed us so much , we had to abandon . So your posts are some solace to our disappointment. I was particularly interested to see the Mogul and 47xx running . BTW Hungerford was a big factor in going to Abingdon. PS I know how to treat the Sheilas!

I see merit in all the contributions above and it set me to thinking . I appreciate Hornby’s recent carriages but I bought a couple of Hatton’s generic 6 wheel brakes . Why ? Well , recent accurate coaches from Hornby , Bachman , Dapol etc have been superb . What’s more as someone born in 1944 , I can recall them in service . They chime with my memory and ( importantly)are superbly finished . Much better than I could achieve . Why buy the Hatton’s generic coaches . Well , several reasons. First , I like Full brakes and had a hankering for a vintage parcels train . Moreover , they are beyond my memory so I could not pull down a mental file to compare model and prototype. I had a vague idea of what a 6 wheel full brake should look like and they compared favourably with that image . In a word they were PLAUSiBLE . The USP for me was the finish . The GWR coach has opaque , dense colour with defined demarcation and fine lining .The GNR example has a fine representation of teak . So that clinched it for me . Hope this wander down my thought and decision making process helps .

Or is it possible to buy the motor and or gearing as spares and swop ? Another thought is the motor / gearing from the Manor compatible? I used to know a mechanic who could take 4 Mini and 1100 engines and gearboxes and build 3 combinations and still have bits spare .

My late father was in the RAFVR during the war - 72 operations and DFM . He taught me to run away from explosions as a second one might follow . Aged 7 , I had run towards a calor gas explosion in a wooden hut .

And Shackleton ? Bur didn’t the RAF use rocket firing Hunters ?

In the 1970s I worked in tv rental , an industry founded on the unreliability of tv sets and their (relatively) high price . British made tv sets would be assembled and tested once completed . Japanese sets had every component tested and passed before each was assembled into the tv . The result was that Japanese tv sets were reliable… which eventually finished off tv rental .

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice …?

My 3d printed body of a curved frame Bulldog arrived today . Captain Kernow commented that they are in the first rank of 3 d manufacturers and I agree . Ive struggled to add photos but will try again . I think that my example is well detailed and exquisite . I have no interest or connection with the manufacturer except as a contented customer .

I have placed an order for a curved frame Bulldog and will report on quality when received . Sadly it will have to its place in a long 2do queue so I won’t be able to comment on build progress for a while .