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2750Papyrus

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Everything posted by 2750Papyrus

  1. Thanks for that. My Mum and Dad rode behind Russell the summer before they were married in 1935. II have a picture my Dad took at Beddgelert). I would love to make a through trip Caernarvon - Blaenau and back behind Russell and/or 590.
  2. Hi Graham. Congratulations on two magazine articles and awards at the same time. I must dig out the Grantham DVD and watch it again! I enjoy watching both layouts. You were kind enough to reply recently to my enquiry regarding the Shap pilot and I understand an article about the fiddle yard is imminent. However, I personally prefer Grantham. whilst Shap has the scenic grandeur of the hills, Grantham has much more operational interest with the Nottingham branch, goods yard, loco depot and, yes, the road vehicles. Additionally, it has such a broad range of rolling stock, ranging from the then latest streamliners to Victorian 6 wheelers and pre-grouping locos. Many of these older prototypes are rarely seen modelled and may be unknown to many exhibition visitors. Would it be possible for you and your fellow exhibitors to pen some articles about some of these interesting road and rail vehicles?
  3. I think the last of the "old school" commentators was Henry Blofeld. I can remember him not following the Loughborough scientific sporting theories voiced by a then-recently retired cricketer. "Henry, how on earth did you get to Cambridge?" he was asked. He replied "Well, actually, my father took me in the Bentley".
  4. Hornby website quotes "Summer 2024".
  5. Attached item is on local BBC news. What a shame that compliance with budget is claimed but no cost forthcoming in answer to a straightforward question. I also found the comparison with HS2 unnecessary. The new railway coming to Beds and Bucks - BBC Sounds
  6. Apparently, tracklaying between Bicester and Bletchley has been completed. https://eastwestrail.co.uk/news/latest-stories/east-meets-west Sadly, the BBC coverage quickly submerges this achievement in a nimbyfest.
  7. I may have mentioned before that my school (the Stationers' Company's School) was very keen on the correct use of apostrophes. If necessary, extra time was allocated for the necessary lessons to be learned, called detention...
  8. East-West have reported 75% of people polled supported a Bedford-Cambridge link. BBC headline: Bedford poll suggests strong support for East West Rail - BBC News
  9. The BBC are reporting that a full Bletchley - Bedford service will be resumed from next Monday, with fares reduced to £1 for 3 months. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpdejkg5z2po
  10. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the sequence on Sunday. My apologies for distracting you from your duties as fiddle yard operator - it certainly kept you on your toes and I don't think I could work a two hour shift! Can I ask about about operation of the signalling at the summit? I could not work out on the day or by watching the video whether operation of the signals on the layout was automatic or by the summit operator. Following on from that query, on the prototype, do we know how movement of the released banker from the down side across the up main to the up sidings was controlled? I did note some conflict of priority on the model between the pilot movement and a through train on the up main, and wonder if this also occurred on the prototype. I can imagine that a less busy location might permit such movement under the direct (flagged) control of the signalman, but not here. Did the pilot require possession of a full block section of the up main "down the hill" or did the up main contain a short block to permit this movement? Thanks again for letting us re-live the days of "watching the trains go by" on a busy main line.
  11. More than 65 years ago, my then best friend claimed that my Trix "Britannia" and class V were unrealistic because their numbers contained so many zeroes, which you never saw on the real railway!
  12. it would be good to re-establish a regular and reliable Bletchley-Bedford service using the existing infrastructure against which the possible alternative future improvements could be debated.
  13. A railwayman like Gerry Fiennes had the ability to determine whether a line could be saved to provide a profitable service to the community or whether there was no such possibility, leaving closure or subsidy as the only options.
  14. Many of us in our youth learned to call Princess Coronation locos "Duchesses" after the Hornby Dublo model. As a child, I had books and pictures showing the streamlined version, but the sloping smokebox left when they were defrocked was a detail I only learned later.
  15. The Mayor of Bedford last year commissioned consultants to look at alternative routes for the Bedford - Cambridge to the East-West Rail preferred route. The report has now been published but didn't really identify one route as better than others; instead it seems to emphasise the economic benefit to Bedford of such a link. East West Rail: Bedford mayor unveils eight alternative routes - BBC News
  16. I have no interest in a new type 31 but am very pleased to see automatic uncoupling offered at last. The German Trix 2-4-2 tank had this feature at both ends 70 years ago and Flying Scotsman had a tender fitment.
  17. Just one item? That's good estimating and risk analysis!
  18. Great to hear some old fashioned twang and use of tremolo. The bass player looks better than jet Harris as well...
  19. My former employment involved both pitching and assessing projects. For the latter, I tended to adopt a "rule of three":- 1) assume it will take 3 x as long as quoted 2) assume it will cost 3 x the quote 3) assume the benefits will be one third of those quoted. 4) If it still makes sense, go for it.
  20. The East-West web site has previously reported track laying between Bicester and Bletchley as 99% complete. Test running was due to begin this year, with passenger services in 2025. Do we yet yet know which operator and stock will be used?
  21. The Ellis Clark website shows the quad-art sets as Q3 2024 also. Could be an expensive summer - a delivery slip somewhere might be convenient!
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