runs as required

the earlier Mk VII was made famous grinding off the corners of its front bumper by the young Stirling in supporting '5 lappers ' at Silverstone, Goodwood, and Oulton Park. 2 Minis used to get unfairly disqualified for arriving too early in Monte Carlo! 3 Might the white f.h. coupe be a coachbuit Lancia Flaminia ?

A lot to catch upon in CA since I last succumbed to "just a quck peep". 1 What to accompany Edwardian music ? I encountered it backwards on R3 recently: a young composer was asked in the interval, what had inspired her piece and she said the writing of V Woolf, in particular her short story 'The String Quartet". I looked it up i and found it - probably just pre-grouping Grouping I'd guess, since it mentions 'the Treaty' and the flu pandemic, the new Regent Street (I suggest as Pomp & Circumstnce a piece of 'frozen music' as you'll find} and the new electric light in the Wigmore Hall. She is greeted by ladies who last saw her in Venice before the war. Its about the mind wandering while listening. I tried it on wife, a long time Eng Lit teacher in the colonies, who dismissed it with the (borrowed quote) 'too many notes words '. 2 Um ... just been found out by 'Her outside' ... dh

I so agree, but have you ever taken a train ride in Finland (or even somewhere like the freight-only line from Peak Forest to Buxton on a supposedly scenic charter) in summer? It's tediously boring. As for boring vermin - I was pondering something like, I recall, being experimented by with NS (and used for long stretches of the new HS by the FS) a kind of Bailey bridge type pre fabricated length of track (with integral OHL ) spanning between point set piled columns. Electric traction anyway should be able to be able to climb and descend terrain far more responsively (tram route 25 in Lisbon is the most the most extreme adhesion I can think of) . I'd like to think a bit more about materials (probably composite) but problems of settlement would not be a direct issue. Problems of noise everywhere in urban and urbanising areas would will be huge - more easily responded to with by some "clip on" lengths of visual and sound defect extrusion on the structures above. Its an interesting Challenge! dh

Two posts Annie I hope RMweb will always remain sympathetic about: 1 from you (responding to Rob) summarising so movingly your lifelong journey from clockwork Hornby in short trousers to mature man deceiving swmbo as a slip of a girl to adult mother through the whole gamut of “orthodox rail modelling” with power tools – even a lathe! Now, stricken by illness, you’ve master computer VR so individually. 2 Rob’s thread initially puzzled me as a newcomer to RMweb until, clicking by, I learned more about the guy behind the heightened ‘train-set box lid’ images (as I’ve always nostalgically seen them). The great thing is Rob is keen to learn from posts such as Edwardian’s about whistle guards and cab ‘portholes’. I always followed (Portroad) Jock’s posts right to the inevitable end. I too have to fess up to increasingly diminishing cognitive powers that somehow block me continuing with my (always over ambitious) “orthodox modelling”. Instead I’ve resorted back to my workingdays’ skills with CAD and Photoshop to Imageinate (my son added a blackbook beside the Macbook to note down -to guard against brain fade- new procedures: juggling between old scale maps /screen capture/ brick course counting – and even umbrella lengths!)

I first saw him win the 500cc race at the 1951 Silverstone Grand Prix by a country mile in a double knocker Norton Kieft (not the Cooper he originally drove). He was also unbeatable in the vast Mark 7 Jaguar in production car races, all the cars leaning at absurd angles. What he was famous for was persevering with BRG in cars such as the oddball G Type (very last) E.R.A. Stirling Moss drove in the 1952 (F2 Silverstone GP) , but the engine was unreliable and the race results were disappointing. Moss said: "It was, above all, a project which made an awful lot of fuss about doing very little. I saw him drive the last time in his own light green Maser (part Brit re-engineered by mechanic Alf Francis) at the Euro Nurburgring GP in 54 and then next year win the Aintree GP in the Benz W196 where, standing at the last corner, I reckon Fangio let him through to win by a short head. Later in 55 a school mate and I went down (on overnight cheap chara tickets) to the Earls Court Motor Show where the 2.4 Jag saloon was launched. We both were certain we'd be racing drivers. Stirling Moss (my Hero) was on the Jag stand operating some kind of handheld gizmo measuring reaction times. My mate did well, but I came slowest of all times so far recorded twice. I returned a couple of hours later (where he remembered me graciously) only to find I was slower still. I went off next summer to camp above the Festiniog at Boston Lodge to try my hand at driving Prince. Most would agree his greatest drive was with Jemks unfurling his loo roll in the '55 Mille Miglia, but I reckon he was outstanding too at Le Mans where he was forever assigned the team's hare car-breaking role: always first away across the track then, lap after consistent lap, scaring everyone else into over-revving and blowing-up.

Thanks for that Father Ted; one of the best - particularly, I now noticed - with the black bit already visible on the window in the early moments coming into play as the toothbrush tache later in the development of the plot 2 I was changed (and humbled) by my 5 years of British Council exchange project with China working for York uni on "Managing historic cities". There were Professors there (much older than me) who'd spent 30 years banished as labourers planting rice in paddy fields far away by the Red Guards during Mao's Cultural Revolution. They worked modestly with us - explaining their prize artefacts and how they'd managed to protect them against the RGs (and demonstrated the ways that they had still maintained their skills in supporting the peasant communes they were banished to - using sticks or anything else to hand to scratch in the dust to communicate their suggestions.) The over-riding societal concept seems to be the perpetual ying and yang between Daoist environmentalist radical and Confucionist conformist convention This has maintained China as an entity through 5000 years of Mongol invasion and now Revisionist communism. So the perpetual question: How long before 1.4 billion people change Dynasty ?

Thanks for your much more knowledgable comments on my small hours insomniac's reading. Myself, having worked in Ethiopia, I questioned his chapter on Africa (Justinian sent emmisaries to convert Ethiopia) . The Coptic perspective is that the Irish and the Ethiopian early Christians both established themselves just beyond the fringes of the Roman Empire before Constantine to avoid being fed to the lions. Similarities are claimed in their surviving illuminated scrolls. The paperback got sent by my lawyer son as it is in his son's summer vac. reading for Second year History at Queen's (yes the Oxford first year seemed to have been wound-up in March !). Son Matt's comment was "Looks an interesting one for us both to read 'cos we can't let the young bu99er get too cocky - he's also learning Arabic"

Just been sent a brilliant book about the round and flat earths. it is called 'The Medieval Expansion of Europe' by JRS Phillips. Apparently Europe forgot the earth was a globe during the collapse of the western Roman Empire and a Norman construct of the flat earth took over. There isn't a pic but from the description it sounds a bit like a round arched 6 bay part of a Normandy abbey. The floor is Earth, the crypt is Hell and above the flat nave ceiling is Heaven. Ptolomy the Greek had described the Mediterranean to the Indian sub-continent as a globe in his Geography but the text was lost until the C15. And a plug for Tyneside: Wor own Venerable Bede (who never strayed far from Jarra), described the earth as a globe with a more accurate circumference than Ptolomy. Phillips wrote from UCD Dublin - so he plugs St Brendan and his voyages - descriptions of the Atlantic with islands such as Brasil (sic) and the Azores. I supposed the Celtic church's stepping stones first to Iona then Holy Island to be the origin of VB's concept in the C8.

I've never really ever come to a comfortable justifiable balance between Restoration; Preservation; Improvement; and Replicas - despite paying lip service to W Morris's SPAB (you never read this here) The obvious improvement here would seem to be inserting a plastic bag into the space (other than an expendable small boy as in Brunel's Great Eastern steamship)

Interesting - I hadn't thought of riding at speed in terms of tank engines. Where were the highest speeds attained with tank engines? the Lanky 2-4-2s, Brighton, the runs from Glasgow to the Clyde steamers? - Even Annie's Bristol & Exeter Broad gauge claimed astonishing maxima.

Thank you WNR stakeholders shareholders for those posts on tanks. I was thinking too of easy accessibility for large filler flaps and leak staunching compared to well tanks (but many appear, from rivets lines, to also have back tanks ). I hadn't thought of interchangeability mentioned above. Saddletanks seem to be the most beneficial in locos of smaller boiler diameter: engine valve gear accessibility/ adhesion/driving wheel dia./ preheating. I suppose the Armstrongs' panniers win out on the above (including condensing pipe connections) but lose in terms of overall capacity

Please could you remind me of the technical/operational advantages of side tanks over other less visually obvious placings. Except for pannier/saddle, they seem to become universal in standard gauge practice through the C20.

TOTP

TOTP

Going back to Stratford (E15) is that rather elegant building as the background to yesterday's beard's locos actually Stratford Works? Funny, I was once taken round in the last LNE1940 years (at the time of re-numbering) and I'm ashamed to admit I only can recall an untidy sprawl N of the station. As for Ultramarine engines at CA - are there not at least a couple of NW Norfolk stations (extant by page 1002): one where the GE and WNR can be seen co-habiting, the other where yellow M&GN and even Midland liveried engines heading through excursions pass by en rout to Melton Constabule? So why not simply indulge as opportunities present themselves ?

Going back to Stratford (E15) is that rather elegant building as the background to yesterday's beard's locos actually Stratford Works? Funny, I was once taken round in the late 1940s and I'm ashamed to admit I only can recall an untidy sprawl N of the station. As for Ultramarine engines at CA - are there not at least a couple of NW Norfolk stations (extant by page 1002): one where the GE and WNR can be seen co-habiting, the other where yellow M&GN and even Midland liveried engines heading through excursions pass by en rout to Melton Constabule? So why not simply indulge as opportunities present themselves ? edit Good Grief where did all those ensuing identical post come from? I remember now: It told me I had to wait 39 secs so I did but nothing happened. A case of knickers in a twist I’m afraid (TOTP)

True, but as you’d expect they’d noticed this and: a) propose using the road alignment and laying an uphill/down dale electrified line like the old Belgian ones b) a new east side lakeside line (with spiral?) south of the dam. But there is a lot of opposition to this because the east has always been ‘the Walk on the Wild SIde’.

There has been a gathering cross-border campaign to restore/realign the Border Counties from Hexham to Riccarton once Galashiels has been re-connected to Hawick (and on to Carlisle). The argument is based on local hatred of speeding logging trucks on both sides of the Border and passenger desire lines for access from Hawick to Newcastle - and also improved access from NE to Kielder's under-used recreational potential. My old mate from student days who has the B&B/railway at Saughtree Station is not at all pleased by the lobbying !

Great Post about the recirculating duct (or in our case ducts - like reverse sun pipes down through the hollow walls). Thanks The building came my way in a semi derelict state because it had been intended as an care home but was found to be a tinder box of old spruce trunks with bark still on at 2ft centres supporting "scotch walking" lath and lime plaster. This also provides segregated 3D circulation for rodents! We've always used extra layers of clothing and retreated to our core living-kitchen until mid/end March I'm worried that the next inhabitants won't accept such privations - I'd like to have at least a 10 year look ahead at options for less stoic inhabitation.

Lucky you. Our gas condensing central heating boiler went on the blink one cold morning just before Lockdown. Boiler expert arrived and says “could be a burnt out electrode - do you want to risk £100 on replacement module - or complete boiler renewal for about £2600 inclusive ?” I opted for the non-returnable renewed module. But it demonstrated that renewal was required. Boiler proved to be 14 years old - engineer said 10 years was an average gas boiler life. Pleased it is warm weather - now till September (?) Task to ponder in the meantime: Is there a better overall way of approaching energy use in 500 year old Grade II* 3 storey (half) of vast scruffy old rectory in a former colliery settlement? I have always been apprehensive about desirable modern insulation altering the overall microclimate within an old largely timber structure inside 300mm random rubble stonewalls.

I can't believe this. Brum (thanks to Chamberlain) has always been Centrepetal despite the disasters it has weathered from the postwar roadbuilding decades. Have you visited Brindley Place and the areas to the NW of the Town Hall?

Is that the place in Verona? I missed one of these Beauts by Rivarossi on Ebay for £80, and called the Oskar shop in Verona where they make to order for £400 - even I couldn't really justify for such a distinctive Iti steamer. What I realise I love is Difference ! Standard is Boring The book that introduced me to Difference was the Pictorial Encyclopaedia of Railways by Hamilton Ellis, Hamlyns, London 1968 I see I paid 36/6 for it onHome leave from Malawi and Zambia - and looked at it over and over in the next 2 year tour. it is where I found out about all the different 'looks' to loks by different designers - Great Book !

Agree about the big Traction Avant: a touch of coy Mondrian modesty

Sir Sam’s Boots look odd to my eye. Perhaps both should incorporate the prosperous Turn. edit Thankfully this trite post turns the page into ... carpet cleaner.

Of course the outstanding thing about Zagato is that ‘family look’ ! (The best one is the Lancia coupe where the windows behind the doors curve up into the roof - oops OT)