big jim

Are the latest batch of ‘payment due’ emails actually correct, given I had one way too early for my 97 which was an error? Do you really want paying now, if so I’m going to have to sell my body on the street corner again (made enough for a pack of couldron loads last time)

Nice little hams to crewe job today, pass to Birmingham from crewe 37405 on the back of a ballast in crewe pendo to new st Voyager and 170 in new st My loco in hams hall Coupled up and drawn out to run round Ready to go Into crewe basford hall and some of the things on the walk back to the car line up of 37 in the coal sidings as that was all that was in there I snuck a piccie through the fence mesh! db 66 on the car parts train and into the station where a brand new 805010 was sat waiting to go to Holyhead, first time I’ve seen that one bit of a run around job tomorrow, crewe to landor st, rugby to crewe then crewe to bescot!

Sub human scum

im pocket mulching as we speak

Buono estente! Just been to see ‘an evening with the fast show’ in Stoke, brilliant, couldn’t stop smiling start to end! Managed to get 2nd row centre seats the day before general release thanks to my theatre membership so had a fantastic view, didn’t get any cheesy peas ice cream though! nice tribute to Caroline Aherne in the 2nd half’, so thrilled to see Paul whitehouse, Charlie Higson, mark williams, arabella weir and Simon day but John Thompson just blew me away, absolutely brilliant and so funny! Scorccio!

bloody cyclists

This is brilliant, for those who don’t know the song is called ‘bits and pieces’ and is an absolute banger of a tune from 1997 that still gets an airing today, Glaswegians go mental for it

A long short job yesterday! Out of a possession at plumley and back to crewe but I got asked ‘can you just’ take it to bescot instead which wasn’t a problem but the train sat outside crewe station for 4.5 hours At the boards at lostock gralam outside crewe station. Handbrake on, taxi to another’s driver house to get my hire car, drove home, sold a car, had dinner then drove back! into bescot some other stuff parked up on the walk back to the cabin back in tomorrow next. Fast show live in Stoke later which I can’t wait for!

Nice little job last night, 805 testing between oxenholme and Carlisle, met it at carnforth after it had already done one trip it was a timing run, not the pantograph testing I thought it was, I had to drive it to Carlisle and get there in 28 minutes! Getting ready to go, waited for a freight in front to get into grayrigg loop before we set off and into Carlisle Class 57 But did I make it in 28 minutes? nope, 28 mins and 4 seconds! ready to head back, worked it all the way to oxley and job done

the rover only went for £540 in the end

Its on the track bed of the old potteries line as innerhome mentioned above, I think there might be a set of wheels somewhere nearer to kidsgrove too mad thing is when I saw the thread title I knew it was going to be about this particular smoke box as it annoys me too! edit: from rail map on line, the smoke box is circled and the blue line is the loop line https://www.RailMapOnline.com/UKIEMap.php?lat=53.05242&lng=-2.20022&zoom=20.0

The Mazda and roof sold for £800 in the end, not bad considering he paid £600 for them the Saab is in for tracking today as well so hopefully it will be good as gold now, next job is to fit the apple play head unit to it

yeah, nice short job 196 in nuneaton 66782 on our train and into crewe in tomorrow morning early hours, thought it was oxley to Carlisle and back but it’s actually carnforth to Carlisle and back to oxley, doing the same pantograph test as the other week at alsager but somewhere near Tebay this time not sure what I’ve got next week apart from Sunday which is a possession at plumley

It was top and tail so just a change ends (Aylesbury and risborough)

That’s the multi-storey that’s attached to the shopping precinct with a bridge over the A41 lookjng forward to seeing the vid from our return trip, told my trainee you’d probably be there! today was bescot to Donnington and back with just 4 empty wagons going in uncoupling running round didn’t take long to load so we were early and as the line beyond Wellington is blocked due to a landslide we had the line to ourselves so we went into the station for our break, road learned the route to the pick and mix stall in the market! ran round in crewe where we got the shock of our lives as our CEO John Smith appeared at our side window as we were waiting for the signal to continue the run round, had a brief chat before continuing the run round and coupling up, there are a couple of vids and pics on twitter LSL were testing 60532 “Blue Peter” within their yard and I’ve got to say it’s an absolute stunner, finished in express loco blue, blowing off nicely, managed to get to the end of the ramp and grab a piccie we headed off via Stoke for some reason to Stafford where I was supposed it get off and travel home to crewe due to the turn length but my relief didn’t bring my hire car back from bescot for me so I had to stay on board to go and collect it! DB 66 passing bescot as I got off short job tomorrow Nuneaton to crewe

Same(ish) again job, started in Aylesbury today though, access was via the carriage sidings Into the station again changing ends in risborough and into hinksey Donnington tomorrow

yeah, grateful for that, he was just about to get onto the dual carriageway at the next roundabout so would have been up to 70mph

I’ve got him to order a full set of tyres for it just to be safe, the guy I got it off has offered me a couple of replacement partworns which I’ll probably take ‘just incase’ but I’d feel happier with him having 4 decent ones fitted, also booked it in for tracking

It was going so well, dom was driving to work this morning and the tyre has ripped off the rim for some reason, thankfully he was only on an A road and not going fast! looking at the other front tyre that’s looking a bit perished so I suspect that one was the same, we knew the tracking needed doing as it was pulling a bit to the left so I suspect the extra stress on the tyre didn’t help, nothing showing on the MOT though, no advisories for the tyres I just happened to be 2 roundabouts away when he called me so I rushed round and managed to move the car to a lay-by 25m away, very slowly on the remaining rubber so hopefully the rim will be ok Used my car to drop him at work and currently sat waiting for green flag, just what I need at the end of a night shift!

always seemed so futuristic that unit, exciting to see, think i rode on it once, I certainly cabbed it in derby though! last time I saw it was in the shed at Llandudno jn awaiting its fate, they were cut up in crewe in 2004 according to Wikipedia

Back to it today, gt missenden to hinksey top and tail ballast train 66301 in gt missenden, we had to head south a bit to cross over and head back to Aylesbury 66302 at the other end, we were signalled off the platform to allow us to get the back end behind signal to get to princes risborough Back to the other end again And changing again in risborough! Heading north again! Into hinksey where the DB shunter took it off us and put it away Pretty much doing the same again tomorrow

the cost of even getting it somewhere near presentable both for the MOT and apperance wise is way more than it would cost to buy a replacement in far better nick it’s got bid up to £460 now anyway so as long as the roof get a bid he’s in profit with it

We have been to a funeral today so before we sat off dom wanted to mourn his MX5 too!

And bought!

The guy we got the MX5 off has a Saab 9.3 TDI with 12 months test for £500 that dom has just looked at the insurance for and it will cost him and extra £200 to change to so we’re going to have a look at that in a min, crazy they will insure him on a 1.9 family barge but not a like for like 1.6 that he’s been driving round in for 7 months!