Martino

There are indeed, good reasons for using acronyms. The mentioned SWALK etc., on the back of envelopes and the need to use minimum characters in original text messages. I’m not really criticizing their use, I just wonder if it’s really needed in this sort of forum. The military have long been users of indeterminate numbers of acronyms for reasons only know to them. It was suggested (I know not where or when) that their use was to infer a superiority over folks ‘not in the know’. I used to work for a US company that used acronyms constantly. A memo (those were the days) that went out saying that there was over use of TLAs. That threw people until they worked out Three Letter Acronyms. Consequently we started using MUCH longer acronyms. No one knew what anyone was talking about. I just read an article about how the Gen Z folks are communicating in ways neither the Millennials or the Boomers can understand. Luckily I don’t think that will worry us OF s here. LDs

Oh no I’m not! I think TTFN came from the WW2 radio programme ITMA (It’s that man again). Can I do you now Sir?

Indeed. There’s no charge for typing the words out in full, and it’s hardly a major task. I’m always surprised why this type of acronym continue these days.

Not possible to answer. Too many great albums, great songs, incredible pieces of music. Like asking what’s your favorite scotch, or wine, place to visit/holiday etc., etc. I’m not willing to limit myself. The world is wide, the journey is as important as the destination and the view changes all the time.

I recall someone named Fetherstonehaw, that went by the pronunciation Fanshaw. Also a gentleman named Sidebottom who was pronounced Siddybo-tam. Plus of course the London area of Battersea, or Battar-sea, and Tony Hancock’s Clapham, or Clarm. Not to mention Bal-HAM, gateway to the South.

I notice that folks seem to be referring to all goods brake vans as Toads, regardless from which company they originated. I thought only GW goods brakes were Toads, that being the GW telegraphic code. Am I wrong there? Also, I’ve noticed that the premises used to base steam engines are seemingly referred to as MPDs. Again, i thought the GW only referred to these as Engine Sheds. I thought MPD was an LMS title, later adopted by BR. I have no idea what other pre or post grouping companies termed them. Have I been labouring under misapredelusions for years?

When I went on the City of New Orleans from NOLA to Chicago, I couldn’t stop singing the song for weeks. Great trip. They hung a couple of Pullman cars on the back of the service train. Quite amazing.

NOLA is sometimes OK, Nawlins is frowned upon by the locals. Crescent City is also OK.

If you go to New Orleans in the US, they have a street called Burgundy. Not said how you would in France but Bur-GUN-dee. Chartres Street is not as the French would have it but Charters. …and New Orleans itself? NewOrlins not New Orle -ans and certainly not Norleens!

This may be just for the US based folks. I’m about to move from the model railway desert of Northwest Florida to Jasper, Georgia. This is about an hour north east of Atlanta, Georgia. I’m going to be laying tracks for my 16mm line in the garden (it’s on a major mountain slope so that may be a challenge) and also have plans for an 00 gauge line in my basement. So, I’m looking for recommendations for stores in the area that handle G scale (actually 16mm/ft) stuff and also 00 gauge, British items (like Peco track). Probably I’m going to have to do everything on-line as I do in Florida, but I live in hope. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi Andy, I see that the email has been changed, I think we did that in a previous series of messages. Seems all good now. Thank you very much.

In some business circles it’s called ‘creating centers of excellence’. Grouping similar businesses together means that consumers know where to go to get the best offerings. Often seen with car distributors all in the same area.

Here you go. Regrettably everything has now been packed and crated for our move to Georgia. The line is no more!

One that no one’s mentioned. The smell of Dai Woodham’s at Barry. A mixture of rust, damp boiler lagging and of nature taking over. Early ‘70s car air freshener ‘Feu Orange’ Walking onto a London deep tube station. The smell walking onto a 1970’s Boeing 747. Aircraft don’t smell like that anymore. Ink from dip in inkwells at school in the late ‘50s. Castro R at a race track. Oh, and as an ex mobile disco jockey, the smell of opening a record (vinyl singles) box the day after the last gig - smoke, beer, perfume and probably sweat. I’ve got closed boxes that were last used in early 2000s gigs that produce the same smell even now,

These are all 16mm/ft . Signal box out of political yard signs (only good use for the the things), milk churns out of eye drop bottles and an oil tanker out of a dog food supplement plastic tub. All ones I made earlier. Get down Shep!

Going back to the BEA SpeedJack livery, I liked it and thought it conveyed the sprit of Britain in the latter part of the Swinging Sixties and in preparation for the ‘70s. I think it was designed for the Tridents and subsequent aircraft like the Lockheed L1011. The Viscounts and Comets were obviously not long for the fleet. The 1-11s (I don’t think) carried the SpeedJack as many of the fleet were reserved for the German domestic routes and (again from what I understood at the time) it was felt having a Union Jack on the tail may be insensitive. The BOAC Gold Speedbird livery was designed for the VC-10 and 707 fleets. It worked well with the 747 but I think it may have had to have been modified for Concorde as there may have been too much blue for the heat issues. Retro liveries are certainly marketing ‘ideas’ but there is a lot of pressure from enthusiasts to apply them. In the days of mergers and rebranding it allows airlines to show a link to their history.

A stunning livery. Known, I believe, as the SpeedJack.

Looks like a somewhat shorter vehicle body.

I was thinking that I’d never had an estate car (other than a succession of ‘Classic’ Range Rovers, which didn’t fit into any normal category) but then realized that I’d had a Lancia HPE 2000ie. Lancia billed this as a high performance estate. Well….. ‘twas a bit small for a real estate but with the seats folded and the opening tailgate it could hold a sizable mobile discotheque in the early ‘80s. Went well too, except it often cut out going round roundabouts. Found to be a somewhat short wire in the ignition system that was stretched under load if the engine leaned one way and the car tried to lean the other. Otherwise a fun device. Photos: Lancia HPE and a Rangie trying to be all things.

Many years ago (in the ‘90s) I was invited to a BMW driving day at a race circuit in Hampshire I think. Day spent driving all sorts of ‘hot’ BMWs but the car that I found most fun and manage some good lap times was 540i Estate - automatic too. Seemed like a sensible Gentleman’s carriage to me. Ended up buying a ‘Classic’ Range Rover which did all the jobs of an estate but off road too. To make it ‘go faster’ had it converted by Overfinch into first a 4.7 litre and later 5.6 litre using Chevy small block V8s from Corvettes. Amazing bits of kit. Nowadays an estate car would not be suitable for transporting two Collies, so we have a Honda Odyssey (a US built mini van or MPV) which is excellent both in quality, drivability and usefulness. We’re on our third and waiting for a hybrid version. For me, a Range Rover Velar which is fun, enough room for one collie and seemingly (fingers crossed) reasonably well built. Plus 4WD and all sorts of tricks up its sleeve. Even got me out of a steep, wet leaf covered drive today that was causing issues for many other vehicles. I think, much as I liked Estates, we’ve moved on.

Looking out of our house in the Preserve on Sharp Mountain, across Jasper, Georgia, (down in the valley) to the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains.

Hi. I’ve gone through the steps outlines in the first post. I signed up for an account. I paid for the premium membership. I went to the integration page and clicked on the bit that says ‘The next step is to connect your World of Railways account by logging in below:’. Clicked on that and the next page says ‘You do not have a premium account’. I’ve signed out and refreshed. I’ve tried to change themes but there is no drop down that offers the remium theme. I’m using an iPad by the way. What to do? I’d also like to change my email address as the one shown will shortly cease to work. Help!

Those excursion trains often had ‘foreign’ locos bringing them in. A bonus for folks who want to suddenly bring an LNER loco into a GW station for example.

I too am in the early stages of planning a layout possibly based on a terminus and have considered the layout of Windsor and Eton Central. This was essentially a branch line terminus but laid out like a major station to cater for Queen Victoria. My idea is to probably use a simplified version as existed in either 1957 or after the branch was singled, so 1963 ish. The early layout seem to take up way to much space. The station had four platforms, engine release (both scissors or later simple crossovers) and two goods yards - a simple high level and a more elaborate lower level. Locomotive servicing was carried out at Slough, so ‘off stage’. I have track layout but they are copyright. Everything is in a book “Windsor to Slough : A Royal Branch Line’ by C.R. Potts. Oak wood Press 1993.

Indeed, but how about the final journey from London to Windsor? Train from Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside. Windsor and Eton central would be better, but is the single platform big enough? The Royal Train with Britannia ate the head, and a diesel at the back. Surely security could be managed for that relatively short run.