Rob Curnow

Just noticed that Railwells this year is a week earlier than normal - 3/4 August. Rob

Haven't looked in for a while. Phenomenal weathering on that Grampus Rob. That's just how I remember them. Roy

Regarding the source of a bell, I wonder if something suitable might be available from the model boating fraternity. Have a look at www.maritime-models.co.uk and put bell in the search box. I'm sure there will be other suppliers of these sorts of details. Failing that I suppose it's a case of turning one up in the lathe or even in the power drill just as you would a dome for a steam loco. Roy

Pleased to hear you're on the case Rob. I was the Technical Officer at Bath Road late 70s but had little to do with this pair of shunters. We did once have to use a ship's chandlery to get hold of a Bowden cable which I think was part of the throttle assembly. Now that you mention the car number plate, that vaguely rings a bell. No idea why it was there but I suspect it might have come from a scrap car maybe having been picked up by one of the crew. The photo of 382 I referred to is in the Railphotoprints catalogue. A good shot looking down from either the old Midland bridge or Easton Road bridge by Lawrence Hill. Nice clean blue livery but somebody went a bit mad with the overhead warning flashes. I seem to recall that the runner wagons these locos ran with to assist with track circuit operation were either a 13 ton steel open or possibly a Conflat. Roy

A debate has been taking place on another forum as to how 03121 came to be fitted with a bell high up on the cab front. Circumstantial evidence suggests it might have been acquired while based at Swansea for use in the docks but was retained when it came to Bristol. While trying to source photos, I suddenly remembered seeing your layout at Larkrail last year including Bath Road's other loco 03382. Great layout by the way! Looking at photos of your models, I see 121 does not have the bell which was located just under the single air horn. Something else I noticed is that your model of 382 appears to have twin horns whereas photos of the prototype only show one. Granted your model is just a representation of the location where these locos worked but I'm intrigued as to why both models are different with this detail. Roy

Superb day out. Great cakes and the layouts were pretty good as well. All this month's pocket money spent in the bookshop and the journey to and fro was hassle free. Dates for next year???

And just like the cliffs in this part of the world which keep gravitating towards the beach below, it should have a nice crumbly texture...mmm!

Layer cake as well. Could it be a new recipe called Jurassic Slice. Back in my distant youth, professors were crusty old men who sometimes had an aroma of incontinence about them.

If anyone's coming down from Wigan I do like Uncle Joe's Mint Balls

If there's any Dorset apple cake left I'll have a big portion to bring away with me. I'll be able to sing 'It's Coming Home' on the journey back down south. (Home is Dorset these days despite my ancestors coming from much further west)

I'm up for a copy of the new Roye England book as well. I think they're getting ready for a photo to go on the front cover of the next Edward Marston Railway Detective novel. Great reads! Maybe he was the one who originated the phrase 'I see no ships, only hardships'.

Were there any Heinz beans, ketchup and tomato soup on the shelves? Refusing to buy them after the shenanigans with Tesco. 😪

Both of the class 03 shunters on his layout - 03 121 and 03 382 - were allocated to Bristol Bath Road when I was an inmate there half a lifetime ago. A point for discussion on the day. By the way, I was brought up to understand that it is impolite to study a shop assistant's buns.

...always a first time!!!

I am still in touch with a few of the ex-staff and I am sure they will very much appreciate such comments. They worked their hearts out to keep it running despite certain stocks running low and working with some sub standard materials. Having been told at short notice that it was all coming to an end due to the lease expiring on the factory unit they were totally bemused when during the final week the landlord put a 'Lease Available' sign above the door. The truth was never forthcoming which left them feeling very bitter. Rob