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

My thinking was that the Bristol O Gauge show has lots of traders compared with the number of layouts so gives the impression of tending more towards a trade show where you go to pick up all your bits and pieces. Also, comparing the relative cost of 7mm scale components with their 4mm equivalents I would have thought it easier to realise a good turnover despite it being for just the one day. I've never been to the Southampton show so maybe I am not being fair. Perhaps I will take a trip down there next weekend. I take Jol's point about maybe not having had an invite. Rob

My understanding is that it was all down to his back injury which restricted what he could take with him. But then he had a team of staff who manned the stand and they looked pretty fit and healthy. Speaking of the Bristol O Gauge show next weekend I'm surprised that Phil is not attending as I thought he would make a lot more money there than at Southampton. Could be wrong! Rob

Chris Surely you should have said "think they know how to run this company". However much Phil rationalises the product range it's still an overwhelming amount of work for one man. Regarding taking stock for collection at shows, it does focus the mind on putting orders together to a deadline but it takes up valuable space in the van on the day. The only real advantage is to the customer who saves on carriage costs. Thinking back to the previous owner, he went through a phase of not taking stock to shows but just display samples. If you wanted something you filled in a form and it was sent by post at the company's expense. Bit of a no brainer which probably wiped out any profit. I watched this in action at the Thornbury show several years back and it was probably of no surprise that some customers who maybe only wanted a bottle of flux or Butanone just walked away and bought it from somewhere else like Squires. Rob

Is it possible that the corrosion is being caused by flux residues from your soldering?

Some curious logic here which is totally wide of the mark. There has been a lot of speculation on here. Unfortunately speculation tends to become perceived as fact if repeated often enough. I hope that one day all will become clearer but not at this stage and certainly not while a satisfactory outcome is being pursued by all concerned.

That's the most sensible comment we have had to date. For the record, did I ever say that I was one of the employees involved? Thought not! Just speaking on their behalf.

That's absolutely what I am saying! It might only be toy trains to you. I wish I could elaborate more on the whole truth of the situation but I'm going to draw a line under my input before I get really annoyed.

It most certainly is a kick in the teeth when it puts a roof over your head and food on your table, being told a month earlier that things were going so well that the business would carry on as it is now for at least another year. We are talking about people's livelihoods here. I was always taught that a business' most valuable asset was its staff. Maybe times have changed!

As someone who has inside knowledge as to what is going on at C&L I would like to say that all the speculation is wide of the mark when it comes to who the new prospective owner might be. Read the website announcement properly and don't just take in the 'spin'. It's by no means a done deal yet. None of the existing staff will be engaged and have all been given notice of redundancy. Rather a kick in the teeth having the rug pulled from beneath them despite all the hard work they have done keeping the business ticking over during Pete''s absence. Other than that I am not at liberty to say until the new owner finalises negotiations and declares his/her/their hand.