adriank

I use London Road Models Gravity Powered Rivet Embossing Tool (GBP 14.50) and am happy with the results. Adrian

I wish I'd read this before I spent $30 on a 120ml bottle of Ballast Magic. A complete waste of time and money. Adrian

Comet might do a suitable 2-6-0 chassis - Wizard Models. Adrian

'An Historical Survey of Great Western Engine Sheds 1947' by E.Lyons has a scale drawing of a 1930 pattern sand bin and furnace. As you say, its main purpose was to dry and store the sand. These buildings were usually metal sheeted with a brick chimney for the furnace. There is a photograph of a brick-built version at Banbury built in 1944. There was a hatch at ground floor level which enabled a bucket to be filled with dried sand. If you have difficulty in accessing this book, PM me and I'll see what I can do. Adrian

The map looks remarkably similar that included in an Ian Allan reprint of the LSWR timetable for 7th June to 30th September 1914. The title panel appears identical as do the sections of the map included in the OP. Adrian

This is the default setting for Office on Windows 10. MIcrosoft seems to want everything done via the cloud and your Microsoft account. Try changing the settings in Outlook to stop spam, for example, or creating a local user in Windows 10 without setting up a Microsoft account. I think Microsoft regards Windows as a marketing platform rather than an operating system - why else would they display advertising in their weather app? To add insult to injury, the ads were supposedly tailored to my needs. Although I am in my seventies, I certainly do not require incontinence pads! Adrian

Was it Office 2016 that caused the crash? Adrian

I get the feeling that this is the thin end of a Microsoft wedge to get users to shift to Office365 and cough up subscriptions for using their software. I purchased Office 2016 several years ago specifically to avoid this. Adrian

The bar at St. Pancras used to serve a good pint of Bass in the late seventies. It's probably been gentrified or demolished by now. I once had a pint there while waiting for my train to St. Albans and ended up in Luton. Some returning holidaymakers from Luton Airport got into my carriage on the southbound train and shared their duty-free with the result that I woke up back at St. Pancras. Adrian

I wish I had a punch! I drill all my sleepers using a 1.2 mm bit held in a pin vice. Some holes need cleaning up with sandpaper and a quick twist with a tapered reamer. I have a section of a copper wire bar which I use as an anvil and close the rivets using the EMGS tool and a small hammer. I apply a dab of Carr's 188 solder paint to each rivet. After touching the tip of the soldering iron at 350-400 degrees with thin 60/40 solder wire, I apply it to the rivet. This works well for me although I sometimes wish I was living in the 21st century. Scorched sleepers are rare. I don't bother with chairs on my point-work. Once the rail is painted, I don't notice their absence. The rail is also upright and not canted, something which a gentleman on the C&L stand at Scaleforum seemed to find shocking. Roll on 3D printing! Adrian

'An Historical Survey of the S&DR Track Layouts and Illustrations' by Judge & Potts which illustrates track plans c. 1930 shows two cranes and two sets of cattle pens. A 7-ton hand crane is shown on the north side of the northernmost siding (almost within your red rectangle) and a 1-ton radial crane at the eastern end of the goods shed. In addition to the cattle pens to which you refer, there was one adjacent to the down platform close to the station building and served by the rightmost siding in your photograph. There was a siding between the running lines stopping just short of the level crossing which was terminated with a buffer stop that had a three-link coupling used to stop wagons running downhill. The book was published in 1979 by Oxford Publishing SBN 86093 003 3 and makes for rewarding reading. Adrian

Echoes of the Bed Pan Line (Bedford to St Pancras) circa 1979! As I recall, we commuters stormed the Stationmaster's office at St Pancras to protest about late, overcrowded and cancelled trains but to only momentary effect. Adrian

Plans and drawings are listed on the Settle and Carlisle site. Adrian

And of course, converting to P4 and EM. Have you made provision for this Fran? Adrian

And, as Tim Fischer records, 19 minor gauges including Mistake Narrow at 3' 8.5" where the engineering drawing was mis-read. Adrian