Vanders

DB968001/D8233 lurking in the background in the 4th picture, I see!

Well with Asda + Sainsbury's merger on the cards, and Tesco being as large as it is, that only really leaves Morrisons & Waitrose. I'm sure John Lewis wouldn't mind some cash right now from the sale of Waitrose, either.

Ah yes, the "temporary" metal flyover, which turned out to be less temporary than the gyratory system that replaced it...

Literally nothing, unless you count the short (few hundred yards) of track that used to lead into the depot, opposite what is currently platform 13 at Temple Meads. There's still a couple of decrepit points in it, I guess...

Lawrence Hill was still handling bagged cement up into the mid-80's, along with the more usual presflo bulk traffic and I think possibly still handling the occasional 16t mineral to be tripped up the branch to Avonside?

The Midland Bristol - Bath line. It basically became a (very) long siding all the way from the junction at Bristol Temple Meads to Bath Gas Works

Absolutely. Homebase were never competition for the likes of B&Q or Wickes; two entirely different concepts. With some overlap I can see how Wesfarmer might have been confused, but only if they completely and utterly failed to do their homework, which obviously was very definitely the case!

2+2 seems like a lot of engine for the weight. Unless you dragged the trailing power car with the engine off, and just used it like some sort of overly-large DMU, I guess.

I'm not an expert on steamers by any stretch of the imagination, but if the frames are from Rocket then it's Rocket. The frames have always been the "identity" of the loco, which is why Flying Scotsman is a bit more tricky...

RM letters tend to be people noting things in the magazine, rather than an exchange of information, or at least the majority appear to fit that mould.

Of course we know it would be possible to keep the station open during the work: but of course we also know it would cost "too much" money...

I suspect that biggest changes have, mostly, been in the materials we use & the electronics we have access to. Aside from that, many of the basic techniques remain the same, just perhaps with higher fidelity?

Are these the final changes required to close & demolish Bristol Power Box (and re-open access to the old train shed)? Is that even still the plan, anyway?

"Packing Problems" are an entire class of mathematical problems, it's that difficult. The thing, the Royal Mail somehow manage to process & deliver thousands of small (and weirdly shaped) items every day. eBay items tend to be particularly poorly packed. I fail to believe that any postal service or courier would be incapable of handling a few hundred small boxes a week.

I just watched it this evening (Amazon Video) and I admit, I clocked the Mk1's immediately...but honestly, how many people would? If I'm honest the clearly modern buildings, complete with glass balconies, in the background of the beach at the start of the movie rankled me more.

I heard they were doing okay until they got to the 3mm thread about 12mm vs 13.5mm vs 14.2mm gauge and the AI algorithm gave up and deleted itself.

So Hornby hiring Cambridge Analytica and using our data to bombard people who prefer Bachmann with adverts and misinformation is definitely fake news, then?

That looks fabulous! How did you do the ivy, in the end?

I can only fully respect anybody who puts this amount of thought into the construction of something as seemingly as simple as a waste pipe. Excellent work!

Perhaps, but it would also seem to indicate that they need one or two smaller standard sizes.

Imagine someone took your favourite author, completely missed the humour, character development, or point, and then tried to write a book about it.

Don't.

The blogs haven't been updated yet, but Nigel Black's Flickr has been. The Pway/Extension blog has now been updated. How about this! https://www.flickr.com/photos/gwr_permanent_way_photo_log/40000619324/in/photostream/ A huge round of applause for a cracking job by the GWSR & BAG, I think!

Both The Grand Tour and Top Gear are improving as they find their feet. In the case of Top Gear you can tell that the presenters are starting to become closer to each other and the humour is playing a bit better between them as a result. Matt LeBlanc is starting to feel a little more natural, although Chris Harris still seems to be overcompensating for being in front of a camera. I think everybody will be glad if Eddie Jordan never shows up again... As for The Grand Tour they seem to be listening to the audience. They've dropped The American, they've brought back celebrities racing in a car. I'd like to see more reviews and single host lead pieces, but hey-ho I may not be the majority here. My biggest gripe remains the terrible "Eboladrome" track, but now they've brought in a new track for the celebrities I'm hoping they'll just switch over to that one for test drives, too.

What, with the 100% tariffs on American made heavy goods and steel thanks to the trade war? I don't think so. No more EMD, GE, Wabtec...anyone know what the latest in Chinese high-speed 16 cylinder traction diesel engines is like?