John M Upton

With regards to trying to trace a real box car by starting with a model, a lot of box car models are based on generic one size fits all toolings, the likes of Athearn Blue Box etc for example and whilst the livery and number they put out (by the tens of thousands I reckon) may have actually existed in the 12 inches to the foot world, any resemblance to the prototype design probably stopped at the wheels...

I can see the whole WFH thing being squeezed and reduced in the near future, there seems to be lots of people out on leisure pursuits whilst their bosses think they are working! The general consensus is that with a General Election iminent, all the public sector pay disputes, railways included will suddenly be magically resolved to try and make the current Government look good to Mr & Mrs Voter. Of course we all know (as do they) that the current Government are going to lose the General Election, it is just a question of how badly. That means they can harvest the forest of magic money trees, promise absolutely anything they like, throw tons of money around like confetti and then leave the actual paying for it all and sorting out the resultant mess on the ever growing 'Let Kier Stamer deal with it' pile...

Still think going all in on TT:120 was a big mistake....

Bit off topic here but for Railfreight red I have always used Humbrol 174 (which is also the paint I use for SP bloody nose red which gets it back on topic again!) Avoid whatever the strange concoction that Railmatch call Railfreight Red, for that matter avoid anything made by Railmatch as their paint is pretty universally crap...

There also seems to be lots of hairy grot between the bogies and the tumblehome. Definitely used and abused!!

Quite clean and tidy apparently!! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176343919066 It's been trashed!!! Numerous issues, missing cab glazing, some strange blue ooze around the nose end, damage to the paint work all over and I suspect the chassis may not be the original as the coupling area under the oozing end looks suspiciously bodged. Trouble is, it is a GF Large Logo 37 and people are paying daft money for them...

Another day, another shambles....

Just South of Epsom, 132 minutes late.

Last seen on the maps, the empties were passing through Earlsfield, well off route and over two hours late. Possibly points issue on the West London Line I think.

I don't go to bus rallys anymore (lack of time mostly) but have noticed that a lot, particularly here in London & The South East are becoming increasingly dominated by large swathes of comparatively modern low floor ex London vehicles and very little true vintage ones. Also bus rallys have this increasingly annoying habit of parking vehicles supermarket car park style, so close together that trying to get a photo of an individual vehicle is nigh on impossible.

As an example, GatEx Class 387's are scheduled to be used on the Coastway West from June, to Southampton and/or Portsmouth from Brighton. There was a route clearance test run a couple of weeks back.

They have changed the plan a little from the original proposals. So the service pattern Monday to Friday should be: 2 trains per hour Brighton/Southampton (both now stopping at Woolston) 1 train per hour Brighton/Portsmouth & Southsea 1 train per hour Brighton/Chichester all stops via Littlehampton 2 Trains per hour Barnham/Bognor 2 Trains per hour Bognor/Victoria via Horsham (attaching/detaching Portsmouth portion at Horsham) Those Portsmouth portions, one becomes several stops Chichester to Portsmouth Harbour, the other is all stops (except Bedhampton) after Chichester to Portsmouth Harbour. The Littlehampton/Victoria via Hove remains unchanged. Sundays also remain unchanged!

Endangered species, the Bognor to Littlehampton shuttle, discontinued in favour of a half hourly Bognor/Barnham only from the June timetable change.

Arty night shot at Gatwick Airport whilst waiting to drive down to Bognor this evening. Thameslink is such a dull operation that an eight car 700 going to Brighton is almost a "interesting" variation. Yawn...