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Peterborough North


great northern
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Didn't Hitchin have a J15? It may have wandered north now and then?

That one was used for RAF? leave trains off the Bedford branch - its RA1 classification made it one of the few classes that could be used. From what I have read though, it did very little apart from that.

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The C12 is still with me Jonathan. Bidders on E Bay seemed to think I would let it go for less than the price of the unopened kit, wheels motor and gears. Frankly, I'd chuck it in my pond before letting it go for that sort of derisory sum. I'm certainly not going to do that though, as I don't think it can swim. :jester:

This is where kit building is OK for oneself but I can only admire the likes of Coachman who did this for a living. OK he became very quick as he became experienced and his work is superb, however most people I see on Ebay (and on RMWeb) just don't want to or won't pay the 'proper' price for something built.

I'm really slow I know, but this morning it was taking me about ten minutes on average to do each droplight on a coach kit (including cutting off fret, dressing, prepping and then sorting for soldering and then soldering/cleaning up!). There are 16 to do on this kit and then 16 X 3 sets of hinges at about 5 minutes per hinge (they are single etchings). They are a right faff as well. So, at a decent rate of pay (say £12.00 PH) that's probably around 6.5 hours just to do that. I actually charge 5p per hinge and the droplights are a part of the build anyway.

So just for soldering up this kit and getting extra parts from MJT (Bogiest, buffers etc), but no painting, handrail and water rail/pipes fitted, interior fabricated or roof sorted and that part's detailing, it's going to cost the owner around £140 including parts purchased by me and that is certainly not £12 PH! He wants this coach as it  will probably never appear RTR and he is willing to pay. His kind are diminishing at a rate of knots. It is a GWR C32 Droplight by the way.

Gilbert, next time some plonker suggests you sell them the kit for peanuts, ask them how long they think it takes to build the thing; they have no concept, but they will pay a garage £45 + per hour to sort their vehicle! 

My sympathies.

Quackers.

Edited by Mallard60022
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It's a sad reality that the value of an object is purely and simply what someone else is prepared to pay for it - I've dealt with way too many businesses over the years that have foundered because they forgot that basic economic premise then wondered why they couldn't attract any custom.

 

I take the view that when you do something for a hobby you can't expect to make it a commercial enterprise, unless you're like Larry who has a specific and well-paying market, especially when the vast majority of punters are quite happy with RTR

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The background looks very good Gilbert and Andy, doesn't stand out too much and breaks the horizon line well. I think the addition of the fence between the foreground and the terraces will push the houses back more too and add to the depth in the pics.

 

Cheers

Tony

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It is very quiet around here, mainly because I can't put one of my hearing aids in, and the perforation reduces what little hearing I have left virtually to nil. So, you are at liberty to say anything you wish about me - there is no chance of me hearing you.

 

In between what seems like hours sitting at the local surgery, I did take a few more photos, just before Andy Y arrived actually, and I've now got around to doing something with them.

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The C12 that was going to be transferred away wasn't, so here it is bringing in the stock for a M&GN line departure.

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A while back we saw the arrival of the Ely- Birmingham through train, which pauses here for over 20 minutes. The replacement loco has now backed on, in the form of this Jubilee. Here is another example of an impulse purchase that has been niggling away at me for years. Leicester Midland did get some Jubilees when the Peaks took over their work on the Midland main line, and they did work to PN. I have photos to prove it. That didn't happen till February 1960 though, which is outside my period. I've managed to ignore that inconvenient fact for a long time, but all it does is shout louder at me every time I see it, so it will have to go. My Rule 1 applies. At least I got a fair bit of use out of it, so it isn't really  a waste of money. Anyone who wants a Jube, please send me a PM. Now I'm off to take one more photo.

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I said I wanted to take one more photo to check out how the backscene works, and here it is. I didn't want much to obscure that general view, but the Sentinel is so delightfully small, and so rarely featured, I thought I would let it have the limelight for once.

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That corner is now nearly very nicely finished off. The wall will help a lot, and there is one shadow that must be dealt with. Then I just took one more, to see what it looks like from the other side.

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We definitely need the wall, and a bit less bleaching of the houses, but otherwise I'm really happy with this.

 

Now I must go and hit golf balls, though not very far. The most difficult club for most people is the driver, but typically, I have to be different, and for me it is the best club. Even in the middle of winter with soggy grass, I can hit it 200 yards on average, and straight over 80% of the time. Why then am I incapable of hitting the ball 20 yards when I have just missed getting it on the green?  My granny could do it, if she was still here, so why can't I? :cry:

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Thanks Gilbert - shows I was paying attention about 50 pages ago!

 

The sky in the C12 shot really, really does it for me, the whole scene just looks so real.  Shame it wasn't the N5, must be having a boiler washout.

 

The first of the Sentinel shots too, there is a real sense of open-ness of the scene.  Those 2 shots for me are among the best you have made of PN.

 

edit - sorry to hear (oops) about the ear drum - been there, when younger as a result of being beaten up.  I still have impaired hearing on that side 45 years later, IIRC it took about a month to heal, but wasn't badly uncomfortable after a week or so.

Edited by New Haven Neil
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great northern, on 25 Feb 2015 - 22:02, said:

Got three wedgy things, all as bad as each other, as are 9 iron, 8 iron, 7 iron............If I tried to pick the ball up and throw it on the green, I'd probably miss. The ball that is.

Precisely why I never essayed the game. Having, as a caddy, watched strong, successful, affluent men reduce themselves to gibbering, incoherent wrecks in the course of 18 holes, I really couldn't recommend it. Sorry.

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G'day Gents

 

I'll leave those little white balls. alone, Thank you. But on the subject of the wrong loco...... I know we all like rule No 1, but quite a few times in my railway career, I came across, the 'wrong' loco in the wrong place, one time KX ran out of Brush 2's, so we had to work a KX-Welwyn GC all stopper, with a Brush 4, naw couldn't happen in real life, Deltics on ECS, Deltics on Freightliners, a 'Green' 45 or 46 rocking up at KX in 1975 or 76, everything had been blue for years, I even have a picture of a Scot rail 47 at Eastleigh (mid 80's) and a picture of a pair of 20's towing a ED (class 74!) back from Birmingham, again at Eastleigh, What was a ED doing in Birmingham !!, so seeing a Jub, on PN, probably unusual, but anything could turn up at any time, one failure down the line, could have a flow on effect 200miles away.

 

manna 

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Strange game Golf. Many years ago I had a few goes at getting it........never really with any success. However, I was the opposite of Gilbert. Couldn't use a Driver at all and used to play off the tee with a 7 iron and get about 150 yards on occasion...yes honestly. OK so it took 3/4 to the Green almost always, but then I absolutely loved the short game and couldn't wait for the long putt part of the contest.

OK so this was on the Brighton Crazy Golf Course but hey..........quite often got round below 70!!!!!!

Seriously though, just once I got round a very nice 9 hole course in 23 and only used a 9 iron and putter!

Sentinel shots........easily the best for ages; less is more as they say.

P

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SWMBO and I used to lplay together - at golf- and we quite enjoyed it.

 

I remember once feeling moderately pleased returning to the clubhouse with a score of 64.

 

Then the pro pointed out that because the course only had 9 holes you were expected to go round twice!

 

Quite spoiled my day

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