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Thanks for the clarification! Cameron

Nice rake, and glad to see 20 177 is enjoying its new home! ;) Cameron

Remember that not only do I know where you live but I will be there on Thursday. Generous helpings of cake would, of course, pardon all. Dave

Shout at the Devil - Motley Crue

I start this with a warning for those of a nervous disposition, as there are some images, contained in this post, that some readers may find distressing. I therefore suggest that you either leave this page now, or view it at a safe distance from behind the sofa. ExpoEM Spring, went very well. I was fortunate enough to share the corner of the hall with NIck Ridgway with his layout 'Nettlebridge New Colliery' and Jerry Clifford with 'Tucking Mill'. Hopefully Daisy stood up well compared to these two very fine layouts. NNC was on its first public outing and behaved very well. Like Daisy, it is an Inglenook shunting puzzle, and Nick also like to encourage as many 'guest' operators as possible. He was keeping a score and I think NNC was more successful in the number guests who had a go. Close observation of the picture will reveal that the PO wagons have large letters on the doors. This is common in the west country and is also seen on Jerry's layout. I was delighted to learn that Jerry and NIck had been in contact for many years and that this was the first time that they had actually met face to face. Announcement - brace yourself! Anyway a couple of posts back, I said that I was going to reveal the reworked Dock-shunter. Barclay is responsible for the choice of paint colour, and it was hard work finding a tin of Humbrol with the strips in the correct order. I thought that the Triang/Hornby model was a little reminiscent of a Fowler diesel so added a small boot to the rear of the cab. Large buffers and a coupling hook were also added. As well AJ's. I reduced the size of the windows before adding the glazing. And here it is. I hope that I have done it justice. Perhaps we should have thread in this part of the forum for these fine models. I did find that the transfers that I purchased from Railtec a bit to fine for this. So coloured in every other band. I purchased the industrial stripes and on reflection I think that they would work well on a smaller model or on small area like a buffer beam. Anyway, once again here is the image that I based it on. If that was not enough, Clive Abbot saw this and said that he had a contribution to make. The next day he handed to me this. "Old Tom" is from the estate of the late Peter Gowan and I am very pleased to be able to give it a home. It is interesting to note that Peter also added a boot to the back of the cab. All the best Andy

A single unit engineers car in York, 1976. I've never seen a model of one in this yucky livery.

Can't remember if I posted this one, no issue as to where it is! IIRC 1977 or so, the late lamented Trans-Pennine units.

Always took some Imodium with me when travelling, especially in Saudi.. I wouldn't be surprised if the national service system had a get out clause, if you attend university with a 95% attendance record you don't get called up. Evening Awl, All notices etc put back into storage, MRC very noisy with reassembly of units of unmentionables. Two red deer seen on the way to the MRC, one muntjac on the way way back, many baby thumpers scattered in the garden as I drove in. The wooden chalet house the excavated from the under growth, a big digger has been in and demolished a brick shed and a wooden shed.. then to my surprise they didn't bulldoze the chalet, they've removed the roof tile by tile, boarded up the windows and doors.. it looks like they are going to rebuild it!!. At the MRC much discussion on a new unit of unmentionables, a real place squeezed into a small size. Much research needed. I may as well start, while supping this muggachoccy. Goodnight Awl.

followed by NO! 🤪 I bought a brand new one, Hornby R30287, for £65 (inc delivery) for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Of course, I DID source it a bit more locally.... There are a lot of overpriced second hand L&Y Pugs about, even more second hand and frankly past their best Caledonian Pugs too. Does it make more sense for a Japan based buyer?

And $28 for shipping, I will pass thanks. It makes the tank engine in Serbia look like a proper bargain!

I don't know why, you are obviously more than competent at it (and other aspects of modelling too).

Just out of interest............ On a related subject, the Thompson RF in this shot is the 'wrong way round'. That is to say meals will have to be taken through the RF's dining area and through to the diners in the Gresley Pantry Second. It's a northbound express, just south of Stoke Summit (that wonderful bridge in the distance still stands, carrying no more than a farm track) in the summer of 1959. At least someone has taken the trouble to clean the loco's cabside numbers.

Thank you. Hopefully I won’t be needing them but I do take a pack when we travel. Probably the ones we have are out of date now. But I mentioned Imodium rather than generic as It is available not just in England and Dom who had been trying something else was in Leipzig

I quite like it....

Get hold of a fibre-glass pencil and rub the rail with it - the rail will go shiny where it is rubbed. You then tin the area that it shiny and also the wire you are going to solder to the rail. When they are both tinned then hold them together and place the iron onto them, the solder will flow and you will have a lovely joint. If the joint is shiny then it is a good joint, if it is dull grey then that is a bad joint and it will fail, and it is also a poor conductor, therefore redo it to get a shiny smooth surface.

Velocemitch Thank you for the kind comments. I am not sure if Horton will ever grace a show due to the difficulty in transportation as it was not designed to be a show layout, and as I have said before access too and from the room it’s in and indeed our home can be problematic in certain weather conditions. It will be featured in the modelling press in the next 12 months or so with far better pictures and more back story. Cheers Mac

Guessing that the logic behind Collets thinking was build more Castles to release some Halls from secondary express passenger work, that can then be used to fulfill the role that the extra 47xx's would have done?

The fact that there is an oily residue around part of the nameplate would suggest there was a considerable oil or fuel leak that has leached out through the nameplate mounting screws, and further along has permeated through the cantrail filter grilles. I think that one is somewhere beyond even 'deluxe weathering'....

You must have been looking at my wish list! Although I think I'll go for an all green version with a closed cab.

Nice work but the cast tender water scoop cover looks too tall. On the 2500g version it was 12" high, so I expect the same for the 1800/2000g tenders.

You wait for one then two turn up together! my wife’s CX7 and a random one in Lidl car park!

... Hitch Hikers Guide time ... The major difference is while Rob McKenna takes money to stay away, we give Sunk money anyway and he still arrives. ... https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/05/28/students-and-attendance-is-rishi-sunk-actually-rob-mckenna/

Yes, even the digital version. Traction Magazine as a separate entity no longer exists.

The PECO fishplates I use are quite lose. Any tips for soldering rails? I'm not as good with soldering onto stuff as I am with soldering wires However- I feel like there's other issues at play too, I've seen people use rusty fishplates but still achieve WAYY smoother running than me - albeit in a much smaller space Could there be other issues at play? I'm aware this isn't easy to diagnose without looking so I will relay the track and begin the track replacement process this week (ideally) but any points would be a big help. Many thanks everyone for the informative replies :)

Class 69 test today, started in Bescot taking a 66 to longport for insurance in case of problems Turned back at kidsgrove Into longport 56 and 69 Coupled up and ready to roll Into bescot ran the 69 to the front of the train, 196 on a training run on the goods at bescot 69 on the front again while we were in Bescot I showed my trainee round but unfortunately I had a disagreement with a catch pit lid (artists impression) after sorting out the various paperwork and calls to log the incident and check for injuries we headed back to longport new west mids trian passing us in bushbury loop ran round in alsager back onto longport I was supposed to work the 66 back to Stafford but another driver kindly took it for me so I could head off to Scotland until Thursday, got a lift to Warrington with my trainee and got the train to Glasgow 68 passing through Warrington Glasgow and away to Stevenson Thats me until late Thursday night now