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Interestingly I’d bought the latest APT pantograph for my OO version but felt it was far too small: might work on a TT Mentor though:

Oh they're a laugh, my bro in law restores vintage scooters, the more obscure the better, most of them don't like corners in the way bikes do, but they've two wheels and an engine... I saw this the other day, someone obviously loves it, I never thought they'd become collectors items. Then there's this beast of a Triumph belonging to a friend, it had been laid up for nearly thirty years when he bought it, it took about an hour to get it going and another hour to figure out how the clutch mechanism had been assembled wrong and fix it. It goes rather well, stops not so well and the awful seat has already been binned.

Good choice, the GWR "Shared" Launceston station, as in two were side by side parallel and at one stage shared a signal box until the GWR Terminus bit was closed and all trains used the SR side. GW loco would have been usual Laira 45/55 XX with substitutions from, 57XX I don't think the Auto engines worked beyond Tavistock. NO 2251s apart from the Exmoor Ranger special around 1963 or Manors. From memory Laira only had one spare 64XX over and above the number rostered daily and one 14XX around this time. DMUs were coming but the final GW trains were steam an got snowed up and arrived back days late. The Southern had more WC/BB pacific than they knew what to do with. Rebuilds were only allowed to Plymouth when finally authorised (61?) SR wise The Main Passenger loco post 55 ish was the T9. Now they were ideal for fast light passenger but getting old and by 1958 few re emerged from works when overhaul time came around (Guessing 70/80K miles as per GWR) so numbers dwindled. The WR palmed off std 3 and 4Tank locos on SR west of Exeter lines and the Ivatt 2mt 2-6-2 Ts appeared. The U1 3 cylinder Hastings line gauge 6ft wheel 2-6-0s displaced by electrification to Hastings were tried briefly. M7s and 02 0-4-4Ts were around but I don't associate them with the Padstow line. Main goods locos were N class. They acted like road switchers both hauling and shunting trains, they came in the 1920s as mixed traffic locos and replaced the small wheel versions of the T9's the Grasshoppers and Large Hoppers. Obviously Light Pacifics did light pacific things. Full length trains Summer Saturdays (6 PA) Beatties woud turn up en route to overhaul but usually stayed between Padstow and Bodmin North mainly on Wenford Bridge China clay trains I suspect China clay was a big feature of the goods scene but a fair bit went via Boscarne Jct and the GWR Bodmin General - Bodmin Road - Par route rather than by SR.

Made a tactical retreat to the bottom of the garden to do some weeding. At least it’s in the shade.

Revolution added a limited number of 00 Caroline’s onto their website on Wednesday the 27th of April. It was around 10am and I ordered two when they were showing as in stock.

The grey changed to lead grey (BS35) in Feb 41 initially blinded, the blinding was discontinued in Oct 41 but the lead grey continued untill the end of the war.

To be fair pre orders are a complete different kettle of fish. I don’t think anyone has a problem waiting to get a great model. I think this is about 00 Caroline’s. I think if I remember right they made these available on website when the NEC show was on in April?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjjjn2q63q9o I suppose it's technically not funny. So technically I day loff 😇

No.

I totally agree if you’re talking about developing new products, but I think issue here is Revolution not sending stuff out that was in stock? I don’t think I’d be over the moon if I was still wait 6 weeks later for them to send it out?

Well I've been waiting for my N gauge Caroline since I paid in May 2020. I knew what the score was and was happy to do it that way. If I'd wanted something quicker I'd have gone to Asda😉

You are not alone as I never have any desire to take copious amounts of pictures or film stuff. When I do it is usually for reference purposes, and layout owners are somewhat taken aback when I ask for permission to take a snap or two. And I thank them afterwards.

Bear here.... Harry the Honda had fuel in all four float bowls - Huge Tick. Then Harry started instantly - just as though he was a day old again. Result? One very happy Bear 😁 After a good warm-up (sorry Neighbours.....) I drained the oil and also the oil filter housing just for good measure; it's now got new gloop inside - and the 4L container was just enough, with nottalot left over. Another Tick. Rear Indicators refitted and all lights working nicely - yep, another Tick. Bertie the Battery is now hooked up to the charger again; once that's done I can refit the seat and sidepanels and take oodles of piccies. A very Happy Bear....if only I had Cake.... BG

Reading through some threads and status updates on RMWeb and surfing Youtube. I seem to be one of the declining proportion of people who attends model railway exhibitions without any intention of filming the event for their own Tiktok/Youtube channel.

It's a lovely sunny afternoon, and I have a great desire to sit in the garden and consume alcoholic grape juice. However, having just returned from the local builders merchant where I've ordered in some bulk bags of 20 mm pink granite gravel and collected some bags of compost, I suspect I might be called upon for some quiet gardening duty. Escaping the the garage might be a wise move where I can make a start on the 'North End' cassette table for Pantmawr North. Perhaps it ought to be given a pet name: 'Preston' springs to mind!

I did exactly that leading back into what I'm euphemistically describing as an 'old turntable road', i.e. something for either wagon or loco turntables in mid 19th century which has now been converted to plain track and hard-standing. Gives me a reason to shunt goods wagons into my urban terminus, at least.

A friend had a Hornby M7 which went fine in one direction but not in the other. He bought a new set of wheels and intermediate gears. Comparing the replacements with the original wheels we discovered that the gear on the driving axle was in the wrong position. It was not in the centre of the splined section of the axle. It was easy enough to move the gear a fraction on the axle but we decided just to use the new parts. It was obviously a manufacturing fault. In one direction the intermediate gear was moving sideways under pressure form the worm and then missing the gear on the axle. In his case it made the model sound as though the motor had come out of mesh. Could it be that the gear on your loco is just slightly out of place so causing the gear the rub in one direction? Rodney

I hardly think 5-6 weeks wait for something to be delivered puts me in the ‘I want it now’ category?! If you’d read the facts, you’d realise how irrelevant to my experience your comments sound. At the end of the day, I’ve paid for a product and I don’t think It’s unreasonable to expect it to be delivered in a reasonable timescale. I also don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a reply to any of the first five messages I sent. That’s just being courteous and professional in my book. If that makes me the ‘bad guy’….. then I’m happy to wear that badge!

"Right, you little 'sterds....when you're in Punk Rock Towers you do what WE SAY...and you can tell Daddy that if he doesn't like it he can go **** himself with the rough end of a Pineapple**...." Should clarify the situation somewhat. **Never did work out which end is the rough one - both seem pretty unappealing to this Bear p.s. Did BiL ever get his sh1te out of your Garage?

Add a magnesium body…… Honda R302 first race, third lap, crashed, burst into flames killing Jo Schlesser. Was trying to add Wikipedia link but having trouble with RMWeb at monent.

Thank you for the responses. I will look into getting it repaired. I think it's out of warrenty but I will contact Coastal DCC who I bought it off. I will look to see if he can repair it otherwise I will contact ESU to see what they say.

Thing is, I'll need it so that I get enough insurance cover.

🤣🤣 Trust me, you're in good company!😉

I suspect that the WR mostly ignored the BR power ratings and simply continued with the GWR method in practice. BR standard designs on the WR were given GW power ratings, as were Stanier 8Fs and WD 2-8-0s allocated to the region. The BR power ratings were based on the LMS system, itself inherited from the Midland, anathema on the WR! This despite the fact that BR power classifications appeared to flatter some ex-GW locos when they were compared to those from other railways. For example, the 4MT applied to the large and small prairies; the large prairies were physically much smaller than the equivalent LMS and Riddles 2-6-4Ts, but just as powerful according to the ratings. The small prairies were about the same size as the Ivatt/Riddles 2MT prairies, but nominally ‘twice’ as powerful, (yes, I know). The 56xx were rated at 5MT by BR, proper little pocket rockets; I don’t think any other main line loco of comparable size had such a power rating! Steam loco power classification is fairly imprecise in day-to-day running anyway, and the Midland/LMS/BR system is as good as any. The GW classifications are perhaps a bit general (if a 94xx is equivalent to a Castle or a 28xx), but the Southern’s is arguably too confusingly complex. Not sure whst the LNER did, but it’s engines pulled the trains well enough. In practice, drivers and running shed foremen had an intimate working knowledge of which engines could time which jobs on an individual loco basis, which gave drivers something to grumble about when a poor engine had to be used on their particular turn. As we both know, Mike, drivers are never happy unless they have something to moan about, and bad engines are useful for diverting their dissatisfaction from the guard…