The Night Mail

[PMP]

3 hours ago, BoD said:

I’m sure I have seen a layout/diorama at an exhibition that had the same train running  in three different scales, firstly in the foreground, then middle distance and finally in the background.  The whole thing was no more than  a few inches deep but very effective.

There was a Dutch built layout at Warley that used that concept, it was surprisingly effective. I’ve mixed scales to force perspective, it does work, but needs to be carefully managed, this 4mm scene is about 16” depth from foreground to background 

 

[SteveyDee68]

12 hours ago, SM42 said:

1. Without any thought to practicalities or other considerations , if you were stood in the doorway,  instinctively which side of the room would the scenic side be on?

We are British, and drive on the left side of the road, and therefore there is an ingrained habit to ‘favour the left’ (despite being right handed).

Should anyone visit DisneyWorld in Florida, this is one of those “tips” which works rather well to beat the queues for rides. Americans (the majority of visitors) drive on the right side of the road, so upon entering the theme parks they tend naturally to head to the right and move around the park anti-clockwise. We Brits should therefore (instinctively) head off to the left rather than “follow the herd” and, as there are far fewer of us compared to the stampede moving anti-clockwise, enjoy far shorter queue times on the rides until we finally meet the front edge of the anti-clockwise crowds!

 

I would imagine if you asked the same question of American modellers that they will instinctively build the scenic section of their layouts on the right hand side of the room (with ‘staging roads’ to the left).

 

A bonus for we Brits is that having the fiddle yard to the right is that the dominant hand ‘leads’, which is useful when having a fiddle*
 

Steve S

 

 

 

* Oooh, no! Titter ye not! Behaaaave!

[Winslow Boy]

25 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

We are British, and drive on the left side of the road, and therefore there is an ingrained habit to ‘favour the left’ (despite being right handed).

Should anyone visit DisneyWorld in Florida, this is one of those “tips” which works rather well to beat the queues for rides. Americans (the majority of visitors) drive on the right side of the road, so upon entering the theme parks they tend naturally to head to the right and move around the park anti-clockwise. We Brits should therefore (instinctively) head off to the left rather than “follow the herd” and, as there are far fewer of us compared to the stampede moving anti-clockwise, enjoy far shorter queue times on the rides until we finally meet the front edge of the anti-clockwise crowds!

 

I would imagine if you asked the same question of American modellers that they will instinctively build the scenic section of their layouts on the right hand side of the room (with ‘staging roads’ to the left).

 

A bonus for we Brits is that having the fiddle yard to the right is that the dominant hand ‘leads’, which is useful when having a fiddle*
 

Steve S

 

 

 

* Oooh, no! Titter ye not! Behaaaave!

 

Are yes but titter ye not what about Brits who have emigrated to our long lost colony. Do they want to go left but are forced by the unwashed masses that pass for what is called an american to go to the right thereby causing a lateral cascade failure in the old gray matter resulting in them coming to a halt in a mess of unbridled  and unfettered long suppressed emotion which comes out as I want my Mummy.

[Winslow Boy]

7 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Yes we get one or two of those each year.  

 

As to sheds I think it must be said that Andy (SM42) is going about it the right way.   When starting with a blank canvas it is important to plan how it's going to go. I needed to ensure that I could still get a car along one side plus trailer and had room to walk round the back when there were bookshelves on the wall.

That way things get put in the right place.

 

Jamie

 

 

That isn't a shed. That's an aircraft hanger.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Canal Digger said:

So someone had the terrible job of scanning a n*ked girl? Why couldn't I find jobs like that 40-50 years ago?

Once, way, way back  in the last Century I was on Sennybridge training area as a part of a recce patrol, when we happened upon a car tucked away in one of the foresty blocks that are scattered over the whole area.  The car, a Mk 1 Ford Escort that was getting quite frantic on it's springs. 

 

Using our image intensifying starlight scope...

 

 

... we were able to check the vehicle to ensure that the enemy were not hiding inside.

 

As you can imagine this took quite some time as we only had the one sight and there were four of us who needed to check.

 

Once we were satisfied that this was not a cunning ruse to disguise a covert operation, we lobbed a thunderflash under the car, and then fired a Shermuly parachute flare for ease of illumination

 

To this day I imagine the earth moved for both the occupants

 

It was hysterically funny to see the poor bloke bale from the passenger side and try to run around the car with his trousers around his ankles.

 

As you can imagine, he failed dismally and fell over.

 

Funnily enough, a few days later we had set up an ambush along one of the tracks and two poor blokes, who had obviously been out poaching tripped a flare that illuminated the middle of the kill zone and  the whole platoon just let rip (with blanks).

 

Insane Stoat would have been proud of those two potential world class sprinters

 

 

 

 

[AndyID]

42 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

 I imagine the earth moved for both the occupants

 

 

Oh, I'm pretty sure it would have set some things in motion.

[J. S. Bach]

4 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

 ...snip... I would imagine if you asked the same question of American modellers that they will instinctively build the scenic section of their layouts on the right hand side of the room (with ‘staging roads’ to the left). ...snip...

I know of very few layouts "over here" that build/use fiddle yards. If one is even used, it is part of the layout such as a freight yard and sceniced as such.

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by J. S. Bach
To do a typo correction.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[jamie92208]

Many years ago two the shift had to respond to a burglar alarm one Sunday afternoon. Two miscreants headed off along an old railway line. My mate and I gave chase. Clive went to the right to stop them getting into the woods and the one he was chasing went back down on the old tram track. Clive was slowing but saw a parked car with someone in so pulled the back door en and told the driver to follow the miscreant. Another hheadpopped up in the front and Clive later told me that it was quite funny watching the driver trying to drive with his trousers round his ankles. When they caught up with the burglar Clive just dove out of the car and rugby tackled the lad. The car then just turned round and headed back to the woods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both caught our burglars and made a good job out of

 

 

Edited March 17, 2023 by jamie92208

[5 C]

11 hours ago, BoD said:

I’m sure I have seen a layout/diorama at an exhibition that had the same train running  in three different scales, firstly in the foreground, then middle distance and finally in the background.  The whole thing was no more than  a few inches deep but very effective.

 B. A. Bodil. Quite brilliant.

 

 

[BoD]

26 minutes ago, 5 C said:

 B. A. Bodil. Quite brilliant.

 

 

That was the one thanks.

Perhaps I imagined seeing it at an exhibition and have just seen that video,

[5 C]

1 minute ago, BoD said:

That was the one thanks.

Perhaps I imagined seeing it at an exhibition and have just seen that video,

It's been on tour to the UK. It was definitely at Warley one year with crowds several rows deep around it (admittedly it's not very wide).

 

I'm sure I also saw it around the same time at another show in the south of England, possibly Railex or maybe one of the specialist gauge shows.

[TheQ]

Ceiling no, but I did see somewhere a layout that was only about 2 ft deep, but 6ft tall, one gigantic mountain side, with tracks running along edges and popping out of tunnels all over the place..

[newbryford]

23 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

An eventful day here. Jill went to have her further tests done, which seem to be covering most things known to medical science judging by the number of phials of blood she had taken,  then I rang our GP practice to see what can be done about my sciatica as it is still driving me crackers. To my amazement I got through within five minutes to the helpful receptionist (she's South African and as soon as I hear her accent my spirits are raised as she is invariably pleasant and helpful) who managed to get a doctor to ring me back within a further ten minutes and as soon as I had finished telling him my problem said, "Well, looking at you notes concerning back problems and what you have just described I will refer you to the orthopaedic specialists today." We then discussed pain killers and he said that he will send a prescription to the pharmacy requesting an urgent turnround so that it should be ready this afternoon. All in all, the NHS primary care we used to know and love. 

 

Dave

 

It took me about 15-18 months to go from the initial sciatic attack back in 2016 to the current situation - which is a steroid injection in the lower spine every 7-9 months or so.

I went through physio and chiropractor (never again) and even the acupuncturist - who said he would remove the pain - gave up after about 30 needles in various locations! I looked like a pin cushion!

In the early days I ended up on about 14 painkillers per day to keep the pain down!

6 of them were that potent that dosage was increased/decreased at one per week unless I got withdrawal symptoms! Never made me sleepy/drowsy though.

With the injections and the relief it brings, it brings the intake down to about 1 every couple of days or so and then as the aches increase, so does the dosage. When it start to head towards 2 per day then a quick call to the consultant and an appointment is arranged.

The next one is about 8 weeks away.

Apparently it's a very large needle, but thankfully I can't see it and it's done under a local anaesthetic so no major after effects.

The suggested recovery is to take it easy for 24 hours - which I can do!

 

I'm absolutely fine moving about, but the aches start when I'm stood on a hard floor - or sometimes laid/sat in a bad posture.

 

If the injections didn't work, then fusing two vertebrae is the next option - which might not work either.....

 

 

 

[SM42]

My back is playing up again, but thankfully sciatica is not something I'm blessed with this time. 

 

I can walk about 1/4 mile before I sieze up and need to let the muscles relax for 5 minutes. 

 

Last week I was fine. 

 

I did visit a clinic in Poland last time I was there. That stopped the aching and muscle problems,  but produced a pain lower down, which I suspect is where the problem really  is. 

 

That has gone and the siezing muscles have come back. 

 

Meanwhile I sit here gently perspiring. 

The reason,  it appears,  is Mrs SM42  turned the heating up this morning and then went out to work. 

It has been suitably adjusted and the spring sunshine is keeping the Towers warm

 

Andy

 

[bbishop]

9 hours ago, 5 C said:

It's been on tour to the UK. It was definitely at Warley one year with crowds several rows deep around it (admittedly it's not very wide).

 

I'm sure I also saw it around the same time at another show in the south of England, possibly Railex or maybe one of the specialist gauge shows.

CMRA at St Albans.  B

[Dave Hunt]

15 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Once, way, way back  in the last Century I was on Sennybridge training area as a part of a recce patrol, when we happened upon a car tucked away in one of the foresty blocks ..........we lobbed a thunderflash under the car, and then fired a Shermuly parachute flare for ease of illumination ....To this day I imagine the earth moved for both the occupants

 

Way back in the early 70s I was toodling along in a Phantom at low level in Northern Germany. We were only doing about 360 knots so seeing things nearby on the ground was quite easy when my back seater called out, "Dave, come round left, there's a couple having a poke fest in that clearing we've just passed over." I duly did as requested, slowed down, put down landing gear and flaps and flew over the clearing at about 170 knots, banking over to the left as we passed by then lit the burners and climbed away. I then repeated the exercise and found the duo standing in the middle of the clearing stark b0llock naked making very rude gestures in our direction. Well, we were encouraged to be friendly with the locals....

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

9 hours ago, 5 C said:

It's been on tour to the UK. It was definitely at Warley one year with crowds several rows deep around it (admittedly it's not very wide).

 

I'm sure I also saw it around the same time at another show in the south of England, possibly Railex or maybe one of the specialist gauge shows.

 

There was another Dutch layout at Warley a few years ago that consisted of a proscenium about three or four feet wide with a view looking along an Amsterdam (I think) canal with a bridge in the middle distance over which a tram ran from a 'fiddle yard', for want of a better term, on one side to the other then after a pause ran back again. It was done in forced perspective and the standard of modelling was superb. Jill was fascinated by it and must have taken everyone she knew to look at it.

 

Dave

Edited March 17, 2023 by Dave Hunt

[Dave Hunt]

2 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

It took me about 15-18 months to go from the initial sciatic attack back in 2016 to the current situation - which is a steroid injection in the lower spine every 7-9 months or so.

I went through physio and chiropractor (never again) and even the acupuncturist - who said he would remove the pain - gave up after about 30 needles in various locations! I looked like a pin cushion!

In the early days I ended up on about 14 painkillers per day to keep the pain down!

6 of them were that potent that dosage was increased/decreased at one per week unless I got withdrawal symptoms! Never made me sleepy/drowsy though.

With the injections and the relief it brings, it brings the intake down to about 1 every couple of days or so and then as the aches increase, so does the dosage. When it start to head towards 2 per day then a quick call to the consultant and an appointment is arranged.

The next one is about 8 weeks away.

Apparently it's a very large needle, but thankfully I can't see it and it's done under a local anaesthetic so no major after effects.

The suggested recovery is to take it easy for 24 hours - which I can do!

 

I'm absolutely fine moving about, but the aches start when I'm stood on a hard floor - or sometimes laid/sat in a bad posture.

 

If the injections didn't work, then fusing two vertebrae is the next option - which might not work either.....

 

 

 

 

It's encouraging to know that there may be alternatives to the surgeon's knife - thanks for the post. Fingers crossed I may be able to undergo something similar.

 

Dave

[Happy Hippo]

I fell off the top of a scramble net during some obstacle course training.

 

I was then prone to occasional back pain and what one would describe as sciatic twinges

 

Once I'd retired from the Army, and as I aged, I started getting more lower back pain and increasing bouts of sciatica.

 

The climax was about 10 years ago when I ended up curled up on the hallway floor unable to more.

 

Fortunately I got a house call from a friend who was a GP and I was given an injection and told I would be able to move in about 90 minutes.

 

I crawled up the stairs and slept in the spare room.

 

Next morning, I staggered into the bathroom and ran a hot bath and when I got in everything eased up, and by the time doctor Tim called around to see me the next morning, I was much, much better.

 

I thought I'd slipped a disc, but when I saw one of the GPs at the practice a few days later, she gave me a good prod and a poke and said definitely not.

 

The concensus of opinion was that the fall from height had probably displaced something, and over the years it had got slowly worse and had eventually ended up trapping some nerves.

 

The speed of the recovery I'd made seemed to indicate that the nerves were now free once more, and this still appears to be the case, as apart from the occasional twinge caused by arthritis, I've not had any further problems with back pain or any real issues with sciatica.

[Happy Hippo]

Since it's St Patrick's Day today, I'll wait until 5pm and then have a Glass of Jameson's whiskey, followed by a Guinness chaser.

 

I might have to repeat this a couple of times just to get into the swing of things.

[PhilJ W]

11 hours ago, BoD said:

That was the one thanks.

Perhaps I imagined seeing it at an exhibition and have just seen that video,

 

11 hours ago, 5 C said:

It's been on tour to the UK. It was definitely at Warley one year with crowds several rows deep around it (admittedly it's not very wide).

 

I'm sure I also saw it around the same time at another show in the south of England, possibly Railex or maybe one of the specialist gauge shows.

I recall it being at Chatham one year.

[5 C]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

There was another Dutch layout at Warley a few years ago that consisted of a proscenium about three or four feet wide with a view looking along an Amsterdam (I think) canal with a bridge in the middle distance over which a tram ran from a 'fiddle yard', for want of a better term, on one side to the other then after a pause ran back again. It was done in forced perspective and the standard of modelling was superb. Jill was fascinated by it and must have taken everyone she knew to look at it.

 

Dave

I've seen a number of impressive Dutch layouts over the years. They obviously take their railway modelling very seriously and like many things, they seem happy to travel in search of quality modelling. I've often heard Dutch accents at the shows in this area. Regular and cheap flights to Amsterdam probably helps.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Way back in the early 70s I was toodling along in a Phantom at low level in Northern Germany. We were only doing about 360 knots so seeing things nearby on the ground was quite easy when my back seater called out, "Dave, come round left, there's a couple having a poke fest in that clearing we've just passed over." I duly did as requested, slowed down, put down landing gear and flaps and flew over the clearing at about 170 knots, banking over to the left as we passed by then lit the burners and climbed away. I then repeated the exercise and found the duo standing in the middle of the clearing stark b0llock naked making very rude gestures in our direction. Well, we were encouraged to be friendly with the locals....

 

Dave

 

I wonder what those two low passes cost the taxpayer.........🤣

 

 

[SM42]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Way back in the early 70s I was toodling along in a Phantom at low level in Northern Germany. We were only doing about 360 knots so seeing things nearby on the ground.

 

Dave

 

Don't you just hate it when tourists toodle slowly along looking at the scenery, holding up the traffic?

 

Andy