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More show and tell, seeing as how you (Tony) like to see folks making things - even if, in this case, it's a commission. More pics on the layout thread concerned:

Rapido Trains is pleased to announce the introduction of two completely new wagon models. The most numerous wagon built by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway was a rugged design of 7 plank open wagons built on a standardised steel underframe. Over 2000 wagons of this design were built between 1915 and 1927 with large numbers surviving into British Railways service. During this time, the only design change was the addition of a sheet rail to the Southern Railway built wagons at the time of construction. This all-new model will feature a separately fitted sheet rail to allow both SECR and SR built examples to be modelled. To complement the seven plank wagon an all new five plank wagon will also be offered. A total of 550 diagram 1347 wagons were built by the SECR and SR. Although classed as “rebuilds” only the wheelsets and buffers were reused from older wagons– these being coupled to the standard chassis used on the seven plank wagons. A further 150 wagons were also built to the near-identical diagram 1349. These wagons featured self-contained buffers which Rapido will produce as separately fitted parts to allow both the diagram 1347 and 1349 wagons to be produced. Due to their relatively modern design both wagon types survived into British Railways service finding their way across large parts of the railway network. Prototype Factfile – Diagram 1347 and 1349 Five Planks Built: Diagram 1347 – 550 Wagons Diagram 1349 – 150 Wagons How long did they last? Wagons were built in batches by the SECR and its contractors from 1920 with the Southern Railway building further batches in the mid-1920s. Wagons of both types survived into the 1950s with a small number making it into the early 1960s. Where did they work? Wagons could be found running all over the SECR network in the South East. Photographs also show wagons working further afield in locations like Stratford, Carlisle and even Renfrew near Glasgow! Can I see one? One diagram 1347 wagon, No.12522 survives in operational condition on the Severn Valley Railway. No.50899 can also be seen on the Bluebell Railway. Prototype Factfile – Diagram 1355 Seven Planks e Built: 2121 Wagons How long did they last? The first prototype wagon was built in 1915 to test the new steel underframe. Further batches of these wagons were built between 1919 and 1927 by the SECR and SR. Over 70 wagons of this type survived into BR service into the 1960s whilst the last survived into the 1970s. Several were sold into private usage including a number with the Port of Bristol Authority. Where did they work? Wagons could be found running all over the SECR network in the South East. Photographs also show wagons working further afield in locations like Offord & Buckden, various locations on the GWR network and even Renfrew near Glasgow! Can I see one? Three diagram 1355 wagons can be seen at the Bluebell Railway. Specification: Injection Moulded construction High level of detail above and below the floor line. NEM coupler pockets Separately fitted buffers to allow for production of the Diagram 1347 and 1349 five plank wagons Separately fitted sheet rails to allow for SECR and SR built batches of the Diagram 1355 7 plank wagons Correct split-spoked wheels running in metal bearings For more information and to pre-order yours today visit www.rapidotrains.co.uk or speak to any of our Official Retailers. The orderbook will close on the 1st September 2021 with production following soon after with an anticipated delivery in early 2022. Sample artwork is below.

Well I've finally got this (below) little monkey off my back. I started the new chassis for it in September and being an old Wills kit, the body also needed a fair bit of surgery. By the end of October I had produced a smooth running, no cylinders sprung 0-6-0 chassis and then..... it all went a bit haywire. I should say I went a bit haywire. With the cylinders tacked in place, no matter how I looked at it I couldn't see how I would get the clearances for EM and in normal circumstances, I simply persevere to find solutions to these type of problems. But suddenly I found my motivation - and my confidence - had disappeared and in fact I completely lost interest in modelling. I seriously thought that it would never get finished. This situation lasted several months but in February and March, I started picking up and got back into the groove by doing some scenery and a couple of sprung O4 chassis, one for a Ks kit (63729) and one for a rejigged Bachmann (63829). Finally, after that I thought 'OK, I'm ready to tackle this.' Quite a bit of head scratching and fettling of parts later et voilà! I have to say it's been uphill pretty well all the way. After I got it running, I spent a week trying to figure out why I was getting a short circuit on one part of the layout. It turned out to be 2 culprits, the front pony and the brake hanger base on the middle driving axle. I am quite pleased with it as it was the first outside cylinder and valve gear engine I built in OO about 40 years ago and although it has a number of inaccuracies (mainly the cab but also the tender), it's a loco that I'm very fond of. The prototype was a Colwick engine from 1950 until it was withdrawn in 1961 but it did get around. I have a photo of it (somewhere) in the mid 1950s on a Cambridge Buffet express to Kings Cross. I'll post a video of the model in action later....

Rail drop in beaconsfield last night my loco in bescot before moving it over to the train, 66728 Then it was away to the drop site, 10 rails dropped and changed ends to head back waiting in Wycombe for the possession to be lifted, 66777 on the rear, now the lead loco This sign was discovered under an advertising hoarding back in about 2012 and has been restored and left on display with the words ‘formally’ added to it as the line to Marlow is no longer there And this is the lesser photographed opposite side of it, an enamel sign And eventually back into bescot at 07:30 short job tonight, bescot to rugby as an aside for those interested in my weight loss ‘journey’ I’ve now lost 2 1/2 Stone but more importantly my diabeties blood sugar level has gone from a dangerous 76 down to a 43, the safe level is anything below 47 so 3 months of my lifestyle change has totally reversed the problem, this afternoon I’m off to Halfords to collect my new electric assist bike that I’ve got on the cycle to work scheme so I’ll be using that to get to and from the station when the weather is good

As promised, here is K3 61833 on her first public run on a down Burton goods whilst J39/1 crosses on an up Burton.

It was twenty five years ago tomorrow that I visited Gascoigne Wood and Hagg Lane level crossing and spent a long time there watching and taking photos of the trains I saw. Gascoigne Wood 56066 down empties 29th May 96 C20940.jpg Gascoigne Wood 59205 up coal 29th May 96 C20942.jpg Gascoigne Wood Class 155 down 29th May 96 C20951.jpg Hagg Lane level crossing 155346 Leeds to Hull 29th May 96 C20943.jpg Hagg Lane level crossing 37706 down oil 29th May 96 C20945.jpg David

I made a good start on St Enodoc Down end tracks today. First, I cut the existing tracks back, and cleaned away the old ballast, so that I didn't have to worry about aligning the new track at the baseboard join. Because the station boards are now fixed permanently in place, crossing the join with a continuous piece of track doesn't matter (I've already done it at the Up end with a point as well). You can just see the old droppers too, which I will reuse. The pencil line at the bottom marks where the road overbridge will go. Next, I laid the Down Main track. I started with this for two reasons. First, it is on a 30" radius curve for which I have a Tracksetta. Secondly, It has to fit between two fixed points so was likely to be more fiddly than the others (which turned out to be true). You can see both sides of the overbridge here and in the next photo. After that, I laid the Up Main and the Loop, each in two stages, The first stage was from the station to the far end of the short length of straight track and the second was the reverse curve from there to the point. Not having to wrangle a whole length of track with the reverse curve and the straight part in the middle made life much simpler. The Loop was located using the Proses parallel track spacers. I think the short lengths of straight track on each line show up quite clearly. Finally, I laid some copperclad timbers and sleepers to fill the gaps between the heels of the points. I set these out by eye but I think they look all right. The long timbers will give plenty of support to the passenger lines, while the sleepers will be good enough for the more lightly-laid china-clay branch. I'll add the rails once the glue has dried (remembering that I'll need two more isolating gaps!).

8750 class pannier 4679 heads east on an all stations stopping train.

I think the hobby is bulging with 'returnees' right now. Those, as has been suggested, have come through the perils of life - job, marriage, mortgage, kids, divorce, poverty, etc! Now, into retirement they're looking for a hobby, and railway modelling attracts. It's especially attractive given the quality (and exceptionally good value) of what's offered 'out of the box' right now. As has also been mentioned, there are members joining clubs for whom the 'perils' have only just started. And, there always have been (and always will be?) new generations (or half generations) who take up the 'torch' as the older gits (we're all 'gits') either become too infirm or expire. From my observations of late, I've come up with the following thoughts.............. 1. We've never had it so good. Yes, I know there have been issues regarding some new models of later, but a full-blown LNER Pacific in full regalia in OO for £170.99 (Kernow, latest RM)! 2. Many suppliers of kits/bits have had their best year ever! Which rather means that there'll be even more kits to 'dispose' of once the buyers expire.............. 3. Investment in new kits (particularly 4mm locos) has slowed down considerably (I used to get a new one every couple of months to build and review). That said, the re-emergence of Nu-Cast is encouraging (my review of the K2 is in the August BRM). However, the likes of DJH hasn't produced a new 4mm loco kit for nearly 20 years now. 4. The average age of most clubs' membership has never been higher. 5. Prior to three years ago, I've never heard of a club show ceasing to exist because its membership were all too old/infirm to stage it any more. 6. Though I've done it (with Mo's help) for several years, the number of examples where we're asked to find new homes for model railway items on behalf of families, either because the (usually) husband/father/bloke has died or is too ill to carry on modelling (I have five boxes of stuff in my shed of such stuff, will collect more on Sunday, have to travel to see a widow in the near future and am expecting a hefty parcel today), has never been greater. 7. The average age of punters at shows (particularly O Gauge) has never been higher (and, as shows return, it'll be even higher). 8. The last 'trainspotting generation' (the schoolboys I taught in the '70s/early-'80s) is now approaching retirement, and, thus, an interest in BR blue in model form is probably going to increase as its members relive their youth in miniature (just as I'm doing, but a generation earlier, and with steam-outline). After that? There haven't been schoolboy trainspotters on platform ends for a long, long time now in my experience. Yes, there are trainspotters, who once were schoolboys, but, hmnn............. That's not to say all trainspotters become (serious?) railway modellers in later life, but tens of thousands did. That's also not to say that one must have been a trainspotter to be a 'serious' railway modeller, but the link between the two hobbies has always been very strong. A link now broken in more-recent years. In another generation, the interest will be very, very little. 9. I'm still being asked by RTR manufacturers to assist (in a small way) with the development of new models. As is the case with some kit-makers, which is encouraging. 10. Do I care what happens? I suppose so, but as long as I'm stocked up with enough kits to build, have enough solder and flux (I've used 'tons' and 'gallons' respectively in the last 12 months or so!) and still have enough friends who want to visit and operate Little Bytham, then I'm all right Jack!

As has been said....back to Little Muddle. I have collating the pictures taken by a group of train spotters who where present when Bradley Manor steamed into view! They where in various locations along the line, by the derelict barn, creamery water tower and branch track. I've had a chat with them all and they have agreed to supply me on an occasional basis pictures of train movements on the main line. That should be interesting, least it will save me having to take and edit any pictures!

Well, truly GN's cup doth runneth over today because here are my Ta-Daa! pictures for the now complete signals: Slightly tricky lighting conditions as I set them against a white background so as not to lose any detail. In practice, they are somewhat darker than this with the weathered finish applied. And just to prove they work ... First picture is a nonsense in terms of aspects showing but just emphasise the mechanism. Just grabbed a handy loco to give the impression of scale. Look forward to fixing up a visit now to get them installed.

I have lost the sweepstake on such a comment, I had less than 2 hours... Just the N gauge request to go now.... anyone?

That 9F needed to get out of the way quickly, as the Talisman was due next. Gateshead have turned out an A1, rather than the usual A4, and as always with this headboard, it manages to move off centre.

Austerity 2-8-0, no.90125 coasts by on a down goods. The loco would later disgrace itself during a trial run on the Somerset & Dorset. Needless to say the class was never trialed again.

Greetings one and all Mike Stationmaster, many thanks for your observations about Sidmouth. I’m there for the folk festival and after its cancellation last year I am thankful that there will be at least an attempt at one this year, albeit rather scaled down. The hotel room that I have chosen is at the back of quite a well appointed hotel, the Kingswood, and less expensive than the other one – yes, really – that was on offer. Bear in mind that my normal Sidmouth accommodation is a tent. It is a bit Spartan but nine nights under canvas is, I find, good for the soul, if not necessarily the small of the back. This year there will not be the usual festival campsite and it is far from clear yet whether there will be a substitute. Normally I strike camp early on the Saturday morning, stuff everything in the back of the car and head for RailWells. This year it looks as though I will be going straight home. Yesterday was a distinct improvement over the day before. By 10.30 am I had successfully purchased ticket for the two concerts that weren’t already sold out and can only hope that more for the remaining five will be made available nearer the time. If I had bought my concert tickets before finding a hotel I could easily have ended up dossing on the beach, which is composed largely of shingle and therefore not as comfortable as it might be. I shudder to think how much time this exercise has consumed. If everything works as it should, the task of buying seven concert tickets would occupy but a few minutes. The problems caused by the additional security which on-line purchases such as this are now deemed to merit took no fewer than four member of the credit card company’s customer service team to overcome and goodness knows how many hours. At least peace has now broken out between my credit card and the Festival webshite, but for how long? I remembered just in time that I have an appointment this morning for my Zoladex jab. This will involve something akin to a commando raid on Stalag Surgery so as to gain entry despite the resistance mounted by Checkpoint Charlene. Who dares wins? Best wishes to all, and especially the sick and missing. Chris

Moving office buildings; On 2nd April 1990 I was sitting on a desk on the top - second floor - of the then new Powys County Council buildings in Llandrindod Wells when the Bishop's Castle earthquake struck. The desk swayed and there was a rumbling. We were conducting a Wide Area Network test at the time across the whole of Powys. That ended. My thoughts at the time Hey, it's an earthquake Hope this building stays up Just across from where I was sat the architect who designed the building, so I knew who to blame if it didn't.

They are not the only things to move in high winds. I think most buildings are designed to move, in order to reduce stresses in undesirable areas of the structure. I know that when I worked on the 12th floor (top floor) of an office block, if there were winds gusting 60-70mph and we sat on our office chairs with our feet off the floor, we could feel the movement through the chairs. It could be quite un-nerving, and not made any less so by the strange 'hum' that the building seemed to produce on very windy days. I hate to think what life is like towards the top of the Shard in stormy weather, especially as the top floors would likely been in the low cloud, and therefore nothing would be visible out of the windows.

Moaning all. Off on a jolly up the A1 today. Finally get to visit the offspring. First time in nearly 6 months. I'm sure I've told this story before about the neighbour when I was around 14. He was a retired geologist. His son and boa came to live with them for a while. I had a basement bedroom with a ground level window. He had the opposite window with no fence to separate. More than once on a hot night the snake would escape and I'd find him coiled up either on the end of my bed or somewhere in the bedroom. First time was a bit of a fright, after that it became rather fun. No snakes to be seen in the boring borough unless you count the local politicians. Back in Calgary you'd get garter snakes along the railway lines for some reason. Rattlers were rare but still present further south towards the Montana border. I don't think there has ever been a rattler sighting north of Milk River. Then again with climate change, I wouldn't be surprised to see them migrate further north. The micro climate of the bad lands around Drumheller means that some things like scorpions can still survive and have done for millions of years. Never go fossil hunting without gloves. Enjoy the day.

Good evening everyone Well the weather today has been glorious here in England’s northwest, which has made a nice change from all the rain that we’ve had recently. It was perfect weather for both cleaning the car and doing some gardening, sunny but not too hot. Cleaning the car took about me 2 hours altogether, although I did take a short break for a muggertea about halfway through the task. However, the car looks a lot cleaner now, both inside and out, as I thought might as well do the inside whilst I was at it. Once done, I took all the cleaning equipment back to the shed and then made a start on planting a few more camomile, as there were a few plants that I planted yesterday that were very small, so I doubled these with another small plant to make them look a little bit bigger and it all looks a lot better now. There are still a few spare plants leftover, 16 in-total, 10 of the non flowering variety and 6 of the flowering variety. The flowering type have been planted right next to the path so that when you brush past them they will release their scent. The rest of the plants, the non flowering variety will form the camomile lawn area either side of the path. The spares have been potted up in small plant pots and will be used in emergencies, if any of the planted ones don’t make it. After tea I started making the next fruit tea loaf, the dry ingredients have all been put in a bowl with some fruit tea and will be left soaking overnight. I’ll add the flour and bake it tomorrow afternoon.

Amazingly lucky escape, though the Tesla will need a T-Cut. The Trucker seems to be tanking it a bit round the corner - I hope he got nicked for an unsafe load if nothing else: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-norfolk-57284221 It seems that Bozo's SWMBO reportedly spent £90K on decorating - what did she use, Gold Leaf and a mural on the ceiling?? In other news: Bear's replacement doors unpacked and are fine, though they've forgot the small touch up paint yet again (one is supposedly supplied with every order) - that's three times now, despite it being listed on the despatch paperwork each time. I did buy a 1 Litre can of touch up paint for possible future use in the event of serious mishap (though my growing collection of spare doors may make that purchase unnecessary in retrospect) but I'm averse to opening that until I really, really have to. Polite snottogram message has been sent..... And finally, today's Friday - which meant....chip shop day** ..... - so that's Bear's dose of ultra processed food scoffed.... (** Sometimes Saturday is chip shop day, depending on how the mop flops)

Greetings all from Sidcup where the sun is out and the sky is blue but unlike AndrewP I have time to finish this....! It's my last day of work before a week off, which coincides with half term. No particular plans but I had so much holiday brought forward from last year I thought I had better use some. I am told they will be less generous with allowing holiday carry forwards for next year; shame really as we want to try to have a holiday abroad next year. I agree with Mike on the daftness of the Alexa advert with Pompeii. What I also spotted is that they have given the Roman an Italian accent; not quite "what a mistake-a to make-a" but on the way there. Sorry to read that il Dottore has had to visit the vets; hopefully explanations will be forthcoming in short order. And now...some more work!

The Sun is out The Sky is blue No time to finish this I need a ................................. Have a good day one and all, Stay safe and well.

Good moaning from a sunny place. Yesterday was so warm I even put shorts and sandals on in the afternoon. Beth was not impressed. A lot of the G word got done and preparations are underway to commission the pool. Today there wil be more unspecified garden work then an afternoon trainspotting has been allowed. Sounds like a good plan to me. Best wishes to all our ailing ER's the lustbof which now includes Captain Cynical. Hope that things improve for all of you. Jamie

Ey up! As part of our "volunteer" involvement in the use of vaccines to help with reducing the impact of covid we are off to donate some blood for an antibodies test today. This involves a trip into Bradford as the only place they could find for these tests is a couple of rooms in a mental health unit. Hopefully all will go well. A Blackbird is busy singing merrily.. the temperature is on the up! I can touch or hold most animals and insects no problem (even from a young age my party trick has been to help carry bees out of enclosed spaces in my hands) but I am, for some reason, trying to avoid venomous snakes. Nice to hear that Laurenceb has overcome his interwebby problems. Now, time for my mugatea and get ready for my blood letting! Fingers crossed for all ERs (and their relatives) with health concerns! Baz

For the attention of Mr @polybear

Good evening everyone Well today didn’t quite go as expected, but in a good way. Whilst I was at the Trafford Centre I had a message from my local bookshop informing me that the 3rd book that I’d ordered a few weeks ago was in and ready for collection. So after I’d put away all the shopping, I had a quick muggertea and then walked to the bookshop to collect it. Whilst I was out the hole saw required for the cellar ceiling lights arrived. Sheila was ironing at the time and had to answer the door, she wasn’t too pleased about that! Ho hum! The hole saw wasn’t due until next week so I was as surprised as she was, but this does mean I can get the lights back up and pack away the temporary ones, hopefully I’ll get this done on Sunday. There’s no chance tomorrow as we’re a little busy, it’s Mike and Sarah’s wedding, so we’ll be out until early evening. After dinner, I watered the plants, then finished off making the fruit tea loaf and then sat down and spent the rest of the afternoon reading my latest book acquisition. The only earthquake I was in was sometime in the mid 80’s, only I didn’t feel it. It was just after 8 o’clock in the morning, I was at work, which at the time was British Steel Trafford Park. The wheel forge was in full production at the time and if a wheel got itself stuck in the one of the top dies on the main press, they would move the press up and down very quickly to shake it free. When this happened the whole factory shook and I assume I mistook the earthquake for a stuck wheel. Whilst I’m talking about the steel works. On a quite night shift in summer, a colleague and I would often climb one of the annealing plant chimneys to watch the sunrise. The chimney would sway constantly from side to side, even on a day when there was very little or even no wind and at a 120 ft up, the sunrise was quite spectacular. It was quite tricky to climb, as the bottom 7ft of the ladder was missing, so we had to jump, grab the bottom rung and haul ourselves up until we could put our feet on the rung. Of course we had no harnesses, but it did have a cage round it and you could stop and lean against it and take a breather if necessary. This practice would be frowned upon now of course, probably resulting in some sort of disciplinary action.

Cut the grass .. it has chuckeditdarn ever since.. Pah! We only started in the garden after our return from our voluntary blood collection.. Never felt the nurse put the blood letting device into my arm.. very good but she drained loads of blood out! I have a game on Saturday and Sunday this weekend so the weather had better improve.. sharpish! been in two earthquake sin New Zealand near Fox Glacier. I was laid on the bed while her indoors was having a shower. I ended up on the floor.. she didn't notice the quake at all.. then the second one hit.. her turn to be on the floor! I believe it is curry night.. followed by rhubarb and ginger crumble.. this may be an explosive evening! TTFN Baz

Good Afternoon all from a snake free zone. Earthquakes First one was in Dominican republic on our honeymoon it was on a night time it was a big rumble and the sound of breaking glass as pictures fell off walls etc. We got up swiftly dressed and went outside and spent the rest of the night at the 24 hour bar. At least the Mrs can say the earth moved for her on honeymoon. The second earthquake was here must be 12 years ago there was a noise the house shook doors were banging. At first we thought a train had derailed and come of the embankment. I opened the curtains expecting to see a load of wreckage and spilt nutty slack.

As a wildlife photographer and hill walker I often come into sight of our only venomous (and indeed Scotland's only resident) snake, the Adder, I know they are there and dress accordingly with some good quality gaiters to give protection, despite it being unlikely that a bite would be fatal I have been told on more than one occasion, the bite is very painful, not unlike being hit with a hammer. As an aside I was also told there is some investigation taking place into the effects of the venom on Arthritis, apparently some people who suffer from the disease have been bitten and for a couple of years after being bitten, the symptoms have vanished!! So............................... BM1K7067

Strictly speaking we wouldn't have that sign at all.The difference between "poisonous" and"venomous" is something every little vegemiter learns sooner or later, as in: "Mum, Susan just got bitten by a poisonous snake" "No,monkesarefun, Susan just got bitten by a venomous snake, poison is something you drink!"

Sorry for lack of progress updates recently, had domestic jobs to deal with, but body detailing is ongoing; The castings are very good on the whole, but I'm not sure about the proportions of the chimney The intended loco is No.258, one of the original 1894 batch (257-266). These have some detail differences from the later locos, noticably the splashers. They have rounded tops at the front, (the later locos have a square edge) and curved beading where the later ones were plain. Also, as far as i can see, only the earlier locos had the short horizontal handrail on the cabside. Lifting eyes have been added to the tanks-tops. The roof is as supplied in the kit, without the distinctive vertical ribs. I will probably replace it, with one built in the same was as for the 0395. (When a new supply of brass angle arrives from Eileens) The roof, by the way, is just resting in place, if you're wondering why its out of position. Right-Angles of waste etch have been added behind the footsteps to brace them, and filed back to clear the coupling-rods

Evening orl. Apols for absence. As I said the other day, my life is not my own currently, Mrs NHN being off for a few days! Mad day today as usual around her, she lives life at speed. Having a few friends around tomorrow to run hot water vapour powered devices, so tidied the railway up a bit this evening, and did likewise with the vapour devices, to test you understand. Fun. I felt several earthquakes on our visits to New Zealand, like Baz. Mostly in the Blenheim area where the out-laws lived at the time.

I cannot recall being in an earthquake, I have however woken up at stupid o'clock, thinking what was that? To find out in the morning there'd been an quaking event. Went to Tes and co for meat... Its a bank holiday weekend and the forecast is mildly warm... Very little meat available, vast swathes of Burgers, sausages and pre made kebabs. Huge traffic jams in wroxham, a drain cover has collapsed, so what do the do? Dig a hole on the other side of the road a few feet up the hill...

Afternoon all, I seem to have entered a spate of editorial cleansing but only in ERs and always the same post despite what I've posted since that one. Presumably such quirks of the 'puting world are in reality sent to keep us on our toes rather than anything else - possibly? sorry to hear of Flavio's problems - i trust the numerous invetsiagtions will resolve things ina satisfactory manner (other than in respect of Mrs. iD's search for life insurance policies. Nice hotel by the look of it Chris - always looks quite nice from the road when strolling past and at least round the back you will avoid traffic noise plus you will at least have the exercise of walking to those festival venues you succeeded in booking. I note the first place we ever stayed in Sidmouth is now called 'Dukes' and has 5 stars - I doubt if Mrs Stationmaster would even give it 5 minutes of her time as it is still in the same place and unless it has been triple glazed it will be no more peaceful than it was in its previous guise. Hope your visit will go. I have minimal involvement elsewhere on things pertaining to any sort of social or antisocial whatsit on the 'net although others here do know of my poorly disguised presence on Farcebook - not that I post anything other than replies to some of their posts. But I'm sure RMweb cannot be alone in the 'social meedja wurld' of attracting ignoramuses who while managing to sound fairly convincing post unadulterated nonsense which succeeds in doing little more than profusely demonstrating their ignorance, their ability to check facts before posting what they suggest are facts, and their total failure of any sort of logical thought process. However the worrying thing is that some other people actually appear to believe some of the nonsense these harbingers of a brain dead society bother to post. At times I find it very easy to sympathise with Marvin the paranoid android. ah well back to whatever - no G word today as it's rather cloudy but sunny Sunday might see the lawn trimmed (at long last). Have a good day one and all and stay safe.

When we experienced the last earthquake here (epicentre somewhere below Swansea) a few years ago, the walls shook and there was a strange creaking noise from the window frames. However, the one thing that I experienced was a severe sense of foreboding for 5 minutes or so, as if something dreadful was about to happen. I can only remember this feeling twice before:- in June 2006 after lightning struck so close that there was no thunder - just a loud 'crack' like a gun going off multiplied 100 times louder. And the second was in August 1999 as I sat outside in M-i-l's back garden (Sth Kent coast) and the moon obscured the sun enough to drop the temperature, the wind, and all the birds went quiet.

So, the "how I did this" for Car 106... It's probably easier if I explain using these two photos Gilbert has taken, since I didn't take any of my own! The structural integrity of this car was untouched, with just two suitably sized inserts of plasticard to slot in where necessary. My plan was basically to give me as little work to do in the paint matching department; ie: just the cream and then the resulting lining! Hornby's shade of "umber" is still a mystery to me and I suspect always will be! Cutting out the sections I didn't need needed a great deal of care; when you're left with just a vestige of the window frame either side, you need to make sure that the new blank fits snugly and needs no filler adding either side. In both instances, a new oval window was required. Using the offcut of the one taken out from the kitchen side, I traced round the oval inside on the plasticard, once all was fixed in place, before chain-drilling a load of holes and filing it all out to shape. On the non kitchen side (above), the oval window is a plain affair, without any of the extra framework like the toilet window on the far left. I basically filed up the window from a redundant piece of glazing left over from a previous car. Once it was the right size, it was fitted in place (after painting!) The kitchen side (above) was much the same, though had a change of passenger window to give it curtains. I also added a table, cut from a spare interior. The cream took a bit of working out. In the end, I used Pullman cream, with a bit of Humbrol "trainer yellow" (24) mixed in to match the rather more yellowy shade used by Hornby. A couple of coats of Johnson's Klear were added next, before transfers used for the lining (HMRS) were added. It's certainly nice to see a different vehicle in the consist though. Something I've always liked, personally, about Pullman cars is their sheer variety.

(Late) mornin' all. Late checking in due to the annoyance that is work . Quite pleasant weatherwise here in South Derbyshire today. But, one of the advantages of WFH is that I can do other things as well....... Time to hang out laundry - cue rain, despite what the forecast says . Later, I'm going to take a short cycle ride to meet a friend for coffee and cake - cue more rain.

Just finished a (very) little side project. A Neilson "Jumbo" 0-4-0 ST from the Beckton Gas Works stud. An un-powered model with the books that inspired me.

At a rest area on I-95 northbound near Jacksonville, FL:

Re: Snakes and the avoiding thereof... Rest area on I-94 east of Billings Montana. Returning with Jemma when she lived out there - I decided AGAINST using the facilities

Many thanks - Bear has indeed had the pleasure of testing these when I saw them lurking in the local Co-op (or was it Home Bargains?) on special offer. They seem to be an occasional line, which is probably a good thing cos' they don't seem to last long in Bear Towers...

I haven’t experienced an earthquake. There was one people in this region of Essex said they felt but I slept through it. I have been in a couple of earthquake simulators in museums. My trip to Canvey was uneventful. The phlebotomist had no problem removing blood today. There was quite a lot of traffic and even a couple of delays, all caused by supplies to various building projects along the route. I didn’t mind the delay, it gave enough time for my sat nav to load its map update. The new coffee machine arrived. It looks very nice. Aditi can test it later. The manual is awful. There were diagrams for everything except the water filter, but it was I suppose obvious once I had fitted it. Among the accessories is a tray for making coffee bean shaped ice. Not sure what they are for, I suspect the coffee based cocktails mentioned on the advert for the machine. All our food arrived, nothing missing, a few minor substitutions. Tony

The top lefthand corner of Wales has a bit of a reputation, though I only really remember the one of 1984, when I thought it was either a rather noisy lorry nearby or blasting in one of the quarries. https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2013/may/29/llyn-peninsula-uk-earthquake-hotspot

That reminds me a few weeks ago I got a remote-reading rain gauge from a thrift shop. We just had several days with endless rain showers; now I could keep track of what was dropped. Right? No, we then entered a drawn-out period with NO rain! I did test it out by using the sink sprayer to create "rain"; the gauge worked fine. We have since gotten a few rainy days.

One for Coombe Barton I suspect.. Lies dam lies and statistics. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/business/deprivation-mapped-for-every-area-of-norfolk-8004836 Areas of deprivation, for example Wroxham and Hoveton, Wroxham Light Blue, Hoveton light red. The difference ? Wroxham is THE place to buy a home, Hoveton across the river isn't . Is Hoveton Deprived? no, Is it low income yes.. Both Hoveton and Wroxham are almost 100% occupier own properties with Hoveton having a higher percentage of retirees therefore less income .. If you look to the right around Ludham very similar, mostly retirees, with a few poorly paid farm worker / tourism workers..

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not much trouble from Arthur Itis at the moment but his sidekick Si Attica is determined to make up for it. In the meantime a stretch out on the bed might bring some relief.

Hi Graeme It is interesting who and why they model the period they do. I know many members of DEMU who model very modern railways and despite being older than me and trainspotting and/or traveling behind steam have no interest in steam. Conversely there are many modellers who are younger than me who model more historical railways. I fall into that group who model what they saw as a kid, stuff from before I was a trainspotter. Who are we to say what someone should be modelling, and how they enjoy their model railways. The guy who buys a red engine this month because last month he bought a blue one is as much a railway modeller as the bloke who winds his own motors and turns his own wheels if both are enjoying what they do. It is a hobby for enjoyment after all.

Morning all. It is a pleasant morning here, getting a bit cloudier though. I have to go over to Canvey for a blood test. Nothing to do with my heart or IBD, diabetes checkup this time. During the three months since the last one I have lost weight, stopped eating certain items and been on medication. Hopefully this will be reflected in the result. I need to book an appointment for a diabetic review once I have had the blood test. Aditi has been making do with cafetière coffee since Wednesday but her new coffee machine is arriving this afternoon. Our grocery delivery is arriving at lunchtime too. Quite a lot of excitement for a Friday. Aditi’s brother and his family will be visiting MiL tomorrow. She doesn’t know yet as she would have insisted on making all kinds of special food and then have been too tired to enjoy the visit. We can’t go as it would make it three households but I am sure there will be photos or videos. MiL does know she is going to Sussex on Sunday to see her grandson and fiancée’s new house. I hope she doesn’t start her “advice” about dogs. She is a bit obsessed with their desire for a dog. Tony

Good morning everyone It’s not quite as sunny as yesterday’s, but it’s a little warmer, already 12C. Apart from visiting the butchers and the Trafford Centre, I’m not planning on doing very much today, a day of resting, reading and research I think. However, I do need to water the freshly planted camomile, but that won’t take long. Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. Brian

I realised I didn't have too much of a problem with snakes when I was around seven and we visited a snake temple in Penang. The place was literally crawling with defanged pit vipers (they were bright green). I was encouraged to hold a snake (which I was not keen on). My younger sister, on the other hand, was taken round the back of the temple to chuck up! having quickly searched, it appears to still exist today. Here's a link (look away Simon) http://www.penang.ws/penang-attractions/penang-snake-temple.htm