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Good evening everyone The weather has been very mixed here today, changing from rain to sunshine several times, so I spent the day in the workshop, continuing work on the small industrial locomotive. Today I completed the cylinders, the coupling rods, the connecting rods and connected both connecting rods to the respective piston rod. The cylinders have also been fixed to the chassis. However, from here on, things became a bit more difficult. The crank pins on the 4 supplied wheels are the same length, and aren’t long enough for both the coupling rod and connecting rod. This isn’t a problem with the front pair, but I’ve had to modify the rear pins. I started by cutting off the pin close to the wheel spokes, then I filed the remains of the stub flat, marked the centre and then drilled a 1.1mm hole down the centre, before removing the stub and soldering a slightly longer 1mm brass pin in the hole to replace the original. These were then reinserted back into the wheel from the rear and fixed with superglue. At this point, I decided to call it a day, so I’ll have to check all is well next time I go to the workshop.

Must admit I've never used this remote-control shopping malarky. There's a Sainsbugs, a MegaTesco, an Asda, an M&S foodhall,, Local Tescos, Aldis and Lidls within a couple of miles and a Morrisons, another large Tescos, another M&S foodhall and another Asda within 5 miles radius. We're rather overserved by local supermarkets! I forgot, there's two more Aldi stores in the 5 mile zone, but one of the 2 mile zone Aldis has gone offline for refurbishment/enlargement...

Ocado always rang us as described. "Is it OK to deliver early?" or "Really sorry but I am running about XX minutes late; will that still be OK?" They know how far they are behind schedule so they can be pretty accurate in offering an ETA. We only had two really late deliveries. One was due to a van breakdown which delayed our delivery by around two hours but again they kept us fully informed and assured us that all chilled and frozen foods were protected and it was the van, not its chiller, which had broken down. The other was following a fire at their Erith depot which disrupted everyone's deliveries for a couple of days. This time it was Customer Services (based in Hatfield, I believe) who called offering their profound apologies and advising that our order was not yet on the road. A couple of hours later and they called back saying it was on the road but might not reach us until after midnight. That was OK with me. It was very OK with me that they then waived the entire cost of that order as compensation for the inconvenience. They were about five hours late that night.

I had a quiet ANZAC day, and the weather today is as good as it was yesterday so like most of the place I'm taking today off too. Not a cloud in the sky and 22 forecast, although last nights 8 degrees was chilly. In footage to bring a tear of appreciation to the eye of @Gwiwer, Collingwoods Jamie Elliot took the Mark Of The Year So Far in yesterdays ANZAC Day match. When you catch the ball from a kick its a Mark, when its a spectacular mark it becomes a "Skeccy". This is one of the best Speccies for a long time!

... Today was my last timetabled teaching session ... I have now switched off all the alarms for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ... https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/04/25/flu-down-covid-up-a-tree-for-the-whole-millennium-ai-and-photography-last-timetabled-teaching/

A nice couple of days financially has seen me able to purchase the remaining three John Hodge Welsh Valley Lines series of books I needed. £40 for talking to a tech company, £20 from Avanti and then £5 from Amazon for simply adding another credit card - so the bill was £4.99. Hold on, I buy lots of books about the Welsh Valleys and then I model the North West of England, something wrong there isn't there.

Talking of back streets here's the back of the engine shed!!

We don't. our shop is 20 odd miles away and at £2 for delivery it's cheaper than driving there, if they finish it, we will go to Tesco or Morrisons who are less than 10 miles away.

Sainsbury's says almost everyone now shops in store https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68895280

Bear here.... Another day at the Warehouse & out n' about - all good fun; 9.5K steps/3.5 miles today, according to Izzy the Iphone. Which is a good job cos' there was some naughtiness involving Jam Donuts** + other assorted goodies..... 😁 **Not entirely surprising cos' Bear visited Morrisons before arriving at the Warehouse....... The following was seen today - on the back of a Bakery Van: 🤣 ION..... I see Venice are to start charging 5 Euros to day visitors on selected days - and some on the ITV TV News are whingin' about it. 5 Euros for a day in Venice - and they're whingin' ?? Jeez, that's gotta be the bargain of the year in this Bear's Book. If you've never been - do go (but not in July & Aug) - and stay in the City if you can as it's a much better experience. Bear gone.

The waiting lists can move quite quickly. My Mum rang me and told me there was “one of those black private ambulances” in her sheltered accommodation carpark. Her next comment was “they are dropping like flies round here “. That was my Mum’s last phone call to me. The image of her looking out of her window remained on Google for quite a few years.

Evening everyone. I always said I would keep the thread updated with news of any published material planned regarding the layout. I'm really excited to say, that I have been asked by BRM to write an article on the layout (all 40+ft of it) which is planned to be published in the autumn.

Good moaning from the cool Charente. Hospital was visited yesterday and Beth has come through the op. But was in a lot of pain. I had to get a tad assertive to sort that out but some extra pain relief did arrive. The usual hospital problem arose. Due to her overall condition she is already on a cocktail of painkillers and staff don't believe that she needs extra on top of that. Hopefully things will improve. Today I'm off shopping. We have three medium sized Intermarche's alabout 1miles away then two much larger Leclercs0land a big Intermarche 2miles away. Online shopping does exist but is not hugely used. We do patronise the local market and have a fruit and veg van that calls round every fortnight. Much to do so Ttfn. Jamie

A belated happy birthday to Dave Hunt! I'm back off to Singapore today, it's been nice to visit Brussels and enjoy Belgian food (I love filet americain, the local version of steak tatare) and some cool fresh weather but equally I'll be happy to head back East.

Thank you Tony for your kind comments. Both Andy and myself throughly enjoyed our visit, and the privilege of being able to operate your great layout. It was fine, just a few small errors, not really operating incompetence on your part, and after all, you were doing two jobs, the fiddle yard and main panel, while also talking with us at the same time. There's a bit of a story to the Buffet car conversions. I'd built an Isinglass D27 Open Third / Diner kit which I'd got when these first appeared, then, needing more Tourist Open Thirds, which wernt then available, got a second kit intending do a conversion. Then, following a request, Andy Edgson at Isinglass made a TTO kit available (closely followed by the long awaited re-introduction of ex-Kirk kits). So, what to do now with the extra D27? Well, I'd read in 'LNER Carriages' that one D27 TO was converted to a Buffet in 1933 when the LNER were experimenting with the concept. Then a diagram was found on Steve Banks' website which showed the necessary changes, panelling in 3½ windows and new interior layout. So, the resulting model of a one-off vehicle. My mate Andy, liking my model, then did a similar conversion himself, using a Kirk Open Third, and in his usual impressive rendition of LNER teak, so now two versions of a unique vehicle, lol. The 12-wheeled full kitchen, another unusual vehicle, though there were three of these, which were converted mid-30s from redundant ex-GNR Composite Restaurant Cars. Again, from an Isinglass kit, but this time as intended. The steel-panelled BG also has a bit of a story. A Kirk kit, it's sides were donated to make the correct pattern brake compartment of a BT-CL Twin set l was converting from Kirk kits (5 in total). The BG kit was resurrected with a pair of Comet brass sides for the steel-panelled version, which l happened to have! Partly visible behind it, yes just the old Bachmann Thompson SK, but as can just be seen, running on 'Fox' bogies (Isinglass) which, from a photo I've seen, bear very close resemblance to the 'Metro' bogies fitted to the first batch of these. It's original bogies were donated to the Buffet car above. The pair of Gresley suburban CLs. The right hand one's a Hornby model of a standard D50 teak panelled coach. On the left, a steel panelled version, again from an Isinglass kit. Note the coupling between them, screw coupling, and with the brake pipes connected! As nicely detailed as modern models are, as a (now former) Driver it's something of an anathema to see a passenger train running with the vacuum pipes neatly stowed on their dummy plugs, particularly on non-corridor stock where its very visible. It is, of course, a bit of a cheat, as shown here... It's all on one coach end, the screw couplings soldered rigid, and it's tommy-bar acts as the hook over the goalpost wire on the next vehicle I've heard that as rebuilt those engines 'couldn't do', at least what they were intended for, hence their rapid banishment south of the Border. Thank you, yes that 12- wheeler full kitchen does make for zn impressive and unusual model. As a 65 footer, l knickname it the beast. Although of course, in its original GNR splendour, it would be a RC. A kit for the original version's also available. PS, the usual disclaimer, no connection with Isinglass other than a satisfied customer

gosh, Where to begin with this one… If your wanting a box opening video online you better get a cup of tea first…. (Actually my little secret ive had my three since April 11th, ive just been on the road quite a lot so ive not had chance write this up, but the pictures were taken over the last 2 weeks, tonight I’m finally able to sit down at home and do it). The way they are delivered.. 1. wrapped in brown paper 2. in a cardboard box 3. in a white foam layer 4. wrapped in tissue 5. enclosed in a tin 6 inside a layer of black foam 7. inside a plastic display cradle 8. You find your engine…. Well its Brilliant, lets get that out of the way. The detail and paint finish are superb. Both bufferbeams are fully decorated. The model has oodles of separate parts.. starting with the bogies, the wheels holes are picked up, separate pipes, sand boxes, steps on the bogies. Not attention to both the orange and blue separately painted under body pipes.. The grills are much improved on the original class 24. door width and handles are much better than the recent Heljan offering. The roof panels, separate parts are picked out and painted individually Curved roof grills nicely picked out engine room detail visible…with relief, for the walk space. It definitely looks like a 25… It weighs in at 487g… thats not bad for a little type 2. To get inside…. This was quite tough, indeed very tough. First thought, unclip the body, no budge, no give. i noticed the buffers had screws, so I tried this, they come off… (this would be nice if Hattons 66/style there was a second set without the detailing fitted, somI could fit with the coupling, without having to remove the detailing)… Still no movement. Dont unscrew the second pair at your peril, thats the coupling cam box and that spring aint ever going back on. Theres nothing to hold on to.. not the tank its coming off, not the buffers they are coming off, not the bogie that tower you really dont want off. Now in the box is a load of gumpf… but whats not in there is a manual…. Not in any of my three 25’s. theres a nice notepad, but blank pages wont help me get the body off. the URL is here… https://sulzertype2.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Class24manualV1-3.pdf It suggests the body is just clip fit, but its just not having it. After losing 2 buffers, the tank risking looking loose and the underframe detail coming loose I am on the verge of giving up… the last model stuck like this was the Heljan PWM… and a-ha… Although I had 4 hotel keys in the 4 body retainers it simply wasnt having it… so I squeezed the hotel keys and hey presto the body unseated itself and came off. (Now note last time I tried that was Hattons 66’s and the grills would start popping off, but here we are ok)… but it revealed the issue…. The under body detail is a separate piece, on each side, it is glued to the body.. not the chassis and just a bit seeped between body and chassis gluing them together under the cab doors. so now I am in… The chassis is everything you would expect, JSTs holding it together, its laid out like the Heljan style boards with cab lights at the ends, motor wires in the centre. Two sugar cube boxes for speakers. Nice view of the cab interior details. Trying to remove the jsts is at your own risk, I noted they are very tightly fitted, and the female adaptors soldered to the board are not strong, it would be imo quite easy for these to come off causing an additional job (like on the recent 37 nose boards).. however lifting the board reveals a nice surprise on the motor… Never seen a personalized motor label before for a rtr model. looks like a smaller compact motor than used in several other models, but its nice to see the spec on their… How does it perform… 0.05amp start up makes it a little higher than average but its a very smooth start. it maxes out at 0.16amp, pretty average but with a nice turn of speed, this motor is definitely right for the job. Whilst inside a quick look at the cab interior details… Yes the buffer was added back later. So I cannot pose it next to a Heljan 25, as my one and only is lost in the pile, but heres an idea what were dealing with.. what stands out is the drivers cab rivets are much refined, the under frame detail, more refined, greater buffer detail, the engraving out outlines of the grills, vents and panels are more refined. It quite simply looks sharper. The interior detail is more pronouned both cab and engine room. Finally the cab doors again the glass seals look more refined as does the handrails. Old Bachmann and New Heljan… and the SLW 25.. Which leds me to lights… cab lights is nice, but the light bleed around the headcodes is a bit obvious.. The cab lights are unswitched, so engine room, cab and headcode are one LED, and always on going forwards on DC, unless you unplug it. One interesting note is the LED is whiter in the Cab for the blue, and yellower for the green… Overall thrilled with the loco, the packaging. What could be improved: 1. the light bleed around the headcode 2. instruction manual being included 3. separate buffer beam for those wanting to add a coupling. 4. some would want working fans. otherwise this is a top shelf model, Ive not had anything like this for a while and it does deserve the accolades and attention its been getting..

During the 1960s my Mum bought quite a few Val Doonican records.

Tesco have got in on this act too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/35444754081 Or, for SWAG attendees? : https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1194661429/no-pasties-left-in-this-vehicle?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fuk.search.yahoo.com%2F

Brilliant - this is not a spoof

It was an Ocado van but we had one caught up in a smash too. Thankfully the driver was OK, slightly shaken but no physical injuries. Amazingly, despite a 'seagull swooping' type piece of misfortune, they still managed to deliver on time! Thankyou/sympathy card was sent... Tesco once tried to deliver someone else's goods as well as our own order. We spotted it on the doorstep but that could easily have been a major oopsie for them. Christmas run-up as well, if we hadn't have been paying attention and being honest, the other person could well have had problems. In our experience, both Waitrose and Ocado ring if they are going to be early or late - in fact this week's Ocado delivery was 15 minutes early and he rang to check it was OK to be early. As above, in our experience both are reliable and if there are any substitutions, they tend to be sensible ones. Both have given us much better service than the usual retail standard - and far better than the 'customer service' Pupcam mentioned re banks recently. It's one reason why we use them much more than other supermarkets, we'd sooner pay a bit more and get quality products and decent service.

This morning I went to church as usual and ended up being asked to do another couple of small jobs - just making sure some things are in the right place for services. Of course that assumes I both know where they should be and that I can actually find them when they are put away in the wrong place. I had a cup of coffee and remembered to pay for my afternoon tea outing which is one day next week. On the way home afterwards I stopped at the beach and had a walk. The sun was shining brightly but the wind was bitterly cold. Back home I had a look at the remains of the heather and took out a few nearby weeds and a plant which was in the wrong place - a self seeded honesty, then while I cooked lunch I arranged for someone to come and measure the kitchen and living room windows as I am thinking of having new curtains. After lunch I just tidied the greenhouse plants and then cleared bits of heather that had fallen in the pond along with some blanket weed. I spent the rest of the afternoon scanning the old photos. The next two albums will be some of Dad's railway photos, I have digital copies of some but not all of them so will probably do them all to make sure none are missed. There's nothing else today, this evening should be a bit of reading or similar as I feel a bit sore from the gardening. A couple of photos of the usual beach this morning. It could be summer apart from the wind. Just snapshots using my phone. David

There's a new retirement complex in Rayleigh so I looked it up. It looks OK but it's more care home than retirement home. Anyway by the time I need that sort of establishment it will probably have a long waiting list.

Thanks Bill, yes I went yesterday afternoon. Nearly 6 hours in theatre and in a lot of pain. However it seems to have gone OK. I sorted out a couple of things for her re her meds, I'm going again today. Hopefully things wilbe settling down. Jamiel

Singapore AL are much more competitive for overseas users, it seems to be quite common that airlines work a lot harder to entice overseas. My son once managed to go on their UK site using a VPN and found fares half what they were offering on their local website but they have very good VPN detection and he was kicked off and redirected to the Singapore site within about a minute. The European airlines often offer cheaper fares to users in other European countries than local customers. Ditto to destinations other than local ones. For example, it's often much cheaper to fly Luftahsa Singapore - UK than Singapore - Germany, ditto with KLM, AF, BA et al for destinations other than their local points of arival. The RoC airlines (China AL, Eva Air and Starlux) are superb, among the best. You won't go wrong with business class on any of them. China AL have one of my favourite liveries.

I wonder why? Darius

Johnny sat cross pawed at the top of the stairs! The radiator pipe goes right under where he’s sat

Fünf­und­fünfzig - Snakes Alive 🐍🐍

I think that's what's called accessing criminal records.

Retirement brought some additional spare time. . As an occasional break from railways I decided to trace my family tree. . My paternal side, I have traced back to the late 17th. Century and the Derbyshire Peak District. . With today being ANZAC Day, I have been enlightening the family with details of the following relative . Ernest David Rolley was born at Herberton, Queensland in 1920, one of five children; whose grandfather, from Bonsall, Derbys. had arrived in Australia in 1877.. . He enisted into the Royal Australian Navy, at Brisbane on 22nd. July, 1940. . Ernest was killed in action aged 21 years on 20th. November, 1941, when his vessel, H.M.A.S. Sydney was lost with all hands (645 souls) in the Indian Ocean - sunk by the German commerce raider 'Kormoran' masquerading as a Dutch trader. . Such is life that I only discovered a branch of my paternal family live in the Atherton / Herberton area of the Tablelands - after - having visited the area twice ! .

Looks like an updated Top Gear electric car!

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Off out shortly for the AGM, so I better get ready.

Tesla CyberTruck export model

I do have a red LT pannier but I bought that years ago. The new acquisition is a model of a crimson lake steam powered GWR vehicle.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I went to post on ER's earlier but it had disappeared from the list of threads I had posted in, not to worry as it's now back. Now I've got to get a few things together for the SEERS AGM this evening.

I think Paneers do look fine in LT livery. I have a Caramac version, actually two now I think about it, 4mm and 7mm scale versions!

I managed to keep myself occupied on occasions whilst I was absent and spent some time in The Shed. I'll just claim that I was decorating it and putting up some new blinds. Anything else in the photos just happens to be there by coincidence. 😂 I better go and hide now.

This one - dislike the 'open plan' stuff. Advantages - hopefully PH view; sepatrate kitchen, mainliving area and fair size area for things that run on parallel track. Disadvantages - dogs love gardens and if in UK the reliability of the lifts as stairs potentially a problem in the event of mobility problems. Having said that in Switzerland and PH the lift will be properly maintained although at an annual cost. Cannot comment on flights as the last one was almost beyong memory and as for holidays ... We live in an area that has plenty of 'walks' but with dodgy knees and hips and a very very long waiting list is impossible for SWMBO and phenomally frustrates her, so, it is just as well that we have good countryside views. Big changes have been made to the dwelling to her designs. The really positive thing about SWMBO is that she is a fantastic homemaker and does not 'have to be out' like some of our friends need to be. On another note spend too long going through all the posts that means by the end have often forgot the earlier reads ... hopefully senility is not beckoning. Did note that GDB had returned.

I thought they just sent them 'abroad' - take your pick of destinations.

That must have been why Mum could get his records.

Perhaps it depends on the cake! The one we took over to MiL’s on Sunday contained no flour.

Val Doonican was post-1922 😛.

Rumour has it that hospitals think that cake is a Bad Thing. Adrian

I commuted to school, on my own, from the age of seven. Mum took me the first day, after which I was on my own. The 1926 era 4SUB broke down on the third day, and they stopped the Kent Coast train comprising brand new 4CEPs. I discovered these had external handles, so on arrival at St Mary Cray I opened the window, opened the door, closed the window, stepped out and closed the door behind me. Simples.

Try Irish records before 1922 - though things are apparently getting better.

Any news?

As long as the toaster itself can’t talk to people, holograms, robots or cats! Andi

Family records often start in the late 1600s. The Roundheads destroyed many Church and Parish records between 1640-60 so before that date, research is difficult.