jjb1970

The JNR DD54 diesel hydraulic was a dreadful locomotive, a Maybach engine with hydraulic transmission and with NBL-esque quality and reliability. They had a very short life, yet despite that I have a soft spot for them as I like the design and the B-1-B wheel arrangement is interesting. Their calamitous record can't be blamed on Japan not knowing how to manage hydraulics or them being the poor relation in a railway dominated by diesel electric types as Japan built some excellent diesel hydraulic types which had long and successful lives such as the DE10 and DD51 (another two types with interesting wheel arrangements, but much more successful than the DD54). Zoukei Mura made a superb HO - 1/80 model which is still pretty easy to find. Anyway, I stumbled across this nice video on YT:

The only thing I can think of is to move things further from Europe in case EU littoral states decide to take action on the high seas. Strictly speaking ships have to obey the laws of the Flag State and the Coastal/Port State when in their territorial waters, so if tankers are operating in accordance with the laws of the Flag in international waters they're doing nothing wrong (legally, it's a personal judgement call whether people think they're trading unethically). However I'm hearing the phrase 'it's our water' to describe areas beyond the territorial sea in Europe and increasing demands to act as though large areas of international seas are within their sovereign control so maybe operators are pre-empting potential moves against them?

This is a big problem for old coal fired power stations, the cost of restoring the ground can be a nightmare. Decades of accumulated hazardous contamination. I saw reports for some of my former employers sites and they weren't pleasant reading.

A little bit of communication could pour oil on troubled waters. Delays to the model caused by the exceptional circumstances of the last few years were fair enough in my view. SLW are a small company and events derailed companies with much more purchasing power and resource. If SLW are struggling to get orders out because they're a tiny outfit, or because they're going through each model to check quality or for another reason I would cut them slack but it'd probably avoid negative feeling to tell their customers why there is a delay. Delays in delivery from the factory are one thing, delays in fulfilment after arrival at SLW something else as that should be within their control. Personally I wouldn't cancel but I can understand why people are getting a bit annoyed when it wouldn't take that much to provide an update.

On steam, I really don't get that enthusiastic about steam specials so I am not the target market for what it's worth I don't get that enthusiastic about preserved diesel mainline running either). I am happy to see old trains in museums. I was born after the end of mainline steam in Britain but did see mainline steam in China and something which surprised me was how different working steam felt relative to preserved steam. Seeing the big QJ kettles shunting in yards and on goods trains was way more impressive to me than something like FS on a rail tour. The engines weren't mollycoddled or polished but neither were they abandoned to whatever filth might accumulate and were clearly regularly cleaned.

Some of the platform gaps at Berkhampstead are huge, the combination of a curved platform, doors are 2/3 inboard from the vehicle ends and a significant height difference.

If there's one thing I like about China (and there are many) it's the obsession with pork. I remember reading an article by a green NGO person about their plans to stop the Chinese eating pork, to which my reaction was good luck with that.

I have a love/hate relationship with Brussels. There are things I criticize but there are beautiful areas, the food is superb and I find the people friendly. The area around Gare du Midi is best avoided but most cities have their problem areas. That said, I prefer Antwerp, I love Antwerp.

I must admit I am not a fan of the turkey 'bacon' found in some Muslim countries. I find chicken frankfurters OK but efforts to make substitute bacon all seem awful.

Some electric bicycles are closer to being motorbikes than bicycles, food delivery riders here are an absolute menace. Fortunately the electric scooter craze hasn't taken off here in the same way as in Europe and America.

I suspect the manufacturers monitor social media but are selective with engagement for entirely understandable reasons.

On pork it was a regular thing when we were based in Ashdod (Israel) that local contractors, agents etc would ask for bacon butties when coming onboard. Pork is easy to find in Indonesia and Malaysia as it's a staple of the Chinese community in those countries. The Muslim majority either avoids it or indulges themselves (as with the western world and religion many people are nominally Muslim but basically non-observing).

There's a whole hobby of Land Rover Defender enthusiasts in Britain who pimp up their vehicles to be able to compete in the Paris-Dakar Rally or operate with the SAS in Afghanistan so they're properly prepared to make the arduous trip to Tesco or the next Land Rover show.

Lima did an excellent job with their 47. It's basic and quite generic but they nailed the shape and 'look' of the 47. It's still a great starting point for a project to detail and modify and can result in a superb model. And the Hornby releases have an excellent motor bogie which offers smooth and quiet performance. OK it's a motor bogie in an era where body mounted motors which drive to all wheels is normal, but it's a very good motor bogie.

Unfortunately an especially poor image (digital zooming on my phone to get it) but it seems the former MoD RoRo Beachy Head has had a big bit added onto the the back since being sold.