Phil Bullock

Great capture Neil. We see them more and more up the Wye. Out on Usk last week … yellow hammer tree creeper and nuthatch for company.

Well if you are not I should be!!! 😀 But joking apart …. No-one should be subjected to such deliberate discrimination - especially at an event they have chosen to attend for their own pleasure. It’s incumbent on us all to remember that when we are exhibiting publicly we are representing the hobby, the organisers and ourselves. Spending time explaining the layout to visitors is part of the pleasure for me … although if I am under the layout trying to evict gremlins it may not come across quite like that!!!

Same with the loco off 1M22 …. Was there a turn round in BNS ? Wonder what round trip fuel range would be … got to be more than a Bristol - BNS round trip surely! But on this occasion, 28th August …,and thanks to Steve Harrod and Mark Alden for the gen … D845 plainly found the climb up the Lickey too strenuous, she was OEO from Blackwell and was failed on arrival at BNS. She found someone who knew her foibles somewhere in Brum as she worked back south at 19.20 on 1V95 to Cardiff. The end was coming though … in September D857 came up on 1S56 the Stirling motorail on 6th , going back south on 4V09 Nottingham vans the next morning, and on 23rd D853 was on 5B73 Malago Vale vans up to Worcester followed by 6M20 vans to BNS, returning south in the diagram on 4V03 vans from Curzon Street. That was the last NBL Warship in Brum that I know of… Pretty sure it was the last week of October … school half term … I saw Strongbow at BNS. It was D840/48 that were laid up at OOC, both with fire damage. The other early withdrawal, D863, died at Laira. And yes that sounds logical that they took up the Worcester-Hereford turns after they finished on the Birmingham turns. We were always at the bottom of the class 1 motive power list!

Had my 7808 out today to look at CVs for @Pierre Le Brun. Also set it up properly on ECoS which means the functions are clearly identifiable. It really is a superb model both looks and sounds. Just need to get a sound chip for 7812 to bring it up to spec ….

10 screws to get body off on the new Bachmann 37!!!

And here’s 845 Sprightly 28th August 1971 at BNS on 0800 SO Paignton to Liverpool. Photo linked courtesy of Alistair Ness - many thanks! D845 Sprightly at BNS

Very informative! Not many pictures of them in the area but there is this video …. Strongbow at New Street No date on the video but she was the first and only one I ever saw at BNS …. Would love to think it was the same day! Also interesting that those WM working didn’t integrate with Worcester area workings although they didn’t appear there until Spring 68. They were not unknown up and down the Lickey in addition to the OWW route… It’s also worth remembering that despite their issues 30 of the class of 33 were in traffic until the spring of 1971 … only 6 months before the final 16 were switched off at the beginning of October. Fascinating times!

Got loksound 5 and double iPhone in mine …. Howes sound file D200 …. Loksound v5 video

And they continued to arrive in the West Midlands … on the two van trains from Worcester, the Sunday only loco hauled class 2 from Hereford and on workings from the South West via Gloucester. Not that common on the latter though, and they shared the Worcester/Hereford turns with Hymeks. These were all out and back turns, with no fill in work in the West Midlands that I am aware of….

I think E3044 had been repainted in BR blue whilst the rest were still in electric blue … so better represented the future.

The butterflies on mine were split and fell apart when I tried to refit them. But have still done a successful repair to them with a tiny dab of superglue….

Courtesy of Pete Berry … who very kindly lent me his original photo to scan and tinker with… here is a picture of a working I was aware of but did not think I would ever see. My good friend Ian Tipper who was a driver on the bankers at Bromsgrove had noted it passing Bromsgrove in his notes he kindly lent me but I never imagined I would see a photo of it. Pete originally posted it in the Railways in the Three Counties FB group but it most definitely merits wider viewing. It’s 21st October 1968 and E3044 has been starring at the previous weekends Bristol Open Day. What better choice of motive power to get her back north other than a fellow NBL loco …. D837 Ramilles. Pete saw the cavalcade leaving Gloucester Eastgate station and managed to capture its passing at Tramway Junction. Please respect photographers copyright.

Go for it ! Hope it works …. Just tell the boss how lovely the Cotswolds are in summer… 😀

Yes a nice move … As long as it doesn’t increase the kinetic envelope and cause clearance problems on layouts ….

Ah …. Forgot to say …. Next outing is now confirmed, GWSR diesel gala 12-14th July. We will be in the Tim Mitchell building on Winchcombe station …. And rumour is the barbecue will be outside. Heritage diesels and hot dogs … what could be better?