brianthesnail96

Afternoon all. Sorry to hear that Jock has been "shunted". I'm enjoying these "spoonerism" and similar anecdotes. We have a tendency to mash words together, it started as a bit of a joke (I think it came from the spoof science show "Look Around You" originally) but has become a slightly unfortunate habit. I did once go into a Subway and order a football roll in lieu of a footlong meatball roll, much to the bafflement of the lass serving- took me a few seconds to register why everyone started laughing. I think that was more as a result of a long journey in a ropey old Transit van than anything else though. Ahh, haircuts, that's the other thing. Much like baths, I have one once a year whether I need it or not. Generally in spring- the winter coat is coming on nicely. It then gets clippered all over so it stays reasonably short during the warmer weather. A friend normally does the honours in exchange for a beer or two. As Laura generally has hers fairly short (and interesting colours, although less so these days due to having to at least give the impression of being an adult while at work), mine is quite often longer than hers at this time of year. Her haircuts are rather more regular and I suspect more expensive, I've never dared ask in case she starts questioning my spending habits...

Morning all! Caught up at last... Again, too late getting up to do so before getting to work. Nice easy commute this morning though, there's something rather relaxing about driving one of the slowest things on the road that's not a tractor- if you are running late you might as well just sit back and accept it 'cos there's nothing you can do about it! Not that I am. POETS here, we finish 1hr45 early generally (although most higher up the ladder than me start slinking away at lunchtime) which gives a bit of useful time. I'm slowly trying to teach myself Solidworks so the quiet Friday afternoons are ideal for this. It will have it's uses in work for designing fixturing and such- much better than "back of a fag packet" especially when you are drawing something for the machinists down the road. I dare say it will be useful for modelling based things as well; next tutorial is "revolves" so perhaps we'll see if we can draw a stovepipe chimney for the 7mm Terrier. Laura normally finishes at midday but works one Friday afternoon in 5, today is that day which is handy as I'm hoping her Christmas prezzie will be on the doormat when I get home! On the subject obsolete music formats, one job for this evening is to unbox and test the fantastically 80's tape deck that arrived earlier in the week. There are hundreds on eBay, supposedly "New Old Stock" having been stashed in a warehouse for donkey's years. Certainly looks it from the box. Assuming it works OK (the seller said he'd swap it if it doesn't, he's got lots) it's destined to be a Christmas present for a friend who is into 80's hip- hop, for reasons the rest of us can't quite fathom. Feel unusually ahead of the game this year although I've not done any cards yet. Work's do tonight, into Stroud for a curry and a few beers. I'm on taxi duties as usual- the curse of the teetotaller. I don't mind really, I just hope whatever boozeatorium we end up doesn't mind making me a cup of tea every now and again... I'm actually quite fond of Wetherspoons for that reason, they don't look at you like you've dropped in from another planet when you order three pints and a cuppa at half 11 at night (equally they don't seem fazed when folks order a pint with breakfast, I'm not sure if they recruit based on indifference or if it's in the staff training package). Enjoy your day all

Morning all, little late on parade this morning- didn't get up in time to read through before I had to head to work. Work PC waking up and so am I, with a coffee. Blowy but dry here this morning. Great to hear that Is' operation seems to have gone smoothly, Simon has had better news than feared and that Jock has emerged relatively unscathed- I can sympathise with the canula issue, as when I was in hospital last (other than the occasional trip to minor injuries to have various bits stapled/ stitched back together...), probably eight or nine years ago now, I was told that I had "lovely veins" and was asked if I'd mind the student nurse having a go. Five minutes later I had a pretty good idea of what a pin cushion felt like and she still hadn't found it. Still, you've got to learn somehow. As a newbie here, can I just say how great it is to see the positive attitudes of those who I think it's fair to say don't seem to have been dealt the best of cards in life but are determined to make the best of what they have- keep it up one and all, it's a wonderful antidote to the world as portrayed in the papers, even for those of us who don't really have anything to complain about in life. Laura's work's do last night, funny enough at a pub I used to frequent is my misspent youth (it was far enough away from home that no-one knew us, but it didn't take too long to get there by Fordson Major). I think it's been spruced up a bit since, she returned (somewhat later than expected, but upright) full of enthusiasm for the food so I think a return visit is in order once the festivities are over. Fortunately someone offered to give her a lift back; the wind had picked up somewhat and returning "over the top" from dropping her off saw a Vmax of all of 45mph flat out so I wasn't in a great rush to go back out. Handily it gave me the chance to do an uninterrupted perusal of online vendors of shiny things, so hopefully that's the tricky one now catered for on the 25th. I'm informed a trip to town is planned on Saturday so hopefully I can tick a few more off the list then. Have a good day all

Ahh, Geordie weather... when I visited for the uni open day everyone was in shorts and t- shirts, us southern softies felt like right wimps in our jumpers! Often wonder how different things would have turned out if I'd got in there, it was my first choice but I didn't get the grades. One of those "trousers of time" moments! Mind you, it knows how to rain in Plymouth too. I'm fortunate enough to be saved the dilemma of supporting Track Shack vs my local emporium as- so far anyway- John hasn't branched into 0 gauge. I've had 16mm stuff from him back in the early days (back when NHN still had a proper job, not just playing with mini steam locos....) and the service was every bit as good then as it is now. Would be the first port of call if I ever go back to 16mm in the garden. Conveniently Antics' warehouse shop is all of 5 minutes walk from my work, so they get my business- and I've become friends with the team there. Best wishes to those who are receiving medical attention tomorrow, and those looking out for them, and here's hoping for a cockwomble free day tomorrow for those who have had the misfortune to encounter more than their fair share today. Night all!

The standard 12T van was the second 0 gauge kit I made- I stuck all the bits on underneath (after the same tweak a bit- try it- tweak a bit- repeat exercise), plonked it on the track and thought "what did I do all that for?!". Feels like cheating to miss it out though... I don't recall having too many arguments with the lost wax bits, the buffers took a bit of tidying but at least they repay the effort.

Glad it's not just me... did you cut and glue all the strips of microstrip on to the underside bracing too, or did you decide your sanity wouldn't stretch that far? I could really do with another one for BT&S, so will be watching your JLTRT progress with interest.

Morning all. Trundled to work (stuck behind a dawdler- it's normally me at the head of a queue of traffic), coffee made, waking up. I'm supposed to be moving back to my home department at Christmas but the head of that mob can't seem to decide where he wants me, no great shakes as I'm happy where I am (I've been "on loan" for a year) but it'd be nice to have a bit of direction. Other than that, there's a hint of blue in the sky, nothing much on the radar for tonight other than popping to Sainsbury's so I should be able to make a bit more progress on my Dapol Terrier. Hope everyone has a drier day, both outside and in their kitchens...

Corrected on the website now- very prompt response thanking me for letting them know

I seemed to recall he is- I think Brain just became habit though (ref. terrible p*ss taker!). I do miss the GSM coffee room, part the reason I decided to poke my nose in here That and they put up with you so they must be an alright bunch really... That's a lovely image, by the way- surprised they let you back in the shop. Presumably Fraggle is an Ikea free zone, another good reason to live there (and probably goes someway to making up for the weather). Moose seems excited at the prospect of meeting Donk. Looking forward to seeing how they recover that bus. I suppose it might end up being cut up in situ. There was an interesting one at one of the steam rallies this year, someone managed to put a Burrell Showmans in a ditch (on the way to the pub as well). Obviously a little delicate to extract, and not an easy recovery (had taken the front axle off I believe). Two Scammell Explorers and an S26 recovery plus an ex military Foden recovery to get it out, all from the show- don't think the drivers had to buy much of their own beer for the rest of the night. Been fairly dry here today, although our troubles are extremely minor compared to other corners of the country it'd be nice if it dried up a little bit- our front garden/ driveway (gravel over soil) is getting decidedly soft, bizarrely at the top of the slope. Given that the house is at the bottom I'd rather it's this way around, but it is a little odd. It's getting to the point where a certain amount of momentum is needed to get the Marina out without it sinking!

Very pleased with DCC Supplies, two orders of bits (one of extras, and then the second for things I broke taking mine apart- someone had given my assembler extra glue rations!) including a last minute amendment to the second, in the post nice & quick and well packed. Nice easy website to use too. Only thing I'd note is that the photos and descriptions for some of the tank vents are a bit muddled on the website- I ordered 110411, received what is the picture for 110410 (which is what I think 110411 should be, 110410 description is for the vents themselves which are photographed as 110414)! Based on my experience the descriptions and part numbers match but the photos don't. Easily done though.

Not sure if that should be "funny" or "friendly" Nidge... given that I have the pleasures of building a kitchen over Christmas (just units thankfully), I should probably have gone for friendly instead! Thanks for the welcomes all. Good to see we're not the only one with a moose, although ours is a perennial occupant of the living room. He has gained a suitably festive hat and tinsel though- yesterday was tree day, tradition here is to buy one from a friend's grandad- I used to help sell them when I was younger so it's good to go back for a brew and a catch up. It's also about the only time I see my friend these days, this year I finally met his wife & 3 year old son for the first time. Must admit I never had him down as dad material but he's clearly taken to it like a duck to water and young Ted is a credit to him and his good lady. Home as it was getting dark, so fire lit for the tree (and moose) decorating ritual, all very festive and something I grudgingly admit to enjoying- although not as much as Laura, who donned elf slippers (with bells) and happily danced around throwing tinsel and baubles at everything for an hour or so. Was a good antidote to the three hours sat under the Land Rover hurling expletives at the clutch hydraulics on Saturday; non functioning Land Rover would have meant no tree, at the expense of domestic harmony...

Good morning all... As Brian, I've been lurking for a few weeks and since he's stuck his head over the proverbial parapet I thought I would as well (although I see from the star by the thread that I've actually posted in here previously somewhere in the depths of time)- so hello all! I'm not Brian, I'm actually Matt, but I will answer to Brian (or indeed Brain as a friend from another corner of the internet insists on calling me- never entirely sure if it's dyslexia or just taking the mick, could well be both!), suspect I'm probably amongst the younger of the posters in here being not quite as far below 30 as I'd like, residing in currently rather damp but not totally submerged Gloucestershire. I work as a development engineer for a company making fuel systems for lorries (and to the best of my knowledge we don't cheat on emissions tests, so no VW jokes! We just wish we'd thought of doing that...), happily not married to a very tolerant young lady called Laura, no pets (yet) other than an Ikea Moose (inventively called Mooose), and other than an unhealthy obsession with the products of British Leyland no major maladies. Other than that Neil bloke on Fraggle Rock, who has been an internet acquaintance of mine for some time, I recognise a few names from the classic cars thread. The rest of you I'm sure I'll learn over time. It's so nice to see a bunch of people from all over the world looking out for each other, perhaps the world isn't as bad as the news at 10 makes it out to be after all

Old Mr Bury is a cantankerous old whatsit, typical grumpy Yorkshireman who wouldn't consider any loco not made in his home county. Mr Thorn is slightly less cantankerous and spent some time working in Bristol in his younger years; this gave him a slightly broader view of the world and as such, he allows his Yorkshire instinct for thrift to overcome his Yorkshire instinct for only buying things from Yorkshire on occasion. This doesn't stretch as far as buying things from Lancashire of course, but when he found out via a contact from his Bristol days who had moved to the big smoke that the LB&SC were selling off some of the Terrier fleet, the opportunity to snaffle a couple of small but powerful tank locomotives at a bargain price was not to be missed. Some years later with both being somewhat worn out the decision was taken to refurbish one with the best bits of the pair, it taking the identity of No. 3, originally LB&SC 51 "Rotherhithe", the other engine (BT&S No. 4) was LB&SC 66 "Hatcham" As penance, Mr Bury insisted the next loco after the Terriers was from one of the Leeds manufacturers, but Mr Thorn got his way again later, ordering a new Peckett Class E to replace the scrapped No. 4 as the Bristol firm was able to offer a shorter lead time than the Northern manufacturers while at a competitive price. Obviously, by the time of our visit, the early 1960's, both the founders have passed away and it's Mr Thorn's two sons running the business (Mr Bury never married). They have inherited their father's thrift however, hence the locomotive fleet continuing to be somewhat eclectic. Can you tell it's a quiet afternoon in the office?

All the hard work has been Dave's doing, although there are some very minor tweaks I want to do before Yate. As for transfers, I'm not a particular fan of etched name and particularly numberplates on everything, it comes across as a little twee to me (possibly to do with my 16mm/ ft modelling days, where nearly every loco is spotlessly clean with large brass plates)- although I'll concede the Ixion ones are very nicely done. I'd much prefer company lettering, ideally white shaded black on light green paint- sadly there isn't time before the next show to get custom ones done so I've been looking for suitable lettering/ alphabets for either B.T.S. or BT&S on the tank sides and No3 on the cab. Another option would be straw shaded red and I'll paint the loco black. Most likely though it'll end up sand with a BTS roundel as the Fowler, which I can do with self (or Tim!) printed transfers (as on the Fowler). The Minerva Peckett will definitely be getting this treatment.

Indeed. I ordered one load of bits from them the other day, including a set of A1X brake gear- the side tank assembly is so cheap I bought a spare just to experiment with. Having taken it to bits I've now put an order in for several more bits that I've broken (they seem to have been very generous with the glue ration for mine and a number of bits were very well stuck), unfortunately they haven't listed a smokebox handrail (and I didn't think to ask) but it'll be easy to make a new one. My fault for taking it off too early, ironically to try and avoid damaging it during handling... would have been better to poke the handrail knobs out from behind.

Perhaps slightly out of the remit of this thread, but of interest I'm sure. I'm lucky enough to crew on Fowler 15813, we had her out for a run on Saturday for the "turning on the lights" festival in Stonehouse. Was more than a little damp and we mostly hid in the living van, where the stove was lit and there was tea on tap! Had a brilliant run back to base in the dark, headlights on and my driver keeping an eye on proceedings by torchlight- my first time on the road at night, lovely experience (especially as the rain had eased off a bit by then). Lighting up... Heading back home: Back in the yard: Only phone pics so not the best, but it gives a flavour of what we get up to. Those one Facebook can follow the adventures of 15813 via "The View From the Living Van" page, which is a sort of blog of life with a couple of steam engines, kept by the family that own and run her (and the occasional visiting engine).

"I think we've taken a wrong turn somewhere fireman, this doesn't look like Tenterden to me"

Missed that post Osgood- tiz a rather nice model, was a Birthday present from my boss- he's spent the last couple of years trying to convince me I need a 12" to 1' scale one to keep his Unipower & Scammells company. Having said I wasn't going to buy a Terrier, I may have given in to temptation when I saw the blue ones. Given the price it was tricky to resist really. That and the MW isn't quite right and I'm not sure I'll have the time or skill to get it fettled before Yate in February. The Terrier should be a nice easy project at least... famous last words. Sound, a repaint, removal of the condensing gear and fitting the later brake gear (available as a spare from DCC Supplies, as are lots of bits at what I considered very sensible prices). As arrived; looks a little out of place. And in it's current state... Still undecided on livery, I quite like the idea of light green but I'm struggling to find suitable transfers "off the shelf".

Well it's in pieces now so we're beyond the point of no return! Will have to rummage down the back of the sofa and see if we can find enough for a sound chip...

Fair enough- I'll leave the electrickery "as supplied" and make sure I test run with the decoder before sticking speakers etc in, and if I have any problems I can get it across to DCC Supplies. As I sad I'm not Dapol baiting, far from it- I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to reduce the risk of problems before fitting sound.

If you get the opportunity to find out it'd be interesting to know what happened to the one you converted yourself Peter, not because I'm fishing for ammunition to fling at Dapol but because I want to fit sound to mine & don't want mine to go the same way!

Definite possibility yes... Minerva Peckett will definitely be sand. Just wondering if I should have an "early" BT&S livery for a bit of variety.

Depends how much you can do one for- if in the same ballpark as the Peckett (+ a bit, it does have more wheels after all) then yes, probably! Would need to be a good chunk cheaper than Lionheart's 64xx/ 74xx though, it's a lovely model but priced too high for an "I like that" purchase for most people, it has to be an "I want that". Book is very much on my personal "I want that" list and Father Christmas has duly been informed of this, looking forward to it

I did try and have a natter with you at Chippenham, I was on a short term lorry driving contract for Tim on TEOTL- did have a good look at Peafore but you were having an in depth conversation about blue diesel detailing and still managing to run trains so I thought I wouldn't barge in and add to your problems!

Yes, somehow I managed to end up with BT&S as well as the Land Rover! Top bloke. You might well recognise the late 2a as well then, Dougal the 1-ton is now owned by "SOTD", aka Mike, although it's changed a bit now (wider track axles, reversed Discovery wheels and a blue canvas being the obvious ones). Goes all over Europe in it.