Black Sheep

If you want the info sheets to look a bit more in keeping with the layout I'm sure I can make them look like pages on parchment

Test piece that the boards with scenery on will fit round the top of the stairs:

 

 

The taller sections represent church spires and chimneys, the shorter represent general structures and the railway as it sits on a viaduct right across Milliedale on Sea

 

The bad news is, I don't believe the roundhouse will fit...

My in-laws are about to emigrate to Soller to a little place next to a tram stop. 

 

I'll be out there in April if you PM me near to the time with any information you need and I'll try and find out / get photos for you if you like?

If you can create a lot of servo 'flutter' you could do two sheep making more sheep - or are we trying to stay family friendly?

 

Could do a hog roast with a small figure of pepper pig rotating above the fire...

Think my daughter has a pepper pig figure she could donate

good to see Gresby back,

 

with regards the van looking as though it's driven in, turning the wheels will help with that as though it's been wiggled into the space and "that'll do" and the handbrake yanked on.

 

I've never seen a work van parked with it's wheels straight!

Last order date for pre-Christmas delivery of our custom etched items is 23rd November 2015. Orders placed after this time may not be produced until January 2016.

Our ETCH25 discount code is still valid for 25% off nameplates, works plates, number plates and loco sets.

http://shop.narrowplanet.co.uk/

 

Order placed, thanks guys

 

thanks

No horror story but used Doddle for the first time this week.

 

We have great difficulty receiving parcels, folks are home infrequently during the day and although the post is pretty regular, other couriers vary enormously as this thread testifies. Doddle offers a receiving service for parcels which you collect from one of their collection points, simply address the parcel to one of their offices with your name and user ID in the address and then pick it up from the office when it arrives, they e.mail and text you to let you know when it's there. The process was pretty slick, the cost can be hefty at 1.95 a throw but you can pay a fiver a month for unlimited collections so any more than two a month and you're in profit.

 

It won't suit everyone, the offices are in major stations, I use the London ones and collect on the way home from work, but if you are near one it's worth considering. Any carrier delivery issues are dispensed with as the offices are manned 07.00 to 20.00 to receive deliveries so no more expensive packages left on the doorstep.

 

That sounds great, if there's one near you!

 

While I circumnavigate Manchester to get to and from work, I don't go into as that takes too long, even on a motorbike, but then I can receive large bulky parcels at work 

 

I did get into trouble for receiving a second hand petrol tank (bike) from a breakers yard that stank of fuel once...

I've aquired a Heljan roundhouse which should save some space on the depot side of things, the plan is to anglicise it. 

 

 

Still not convinced on the goods yard, the area in front of the depot should be the town but I'm tempted to squeeze the yard in between depot and town instead of wedged against the station, this way it's directly served by the sorting sidings (fiddle yard)

 

would welcome people's opinions and suggestions. 

 

The railway is raised up across the front, but ground level has risen to make the lines at the back on a 6ft retaining wall (with a ladder down from depot to pub back yard!) with larger buildings in the town to hide the curve of the viaduct a bit 

 

the left hand end is under not Butlins

Working on the kitchen and playroom downstairs, hopefully after these are done I can spend a bit of time sorting the railway room on the excuse that the stuff piled on the floor could be better stored if the bench was in place. 

 

Still planning on using the richardsons steel sections to build a bench onto which I can sit a layout, however I have been wondering if I'm biting off more than I can chew with it and I'm unable to picture how the raised sections of the layout will interact with the roof...

I think the issue is when 'preservation' is used as an excuse for running not only what you like, but how you like with disregard to how a railway operates, or has to operate to do so safely. 

 

Yes there are things not modelled that were daily practices such as shunt release (not that uncommon but not seen much a few years back) along with banking etc

 

if a layout is built well and run well then it doesn't matter what's on it - of course, in the confines of your loft / shed / garage / spare room you can do as you please but at an exhibition it jolts reality a little bit too much spoiling the enjoyment of viewing. 

 

might be best to start steering away from this subject… 

 

 

how's the layout coming on?

I'm pleased to say we're slowly getting there!

 

The layout room was always low on the list of priorities overall but I'm hoping to be at baseboard building / mocking up stage around Christmas. 

 

The house renovation was always going to take a little longer than expected, especially since the darling little monkey in the last post popped into our lives two years ago. 

 

The layout room is in the eves of the house backing on to what will be a guest bedroom (currently full of stuff we've only just started unpacking after 3 years!), the wife thinks the dividing wall is under the ridge, it's not, it's a foot further back in my favour

 

 

One of my other hobbies can be seen planned out on the floor - it's 1:64 scale, not standard Scalextric, I don't have that much space!

 

 

My small workbench 

 

And now, the moment I felt I was getting somewhere...

 

 

In and tuned to Radio 2

 

I'm planning on building a bench out of this system: http://www.richardsonsuk.co.uk/25mm-square-tube-system/p47to carry the layout while allowing for storage under it. 

 

Thanks for sneaking behind the curtain and looking behind the scenes

 

I won't be there for long Barry, as baby duties outrank train duties. Hope to see you in the morning though.

 

 

Just don't do what I did and buy a motorcycle and you should survive! 

 

Congrats on the little one, you've got many happy moments and memories ahead - mine's just started playing with Brio

Hi,

 

The stonework sets the layout very much in East Lancs / West Riding and the limited length of the sector plate suits 0-4-0's really, so it's unlikely that a Pannier Tank or suchlike will appear in the stud

I was thinking an 0-4-0 green non GWR Welsh engine

Congrats, 

 

Looking at photos of the layout earlier while watching 'proper' children's TV, any possibility of a green welsh engine doing a turn or is it a bit far off patch? 

 

bit late to add this perhaps, but 

The tower will eventually have a water tank added to the top, the question being whether it should be a shallow one that fits the full dimensions of the tower or a half / three quarter width one with the remaining part being walled in and having access from the tower, and a ladder up the tank side. The latter is my favoured option as otherwise, how would they have access to maintain it? Maybe I give these things too much thought.

 

 

Fred Dibnah with a lot of ladders and a bit of rope.

Someone will be along in a minute to tell you it's not called road tax anymore... I've always called it that and always will.

Road Tax was abolished by Churchill as it was felt that no one group should be able to claim more right to the road than another.

 

What we pay is a fee to use a motorised vehicle on a public road, you pay £0 for a low emission vehicle so a bike would be £0 prior to tax disks being withdrawn it was estimated making cyclists display would cost £10,000 for no benefit.

 

Insurance-wise many cyclists are covered on their home insurance for public liability, others through cycling club membership (it's free with membership of British Cycling)

 

This subject has been discussed and locked many times, perhaps a separate discussion compared with the standard of qualified drivers?

 

 

On my way to work this morning I carefully made my way through a traffic jam to find an ambulance and two police cars blocking part if the entry to a roundabout before spotting a badly damaged motor scooter with L plate showing on its side a foot away from the island itself

 

My guess is, as this road rises and then drops to reveal the roundabout he's braked too hard for the conditions and skidded loosing control

 

He's had a days training before being allowed out on his own (same as myself although I had held a car licence for 10 years) it's better than the old system of buy a bike and figure it out yourself but is it enough?

 

Many training centres will sign off anyone who doesn't wobble too much, others will insist on another afternoon before sign off to be sure the new rider will be ok. Many people will ride on L plates with only re taking the days training every two years as legally required, not everyone will do further training and tests.

Yet again 4 wheel drive woman standing in the middle of the road with her door open, no intention of making passing easier for motorists. As I drove past I saw a young child standing in the road between the door and car. Some will say what's wrong with that !!

 

To start with the child was too old for a car seat, and was big and old enough to undo the seat belt and exit the car quickly, Could have even climbed out the other side on to the pavement. Secondly we have quite a lot of elderly folk living in the area and some should think twice about driving, thirdly despite having 2 infants/junior schools and a secondary school on the road driving instructors love to bring their pupils to the area even those who are struggling to control their car, finally there are two bus routes using the road, now it does not take Einstein to work out that at sometime during the day when two or more of these groups meet in a road where cars are parked intermittently both sides of the road incidents do happen. Having a child stand between an open door and the car body is the last thing I would do

 

 

Child seats must be used by law until age of 12 or until a set height.

 

Legislation is coming that rear facing seats must be used until a set age - this set age is quite some time after my daughters legs were too long to fit...

A thought just popped into my mind about red lights and emergency vehicles.

From Thames Valley Police:

 

 

If you cross the stop line at the junction whilst the lights are on red, you will commit the offence of contravening a red traffic light. However if there is an emergency vehicle behind you with its emergency warning signals on it might be possible for you to manoeuvre out of the way to allow it through. Ideally this should be to the side of the road without encroaching into the main area of the junction. It should only be done when it is safe to do so without putting yourself or other members of the public in danger and it should only be done slowly and carefully.

 

It is important to remember that in committing the offence (crossing the stop line) the onus will be on you to provide evidence that you did so to allow an emergency vehicle through, and this may be considered as mitigation.

 

 

 

I wonder if you would be given access to any relevant light/speed camera records?

A friend crossed the stop line but not into the junction, first police car passed, second stopped, booked him for it and carried on...

Definitely a case of style over function on the Evoque's letterbox windows.

 

Though it sounds like she wouldn't have noticed you even if she was driving a greenhouse.

There is that possibility.

 

She'd indicated from slip road into lane 2 then stopped indicating before taking my lane as I was about to pass the car in front of her.

At least she moved across steadily, not a quick flick like some small vans do

 

Quite glad of the van that blocked me from moving to lane 2 as it cleared otherwise I might have regretted my actions.

. No, I follow what you're saying, I just think it's making too much of this 'isolated from the road conditions' theme. I'm not sure that many drivers notice one way or the other either.

 

And, even if it were truer than I believe, what is your answer? Either we live with the 'isolation' of modern cars or we reintroduce 70's technology.

 

Do some modelling!!, what sort of forum do you think this is?!

As of this morning I have a scuff on my bike jacket from a woman in a brand new range river evoque who continued to move into my lane on the motorway (lane 3) having come right across from the slip road despite my horn being held down and me braking as much as i dare with a transit sniffing my tail pipes did she notice?

 

If she did she pretended not to by looking dead ahead.

 

Wider pillars to give better roll I've strength, better insulation to remove road noise

=

Bigger blind spots and less able to hear what's around with drivers refusing to use their other senses to compensate or even use their eyes.

 

With older cars you could hear more of what was going on around you, you could see more from your default driving position, modern cars you need to move more to ensure you see

it's good to encourage scratch building, but some people need to undertake a number of builds before having the courage to start cutting and creating, others get half way through building a terrace house and finish up with Downton Abbey! 

 

as has been said, the more kits, the more starting points

Has GWR 'Sand Castle' been done?

Agreed. But if you're currently at the back of the queue you should keep your brake lights on as a clue to new members of the queue.

 

Not guaranteed to work mind...

 

 

I'll keep an eye in my mirrors and then I can flash the brake lights, I usually stop short of the queue of traffic so that I can move forward if needs be / don't get shunted into the car in front. 

 

Bikers are taught to keep a foot on the back brake for the same reason (plus we don't have a handbrake) not sure how much it helped when I was hit from behind waiting at a set of lights, the bike went a bike's length forwards from under me, was in gear at the time 

I appreciate your reply, but what are you saying?

 

Modern headlights and efficient wipers are a safety hazard? I'm still not buying this somewhat Luddite idea, and you are not alone Black Sheep, that modern cars make people worse or unsafe drivers. From your last point, headlights coming on automatically at certain light levels would be a good thing, yet some argue it's a 'dumbing down driving' technology. Which is it?

 

I'm not always best at keeping to the point am I? 

 

I shall try

 

better wipers and better brakes and lights are all good for safety and I am in favour, if I owned a classic car I'd undertake some sympathetic upgrades to both and all three, I think some people see this advancement in safety and don't alter their driving as much as they should for the conditions, on the motorbike I'm out in it, hail stones on the motorway feel like I'm being shot by 12 10 year olds with bb guns at a birthday party after the cake has been finished, do modern cars take the edge off the poor weather in a way that older cars didn't? 

 

the wipers on a modern car can clear all but the worst of an Indian monsoon which enables you to continue at pace should you wish to, but is the road surface / your tyres up to dealing with the water flowing across the road? 

 

The weak spot in older cars in this example is the vacuum wipers that could only just clear a heavy shower forcing you to slow due to lack of visibility (or worse, crash due to it) and so you were forced to slow down more so than a modern car, your self preservation would kick in before you were doing 70mph over standing water. 

 

this is the point I'm attempting to make, some of the creature comforts of modern cars insulate the driver from what's going on relying on greater judgement of what can be seen as less is felt

 

another example, on the way home tonight in lane 1 of the motorway my bike shifts around as it encounters the well worn wheel tracks of many lorries using the M60, I feel it do this, apply a little pressure to the bars to steady it / move away from, my 1980 Fiesta used to dance in the wheel tracks a little bit, the wife's 13 plate Kia hardly notices them - great for comfort but an unimportant example of how modern vehicles insulate from conditions. 

 

 

am I making sense yet or should I give up and go do some modelling?

For goodness sake, really, how do modern cars stop people thinking for themselves?

 

 

I fear I am being misunderstood, modern cars isolate the driver from the conditions allowing some to make poor decisions or blindly copy anothers actions eg 2ft off the back bumped of the car in front at 70mph in thick fog that had reduced lanes 1&2 to 40mph due to lack of visibity.

 

Modern lights may pierce the fog better than those of the Minor but does that mean you can continue at normal motorway pace?

 

The same with modern wipers and tyres in heavy rain / spray, in extreme conditions I can feel my motorbike, all 250kg of it is slightly unsettled and there is a wall is spray from each lorry but speed in lane 3 doesn't drop, silver (and other colours) cars emerge from the gloom with no lights on having moments before not been distinguishable from the weather.