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With reference to the calls for Italy to be dropped from the tournament and/or replaced with another, something to consider is that it is not just about the mens senior team these days. I don't know how the Under 20s team is performing, but I believe that the Italian ladies finished second in their competition last year. I don't follow the ladies competition, or the under 20s, so don't know if this result was typical or a one-off, but I can't see a country being removed because only one of their teams is not performing. I would assume that an even number of teams would be the norm from now on, if only so that everybody is playing each weekend. I can remember the Five Nations tournament with two games and one team resting - but even that is not even as if your 'by' is the first or last game, you would be expected to play four consecutive games whereas others would have a mid-tournament break. I believe that when France joined the Four Nations, it took them some time to establish themselves. Italy did strike me as an odd choice but in terms of other European countries that play rugby, only Romania and Georgia come readily to mind. Presumably Italy had the highest ranking of the contenders at the time.

Pleased with the result of the Scotland game, plus the feat of holding Italy to zero points, and in Rome, but the game itself wasn't the best to watch. But we won, and that is the main thing at this point. Out of interest, with the losing bonus point being given if the gap is 7 or less, is there a requirement that the losing team must score points? e.g. if the game finishes 3-0 or 5-0, would the losing team still pick up a bonus point for the game despite having scored no points on the pitch? France and Ireland the two unbeaten teams at the time of writing...

Silly question perhaps, but did the tools (shovel, etc.) belong to the locomotive or the fireman? I could imagine different types of locomotive, with different sized/shaped fireboxes, requiring a different size/length of shovel. But, like any other trade, I could imagine men having their own equipment that they looked after / customised for their own purposes, etc.

Could the Class B fuel be for diesel vehicles used by the Air Ministry, repair trucks, transporters, small fuel bowsers, etc.? Or were there too many 'B' tanks running around for that purpose alone?

Wonder why they run with the sides folded down when empty? Particularly with the much taller (and fixed) ends in position.

Thank you both for those responses. Looking at the underframes I assumed that these were conversions of the OAA/OBA/OCA/VAA/VBA/VCA/VDA family of vehicles, as the OTAs were. Makes more sense as these are presumably brick/block traffic whereas the OTAs are timber wagons.

As a Scotland supporter, I saw yet another game that we could have won, and perhaps should have done. But for me the Calcutta Cup game could be summed up by English mistakes kept Scotland in the game, until the try was scored and that was that. I liked Vern Cotter as the coach, and we were playing some interesting and exciting rugby for a while. The weather yesterday didn't suit that sort of game, but I am starting to see signs of Scotland slipping back to how they once were - could gain possession and territory, but could not convert that to points. Too often possession was lost when it should have been retained.

A few years ago I had a house built in Western Australia, somewhere you think might be ideal for a solar installation, and when I asked the builder about incorporating a system into the house design they said no, not within their remit. I was of course free to have an external contractor retrofit a system afterwards, out of my own pocket (rather than adding the cost to the mortgage). So not just in the UK. And yes, I believe that solar installations should be standard - unless there is a good reason for them not to be - with the recognition that panels etc. may not last as long as the structure on which they are resting on. But then the gas boiler, hot water tank etc. that are provided with the house are not expected to last as long as the bricks and mortar...

That is something that I have noticed, when on occasion I have seen different generations of the same vehicle (e.g. Toyota Hilux) side-by-side on the road. The big difference is the width of the newer vehicle. Somebody at work said it was to do with all the safety gubbins that has been added to each new iteration of the vehicle. Something I noticed too when I changed cars last year - from a 2005 Nissan Pulsar (Almera in the UK) to a 2018 Hyundai i30. Those parking bays just aren't as wide as they used to be...

I hadn't realised that OTAs with the original (non-extended) ends were still around and in use. Or are these not OTAs and something else?

C14029 - had a look for the white Citroen on the DVLA site. Not sure if it was yours or the signalmans... New in October 1989, so less than a year old when photographed in February 1990. Last taxed in 1999 and not renewed in March 2000. So it may have lasted (as little as) 10 years...

I noticed the third wagon in the train didn't have holes in the sides to prevent overfilling and on closer inspection does not have a side door either. Presumably one of the former stone tipplers? The upper edge also appears to be slightly lower than the surrounding vehicles. Were the stone wagons, which from memory were rated at 27t c.f. 16t for the coal wagons, good enough not to require holes to be cut in the sides or was this a vehicle that had yet to be treated?

C8681 - 4 wheel CCT. Looks like it is still in mainline, as opposed to departmental or internal, use too. Won't have been for much longer after that I would've thought. Don't suppose you can ID it from the original picture? EDIT: Seems like it was an IU, from comments below. I read the number as 94... others consider it 04...

Might be drifting from topic a little, who me?, but I'm curious about the long- and short-swing link suspension systems. If the short system 'has' to be used in areas where there is DC electrification, then presumably these are a compromise in some way and that the long system is better/preferred, otherwise presumably everything would have been built as short? And how very odd that there was a single bogie type, BT10, with two different suspension systems and route availability (for want of a better term) rather than calling the 'shorts' by one name and the 'longs' by another.

Australia still seems to favour the single cab design too, whether US built for the mining in the NW or domestic build - to a somewhat smaller loading gauge - for the national networks (broad, standard, and narrow gauge). Often working in pairs (or threes), but plenty of single unit formations around on more local work. There are dual cab units around too, but are in the minority.

A number of Class 27s went to Swindon around that time. Presumably Glasgow was at capacity and Swindon had the expertise/needed the work. At least one 27, 019, finished its days at ZL, so possibly that was the parts bin for those being overhauled/repaired there.

C8411 looks rather close for what seems to be a converging line. DMU appears to be heading towards the camera (white lights on the cab). Presumably the 37 was stationary, or possibly propelling when the picture was taken? Or is it an optical illusion caused by a long lens?

Not related to the original query, but there is a construction site not far from me that had a significant quantity of similarly sized pipes to what LBRJ stated delivered, although I suspect these are for water rather than gas. They came in a fleet of tarp-top containers, 42U1 for those who know/care about such things, and were unloaded by crane after removing the tarp from three sides of the container top. The pipes are bundled together by a rectangle of wood inset from each end, and are/were possibly strapped together too. For the original query, would bolster wagons have been used to carry such small diameter pipe?

Enjoying this thread rather a lot, as much for the variety as anything else. I built a RAF rescue launch many years ago (as a child-young teen). Mine was finished as 156. I want to say that there were three numbers to choose from - 127, 143, and 156 - but I may be wrong. There were also detail differences between the vessels, but I forget what they were.

Thought I recognised the location. Near JB Hi-Fi in Myaree. Never took a picture, but there used to be a BMW saloon that parked next to the (now closed) Muzz Buzz in Maddington using four bays - the car sitting in the middle of the group so that nothing could park alongside or in front/behind it. Assumed it was the franchisee/operator of the coffee shop.

I went grocery shopping this morning and despite the articles during the week claiming that we (the west) will have run out of fresh fruit and vegetables due to the fire-related road and rail closures in the interior the Coles I went to had everything I needed. Only thing I noticed a paucity of was cauliflowers, and the price had risen ($5.50 each c.f. $4.50 or $4.95). So I have food for the coming week :-)

While most of the attention has been on the east coast, and rightly so, it hasn't been all beer and skittles in the west either. Last number I saw for WA was 1.2 million hectares burnt, second only to NSW in area. The difference here is that most of these fires are taking place in sparsely populated areas. Some of these fires have meant periodic closures of the rail lines and highways that link WA to the east. There have been a number of fires in and around Perth, although so far only the Yanchep fire has been majorly disruptive, as far as I know. In contrast around a 1000 miles north of Perth, there are flood and major flood warnings for the De Gray and Fortescue rivers. I guess that means that the tropcial low or cyclone that was off the NW coast has made landfall. So there is water on the way... In Perth itself, after a blistering start to December (5 consecutive 40+C days), it has cooled somewhat and Christmas was almost unnaturally cool here. What I am wondering is whether this is one of those "once in a hundred year" events where all of the holes in the cheese have lined up, or whether this could be the new norm. Rather concerning if the latter.

Wonder what that was that was being cut? My initial thought was a side from a ballast hopper, but perhaps not. Also wondered how they determined what size to cut the pieces into? Was it by weight, dimensions, or something else?

Most of the responses seem to have considered RTR models. I did wonder about kit built locomotives and coaches, that had been built and/or painted by well-known craftsmen, possibly in the larger scales. But as others have mentioned, not only do you have to receive more units of currency than you paid out, but beat inflation etc. too.

Seeing the Pacers running in 6-car formation for disposal, did they ever run in 6-car formation in regular service? One example I know, as I saw it, was the inaugural runs after the Bathgate line reopened for passenger traffic, when 3 Class 143s ran in formation between Edinburgh Waverley and Bathgate. But that may be considered a 'special' and wasn't typical, at least not on the Bathgate line.