RJS1977

I'd question the length of the run-round/passing loop opposite Platform 2 - it's not long enough to do anything with. Remember too that very few heritage lines have any sort of goods traffic other than photo charters or engineering trains. However the goods siding next to the loco shed could be used to bring in coal for the locos, and the goods shed could be used as a restoration workshop - tatty wagons in and painted ones out!

Sorry, I disagree - the price of model railway items didn't drop 90% when Hornby moved production to China - if anything, prices went up!

There's a slightly sad irony that The Bridge at Remagen is making its public debut so shortly after the passing of Robert Vaughn, who starred in the film of the same name.

During today's Tiny Trains Day at Reading Museum, the Berkshire N Gauge Society became concerned that somebody may have stolen their 'Please Do Not Touch' sign.... (it turned up when they were packing up).

Whilst agreeing with Woolmar in this instance, it's probably about the first time! I've found his magazine articles tedious and repetitive, irrespective of the subject of the article. The level of his research can be seen in his ill-fated attempt to break the Tube Challenge record earlier this year. It was readily apparent that he hadn't contacted Guinness for confirmation of the current record or of the rules because his website quoted an earlier record as the time to beat, and he broke at least two rules in the process (not using the District Line during his visit to Kensington Olympia, and counting a non-stop pass-through of Tottenham Court Road as a visit).

Just a clarification for anyone who finds wiring up a plug confusing. There are three wires in a (UK) plug: A green wire - this wire brings all the electricity from wind turbines and solar panels into your applicance. A blue wire - this wire brings all the electricity from the hydro electric power stations into your applicance. A brown wire - this wire brings all the electricity from the dirty fossil fuel power stations into your applicance. If you want to cut your carbon footprint, you must ensure that this wire is not connected to any of the terminals on the plug.

If you go for 34 (or even 33), it might make applying the transfers easier...

I'd be interested to see pictures of that one too as a Collett full brake is on my to do list as well. Had I known it could have been done that way, I would have picked two up from Anoraks Anonymous yesterday....

All of which reminds me of my old boss who hired a Transit to help a friend move house, loaded the van, and en route to the friend's new address encountered a low bridge. My boss told the friend to go to the other side of the bridge and wave him through if there appeared to be enough room. The friend did, so my boss eased the van through under the bridge gingerly and apparently had a few inches to spare. He got where he was going, unloaded the van. As the van had fitted through fairly comfortably in the morning, he drove through at a much quicker speed on the return trip, forgetting that now it was empty, the body now sat higher on the suspension....

Isn't that where a Landie's supposed to be?

Picture of the roller reminds me of an interview with Sid James I was listening to recently, where he was recounting how he accidentally caused a week's delay to filming 'The Titfield Thunderbolt'. Apparently he lost control of the steam roller he was driving in the film, and flattened the camera!

There's a Discovery near me in Anti-Flash white with RAF roundels and the words 'Land Rover' on the bonnet changed to 'Avro' :-)

No - King Alfred were a bus operator in the Winchester area back in the 60s.

Yes - that would have looked rather silly if Triang had put cylinders on the Nellie chassis!

I just spotted that there's the cab of another one (the remains of one of the two bodies I cut and shut into a Tanat Valley loco) just visible to the left of the picture! The smokebox of the other body is just out of view - it acts as a stationary boiler in the lean-to on the back of the shed. PS - the Airfix signalbox has now been repaired!

And the point of Triang was that by producing trains which could be bought for a lower price than HD, Trix etc, it opened the model railway market to people who wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford the more expensive offerings. For them, an 08 with inside frames, a shortened Princess, or an inaccurate Jinty were far better than no trains at all - something which seems to have been largely forgotten in today's hobby.

Because Hornby are now such a financially successful company..... Now they're not pleasing *either* market! If anything, Triang's downfall was getting involved in too many other toy markets, and perhaps also buying out the failing H-D range.... What Triang did do was to introduce many people to the hobby who would not otherwise be here.

Yes it does.... no it doesn't.... yes it does.... no it doesn't..... yes it does.....

The layout I (and 2nd Reading Boys' Brigade) were restoring has now been returned to the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway. There are still some minor jobs to do on it, like fitting working signals. I have constructed a perspex cover for it (though not yet fitted as I had to wait for the glue to dry), and legs will be added in due course:

Some years ago I repainted one into GWR colours as per a 'Junior Modeller' article. It was some time before I discovered the GWR didn't actually have one... And a couple of photos of her older sister: These two put in sterling service on the branch shuttle trains on my father's layout.

All model trains are toys, it's just that some are toys for older people with deeper pockets....

They may have used batch production, but when they controlled the production line it was easy enough to reduce the numbers made in a batch that wasn't selling so well and use the time to make a larger batch of something else. Nowadays they have to compete for production line space with other companies. They also wouldn't have to wait several weeks for the next batch to arrive in the UK...

Indeed, I've built a steam railmotor with a modified Airfix autocoach body on a Nellie chassis. Mine hasn't got any valve gear either!

By this time next year hopefully Abergwili will be open, which should resolve the parking issues.

It does seem as if perhaps there should be some sort of co-ordinating body - given how few shows there are in the area (which in some ways is rather a vicious circle - there aren't many shows so few people build exhibition layouts, which means there's a shortage of layouts to attend shows), it's a shame when two fall on the same day. That said, my father and I did manage to attend the Woollen Mill and West Wales O gauge shows on the same day last year!