RJS1977

Two-dimensional, surely?

In 4mm scale I think any form of mechanical indicator would be out of the question.

It's also very cheap, of course. Which puts it firmly into the impulse purchase bracket as well as being a suitable toy for someone who may not necessarily be all that much into railways. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it's still a functional train set which could easily be the start of a bigger one that in turn becomes a hobby rather than just a toy. I wonder how many of us started off with something similar.

The difference is that when we started out, most items in the Hornby and Lima ranges could be purchased with a few weeks' pocket money so it was easy to expand the set. Those ranges also incorporated a lot of contemporary items (31s, 37s, 47s, HSTs, Mk1/2/3 coaches, 86s, 87s, 90s, Pacers etc) so it was easy to recreate a lot of what I could see going past school every day. Now there are relatively few budget models available and no budget models of contemporary trains.

One idea I had for creating a working model Solari panel was to use a cheap smartphone running a Remote Desktop app or similar, which could interface with a laptop running the display. The smartphone could be mounted in a surround designed to simulate the Solari frame.

Due to Low profit margins Marks & Spencers are to merge with Poundstretcher. The new stores will be called StretchMarks!

Did someone say Marx & Spencer?

Some more motor based frippery from ye good old days....

 

A cut down Mk1 Mini, complete with '70s-tastic Mk2 rear lamp clusters... can you imagine four adults trying to squeeze into this...

 

 

Or worse still, 4 elephants....

The Americans were also treated to the delights of the Marina although theirs were badged as Austins.

 

One acheived a degree of fame for Marina-kind as transport for TV newspaper man Lou Grant.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpHyJgSUkAEhn6f.jpg

One was mentioned in the first episode of Only Fools and Horses to feature Uncle Albert:

"But I've nowhere to sleep, Del Boy."

"Go back to the Seaman's Mission and sleep there like you used to."

"I can't Del. They've knocked it down. There's a marina there now."

"Well, sleep on the back seat of that, then..."

Just down the road is how we talk in Wales.  My wife "pops" into Llandudno for things and its 15 miles away. We had a difference perception of distance when we lived in Oldham. Popping down to Manchester was around 8½ miles and so 15 miles could take one through Ashton, Hyde, Stockport and still leave some miles to spare! Popping from Trawsfynedd  into Llangollen is around 38 miles.

We've (Cholsey & Wallingford Railway) hired 6430 three times so compared to us, Traws is "Just down the road" from Llangollen!

I'm not quite sure where the crane is/was but when I visited Traws earlier this year, the area round the lake appeared to be being developed as some sort of country park so maybe that would be a good southern terminus.

As for rolling stock, I know the Llangollen railway hire out 6430 and an autocoach from time to time - just down the road!

I suppose the difference with the parapet heights is that with a low parapet, an idiot can pick up a tree branch and try to poke the wires.

With a high parapet, the "better idiot" has to find a stepladder and a longer branch.

The raised parapets that people are talking about are on bridges *over* 25kV overhead electrified lines (living close to the Styal loop of the WCML as a boy I was always disappointed I couldn't see over any of the bridges there!) - the parapets being raised to discourage people from attempting to poke the live wires with tree branches etc. Parapets on bridges under low-voltage 3rd rail lines are not relevant to the discussion.

The 2 bridges at Bourton are listed structures so will survive, but Network Rail have said they will receive parapet extensions and yes, they will be visually intrusive

 

Personally, if listed, I think they shouldn't be touched, but hey, listing didn't stop NR demolishing Dawlish signal box. The whole system is a farce

I know one preserved railway was offered Dawlish box and turned it down, so NR did at least consider alternatives to demolition.

There aren't two standard guage platform faces at Blaenau, the other platforms are both 2' gauge

 

Martin

I was wondering who'd be the first to spot that... ;-)

If there's no run-round facilities at the Traws end, there's little point in running round at Blaenau either so top-n-tail or push-pull working would be the order of the day, which would mean ATW could use one SG platform at Blaenau and the Blaenau and Traws the other, with the only enroachment coming when charter trains come to Blaenau and need to run round.

Apart from the issue of the reservoir (apparently someone from the Ffestiniog did a survey some years ago and concluded it would be much easier to deviate round that than the Llyn Ystradau was!), one problem is the lack of intermediate stops between Blaenau and Bala. The rebuildings of both the FR and WHR benefited from there being stations at regular intervals which could act as temporary termini and as destinations in their own right. Blaenau-Bala isn't so well blessed - it's an 'all or nothing' route. 

After volunteering on a preserved railway for 30 odd years, and still enjoying it (sort of) I do on occasion find the fact that it has basically turned into a well run, highly regulated, paperwork driven multi million pound business somewhat boring. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate it from the organisation I used to work for, which was also boring.

 

I understand all of the needs, must haves, got tos etc., of the modern day heritage railway set up but just occasionally I miss the early days, the almost pioneering spirit, the 'can we do it, we will do it', attitude of like minded loonies who had a dream and did it, whatever it took.

 

We live in a highly cynical age of most people telling others why things can't be done instead of saying there might be a way. I strongly doubt that this project will ever get off the ground, but there is definitely a part of me that whispers "Go on boys you can do it".

Of course, there are still some established heritage railways around which haven't yet turned into multi-million pound businesses and still have 'can we do it' projects in the offing :-)

350/1s did not have the shoe gear removed, it was merely retracted and strapped up.  The straps were removed when they worked the WLL.  They still have the shoe gear now but it is hard to see because it is retracted.

 

The GWR 387s will all have shoe gear and it will not be removed as there are plans being developed to use it.

Infill electrification Wokingham- Ash and Shalford Jn - Reigate for through trains from Oxford/Newbury to Gatwick? Or GWR venturing onto the Wokingham - Waterloo line?

My understanding is that the sidings were wired up as a practice exercise, though no doubt there is some intention to use them for a practical purpose at some stage.

And on a similar theme.

 

What's the difference between a gnu and a wildebeest?

 

 

You can't paddle a wildebeest

 

Cheers,

Mick

G-nor am I in the least like that dreadful wildebeest

Oh g-no g-no g-no, I'm a gnu!

Mark,

 

In theory you can have any scale you want on 10 1/4" gauge, but the further you get away from from the correct scale the more out of proportion it becomes. A 1/8th model will be running on the equivalent of a 6' 10" track gauge so the proportions of the loco are going to have to be severely compromised to get the body width to cover the bogies. The problem is probably less apparent on a steam loco than a diesel, where the body is close to the bogies.

 

It's even less apparent on a model of a broad gauge steam loco....

As my sister's first dog lost an eye to a cat, I guess that evens things up....

Its an Italian product And buffalo in Italian is the male buffalo........

 

( The Female is bufala)

What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison?

You can't wash your hands in a buffalo!

Suspect they'll leave it like the have with the Patchway tunnels

 

From 31:30.

 

Given the closure of the tunnel and the route to it from Filton triangle you would assume it's a good time to conduct some of the other infrastructure works e.g the removal of the footbridge at Pilning.

Yes - the last ever westbound train from Pilning left this weekend.

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"It's raining, and the track is wet" - Murray Walker

Ah the Hillman Avenger, my first car. It was brown and I discovered the first time I drove in the rain, had a hole the size of a tennis ball in the passenger footwell. Bought from my uncle Pete, he traded from a show room in a backstreet, drove a serious dodgey Jags and had a sheepskin coat.

There are times when I think cars should have holes in the footwell as standard. It might teach some motorists to drive with more consideration when there is a large puddle on the road and pedestrians on the pavement....

There are several ex Glasgow trams at the Crich Tramway village which have  signs which read "Only eight allowed standing, except on last tram on any route".

It seems to say to me, no conductor dared to tell number nine in the queue, possibly full of certain local beverages, they were not getting on.

A place well worth a visit by the way.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Tramway_Museum

Or perhaps a "duty of care" not to leave people stranded late at night.