RJS1977

I can't tell one version of an autocoach from another (one reason why I'm not prepared to fork out £70 for the model!) but are either of these videos of a 64XX and Autocoach on the Wallingford branch for the 50th Anniversary of closure in 2009 of interest? (Apologies that there is some duplication between the two videos): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0xQDPtCNA8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0xQDPtCNA8

This looks to me as if it's one of the early Tri-ang locos made in cellulose acetate, rather than the later polystyrene. I fancy the actual conversion to an open-cab loco was probably reasonable for its time, but it's probably since been stored in a warm loft and the acetate has warped, not helped by the loss of structural integrity brought about by the conversion.So agreed, fit only for spares/the bin now.

With a new MLV being £64 from Hattons and considerably more elsewhere, if the new owner isn't too fussed on protoypical accuracy and just wanted a Southern-looking single-car unit, I think they've probably done all right...

In many cases,it may be possible to download the sound files direct from http://www.uktrainsim.com

Yes, that does seem slightly odd as Troublesome Trucks (£19) + Track Pack A (£15) comes to only £34! Incidentally one thing that's always puzzled me with train sets including Track Pack A - the track diagram and measurements given have the siding outside the oval. Putting the siding inside the oval would reduce the amount of space needed and might therefore make the set more viable for people with slightly less space available.

I can certainly remember seeing a 'London' layout featuring numerous bombed-out buildings, so either wartime or the years following (if memory serves the station nameboards were blacked out, so that would have been wartime) but I can't remember if that was/included LT or not.

Wasn't it just Exeter(?)-Penzance (plus branches) which were re-gauged over a weekend? Much of the main line from Paddington was mixed gauge by that time and the broad gauge rail could be removed at leisure. However your point still stands.

I understood the reason the NRM ruled out running Mallard for the foreseeable future was more because there are/were other A4s out and running so it made more sense for them to spend money on a loco that wasn't already represented on the main line. Despite the size of the NRM's collection, when you sit down and work out how many locos are (a) powerful enough to pull main line charters and (b) not already represented by other examples of the class on the main line, there aren't that many to choose from, especially given that 9Fs are banned from NR,ruling out Evening Star.

Just realised that had Wycrail not changed venue a few years ago, last Saturday we could have seen "John Hampden"s for sale at John Hampden Grammar School!

Of course the "missing" bits are fine for how a station would look after BR rationalisation (or electrification) if you can hide the slots (maybe by wrapping the model in brick paper). Incidentally I may have some of the platform sections going spare somewhere (though I'd need to check as they were in a box of bits I was clearing out a few weeks ago and can't remember what I did with them!) .

No, the only M5 worth having goes from Birmingham to Exeter!

Though I've yet to see one where the indicators work...

That's the trouble with that film. Watching it just now (first time I'd seen it), I could see how impressionable youngsters could watch it and think "that looks fun!" Unfortunately to be suitable for a young audience the film doesn't really show the full likely result of impact with a train (dismemberment), and perhaps the fact some of the dead bodies in the last scene were clearly breathing didn't help much either!

I understand that was a scrap Porsche "dressed up" with spare panels provided by Aston. Aston are on record as saying that if Mr. Bond wants to send the remains of his car to them, they might be able to put it back together for him...

Sometimes 'officially'! I know that when EON were filming Skyfall they decided they needed a second DB5 to act as cover in case the one they owned (from Goldeneye) broke down. So they rang Aston to ask if they knew of anybody who had one who might be interested in hiring it to them. "Funny you should say that," said the Aston rep. "We've got one here undergoing a restoration at the moment." The rep then rang up the car's owner: "You know how you said you wanted us to paint it green with red seats? Would you mind if we did it grey with black seats instead?"

Which raises the obvious question of why the Heljan 05 shunter costs nearly twice as much!

Slew, then circumcised the same 200 if I understand it correctly.

Actually, it was Samson who killed 1,000 Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass. David slew and circumcised 200 (weapon not recorded) to fulfill a requirement of marrying King Saul's daughter.

Presumably that was before the ruling came in that re-registrations couldn't make a car look newer than it really is.

Nor are they taking the picture to get the picturesque station in shot, as in both cases it's behind the camera!

As promised, my photos of both exhibitions are now online (apologies for the poor quality as they were taken on my phone). I'm not sure how the photo of the narrow boat got in there and I can't figure out how to remove it! https://www.flickr.com/photos/53027759@N05/albums/72157657957894483

Yes, Teifi Gorge was very good (and will be better still when finished), though (apart from a couple of poor track joints) I thought the tram layout was quite a good example of how to make a decent layout with readily-available items (apart from the overhead). Though personally, had it been my layout, I would have installed some electronics on the back straight so that when one tram went behind the backscene a different one appeared at the other end. I took quite a few photos of both shows - I'll upload them later.

Just got back in from having visited both West Wales shows today! There were some nice models at each - the card models at the Woollen Mill were very well done - some so well done it was hard to tell they were card, and Teifi Gorge will be good when it's finished. I also came away with two Hornby Merco tankers for £15 each. The layouts at Carmarthen were all very nice!her Also called in briefly at the Teifi Valley Railway but not much sign of life there despite the website saying they are open at weekends and for the October half term :-( Some signs of life at the Gwili though. Edit: Messaged the TVR Facebook page and they confirmed that they *were* open, there was somebody in the cafe and the train was up the line at the time we arrived.

Don't you mean Clapham or Waterloo? (Could even be Richmond) - there are neither SWT services nor trains to Reading from Victoria!