tractionman

there's an allocation list for 1945 at the back of the LMS Engine Sheds book (vol 4): Templecombe has 634, 698, 1251, 1406, 3356, 3792, 3198, 3248, 3260, 4146 and 4417. Highbridge has 1298, 1307, 1322, 1346, 1371, 3194, 3216 and 3218. an excellent book, worth getting. edit: you have it already! :-) cheers, Keith

some good inf here--https://shedbashuk.blogspot.com/p/index-of-shed-visits.html eg https://shedbashuk.blogspot.com/2016/09/somerset-dorset-joint-railway-sheds.html

Latest Railway Modeller mag but no Hattons double spread ad 😞 really brings it home, end of an era.

I plumped for one of these, good value for twenty quid https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/24480/44-004-Bachmann-Scenecraft-Provender-Store

got out this morning, gloomy old day but all the more reason to get some fresh air and take in the sea air looking out of Belfast Lough Still deep Winter here, bare trees and mud.

sounds pretty spooky to me 😲 I'm not great in the dark, on my own. it's something I'm working on as I like night riding ... today I've fitted a rack to my mongoose mtb, I got the bike for sixty odd quid off Gumtree, and the rack was half price in Halfords, I'm gearing up for a solo overnighter so I've got to overcome the fear of the dark thing!

a balmy Feb afternoon trundle home along the lough shore after work...

something like this? https://www.sportsdirect.com/lezyne-lite-drive-1000xl-front-light---1000-lumen-933452#colcode=93345203

might be of interest: https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/djh-oo-k8-cr

it's behind a paywall but this popped up on my phone, a Times article, on Pete Waterman and the enduring popularity of model railways... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/model-railways-saved-me-this-cant-be-the-end-qqvlxc7pf

yes the 28s do seem to shift quickly, as do any BR Blue TOPs 33s, shows where the demand lies!

worth keeping an eye on the S/H Heljan CoBos that appear here: https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/Heljan/?sort_by=created-descending

I drive always now with my rear view mirror 'dipped'--both daytime and nightime--so I can ignore the tailgater and especially their annoying LED DRLs that burn out my retinas... I used to quite like driving but not anymore, too many idiots out there and stupid SUVs with drivers who don't know the size of their vehicle and insist on driving down the middle of the road :-(

sorry, correct link now 😔

bit more of a positive spin in this BBC piece https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-67999111

yep same here, I'm a tad younger at 56 :-) but having accrued a loft full of stock over the past 20 years (I was a returnee in 2005), my wife rightly says most of it will probably never make it onto the track (when I ever get round to finishing the layout, that is), so buying more model stuff now is just not a goer, especially with other (more boring and mundane) demands on finances ever growing! cheers, Keith

I don't see it listed with the latest at Rails on Dapol arrivals for Feb/March: https://railsofsheffield.com/collections/Dapol-oo-gauge-expected-february-march

my rule of thumb when it comes to standing water is not to drive into anything that goes above the depth of the car tyre, sometimes hard to judge this of course, unless someone else is already in the drink... the other day in Coventry I was forced to break my 'rule' as I was in a long line of traffic, and only on rounding a corner did I see why, as the vehicles in front of me were heading slowly (thankfully) through a flood, it wasn't too deep (c.5"?) and it would have been very tricky to have turned my car back if I had changed my mind as I was sandwiched in the advancing, slow-moving line of cars! I was more annoyed at the speed some spooners were doing coming the other way towards us, through the water, causing a wave/surge. I have just had the Passat brake tested for the MOT and all is well fortunately, though fingers crossed it passes next week (here in NI we have govt run MOT test centres).

for me this has been the best holiday viewing

anyone been out and about on their bikes for a festive ride? I managed a short spin yesterday along the coastal path (Belfast Lough) with a brisk backwind: the weather was much better out today but the planned bike ride with my son was thwarted by his new Vitus being too big for the Passat roofbars, so pending some readjustment we did a walk instead in the Belfast Hills, and recced it for a future ride:

well here's a nice example at a good price https://clarkrailworks.com/collections/Heljan/products/Heljan-oo-6603910-lner-black-class-01-tango-2-8-0-3965-loco-and-stepped-tender

Featuring today at Hattons advent day offers: https://www.hattons.co.uk/newsdetail?id=1480

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-67625334 🙄

anyone after 37001, https://www.themodelcentre.com/acc230437001-accurascale-oo-gauge-class-37-37001-br-blue-early-1970s-split-headcode 1 left!