tractionman

I'm not really a bird person but the other day I saw two largish and very beautiful birds in my back garden and wondered what they were. I eventually worked out they were Jays, they looked amazing, quite unusual visitors to suburban gardens it seems in my part of the world. Cheers, Keith

There is a very good book on the gas turbines of the Western called 'Great Western Railway Gas Turbines: A Myth Exposed', by Kevin Robertson, on amazon currently for less than a tenner. Well worth the money! Cheers, Keith

Sounds like a top day. If you're in Fav and after a decent pint I recommend Furlongs Ale House https://m.facebook.com/FurlongsAleHouseFaversham It's on Preston Street not too far from the station. All the best, Keith

Some interesting pictures of Lincolnshire railways and stations here http://www.davesrailpics.bravehost.com/lincs/lincs.htm#images Cheers, Keith

Thanks, the loco looks great, those coupling rods are a sight to behold in motion! Can't wait to get one. cheers, Keith

Looks really good. I spray painted my track and ballast with sleeper grime (then cleaned off the rail heads), it makes a massive difference visually to trackwork, and you could still do it if you wished if the scenic parts of the layout were masked off during spraying - but each to their own! all the best, Keith

Yep, some tempting stuff here http://www.mousa.biz/fourmm/wagons/lnwr_wagons4.html The brake needs some more subscribers it seems to make it a reality... All the best, Keith

Excellent, glad to hear this and the other positive reports posted so far - my Webb tank is en route from Rails, due to arrive Saturday :-) cheers, Keith

Think I prefer my Welsh dragons to look more like this Cheers, Keith

Nice idea, though for me I'd rather see three million put towards having Hamilton back on the mainline and in streamlined form too :-) Cheers, Keith

I like Streetmap which (unlike Google) uses OS mapping, see http://www.streetmap.co.uk There is an option at the bottom of the webpage to cut and paste the coordinates, eg. http://streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=534345&Y=168965&A=Y&Z=120 and change the map scale to suit. Eg http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=534345&Y=168965&A=Y&Z=110 Proper OS maps, can't beat 'em! Cheers, Keith

Magnificent she looks too... https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotorus/8113283337 Cheers, Keith

Same here, I noticed yesterday that Rails are now showing the LNWR version in stock, and Hatton's email mentioned stock arriving on the 19th or later. I checked my order online last night and it's 'in progress' so hopefully not too long to wait now :-) Cheers, Keith

Nice, plenty of space in the basement for a decent model railway, though as the blurb says, "as long as you have $1.395 million to spend." Ok, form an orderly queue... Cheers, Keith

Absolutely, it's a lovely journey by train and advance purchase tickets can be had for a reasonable price in my experience, and compared to being couped up in a Ryanair plane and pushed from pillar to post in airports at either end, there's no competition! All the best, Keith

Hatton's have April / May for due dates. The British Steel liveried model is sold out to pre-orders on Hatton's too. Cheers, Keith

Still listed on Hatton's http://www.hattons.co.uk/250809/Hornby_R3512_SECR_H_Class_Wainwright_0_4_4T_31551_in_BR_black_with_late_crest_Limited_Editio/StockDetail.aspx Cheers, Keith

I'm also trying to pin down what we might mean by a 'cameo' layout and what differentiates it from other layouts. According to the Collins dictionary a cameo is "is a short description or piece of acting which expresses cleverly and neatly the nature of a situation, event, or person's character." So for a model railway I guess the key ingredients for a cameo layout is the 'clever' bit and 'neatly' encapsulating a scene through its character? Something like Ruston's Nant y Mynydd I think would seem to fit the bill http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/118390-nant-y-mynydd/page-1 All the best, Keith

My mum used to take me to Barnby's in Coventry precinct to get my train set stuff in the early seventies as a very young boy... http://s12.photobucket.com/user/BazAdams/media/Old%20Cov%20Pics/BarnbysAdvert_zps52d06fce.jpg.html I still remember going upstairs to where the trains were, well over forty years ago! I then 'graduated' to 'proper' model shops, two near where I lived, one at the top of Sewall Highway near the junction with Ansty Road and another off the Binley Road at Crescent Avenue I think. Both long gone. Anyone remember them? All the best, Keith

Proper Bank Holiday weekend weather there Polly by the looks of it, love the chocolate Thomas! Cheers, Keith

Brewdog Mr President IPA, very nice, quite potent : https://m.tesco.com/h5/groceries/r/www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=292501456 Got mine from Tesco. Cheers, Keith

Excellent pictures, thanks very much for posting. If you have any more it'd be great to see them! :-) Cheers, Keith

Ah, yes, a beautiful spot. All the best, Keith

I agree! Great pics, love the shot of the loco and stock at the platform awaiting departure. Nice turntable too - is that the Peco version? all the best, Keith