great central

I've posted this before somewhere, still a giggle. There was also an El Passo driving school in Nottingham.

K reg mini (proper one) pick up spied on Great Yarmouth seafront earlier. No chance of a picture, by the time I'd seen it it had gone.

It's not just 'modellers' who are becoming used to being 'spoon fed' it's a much more general thing. Hardly a day goes by when I'm not constantly amazed by how little so many people seem able to do or even think for themselves. I'm pretty much convinced that once artificial intelligence becomes clever enough it will rule the world, hopefully after I've departed for another place. On current heading I don't see a long-term future for the human race. Sorry to be so pessimistic but if you spent as much time as I do seeing people get themselves into a right old mess because their phone or computer controlled information system says so............

Can't say I'm over keen on humans to be honest, specially the ones near me who spend days on end taking pot shots at anything that moves with what sounds like a ruddy great cannon

Initially ex Anglia 156s with a few 170s from West Midlands I understand. The entire 15x fleet is to be replaced by more 'modern' units by 2022, all 170s we're told. They'll be getting on for 25 years old by then. Awaiting developments. Edit: the use of 153s was mandated in the original EMT franchise drawn up by the DFT under instructions from the government of the day. To say they were inadequate from day 1 wouldn't be unreasonable.

If the clutch is getting near to it's end it probably depends how you're using the car, going up a steep hill will likely make it slip while it's still ok on a fairly level road. If you try to pull away fairly quickly from a stand and pretty much drop the clutch straight in it will either make the engine cough or possibly even stall it if it's still good. Otherwise it will slip......

If you're intending keeping the car I would suggest you might as well have it done, if it's starting to go it won't get any better. Had the Jeep clutch done last year at about 125000, the PT is on 122000 so don't think that will be long either. I once had a (company) Ford Escort, it needed a clutch every 15000, yes fifteen thousand, miles. Horrible car wouldn't pull away unless the engine was revving hard. If it did stall it took an age to restart. Still had to run it for it's nominal life, a bit under 3 years or 100,000 miles, couldn't get rid soon enough.

True but they would also need fitting with universal toilets and PIS screens to become PRM compliant. All before the end of the year as well. Afraid it looks like an appointment with a gas axe before too long.

C17949, 153313 now with EMR nee EMT still has that old style overhead warning flash on the second man's windscreen! Won't be with us much longer though, Abellio have said all single unit trains to be gone in the first six months of the franchise.

Erm, that link talks about last year? I know it's pretty much the same this year but not something I want to think about yet. It'll be ruddy Ch******s before you know it

Probably controversial, but I see that kind of job as perfectly suited to some of the less savoury elements of society currently having to fill their days on PlayStation (other games platforms are available) watching telly or trying to figure out how to get their next fix smuggled in. Maybe they see such apparently menial tasks as beneath them, possibly it would make them think twice about going back.

Used on the GC northern section between Ruddington and Loughborough. If it's the same there's only a brake valve and horn, used by the guard when propelled

Hope someone's told our new bosses then, according to them only a few weeks ago the HT 180s were going to undergo a thorough rework at Etches Park before replacing the ex GC HST sets........

Oops sorry, doesn't come up on my phone

And you can buy a 20kg bag from coal merchants for £7 or £8 at most. A lot of garages sell 10kg bags as do the likes of Home Bargains. Even a preserved railway would likely let you take a lump for a donation.

Just to add a little more to the Bestwood junction/Bestwood Park junction information if I may. Bestwood Park junction does still kind of exist, it's a loop on the Robin Hood line used sometimes to regulate a late running service on the single line section between Bulwell and Kirkby in Ashfield. It does have one timetabled train per day as a northbound service, the 19.55 from Nottingham if memory serves, is held there awaiting the passage of a southbound one. This is to do with timetabling from Nottingham. It also serves as the junction to the mothballed, if not now officially closed, line to Calverton colliery part of the trackbed having been converted to a foot and cycle path. The line had been 'unoficially lifted' in bits over several years anyway. A little known fact about the junction I've seen in print written by one of our former club members many years ago was that between the wars there was a plan for a joint LMS/LNER line starting there and heading north through the then relatively recently developed coalfield. Intended as a relief to other north/south mainlines as it could be reached easily from both the GC and Midland mainlines as well as the east coast, all of which carried much which would have been required during a time of war. Also a friend and club member has very recently had a book covering the GN 'back line' published by Book Law, although I haven't yet seen a copy he has undertaken very thorough research into the reasons for closure and it seems that maybe Mapperley tunnel wasn't as bad as painted at the time, especially given that, at least until a short time ago, it was still open at one end and not even fenced off.

There's a model railway club in the Weymouth area. Most clubs have members with various skills and someone is usually willing to help out with advice. I've attached a link to the contact page on their website. http://www.weymouthmra.org.uk/contact-us/

Hasn't the MML always been that?

Most of the 'oiks' trying to get to work with bikes are fine, I do my best to accommodate them, the most I can recall is 9 in a 158, officially we can turn away any more than 2. The worst ones tend to be 'leisure cyclists' who have a great sense of entitlement, one of these flatly refused to move his bike from the aisle so much so that an 'oik' type offered to get off so we could move on! Turns out said leisure type didn't even have a ticket!!! Got him off when he gave me his credit card to pay with. Walked across to the station wall, slapped his card down on it and told him to make his choice knowing he couldn't retrieve his card without getting off the train. Most annoying thing was he was only going to the next station about a mile down the line and clearly visible from where we stood.

Regarding 156s, I'm given to understand they're heading to a new Abellio franchise for a while. The promise has been made that all single car trains will be finished in the first 6 months. The plan eventually is for all 15x units to be replaced with 'modern' units on the non-London services

I put a corrugated steel roof on my older shed some years ago, the roof timbers having started to rot, shed was about 15 years old at the time. It cost me around £50 for the sheets. Was intending using it as a hobby workshop I could keep warmer than the big garage in winter Unfortunately for me a couple of stray cats adopted it before I could finish the insulation. One of them we moved into the house after a few months, the other resolutely refuses contact despite turning up daily for the food left there for him. The other (wife's) shed was bought new perhaps 10 years ago and despite re-felting, the timbers were starting to go at the ends. So having put a new roof on the conservatory after the sheets started moving and leaking I reused some of the redundant sheets to put over the top of the timbers, simply laid lengthways, overlapped and screwed down. No more leaks and the shed is more solid. Wouldn't use felt for anything now cos unless you're paying top dollar and possibly having it professionally fitted it's going to need further work in the future. I got my steel sheets from a place called Action Clad (I think) near Uttoxeter, they have loads of remained and slightly damaged stock but very helpful and reasonably priced. They were selling on eBay at the time, a Google search should find suppliers in your area?

Bit of slightly relevant information. 47715 is being used at Worksop now to keep stored mk4 coaches 'warm'. It's in NSE livery but I think is probably a post preservation repaint.

Seen on the back of a car in a disabled parking space: I don't look disabled, You don't look stupid, But there you go......

You're obviously not used to dealing with the great British travelling public Even with the London first, many people can't tell the difference between London Liverpool Street and Liverpool Lime Street, trains departing for both from adjacent platforms at Norwich. They run 3 minutes apart, back in Central Trains days there was even an Anglia 170 on hire so it was possible to have two trains in the same livery for the two destinations. Once I was even asked if the train was going to London Liverpool Lime Street

Talking about how big new minis are compared to other cars, a countryman is as big as my Jeep Cherokee, but ten times uglier