great central

If the 124 is smiling, this is positively rolling on the floor http://www.phantasrail.co.uk/April06/365505.jpg

Beckfoot D307, Southern van alert

One of our neighbours has one, makes the windows rattle and sets off car alarms when he goes past in it, and that's just idling as we live on an unmade road!

Yes but, how much did we earn then? Personally as an apprentice telephone engineer, about £10 a week if memory serves. Cars like that were still way out of my league, just as they are today. I'm not one for the exotica, the only ones I would have considered would be the Vitesse and E Type, A work colleague of the time had 1GNN on the plate of the Triumph Herald he bought about 1970, transferred it to his Mk2 Cortina, then a Triumph Spitfire. When he got married a few years later he decided to sell the plate to raise some cash. The government of the day had set their face against anything which seemed a bit exclusive or different and made transferring number plates difficult and expensive. After many tries and continually reducing the price he got, I think, £400 and had to pay the fees as well! Wonder what that's worth now?

Brafield, don't remember the match races to be honest, most memorable meeting was one of the early races of John Thorpe 367. As a white top he was obviously very good from the start. I'm not certain but I think he won heat and final, very fast. His transporter was an adapted artic trailer so while others were taking multiple shunt moves to get out of the pits, he did one move and was gone. He only did a few meetings before retiring for business reasons. Also an odd memory comes to mind of the pit 'call attention' siren. It was a large wooden box, presumably with a car battery(ies) in. Mounted around the outside were several dozen car horns. Couldn't be ignored!

Absolutely, that's why I headed it stadium racing. Although I wouldn't describe myself a fan, I certainly used to take an interest. Any motor based sport is welcome, don't want somebody thinking running or push bikes! There is/was a series on one of the digital channels recently, the only sport I'd consider watching on telly. Can't remember which channel or when though, I only found it through channel hopping.

All this talk, I'm getting an itch I may have to scratch, specially as I'm getting a bit cheesed off with the model railway club

Biggest distance in a weekend must have been Haringay on Saturday and Aycliffe on the Sunday. I think it was that meeting where Stu Smith (Booo) stuffed Len Wolfenden into the fence and followed him in. Boos from all corners of the stadium!

I wish you hadn't Must go to bed!

As it seems I may have started to drag the F1 thread off topic, perhaps a new thread dedicated to the various types of motor sport practiced in stadiums (stadia)? Brisca F1 is the only sport I really have got into, no interest in football at all, other ball based sports I may take a passing interest in. Went to my first meeting at Long Eaton with a group of friends around 1970 towards the end of the season. Couldn't wait to get back again, had to wait for the next season. Only able to get to Long Eaton at first as I didn't have a car then. Spent 3 or 4 years following the racing around the country, then got married, that put a stop to it! Went to odd Long Eaton meetings when my son was little, but I was often working at weekends so really got little chance. I still miss it on occasion but now working on the railway means two weekends in three at work, then there's model railway shows to fit in as well. Also enjoyed the 'Bomber' races at Long Eaton, a formula unique to Station Road I believe. It was something more than bangers which I'm not so keen on. Any car could be used but they were fairly heavily armoured and tended to last a full season if not more. Many mk2 Ford Zephyr/Zodiacs, Austin Westminsters and the like. There was one mini in among that lot and a long lived Austin Devon (I think). They came with twin rear wheels and other modifications. I also went to a few speedway meetings but not being a 'bike' person it was only if I was at a loose end on that evening. When I'm at my caravan just outside Great Yarmouth I'll usually wander down to the stadium on a Sunday evening. Most Spedeworth stuff I find rather lacklustre. It could be just Yarmouth but it all seems a bit tame. Virtually one make of car per formula, small numbers of cars entered for each race then there's the gimmick races which i suppose probably appeal to the holidaymakers. No big V8s either! Anyway enough of my thoughts, are there enough of us to keep the thread going?

There's a two doll(I think) bracket, complete with smoke shield in the undergrowth between Whatstandwell and Cromford. Also, peering into the trees between the line and river quite a number of double telegraph poles can be seen.

All the the through platforms at Nottingham were 'permissive' after the re-signalling when Trent power box took over. This means that a second or even third train can be brought into the same platform under caution, the driver being informed by the position light signal (locally known as cats eyes) that there is already a train in the platform and must be prepared to stop before he reaches it. The HST and 150 are at the erstwhile platform 5, now platform 6 since the 'modernisation' and re-signalling last year, I doubt that you could fit both in there now. It was both permissive and bi-directional, unlike platform 6 to the left (now P7) which couldn't be easily reached from the west, and you couldn't depart east except into the depot. Thinking about it, the depot woudln't have been there then and I'm not sure the platform was in use either. It was re-instated originally as a 'football platform' I believe, then brought into full use later. There used to be a large steel fence around that platform with a pathway leading direct out onto the road to keep the football crowds away from the main station. Since last years modernisation the through roads have been taken out, a new platform 4 created by building the east end of the old P4 out to meet one of the through roads, and the rest of P4 now becoming a west facing bay with capacity for 6 coaches which is now P5! Confused? The through platforms are now divided into A, B and C sections, with 4 and 5 only having A and B sections. As for getting trains close together,we have the last Skegness service (a two car 156 at18.45) leaving from platform 1C. Before it leaves a 10 car Meridian from London terminates behind it. Also at the start of service in the mornings all the units are lined up along the platforms usually little more than 6 inches apart.

I remember boarding a recently transferred in 120 from the western region at Nottingham. It ran like a well oiled sowing machine. After 6 months or so of Etches Park 'maintenance' they rattled and shook just the same as the 104s and others that they'd replaced.

AMR used to run a spotters club as well. Went on a good few shed bashing trips with my dad on their buses. They also ran a rail tour, the Don-Yor-Dar Flyer, with the Midland Compound. We also went on a mammoth bash around Glasgow and Edinburgh with the then manager of Gee Dees in his Bedford CA(?) minibus in 1963, I still have the notebook written by my dad. Somehow we got lost in the gorbals, next thing there's housebricks being thrown at the Bedford and a quick escape to somewhere safer

There's at least one more the same, Asda Langley Mill, I avoid it like the plague

Only the second time I've seen a photo of a K1 on the GC. The other is in some cine film shot at Bulwell Common. Never recall seeing one myself, then again I was only 13 when it shut as a through route, but there's nothing in my spotting notes though. I can now justify the PDK kit I'll build someday to add to the two Nucast ones

The one 'over the road' at Etches Park is still referred to as the 'Jocko' and the train crew depot (modern sectional building) is '4 shed'

I'd much prefer heavy metal, well classic rock anyhow, after all, isn't that what we're portraying? Not a light railway in sight I don't tend to watch a lot of the commercially available videos for the same reason. I have a few superb DVDs shot mostly around the east midlands, with a decent bias towards the GC around Nottingham. No 'music' no sound effects, just the sound of a cine projector running, even then I mostly turn that off. I also take the point about mismatched sound effects, Mostly they don't match. One regular 'howler' to me, is the sound of a whistle dubbed on when the safety valves lift Anyway, I don't wish to take anything away from the superb modelling and filming with my personal preferences.

Having watched the video, I'm more determined than ever to get the 'room' within the garage finished. Deepcar is already in there but stored at the moment awaiting the 'walls'. There's no way I could now build my ideal layout so am quite happy to take Deepcar into semi-retirement, after all I've spent nearly half my life involved with it and the 'crew' Little Bytham shows the ECML I remember but agree with the comment above about the 'music', I just turn it off and my mind adds the sound. Although the only 'true' east coast loco I own is an A1, my real allegiance in steam terms is the GC, I still look on these superb ECML layouts, LB, Grantham, Perterborough, etc. as like my spotting 'days out' I'll be trundling, if 80mph is trundling, along the up slow (most likely) tomorrow morning waiting for a pacific to come roaring past only to get an HST or 91 and mk4s, ah well! Lovely layout, excellent stock, just shows that practice, Leighford(sp?) Stoke Summit, etc makes perfect.

Still got it in 2010 at least http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/881-fairburn-2-6-4t-42085-detail-pics/ Interesting thought has it ever worn the new crest?

Given that Southern vans seem to turn up in almost every photo, maybe a slight exaggeration but you get the drift, did they have any on their own patch?