Metr0Land

BCK706R became T1131 suggesting it might actually have been bought by LT. They didn't normally give fleet number to demo vehicles even if they were long term loan/hires

Out of interest does that include 20pct VAT as it's 'business' rather than 5pct VAT on home charging?

Mention of the LT Titans above prompted me to dig out my pics of the 1st 2 prototypes. Originally called the B15, prototype NHG732P is first seen at Hampstead July 76. By Oct 77 when she's seen at Trafalgar Square she's now gained a Titan badge although the side adverts still call her a B15. 2nd protoype BCK706R is seen at Victoria and Hampstead, both in July 78.

Another variation on a theme. Southend Buses always used to have numbers align with fleet numbers. Long before the 2001 system was introduced they got grief from the local licencing office. As East Lancs were producing the bodies for their Fleetlines at the time, they went to the Lancs office who duly obliged. So there were Southend Fleetlines reg'd in Lancs from new. Southend Fleetlines. by Martyn Hearson, on Flickr

Another variation on a theme. In 1968 London Transport were introducing AEC Merlins en masse but having difficulty actually implementing schemes. A large number were numbered in the series SMM---F and I remember seeing a load at Hanwell stored with F reg's. By the time the Ealing routes were introduced Nov68 'G' regs were current so the buses were replated as they hadn't actually entered service and became VLW---G like MB160 seen here in 1975 after transfer (banishment?) to the Country area. Note: this is an MB, the Ealing routes E1,E2, E3 had MBS types but I don't have a pic of a re-registered one.

Crazy - Patsy Cline

My Back Pages - The Byrds

I have a Bachmann LNER K3 which I got for a good price. The cab steps are missing on the RHS. There doesn't seem to be a Bachmann spare part listed (either individually or in a detail pack) and I can't seem to see any listed with Wizard Models or other small parts suppliers. Can anyone advise pls?

It's more along those lines. If I was only interested in running costs per se I wouldn't be buying Kugas! If you want the fuller explanation grab a coffee/tea as it might get long. In the 2000's we were lucky enough to have several holidays in the USA and my wife loved SUV's and being at a higher seating level, plus of course the cost of gas was immaterial. In 2014 we moved down here to west Wales and our faithful 06-plate Mondeo was just over 100k miles but had to do for 12-18 months whilst we got sorted. In 2015 we were seriously looking at Kugas at the time (new/nearly new). Alas my wife took ill and I lost her in 2018, and the Mondeo was soldiering on and on and on and on. FF to 2021 and the car now had 182k miles on the clock. I was getting 40mpg which I felt was pretty decent for a 1.8L petrol car of that vintage. She still had original clutch, silencer and shocks. By 182k miles there was always something about to need replacement though I have to say I got my value out of everything. Back in 2015 Ford finance on Kugas (and IIRC Fiestas) wasn't great as they were best sellers. You always know with new cars when they say 'great finance on selected cars' they mean 'these are the ones we can't shift'. In 2021 Ford were offerring 0pct finance over 3 years on everything (IIRC) and the long-suffering Mondeo was now 15+ years old so I bit the bullet. Money on deposit was earning zilch interest so if my company pension and state pension kept up with inflation the 0pct finance was in a way better than putting the same money in the bank. (My company pension is limited to 5pct rise pa which makes the current/impending situation much different). Plus of course the Kuga was the 'car we always promised ourselves'. My dad used to have one of the Z cars type Zephyr 6's which was 2.5L and almost impossible to get 30mpg. Needless to say I was stunned and delighted to get 56mpg out of my 2.5L MHEV. I was thinking along the lines of keeping her for 3 years then get another if they were still in production and so on up to 2030, assuming the car or equivalent was in production. ie by the time we're not allowed to buy petrol I'd have one of the newest on the road which would probably see me out. I live in west Wales which is hilly, has few chargers (which are often out of action) and even today cost more than petrol in terms of pence per mile, so there's no way I'd buy a full EV any time soon. With my curent car I can get 650+ miles from a 10min charge at the pump. I ordered the current car in Feb21 when there were murmurs starting about chip shortages in Japan and US but not Europe at the time. I quite expected a 4 month wait for new build but in the event it was 5.5 months and shortages were taking hold big time in Europe. In fact I was told my Kuga was the last one the dealership would deliver in 2021 (that was late July - no idea if they actually got any more). Anyway, having had my MHEV for about 10 months and with delays on many brands of a year I decided to put my name down sooner rather than later for the next one. The only question was which option? When I ordered in Feb21 I was resolutely against full EV (though there's not one for the Kuga anyway) and really didn't understand enough about PHEV's and didn't know anyone who had them. Everyone I knew had ICE or EV, nothing in between, hence my ordering MHEV. You'll see from my calculations in my earlier long entry that's where running costs enter the equation big time. ie which version of Kuga suits me best. No doubt there are other cars that deliver cheaper cost per mile but that wasn't the only consideration to me. I am going with what I know with some hopeful expectation of exceeding what I have, but in the light of new pricing have to be careful about how/when I go about charging. Edit: forgot to say... The Mondeo was a faithful servant and until 2021 the best car I had. The Kuga MHEV put the pleasure back in driving to the extent that in the early days I was very happy just to pop out for some milk (8 miles r/t) without thinking about petrol costs. Just like my 1st new Sierra in 1985!

I'm doing no such thing. I'm working out the prices for me and my next car and whether I need to re-think.

Presumably they chose Shaun 'cos Gromit's already been there?

West Wales - Carmarthen area and north of CMN curr 159.9 - 164.9 for petrol.

I have one of each!

So is petrol becoming cheaper than electric with the October price rises in the UK???? I have a Ford kuga MHEV 2.5L petrol engine which I've been very pleased with and get 56mpg over the 9,000 miles I've driven. With petrol at 160.9p per litre (£7.31 per gallon) that equates to a petrol cost of 13.1p per mile. With long lead-times for new cars of most brands I bit the bullet in June and 'ordered' a PHEV. I say ordered, most of you will know at the moment it's more of an 'expression of interest' as I put no money down, was given no delivery date and no price for trade-in. However I did fix the list price of the new car and the finance deal, both of which could actually come down (in my dreams) should there be better offers. The Kuga PHEV is/was ~£1,300 dearer than MHEV at the time (there's is no full EV version) so I'd need better net mpg to cover the additional cost* Over 2 years I reckon I need to get 125mpg and over 3 years 89mpg just to cover the increased purchase price. *I've not included any additional costs here for home charging point or needing to buy car-to-charger cables. The 125mpg should be achievable and 89mpg well achievable. The Kuga PHEV (and Escape in N America) should give 35 miles on pure electric. There's plenty of videos on youtube of people who've tried Kuga/Escape PHEV's and without fail they've achieved that. Given that a high pct of my trips are no longer than 20 miles for the r/t and my main shopping trips to Carmarthen are 30 miles r/t, I should spend a lot of time on electric. In fact I have personal knowledge of someone getting 150-160mpg as their daily commute is under 30 miles and that covers a lot of their driving. All good so far. AIUI as a rule of thumb you get 3.5 miles of electric driving per kWh (plase tell me if that's way off). At today's prices (Apr-Sep22) the price cap is 28p per kWh which is pretty much what everyone charges. Electric cost 28/3.5 = 8 pence per mile at the full price (assumes no contribution from solar or off-peak). This clearly makes electric a winner with home charging, even at the full price of electricity. From October the price cap raises to 52p per kWh with potentially more rises to come in January. October cost 52.3.5 = 14.85 pence pence per mile at the full elcectric price. Now, all kinds of complications arise. I don't have an off-peak rate as I haven't needed it until now, and don't know if Ovo (or any other supplier) will take on new customers for off-peak electric. I have solar generating 2 kW max but it's not alway sunny, so what contribution do I assume? If I assume say a third comes from solar then it's still better than petrol giving 9.8 pence per mile. No-one's quoting off-peak prices for new customers (unless you know someone who is). It seems to be half-rice at the moment so half-price of the 52p per kWh rate would be 7.4 pence per mile electric which still beats petrol for now. However unless I'm mistaken the off-peak rate is unregulated so could in future be a higher pct of the daytime price which would change the relationship again. Not to mention the fact that petrol price will fluctuate. But, unless I'm mistaken, if you have to charge your car at home in daytime, and have no contribution from solar, then from October electric is more expensive per mile than petrol?

Very nice, I've never seen her fly - envious!

Ex-Metropolitan Railway F Class tank L50 is today's standby loco at Mantles Wood

Death Of A Clown - Dave Davies

Thanks. The C13 is the OO Works RTR one. I had to buy a 2nd hand LNER one and repaint it. They only made 200 back in 2013(?) so you have to look for 2nd hand ones.

A new loco has joined the stable at Mantles Wood (an ex-Metropolitan Railway F Class) and fills a gap in the fleet. This has been made by adding a 3D-printed body to the loco chassis of an Oxford Rail Dean Goods. (The loco body came with the trailing wheelset). rev F Class front 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr rev F Class side 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr rev F Class standby loco 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr rev F Class servicing point 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

I need to learn how to solder brass as there's a triple carriage set that I need to fill a gap in my rolling stock and it's only available in brass. Having never soldered anything in brass other than a very short practice, I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a simple lineside structure for me to practice on a 'real' subject that may be able to live on my layout once complete.

TPTV is Sky 328 and Freeview 082

Can't resist buying more HST power cars than you need for the layout? 43165 + 43019 at Plymouth. by Wibble45, on Flickr

43037 near Holbrook Colliery Box April 18th 1964 by David Hills, on Flickr WD 2-8-0 No.90318 southbound at Beighton April 18th 1964 by David Hills, on Flickr Whitley Bridge March 16th 1960 diesel multiple unit by David Hills, on Flickr Orgreave Colliery May 5th 1980 by David Hills, on Flickr

When my little one went missing for 3 days last year I was pleased she was chipped, so that if she was found and taken to the vet she could be traced back to me. In the event she came home after 3 days.

Rolls Royce Eagles according to museum blurb! 74-A-24-Vimy-Reproduction-F8614.pdf