bbishop

Most aesthetically pleasing class? In my opiniony Dugald Drummond's four coupled tender locomotives. Chimney directly above the bogie pivot, dome directly above the leading driving wheels. Visual perfection. And the D15 class (albeit superheated) were surely the second best 4-4-0 locomotives in the country. Pity there were only ten of them. Bill

So my dentures broke yesterday. I used superglue to stick the plastic together (not involving the metal) so I have a cosmetic smile but living on soup and yoghurt. Off to the dentist soon, after which - no smile. Bill

The introduction of British outline 7mm ready to run models has achieved interest from German modellers. They comprehend the concepts of pre-grouping, grouping and nationalisation because they approximate to German railway history, but Private Owner Wagons are a new concept to them. I have drafted three articles, which I will translate and post on the Spur Null Magazin forum. I would appreciate if you could peer review them in due course. Don't worry about the writing style - my German is very basic and I must minimise "errors in translation". Watch this space. Bill PS: as an aside, there are many POW howlers on exhibition layouts in this country!

Morning awl, I was taught to drive by my father, including double declutching and hill starts on a 1 in 5. When I had the Capri (early 80s) I could change gear without the clutch if I got the revs exactly correct. And on the Starwars theme, never owned a diesel car ... Keep well all

Never seen Star Wars, never driven an automatic, ... Bill

On the subject of pasta, expect a learned discource from Flavio who has, of course, Italian heritage. Bill

The Schools class was a modified Nelson chassis (only three cylinders) married to a shortened Arthur boiler. The design may have been by Finlayson, ex LSWR chief draughtsman. The key criteria were getting air into the firebox and getting used steam out of the cylinders. They were (are) big engines and could cope with the switchback to Hastings and the top link Bournemouth expresses. Bill

I don't think Baz quite understood my reference to Leith. Just that they didn't remove previous flight information from a plane's computer; so it went to Edinburgh instead of Düsseldorf. Bill

That's a nice view over towards Leith. As in all flights now go to Edinburgh. Bill

Bernard, that is the old "s", shaped in a similar manner to an "f" but without the bar - so "ſ". I thought it was out of use by 1795 and replaced by a small version of the capital "S". Perhaps it survived until the growth of newspapers as a consequence of the Corn Laws of 1832 and the ability to distribute them by the new railways. Given your family history, the double "s" (as in Miss) was written "ſs", which is remarkably similar to the German "ß". Bill

Mea culpa, Bill

Morning awl, My use of RMWeb has changed with the new software. I used to tab down a couple of pages, dipping in where I fancied. Now I concentrate on ERs, Wright writes, Continental, and tab down Layouts for the half dozen that I follow (including LGA). Otherwise I down follow anything, which probably saves me time. Any I haven't changed any settings, mainly 'cos I don't know how to. But I'm still here - which might be why some others have departed. Criticized Tony Wright's use of English in his thread, so expect the vitriol any minute now. Baz, sorry to read about your friend. Keep well all, Bill

Regarding Tony's post of 19:37 yesterday, I reckon it contains an error of context. I'll leave Tony to find it and apply his own red pencil. More important is the number on the buffer beam of the School's class. Number 92 of the Southern Railway was a shunting tank - a digit has gone missing, or was never applied in the first place. Bill

Sad news about Mal. At least it was a gentle death. Bill

Guten Abend von Deutschland. Had a good day at the Internationalen Spur 0 Tage in Gießen and am typing this from the hotel beside Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Auf Wiederhoren, alles in Ordnung halten, Bill

Morning awl, Best wishes to those of you meeting at Ally Pally. I'm at the Spur Null Tage in Gießen. Yesterday I travelled on a new bit of track (for me); the up Deptford to Thameslink chord. Keep well awl, Bill

Input? Output? Bill

So I watched two minutes of the game yesterday, and Ireland scored a try! That's six minutes of live viewing across the six nations and we ship three tries. If I'd watch all the Welsh games we would have the wooden spoon! Then to Orpington Liberal Club for the Calcutta Cup and saw the last ¾ of the game. Glee!! England have a serious leadership problem and it's not just down to Farrell. After the third Scotland try, someone should have decided the forwards put the ball up their jumpers and take ten minutes off the clock; but no, there is a rigidity to the England thinking progress. And a reliance on the Coach - note the different ways Jones and Gatland manage their teams. Anyway, back to Farrell: he should have been carded after that shoulder charge, there was no attempt either to tackle the player or charge down the kick. Bad refereeing, compounded by not blowing up immediately because potentially their was a serious injury. And he was an Aussie, so no attempt to referee the scrums, the Scottish front row got away with dropping several scrums. So today, church, a walk round Greenwich Park and most of the day wiring the layout in the garage. Keep well all, Bill

Afternoon most, evening John, just watched Italy batter at the French defence for the best part of 80 minutes and be burgled three times. I know Parrisse is an iconic player but it is his style of play and Italy may improve after he retires. On the prowl for the next couple of hours as I've watched two minutes of Wales this season and they have leaked a try both times. Self denying ordnance. The to Orpington for the Calcutta Cup and a couple of beers. Keep well all, Bill

Afternoon awl, Taking a break from wiring the layout. Another who won't be at Ally Pally, rather I'm at the Spur Null Tage in Gießen, near Framkfurt. Keep well awl, Bill

You're casting dispersions. In the manner of an Australian prop, they could achieve a fair lick of speed. They just failed in their primary purpose - holding up a scrum / pulling more than a brake van. Bill

Missing for a couple of days, being at Diocesan Synod yesterday then shopping in Oxford Street. Home to watch the Irish - French girls rugby international, a heck of a lot better than today's dross. Two of the Irish tries should have been disallowed, Best was tackled (knees on ground) before he lunged for the line and a French defender was obstructed from tackling Sexton. Once Ireland gained their bonus point, they totally switched off and withdrew key players before the Welsh game. And the five minutes of scrums to get the French prop carded were a total fiasco. Keep well all, Bill

An enquiry is an analysis of the facts, civil law is a balance, criminal law requires 100% certainty (by at least 10 of the jurors). I rest my case. Bill

There was a perfectly good system, called DOS. Since when technology has gone downhill. I can manage Excel spreadsheets (but not as good as Lotus) but otherwise, forget it. Bill

Bandages. B