ess1uk

you might just have a few more visiting locos to the depot soon Neil

i shall remember that

is large logo allowed as BR blue?

had my box of stuff out today to see what worked and what didn't. never realised that i had so many locos chipped for zero1 now if only i knew what the numbers for each was the only locos i could find that would run on the old DC controller was a Hornby GWR Pannier tank and my detailed Hornby 47490 in large logo as Bristol Bath Road. the tank was too small to fit a chip and i never bothered with the 47 the tank took ages to get to run smoothly, i had to drag it round the track with another tank engine! the 47 even at full power just crawls along. I cleaned the wheels and contacts and sprayed a little WD40 and it ran slightly better but won't haul more than a couple of coaches ideas on a postcard

impressive stuff

i used to do trips like that as a kid. my wife thinks my mum was mad! i used to go all over the country on the train on my own

Evening Pop Pickers. In amongst the box of goodies i have brought back from my Dad's loft is a Hornby HST power car that has had an indentity change. it's not the best job in the world, in fact it looks battered, but it is carrying a cast name plate Top of the Pops and is numbered 43002. I have several 43010s so decided to change it, but as the InterWeb was not around and I didn't have a picture to work from i guessed about the nameplate and have since found out I guessed wrong In time the nameplate can be moved. there is also my detailed 47490 Bristol Bath Road and so far unmodified 50043 Eagle both in large logo. not to mention 47378 in original Railfreight grey. and there was I thinking that i had BR blue locos hidden away! there are also 2 damaged Hornby 47 bodies in the box as well that may be repairable?? i'll attempt to take a couple of decent pictures and add them to my gallery. also picked up a few more of my wagons that have been made dirty by the use of dirty paint flicked from a brush as they ran past! as a kid i used to read Dad's Railway Modeller and see weathering mentioned but never fully got the jist so made up my own way of doing it with varying results that may have to be attended to! there is also an Airfix class 31401 in BR blue that needs attention

well it seems my memory is not what i thought. Apart from the signal box i thought i'd find there were somethings i'd forgotten i'd got, and some i was sure i had but dad can't find. i've now got a box full of stuff to sort through and i'll post a list of what i find for those who are interested.

to make matters even worse my Dad had been telling me for ages that I didn't have a Hornby signal box in his loft. Well today i went over and found it, still in it's box. it's the R503 which looks exactly the same as the R8005 and the sticker on it says it cost £2.84 !!! could have saved myself £20 !!!!

i've just been looking at my gallery and i'm shocked by how many views it has had. not bad for a cheap work provided digital camera. Mind you the mods are not so impressed with my photography so far it seems. glad that my efforts are appreciated by others though. Also i can't believe that so many people read my ramblings on this blog! it's not even like i've got any real news about the real layout yet !! Sorry some of you have been a little bored with my input so far, things will get better and the blog will improve as I get the hang of it. i hope to get the ply to make a real start in the next few days, then it will be all systems go i hope (work permitting). Mostly research at this stage and planning in the hope I get it right first time. It has to look right, even if it's a figment of my imagination! A bit of a slow burn, but I hope it will be worth the wait. I've said it before, it is evolution, not revolution.

off to my Dad's today to pick up some more of my kit. hope to bring back all my locos and wagons so i can sort out what I'm keeping, what Ruby is allowed to play with and what can go as it is no good. in reality it will probably be 2 piles, 1 for Ruby and 1 for me, doubt very much that anything will go!! sure that some will be of more use to Dad though as it doesn't fit my time frame of 1987. i hope it has survived many years in the loft I'll post some pictures of my more interesting items later in the gallery. from memory there should be several HSTs, a 31, a couple of 47s in various states of detail, a huge box of wagons, and no doubt a few things i have forgotten i even have.

try looking here http://www.nvr.org.uk/MailByRail/tpointroduction.php

good luck