Great Western

Progress at Bristol Parkway over the weekend posesssion resulted in the new pointwork off the DN Bristol Parkway Relief onto the DN Filton being installed, but clipped and padlocked until the end the month. I believe the new Stoke Gifford headshunt has also been laid, with its double slip connection off the hard ladder and DN Stoke Giffford Reception. Platform One works continue with opening targeted for after the Xmas break, although freight and non passenger working can use it from Monday 26th November all being well. A position light is being fitted to BL1536 signal in advance of Patchway station to allow access into the IEP depot from Patchway, but this will remain OOU UFN. Bristol Temple Meads Workstations at TVSC are taking shape with testing ongoing, due to transfer up in Apr 18. There is another 0020 Saturday to 0450 Monday possession this weekend and next to progress towards the above commissioning target. Exciting times ahead.

One of the two stored Class 387 in Didcot yard well out of sight so hopefully protected from unwanted attention!

An IEP and Class 387 are undergoing electric test running between Slough and Didcot Parkway, on both main and Relief lines to test the OHL. Meanwhile at Bristol Pakrway work is being undertaken to ready the layout for the Nov 26 opening of the Platofrk one, and connection to the Filton lines, although the passenger use of P1 won’t happen until after Xmas. Filton four tracking project work is also going on towards Temple Meads, should all be open by morning service Monday.

I understand money doesn’t grow on trees, however if your producing non profit making at least in the first run models under crowdfunding your not actually making any money to reinvest and push forward core range models? What happened the Class 59, Mogul, Q6 or similar?

If YOU fund it, it’ll come....again.... Why can’t this low cost (compared to a loco of course) model be a company funded item, it might inspire some confidence in your ability to deliver perhaps ?

Evening Ladies and Gents, I'm planning a basic conversion of my detached garage into a railway room, the garage is brick built with a titled slight sloped roof and has a concrete floor my neighbour has theirs next door. My plan is to remove the metal up and over door, and replace it with a proper brick wall complete with secure door and small window to one side. Internally, I was thinking that coating the walls with a damp proof lay of plastic batoned to the wall and floor covered with sheets of chipboard for the floor and thick ply for the walls - with some kind of insulation underneath between the wood and plastic. For the ceiling I was planning on similar process with a false ceiling lower than the roof with isolation on top. Bacially the end picture is a wood lined room ready to accept a U shaped base board/ around three of the four walls. It would have a professionally installed electric feed from the house installed to. My question is does this set up sound okay, would you do anything different and does anyone have any experience in this field ? Advice welcomed ! Thanks

Fantastic, I love the missing smoke box plate !

Robert, in your final words you nailed it..."hopefully know more".......maybe, maybe not, who knows.

Indeed patience is a virtue of course, but a new era of communication and delivering on promises were made a few years ago which rightly attracted a lot of good faith and a willingness to accept some delays. But if you've invested often large sums in crowdfund models (Class 92, King etc) you expect a certain level of communication. We live in a world where you can get a message across the world in seconds, Dave has a business which is dependent on people coming back buying his models. Go back through the section of the forum and count up how many models have been announced, and then a part from retailer ordered models how many have been delivered it doesn't take confidence building reading. The Sandle tank and Class 17 are being advanced, the King who knows, the Class 92 in OO and N again who knows ? People have handed over money on those two what have they to show ? A message saying they'll be news Friday, isn't good enough when you've handed over cash. No doubt Dave will come back with a witty response, or some kind of out down slating us doubters but he needs to understand confidence is sliding in his ability to play with the big kids and make a sustainable business.

Maybe it would be better to clear the ever grow list of "if you fund it I'll make it, but I won't update the threads" models, and orginal announcements made many years ago then announcing yet more models which may or may not see the light of day one day ? It may well be a one man band, but communication is key to a successful business and keeping a faith of a customer base.

That is some serious hardware

My goodness me ! I assume this ties in with the company being sold, and the traction contract moving FOC?

Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads should.....be AC immune ie signalling transferred to TVSC by late 2018. Bristol Apr 18. Oxford Jun 18.

Which end is the loco on please ? i.e Loco leading to Crewe etc trying to work out where to go tomorrow when it comes down here. Ta

The trains have been going to Cary to turn back, from what I'm told the 802 testing is going quite well.

I think you can forget O Gauge, I for one am confused with the various projects self funding, crowd funding, fairy funding who knows? I think it's a case of if you fund it yourself via crowdfunding he'll do it, failings that forget it, even if you do find it yourself the cut off date will be pushed further and further back and get all confusing which kills confidence.

The original order of Class 357 electrostars from ADtranz back in 2000 were so late ADtranz where forced to add two free trains to the order for C2C.

Hitachi and their Agility Trains partners are rubbing their hands together with all their depot and train modifications! I bet they can't believe how absolutely incompetent our civil servant train specifiers are, order pure electric trains (in the main) before we have an electric railway to run them on, then panic and order retrofitting of Diesel engines, order additional sound barriers and fuel tanks to be built at the depots, then demand the laws of physics are rewritten as the trains won't keep time to the original specification ! Only in the United Kingdom.

They've been doing Stoke Gifford to Bruton runs during the night last week, returning anything from 60-120 early to.

The dog was lovely, I had to catch him then take him back to the bloke ! The bloke said himself that the dog was way to strong for him, really

That bloke with the dog had the right arse

Finally the most recent 2017 gala. Here's to 2018 !

The 2016 Gala fantastic event, just show some how strong the line is getting.

These pictures are from the 2015 Gala, I echo the views that the railway really is on the up extensions and signalling projects in the planning !

Wiring to Oxford at the moment would require expensive alterations if/should/when the station is rebuilt into something more workable.