w124bob

Incidently the DS has tenuous railway connection, just behind the Audi is Dean Hall home of Manchester Model Railway Society . I'll try and get a piccy of the Lancia Fulvia, in the mean time this little gem has also appeared locally. OF indicates it's from Brum originally(pun intended!) despite the scruff look it is a daily driver.

I used to work in the early 80's with a chap who was a train drive at Orpington and secretary of of the Humber Owners club, he had a nice Super Snipe estate among his collection. Years later I met him again after he had moved to Llandudno Junc, he was still into Humbers. Finally here is the DS Now something big and chromey! A '57 Pontiac Chieftian on the Island of Mallorca at the resort of Alcudia.

I've got to shrink the DS piccy to fit, Just at the top of Fairfield St behind Manchester Piccadilly is another compound with some interesting stuff rotting away, several Jags including a Mk10/420G a pretty rotten Silver Spur and some old Mercs. Unfortunately getting pictures is awkward as the street corners is a haunt for ladies of a certain profession!

I came over all Sweeney for a minute ! This old Hillman Hunter is sitting in a yard not to far from Manchester Piccadilly This Rover 800 police car was parked just off Piccadilly Gardens last year, a big film/TV unit was nearby. Local to me at the moment is a Lancia Fulvia sharing space with a Citroen CX sadly the family got rid their DS but I did get a picture. here is the DS

The rotary engine Ami was a 2 door coupe produced in very small numbers and passed to certain customers for evaluation. Citroen then put a rotary version of the GS on general sale.

I was a Citroen man for many years, 6 Dyanes a LHD Dyane van (Accadiane) and only 1 2CV, but I'm pretty sure the R4 outsold the 2CV by about 3 to1. Old Citroens and Renualts are now getting thin on the ground in France if my recent visits are anything to go by, but a trip to Limoux proved there still around This interesting beastie was in the same street, I did dig up some information at the time but can't remember now. Just to get back to a rail related theme this Mercedes Benz W123 was parked in the old goods yard at Limoux another classic high on my wants list!

Since this is a rail related forum, here is a classic in a railway setting. It's Carcassonne Sept '08 looking north. I love old Citroen's and ran several Dyane's and an Acadiane (the van version of a Dyane) . The 2CV might be the iconic french car but the Renault 4 out sold it .

Many years ago I owned a Rover P5B, a lovely two tone saloon. One of the odd things was the tiny ignition key which was so worn it could fit in any DMU !(I drive trains and was based at ManVic at the time).Thats the embankment for the Styal line at Burnage behind the car, circa early '87.

I remembered reading sometime ago that BN owned the summit of Mt Helena so Googled a few images and came up with this site http://www.michaeladams.org/Blog/America2011/Day20LivingstonMTtoHelenaMT Essex Montana , home of the Issac Walton Inn which has a GN caboose and an F45 GN 441 converted to a luxury lodge

Looking at the final shot, is that first coach one of the ex BR ones ? Always liked this VIA livery as well .

It seems a very long time since the sell off by CN and the red dragon adorned the side of those big C630M's and RS18's. It fell of my radar when the MLW power left the area and I hadn't realized GV Transportation ran the line. I remember that video as well, leaves a very large area with no rail service.

Your issues illustrate quite well why I abandoned the English scene, I have a large fleet of HO Atlas diesels, all perform faultless not only straight from the box but also after sitting around for sometime whilst I actually built my plank. Atlas and others have had production issues with the china factory (sameone?) but thankfully quality control remains good, can't say much for Athearn and the various guises Walthers/Proto 2000 have had as they rarely do models I actually want. I always feel for friends with English tastes as your story is one I've heard before. My 2 local model shops are in despair about the state of Hornby .

Don't forget that the curve didn't exist until the the chord was put in towards the new Salford Cresent station and a scrapyard existed on the downside, pretty sure there's several photos on the net of diverted WC services from the era. Drove over this site for nearly 2 decades and there never was a checkrail.

Like the '80's Chevy Caprice is it the Neo Scale models one http://neoshop.replicars.nl/index.php Anyone looking HO gas guzzlers should check the 1.87th section, I used to have a link to a shop in Morecombe advertising American O anyone remember it ?

Always fancied doing a US road trip, as a Mancunian I fancied visiting doing all 26 Manchester's listed in my out of date Rand McNally. Bit of railroad action could creep in as well, as I model in HO, US shortlines. Sadly I hate flying so it's not likely to happen, but enjoy your trip.

Just came across this thread ,as an XC driver we've been told to expect ETRMS in about 3 years (less for an area on the Brum Stanstead route) Didcot Reading area for us. I'm not happy and this thread seems to confirm one of my suspicions. The Voyager fleet has an empty space designed in on the desk for the computer screens etc, however this is below window height, meaning looking down bout 10inches below windscreen level.How can taking your eye of the track constantly (at 125mph) to monitor a screen be deemed to be safe particularly for (rail approved) bifocal wearers. You can't play computer games and watch TV at the same time and take everything in, so I just don't understand how this can be deemed safe. I'll be 55 with 39 years footplate service, this will probably be the final straw for me(and a franchise change) I'm out!

The stone train is the Cliffe Hill to Hayes and Harlington whilst the rare shot of 56059 with an MGR train is probably heading for Rugeley power station, we occasionally went via Nuneaton if there was a problem towards Burton and Wichnor junction

As an ex Coalville 2nd man I can confirm this box had a pub at all 4 corners, as well the crossing the box also controlled the points for the "top end" exchange siding (Ellistown pit). The NCB shuffled wagons from the pit across the High st with it's manual gates into a 2 road exchange siding we would then go up with usually a pair type 1's(LM region terminology, we never referred to them as choppers) then down into Mantle Lane, no brake van required with a class 9 as it's a falling gradient towards Mantle Lane. Occasionally we would load out of there with a a solid MGR set direct to Drakelow or Rugeley. The photographer is standing with his back to the site of the former station, demolished when the loop was extended and the holding sidings added, around '76 or '77. Behind and to the left of this box was Marcroft engineering, still going strong at Stoke on Trent and now part of the DB empire.

Having pushed and pulled the the Newton Heath (well thats where we always left it) inspection saloon around the NW, that was certainly maroon in the '90's. Cant remember the number so it may have been of BR origin.

I was the group leader for the original Basin Street, a Manchester Model railway Society American switching layout, I am actual seeing the maker of the controller and wiring tomorrow so will ask directly . The original layout ran DC most of the time (it's nearly twenty years ago I think!) and was convertible to DCC via some witch craft in the control system. I suspect you will find as has already been mentioned an off the shelf dc controller of good quality is the way to go. The one thing I can recommend is the current MERG dcc system is very cost effective if you have the skills required to put it together. Mine included base station, 2 throttles 3paired throttle ports and USB interface for less than £140, mind you the guy who was responsible for a lot of the design did put it all together for me! Just been running trains with an android phone and JMRI (more witch craft).

Here is my own take on the Guilford

I only have 2 locos currently with sound, both are used (same owner) so where set up by him. Atlas B23-7 with inhouse QSI is less than satisfactory, to little engine noise to much peripheral background noise, no short horn function but the biggest let down for me is no ability to manual notch(unless I've missed something). The other loco is an Atlas RS1 with Soundtraxx Tsunami I've set it up for manual notching, CV116 to 0 F9 for up F10 for down, only problem is when notching down it is very easy to over do it and shut the loco down. There is according to the manual a way to prevent this involving CV15 and 16 but I haven't been able to sort this yet. For me I really like the ability to notch up/down manually so will probably stay with Soundtraxx despite rarely getting out of notch2 on a 10ft plank!

I've noticed an odd weathering pattern which seems to effect several Guildford locos that carry the "Guildford Rail System" branding here is B&M330 http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=808465 this was just one example of several I found!

Please tell me the forth coming Jouef x21/2200 are going to be rubbish! I've a real desire to do a little terminus with one of these and a BB66000 I picked up a few years ago.I must have french blood in me as went through 6 Citroen Dyanes in the 80's.Plus I need somewhere to display a few HO Citroens I've picked up over the years!