NHY 581

1 hour ago, Captain Kernow said:

Surely the colour matches the polka dots on the photographer's tie?

 

A touch flamboyant but yes, good point, CK. I seem to recall that Sheldon Fopp has a similar matching cravat and handkerchief set. 

And whilst we are on the subject, my copy has now been safely delivered by the Memsahib. 

1 hour ago, drduncan said:

I remember an old farmer friend (who despised sheep) saying how sheep would always find new and interesting ways to kill themselves, had to be watched constantly to stop them killings themselves, and if all else failed they would die of boredom….

D

 

Wrong. 

8 minutes ago, Caley Jim said:

A local farmer once told me that a sheep's main objective in life is to die! 

 

Jim

Wrong +1

10 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Do you think it was chosen to match the colour of the shop front? 🤔

 

Probably. They're very clever these MRJ types. They most likely realised that if they'd chosen to match the bus it would have been rather bold and a little unsettling for some. They undoubtedly would have thought of picking up the cream of the bus. That would have been nice but I think they made the right choice for this month's turquoise.

Very Lloyd Loom under the apple tree, best accompanied by a glass of Pimms. 

Rather taken by the colour of the cover this month. 

Memsahib tasked with MRJ recovery operation. Co-ordinates provided. Port on stand by. 

As always, an excellent day out and this year does indeed have an international flavour. Particularly looking forward to seeing the Japanese Bonsai layout. 

Rob

Hi Jack, 

No hesitation in recommending this Polish company.

https://en.mbrmodel.eu/produkty

Really good to deal with. The trees are made pretty much to order so it normally takes six weeks or so. 

I've just placed another order with the and I'm advised that delivery will be early July. 

Here are some photos of their trees on my current layout. 

Oak tree

Close up of oak leaves

Weeping Willow 

Beech in the background

Rob..

1 hour ago, Mr chapman said:

Am I missing something here? As I understand it the P class bluebell is exactly the same as the original run apart from perhaps different artwork on the box. Yes? And it's available to pre order for about £100? 

 

I have watched a Hattons one go through eBay the other day for £310. And a non runner in poor condition for £130 at the weekend. I thought these were quite well advertised. 

A fool and his money are soon parted..........

Funny, my original 00 S&D loft layout, set in the 1950s had a couple of Crabs lingering on way past their actual departure date along with a couple of Ivatt 2.6.0s. Both types a favourite of mine so simply put, they stayed ! 

Rob. 

Oh and my thanks to Tony @Mulgabill for thinking of me and making a very worthy donation to the Wisbleat and Upwool section of the library yesterday. 

I have a bottle of Otter Bright ( 4.3% ) lined up as a suitable accompaniment this afternoon for a spot of al fresco gardenesque reading. 

First edition, written and published in the last days of the tramway. An essential contemporary account. 

Thank you. 

Rob

And in respect of Minehead, things went okay but there are a couple of things to iron out before Exeter in three weeks time. 

Of the J70s, 68222 and 68223, the skirted jobs went well. 68225, normally the best of the three ( but they're all damn good runners ) had a bit of a hissy fit. I'm hoping it's a decoder issue and with that in mind, I'll make sure I pack a spare decoder. In pre testing, all three were fine so not sure why it decided not to play. 

Despite cleaning, there were one or two sticky patches which needed further attention throughout the day, again odd as running the layout on Thursday evening flagged up no such issues.......

But, Sheep 3 on it's first time out, proved itself eminently suitable as layout transport, accommodating everything with some comfort. The boot has a drop down section which allows the trestles to stand up and this leaves storage beneath the layout for the toolbox and general stuff box. 

The new F.A.R.Ts performed well though one was a bit of a tight squeeze. 

So given that the focus needs now to return to Lambsdown, not too many snags to sort out. 

One addition to Ewe will be an ex-GER grounded van body. This is a 3D print by Marc Dobson from Pre-grouping Railways and was spotted at Bracknell. I've now got two, one destined for Ewe and the other lined up for the Mid Suffolk project. They're very nice, looking to need minimal fettling before painting to represent a pretty typical addition to many stations in East Anglia. 

So, that's that for now and a bit to be going on with for sure. 

Rob

19 hours ago, SteveyDee68 said:

Now there is a further cunning bit of IKEA-bashing! How fortunate that the plywood drawers are exactly the right depth for wagon boxes! Have you made a front cover for transporting the box, or do the boxes hold themselves in place? And are the drawers used for locos?

 

Meanwhile, all the best for the exhibition!

 

Steve S

Morning Steve, 

Yes, I've been using these since I started taking the trainsets out and about. This one then must be at least eight years old now. There's no front cover. The boxes can slide out but for transport, I pop the box against something so nothing dislodges. 

Locos are in the bottom. In the case of Ewe, 3x J70s in the bottom right and a combi controller in the left, carried as a spare in case the Powercab throws a wobbler. 

Rob

45 minutes ago, Gedward said:

 

At the Exmoor Rail show yesterday, I announced the start of my next project, PONTE SAN ROCCO.

Having seen the inspiration behind this and heard your thoughts on presentation, George, it should be something rather nice. 

Remember, Trap 3 awaits............

R

Morning Martyn, 

I do like to see a bit of natural sunlight on layouts. When I've dragged mine out into the garden it's really made the colours and detail pop. 

Rob. 

Morning all, 

Wheels up at 05.30hrs. 

Photos of erection to follow. 

I thank ewe. 

1 hour ago, Andy Keane said:

 

pps what about Cardigan?

Probably not needed what wi' radiator oop thar. 

Rob. 

My own favourite and a probable future build.......There is a discrepancy with the signalling diagram track...er diagram. As in the cross over is opposite to the artists render. 

Just now, woodenhead said:

Might a bigger F.A.R.T. be at risk of accidents, is that why it's just a 2 wagon one?

Probably but it's actually down to the size of the run round loop on Ewe. 

R

14 hours ago, Donw said:

Where's the button for 'sounds risky to me with the exhibition so close' 

 

Don

Pah ! 

And having had a " I wonder if........" moment earlier this afternoon, I'm now busy changing the  F.A.R.T ( fiddly area reshuffling table) on Ewe........  

Oh, and in other news, an order has been placed with my good friends at MBR, the Polish Tree chaps. Delivery may well be pre-Wells and will make it onto Lambsdown but some of the delivery is destined for a different project. 

Rob.