Dava

Here is a present-day option for a compact US switcher. This is a TP56, built on the 6 wheel truck of an EMD SD40, that is similar to a UK class 66 truck (forthcoming from Dapol) with a shortened switcher style cab & hood. This is from the Facebook group, Switchers & Critters, which has lots of interesting material. There are 3D prints in N & Ho, I dont know about O scale which is a bit retro in US. Drawing here too. Dava

You could put up a simple poll with 3-5 price options to test levels of price sensitivity & perceptions of value for money. Dava

The Human Resource Management profession has a lot to answer for, sometimes known wryly as ‘Human Remains’. The Director of Human Resources on the Board was sometimes referred to as ‘Big hat, no cattle’! I’m now off to ask my Direct Reports to do their objectives in what is described as the New World of Work (NWOW). Dava

Did you make or buy the sash window? The building looks great! Dava

This link to a great photoset of the unique Claremont &Concord RR shows that a GE 44 tonner & one boxcar at a time is all you need https://trainsbyjon.myportfolio.com/claremont-concord You could also try a smaller loco like a GE 25 tonner or Plymouth 4 or 6 wheel. Dava

I was lucky & able to buy a s/h Rich Yoder brass GE 44 tonner, it’s central to my US shortline plans. Test track photo below. However I also have a Williams 70 tonner for conversion from 3R to 2R & confirm as Mikjd wrote, it’s entirely feasible, the trucks are the same design with a small DC motor driving 1 axle in each. Peco Lowmac wheels can be used to fit the original axles. There is a 44 tonner on eBay here https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114937818126?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=114937818126&targetid=1283271902821&device=t&mktype=pla&googleloc=1006891&poi=&campaignid=9445985932&mkgroupid=121333601023&rlsatarget=pla-1283271902821&abcId=578896&merchantid=6995734&gbraid=0AAAAAD_Lr1eqGTet82pNkAGgZeGLcJfWC&gclid=Cj0KCQjwkbuKBhDRARIsAALysV4TrlimikJBJGZkbFIMLSEufECrbW5jNSaHzYTnUXeIB2J-vWkRfPcaAskYEALw_wcB Or can be imported by https://www.tootallyamericantrains.co.uk/ourshop/cat_1516810-GE-44-ton.html Dava

BBC News are not reporting impartially, they don’t want to mention the role of Brexit in excessive energy price rises, HGV driver, food supply chain & food price rises. This is not political, it’s factual. EU states are coping fine.

No. 1 John Lyon survived as Neasden shunter till 1972 & scrapped 1974 with frame defects so could have been a preservation contender. Good excuse for a photo. courtesy https://www.heritagerailway.co.uk/3486/top-marks-for-veteran-electric-locos-nameplate-as-debate-continues/

Bought a Senior Railcard, my Park & Ride ticket to work is now £9.70 down from £14.70, even if I just use it once a week that’s a good saving. The 5 car Meridians are getting crowded, miss the spacious HSTs on the MML. Dava

Assuming this is 4mm scale….?

UK needs 4 Trident subs with US warheads & 2 massive aircraft carriers with US planes like why? So we pay US corporations $bns to ‘own’ them. Didnt help much in Afghanistan. No US special relationship anymore. UK needs to get used to being a marginal 3rd country mainly owned by foreigners our ruling class sold off to. Look at US, European, Chinese, Saud,i Russian ownership of former UK companies. Rolls-Royce now in the frame for US takeover. If you need a nuke base then stick it in Pompey home of the RN. Dava

Thanks, much appreciated. I’ve always found that if not buying on the day, the ticket machines work well for prebooked tickets. Will get my Railcard next week.

Is it worth having a Senior Railcard? It hasn’t been since I passed 60 last year. I’ll be travelling East Midlands Parkway to Leicester a couple of times a Week and have a Nottingham-Cardiff trip next month. I would also like to travel some of the Northern, Scottish and Welsh routes I’ve never been to. Also visiting some rail connected preserved lines such as the Bluebell. Dava

There is a plan to reopen the line from Loughborough MML junction up to Rushcliffe Halt and then Ruddington. One hopes for an outbreak of common sense so that all parties will get behind the plan. The 125 Group had a display of their Class 43s & Mk 3 stock this BH weekend. The Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre Facebook page or Nottingham Heritage Railway webpage shows upcoming events at the Centre. Dava

The legendary drummer Charlie Watts has passed on today. He kept the beat with the Rolling Stones and a range of jazz ensembles. Simplicity & elegance never surpassed, a gentleman. Dava

John Atkinson Grimshaw was the doyen of the Victorian moonlit quayside scene. I’ve not found a railed vehicle in any of them but this view of the Aire & Calder gauge barges at Leeds Bridge is rather special. https://www.google.com/search?q=atkinson+grimshaw+prints&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB915GB915&hl=en-GB&prmd=sinv&sxsrf=ALeKk03QikZ3b5oaEH7hi3YDViOkbptZHg:1629821652383&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjBpIzlhsryAhXFmFwKHWqGCwsQ_AUoAnoECAIQAg&biw=1024&bih=653&dpr=2#imgrc=qhwD23UKlyFK7M Dava

Have you ever built an Airfix 9F kitbash & wanted to do this…? Dava

As well as the wonderful Railways at Work Gala last weekend, this stockbook Guide to the wagon collection is very useful for modellers Dava

Here is the DVLR Sentinel on my model based on the DVLR, Coney Hill, Dava

I was sorry to see that Andrew Hajduckie, the author of a number of excellent histories of Scottish light railways and branches in the Eastern lowlands, had died earlier this year. He was also an eminent lawyer. https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/legal-news/faculty-pays-tribute-on-death-of-andrew-hajducki-qc/ Dava

I’ve just ordered the 7mm scale GNoSR waiting shelter, looks a compact kit for £20, ideal for small layout. I passed on the Black 5 kit but a Barclay pug would have been a different matter! Dava

That is the Staffordshire St Edwards Hospital tramway I mentioned, map from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Edwards_Hospital_tramway Dava

The St Edwards Hospital Tramway connected with the North Staffs Railway near Cheddleton at Leekbrook Junction on the now preserved Churnet Valley Railway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Edwards_Hospital_tramway Dava

Holwell No3, aka Wellington is at the Tanfield Railway, not in working order https://www.tanfield-railway.co.uk/history/our-locomotives/ Dava