Joseph_Pestell

I always found Jouef locos could be quite difficult. Actually quite basic but there are parts that can easily be put back the wrong way round. Good engineering design could have avoided that. Best were Minitrix despite my then inexperience with N.

I doubt if any Halling chassis is going to fit the bill. The Billards have very different bogies, a long, by ng standards, motorised bogie and a much shorter lightweight carrying bogie. But a Halling motor bogie would be a good starting point.

Most classic car shows seem to set the mark at 30 years old.

Not really a wild thought, Paul. There are enough UK modellers doing non-British prototype modelling that it ought to be able to work. But exhibition finances mostly work on the input from a wider public who probably would not visit an overseas show. Venues have mostly become expensive. But if you could find a venue that was reasonable priced and in a location that is easily accessible, it could probably be done.

An impressive sight those Sentinels when at speed. Several used to turn up on the HCVS London to Brighton run each May. I do wonder though how good the brakes are to stop them.

Report in the Press a few days ago (forget which paper) about long queues of container ships waiting at sea to dock at one of China's major seaports.

A Hot Cross Bun is a quite separate recipe from an "ordinary" currant bun. It has spices and, optionally, candied peel.

Not even New Year yet and my local CoOp has got boxes of Hot Cross Buns on sale. The buns are not hot. Should I complain? The label on the box says Happy Easter. The CoOp has clearly lost its Methodist origins. Hot Cross Buns are for Good Friday, hence the cross. I wonder what the "best before" date is.

Can't answer specifically for these blocks. There will be a technical report on them somewhere. In general, any natural materials like this actually need to be kept slightly damp. Any number of cases of old cob cottages having whole walls collapse due to becoming too dried out (retrofit central heating). Another point worth making. These days we expect standardised solutions. It was not so back in the day. The reason that we have differing architectural styles across the country is not just about what was available locally by way of materials. Just as important was the soil/ground conditions locally and how they interreact with the materials. For those talking of houses on stilts, there are a lot on the East Coast of the USA.

I have tried to complete the survey but there seem to be some wobbles with the technology.

Milder for most...but not all. I got a sad wake-up call earlier this week about the ongoing seriousness of this pandemic. The guy who did plastering work for one of my cousins has died from Covid. He was just 37 years old and fully vaccinated.

Have you asked on the N Gauge Forum as well? I think there is someone there who has done this. I think that it would be difficult to achieve this as you have "drawn" it. Better to use the 20 degree short crossing as well.

It would be a good addition to the Railroad range if at the right price.

I have not seen one of those collecting boxes for years. It was a brilliant concept.

I have mentioned this before but it is worth repeating. If anyone is visiting Poole, a visit to the RNLI HQ there is a great way to pass a few hours: entertaining and informative.

By "traditional base", I think you are talking about the yard north of Epsom railway station, on the back road to Ewell. In my time, Richmonds' base in Epsom was a garage on the A24 in the town centre. They caused plenty of traffic congestion as coaches reversed in. IIRC the Bookham base, on the A246 was redeveloped for housing many years ago.

Thanks, I will check that out. I have no doubt that it can be done in N or 009. And probably in 00 for a Minories type project. Plenty of length, just not too much width to play with.

Wonder if a similar list exists for Harrington's French output. Nostalgic for me as they were the main supplier of coaches to CAT who ran the bus services in Cotes du Nord (now Cotes d'Armor). My parents would hire from them each year at Easter for a school holiday in Brittany, collecting us from Dieppe or Cherbourg. H.R. Richmond (Epsom Coaches/Bookham Coaches) would convey us from Leatherhead to Newhaven/Southampton for the ferry. After my recent move, one of my tasks is to go through family photo albums and scan some photos to the computer. Will post here again if I find some of the CAT vehicles.

I am not a GW modeller. Indeed all my modelling plans have been thrown into doubt by recent illness and a move into a 36m2 living space (aka narrowboat). But I might just buy one of these, it is such a superb model. Accurascale seem able to raise the bar with each new model that they produce.

You may find that grey or beige is less conspicuous than black.

As others have said, in this context signals are not necessary. And railways did not usually spend money on anything unneccesary. I can understand wanting a signal to add visual interest. Perhaps a red disc rather than a semaphore to add to the industrial railway ambience.

This is a good idea. As much as the public like to see big layouts, it does not encourage them to become modellers unless they too have a lot of space available. Much better to show HLJ alongside some more modest sized layouts that folks can relate to their own spare room/loft/garage. Particularly good to have a small O gauge shunting layout by way of a comparison.

I know that there is a lot of automation but I was surprised to find Simon was operating with a very small crew (last Friday morning). There were spectators along almost the full scenic length of the layout. So not always easy to examine all the detailed work even though I knew what to look for from photos on this thread. I think that many would not see the detailed work in the context of such a large layout. I was lucky enough to find a space about halfway along from where the view of trains arriving from each end is really lifelike.

Nice Ms Kirkwood told us this morning on the BBC that storm Barra would be less strong today than yesterday. Not much sign of that here in Cheshire where it is persisting down and there is still plenty of wind. I should be moving my boat along the canal today but I might give it a miss. Could be difficult controlling a 60' boat on my own in this weather.

Almost impossible to park in London these days for non-residents. And the traffic, everywhere, is awful. If you don't absolutely need to drive there, don't even consider any option other than the train.