Bernard Lamb

Aren't they just. The carpet monster is licking his lips in anticipation. Another plus point for the track is that if a rail is pulled out of a chair the chair can be pushed back on. With a gentle push it will click back into position. Not something I can manage with the two alternatives. Bernard

Oh come on you miserable bunch. At least two of the adverts feature trains. Bernard

Really? I had heard stories that some of those Scottish ladies had a reputation for being swingers. Bernard

Agreed. In my case it was the Henry that expired and has to be replaced. Not bad I suppose as it was about 17 years old. But it still means finding the cash. Even better suited to a 20t or 21t hopper wagon. (But don't let us upset our friend who denies the existence of check rails covering 4 sleepers). After several decades of using live frogs I am coming round to the idea of Unifrog as it comes. Even on DC it can eliminate/simplify wiring for a BLT or similar small layout. Bernard

I have always written notes using upper case. It was only a few years ago that I found out why I did that. I am of an age group that was brought up to find my way around London by bus and tube and used to travel to school on a LONDON TRANSPORT bus. What you learn at an early age stays with you for ever. As for modern liveries. A train advertising a James Bond film is a step too far for me. Bernard

Well, it does say representative. What intrigues me is the correctly numbered tender. Bernard

Watch out. My anti virus doe not like it. Bernard

Another from The East London Group. Railway Sidings by Walter Steggles c 1929. This is currently on show at The Nunnery Gallery, Bow. It would almost fit as an entry for the cake box competition. Bernard

A young lad came home from school in Edinburgh and told his mother that he had a part in the school play. What part have you got? enquired his mother. I am playing John, who is the husband of a woman from Glasgow. WHAT! screamed his mother. Go in tomorrow and tell them that you want a speaking part. Bernard

Oh what a charming fellow. Just as we are approaching the season of goodwill to all men. Bernard

There is more than one way of killing a cat. My colleague was called to a company that had gone into administration. He had to put a value on the stock. He offered the owner of the business £2k. The owner protested that it was worth at least£40k. My colleague agreed with him, but pointed out that the source of some of the items was suspicious. Take £2k and our company gets a lot of stock back, or face prosecution. I think we got the best result. Bernard

God had almost finished creating the world. He had a last thought that he could make a country that was so much more beautiful than any that he had created before. He made mountains rising straight from the sea. He made glens between them with lochs full of salmon and trout. He covered the mountains in heather. He provided red deer to give the inhabitants food. He called to his son to approve of his work. His son said "Have you been too generous, could you not provide one bad point?" God replied "Wait until you see the neighbours." Bernard

Large locomotives look ridiculous running round smaller than scale radius curves. Forget 3' more like 8'. Hornby have found a method that looks good on a show case model and provide an alternative for running as a toy train. Do you really suggest we go back to the dark ages? My vote goes to Hornby. Bernard

Hardly new. I asked a question on here a good few years ago if they used this steel to repair preserved locomotives as I had heard of it's use being regarded as essential in other fields. Bernard.

But just to confuse the situation I have tablets in packs of 28 and an inhaler that lasts for 50 days. Keeping a check on order dates and allowing for weekends to cover the 48 hours order time is quite a task. Bernard

Interesting. My last batch of tablets was a different brand name from the previous batch and I noticed that it had a slight reaction on my digestion. I have to take it at least an hour before I have any thing to eat or drink in order to avoid this bad feeling. Bernard

A P4rologist? A Trenailer? Bernard

I have now had a chance to take a close look at a point. I do hope that they do not take too much notice of your comments. I too have studied track but obviously not to the depth that you have done. My interests lie to the east and the north so my first thoughts were "what does it do for me". The joggled rail is not my cup of tea but it does work in a positive manner. My initial reaction to the undernourished inside of the chairs has changed as it is not as bad as I first thought, due partly to the actual rail section. The head hides the shallow depth rather well. The number and layout of the timbering could vary from area to area and on the usage, so I find that acceptable. As for your remark about the length of the check rails. I dug out a drawing for a 1911 NER 1 in 7 turnout and this clearly shows the check rails covering four sleepers. As the Peco version is supposed to represent a slightly tighter radius than that, then all would seem to be well. The check rails in fact measure up in length and position remarkably accurately. Given that the Peco point is slightly shorter and slightly sharper in radius than the NER drawing it makes a pretty good representation size wise and in respect of most details. I would say that the biggest visible problem is, as pointed out by John (hayfield) the end of the switch not sitting on a slide chair. Just tried running a short wheel base 0-6-0 through it and without wiring the frog it performs very well with no wheel drop or wobble. Well done Peco. Bernard

The funny thing is that in Leipzig they did move a complete railway station by putting rollers under it and towing it. As late as 1947 the Hemel town plans included two heliports for commuters to travel to and from central London and the previous idea of a new railway station was deemed to be not required. Bernard

John They may well get better and cheaper using plastic. The point I made was about the use of metal. That will be the real break through and I see no sign of it happening soon. The last time I asked, a machine was around the 1/4 million mark. That is not going to come down to a grand in a short time scale. As Jol points out, what is the real demand? I do not see any one prepared to take the risk outside of the two quoted examples of chucking money into a development programme. Bernard

Another one who is not too happy with Boots. On my last visit to collect a prescription they pestered me to get a flu jab. Even though I pointed out to them that my GP will give me a call when she is ready to do a batch, they still pushed the point. I would rather my GP got the money than it going to Boots. I did note on my other prescription that I collected this morning that it does mention a review is due next April. I presume this review will be carried out by my GP. One other point I did notice was that one of my prescriptions is very limited in the amount I can get each time. I mentioned this to another GP as I thought it might be due to the medication being very strong and thus dangerous to hold in a large quantity. I was told that is not the case. The reason is the up front cost to the NHS. So I have to waste an hour every couple of months to save then a few quid. Bernard

Why do we buy RTR? Do we treat RTR trains as consumables or collectables? Do we purchase items because they were not available or we could not afford them in the past? I have no use for a 1930s C1 but it does look rather smart. Then it obviously needs a rake of the correct Pullmans to pull. Seeing the prototype Deltic being delivered back in my schooldays I had to have a model. That required suitable stock so Bachmann Mk1s arrived in the hobby room. I tend to model rural branch lines so they are all totally out of place so I built a 6' x 4' board and laid some set track to give them a run from time to time. Funnily enough buying things and setting up a place to run them has led to a more tidy approach and running a train round while I work on a kit or an RTR conversion is quite relaxing and I do manage to get more modelling done. I am not well off, but have reached an age where my savings divided by life expectancy puts me in a comfortable position to indulge in my hobby. I share this situation with many others of my age group who had continual employment and have paid off the mortgage. In twenty years time I think things will be very different. Bernard

The motor trade has been doing that for many a long year. When was the Vauxhall Frontera introduced? That is the first example that I came across. Middle East in that case but the business soon moved much further east. We need to be able to get 3D metal printing at a much cheaper rate before the home production of locomotives is possible and I don't think that is just around the corner. Bernard

It would also restrict the location. Bernard

But you need to leave instructions that will be read immediately. What to do with any livestock for example. The local council will probably have a system that takes care of the paperwork re notifying various people, but it will not deal with these urgent matters. Ensuring that the cats are looked after is rather more important than how much the sprog gets. Bernard