Bernard Lamb

Seeing that one of them was based at Hawick a local word comes to mind. Huntigowk. Bernard

Never mind the son of York. You will have Andy himself to contend with if you persist with jokes that are that terrible. Bernard

Louise Haigh made the comment in the HoC that when HS2 trains eventually start to run, it will take longer to get from Birmingham to Central london via Acton than it does on the WCML at present. Bernard

Someone has. It is owned by Brookfield, who are Canadian. But it is a rather complicated story. Basically somebody trousered a lot of money. Bernard

Funnily enough my autumn project is building a locomotive depot. This of course requires coaling facilities and I have started on a small Auhagen kit. They do provide some fine kits that can be bashed or used as ideas, or canniballised for doors and windows. The kit has a stone base and I have changed this to brick. It looks a bit too pristine for 1970 GDR so will come under attack before long. I have just opened a packet of Auhagen assorted fencing. Typical of the various types of use in the southern area of the former GDR. The price ticket says DM 6.90 which indicates its age. Bernard

That sound like the place Phil. I was being diplomatic in saying the family split. She does seem to be the one who was very much involved in the change of direction. She however had a parachute and a safety net, while several thousand others do not. Bernard

I was involved with setting up the distribuion centre in the erly 1990s. It was a state of the art warehouse with a very efficient stock control system linked to some progressive ideas on marketing. It worked well, with a range of own brand products mixed with well known brand names. They seemed to be well aware of which lines to push and to watch the margins on different products. As a customer I did find that some products were better than others, with garden stuff being cheap and cheerful when compared to other brands, but paint being quite a bargain. Picture frames were also very reasonably priced with a versatile range of sizes. Although I found they cut down on these in recent years. My feeling is they got too greedy after the family split and sealed their own fate. One example of getting it very wrong was with the Christmas stuff. Always far too much left over. I bought several packs of lights when they were reduced to £5. Sad to see them go as it will probably be the end for our local shopping centre. It will almost certainly take out a few of the other local shops. Bernard

I find that rather odd. That should be straightforward, I have always found German banks very much more user friendly and customer oriented than those in the UK. If you have a problem thay will even set up a Zoom meeting to discuss it. I have never been offered that service by a UK bank. I wish them luck in dealing with HMR&C.😃 Although this year they have been quite prompt in dealing with SWMBO's tax return. Bernard

I quite like the idea of keeping old traditions going. Even if they have become toned down bit. It's rather more friendly than taking things to their ultimate conclusion and putting your enemies in the cooking pot. Bernard

Quite correct. HMR&C might also have an interest. A couple of years ago a neighbour died and his widow asked me for help in getting rid of his models and books. The executor neede a fairly accurate list, with an idea of values of major items. If you are in the inheritance tax bracket, then a model collection can be liable for a worthwhile amount of tax. Put in a false amount and it might lead to further questions. In this case she could not get probate granted until I had listed the valuable items, which were then sold individually. The executors where happy to take her word that I was knowledgeable enough to make a list and a valuation. I suppose that would depend on the value, and a very large collection might prompt furter investigation. Bernard

When all fiixings were made from material of a reasonable strength that seems to be a pretty fair comment. Now that the absolute minimum grade is used in many applications the strength of the material can easily be exceeded. He says with painful memories of when the UK switched over from home production to importing them from the far east. Bolts will deform, but often not visibly. Then when subjected to even a minor overload will fail catastropically. Look at bike components and their instructions and they are all marked with torgue settings. That is not just for fun. Bernard. Who must hve spent many hours testing nuts and bolts and calibrating the checking equipment.

Good evening Tony. No. The situation with that ghastly plug and socket is even worse in my experience than yours. I got hold of an Oxford Rail J27 intending to use the tender elsewhere only to find that Oxford use a different size item. Grrrrrrh. Bernard

They probably have the tools set at the correct torque setting. They probably have not bothered to check the torque settings against a calibrated master. I also wonder exactly what QC requirements the commissioner has specified. While stuck screws or bolts on model locomotives are a pain in the whatsit, in certain applications the result can have very serious consequences. Carbon fibre parts on racing bikes being an example that I have come across. Bernard

Pray tell what that means in plain English. It leaves me none the wiser. I ordered one when they were first announced. My, then, supplier informed me that he could not fulfill my order due to the tier system restricting his allocation. I then found a dealer who was willing to accept my order. I am still waiting despite him having been informed by Hornby that they would be with him at the end of the week. That being two weeks ago, or is it now three? I have not looked to see if I have paid for it but I have updated my card details with my retailer. It must be a nightmare for him in respect of his cash flow. Do you seriously believe that the information that you obtained from Hornby, vague as it is, can be taken as gospel? It will turn up when it turns up. But it would be nice if Hornby could be a bit more up front with what is going on. We ain't got a f'ing clue might be a better response. Bernard Bernard

Good morning Tony. You have noticed what I noticed and come to the same way of thinking. However some wagons are showing large LMS insignia just to confuse the issue. My feeling is that the men were drawn well away from any railway area and the background was from a totally different time and place. My thinking is that the men are from Rugby. This would account for the painting being in Rugby art gallery, while the scene is based on a location south of the Thames. Coming across this picture I wonder what other gems are hidden away in local collections. I do know that there are, in the words of a staff member, tens of thousands. of photographs stored at Duxford that have never been witten up, many supposedly covering railway subjects. Bernard

I deal with a retailer who is a Hornby dealer. I expect him to receive accurate and up to date information from his supplier. The whole business is a shambles, even after Hornby told dealers that the situation would get better. Even the wording on the direct Hornby mail shots is amiguous. Please do not make sarcastic comments trying to defend the indefensible. Bernard. Who has now put his detailing parts back in the draw and gone on to another project.

I recently went to see a collection of paintings by Stehen Bone. He was a war artist, more involved with ships than trains. I was doing some further reading and came across this painting. It is in the art gallery and museum in Rugby. This gallery mainly collects items of local interest. This scene was painted in 1942 and has been in the gallery in Rugby since 1947 AFAIK. I was wondering if any of the knowledgeable folk on here can identify the scene as being Rugby, or is it another location or just made up? His landscapes are usuall pretty accurate from what I have seen. Also how accurate are the uniforms? Bernard

People who claim that they were educated at xxxxxx, when they mean that they went to school there. Even a BBC presenter got it wrong the other day. Bernard

Agreed re the first part. Re the second. Last weekend I sorted out a suitable crew and a front coupling. They are still on my work bench but they will probably be gobbled up by the carpet monster if I do not put them in a labelled envelope. If it takes four years to get a model produced, then so be it. However informing dealers that it will be with them by the end of the week and then defaulting, is not the way to run a business. The ultimate irony is that this is just about the first time ever that any company has produced a model with the number that I require. Other than the odd nammer. I await with interset to see all those layouts based on Hawick and Kelso being built over the winter.😃 Bernard

Especially when, according to mine, they were told by Hornby that the new system allowed Hornby to tell them exactly what product would be delivered within two weeks. Or that is what they told me when they were in touch about two and a half weeks ago when Hornby told them that the locomotives should be with them by the end of the week. It sems that Hornby are not improving in the area of customer service, trade and retail. Bernard

Naughty naughty. Politics is banned.😀 I do find it funny that for the cost of the ULEZ charge for one day a week for a year you can buy a compliant car. I do wonder where these millions of people who are too poor to do that are hiding. Bernard

Nasty, tiny things that no proper railway would tolerate. I will stick with 20t plus hoppers with proper bottom doors. They are far more efficient and much better to use on coal drops.😀 Bernard

From around 1920.