br2975

Just a few recent shots of what some local enthusiasts refer to as 'Marvins' ( and no, I don't know why ). . Good luck with your modelling them.

. My grandfather was a Corporal rifle instructor in the Home Guard, or more correctly the LDV - Local Defence Volunteers, or as my grandmother would say to him 'Look Duck & Vanish' . His greatest initial problem was the lack of a rifle with which to train his comrades, and when that arrived, the lack of any ammunition. . When 'Dad's Army' first aired my grandfather described it as more a documentary than a comedy, as he recognised most of the characters from his own platoon. . During the Luftwaffe raids on Cardiff in January 1941, my grandfather was working ( close to a certain Hippo's then family seat ) at the Cardiff Gas Light & Coke Co. Grangetown gas works and spent the nights on top of a gasometer extinguishing German incendiary bombs as they landed. . As an 8yr old I Ionce asked him 'what if the gas holder had exploded ?" . "Well I wouldnt have known anything about it !" He chuckled. . Ironically, it wasn't the Germans that killed him, but the gas works did, he died horribly of asbestosis after lagging pipes with wet asbestos paste, applied with his bare hands. .

. "Married at First Sight Australia" - the biggest load of TV tat of all time. . It heralds 'modelling time' at chez br2975 - so it does have a place in my life, and can't be all bad.

. "Horses ! Horses ! Don't send the horses, send a ....................." . "We, the god fearing citizens of Rock Ridge......" . "Is it twoo, is it twoo, is it twoo what they say about......? Oh it's twoo, it's twoo !" . Sadly............, neither could I imagine it being made today.

. Who me ? . Trackplan ? . Nah, never.

. Because Britain refuses to extradite prisoners back to countries where they will face the death penalty - even if it is lawful in that country. . I think you'll find Beiber will (hopefully) die in prison here in the UK.

. On the subject of your former colleagues - it was with great sadness, but also honour that in 2004, I attended Leeds Parish Church and represented South Wales Police during the funeral of Constable Ian Broadhurst. . One of the few occasions in my service when a handkerchief was required.

. The closest I came to "not going home" - was at the hands of an 80 year old woman, we had been asked by hospital staff to assist in 'sectioning' . . She was sat on a sofa in a lounge surrounded by many shelves containing literally hundreds of dolls. . As I leaned over her, she screamed 'get outta my f***ing house !" and swung at my stomach with a Gurkha's kukri she'd hidden under a cushion. . Despite me breathing in, and arching backwards the blade of the knife made contact with my shirt, just below my body armour and above my belt. . The only way to get her to release the kukri was an eventual blow to the wrist with a PR-24 (side handled baton). . Moral of the story - "always expect the unexpected" .

. This country is not geared up to deal with, or cope with police involved shootings. . This is not the USA where such shootings can go unreported in the national press, and where most Americans shrig their shoulders and say "Oh ell, he probably deserved it" . In my professional opinion, any police officer who takes up a firearm 'needs their bumps felt" . One day that officer may be called upon to pull the trigger, and however 'righteous' that shot, he (or she) will be entering a 'world of hurt' that will last for years. . The officer will immediately be removed from frontline duties whilst the incident is investigated, and placed in a backroom job. . Whilst accepted practice suggests the officer also be treated as a victim, that is rarely, if ever the case and the officer is immediately treated as a suspect. The matter will be investgiated by his/her own force, as well as the (NOT VERY) Independent Office for Police Conduct. . In addition, the incident will be thoroughly dissected by the media, the press, and a myriad of agenda driven 'support groups' and other interested parties who are not interested in any facts that do not suit their narrative. . Meanwhile, the officer will be treated like a pyrriah, at worst ignored by the bosses, and at best kept at arms length - and this even includes many former colleagues and friends.. . The officer will be tried in the court of 'public opinion' - regardless of the full facts not being known. . Former friends out side the job will avouid the officer, as will those of the officer's partner. . The officers children will be taunted at school, or in the street with accusations that 'your dad's a murderer' . Eventually, there will be one of several likely outcomes . H.M. Coroner's Court may consider the killing lawful - at which point the agenda driven 'interested parties' will cry 'cover up' OR the killing could be deemed unl;awful and the officer sent for trial, at which point the 'interested parties' rub their hands with glee, and flood the internet with ill informed glee. . The 'publicity driven' I.O.P.C. will never clear an officer outright - there will always be certain matters that come to light, such as failings or breaches of internal policy, or failures to fill in vehicle log books, or broken body cameras............. all this is seized upon by those 'interested parties' who again cry 'foul' - 'see the, officer was in the wrong' . If the officer walks away from court after acquittal - again there will be cries of 'cover up' . At the end of 5 to 7 years, we still have one grieving family, one drained and despondent cop, - but a number of now much richer lawyers, barristers, journalists and publicly funded 'interested parties' and 'support groups' . . . So, much as 'Joe Public' says 'shoot him' - this country as a whole (or should it be 'hole') is not geared up to dealing with police involved shootings, however justifiable the shooting may be.

Roll on next week. . The Bristol Exhibition will have come, and gone . . . . . And hopefully that bl**dy 'pop up' will disappear - and I can log into RMweb in peace.

Best I can do is this, dated May 1979. . A 'namer' with a part-fitted train ex-Radyr, enters Cardiff Central, destination unknown but likely to be the London area. . As mentioned earlier, Cl.47s on unfitted coal in South Wales was uncommon, not unheard of, just uncommon.

. Some 25 or so years ago, I built small modelling 'tray' from an offcut of Formica covered worktop, onto which I stuck graph paper, and then a sheet of plate glass. . Very useful for building things level and square, it was last in use...... this morning.. . In order that everyone at the club knew it was mine, I put my name on the underside. . See what I did there ? .

. My turntable is in the man cave - as are many of my 12" favourites.

. A community, the professional knowledge and first hand experience of whom got me into trouble previously on this site. . And yes, I do agree.

Retirement brought some additional spare time. . As an occasional break from railways I decided to trace my family tree. . My paternal side, I have traced back to the late 17th. Century and the Derbyshire Peak District. . With today being ANZAC Day, I have been enlightening the family with details of the following relative . Ernest David Rolley was born at Herberton, Queensland in 1920, one of five children; whose grandfather, from Bonsall, Derbys. had arrived in Australia in 1877.. . He enisted into the Royal Australian Navy, at Brisbane on 22nd. July, 1940. . Ernest was killed in action aged 21 years on 20th. November, 1941, when his vessel, H.M.A.S. Sydney was lost with all hands (645 souls) in the Indian Ocean - sunk by the German commerce raider 'Kormoran' masquerading as a Dutch trader. . Such is life that I only discovered a branch of my paternal family live in the Atherton / Herberton area of the Tablelands - after - having visited the area twice ! .

. It's all a matter of 'funding' - compounded by ownership / resonsibility . Westminster pulled the plug on electrification of the SWML west of Cardiff to Swansea. . The wires run only as far as the Canton Brickyard opposite the depot, known now as "Line A" . The 'suburban' platforms at Central, namely 6, 7 & 8 are not wired, as seen in my two photos. . We must remember that the CVL (TfW) responsibility ends at the CVL 'West Boundary' which is on the City Line near the Sanatorium Road overbridge, from where the City Line towards Cardiff, through Ninian Park is Network Rail property. . Similarly, the CVL 'East Boundary' is between Central and Queen St, . So from the CVL 'East' to the CVL 'West' around the back of Canton Depot and through Central is Network Rail trackage, and I suspect TfW had no stomach for electrifying NR trackage. . And of course, despite a large proportion of the CVL / Metro improvements being funded by Brussels, the Welsh electorate (in their 'wisdom') voted out in 2016 ! . And now, Wales is suffering financially, so further wiring is highly unlikely in the forseeable future. .

Almost a year has passed since I took these two images showing OHLE work underway at Radyr, on 1st. June, 2023.

A Valley Lines anomaly ? . We are looking east along the South Wales Main Line, or in the 'up' direction as a 'down' Padd - Swansea IET approaches. . Just visible on the right is the 'City Line' which runs parrallel to the SWML for over a mile before crossing it on the former's approach approach to Waungron Park. . At this point, two trains could be heading west on the parrallel lines, with the City Line train being an 'up' service, and the SWML train being a 'down' service. . Both photos were taken from the 'Ely Paper Mill' footbridge around 7.30pm last night, Saturday 20th. April as I stumbled home from Canton RFC, following Cardiff City v Southampton.

The commencement of the OHLE at the "CVL West Boundary". . The image was taken from Landsdowne Avenue West, looking west - or in Valley Lines terms, the 'up' direction. .

Always worth remembering; . " The past is a foreign country, they do things different there " . L.P. Hartley.

. What about 6024 King Edward I aka 'Longshanks' and "The Hammer of the Scots" also invader and conqueror of The Welsh and, amongst other things, responsible for the Edict of Expulsion, a royal decree issued on 18 July 1290 expelling all Jews from the Kingdom of England, the first time a European state is known to have permanently banned their presence.

And with no more 'Tugs' in South Wales, this is what it has come down to................... . 66114 & 66047 with today's (Thursday 18th. April, 2024) 6B13 05:00 Robeston - Westerleigh (Puma) pass Cardiff Central at 09:40

I have an undated image in my records of D8601 in GSYP livery, at Newcastle Central, fitted with snowploughs..... . For copyright reasons I am unwilling to post the image here.

Earlier I mentioned the Cl.197 units being cleared for the Ebbw Vale line from today. . These units come in both 2-car and 3-car sets, and currently operate extensively on the TfW network, eg The Marches Line (North & West) from West Wales to the North Wales Coast etc Maesteg - Cheltenham. . The unit in the first photo carries vinyls proclaiming "Made in Wales" which is something of a political / marketing misnomer, as the units are 'assembled' in Wales (at Llanwern, Newport) from parts mainly sourced abroad. . They are 'assembled' at a new, purpose built plant by the Spanish company CAF . Somewhat tongue in cheek, a railwayman acquaintance tells me " CAF means Call A Fitter" or as his colleague chimed in "No, CAF means Cheap As F*** ! " . Having ridden these units I found them pleasant to ride in, esopecially the "Standard Plus" accomodation behind the driving cab.