Alex TM

Well, he used to be regularly seen near the 'Edinburgh Dungeon' .......

Hi Spamcan, If I remember correctly it was 'Brockley Green' that I saw once at an exhibition. It had OHLE in the goods yard. An entertaining, and cleverly designed, layout operated by a truly friendly guy. The really clever bit was the hidden return line. I had never seen overhead on the SR before, so he talked me through it. Hope that's of use. Regards, Alex.

Hi again, Just a suggestion for the masochists, or the very skillful, in our midst: Scotch Gauge - 4'6" gauge using 4mm: 1ft on EM gauge (out by 0.2mm but is close enough); challenge is that you would mostly be modelling Scottish railways of the mid-19th century, or Tokyo trams. (Another option would be 7mm:1ft on 32mm track; again it would be out but by only 0.5mm.) Just a thought .... Regards, Alex.

Wolverhampton, Swindon, aren't they simply different strains of the same virus?

Hi Tom, That's a fantastic piece of work. Would you mind telling us a little more about the motor replacement? I ask as I imagine I am not the only one who thinks that you have found a solution to improving the pug in its original form. Thanks and regards, Alex.

Would 'Princess of the Night' from Saxon count?

I once, several decades ago, cut in to see a friend on the way home from work; I was still wearing my steel-capped boots. His younger sister, on seeing the rather prominent toecap, made comments about "how ugly" the boots looked. I explained that the boots weren't designed for fashion, but safety, so explained about the steel lining. She said that she didn't believe me, would prove I was lying, and left the room. Five minutes later she returned with a hammer and, without warning, brought it down with some force onto one of my boots. The look on her face was almost priceless as the hammer bounced ..... She never, ever, criticised any of my clothing again.

Hi there, Interesting sale. Out of curiousityI looked at the listing, and it gives a potted history of both locos; one of them is listed as having been new to "Colziumquarry Co LTD". The only Colzium I am aware of is in Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire. There were quarries nearby but I don't recall ever seeing them described as having rail connections or networks. Does this mean that it's another Colzium? If so, where? Regards, Alex.

A friend of mine once said that while standing in a pub .... the creature in question did not appreciate it!

Hi Jack, There's an older photo of this van online, with a comment that it formed part of a cafe facility along with another wagon and a coach. Could the additional ventilation been to help with cold storage of food? here's the link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/79842765@N07/40356042880 Hope that's of use. Regards, Alex.

It sounds like the sort of thing that Hornby would do ..... (think of Kit-Kat vans, and Polo tankers)

Would you happen to be a fan of the Pixie (aka Mr. Blackmore), a man who, as he ages, seems to prefer his musical influences to be pre-modern?

Hi iands, Thanks for that. I've seen photos of a 20 on the Rowantrees traffic, as well as 101s (?) on the works train. IIRC one of my books has a photo of a 150 on the last passenger service. Regards, Alex.

Hi there, When I saw the thread title I thought it may be a 16-tonner that had been painted with too thin a coat of paint, and had bleached in the daylight. On looking at the photo, that really does look to be white. I had a quick look at the colour photos in a couple of my books, but nothing that light. I'm now curious. Regards, Alex.

Hi, If you go to the 'Rails of Sheffield' section in the forum you'll find various other comments from around the time it happened. It's not a unique situation for a trader and manufacturer to part company (for example see Hattons and Bachmann). Regards, Alex.

Hi again, A lot has been written here about education as a tool to be used in addressing hate, etc. That, though, is not foolproof; I know plenty of exceptionally well-educated bigots. I wonder what we can use alongside education to make this a better place? Regards, Alex.

Hi, Great photo, and perfect timing as I have just been looking at the Middleton Press book on the line. Do you know if that service was usually a duty for an 08? Thanks and regards, Alex.

Hi, According to 'An Illustrated History of Southern Wagons Vol. 1', the S&DJR did possess some 8ton 3-plank dropsides, at least one of which survived into BR service. They became SR diagram 1732. The photo of S62948 does not look unlike the Hornby model, include the brakes. Hope that's of use. Regards, Alex.

Hi Graham, Many thanks for that. I usually find that when someone asks a question, and I know I have a book with the answer, that I cannot either find the book or the correct page .... Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, Can anyone tell me the wheelbase, and length over frames (or buffers) of the above two classes? I have looked online, and in the books I have, and can find almost everything else but those two pieces of information. The reason I am looking for the information is that I have been looking at a couple of SEF kits with a view to seeing if they will fit on any currently available rtr chassis. Thanks in advance for any help with this. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, Lots of really deep thought and discussion here in this thread. I have chosen to quote @woodenhead as, sadly, he is right. I have to confess this as the case as I am a leader in a Christian community; thankfully, we are not all so narrowly minded. There are members of every faith group who do not agree with the language of hate, or prejudice, or the willful ignorance that often supports it. Rather, there are groups across the spectrum of belief from Atheism to Zoroastrianism who seek out what it means to be most fully human, and that driven by that most vague of concepts, 'love'. If that means that you are a part of the LGBTQI+ community then that's good; it's all a part of the wonder that is humanity. On a lighter note, the highjacking of 'The Proud Boys' name etc, is fantastic. Regards, Alex.

Was once a member of a club where fun was most definitely not allowed; it was work, work, work. Just as many of us were about to quit, probably both club and hobby, we realised it was almost all down to one person. We persuaded him to leave. After that it was fun, beer, and playing trains ....

I think it's worth getting though, IIRC, it was the most expensive of the set (bought used online earlier this year). I got it because I was going to build a few kits of ex-Sr stock, but ended up looking through the whole thing.

Hi Jason, Have you read the story behind how that happened? If the OPC book on Southern wagons is to be believed then it is truly bonkers. (According to the book the door on the original batch swung into the guard's seating area; rather than re-hang the doors to swing the opposite way they mirrored the body instead.) Regards, Alex.

Hi again everyone, Thanks for all your input. The question was prompted, as suggested in the OP, by the fact that the books covering the Hayling Island branch don't seem to show a single ex-SR brake post nationalisation. It looked like, post-1948, the SR vans had disappeared. Thanks to your responses I now see that they became somewhat scattered. The furthest away from the SR that I ever saw one was on the Peterborough-Ely line. Again, thanks for the replies. Regards, Alex.