Andy Hayter

Sheep will tend to orientate themselves according to the weather. In wind, rain or snow bums tend to go to the windward side - nothing worse than getting snow in your eyes. Round here on hot summer days (and they do get very hot) you will find them in a circle with a tree in the middle projecting a sight of twenty or so bums to the passer by. Simple reason, the tree provides shade and keeps their heads out of the sun.

As others have said it depends on what the collection consists of, but if at all saleable then Vectis (auction house specialising in model railways - amongst others) is local to you and may well be prepared to collect.

They did go through a period before uncovering all sleepers where one sleeper in 4 (not always an exact given) was left uncovered. It stems from a series of incidents (generally; not necessarily LB&SCR) in the late 1800s where derailments were tracked back to rotten sleepers that could not be properly inspected by the gangers because they were buried. The intermediate 1 sleeper in 4 exposed seems not to have provided adequate improvement. Edited to add that given the timescales and the amount of work involved, it is highly likely that many lines went from buried to completely exposed without going through the intermediate step.

Whenever you see a percentage quoted, you must always ask the question, "percentage of what?" There will be occasions when you are absolutely correct and you cannot have more than 100%. for example, if 100% of the population conform to something, you cannot have more than 100%. The group that consists of 100% cannot be expanded. There are however many, many occasions where you can have more than 100%. For example if the average wage for a group is say £26000, anyone earning more than that earns more than 100% of the average wage for the group. In the two examples population is bounded and cannot be exceeded, wages however are not bounded in the same way. In Tony's example of wires there are no bounds and it is perfectly possible to exceed 100%. I repeat my first statement: Whenever you see a percentage quoted, you must always ask the question, "percentage of what?" It will stand you in good stead in cases beyond the trivial example of wires. If someone offers a loan at 5% interest, 5% of what? The total amount? The amount you owe at the end of the year? The amount you owe at the end of the month? The amount you owe tomorrow?

I can understand that Rob; and given that they are NPCS I would guess they got more attention wrt cleaning than a humble wagon.

Shouldn't that be 8? - or are you modelling in a virtual 2D world?

You would have to ask Hattons that, but it may be that their software system automatically generates a PO tracking number that is either used, or not.

This was the pre-production model on show at Warley

No need to file the points off. Just don't use brass bearings on the centre axle - this will give sufficient side play for most non-set track curves.

Not a Royal Mail problem. I had a delivery sent early to mid December by Hattons. I allowed around 10 days with Xmas coming up and when the parcel had not arrived I checked the tracking number to be informed that the number did not exist. This of course set the rabbits running, so I contacted Hattons who told me that they do not actually use tracking for international deliveries. Needless to say the parcel turned up during the exchange of messages. To be honest I can understand why Hattons don't use tracking (even if I cannot understand why they issue a number). I have had parcels delivered to the South of France that are shown as still being at Roissy (Sorting office at Paris airport) and have apparently remained there for several more days.

Well now I am retired I am slowly working through the selection of accumulated bits bought in some cases over 25 years ago. D&S kits - yes I know they are still available as and when Dan decides to re-issue them - or on Ebay, but none cost me more than £10, which is about what the postage is these days. Slaters 4mm wagon and coach kits - currently in the Coopercraft black hole. Ratio Midland coaches - still available but not at £2.95 - and I have a number of sprues additionally for coach sides - probably paid 50p a sprue. Zinc (I think) Midland coach sides for 6 wheel stock - no idea of who produced these. Rod Neep GCR coach fret - 5 x 6 wheelers cost me £20 - OK I will have to add a lot of additional parts (sadly I did not get all of them when I got the etched sheet and some parts are no longer available - but I am sure I will find a way through.) DJH and others French PLM loco kits - never likely to be re-released. Nucast NE loco kits - some may be re-released soon but not for what I paid Ian Kirk coach kits - another Coopercraft casualty. and so on. I think I have enough to keep me quiet for a few years of winter evenings.

Possibly a security measure to discourage theft. The NER used to paint a white line round their heaps for the same purpose, though what happened once a heap was legitimately broken into I do not know.

I have struggled all day to get reliable and up to date labour costs and have failed. I could go back to 2005, but that data is as much use as a chocolate fire guard in todays environment. The best I can come up with is that UK average wages are over $3000/month; Slovakian around $1400; Romanian $1200 and Chinese around $900 (this extrapolated on the basis of the "party's" stated expectation 4 years ago. The reason for including Slovak and Romanian wages is that both of these countries are used by Roco - which by all accounts is in a similarly difficult financial state as Hornby and choses to use these countries for much of its production. The cheapest Pacific loco from Roco that I could find was 294€ - say a tad under £260. And we still have people complaining at the +£100 mark or even worried we might breach £200. So please wish on for European/UK production. If you don't mind I will not be joining you at this time.

Probably only because I picked up a half built wreck a few weeks ago and so did not bid.

If you chose another answer, it does not mean you do not like the railways that ran there, just that that was not the (prime) reason why you model there. I like the PLM railway of France. It stretches between Paris and the Italian Mediterranean border. I chose to model somewhere in the Central Massif because it is an area I know and like. It also allows me to legitimately model the PLM. I could equally have modelled Paris, or Nice. These are neither areas that I know nor like but would still allow me to model the PLM - but I don't for the simple reason that I don't know them and could not model them with justice.

Be quick, Modelmaster is sadly closing

Actually it puts up the price by 66% - the problem with percentages not always equating to what you might expect. Try it - a $100 item used to cost £50 at a 2:1 exchange rate. If the pound loses 40% value it is worth $1.2 instead of $2 ; our $100 item now costs £83.33 (and no inflation or wage increases taken into account) - an increase of 66%. Add in a bit of Chinese inflation plus some raw materials going up in price and you easily get a doubling of price.

I was using soldered FB rail to rivets in wood sleepers. Somewhat easier to hold in alignment. From what I remember of C&L chairs they are a fairly tight fit on the rail. A little solvent between rail and chair should tighten things further.

For straight track instead of building onto a paper template, you could build on a jig. I made mine (H0 track) on a piece of planed 3x1. A long strip of 1mm (dimension is not critical) was stuck along one edge of the 3x1 so that it protruded above the top and then a set of strips of wood were glued across the top of the wood, butting up to the long strip and spaced so that the forward edge was at the standard sleeper spacing - which was not equal spacing along the full length because the sleepers are closer together at the ends to support the joint to the next coupon of rail. Track was made as single bits of track to the standard length between fishplates, giving me a lot of shortish lengths of track a bit like a box of set track. These could then be assembled at leisure once the boards had been built. In my case the only appreciable curves on the layout were at the points, so I did not have to worry about building any curved sections. Perhaps worth a thought.

Regarding your first statement, I fully agree and in fact the vast majority of plastic drinks bottles are made from just one plastic - PET - so forcing a change would not/ should not be a major issue. [Note the caps are made from a second plastic because it has the right properties to form a good seal under pressure. The two can easily be separated in dedicated recycling systems.] On the second statement I assume you are suggesting a return to glass. If glass were to be invented today as a packaging material it would probably be banned: 1. It requires enormous amounts of energy to manufacture and to recycle. In fact much more energy than a plastic bottle including the oil content of the plastic itself. 2. It is not biodegradable. The plastics industry talks of a lifetime of 4-800 years before plastic eventually breaks down and degrades, Archaeologists are still digging up Roman glass. 3. Its non-degradability does not matter of course if bottles and jars are recycled. They are not. A recent search on recycle levels of glass in the UK showed that a major manufacturer is having to use over 60% of his production with virgin sand and soda because recycle levels are so low (38%). 4. If it breaks - and it frequently does in the supply chain from bottle manufacturer to filling site to warehouse to distribution warehouse of the supermarket to supermarket to Mrs Jones's cupboard - it is very dangerous. It was the supermarkets that pushed for a switch to plastic because of the numbers of their staff and customers who were being injured due to broken glass packaging. Drop a plastic lemonade bottle in the supermarket aisle and the worst that will happen is that when the bottle is opened it will decorate the ceiling. Do the same with a glass bottle and the bottle explodes sending glass shards as shrapnel into anything or anyone in the way. 5. Plastic bottles are a lot lighter than glass so less fuel is used when transporting the bottles. This even applies to the very thick plastic bottles used in Germany by the Coca Cola Corp. (and others) who re-use their plastic bottles through the deposit system mentioned above. Plastic is currently coming in for a lot of criticism recently (and probably rightly so) but as a replacement for glass it is a much better material where it can be used and we need to somehow encourage recycling and re-use. A deposit system would go a long way towards this IMHO. Edited to clarify the first statement relates to drinks bottles. Other bottles/containers do use other materials - washing up liquid, detergents, hand soaps and so on - where PET may nor be appropriate.

Are you sure? I have never received a negative buyer comment, but I have a fist full of positive ones. So is the option to leave a positive or nothing at all?

If there is anything in the list that particularly interests you, let me know and I will venture out (into the snow) and make a scan.

Some references LSWR Wagon Ballast Brake Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1964 October 270 LSWR Wagon 8ton refridgerated Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1969 July 211 LSWR Coach 48ft 2nd/3rd Composite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 August 256 LSWR Coach Tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 September 290 LSWR Coach Brake 3rd Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 September 290 LSWR Locomotive Beattie Well Tank 240 Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 February 48 LSWR Locomotive Adams G6 060T Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1997 August 352 LSWR Coach Autocoach gate stock Y Y BRM 2001 October 42 LSWR wagon 8t goods van Y Railway Modeller 1979 April 138 LSWR Locomotive M7 044 tank Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1982 June 214 LSWR Locomotive 4-4-2 Adams Radial tank Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1983 August 318 LSWR Locomotive Drummond Bulldog 4-4-0 Y Y Railway Modeller 1984 July 266 LSWR Locomotive 2-4-0 Beattie well tank Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1985 September 386 LSWR wagon conversions from kits Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1986 April 142 LSWR Locomotive 4-4-0 Drummond C8 Y Y Railway Modeller 1973 January 10 LSWR Locomotive Drummond 4-4-0 K10 class Y Y Railway Modeller 1970 October 316 LSWR wagon box van Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1970 November 354 LSWR wagon brake vans Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1971 June 188 LSWR wagon brake vans Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1971 July 223 LSWR Locomotive 4-6-0 Drummond Paddle-box Y Y Railway Modeller 1972 July 205 LSWR Locomotive 4-2-2-0 Double Single Y Y Railway Modeller 1970 January 22 LSWR Locomotive Adams T3 4-4-0 Y Y Y Railway Modeller 1988 January 36 LSWR Locomotive 4-6-2 T Class H16 Y Y Railway Modeller 1988 December 557 LSWR wagon Brake vans Y Y Railway Modeller 1990 October 474 LSWR wagon Ballast brake van Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1964 October 270 LSWR wagon 8t refrigerator van Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1969 July 211 LSWR Locomotive 2-4-0 WT - Beattie well tank Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 February 48 LSWR Coach 48ft bogie third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 August 256 LSWR Coach 48ft bogie brake third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 September 290 LSWR Coach 48ft bogie tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 September 290 LSWR Coach 46ft bogie first Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1970 October 330 LSWR Coach 46ft composite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1971 February 54 LSWR Coach 6 wheel full brake Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1973 November 416 LSWR Coach 48ft tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1973 November 416 LSWR Coach 48ft Brake lavatory tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1973 December 458 LSWR Coach 48ft Lavatory tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1973 December 458 LSWR Locomotive liveries Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1974 February 62 LSWR Coach Dining Saloons Y Model Railway Constructor 1975 April 143 LSWR Coach Dining Saloons Y Model Railway Constructor 1975 May 185 LSWR Coach Non corridor brake thirds Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1975 September 366 LSWR Coach 4 wheel Brake Third and Composite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1975 November 437 LSWR Coach 4 wheel - composite and second Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 February 61 LSWR Coach 4 wheel luggage vans Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 April 142 LSWR Coach 4 wheel luggage vans Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 June 218 LSWR EMU Motor coaches Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 October 382 LSWR EMU centre coaches Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 November 423 LSWR EMU trailer coaches Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1976 December 478 LSWR Coach 52ft corridor tri-composite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1978 September 480 LSWR railmotor H13 class Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1978 October 552 LSWR Coach 48ft Fruit Van and WD Ambulance Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1978 November 614 LSWR Coach 57ft Ironclads - all third and all first Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1979 July 386 LSWR Coach 57ft Ironclads - brake third and pantry third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1979 August 450 LSWR wagon 32ft special milk van Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1979 October 580 LSWR Coach 24ft Hearse carriage Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1979 October 582 LSWR Coach Passenger Guards van Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1981 November 754 LSWR Coach 56ft passenger brake van Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1982 October 607 LSWR Coach Eagle' Saloon Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1982 November 670 LSWR Coach 56ft brake third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1982 December 735 LSWR Coach 48ft Cooking car and van Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1982 December 735 LSWR Coach 30ft passenger brake vans Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 February 95 LSWR Coach 30ft second Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 July 416 LSWR Coach 30ft third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 July 416 LSWR Coach 32ft lavatory first Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 July 417 LSWR Coach 34ft Third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 October 602 LSWR Coach 34ft Brake Third Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1983 October 602 LSWR Coach 34ft Composite Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1984 January 28 LSWR Coach 48ft Lavatory Brake Third Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1984 January 28 LSWR Coach 42ft 6in Tricomposite Y Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1984 September 476 LSWR Coach 29ft 6in 6 wheel first Y Y Model Railway Constructor 1985 February 76 LSWR wagon 21fr horse box Y Y .Model Railways 1974 October 506 LSWR Locomotive Beatie 2-4-0 Well Tank Y Y Y .Model Railways 1982 May 271 LSWR Locomotive Adams 4-4-2 Radial Tank Y Y .Model Railways 1982 September 556 LSWR Locomotive 0-4-4 T Drummond M7 Y Y Y .Model Railways 1984 October 48 LSWR Coach 1865 types Y Y HMRS Journal 1969 October 168 LSWR Coach early 2nd with guards compartment Y Y HMRS Journal 1994 July 67 LSWR Locomotive 2-4-0 tender loco Y HMRS Journal 1997 July 107 From experience I will have to spend some time editing because the tabular format does not transfer across even though it looks fine in the posting box. EDIT: I was right. Ignore the copious "Y"s which are there in the database to show me what information the articles include. The list above all have drawings of the items identified. The final numbers on each line are the page numbers.

No you have not made a mistake, you have fallen under the Satan of prevarication - but this could be so much better. Repeat after me: Satan get behind me Satan get behind me Satan get behind me Satan get behind me ​I cannot remember the number of times I have been tempted by "something better". I now have the strength to say to myself, "not for now. When this is successfully finished then we can come back and review."

Oh dear Well all of these I did it and I did not have any problems (and that would include mine on the first page) sound a lot like the guy who has had a skinful, cannot afford a taxi home and drives himself home. He then recommends this to all his mates because he did not have an accident and did not get stopped and breathalysed. For all those who think that you are just adding a few bits of ply and some track to the loft, remember that you have also laid several hundred kilos of flooring. You may well get away with it, but that is it: You are getting away with it just like our drunk driver.