john new

Real water doesn't scale apart from any other issue it might create.

Portland Sheep - a rare breed originally from the Island. In the genuine street names - Shepherds Croft West Wools Woolcombe Rd and a former quarried area named - Shepherds Dinner The above are genuine, but pushing it further we have another street name - Barley Croft aka Baarley Croft - coincidentally on the cliff top estate adjacent Mutton Cove.

I think Birlstone may be a reference to a Sherlock Holmes story about a fictional Birlstone Manor not a real place.

I wouldn't want that to happen at all but if it does bags I one with a fully equipped workshop and Tony Wright (or similarly skilled ex-teacher) as a fellow internee so said person can run loco building classes. I must have something in my IT skills range I could barter back.

And he hasn't even mentioned the options for adding a fictitious branch to Mutton Cove (Also a location on the Island) and the various quarries out on West Cliff. The westside quarries were actually served by the Merchants Railway and a spoil dump was fed by an additional narrow gauge line.

I can understand your viewpoint and it is why coming out of lockdown with overlap of the vaccination programme will be problematic as many will probably not await the sensible scenario of your highlighted text. The Oxford test is two-jabs so if I have read it correctly covers 50million, leaving 1% (500,000) feeling safe but not. The other’s also have non-take up %s therefore a biggish chunk of folk left unprotected, although thinking they are. The total Uk cases are around 1.65 million so even a dosed up population still has a number remaining vulnerably unprotected close to half the total of recorded cases to date but with society generally perceiving the COVID crisis is over. This is why managing coming out of the crisis by governments will be/is harder than the first shut it down reaction. As you say a big chunk of society will rebel against any continuing restrictions however prudent continued application of those restrictions actually is. Yes it will be safer than it is today, but with life changing big risks both societal, medical and economic remaining for some time to come.

Fully concur, other than with your suggestion of corralling healthy able bodied older persons into care homes that would become ghettos. (To say nothing of the fact that there aren’ t enough available to do so anyway) The setting out the top hierarchical levels of that rank order will actually be the easier bit for the medical decisions regarding vaccinations as the conflicts in assessment of relative need viz a viz others will be lower. The issues will come a rank or two lower for assessing the cut offs for the less at risk and the healthy but essential workers in key societal roles like medics, care home staff etc.. In just our family I will probably rank below my mother (healthy but 97) and definitely below my sister (COPD) but as 68yr old diabetic with previous heart conditions somewhere on the scale above base level. My point though surrounds the difficulties of management of the change over out of this second lockdown allied with the (hopefully) simultaneous commencement of vaccination. Hindsight suggests lockdown-1 was late, relaxation of it perhaps too much too soon, and lack of coordination of timing of actions between the devolved administrations as to consistency problematic. Managing the way out will be harder for the authorities to get right than putting on lockdowns; as I say very glad I am no longer part of the system having to attempt to do so.

In some ways though the vaccine will make it worse initially following roll out. The reason is that 5-10%* of the people as they get vaccinated will think they are safe (but aren't ) and just the logistics of the mass vaccination programme will mean a time lag from person one getting it through to the n-millioneth person who won't get it for ages because they are lower risk and closer to the end of the chain. Added to this will be the probable rise in in R due to the ever expanding (in real numbers) 5-10% of the vaccinated who think they are safe but aren't. The government then have the dilemma do they keep some blanket restrictions until the vaccinated number reaches a 100% of the national target for the band being done, and if yes what is the cut-off risk level on medical terms, or just go for a post-lockdown free for all with anyone who thinks they are in a category of enhanced risk above the median being asked to voluntarily mask up/social distance etc., or even stay fully sheltered. Wider society behaviour currently suggests that, whatever the HMG guidance is, once the perception is that vulnerable people are getting vaccinated observance of lockdown will fall. Hopefully @Nearholmer 's expertise in looking at stats can add some insight! Just glad I am now retired, no longer the Borough's EPO and therefore, albeit at a relatively low-rung, being part of the multi-agency team process in decision making and ensuring local delivery and compliance with what ever the high-ups in national government decide. * 90-95% success is quoted, that significantly leaves this much smaller but important fail percentage!

Seems like the speculation earlier in this thread about misplaced pointers for where the COVID cases were actually located was correct - there was apparently somewhat of a data SNAFU. See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-54976372

Mostly agree, however, during today I have had at least two, possibly three, unexpected system restarts so still a bit ......??? re sticking with it. I will see what happens over the next few days.

Not so the one's in the Whisky Galore set, they are screw fitted.

After a longish Zoom meeting this afternoon, coincidentally about setting up then fine tuning details about running on-line SLS zoom meetings for members, I needed something quick and easy as a break*. A few days ago I scanned the VAT69 barge-board logo from my Bachmann Grain wagon as I had a Hornby/Lima one sans overlay sticker. A little bit of tweaking for size in Photoshop and the plain one now has the logo boards ready for a bit of light weathering. Before and after shots below, with apologies to anyone with OCD that I forgot to get the wagon lined up with the cutting mat stripes! Laser printed so hopefully no problems with any ink running when I do the overlay weathering washes. Whether by accident or design the Bachman Vat 69 is wagon 5819 (proven accurate by a prototype photo) and the Hornby version was 5820 (I have not yet tracked down photo provenance for this combo). *For any members reading this - subject to the last few minor details you should soon get an email advising the date of the first one (expected to be the evening of 3rd Dec).

Winston Churchill is in Locomotion, Shildon. They used it as a backdrop to a Remembrance Day facebook & Twitter tribute to the fallen from the railway industry.

I had the same attitude when the subscription model began to come in, I have had to change to the subscription model and I do now subscribe to several items as the earlier versions slowly got to the point where OP Sys software upgrades meant they stopped running. It is what it is, one of the biggest issues with the old system was that people bought cheap knock-off licence number hacked versions so the software houses responded by changing their supply model. My biggest beef is loss of backwards compatibility, although again one can see why the OpSys suppliers don't provide it, but less so as to why governments world-wide have not imposed rules to ensure such backwards compatibility for peripherals and software. The reason, as well as being problematic for individual users this must cost tax-payers worldwide big money in replacement IT kit therefore it does seems a surprising absence until you realise the big two players are US based and remember the attitude to national intervention and free-enterprise that culture has. At least the EU have been making a start with proposals around standardising input plugs and chargers to reduce waste, but then we leave!* Ho hum. *Let us not drift off into a pro/anti BREXIT argument.

I was thinking of extra reasons over and above hot axle-boxes for why that fire might start, the obvious bigger reason is yes for a crew and staff protection/safety zone if it does start. The shunting and 1970s answers also very helpful.

As the barrier wagons issue is something I am a bit vague on in some aspects the above helps as I had forgotten the black is safer distinction. A couple of follow ups- barrier wagons obviously for steam and also for diesels in the steam era. also when shunting presumably? (one I might forget) when did it change? For example the Furzebrooke trains were silver (gas loaded IIRC) but no barriers with diesels and the unanswered question from above - and for the guards van end too? (I assume yes, as passing loco sparks, the guards might smoke etc. = explosion risk)

Have the same small pool of carer/cleaners and people who distribute the groceries etc., from the few remaining facilities too so it is logical extrapolation that one person carrying it would spread it to a higher % of people out of the area total against living in an area where there are several supermarkets. My elderly mother for example (village based) has a very limited range of outlets she can visit by bus (1 x small Co-op) plus the small store in the next village that delivers, conversely, within six miles I have seven options for big/biggish supermarkets and many smaller convenience store sized one's also.

Like the idea of the forced perspective in the tunnel.

Even as non-electrician the separated out power box option makes sense. Always check the regulations applicable to where you live and for obvious reasons design in as much risk amelioration as possible. The guidance above is self-explanatory in that by distancing the mains power from the layout by putting it into a box the electrocution risks at layout level are immediately reduced. It also means that, if for whatever reason you have got it wrong and the mains wiring fails a PAT inspection, the whole layout control panel area does not have to be ripped up to get at any future mains defect just the stand alone box. It also means you can have the mains side checked by a certified qualified electrician without the faff of having to have all or part of the actual layout available for it to be tested. There is a secondary bonus too, if you change layouts (or build an additional one into your collection) a separated out power box means that is one less thing to have to build for the subsequent projects. Keep the mains circuits to the barest minimum in the power box, and feed out the low voltage power then add your complexities at layout level and in low voltage wiring.

Ah, but @cypherman's underlying idea, if I recall, was Swindon using stuff they had. Would they have had the necessary flanging templates etc., to do a B1 style boiler?

What really surprises me is that the Derwent Valley Light Railway was one of the smallest railway companies in existence but with the announced release of Hardwicke r-t-r it is amazing that such a high percentage of every loco type ever seen at Layerthorpe is now available (or has been announced) in 4mm. Numbers and variants within a class may differ but for a minority interest company the availability of stock is difficult to criticise for just the sake of a rogue white cab roof! Manning Wardle contractors engine - kit? NER 1679 (Opening day special) - not yet. Sentinel shunter - kits and it was a r-t-r model recently (a new batch?) ex-HBR N12 0-6-2 - not yet ex-NER G5 - announced various NER 0-6-0 tender engines - not yet the exact type, but close approximations yes announced by Oxford. Ivatt 2-6-0 - IIRC Bachman did it. 2-8-0 WD Austerity - Bachman did it. Drewery shunters - kits and r-t-r. (Even if not the exact type very close cousins) Class 20 - yes r-t-r Class 08 - yes r-t-r Joem - yes r-t-r Hardwicke - announced r-t-r Ruston shunter (preservation era) - yes, and correct livery version 'Jim' announced Churchill - kit? Anything I've missed?

At the risk of thread drift mapping distortions are nothing new. Back around the millennium (exact date forgotten) the O Survey began a series of map corrections because of the distortions in the paper maps/traditional surveys that digital surveying and re-mapping was finding. Part of my job at the time required regional liaison on GIS, OS mapping and recording property data so that all agencies had a common base. I clearly recall the delegate from Swindon at one meeting expressing glee and saying something like "At last the original GWR survey data we've always found matched real world dimensions will now also match the O S mapping!"

Why do people get so hung up on one or the other system? I went to Apple circa 2013/14 because Microsoft devices, at the time, were becoming a PIT and an I-phone seamlessly integrated with the laptop and iPad. By 2017 my Windows desktop was life expired and I got a Mac desktop as the replacement. I use graphics a lot, Apple a clear winner at the time for graphics applications. Since then some of the clear edge Apple had at the time has been diminished, the lack of a traditional sound plug socket on iPads and iPhones for example meaning perfectly good perhiperals like expensive non-Bluetooth headphones have to be dumped is a case in point. However, that is the cyclical changes that occur, I still think that the sharing of Apps across all devices gives Apple the edge but when I next have to replace one of the expensive devices will I retry Windows is the big?

The final reports will answer that but unless staff are made specifically aware of the landslip risk(s) at point X their decisions will be influenced by an assumption of normality. [and it had been normal when the train passed the same spot not long beforehand going the other way] This is why, IIRC, there is now a RAIB recommendation to survey and risk assess the network for slope stability following the recent incidents. A logical progression from becoming aware that ageing infrastructure and our changing climate is increasing this risk and then investigating site conditions to see how to mitigate it. An interim step, if you are worried about a specific route, is run slower. Out of curiosity is this the same line (or area?) where they recently lost a freight loco derailed by a landslip where it was too remote to recover it and have also had an incident with a Sprinter and a mudslide? My memory is both were in Scotland but I could be wrong.

Fully agree, and I thought my post was worded to NOT attribute any blame for decisions taken on the day, that was certainly my intent. Slight tweak now made to it to make that clearer.