Not Jeremy

I am happy to report that the first print run of the book has sold through and a reprint is currently in production. Stock should be available from the middle of January. It has a number of (very minor) corrections and some small grammatical "improvements", and also a new picture showing the late Gordon Dando looking very dashing with his bike outside Monkton Combe (Titfield) Station during a lull in filming. For purchasers of the first print, here is the additional picture. It has been very kindly made available to me by Gordon Dando's family, to whom I am very grateful. It has already appeared on a Titfield Facebook page, but if anyone wishes to share it from here then please credit the source to the family of the late Gordon Dando. It appears on the bottom of page 71 in the reprinted book. Simon

Forgive me Neil, for I have sinned. This may understate your gradient a bit... I think the bent step looks real, I'd be tempted to leave it. I like a bit of verticality myself, although had a bit of a mishap here this evening, shades of Gordon(?) I really need to re-think my end of the line arrangements... Guard irons intact, apologies for thread drift. Simon

As others have already said, this is a really great issue - congratulations to Paul Karau and all the magazine's contributors, past, present and future. My further thoughts on it are here Wonderful!

Also why you never saw a 9F in Gloucester Docks! Not everything will run round this...

Short radius points, and sharply curved track actually requires gauge widening, which would appear to make some sort of mockery of any slavish adherence to a specified gauge in all instances. I do understand the point of the gauge tightening in OO SF, before I am given any lectures, but sharp curves, including those through point work will require a more nuanced and flexible approach. That’s what the prototype does and the suggestion that EM or even P4 “won’t work” at sharper radii is plain wrong.

I know why it was done etc, but the idea of further reducing an already hideously narrow gauge is complete anathema to my way of thinking. Goodness knows who or what seduced CK into dabbling with it. What with him being such a good constructor of track and all over so many years!

Very sensible, that’s exactly how I view “Spitfire”, a locomotive on the Butleigh Light Railway and Robert Neville Grenville’s favourite piece of machinery…..

Rear cover artwork sorted, thank you GWR57XX. Currently putting the index together now that the book is otherwise finished. Simon

Yes it does, both photographically and in the narrative. John also comments on quite late developments for individual vehicles in the tables attached to the text. The small colour section in the liveries chapter shows later BR liveries.

So am I Gerry. It is a really interesting subject and I hope we have done it justice with this book. I'm not really a die hard fan of the GWR, but as with so many other aspects of the old company, when you start looking at what they did and how they did it you can not help being deeply impressed by it all. Simon

Oh Gawd, thank you very much, being sorted! Simon

Okehampton?

This significant new book is now days away from being sent to the printers. A printed proof will be produced and checked, before "pressing the button", which means that the book should be printed in January and be available for sale by late February. It is a dust jacketed, cloth bound and gold blocked hardback, designed to be uniform with John's earlier books on Auto Trailers and Steam Rail Motors for Wild Swan. 288 pages, printed on to high quality art paper, priced at £54.95. The book is extensively illustrated with photographs from numerous sources, including Rail Archive Stephenson, the extensive collection of the late David Hyde, colour views from Paul Bartlett and many others besides. It has been produced with the full knowledge and support of the HMRS, the publishers of Jack Slinn's original book, who also kindly sourced and made available original drawings from the NRM. I am very grateful and appreciative of all the help that the HMRS and its members have provided me in the preparation of this book, especially Jonathan David for his support throughout and extensive checking of the text. The book has been designed laid out and prepared for print by the very talented Steve Phillips, who has made the best of all of John Lewis's hard work in writing the text and drawing everything together. Thank you very much to all of you. Simon Front cover: Rear cover: Inside Jacket And a "teaser" for Wild Swan's next book....

It is Bulldog number 3345, at the head of an empty milk working, at Royal Oak in 1928, as others have said. This image appears in the forthcoming Siphons book from Wild Swan, and is a Great Western official image that came from David Hyde's collection. The book is now days away from being sent to the printers. I am having a printed proof produced first that we will also check before "pressing the button", as it is a complex book and I want there to be as few mistakes in it as is possible.

I read it too and thought it very good. Currently reading Graham Greene’s “Travels With My Aunt” in which the Orient Express is depicted as being a pretty rubbish experience circa 1969!!

Sounds really good, little shows are cool and it was great that they allowed CK and Re6/6 in too. Can't beat a bit of Draggery...... Peep peep!

Hopefully it will be a great success, and it is nice to see that the Warley club are involved too. With any luck it will have the effect of promoting a great hobby and also help to publicise and promote the Warley club's own NEC show later in the year, thus contributing to its further success. Everyone's a winner!

Yes I have most of them up to vol 35 (I think), the later/current ones are being produced and stocked by Cygnet. If you email me with what you want/need I will respond. Simon

For one reason and another I missed this year’s Warley show for the first time in many years. It was strange not being there, and there was clearly a great deal to enjoy at the show, as ever. Losing Colin Was an absolute tragedy, what a nice bloke he was, and supportive of so much in this hobby, not least the Warley club’s NEC show. I remain in absolute awe that a group of amateur enthusiasts can pull off the Warley show at all, let alone with the year on year success they achieve. It must be the biggest “putter on of smiles to faces” of anything in this hobby I should think. Thank you to all of you and I look forward to being there in 2024!

Stephen is right and Rob too, I (Titfield) am only a retailer of the MRJ. I bought the stock of back issues from Cygnet when we all had to move out of Didcot (including the then remaining GWJ and BRJ issues too) and all that I have in stock are listed on the Titfield Website. Foreign MRJ subs are available from Gary at British Railway Books, but not UK, I think. Weren’t UK subs available from a third party, Elite Subscription maybe(?) I am fairly sure I recall someone on RMweb talking about this, I think. I am since 2015 the publisher of Wild Swan books though, so all of that is my fault!! Going back to MRJ, we must be due issue 300 soon……. Simon

Suits you, sir(s)!

I have just this evening visited the layout of a friend of a friend and seen two AS 37s running, a rail blue one and a green SYP one. I am completely blown away by the quality of the sound on each, they sound just like the real thing, - awesome. And the models themselves are beyond reproach, the finesse and visual credibility of the windscreens and headcode boxes is better than any other diesel model I have ever seen, jaw droppingly good!

I picked up my tickets today at Bath Spa, getting them with no problem at all from one of the jolly staff in the ticket office. Had a nice chat with him as there was no one waiting, he and his colleagues are still working in a challenging environment since part of the ceiling in the booking office collapsed, and he said there was no sign of repairs either taking place or being planned. And of course the station itself is still missing its clock and the distinctive “Elizabethan” style central stone pediment. It looks very odd without it, I haven’t found a clear answer as to if or when it will be replaced.

I thought it was great, Pete is such a good “compère” with his obvious enthusiasm and knowledge, a very talented bloke in so many ways. Apart from everything, what I really liked was the sense that the joy and enthusiasm of the subject is open to everyone, he might have been talking to “celebrities” but nothing was really made of that aspect of the whole thing. Absolutely brilliant TV, well done to Pete and all involved - here’s to more!

I agree and take your point, but there is a difference between "political" and "politics". Anyway, I'll shut up now, don't want to be a "last word-ist"💩