Arun Sharma

You have a point - There is a shinyness to his clothing that suggests it might be PPE but then why a waistcoat? The chap also has a scarf-thing hanging down the back of his neck which ought to be a hazard. Most odd.

It's a very strange picture altogether. The ? Sikh chap appears not to be wearing much in the way of recognised 'Orange Army' PPE.

Inside and upstairs in the workshop at NRM you can see on display the original cabside sheets of Duchess of Hamilton which were removed as part of the height lowering process.

Ron - Thanks for the picture of the TIALD [Thermal Imaging and Laser Designator] - That brings back memories of a very hot, dusty place in 1991

Whilst it isn't exactly on the formation of the old GCR, it isn't all that far away! Apropos of nothing whatsoever, 'Tracy' and 'Sandra' were also the names given to the two brand new somewhat bulbous TIALD sensors fitted to RAF Tornado bombers at Tabuk [Saudi Arabia] during the 1991 Gulf War...

Interestingly I was reading an article on the US Supreme Court's ruling on Abortion. It seems that while unknown males in the US are referred to as 'John Doe', unknown females are referred to as 'Jane Roe' - Hence the courtcase known as 'Roe vs Wade'. Afternote: By 'unknown' I also mean 'generic' in this context.

Mine arrived today in OX14. I did note the advert for the latest MRJ index. Unusually it appears to cover 12 issues rather than the usual eight. No matter, saves money getting them bound in 12s rather than 8s!

Well I designed the R49 DM because there was a captive one at the LT Museum Depot. Although the bodyshell of the O,P, Q38 and R stock cars is essentially the same [less a few details like vents/destination indicators], the underframe fittings do vary tremendously. On a 7mm surface stock car, all the underframe bits are highly visible so they have to be accurate so it had to be the R49 car. There are Q38 pilot cars, CP stock DM and [I believe] an R38 DM in preservation so I could produce variants using a slightly modified body shell. I think the R38 DM was at Mangapps Farm but that was some years ago.

Design work has now been completed on bodywork for a 1938 TS DM for Radley Models in 7mm scale. Some work remains on the bogies as they were unique to this stock and employed rather small diameter wheelsets which reduces the available motoring possibilities. Apart from the guard's panels and the driving cab, the trailers and NDMs share the same body shell so 3 and 4 car sets can be readily produced. [This screenshot was done before the underframe bits had been finished]. More information will be available once the bogies are finished. Design work has also been completed on the R49 District Line stock which is rather easier to motorise and has a conventional Radley Models cosmetic outer chassis surrounding a motorised inner one. Whether the R49 is ever released will depend on likely demand bearing in mind that the R Stock ran in 6 car fixed formation sets [albeit with an occasional 2 car unit tacked on one end].

What was interesting about the cross-tunnel film was the unstated amount of destruction of cast concrete rings and the requirement for bespoke replacements. Since the cross-tunnel links two completed running tunnels which are lined with arc slabs as part of their build, any oblique connection has to destroy part of the supporting rings of both tunnels. Since these rings support the tunnels, how do they do that?

Nearholmer You are correct - Holywood Co Down does only have one 'l'.

It will probably depend on what the A1SLT decide to do with Prince of Wales. That gives the option for a modified tender with increased water capacity as used by Tornado. It is possible that A1SLT may well decide on a fictional BR numbering scheme and thence post-war BR blue and lined Brunswick Green become possibilities.

Every pic bar two in Yeadon's Register No:9 of a P2 shows them in lined LNER green. The first exception is one which shows 2004 [also near Stonehaven] in black. The caption says all were painted in unlined black fro Nov 1941 onwards and from Jul 1942, only 'NE' appeared on the tender. 2004 [at least] had its top lam pillar moved downwards as well as having the valance fwd of the cylinders removed similar to A4s. The other pic is one of 2001 in Sep 1942 is less clear regarding livery though could well be all black. It also shows the removal of the valance in front of the cylinders. Hope that helps

I placed a couple of pics of this loco and its nameplates on the 66 thread in 'Prototype Discussions, not Questions' a couple of weeks ago if you're interested.

I wonder if Lionheart would consider producing a 77xxx [the 2-6-0 tender version of this tank engine] afterwards?

Have just ordered a copy on e-bay to see what it is like

It refers to the UK needing to spend more effort on what it does well - in this instance applied biological sciences. The university triangle of Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial College need better physical links. Economist ragards it as unpleasantly laughable that the quickest way by rail between Ox and Camb is via London. It also makes the point that this triangle [especially now that its centre [Stevenage] is becoming home to major medical/pharmaceutical firms] will inevitably become a focal point for [wealthy and higher educated] population movement inwards with the concomitent requirements for better transport links. Basically, if we want to make the best use of our intellectual base, we need appropriate infrastructure. Simples!

Interesting reference to E-W Rail [and the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway] in this week's Economist.

Perhaps they could rename the breakthrough site 'Hobbes Lane' as in Quatermass and the Pit.

And very impressive it was too at Sutton Coldfield [DEMU Showcase]

As someone who lives on the old A34 in Abingdon and uses the dual carriageway A34 between M3, M4 and M40 regularly, there is no doubt in my mind that, as things stand, one day a new M34 [or perhaps A34[M]] will have to be built linking Southampton with the M40 somwhere around J9/10. The present A34 has effectively become an interim road replacement for the electric spine that Network Rail wanted linking Southampton with the Midlands and North. Being a fairly new road, the present A34 has not yet been subject to prolonged [complete] closures for road works and where required, these have usually been possible overnight but that happy state of affairs cannot continue ad infinitum. The plans to close RAF Abingdon [aka Dalton Barracks], build a new reservoir and then a few thousand new homes to the west of Abingdon will, I suspect, overwhelm the capacity of the present A34. The limiter will be [as amply demonstrated in Abingdon in Summer 2007, on the Oxford by-pass segment of the A34 and the railway line North of Didcot almost annually] that this land is all Thames flood plain. I would like to see some active encouragement given by the Govt to getting freight off roads and onto rail. The electric spine which includes linking the orbital E-W railway [because it is really an outer circle rail version of the M25 linking the radial West and North routes out of London] is essential in its entirity and thus needs to be electrified. That also has the benefit of retaining expertise in electrification in the UK which we lose if we only electrify a few bits of line every 30 years or so.

Jamie Chipping Warden airfield [like several others such as Bruntingthorpe and Upper Heyford on occasion] is/was used as a storage ground by manufacturers for cars awaiting delivery.

I've been working on one for a while in 7mm. All the castings are done, as are most of the etches. The hold up [such as it is] revolves around getting suitable external crank wheels from Slaters. There is some correspondence regarding the design et al on the 7mm Finescale Society website as it is very much a project requested by fellow members of that society.

The nameplate and its two accessory plates are here:

Passing through Didcot this afternoon I espied 66100 'Armistice 100' parked with the leading wheel of one bogie on?in? a skate