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I went shopping yesterday and was astonished at our local sainsburys...

the only food for sale....

was fresh potted herbs (centre of my picture), and a few odd left overs.

No tins, packets, milk, fresh produce, juices, alcohol, bread, cakes, frozen, meat, fish, deli...

its all gone. 

they Still have  stationery, cigarettes, kitchen equipments, birthdays cards, general cleaning stuff, personal hygiene etc.

I asked about it, they said they get two lorries a day, and storage to last 2-3 days to replenish shelves... right now the lorries arent full, and everything goes out straight to shelves by 7am.. by 11am it looked like the above.

They are expecting greater food shortages In the short term, as much produce is imported and deliveries are slowing down, whilst the demand is exponentially going up. The concern is that unchecked consumption, carrying on as it is, will see a collapse in distribution as there could be odd situations where by in order to fulfill a delivery larger quantities of smaller number of items may need to be sent to stores to be productive.. resulting in extremities like some supermarkets overdosing on lettuce but no tomatoes, whilst others end up inverse etc.

around here, south london, even international shops (Polish, Turkish etc) are getting over run... My wife phoned the Polish shop about various bits, was told their shelves were pretty much done, but a lorry is due by friday, but it might be late due to restrictions in borders in Germany, Holland, Belgium, France so it could be anytime.. A lot of stories of comparing it 1980’s communism being discussed in the Polish circle, never did they ever think they would see this in the UK.

Maybe a lockdown in London  is needed, to stopping people going out, will give logistics time to catch up. They did say there isnt an overall shortage, it just people need to relax for a few days.

in the end we went to the local garden centre, its off piste for the mad masses, and it was a bit busier than normal, but lots of fresh veg there, bit more expensive, but they source from Covent Garden Market daily, they said delivery has slowed slightly, demand is huge but for now its manageable... until the masses discover it.

Dominos pizza, Deliveroo and Just Eat must be having a party though.. you cant move at night for delivery scooters

its gone crazy.

I just wonder how muchs stuff is going to end up in the bin in a few weeks time, then as the use by dates expire, people may find themselves needing more, only to find supplies are finally affected by sickness /border restrictions etc.

Rather than stocking up on 2 months of pre-cooked rubbish, perhaps now is a good time to consider cooking.

Thing is when I had my time of this in 2003.. eating was the last thing on my mind, I lost several kg that week, though I made up for it afterwards.

I found chicken broth saved me, ever since, first on set of a nose / throat infection.....get the pan out ..heres the reciepe..

1/4 to a 1/2 raw chicken.. ensures its got a bone.. like wing, breast, leg piece.

(when ill I tend to leave the skin on, its a little more fatty, though in winter normally I take the skin off and add a little cayenne pepper to “liven it”.. though not in a cold as the granules can sometimes stick in my throat).

2 onions

1 carrot

1 parsnip

1 piece of celery inc core and leaves

1/8 to 1/4 a piece of celeriac

Garlic cloves to suit

A small Piece of beef or turkey or a lamb chop

Tablespoon of salt

Sprinkle of pepper

5 or 6 peppercorns

Cold Water upto 2cm from top of pan. ( this will make at least 2 -3 litres !)

Boil, then reduce to minimum for 1 hour to 90mins depending on meat volume.

10 mins effort to prepare, at least 9 good bowls, will last 4 days.. nice with some small pasta... cost... maybe less than a fiver...

if theres anything in your throat, it wont cure it, but it sure makes you feel better, warmer and gives energy... and if your flat out a few days in, all you have to do when sick is warm the pan...

On 16/03/2020 at 07:46, GWR-fan said:

With the current Australia/UK currency exchange rate at a 17 year low,  then for Australian eBay sellers perhaps now is an ideal opportunity for sales within Australia.  Combine a record low exchange rate and a 10% GST on international eBay transactions and suddenly using Australian eBay with an Aussie seller seems common sense.   

17 years ?

i dont think so, not even 4 years.
 

for a minute there I almost thought Australia might have become affordable... but alas its a very long way from the 2004 exchange rate... 2.68 AUD $ to a GBP £... a day I doubt we Brits will ever see again.

On 15/03/2020 at 20:16, Joseph_Pestell said:

Just been looking at their website. Many more products than they used to have.

 

Only European distributor seems to be in Switzerland. But site not updated for a long time and the online shop not working at all.

Nothing changed in a decade there then.

Each one Ive “found” by accident.

I think they do contract production work for a US model company , maybe thats a bigger market ?

I went to my local Sainsburys (not the big one but those new high street ones), looked like a war had happened.

It had plenty of fruit / veg, bread, milk, juice and fresh meats and cheese.

Tinned food, noodles, pasta, rice, sauces, jars, frozen food, crisps, chocolate and toilet rolls (nearly half the store) were gone.. bare empty.

In several months time some round here may have different health issues based on that choice of squirrelling food.

I picked up fruit / veg, bread, milk, juice and fresh meats and cheese.. that’s all I went for... maybe I just cook the old fashioned way.

It all depends what it is.

Rare models will always sell.

run of the mill stuff is seasonal, With drops around “big weekends”, like Warley, Ally Pally, MR Scotland etc and quiet season between Easter and September.

I have found this year run of the mill stuff is through the floor, but also duplicated models (Bachmann 37/47/57/66) has sunk considerably, but other things like a Realtrack 144 tonight fetched £340 !

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Realtrack-Models-OO-Gauge-Class-144-Northern-Rail-DCC-FITTED/293504500505?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

25 minutes ago, robmcg said:

 

Indeed, I have several 47XXs and a couple got quite badly damaged between manufacture and arrival here in NZ, but some were fine.  I think Heljan's assembly was fairly light on glue, apart from the unfortunate nature of impact and/or vibration on the front sub-frame and other body parts and details..

 

That said, the body of the die-cast Atholl should be bulletproof ?  My 1949 one certainly is. 

 

just for pleasure..

 

quite, I remeber back around 1979 my dads 6231 fell out of the loft, he just went down, picked it up, climbed back up and set it running again.

9 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

That got my attention! But I think you are talking about Frateschi.

Quite, for some reason in the Southern Hemisphere it seems in many countries there is only one manufacturer making just one loco class..

This is my 3rd Frateschi model, imported from Rotorua in 2008.

I picked up a Brazilian, in a model shop in Curitiba, Parana back in 2007.

still runs nice now, funny thing I went to Johannesburg and picked up the same model, by the same Brazilian manufacturer, but SAR livery a  year later.

i used to frequent Lee kwon hobbies in Kowloon, Hong Kong quite often, was very good for Having stock of items often sold out elsewhere.  The night market close by used to produced introducing factory rejects too.

33 minutes ago, robmcg said:

Suddenly my 1949 Atholl is looking good...

 

 

but in some ways not as good as my 2017 version...   pic edited will remove if asked.

 

 

here is another edited version, which might approximate the 'look' of the metal version. Will remove if asked. Based on an original photo by Trevor McGavin.

 

 

The biggest obvious difference apart from weight and packaging may be the double chimney on the metal version.

 

Worth noting in the artwork from Hornby is that detail may vary, or something to that effect.

i hope the packaging takes account of that extra weight, I think thats what caused the issues on the 47xx.. nice model and top heavy, maybe the packaging wasnt optimum.

I lost my father to a H virus, Ive suffered something broadly similar.

I humbly apologise for being scared.

ive taken a lot of hits and a lot of insensitive comments in this thread.

I hope you are all right and I wish you the best

I will retire from the thread and remove my previous contributions also.

On 19/01/2020 at 14:23, neilkirby said:

Hi,

 

Another RMWebber who has been to Wolsztyn here, I went with my father in 2007 It was his 3rd and last visit. He was lococrew on the LMS, and had been around locomotives  since an early age, his father and grandfather both worked at Longhedge works in Battersea. He asked me to go on his 2nd trip, and I turned him down. while he was away my mum told me how dissappointed he was that I didn't want to go. Anyway 2 years later we were talking about plans for the coming year  and he mentioned that he might go again, so I said I would go with him. I  must say the look of delight on his face as he drove OL49-69 and I fired made it all worth while. Little did I know then that 2 years later he would be gone. I must upload some of my photos. As an aside I am quite supprised that no manufacturer make an OL49 as it's the last steam locomotive to run scheduled mail line services in Europe. There must be plenty of enthusiasts about who have worked the engines at Wolsztyn and would want one?

Dont be surprised if that changes in 2021 ;-)

On 05/03/2020 at 14:15, KR Models said:

We were considering neon pink at one point, but we both agreed that maybe that's just a little too far off.

yikes...

its a 1962 Locomotive GT3 your making, not a 1987 Ford Escort GT3.

thats Quality in motion, not a chavmobile... though arguably both, with an psuedo airline engine inside would take off like a scolded cat.

4 hours ago, The Johnster said:

More realistic valve gear, with DCC enabled forward or reverse settings and movement of the reversing lever and linkage, is one of the few areas where there is room for significant improvement left; another is between-frames valve gear and motion detail.  I can't think of much more that volume manufacturers can reasonably be expected to provide; compensated chassis, perhaps.  The biggie is realistic and realistically moving and dispersing scale steam and smoke effects, environmentally acceptable in a living room layout setting; I doubt this one will ever be cracked!

Ah but uniquely, an A4 is one of the few locos you can accurately put a key in and windup... to lift the smokebox streamlining and gain access to the smokebox door.

1 hour ago, Robin Brasher said:

I might try it on 1st radius curves.  The Terrier and a lot of Hornby industrial engines can run on first radius curves. If you have to take a model railway layout to a village hall for a club meeting it is a lot easier to take it in one piece in a hatchback with first and second radius curves than transporting  a layout with fourth radius curves.

 

I had heard from a retailer that the standard version would have Hornby couplings but the illustrations of the R3810 pack look like the only difference between the R3809 centenary version are the printing on the box and the names on the coaches.

 

I did not think it was worth paying the extra £10 for the centenary version. I like playing with my trains and now that I have run the 'Rocket' set, thrown away the cellophane wrapping and opened the box a few times the value of my centenary set will have plummeted as it is no longer mint and boxed. At least I know that it works and have enjoyed showing it to my friends . 

did i miss something ?

mine was in a cardboard box.

11 minutes ago, truffy said:

 

But if Dapol’s tooling is indeed inferior, and I admit to having no skin in this particular game, then does a more competitive rerun really answer the question?

I like Dapols A4 myself.

its down to personal preference.

But it exists, and just as Hornby can press out duplicate toolings of others models, leaves them equally exposed to someone doing it to them, also.

if Hornby did a new A4, Both Dapol and Bachmann (even Golden Age) could challenge them with models produced without additional tooling costs.

The coaches are afar safer bet.

1 hour ago, Clearwater said:

I’ve long argued for a Silver Jubilee set.  I wonder whether there comes a point where the A4 needs retooling? I can see the logic in combining with a bespoke carriage set.

I’d say put the carts before the horse.

plenty of horses out there, both at once would probably financially stress many would be purchasers, who would probably prioritise the coaches over the loco.. 

There is a new A4 tooling out there in OO its only around 3 years old.. what stops Dapol dropping the smoke, sound and lights and releasing a regular run of A4’s at quite a competitive price ?

The A4 has been tooled at least 7 times (Dublo, Trix, Hornby, Bachmann, Hornby, Golden Age and Dapol).. theres a saturation point eventually, with 4464 and 60009 in long term retirement, interest may start to fade.., Railroad Mallard aside.

Those who want an ultimate A4 probably already have a Dapol or Golden Age version.

theres 784 listings under locomotives on ebay for the search term “a4”... that beats the 453 “Flying Scotsman” listings... against 4 “R3809 Rocket”.

Ive got to admit a new APT was surprising.

And a Coronation Scot set even more so.

It does give hope that mk2 Pullmans and LNER Silver Jubilee / Coronation set could appear in the future.

8 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Perhaps the sheep was in the 4' and was run down due to the crew not keeping an adequate lookout?

 

There should also have been an inhuman cry to depict the running down of poor Huskisson....

I’m not sure I find this good taste.. sorry.

4 hours ago, sandwich station said:

All of the Scot coaches went into standard service at some point, so can have later LMS or BR liveries applied. 

I read some coaches used on Manchester suburbans / oldham loop line ?

Credit card has been charged for the Railfreight Construction duo 33050/33051 today.

17 minutes ago, jools1959 said:

I heard today from the local “I’ve got a mate, who knows a mate who works at Bachmann” that Bachmann are really happy with the reviews regarding the Class 158 and 159 that they are drawing up a list of the second batch.

 

I wouldn't say they have any reason to doubt those 6 words...

I think they've done a really nice job with them.. twin motors, nice couplings and good livery choices.

ive got the GWR & EMR versions, I think the older liveried ones aren't bad so as a DC user don't need to upgrade, but if I didn't already have them i’d buy the new one over the old one.. if your DCC its no brainer really.

on the basis of your post, and my experience a focus on new liveries would make total sense, no idea how that plays out wider, but i’d be in for 158702 in Saltaire (ironic as it was Scotrails first 158 and the one Bachmann did in Scotrail provincial livery) and a Northern one for sure.

I need a SWT 3 car 159, and noticed on ebay they are creeping to £190, on that basis i’ll wait for the new one.

33 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

It was getting stripped for overhaul anyway. That was when it went to the SVR for major boiler work. It's first overhaul since it was put in Swindon Museum in the early 1960s.

 

 

 

Jason

Something also unlikely to happen with most NRM locos in the future, including recently operational ones, and most of the diesel fleet, like recently overhauls like 55002 and HST, indeed iirc 3717/3440 was stood down with years left on its last ticket.

On 07/03/2020 at 02:29, Steamport Southport said:

 I'm unsure.

 

Photo nicked from somewhere on this website. Apologies I can't find the credit.

 

Although there was comments at the time about wasting a good livery on a lesser engine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason

If that happened today the loco could end up being recalled to the NRM, a Twitter war between parties and a legal dispute.

On 05/03/2020 at 23:37, newbryford said:

 

 So much so, that the residents of Scarborough have complained..................

 

Modifications to the TPE 68 silencers are being considered

Railways have been in Scarborough longer than the residents.

Steam locos were far noisier, as was varying diesel classes.

Residents should consider the glazing on the houses they’ve bought close to the railway line.

maybe the silencers need fitting to the residents.