Ian Hargrave

Would that be Bethlehem High Level..or Bethlehem Road ?

There is nothing as satisfying as a bowl of home-made soup for lunch. Specialite de la maison chez nous being courgette. Unusually refreshing to hear of a lawn 'under construction'......mostly being 'hard landscaped' nowadays....try 'Green Thumb' for lawn treatment. A well-manicured lawn sets off a 'traditional' English garden a treat. A scruffy one irritates Wet here...as most places,it seems.To local cinema tonight,to see HD screening of NT production of Hamlet.....Rory Kinnear.At £12 a seat,the bargain of the day......one mile...and free parking !

Look up to Warner's section,Larry.......he's moved it.....right at the top of the forum!

Now returned....how odd...

E-bay listings have disappeared atm !

Take a look at Andy Y's images of it in a separate topic now opened above......a winner,if ever there was.

Despite earlier gloomy predictions,it hasn't rained here since. So....the lawn has echoed once more to the strains of Cwm Honda.Going a bit soft,though,for a roller mower.A surprising amount of grass for October.......no sign of a slowdown yet.

Rain.....no rainbow this morning.....south westerly,heavy,driving against the front of the house on a strong gust.No leaf-sweeping today,then. Spent yesterday afternoon with layout in loft....reacquainting with Hornby T9's & King Arthur.A reminder to me of just how good they are.....and how temperamental. My first T9 ......completely dead....failure 'on shed'......repair job there....bad start. Tried another.....romped effortlessly away with 7 Maunsells....sweetly as you like.A performer that punches above its weight. The Arthur pulls away....not without a certain amount of wheelspin...but is soon into its stride with the same load.Until the first curve,where the pony truck derails. After close examination realise that the front steps have to be removed to make it a viable runner....a pity. Now it runs beautifully. I then experience the annual autumnal pharaonic plague of flies,awakened from their slumbers by the neon lighting strips.The 'bombardment' increases. I have to spray copiously as their numbers are ever-increasing.A few tailspin to their end on the tracks in front of the oncoming 'Arthur' and 'Brighton Belle'.........decide on one last 'Agent Orange' type blast into the eaves....and call it a day.Happens every year.....clean up today,then. Now stopped raining and the sun is shining on the raindrops on the easterly-facing windows,making for a surreal,crazed-crystal display.More rain to come,for sure....

I wish I could remember more..but your 'recessed door 'reference has stirred something of the vaguest of recollections, It was the strangest of lines...there never seemed to be any trains running. It was almost a ghost line in what,in parts,seemed a lunar landscape....like the climb from Abergavenny to Brynmawr which skirted the ruins of defunct blast furnaces. As you follow the Heads of The Valleys road,you can just about trace its route on the hillside above The line never seemed to belong. It was an anomaly in an alien landscape which clung to life throughout my childhood and youth.

A useful resource.....www.lyrs.org.uk. Apparently,there is a restored 6-wheeler at work on the K&WVR. Passed Keighley on my Duchess 'jolly' last Sat.,too.Need to visit Saltaire....idea forming for a culture/rail research excursion/short break. They have a 'Coal Tank' weekend this weekend,too!

I have used the website twice this year with no glitch whatsoever...remember this is 'Locomotion' and not the main NRM website Miners ....or properly 'workmen's trains' nearly always ran carriage stock for their exclusive use..so ex-L&Y stock MIGHT have ended their days here. In any case,there's no one around now to contradict,is there? For any photographic evidence I think you would need to look at Sid Rickards photo albums....for the 50's at any rate. Google 'Locomotion Models'for what you need. modelwise.

The most stunning rainbow I have ever seen has just appeared.....actually as I type there are two..one a doppelganger of the other. Rainbow over Repton..great title.... Otherwise....rain.

Mike.....you are really on the money here...A Webb coal tank...oh yes,please. Abergavenny to Dowlais Top......banking duties at Abercynon (mid 50's),Tredegar,Swansea Valley. Antique little gems ! By the way,you CAN order the Aspinall from the Locomotion website .I did this morning..L& Y in S.Wales ? Miners trains....perhaps.Pigeon lofts...maybe. I remember there was a beautiful L& Y layout at this year's Derby Show.

Thanks,Larry......this weak-willed mortal has just relieved Locomotion of one less Aspinall. This does look to be a very special model. So,Mike,something 's got to give from the 'list'. Maybe trundling an L& Y brakevan....hmm.. Wait for that Bachmann GW auto train,then,Mike. Hope operation tank is going well..cheers....Ian The Weak-Willed !

I have a gut feeling that this e-mail arrived because somebody on this forum complained yesterday that it was up on Locomotion's website......and that they knew nothing about it as a recent customer ( as is yours truly ----Deltic and Prince William ) Now for a wrestle with my conscience. The model is.of course,going to be a stunner....in a more restrained way than the 'C'.Black is beautiful too..especially lined...and it's pre-grouping,again.Suitable rolling stock,anyone......? The word 'investment' springs to the front of my mind ....not the e-bay,fast-buck,variety. Then there is the accounting of what's promised to consider......Star,10000,J 11, DOG...rumours abound of Collectors Club GC-liveried J11,then Cock of the North.....as Semele sings.... 'Endless Pleasure' ...apologies to the late George Frederick. ps...totally forgot Dukedog! Insolvency looms.. The Great Train Robbery ?

....and by coincidence,I have only just received a flyer from Locomotion,by e-mail,about the L & Y tank.....£95+p&p....card debited with order.....mmm.....tempting but then,so much is atm.I can see all the new releases arriving in a cluster.BUT if this one goes the same way as the Wainwrght 'C' last year......who knows ?

If you are seriously concerned,you should contact Locomotion directly.They will respond....they DO read this forum.....and are sensitive to criticism of a constructive nature.This is not a large outfit and what it does,it does well.Yes,I did read your previous postings on the subject. You might,of course,consider a telephone order.

Our local Waitrose ( Lichfield ) is also undergoing a facelift and surprise,surprise,same reaction this end. Maybe the familiar is more comfortable to 'our generation' ? Though the £ 10 'My Waitrose' voucher was carefully and judiciously spent. Doesn't take long to spend £ 100 there at the best of times and the 24-mile round trip was ,we think,ultimately worth it. Their produce is way ahead in quality with most fresh produce.Doesn't say much for Burton on Trent,does it ? Watched BBC 'Breakfast' earlier. Interview with Energy Helpline.com spokesperson. Apparently one should switch to fixed tarriff atm. Got copy of recent energy bill and typed in the figures.Decided to switch from EDF (variable) to Scottish Power ( fixed ). Figures say I save £300 pa. So.....switched.....easy. We shall see.....Strongly advise giving it a try. Ian.

Excellent.Hopefully to be inclusive of beautiful nameplates ? You wish.....

Yet,if you take it a stage further,you will find it's 'reserve' i.e.NOT in stock ( as the e-mail states ) but in effect still on order. A mistake,I believe. Hopefully it's well -intentioned....and not an entrapment ploy. I have sympathy. If we are impatient,then how must the retail trade be feeling ?

'Let me not to the management of true deliveries find impediment'....corrupt version of Sonnet 116. By coincidence,we attended a performance at the RSC Swan Theatre yesterday evening.....not WS,however,but an adaptation of Voltaire's 'Candide' ..brilliantly rewritten by Mark Ravenhill....with stunning production ..again ..by RSC & ensemble. Also heard a performance of Sonnets there a while ago.......I digress,sorry. 'E lucevan le stelle....' ( Puccini )......we hope ( 'La Speranza '.....Turandot. )

Appreciate the need for the 'romance' (that the right word?) of travel.You COULD save a buclketload of hassle by flying and hiring a car from your airport of destination...which could ,of course,be either side of the Franco--Spanish border.Don't think driving that distance alone is something I would relish.

Indeed it was....my only experience of top & tail so far.Pronounced only on the inbound journey when Dellner-equipped 57313 was leading & the 47/8 was on back.Odd,is it not,that 46233 adds its own support coach & completes the S & C in each direction unaided ? Yes,I do realise there ARE sound reasons for t&t.

And indeed,thank you, all was well .46233 trailed 13 behind leaving Hellfield,now including support coach. Spent the time up the 'long drag' to Ribblehead leaning (health/safety horrors !) out the window,something I've not done in 50 years.Just looking...and listening. Photo &video opportunists seemingly behind every wall,tree,barn,sheep....flashes dancing in moorland light....wave to the Duchess everyone. Ribblehead a scene from a 'Lord of the Rings '.spectacular....crowd extras everywhere,like toy soldiers on every fold in this spectacular landscape. The weather brought a particular luminous lighting quality to it all.Into our stride we rush through Dent & down Aisgill to the familiar quieter beauty of the Eden Valley. Our caravan park is still there! No stop at Appleby and an ontime arrival at Carlisle. Photos taken and a pot of coffee in a quaint backstreet coffee house in Carlisle. More photos...and off we go. Dinner is laid .We are fortunate in sharing our table with a charming couple from Lincoln.Important to be at ease here because you're stuck with each other's company for 14 hours...so all is very well here. Dinner is to be served after the Appleby water stop. Wine uncorked...excellent St.Emilion at a very reasonable cost. 46233 going like a well-tuned Rolls. Race off to other side of line to photo water stop at Appleby. Behold..a genuine water tower and 'crane' to fill tender. Takes only short time before loco issues warning hoot to get back on board. Climb through Kirkby Stephen and then the Aisgill climb...one slip only,quickly corrected. Interestingly scenic meal. Wine stays steady on the table. Any drop splilled is down to me.Enjoyed the terrine,beef and sticky toffee pudding. Through the tunnel.. bright Dent moorland,Ribblehead and all too soon back at Hellifield....46233's sparkling performance is over and she slips quietly away to be replaced by ex-ATW 57313 at front and 47/8 'Diamond Jubilee' at rear. Can't get used to the clunky bump of the 'tail' playing catch-up at every braking/acceleration ! Congratulations to all at PMR Ripley....staff,volunteers,support crew, train crew,Gravy Train (sic!) catering and mostly to Sir William A.Stanier.....after all,he was Swindon trained !!

I'm awake!.....4:28....Ribblehead 11:16 outbound,Carlisle12:55,dept.14:40,,Blea Moor 16:34 inbound.....You'll be one of hundreds with a camera. It's her last outing this year. Enjoy...hope weather holds.