Ian Hargrave

And will boost sales of OxRail N7 & Accurascale Buckjumpers ? And is set to make us poor but happy .

Cheap as chips ( well almost) and as good as it gets in rtr terms. Look forward to more trips with Rapido wagons. Sam ( him of “The Trains …whisper it softly ) got this one right. Hattons have the Midas Touch here. My dead frogs are resurrected to the challenge.

The effects though are being felt with the operation and distribution of XC220/1 over the network.We have returned to 4 car 220 units as travelling sardine tins on some services. Speaking as one victim who had to disembark from a 220 last Saturday for fear of his personal health….and I am being serious here with no exaggeration . In all honesty the H&S Executive should have words with them on instances such as this.But then the issue is perhaps in many ways outside XC’s control .

Which will be a fitting way to celebrate my birthday which falls on the 5th. Order on its way. For another viewing of the film tune to BBC4 10:30 tonight.

And nothing runs better on a layout then one of these. They look good and their performance is phenomenal right down to the lowest mark on your controller and the doziest of frogs.At this price ? Buy,buy,buy….

It is,by reputation,the UK’s “second city “. Thus it is about time that it put Manchester et al. In their place. It’s getting there . It will take time and the ghost of Joseph Chamberlain to shake it up a bit.

And you’ve just kick started another case of deja vu for me. Just watched your piece on dear old Brum. By coincidence,I was….literally…through the city only yesterday.having to change not just trains but stations too. From New Street to Snow Hill both ways to get to & from the SVR Steam Gala at Kidderminster.That image as you approach New Street Station is thus vividly in my mind. The now redundant signal “box”is so much part of the landscape that it’s taken for granted. The resurrected Snow Hill too comes as a somewhat eerie shock to one who used it in the early 1960’s and I’m haunted by memories of trains leaving and arriving through those tunnels some 60 years ago .Worth a look at some time in the future along with Moor Street ? The walk between the two stations is fascinating but last evening walking down Temple Street I felt like a visitor from another planet with queues of (very) young Saturday night revellers outside the bars and clubs. I appreciate your comparative reference to the now demolished Central Library. For several years I was a member,by reason of borrowing sets of music scores for a choir.What a labyrinth it was but the staff were wonderful.Actually although I stopped using it several years ago,I still retain my membership card. Now Centenary Square has the new building and that is an architectural gem. Sadly, it’s full,potential isn’t realised due the the City’s finances. But the city is moving on and reinventing itself….which it always has done.. A big thanks.

And handsome is as handsome does ( I was on that train of Gresleys btw…say hello). Oh to hear the crisp sure footed bark of a Castle after a gap of 49 years is pure magic. Pendennis is the epitome of Swindon supremacy and plenty of that is in evidence.Well done SVR. Today went so well. Thanks to all . As a footnote,I travelled via Snow Hill which is where my last in service experience of Castles occurred on a Sunday evening in January 1964. A last minute substitution of I think 7023…though I could be wrong on this…for a diesel at Paddington…had me asking of the guard how I could manage my connection to West Bromwich as booked ,considering the Dudley railcar had left .. He arranged to specially halt the Wolverhampton bound train for me there. I had the special privilege..it wouldn’t happen now…of a train stopping just for me…and then raising my arm to give the right away to the loco crew. I was the only one left on the platform. I treasure the experience.

Hope it stops raining. Looking on the webcam,you have Gresleys & Staniers running. Taw Valley is again out of synch in sunshine & black. Enjoy.

Doesn’t it all depend upon the lighting conditions in your layout environment ? In a space where natural light is at a premium internal coach lighting can bring a sense of life to the system. To replicate the drab twilight world of forties and fifties BR compartment enclosure travel is a big ask.Thus we now resort to the practicality of LED installation if such is one’s preference.viz the age of flickering fireboxes etc.. As one who did more rail travel “back in the day”…given my continually advancing clock…than probably any of you,I have no problem with it. After all we are in a model world striving for a semblance of reality.

So who claims bragging rights on this thread then ….? 🤠

For all those devoted to the Great Western . Really well presented. ….if you can still pick up a copy.

I purchased a copy at the York Show yesterday,having already received advance notification of its publication. I think the concept is sound and promises to hold my interest as long of course as I can keep the pace myself.😳 Thus I have a private chuckle when I read the Editor’s Introduction which acknowledges he wasn’t around in 1948. Er….I was. And yes I have,peculiarly enough,still vivid memories of railways in that year ….in both chocolate & cream and malachite. Looks good on a cursory thumbing through but will get around to a serious read later in the week.

Agree. A great show ,well organised,with great modelling skill on display in a excellent venue. Lovely to greet its return with a visit.

Indeed no exaggeration.My pick of the layouts at York this weekend and in prime position near the entrance on the ground floor. A design and vision of an exceptional talent and quality that must be seen.

Don’t think you’ll regret your decision.

Pass the port….🤣

You would also be receiving an email from Accurascale’s warehouse . If you are asked for a fee of any sort,then it’s a scam. To be completely certain,contact Accurascale themselves. In any case,the 37 arrival will be loudly acclaimed on this forum when it happens. A good idea to check both bank and credit card accounts online for recent activity in any case. In any case it’s a bank holiday weekend and surely delivery is on hold until next Tuesday?

For the future perhaps,a look at the USA,starting in NYC with Grand Central,Penn Station ( the original) the Subway and the El & a walk on the High Line. Some great material there ? Meanwhile the series is the tv highlight of the week IMHO.

To think I didn’t know this place existed until handed a leaflet by Tony’s Trains at Doncaster.And it’s just a 30 minute drive from my house. A glorious day out for all ages.Go and enjoy it if you can.

A word of thanks for the willingness of the lady to go that exta mile. I purchased 4 new crimson BR Bachmann Thompson coaches from her stand at Statfold on Saturday but needed another 2nd which is the one there’s been a little confusion over concerning the correct running number. If I would ring Monday morning,she would check her remaining stock to ensure 34-387 was correct. I was promised free postal delivery should I choose to buy. All was indeed well and it arrived at midday in secure order. You can’t do better than that,can you ?

Agree with 31A. Beautifully rendered finish and the sheen makes them come to life. In fact ,the more I run these,the more impressed I am. I must now sort out a MK 1 Buffet to add.

I’ve just ordered 34-387 with Invicta . The running number was checked over the phone as E1029E….which is correct. So Bon Accord must have been the recipient of a factory error.

All shadow & little substance .Going for the cult of the personality on the back of the tv series. But tbh you have to ask just how much in the way of original substance is there in the mix in any case at present. Very “media trendy” in a p.c.way. Seems to target a different client group. Doubt it will appeal to forum members.But then,who can tell ? Despite being in H’s Collectors Club,I received no email incidentally.For the second time today,this forum only is the conduit from LaLaLand.The first being the “Virtual Members” Day …via Farcebook only it seems….on March 25th which blissfully passed me by uncelebrated. Cries of “Shame !” stifled by a fit of apathy….

I have just now noticed this thread. Yes,I too am in the “Collectors Club”,yet this is the first I’ve heard of this “event “. It appears it’s exclusive only to social media followers and of course I do not sign to any. Yet H are prepared to accept my subscription. No mail/email forthcoming from them about it.Late April Fool “exclusively” for me perhaps ? Why do Hornby continue to drop clangers like this and wittingly or unwittingly seek to alienate their client group . I have to conclude that in the words famously uttered by Clarke Gable in Gone With The Wind “Frankly my dear,I don’t give a damn “ seems to be the attitude.Not clever.