brianusa

Hawns and Dendles. Brian.

Like all those milk wagons! Brian.

If a 4500 and a B set appear at SJ, it will be obvious the transition is complete then the ACE will appear at Brent. Brian.

As has been mentioned, DA is over or drawing to a close as it is over here. Shopping just before Christmas, there was an overload of DA themed stuff ranging from the inevitable tea bags to anything with the name stuck on it. So maybe the Hornby set should be included although there was a lot of the same stuff on sale after the holidays - 50pc off! If people in the US are gullible, at least they waited for the best price! Brian.

There's enough Abbeys on the GWR to slip in another. Nobody' ll notice! Brian

We recently watched the first episode of the latest War and Peace, a two hour offering including commercials No more, the continual interruptions by inane commercials is an effective deterrent to the best of programmes. Usually PBS has the option; sadly not this time! Brian.

Back to GW Ground Signals; are they available in O gauge and from whom? Brian.

Possibly because it was serving in the RAF at the time. Brian.

Going back to Dean goods engines, about 1946/7 or so I was at the school playing fields, literally at Tavy Junction supposedly engaged in some sports. The trains were of more interest to me and one time a Dean goods did appear in mid afternoon and after school there was a mad rush to Laira shed to check it out. It didn't stay very long and no one knew much about it; somebody mentioned a fish train but it was the only one I ever saw so it definitely passed through Brent. Brian.

I hate to ask this but who, what is JH? JA, I am acquainted with! Brian.

Please, not that! Then it would be like my last comment! Brian.

Probably the reason that I'm not fond of anything that resembles a BR Standard loco. They took away our O2s, M7s, then they came for our lovely T9s and replaced them with some classes that I never even knew. Then they took away the railway! Brian.

There has been a couple of similar discussions on this topic here before. Then as now, it was a pretty bleak prospect. When we come home, we always went to the Wheels of Steel because it was convenient but it was a bit of a hit and miss prospect. Your best bet is to check the telephone directory where you are and see if there are any hobby shops around. I always come prepared with a shopping list in the hope of finding somewhere convenient, but our stay is not confined to the London area. Brian.

There seems to be a lot of extreme complaints from 'purists' if things are not just so. The average family could probably care less about the colour as long as it looks clean and tidy and they are the ones paying the bills. As it happens, it was a nice touch to be S & W colours. Brian.

Who indeed cleans their layout? For some reason it would appear that Americans judging by the number of times the question is raised, are! In my current tinplate life, I never bother; after all has anyone ever seen a clean railway? It was a little different in my OO days as dirt makes a difference if only on track head. In those days, I did try loose ballast only to see it spread mainly due to vibration. Nowadays, the layout is covered with excess foliage material off bushes and trees, dust, dirt and the remains of a few spiders which may offend some but with a tinplate layout, no one notices or cares. Brian.

Surprising it got that far! Brian.

On a somewhat related topic of train noise, years ago we lived in Mannamead, up the hill above the line between Mutley tunnel and Laira. Late at night, one could hear a Pannier going home with a gentle hiss, hiss, as it passed the site of the old Lipson Halt on the Up Line. I knew it was a Pannier as I saw one once in daylight with the same sound effect. Sorry, wrong railway but I can still hear them today. Not really; I'm not hearing things! Brian.

You must be thinking about that other one between on the GW main line between Bittaford and Totnes. Brian.

When are we going to see Nellie, Connie and Polly at Brent then? Brian.

Hi John, your pictures are very evocative and bring back many memories of the area even if yours is fictitious. Its real enough for me and I thought it would be up near Stenalees or somewhere close by. Brian..

There's always locos but I find the unusual interesting; trackwork, small accessories that make the layout interesting and of course, signals. So don't despair Rob, I'm sure there is enough to cover all varieties. Your pictures please me enough! Brian.

Usually I take whatever Paul says here as gospel but somewhere on this site there was a comment that there was to be a delay until the 2020s for this to happen. Or maybe in the mags? Brian.

Being far from the action(!), I rely on magazines and web sites to keep up with the goings on with railways in the South West. It was interesting to read Mike's first hand account today of Great Westerns current improvements to the system. Brian.

We get them from Warrens. 2016. Brian.