Mad McCann

I personally would like to 'do' CSB, but the sad fact is that not being a 'maths' person, I'm on a hiding to nothing. I know people who have a great success of CSB, but they were both engineers. Dave.

I take it you mean fabricate the entire assembly then put the bends in? Makes sense to me now it's pointed out. Thanks. Dave.

I think I'd have liked to have seen that. ;-)

You've not seen me at breakfast time...

Polly. Deeply sorry about your Mam. As long as you remember all the good times she'll always remain alive in your mind and the minds of those who loved and continued to love her. Jock; glad the day went well and I hope things keep going as best they can. Your inbuilt Ayrshire stunbornness serves you well, my friend. And thanks for supporting the G&SWRA from a grateful member. Dave; thanks for the lovely High Peak images. Mike; thanks for keeping the wheels of government in my wee country turning. A lot of observation on education here and I'm with Tony; don't place much faith in what you read and at least read beyond the sensationalist headlines. You might find that the actual article tells a different story to what the headline implies. For a century, education was the driver of social mobility but it appears that this is no longer any kind of desired objective for those who lord over us. I fear this is reflected in what they system is becoming. Minor grump of the day involves my insurance claim for a large patch of fallen rendering on my gable end being rejected. Physically, quite a busy day; I did the full four mile river and park walk with Abi today. Whilst not conducted at full 'mainline' speed, the pace was steady with a long uphill gradient on the return. No shortage of steam whatsoever. I also had a tentative first drive today. Wrist is still tender so I don't think I'll be driving any great distance for a few more days which I guess rules out going back to work next week. Purpose of the journey was to get my discharge and prescriptions paperwork down to the surgery for my GP and to get the sick line squared up. Had another short walk after this along the old Brunthill to Parkside section of the old Waverley. Quick trip to Aldi on the way back to pick up some essentials. The day felt like it was catching up with me on the way back to the car carrying the back so no more exertion for the day. Suspect tomorrow will need to be a bit more low key! Made a nice stir-fry with prawns for dinner. Gey wabbit now so an hour at the bench then Steam World Archive 13 (North East) and a couple of mugs of rooibos to finish the day. Hopefully a good, undisturbed kip tonight! Here endeth the doggerel! :-) Dave.

Best make sure one of those isn't meant for Tony! ;-)

Thanks for putting up these lovely photos, folks. Apologies if I've missed any significant reports; you really do miss far too much if you get on here late. Yesterday I took it very gently as I was a bit achey after the previous day when I think I pushed things a bit. Well, after a good night's sleep only interrupted at 6.30 by the need to pee I felt absolutely top notch. Had two decent dog walks interspersed with a visit from a former workmate who's escape tunnel has just broken surface outside the fence. I already see a happier man! I certainly feel much better today; the heart is of course a muscle and I guess like any muscle it's not been worked hard for a while it will be a little stiff and sore next day. At least there's sufficient blood and oxygen for it to do its work the way nature intended again. I feel a lot more alive these days than I have for a number of years. I guess the problem had been developing for longer than I imagine as I've certainly been somewhat lacking in energy the last three or four years. Feels like that's in the past now. Of course we're into spring now - always my best time of year. Also got out to the shed for a couple of hours and knocked up a new left hand coupling rod for a Caley 300 I've been working on since last year. Jock, hope you're feeling OK today. Mike, good to see you're keeping your hand in with the civils. That concrete will provide suitable hardcore for use elsewhere I've no doubt! iD, glad to hear your own procedure is successful and healing nicely. Surely a case of "physician, heal thyself"! :-) Have a good day, whatever stage it is in your part of the world. Happy plopping, Pete. Dave.

In reality, the two types shared a common chassis but as John has stated it might be a little awkward to get the existing motor and trappings into the narrower boiler/ firebox combo of the 3MT. Whilst the cab shares the same basic configuration of the four, study of photos suggests that the proportions of the respective cabs are different. Dave.

Morning everybody. Yesterday was a very good day. Woke up to bright spring sunshine that lasted all day. Had a good walk in the morning with Abi and a 1hr+ walk with her in the evening again. The refund from the insurance for her vets bill finally arrived and I've lost another 2lb this week. Feeling OK today though I have a few odd twinges along the length of the route the wires took on Friday but nothing too bad. I was told to expect twinges as normal whilst things settle down in there. I suspect I maybe overdid it slightly yesterday so today I'll be taking it a wee bit easier. I also ate later than normal last night (home made chilli) so I suspect that has also played a part as I have the emissions of a Volkswagen diesel today! The modelling subjects are diverse today; I have to complete a Caledonian cattle wagon and do a little more on a 1964 Dodge K-500 tipper. I appear to have run out of porridge so I've had a nice grill instead, using my 8 in 1 cooker. Dinner is planned as a squash and chickpea tagine. Best wishes to all - especially those fighting their own battles. Dave.

Morning guys. The onset of spring has definitely returned me to the ranks of the early risers. I had the best sleep in ages last night (full 8 hours). OK I'm on an anti clogger for a year and aspirin for life but that's a more than fair price to pay for the bonus that stent has given me. My right hand is on light duties for a couple of weeks (no jokes from the cheap seats please, BoD) ;-) so I'll need to adapt my modelling techniques for a bit. There's nothing to distract me from a bit of modelling today. Biggest decision I have is what exactly I'm going to tackle. Nice to have only trivial matters to consider today. Best wishes to all - may today be time on earth well spent for every one of you. :-)

First encountered this number on a psychedeia compilation about 20 years ago. Top class tune, Pete. Thanks for putting it up. Dave.

Not nice for anyone in that area. Still, -it's not just as bad as what the people of Flint MI are suffering right now. After my brain had wound down last night I slept like a log for the first time in several days. Previously I'd been paranoid that lying a certain way might have 'triggered an event'; a notion somewhat validated by the 'before' image displayed on the angiogram! For the second time in a year I have reason to be exceptionally grateful for the professionalism and humanity of our NHS people. :-)

Aye. Will be OK as long as I don't put major strain on it. Which probably knocks driving on the bonce for a bit. Ah well, one-handed press ups this week then! ;-)

Sorry to hear the sad doggy news. Andrew, I wouldn't be so complacent; shredders can be deadly! ;-) Anyway in and out of the repair shop. Stent fitted and feeling fine apart from a slight toothache in my wrist. Feeling better already! Probably staying in overnight as part of standard observation but I'll use it as an excuse to do some proper reading! I'm told I'll be grounded for two weeks, mainly on account of said wrist.

Good sleep last night which was nice. Off to works shortly with a little apprehension. It feels disingenuous compared with what I was facing this time last year and what Jock's putting up with on a daily basis. A walk in the park by comparison. And hopefully a walk in the park tomorrow or Sunday will be the very result! Kind thoughts going out to all of you slogging away through your own battles, big and small. See you at tea time, all being well! :-) Dave.

(winces...)

Dave. 5300-5319 had oval buffers. 5320-46 and the consecutively numbered 27s had Oleos from new. Possibly one or two received a 'field mod' like Porcy's Type 3 above but I've seen no supporting evidence. The first batch later received Oleos during the 1970s and '80s. Similarly, only the Pilot Scheme batch of 20s had ovals and Oleos were fairly quickly standardised for the follow on batches. Dave.

In many respects I suspect producing your own models in this manner is easier than building a kit, given that you have almost complete control over the process. Dave.

Another gem in the making, Steve!

Good luck, Jock. The sheer cojones you exhibit on a daily basis is an inspiration to all. Hope all of you with health problems or supporting others are doing OK. Slightly surprisingly after last years' shennanigans I find myself requiring works attention of a different sort. During October as I was beginning to push out my fitness after my op I noted I began to feel slightly more out of breath than I felt was normal so I quickly called the fault in at my GP. Suffice to say that after a few tests the artery to the left of my heart has been identified as having narrowing. I'm off to the infirmary tomorrow for an angiogram and I'm advised that the plan is to asses the nature of the site and if all goes to plan, whack a stent in. To be fair, it hasn't so far affected my day to day life apart from a precautionary slowing down of physical activities and I'm more tired of an afternoon/evening than I would normally be but I'm hopeful that tomorrow's procedure will allow me to return to normality. I'm very much keen to get the bike out and do some walking again. Obe thing I've noticed since being advised last week is a heightened awareness of sensations in that area. I guess it's a psychological thing but I don't sleep as easily as I did before I was told - drama queen! :-))) Dom. Good to see you have settled in to your new profession and it's good to see all these interesting images you put up. Have a good day, everybody. Dave.