big jim

Took my Skoda superb for the tracking yesterday and discovered the MOT had ran out a month ago, I was convinced it was October and had put it in my diary as so but nope! my wife was going to use it later today to go to Scotland for 1/2 term so the garage fitted it in for an MOT later in the afternoon but it’s failed on emissions so it’s just as well they checked the date or she may well have been stopped! ive decided to sell it on as I don’t really need it any more with not having to commute to Birmingham or use it to go to the caravan, I’ve put it on eBay for £1200 spares or repairs, it’s probably an easy fix, at the minimum it may get through with a bit of injector cleaner, worst case scenario a new set of injectors but I can’t be bothered doing it, loads of interest in it already having just put a recent photo of it on the listing to get it moving, I’ve got to add some more of the bodywork and interior but I recon it should sell for the starting price, I’ve had half a dozen offers of £1100 already but I don’t want to let it go so early on in the listing (plus I’ve got to clean it out and swap the stereo out for the original amongst other things) it’s been a good car, doesn’t owe me anything really, it’s had tyres and a battery in the 2 years I’ve had it but that’s about it, solid as a rock despite its 226k miles! the headlight leveller can be a bit temperamental and it obviously decided to not work at the precise time he was testing it! The low beam isn’t particularly good and the last time I looked at it the bulbs had worked loose within the holder, or hadn’t been fitted properly so the leveller moved up and down fine but the bulbs didn’t, it may just be that again as for the side light not working, I’d not noticed that and I’d not had any light failure indication on the dash since the number plate light went blew just before the last MOT! let’s hope it sells then I can out the money toward getting the FTO back on the road

Same job tonight but pass to manchester at the start noticed the drs 37s that were in the coal sidings are now sat on LSL shunt neck my train to Manchester was the mk4 and 67 set 331 323 66708 again and into nuneaton back on the weedspray tomorrow bescot to Bangor and back to shrewsbury via Wrexham, I was hoping to get away to Ayrshire for the long weekend but there are no trains running direct to Glasgow, it’s a bus between Preston and Carlisle

But if a shock earlier, took the Skoda superb in for the tracking as it had chewed through a pair of rear tyres while my wife was away in Devon so she had to have 2 new fitted while she was there, she was planning on using it to go to Scotland tomorrow for the week so I booked it in to be done, after he’d finished he entered the number plate in the computer and said ‘did you know your mot ran out a month ago?’ Which I didn’t, I’d checked it a few weeks back on the dvla site and was convinced it was due in October anyway they managed to get it in for an MOT at another branch, drive over to Stoke to get it done but unfortunately it’s failed on emissions (and another couple of little easily fixable bits) so it’s just as well she didn’t set off for Glasgow in it, she will have to use her own car which isn’t as good on fuel as the Skoda, as for the Skoda I’m going to list it on eBay for spares or repair for as I’ve been contemplating getting rid anyway now I don’t have to travel to and from Birmingham for work so now’s the time to get shut, had good use out of it, 2 years pretty much trouble free, currently has about 230k miles on the clock so it’s certainly been a good workhorse

Night off the weedsprayer, first intermodal for a while, also a rare trip to Trafford park for me in daylight! our northbound train was over 2 hours late due to a failed Pendolino north of Lichfield, must have been serious as it had to be evacuated and an emergency possession taken to try and recover it, luckily I had my car to sit in until it arrived as it was bucketing down Freightliner 90s everywhere when our train pulled in the driver stopped it behind an OHLE post so I couldn’t get a pic! off to Trafford park we went and ran round, 66708 up front Manchesters ever expanding high rise skyline, taken while waiting at a red signal into Nuneaton 66056 on a car train while I waited for my taxi similar job tonight but pass to Manchester instead of working the train and just work it back to nuneaton

my concern is the train was doing 23mph at the time of the collision!

Weedsprayer again last night, only shrewsbury and back but it was so wet we couldn’t do some of the spraying as it would be ineffective In Bescot one of the Shunter’s is a keen gardener and has just built, with the help of the other Shunter’s a terrace garden, having seen pics of his garden at home I’m looking forward to seeing this in the summer! loco swap at one end of the train, 66797 on this time 66307 still at the other end pesky 97s blocking the yard! Away to shrewsbury and a change end 196 off to Birmingham Ready to roll that was it for pics as it was raining at bescot, trafford park for the next couple of nights

Not bought anything off eBay for ages but tonight I’m hoping I’ve got a good buy, I’ve been looking for a cheap airbrush/compressor combo, seen a few generic sets on amazon for about £40-£50 which would probably do the job but thought I’d have a look on eBay and I stumbled across this an iwata smart jet pro compressor but when you read the description it also comes with an older iwata G35 airbrush that the seller can’t be sure works as well as another generic one and various cleaning pots and a turntable as well as some cleaning fluids and thinners (which he may have trouble sending!) paid £150 for it all, a bargain given the compressor is more than double that new if the airbrushes aren’t working I’ve already got an iwata neo airbrush, just don’t know where exactly it is as i last saw it during the move between the old layout shed and the new layout room some 4 years ago, it won’t be far away, lurking in a box somewhere!

Go fund me page here https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bonessgaugeogroup-modelrailway?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1PRpGYYYNlTIED640AVkq5dYpvWq2BQRZzC-zYVk660JjMuLgDCOJ0NRc_aem_ASH82u13lD7zmjBRoEUxz4WrrXBnx_z5x4_tD7_ww-j-gV8l-DcgUhMnGy8VJZBj5F2_XyXgdRnU0bl3YNEduZk8

yeah the model figure is wearing a GB uniform as she’s with us now, saying that we did have ‘as one we can’ cascaded onto one of our engineers trains the other week at Holyhead (I was gutted as I was the train in front or I could have red penned it!)

although, being pedantic she’s wearing a GBRF uniform!

Took a side skirt off the FTO this morning, not very promising but my welding bloke said ‘anything is possible’ going to get it properly stripped down now so he can come over and evaluate it properly Then took some time to change the front brakes on the mini, they have been juddery for a while and the MOT tester reconed the discs were warped so I took them off and have replaced them with brembo discs and pads discovered I was missing 1/2 of the pad on one side! Shame the discs were warped as they aren’t that old but were a budget brand, you get what you pay for, the other pads were ropy too! much better now, no judders at all next up are new tyres all round, they are starting to look a bit ropy as they are about 8 years old now, part works when I had them fitted to my old mini so time for a change!

you’ve got to admit though, being able to print them direct in colour onto the 3D print is pretty impressive! Nice to see Bessie as a figure, she uses considerably less plastic than me that’s for sure, I’d cost twice as much to produce!

I did see someone on the footbridge, unfortunately I had to pull up under it to get the rear of the train clear of the turn back signal so that would have snookered any pics that end for him, my pic at the far end was lit up with my head torch 37 still in the way so I had to get the rear loco from the shunt neck again loco on 97s off to the Cambrian Ready to roll A dark bidston Had an hour in Wrexham loop while the baglan logs left chirk then on to shrewsbury for what should have been 2 hours while a possession was lifted but I got away 45 early Into bescot and done, back on it tonight with a short shrewsbury and back turn

Another valley possession yesterday, passenger from Crewe to Llandudno jn to start with pair of 158s which are comfier than a 197 but the air con wasn’t working! taxied to site and went to the train which was on the Stanley embankment train behind mine my train I followed another train to the worksite boards too Lovely day for it eventually got it back to basford hall and done weedspray tonight, shrewsbury to bidston and back to bescot

I’ve just booked tickets for Trax at Silverstone at the start of September, booked track time for the mini too, got to change the brake discs and tyres beforehand, the tyres are about 10 years old so could do with changing

That Toyota starlet is rather nice!

this is very clever

Last night of the weedspray for this week Prepping the train 2nd loco parked up in the neck Once out and about I headed to Wrexham Changed ends and went to Hereford and back to Coleham, left the rear loco up in the neck again, there’s not much room up there so you have to get a block on the Cambrian line to be able to get down and uncouple and change ends That’s about it for pics! next week is a couple more nights of weedspray, one out of coleham then the other from bescot, couple of short intermodal jobs and a final night of weedspray again on Friday

didn’t disturb you on the way back as it was getting late! lots to do tonight so no decent pics, managed to get back early as we didn’t need to go to Hereford other than to have break so we turned back at craven arms instead putting the loco back on the train again and getting back at 02:00, changing ends to get back on shed back to it tomorrow, not looked fully at the job but it’s Hereford again next week looks to be 3 more nights of weed spraying but out of bescot, couple of intermodals and a possession

Very useful, I won’t bother buying one then (I’ve got a little England already) unless a particularly fetching livery comes out

which is where I think a card acceptance would be a good option You may get chance visitors who have maybe seen the exhibition signs outside and came to the paydesk out of curiosity where you can ‘capture’ them instantly while they are in the building rather than have them leave to go to the nearest cash point where you risk the chance that they may not return

going to show my ignorance here, I’m looking at these 2 locos and can’t for the life of me see any huge difference between the small and large England or am I missing something?

It’s been a proper performance behind the scenes this week just to get the weedsprayer in there!

Back to it last night, weedsprayer Coleham to Hereford and back, first up was putting our locos on the train Engines everywhere moved back toward the yard for a bit before departure so the operators could get on When we left I had to walk alongside the yard to change ends, 97304 parked up looking all shiny nice new nameplate on it Away to Hereford signalled back north got back and had to split the tear loco off the train to get it to fit in the siding again back on it later, put it back together and another run to Hereford and back