88C

In preparing for Chris's funeral I have some requests. You may or may not know that although Chris and I were cousins we did not see each other apart from briefly at shows so if anyone has anything useful that you think I should include please let me know. Firstly, can someone confirm the song I'll be the man that he used in his signature is by The Young'uns? We intend to use that as the final piece of music. Any other suggestion of folk music the may be suitable to use would also be welcome. I have learned a little more of his love of folk music, real ale and photo charters via your comments but if you have anything else to add please let me know. Thank you all for your kind support, it is certainly an ordeal sorting things out, not helped by living 100 miles away from Bedford. Brian

I can now give you details of Chris's funeral. It will take place on Monday 20th February at 11:30. Bedford Crematorium, 104 Norse Road, Bedford. MK41 0RL Anyone is welcome to attend but please note that for our own reasons there will not be a 'do' afterwards. Brian

I just want to update you regarding Chris. I have been so grateful for the support that I have received from my sister, Sheila and her husband Gordon. We don’t have a funeral date yet, the undertaker is waiting for some paperwork from Chris’s GP, who has been on holiday. Gordon and myself visited the house in order to try and find a will, sadly the house is in such a state that it was impossible to search. We did bring back some items which have enabled us to progress handing over dealing with the estate to a solicitor. Hopefully we will have a funeral date next week and I will let you know the details. Finally for the sake of your families MAKE A WILL and let people know where it is. Brian

I have just replied to your post in the Oxford thread. Too many differences for me. The ends are different and the placing of the veranda doors so also different. A noticeable feature of Barry brake van doors is the diagonal planking. Don’t let me put you off if you want to go ahead. Brian

Sorry to say I don’t think it is close enough. The ends are different, no bracing on the Barry. The Barry has doors to veranda spaced away from the end by a small panel, the Barry doors are diagonally planked. Certainly worth a look, pity it didn’t pay off. Brian.

A new arrival at Llanforen, could this be the start of 'modern image'? Not really, just another model to remind be of my trainspotting days. The hymeks have always been a favourite diesel class and I saw a lot of them when down in South Wales. Still like my Great Western even though I never saw a Dean Goods. Looks like an expensive new year with several models on pre-order but nothing like some people who have been buying the latest Accurascale models in bulk. Belated New Year wishes to all. Brian

Thank you all for of your memories of Chris. To try and bring you up to date. I had a phone call from the coroner’s office just before Christmas to say that they were satisfied about the cause of death and that they and the police are satisfied that the body in the house was indeed Chris. Currently I am waiting to hear from the registrar re the death certificate. My sister has been contacting local solicitors to try and find out if there is a will. I am afraid that is all I can say at the moment, at present there are no arrangements for a funeral. Needless to say I will let you know when I there are any developments. Brian

Some work has been done over the last few weeks so here we go. I have done some weathering on the 94xx although more needs to be done if it is to look anything like my photo of the real thing. So far the weathering has been some dry brushing and washes with MIG neutral wash. Some day I would like to try some airbrushing, not on the 94xx, but that needs warmer weather to get into the garage and also weathering powders. There were some very old ones in a draw but when I experimented on an old loco body they removed some of the paint, now thrown away. The small bedroom layout that I have mentioned before needs to be removable when we have visitors however putting it up last time proved to be a right pain due to poor design. I have modified it now. Before. After. The recent cold spell has made me think that it would be well worth my time improving the look of the whole thing, work is now underway starting with painting the rails, at least it only has to be done on the side that can be seen. There are ideas in the pipeline for next year, more consolidation than starting something new. With so many superb new wagons appearing I am resisting the temptation, I have so many built from kits over the years I don't really need any more, especially as many would duplicate what I already have. Well that's it for now so seasons greeting to you all and finally to say thanks to everyone for making RMWeb such a supportive forum, especially noticeable since the passing of my cousin @chrisf. Best wishes, Brian

Can I start by saying thank you to everyone who has made such nice comments and posted photos about @chrisf. I have tried to acknowledge the posts but apologies if I missed yours. It is clear that many of you had more contact with Chris than I did. I cannot give you anymore information, at the moment things are in the hands of the coroner. When I do have anything to report I will do so. I live 100 miles from Bedford and it not possible for me to be active in sorting out his affairs, it is not known whether he made a will and if he did where it is. There are obviously legal requirements in cases like this so I am going to leave it to those who know how to proceed. This may sound a bit heartless but I have learned over the last year that my mental health is important for me and my family and I have had a few restless nights since the news worrying about the situation which I can do nothing about. Thanks again and best wishes. Brian

Sadly I have to give bad news about @chrisf, he was found collapsed on his living room by the police. This morning I had a call from a lady at the coroner’s office to inform me of his death. I can’t remember when she said the police attended but for some reason they didn’t get back to me sooner. At the moment I can’t give any more details, I will have to leave it to the local authorities to do what has to be done and the coroner’s will keep in touch. Brian

Sorry to say, no. If the police have been round they haven’t let me know. As soon as I hear anything I will post on here. Brian

Re @chrisf I am sorry to say that I have no further news. Yesterday I rang the hospital but he is not an in-patient. I also contacted the police and hopefully they will get to visit his house, as yet I have not had a reply. Thanks to everyone who has shown support, a real tribute to members of RMWEB. I will report back if I get any news. Brian.

I obviously will keep everyone informed if I do hear anything. It is possible that he is in hospital for his chemo, I just don’t know. Brian

I too am concerned, I have been trying to contact him for several days. His mobile is turned off and no ring tone on his landline, I have left a PM on here and an e-mail with no response. At a loss as what to do next. Brian, Chris’s cousin.

Crew and doors fitted to the 94xx,talk about fiddly. Brian

They did leave the clock tower. Brian

I don't Know why I haven't written a comment on here before, I have been following progress and liking what I see. You are creating a lovely layout and making it look spacious and natural. Well done Graham. Brian

Something to report since my last post but I am not as good as getting on with things as several members who regularly give updates. Much appreciated by the way. With the small bedroom layout up and running I have taken the opportunity to take all of my locos out of their storage boxes for a quick test, apart from a few old Tri-ang models which are not happy with the points, they all worked. A bit of time has been spent painting loco crew, initially for the 94xx, but although there are plenty to choose from it was still difficult to find two that will go into the cab easily. I think I found a couple, we will see when I try to glue them in. I gave Warley a miss for the first time in years, I could not face the trek up and down the M42. Some interesting announcements from Rapido, I did of course, miss out on seeing examples of the Accuracraft Manor and the Dapol coaches but not to worry. Brian

Sorry about the printer Chris but I have a suggestion. Near us we have a chap who calls himself the PC Doctor and we have used him several times, including getting our printer to talk to the computer. He is not expensive and works where the problem is rather than remotely. It might be worth investigating if you have anyone similar in Bedford. Brian

I probably looked at the possible conversion and gave up the idea and have since scratch built one. There have over the years been more kits available for Barry locos and stock in 0 gauge compared to 00. I don’t think that there is much available now. Brian

Getting back to your J72, if that is allowed, I have looked at comparative measurements with the Barry A, forget the E it’s nowhere close. Length. J72. 28’10”. Barry A 31’1” Wheel base. 13’8”. 7’5”x7’ Wheels. 4’1”. 4’ If you need further information, I have drawings which I could send you. I enjoy watching the progress of Aston on Clun even if I don’t comment very often, lovely modelling. Brian

No photos but progress has been made on several fronts. Some sorting out in the house has enabled me to re-erect the small bedroom layout, poor baseboard join design meant the job was harder than it should have been, but I know how to improve it next time it needs to be taken down. This layout is only used for a bit of playtime and testing and scenery is basic to say the least, so it is not a priority. Last week I mentioned renumbering my 94xx to 9437 using Railtec transfers and I decided to use a can of Humbrol acrylic varnish, despite warming the can and test spraying an old wagon, when I sprayed the pannier the finish was awful. I am slowly and carefully rubbing it back and once weathered it will be OK . The Humbrol sprays are very fierce and I have had trouble using them before, I really must learn from my mistakes! Just before lockdown in March 2020 I was fortunate to be able to visit Tony Wright and Little Bytham and I took a few of my Barry Railway locos which were given the opportunity to stretch their legs. One photo of the B1 showed a very badly fitted chimney, I will not go into details of why it was so, but I have finally got round to replacing it. Yesterday I had a visit to the Nottingham show, small but enjoyable and a chance to meet up with some old friends. I was not tempted to buy anything, but I have asked Sherwood Models to save a loco for me when it is released. Early 2023 is going to be expensive. Brian

Certainly a long time since I last posted anything and to be honest not a lot has been done. The guests and some, hopefully minor, health problems slowed things down, coupled with a lack of confidence in my ability to do things haven't helped. I was just slowly getting back to modelling when the dreaded covid struck which meant that I missed the Stafford show and was not available to help at our show. On positive note, the wedding went really well with guests from all over the world and we then had a few days in London with the happy couple to celebrate our golden wedding. Anyway, what has been done? Firstly, the fiddle yard has been re-modelled and has proved to be much more user friendly for watching trains go by. One of the coal trains has had to be shortened by a couple of wagons but overall, worth the trade off. I did have to make my own converter tracks between the code 75 and code 100 rails but that was simple enough. The second change is the addition of a back scene on the bridge side of the layout. I have found this much more pleasant when sitting in the middle watching the trains pass, it does lessen photo opportunities, but I can live with that. The 1F is a club loco in for repairs, it does not fit in with my GWR theme or the more recent buying models of what I remember from my train spotting days The current project is renumbering a Bachmann 94xx to 9437. I am using the Railtec printed plates for this job and they are definitely very good. I took a photo of 9437 at Cardiff General in 1964 so my next job will be weathering, it really needs all over grime. I also ordered plates to do a Dapol mogul, plenty to keep me busy now the mojo has returned. Hopefully I will get back to posting a bit more frequently. There is plenty to do on Llanforen, it will only happen very slowly, the cottage area needs completing, I'm afraid that I don't work as quickly as some regular RMWeb posters. Several engines need weathering to a greater or lesser extent, I am using old bodies, (model loco bodies of course) to practice. The house hasn't been put back to normal since my son was staying so I can't get the airbrush set up in the garage as it's full of stuff that shouldn't be there. Oh well, it will get done eventually. Brian

I spoke to my cousin ChrisF yesterday, he is OK but having computer problems. Great when they work but when they don’t!!!!! Brian

The annual exhibition presented by the Elizabethan Railway Society will be held at the usual venue The Summit Centre, Pavilion Road off Lowmoor Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts NG17 7LL Layouts Ambleside 00 ERS Oscarton N Robin Sharman Brassingdale 00 Roger Wright Elmfield N Dave Westwood Norman Colliery 0 Geoff Brain Britannia Mills 00 Jay Sanders St Michaels Vale N ERS Brunshaven H0 Axel Klozenbuecher Burgedorf H0e Kevin Williamson Sheffield Victoria N Graham Hartley Display. Steaming Back to Kirkby, commemorating the closure of Kirkby-in-Ashfield loco shed. Demonstrations HMRS RCTS MERG DEMU Cardboard Works 3D printing Trade Sherwood Models Trackside Video Pete Abbott Brickyard Models Not forgetting Club sales, Tombola, refreshments and free parking.