Floreat Industria

I pre-ordered a new Bachmann Ashover wagon on the 6th August. On the 9th August I received the old one in error, sent it straight back and despite a few e-mails have heard nothing. The wagon was sent to me registered post at, I think, £5.95 and as they advertised free postage for orders over £20 I didn't think that was the way to run a profitable business!

So far as I can see 1388 was originally "Goonbarrow" of 1893 of the Cornwall Minerals Railway. Taken over by the GWR in 1896 and sold to Cwm Circ Colliery in 1911.

There are some technical stencil pens on eBay at the moment for less than a fiver including post. 0.45mm line. The Bob Moore pens are this type. There is an interesting note at the bottom of the eBay entry re model railways. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faber-Castell-technical-stencil-pen-nib-53s-feeder-pen-or-model-railway-lining/250927192289?hash=item3a6c6d18e1:g:wLAAAOSwf-VWVeMS I used these extensively with indian ink and stencils while working temporarily in a drawing office in the 1960s and still have a box full, with bow pens, somewhere as my mother was a draughtswoman, but I have resorted to eBay as it is easier than finding them! I bought a bow pen on eBay for £3 and after grinding to a point and then working on it with fine emery paper it works excellently for lining. I use it with templates for corners made from filed lolly sticks (or cornflake box cardboard for cab fronts and backs) with Humbrol enamel. There is no need to pay for expensive bow pens as they were for day in day out use by professionals and not the odd loco. I buy O gauge locos which are well built but badly painted relatively cheaply, strip them to the brass and repaint them, ending up with beautiful locos which would normally be beyond my means.

Hornby have just sent out details of what is arriving in the next few weeks and at the very bottom is "Sherwood". I'll have to wait a bit longer for my blue one but I think I can stand it!

I've just looked at the Hornby website and the blue Ryhope colliery loco has now slipped again to August.

Well, 3170 took its first trainload of passengers since 1931 on the 17th. Unfortunately the fuel pump refused to work and it had to be pushed/pulled by a class 37 but it was in working order for the 18th. It looks really beautiful and I can hardly wait for the models to come out next year. Here's a photo of the first train about to depart from Bolton Abbey:-

I see that the date for the blue Ryhope loco has slipped again to July on the Hornby site, who are now saying it is out of stock, so it looks as if theirs have all been pre-ordered. It looks as if it is a popular loco.

When I asked at the Dapol stand at Kettering on Saturday I was told it should be available within the next 6 months.

I've just looked. I clicked on "Shop" and then the yellow numbers of the categories I was interested in and up came the items and prices.

I wonder how long it will be until we actually see them. The N7 took two years.

Yes - Longworth's book has 65837 at Percy Main for the whole BR period and 65817 as Sunderland throughout except for 2-10/64 Thornaby and 10/64-3/65 Percy Main (then back to Sunderland for its last couple of years)

Cann's Interselling Traders became Cann's Model Shop, Bridestowe, last year. I ordered two books which never turned up and after a lot of hassle eventually got my money back.

I've just bought ex-Lionheart 64XX for £270 at Rails (last few) and matching Autocoach for £110 at Ian Allan Birmingham's sale (two more available and two others fully lined at £150) and am very pleased indeed. Having started with Terriers for display only (I now have four) I have caught the "O" bug and now have a NBR 4-4-0, LNER J71, J72 and J77 0-6-0Ts and a Mark 1 coach for them to push around as station pilots! A small(ish) end to end layout now beckons.

I see that the release date for all three has slipped to June on the Hornby site.

The only thing that really appeals to me from Hornby 2019 is the NCB Ryhope Colliery Peckett. It can shunt the wagons to be collected, prototypically, by my Q6. Not long to wait either! Thank goodness for something else for the North East modeller.

Here's another of set TPE1

The pack I've got has 65222 Somme, 65235 Gough and 65243 Maude included. It also includes a Highland Ben and Clan, D29, D30s, D34s and D11s. Cost £7.64 posted this month.

Durham Modellers news states that Dave Alexander is retiring. See here:- http://www.durhammodellers.com/news.htm

Yes. Roderick Bruce confirms that is indeed the case. Perhaps some brass wire could be glued in place. I find the omission draws my eye very annoyingly! The tender vacuum pipe is evidently just a standard one and the front one was left off due to technical problems. Both the front and rear were unusual on the prototype and could probably be made up and added.

It looks pretty good. Just two small points. Where is the front vacuum pipe? (the rear one is fitted) and the tender springs seem to be floating in the air with no connection between the ends and the frame.

I must look out for the driving trailer on the webcam. I've missed a lot lately as I've been in hospital for a knee replacement. It looks like the Gourmino isn't wired for push pull. Anyway, interesting times ahead, by the look of things.

The whole workings (not the daily ones which are club only) are now available again. Grab them while they're there! I wonder whether the winter ones will turn up on screen at the end of the month. https://www.rhbclub.ch/de/saisonale-lokdienste

No sign of the driving trailers being used with the new "articulated" trains yet but an interesting sight has been a driving trailer (I don't know which batch) being used as as a coach as part of an old train set over the last week.. Here is a picture from the Filisur webcam today:- https://www.schmalspurbahn.ch/filisur/webcam/m1810081106580

No, it wasn't Nostradamus - it was the rather more boring Rails of Sheffield! https://railsofsheffield.com/products/32888/oxford-rail-or76n7001-oo-gauge-ger-k85-n7-0-6-2-no-1002

I have altered my list of outstanding locos from October to December to November to December, but I can't remember where I got the information from!