Bob M

Just been reading this thread. Took voluntary redundancy last May just after my 59th birthday. I haven't regretted it for one day. I'd never thought I would go as early as this as I'd been lucky enough to mostly enjoy what I did, but changes over the last two years had taken any pleasure out of the job. A new Chief Exec had ordained that everyone had to have a 'can do' attitude. Anyone actually using their practical experience to point out that an idea was dangerous, impractical, illegal, have unintended consequences etc. simply wasn't showing the right attitude. She then insisted that my boss restructure and so he took my post out of the structure with my agreement. As I had 38 years pension and got redundancy it wasn't a hard decision. When they realised how much it was going to cost to let me go they had a bit of a panic, and suggested that I could be allocated to a job one grade lower, which the VR rules allow, but knowing that HR always panic when challenged I said that if they tried that I'd put in a claim that my job should have been on a higher grade, which if successful would mean they couldn't make me stay in a job two grades lower and it would cost them even more in pension and redundancy . I never heard any more about it. Returning to your original question. Not everyone enjoys retirement. About 15 years ago I recruited a chap who had retired a couple of years before. It was a part time project management role for which he was over qualified, but he wanted something to keep him busy and feel useful. He is still there! Finally if you've got any sort of practical engineering skills then any heritage railway will be only to happy to have you, just be careful it doesn't take over your life. Bob

I received my two on Monday. Out of the box they lost traction on the slightest dip in the track. I've adjusted the pick ups on the pony wheels and filed a little of the coupling pockets as these just make contact with the buffer beams. This has improved running tremendously. On plain track they are smooth and quiet. However despite fiddling with the springs they derail on some points. Not all of them, just a few critical ones. Most of my points are N gauge. Radius doesn't seem to be a factor as one of the troublesome ones is a large radius point. It's also one of the newest points on the layout. On the positive side they have forced me to deal with various humps and bumps in the track and rough baseboard joints, which have been on the 'to do' list. The perils of a loft layout. I might have been tempted by a Lew or a Lyn but I won't be buying either until Heljan sort themselves out. Bob

The point is you can change the TOC, you can change the colours, but will anything that really makes a difference actually change? I wouldn't expect them to sort out ride quality in a week. Bob

I had to go to Leeds today from Huntingdon. Caught the 9:52 East Coast from Peterborough and the 14:45 back from Leeds. Not much sign of Virgin on the way north but the train back had big bright red swooshes on the sides, quite a shock walking on to the platform at Leeds, discrete it's not. It didn't look like the pics posted here. It was just bright red half way along the carriage side. No text. There must have been about 50 spotters at Doncaster taking pics. Never mind the branding the ride both ways was terrible. So bad that the chap opposite me commented on it. We were both trying to work and having difficulty typing. Bob

I've just joined RMweb and have sat up half the night reading this thread and looking at it again over breakfast. Amazing. It brings back so many memories. In the 1980s I worked in Market Street and would spend many a lunch break wandering around Waverley or sitting in the Gardens overlooking Waverley West. You knew if a Deltic was in because you'd hear it before you saw it. I'm sure I remember double headed 25s on the Inverness trains. I'm sure there was also a permanently filthy shunter which still had a lion and wheel beneath the grime. Earlier in I would guess 71 or 72 Saturday morning trainspotting with a platform ticket. Watching engine changes on trains coming in from Aberdeen when a Brush would be replaced by a Deltic in about 3 minutes, with a shunter (a bloke not a loco in this case) ducking between the buffers to couple and uncouple, in a very slick operation. Earlier still I had a great Aunt who lived in a tenement flat in Roseburn with a view of Haymarket shed from the front room window. Moving back to the 1980s in 1985/86 I worked on site on the final section of the Portobello bypass which involved moving the Leith South goods branch sideways. At the time it was used by coal trains generally hauled by low numbered 26s. I don't recalll snow ploughs. I do recall the Saturday afternoon that we were given possession and started swinging manhole rings across the track only to be alerted by some frantic hooting from a 26 and 20 loaded hoppers coming down the grade from the ECML and definitely not stopping. Fortunately we all got out the way. Is there anywhere that you have posted your weathering techniques? You should be running a masterclass. Bob