Northroader

That was so beautifully written, as the situation unfolded, that I really felt a sensation in my pysche, pray accept this pyramid attached to a Norfolk castle as a token of my esteem:

Actually, I was drawing parallels, but I think o’Doolight is drawing a few pyramids beyond the sheep.

It’s a strange coinkydink, with all this Greek flying round, that I was viewing an artwork today (me, art gallery? honest, guv) and my mind immediately turned to the CA thread. So your preraphaelite for today, by Michele Tedesco, entitled “ A Pythagorean school is invaded by Sybarites” (you can’t make this up!)

Brexit means Brexit..

Excellent work as ever. One thing to query, would you have a lamp placed halfway between the retaining wall and the siding, where it looks as if it’s in the middle of a cart access road?

I ‘ave to keep my eye on ze vital supplies, Kevin, mon ami, you naughty Engleesh, you misspell everysing wiz you brasszer! A bientot, Routier du Nord.

I’ll send somebody out to look for you.

And it’s just as important to cater for broad and narrow gauge on here:

“Ferry interestink..... bot stoopid!”

Did somebody say “women in trees”?

Looks great fun, although spearing shopping trolleys looks a tricky job. “Jib-booms and bobstays” as miss Nancy Blackett would say.

It really ought to be a RNAS ship from Glencruitten?

Do they still get “double bubble” for bank holidays?

And the best advice from me learned friend is “dot ‘im one” - I like it!

When I was a kid I used to live on my bike, and into my thirties I would go to work on one, mainly because SWMBO had the car and it was cheaper than the bus, but I had to wear a decent suit, and the backside of the trousers was like gossamer, so I jacked it in for the bus, then became a two car family. Cycling stopped for many years for both of us, but one day out we decided to go to Brockenhurst in the New Forest and hire a bike each. Did a pleasant five mile ride, but then we found we had both become totally sore in the area of our backsides, and riding was painful, so back to the station by the shortest route. Haven’t done any since, if I want exercise once a week I go long walks, although I usually defeat the purpose by ending the walk in a pub. Cycling? to me iffy with sharing the road with motor traffic, my wife has a helper who shares 12hour shifts looking after a guy totally paralysed after just such an episode.

Great, for the last 100 years, they were saying “per ardua ad astra” you’ve showed what it means this afternoon. If you can run a train over it, it can’t be that bad.

And as it’s an airship station, I really, really, want to see an ...

I hand paint the lettering, but it takes several goes, straightening uprights, making all the levels the same, a blobby Corner squared here, a larger “hole” made there, and thickening up here and there, alternating main letter colour, shading colour, background colour, just going round and round. If you get close with a magnifying glass, you’d pick out a mass of little blobs everywhere. I used to use photoshop a lot, which would do this sort of thing quite well, but then you can get me started on printers.. I always found my printed jobs would have the ink fade quickly, especially reds. More recently I cover everything like that, such as brickpapers, with coats of varnish in a hope to slow the process down, but even commercial printing doesn’t seem to last forever, and I’m much happier putting enamel paint on. Then my printers head gave up, no matter how much cleaning cycles you give it, after a long life. So I’ve got a new printer, wireless, which is supposed to work in with this pad, it did for a time, but somethings stopped happening?? Technology, eh? so another reason for doing it by hand. Thanks for the kind comments, folks. I do like the 2mm stuff you do, Jim, I could never manage anything that small.

Mrs. NR read from the paper this morning that there’s more likelihood of it snowing at Easter rather than Christmas, and Routier du Nord is back from his trip to Norfolk muttering about “un singe en laiton”, so a good time to be modelling, rather than bank holidaying. This morning I wrapped up the machinery wagon job. The wagon itself don’t look much on its own, rather plain, but it can be teamed up with some attractive loads, so it’s gained a furniture pantechnicon. This is a kit from Duncan Models, and as they do useful bits and bobs in 7mm, well deserving a link:http://www.duncanmodels.co.uk/ Don’t be fooled by the “rope” lashing, it’s actually held down by brass rods behind each wheel, hooked over the axle, and passing through the wagon floor to soldered washers. Looking at it, it seems very high, so I’ve checked against a plastikard loading guage I’ve made to check bridge and platform clearances, and it is an exact fit to guage, at that height it couldn’t any wider, so the loads inspector has to make sure it’s dead central. You’ll appreciate too that it’s an exact fit on the wagon for length, it has an overhang as it is, but that’s what the LBSC had to use for this traffic. The kit comes with placard boards which fix along the edge of the roof, but these are out of gauge for a rail trip, so I suppose they’re stowed inside the van, along with the shaft to harness the horses to. Here’s what it looks like in a train with a wagon and a van, breaking up the skyline somewhat: Bishops had their depot just over the wall from the country end of Victoria station, so it’s a safe bet that the LBSC would see plenty of trade then. You can still see their furniture movers, they’re now trading as “Bishop’s Move”, large white vans with a flowing blue chessboard and a red bishop chess piece, but any railway association has long gone.

Bonjour, c’est la fete du Paques, and I find zere ees in festival du cyclisme at le Chateau d ‘Aking to wheech I must go, ton ami, Routier du Nord

You can get a 7mm kit, very close to that one, from https://serkits.com/

Here’s a quote from Hamilton Ellis, (intro. to the “The Trains We Loved”) As with the LSWR, so with Hilda, she really enjoys the summer, and dresses accordingly, although she does wear more suitable clothes for winter: Anyhow, good to hear hear the York trip was enjoyed by you both!

Not quite the right date, but still, we’re on holiday today, and Hilda helps me with tracklaying on my Englefield Line:

You could try a pair of these??

I admire the insouciance of this lady cyclist, blithely forming a charming foreground to the tug of war going on behind.