GMKAT7

Hello Northmoor, Agreed, I finished with the WW2 roof area last, which I actually did in a blitz ( ho ho) last Sunday as it had been sat there nagging 🙄 Two atmospheric views, hope your friend who gets your charity shop copy enjoys it. Last one the boss got me from the local charity shop has various pieces missing 😔 Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning St Enodoc (John), My copies of the attached are well-thumbed too, part of my wagon reference books along with later Dave Larkin editions, the Geoff Kent 3-part series and John Hayes' 4mm coal wagon book. Acquired from a bookshop in Crewe around 1979-1980 time, when I was but a young apprentice in the works :) I still enjoy building wagon kits, even with the delights of Rapido etc RTR wagons. Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, My latest sample of non-railway modelling, although it is railway related but not modelling. My son bought me the Waterloo Station jigsaw puzzle for Xmas, so I felt duty bound to start it :) Started the first week in January and completed last Sunday, so 2 months overall to completion. However, it was not a full-time occupation, since there are other things in life, such as railway modelling and continuing my Battle of Britain Memorial Squadron of Spitfires ;) Enjoyed it mostly, although the (upper) WW2 view with the dark roof areas was a bit of a PITA! Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning Corbs, Thanks very much for the confirmation. Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning Andy, I assume that these wagons are now due Q2/24, as per the other Rapido RCH 7-plank opens (Rapido delivery schedule)? TIA. Cheers, Nigel.

Hello Rob Mr Wolf, Times have changed at Rock City, no more sticky carpets! Even the 'greeters ' on the door seemed to be the usual 'for hire ' security types, not a Hells Angel in sight. Given the bands that were on that night I wouldn't have expected any ruckus. The other band was Phil Campbell's B@stards, playing Motorhead covers and some original stuff. And air conditioning - what is the world coming to? The main attraction for me was seeing BSR with Scott Gorham, probably the last time given he and I are both getting on a bit now 😅 Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, Seeing Black Star Riders at Rock City (Nottingham) in February last year, one of the support acts was Michael Monroe, one-time vocalist for 'poodle-haired' band Hanoi Rocks. Given that he was 63 years old, his performance was amazing, moving all over the stage and speakers stacks etc. Still has long hair as well, not like yours truly 😂 Unless it was a syrup? Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning Tim, Are you sure that the sheep is coal powered and not just eaten a Vindaloo? Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, 'Cashley' bought the formerly Ricoh, now Coventry Building Society, Arena from the bankrupt Wasps Rugby Club. Then promptly told the only tenant, Coventry City FC, to 'foxtrot oscar' with minimal notice. What he thought he was going to do with the Arena for 10 months a year nobody knows but him. Having seen the light the Frasers Group relented and gave the City a 5 year lease. I thought the stories from Newcastle United fans were exaggerated, but it seems not. Still, his Hornby shareholding is currently only less than 10%, so others still have control. For now. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon Darius, In the words of Bill and Ted - most excellent! Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, Annie, is that both a cat and not a cat at the same time? And is it both alive and not alive at the same time? Or has it ceased to be? Noting that it is not blue and may not be Norwegian. Yours in uncertainty, Nigel.

Good afternoon Sqdn Ldr, You could fall back on a saying we have in Coventry - you could ask him if he likes sex and travel 😅 To which the reply is Yes, good then f%&k off! Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening Captain, You have to be of a certain age to remember that 😂 Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, To amplify St Enodoc's comments about structural integrity, this can relate to the vehicle bodyshell, bogies or wheelsets. When the Heathrow Express 332 units were refurbished in 2012 the weight of the STD vehicle (yes, really) was significantly more than expected and originally designed for. The design consultancy had some involved work on identifying the correct maximum number of passengers and that mass impact on the axle integrity, especially for that particular vehicle. It took some hard sums to get to a position of 'comfort ' with what was signed off by the VAB. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon Tortuga, Yes, I will be starting a layout thread of my own to stop clogging up Rob's. Progress will be glacial currently, since I will need to read through multiple threads to understand the 'dark arts' I referred to above 😂 Plus some dry/warm weather for the track painting stage (can't see the Boss wanting me to spray indoors). I can promise no computer feet are involved, at least until my son comes home from university and demands his desk back 😅 Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, I had the great pleasure of meeting Rob in Cardiff yesterday afternoon to collect some goodies I have just acquired from him. Noticing that he wanted to reduce his stash of 03s, I managed to get one before SteveyDee did :) So, Eastern Region allocated D2011 has joined the collective of wee engines I now have. Also acquired was his Type 1 DH 0-6-0 in the shape of D9505. Finally, I needed somewhere for my 'little engines' to stretch their legs so I also acquired Rob's 'New Year quicky' layout. Fits perfectly on my Bench of Bodge/Desk of Doing (delete as applicable), with the added bonus of an additional Presby shelf for the fiddle yard. I have not gone in for terraforming by Triffids, I will need to find a new home for 'Vera'. I now need to get to grasp with the 'dark arts' of track painting, ballasting, scenery and structures. Gulp! And work out how I am going to arrange everything. However, Rob kindly added in his spare copy of some suitably 'Riceian' inspiration. In the meantime some suitable testing/playing of trains will take place. It was also good to see Sheep Dip and Ewe in the flesh. Rob's demonstration of the DCC slow running of his locos was also impressive. Rob, having spoken about operations yesterday (medical not trains), the Boss had a call from the QMC Nottingham this morning to say she is now booked in for 21st February with a pre-op visit on the 15th. So, hopefully your further manglings can be booked in soon! Hope to catch up again at the MAG event in Derby come September. Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening folks, To answer the question about 387s being used on Cardiff trains, I travelled on one this afternoon from Cardiff to Bristol Parkway, the 1454 from CDF. It was forming a Paddington train. I bailed at Parkway for the 1544 Edinburgh Voyager back to Derby. Travelling to CDF from Parkway at 1240 was on a 8xx set, apologies no number recorded. It was a 5 car unit, but at that time of day there was no capacity issue. All journeys today were on time 🙂 Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening Tim, I built or at least tried to, one of these kits last year. Having juggled the various side pieces into something resembling the box illustration, I then tried to get it sitting straight on the legs. Ha, that was a wasted effort. Finally, when it came to fitting the doors both sides they were too small for the gap. So, I gave up and scrapped it. Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, Following on from newbryford's comments about Boddingtons beer, when I was an apprentice in Crewe Works the locals used to say about Boddie's: "If the bottom has fallen out of your world, drink Boddie's and the world will fall out of your bottom" . Although I later heard the same in Derby about Shipstones beer. Sometimes known as Sh1tstones. Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, As someone who grew up and spent the first 18 years of his life in Cov I used to love being driven round the inner ring road for all the aerial views of the city centre. However, when I could drive myself it became a chore and now it's just an eyesore! It has changed so much now I barely recognise the place. Warwickshire on the other hand is a lovely part of the West Midlands and has other attractions. Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning folks, I would be wary of mentioning hippos and air drops in the same sentence. Otherwise, it may be more than the sin bin we're in! Cheers, Nigel.

Good afternoon folks, Does this remind you of anyone? Obviously having to sit there all day and remember the date every day has made him a bit grumpy looking :) Cheers, Nigel.

Good morning Michael, Oops, I hope you haven't reopened the fitting lamps and taking them off again 'can of worms '. Look what happened last time.🤐 Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening Andy, Top suggestion! I will see what the Finance Director says, but since that's me you could be onto a winner there. 😂 Now if you could rustle up an E4 (GER type) that would keep the W&U tramcar happy. Or maybe a SR Q class 0-6-0 for future? Not that I'm wishlisting or anything. 😇 Edit: Since both of my parents were from the Isle of Sheppey, then it has to be something SECR for haulage Cheers, Nigel.

Good evening Edwardian, I do feel for you in those circumstances. Before my Dad passed away 11 years ago he had spent 2 years or so bed-bound and had daily visits from carers, which he paid for. My mum was already showing signs of dementia, which accelerated after Dad passed away. It was only the daily visits from my brother who cooked both of them hot meals, did the gardening, etc that kept them both going. Once my Dad had gone my brother moved into the family home to be Mum's full time carer. Sadly she died a year and a week after my Dad. Since my aunt (Mum's sister) also suffered from Alzheimer's I am not looking forward to picking up the same family trait. However, they all lived to their mid-80s, so I think I've got 20 years or so left in me 😀 Cheers, Nigel.