AndrewC

Good day all. Another quiet day in the boring boring borough. No work to do, just wait around for feedback on my last set of designs. Got a nasty-gram from the payroll & timekeeping bunch saying I had to reduce my billable hours before the end of the month so I stay within the European regs for the quarter. In other words, I've got a paid week to play trains. Woo hoo. The first pair of club modules are ready for track and the wiring looms to go in. If the rain holds off I'll get the pair of corner boards cut and assembled today.

Hmmm. Cricket on telly. I may have to move my office downstairs and in front of the idiot-box for the day. Morning all, another day of nothing exciting happening. Just a small bit of project work to clean up today and I may make it out to the shed to get some more work done on the club modules. As with most things they started with a burst of energy and excitement, now things have slowed to a crawl as other work and household tasks get in the way.

So that's where those bl**dy things went. They were all shipped to South Africa. Those were very common in hockey rinks in Canada back in the 70s. I agree, fecking awful noise. Absolutely nothing happening in the boring boring borough these days.

smelly old socks

Good morning all. The sun is attempting to burn off the early haze here in the boring boring borough of Bexley. The birds are twittering and the neighbours are yelling at each other. Just another spring morning in suburbia. Still waiting for the other people on my project to catch up. That means killing more time in the shed. (boy am I glad I installed a separate WIFI router in there ) My last day of work for a week as well. Fresh pot of coffee on and some relaxing music. It has the makings of a beautiful day. With luck I'll finish another module as well as wrap up the work project today. Have a good one all. If anyone is heading to Leytonstone tomorrow, I'm the old fat git on the NMRA stand. Stop by and say hello.

Morning all. Another quiet day in the boring boring borough of Bexley. Spent the last 2 working days waiting for others to catch up and do their part. At least it means I can get some proper work done with the layout while waiting. 15th anniversary today so its the west end tonight for a bit of celebration. We haven't had dogs for many years but I remember our spaniels always having ear troubles. What ever was on the ground got swept up by those big flappy ears and deposited on the carpet.

Don, I've got tons of the cheap stuff offcuts from when I insulated the shed roof. Enough to model a fair portion of the Rocky Mountains. What I need is a solid sheet of the heavy Styrofoam style insulation as I'm using the foam as a base instead of 6mm or 9mm ply. Its another quirk of the UK. In Canada you could go to any DIY shop and get 1-6 inch thick Styrofoam SM in sheets from 1' by 2' all the way up to 4' by 8' and just about every size inbetween. Here, its far less common. B&Q stock the German Knaupf pink stuff which I find isn't as smooth as the Dow blue insulation. The only way to get the blue stuff is to order in bulk from a place like Sheffield Insulations. Even then they only stock 2500mm x 600mm sheets which turn out to be 6mm too narrow for the NMRA standard 24" width modules I'm building. I still end up having to splice sheets together on one board. Ahh the joys of mixing units of measurement.

Morning all. Off for some spinal origami this morning. The first of my club modules is taking shape. The framework is done and I've decided to go with foam for the surface. That alone will knock about 20kg off the 4 modules making it easier to transport. I just wish they made the pink stuff in a decent width without having to resort to a full 4' by 8' sheet.

Morning all. A good day spent at club yesterday. Managed to make a start on the module construction. Think I may have over done the physical side of things as my back is in a rather foul mood this morning. Time to fire up the BBQ for breakfast on the patio and a quiet Sunday of doing very little.

I thought my overdraft was bad.......

Thanks for the welcome Gordon. I've been around but not really vocal on this thread before. Dealing with aging / ill parents is one of the most difficult things in life to manage. Been there, done that, and will have to go through it again with the out-laws one day. My only advice is to ensure you have 'me' time to escape the stress and to recharge your own personal batteries. Most of all don't second guess yourself after the fact. There is no use in thinking back about 'what if I did X differently? or 'I wish I had spent more time doing .....' There is nothing to be gained by that except more stress and anguish. Tony, see you tomorrow? (unless my back goes into spasms again)

Simon, my sympathies. I'm convinced that people don't adjust to change as much as we would like to think we do. Especially older people who equate their homes and stuff as a comfort blanket. My aunt had been in her own cottage in a centre for over 20 years. She got to the point where they felt it better and safer for her to be moved into an apartment in the main lodge. The morning of the move she just didn't wake up. My mum was in a similar situation. Terminal cancer but loved her apartment with an amzing 15th floor view of the rocky mountains. We moved her into a flat in the same building as my younger brother. She went down hill very quickly and was gone in under 2 weeks. Another day here. My back is still b*ggered. Looks like an MRI is on the cards next week. I'm in the middle of changing GP's as well because my current one is as useful as a chocolate teapot. Was hoping to have at least one module framed up before the club day tomorrow. Doesn't look like that will happen. Have a good day all, and a great weekend.

Another bout of insomnia. Can't be arsed to go out to the shed to grab a kit and the modelling tool box. I think I'll just surf on this new fangled interweb thingy.

Morning all. Looking very good Don. Yesterday saw a bit of a celebration. Nearly 18 months after it was assembled, the train shed is finally ready to be used for its intended purpose. My workbench has been moved in along with the old computer desk to make a decent modelling space. The test track has been relocated from my spare room/office in the house and we had a grande opening 'first train' run along its length. There are still some insulation panels to go on the roof but they are back ordered from Wickes so they'll have to wait for now. The ply for the modules should be ready to collect today so with luck I'll have at least 2 of them assembled for the next club meeting. Yes, that's a genuine Canadian Pacific caboose lantern. One of a pair that were part of my dad's retirement from CP. The original 110v bulbs still work even though they are now 32 years old. I will have to convert them to 240v once they die.

Quebecois is as close to French as Welsh is to English. (massive exaggeration) I'm surprised they understood a single word of what she said.

Are you sure she isn't Canadian? Phil, I have nothing but the deepest respect for those who give so much of their time and effort to preservation.

Tony, reading that saga just reinforces my decision way back in 95 to go with Digitrax. I've never had any problem plugging in anything that was LocoNet certified. Spent yesterday spending money at Model Junction followed by several hours at Didcot. A real thumbs up to the organisers and volunteers there for putting on a great day for the GWR 175. I do feel a rant coming on about the so called 'rail enthusiast' though. What a socially inept, vacuous, smelly, rude, and ignorant species they are. Examples being, a pair that literally shoved a small child out of the way so they could be the first ones on the autocoach. One that nearly caused an accident because he refused to get out of the way of a volunteer trying to clear the track. Repeated queue jumping at the real ale bar. ( I will say the staff there were excellent in not letting them get away with it) The one that knocked over half a shelf in the book stall with his hummer sized back pack then ignored the mess he caused. Another pair that blocked the doorway to the museum during the afternoon downpour so that nobody could get in or out without having to practically yell at them to move. When someone was taking a photo, most normal people would either wait to pass or walk behind. I lost count of the number of anoraks that walked right in front of someone's shot oblivious to anyone else. (including my wife's attempts to photograph) The list goes on. Its no wonder people take the p*ss out of those that like railways. Its these morons that give all enthusiasts a bad name.

I see John is making an ash of himself again. Not much to report from the boring boring borough of Bexley. I've ordered the wood for my US layout and club modules. Decided to make them compatible with each other. That means building 21 of the bl**dy things. Spent most of the week flat on my back full of muscle relaxants and pain killers after pulling a muscle in my lower back. At least I got half the train shed roof insulated. I'm now a year behind and £££ way over budget. Still, I'll be able to live in the damn thing if M-I-L keeps good on her threat to immigrate here from Canada.

Its about time John clammed up. On the other hand, I've found cod so I'm prawn again.

Inhaling the wrong Colombian export perhaps? The ex hated the taste of tea but would sniff the teabags as she loved the smell. She was strange.

These puns are becoming a right pain in the Athearn. They are starting to drive me up the Wal-thers. Along with Tony_S I had a good club day yesterday, or so I thought. Went in looking to secure the bits needed for a pair of modules for the club layout. Came away with the remit to build 4 modules including a corner. I may yet get dragged into the lighting debacle. My first life included an arts degree in television and stage. Spent part of the first 2 years running around studios with a light meter around my neck. With a bit of luck I'll get to spend most of today finishing off little bits of work in the shed.

Its amazing that someone here posts a song and it triggers the reaction of 'I really want to listen to that'. Dragged out the Verve last night for a listen. Played Florence on the way into work. Just to keep up my diverse reputation I'm on Jean Michel Jarre's Oxygene this morning.

An excellent but underrated album. Best served on vinyl in the dark at high volume. at the mo: Blondie, Parallel Lines

Tangerine Dream, Arizona Live 92. Blotting out the inane verbage of the office.

Morning all. Don't pop in much but thought I'd say good day eh! How's she goin' my trout? (Newfie speak, and no I'm not a Newfie)) Good seeing you on Saturday Tony. Next month I'm hoping to have my modules completed to the point where they can be brought along to work on. At the moment they are just piles of cut 12mm ply. Today is my last client paid first class Pendolino thrash. ??230 ticket, ??980 daily billing rate, all for a 90 minute weekly status meeting. Your tax ???????? hard at work. Spent yesterday at the Cantebury Exhibition. Went in with the intention of not spending any money. Ended up with a 4-CEP. edit: I see we are still having problems with regional character sets on the forum.