NittenDormer

Well I'll be blowed. There I was walking the baby up and down the platform en route to a PW (since even more worsted) at the Lochaber marathon in April 2011 (post 2), and it turns out I had a stalker photographing my every move. Snazzy pram eh?

I took the family on Sunday morning and really enjoyed it, not quite the quantity of layouts compared to SEC or Perth, but just the right size before children got bored. Every layout was worth looking at, some friendly chat and a surprising amount of traders - including one from the south coast? Dunno how the journey was worth their while, but good to see them. Particularly as they were selling everything on my shopping list.

At least he didn't have his back to the oncoming train.

Mmmm, will make a change from the summer steam services. I will warm up my waving arm.

Nothing better than a good sweat before second breakfast. And a sleep in - its a 9.30 start here in Scotland. Unfortunately I don't get to run very often - clashes with the wife's swimming. Managed to come within 1 second of my course PB last week, unexpected as not really been training properly. Achilles/calf been painful ever since however... Its a great way to push yourself hard (if you want to).

Thanks Rob, I have done this, but since the photo. Vuelta a Espana AND Tour of Britain this week. What a nightmare!

And the progress continues, but slowly... The LH end of the fiddle yard is coming along nicely, from this... ... to this... Note that the pins are deliberately sticking up, as the moment I securely pin/glue it down, I will remember a reason why I shouldn't have done that. Looking the other way is not so promising... There seems to be an endless list of actions needed to complete whatever I want to do. I can't lay track all the way to the baseboard edge because I want to make sure the next board aligns correctly first (I've bought some aligners from Station Road Baseboards that are pretty good, however my inability to align the holes on the first 3 or 4 efforts meant that the boards became less aligned after using the alignment dowels). I can't align the next board because I haven't permanently stuck it all together yet. I can't stick it together yet because I need to cut some of the parts to fit the tracks (particularly the two furthest from the edge). I can't cut the parts yet because I am not sure of the exact track layout. I'm not sure of the exact track layout because I haven't built the next board beyond that one yet...

To get back to the original point, the correct etiquette for families is for the kids to instinctively get out of the way, and for the parents to tell the kids to get out of the way, while being the only ones in the way. If walking as a couple / pair, the correct behaviour is for both to move across to the opposite side of the path at the same time, thereby both being considerate AND maximising 'in the way' time. Despite experiencing this many times as a cyclist, I still do this myself as a pedestrian.

i believe most motorists do this, whenever they have a passenger in the other front seat?

Actually I am the opposite. Percentages work much better, partly because it feels more exotic / continental. Also allows more detail - 5% too gentle, 6% just right, 7% a tad steep, 8% brutal, anything above beastly. (For cycling.) The 1-in approach not nearly as neat. I also prefer kilometres to miles (makes me seem faster).

In east London, the correct response is to sigh heavily.

Tell me more about those pictures that ARE too revealing? Can I ask about the size of your hands?

Mr President? Is that you?

Thanks for hte Thanks for the suggestion Steve, in the end I went for unsoldering one track and redoing it (I have those track nipper things rather than a razor saw).

As a beginner, I can't comment on whether this is the right thing to do... I am also using copper strip in my fiddle yard (so no scenic issues). The copper clad strip is slightly thinner than the sleepers, so I have glued a thickness of cereal box under. This is then glued to the cork, which is glued to the plywood, and also stuck down with 20mm panel pins. Since I only did this last week, I am not in a position to comment on the longevity.

I now have the track for my first cross-board joint: Only problem is, a close look at the tracks reveals a slight mis-alignment: Which I am not sure how to resolve. It doesn't look so bad with the left hand track mis-aligned, maybe I can leave it: Either way, Iit is too difficult for me to fix just now, maybe I will come back to it.

be careful with carbon monoxide alarms, sometimes the constant beeping can give you a right headache.

With the Tour de France over, I need to start searching for another excuse for my lack of progress. Not to worry, the 3-week Vuelta a España starts later this month. A few months ago, I bought a very basic (Maplins) soldering iron. Today was my first attempt to use it for real (I tried attaching 2 ends of a wire last week, but only 1 stuck, and I burnt my finger, so I am gradually ticking all the boxes). This is my first attempt at getting track attached solidly and aligned correctly at a baseboard join. I am starting at the fiddle yard, so appearances are not vital. It seemed far too fiddly to attempt soldering accurately in situ, so I drew round the track and transferred to a spare piece of cork that was more manoeuvrable… ta da! In the comfort and bright lights of indoors, this is the result. It may not be the prettiest or strongest joint in the world, I don’t expect it to be perfect first time, but it is better than what I was capable of last week. However, any comments or suggestions welcome. For statto’s, the soldering iron is 40w, the solder is ‘lead free, Sn 99.3%, Cu 0.7%’ (I have no idea whether any of that is good or bad), and I didn’t use flux, because I can’t get my head around whatever it adds to the process. Time will tell whether it has actually stuck securely, or accurately. And yes, given that the solder is on the inside of the rail, I have tried running a wagon over it for smoothness.

A bit late to the party. Great to watch as always, although it feels like GT won by accident. Commentary overall good as always, DM sounds unconvincing reading chateau-facts. There used to be more chat about the various local cheeses and how much milk was involved in producing it, I think Paul Sherwin was the expert at this.

I'm not sure spending too long in the shed/garage/attic, arguing over rivets, spending far too much money on toys and making small copies of big things is necessarily the traditional definition of 'practical'.

Is it happening in electric or diesel mode? Sorry, couldn't stop myself.

You have to admit, walking on railway tracks is NOT dangerous for about 90% of the time, then suddenly it is, with very little warning and even less time to amend the risk assessment (if there has been one). This (the 90% part) is what tempts people. (Therefore what we need is more trains.) 50 years ago in this country it was considered acceptable for spotters/enthusiasts to wander all over tracks. What has changed? In other countries, railways are unfenced. How do they deal with the problem?

I've always enjoyed Silverado. Kevin Costner when he could still act, John Cleese in support, a reasonably decent tie up of loose ends at the finale. And the head teacher from Kindergarten Cop?

But at least they made the game interesting to watch. England have always been an average football team. Qualify for finals = met expectations. Progress beyond group stage = exceeds expectations. Anyone who fails to beat Colombia (or anyone else) entirely deserves to be knocked out on penalties. Undeserved luck got us through.

And yet again, there has been far too long a silence. Tonight, after finally deciding to start watching the football (word cup) I discover there isn't a game. In some ways a relief, after last night's 120 unproductive minutes. Dunno whether it is the hot weather, but some of the previously stuck down cork is no longer sticking. So first job - do what has already been done again. It is Wickes floor tiles, which have a shiny side and a normal-cork side. Previously I had stuck the shiny side down, this time I am trying the corky side down, with added oomph in the 'adding pressure': Other colours of paint are also available. Next was to remove some track previously tentatively pinned down. I say tentatively in the sense that it was not in the final position, however the pins had been hammered right down, resulting in me investigating track pin removal techniques. The web-suggested options either did not work or pulled the cork up, but I discovered a pair of mini screwdrivers applied from both sides will lever it up in a controlled fashion: Then - woohoo - I have tentatively pinned down some track in the intended position. This is in the fiddle yard, so appearances not important, but I am not sure how to get both rails on the flexi track lined up - they go out of sync as soon as I bend it, as per the track nearest the camera: Next experiment was how to align the end of the flex track so it does not kink off in another direction at the join. It doesn't look too bad, I will return with fresh eyes and a mirror tomorrow to check. Sadly this momentum is unlikely to be maintained, with the Tour de France starting next week, and a trip to the vicinity of a certain Welsh narrow gauge line that always makes me think of Carry On don't Lose Your Head's Sir Rodney Effing (with two 'F's). Which reminds me of an outdated joke: Q How do you fit an elephant in a Safeway bag? A First you take the 'F' out of 'Safe', then you take the 'F' out of 'way'. If you know the answer, post a reply (then I will know someone is reading this rambling).