RANGERS

With any luck the morning Melton Mowbray and evening return will retain Meridians for as long as they're available. No idea what will happen beyond 2020 for this service, unless it transfers to Virgin EC? still Stagecoach controlled.

Sadly my informed authority on all things S&L Minerals passed away a few months back so I'm reliant on my memory of his answers to my questions over many years. IIRC, from construction of the original ore handling plant in the 1930s, the original tippler arrangement was an end on type which might explain something of the raised ends, but taking the previous posts into account, I'm not sure what. Work carried out in WWII to increase capacity might have added additional tipplers. Certainly by the 1970s there were side tipplers in use but these might have been added when the project to build the new Sinter Plants and rebuild No 3 blast furnace was underway in 1972-3

Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby will see electric services in December 2017, Leicester will probably be wired a year later but won't see services until the wires reach Derby and Nottingham in 2019. It's not totally clear how this will affect the franchise plan but the assumption is that Thameslink will assume responsibility for the half hourly services as far as Corby and EMT will lose their Wellingborough, Luton and Bedford services at the next franchise round, Kettering becoming the main interchange. PR in connection with the project has already mentioned services from Corby to Brighton. Stock for this hasn't been mentioned but sadly seems unlikely to be of the standard of the current Meridians. The work on the bridges as far as Kettering is almost done, only a handful left to rebuild, and clearing the track bed for doubling work on the Corby line has made the space ready for the trackgangs to move in. Huge amounts of foliage have been cleared between Glendon and Corby over the winter and the trees around the original down platform have been cut back in readiness for the platform work which is due to begin in May I'm told. There's four bridges on the Corby line to alter but one of these may be demolished altogether.

Almost certainly not, the reg belies it to be a 67 model but Slough production finished in 1965.

Try the National Archive at Kew, their site shows up over 200 records relating to Firsby so it would be worth the trip.

I don't think the Impetus and Vulcan kits were the same, IIRC the Vulcan one was cast with some etched parts whereas the Impetus was all etched. I seem to remember someone doing an etched conversion kit for the Airfix Drewry with new cab, cowcatchers etc, but can't remember who it was, possibly Craftsman or maybe Impetus.

Generally very good in my limited experience. I've a 128 DPU and had an 05 at one point, both cleanly cast and good representations of the prototypes.

Hmmm....it would do the trick, I've a J17 and a Buck' already but what would I do with the two B17s, two B1s, C12, DRB, Derby lightweight and several Cravens?

Genesis - Trick of The Tail The first album of theirs I heard as a kid in 1978. Loaned by my neighbour as part of my musical education. It came with Bat Out of Hell, Born to Run, sunburst Finish, Agents of Fortune and AWB.

Had a good look at mine today and bar for the join on the boiler, it is pretty well perfect. The Wessy pump is exquisite, I was thinking it might be easier to get an early one and just add this but it'll be an easier task to change the tender creat to an early one. Likely as not I'll have an early one as well. Just need a layout to run them on, not easy for a GN man to be seen meddling with the GE though.

Finally succumbed to temptation and bought one....forgive me father for I have sinned..

The High Dyke pics are a unique record of the final chapter of Ironstone mining North of the Welland. C1023 shows the Marion face shovel above the train, at a guess I'd say the crane next to it was involved in the dismantling in readiness for shipping it to Glendon Quarry. There's a good set of shots here http://www.ourcorby.org.uk/page/the_making_of_marion?path=0p40p These show it being reassembled for what would be the final six years of service

Must have been an electrifying day, the bus behind is a GMPTE Seddon Pennine RU battery electric.

I wonder whatever happened to the Gresley brake third in the breakdown train? It seems like only yesterday that the Eastern was littered with those, one or two in practically every major yard.

Used to call in four or five times a year when I was passing but a change of jobs last year meant that was going to cease so paid what I thought would be my last visit in September and added a couple of Hornby Gresleys to my cupboard. I found myself heading across the Pennines on Thursday so was able to drop in and left with some nicely priced S/h wagons, you can never have too many can you.

The lonely remains of the viaduct at John O' Gaunt, on the former L&NW & GN Joint line present an eerie sight to passing motorists seemingly in the middle of nowhere high up on the Leicestershire Wolds.

That wouldn't have been previously owned by a Lord and lady who lived in West Herts would it? If it was the same car, I heard the story from one of their relatives in the early 80s. He was a Scot who had been a senior civil servant and been granted a life peerage for services to education. Their son had died in his twenties in about 1979-80 and she'd been the only one to drive the car after that, it had been his 18th birthday present. IIRC it was a K or L plate and had only covered minimal miles when I heard the story.

I remember queuing round the block for the MRJ show, it was different from what other exhibitions were doing at the time, and when I had the idea of doing Railex eleven years ago the MRJ show but a basis of what I wanted to do. We have had a number of layouts appear at Railex that were at the MRJ show (this year we have Peter Kazer's Corris), although some are no longer around while others are unlikely to be seen in public again.Going back to the title of the thread Geoff Williams iconic Aylesbury has been acquired by the Risborough club and will be exhibited twice, the first being Risex this February and Railex in Aylesbury in 2016 I still look forward to seeing Chris Pendleton getting his train set to Aylesbury mind....

It was probably a once in a lifetime experience to have been there and seen what were then regarded as the finest layouts of the day, together with the ones which had set the bench marks over generations since model railways had been in their infancy. Wonderful though it would be to repeat the MRJ Show exercise, I doubt modern day economics would allow it to be a viable proposition, at least as far as Central Hall is concerned. Central London is just too horrendous to even contemplate running a show like this nowadays. It did occur to me a few years ago the Aylesbury Railex is probably the modern day equivalent and we're blessed with having that every year. If MRJ did ever happen again, what would be there and just what ever happened to Hursley?

Could you do batches of up to 50?

The 63-64 Plaxton Panorama is out in Southdown colours. Only seen one in the shop but first impressions suggest it looks a reasonably good representation. Not certain which liveries they're intending, I believe Midland Red and Ribble figure initially but plenty of others to go at. Many survived into the seventies with their original owners, National Travel South West inherited a number from Royal Blue, and dozens made into the eighties with subsequent owners so it has wide ranging interests.

When I was an apprentice in the early 80s, One of my fellow trainees had a stripped out Hunter GT 1725 with a Holbay tuned Engine, twin, twin choke Webers I think it had with a straight through exhaust, bucket seats and roll cage, went like stink and sounded absolutely awesome. It could leave XR3s for dead on the sprint from the lights but stopping was a different matter, five up coming back from the pub one Friday tested it to its limits and ended up with a slight detour through the park to avoid running up the back of a bus!

The Diamond T takes me back to the early seventies when these things were popular as tractor units with showmen, Charles Thurston for one. I think he used them to haul his dodgems around. There's still a few Diamond Ts around earning their keep as wreckers, one which springs to mind was with a breaker near Mablethorpe, Lincs, which was parked at the front of the yard for decades. It was still there a couple of summers back.

I'm slightly intrigued by the shot of the 08 "shunting" those wagons. It appears to be on a running line, no sign of any sidings, without a brake van. Granted all the wagons are fitted but up until the 1980s, I didn't think it was permitted for guards to ride in the same cab as the driver on fully fitted trains?

The restructuring took place from July 2011 and saw off the traditional buses practically overnight. Arriva took on the contract to run the entire Maltese network but after racking up losses of over €50m, gave notice and handed it back to the Maltese Govt in Jan 2014. It's due to be awarded to the Spanish subsidiary of National Express any day now.