Owd Bob

Did you get the Hillman Avenger down under? If so what was it badged as? This one was a solid, restorable car and a rare survivor estate version even back in 2006 when it was used and then blown up up for a certain TV series, i tried to save it but it still turned up one morning all stripped out/down on the trailor and ready for the FX man to fettle about with, we pushed it off the trailer right under a street lamp, the director would'nt be told 'cos when we did shove it a bit further down the street he snarled put it back and leave it exactly where it was, so when the explosion went off later in the afternoon the street lamp and its cover got melted. The explosion was a lot bigger than was planned with the flames going at least 40-50 foot in the air, the overhead camera got scorched. Watch the Drama channel on the telly next Sat' night and see for yourself. Crude pipe bombs were used to 'Blow the bloody doors' off. The wife and i then spent over two hours that evening cleaning up the mess before it went dark, just three of us were left on the set/street where we pulled and shoved it back onto the trailor. It went back to the BBC studio car park at Oxford Road. I never saw it again and i was told that it went to a local Manchester scrap yard.

Those big Humbers from my fading memory were always rot boxes, an uncle had a few for towing his caravans but he did'nt have them long and he also used the Consul mk2's for towing his Sprite Major, although i always thought the Fords looked very low at the back once the van was stuck on, but he obviously thought they were good pullers. A few more mixed up vehicles today including my own old P5 and my old Tranny camper which was probably one of the last of the mk1's to be registered in July 1978. Seems the camper van/coach builders 'Glendale' must have bought the last mk1 pickups pretty cheaply to convert. Mine had a diesel front added on to fit a pinto engine in, it once had a V4 from new.

I've had three mk3 Cortinas, the last was a 90 quid buy just to get me to West Yorks and back daily for a 12 month job i had in the mid '80's. It had 10 months mot and six months tax left on it, i used it until both ran out...well until the mot did Then i scrapped it as it was a right heap of rust and would never have passed another mot, it was a two door and one of the last being a 'P' reg' it originally had a 1300 engine which i swapped for a 2ltr pinto and a five speed box from a scrap mk5, much better for zooming up and down the M62 twice a day. I think i had to change the prop' shaft as well? I always a leaning towards taking picks of the bog standard working mans type car and also the van derived and estate versions and two doored ones as they seemed never to get saved as much. Sports and prestige classics and kit cars are'nt really my thing but the odd special one or two did take my fancy and helped to use up my roll of film now and again.

There were loads around here when was a kid in the 60's-70's...we all used to be so cruel when ever one approached us being sad products of the time and environment we were brought up in, i remember going with my Dad to take an Uncle who had lost both legs in the war to pick a brand new one up, i think it was in Blackburn?

A real one i saw at a show about ten years ago, the stall holder always put on a good show of these old invalid vehicles, sadly i have'nt seen the display around the shows for a few years now. Nowt like being labelled and seen to be standing out from the rest of society back in t'owd days. Thankfully things have changed for the better.

Ford day today. More later today.

New World In The Morning. Roger Whittaker

I'm slowly disposing of my collection of feeble efforts by scanning and posting them freely on here, as no one in my family are interested in them in the least, i might as well share them with folks who are. I'm just going through my classic vehicles and old bus collections this week.

More recent finds from my collection. All taken at the classic shows in the North over the last 20 years, the main locations being Llandudno, Astle Park Cheshire, Heaton Park Manchester, Fleetwood Tram Sunday, Smallwood Cheshire, Trans Lancs' rally, Harrogate, and the commercial museum at Leyland.

Tomorrows Girls. UK subs.

Superb pics' Ben, an area i love myself, i can't get to the places you have been able to get to anymore but years ago i managed to take a few from Barmouth Harbour, i only found these pics' last eve' whilst going through a load of photo cd's i'm transferring over, they are possibly 10 years old or there abouts. I only once saw a yellow 37 parked up at the Pwllheli end of and near Porthmadoc station, i just could'nt get anywhere near it.

A few recent finds for the fans of Mini's.

A few recent finds of mine which i'm just transferring from a 3 foot tall pile of of cds' onto my laptop. All taken at the classic shows and rallies over the past 20 years or so. Not proper old 'back in the day' pics' i know, but they maybe of use.

Can't wait to see the collectables from 'Jaws' maybe a plastic severed head and a few arms and legs of various lengths, or a Robert Shaw figure chomped in half

A few recent pics i've just found on some old cd's, most were taken the best part of 20 years ago i would think, there's a few weird ones and i'm not sure what the dark Green car in the forth pic' is? I do like the Cherry Red colour on the Triumph roadster. i think the Rickman Ranger was based on the mk1-2 Ford Escort running gear?

Thanks Joseph, i saw your posts and i will watch your progress and i wish you good luck with it all. Like yourself its all new to me and i'm learning as i go along, i read a lot on the seven and a quarter society web site and i have a few dedicated mags' to learn from, i'll make mistakes but i'll learn from them as long as it don't cost me owt! I removed the sleepers Joseph and i gingerly bent the rails in the garden gate as can be seen in the pics' no rush at all getting this task done, if it was wrong i tried again until it was right. There's only really one sharp curve here which is'nt quite as tight as it looks in these pics' it's my old camera with an almost fish eye lens that makes it look like the curve is so sharp. I've been using my bogies as i go along, which i have shoved around the curves to make sure they are ok, something you might like to do yourself before buying any track is to figure out using a bogie or set of wheels or a wagon just how sharp or wide you can make your curves. I am limited for space especially width wise in places, so i'm using short wheel bases and bogies of 24cm. or eight an half inch axle/wheel centres for my yet to be made small fleet. I've three sets of points to make and maybe a check rail putting on the sharp curve to make and figure out to keep me busy this summer. I have now saved up enough dosh since the festering season to get a new welder this weekend and get those two wagons all done, running and in use.

One from about 20 years ago at Warrington.

I started building the crossing style gate a few weeks ago and i have finally managed to get it hung this morning. It was made from some rough sawn and reclaimed (from my old shed floor) 25mm x 25mm. battening. It is roughly four feet long by two feet high. We painted it with more left over white masonry paint which works well on rough sawn timber we have found from experience. The red circle is made from alloy and came from the push out bottom of an old cake baking tin and was etch primed and sprayed Red. The 10mm sized squared mesh came from an old Chicken hutch. It has been hung off the shed corner and shuts against the existing gate post. The next length of track can now be laid and ballasted up during this week. The gap under new gate we be just tall enough for wild life to pass under but thankfully not the Dogs.

Thanks Pete, you could have this one, it needs transferring to a new depot.

From what i remember, every neighbours garden around yours drains into yours? Mind you things are a bit extreme everywhere weather wise at the mo' Lets hope you don't have to stop the track floating away.

Great pic' Just looks like it could be straight out of a 'Sweeney' or 'Prime suspect' ep'

Might it have been brought in to use as a coal yard site office?

Edwardian! Next time i order a nameplate one will be 'Little Nell' I gave 'Nell' a coat of Aldis own spray can dark Green and a spray over with the air brush of my usual dirt mix. I'm not sure about making any more locos just yet or adding any finer details to the two i now have as i'll probably be giving my eyes and fingers a chance to recover from what is for me a struggle in stuff this small. My own fault as i do soon forget and get carried away with just doing stuff.

Hoping to be making a visit to see you this spring Ozzy, have the recent storms been bad on the garden or the railways? Your garden and its 5" gauge is what set me off onto the bigger stuff, you should never have given me free reign to ride on it It just show what can be achieved in a average semi detached sized garden.

Wigan Kirkgate!