Owd Bob

9-9-20. Another few light engine sightings today seen at Crows Nest Junc' Hindley. 66 167 & 66 155 meet a 142 at 11.14am on the Peak Forest to Wigan LIP. 35 mins' later 66 069. heads the other way to Peak Forest. I can only assume the runs are for route training purposes for future traffic?

8-9-20. Crows nest Junc' Hindley, a new working for my local line this week, according to the Realtime trains site its the 068K Warrington Arpley sidings to Peak Forest up sidings Tues, Weds, and Thurs' only working. 66 148 passes an hour late at 11.48am, great to see another loco' working on this line as normally the only loco's i see here are on the Wilton-knowsley bin-liners, which is'nt running it seems so far this past week!

Thanks Paul and all the others for your continued interest & support. I've just acquired a sit on mower back axle/gear box for the loco' i'm hoping to cut it down narrow enough to be able to drive the bogies wheels. It's a simple forward, neutral and reverse set up and also has a brake disc fitted which is handy, i'm sure in my own daft way i'll make it all work. I've had it all apart and all seems well with no cracked or chipped gears or cogs, all the bearings are ok ....now where's the grinder!

I forgot to say Mike that in dry spells make sure the plants are watered well if planting in sunken pots or pockets, and a sprinkle of multi purpose feed twice a year helps keep them lush and green.

142 065 leaves and nears Crows Nest Junc' from Hindley station on the Wigan to Man' Vic' at 11.10am. 7-09-20.

I made some WW1 wagons to go with the 'Tin Turtle' but the first two came out a bit too big and looked more like seven inch gauge scale, so i made two more this time they looked to be more in a 5" scale. All were made from old pallet wood and some boards and off cut lathes i'd been given. Only the two smaller wagons got chassis and wheels put on them. As usual the bills had to be paid and they all got sold off, although the two bigger tubs lasted for a few years as planters.

Only recently found these old pics of a 'Tin Turtle' i built several years ago, it all started when i found two sets of 5" gauge wheels and a pair of tender side frames at an autojumble for just pennies! The alloy sheet was also found at the classic car shows and cost just a few quid for four sheets, one of which i still have! All in all it kept me busy for that summer and eventually was sold off to pay the bills as usual when i'd finished it. A rough measurement of the real loco' was taken from books which were made into cardboard templates, the bonnet ends were bent using the old mowers roller. It was powered by a wheelchair electric motor, by all accounts it was totally useless. Hope somebody used the main body though and eventually made it work right?

The plants need an almost daily summer clipping with a good pair of big scissors Mike, helps if you constrict the root growth by planting them in small pockets or in buried pots, my yard had little soil and was all rubble so digging out small pockets and filling them with soil was my main planting method. My ladders came from a lot of different kids toy fire engines i had found at the charity shops, i also made my own ladders from plasticard strips drilled out an inch spacing and plastic cotton bud stems form the rungs. Sorry i did'nt answer sooner my e-mail is down and i'm laid up a bit at the mo' i try to check in on here every few days though. Here's some more owd stuff.

McDonalds take away freebies 'Tin -Tin' film figures converted to railway staff lol...Captain Haddock is the driver, the Thompson twins make up the rest of the staff and passengers with their bowler hats whittled down with a Stanley knife blade. The 80" Land-Rover series one pre production converted rail bus R02 is passing the smelly Pig pen.

24-8-20. 2.20pm Hindley crows Nest Junc' 142 065.

24-8-20. Hindley Lancs' Crow nest Junc' 2.03pm 66 074. Tees yard -Knowsley.

Surprisingly the coach repaint came out well despite who actually did the job!

My youngest recently found a dongle with about 300 of my garden rail pics' on it, but don't worry most have already been posted ...but i have found quite a few i don't think ever have.

Ah! Fabrication that's a word that sounds very professional, so i don't use it around here bodging is a better word for all my stuff... Somehow between us the Wife and i have got the steel sheet cab panels cut out with my Dads old 30 year old hand held jig-saw, although four new blades got worn out in the process, the wet weather had held us back for a few days so it's finally a blessing to get something done this week. We might get a chance to tack them on tomorrow and post the pics' if it stays dry, but after that i'll thankfully and at last be out of action for a few weeks.

I had it right with the purple streaks and darkers layers in the slate, then when i air brushed the track and other bits a few months back it hid it all, i should have masked it off! i've spilt paint and super glued the bed sheets together many a time whilst recovering from illnesses and operations by doing some tea tray modelling in bed.

Another of my fake builds,

Another week of dry weather and a bit more progress. The frame for the body work is nearly done, this weekend should see it mainly finished and ready for the panels. I've a few mounting brackets to put on today for the grille panel and bonnet top panel.

Thanks Keith, it's something i like a bit more than my diesels, and it's smaller and lighter to move around. I've seen better it's not that good compared to some others of the same slate theme, I'm keeping this and taking it to shows and displays one day i hope, i'm still looking forward and waiting for the Bachmann Hunslets and the ex' RN diesels to come out. Hoping to get it out soon on a dry day and give it a waft over or wash in places with a bit of purple, and i'll take some pics' when i do. Nothing takes me long, i've a Thyroid prob' that they just can't put right despite all the tabs' i have to take!

Things are never that simple Mike, there are other folks and their belongings that come first for any available space or room...say no more! And on a lighter moment is a diesel based layout more important or enjoyable than a steam one? I could inherit a load of dosh or win the lotto then i could keep everything and buy a mansion with room for a Pony and a swimming pool ...it's all ifs and buts and maybes at the mo' i have to make plans of some sort or i'll be taken out of here in a straight jacket or a pine box very soon.

Thanks Jim, and many thanks to all the other watchers who have supported me over the last few years. I'm afraid i'll have no room when i move out of here as we'll be lucky to get a council flat, and if we have to pay private rent then we'll need as much cash as we can muster, but i am trying to keep hold of my other unfinished 009 layout 'Aberllyn' which is probably 20 pages further back than this topic ....it's that long since i did owt on that as well. Edit' Just found my other layout, it's not as far back as i thought, it's on page seven.

Not managed any interest in it yet 37114, i've tried a few places now and nobody wants the layout and the offers for all the loco's and wagons are a complete insult and a joke...i'll break it all up and drip feed and sell off the bits on fee-bay....unless somebody has an interest in the layout soon it'll get dismantled, smashed up and burned this weekend, after that i'll be out for the count for several weeks so i need to get a move on asap.whilst i still can.

Change of life style and mainly an hopeful change of address means this layout and all that go's with it is now finished, anybody interested in any part of it can pm me for more info' the baseboard layout will be broken up if it has no interest and everything else will go!

Loving all those dirty mineral wagons and the Sunshine.

Thanks Stan i can't promise i'll be on every day or every week with updates but i'll do my best to keep things updated, most times i'm posting stuff i've done a few days or even longer before hand, it all depends on the weather most times. I've sprayed the whole chassis and buffer beams satin black now, there was just too much yellow The two 2mm thick alloy side skirts and the 20mm angle iron fixing strips were bolted on. The base frame for the bonnet and side panels was welded up yesterday, i'm hoping to have the whole unit boxed up and ready for the panels in the coming week.