Owd Bob

Glad i'm not the only one who likes the White stuff and reverts back to childhood and likes to play in it every time it arrives. Thanks for sharing. Cheers Mark.

Thanks Mike, i'll probably be going the 'Timpdon' way as i already have two hand held remote units for my garden rail stuff, but basically anything to save a bit more dosh! A combined URC12 unit should fit in 'Aquitania' ok with a 'Strikalight' or similar rechargeable battery pack squeezed in there as well, i'll just have to find the wheel pick-up wires and re-route them....i hope! An inch of snow this morning so i've had the battery loco's out for some fun and a run, not quite deep enough to need the plough yet though, hopefully the steamers can come out later or tomorrow when the snow is predicted to be a lot worse. The Batts' on the Baguly Drewery packed in after just five minutes so the two oldest locos took over...until heavy snow showers soaked me through, three hours is plenty enough standing about in it for me today.

What do i get. Buzzcocks

More good progress Tony, i don't think i've ever had to pack in doing any garden jobs or anything else over here because its been too hot Tony! Snow is positively forecast around here for tomoz and over the weekend! so hopefully i can go play in it and get a few pics'

The fold out seat/legs are removable with bolts just holding them in, the reason it was being chucked out that it's made of quite hard plastic and the leg brackets had snapped sheared off on one corner, i've seen a lot of these on the car boots going cheap over the years, and a new one would'nt cost much off fee-bay, i'll just have to be very careful with the cutting and handling of it, but it should'nt weigh too much at all. It will be a few weeks before i can get my hands on some track, then i can work out the layout of it all. I will have to use all RTR stuff including buying in a few buildings but i'll chop the living doings out of 'em.

The Wife was chucking this old plastic cheap folding picnic table away last week due to wear and tear, that was until i grabbed it for a nice little idea i had for it, once i'd explained why i wanted it she agreed to let me do it only because this can easily be stored under a bed or on top of the wardrobe. It's 33 inches long and 26 inches wide when opened, i'll be carefully placing any scenery/buildings so that the lid can be shut without damaging anything inside when closed. I have some off-cuts of inch thick dense foam insulation board which will give me a good start on the scenery. I apologise for using this idea if it's all been said and done before, i suppose if you can get one cheap enough a guitar case would do the same job.

Thanks Edwardian, as Apollo rightly says i shall 'keep goin' wi yed daewn 'as they say around here ....in other words 'stop being a big Girls blouse' Hoping the weather men have it right and we get the White stuff this coming weekend, and i'm preparing for a steam up, so i cleaned up a lot of the track and line-side yesterday in the hope that it do's. Meanwhile i've weathered and detailed up the 'O' gauge class 40 diesel over the last few weeks and posed it on the garden line. I'm hoping to fit remote control in this loco' and the yet to be weathered up 'O' gauge class 25.

Brilliant! but i prefer the Raleigh Wisp...which is basically an early version of the mk1 Chopper frame with an engine on it if only i could get my hands on one

The old guitar is a Tanglewood copy and not a proper Gibson mores the pity, it was originally mine new about 30 years ago but i only ever achieved the three chord wonder status, but what little i could/can play i still really enjoy, and i'm a leg-end in my own bedroom i gifted it to a Nephew in the early '90's who never bothered with it at all, so it got handed back to my now eldest Daughter as a teenager who like wise did sod all with it! ... So its now back stood gatherin' dust until the mood takes me Many thanks for the high praise Marc, it really means a lot coming from superb modelers like yourself The paste table has had plenty of extra support added and i'm thinking of putting an insulation type fibre board on the top to cut down the noise. The Choppers were deffo pants rippers back in the day, as i know from going flying head on into an ice-cream van aged about 10 when the fog wafters i had on got really caught up in the chain and chain-guard and for which i had many a rollockin' off mi Mam for ruining mi best keks Heres the Chopper finished and just wanting a gear knob, hopefully this will get me into the classic car and steam rallies/shows next summer.

Don't knock the rock. Bill Haley & the Comets

Its been a while since my last post but the layout is still on track so to speak, and now that the long dark evenings are here i've made my first attempt at weathering up the class 40, and being my first attempt on a diesel in this scale there's still a lot to do it yet and i'm still learning as i go. I chose to base the loco' on my fave class 40 which was 40 015 and was a regular around this area of the N.W. especially near the end of its days. The numbers are HMRS pressfix and the 'Aquitania' painted nameplates and data panel are from Precision decals. I'm waiting for some Blue paint and some overhead warning decals to arrive soon.

So sorry for your great loss Tony, i'm in a similar position myself at the moment with my younger Sister having just a few weeks to live, so i know it's really hard trying to get and keep motivated, i do trawl through this site every day and like to read and catch up with what others are doing, i don't post or say much but i'm hanging in here trying to stay interested and motivated, you are a very brave Man and good example for me to carry on at the mo' and i hope to keep going just like you are Tony. Well done on the recent doings! Very wet and cold here today.

Bought my copy at the full price from the little WHS inside Salford Royal Hospital yesterday, i did'nt mind as much as some in coughing up the full asking price as anyone who knows sitting around in the Hospital waiting for hours on end one can get very desperate for anything to read, and as i'm still contemplating starting my first inside layout even all the ads' are an help and inspiration for me at the moment. I found it interesting and thought it was a good but not great issue.

...or bike spokes!

Lovely stuff Idris! sorry to hear about the family probs' but it's really brill' to see all the progress and the great pics and vids' All in all a great inspiration and a kick up the behind i really need at the mo' ..thanks!

Thanks for al the kind words Sorry for the lack of postings recently i can only say this year has been a rotten year for me and my family and a lot of friends as well, mentally and physically we've had the stuffing knocked out of us. Hopefully the enthusiasm will return in the new year and i can get out and play trains again soon. Luckily i've not had a lot of leaves dropping all over the line this Autumn to clear up as the high winds a month ago seemed to blow them past my garden and over into someone else's yard for a change but do'sn't it drive you mad when you've hardly any tree's in your own garden yet you get all the neighbours dead leaves dropping and blowing into yours Not the best pics' today and they are quite devoid of any trains but they show just how a few months of neglect can get the mosses and the greenery spreading on to the tracks and that i'm still here and breathing ok.

That's a lot of track and a lot of wood work Tony It's getting colder up here just as it's getting warmer there Tony, how do's the track stand up to the heat on your very hot days Tony?

You say you don't love me. Buzzcocks

A Man in suitcase. Ron Grainer.

Billiant i love it! I'd be really tempted to roof the whole lot over gazebo style like one of those smoking huts they now build behind most pubs.

Really looking forward to watching the progress Mike, i'm sure its easier than the deviation was and all that hard work and experience has stood you in good stead!

Sad but true i watch the old shows for the classic cars etc i noticed an old London bus in a lot of '60's stuff lately Reg; number OLD 666, It was in an ep' of the Avengers, i think the Saint and another i can't remember the name of, it finally went up in smoke and totally gutted out by fire in an ep' of 'On The Buses' i always wondered if it was also the same bus that was used in the Double Deckers?

I want some of those louvres for mi Rav Horsetan! There's a lot of rot alright! but it is 30 years old, i remember having Escorts, Mini's and Heralds that were all scrapped long before they were even fifteen years old. The plan is to build a complete roll cage or frame to go inside the existing cab then when its all built and fixed in, remove the complete rotten original cab and the front half of the floor back to the suspension strut tops which are thankfully very solid, then we'll have a long think about the styling of its replacement

I love sun visors and want to make one for my 20 year old Rav4 which we've been making into a day van/camper over the last 12 months. The Wifes new toy Sooty van is a lot more work than she first thought, i think Horsetan that i can just about beat you for the amount of rust and rot we have to repair! The whole cab will need to be rebuilt and a new modern upgrade/design is on the cards. Thankfully the back end and chassis is solid, and is cleaning up nicely.

Free mot and tax or not i always took my 67 year Landy for an mot, i valued my Wife and Kids and myself too much to let anything slip. A few pics from the Huddersfield Autojumble yesterday, there's always a good turn out of classics visiting here at the end of every month....i only managed to find a seat/rear reflector for my MK1 Raleigh Chopper resto' project. My other half can finally afford the motorhome she always wanted, and just last week bought this 1987 Bedford Bambi....despite its looks it's a 'shed on wheels' it'll take a lot of work but...we'll get there eventually! Finally! this trike always turns up at Huddersfield, its owner is a big Lad about 6ft 7" and built like a brick out house, and looks a bit like the DIY bloke off the telly...Le Salvager!