edward66

What were all those shock wagons used for? Edward

Great to see the Talyllyn photos from 1969. J1897 shows "Cambrai" outside the museum and J1897 & J1849 show part of the Irish Peat Board's loco which John Bate eventually rebuilt into "Tom Rolt" even though in the meantime volunteers had christened it "Irish Pete"! Edward

I notice the banana vans at Rotherbridge have not been numbered,was there a wagon repair works near there? Edward

Amazing modelling as ever, Ron, you must have the patience of a saint! Will you be giving all the plastic a coat of paint to avoid UV degradation, it would be tragic if the styrene became brittle and self demolished the whole roof. Are there any suitable UV resistant spray products available? I assume this structure will be indoors and not subject to strong light so I guess it should be OK. Best wishes, Edward

Chimney pot looks very penile and not completely erect!! Edward

Good to meet you and your wife at York on Saturday afternoon and discuss the thread. Glad your health is on the mend. Edward

C2927 has some nice weathering on the 16T minerals. I enjoyed the coal mine video, some of the best underground shots I've seen. I've been in lots of metal mines, some coal mines too but never seen one like that in full swing, those lads earned every penny. Hard to believe such a vast industry has all but totally disappeared. Edward

Hello Tony, I continue to follow this excellent thread and was horrified when after some talk of elitism you suggested you would cease posting. I am glad you didn't follow through with that idea and continue to lead what I consider to be one of if not THE best thread in the whole of RM Web, full of interesting and intelligent musings. Long may it continue, it is my first port of call when I get my daily fix of RMWeb. Best wishes, Edward

Apollo, ah!, the famous Uncle Joe's Mint Balls [keep you all aglow] factory. Am I right in thinking it is no more, I certainly didn't see it last time I passed through Wigan. Am I also right in thinking there are no more Uncle Joe's Mint Balls either? I hope Wigan Pier is still there! BTW, is the Trencherfield mill engine still being operated? Edward

That is a large sidecar, looks a bit odd, the motorcycle on the camera side of the chair isn't the one attached to it [wrong side, wrong position] but I'm darned if I can see the one attached to it, must be well forward and of course that huge chair must be longer than the bike. Nice to see two Prefects especially as one is a convertible, a rarity now. Edward

I always thought the double chimney on the Jubilee looked odd, it is because the inner rim around each half of the chimney is round and very visible making the chimney look almost like a figure eight when viewed from a high position. Perhaps this was the solitary chimney which migrated to different Jubs, 5742, 5596 and maybe another, can't remember. Edward

I like the double decker wagon in the picture added by Porcy Mane! Edward

Sorry Jason, I don't want to offend but the pedant in me forces me to remark that MEK does NOT melt plastic, it DISSOLVES it to make a solution and the plastic comes out of solution as the MEK evaporates. You can only melt it by heating it up! This is a very common mistake, I am a chemist so it shouts at me when I see it. Edward

Having found this thread recently and being overseas not having seen any of these, can anybody tell me if it is possible to get "back numbers" of the magazine or just the models? I want the Midland compound, no. 14 I think. What is the contact address/e-mail of the magazine? Edward

Just came across this thread and haven't had time to read it all but I thought I would mention that in the USA noted for the weakest and blandest national brews there has been a massive upsurge in microbreweries resulting in some really good stuff. Just finished a six pack of bottles of Diamond Bear brewery's Oatmeal Stout from here in Little Rock, excellent brew! This upsurge has got at least one of the big boys a bit worried to the extent that a few microbreweries have been bought up and they have produced some good beer of their own under different names. Bud Light.....yuk! Edward

Somewhere in New England [no photo I'm afraid] at the entry to a cul de sac bordering a cemetery the sign DEAD END. Have to add that DEAD END is a common equivalent to cul de sac in the USA, they don't do French! Edward

Some of my favourites are the tracks featuring Super D 0-8-0s with all the wheezing and clanking these locos. produced plus the sound of wagon buffers crashing together. I still have several of the 45rpm records but would love to add to the collection so this revival is very welcome. Edward

I love the film on the first page, fascinating to see the other traffic too. It must have been shot in 1959 or the very early sixties, plenty of Minis which appeared in 1959 but no Mk1 Cortinas which appeared in 1962. When did these trolleys go out of service? Great model too! Edward

Hi Jamie, The lengths you go to for authenticity! I've heard of skip diving but vacuum cleaner diving is something new [unless you accidentally sucked up a diamond ring]. I look forward to the finished Green Ayre, fond memories for me but not in pre grouping years I hasten to add, mine are of compounds, crabs, 4Fs, jinties, 8Fs and the Stanier/Fowler 41900s. Best wishes for 2015, Edward

Are the dates posted yet for 2015? I really must see the LLR this year! Edward

Slightly OT I'm afraid! Health care is a huge problem in the States especially if you have a major problem, I think it is older people's greatest fear. Pres. Obama tried to make it better but opposition was so great from the various capitalist lobbies that the eventual changes were a very watered down version of the ideal. Oregon and Washington are indeed very beautiful Shaun, I have a great interest in logging years ago which destroyed vast tracts of forest but the up side was the proliferation of logging railroads which were very interesting and well documented in photographs by Kinsey et al. Kinsey made a living by trudging round logging sites with a huge plate camera and selling the resultant pictures to the loggers. Thousands of his plates survive fortunately but thousands more ended up as greenhouse glass. I visited both States on an 8000 mile trip around western USA, it was wonderful. Edward

Hi Shaun, I've actually been here since 1991 came over to Union City PA for a job, I was headhunted [he boasted] and stayed with the company till 2005. They were very good and gave me three trips per year of 4 weeks each to England and paid for the flights!. Retired I stayed in PA until 2009 then moved to AR near Little Rock. I spend roughly half the year in each country. Married a lovely American lady from PA in 2010, we are currently in the planning stage of a new house in England. Living in two countries at once has its problems not the least being unable to get back to a layout I part finished in UK and have now dismantled prior to house move. I have to admit the travelling back and forth has long since lost its gloss and is now a miserable chore not to mention expensive. There are some things I don't particularly like in the US but I have always found the American people to be friendly and helpful and they do like the Brits! Edward

The shot [C320] of 8233 and the remark about rubbing it down to the WD markings reminded me of 48261 when it returned to Lancaster shed following overhaul sometime in the mid 50s in shiny new paint. When the sun shone on it at an angle you could see the Arabic lettering in silhouette under the paint. I seem to remember seeing "WD" with the arrow too but it was a long time ago! Edward

Hi Shaun, I've been following your thread for quite a while now but haven't commented, I think it's about time I did because this is a piece of work of the highest quality. Thank you for sharing it with us, the set of pictures you just posted show how excellent the layout is. Best wishes, Edward [currently in Sherwood Arkansas]

Thanks for the info, just a couple of questions, how wide is the half moon file and how deep are the half moon depressions? The effect really is impressive! Edward