HonestTom

The Docklands Light Railway can boast stations serving Cyprus, East India, West India and Canary Wharf. Not to be outdone, the Jubilee Line goes to Canada Water.

I know of one GUV that was on a siding at Wimbledon Traincare Depot until less than a decade ago. One side was painted plain blue, the other in South West Trains livery.

Oh no, I think I misread the information. I just covered my mouth and nose with my bent elbow while coughing, then threw my elbow away.

Alcohol, eh? Hang on, lads, I've got a great idea.

I work in a hospital that's considered pretty much the eye of the storm in the event that the proverbial hits the fan, and the information we're getting is basically: we don't know what's going to happen. Maybe everything's going to go crazy, maybe it's going to peter out. Anything else is speculation. I don't trust the media, frankly, having seen endless speculative clickbait headlines full of misleading and outright wrong information. The advice we're being given is: 1. Maintain good hygiene. 2. If you think you have the virus or if you think you may have been exposed, call 111. That's it.

I don't think so. The final straw for Reginald Dalby, who created the visual appearance of Percy, was when Rev. W. Awdry told him not to make Percy look like "a green caterpillar with red stripes." Subsequent illustrators gave him a more realistic industrial locomotive look, although the insult popped up again in a later story. I thought you could maybe justify the unprototypical tank as a failed experiment - maybe something to maximise the weight over the wheels for adhesion, or to insulate the boiler. The experiment was never repeated due to multiple issues around maintenance.

You might look at Andrew Stadden's range. His Victorian figures, set 009, look reasonably close to the fashions of the 1830s (although female fashion of the time seems to have favoured puffy sleeves and larger bonnets). Set 010 looks fairly close for working class women and railway staff of the era. You could also investigate wargaming figures, and the Dapol workmen set offers an alright starting point for working men.

As an alternative, you could simply swap the original chassis out with a later Hornby chassis. At some point in (I think) the 1980s, they retooled the chassis they use under the 5-plank, the Hull and Barnsley van and various others to include the brake gear as a separate moulding that lines up with the wheels. This video talks about it a bit.

I think the prototype might make more sense as an 0-6-0. The wrap-around saddle tank could be a way of increasing the engine’s weight for adhesion. I’ve seen at least one instance of someone regauging Bill/Ben and running it as an O gauge industrial.

One that was rather curious was in the fairly recent horror film Ghost Stories. There's a brief scene on a railway, presumably the Great Central, but what took me aback was the sight of the prototype HST power car in the background. I explained to the friend I was watching it with that it was a little like seeing a celebrity show up unexpectedly in a cast of unknowns.

Speaking as a London boy, this is Boris all over. The man wants his name attached to huge projects because he wants to stamp his name into history. The garden bridge, the Thames estuary airport, the Emirates Air Line, the new Routemasters, it's all just a series of ego trips. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if terms like "Boris bridge," "Boris bike" and "Boris Island" are invented by his own staff so you remember who exactly was behind them. This scheme is no more likely to happen than any of the others.

I don't know if this counts as "modifying/detailing RTR stock," but this is a little video I did on the Budget Model Railways short coach. It goes on a RTR chassis, so I guess it counts?

I found I got a lot done thanks to the wonders of revision procrastination...

Seconded. I'm currently playing with some Gn15 locos using the Hornby chassis, but the size of the motor and the tendency to take off like a greyhound don't make life easy.

There's another form of "punk" known as "atompunk," which is based on the concept of the future as seen by America in the 1950s - endless optimism, shining chrome, streamlining, bright colours and everything powered by safe, clean-burning plutonium! Think Futurama or the Fallout games. I think this loco comes under steampunk and atompunk. Extremely cool, however you categorise it.

Another plus with 00 is that there's quite a lot of stuff ideal for the younger modeller - Hornby's Railroad range and Bachmann's Junior range are aimed at younger kids. And there's plenty of less detailed, more robust second-hand stuff that can be picked up cheaply - older Hornby, Triang, Mainline, Airfix and Lima.

I’m not a fan of gratuitous gears, but nevertheless, as my engine is kind of a parody, I felt like I had to include some. I tucked them into the cab. They’re part of the brake mechanism... or the reverser... or something.

That, I would say, is pretty spot-on. It has the Victorian look, including the elaborate decor, with futuristic touches and plenty of whimsy. Mine is finally complete: The Seacastle, Morstemwo and Aberfanana Light Railway operates on a very low budget. More on the build here.

I am pleased to announce that for the second year in a row, the Seacastle Domino Championships have passed with no fatalities and we expect Mr Worboys to be as right as rain in a week or so. Although our boys from the works came third, they were nevertheless invigorated into completing Steampunk Willie! Something is missing... but what? Success!

According to the most recent WHO report (available on their website), there have been no new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

I've been playing with the steampunk concept lately and am currently building a steampunk/Emett inspired loco over here. I wanted a bit of backstory for it, and I got a little carried away, devising a line known as the Seacastle, Morstemwo and Aberfanana Light Railway. It runs from the harbour at Seacastle-on-Sea through Morstemwo, Scragg End, Nant-Y-Maebl and Think-of-Something to Aberfanana, where it joins the main line (Cambrian perhaps?). It also has a branch to the Blackhead Mountain Mining Concern's private sidings. It's not clear what the BMMC mines, but they get through a suspiciously large number of wagons.

I didn't know about that word derivation. A locomotive called "Bobbin" doesn't quite conjure up the same image. Particularly given the connotation of the word "bobbins." (note to self: build fictional locomotive, call it "Rochetto")

The railway's works at Aberfanana have been mightily busy, what with the dominoes championship coming up and all, but they've finally got around to some actual locomotive building. Steampunk Willie has a tender now. There's a fair bit of detail still to add (you may have noticed there's no water tank - I have a cunning plan for that). I was originally going to make the tender a more conventional shape, but when I inserted the original back of the tender between the sides it went in at an angle, and I thought it was a pretty cool look - kind of Emett-esque.

I like that concrete and stone effect on the platform. You see it a lot out in the real world, but I don't recall seeing it often modelled.

If they weren’t in great condition, then no harm’s done by improving them, and you’ve done a great job. I like the old HD wagons and I have a few I run alongside more modern stock.