Philou

Just found this on The Register, (https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2020/08/21/uk_national_debt_2_trillion/) regarding the National Debt: "UK national debt hits 1.46 Apples – and weighs as much as 2 billion adult badgers" Well, we can get a large instant saving by axing the huge £110 billion unnecessary excrescence that is HS2 not only because Covid-19 has advanced homeworking and reduced the need to commute by a decade but also because significant journey time cuts are now already available by using Hitachi's new Intercity Express Trains that run on existing standard rail tracks. Depressing isn't it? Still doesn't seem to have made it in the greater world that HS2 is primarily about freeing up space rather than speed. Cheers, Philip

I don't know what happened with your catenary, but my AL1s ran happily using the Trix overhead - albeit having tweaked the clip in order to minimise any catching. I seem to recall flattening the underside slightly. My Fleischmann SNCF BB 13000 ran under it too! Regarding the locking down of the panto, I recall it to be a friction fit between the underside of the panto pick up and the base. I had the same problem yesterday with the B/W one having taken it out of the cabinet and touched for the first time in 5 years! I think it may have something to do with our current heatwave though. Cheers, Philip

I'm surprised that mention was made above saying that the panto didn't work as both my E3001s (Blue/White and Blue/FYE) do pick up from the overhead via the moveable plug on the roof. My first one, the B/W, worked so well that I cut a groove in the panto contact blades and had to get replacements from Trix in Wrexham. Well, how was I to know that the contact wire is staggered over the rail centre-line (as any fule 'no) all those years ago? Still have a number of the original Trix post and arms. Here they are with two more modern counterparts (that are definitely getting on as well): Cheers, Philip

Wot? As in 'Made For Incinerators'?

The father of a pal had sourced the plans at 4mm scale and made his up out of 40thou plasticard which was the then way to go for non-kit, non-RTR models. As it was in the late mid-60s, I have no recollection of what he used for bogies. Envious? Moi? Cheers and good luck, Philip

Hello fellow TNMers, Well I have nothing much to report other than the scaffolding has been beckoning me again - on it by 7:30 these last few days expecting cooler, wetter weather - oh no - 35° yesterday and 32° today. I had to abandon again by 12. I'm not taking well to the heat and my skin isn't allowed sun. I had an egad moment reading the nail-biting exploits of relieving blood pressure under nails - that was really toe-curling!! Ugh! Good luck with finding a suitable bookcase Mr Hippo - Ikea type ones are well and dandy but they seem to form a sag once overloaded. Will you be making your own? I only ask as you seem to have woodworking skills. Did I tell you the tale of me in the 5th Form with no previous experience of woodworking, the school woodworking shop, a finely honed chisel and the palm of my hand? Cheers, Philip PS: @jamie92208 There's a truffle field near to us - the landowner had planted young oaks about 10 years ago and it's now bearing fruit (as it were). Been on the telly a little while ago when they did a travelogue in our area. They really spoilt it at the end as they went to the 'pub' called the Escobar in my sister's village, where the world+dog was there, including an accordionist who had never been seen before and never been seen since!!!! (I don't like accordion.)

Where does one start? Peer pressure for one. Nothing new there - I remember well in the late-60s that in the sixth form we would have to give a talk about 'something' - any subject for half an hour. I think it was for English, no matter. Someone knew that I was into model railways (there were three of us in a college of 600 that were into railways) and I had to talk about 'that'. It was then, as now, not seen as 'cool'. I didn't get any stick, but it probably just confirmed that I was 'nerdy'. I didn't think it uncool, just didn't like sport - full stop! I did win first prize though one year in the model making section at our school Eistedfodd for my model of a Will's ex-TVR U1 0-6-2T loco. Here it is, approaching its 55th birthday: I'm no longer young, but I do 'collect' an eclectic range of stock - from modern block trains to (aiming to acquire) one of each of the 4-6-0 GWR locos (because I like them and no other reason), though I was never, ever into steam or copping loco numbers - really boring that seemed to me! Where does that leave the OP? I think it's all been covered by the contributors above - but one thing I am pretty well certain, you won't be able to fob-off a four a five year-old for very long if it's not the real McCoy - I know having been young myself (oh yes, really) and now having two grandsons both whom are quite discerning. Cheers, Philip

@The Johnster Is this tin-plate enough for you? My original two TTR trains - they cost quite a bit relatively speaking back then. Just look at them - under fed, unrealistic and basically, well, carp. I don't think this would fit OP's bill really. OTOH, they have survived nearly 70 years this year. The blue one was bought the day I was born in 1950 (allegedly): Cheers, Philip

On t'intertubes, there is a video of that very same helicopter 'dropping in'. Happened in the Whitchurch/Coryton area IIRC.

The 1977 greeting is not paint - it's that rather gaudy faux stone cladding that was all the rage in the 70s. Most of the terraced streets in Cardiff had some examples in them. In fairness, someone took a lot of time and trouble setting it out and getting scaffolding in place to do it. The 2002 one below is paint. Cheers, Philip

I agree, the younger grandson who is nine, much prefers steam locos only ever having seen two. His is the Holden above, his first steamer bought about four years ago. The next Christmas, he requested a Hall (lad of good taste) with some GWR stock. Last Christmas, it was the 'Coronation Scot' in blue and for his birthday last April, were last three coaches in stock to go with it. The 'Scot' and coaches were not cheap whereas I did get the Hall and three coaches for under £80!! To me, that seemed very reasonable. I didn't mind buying him the 'Scot' as he is quite meticulous and careful. I don't know what will be in the stocking this year though! The other grandson is TGV mad, though he was looking at a French 4-6-2 earlier - but I think they're rather too expensive for what they are - we'll see. So, I'm with Southport on this - but with a caveat - not ALL kids like diesels. Cheers, Philip

Is that 4mm? Crikey!! Philip

Oooh ..... oooh before I forget, on the previous page, a picture was posted up by @Happy Hippo showing the Crumlin catwalk - so thank you for that. Regarding the question of 'how did you get to the catwalk?', I can't answer that but I can guess that access was at either end via the brick approaches, or there was a way down between the brick pillar parapets and the steelwork. There is a picture during demolition works that shows an arch at parapet level between each span which would indicate a complete means to walk through without having to walk along the tracks. From one of the websites from wherein I borrowed some pictures, the author related that as a 'yoof' he walked the catwalk from one end to the other, but didn't say how he got there. (I had assumed, wrongly, that he was referring to the parapet at the top of the spans). The arch walk-throughs can just be seen below the cross-bracing, together with protective hand-railing: Better view of the arch walk-throughs: Cheers, Philip

Not only a saving in weight but a saving in bricks too. Bricks = £money. Here are the pillars being demolished, but unfortunately no hollow centres visible from the viewpoint. The bricks of these didn't go into the A470 as it had already been built: WalnutTreeDemolition.pdf Cheers and I'll try not to mention W Rs again ........... Philip

I know there's a bit of topic drift, but here's a photo of a TGV duplex (Jouef in this instance) and a Hornby 0-4-0 Holden having a Grand Prix race by the two grandsons. The point of the photo is that what you see cost no more than about £160 - €80 for the TGV (track included), £40 for the Hornby (track included), £30 for scenics and the base, and £20 for some extra track. The point is, for a (in my view) minimal outlay, hours of fun have been had: The one grandson has the Mehano TGV Duplex - absolutely no issues whatsoever. BTW, the Holden won - every time!! Cheers, Philip

In respect of rolling stock and if you're capable of making kits, there's a good range of wagons to be had at reasonable prices - wheels included and self-coloured plastic - so no painting needed if you shouldn't want to. The downside is they are not as robust as RTR. When I were a lad ..... we too, were not too well off and trains were added to at birthdays and Christmas - I believe it to be a perennial problem. I could only afford to buy stock (locos were paid for bit by bit) when I worked in a model shop! Jump forward 40 years and it's only being recently retired that I had been able to permit myself to buy what I wanted - family life, mortgage and the like got in the way in-between. As Nearholmer said above, it's a question of budget and even now my recent free-and-easy spending has been severely curtailed over the last 12 months and will be so, for forseeable future. Just my two pees. Cheers, Philip

The real edge of the world was Menelaus Street in Splott. You couldn't get any closer to the Dowlais works. I think that part of Splott was gone in the 70s. Not leaving Cardiff, but returning to a railway theme, here's an interesting picture that I'm sure would make a nice model. It's a Cardiff Railway twin-car SMU: Cheers, Philip

Well, when I was the teccy, there were two ways of ensuring that it did work a) plenty of lighting all around the sample in its tube, and left on overnight, or b) introduce some oxygen from a bottle before anyone noticed. My experiments always worked!! . Did I tell you the story of some finely ground silver nitrate, finely divided magnesium powder, a drop of water and a very black faced chemistry teacher - all during morning assembly? No? ......................................... Cheers, Philip

Agreed that it's a cut'n'paste job. Just look at the train and the conductor and then look at the garden bench just behind the front of the loco - or else it's a huge seat!! I think it's a poorly done job just to 'make something' for the cover. Cheers, Philip

Your having us on again, Mr Johnster, and I quote from that organ of veritude, Wikipedia: 'The location which is now referred to as Upper Boat was once a ferry point over the River Taff. There were three major ferrying points over the river, one at Taff's Well, a second at Willowford, and the 'upper boat' was moored where today the Upper Boat Inn is located.' You really are being naughty - good try though . Cheers, Philip

No, no, no. As a Cardiffian I'm rooting for my home airport. Lulsgate is poorly placed regarding road and rail infrastructure - whereas poor old Rhoose has a station at one end of a disused runway (there is an opportunity to create a short spur into the airport itself from the Porthkerry viaduct). I don't know how or why the consortium that previously owned Rhoose let opportunities slip by .............. even the (as was then) modern terminal has been reduced to two-thirds of it's original size. What I do know there was a report, possibly a Government White Paper, issued a number of years ago (before Bristol was expanded) that more or less wanted to concentrate aircraft movements closer to London (as ever the UK being 'London') and the use of Cardiff was kicked into touch. The only thing that was going for Cardiff was that BA have their engine shed (this is a railway forum, no?) at the airport, the biggest shed in the UK (so I am told). However, given Covid, I wonder if there will be further use for this engineering base as the fleet of 747s that were maintained there, are now parked up at the airport awaiting their fate - presumably facing the great runway in the sky. So boo, hiss to Bristol. Seriously though, such is the way of things and it may well be that with Covid things will change and possibly not for the better. Cheers, Philip PS: Back to OPs proposal, I suspect Filton was too close to what is now the outskirts of Bristol and especially as Concorde was built there, I expect many of the populace said 'thanks, but no thanks' and hence airport at Lulsgate which was always the route to Paris from Cardiff via Lulsgate and Hurn (in the times of Cambrian and BEA).

@Happy Hippo Yes, I used Google to establish some dimensions - for example I knew that the first span was 120' long and by simply using an appropriate scale on an engineering 'ruler' I was able to get approximate sizes for the pillars - all on screen - no paper copies - they're for wimps! I was very surprised by the angular nature of the southern embankment approach and the first pillar. Here's the original screen-grab - the latest view is more overgrown: WalnutTreeGoogle.pdf Thanks for the video. The still picture of the viaduct shows the demolition of the bridgeworks with what looks to be a hefty crawler crane presumably lifting the bridge decking. Following a link to another video at the end, the first is from which I took stills showing its original construction - worth a look. Cheers, Philip

Before the Coryton Interchange was built, one of my duties as the Lab Technician at the Bishop of Llandaff HS, was to go Melingriffith (one 'l' not two as I have been writing) alongside the Taff and then onto the former Glamorgan Canal and fish some Elodea Canadensis (pond weed) from it for biology studies (oxygen from plants). The samples were enormously long! If it was a nice day, I didn't need to be told twice!!! Cheers, Philip

Ian, thanks for that. That was indeed my route between the Maes-y-Celyn estate and the Treforest Estate station. Some of the route was on this minor road and the rest was a metalled PRoW across a field. I've just had a quick Google, but the PRoW is not discernible due to the growth of trees though its position is probably indicated by the new footbridge over the recent re-aligned A473. And to think I did that route on foot for 5 years every Saturday without knowing its origins! (I can't remember how I got from the house onto the PRoW without going to the top of Power Station Hill. There was probably an internal estate link to it.) PRoW? Public Right of Way. Cheers, Philip

But .... but .... wait .... you mean there's a word different to daps?