Gwiwer

Morning all. Hump day is upon us. There is a smell of unfresh cat about the place, which I can best describe as crunchies-with-cheese. A check for unauthorised deposits revealed nothing. He may have wind. Converted the 4x1 metre space outside the back door from junk storage to fake-grassed garden which has gone down well with SWMBO. It looked good with the fake candles (battery powered) twinkling away after dark too. £49 well spent then. Coffee beckons. Best wishes for your day.

No contact made here yet either but ..... They may well have a large number of customers to email each one of whom would require a unique email to be sent. That will take time. Also in my case Chris knows I am attending Worthing MRC exhibition on Saturday and will see him there at which time my plastic will no doubt feel the need to be exercised.

As a general point of order locomotives were always weighed in working order i.e. with a full supply of water and coal. Without that a false impression would be given of the load on any axle and the weight overall. I would have expected locomotive weighing apparatus to be accurate to within tens of pounds though the quoted weight is usually only given to the nearest cwt. Any locomotive would tend to sit back on its rear wheels at start because it has to overcome physical forces and lift the weight of a stationary train but to what extent and upon which wheels - therefore affecting the adhesive weight - depended upon loco design, wheel arrangement, size and to an extent the unique local conditions at any given point where a start was made.

Surely this is no more than a change in terms as Kernow MRC themselves make mention of on the gate stock web page? When first commissioned the factory may have been willing to extend credit and accept payment after the items were shipped knowing that they had to be sold to realise capital with which to pay the bill. Not only has there been a long delay in the production process (not the fault of Kernow MRC nor its customers but very likely affecting both retailer and their Chinese factory financially) but the Global marketplace and the Chinese economy have shifted in that time. If a factory now wishes to receive full payment for goods they have already produced before releasing them to their customer then that is hardly blackmail. No-one is really being held to ransom. The goods cost money, the Chinese will be under pressure to pay their workforce and to recover their own costs. Kernow MRC in their turn, along with other retailers, charge us in full before releasing (mailing or handing over the counter) goods to us, the end consumer, yet we do not claim that to be retail blackmail.

In the era of unscheduled RTs - the swansong of a reliable type which was drafted in small numbers to garages and routes which hadn't seen them in years. And in a few cases not at all. The 76 was scheduled for RMs out of AR (Tottenham) but as that type was hurried out of service with indecent haste at times they gained a few RTs to maintain the service. Other places unscheduled RTs could be found included AF (Putney) on the 14 and 22 As was typical of the time full sets of blinds were unavailable resulting in (here) a missing rear destination and on other vehicles crudely masked Routemaster blinds for any or all locations.

In addition to Debs' post it must be remembered that toilet cleaning products are often designed to be used in a cold-water environment. Using them in hot water risks increasing and / or accelerating the reaction created which can lead to an excess of fumes in a confined area. Fumes which can rapidly reach a harmful level and potentially become lethal. As for the other hot flushes yes tell me too. I am on the receiving end of any fallout which may or may not require more than just herbal tea and empathy.

They became well-known for taking on London Coastal Coaches routes as well. These became the well-known 151 (Wood Green - Canvey), 251 (Wood Green - Southend) and 400 (Kings Cross - Southend limited stop) EN maintained garages in London at Wood Green (just across from the red bus garage of the same name and using the same WN code) and Kings Cross (KX). The 400 was home to some uprated FLF6G Lodekkas painted in "reverse Tilling" cream with green waistband and numbered in the 26xx series. These were replaced by VRTs for its final few years. The 151 and 251 were also limited stop for the considerable sections which parallelled London bus routes namely Wood Green to Harold Park which was the official boundary and all had pick-up and set-down restrictions at the behest of the London authorities. The 151/251 were worked with standard FLFs which, along with their WN garage, were used for the TV series "On The Buses". With falling receipts the 151 was cut back to Romford and was an early conversion to Leyland National operation. The 251 picked up a couple of one-man VRT duties after Kings Cross closed though the 400 continued for a time with the London duties reallocated to WN. A vestige of the 251 was continued after final closure at WN working between Walthamstow and Southend but ultimately this too fell victim to London's favourable fares and was withdrawn west of Romford.

Morning all. Sunny but chilly upon the Hill with a heavy dew lingering. Two impossible things have happened this morning. One - the alarm failed to sound and I overslept meaning SWMBO was late away and grumpy for it. The last time I overslept was possibly 40 years ago; the alarm was tested and no fault found so its lack of alarming remains a mystery. Two - Surprise Plumber arrived. The appointment was booked for 12 noon on Thursday but at 9.45 this morning there was a knock at the door and there, something more than 50 hours EARLY, was a chap who couldn't have looked more like that little adventurous plumber some of us follow on computers. Super Mario also spoke with a strong Italian accent!!! Despite being more than two days early he has done precisely what three others have done before him namely looked at the job and gone away to write a report. We are, it seems, no nearer to having the problem (toilet cistern is plumbed to the hot water not cold) dealt with. At least I now have Thursday free. And since two impossible things have happened why don't I round it off with breakfast at Milliways? Fans of Douglas Adams will understand. Enjoy the day. Greetings and best wishes to all.

A-prefix codes, of which AB (Twickenham) would be my local shed were it still open, were an overflow series. W and X were the last single letters used after which AB, AC etc. were used as far as AV (Hounslow). The next to be coded was Abbey Wood which took the coincidental AW being next in line but from then on two-letter codes based on the geographical location were used. Many were obvious such as UX for Uxbridge, some such as ON (Alperton) were not and in this case used the last two letters of the name since codes starting with A were already assigned even if no longer in use. RD was known as Romford until the vast new garage at North Street opened coded NS whereupon RD assumed the name Hornchurch which is where it was anyway. Similarly HW was Hanwell until HL opened as a new Hanwell garage when HW, being slightly farther west, assumed the name Southall. A few other obscure ones existed once country garages gained codes. HG (Hertford) because all other suitable codes were already in use. Allegedly stood for Hertford Garage and not as some have suggested a road name. HG was on Fairfax Road. RE (Romford Express) only ran Green Line coaches. LS (Luton) is recorded by some sources as Luton South though there never was a "London" Luton North. Since the premises originated with the business of Strawhatter it is more likely to have referred to Luton Strawhatter. Edited to include a link to a comprehensive listing here. I note this includes LN for Luton National however this was the premises occupied by United Counties which was a company having its roots in railway operations and related to Southern, Western and Eastern National as part of an earlier National bus company under the Tilling umbrella. Same Tilling as gave rise to TB, TC, TL. http://www.self-preservation-society.co.uk/jotter/garagecodes.htm Further mention of TL reminds me that this was Tilling Lewisham (though was always well to the south of what anyone calls Lewisham), was known more accurately as Catford Garage throughout the LT era but is now described even more accurately on destination blinds, stop panels and timetables as "Bellingham, Catford Garage".

It is now wet. Good night all.

The split of Stagecoach South's 700 John refers to has apparently been brought about by the restriction on route length a driver may work without using a tachgraph. But given that traffic delays are becoming ever more severe and buses were running up to an hour late and in convoy something had to be done. With B&H working one duty (two full round trips) of what were then seven on an hourly headway you needed wits about you. They neither issued nor accepted Southdown tickets meaning your return or Wanderbus could not be used. Likewise Southdown refused to accept B&H returns. Such was the world after the two had become private companies and were no longer both parts of the same. Stagecoach has seen fit to kill off any remaining local services paralleling the 700 meaning it is now all-stops except very locally through Brighton city centre. It also runs every 10 minutes on the eastern leg though less often on the middle and western legs. Brighton - Worthing (and a long loop through Worthing's north-western housing areas) continues to support a very busy hourly night service three nights a week

The 4RF4 coaches conveyed luggage beneath the upper-level seating. They did not tow trailers as far as I know. The BEA Routemasters (which eventually passed to LT as the RMA class) did tow trailers. Both worked between the former West London Air Terminal, which did indeed occupy the space above the Circle / District Lines and Triangle Sidings near Gloucester Road, with the 4RF4 coaches depositing passengers at the aircraft steps while the Routemasters set down outside the terminal building. Matchbox produced a die-cast model of the 4RF4 which is probably quite collectable in decent condition today. My memory is that both types were crewed by LT staff based at the Stamford Brook garage which had no other work. The vehicles were owned originally by BEA (Routemasters) or BOAC (4RF4) since the former were actually sold, not transferred, to LT when they became redundant. Stamford Brook garage survives in use today. Nearby Turnham Green was the "red" bus garage, coded V, but closed in the 1980s as it was too small for new one-man buses. The entire operations moved overnight up the road into the vacant Stamford Brook which assumed the V garage code from run-out the next morning. It is still V today. One of a diminishing number to make use of a code from the original 1930s series which began with A for Sutton. Which is also still there.

A good selection evoking some memories pleasant and otherwise. The 4RF4 (deck-and-a-half) airport coach was one of a fleet based upon the RF (AEC Regal IV) design but uprated for use on the A4 Bath Road out to Heathrow and airside to the aircraft itself for which purpose they were fitted, I believe, with flashing orange beacons on the dome and spark arrestors in the exhaust. The only other time that level of service has been provided was when Green Line had some Leyland Royal Tigers with Berkhof bodies modified for air-side work as part of the short-lived Speedlink operation shuttling between Heathrow and Gatwick for connections. RM8 spent much of its LT life unpainted and not in service. It only entered service (from Sidcup, so it is correctly wearing SP plates though the garage code was actually painted on at the time) very late in the Routemaster's lives so had rather few miles on the clock and saw service on he 21 up to Moorgate and out, if you were very early indeed, to Farningham as LT replaced a couple of early morning trips on the former LCBS 423 thence into Swanley for some years. The East Kent line up shows how varied that fleet was despite an attempt to standardise on AECs for a time. Guys and Leylands also featured as did the batch of Daimler Fleetlines one of which is shown. Stylish bodies though as the "new kid on the block" their rear engines were not appreciated when new. Southdown did indeed dispose of an early batch of Leopard buses which ended up at Cheriton. They differed from all other Southdown Leopards in having a compromise body design with the new angular front ned but the old-style rounded rear dome which was replaced by an angular style on all other deliveries. It would probably be most fitting to repaint the survivor in EK red / cream which it wore for most of its life. Moving on to the Nationals the Hastings & District one wears a short-lived but distinctive livery using the Uncial font for the fleet name supposed to represent the antiquity of the area and referencing the Battle of Hastings. Teh blinds are set for the 799 which was a strange fusion of routes brought about by licensing changes and coach service deregulation. It was normally worked by grant-door Leopard coaches and ran between Worthing and Camber. Quite an unlikely pairing until you remember that Brighton (a more obvious western terminus) was shedding all its country runs at the time to concentrate on the Brighton & Hove, less of the "& District". They also abandoned their single-vehicle duty on the 700 Brighton - Portsmouth at about the same time when joint working with other companies, which had long been a tradition of the industry, suddenly fell foul of the requirement to operate in a competitive, not collaborative, environment. Both the 700 duty and part of the 799 were therefore worked from Worthing. The eastern end was largely a seasonal extension of the existing Eastbourne - Rye service (499 at the time) and which had once been a part of the seasonal twice-daily 426 Hastings - Dover upon which each of M&D and EK provided one round trip. The 799 replaced some workings on the Brighton - Worthing 230 which was crew-worked at the time and thus rendered one crew duty and two crews redundant. It also replaced some trips on the 712 Brighton - Eastbourne which had recently become driver-only operated. East of Eastbourne the 799 provided the entire service via the "direct" route to Hastings while the 98 continued to meander hourly inland. A best-ever service between Rye and Camber all year round was offered though there was a cut from hourly to alternate-hours on the Eastbourne - Hastings and Hastings - Rye roads. The 799 was a poor timekeeper, was worked by coaches with entrances which many locals found difficult to negotiate and was confusing to some. Accustomed to catching a 230 or a 712 they waited for what they thought was still coming rather than board a coach going to Camber. In Worthing it started from the coach station rather than the pier bus stops which caused many people to be left behind at the normal stop. That was later altered to have the vehicle start in the coach station but turn right on departure, circumnavigate the pier roundabout and pick up at the 230 stop. A coach saying "799 Rye & Camber" still didn't convince people it was going to stop in Shoreham or Brighton. A handful of vehicles was decked out in "Stagecoach 799" vinyls using black and golden yellow against green and white livery. If only the management then had known what the future held ....... The four hours from Worthing to Camber was a trial of endurance and I suspect few if any ever travelled all the way. On a Leyland National it would have been even worse though entry and exit might have been easier. Ultimately the 799 was cut back to run Brighton - Rye then just Eastbourne - Hastings before service changes eliminated it altogether. More long trips were to come however as under Stagecoach control there were briefly through workings between Brighton and Dover when the 712 was linked to the occasional Rye - Camber and Camber - Lydd routes to offer both through trips and some operational cost savings. Those too proved unreliable and unnecessary and the status quo we have had along the Kent and Sussex coasts for some time now arose.

Morning All. Welcome to Moan-day. A good night was had with no more disturbance than the normal nocturnal trip. Neighbours were about but all was quiet by a decent hour of the evening. Ah the joys. First day of term today. Any trainee drinkers are welcome to apply here for some practical study courses. More grey dampness abounds. A visit to Homebase is required since it has been decided we shall astroturf the small (4x1m) area between back door and back wall. I hear rumours of it becoming a pot garden. Small wheeled objects have made their debut on parallel strips of metal placed on a near-level board. Anything could happen from here and probably will. Best wishes to all. Remember to treat the day as you would hope it might treat you.

No. No difference at all, really. Public domain images sourced via search engine: I do not own copyright

I would not call Kernow MRC nor Rails "box shifters" I would call Hattons and Amazon "box shifters" Why the distinction? Because Hattons and Amazon primarily act as distribution warehouses and in the case of Amazon have no physical shop as such but are a clearing house operation only available online. Hattons does have a shop and grew out of a traditional shop but is now very much a commercial distribution warehouse with the shop almost as an adjunct. Kernow, Rails and others of their ilk are primarily High Street shops in the traditional sense. They have well-developed internet presence and no doubt do a lot of business online as do may other retailers of most goods these days. But they are not - and are not anywhere near being - distributors or warehouses and probably have turnovers a mere fraction of what Hattons do.

Thanks Peter I have seen what I want in Homebase in North Sheen but have to get them home to Strawberry Hill. Unless they can be cut to length in store they are 2.8m as sold so to big for the bus or train and we don't have a car. The order is also too small for delivery though I'd need some coach bolts as well to create demountable fixings. Those I haven't seen in Homebase and would probably come from Screwfix or similar. I'll also check out Wickes at Fulwell in the week as I reckon I could walk home from there carrying something. I shall also take a look at your link as IKEA deliver here though it's £35 a time. It's looking hopeful and I am starting to get the feel for modelling once again after the major disruption of the move and a serious down-sizing exercise. And as we settle so I am making more time to get out and about. Th Mid-Hants isn't that far and neither is the Bluebell both of which have "main line" connections and there are occasional steam specials out of Waterloo on the main line. And once so far through Twickenham which is very handy indeed.

There is an establishment not ten minutes' walk from here calling itself a Gastropub. I avoid it like the plague.

Another record shot purely to show the "Stratford" types alongside the most recent SR steam purchases. Not representative of exactly the same time period as full yellow ends post-date steam by and large.

Depends where you are in the world. Not always in London, generally, where Costa and Nero rule the roast (pun intended) but visit Melbourne Australia where Gloria Jeans and Hudsons are the major chains on every block alongside Starbucks and you will find independents alive, well and often with a substantial queue.

It is not a requirement that a Facebook account is held in order to view business pages provided they have been set up for public access I am happy to make use of the FB feeds for transport operators though many seem to prefer Twitter for real time information. Annoyingly TfL only uses Twitter though there are apps which also work in real time feeding the same information.

Morning all from a grey damp and chill Hill Dinner last night was a most extended affair starting at 7.30 and with dessert and coffee not served until 11. You can imagine the amount of talking required to fill the time and the extent to which the hind quarters required discreet shuffling due to numbness. Being somewhat outside the loop of professional horticulturalists and botanic artists the extent of my contribution was perforce limited. We arrived home well after midnight. SWMBO is finally stirring though I have been about for an hour. Making tea in the kitchen which looks across to flats over the shops it was apparent that others also felt no need to rise early. Student types were spied crawling from the door, groaning in the daylight, trying to hold lighter to cigarette and with blanket-clad female shyly making an appearance to the surprise of all but one of the male company. Ah yes. I remember those days fondly through the rose-tinted spectacles of time! Brunch is called for and will consist of bacon, French toast and maple syrup. With a large mug of coffee. See you later. Best wishes all.

Kevin Bloody Wilson is an Australian icon. Not rude songs but drinking songs. And just like drink they're not to everyone's taste. Me? I find some amusing, some witty, some are a wry look at life and a few make me cringe. That'll do.

Bunnings is coming to the UK. Sausage sizzles and all. Wickes better watch out. Cheaper Chinese hardware is on its way and with a slightly better level of customer service. Sometimes.

Tesco is to the UK what Coles is to Australia. Most people shop there. Most moan about it for fairly trivial reasons.