Jim49

Hi Alex, long time no see. Well no-one can accuse you of attending the "wrong" school as yours was most definitely "approved" Jim (Another escapee from Cumbernauld MRC)

Hi Alex and good to hear from you again. Yes it is an old name but at least I didn't resort to Cumbernauld level by mentioning some of their suggested village names such as Slippit and Cockwell, both of which seemed to prominently feature Inns as I remember.

Apollo, do you mean Tannochbrae? Tunnochbrae translates as the Hill Where They Make Tea Cakes. As no-one ever questioned Tannochbrae's authenticity, you could try variations on a theme:- Glentannoch - Valley of the Tannoch Invertannoch - Mouth of the River Tannoch Jim

The green baggage car is still there and appears to be in very good shape with no signs of rust, just in need of a good clean-up. For company it has a CP box van and the bare chassis of something I can't identify. The CP box van is not 58696 which is still marooned on a short track panel back towards Johnson St bridge There was no sign of the diesel switcher but it could have been in either of the shed buildings which both seem to be in good external condition. Jim

While I am certainly don't disagree with Chris's comments about the line never opening again, on a trip to Victoria in May this year we saw that the much overgrown line between Johnson Street bridge and the loco depot had been blessed with new, shiny notices warning potential train drivers that they were approaching a road crossing and to sound their horn. The road crossing also seems to have received new gantries for road traffic lights. Could it be that someone knows something that we don't? When we got to the loco depot it was intact but neglected although the turntable had the attention a a couple of individuals. Jim

I never like to miss this show. It's maybe not the biggest on the circuit but it normally has a variety of interesting layouts and great traders for bargains (Are you reading this Ian?) Parking is not a problem with a large FREE car park just round the corner from the hall and the Big Railway station at Cupar is always worth a look around. I'll be there on Saturday. jim

Looks like Jim (luckymucklebackit) and I have the same library! Having known that Jim for many years, I would be very reluctant to admit having any literature that was the same as his! Jim

In Vancouver 4-4-0 No 374 is to be found in the Roundhouse Museum in Yaletown. The museum is quite small and dedicated almost exclusively to the locomotive itself. 374's claim to fame is that it was the engine which pulled the first transcontinental train into Vancouver. The loco didn't make the whole journey, just the final stage into Vancouver, probably about 80-100 miles. When I was there in 2015 the staff assured me that although the loco could not be steamed, it was still able to be moved and occasionally left the museum building and onto a turntable situated in the viewing yard outside. The building itself comprised 5-6 stalls of an early and much larger shed (CPR?) and has been sympathetically restored as a tourist attraction. I will be in Vancouver at the end of next month and intend to pay another visit to see what changes have been made. Jim

FWIW I am sure that IS-12 was the original Superglue. Good luck with the kit Jim

Could you not ask your son to postpone the wedding? After all Model railway Scotland is always the last weekend in February and he should have known that so it's all his fault. No, you may not send Mrs Woodenhead up here to speak to me about my suggestion, I get the message. Jim

Renfrewshire MRC are pleased to announce that our annual exhibition is back again after an absence due to Covid restrictions. After previous years in Johnstone Town Hall we have moved to larger premises in The Paisley Centre, Causeyside Street, Paisley PA1 1UQ This new venue will allow us to offer a bigger and better show with more layouts and traders, some of which have not been seen in Scotland before. Also present will be a wide selection of specialist modelling clubs, societies and groups. The venue is in the heart of Paisley, within a 5 minute walk from either Gilmour Street or Canal Street stations. There are also 4 car parks nearby, all easily accessible.

Legend, Falkirk is on this year and dates are 19th & 20th of November. They have a new venue this year ;- Grangemouth Athletic Stadium Kersiebank Avenue Grangemouth FK3 0EE Remember to mark up your diary before you book another holiday! Jim

True enough, but you still wouldn't want to be the one operating the downwind fiddleyard! Jim

Thanks for the positive comments about Montague Fields Mike. The atmosphere was really oozing on Sunday morning as most of the operating team had been out for a curry on Saturday night. Jim

Ah, so that's what its called! Thanks Peter for the photos and the link to Brandt. I saw one of these working in Banff yard in May 2019 when we were last in Canada. At that time it was loading ties, presumably in readiness for spot replacement of time expired ones. It was strange to see it shuffle itself along the length of one of these bogie wagons and then to my surprise, clamber from one wagon to another. There was no sign of the other half of the unit, the road/rail tractor, but later on the unit moved out of the yard and headed West towards Lake Louise headed by CPs 6234 and 6062. I'm afraid I don't now enough about Canadian locos to identify the types but they will mean something to someone one here. Also in the yard that day was a long procession of assorted P/W units stretching Eastwards well past the station limits. These remained at Banff during the day but by early evening were being lit up and readied for moving out to work. By the size of the convoy there would have been a sizeable maintenance job to be done. As an aside, does anyone know if the Wye triangle at Banff is still in use? Google Earth shows it to be there but it is situated well out of the station and difficult to reach on foot. Jim

Ah Ha! Sorry folks, I didn't realise that the date was wrong for the locations of the signal boxes as shown in the plans. Jim

Legend, for a book with pics and related track plans of the S&D, I suggest you look for "The Somerset & Dorset - Then and Now" by Mac Hawkins. He covers the whole route and branches including odd sidings, such as the Co-op siding on the climb out of Bath. Try for the later edition from 1995 with the blue cover. Jim

Penrith, if you can imagine the two plans joined together you will have the full picture. See the vertical lines A----A at right and left ends. Jim

Matti8, just in case you are unaware, the centre axle on the Lima J50 is not connected to the coupling rods, it only free-wheels along with the outer axles doing all the work. To make matters worse, the centre wheels only have a plain boss and do not have provision to accept a crank pin from the coupling rod. Jim

Stanley Baxter, an old Scottish comedian? Don't you mean Stanley Baker? Jim

"On Highland Lines" by Robert Robotham has 2 good colour photos of the station area, including 1 with 1646 and train. The track layout seems to be very simple with 3 parallel tracks serving platform, run-round and the goods shed. There also were at least 2 other tracks coming off the goods shed road at about 30 degrees then curving back to almost parallel the others. Jim

Peter, in this case could " Birmingham" be similar to "Moscow" i.e. a small village in Ayrshire? Jim

Found another one! Page 94 of Robin Athill's "Somerset & Dorset Railway" shows 2897 leaving Chilcompton tunnel piloted by Jinty 7316(!) on a relief to the down Pines on 28th May 1949. Still not found the one I'm looking for. Jim

Peter Smith's recollections "Footplate Over The Mendips" includes a photo of Crab 42922 heading the down Pines near Stalbridge one Saturday in 1949. It's a front 3/4 shot so I can't give you any clue about livery at that time. I'm certain I have another photo of a Crab somewhere so will try to find it but don't hold your breath waiting for a reply as I keep getting distracted by neighbouring articles! Jim

Like a few others, my last shows of 2020 were Stafford at the end of January and Model Rail Scotland in February. I remember being pleased when MRS finished as my feet and knees were killing me after three days of operating. Oh to be suffering that problem again! At the current rate of vaccinations it looks like it might be August/September before everyone has had both jabs and restrictions lifted hopefully shortly afterwards. In the meantime do as the big Polisman in Hill Street Blues used to say "Take care out there" and we will come out the other side, happy again to be moaning about crowded aisles, rucksacks and all the other old favourites. Jim