FarrMan

What a mixture of names to choose from here! I agree with the Saint Down Under about Shovell. Rodney also feels most unsuitable for an express loco. I might go for some of the places that I have visited, such as New South Wales, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia (if the name was up to date, though it was at the time), or Ghana. But to save having to choose, surely the prize for most suitable name for an express engine has to be 'Express'. Lloyd

What an interesting selection of names for this poll! Sadly they had all gone before I started serious spotting. My choice will have to be Wandering Willie - It is such an appropriate name for a loco. Lloyd

Agreed. Sometimes the 'shire' versions are used, but it as wrong as calling Edinburgh 'Edinborough', or calling the Scottish Goods the 'Scotch Goods' for that matter, even though in this case the latter is ubiquitous.

I'll go for Evan Ddu in this one. Ddu (pronounced 'do') is gaelic for 'black', which sounds very suitable for a steam engine. It reminds me of a house name that I like in the Black Isle. The sign has a black painted thistle on it, and the name - Thistle Ddu! Going back to the spelling of Westmoreland, at least that is only one letter out. As Morayshire, Argyllshire, Rutlandshire, etc are so burdened, why is it not Cumberlandshire, Westmorelandshire, etc. At least it would be a consistent error.

Tony Many thanks for such an invitation to someone that you have never met, and who is not able to contribute anything. It is very much appreciated. I hope to take you up on it next time I am in the South, but that looks as though it is a while off yet. Lloyd

No criticism meant of anyone on here. None of us are perfect. I know some of my mistakes, and I know a few from others that I have unearthed, including a jetty built in a completely different place to where the 'land' (in this case, seabed) was purchased for it. Lloyd

Speaking as a Chartered Engineer, if only you knew! Lloyd

I have not had the pleasure of seeing Little Bytham 'in the flesh', but fully agree with Tony, Tony. From a design point of view, seeing how it all fits together I find fascinating. But also seeing those images where you try to work out if it is the model or the prototype are wonderful. As one who would love to get back into railway modelling, I find almost all comments on here (except mine) very helpful. With probably two house moves this year, one this month, it is as well that I do not have a delicate model to move as well as everything else. Lloyd

It has to be 61637, Thorpe Hall, for me. It is where I was born. Long before it became an old folks home it was a maternity hospital. It will also be the nearest B17 location to Peterborough North. Lloyd

I suppose I should go for Moray Firth as I do not need to go far to see it, But it would have to be Lord Roberts as the nearest I get to a loco named after me. My wife has a loco named after her - 'Lady of Legend', after a student put on their feedback form a long time ago 'Lloyd is a legend ...', but the lecturer who took them in pointed out that there was a definite gap between the third and fourth letters! Lloyd Roberts

If you do, try to make it in the summer. Of a winters morning on the outward school run, there was one of the hairpin bends that tended to be quite icy. If you approached too fast, you would miss the corner and hit the barrier, or worse still drop over the edge. Halfway round the corner, if you are slow enough to avoid that, then the back end just slides away on you. You had to know just when to put the power on to prevent that. Fun days! Lloyd

In Applecross (Wester Ross), there used to be only one road in and out, over the Bealach na Baa (which is gaelic for the Pass of the Cattle, not sheep). In the early 1970's it was once blocked by snow in June. The tourists there at the time had to abandon their cars and a ferry was arranged to get them out. Now there is a 'coast road' giving alternative access, but I would still much rather go over the Bealch in snow than the coast road without. As at one time I was driving over it four times a day, I got used to it. Lloyd

They look brilliant. What material is it, and is it a kit? If it is a kit, who from? Lloyd

Is that the best reception you get on your TV? Lloyd

Coming from Peterborough, I resent that. On second thoughts - you're right! Lloyd

Gilbert I have seen a bus parked as on this image, on a number of your images. I cannot recall seeing a bus parked there ever on the prototype. I do not think that any bus routes started from or called there. Am I wrong? Lloyd

They please me too. Memories of my visit to Australia in 1987. Lloyd

I fully agree. Most photos of model railways you can tell straight away that it is a model. Yours look so realistic that, If I did not know, I would think it was the prototype. Thanks again for letting us enjoy them. Lloyd

I always think of an optician as a Geordie greeting. Lloyd

But then Gilbert will surely be an expert on sentences, whether consecutive or concurrent! Lloyd

Very effective modelling to look so realistic. Being very pedantic, the girder should be an I beam, not an H beam. The H sections would normally be used for piles or bridge piers, where the forces parallel and perpendicular to the legs of the H are likely to be similar. For a bridge beam, the main forces are vertical (along the stem of the I) rather than horizontal (except for bridge bashing), and hence the width is much less than the height of the steel section. Also for the bridge, the strength of the flanges (the horizontal bits) is increased by their distance from the mid height of the beam, so a longer web with shorter flanges is much more economic that longer flanges and a shorter web. The only place where H sections would be used for beams is if there is very restricted depth between the loading gauge and the required surface level above. Having said all this though, what a realistic impression is given of weathered masonry including the prominent corner stones on the piers. Lloyd

My first thought was - that's a huge load for a wagon! How does it get under bridges? Lloyd

Forgive my taking up space on here, but I was wondering what the average lifespan of different types of rolling stock was. I am in the early stages of researching a South Wales based model, set in 1929. I presume different uses would lead to different lifetimes, as would timber or steel construction. I also assume that the same type of, e.g. wagon, could have quite a range of lifetimes. Any ideas or sources of information would be much appreciated. Lloyd

Not sure how deep the Tyne is there, but if you can manage in waders, how long are your legs? Lloyd

I'll agree with St Enodoc this time, and plump for Ryde pier head. Lloyd