VIA185

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When I was last there (c.2018) it did seem that there had been some minor preservation activity in the area of the roundhouse. A green baggage car had apparently been brought down from Parksville and I think there has also been a small diesel switcher on site, which would probably account for the grade crossing improvements. However, I get the feeling that nothing significant will happen with the main line until use of internal combustion engined road vehicles ceases. Highway improvements still cater to the Victorians who don't like trains - and that seems to be most of them. (CJL)

Looks like they've finally completed the construction works in front of Toronto Union and the endless refurbishment inside. I went every summer from 2011-18 and it seemed to be a constant construction site. I thought Montreal station was bizarre - the upper part away from the trains is grand and open and just a retail space. The trains are down below in a pitch black tunnel. Ottawa station is so far out of town it's a taxi ride to get anywhere. I was in Montreal on a Sunday, so no commuter trains. I paid a colossal amount for a taxi out to the Museum and had to book him to return later in the afternoon to pick me up. This was my favourite spot in Montreal. I think there was a plan to do up the Wellington signal tower but I don't know if anything came of it. (CJL)

There's a photograph of the accident involving a 'Britannia', an up excursion of a women's club from South Wales (IIRC) near Didcot in which the complete side of a Hawksworth coach has come away from the frame as a single piece. So I suspect there was nothing particularly modern or revolutionary about their construction. (CJL)

Sounds like a very similar regime. I have the three tattoos but they are almost impossible to see. I, too, have figured out that I have a small bladder capacity. 3 cups and 30 minutes was too much. I now do two and a half cups and only 20-25minutes. I calculate the time on the basis of 1) being told by the receptionist how late they are running. 2) taking that into account (its often wildly optimistic) but doing a head count in the waiting room, on the basis of 20 minutes wait per machine/per patient. It has worked out surprisingly accurate but you have to guess with the couples in the waiting room whether it's the man or woman being treated as the women have a different machine. I am also very lucky in that the Oncology unit at Peterborough's new hospital was only built a few years ago. My PSA came down from 16 to .22 with the hormone injections - I assume it may reach nought after the radiotherapy finishes. (CJL)

About 18 months ago I was diagnosed with T2 prostate cancer after having my PSA monitored over some years. The process of diagnosis was, for me, the worst part. After an introductory examination at a Fast-track prostate clinic at hospital No. 1. I had an MRI scan at hospital No. 2 which was inconclusive, followed by a biopsy (which is a very unpleasant procedure) performed in a dump of a room in a RAAC hospital (hospital no. 3) . The real low point was being given the (T2) diagnosis late in the evening on a dark autumn day (hospital 1 again) and having a 40-minute drive home . T2 is not life threatening and is treatable but receiving the news is still a serious blow. However, from that point I was under a consultant at my local city hospital (hospital No. 2). I was given a hormone injection once every 3 months for a year. I was then told by the Consultant, "We can cure this." Despite my dread of hospitals (since a two-week incarceration at age 5) I would have been a fool to say 'No thanks.' I am currently approaching the end of 20 consecutive weekdays of radiotherapy. The worst part of this is having to drink 3 cups of water and fill one's bladder beforehand. It's OK if they run to time but gets very uncomfortable if they run more than 5 minutes late. The radiotherapy involves positioning me in EXACTLY the same position every time ( the final part of the positioning involves shifting me 2mm to my right - it's that precise!). There can be side effects to the radiotherapy affecting one's bodily functions but, so far, I've coped OK. The radiotherapy technology is amazing and utterly fascinating - computer-operated and, so far, entirely by some very caring, charming and delightful young women. There are a number of short films showing the radiotherapy machines - go on Youtube and search Varian Truebeam. I drive myself the 30-minute journey to and from the hospital. The effects of a year of receiving an artificial female hormone are somewhat worse than the radiotherapy, resulting in some self-identity issues and a tendency to emotional melt-downs. I'm told these will subside after the treatment ends - ie, by Christmas. I hope that by being frank about this treatment more men will be encouraged to get an early check-up as, caught early, it is curable. (CHRIS LEIGH)

1976. E&N Train No. 1 Victoria-Courtenay, stopping at the Shawnigan Lake flagstop. Location was unrecognisable last time I was there and the train stopped running in 2011. Track is still there and a pseudo-political group holds out the hope that service will be restored but the whole railway needs a rebuild from the ground up and that will never happen. (CJL)

Continuing OT, I have an etched kit of a 'Skye bogie' 4-4-0 - I forget the manufacturer's name - but I never built it because it appears to be a 50% reduction of an 'O' scale original (so 'HO' scale) but sold as a 'OO' model. (CJL)

They aren't late. Suggest you call 01858 438884 or e-mail bauer@subscription.co.uk (CJL)

Yes, it started me on a career that I've enjoyed immensely. I seem to recall I asked for £7 a week and accepted £5. I had a ten year break from 1968-79, when I worked for a local newspaper in the advertisement department. It was a clerical job and I was useless at it! I've temporarily handed over Steam World to one of my colleagues while I undergo some radiotherapy but I'm still modelling and reviewing and intend to do so for as long as I'm able. (CJL)

My sincere condolences to you, Gareth, and all Steve's family and friends. As one of T4U's very early customers I had many a long conversation with Steve, mostly about the hobby and the ups and downs of certain manufacturers, and usually at lunch time when I had popped across to the shop for some modelling item that I needed - or to scrounge the loan of something new for review because we hadn't received a sample. He was always warm, friendly and knowledgable. (Chris Leigh)

I suspect most railways are savvy enough to recognise pretty quickly IF the Pacers are turning potential passengers off. To me, the big difference between a first generation DMU and a Pacer is that the DMU generally has a view forward through the cab. So, if they expected steam but they get a drivers eye view, they'll be happy. If they expected either of those two and they get a Pacer, they won't be happy. I thought it was a disaster when the 'FREE' Pacer offer tempted so many preserved lines to accept a train which makes them all look the same but I can understand why a free train would be too good to miss. Personally I wouldn't cross the street to ride a Pacer. My last two journeys on them involved Exmouth-Barnstaple on a 143 that I christened Evil Edna - it was fresh out of works, refurbished, and making the most appalling ear-splitting noises when it accelerated, and a run over the S&C to Carnforth in a 142 which ended with a small child throwing up on my feet! Not a fan of Pacers I'm afraid...... but give me a 153 any day! (CJL)

But I thought the original question was about MK2 coaches? I wasn't aware the question concerned the period pre-WW2. i'm well aware of the formation changes you mention . I didn't consider them relevant to the question. (CJL)

The 'Arrow' had a non-Pullman section, did it not, latterly formed of BR Mk1 stock. Presumably the (green) Mk2s replaced Mk1 FKs for a time. By the time it finished in 1972 it had only blue/grey Mk1s and three or four Pullman firsts. (CJL)

Probably the difference between a large drawn logo and the nearest available small computer font. (CJL)

Interesting - we learn something new every day. I've only ever seen it quoted as 'red' but I've never seen any illustration of a 'red' engine on the branch. (Did a Class 40, Warship or Western count as Red - because all three classes were observed on the oil train in much later years? ) The only 2-6-2Ts I'm aware of are small 'prairies' and the one instance of a 61XX on the first oil train to Staines West in 1965. Sean Bolan did a painting of a wartime train passing the 'coal post' which, I think, was between Colnbrook and West Drayton, and the loco (if I recall correctly) is a 43XX. I've no idea on what information/original the painting was based. (CJL)

The fact that it faced east was precisely so that it served as a diversion route round London. I have never seen any suggestion that it was intended to serve trains from the west. It was an avoiding route for London. There was one passing loop at Colnbrook. As part of the project to divert trains away from London, the Colnbrook loop was considerably extended northwards as far as the Bath Road over bridge. I believe the present siding for the Heathrow fuel trains is still in exactly the same position. My understanding is that the Staines Moor spur did see use for wartime traffic avoiding London and that the largest vehicle to use the link was the WW1 15in rail-mounted Howitzer 'Boche Buster' which was moved from storage at Catterick to the Kent Coast by way of the Staines branch. The branch was GWR route restriction Red so could take the 2-8-0s and 4-6-0s except for 'Kings'. I suspect that the majority of traffic would have been heading south, so would not have been affected by the sharp curve and climb at West Drayton. In some respects there was a conflict of interests because the incomplete King George V and Queen Mary reservoirs were used as a decoy for German bombers and were dressed up with lights to look like Clapham Junction at night. As a result, Staines took a pounding from the Luftwaffe and a number of bombs fell on or near the Staines West branch line, which was quite close to the reservoirs. (CJL)

Found it! September 1963 - not exactly a prominent advert. Makes you think they weren't really sure if they wanted someone or not! Modern day recruitment specialists would wince, I'm sure. It has taken me three searches through an entire year's worth of mags to spot it, so it's a miracle I saw it 60 years ago when I wasn't looking for it! (CJL)

Surely it's simply a case of offering your product in showroom condition? If you're buying a new car you wouldn't expect it to look like someone's been rallying in it. (CJL)

Slough GWR goods shed. Now there's a more interesting subject than a Brush-hauled express. My local main line station and a regular viewpoint over what had been the Slough MPD. All gone now and covered in 25kV 'knitting'. Can't bring myself to go back since they wired it but have travelled on one of those 'flying cucumbers' outside the wired area. (CJL)

Hi Jon, I designed those for Model Rail. I think I have a set here that I could photocopy for you. Perhaps it's best if you contact me by e-mail at chris.leigh@bauermedia.co.uk with your postal address and I'll see what I can find for you. They weren't in the actual Model Rail magazine, I think they were in it when it was still a supplement in RAIL magazine. (CJL)

This is a request to anyone who has copies of Model Railway Constructor from 1963 with the advert pages intact. I have an original bound volume but it was bound without the advert pages. I'm looking for a copy of the advert seeking a JUNIOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT for the magazine, which would have appeared- I think - around the summer/autumn 1963. It was the ad I responded to in order to get my first job and I'd like to find a copy. A scan or photocopy would be fine. CJL)

My £2 souvenir of the Wycombe Railway preserved in Egham. (CJL)

It wasn't just in the rural North. My father-in-law took the milk round by horse and cart and served it with a ladle in Kent in the 1930s. (CJL)