VIA185

I know. (CJL)

You gotta love those 3-D printed wheelie bins! (CJL)

Harlech, a few years ago. Nice 'N' gauge Class 158. (CJL)

I guess this would mean the end of the lovely old wooden Midland Railway wagon works if it still exists behind all those hoardings. What's the betting on a 'mysterious fire' one Sunday night? (CJL)

Steam World, August, published on July 21 has a feature on the Maidenhead-High Wycombe line with Bourne End and Marlow receiving a little attention, too. (CJL)

Isn't the preserved station ROWDEN MILL? It was derelict when last saw it - tells you how long ago that was! (CJL)

I've never had a problem with being unable to pull tension-locks out. The problem - when assembling test trains for reviews - is usually to get the wretched things to stay in! (Not Rapido's I hasten to add but certain others) (CJL)

Formerly Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway train No. 2 Courtenay-Victoria arriving at the beautifully presented Qualicum Beach station. Service withdrawn 2011. Car 6148 is now preserved by the VIA Historical Society. (CJL)

The Toad branded for the Tetbury branch was definitely bauxite. Can't locate my picture of it at the moment but considering its work on the branch was primarily with unfitted 16-ton mineral wagons I assume it was just an available van in good condition rather than one chosen specifically because it was fitted. (CJL)

I may have posted this before but if I did it was so long ago that it's got lost in all those missing pictures from whatever went wrong a couple of years back. Anyway it's pre-VIA Rail (just) and I still have my Canadian Pacific ticket. We took a ride into Victoria BC on the southbound 'Dayliner' on our first Canadian holiday in 1976. Shawnigan Lake was a flagstop and I wanted to take a picture, which meant Di had to stop the train. We'd read about flagstops and having to put out the white flag but there was nothing to put out. Di asked what she should do. "Imagine its a request stop for a bus, and stick your arm out!" So that's what she did. VIA continued the practice for a while but then introduced a system where you had to telephone and book a stop. The island rail service ended in 2011 and although a group still exists to promote re-opening, the line needs rebuilding from the ground up to meet modern standards and its never likely to happen. CJL)

I still can't get my head round the idea that double-track sections are not direction-specific. When I posed this to a VIA Rail friend I was told that its because the station is on one side of the line. So, it's better to have heavy freights and fast passenger trains criss-crossing one another than to build a second platform and a footbridge? Answer is, it's cheaper, of course. (CJL)

My understanding is that there had to be a 'buffer' car at each of the train (an empty car) to absorb any impact. It must have meant that the tail dome car on the 'Canadian' (for which 'prestige' passengers pay a considerably inflated fare) was either not used or the rearward view was blocked by an empty car. I assume that if the cars have passed the safety test, the 'buffer' car policy no longer applies. I have also been told that it is likely that the Siemens Charger units will continue to be turned at the end of each trip so that the loco leads, despite the fact that they are really only a glorified DEMU. Old, out of date practices die hard on railways across the world, it seems. (CJL)

I read recently that it was a hare set running by VIA themselves in order to press the case for replacing this very elderly rolling stock. I love the stainless steel cars but I must say that some of them have now had so many mods and rebuilds that they do look a bit of a mess. (CJL)

Did I? I certainly don't remember doing so but then my memory isn't what it was. I don't want to get drawn into this present debacle as I'm sure my past views on duplication are pretty well known. (CJL)

I always considered the window surrounds to be duck egg BLUE not grey and certainly not white. I recall the huge improvement to an early Tri-ang Hymek when I painted window surrounds a very pale blue. I lost interest in the WR when the wretched A1A-A1A Type 2s took over from the Hymeks. I'd be happy to turn the clock back now, though and 31s on the Worcester trains but conversely I thought the 50s were great when they first came to the WR and now I can't stand the thought of the things! (CJL)

Rebuilt and modernised Budd RDCs on at Sudbury on trains 185/186 to White River, the last main line RDC operation in North America. At least one of the four rebuilt cars has been torn apart to determine whether or not the 70 year-old stainless steel vehicles are structurally safe. It's not clear if they passed the test or, if not, how they might be replaced although for the time being it appears that three cars may be running together, with passengers only being carried in the middle car. One of the vehicles is a baggage-only car anyway. CJL)

Also due to go are the former LRC cars, a leftover from the abortive Light Rapid Comfortable trains on which the Alco-powered driving cars proved to be their downfall. Presumably the 6400-series locomotives will be retained for the 'Canadian' and the Jasper-Prince Rupert and Winnipeg-Churchill services for which any replacement stock is a long way down the line. CJL)

VIA Rail Canada has, I understand, four of its new Siemens Charger fixed-formation trains in service, all working out of Montreal, with the first of the Toronto allocation due to arrive soon. I thought it was time to start an 'album' of VIA Rail pictures showing the transition and the trains which will be replaced. So I'm starting with this one from 2012 showing one of the P42s, the mainstay of services on the Toronto-Ottawa/Montreal route, crossing the Lachine canal in Montreal with a train of 'Renaissance' stock - the Met-Cam-built cars from the aborted British 'Nightstar' service. These cars are due for early withdrawal due to their poor condition - indeed most may have already gone. (CJL)

I believe the mistake that was made with the Mk1s (which had a fair amount of the 'metal moth') was to couple the gangways but not the buckeyes. Apparently the end was removed quite neatly! (CJL)

From memory, Madder Valley is kept in a fairly low-light environment. It's looked after by museum people who know what they are doing. It's also so old that it's likely the card buildings were 'pickled' in shellac, which will keep any moisture out - if any was present. I doubt that many of us can treat our models in the same way or keep them in a similar environment. My O gauge 'Railway Children' layout lives in a shed. Initially it wasn't insulated and although the buildings are removable, I left them in place over a winter and had to re-roof the station and goods shed because they warped. The shed is now insulated but I bring the buildings indoors and keep them in a centrally-heated house during winter. On my 'OO' layout which has two skylights above it, I have had some fading of buildings, particularly those with home-printed (inkjet) building papers. I have also had the windows of my Bachmann Blue Pullman turn white due to exposure to too much strong sunlight. We learn by our mistakes. (CJL)

I recall David Ward telling me that a certain preserved railway had done that to a MK1 coach - and that it didn't take much practice! (CJL)

It is advertised and 'previewed' in Steam World magazine each month as it is a Steam World publication. . Not sure it's in Steam Railway, too. (CJL)

This was the e-mail relating to the delivery of the Accurascale Siphon. I actually thought it was relating to a specialised paint that I had ordered through Amazon - nothing to do with model railways. (CJL) FAQ Help Centre WE HAVE YOUR PARCEL We have your TRADESUPPLY BIRMINGHAM parcel. As soon as it's out for delivery we'll let you know. Track & divert your parcel Shipment number: 42049020074943 We sent you this email on behalf of TRADESUPPLY BIRMINGHAM as they've asked us to deliver a parcel to you. We haven't signed you up to a mailing list and we'll only use your email address to contact you about this parcel. DHL Parcel UK Ltd. Company number 00965783. Registered office address 120 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, SL1 4LZ

The one aspect of EMT and the Corby commuter service about which my daughter has never complained, is the staff. They seem to do a darn good job despite the circumstances under which they work. And to be fair, not all Corby's rail problems are down to the railway. The station car park is administered by the local authority. The ticket machines are so unreliable that my daughter pays in advance, on line. She thus has no physical ticket to stick in the window - so she recently found that her car and most of the others who pay the same way, had been 'stickered' by a parking official, necessitating phone calls to avoid a fine. Apparently, most of the station car parking spaces are to be allocated to residents of a new block of flats being built nearby. A complete lack of joined up thinking which will eventually lead to the loss of commuters and the closure of Corby's third railway station at a time when field after field around the town is disappearing under housing being built for people, few of whom will be working locally!

Really?!! Another BBC person who has to ask what the railways are for? Whatever World do they think they live in?