Pete 75C

In light of this thread receiving many more replies than I expected, I just thought I'd clarify a few things... I just mentioned to my daughter that it would have been handy if she'd had a letter confirming the appointment, as it might have helped if she'd shown that to the conductor. As a relatively late notice emergency appointment, I knew that such a letter wouldn't exist. Imagine my surprise when she told me that she did have an email confirmation on her phone. I suggested that it may have been helpful to have shown that. When explaining to the conductor the reason for her journey in school time, she had indeed offered to show him the email. The response was simply "that means nothing". I also appreciate that the conductor is not able to give his side of the story, but I make NO APOLOGY for posting this thread on RMWeb. My daughter was quite quiet and sullen that evening, and I asked her if her retainer was still giving her problems, assuming that was the cause of her mood. It was only then that she told me what had happened on the train. She wasn't going to tell me at all. For that simple reason, I have no cause to disbelieve anything she told me. A formal complaint will go in to Greater Anglia tomorrow morning and we'll see what happens. Edited for typos.

She's just turned 16 now, but that's a very good idea and I wish I'd thought of it. As others have pointed out, it's not a requirement in relation to a child ticket, but it could have prevented the problem in the first place.

Totally agree. You could say that my daughter was having a bad day as well - she was in some discomfort but knowing she'd done nothing wrong, dug her heels in and refused to fill out the form. Maybe the conductor saw that as confrontational? What really upset her though was the tannoy announcement. Other passengers nearby must have been aware of the problem between the conductor and my daughter but may not have been close enough to have heard any details. My daughter tells me that after the tannoy announcement, other passengers in the same carriage were staring at her as she left the train like she was some kind of criminal. I feel the tannoy announcement was a very cheap shot and I'd worry that he makes a habit of it. So, for that reason, I'll go for the official complaint. I'm sure his manager will have a word.

I've no idea Russ. My daughter described him, but I don't use the train that often so wouldn't know him. I did ask if he was wearing a name badge, but my daughter doesn't remember. I'm not overly worried about it all. A wise man once said "sh!t happens", I'm just a bit miffed by his attitude. As Pete the Elaner says (above), a polite enquiry as to why my daughter was not in school would have been preferable to the sarcasm.

OK. This is a bit of a moan, so feel free to ignore, but I am curious to find out what others think. Before any current or former rail staff make any assumptions, consider this. Anyone that knows me will know that I spent a sizeable portion of my adult life working as a driver for BR, then Network SouthEast and finally Connex, so I do understand that it's perfectly possible, nay highly likely, to get out of bed and have the mother of bad days. The incident: Last week, my daughter (then 15, since turned 16) had to take a half day off school in Sheringham to attend an Orthodontist appointment in nearby Cromer. She's recently had a brace removed and now uses a retainer. Something wasn't right, and she was in considerable pain, so a last-minute appointment was sought. Circumstances dictated that I couldn't drive her, so unfortunately she had to go on her own. "I'm nearly 16, Dad, don't fuss. I'll be fine". Arriving at Sheringham station, she purchased a child off peak return from the ticket machine which was actually working for a change. Sheringham - Cromer, not an issue, but on the return journey the Conductor checked her ticket, and handed her a form insisting she filled in her name and address. No explanation. He then walked off. Unsure why she was being asked to do this, my daughter did nothing. He returned a couple of minutes later and my daughter asked what the problem was. He gruffly explained that as it was a school day and the train she was using was within school hours, he didn't believe she was under 16 and he believed her to be travelling as an adult with a child's ticket. Unfortunately, my daughter had nothing with her to prove her age. She did, however, explain the reason for her journey. Said conductor was having none of it and insisted rudely that she just "fill out the damn form". Nice. Being in some pain, and knowing that she was guilty of nothing, my daughter came over all stubborn and refused. Conductor snatched the pad out of her hand and then walked off ready to open the doors at Sheringham, swearing under his breath. Again, nice. The final insult was the conductor's tannoy announcement on arrival at Sheringham along the lines of "I'd like to thank all but one of you for travelling with us today". Was there really any need for that? At the moment, part of me thinks to brush it off. Yeah - maybe he was having a bad day. The greater part of me wants to make a complaint, knowing the date and time of the train, so the conductor can be traced and maybe someone can have a word in his shell-like. What do you think? Leave it alone or complain just to let Greater Anglia know how upset my daughter was and how bl00dy annoyed I was when she told me what had happened?

The 12T Hattons crane is on my radar. I haven't pre-ordered because I simply can't decide which version. I bought a Bachmann EWS-liveried ex-LMS saloon a while back when it was almost being given away by Rails. I briefly considered an EWS 37 which I gather was a common pairing, but it doesn't fit with the East Anglian theme. I think the closest it got was Cambridge in late 90s EWS livery, so I'm tempted to keep it to one side for a possible repaint. Thanks again to all for the advice. I am truly space-starved now, and have made a start on a small layout, but with 4ft scenic, 4ft fiddle, options are limited and short trains are very much the only option. A Hornby 153 and RealTrack's soon-to-arrive Sprinter in Provincial livery will cover the passenger side, I just want some variety beyond DMU shuttles. Pete.

Thanks Rob. Is that photo the first one to come up when you type "inspiration" into Google? If not, it should...

Thanks for that, guys. I'll need to Google the Ipswich tanks. I always seem to remember a lot more than two, but two would indeed be a good size. I hadn't given the flask train a thought. No idea why, as I remember watching the movement across the road at Leiston. There are some great shots on Flickr. I seem to remember an EWS 37 on one end and an InterCity liveried 37 on the other. Variety indeed. Many thanks. Edited to add: I knew I hadn't imagined it...

Sh*t happens all the time. Someone doesn't think something through and it impacts others, it's a fact of of life. The late delivery (if he was loaded), the cost of recovery and the damage might possibly mean he's looking for another job soon, so I'd say his actions could have impacted himself a lot more than you.

The more I think about it, I'm tempted to go for the semi-fictional trip working. There is obviously far more flexibility and interest if you combine three or four different wagons and add a region-suitable loco to the mix. Three or four Seacows is fine, but maybe a bit samey and, dare I say it, a bit boring? Taking East Anglia out of the mix, Flickr provides a lot more inspiration... ...etc etc.

Pretty much spot on, thanks. The Flickr image (below) is the sort of thing I had in mind, but wanted to get the region correct. Ipswich is perfect.

I'm finding this a little difficult to research. Google images is awash with photos of 60s-70s branch line freight or more modern block freight, container traffic etc. Essentially, what I'm after is prototype evidence of short engineers trains that could be easily modelled using OO RTR wagons. I have limited space on the layout and am just looking for something to break the monotony of railcars and two or three carriage DMUs. There is a short kickback siding and potential to run round. Any links or pointers in the right direction would be very useful. Thanks.

Link for the lazy amongst us... https://railsofsheffield.com/bundles/41/set-of-3-ews-maroon-turbot-bogie-ballast-wagons That's it, I'm expending no more energy today!

Don't worry - there will be another one along shortly.

What a mess. No disrespect to outfits other than DJM that use crowdfunding as a means to produce a model, but I now wouldn't touch crowdfunding with a bargepole. That is purely a personal opinion, but I can't be the only one to think like that. So yeah - I can imagine this whole sorry saga having a knock-on effect to a certain extent. Much has been mentioned of folk losing disposable income and writing it off as, well, disposable, obviously. Fair enough. I feel most sorry for those who have lost money they could ill afford in the first place. Model trains, amongst other hobbies, can foster a "must-have" attitude, where financial caution is thrown to the wind in the pursuit of the latest shiny toy. Bad luck indeed.

With regard to the edging, I remember this blog entry from a few years ago... https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/17632-diamond-embossed-edging-stones-platform-paraphernalia/

Thanks for that. So if modelling a fictional location, I guess what looks right is right.

Just curious to know if there is an industry standard for the spacing of modern platform light poles? Taking my local station as an example, the 2 coach capacity platform that had been in use since the late 60s had 3 lamps. The station has recently been rebuilt to accomodate up to 4 coaches, so effectively doubled in length. Although one light pole is currently missing for whatever reason, it looks like it will eventually have 8 in total. If there are no guidelines, I guess it might just come down to the intensity and spread of the light?

Apologies. My fault for not reading the post you were replying to properly. I only skimmed it. This thread's a bit like a car crash. You know you shouldn't look, but you just can't help it then feel guilty afterwards... I personally don't think that an in depth article about DJM, the collapse, and the circumstances leading up to it would make for an interesting read. Especially if actual modelling articles are pruned to make way for it.

Why not? That would be fine. Anyone that has put money towards DJM could have the facts, as far as they are known, and what to do about it in a simple paragraph or two. I pity anyone who has to trawl through the 42 pages of this thread to find something that may be pertinent to them. RMWeb is great, but in cases like this, the extra froth is just annoying. Understandable, but annoying nonetheless. Fake ebay ads, really? I'm still waiting for a Trump meme and for someone to blame the collapse of DJM on Iran. A simple paragraph in print would do no harm, and may help those modellers who don't "do" the internet. Some of us seem to think that every modeller is online and has a RMWeb login. I think we're but a small percentage of the UK modelling commnunity. Maybe BRM reaches those places that RMWeb doesn't?

Why, oh WHY... did I spend £300 on ebay YESTERDAY...??? Edit: Oh yeah, I just remembered... it's "Sod's Law".

I'm 99.9% sure that Dave never intended for things to end this way but it is quite clear he bit off more than he could chew and dabbled in areas way beyond his ability. It all smacks of "desperation" towards the end. Not the first business to end this way and certainly not the last. I'm not in any way sticking up for him, and agree that he's unlikely to have any kind of future within the hobby. I just don't see what all this speculation and analysis on RMWeb will achieve. I guess if this thread makes those who have lost money feel better for having an outlet to vent frustration, then that's fine. I just think that if the liquidators are in for a long job, and this thread continues to multiply, where will it be in a year's time? 100+ pages of what, exactly?

Not much different to someone using the phrase "it's only toy trains" elsewhere on the forum. No big deal and I often wonder why things of little significance need to be over-analysed and questioned? One person's opinion is another's annoyance. Move on.

The way it was... Model is announced. We wait patiently. Model is released. We perhaps wait for a review in our magazine of choice. We buy. The way it is... A model is announced for possible production. We froth. We are asked to make an expression of interest. We froth some more. We wait. Expressions of interest prove that there is demand. We're asked to get our wallets out. We wait for the CAD. The CAD is wrong. We wait. We wait some more. The revised CAD is wrong. Some give up but the rest wait. Hurrah! The CAD seems ok to most mere mortals. We wait. We continue to froth while waiting. Painted samples arrive. They're wrong. We take to the keyboards in disgust. We wait. Forum user A falls out with forum user B. Forum user C is banned. We wait. Revised painted samples arrive. They're fine to most mere mortals. We wait. And froth. We're still waiting. Container is loaded. We follow the ship halfway around the world using GPS tracking. Still waiting. We pay the balance. Our model arrives. Bits fall off when you open the box and that shade of grey is FAR too dark. World ends. My rose tinted spectacles and I really really really miss the way it was!