Ben B

It was my first loco too, back in 95. Still runs as well, as I discovered this year (first time in a decade it's been out of its box). I didn't realise until I saw the voting list just how old the basic model was though!

That's certainly the impression I get... You'd think with modern housing being smaller, that a smaller scale would be popular enough to generate sales (though that does rely on the companies that produce the models actually doing so... easy to say 'there's no market for N, nobody is buying anything' if you aren't actually supplying the product for sale in the first place). Maybe it's the whole 'pensioner pound' thing; retirees driving the market, with bigger houses and spare bedrooms, with room for all these new 0 gauge items instead

The Beeb had a program on the Goodies a few years back, there was a snippet of behind the scenes footage of that bit. I'm pretty sure the train was wood/canvas paintings hanging on the side of the film crew lorries and trailers As for the "Dr Zhivago" bit, the same technique was used by the BBC Model Unit, it's in a book of special effects techniques. It specifically says they used a Hornby set and a silhouette outline of a Rusdian loco. Interesting and effective technique

Worth Valley running a test train today (it was running yesterday too), on the southern end of the line; would be hard to run any further unless they can do a Starskey and Hutch over the gap in the track at Ingrow They reopen in Mid-August, giving them time to get the track back down on Bridge 11 and Northern time to remove the Pacers from Keighley. I gather it'll be compartments only and a mix of vintage stock and Mk1 Subs as per above.

I'm looking forward to seeing "Welsh Pony" next week with a bit of luck, barring any further catastrophes. Been looking forward to seeing "Welsh Pony" back in traffic since climbing all over the loco in the early 90's on that plinth at Harbour

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out- I remember that layout from the BRM, one of the first railway mags I bought. I was so impressed by the artistry of the scenes, it was very eye-catching, I'm sure this one will be great

I sort of do, if unintentionaly... when I built our youngest a layout, the foundation for it was my old 80's and 90's Hornby stuff, so barring a couple of Railroad versions of the 0-4-0 tanks it all looks terribly retro. The scenics have ended up that way too, all paint and scatter rather than static grass, etc. Thing is, it's perfect for her, no small parts to be damaged, and the locos are surprisingly reliable, even my old stuff. Heavens, it's 2020 and it's a child playing with a train set, that's 00 but with no fine detailing or DCC! Surely the Earth will shatter and the sky fall in... I shall repent and spend £200 on a DMU with working lighting at once I'm embracing it, and get a nostalgia kick from it all of course; for the first time in my recent life I have a little bit of disposable income for treats, and what am I buying? All those lovely Hornby diesels I couldn't afford as a kid. I got the Railfreight red-stripe 08 (with the woefully incorrect chassis) at Christmas, and last week bought the red stripe 37 too... at this rate I might get the sky-blue Pacer Incidentally, an earlier post mentioned poor running quality of the older models... I abandoned 00 in favour of N as a teenager in the late 90's, but found even my old 00 stuff, basic as it was, ran better than 90's Farish... Damned near put me off the whole hobby at the time.

What a fascinating survivor! You know when you just see something and want to model it? I love that track going through the archway. Hell, I'd love to be the homeowner and find a length of railway line running through the garden, would make a nice feature

Whilst a student I worked briefly in the refreshment rooms at Carlisle Citadel (alright, I know it's technically only 'Carlisle', but as a railway enthusiast even in 2004 I liked to call it Citadel, to the confusion of my colleagues). There was a 'mystery door' at the back of the store room we used, and I was told it led to a warren of tunnels under the station. A fellow student on the Uni course tried to find out more information, and get permission to go down to visit them but was outright refused by the station manager and the BTP on 'security and safety grounds'.

Looks great with that ballast, I've just used the same stuff for a platform surface and road on a garden railway project

Good grief, how many barbecued pigeons must have dropped from under the footbridge after that service pulled away

That's a lovely model (and fitting for a Midlands industrial yard). What make is the model please? Is it a Judith Edge kit?

From what I gather paths are indeed tight, but there just isn't the platform capacity with only two roads. A pity as Ilkley is a nice town and would make a good venue for an excursion I'd have thought. I'm trying to think what other towns have stations with loco release... Whitby is a bit of a special case, but do Aberystwyth and Pwllheli? Those stations both looked a bit run down about a decade back, but seemed a bit tidier last year. I know ERTMS prevents it, but I'd assume both could still accept excursions.

I believe that's the case, the car park is on the Skipton side of the formation. It would be impossible to put the through lines back, the bridges and viaduct beyond the station have been long-demolished and the formation built over. But then given the whole line to Ilkley was threatened with closure for years, it's a mercy it survived at all. What would make more of a difference would be to reinstate the old through line as a new bay with a loco release, so excursions could visit the town. Right now the minimal station only just copes with the electric services. Well, the pre-lockdown high frequency timetable anyway.

I found a few more of the Worth Valley DMU fleet, starting with the (now out-of-service) 108 at Ebor Lane... And then a couple of unusual 101 views... dropping-down into Keighley... ...and finally, heritage unit in a modern suburban landscape, at Ingrow.

Would be an interesting and novel way to discover the secret bunker built under their house We discovered recently that our key fob automatically drops the windows on our Skoda randomly. Fun on a wet day.

I'd agree; Living in Keighley, I still see quite a few Sheds in faded, dirty EWS liveries head past on the mainline, and they're very drab and uninspiring. By contrast though, the Worth Valley have their cut-cab 08 in EWS colours, and they keep it clean; it looks very striking indeed, shiny and bold.

London Policeman takes job transfer to countryside constabulary, gets into a relatively minor disagreement with local neighborhood watch over village of the year competition.

Killin usually loaded to a single coach, but pretty sure it was steam-worked up to the finish, Standard 4MT tank loco usually.

I'm working on two layouts in boxes; a 00 tramway in the wrapping paper box, and the above, a rather more silly thing in N. For context, thats the 30cm x 5cm x 7cm pencil case box. I wanted a little layout to mess with whilst running my laser cutter

Good old Ken... my other half is a Bradfordian, when we were students up in Carlisle she was working on the deli at the Morrisons there when Ken made a surprise visit, put the fear of God into them... except her of course, he was apparently pleased to find an ex-pat working there As regards panic buying, my local Morrisons just seems to have odd, occasional shortages. Sugar this week of most varieties, ketchup last week, though at least flour is back in stock.

I'm sure I've read somewhere the move to using bogie tankers helped contribute to the abandonment of the incline, as it wouldn't accommodate bogie stock

Aughnacloy on the Clogher Valley, Ireland; modest for a headquarters station in general terms, but pretty spectacular for a 3ft tramway. Nice building, with some classical architectural features...

Silloth in Cumbria- technically a branch (and one laid to insanely tight-radius curves in places, as it was built on an old ship canal), but busy with holiday traffic from Carlisle in the summer. A branch line led off from Silloth station to a military facility, there was a convalescent home and some rail-served military establishments at one time to the west of the old station. Plus you had the docks branch which continued beyond the station. Depending on if you count the Cambrian Coast Line as a branch (I would these days) there was the wartime industrial branch line at Harlech which led off to the military ranges in the dunes, just north of the station?

Dangerous path to go down that... when I was a DT technician a few years ago, I did a lot of out-of-hours use of our cutters for my own model making, supplying my own MDF and Acrylic sheet. I got such withdrawal symptoms after leaving the job I ended up saving up for my own laser cutter