John Besley

Happy days, Don't remember Ken Hoole, but defiantly Les Richards as the locomotive inspector with George Hinchcliff as his guvnor, it was Les who said in a deep Scottish accent one morning after starting early to help clean and light up Scotsman 'come here boy let's make a driver out of you' and so it was that under Les guidance I moved 4472 off the shed road, up to the Sands Road crossing and back over the pit road.... George and Les stayed in the hotel opposite Paignton station by Woolies, I remember going over there early one morning to get George when we discovered the flanges had been wearing - resulting in Scotsmen coming out of traffic to have her tyres repofiled by fitting a tool to the brake blocks and turning 4472 into her own wheel lathe being propelled by 6412 and yes it did work as we did the same in Easter 1975 with 7827 only the Manor was in steam when we did that.

Someone aught to dig them out and scan them in.... I think the 50 year rule will be OK for copyright...

That really does capture the overgrown feel of that part, don't forget the triangle in the road junction was always a bit scruffy Will you have room for a half relief 'Red Cow' pub?

Those front covers where very much of the era 'Each a glimpse' and 'gone forever' Colin Gifford.... Some of the front covers are classics... a Trix Std 5 in silhouette on an overbtidge.. An Airfix 9F on a freight train... A Western on a wet day with the rain glistening off the platform. A HD Westcountry on shed at night time...

And if they do the fireman looks like he's trying to chuck a shovel of coal on top of the brick arch and the driver is permantly pulling on the whistle chain - the Triang footplate crew comes to mind here... At least Modelu crews have some options Nothing is worse than watching an otherwise excellent model engine on a video arrive at a well filled platform with no crew on board, or an auto train being propelled into the typical GWR BLT without the driver up front...

Taken out of the box and put back in the wrong way round or incorrect box...

Lovely shot, like the fireman standing there catching a breeze watching the world go by, see he forgot to close the tank filler hatch. It reminds me of a George Heiron painting of a Brit' at speed

That reminds me We had 60103 back in its LNER days as 4472 at Paignton in August 1973, toward the end of the season she was due a boiler washout which duly happened and the following couple of days later returned to traffic as per normal... Coupling back up onto the train at Queens Park ready to leave on the 10:30 with a noise like a safety valve going off the righthand bottom mudhole door gasket blew a leak venting steam and scallding water across the platform... fortunately no-one was standing in the way, on went the injectors to keep the boiler filled up... Nothing for but to abandon the trip and release 7827 from the loop to take the service train out, 4472 then set back onto the pit road to dump her by then very full firebox in the pit and cool down, which took a good 24 hours, requiring the mudhole door removal, reseating and the boiler filling up again, then a return to steam and a check all round. The down side was myself and Pete Roach had to empty the pit which was also now full of water as the drains where now blocked. Hey ho, oh the fun we had as 14 year old school boys - scary to realise that was 50 years ago...

It was also coal fired....

This picture is missing with my brain... I can't work out what I am meant to see

What's with the red, white and black bobble hats.... how many can you count Intresting to see how clothing styles have changed over the years as well

Shades of Arun Quay...?

All his items have the same scary footnote including a bible he's selling ( which he proberly hasn't read)

Hopefully I can get to Exeter this year, if Matron allows me an outing

As regards RTR or Kit build, I model in 7/8ths on Peco 0.16.5 track so everything is scratch built around RTR chassis or modified with HLK gearboxes... if I carry on at my present rate I will have more stock etc. than track... I take my hat off to those who can scratch build or kit build 4mm loco chassis that work like sewing machines

Great stories, we need more of these

The talk of weed killing trains reminders me of a delightfully drawing PD Hancock did of the C&MR weedkiller train, I've hunted high and low to find it without any success - it's got a kilted scotsman standing in a open wagon unending a drumm of weedkiller over the 2' as the train bounces along. Wish I could find it as its not in the Narrow Gauge Adventure book I got from Peco in 1980... think it was in a very early Railway Modeller or a Model Railway News from the 50's or early 60's

What do Tonka beans smell like... In comparison to vanilla, tonka bean offers a more subtle nuance of spices like nutmeg, toasted almonds and earthy woodsy scents. And it has the slight accent of amarena cherries, like those found in an Old-Fashioned cocktail. Since coumarin can cause health problems such as liver damage, the FDA has enforced a ban on tonka beans since 1954. However, it would take eating 30 whole tonka beans to experience any negative effects from this toxicity. And no one eats the beans whole....

It's always a worry what I smell like on the previous day !

I know its not railway related but its from the AI generated ebayer, the Breath easy return note cracked me up on this one... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285653221335?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gQvR_TL4QnW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=mAE25Fz1QpK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Do you have the dates of these shows?

I don't spay cellulose....

Count me in as an A

I strip my air brush and dunk everything in cellouse thinners, cleans of Humbrol enamel a treat, polish the needle and the jobs as good as new.... I've had the badger since 1979.... keep thinking I could do with a new one, but it still delivers the goods. Most of my paint is Halfords rattle cans, the badger just gets used for varnish or odd colours that Halfords don't do in enamel

A fair while ago O changed all our light bulbs over to LED as we had a lot of big halagon downright spotlights, that the previous owner fitted, and guess what ended up with a reduction on the 'lectric bill