Andy WD

For loading from end platforms I've seen 'fold over' plates used. These were fixed and hinged at the dock end and when not in use were laid back onto the roadway. You can see an example of them folded back here https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018_at_Melton_Mowbray_station_-_loading_dock.JPG

Ahh....so you know parts of Northamptonshire

or a box of OMO in the window......or so I've heard

23 Railway Cuttings in there maybe?

Or foolhardy

Personally, my choice would be for an outside frame variant, 1076 maybe. They seemed to live long lives and have many different guises

I recently had a well known motor manufacturer after an old product to scan for use use in an advertising video. Unfortunately it was a model not currently in our 'Black Museum' but I could offer the original blueprints to work from and build a 3D model. From the looks I received I think that there were some of their team that had never seen working drawings before and they thought they were some sort of arcane witchcraft! However, the finished product worked out nicely. I'm sure there must be enough GA's still around from various sources to make a correct model early pannier / saddletank. (Always taking into account the narrow track gauge we insist in keeping!)

Tom Sharpe or steak

I'm more of a wagon collector, but there certainly seems to have been a downward trend I've noticed recently. Now I'm not sure if it's just caused by the new search system, or if it is a the bubble bursting, but certainly it seems to my bank balance that it's happening. I totally agree that in general the Loco Kit side still seems buoyant, but generally I think that's just @hayfieldand myself bidding for the same items

I'm thinking the bubble is slowly deflating. Has anybody noticed that prices are gradually returning to realistic levels in bidding? There's been a few auctions recently where bids ended at about a third or a half less than similar items a couple of months ago. Is this a sign of normality returning and the ability to rummage under tables at toyfairs and shows....? BiN prices are still unrealistic from a few chancers though!

And don't forget to add the postage I'd like to see how well that travels via Herpes.....

That explains why this outfit then

It must be down to local subsidence. Sheep tunneling out maybe?

So it becomes a U-Haul?

Early Channel Tunnel version...in case of leaks

I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned the 'corner filler' gasworks of the late Reverend Peter Denny, of Buckingham fame. If I recall it was a single siding onto a couple of wagon turntables and short sidings off of them. A great little model of a simple gasworks of the type found in many small towns.

https://www.postcardsthenandnow.com/2011/11/broadwater-near-worthing-sussex-c1913.html Strangely enough about 200 yards in front of the bus is the usual residence of another horse drawn mode of transport. Although designed for only one occupant (usually)! H.D. Tribe, local funeral directors, keep their horse drawn hearse in their office beyond the church, just seen on the left.

I recall seeing somewhere, possibly on here, that you could use slotted MDF to form the curve and use a rigid sub-frame to keep it in shape

Agreed, they are quick to deliver, well packed, and like yourself I even had some postage refunded.

Has to be bargain of the day given the current prices for etched kits, although it would be interesting to know how long it actually takes to get to the buyer through UK and French customs at the moment, and don't forget the VAT! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234336143234

I can vouch that a brand new Swann Morton No.11 will go through a shoe and your foot! I have the scar to prove it

I did try to assemble a Jamieson 4F from my dad's 'stash' many years ago as a much younger person, (when I was a fellow Junior club member with @Regularity) . It was an education in metalwork technique and soldering! Was it a huge success, no, did it run, yes, sort of. It looked something like a 4F, ran like a...!! I have the greatest respect for those who can take a piece of brass sheet, or punchings, like those in Jamieson kits, and create a masterpiece. As noted though they were a product of their time.

....nearly!

Unfortunately global shipping is totally screwed up at the moment with any shipment, air or sea, being up to at 5 times pre-covid rates for a container, and that's if you can even get it your load on a ship or aircraft! It's not just the influx of cheapo imports. Freight carriers have manufacturers over a barrel at the moment, while manufacturing costs have increased some in China as raw material costs have risen, it's the onward transport that's the issue. Shipping lines have reduced sailings, airline carriers are still flying less than before, so space is fought over, and as usual money talks!

If they're in one of the Free Trade Zones then they wouldn't want to go through the hoops that local Customs apply, and the taxes incurred for re-importing.