Mountain Goat

I have to say that I always go back to an oval, as when I have tried end-to-end, I have been dissapointed. The best end-to end layout I had was a rabbit warren type which had a single track weaving back and fore on two levels and trains running flat out took 45 seconds to go from one end to the other. I once cur my board to convert it from an oval to an end to end and I then ended up in tears regretting my decision as I could not run trains. They just did not have a chance to exercize themselves! I was so saddened that I managed to squeeze in a loop of 1st radius curves in the end I had cut and I rather have a tight curve (00 gauge) then have an end-to-end. But everyone is different. We all have different ideas and preferences.

Do I see a Dapol track cleaning wagon?

You have one of those gnomy things. I remember seeing them in a toy shop in our local market and I had a feeling I should buy one or two... But I was into 00 gauge back then and so I did not buy any. I missed an opportunity.

I have a few HD buffers with my HD 3-rail collection. The springs are far to firm to be of any practical use, but they are robustly made.

I have tried a few of those online tests before. I had these results. Neurodiverse 173/200 Neurotypical 21/200 Empathy 11/80 AQ 39 or 41. (When I answered truthfully but with a trying not to be on the spectrum slant as I accidentally found myself doing the same test twice), and AQ 41 when I was still answering truthfully but I leaned on the side of having autism. (One or two questions one can see through so it can alter the results, so I decided when I realized I was repeating the test I had done before to have a different "Take" on my answers to see what the results would be. The test that gave me the neurodiverse and neurotypical results, was good because I could not tell where the questions were going, so all I did was answer them, and it ae me the above results. I had actually done the AQ test before those two times (About two or three years before) with an ex. Girlfriend who had me try it (She was on the spectrum and I was trying her patience because I wanted to know what being an aspie was as she was on the spectrum, and when she described traits she had I was saying "But that's normal" (I had not caught on then that I could be on the spectrum as well), and in frustration she had me take the test when I jokingly mentioned that I could be on the spectrum as well (I was not being serious. It was my humour!) and I had a result of 32 because I have a limited vocabulary and I was not given a chance to look up what the meanings of words mean, so anything I did not know what it means, I answered "No" and this includes some things I later found out I do have or do. (Eg I asked what stimming was and the ex GF said "Rocking back and fore" so I answered "No". Many of the terms the ex. GF did not know either so I had to answer "No" which I later found I should have answered "Yes" to. The result did say to see a health professional or a doctor. This concerned me but due to every time I saw my doctor to ask, I kept clamming up with mind blank so it was two years later (Long story) when I was determined to find out and expected a "Yes/no" answer from the doctor... Uhmmm. Since then I have been on the list for an assessment. The "Empathy" test really puzzled me. I honestly (No point in trying to explain as many others have tried) can't get my mind to tell the difference between sympathy and empathy, but I know I tend to be very sympathetic, but I just can't understand the difference,as to me the two blend in as one and in my mind I can't seperate them somehow? Yes, I can word for word repeat the differences if someone tells me, but somehow my mind can't process it in a way I can make sense of it? But the empathy results really surprized me as I really expected to score high but I did not. And I just don't understand it! Edit. I am not sure the AQ test I have done is the same as the one at the start of this thread. The one I took twice was marked out of 50, the score being 50 meant one was 100% autistic and 0 meant one was 100% allistic (Two very rare conditions which some say don't exist, though someone on an autiam site I am on said he had a 100% score when assessed?) on the test I took which was to designed give one an idea as to if it is a good idea to be assessed or not, 30 or above was considered that someone needs to be assessed as one is likely to be on the autism spectrum. so my scores of 39 and 41 mean that I am likely to be on the spectrum and I could do with being assessed.

I found when at school that... Well. In the words of a Maths teacher who taught me, my Dad, and both my brothers (Youngest brother is 18 years younger... I think he was one of those Maths teachers who has always been there and does not age? But he was saying to my parents on a parents evening while in secondary school "I don't understand it. I can go through a certain maths subject with him and he totally gets it and can do everything. But the next maths lesson he comes to he has totally forgotton how to do it and I have to start all over again. Subjects I could not "Latch onto" I found hard going like that, and in Maths, if I had to go into deep thought, my mind would turn to my inner brain which seems to work in pictures, so I would do maths by patterns of dots in my mind, which were not always in base 10, so any mistakes I made were usually because I was working in a different base and had not converted it over, as I would be working in more then one base in my mind at the same time according to the pattern dots I am using for each series of numbers... So I used to get the answers and usually they were right, but no way could I show the workings out! I would often get the answers and have to work backwards and try to make the "official workings out" match my answer so I could get the extra workings out marks for exams. Maths teachers would often be puzzled as they would ask me how I got the answers and I could not tell them because it is only recently that I happened to be thinking back about things, and talking with my Mum and she said "No wonder it takes you so long to add up or take away in your head! It was only then when she said how she did sums in her head that we compared. She converts numbers to their written form like five, six, seven etc, and then she does the sums all in written form in her head. She could read and write by the age of two and a half and by the age of six she had read many... If not most of the adults books of the small local library where she grew up. Now the last exam I did was a re-sit while on employment training (One may as well get the most of tese scemes and what they offer) and I had left collage, (Worst time of my life as I had the whole class turn against me so it was 25 to 1, so I didn't do so well with exams. My mind was on rushing each exam to get a quick exit so I would not end up Bulleid... Hence why I call it collage and not college as the work just went in one eye and out the other as my focus was on surival from one day to the next...), I then started to work at a local bicycle shop and he had not expected to have an extra worker so he managed to pull some strings and have me there on an employment training placement (I had nothing else to do in my life and I loved working with bicycles... My secondary special interest). So I was told I had the chance to resit either Maths or English. But they could only offer me the "C" paper as the highest rade. I wanted to get an A paper bt te whole of my county did not offer any A grade papers for night classes. I ended up being content with a C grade with a 100% exam result proving I can do maths when I get the system of doing it to work in my head... But to do this and do it the "Official way", I can't let my mind go into "Deep thinking mode" as then it goes into using the "Patterns of picture dots" method that I often use.

I like the castle. Ooh. You have a Wrenn/Hornby Dublo conversion, and an 03/04 conversion. Nice. And the Triang dock shunters!

I like it. I went to reply to your Quality Street thread and it dissapeared. I found it!

Nice!

I was thinking of all the items that I had that impressed me the most that Hornby made, and there have been some real gems, but out of all of the models and other items that Hornby have made, one thing stands out above everything else. And it is now an older item. Their hydraulic bufferstops. They can take some pounding. They look the part even though they may be a little freelance in design... But it is how well they work that has impressed me! They saved many an express train from damage when I was younger!

I am concerned about something. Someone I know who I have not seen for a while committed suicide, and after he did, he was in a coma for about six months. He was then assessed and found to be on the autism spectrum. Now he had to give up model railways as I believe social workers advized him he had to give up? I would rather not be assessed if I had to give up model railways as trains are my life! I think in trains. I love trains! Almost everythings trains! It is concerning.

I may have mentioned this before, but if I am on the spectrum, I will most likely be on the high functioning end which used to be known as aspergers syndrome, and if I am on the spectrum, something I will say is that autism can be a very hidden condition. If I am not on the spectrum then nothing much in my life makes sense to me, and I will be back to where I was before I knew anything about autism. I used to believe that autism was some sort of severe dissability that severely effected people in a physical way so they were like vegetables and wheelchair bound. This is because when I saw autism on the news, they tended to centre on the most extreme cases, and I really feel for those who are in that condition. I never knew that what I had was classed as a condition. I just thought I was a loner and different. It maybe that I am just a loner ad different? I am gessing until I am assessed. I wanted a yes or no answer! I want to know!

Here is a fun little waggon to build. It is a very simple design. I made a little mistake while making it where one wheel was at a slight different angle to the other so only three wheels would sit on the track. To remedy this, I bore out all the axle holes to more then double their size, and drilled with a long minidrill right down the centre of the H chassis so it had a small hole from front to back. Then I took a single strand of bicycle brake cable to run over the axles and through the hole. This acted as a spring... But it was a little too strong, so I used a strand of bicycle gear cable instead and it is just right. It ended up being a nice sprung chassis! Mind you, next time I want to drill all the axle holes right. Saves me messing about. I have the equipment now! I didn't before.

I was working on my layout not that long ago while in the barn. It is interesting as I have a few ideas which are coming to me as I work on it. One is to have some sort of jungle theme. Another is to have a closer to home theme but using forced perspective to give the illusion of depth. And still another idea is to go with it as I am with following the last idea, but not having a forced perspective but making more use of what I have. (In my mind I know what I mean by that. Difficult to describe in words to others). This is a little view of the other board. It has had a little more work done on it since then.

Method of joining track between baseboards which allows for a little bit of movement. (I had brought the track to the edge of the board but I found in the heat of the summer that there was a slight movement between one baseboard and the other as the wood framework became bone dry in the heat.. So plan B was required to remedy this and so I can allow for any possible future movement, as I am making the little railway so that it can be used outdoors if necessary (Weather permitting). The boards themselves are joined using the split hinge method. Lima railjoiners have been used due to their support and robustness).

Those public information films. The one with the kid being electrocuted. They did work didn't they! I hated watching them! But I remember the one about the old gentleman on his bicycle making a "Classic rigt hand turn". That one was ace!

Maybe it is the tramlines, as some tram routes take trams back to where they have started. Interesting bicycles. The blond lady needs her handlebars adjusting a few degrees. Her frame is interesting. A bent tube mixte frame. Normally they have straight tube mixte frames to give them a more rigid ride so they are more efficient.

What does irony mean? Is it when one looks back at the work one has done after doing the ironing?

Prosopragnosia is faceblindness. My Mum and I have it but it is odd. We don't have it all the time, and when we get it we don't know always know unless the other person starts to talk to us and we are thinking "Who are you?" And this could be someone we know very well!

Have you heard about that breed of fly that has no wings? It is called a walk.

Ooh. Could it also be a bit of prosopragnosia? However, I once had to walk through my local town centre on a busy day and I was panicing. So as I had to walk to the other end of the pedestrianized street I just looked forward and walked fast to get through the crowds, and all the people ended up like walls of a tunnel. They appeared flat to me like a flay wall, but it was tunnel shaped!

I could easily get lost looking at all those pictures!

I think I had better say a bit more about myself. I am one of those people who has always loved anything to do with railways, though I am far more tuned into specific aspects of the hobby then I used to be as you could say I have matured. However I am one of those modellers who loves to start things but does not often finish. In the past, though I have always been into 00 (Though far less so now), I have tried a few scales and gauges from N to SM32, but out of them all, I found a love for freelancing in 0-16.5 otherwize known as 7mm narrow gauge using 00 gauge width track. I have recently discovered that there maybe a reason why I am narrow minded and seem to stay with certain interests, like trains and bicycles and that is because I have recently found that i have a few traits of autism. I do not know if I am on the autistic spectrum or not as I am waiting to be assessed after having several autistic burnouts (A bit like some sort of breakdown) and I found that last september even low hours part time work was too much for me. (Back in 2007 I worked full time on the railways, but it was there after 9 years of working there (A record for me to stay in one job) that I hit my first burnout, though I did not know what it was. All I knew was that I needed to quit work as if I had stayed I would not be here today as my mind was jumping. Don't worry. I am quite sane even though some may say otherwize! Haha!) Anyway. If you want to ask questions about me go for it. I can't promise that I will answer, but I will give it a go.

Full shutdowns for me are where I end up on the floor and am no longer able to use my body. I go all floppy! I get loud tinitus which lowers in note as my eyesight dims and ends up black. My hearing does not seem to work either. Somehow I am concious and have an awareness of my surroundings, but it is a coma like state? I am also in a panic as I will first be having a partial shutdown and usually I can prevent a full shutdown by removing myself from what was triggering the event, but if I start going deeper into a shutdown because I have not been able to get to a safer quieter enviroment and away from the triggers, I will get a full shutdown. (I can write more details again about my experiences with full and partial shutdowns as I am just going to put my car in the barn and nip to the loo!).

Does anyone else have partial or full shutdowns? I get both. It was due to a lifetim of trying to find out what they were that I recently found I may be on the spectrum.