Middlesea John

As you're producing the love child of Kent and Devon, why not mix St Mary Cray and Ottery St Mary ? Add in your own name and call it St Mary Matthew or something like that.

I quite like the idea of a reggae version of "Smoke". We've done a reggae arrangement of The Animals' (and others I know) "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on and off for about 15 years and we found out a couple of months ago that Eric Burdon plays it reggae when he does it live nowadays. Hang on this is a model railway forum isn't it Phil ?

Regarding DavidCBroad's question about were E2s used for anything other than shunting. I don't know the exact answer to this but I do have the 1960/61 Southern Region timetable on which I wrote the numbers of the locos I saw on the first day I went properly trainspotting as a youngster in Sussex. There are 2 E2s on this list. They wouldn't have been shunting as where we were (between Southwick Station and Fishersgate Halt) there were no sidings. They could have been light engine or they could have been hauling local freights trains. I'd like to think local freights maybe to Beeding cement works or to the big yard at Worthing. Just a thought and a memory.

Wearing one of my other hats, I am involved with the running of our local folk music festival and we asked a locally based bus company to provide a service between the site and the town centre, the bus station and the railway station. They do this half hourly from about 10am to around 2am over the three days of the festival. Presumably they are able to make a profit though I haven't personally asked them. I'm only really saying this to prove that it is possible if you can find someone who is willing. Perhaps not the bigger operators who have greater expenses.

As a boy I used to travel (on my own - would you let your children do that nowadays ?) quite often from New Milton to Waterloo on the 07.27 from Bournemouth for a day taking in all the London termini. It was always full and you always had to stand (businessmen sit on their brief case / shooting stick) if you got on after Bournemouth. One day I was standing next to a guy who was timing the run with a stop watch. I was too young to understand exactly how he did it but on that stretch through the Surrey/Hampshire border he claimed that we reached 108mph. The loco was 34009 Lyme Regis. I can't of course verify that speed but I do remember arriving in Waterloo at exactly 10.00 when due time was 10.09 and we were late leaving the last stop which was Winchester so whatever we were doing it was mighty fast. Always held Lyme Regis in awe from that day onwards.

That model looks nice Phil but a bit too far west for us. The layout is coming on great - we're really pleased with it. We've even made a start on the fiddle yard. Well we've bought some track and marked out the positions for it. I've taken some photos on my phone but my computer won't download them and when it does it takes me ages to fiddle about with them to get them onto RMWeb. Maybe just me. You'll always be welcome to come for another look, just message me to make sure I'll be there.

That drawing looks remarkably like a trebuchet to me. Are you looking to find a new way of donating some of your stock to other people ? Or am I looking at it from the wrong angle ?

By "Dump" I assume you mean "Council Waste and Recycling Site". I've searched Halfords and can't find a green that looks right to me. Mind you the lights in the shop probably don't help. So where else should I look for car paints ? I'm not a car person so I don't know such things.

Have you any pictures of your Cafeteria car, Phil ?

When I was in my early teens I was a junior member of Poole & District MRS. My inspiration was their layout Milborne Junction. It taught me that, at exhibitions, you are entertaining the public so you should always have something running. Another inspiration was John Harrison's Torpoint because his articles about it were funny and, however good we endeavour to make our models, we must always enjoy ourselves and have fun whilst we are doing it.

I've got the old Terry Gough articles and I did manage to produce a very rough and ready Ironclad brake 2nd which now has bogies from one of the old Hornby Gresley coaches which I intend to fiddle about with to make them look more like LSWR bogies. Slightly off subject, the most important branch line coach for me (and I suspect many others including Clarkee who started this section) is the famous 10-compartment all third / second. Does anyone know a way of producing this from existing RTR models ? The windows are very close together so probably the clerestories will be no good. The old Tri-ang suburbans certainly aren't.

Wow - the layout I always wanted to build when I'd made my first million. I guess I'll have to work harder on the music. Well I wanted to build Bournemouth Central and the loco shed - from bridge to bridge as that is what I really remember. Countless summer Saturdays on the down platform came to a sudden end in July 1968 when those revolting REPS and VEPS took over. And I was a member (a very junior member mind you) of Poole MRS in the mid 60s. There are plenty of photos in various books taken from the up end of the down platform which have the buildings north of the station - the GPO & the builders merchants - in the background - aren't they any help ? But why all the secrecy ? I for one would love to watch the development and see it if I ever got the chance.

Milborne Junction - I was a junior member of Poole MRS in the mid 60s and it taught me that an exhibition layout is there for the public who pay to be entertained. Torpoint - was it by John Harrison ? This taught me that railway modelling is and should be fun. Hursley because it is just SO realistic.

Yes it looks really great - if you ever get fed up with it, I could find it a good home. I love S15s.