jonny777

Yes, over priced, but £2 cheaper than another of his - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Bachmann-Class-03-Shunters-Truck-Weathered-Faded-Livery-00-/301108603056?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item461b78a8b0

Thanks for that info. I'm not quite so confused now. I have blown the image up as best I can and the number looks like 2527? (maybe 0, 1 or 2 - it is difficult to make out). If I peer very hard at the headcode box, it does appear to be 1E??. I suspect that it must be a Easter dated service from the south coast. Easter Sunday was March 30th that year and the weather map shows a cold Easterly wind, so sympathies to everyone who was out and about trying to enjoy the holiday.

Not model railways I know, but be careful what you throw out when clearing old buildings. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231160139135?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

A 25 on a passenger train at Didcot? It's a pity the headcode is not visible, but the loco has a recess for a tablet catcher. Weren't they Scottish locos? Maybe it is a returning Merrymaker, or something? - I am a little flummoxed.

If you have a decent sized mid-60s transition steam/diesel layout, then rusting locos on scraplines or sidings full of stored mineral wagons ought to be present somewhere, because they certainly were on the real thing.

But the blurb below the item rambles on about negative feedback ruining his image, and yet by the item it says 100% positive feedback.

I am not sure what this is - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIECE-OF-A4-PAPER-GREAT-FOR-WRITING-Hornby-LOCO-NUMBER-ON-13i-/221386010562?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item338ba26fc2 A joke, a con, an attention seeker, or a protest of some sort?

Yes, we also had a Corona man come round on Saturday morning but my Dad wouldn't buy that as he said it was too expensive. So, we had to make do with the occasional bottle of a cheap brand (that I can't remember) that he bought from the corner shop.

Tizer? Vimto? Blimey, we could never afford those expensive luxuries on our spotting trips. One shilling a week pocket money was all I had in the early 60s. I remember my mother filling an old glass bottle with orange squash if I was lucky, otherwise it was water. Unfortunately, I was not informed that the glass bottle had previously contained vinegar and my first mouthful of "orange" was something of a shock to the system.

I think it must be something like that, chaz. Certainly, it seems to be birds of a similar size and habit, although blackcaps are more grey than brown - but they do tend to feed on similar items as a robin. On the subject of aggression, there was a loud commotion of cheeping in the garden about 30 minutes ago. I thought it must be a group of long tailed tits that do appear from time to time, but it turned out to be 4 great tits that were chasing each other around the shrubbery in a very aggressive way. Presumably a non local pair had come a-looking for a suitable potential nesting territory and had accidentally strayed into one already occupied by a couple of birds that were not going to give up their patch with free daily food ? I have never seen great tits behave quite so angrily, but I suppose all birds will defend their area when they have to. Watching the antics of garden birds is fast becoming a very rewarding pastime since I retired.

Here are 3 rather uninspiring shots of them at Willesden. Edited since first posting, because file sizes were all over the place (senior moment).

Our resident robin is very aggressive, not only to any other robin that may stray into the garden, but also to dunnocks and blackcaps. I am not quite sure why they are seen as threatening, because house sparrows and chaffinches are ignored, as are all the tit family. Once the male has found his mate, he will escort her to our bird table and feed her tasty morsels from it. Presumably this is the robin equivalent of a Valentine's Day meal at the local wine bar? Although, judging by the state of the bird table this time of year, it is more like treating your betrothed to a visit to the local burger van. Obviously in the robin world, love is blind.

I love that photo looking from the buffer stops. If it was not for the wallpaper where the sky ought to be, I could forgive myself for believing it was taken at a real station.

That is an excellent layout, and it really captures the atmosphere of the era and area. It has something of a Moorgate flavour to it.

Each to his/her own, I suppose. I actually like that finish for a loco that has been stood in the open for a few years. I like the way the rust has been done on the lower bodyside, it really does look as though the body rot has set in good and proper, (just like an old Mk3 Cortina I used to drive). OK so one of the BR symbols is the wrong way round, but the other looks ok, and at least the seller has been brave enough to include a photo of the original that the weathering is based on. Credit where credit is due, I say.

Here is one taken with a long lens while construction work was in progress behind.

I notice that the model in those photos has 3-link couplings. Is that a limited edition, or do they all come with those?

Sorry for being pedantic, but there are actually 2 available from that seller http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151243056884

Thanks for that. No wonder I couldn't find it; for some reason I had it in my head that it was Rails I ordered it from. I found the Hattons original order email, 8th Aug 2011, no wonder I had forgotten - I can't remember what happened yesterday. Anyway it was a heavily weathered version, so I will not panic quite so much.

OMG! And I have just bought a greenhouse on my credit card. I can't even remember which garratt variant I ordered, or who I ordered it from, it was so long ago.

Sadly, my notes from 1967/8 do not show the yellow panel status, just a few cars that were blue at that time.

Another ancient and poor quality photo of mine from 1968. The somersault signals survive, and trains are expected in both directions, although nothing seems to be imminent - so a long wait for anyone at the crossing gates. I cannot believe that 55 years have passed since I took this.

Well, I was wrong on both combinations. It was blue/grey and NSE.

I'm sure that I have a photo of a mixed EMU, Suzie. I will try and dig it out and post it here if I find it. From memory, it is of a 4-EPB at London Bridge, but I could not say which variants are in the same set. I think it might be 1 blue/grey and 3 blue, or the other way around.

The leading car on that still image appears to be one with the yellow paint around the driver's door. There were a few like that in the early years, but I am not sure which depot/works was responsible. There are a few photo examples on Flickr. EDIT; Sorry, Classsix and I seem to have thought the same thing in parallel.