Tim H

Some pictures of work in progress. Nothing's wired up yet, but I've got some rolling stock out to test siding length and gove some idea of how things will look. The idea is to keep stock to a single era for a given operating session, not the mix of transition and far more modern stock you see here! One end of the layout, with the junction for the branch, and a down express. There will be a road bridge here, at the point where the curve gets dramatically sharper on the branch. From a bit further back. The yard will eventually have five roads. The station area, with a slightly lost looking Dapol bubble car. The freight stock in the background represents the longest train the yard can handle. And the other end, with an up freight.

Devin Townsend presents Ziltoid the Omniscient. What? A prog-metal concept album about the daydreams of a bored Starbucks employee? The Mars Volta - Octahedron. The band that sadly imploded last night Suede - Dog Man Star. Rare case of a band's second album being the best?

After far too long a delay I've finally got round to getting the baseboards assembled, and a lot of the track laid. Largely following the original proposed track plan, although nothing's fixed down as yet (The beauty of Kato Unitrack is you can rearrange things very easily if you realise the trackplan isn't quite working. Photos to follow.

UFO - The Crysalis Years 73-79. All five disks worth. It's the whole of the Michael Schenker years, featuring five studio albums, the live double "Strangers in the Night", a handful of BBC sessions and a live radio broadcast from 1973. Thing that stands out is just what a phenominal guitarist Michael Schenker was in his 70s prime.

Rob Cottingham - Captain Blue. Which I've reviewed here - http://www.kalyr.com/weblog/2013/01/12/rob-cottingham-captain-blue/ Yes - 90125. Think Yes managed the transition from 70s prog-rock to 80s pop-rock more successfully than Genesis, artistically if not commercially. Othrs might not agree. Talking Heads - Remain in Light. A band orders of magnitude better than 99% of bands that cite them as an influence.

I've seen a picture of a part of class 120 Cross-Country sets with two maroon Mk1 coaches as a tail load. Don't have the book to hand, but can't imagine that was common. Also remember some oddball DMU formations on WR suburban services. Oddest one was a 4-coach formation with a 121 "Bubble", two driving trailers and a 128 Motor Parcels Van (which I presume was being used solely for traction). Presumably a scratch formation to cover for an unavailable 3-car unit. Years ago, RAIL (I think) published a photo of a 122 "Bubble" piloting a 47 on a parcels train. Guessing the 47 was failed with a defective speedo.

Today, on record Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited II Squackett - A Life Within A Day Simon Snaize - The Structure of Recollecton Last night, at Bilston Robin 2 Panic Room Howard Sinclair Morpheus Rising Latest albums by all three are highly recommended.

Thanks again, Shunting with a DMU sounds interesting! Never seen any photos of Machy goods yard. Guess the location meant it was difficult to photograph.

Silly amount of live music lately: Stabbing a Dead Horse (Trojan Horse, The Fierce and the Dead, and Knifeworld) - Rather bonkers avant-garde alternative/prog involving bassoons. Larry Miller - Guitar-shredding electric blues in the vein of Rory Gallagher Crimson Sky - Mix of prog-rock and 80s new-wave. Nightwish - Who probably don't need any introduction. Managed to get a pass for the photo pit for that one. Next one up is Panic Room at The Borderline,

Thanks everyone who's contributed so far. Filled in a lot of the gaps in my own memories and research. Another question - Can't remember the link now, but at one point the coast line freight ran via Aberystwyth. Did it do this in both directions, and where did it reverse? Back to Machy or run round at Dovey Junction? Seem to remember some sidings at Dovey Jcn back in 1974/5 and wonder what, if anything, they were used for.

Thanks - Those ones are very useful. Dapol do make the SPV in N (I've actually got a couple of them). I think the coaches are SK, BSK and CK.

The Cambrian lines in the early 70s seem a good subject for a "Mini-module" style layout inspired by Sir Madoc's work, inspired by family holidays in the area in 1974 and 75. I've got as far as acquiring a Farish class 24 and a couple of blue DMUs, which prompts some other questions on rolling stock. Most photos of the coast line freight have shown the signature gunpowder vans, plus 16t minerals and Vanfits. Were any other wagon types common? I once saw cattle wagons marshalled between the loco and the gunpowder vans, presumably as barrier wagons, though I'm told that was exceedingly rare. When did the Aberystwyth oil traffic go over to trainload operation, and what wagon types were used before and after? For that matter, what was the motive power? Class 24s or something else? What was the formation of the Aberystwyth to York mail? Memory suggests two Mk1s (SK + BCK?) plus a few assorted pre-nationalisation vans. I remember class 101, 103 and 108 two-car DMUs, with four coach trains made up of two sets a common formation. Were three-car sets ever used? Did class 40s ever run up the coast on Summer Saturdays? Only ever remember seeing them east of Machynlleth, with pairs of 24s on the coast services. I know my main British outline interests is Cornwall, but everyone needs at least one side-project.

Two brand new releases: Mermaid Kiss - Another Country. A download-only album. More stripped-down than the previous "Etarlis" with greater emphasis on acoustic instruments (woodwinds, piano and acousic guitar). Crimson Sky - Dawn. A four-track EP featuring their new singer, Jane Setter.

Not only a very powerful voice but a really lovely person too. No rock star ego at all. Which one are you going to?

Recent listens have included Muse - 2nd Law (Just occasionally something really good gets past the mediocrity police that control the "mainstream") The Heather Findlay Band - Songs from the Old Kitchen (Lovely "live in the studio" unplugged session with reworked version of Mostly Autumn, Odin Dragonfly and solo songs) Nightwish - Imaginaerum (Still great, still totally bonkers) Pink Floyd - Animals (Always a favourite Floyd album of mine. If I'm in the mood for some Pink Floyd it's usually this or "Meddle") Enslaved - Riitiir (No, I don't know how to pronounce it either) Touchstone - The City Sleeps (This one took a long time to click for me, nowhere near as immediate as their previous "Wintercoast", but now I love it) Marillion - Sounds That Can't Be Made (Still not totally convinced yet, but I think this one will improve with more listens) The Who - Quadrophenia (Which I'm beginning to think is a better album than the better-known "Tommy")

Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard. With an instrumental called "Evening Star", and a new album called "English Electric" we can tell a lot about this band (I wonder if any of them are members of this forum?). 70s-style prog-rock with lots of flute, Very very English. Frost* - Experiments in Mass Appeal. Not quite convinced by this one yet. The Heather Findlay Band - Songs From The Old Kitchen. Acoustic re-workings of older songs, rather better than many of this sort of "unplugged" album tends to be

Rush - Clockwork Angels. The album which stubbornly refuses to click. I feel like I'm the only person who doesn't "get" this album. Riversea - Out of the Ancient World. Which I've reviewed on my website Delain - We Are The Others. Euro female-fronted metal, both heavy and quite commercial. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage. Probably the heaviest record I've bought this year. Bits of it make Megadeth sound like Bon Jovi Joe Bonamassa - Driving Towards the Daylight. More guitar-shredding electric blues, which is my kind of blues.

Saw Chantel McGregor live in Oxford on Monday night

And apart from Mostly Autumn... Breathing Space - Below the Radar Rush - Clockwork Angels. Maybe it's just me, but I'm not conviced this is as great an album as everyone else seems to think it is. Riversea - Out of the Ancient World. So long in the making some of us wondered if it was ever going to appear. But when it did, it was well worth the wait. Stolen Earth - A Far Cry From Home. Another great York album. Clearly something in the water there. The Darkness, Permission to Land. After they crashed and burned following an archetypal "difficult second album", I'd forgotten there were quite a few decent tunes on the first one. Mermaid Kiss - Etarlis. Still a beautiful album from much-underrated band.

I can see where Colin is coming from here - On "Unquiet Tears" and "Wild Eyed Skies" in particular I can hear a strong resemblance to contemporary Scandinavian bands like Nightwish, and it's a quite different feel from the 70s-style hard rock of "Never the Rainbow". Some other songs have a more traditional MA sound, but those two (and also the title track) sound like something of a new direction for them. Olivia Sparnenn co-write all three, which is where I think it's coming from.

Been listening to this all day today - Move over the likes of Sharon den Adel, you've got some serious competition. First heard this at the album playback party in York back in May, in the presence of most of the band. Was able to tell Olivia (and her mum!) just how impressed I was with the album, and her singing in particular. The opener "Unquiet Tears" is just amazing.