jetmorgan

Congratulations on the award at Wycrail and I see Much Murkle is down for the London Festival so will look forward to seeing it there.

I usually forget about that Big Garden Birdwatch hour as well and do the survey during the day recording the maximum number I see in the garden at any one time. I think any survey like that done in one hour will give a false number of the amount of birds. You could have one long tail tit arrive in the hour you choose but 6 in the next...you can't not count them. And I get different birds in the back garden to the front.

If anyone is interested I've just recently PDF scanned the plans page from an old MRC with the LNER brick wagon. Just PM me a message and I can send you a copy

Just ordered the big garden bird watch pack http://www.rspb.org.uk/ But one of the Blue Tits visiting today seems to have a gammy leg...but it doesn't stop him or her from getting on with things.

If it's of interest I have had some old copies of Railway Modeller delivered and there was an article about Port Victoria in there...a layout I think in 4mm. I can scan it and email you a copy.

If anyone is interested I've just come across an article in the November 1979 issue of MRC title Very eraly locomotives - Trevithick, Modelling some unusual prototypes and seems to be an article about modelling the Catch Me Who Can Locomotive. I've scanned it to PDF, for my own purposes, but if anyone is interested in a copy then let me know.

The birds have started to make a reappearance now the weather has turned cold. Bluetits, Long tailed tits & Robins among others

A proper old car

The Woodpecker is back this afternoon...mind you the is digging out all the food I put in my tree branch feeder and making a mess

My upstairs neighbours bought some of those and they said it should my side of the garden as well as their's but it hasn't stopped any cat getting into my garden and trying to have a go at the birds and having the odd crap in the bushes. I find best to stand at the window and when I see one I give a rap on the window...they soon run off then. birds are starting to return now and feed up off the feeders, Blue tits and Robins mostly with a few Sparrows and Dunnocks

I managed to resupply my bird food this weekend after pay day so I've been able to make some new fat feasts for the birds. A couple of handfulls of raisins & sultana's in the food processor...give them a whizz to start chopping them up then mix in about 8 handfuls of peanutsand give them another good whizz about so that everything is well chopped up. All that goes in a bowl with some chopped up lard that is soft and then start mixing in handfuls of wildbird seed. My wild bired seed is mixed with mealworms as well to cater for as many different birds as I can. Lard is really cheap so I get half a dozen packs from the supermarket...I have tried melting the lard before over a gentle heat but I find that once you put the mix in pots or what ever containers you are using it does all fall to the bottom so I prefer to mix it all by hand. Then I'll pack the mixture into reused coconuts...or reused small plastic pots you get supermarket puddings or youghurts in and straight into the fridge, then you can just tip one out onto the bird table. I also have some loose that I press into holes drilled into a tree branch mounted in the garden

The gang of long tailed tits just arrived back looking for some food. Sadly not got the money to get any peanuts at the moment so they will have to wait until payday on Friday

My few 91 photos, by the time they were getting into full service I was starting to lose interest in the trainspotting 91 001 at Crewe works 4/7/87 This was before it actually became 91 001...There was a sign on it saying please do not take photographs but no one was paying any attention to that 91 003 Passing Kensal Green 5/11/88 Not sure quite why it was on the WCML, heading towards Willesden I presume to gain access to the North London Line to get back over to the ECML 91 003 another shot passing Kensal Green 91 009 Kings Cross 26/4/91 91 019 Kings Cross 11/4/92

Right I've found the feature in the September 1975 Railway Modeller, Railway of the Month and made a decent PDF scan, so if anyone wants a copy PM me with your email address and I can email it to you.

Yes there was...I may even have a copy of it in my collection. I think it may have been a 2 parter....I'll have a look when I get the chance and scan a copy if anyone else is interested.

As there seems to be a bit of a 90's theme going on here are some more of mine...91's next when I can get around to it. 1st & 2nd 90 025 Kings Cross...unknown date 90 027 Euston 7/4/89 90 028 Cricklewood 15/4/89 90 136 Stratford 13/3/93 90 138 Stratford 7/12/91 90 144 Nuneaton 21/8/92

I can remember looking just like that as well around the same period...and later. Also makes me think...whatever happened to Railriders!!!

It's a bit odd really that the daisies that I photographed the Butterflies on have not really attracted them before and the plants were there when I moved in 10 years ago but then in 2015 they were covered in Butterflies. We'll see what happens with the Buddleia's. Again rather oddly Godstone station has a forest of the normal Buddleia around it but the times I've gone past I've never seen a butterfly on them either.

Thanks for that Chaz...no I haven't seen many butterflies at all this year...those pics were from 2015. Alas my butterfly identification skills aren't very good...especially when they all look brown with spots

I'll have these in a couple of large plastic tubs so they shouldn't get out and take over the world...I'm not fussed if they go taller than 4ft except for moving the things.

Nothing special here except these...which I believe are Meadow Browns. Didn't see many this year though. But I have had 3 plants arrive this week that should hopefully attract more. 3 Buddleia Buzz plants specially for patio pots from Thompson & Morgan...only grow to 4ft high...so they say, will get them potted up in small pots this weekend and next Spring get them into a large plastic planter that I have spare. http://www.thompson-morgan.com/flowers/flower-plants/perennial-and-biennial-plants/buddleja-buzz-collection/p90090TM

Just watching an episode of Hawaii Five 0 on CBS drama and what should turn up amongst all that americana...what looks like an Austin 1100.

Just a bit of out of the box thinking...rather than a bigger station to occupy the passengers waiting for a train, why not run a few extra trains. But not the full length of the railway...a shuttle service from EG to either Kingscote or more logically Horsted Keynes. So the passengers aren't waiting around for so long and you get them to somewhere that does have more going on. Granted this will make more use use of your slim loco and rolling stock resources so this would be a very long term plan. But with all the new build engine projects going on, including the new build Atlantic on the Bluebell...it's not beyond the realms of possibility to have new build tank engines for just such a purpose. Some while ago when the Atlantic project was looking around for ideas for a future new build project. I did make the suggestion that rather than build one larger locomotive, they build a small batch of smaller tank engines, then off that batch they can sell some of them to other preserved railways or loan them out to help recoup their own costs. So could be beyond the realms of possibilty for perhaps a pair of new build LBSCR D1 0-4-2's to be running between EG & Horsted Keynes on a shuttle service with 2 or 3 coaches each...perhaps even with new build LBSCR coaches...and what about even a new build LBSCR push pull set.

Makes me even more tempted to get a series 3 to go alongside my Discovery....just need to win some lottery money first!!!

Finally got around to scanning some of my class 90's First 2 pics are of the launch of the class 90 at Crewe 4/7/87 Then comes 90 021 at Kings Cross 22/6/92 and 90 022 Kings Cross 8/12/92