R A Watson

James, We are in agreement on all points here, perhaps approach and terminology may differ but I think we both know where each other is coming from. There is avast difference between the preserved and main line worlds, but there is also a vast difference in the machinery and manpower available to the two sectors, what is easily possible for one is virtually impossible for the other. With regard to project managemt I agree that these things can only be completed with total cooperation between all parties. My intention was to emphasise that the majority of remediation was the responsibility of the tip owner not the railway,who in this case can be classed as the aggrieved party. Perhaps we should be looking forward to the first reports of service resumption now rather than discussing differing viewpoints of past actions. Wally

As someone who has been actively involved in P W work on preservation lines for over thirty years my instincts are mainly confined to matters on the ground and between the fences. My reference to the simple process of reinstatement referred only to the application of ballast and track, the majority of the work here is non railway and down to the owners of the waste tip which is the initial cause of the problem and perusal of the pictures here shows the extent of the work carried out so far. It is only now that the cause of the movement has been eradicated that the railway can do their bit although they have made use of the time to obtain and stockpile the materials on site. On the subject of route learning there is a major difference between the terms learning and refreshing, perhaps if the other term had been used my response my have been worded differently. Being stuck down here on the Devon / Cornwall border my knowledge of the geography and lines in the affected area is somewhat limited and I fully understand that adjacent routes have been affected with regard to levels of driver current experience but am sure that this problem will soon be rectified by the resumption of traffic. Wally

Given the short length of the works ( both ends are in sight simultaneously) and it is a simple reinstatement, how much variation from the former needs to be learnt? Wally

Most lamps of this type were originally gas and then converted to electricity. The gas supply was a pipe which ran up through the post and then did a swan neck turn to allow the mantle to hang downwards. On conversion the gas pipe was used as a conduit and a bulb holder replaced the mantle fitment. A piece of thin fibre optic could replace the pipe and if a small blob of clear epoxy was put on the end this will replicate the mantle/bulb. Wally

If the tide has got that close to Brent how are things in Kingsbridge (and Wencombe)? Wally

I have used a small pin vice, as used when drilling with small drills, held in the normal vice. The tube will fit through the normally hollow handle with the required length sticking out of the chuck allowing the piece to be cut off but without the need to hold the tube as you are doing in the photo. Wally

It was probably taken standing on the seat of his bike, which was leaning against the wall! Wally

Current site of the Plym Valley Railway, next to the old Marsh Mills clay dries, accessed from Tavistock Junction. Marsh mills station was the first stop on the Tavistock / Launceston line next stop is Plym Bridge Halt currently the "other end" of the Plym Valley line. Wally

Well, at least one of them is a local inhabitant!

Please don't start putting "horse" and "pie" in the same postings again. I thought we had got over that!

Never seen Purbeck stone Leggo bricks before, they must have some big kiddies down there! Wally

Are you sure that new avatar is not copy of an early advertIsing poster? THe B & W ran excursions to public hangings at Bodmin Gaol, that's why they built the gaol opposite the station! Wally

Sorry to hijack the thread but - Mention of the Coal Canal brings to mind the story of when the Plymouth Railway Circle were exploring the area using a hired Royal Blue coach looking for any visible remains during the early 1960's. At one point on a fairly narrow road they encountered a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm aircraft taking a cross country jaunt on the back of a "Queen Mary" type transporter, during the inevitable shunting the various components came into contact and I have seen photographs taken both inside and outside of the coach showing the stub of an aircraft wing in a position previously occupied by a window! it has long been a talking point whether there has been another simple R T A involving so many examples of transport in a single incident. Wally

Modelling that bridge handrail is opening the way for "Mr Spams" to introduce more of his rail grinders! Wally

Normally in stock in Maplin at about the same price all of the time. Wally

The Merchants were not allowed over the viaduct at Meldon on weight grounds (too heavy for the structure and therefore the possibility that loco and bridge might both hit the ground!) The crew training runs, both WR and SR, ran on a circular basis out one way and back the other allowing both sets of men to eventually experience both routes in both directions without needing to turn the locos, Wally

Thats nothing, during the special run when the G W S took there stock from Totnes to Didcot all those years ago the driver on "Ashbucket Agnes" (6998) shut off the power and 1466 was doing all of the work - and a lot of swearing - when the train topped Hemerdon! Wally

I have just spent some time going through "Laira Fireman" by Philip Rundle as I knew there are pictures of the viaduct with the walkway in place,unfortunately it does not show any track layout details. On the subject of the milk road tankers, the Daws Creameries lorries carried names rather than fleet numbers. The two which were reserved for use on the hill climbing duties were named Jack and Jill! Wally

That primer is only supposed to be used as a single thin coat to allow a normal coat of primer to stik in the normal way on top of it! Trying to apply a second coat will only soften and release the initial layer as you have found out. Wally

My school (next to his) finished 15 minutes later, so I could not catch the train and had to get the bus straight home. The "Grammer School boys" always got a better deal than us! Wally

I don't want to rub it in Rob, but what Phil did not mention is that if it was a school day he would have got there on a Southern Region train from Devonport Kings Road station, probably behind a Bullied pacific! Wally

Looking at the size of that carrying girder above the lower doors there should be no problem with offset openings on the first floor. Wally

Is he still tied to the cart?

That's probably the back end of one of the annual Dartmoor Pony drifts and sales when excess animals were brought off the moor and sold to reduce the stock numbers before the winter. The same thing brought a lot of traffic to Ashburton, outward only. Wally

I would not worry about, the fence, you have photographic evidence to back up your modelling if anyone complains, as I stated practice differed between various locations. As a (retired) P W man on a preserved railway I realise that once fitted the wire will stay there untill it rusts out but will probably have been replaced by vegetation growing around it long before then. Just look on the other side of the line in the picture! Anyone worrying about the galvanising scratching off the wire due to the wire being pulled through the posts must be buying very low grade, and cheap, wire surely a classic case of under specifying. Donning my other official, also now retired, hat that of a health and safety advisor I would point out fitting the wire or staple to the outside of your posts is definitely a No - No due to the vertical drop on the non railway side of the fence. Keep up the good work and stop worrying about superfluous detail. Wally