tetsudofan

Got my email this afternoon ……… but I did pre-order mine on the day they were announced..... and my surname starts with a "B" Double whammy there Keith

I tend to agree with Baz regarding Santander. One has to remember that Santander UK was never a proper bank (as clearing banks used to be) but was a conglomeration of two UK building societies. Whilst I was Membership Secretary and (for a short time) Treasurer of a certain railway society the society's banker was Santander with all the money held in two passbook accounts for which no statements were issued. He who held the passbooks had access to the funds. It got even more bizarre when I tried to get my name on the list of authorised signatures and Santander advised that they had no record of the existing authorised signatories - they had lost or could not find whatever information there was. As Membership Secretary I had to deposit the renewal cheques at the local branch of Santander which involved queueing to get to the counter and then waiting ages whilst the cashier processed each cheque separately. Paying in at least 20 cheques at a time It took ages. They did introduce a deposit scheme where the cheques could be put into an envelope and dropped in a box. This system did not last long as not many people used this service and it was withdrawn.... Having banked with Barclays since 1964 (when I did a summer placement and then having worked with them for 18 months in 1965-66) I opened a Society Account at Barclays and was able to offer society members the option of paying by cheque or using internet banking.... and about 50% started using internet banking. Despite having spent most of my working life roaming around Asia I always maintained an account with Barclays. OK, there have been a couple of screw-ups during those odd 50 years mainly when I returned to the UK and moved my offshore account onshore, everything has gone smoothly. For some reason I just regard Barclays as "my" bank. They even put me on "Premier Banking" status last year even though I don't meet the current qualifications for such status. Keith PS: writing the above reminds me that I've not claimed my pension benefit of £3 5s 4d per annum for the 18th months I worked for Barclays.

Better start making my 80th Birthday present list if the blue box team do announce it...…… Please Hornby, do something earlier..... Keith

Hi Ixion, There is a "Sound Fitted Information" sheet: Hope that helps, Keith

I've been on 40mg Atorvastatin for 3 1/2 years after the Consultant Stroke Physician I saw was "minded" to say that I had had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack) one afternoon. Since taking the tablets I have not had any side effects and my cholesterol and blood pressure readings have fallen to within the targets laid down by the consultant. The consultant did point out that I will require life-long anti-platelet and statin therapy. It's interesting about the comments about possible change of moods. I've been known to have a rather short fuse in the past but I've certainly not lost it since I've been on Atorvastatin. Keith

Although not connected its interesting that the timing of this incident is very similar to the landslip that occurred just outside Dover on the mainline towards Folkestone back in December 2015. Some people thought that the line would be closed for good due to the geological features between Dover and Folkestone but Network Rail got stuck into it and nine months later (three months earlier than expected) the line was reopened. Keith

As I mentioned in the Bachmann 2020 thread on December 14th ….. but not sussed out how to link that message in this message. Keith

Talking of money and banks when I first arrived in Hong Kong back in 1966 once I had to deputize for the Cash Officer on a Saturday and after the bank closed had to go down to the vault to check the cash before the doors were closed and locked for the weekend. The total cash in the vault that was just about the equivalent of one million pounds, the first and last time I actually saw one million pounds in the flesh!! It was also interesting that the Honkers and Shankers and the Chartered Bank issued bank notes on behalf of the Hong Kong Government. The Government only issued coins and 1 cent notes equivalent, if I remember correctly, to about 100th of 1/6d. When last in Hong Kong (a few years ago) bank notes were issued by Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered. Keith

Just received my latest copy of the "Bachmann Times" in which there is an announcement regarding the Bachmann New Product Showcase which has traditionally been a trade-only event. In 2020 Bachmann are giving us the opportunity to attend these events starting with the Midlands event which is to be held on Wednesday 5th February not far from the Barwell HQ. No details of any other of these events is given. You, of course, have to be a member of the Bachmann Collectors Club to attend these events. Keith

There's a picture of Departmental No.39 on the latest newsletter from Kernow Model Rail Centre. Ordered a sound-fitted version myself (which Dapol tell me won't be with me until the New Year) as No.39 was shedded at Lowestoft in 1957 (when I was 12) where my grandfather was a fitter at the engine shed and I probably saw the loco when I was there for the summer holidays. Keith

Hello David, Like the trackwork at Leith in C15710 - replicates some of the track laying on my layout! Many thanks for all the pictures you've been posting, one of my favourite threads on RMweb. Keith

A quick before the production Cl.66s start arriving. What you say above is what was typical of traction tyres on UK models of days gone by and is certainly not true of the traction tyres currently used on European models. I've just got a couple of models from Germany fitted with traction tyres and its very difficult with the naked eye spotting which wheels have traction tyres. LGB even fit traction tyres on their Harz 2-10-2Ts and it was only last year, after more than ten years running, did I have to fit new traction tyres. Enough of traction tyres, back to Hattons Cl.66s. Got to wait until January for my sound-fitted loco...…..

Wonder if they would accept my Japanese Alien Registration Card? Has my picture and thumb print on the front. Oops, no luck just noticed that the card expired on my birthday in 2000. Keith

I was there on the Saturday arriving courtesy of UK Railtours which maybe explains why the show had a sudden influx of visitors around 2:00pm. Coming from down here in the far south east corner of the country (which meant getting up at 4:45am!!) I found the show to be quite interesting especially as many of the layouts and traders present don't appear on the exhibition circuit down this way. One problem I did find was the difficulty of getting a good view of the N-gauge layouts most of which seemed rather low compared to the height of the OO and O-gauge layouts. Must admit that some of the best views I got were from the videos above done by Trent Valley Railway. …… and for Baz, dates of next years show are Saturday/Sunday 12th & 13th December. Keith

Great stuff, looking forward to seeing it all tomorrow!! Keith

Done it Keith

Got my sound-fitted 90128 set up on my Z21 this afternoon and gave it a spin round the track: One of the features that I do like is the option to turn off the rear lights on the loco when hauling something: Another interesting feature is that once F1 (sound on/off) has been activated the loco won't move until F6 (pantograph up/down) or F12 (pantograph up/down sounds) has been activated. After a few minutes running 90128 got tired of hauling a short train ex-SECR covered vans (which arrived the same day as 90128) so, to keep it happy, some SNCB double deck coaches were found to make it feel like home...…. Keith

You're lucky Chris, to avoid the possibility of having to race from the Southeastern platforms at St. Pancras to platform 2 at Kings Cross I've got to leave home at 05.45 to catch the 05:59 Highspeed to St. Pancras. Train (diesel hauled) is due depart Kings Cross at 08:15 and arrive at Manchester Victoria (no long platform available at Piccadilly) at 13:12 so hope to be at the Manchester Show by 13:45. Not sure what to have for breakfast on the train. Kippers or a Full English? Decisions! Keith

Received my sound-fitted 90128 in SNCB livery this afternoon courtesy of Fedex who left the package in the porch even though I was at home all day. Had a quick look at the loco and read the additional instructions that came with it …. and was interested to see that it comes with a Loksound V5 sound decoder. Keith

Yep, have already told that to the guy I was talking to. Just waiting for the Manager (or whatever) to call me tomorrow..... just in case he has some offer to make. If not, Aviva, here I come. Premium is less and that is without Aviva Shareholder discount! Keith

My car insurance expires tomorrow. Received a renewal notice on November 19th quoting a renewal premium of £327.31 (a reduction from last years £372.31) and a confirmation that as I pay by direct debit if they don't hear from me they will automatically renew the policy on the renewal date. Good, I thought, no need to contact them. Yesterday received another reminder again stating that as I pay by direct debit there is no need to contact them as the policy would automatically renew. Foe some reason I thought I had better contact them to ensure that all is ok. I'm glad I did. Phoned them and after a few minutes being told that my call is important to them I Finally got through to human being. The fun and games then started..... First of all was told that the renewal premium in amount of £327.31 was incorrect and it should in fact be £427.31. It was blamed on a typist error. £427.31 was the premium to be paid. Next I was told that they do not have my card details therefore, despite them stating this in their two letters. Asked why they did this said that they are aware of the incorrect wording of the letter but they have not worked out the way of amending the wording on the letter template. Seeing that I was getting nowhere I ask to be transferred to a superior or his manager. No can do he says, they are busy dealing with previous days problems. All he can do is send them an email to ask them to contact me within 48 hours. No call received today, see what the next 24 hours brings. What is scary about this episode is that if I had not contacted them yesterday I could have been driving the car tomorrow illegally and without insurance. And, you may ask, who is the company behind all of this Micky Mouse activity ? It's Mercedes-Benz Insurance authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Took out the insurance two years ago when they offered Gap Insurance for the new car for the first year and things went smoothly until now. When I first purchased the policy Mercedes Benz Insurance used to operate out off Mercedes Benz UK in Milton Keynes but it now operates out of Princes Risborough as a stand alone operation. Have got a funny feeling that the insurance side of the business has been out-sourced to the new outfit..... Keith Had a chat with the Financial Ombudsman this morning who seemed, in a non-committal way, surprised at what I told them.

Seeing the pictures of the Suez Canal reminds me of my trip through the canal in August 1966 on the P&O Chitral bound for Hong Kong. As we entered the canal there was a great big advertising board proclaiming "its quicker by BOAC" Keith

Email just received, order has been despatched Royal Mail 48-hour Tracked, should arrive down here in the far south east corner by Thursday. Keith

Three ordered on 25/04/2019, card charged on 29/11/2019, order showing today "in progress". Be interesting to see when it shows "despatched" Keith

I don't have a TV or a TV licence (they went with my late Mum when she moved into a care home) but just remembered that I have a B&W TV somewhere in the loft - it was a white spherical thing purchased around 1973/74 but hardly used after moving back to the Far East...…... Keith