tetsudofan

Just received two emails saying that my Gas Turbine 18000 has been despatched. Happy bunny at last. Keith

Just checked my credit card account, mine ordered on 12/11/2019 (when first announced) has been charged today. Not too long to wait now...... Keith

Talking about language qualifications when I arrived in Hong Kong back in 1966 local policemen who spoke English wore a red flash behind their uniform number. On the day of my arrival (working for a bank) I was signed up as a constable in the Marine Division of Hong Kong Auxiliary Police as we all had to do some form of social service and, as I had been a Special Constable in London, I was sent to the HKAP. The interesting thing was that we were not allowed to wear the red flash behind our uniform number as we had not taken the Hong Kong Government English Examination......... Keith

Hi Bob, Just checked my diary and see that I accepted the sound upgrade on June 5th, the day that it was announced. So both orders for the DCC ready and sound upgrade were placed on the announcement dates. Have just checked my credit card accounts (which I do on a regular basis) and no sign of any recent charges by Rails - apart from for some Accurascale JSAs and deposits for the 18100 and E1000. Keith

If that's the case a large number of people must have ordered on the first day that Rails announced on here that they were doing the model. They made the announcement on November 12, 2019 and I placed my order on that day.....and I'm still waiting..... Not that I'm particularly worried, my credit card clicks over tomorrow so I won't have to pay for the model until December at the earliest . Keith

At 12 noon today received an invitation to receive my Covid-19 booster vaccination. Followed the link provided and within a few minutes I had a booking at the local vaccination clinic (a twenty minute walk from home) for the booster dose at 8:30am next Tuesday. Was amazed at how quickly everything was arranged. Could have got a booking for the booster jab this coming Saturday but decided not to as have already booked a flu jab at my local GP surgery (less than 10 minute walk from home) that morning followed by an appointment at the Opticians for a bi-annual eye check on Monday. Certainly keeping the NHS busy this coming weekend/start of next week! Keith

Just been advised by Royal Mail that my package from Accurascale will be delivered on Friday 15th between 8:20am and 12:20pm . Sound decoder and Bubbles are ready and waiting..... Keith

Having been a passenger on the 4-DDs for a short period in 1966 (when I joined The Chartered Bank before being shipped out to Hong Kong) travelling from Mottingham up to town I've always hoped that somebody would do the 4-DDs. Not being a clearing bank, The Chartered Bank working hours commenced at 09:30am at the end of the morning rush-hour when the majority of commuters had already traveled up to town. The timing of the 4-DD was that it would arrive at London Bridge Station at about 09:15am allowing me a brisk walk over London Bridge getting me to the bank in Bishopsgate by 09:30am. Pleasant memories!! Certainly looking to seeing the model. Will certainly order a green one and, maybe, as its a special model to me, a blue one when I think they were renumbered from 4001/02 to 4901/02. Keith

I normally go to the show on the Saturday afternoon but this year I'll be going on Sunday afternoon as tomorrow I'm (hopefully) on the much rebooked UK Railtours trip to Crich and the National Tramway Museum. The club (of which I'm not a member) have advertised locally and in some model railway magazines - the advert in Hornby Magazine states that the show is open both days from 10am to 5pm. As mentioned above the entry proceedures are different this year - you have to enter the show via the underground car park. Keith

Just hope mine does not get hijacked on its way over the Irish Sea...... Keith

Being single has its advantages at times. When I got on the ship to Hong Kong back in 1966 I took all my possessions with me (which upset my Mum!) in a couple of suitcases and a small standard sea trunk, when I came home in 1999 a 20ft container followed me. I hate to think how much I have spent on my hobbies, most expensive have been some modern Japanese prints (purchased whilst I was living in Japan) and all my trains which have been accumulated over the years. I enjoyed buying them and have continued to enjoy them. My brother knows what I've got as does his eldest daughter in case he goes before me. My brother has made it clear that he does not want to spend ages sorting out my things so he has not been nominated as the executor. Once things have been sorted he (and she) know that I would like his grandsons to be the main beneficiaries. It would be nice to be able to know that when I'm going to turn up my tootsies and turn off the mortal coil so that I could start disposing of things before it happens but, hey ho, life is not like that. I've enjoyed the things and hope to continue enjoying them...... Keith

Whilst driving abroad (from 1970 to 1999) I had a simple solution at the time. Before setting out on a trip I would always move my watch from my left wrist to my right wrist. The odd feeling I got on the right wrist always reminded me which was the correct side of the road to be on! Very simple solution but probably would not work now as I have not owned/worn a watch for many a year..... Keith

Talking about red prairies there was one of them things running around here a couple or so years ago: Bachmann released a version, got hooked on it, bought one and even got sound fitted . OK, it wasn't a model of a real thing but then again it was a real thing because I saw it and rode behind it over at the Bluebell. Can't beat that can you........... Keith

On 9/11 I was in Tokyo on vacation having dinner with friends at a local restaurant when the first tower was hit. A few days later I was booked on a North West flight to San Francisco and on to Albuquerque, New Mexico and then on to Antonito, Colorado via plane and rental car (with Canadian number plates!) to do a two-day charter on the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. At first I thought that was goodbye to the Cumbres & Toltec but luckily planes started flying again on the day that my flight was booked. There were not many passengers on board, many of the seats were taken by North West cabin crew who were returning to the US. My other memory of that trip was that at that time I was into collecting Harley Davidson dealer t-shirts and had planned my route from Albuquerque to Antonito and onto Denver via all the H-D dealerships. We do weird things at times....... Keith

Yes, I've found one just like you........ Keith

Good to hear that the Sidcup High Street branch of Barclays is still there. Back in 1963 I did a summer placement with them, living at that time in Mottingham it was easy to get to the branch by train as I was travelling against the flow to the City. Did join Barclays in 1965 but only stayed with them until 1966 when I upsticked and headed off to Hong Kong with The Chartered Bank. Reminds me that I've still got a pension to claim from Barclays - £3 5s and 4p per annum.... Keith

I visited the South Shore Line just as they were getting rid of the old rolling stock and introducing the new "silver" trains. Got chatting with the motorman and went down the street and into the countryside in the drivers cab but can't remember if it was in one of the old or new coaches, At that time I was living and working in Tokyo and when I came home on annual leave I always bought a "round-the-world" ticket leaving Tokyo at 8:00pm on a Friday night arriving in Hawaii at 8:00am on the same Friday morning. After winding down over the weekend I would then head off for the mainland and each year stopping off at one or two towns that had trams and/or interurbans before hitting the east coast and heading home, Over a period of 10 years visited most of these towns. Somewhere I must have some pictures but where I don't know........ Keith

My garden railway, the EG&SNNR (the Ever Growing and Still No Name Railway), is also visible on Google Earth. Search around Kent and you might find it . Keith

Looking at the shed allocations I noted that 69824, 69826 and 62829 were allocated to 32C Lowestoft in 1955/56. At that time I was 10 years old and every year we spent our summer holidays at Lowestoft where my grandfather was a fitter at 32C. His house was at the end of Denmark Road overlooking the line running into Lowestoft Central and we spent many an hour sitting in the window in the second house from the left watching the trains pass by: Odds are that grandfather did some work on one or more of the above locos and I may even have seen one or more of them pass the bedroom window. Pre-order was placed on the day they were announced...... Keith

Reminds of the time back in the mid-1970s when I got my parents to visit me in Japan for a couple of weeks. Took them down to Kyoto for a weekend to do the sights and whilst we were wandering round one of the parks Mum suddenly decided that she needed to visit the loo. Despite it being a well known tourist site, the loos were somewhat basic. That was the only time on the trip that Mum used such a loo!! Looking at the picture of your ship it bears a resemblance to the Chitral that got me out to Hong Kong in 1966: Only real difference I can see is the freight/passenger ratio. During the journey we stopped at Aden, Colombo, Penang, Port Swettenham (for Kuala Lumpur) and Singapore to offload some of the cargo. Longest stay was 2/3 days in Singapore. After leaving Hong Kong the ship headed off to Yokohama and then started its journey back to the UK. Keith

Just received some emails from Hattons telling me that their suppliers suggests that the JHA hoppers I pre-ordered some time ago are expected to arrive at Hattons on or after August 19th 2021. Keith

Having spent most of my working in the Far East I've not owned that many cars. Returned from India in 1972 and bought an Austin 1300GT followed a couple of years later by a Triumph 2.5 both of which were passed on to my father when I returned to the Far East. When I came back in 1999 I bought a Suzuki Wagon R+, having seen and liked the original Suzuki Wagon R (somewhat smaller than the R+) when I was living in Japan. Kept the Wagon R+ for six years (and no problems incurred during that time) before I decided to move to Mercedes starting with the second version of the A-Class followed about four years later by a B-Class before I moved to the first version of the GLA which I kept for three years before getting the latest (hybrid) version of the GLA which is now like a proper SUV) Can remember the index numbers of the first two cars but cannot remember the index number of the first Mercedes. About a year after I got the car and whilst I was caring for my mother (who had Alzheimers) at the end of a rather difficult day just as I was shutting down the pc I saw an advert from the DVLA regarding personalised number plates. Stupid thing I thought but hey-ho why not. Pressed the button and was offered a GB05 plate for £800 which I thought was stupid. Turned that down and got offered MB05 for £400. Still thought it was rather stupid but a couple of days later looked again, MB05 was still there and decided to go for it. Don't have a problem remembering the number now!! The Suzuki was bought because I thought it was a quirky car (which it was!!) but my move to Mercedes was probably due to me driving one whilst I was working in Bahrain many moons ago and thinking then that it was a decent car. Keith

.... and another making its way to the south east coast.... Keith

After taking a recent interest in the I.W. & D. version and a few days of humming and haring I finally pushed the "buy" button late last night....... Keith

Just had a flying visit from the Red Arrows, display lasted 20 minutes.