Andy C

Its quite possible that it became the 423 then, when SELNEC added a third digit in front of routes so there was no duplication across the somewhat wide gepgraphic area they covered! - The list I was using in the RCT book was dated 1974 and the service was still a 90 then. And just for Derek:(and Larry)

Recourse to my bible on the machinations of Rochdale Corporation Transport say there was no 23 service Manchester to Rochdale ever Im afraid, just the 17, 24 and 90. Of course there was always the 17T much beloved of the Rochdale MRG "Wednesday evening bus club" which always turned back at Chesham (Castleton). Talk of the No 59 wallows me in nostalgia Larry - if you were still driving in 1968 you may have just taken this unruly schoolkid to Royton and Crompton School on Blackshaw Lane! - I also used to catch the No2 (or the 3 at a pinch) but all this talk of the no 2 and its ultimate outward destination of New Hey makes me think I shouldnt be typing this, and getting on with some modelling. Anyway up its Mc Braynes busses for me from now on

John Bs beat me to my all time favourite cover - Patti Smith doing The Boss's "Because the Night" But then I recall this classic first time i heard it was Knebworth 1978, the Tubes were on just before the sublime Mr Frank Zappa: I hated the Beatles with a passion and still do to some extent but this version of "I saw her standing there" brought punk credibility to them

You have to keep things in perspective and just remember that a lot of the "feeling" around this is whipped up by the media hype and people buying into that. As pointed out many times here any loss of life is tragic and whilst AW was undoubtedly talented (although not on the couple of times I saw her at Glasto, she was bl**dy awful due to her "issues") it doesnt make it any more or less tragic than events in Norway, Somalia or anywhere else for that matter, they are all victims of one thing or another. Its been very hard for me to keep a personal sense of perspective about this debate re comparisons with Norway. On Friday afternoon I went through a hour and 15 minutes of sheer hell attempting to make contact with my eldest son. He and his wife to be live on Akersgata in Oslo, around 350 metres away from the bomb, where it went off is on Camilla's direct route to her office. Luckily they had both left that morning to go away for the weekend, but they are still unsure on the state of their apartment until they get back tonight. So on hearing about AW's death my initial reaction was "so what", but then you rationalise it. Yes she could have refused the various chems on offer but ultimately the human spirit quite often likes an easy out, especially when as she did, live her life under constant scrutiny. The media have sensationalised her life and ultimately her death, but again on reflection just how much of the constant media feed from Oslo on Friday afternoon contributed to my own, and those others in the same position, feelings of fear,worry and unease. Needless to say I got ratarsed on Friday evening.

Like Clecklewyke im a person that tends to look at the buildings / infrastructure first (I wonder why!) and these are so well observed, and then modelled to a very high standard indeed. even looking at a two dimensional photo you can feel and even smell the atmosphere of the layout. It oozes quality, who gives s**t about the track standards. A layout id love to see in our show. (and thanks for the kind comments and comparisons about a certain MMRS layout as well folks)

The succession of transport ministers who all but killed off the railway system.

The old press adage of "never let the truth get in the way of a good story" always rings true in the local press especially. As Andy says in his OP its good to live in a town where nothing happens, and for most of us thats true (unless as in our case a prime minister visits at election time and makes an ill thought out remark whilst the mike is on). So when nothing happens they still have a paper to sell, and cats stuck up in trees dont sell the paper. So its a case of lets find our local self righteous nutter to get a quote about something which is mildly contentious and big it up. Personally I think the local letters pages are always the best hoot. Its obviously where the reporters get their local nutter sources from.

The Commentator was honing his skill in front of New hey for a fair spell at railex, Mark also got a full commentary on Portchullin. Ive got to admit to sending the same train round a few times to see how he copes, but he's always well up to the task! He's obviously a quite knowledgable bloke so I do wonder what his condition is never seen anyone like it before. End of the day he's a harmless soul and if attending shows keeps him happy, brilliant.

Ive always used the Alex Tiranti moulding rubber - good stuff, and still have a supply! http://www.tiranti.co.uk/

Rather you than me Ron, but if it proves onerous its worth giving Geoff a call to price the etchings as you already have the artwork - He did the window frames for my goods shed on New Hey as they were an oddball size and i didnt fancy evenings messing with microstrip

Impressive work Ron, particularly using 20 thou in the heat of Spain! I suspect your easiest method of doing the support columns other tham commisioning some from one of the small casting manufacturers will be to construct a master out of brass and then possibly casting them yourself out of resin. Once you get the production line going its not too bad!! Top brackets out of etched brass? Geoff taylor did some for Caleyman for his Eskmuir layout - they look fairly similar and it might be worth checking Geoffs website out. http://www.gtbuildingsmodels.co.uk/ Andy

Already been mentioned has been my all time favourite of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" from Apocalypse Now, but close behind is this somewhat lengthy gem from Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction: "There's a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon you." Now... I been sayin' that ###### for years. And if you ever heard it, that meant your ass. You'd be dead right now. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing to say to a ###### before I popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some ###### this mornin' made me think twice. See, now I'm thinking: maybe it means you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here... he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. And I'd like that. But that ###### ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd."

Apart from the small matter of mowing the lawn, I am going to continue baseboard building as soon as I turn the PC off. And therein lies the problem Need to motivate myself!

Its coming along very nicely Dave, I was looking at the site on Friday evening from off the band coach whilst we were waiting for the jobsworths on the road closure to get a car who wanted to go into Delph out of the way, and although the road configuration has changed somewhat these days, and my memory was stretching it a bit, I think your little bit of remedial woodworking on the roadway has just got it right.