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... unfortunately they're only Scalextric, and are being sold at auction as assets of the collapsed (mismanaged) 2021 Coventry City of Culture....: https://www.bpiauctions.com/auctions/#!/search?query=Scalextric &tree= Other sources have claimed they're a limited run of 1000, so out of those only 76 have been sold. If you already had one, would you buy the rest and destroy them to make them collectable...? (No doubt someone will buy a few lots and try to sell them individually).

Thank you!

I've been carrying out a few repairs (& improvements) prior to Blue Heron's appearance at the Nottingham Model Railway Society's spring show in Hucknall this coming weekend. There is litter on the unloading spur, dates on the theater marquee that was looking a bit empty otherwise, a background soundtrack of rain and traffic, and a large hole in the roof of one of the warehouses for a basic smoke emitter to try to give a misty sky...

I've modelled the Hershey Railway of Cuba as it was in 1958, but sadly it and the steam at other Cuban sugar mills are now a shadow of their relatively recent former self with just one electrified service on one of the branches. Although there is a lot of local optimism, nothing has been done and is unlikely to be in the current climate.

I can understand Volunteers emotions, having myself been part of a group that sold most of it's assets with no guarantee of future use or a say in where those finances were spent, or financially supported a line in the US that still hasn't got a full length of trolley wire 15 years after it was stolen for drugs money, or raised awareness through my modelling of the Hershey in Cuba that has all but closed and won't ever return as the electrified Interurban that many tourists have ridden, but maybe we're past the point where those who remember mainline steam ending want to recreate lost types and onto a phase of total preservation where nothing can go for scrap and everything has to be kept on an ongoing restore/ten yr ticket/overhaul cycle, and 7027 is seen as a part project instead of the Barry wreck that seemed to get the better of many owners. I last went to Didcot with the family for a Teddy Bear's Picnic a few years ago so can agree with the points raised that it would struggle to attract general visitors outside of themed events and probably relies on more enthusiasts than tourist railways, but the number of those who remember mainline steam are being overtaken by those in their middle age who were teens in the 1980s and went to Didcot to see the real 1466 and longed to see a recreation of a Hornby County 4-4-0 and other types even before the concept of building replica locos was a thing.

I'm looking forward to bringing Blue Heron back to the NMRS Spring show this coming weekend, it's previous visit was in March 2020 and it has only been out once since then. And continuing the traditional Nottingham theme, visitors are welcome to try the 3-2-2 Inglenook challenge by shuffling the five cards and forming a three car train using one of these switchers:

I use a Tam Valley juicer for a crossover, the reason being once the first frog is triggered it automatically changes the second. An auto-reverser ought to do the same thing but don't quote me on that. I've only ever used DCC80s for individual frogs but have read about issues where a loco is entirely sat on one and transitions to a second, which is why it is always a good idea to bond the switch and stock rails together and only use the juicer for the frog V.

My first vote would be for CAD and 3d printing. The ability to scratchbuild and repeat without starting all over again at home and not rely on RTR companies timescales, unrealistic collectors prices or availability for items nobody is going to produce anyway is a godsend. You of course need some commercial parts, but aren't necessarily tied to one manufacturer for these. The yellow Steeplecab was made from stretching a kit and has a number of home-made details from brass and styrene that would be about the limit I could produce accurately. The black one is 3d printed and although has a number of "design clever" compromises for details, these are smaller and less apparent. The only downside I find is as soon as I finish a loco, I find a new photo showing something I hadn't seen before... My runner up would be for static grass. There are some photos of brilliant layouts from 40+ years ago that would eclipse most "that'll do" standards today, the only give away being the scenery would benefit from static grass to give it some close up definition.

That's why I think CAD and 3d printing is the revolution of the century- to end up with a model that has been made entirely at home with only a few generic bits (wheels, couplings, motor, etc.) and can accommodate subtle differences without having to cast from a master or work from flat etches. You can even then share them worldwide and earn some pocket money from them if you're so inclined. Unfortunately though there are downsides, not only with models themselves as I've found details that are clear on new photos that I'd missed on blurry ones, but newer layouts- less time spent making stock doesn't necessarily mean more time to improve in other areas such as scenery and operation, and punters seem less tolerant to seeing the same layouts over and over again and always want to see new ones instead of the lifetime projects...

I think I preferred it when you had to send off with an SAE for tickets...

Unfortunately that's volunteering for you. Unless you have enough of a share to have voting rights over a future sale, it's ultimately up to the owner to do as they see fit.

Thanks, from what I could see it looked like the 50 was leading. *EDIT, just seen a video from that idiot with a camera on his head and it was the large logo 56 leading...

I heard something different departing Birmingham yesterday and checked FR24 to find the same Aircraft. I didn't realise it had turned back, will have to check for a departure time. Most of the modern stuff is barely noticeable once at 10,000 feet but the current stand-out are regular AN-26 operated flights. I was also going to go out today for the 5Z11 Eastleigh - Leicester LIP GBRf move but RTT wasn't showing the formation and there was too much horizontal rain so I hung out of the loft window to see it. Due to the miscalculated undergrowth I only saw a GBRf liveried loco from about half a mile away but could hear it for a couple of minutes between leaving Coventry Station and slowing for the 20mph TSR over a week bridge, I think it was a class 50...

They're for students, so they probably wouldn't notice.

Just market it as a Dominie... I'm surprised the iconic Corgi brand hasn't featured in the series, even if the aviation side of things seems to be playing second fiddle to Oxford. RAS Rapides are available from the latter in their comprehensive (but incomplete) DH range. Maybe Paramjit doesn't like rigging? My own Rapide from a 1/72 Heller kit stalled because I didn't like it or the way it went together.

Turns out what I thought were official drawings were actually blank sheet thinking using Google earth and the unlimited time and money that passengers think should be done instantly instead of building HS2, and no way achievable for the budget quoted.

I've seen some basic plans on t'interweb, but nothing that explains how the sleepers wil continue to split/combine or if anything will replace the current down main or up Edinburgh loops...

Unfortunately these aren't the days of spending your pocket money in Woolies on a Saturday on an Airfix kit, and the markets between buying RTR and doing your own kitbashes are quite separate. I hope these don't end up being regarded in the same way as Hornby's Hull & Barnsley van, will Rapido be doing a KitKat liveried one?

It was on "the list" from a good few years ago of prototypes that had been scanned so I'm surprised it has taken this long (like the class 84 AC electric). And it's almost like Rapido Trains are stalking me, no.1 daughters first ever train ride was behind no.1 and in coach 353 at Quainton Road, and is called Beatrice-the subject of another Rapido model. I do feel however that without a supporting train for it to pull, E class models will be consigned to dragging whatever early teak bogie or 4 wheel coaches can be cobbled together to represent a steam on the met working, with or without a Heljan Met electric. I'm sure Rapido have something on mind but will it be the Chesham set or the Dreadnoughts that the latter loco desperately needs. It just a question now of deciding which version I need to join the six Met electrics...

Ours was re-banded after a building inspector visit last year to inspect the new roof tiles... 🤬 Anyway, enough about lofts- this isn't series 1 again...

Swim slowly by Meltt:

Cromford:

This image came up on the car radio display whilst sat in a traffic jam: https://www.discogs.com/release/2879591-Jan-Delay-Wir-Kinder-Vom-Bahnhof-Soul/image/SW1hZ2U6NDM5MjA3OTQ= I'm blaming the Wife and Daughter for their Eurovision fixation currently on the MP3 stick). I thought it would make a good cameo subject for a model railway/diorama (I can't remember the exact location, but it's somewhere in Hamburg). So apart from this, Blur's Modern life is Rubbish and a few 7" records of steam engines, which other album covers would be modellable...?

When passing on items to Nephews or looking for secondhand Hornby buildings to fill up a trackmat I was careful to ensure they were accepted as gifts for them and therefore under their ownership, instead of "lending" items that they might have a duty of care to look after and return, although they were happy to accept any old tat that might otherwise be seen lingering under a table at a swapmeet. Even then it was difficult to shake off any pre-conceptions that anything in an old Hornby red box was good because the green 06 I couldn't otherwise get rid of was such a dire runner when compared to newer trainset locos. One mistake that beginners seem to make when transitioning from a train set to a scale model railway is to try to find a prototype that all of their collection to date will fit into, when in fact such compromises are awkward and unnecessary when you can sell on superfluous items or just run them occasionally, or keep them for future projects...