Claude_Dreyfus

Rumour has it that a handful did see the light of day (EPs perhaps that escaped into the wild?). I did not know the reasons for the cancellation (I had one on order myself, with the accompanying small mortgage!), but it's a shame it came to that... especially as there are N gauge models of both JRF and Toshiba locos out there. Hopefully that has not put off anyone else from producing the HD300; but given the fact they have been around for over a decade in some form or another and still not been produced in model form, I wonder if we will ever see one.

Is anyone else finding that full page adverts occasionally appear when trying to go into a topic? It has only started for me today, but it has been three times so far, and I suspect it will be more before the end of the day. You do have the ability to close the ad, but only after a few seconds during which the close options are greyed out. I appreciate the site needs advertisement revenue in order to operate, but is this something which is here to stay, or is it something my browser is triggering?

313208 poses at Barnham on the Bognor - Littlehampton shuttle - 10th September 2021

Class 455 sets 5728, 5704 and 5731 race through Eastleigh forming the 5Y51 14:32 Bournemouth T&RSMD - Wimbledon Park Depot sidings ECS.

Rail Adventures liveried HST power car shares siding space with a Blue Pullman liveried mark III at Eastleigh Arlington works. I understand this is 43480 - 3rd September 2021

220032 and 221123 race through Eastleigh with the 1O16 11:27 Manchester Piccadilly - Bournemouth service - 3rd September 2021

73136 and 73201 trail the GBRf's 'This Time it's Personal' railtour at Charlton Down, just south of Petersfield - 3rd September. Later on in the day... ...the same pair lead the tour into Eastleigh. They should have been relieved by 73141 and 73212, but they disgraced themselves and remained skulking in the GBRf sidings to the north of the station.

A couple more... 66764 hauls the 4M19 Southampton West Docs - East Midlands Gateway TML service north past the depot and works. 66095 with the 05:51 Wakefield Europort - Southampton Western Docks intermodal. 66776 pauses for a crew change on the 4M46 14:24 Southampton Western Docks - Trafford Park Euro TML 66592 with the 09:31 Crewe Basford Hall SSM - Southampton MCT 66095 again, with the 16:15 Southampton Western Docks - Wakefield Europort (very rapid turnaround for this loco, as it had only arrived at Southampton about 30 minutes before with the corresponding inbound service). Finally, 66622 pulls off the Romsey line with the 13:35 Merehead - Eastleigh FY Aggregate Terminal.

I paid my first visit to Eastleigh in many years yesterday - I used to be a frequent visitor in the early to mid 90s, but the last time I was there we still had class 58s in the wild! It was nice to see the place was still busy, with quite a bit of variety passing through. In no particular order... 66732 leads Cola 66847 and 849 on the 6V41 14:48 Eastleigh East Yard - Westbury service. 66755 passes through with the 4Y19 12:30 Mountfield Sidings - Southampton West Docks Gypsum service. 66117 heads the 09:15 Trafford Park - Southampton West Docks (Berth 109) service, having paused for a crew change in the yard. 66414 draws into platform 1 with the 16:57 Southampton MCT - Crewe Basford Hall SSN service. Rather tatty 66068 leads the 09:43 Morris Cowley MAT - Southampton Eastern Docks car train beneath Campbell Road bridge

Standing beside a field on top of the downs waiting for a passing railtour, I had company. The field had been recently harvested, and this little wood mouse was keeping busy. I managed to stay still enough for him to come within a few inches of me. A little later in the day, and at Campbell Road bridge there were other, more reptilian, interests other than the passing trains... Another bold little chap, he didn't seem to mind me getting quite close to photograph him...quite the poser!

A few from yesterday as 59003 was put through its paces on the GBRf 'This Time it's Personal' tour. First up, a couple of it passing Charlton Down, a few miles south of Petersfield. It is a very pleasant location, and a reasonable well known view point, mainly from the opposite side of the valley (better photos in the afternoon, given the sun's position) with the small church as a background. Incidentally, the church is famed for its murals - one a little more recent than the others (unless medieval artists has SWT liveried class 442s as inspiration!). A pair of 73s were trailing at this point. The tour then continued to Marchwood, before heading up to Eastleigh. At this point the 59 was trailing. At Eastleigh the 59 was detached and the 73s continued alone back up to Town for the next leg of the journey.

Late evening at Friedrichstrasse as a lone E60 trundles through the station, not that it is much use to the few remaining passengers...

You're right, it certainly does make a difference. I would certainly be interested if these were made available.

Large scale engineering works are currently taking place on the Arun Valley line - resulting in the line's closure for 10 days. A few engineering trains have been kicking around - I live close enough to the line to hear the horns and even the sound of the engines (if the wind is in the right direction!). 66555 sits just north of the Pulborough possession (mainly to protect the canopy rebuilding) - 18 August 2021

Thanks. Googling Juvenile Goldfinch has confirmed this. I would not have guessed a juvenile as I was pretty certain he was defending a nest, there was one just below where he was perched, so he must be an early starter! Either that or he really disapproves of Japanese H0...

Anyone here know who this little chap is? Small bird; big attitude! I was carrying a stock box when the little $%£*@# dive bombed me - coming within inches of my head. Made me flinch and nearly drop my cargo. This was followed by a torrent of abuse from the roof-top perch (and a few choice words in response). I wouldn't mind knowing who my assailant was... TIA

How do you follow this lot up? Green overload (not that this is a bad thing mind) as D6516 heads away from Titherleigh with an afternoon train for Exeter.

After a gap of a year the VSOE Pullmans were out on the Glorious Goodwood service. 67021 leads the return service (18:50 Chichester - Victoria) across the Arun flood plains on 30th July. Blue liveried 67001 brought up the rear.

377448 heads the 1B50 17:35 London Victoria - Bognor Regis towards Hardham - 29th July 2021. The unit has recently been refurbished (as part of the overall class 377 refurbishment program), the small light on the lower left-hand cowling being the immediate give-away

222018 heads the 1D28 10:35 St Pancras - Nottingham away from Market Harborough - 28th July 2021 Back to June 2019, and 221126 heads away from Leeds with a southbound service. On the same day 221128 joins 43310, 156468 and 142088 in a never to be repeated photo (the Pacer has since been scrapped and will 43310 ever work again?).

I've had one of those weekends. Four daytime engineering train due through my local station this weekend, and I missed two of them by seconds, and one because a passenger train got between me and the subject at just the wrong time! Yesterday was glorious weather, today it has been chucking it down; but I finally managed to capture the fourth working - the late running 09:25 Dorking - Eastleigh behind 66512.

Game over...

That's kind of what they have done over the last 10 minutes. Paid the price...