5 C

Advance ticket bought and quite looking forward to sampling the train service from Hitchin for the first time, it being cheaper and quicker than going from my local station (Leagrave). Saturday to avoid the various engineering works. Google Maps reckons 12 minutes for the walk from Ally Pally station to AP itself, so a good opportunity to check whether my fitness really is improving. Lunch will be courtesy of whatever is in the Greggs Magic Bag i'm picking up later this afternoon.

On the subject of delivery companies, I offer my own experiences of the past few months. Carrier 1 Over forty items sent with this carrier. All have arrived without incident in the condition they were despatched. On the two occasions I've needed to contact them (the tracking trail had gone "cold"), I was provided with a named contact by email within 24 hours and an incident number if I needed to pursue a claim. In the event, both items arrived safely anyway. Carrier 2 I've mostly not used this carrier for sending as they're more expensive and less convenient than carrier 1. I have however, been on the receiving end of a number of their deliveries: i) Two large parcels from the same vendor, despatched from the same place on the same date and time using the same service. As I was away for the weekend, I asked via the carrier's app for both to be held until the Monday. Imagine my horror when I received a message on the Saturday to say one of the parcels had been delivered and apparently signed for by me! It was a weekend of high winds, rain and snow. Returning home on the Sunday evening I found the parcel in the garden, dropped the two metres over my back gate, where the rain and snow had turned it into a soggy mess. Fortunately the vendor had generously bubble wrapped everything, so the contents were undamaged. 30+ minutes waiting on the phone to register a complaint and three weeks for a response which was totally incorrect, failing to address any of my concerns. The second parcel arrived as requested, on the Monday. ii) I failed to respond to the doorbell within 10 seconds, so I caught the delivery person dropping another item (clearly marked Fragile) over the same back gate. "Oh, it'll probably be alright" she said. Fortunately it was. iii) An item sent to the USA to arrive in time for Christmas. A week later (after the Christmas deadline) the same item reappeared at my front door. In spite of the huge barcode and clear address, the automated machinery had somehow picked up on the tiny return address and decided to deliver it to me. So who are these two carriers? Carrier 1: Hermes - yes Hermes (now Evri) - the one everyone complains about. Carrier 2: Royal Mail A former manager of mine who had previously worked for Royal Mail's direct mail division, once gave me a useful piece of advice (in fact it was the only useful piece of advice he ever gave me). Bulk mail packets had to be tested to ensure they would survive the rigours of the postal system. The test was to "chuck it down a flight of stairs". Before sending, I photograph all my eBay parcels and send a copy to the buyer. As well as additional evidence for the buyer, if a parcel goes astray, at least we all know what we're looking for.

It certainly looks suitably Salopian.

For some reason I don't remember the original screening of this piece, although I do recall it was turned into a spread for that year's Blue Peter Book. It's a nostalgia trip in itself but worth it for the opening fifty seconds alone and the car John Noakes and Shep rolled up to the studios in.

I always thought the Period II stock to be the most elegant of all LMS coach designs. It must have been a joy to watch the world go by through those large single pane windows.

I know Sam's Trains divides opinion on here but occasionally he serves up some useful content. His earlier video on a cheap eBay replacement for the Hornby black can motor was genuinely enlightening and informative and this could prove equally useful. Unlike the Hornby motor, this is not a direct replacement for the Bachmann power unit and requires a 3d printed adaptor (for which he is making the the files available open source) and the use of a generic worm gear. He admits the performance may not be quite as good as the Bachmann original (his obsession with super slow crawling on display here) so it can't be considered an upgrade. On the evidence of his video though, it appears more than satisfactory.

Definitely not on plastic. I believe there are two types of nail varnish remover: the original acetone variety which you can still buy which I've used for mazak stripping. Never on plastic though as it would attack the polystyrene. Then there's non acetone, which apparently contains ethyl acetate or nethyl ethyl keytone as the active ingredient. The non acetone formulation is generally considered less effective at removing nail varnish, although I believe it would probably have the same effect on plastic. I'm unable to vouch for its abilities as either a paint stripper, plastic melter or even a nail varnish remover!

Ah, the never-ending quest for an effective paint stripper. In my experience, no two plastic/paint combos respond in exactly the same way. Ditto when it comes to factory paint finishes. Even a formula that worked on one model in a range may not work on another if the plastic and/or paint is different. A quick search either via Google or within RMWeb will produce several threads with various suggested approaches. The overriding caveat is test on an inconspicuous area or something you're willing to sacrifice if it all goes wrong. Some of my thoughts: Isopropyl Alcohol: My primary weapon of choice as it tends not to attack the plastic. It's also one of the constituents of Phoenix Superstrip and Dettol. On the subject of Dettol, while it does work I and many others have experienced a tendency for it to leave a sticky residue on the plastic which may or may not be caused by a softening of the material. Possibly a reaction to a plasticiser being brought to the surface? Dettol also contains caustic soda which is something else people talk about but I've never tried. One thing it does do is leave its "victim" with that unmistakeable smell. Phoenix Superstrip: works but expensive and probably difficult to get hold of. Brake fluid: like Mr. Wolf, DOT3 seems to work better than DOT4 but even DOT4 managed to strip the lettering from my Black & Decker Workmate (ask me how I know). Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner: have used with some success. No effect on plastic but not always effective on every paint finish. I think it's something else that's had the formula changed over the years. Nail Varnish Remover: Not tried it on plastic but effective at removing Hornby factory finishes from mazak components. Some of the old-fashioned paint strippers which actually worked are apparently not recommended for mazak as it seems they can attack aluminium. I tend to work my up in terms of aggressiveness of the stripping agent, starting off with water (well you never know), IPA, white spirit, meths etc. In terms of cleaning "brand new second hand" purchases, again I start low and work up. Fairy Liquid (even in a weak solution) will bleach Hornby factory paintwork. Great for the "just washed with Exmover" look - rubbish for anything else. Experiments with Johnson's baby shampoo seem to clean without damaging paint. Thoughts on removing that in-ground tobacco odour are always welcome...

I would say there's at least four police officers there. The only bus staff are the driver (just about discernible behind the shattered windscreen) and the two men in great coats. I wonder if the pile of debris by the bridge parapet has anything to do with it? As @pH says, a very unusual pattern of damage. Both front mudguards and the nearside upper deck have been hit but the radiator appears undamaged. Was a temporary radiator fitted to enable it to be moved or did the bus rear end two other vehicles?

The station was extensively rebuilt in the early 1980's as the existing buildings were very shabby and pretty much life expired. I remember going up to the station to see if there were any interesting bits of railwayana but there was nothing to be had. The new buildings were refurbished in connection with electrification 3-4 years ago and there was also work when the station was linked with the new bus interchange around 2004. I looked through some of my old photographs earlier to see if I'd taken any pictures before the demolition but so far have drawn a blank.

I'm a bit late to the party here but I shall be watching this with interest. I went to school in Chorley and my parents still live nearby. I must say I was unaware of the extent of the 1930's layout and the facilities surrounding the station. The current landscape gives few clues as to what existed previously. By the 1980's when I was using the station, it was rather shabby and served by ageing first generation DMUs on the "Fylde Line" between Manchester Victoria and Blackpool North. In more recent times, the town has undergone something of a renaissance (it even has an M&S Food Hall!) with numerous independent and dare I say, trendy, bars and restaurants dotted around its streets. Quite by chance I landed on some driver's view videos of the journey between Preston and Manchester which feature the approaches to the station. Although adapted for electrification, much of the original L&Y infrastructure remains including the famous flying arches.

I had an early morning and weekend job in our local newsagent in the early 80's (82-84). The Sunday supplements always arrived during the Saturday and had to be married up to their accompanying newspaper when marking up the following morning. Even in that short period I remember the volume and weight of the Sundays increased as the mid-market titles in particular tried to increase their sales. As a complete aside, our shop was supplied by a different local independent distributor ("Ken" IIRC) for the Sunday papers compared to our weekday wholesaler (Surridge Dawson).

I had to allow myself a little chuckle when this popped up on my YouTube feed a few hours ago. Literally this afternoon a Lima version arrived at my house, picked up on eBay for the princely sum of £9.95 delivered. I'm not a GWR fan but wanted one to reproduce something seen in a recently acquired book. Having spent the weekend researching Siphons Gs (both inside and outside framed), I now appreciate the myriad of combinations that exist, which seems to be up there with Black 5s and Jubilees. I'll hang on to this one as a quick detailing and fettling project that will be as accurate as I can make it within the constraints I've set myself. I'm sure the Accurascale products will be excellent but as it's the first time I've seen one of the Lima products in the plastic, it does remind you how good they were in their day nearly forty years ago. Yes I know they have their shortcomings - bogies for a start - the same as the 40' LMS GUVs of which I have several for similar fettling, but for me that's part of the fun. I'll watch with interest as this product develops.

Ah yes, the stories I could tell on that subject. I'm sure we could fill a thread all by ourselves.

I've spent countless hours with my head buried in one of Bob's many works on the LMS and his books outnumber those of any other author (railway or non-railway) in my library. His enormous contribution to those of us who model the LMS cannot be overstated. Essery & Jenkinson for the locos and Jenkinson & Essery for the coaches are our 'go-to' references. Thanks Bob. RIP.

There are already modelling precedents for bus depots on layouts. Kier Hardy (@Wibble) is a bus fan and Wibdenshaw featured a bus depot and workshop. Another of the EM Gauge 70's team also has a bus depot on his Shenston Road layout. A full selection from the link below (includes buses on bridges too): http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/project_roadbus.html

If we're going for Atlanteans beaten with the ugly stick, may I offer this entry from Fishwick's own coachbuilder Fowler? This 1972 PDR1/3 was (mercifully) the only Fowler bodied double decker. A rather ungainly looking design where the top deck seems to be making an escape bid from the bottom.

It's strange seeing the 109 destination blinds on a double decker. I remember it as a single decker service certainly up to 1985 when I went off to university. The 109 was jointly operated with Ribble as were many in the Chorley - Leyland - Preston area. I always thought the Fishwick two-tone green livery was rather smart and made a welcome change to NBC Poppy Red which was everywhere in the 70's and early 80's.

Coincidentally, LUA714V was also a member of the Fishwicks fleet between 1994 and 2000 after service with West Yorkshire, Keighley & District and Sovereign.

Bus Lists On The Web is your friend: NRN397P Leyland Atlantean/Park Royal TRN481V Leyland Atlantean/ECW LUA714V Bristol VRT/ECW OWT776M Bristol RE/ECW TBD278G Bristol RE/ECW GRN895W Leyland Atlantean/ECW (1975 Leyland test bed) BFS14L Leyland Atlantean/Alexander rebuilt by Lothian in 1990

The Fishwick Leyland brings back memories of travelling to 6th form college in the mid-1980's. As a 1981 vehicle, I doubt it was ever used on that service being fairly new at that point, albeit the chassis dates from 1975 having been a Leyland test bed with an (unusual for Fishwicks) ECW body. As they were practically next door to the Leyland works, Fishwick often had new and unusual Leylands on their fleet. The Fishwick double deckers used on the college contract at that time were some much older East Lancs bodied Atlanteans. They were usually standing room only and I often found myself standing behind the driver. I vividly remember their disconnected original speedos which had been replaced with much larger and more complex tachographs.

According to that list, if the fifth digit is a B, D or P, this would indicate it was built as a police spec vehicle.

Due to the size of the market, police vehicle packages are part of standard production in the US. The original customer destination of the vehicle can be identified by deciphering the VIN number. This may help: https://www.tpocr.com/fordvin10.html

I'm pretty certain that's High Road, Loughton. The church type building is known as Lopping Hall. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lopping+Hall/@51.6459513,0.0535109,67a,35y,174.13h,45.05t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x47d8a17ace33dfab:0xfadefef638a5aa84!2sHigh+Rd!3b1!8m2!3d51.6355077!4d0.0394027!3m4!1s0x47d8a11cdf7a952b:0x82b1ce71ff52f8ae!8m2!3d51.6455389!4d0.0534342 I spent many years visiting the nearby Vauxhall dealer Brown's of Loughton at the junction of High Road and Station Road (Brown's Corner) the site of which is now a bakery, Nando's, Majestic Wine and Topps Tiles. A nod to its former life can still be seen on the side of Gail's Bakery.

The fact that replacement chassis blocks and retainers are/were available from Hornby tells you all you need to know. You're right though, why this didn't cause the same outcry as the Class 31 is a mystery. Maybe because it doesn't damage the bodies like the 31's but instead just leaves you with an unusable loco. The design of the Scot/Patriot chassis block is quite poor. Apart from the motor/gear retainer, another shortcoming is the the mounting of the expansion link assemblies into slots in the block. At best they're an interference fit and are easily dislodged or become loose with catastrophic effects on the valve gear. The Black 5 from around the same period has the assembly screwed into recessed holes - a much more robust arrangement. The buffer beam damage is usually caused through storage and shipping. When sold new, the loco was mounted into the expanded polystyrene using removable L-shaped brackets screwed into the baseplate. No matter how much additional packing is placed around the loco, a rough shunt in storage or shipping causes it to shift forward and the buffers take the brunt of the shock.