sulzer27jd

From 1952 the Ivatt 2-6-0 46460 was in the GNSR area, working the St Combs Light Railway. Known substitutes for it were 46461 and 46464. Of the Riddles version, 78045, 78053 and 78054 were all allocated to Keith, for GNSR lines. 78045 was the last working steam loco on BR in the north of Scotland, until end of steam on Tillynaught to Banff in 1964. All the best

They are fairly similar, the Ivatt design was a late LMS production and was used as the basis for the slightly later BR Standard version. I think both are available RTR and would both be usable. There is video of the Standard working Banff. The Ivatt were sometimes used on the St Combs branch, Including cow-catchers.

KCS also roster SD40's. They are shown on the roster as SD40-3's, but these are updated SD40's rebuilt from a number of previous railroads. Many have an interesting and varied history. John

That's not being pedantic, that's pointing out a typo. Thanks John

My D40 is finally earning her keep on the layout; John

That is an over simplification. The sheds provided power, based in general terms on the routes they were covering as well as the traffic that was running, they were not exclusive to passenger or freight.

He was having problems with an e-mail address. Have you tried albarailwaymodels@aol.co.uk? I'm sure I got a reply from this one. He is definitely still there as I got a 439 recently. John

I would like to buy MRJ, but the publisher seems to have gone out of their way to make it almost impossible to do so.

I see a couple of representatives from Scotland's real railway, shaming those who believed they were part of Britain!!

Leuchars Junction had a single island platform, with bays at both ends.

Great photo, but another false alarm. Every time I see a new post, I get my hopes up. Unfortunately, it's more likely to be NASA announcing they have discovered life on Mars!

I think the baking idea is simply to dry it, which makes it easier to work with. I am very fortunate in living beside an infinite supply of very, very fine soil. Strathmore in Angus has some of finest agricultural land available and I can gather soil with a grit that is much finer than sand, however, it is normally sodden wet (like it is today!) and I suspect this is where the baking it comes in, as a means of drying it out before use. Mind you, after the summer we have had I think I would need to bake it at the centre of the earth to dry it out. Earlier this year, just as the potato crop was going in, we had a spell when it didn't rain. Now apart from the locals coming out to see who had stolen the clouds, this gave me an opportunity to get some soil that was already reasonably dry. I tend to store it in take-away tubs and simply let it sit for a while until it is really dry, before using it. This works just as well. In summary then, if you gather some soil and it is damp, then a quick session in the oven, will dry it out. If you don't need to use it straight away, put it in a tub in a warm cupboard and that will do the same job. John

Rather than seeking a matt varnish, I tend to use very fine earth, sieved over the area I have just completed. It both creates a matt effect and tones down the area. John

What an excellent find. Almost worth having to go to the Daily Mail website for - still I have washed thoroughly since and think I have gotten away with it. There are lots of little details in that picture that I haven't seen before, so it's a real bonus.

Perhaps trying to show that Britain does not have a great record at leaving Europe.

I use the camera on mine all the time. It is great for getting down to lineside level. I probably reach for my phone now more than I reach for the big camera.

Here is a shot of my latest project. There is a railway in there someplace.

I remember my father-in-law commenting that the Fish from Aberdeen to Edinburgh was his hardest turn. Times as passenger, but without the stops. Very often A2 hauled. Re the use of green engines, Dundee had unbalanced passenger jobs, with one of its A2's booked to work a freight back overnight. We often read captions stating that the Dundee A2's were on "standby", entirely missing the point that they had already put a shift in.

It has fixed pipework that allows it to be used as a water tower. Remember also that the higher you want to reach, the further out from the building the vehicle must be parked. Not always the easiest thing to do in a city location. Given the overall safety record of UK/European high rise blocks, I would expect that thinking on what to do in the future will concentrate on not covering them in a flammable cladding and going back to doing what was done previously - i.e. fighting fires internally.

Still - not much use if the exterior is on fire.

That is exactly what they are intended to do. TV and movie makers have done more to damage the reputation of sprinklers than anyone, often showing an entire building being flooded as a result of their use. In reality, only the activated head will allow water flow and that is usually sufficient to prevent a fire developing.

I totally agree and that is exactly what will be happening right now. However what turned this incident from a domestic fire to a national tragedy was the reaction of the external cladding. And what is being advocated by some in this discussion is waiting (everybody) until we have an outcome from the expert investigation. That is all well and understandable, but what happens in the meantime, for those organisations that are not given the luxury of waiting. From experience, we should anticipate that any recommendations that can be interpreted as indicating any form of liability will not enter the public domain until after the legal proceedings have run their course. That could be years away. Current fire service procedures have been developed and adapted over the years, usually as a result of the sort of reflection (often post-tragedy) you rightly describe. This incident may very well tear up the entire high rise rule book. It is all very well people advocating patience and letting the experts do their work, I am simply pointing out that at some point today, somebody will need to brief their crew about going into a fire in a high-rise block. Perhaps some people should put themselves in their boots and then think about how patient they want to be.

And my point is that not everything can wait until the expert's guidance is in the public domain. You are advocating waiting and I am asking what should be done in the meantime. What should the fire service tell people who are currently worried about their homes and their lives? What should the fire service control tell a caller who is in a building where there is a fire? Stay (as is the current guidance) or leave? How does the fire service crews on the ground react and how do they adapt their procedures? Of course, we need to understand more about why the cladding reacted the way it did, but any recommended action cannot be allowed to take the length of time that these things tend to. If there is even a hint of liability, then recommendations can take years to be implemented.

So what do you recommend as a standard operating procedure for firefighters attending a fire in a flat today?

Fine if you are able-bodied, young enough and fit enough to use the stairs as the fire service will require the lift. And they will also require the use of the stairs as well for that matter, for two floors below the fire floor. Additionally, in order to evacuate an entire tower block, every flat would need to be linked to the alarm. The result of that is that you would end up evacuating hundreds of people every time someone burned their toast. I think you need to take account of the overall safety record of multi-storey flats before jumping to conclusions. This catastrophe was not caused by a fire started by a fridge. Nor was it even the result of a well-developed fire in a flat. These should never get beyond being routine incidents for the fire service. We all need to take account of the many thousands of families who are tonight asleep in apartments in multi-storey blocks and who are no doubt frightened by people saying their homes are not safe and giving contradictory advice. If they follow simple safety advice - which every fire service will offer free of charge to anyone (in any property type) - they can reduce their chance of having a fire and they are at no greater risk from fire than anyone else. What must also happen though - and urgently - is that any external cladding must be checked to ensure its suitability.