Trevellan

Some good shots there Nidge - fully deserving of the creative tag.

Here's another oldie from me - Southport, September 1973. This one demonstrates that I was "getting my eye in" by then, but cheap lenses and inexperience made for an imperfect shot. Still, on the bright side there's lots of interesting detail visible.

I tried turps substitute, but it had little effect so I went for the T-Cut and cocktail stick method which worked well and allows finer control over the area affected than a cotton bud. My own particular concern was over the spacing of the Fox numerals. All of the sheets I have in my possession, including almost complete sets for classes 25, 37, 47 etc, have noticeably wider spacing than most photographs of the TOPS era suggest. The quick and dirty edit below below shows my first attempt which may be re-done as I am not totally happy with it. If you look at my shot of the real 22 earlier in this thread you'll see that the numerals look larger than the Fox examples other than the final two. My practice session with the Fox numerals also included having a go at a class 25. Applying each numeral individually was more fiddly, but worked far better in terms of spacing and appearance. I hope this helps.

Interesting memories of learning crafts at school. I did woodwork for two years (I still use the pencil box I made all those years ago), then metalwork for the next three. We had two metalwork teachers. The guy on our first year had little patience - I think he was near the end of his career - but he did teach me how to cut threads using taps, dies and plenty of tallow. The second, younger teacher was better and could be a real laugh, although any messing about on our part brought swift retribution, and rightly so. I think I learned more from my father, who was a saw doctor by trade (a term that might be lost on younger readers) and a very proficient woodworker. He not only manufactured and serviced the cutting, routing and drilling tools that woodworkers (and others) needed, but was able to use them proficently in his own right.

I'm going to be basing my 85 on the image below, taken in August 1981. I noted that the Model Rail review suggested an etch is to be produced of the horn grille covers, one of which is clearly visible in this shot. Jim S-W's chopped up cotton bud stem looks pretty convincing though! [Edit for errors}

Twin flywheels. I don't think I'm breaking any rules by reproducing the scanned image below:

You wicked, wicked man...

As others have mentioned, it clips into place with a bit of gentle persuasion. I must confess I've been loathe to handle the pan on mine too much in case I break or damage it. It's also set me thinking about an opportunity for the cottage industry after-market. Given the increase in interest, would it be feasible to produce an accurate (in looks and operation) and relatively robust pantograph? I get the distinct impression that in 4mm you can have accurate or robust, but not both.

So much for self-discipline . Darn you Bachmann for producing such a superb and evocative model! I must now dream up a scheme to justify such woeful extravagence, but what fun. The mention of the Ninja driver earlier made me laugh and I can now see the reason behind the remark. Either that or the cab heating's failed and he's pulled a balaclava on... I must now dig out the shot of 85 022 at Euston in 1981 for the renumbering exercise.

After delving into my archives, I've found a little something for Mr Stafford: 85 030 bringing a special into Carlisle on Wednesday 12th August 1981. Sir Nigel Gresley, then running as 4498, was waiting to take the train back over the S & C route. I haven't been back to Carlisle since, so I think a return visit is slightly overdue...

It's a ready-to-plant yacht...

It's for a "what might have been" project - the Waverley Route with 25kv OLE... I must resist. I managed to resist a Beattie Well Tank, but this is even more tempting.

Well, as we've said before, the problem is at least 20 years old. Different squads and different managers, so the problems must come from somewhere else in the club. I think that the sacking of Martin Jol gave more than a hint of where the blame, and therefore the solution, lies. Even under Harry, the team has often lacked the desire to win, with the opposition first to every ball. In a couple of matches it looked as though some of the players were there in body, but their minds were elsewhere. The capitulation to Arsenal in February demonstrated the lack of desire and belief. It was heads down and sulk rather than fight back. I'm not sure that Abramovich and his ilk are the answer. His money may have bought Chelsea some glory, but he also seems to be a destabilising influence. Anyway, I - along with many others, I suspect - will be honorary Bayern fans for the next week or so...

Yup. Same letter here. It's a nice offer, but I already have the RR version and certainly don't want the NR version! I shall therefore wait until I can have a banger blue version back.

Well done City, but rather typical - the Hollywood-style nail-biting climax shouldn't have been necessary. As for Spurs, fourth not bad, but Harry must build more resilience into the club ethos. A bit more grit, determination and commitment and we could easily have been third.

My delayed thanks for the tutorial Gordon. Having used the PCB method to construct a point I agree that the thought is worse than the deed. However, your hints and tips are really useful. I for one would never have considered a 20p piece as a modelling aid!

I think these comments are rather unfair. I've been buying model railway magazines since 1967 and have read every title at one time or another. The very nature of our hobby means that a "Which" type of approach would not be appropriate and I cannot ever recall any model railway magazine taking a campaigning stance on a product. Editorial staff at all of the mainstream magazines require the cooperation and support of manufacturers and retailers, so adopting an adverserial "Watchdog" attitude is not going to help their cause, let alone ours as consumers. I would also point out that Model Rail reviews do list what they regard as negative aspects of a product, as well as the positive. I am not acting as an apologist for the model railway press here, but I do feel some balance is in order. As someone who has worked in PR roles I do think that Hornby have, to some extent, fallen down on the VEP issue, but that is their choice as a business. My choice as a consumer was to cancel pre-orders as soon as the lengthening list of defects began to emerge. I will continue to withhold my business until I am convinced the product is worth my hard-earned cash. That is my choice. If, as and when Hornby do decide to undertake some positive PR I am sure the magazines will report it. Incidentally, thanks to St Simon of this parish, I was able to directly compare a Hornby VEP (NSE version) with a Bachmann CEP last weekend. It was the first example I had seen in the flesh, so to speak, and it not only ran quite well on Hythe Parkway, but looked the part too. However, (IMHO) the CEP eclipsed it in smoothness and controllability, merely confirming what I had already learned by reading the honest comments in this thread.

Some nice record shots there Mike. I do vaguely recall seeing this stock on one occasion after withdrawal. I was also in Altrincham a couple of weeks ago, but it's difficult to relate some of the Flickr pictures to what is there now.

Because, with a few notable exceptions, most professional footballers haven't got the sense they were born with. More idiocy than conspiracy IMHO. There were a few players in the Real/Bayern game last night who should be awarded free membership of Equity for making the most of mild contact...

Well, as expected, I met Carol Kirkwood in Manchester last week and I have to say she is even lovelier in real life than she is on TV. Not only did she compere our event, but was happy to stay on and to talk to guests. I lost count of the number of times she was asked to pose with people for photographs and she was still going strong when I sloped off to bed at 1am! A lovely lady and a real trouper.

Bleak? Desolate, end of the world locations? I can do that. This photograph dates from July 1978 (yet another wet summer's day) and shows that corporate image can take a while to be rolled out, even in quite prominent places. I can't for the life of me recall where this one was taken...

It's purely a personal preference Gordon, but I feel that chicken wire has had its day, at least in terms of model railway scenery. The (admittedly limited) efforts I've been involved with in recent years have centred on recycling polystyrene from electrical goods. It's amazing how much embankment a new fridge yields! The downside is, of course, the bl**dy mess you make when carving it to shape.

The same thought about DoF occurred to me too Larry. Also, I was more of a HP4/5 man than Tri-X. I did push-process HP5 on a few rare occasions, but didn't like doing so. Earlier today I was down in Southampton and shooting with my DSLR, happily bumping the ISO between 400 and 1600 without a second thought - and the higher settings still completely eclipse even fine grain film for resolution. How times change.