Andy Kirkham

It was good that she was able to ask Liz Truss to form a government only two days before. Performing her duties right to the end.

What is almost never modelled (and there was a thread about this entitled Why is this so rarely modelled?) is the last years of steam: say, 1964-1968. Western modeller who fancy a D95XX running alongside steam are implicitly choosing 1964 or 1965, but how many will pursue consistency and have most of their steam locos uncleaned and stripped of their name and number plates?

A class 311 near Patterton on one of Scotland's less celebrated scenic routes - the Neilston branch.

Here are a few phtographs I've accumulated over the years. They are scanned from prints so of variable quality. Many people have taken many far better Ffestiniog phtos than these but I reckon mine are justified by some unusual subject matter and viewpoints. Dduallt, Easter 1968. The service had only just been extended to Dduallt and the runround loop was not yet ready. Therefore a spare loco had to be parked in the siding to be attached to the downward end of each train. I was excited at the prospect of travelling over the new extension to "Dew-alt", so I was therefore perplexed by the anouncement at Portmadoc that the destination would be a place called "Thee-atht" Earl of Merioneth at the Harbour. Some views between Tan-y-Grisiau and Glan-y-Pwll. Not sure of the date - mid-90's? Boston Lodge Some views of Maenofferen Quarry high above Blaenau Ffestiniog. The internal rail system and the Maenofferen No.2 incline continued to work into the 1970's Top of the incline Top of the Maenofferen No.3 incline and start of the Rhiwbach Tramway, the furthest flung of the Ffestiniog's feeders which operated until 1953 And finally a view in the Rhossydd quarry, a very worthwhile walk up from Tan-y-Grisiau. This rather unfeasible looking embankment led to the top of the most spectacular incline of them all that plunged down into the Croesor Valley

A couple at Liverpool Lime Street in 1995

A Glasgow cameo c.1982. 27034 dives under the bridge by the Haven Bar in Springburn, A Class 37 can just be discerned coming the other way. The bus on the bridge reminds us that There's Always Change at Agnews (a chain of off-licenses)

Culzean Castle

And near Dumfries

THREAD DRIFT WARNING! Sentinel lorries were briefly used for long distance haulage of coal in Argentina http://www.railwaysofthefarsouth.co.uk/09dbuildingrfirt.html The next difficulty was to get the coal out to an Argentinean port from whence it could be shipped north. In 1949 retired Admiral Juan A. Martin of the Argentinean Navy was quoted as saying that 'Under no circumstances would Río Turbio coal be shipped out via Puerto Natales' (1). For the first few years petrol lorries were used, consuming incidentally more energy than they actually carried and often being abandoned on the road for lack of parts to repair them!, but in 1950 they received a fleet of 'S' type undertype (ie with cylinders below the frame) steam lorries from Sentinel of Shrewsbury, England. These were the last steam lorries to be built for commercial use anywhere in the world, and one commentator suggests that the Argentine state never completed the payments for them! (8). Under the technical supervision of a Mr. McKay from the Falklands they operated in convoys of 10-15 taking 12 hours for the journey to Río Gallegos (7). They were relatively modern in design but still used a substantial proportion of their load during the 320 mile round trip and it became obvious that only a railway would do the job properly. One of the Sentinels is preserved at Río Turbio, and another lies at Lujan zoo near Buenos Aires. They were known colloquially as 'los chufi'. Recent reports suggest that some of them remained in use until 1959

Having just watched Robbery, I looked up the Great Train Robbery on Wikipedia. One passage caught my attention This gang, although very successful in the criminal underworld, had virtually no experience in stopping and robbing trains, so it was agreed to enlist the help of another London gang called The South Coast Raiders. This group included Tommy Wisbey, Bob Welch, and Jim Hussey, who were already 'accomplished train robbers'.[citation needed] This group also included Roger Cordrey, a man who was a specialist in this field and knew how to rig the track-side signals to stop the train. This seems to suggest that train robberies were already "a thing" in Britain. Is that really the case? The other thing in the fim tha I wondered about was the row or external lights on the lower body sides of TPO vehicles. What was the purpose of these?

I've looked in Boyd's Wild Swan history of the Talyllyn and there doesn't seem to be any mention of liveries at all, although I haven't checked every one of the 321 pages.

Only indirectly about railways, but I thought these would be of interest. They were taken an Pen-yr-Orsedd slate quarry in 1991 and show the system of aerial ropeways (by then disused) known as "Blondins".

One of my own taken in 1995. I like it becasue there is nothing in it (apart from being in colour) to tell you it isn't, say, 1928. I like to imagine I'm H.C.Casserley exploring some rural byway in Ireland.

My 18-year old son needs to renew his 16-25 railcard Preferably he would renew it for three years but, so far as I can tell, three-year renewal is only available online and not at stations. Online renewal requires proof of age and it appears that only the following are acceptable (not a birth certificate): UK Driving Licence Passport EEA National Identity Card Of these, my son has a passport but it has expired. Does anyone know whether, for the purpose of renewing a railcard, an expired passport would be acceptable? For renewal at stations, a birth certificate is apparently acceptable, but then the card would only be vald for 1 year

Unfortunately this image may be closer to the truth than we suppose. FosBR (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) gives more details of the compromises that were conceded to get this deal through https://fosbr.org.uk/funding-agreed-for-portishead-railway/ Reduction of scope to bring the existing freight line up to passenger train line standards Reduction of Portishead and Pill platform lengths from 5-Car to 3-Car Removal of Portishead station building Reduction in selected highway scope (car parks, bridge works) Change in governance model, with DfT taking on the client role. Still, it's a relief that the project is still going ahead at all.

I've just been watching Room at the Top, the quintessential northern kitchen sink drama, mainly filmed in Bradford and Halifax. Therefore I was surprised to see Lawrence Harvey and Simone Signoret after an amorous weekend away boarding a train at a Southern Region branch line station. The film was made in 1958 but set in 1947, so the loco had a label reading SOUTHERN pasted over the BR emblem. Reelstreets identifies the location as Baynards in Surrey https://www.reelstreets.com/films/room-at-the-top/,

Some GWR branches - mainly the ones serving inland market towns - were purely local - the same train would shuttle all day beween the junction and the terminus. Others - the ones serving seaside destination - might enjoy through trains from far afield. For lightly-laid branches such as St Ives, the main line loco would be swapped for a tank engine at the junction but on some lines, main-line engines would work all the way through (Newquay, Kingswear, Barry Island, Porthcawl) There are two broad categories of GWR Pairie tanks - the Small ones (44XX, 45XX, 4575) and the Large ones (31XX, 41XX, 51XX, 61XX). The small prairies were quintessential branch line engines; the Large ones were primarily used on main line suburban services, but could also be found on some branch lines - mainly the longer ones that connected with a main line at both ends (Hereford-Gloucester, Cheltenham-KIngham, Pontypool Road - Neath, Princes Risborough - Oxford) and also on a few terminating branches that saw through trains from the main line.

Yes County Gate is wonderful http://www.009.cd2.com/index.htm and I wish I could see its sequel "Cliffhanger" http://www.009.cd2.com/cliffhanger/front_page.htm I wonder what is the current status of these layouts. The Cliffhanger website mentions no exhibition attendance later than 2014 I saw County Gate at Wigan in about 2008 and the builder was pretty elderly and if I remember rightly using a wheelchair. He writes "Health issues are beginning to overwhelm me and Cliffhanger is very definitely my last effort."

I believe is was created in 1953 to mark the Coronation, so it's very likely the one you saw. I remember it was on the cover of Railway Modeller some time in the 70s. <Edit> Not 1953 but 1951 as it says here https://midlandrailwaystudycentre.org.uk/model/index.htm The idea for the model railway was born around the time Britain's railways were being Nationalised after the Second World War. The then Derby Borough Museum decided it wanted preserve the memory of the old industries of Derby and in particular, the Midland Railway, with which the town of Derby had a long connection. On the 26th May 1951 the original 7mm scale “Kirtley” model railway was unveiled to the public. The depth of research undertaken to create the model was enormous. Staff from the Museum had visited the Derby Locomotive Works Drawing Office and obtained copies of the General Arrangement drawings of the major Midland Railway locomotive classes. From those copies (which are still held in the Midland Railway Study Centre), incredibly skilful modellers scratch-built many of the locomotives seen on the layout today. Credit for the design of the original “Midland Railway Exhibit” is given in the contemporary guide which accompanied it to Messrs. P.A. Larkam (whose research collection is also now in the Midland Railway Study Centre) and W.G.Allen.

Derby Museum's O-Gauge "Kirtley Junction" is currently on display while undergoing renovation at the Museum of Making. It operates at 11am and 2pm. Admission free.

Thursday Rather than return straight home, I persuaded Olwen that we should visit Nottingham in order to sample the trams. We reached three of the termini - Clifton South, Phoenix Park and Hucknell, at which point I felt that I had tried her patience enough, and we departed for home, leaving the Toton arm for a future visit.

Tuesday The intention had been to visit Kedleston Hall, but all plans were put on hold when our son - a city boy through and through - announced that he was tired of being in the country and wanted to go home, having "outgrown" our style of holiday. We had no intention of keeping him away against his will so off he went. We spent most of the afternoon in Scarthin Books then went for a walk to the neighbouring village of Bonsall and back to Cromford along a steep and winding road known as Via Gellia. Checking up on this i learned that the name is not of Roman origin but comes from an 18th century landowner named Gell. The road gave its name to the fabric Viyella, which was originally manufactured at a mill in the valley. Wednesday We decided to take full advantage of the Derbyshire Wayfarer, which for over-60s like us costs £6.70. Our itinerary was as follows: Bus from Cromford to Bakewell; look round Bakewell for an hour and a half. Bus from Bakewell to Buxton; look around Buxton for an hour and a half including a visit to the museum. Train from Buxton to New Mills New Town. Just outside the station we were confronted by what seemed like a relic of another age - a fully functioning Victorian factory squeezed between canal and railway line, sporting a tall chimney and sundry pipes emitting steam. It transpired that this was the Swizzels-Matlow sweet factory, the home of Love Hearts. Originally a textile mill, it had been re-purposed by Matlows in the 1940s when they moved from the London to avoid the bombing. Walk from New Mills New Town to New Mills Central, pausing en route to inspect the amazing Milennium Walkway suspended above the River Goyt and overlooked by another spectacularly located former mill. Train from New Mills Central to Edale. Walk along the first half mile of the Pennine Way and back. Train from Edale to Sheffield. My first impressions of the Class 195 DMUs was very favourable: commendably low engine noise and a spacious interior with generous provision of table seats. A quick look round the centre of Sheffield, then Train from Sheffield to Derby, and thence to Cromford.

Monday Our plan was to eschew paid-for visitor attractions including heritage railways (Crich, Peak Rail and the Ecclesbourne Valley are all nearby) on the grounds that we would be paying around £60 for the three of us while I was the only one who was really interested. Instead we would leverage our National Trust membership and today we would visit Calke Abbey. This entailed travelling to Derby by train and thence by bus. Our son likes to stay up late and wake correpondingly late, so it was after midday that we left Cromford. The connection at Derby required a dash from railway station to bus station but we didn't quite make it and saw the bus backing out just as we arrived. After an hour exploring Derby city centre we got the next bus. The distance as the crow flies is not great but the bus meanders around residential areas on the way so the journey time is over an hour. On the way we spotted a plaque on a wall in Melbourne marking the birthplace of Thomas Cook. From the main road there is a mile walk through the park to the house and we got there at four, just in time to catch the last entry. This allowed half an hour to dash through the house with the attendants anxious to close down all the rooms behind us. Not the leisurely visit I had envisaged. On the way home a nice meal in a Derby Wetherspoons. It really does take some determination to manage a holiday in this country without a car.