dagrizz

How about Birmingham New Street? Lots of other photos on the Warwickshire Railways website.

For free coal, wander along your nearest disused railway and look for chunks either side of the trackbed. For a more plentiful source, identify the location of the goods yard at a disused station and there should be some lying around. Graham

I've just dug out a couple of Peco SL40 buffer stop kits that I'd had tucked away for years. They still have a price sticker on them - 21p (!) from Cador Roberts. I can't remember where Cador Roberts shop was. I suspect it was North Wales, Bala or Portmadoc perhaps. Can anyone help please? Thanks Graham

My trainset is 60's steam/diesel based and I have not considered models much outside this timeframe before, but I was in my local model shop last week and saw 66779 'Evening Star' on sale for £67.50 and thought it looked nice so I bought it on impulse. It looks good amongst other '60's stock and runs well - handles 6 Bachmann Mk 1 coaches with ease. I would not have bought it if it had been more expensive; Hornby have therefore gained a sale from me without hurting sales of the high spec model. I've also bought the Railroad GWR railcar for £45 recently. Again looks good and runs well. As I like to play trains, there is a lot of handling of my models and I find the highly detailed ones readily disintegrate, especially steam locos. So I might be a clumsy oaf but what I prefer are robust models that look OK when in motion on the layout. I'll be keeping a lookout for future Railroad releases. Graham

With regard to the 'N-S electric spine' that was proposed a while back, I thought the route was to be Nuneaton-Coventry-Leamington-Oxford-Reading-Basingstoke-Southampton. Graham

Regarding the incorrect shed codes, perhaps he was using an old Ian Allan book where the shed codes were not up to date. Not everyone used the latest editions.

I thought Corbyn was a vegetarian, so it will be quorn paste sandwiches I'm afraid.

I'm surprised no-one has yet done a model of Coventry station. Main line, compact, bridges at either end for scenic breaks, infrastructure hasn't changed that much in over 50 years so you could vary the traffic from steam to present-day. Graham

I have a Bachmann class 20 with a detached cabside window. To glue the window back in, I need to remove the cab from the body but it is not obvious how this can be done without damaging the model. Does anyone know how this can be done? Thanks Graham

Yes, I had similar thoughts when I first walked it. My concern was that local idiots could start lobbing things onto passing traffic, though I haven't heard of any incidents. You get good views from the top. Graham

Yes, and 5 years ago they opened it up as a walkway/cycleway to provide a traffic-free route into town. Graham

Nige, to avoid going too far OT, I've started a new topic in the disused railways section with a couple of Ullesthorpe photos from 2011. Graham

There is plenty of infrastructure, such as bridges etc along the old Rugby to Leicester MR line but not many buildings - to my knowledge there are just two, at Ullesthorpe and Broughton Astley. I have these photos from 2011. Looking down from the main road to the site of Ullesthorpe station, one can see a platform, and further back a white building. I think this was the station masters house but I'm not certain. Without straying onto private land, this was the closest I could get to it from the other direction. The station masters house is certainly still standing in Broughton Astley, complete with garden railway. If anyone knows of any other surviving buildings, I'd love to hear about them. Graham

I was walking the MR Rugby-Leicester route in 2011 and noticed that several old bridges had a painted ID on them, This one was just south of the M6. The bridge carried a farm track. The trackbed had been almost completely filled in the years since closure (the line closed in the early 1960's). So, in 2011 at least, it seemed that BRB was still responsible for old bridges that were basically just sitting in fields. Graham

I remember going to his talk/slide show back in the mid-'70s organised by the Nottingham University transport society. He'd been to South Africa not long beforehand so we were treated to lots of garratts, appropriately enough. Graham

When I was a student in Nottingham, we called it Selectascratch, referring to the quality of its second-hand stock.

I remember seeing 10202 and 10000 double heading a train northwards along the TV line, at Bulkington. It would have been around 1962. Unfortunately I don't know the type of train, whether one or both locos were powered up or if they were working in multiple. I don't even remember which loco was leading. My excuse is that I was 7 years old. I've been waiting for a green 10202 to go with my Bachmann 10000. But, like Ian, I need the version with doors. Graham

As I recall, yes.

I spent a few days last week in the Breclav/Brno/Veseli nad Moravou area. The weather was brilliant and I took hundreds of photos. On a general note there is a lot of engineering work going on with some lines closed and bus substitutions. Brno Dolni and Veseli stations are largely building sites, though most trains are running. Brno main station bay platforms are closed for rebuilding (some services are running from Dolni, others are buses) and Breclav station building is having a refurb. I'll just post a few photos of the more unusual sightings. If anyone wants to see any other subjects, please let me know. On Thursday morning, the Venice-Simplon Orient Express rolled into Breclav. It stayed an hour for servicing and a change of engine. The boards on the sides of the coaches said Venezia-Wien-Praha. I counted seventeen coaches in the train. It attracted some local enthusiasts These old girls were at Brno Dolni. I saw two passenger trains with 714 haulage. This arrived in Breclav Thursday evening, presumably from the Znojmo line. Early Friday afternoon, this one left Brno for Rajec-Jestrebi. Graham

It was taken Wednesday last week at Veseli nad Moravou in SE Czech Republic. They are completely renewing the whole station area. Here is another signal post about to be installed. Graham

Signal pointed in the wrong direction? not to worry.

My frustration with this type of programme is that they are usually a triumph of style over substance. I enjoy walking old railways and the location and scenery in the first programme was enough to make me want to visit there next year. However, at no point did Mr Bell explain how much of the lines he explored was walkable - there were clearly parts that were, but I've no idea if you could do a decent walk along either of the routes. Instead we get several minutes about whisky making. Errrrr…...??? Graham

Yes, we were affected by the engineering works last year and needed to catch a bus to Jihlava from the main bus station, which you get to by a fairly straightforward walk through the new shopping centre. Dolni is near the bus station so I should be able to walk there OK. Graham

Thank you both very much for your replies. Malomeric was the sort of place I was looking for but it is probably a bit far in the time I'll have available. Also, looking at Streetview, I don't think there is much in the way of a vantage point over the depot. In general, railway lines in Brno seem to pass over roads - I haven't yet found a road overbridge. I've been to Brno station a few times in the past as a passenger so perhaps I'll explore the station a bit more and visit the freight line at Dolni. Thanks again, Graham

Hi all, I've managed to wangle another few days hol in South Moravia next month and I can dedicate the whole time to trainspotting. I should have a few hours free in Brno but would like to know where locos are stabled/stored and also any good spots for taking photos. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks Graham