Rugd1022

Until fairly recently there were two Mk2 Grannies in the compound at the site of the former Elmthorpe station on the Nuneaton - Leicester line, they were in very good nick from what I could see, I suspect they may have gone the same way.

A pertinent photo I hope - Clifton Mill station in 1966 looking towards Rugby with the OLE installed for the aforementioned loco swaps. The 24 approaching the camera is heading for Market Harborough with a stopper, just to the left of it you can just see the Down Mkt. Har'bro line turning away to the left before it goes beneath Clifton Road then curves right to cross over the golf course via the viaduct, joining the WCML where it will trail into the Down Northampton line on the flyover... The DED was also wired up, photo c/o Bill Wright, March 1965...

Iver, Bucks...

Paul, this photo you posted above makes me want to build a layout...

Bromford Bridge in Brum, photo c/o Dave Binder... Liverpool Street in 1952, photo by Harry Todd... Mods, rozzers and BRUTES... 50 010 on the blocks at Padd, photo c/o Peter Hamy…

The only thing which stopped my mate buying the aforementioned Maser QP was the very high clutch wear, which meant a relatively large bill looming ahead and making the purchase go over his original budget - he's since realised that going for a later 2007 onwards version with the fully automatic ZF 'box is the better option, at the same (or similar) price to the earlier car + a new clutch. The 2007 cars are now hitting the bottom of their depreciation curve and even at eleven years old make a good buy, if you find the right one with full service history. Edit : postie's just been, another Lancia book from Amazon has just dropped onto the door matt!

The 'how old does a car have to be to be considered old' thing is definitely very different today, a few months ago I went with a mate to have a look at a 2004 Maserati Quattroporte, the only thing giving its age away was the registration number, it looked brand new, even with over 90k miles on the clock. The steering wheel, switchgear, pedals and seats looked as good as new too, remarkable for a fourteen year old car.

The wires didn't go up on any grand scale at either end of Rugby until well into 1963 / 64, with loco changes taking place on both sides of the station once the OLE was energised, full energisation south to Euston didn't happen until 1966. I do know that the old Up Goods between the Up Fast and the Down Slow flyover was wired for test running, a now retired mate of mine remembers the early AC 'leckies being driven along it at great speed, seemingly unable to stop at the south end but they always did. To make the frequent loco changes between steam, diesel and electric easier and to avoid crossing the main running lines they would be tripped round to Clifton Mill station in threes or fours and brought back over to the down side via the viaduct over the golf course, which is still intact to this day. The wires only went as far as Clifton Mill specifically for this purpose. My Dad worked at the BTH from 1964 to 68 as a metal polisher and would have seen all this activity going on but not really taking any interest in it, he was born very close by in 1940 and grew up with all the hustle and bustle, it was just part of the background to him at the time. Imagine my surprise when he informed me just a couple of years ago that his paper round in the early '50s included the Rugby Shedmaster's office and the Loco Testing Station!

Give It Up - KC & The Sunshine Band

That looks superb George, very nicely done. I'm finding this thread is a real tonic - I must get on with the 1/18th scale ''70s backstreet Italian garage'' diaorama I've recently made a base for. So far I only have one car to go on it, a Kyosho Lamborghini Urraco but I'm hoping to add a Fiat 500, a Lamborghini Espada and any other period Fiats, Lancias or Alfas I can find in this scale.

In this Jon Stubley shot of D7026 heading away from the camera back light to Old Oak on 5/4/74 the site of Aldin Siding is the grassy area on the right, next to the Down Main...

It's been used for stabling HSTs for as long as I've been working freights down that way which is at least twelve years.

Utrecht, 1956... Passengers awaiting the 08.08 to Paddington at Southall in the big freeze of 1963, photo c/o Frank Dumbleton…

For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton

Next door neighbour has just dragged his little Italian wedge out of the garage...

The Night Has A Thousand Eyes - Bobby Vee

Is it RHD Steve..?

£80...? Typo, surely!! Like early Porsche 911s Dino 246s have gone through the roof and show no signs of dropping back, whereas others parts of the classic market have started to cool off a bit. Kettle's on, time for another burst of blatant nostalgia... Chester in 1961... Somewhere in France, early '70s... Here's an interesting one - the striking similarity between the Peugeot 504 and Lancia Flavia 2000 Coupes, something I hadn't really noticed before...

Beautiful Boy - John Lennon

At one time (not really that long ago), you could pick up a usable 400 or 412 for around £20k. Nobody wanted them back then though and the same goes for the Mondial, the cheapest way into Ferrari ownership, it was even less loved than the Bertone designed 208 / 308GT4s which now seen as the excellent mid engined sports car they always were. Pretty much all of the period road test reports thought the GT4 superior to the outgoing but prettier Dino246GTs, the handling was described as better than anything on the road bar the Lamborghini Urraco, ironic really considering the overall design was based on a rejected proposal for the baby Lambo.

I think it may have been the refuge siding / loading doack trailing off the Down Main just to the east of the station - I'm sure Mike / SM will be able to confirm / put me right on that.

Some time ago I posted a pic of Old Oak man Dennis Mansell posing on the front of D817 at Bristol TM in 1960, I've subsequently been sent another couple taken at the same time, obviously everyone on board that day wanted a keepsake...!

Ruby Tuesday - The Rolling Stones

The two Ferrari 400s at the NEC last Spring... Used to see a silver one quite often when I lived in Hammersmith in the early '80s, I was probably the only person in the area who ever took any notice of it.

Yes Pete, they look like standard sized Flaminia GT wheels in the top photo, here it is in profile... The 400 series, very nice, very much the 'unloved' Ferrari but I've always liked and been impressed by them. Saw two in the auction area at the NEC Restoration Show back in the Spring, I sat in both and was knocked back by the relative opulence and glamour they conveyed, much better build quality than I was expecting too. One was manual, one was auto IIRC.