Barry O

Morning all, grey and dull here - yesterday was a negative waves weather day! Chilli con carne built and in the slow cooker Text received to say new washing machine will be here between 3pm and 7pm today...... So more weathering Have a great day

Morning all grey with bits of blue sky. Happy Birthday Robert - now today is the day you buy a fast motorcycle with all the right gear to wear, a fast(ish) car and generally behave like an 18 year old with more money.... so just enjoy being 40.... off to do some more weathering... Barry

cold and grey in Leeds i have two sons - youngest is a good left hand bat, right hand bowler playing premier league cricket - (6' with size 9s) eldest not interested at all -(6' 5" size 14)... ideal fast bowler material but with the body coordination of a bent twig! As for school houses - Red - Spartans! only came into for at the annual athletics meet (running - nope!) and 7 a side rugby (which was great!) Hope everyone has a good day Barry

late arrival today due to shopping and cleaning(!) Cold in Leeds, see Birds Eye are paying the price for moving out of Grimsby UK frozen food town as was - perhaps they and Findus may now realise what happens when they move onto mainland Europe - higher wages and less Quality Control... (Sorry her indoors dad was the Cold Store Manager for Birds Eye in Grimsby and she knows what can happen in a frozen food plant)

Sat Navs are the scourge of the A65 - the overseas lorries are directed down the A65 instead of M6, M61, M62. And those stupid voices - especially the one which asks you to turn right off a dual carriageway. Cloudy, cool with odd bits of blue sky... Loco cleaning a success so far - they worked on the "test track" down the Club last night More cleaning and lettering today then more weathering...

grey and overcast this pm. trip to Barrow and back completed including a stop for a bacon and egg butty and a cup of coffee at the Green Hut. Sun spotted near Kirkby Lonsdale - lots of ducks by the Green Hut in Kirby. No response from them to the usual plum sauce! or orange sauce! from her indoors Time for more cleaning of wheels.....

The changes made by the LMS were limited - they didn't change the size of bearings and eventually all of the LMS followed the Midlands servicing policies ( I refer you to "A Breath of Steam" Vol 1 by W G F Thorley who worked on a variety of engines including the 4Fs and Garratts at Wellingborough among other sheds. Mr Thorley opens an engineering window on the 4Fs and Garratts - interestingly he infers that the Garratt loadings were fixed by the potential brake power of the engine not the true haulage power. They experimented with trying to find the reasons for hot boxes on both types of locomotives but it came back to a strict mileage set for checks and inspections - although he suspected that the bearings were not up to the job of handling the loads produced in he Garratt design. As the way the Midland paid for locos to be built new as well as those rebuilt was from two different pots - while the maintenance was from a third pot - perhaps the bean counters were happy to live with the 4F bearing situation - which, strangely enough, the LMS at first were not. Its a bit like buying a big shiny new diesel from a major manufacturer claiming high reliability - then finding out the cost of transporting fitters around to keep the reliability high...

Late entry for an early riser due to a variety of reasons including assessment of a cricket scorer. The Glue Pot - takes me back to when I lived in Didcot and was able to be a member of Swindon MRS - travel down by train go to the meeting - a couple of beers then back to Didcot. As for the steam railmotor - I was there when my (late lamented) mate Dave took a fire axe to the "engine" end - it was covered with planking externally as well as having wood covering over the drivers windows on the inside - we stood back in awe as he proceeded to get rid of the excess planking to reveal the original windows complete with all of the bolections! Will try and see it someday - including it Bradford and Bingley Boiler Co boiler. Warming up in Leeds - sunny day with loads of blue sky!

morning from a below freezing Leeds. Had a walk out with her indoors to get new passport photos taken, then to collect a parcel from the GPO sorting office - lots of wagons to repair and weather! Have a nice day everyone

First apologies for being very late on parade (Makro visit to stock up with Bog Rolls etc) Don I can only suggest you borrow a fast movie ride on buggie and/or lock and bolt your door. May the good news continue for all! Barry in very sunny Leeds

Don Bit of underframe painting and now back to my new day job - weathering wagons and locos. Roll on finish time - I thought I was my own boss but her indoors says I have to complete some of them today....Ta Ta for now - looking forward to fish, chips, scraps a cake and mushy peas later - then a few jars with the Leeds MRS Eating and Drinking section...

morning.. Don some modelling is in prospect - garden still awash but blue sky here off shopping - back later.. have a safe day

Pete the Marines have all our Harriers as well as their broke and it was cheaper to buy the GR9s (updated at a vast cost to the UK taxpayer) for beans - but the Marines buy the best from wherever it comes from (they wanted Challenger 2 not M1A2 but that was scotched)

Its been one of those days...... started with a letter from HMRC (who owe me money according to my accountant) asking me to pay them even more! Garden awash so pump out on going! How big will our two aircraft carriers be compared to the Nimitz? They will also need support vessels including the Astutes plus the Type 26s..... lots of money to keep them company!

Ian looks good - could this be a "Chuffs" body? - it was a very early kit from aeons ago Barry

Leander Shouldn't the Waverley include a Period 3 ex LMS catering vehicle? Most had gone by 1962. Barry O

The layouts which have inspired me are at a standard which still couldn't be totally achieved using RTR - they still inspire and they still make me want to do better. We are lucky that we can achieve higher standards with RTR but how would you do a Bramblewick or Wyndlesham Cove or Cwmafon - or the Liverpool Overhead Railway on Heruclaneum? It may answer why we are seeing some "sameness" in layouts

Debs don't call it a carrier its something similar but no air planes we sold those at a cut price to the US Marines Hull Council want to turn it into a Casino ......... hope they have a big space to park berth her in

Don the chicken is to give you the strength you need for a quick (!) getaway The US Immigration guys are only doing their job - I had very few problems on my various business and holiday trips there - its just they don't understand that one day the Queen will be back in charge in our largest Colony (steps back and heads for the hills!) Have a great day from a blue sky coated Leeds!

The Banana Shed on Herculaneum ( or what was left of it after a visit by the Lufwaffe) has Banana vans from Ratio as well as Mike's Hornby Dublo ones. The Ratio ones were built as a batch and the worst bit is keeping the door locking bars attached to the model.

Don sounds like you need the zimmer police! One of my relatives had a sit on buggie. He was travelling in it when he had a blow out - swerved and totalled a car,, Cold and grey in Leeds. Have a good day folks

The L&Y started by making loads of money then hit the brick wall and had to work hard by building new locos and stock to continue to make money. The small engine policy was a bean counter type approach - the S&DJR locos could have worked well but the Midland had a problem with engine axle boxes- which is also why the LMS Garretts didn't work out as good as those designed and built for overseas use - cheapskate Midland axleboxes..... and yes it happens today - near sightedness its called and I (with my Engineering hat on) have suffered from this for all of my working life.

The Midland did build bigger engines but not for its own use (S&DJR 2-8-0) - and the Lickey Banker ( a one off) so the idea that they had a problem with delivering bigger locos seems to be ...... bean counter management ..... so that must be the people running our railways today - the latest generation of Midland Railway Management...

cool and grey in Leeds Cricket (indoors) was chuffing freezing last night but we survived! Lots to do today and an 08 and Ivatt Chinese Cracker are waiting to be weathered ..... may be back later but ...