Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

Mornin' all, Best regards to all that ail Once again the council tax payers to Stoke on Trent city council have been poorly served by the absence of gritting/salting even on principle routes, whilst even the estate roads of Staffordshire Moorlands council tax payers are being gritted with purpose built wagons. Another dicey drive home off of a night shift around the conurbation. . -3 in The Moorlands this morning with a sharp frost but no more snow. Feathered ones provided for....another feeder dismantled,cleaned/disinfected and clean water put out for them Hopefully a little modelling today Enjoy what you do Dave

Aft'noon all, What snow had fallen was melting away by this afternoon....enough to make the scenery look prettier though.... Dave

Mornin' all, Best wishes to Ed & his family, Tricky run home in the snow & sub zeros off nights an hour ago...Stoke-on-Trent council hadn't gritted their roads twixt the A500 and the Staffs Moorlands boundary so long queues were building up on any inclines. Once onto Staffs Moorlands roads there were no issues....no doubt the former will have some lame excuses to trot out later. Feathered ones provided for....ice & snow covered water bowls emptied out and fresh water added Off to bed now Enjoy what you do Dave

....we have a white coating in The Moorlands....a wet & slushy couple of inches and it is snowing now. Enjoy what you do Dave

.....I'd be gathering together/consulting numerous close up images of the wagons which I intended to model from the various wagon websites so that I could understand the detail differences better and group individual features. Wagon books often have just one or two images of individual wagon types and a number of books might be necessary to get enough views. I would also be googling PCAs in 4mm to see which modellers/groups have made the best job of upgrading the Lima model so far. Dave

.....I struggle with the politics/changes of direction with the CVR/Moorland & City directors over the last 10 years Jock. At one point I helped them with getting the line open to Froghall but was always pressured to offer more time than I had available, so left them to it....in common with numerous other ex BR staff who did similar. The presence of the CVR/M&C in Leek, with its considerable population/tourist numbers was always going to offer a destination/starting point and a reliable year round income stream, so fingers crossed that it will now happen. Planning permission has been approved and the sale of spare land for housing at Leekbrook jnc should further swell the coffers. The resurgence of cycling as a form of exercise coupled with the work done on the local canal towpaths to convert them into cycleways suggests that a van/wagon with cycle stowage capacity and the opportunity to board/alight at Ipstones/Apesford/Leekbrook jnc/Cheddleton/Consall/Froghall will add significantly to the attraction of the railway too, helped by the lovely local scenery. Increased visitor numbers will then require feeding and watering which should offer more profitable catering opportunities. Various owners have removed their stock from the line because it hasn't been looked after/maintained properly, which has left just foreign (Polish/American) steam locos with the occasional non authentic visitor to maintain the service over recent years. Their recent 'anything goes' galas have just been an excuse to trot out any home based traction which will run/not bring in visiting traction and have offered little of interest...the last one was cancelled due to lack of traction. One of the young ladies in our family is studying the genetic advances necessary to help cancerous cells kill each other....we urge her to add to the numerous other knowledgeable bodies with a hasty way forward. Dave

....and a last set of clips of CVR steam, uploaded whilst watching the fitting tribute to David Bowie on TV.... ....the last days of LNER V2 4771 Green Arrow in steam early 2008 (unless resurrected) on driver training runs in temps of -5C, followed by a spirited departure from Consall alongside the canalised section of the River Churnet. Goodnight Ziggy Dave

Evenin' all, A little more steam on the Moorland & City extension from the Churnet Valley Railway at Leekbrook jnc to Cauldon Lowe....this time one of the reopening specials circa 2009 top & tailed by WC Pacific 34028 Eddystone and 5MT 44767 George Stephenson, seen passing Winkhill..... Apologies for the split film....I had to borrow a friends camcorder whilst mine was being repaired and struggled with its operation/don't have the correct editing suite for the clips produced using it. Unfortunately, the Ipstones-Winkhill-Cauldon Lowe section has since been lifted and sold to finance the Leekbrook jnc to Leek town extension. Dave

Aft'noon all, Smashing lunch out with friends at one of their favorite restaurants today....still good to get back in and change into scruffs though. Organising of 2016 fund raising coach trips under way.....the first one, in May, is already sold out and has a waiting list....sold out 4 months in advance is a new record for us. Back to work on nights tomorrow so hopefully a little modelling time to be had first. Enjoy what you do Dave

....and the same trigger in one person will be quite differently handled by the immune system of each other person. Many immune systems simply overcome such triggers, or else have wildly varying outcomes e.g. everyone knows someone who smoked 100 Woodbines a day and lived to be 100. We have relatives in Canada who drink a bottle of sherry and a bottle of gin respectively every one/two days and who have outlived all of their much healthier living siblings....there is no justice. I wish everyone the most robust immune system possible. Dave

Mornin' Jock, A small victory for Is yesterday was her first driving experience for some time due to the op. She drove us to church and back and gained numerous comments from parishoners re how well she looked. Yes, she gets tired and we would like this fluid build up to subside more quickly to allow radiotherapy to start but she is otherwise in good heart. Today we're being taken out to lunch by newly married friends in Macclesfield. Today's short anticlockwise was done in half light, dull conditions and not one picture was taken....100% head down calorie burn. I'm pleased that my pictures bring pleasure....some of my cycling circuits have had various pictures repeated, so tell me if you feel that they become 'old hat'. Time of year/weather conditions and newsworthyness tend to group pictures geographically, therefore 50%-100% (on crummy weather days) is pure cycling and the picture opportunities account for the rest. Request for CVR steam noted Andy....here are are a few clips from the last gala which I attended.... ....and a few diesel stills from my Flickr site.... https://www.flickr.com/photos/43564631@N08/albums/72157622451093859 Dave

Mornin' all, Best regards to any that ail. Out into the deep blue yonder at first light in The Moorlands....the claustrophobic cloud sheet retreating for a while..... ....the River Churnet in flood at Cheddleton....the Churnet has a minimum flow through Tittesworth reservoir.... ....seemingly a causeway....the towpath of the Caldon canal (right) at Cheddleton. The scouring action of the river in flood is removing the bank adj. the towpath.... ....the Churnet adj. to the flint mill....cascading loudly down the weir and away from the waterwheels, protected by a sluice gate.... ....the first rays of the rising sun illuminate the trees.... ...the Endon brook approaching its junction with the River Churnet....the two swollen waters causing the issues around Cheddleton. Additionally, flood events liberate cadmium and copper from the soils around the former Bolton's copper works at Froghall, polluting the river and causing fish death/invertebrate species limitations downstream... ....Leek has a fine collection of architecture stretching back like an historical document....here Wellington Mill (now flats/apartments) stands proud on the skyline. A guided walk around the town with a blue badge guide is well worth being part of... Late back (09.45) for croissants, Dundee marmalade and fresh coffee....much to the chagrin of the domestic authorities Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

....dreadful way to start the New Year Ed....I just hope that it gets significantly better for you & yours and quickly. Best regards Dave

Mornin' all, Best regards to all that ail. Constitution foiled by rain today....better forecast for tomorrow. The milky colouring of Is's lymph fluid turns out to be due to an uncommonly occurring gland under the armpit, this was partly removed during the recent surgery and the remainder is now secreting protein into the other fluid build up....all should heal in due course but she now has to take a vitamin supplement to replace what is being lost. Meanwhile, the seroma is filling again, suggesting that radiotherapy won't start in the next fortnight. As for 4472....if it had been properly assessed and all necessary work done on time and to BR standard throughout its career in private hands, then a complete picture of the loco would have been known at any given point. The amount of work needed at this current overhaul would have been less and it would have been a straightforward yes/no decision, in full possession of the facts, as to whether the latest boiler ticket made sense. How much has been lost in labour costs alone, with the repeated stripping down and rebuilding? I doubt that the lesson will be learned even now....there was after all many years experience of an entire fleet of these locos, for those that wanted to understand their needs. Now music by The Lotus Eaters....The first picture of you Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Evenin' all, Out into a snowstorm tonight for fish & chips in Ashbourne, via the scenic route....tasty but always 2nd to Longnor (due to reopen on the 21st). A session with the angle grinder this afternoon slicing out the new Plymouth route bridge deck in 2mm aluminium sheet around a revised Templot print.... ....some finish filing and marking out of the individual bridge sections before fitting the deck to its baseframe and securing a new Templot print ready for track building. Feathered ones provided for Enjoy what you do Dave

Evenin' all, Once more into the dusk on a light seeking constitutional....at least it stayed dry... ...still brim full at the reservoir...the stick poking out of the water on the left marks the highest ground within the reservoir.... ....the same stick gives an idea of the Summer & Winter water levels this year.... Is has had another 600ml of lymph fluid drawn off today....radiotherapy cannot start until this settles down and she no longer needs antibiotics for the infection. Best regards to those that ail Dave

....afraid that I'm at work for this one Jock....Is's sister is taking her and they're going shopping between appointments. Dave

Aft'noon all, All the very best to those that ail. Just about squeezed in a half light long anticlockwise constitutional this afternoon once in from work....slight signs of increasing light levels. Is has to have her seroma drained again tomorrow before having a CT scan to determine the extent and duration of radiotherapy. Enjoy what you do Dave

....a great artist Polly....click on the link to hear Sia and her version of California Dreamin' too....I have to listen to it most days. Dave

....all the very best to you both for the New Year Jock. I hope that any medical procedures are no more onerous than they have to be for you. We've managed to entertain again this evening with Is's sister and one of my railway friends coming round to share our meat & potato pie. Is enjoyed the hostess role but has had to have an early night now. Best regards Dave

....shouldn't the paper be IZAL for authenticity?....or maybe strips of 'The Mirror' or 'The Sun' Dave

Happy New Year all, Cinders did go to the ball....Is ready for the party tonight Dave

...you did ask... Dave

Evenin' all, Very best wishes to those that ail, Modelling psychology to the fore today....I'd spent considerable time last year adjusting/correcting the double track deck for the Plymouth route bridge on TG, even though I was aware that there was a flaw in its width...highlighted by a subsequently acquired image taken from the driving cab window of a train crossing the prototype....I just couldn't bring myself to consider replacing the deck, due to the time already invested in it. This led to me avoiding adding more components (which I would probably have to undo anyway) to the bridge. The benefit of time lapse/developing skills on other areas of the project in the meantime, meant that I could revisit the same problem area in the cold light of today... going on to quickly remove the offending deck before second thoughts could stop me. It isn't much of a job to slice out a new one from stock sheet (around a set of modified Templot prints) and recover the build to the same point that I thought I'd reached already....odd how sentimentality over work done/time expended (even on a flawed component) alters the way in which some complex projects develop. Enjoy all New Year festivities....I'm off to put my best frock on now. Dave

....Moriarty....and they did have a pontoon bridge in Kellys Heroes. Dave