milkman matt

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I should probably have mentioned in the OP that we will be hiring a car in Edinburgh and Bath. 

In Edinburgh, the intention is to drive to Alnwick Gardens on day and the Forth and Tay on the other. Of course, the may be some exploring between those destinations. 

In Bath, we will be driving to Stonehenge and the white horse as well as possibly re visiting Swindon (we were there in 2012) among other little explorations. 

Settle and Carlisle will be part of the trip from Carlisle to Chester. I know it's a bit of a roundabout way to get there but the Passes I have (pictured in the op) allow unlimited travel on British railways for 8 days in a month so I planned it as one of those trips plus it seems a good way to see a bit of the country. 

The city walls are a nice walk in York and get you round to see plenty of the city, and of course pass conveniently close to Monk Bar model shop en route . I have a feeling the DVLR is only open on summer Sundays which could present problems depending on what days of the week you are in York. Along the river near the Millennium Bridge (Fulford Ings) there is a nice obscure bit of railway history - the remains of the 18” gauge Imphal Barracks line. The Shambles are also very nice.

We arrive in York on Thurs 6/6 and leave on Sun 9/6. So I think the DVLR may be a miss. Will see if I can get to the Monk Bar model shop and check out the Imphal Barracks line. I like finding obscure bits of railway history. On my first trip to the UK (1986) I was lucky enough to visit Wylam and found out about George Stephenson's birthplace just down the road. This was in a time before the internet so it was quite fortuitous that my Brother's sister-in-law was living there.

Salisbury is easy to spend a few hours in, and if you take the train there from Bath you will go through Westbury. There is a white horse 2-3 miles from the station. The view from the top above the horse is rather nice. 

 

You could head to Minehead via the West Somerset Railway. 

Thanks for that. We will be hiring a car in Bath for the duration so will be driving to the White horse and Stonehenge. Will also be touring a fair bit over the week so the WSR could be on the cards.

As a few of you know, back in Jan 2017, This little black duck had a heart attack. Not the "Clutches chest and falls to the ground" sort but more the "Gee my chest hurts, maybe I'll get that looked at." type. 

Two things came of this.

1) if you have chest pain, don't wait a day and a half before getting it looked at. (DO IT NOW). 

Stand and flexi shaft are a must. I have one attached to my workbench and find it very useful. As for cutting rails, I've had no issue with it. As long as you take your time and don't try to do the whole cut in one hit, you shouldn't have a problem. if you alternate rails and make small cuts and let them cool. I would advise using the Flexi shaft when cutting rails though as you can make a square cut with it. Below is a picture of my workbench with the Dremel in situ.

So sorry to hear, Jim. My condolences.

This one is doing the rounds on Facebook at the minute.

I suspect he probably spends a lot of time wondering why the forum gets clogged up with so many completely pointless posts

Or just thanks the good Lord that he doesn't have hair!

The government sent me three bum test kits beofre they gave up. They are very persistent about looking at your bum here in Australia !

They sent me one which I ignored. Three years later (July this year) I had 1/3 of my bowel removed because of pre cancerous growths. I strongly advise people to take the test now. 

Maybe if you just grab a newspaper (or favourite modelling mag) and sit in the kitchen reading with all of the appliances plugged in and wait for whatever it is to go bang. You may be able to pinpoint the source of the noise. 

Just a thought.

I seem to be a bit behind the times here but, I have just recently found the John Day white metal range of vehicles. http://johndaymodels.webplus.net/index.html

Being fairly new to white metal and having recently built a white metal kit from another supplier that was average at best, I was, of course, a little wary of what would arrive in the mail.

Nevertheless, I decided to bite the bullet and try a couple from this range. I must say, The 2 kits ordered arrived in today's post and, at first glance, look to be very good kits indeed. The two I ordered were SRV06 Humber 16/50 Saloon and SRV79 Austin 16hp Saloon. Both have been recently re mastered by the current owner, Daryle Toney and are a credit to his work. the details are superb. There are minimal parts and no need for assembly instructions as the kits are very simple. As a novice white metal builder, I will certainly be keeping an eye on this range for the foreseeable future.

SRV06 Humber 16/50 as supplied.

SRV79 Austin kit as supplied.

This is my source of reference. Well written and simple to understand.


 

Hi All

I am toying with the idea of fitting a smoke unit to one of my Metcalfe kits and was wondering if anyone has tried it. I did find an old topic on fitting one to a plastic kit and the subject of heat seemed to be the main concern as, I suspect, it may be with card kits.

Your thoughts and ideas would be welcome.

In amongst my raspberry canes as I was cutting them back after summer.

Mum has a mob of 12 of these that show up twice a day for handouts.

Ok. The MMS kits have arrived. They look simple enough to assemble although I have managed to break the windscreen pillar while clearing the window aperture.

Oh well, Live and learn. 

Here's a set that works. 

This was posted on a facebook group. Apparently it's at Chester station. Is it a new form of track joint or is there another purpose?

I have just ordered 2 kits from the MMS "Civvy street" range. I've never built a metal kit before so this should be an interesting exercise. Hopefully, the kits are as good as they look on their website. 

Mine is a combination of my job as a dispatch clerk for a dairy company and my name (Mathew). Seemed appropriate at the time and still is as I am still in the same job 20 years on.

Some of my personal favourites.

Summer sunrise 21/11/09

Post storm cloud 10/10/15

Summer sunset in North East Victoria 11/03/13

I've just discovered Woodland Scenics "Just Plug" lighting and want to know if anyone has had any experience with this product. I've treated myself to just a basic start up setup for now but I am seriously considering using it for my entire layout as it progresses. The whole principle is as simple as the description says and appeals to me because it doesn't need a degree in electronics or the ability to solder to light a railway or town.

At the minute, they seem to have just two types of LED light but in multiple colours as well as a flashing red light but, according to their web site, they have plans to release street lights of various designs in the near future.

For me, it is possibly one of the best things to come out in recent months but I will leave it to the masses to decide.

Here is a video they have on You tube.

This sums it up nicely!

​

Some Action from the weekend. double headed "R" class locos on "The Snow Train" special through Gippsland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4M6aPVdpqc

Sorry about the shaky start but I had the cam on full zoom which always exacerbates even the slightest movement even thou the camera was on a small tripod sitting on a cement stanchion base.

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs!