tomparryharry

Nantgarw, north from Cardiff.

Efail Isaf. Just south-west of Treforest, on the Barry Railway. Ian

Record Producer goes into a bar. Whilst there, he sees the piano player, playing out a fantastic tune, and playing it really well. He approaches the player, and compliments him on his playing, and adds "What's the tune? I haven't heard it before". The piano player replies; "It's one of my own". The producer is really impressed. "You should get that recorded, it's really very good". "Nah",says the player," I tried before, but it got turned down, because of the title". "That's crazy", said the producer. "By the way, what's the title?" "Every time my girlfriend kisses me, I c*me in my pants".

I asked my maths teacher, what was the chances of my passing the exam... "Not bad, you'll get around 40% right first time, but you will have to work on the other 70%".... Ian

Not in the Rhondda Valley(s) either..... Regards, Ian

I have to agree, the photos all look green to me. Ian

Took a maths exam this week. I'm not confident. It seems I've got a 70/40 chance of passing.... Ian

40 grand on a boiler.....

Model trains are expensive..... However, the real thing costs a whole lot more..... Ian

Q. How can you tell your flies are down? A. They're not flying around the lampshade, just sitting around, crying & sighing.... Ian

A little old lady noticed two dogs "going at it" on her front lawn. She proceeded to hit the dog with the yard brush, but to no avail. Then, she poured a bucket of water over the dogs. Although wet, the act carried on.... In desperation, she 'phones the vet, to seek advice... "Tell 'em they're wanted on the phone...." Says the vet... "Will that work?" Asks the little old lady... "Bl**dy worked on me..." Replied the vet...

One day, an old man was walking along the street, when he happened upon a young lad, sitting in the kerb, and sobbing out loud... "What's the matter, son?" Enquired the old man... "I can't do what the big boys do" cried the lad... So the old man thought about this, and then sat down by the lad, & started sobbing as well.....

Findus have expressed surprise at finding horse meat in the lasagne. In fact, they were surprised that any meat had been found in there at all.....

Tongue in cheek time..... Best steam? All of them. Best diesel? That would be the stuff in the 40 gallon drum, used for cleaning the 'best looking steam loco'.... Best electric? A steam driven Stones Generator..... Hat & Coat-Door-Taxi!!! Ian

Thank you Bill, my mix-up. My 'bible' here suggests that the BR versions had the same runnng numbers ( or, were due to have them). Now you've reminded me, I'll need to check my (Rowland?) book. It seems at one point, there were 4 vans on the Pontnewynydd branch, one of which was either vac braked, or thro' piped. Another pesky photo I can't find. Regards, Ian

Hello Brian, Either 17590, or 17591. I've got a sneaky feeling that they both ended up at Newport. There are some photos about, from a different angle, and these show the number to good effect. Sorry to say, I don't have a copy here. As an aside, one of the lads at Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway is quietly putting a Pontnewynydd toad back together. Early days yet, with setting out odds & ends, and seeing what other parts, from possible donors, are about. Regards, Ian Edit;- A few years back, I espied a very tattered Toad body high above the mountain between Merthyr & Rhymney. With the owners permission, I was able to recover the transverse sander operating bar, plus a few bits & bobs of the interior furniture. The framework for a real life Toad is fairly straightforward, being mostly 1' (300mm ) rolled steel channel.

Direct access to a Swindon No1 boiler.... Its close cousins went on to 842 black 5's, and the Jubilees. Not forgetting all those 8F's...... As for coal traffic flows. It depends on how the traffic was managed to the customer. Regards, Ian

The future Mrs Smith first saw me messing around with my Mini-Moke. As usual at that time, I was up to my neck in either grime or oil (sometimes both). Full-size steam locomotives & a sense of humour do actually mix, as I found out. Model locomotives went into the loft for a while, although it was 'known' they were there. (they stayed there for 20 years). We've only had one 'incident'..... 48 hours after our wedding, we were in Towyn on our honeymoon, when I bumped into a acquaintance driving at the Tallylyn. "Have you got your overalls?" he enquired. "You can have a footplate ride" I was told, in no uncertain terms, if I got on the footplate, it was over. Full Stop. We celebrate our silver this year...... I've learned a couple of tips. One is to keep at least a day for yourselves, every week. The other is to take time to ask how the day has gone. Compliments are wonderful things, and so are the occasional box of chocolates!

Sorry Terry Class 26 (Red Devil) South African railway. Have a look on youtube, you'll see what I mean. Regards, Ian.

Class 26 (Red Devil), just for starters. Then, finally, a Saint. Either 4-4-2, or 4-6-0. Diesel? They all look the same to me........ Ian

Hello, If, as some have suggested, you decide to 'discard' the Cotswold/Nucast blocks, I would be very happy to purchase them..... Kind regards, Ian

Hello Peter & Mike, The box lost about 6" in the transfer to Caerphilly. I knew this, as the lead off timber was at ground level, instead of being much higher. When I started at Caerphilly, they were about to scrap the box, as no-one was interested in seeing it restored. The locking engineer at Newport still had spares! The original down distant at Rhiwderin lasted well into the eighties, still with its somersault apparatus. I understand the 11 lever frame is still with the surviving Caerphilly guys, now located at the Gwili Railway. The reason that the box is much altered is because a lot of it didn't make it out of Caerphilly; At least, I seem to remember that most of the basement stayed after the Teifi had removed the top of the box. Non standard slates on the roof.... I seem to remember them being narrower than the standard sizes..... Regards, Ian

I remember there being a door into the basement of Rhiwderin (Brecon & Merthyr), which was directly under the porch. There wasn't a locking room as such; The locking was in the rear of the frame, as it was a Saxby & Farmer gridiron frame. I spent many happy hours restoring that box. Regards, Ian

Having seen Redgates photos of the Standard 2-8-2, I could well imagine a 3 cylinder (Caprotti) 4-8-2, for the west coast traffic. Oil fired, as the firing rate is probably too high, or mechanical stoker. Not too many in the class, so they are named after? Well, you decide..... Regards, Ian

As I understand it, 3099 would be a suitable number for a non-westernised locomotive. If I've read RCTS 10 correctly, they did run for a while with both ROD & GW numbers. The GW number was painted on, I think, to resemble a GW numberplate. Personally, wouldn't mind seeing an ROD with No 6000, that would be a good one to get some ""Highly Informed"" people jumping up & down! Ian.