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It still is... I would say that most buildings here in the UK built before 1990 have <some> level of asbestos contamination, even if it is only the asbestos in the artex on the ceilings. If left undisturbed the risks are so inestimably low that its not even worth considering them. A old H&M controller with an asbestos mat wound with the resistance wire? Again, unless you take it apart, and then grind the mat up, and then snort it like a line of coke, then again the risk to you and your family is so close to nill, that it makes no difference. There is really nothing to worry about... you are much more likely to die from normal atmospheric pollution, or that bus you step out in front of without looking.. Andy G

It'll be difficult to use Lynn docks, the Dock branch has been OOU for about 2 decades, and lots of track is missing. The last time APB asked about having it re-connected the figure was upwards of £5millions, and that must be a decade ago. And that didn't address the issue of the bridge over the Gaywood river, which would need replacing to allow anything other than a Jocko to go over it..... Andy G

One of those Mk1 balcony cars has produced my only call to inform me of an out of gauge train... The station staff at Ely called me to say that the car with the balcony had a potted palm that was well out of gauge, as it was sweeping the platform in the station. The driver was somewhat bemused when I told him that his train was out of gauge and could he put his potted palm inside the coach........ But by the time it passed me it was no longer on the balcony. Andy G

You need to get a good face on picture of the lettering you want to reproduce, and then see what you can match it too. Andy G

I doubt that it is a font at all. They were probably a drawn set of letters that a draughtsman created at a drawing board.... Andy G

The observant will note that the NR 153's have had their footboards removed, which increase their route availablity, and mean that the NR three (311/376 &385) can go places the others can't. Andy G

Indeed, they also better if you drive them everyday. I aspire to have a '56 splitty GPO van* on the road too. Sadly its far to derelict to go anywhere near the road (or the Mrs!) at the minute, I think of it as a V5 with the essence of Minor! Andy G *Yes one with an opening drivers windscreen (which is the best bit of the van, and even thats cracked!), but with the sensibly steel front wings, not the silly rubber ones: https://www.gpovan.co.uk/slf540.html (put your browser on full screen for the full rust effect!)

Yes from memory. Andy G

If you have a tin of Humbrol metallic silver paint, you will find that this is conductive as well. I discovered this as I was fed up with the side/indicators on my Moggy Minor rusting through*. New backs fitted and painted with the above has stopped the rust, and the lamps always work now... (except of course when they die). Andy G *daily driver, I have two options to get to the box, a 67 4 dr saloon, or a 67 GPO engineers van....

I don't know why anyone uses the touch screens in Maccy D's. I just go to the counter and order what I want in about a 16th of the time it takes to use the pointless technology.... If ever there was a case of technology for the sake of it, this certainly is it, although I do get the advantage of being served a lot quicker, as everyone seems to have been fooled into using the screens... Andy G

One thing to note here is that a lot of the improvements done by Network Rail to recover from Railtracks legacy were funded by a 'corporate credit card'. When NR was eventually nationalised, it was strange that this debt wasn't discharged (by whatever means) but has remained and is a huge expense to NR still. I forget the figures for the debt (is it a couple of hundred billion?) but the interest repayments are something like £42 millions a year. Obviously there is no way the borrowed sum is ever going to be repaid, so the interest payments are another long term income source for the lenders. Andy G

Some years ago I hoovered up a fair few of the MAJ LMS sides, intending to use them for carriages. I part assembled one, and discovered that for the droplights the clear sides would need drilling and opening out to avoid the supplied droplight layer creating a raised portion under the top layer. This was a step too far at that time (I've not re-visited yet). But I also investigated making some other sides for the body's. I got a friend to draw up bodysides in full LMS livery, and then found a printer who used the old style vinyl printing process (in heat formed layers, rather than by single layer printing) that allowed the base to be brown (which shows as the interior panelling, the MAJ ones are printed on clear, so you can see the red bodywork), yet reproduced the crimson lake to the same colour as the MAJ sides, but with the added bonus that the windows were actually cut out, so that you get the definition between the frame and the glass. The only problem was the glossiness of the sides, but I guess satin varnish might sort that, although I'm not sure how it would stick to the vinyl. They came out well, well enough that I spoke to 'the black hole of Poole' to see if there were still any MAJ bits left over. This was confirmed to be true, (everything except the vinyl sides) but I could never work an agreement to purchase these bits. The wagon parts were there too, apart from the chassis bits, as the moulds had been lost. A bit of a dead end really. Andy G

Wet string, a piece of paper and a lump of ballast was better than NRN! Andy G

I was surprised too, and equally surprised that the SPT still worked..... Andy G

I never once lost anything on the CSR. Ever. Completely stable, easy to use, well maintained, properly designed by telecom engineers, and very much missed. Andy G

I was quite surprised when they did too! Although one of the drivers actually thought a bit and used his staff mobile to call the box internal number, so enabling him to stay sat in the cab! Andy G

A reply was typed, but I've thought better of it, there might be someone reading this...... Andy G

And there in lies part of the problem.... From a Bobbies point of view, we want to be able to call the driver when we need to. Now with CSR I could call any train that was in the system at any time, and speak to the driver. But with GSM-R I can only call trains that are in my area, and that means as soon as the train passes my last signal I can no longer call them. Less than Ideal. The consoles are very clunky to use, with what can only be described as the worlds poorest design of press to talk handset (which has the button on the side, as opposed to the back of the handset (where your thumb naturally falls) and so are really uncomfortable to use. The 'extras' may well be useful for powerboxes, but in proper boxes they are superfluous, and frankly the reliability of the system is poor. I have had a shift where the power supply has failed, and had to hold bits of paper up to drivers with CALL SPT on them as I needed to caution.. I never had that with CSR! Andy G

Interestingly we are not aware that they are used for GSM-R up here. But then again, no-one ever tells the Bobbies anything about the equipment they have to use, just in case we end up knowing something..... Andy G

The blue plates with 8005/6/7/10 on them are NOT signal numbers, they are the short codes for the long defunct Cab Secure Radio system... For some reason NR have not removed any of these plates, even though the system was replaced by (the very much inferior, cheaper and nastier) GSM-R system back in 2012ish... I'm surprised that ASLEF haven't been kicking up a stink about it! Andy G

I vividly remember that the tickets issued for the Steam specials from Ft William to Mallaig when they were first introduced were Green versions of the NCR 51 tickets. What has surprised me is the size of these tickets compared with Edmundson and modern ones. They used to stick out of the top of Dad's wallet, and his took notes without folding them... Andy G

Not at all, I've not got my book handy (I'm in work), but there was a fairly regular swapping about of flanged and flangeless wheels in the Jones Goods class. Indeed the original set of wheels off 103 when she was first restored to Green by the LMS were all flanged, and were later swapped for the present set of flangeless ones, the originals appeared under another class member still in green, but the loco itself was all over black. AFAIAA the Rivers were always fully flanged. Andy G

So you will be able to tell me how these combined semaphore and colourlight worked.... I'm guessing that there was a detector box for the arm, that was adjusted so that when the arm was high enough to obscure the signal lamp (but not necessarily fully off), then the colour light head was turned on? And of course the head was turned off at the same point as the arm returned? Ta Andy G

I can't quite remember, but it was a bit of a home brew. I believe the main post was used for a signal bridge for colour-lights somewhere, and the rest was made at Swithland Sidings. I can certainly remember using a 9" grinder with a wire brush in it to clean the mill scale off parts of the new bit. The GCR was quite lucky in that their S&T lads had a lot of contacts with the local BR/Railtrack S&T lads, and one weekend we did a recovery at Derby, from an old goods platform overlooking the south end of the station. It was a haul of a couple of 30-35 foot semaphore posts, and a lot of fittings. It took a fair few of us to lift the post onto the artic trailer! I quite fancy making something similar to this for the garden. I've got a Metro-vick Hernia distant head (with a curved sighting board, think full sized Berko!) and a semaphore and post that needs erecting, so would be a good idea to combine the two. Just need a standoff bracket for the hernia to sit on. Andy G

Interesting signal, note the tapered blade, and the backing plate behind the green lens. Interestingly the green lens is convex for use with an intensified lamp. The red lens looks like it might be too, but its the wrong shape for an upper quad signal.. All a bit home made and not really looking like anything normal. Anyone happen to have a spare convex green (blue really) 8" lens for a LNE arm at all please? Andy G