RJD

What about Birmingham City firing a manager and his successor resigning after a terrible run?

For soldering, take a look at Graham Plowman's site about soldering to track. http://www.mrol.com.au/Articles/Hints%20and%20Tips/SolderGlobules.aspx I've soldered leads to rail joiners as well as the bottom of the track and have had no issues in 10 years and the temperature on my layout runs from near freezing to 100 fahrenheit.

The Train (Burt Lancaster) is good. Apparently Lancaster learned to drive the steam locomotive for the sake of authenticity.

I like Tiffy's idea of the team with fewer penalties getting the ball first, and then each team getting possession until there is a winner. Will it change? It would make for an exciting finish. And wouldn't it be good for TV ratings? We live on a reasonably busy street in Utah USA and it is at its quietest during the Super Bowl and that includes Christmas Day. Like my friends in the US who think the best of soccer is penalty kicks to decide a draw, I think college football overtime is its most exciting.

The NFL rules for a tied game at the end of regulation time seems odd. Win the toss and score a touch down and you win without the other team getting the ball! Any ideas why the rule is this way?

For many years I have been working on my 00 layout - a fictitious station in the center of Birmingham. Yours is delightful. I live in the USA and over the years collected a lot of books and photographs on Birmingham architecture. Since you are clearly comfortable with modelling scenery, may I suggest you Google Birmingham factories in the Digbeth and Jewelry quarter and draw up your own designs based on actual buildings - when you have time? And how about the back-to-backs in Hurst Street? I think I'll do some research on them for my layout to replace the old Bilteezi and Metcalf models that have been a stopgap. Any road up, this expat Brummie has to get on with his chores. Happy Christmas. RJD Utah USA

Has anyone explained roundabout courtesy when driving? RJD

I love the JC Bourne drawings (London and Birmingham Railway and Great Western Railway), the French impressionists, the railway poster art of the 20th century, and Turner's Rain, Steam, and Speed for starters. Some of the modern painters are excellent - I like Phillip Hawkins particularly, perhaps being a fellow Brummie helps. He does grime and the tough working conditions very well. I can almost taste and feel the smoke in Monet's St. Lazare paintings. My son is putting the best modern railway art to good purpose in his modelling by borrowing their designs for scenes on his layout. RJD

Georgian terrace backs, several stories high to form a great background. The backs often face the railway lines. . Elegant shops and offices for city streets e.g. Manchester and Birmingham have fine buildings built in Victorian days with lots of character. Corporation Street and New Street in Birmingham have lots of good examples. These are many floors high and have the advantage of filling the scenic view. Richard Utah USA

You have done a great job of creating the feeling of a run-down urban environment. Tell us about the model of the tram. Did you build it or buy it? Thanks, Richard Utah, USA

I'd like to see a terrace row of Georgian houses, four stories high at least. Backs are available from Bilteezi but fronts would be a great background on a station road behind the railway. Richard, Utah, USA

I'd like to see a tall factory backing onto the railway tracks. e.g. BSA on the WR line, at Small Heath, Birmingham. Tall enough to be a good view blocker. Fire escape balconies on each floor with metal stairs connecting them. North roof lights, lots of grime and dirty windows. I will then model a chef in his whites on the fire escape watching a Castle and train of chocolate and cream coaches headed towards Snow Hill in August 1962 (me). Richard Davies Utah, USA

What make are the semaphore signals discussed on 14 February? Thanks, Richard Davies, Utah, USA.