The Night Mail

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyID]

Feeling slightly "cream crackered" after installing the new shaft that connects tractor's engine to the transmission. The replacement shaft is a much better design.

[iL Dottore]

14 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Where's Andy when we need him?

Which one? We have quite a few to choose from.

 

I'm not sure that a repaint in "fresh flour" would be of much help in the situations I'm thinking of.

[SM42]

9 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Paint them sortofgreen?

 

If only wagons were painted in freshf lour......

 

Its a very subtle transition to a subtly almost, but not quite, green colour. 

 

If only it was as easy as that to get it to look convincing. 

 

Some experiments required methinks. 

 

There's an old Hornby Norstand open somwhere in the modelling cave with enough paint layers on it to almost hide the details. 

 

I think it will be turning blue with some sort of green before long

 

Andy

[iL Dottore]

17 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Even my retired geography lecturer “let’s go for a walk”  person seems to have decided it looks unpleasant outside. It still isn’t raining but looks as if it could. There has been a bit of an unplanned disassembly of a Magimix implement this morning so I have been mixing up the Milliput as it seemed to have the required characteristics for a repair. I did reassure Aditi I wasn’t going to use the terracotta colour version she had seen me use on broken (expensive)  plant pots. 
Tony

I've always had problems in fixing porcelain, ironware - well pottery of any kind. I really don't know how professional repairers (such as those restoring museum exhibits) can make pretty much invisible repairs.

 

When a poorly packed item of Japanese tableware fell out of the package and broke, I decided to embrace my weaknesses and go for a Kintsugi repair - where breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi)

 

It's a slow process, and I'll have to do quite some clean up, but I think it'll look good at the end.

[SM42]

4 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

I've always had problems in fixing porcelain, ironware - well pottery of any kind. I really don't know how professional repairers (such as those restoring museum exhibits) can make pretty much invisible repairs.

 

When a poorly packed item of Japanese tableware fell out of the package and broke, I decided to embrace my weaknesses and go for a Kintsugi repair - where breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi)

 

It's a slow process, and I'll have to do quite some clean up, but I think it'll look good at the end.

 

Obvious repairs seem to be in fashion of late. 

 

Then again, great globs and strings of UHU all over the place probably aren't in vogue.

 

Andy

Edited December 29, 2023 by SM42

[Happy Hippo]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Llanfantastic is an S7/P4/2mmFS model run to real time and with the exact timetable of the period.  It has eight trains per day.

 

By looking in the fiddle yard you can see them all at once...

 

And then move on🤣

[SM42]

This morning we hung out the bird food that was supplied with the cottage we are renting.  

 

We could watch the birds whilst we had breakfast 

 

The fat balls and nuts have attracted a large number of blue tts, sparrows, a coal tt, a nuthatch, a Jay and the highlight so far a woodpecker. 

 

There are also a few blackbirds creating havoc in the undergrowth as usual. 

 

Andy

 

[SM42]

The fiddle yard of large roundy roundy layouts I find interesting, not only because I might see a glimpse of a train I would like to hang around to see go past so I can get a better look, but also to see how others arrange and operate them. 

 

End to end layout fiddle yards have less attraction. 

 

Andy

[Happy Hippo]

16 minutes ago, SM42 said:

The fiddle yard of large roundy roundy layouts I find interesting, not only because I might see a glimpse of a train I would like to hang around to see go past so I can get a better look, but also to see how others arrange and operate them. 

 

End to end layout fiddle yards have less attraction. 

 

Andy

Newbryford will tick the first box for you.

 

I'll tick the second, although the operators are very attractive.  A lot of people do ask why there is a strip of yellow duct tape stuck down on my cassette table.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Which one? We have quite a few to choose from.

 

I'm not sure that a repaint in "fresh flour" would be of much help in the situations I'm thinking of.

You mean there's more than one Polish Andy! Have you cloned him @iL Dottore? Are there several Polish Andy's running around.

 

Mind you that would explain how when I go to the paint shop I can never get hold of Fresh Flower and when I ask if some is expected I'm told that its sold out almost immediately it arrives.

 

How do you tell them apart? Do they have a number stamped somewhere?

 

Confused of Manutopea.

[Winslow Boy]

30 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Newbryford will tick the first box for you.

 

I'll tick the second, although the operators are very attractive.  A lot of people do ask why there is a strip of yellow duct tape stuck down on my cassette table.

I thought that was half way line HH the objective being to get as many balls over it by half time.

[Happy Hippo]

7 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

I thought that was half way line HH the objective being to get as many balls over it by half time.

No, it is either to remind operators that the loop line does not run parallel to the main line, so you need to place the relevant cassette along the edge of the yellow line.

 

Or, it is to remind you to stand well back when Gordon is shunting in a hurry!

[Northmoor]

Sad news from Northmoor Mansions this morning.  TNMs may remember back in early October I mentioned that one of our cats had cancer; when my wife got up early to feed them found that Mittens had passed away in the night.

 

[newbryford]

5 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

Obvious repairs seem to be in fashion of late. 

 

Then again, great globs and strings of UHU all over the place probably aren't in vogue.

 

Andy

 

I've seen that applying to some RTR models.......

[newbryford]

3 hours ago, SM42 said:

The fiddle yard of large roundy roundy layouts I find interesting, not only because I might see a glimpse of a train I would like to hang around to see go past so I can get a better look, but also to see how others arrange and operate them. 

 

 

Like this?

 

Ta to Jack374 for the pic.

 

 

[iL Dottore]

4 hours ago, Northmoor said:

Sad news from Northmoor Mansions this morning.  TNMs may remember back in early October I mentioned that one of our cats had cancer; when my wife got up early to feed them found that Mittens had passed away in the night.

 

I’m really saddened and sorry to hear your sad news.

 

But from what you have written it sounds like Mittens just went to sleep and never woke up. Something I think is a gift from the deities.

 

My condolences!

[SM42]

6 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Newbryford will tick the first box for you.

 

I'll tick the second, although the operators are very attractive.  A lot of people do ask why there is a strip of yellow duct tape stuck down on my cassette table.

 

The end to end fiddle yard has lesser interest than the layout, unless there is something really interesting that I just saw leaving stage front as I arrived at the orchestra pit

 

3 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Like this?

 

Ta to Jack374 for the pic.

 

 

 

Exactly 

 

There's are least two trains I'd wait for in there.  A little modern for my taste  but still something in there to wait for.  

 

Andy

Who's been up a mountain today

[SM42]

 

Whilst up a Sudeten mountain earlier, sustenance was taken in the form of Knedlicki

 

A steamed dumpling with blackcurrants, lots of icing sugar and melted butter

 

 

And very tasty it was  too. 

 

Still on a bit of a sugar high a couple of hours later  

 

Andy

Edited December 29, 2023 by SM42

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

 

Whilst up a Sudeten mountain earlier, sustenance was taken in the form of Knedlicki

 

A steamed dumpling with blackcurrants, lots of icing sugar and melted butter

 

 

And very tasty it was  too. 

 

Still on a bit of a sugar high a couple of hours later  

 

Andy

 

Sounds nice, but the picture makes it look like a jam roly poly on top of a fried egg!

🤣🤣🤣

(Leaves in a hurry...)

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, SM42 said:

 

Whilst up a Sudeten mountain earlier, sustenance was taken in the form of Knedlicki

 

A steamed dumpling with blackcurrants, lots of icing sugar and melted butter

 

 

And very tasty it was  too. 

 

Still on a bit of a sugar high a couple of hours later  

 

Andy

I Googled knedlicki and found this.

https://www.everyday-delicious.com/knedle/#wprm-recipe-container-26285

[Happy Hippo]

Blist's Hill today.

 

We spent a lot of time sitting in the Madeley wood play area.

 

This was timed to coincide with eating chips from the chippie and other grub we'd taken along.

 

Despite wearing windproof gloves the missing finger was not a happy bunny.

 

I think I might buy a pair of decent, (as opposed to cheap and nasty) heated gloves to help avoid what I now refer to as 'white tip'.

 

The other alternative is not to go out and spend my time in front of the fire drinking tea and eating cake.

 

Nyda has suggested the gloves over endless tea and cake:  What a spoilsport!

 

 

[Tony_S]

8 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Nyda has suggested the gloves over endless tea and cake:  What a spoilsport!

Aditi almost certainly would suggest the gloves so we can go for a walk and almost certainly find somewhere to have afternoon tea. Our favourite place for tea is the tearoom at the top of the hill at Hyde Hall Gardens. However it is unexpectedly temporarily closed. Fortunately the one near the car park is fine. 
Just out of interest, where do the batteries go for heated gloves?

[Happy Hippo]

The yellow stripe.

 

 

Ooooh! I spy 5717.

[Happy Hippo]

34 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Aditi almost certainly would suggest the gloves so we can go for a walk and almost certainly find somewhere to have afternoon tea. Our favourite place for tea is the tearoom at the top of the hill at Hyde Hall Gardens. However it is unexpectedly temporarily closed. Fortunately the one near the car park is fine. 
Just out of interest, where do the batteries go for heated gloves?

They fit in a pocket on the back of the glove.  Usually on the cuff.