andyram

Morning one and all. Many happy returns to @chrisf. I hope you enjoy your day. Continuing greetings to all those who are battling illness of any kind and also to fellow black dog sufferers. It is amazing to read just how many people are out there battling their own dark canine. As @leopardml2341 has already stated the weather here in South Derbyshire is grey, blustery and damp. Both Sarah and I have benefitted from an improved night's sleep. Her side effects have now diminished to a dull ache in the arm at the jab point. I also confess to feeling much brighter and the dog's grip seems to have diminished for the time being. Today's plans involve a run up to the shop for a click and collect appointment later this morning. I think Amber is wanting to come too so that she can get out of the house for a while. There are two boxes worth of stock which need pricing so I may set her on with the pricing gun - she likes doing that. Hopefully all commitments will be clear in time for me to join the virtual meet up later this afternoon. Until then - stay safe. Andy

You are absolutely correct. There are indeed four successive points from loco release and through the loop. I have wondered whether to change the toe to toe points for the goods yard and loco siding to a double slip. I have not tested the plan yet so I will try and have a running session tomorrow. I will need a new left hand point for the loco siding because the current one is very old and is of questionable quality. One may slip into my pocket whilst at the shop for a click and collect customer tomorrow.

Not encountered this thread to date but have to say I like the look of this. You have packed so much into that scene without it looking cramped. I love the way you can mix modern mainline / heritage line and then a narrow gauge. Will follow with interest. Love the castle.

Evening all. Best wishes to Simon and I hope things improve for you. I do hope that Rick (Gwiwer) gets the much sought after vaccine soon. I saw post pop up on my phone today suggesting that the aim is to have jabbed everyone over 40 by the end of next month so my date with the vaccine centre may be closer than I expected. Today has been a major black dog day. I cannot give a reason for the tired, low mood which descended on me for much of the day. Little achieved apart from a delivery to a customer over towards Long Eaton this morning. This was followed, in the afternoon, by a trip to the vets to take one of the cats for her own booster vaccination. Due to Covid restrictions the waiting room is closed so visitors have to wait in the car park. Last year this resulted in an hour long wait in the heat trying to find a shaded spot for the two cats in their carriers. Today it was about trying to keep dry. Fortunately the vet was running more to time today and the grey cloud stayed away. The vet's visit was followed by some modelling. I managed to have a play around with the track plan on my new / restarted / revived project. This can be viewed via my Skaleby East thread in the layout topics. Warning...track plan photo below: Tomorrow it is back to the shop for a click and collect appointment. I will also have to go on Monday for another delivery. Remember that "well known" supplier....they decided to send a third of my outstanding credit value in stock last week, and then send the rest in a later delivery. What a waste of time and postage costs. You really cannot make it up! Stay safe all. Andy

Another day and more playing with track plan and I actually think I have cracked it! As I mentioned in an earlier post, the idea is that the layout will depict the first station on the "Skaleby West" branch. It will represent the starting point of the fictional line that runs through the station depicted by my first layout. As the starting point on the line, I had a clear wish list for this model. It needed to have room for the platform, run round loop and a goods yard. I also hoped to include room for some kind of loco stabling point so that branch loco has somewhere to start from at the beginning of the sequence, and return to at the end of the day's operation. This seems a lot to cram into a 4ft x 1ft scenic section. Looking back at previous attempts at this, and other layouts, it is something I have failed to achieve. Previous incarnations have ended up looking cramped and track heavy. Today I have moved a couple of things around and now have the following plan: * The lengths of balsa wood depict where the platform will be located. The station building will be located on the right hand side at the widest point of the platform. * The goods facility will be the two sidings on the right. The small building will form the goods store, and I will construct a platform around the building which may stretch between the two tracks. Both sidings should accommodate a maximum of three wagons which will be more than enough. * The siding on the left will provide the loco servicing and I may add a small coaling point and possibly a water tower. I feel quite happy with this, the only possible issue is the three successive points which form part of the loop. Any thoughts welcomed.

No but Geoffery, Zippy and Bungle are in for questioning.

I try my best.

My prices are no more expensive than a certain box shifter.

And the bridge is blocked by the number 73 bus.

River Deep - Mountain High - Ike and Tina Turner

Very good to hear

Said the actress

Evening all and generic greetings, good wishes and supportive thoughts as appropriate. The good news here is that Sarah is feeling much better. After sleeping all morning, the shakes and headache have cleared and only the sore arm remain. She still feels a little delicate so our planned activity for the evening has had to be postponed......... Today should have been our usual outing to the annual Derby Beer Festival but, like everything else, it has rightly fallen victim to the current situation. Instead of strolling around the old roundhouse, sampling various ales, enjoying overpriced pie, chips and gravy and listening to a cover band, we are at home. We had planned to mark the occasion with our own version. A box of assorted bottled ales had been purchased and we planned to liberate the old beer festival glasses from the cupboard. Sarah had ordered some premium pies with the shopping and we planned to settle down with a some beers, pie and chips and the DVD of the Queen and Adam Lambert concert which we are yet to watch. With Sarah off the drink tonight we have simply delayed it. It is strange to think that the 2020 beer festival was our penultimate night out together for almost a year. The last one took place in March, just a few weeks before lockdown, when we attended a Stereophonics concert at Nottingham Arena. Covid was in the news, but cases in this country were minimal. Little did we know what the following 12 months would bring. Who knows when we can all get out and enjoy nights out again. The concert tickets were part of Sarah’s 39th birthday present. Another gift was tickets for the curry themed dining train on the Great Central. The original April date was cancelled as was the rearranged date in June. She has now passed her 40th birthday and it is likely that date number three (early April) will also fall by the wayside. Hopefully we will get there one day. Stay safe. Andy

Yes, cannot wait to get back to opening the shop. Currently working on a revived lockdown project of my own. Good to see you again (all be it on the tv screen). You are looking well. Look forward to the next video.

I would do anything for love - Meatloaf

This looks an interesting project and, as someone who owes his interest in model railways, to the Rev W Awdry stories, I will be following with interest. I am interested to know the origin of the station building you have and who makes it. Due to the size of the layout, you may want to consider some of the new Bachmann Thomas range. Although it is marketed as 00, some of the items seem more HO and may help you to get a greater feeling of space.

Just revisited the thread and caught up on your latest two videos. Very much enjoyed them mate. A nice way to support the mug of coffee. Hope you are well.

Morning all and supportive wishes to Andy (leopard) once again who appears not to shaken his illness as yet. I hope you feel better soon mate. Sarah is still suffering from the after effects of the jab. She has been going hot and cold, has shakes, head ache and is feeling sick. She (nor I as a result) slept much last night. She has stayed in bed and does appear to be sleeping things off now. Hopefully the side effects will ease when she awakes. This afternoon I will have to venture out to Matlock Bath for the said delivery which is due to arrive sometime between 2.50pm and 3.50pm. There is a customer coming to collect an order just before then. In terms of the delivery, as NHN states, it would be wrong of me to name and shame the said company despite their obvious failings and the frustration they cause. I know that I am not alone in being frustrated by their level of service however. Have a good day and stay safe. Andy

It is one of the three you refer to, but you have chosen incorrectly. Despite stock supply from your chosen manufacture being sporadic at best recently, they changed the delivery address after one phone call and usually get the stock they can supply delivered within 4-5 days. In many ways I cannot fault them. They have always been open and honest about supply issues and as helpful as possible. True culprit not only provide an awkward method of changing the address, which is not worth the hassle, their delivery time is very slow at the moment. Favourite cover version? Does Adam Lambert covering the great Freddie Mercury’s vocals count?

More progress to report today. With the glue dried, and all cork firmly stuck down, I have begun the task of laying out the track. With micro layouts like this, I like to use track pieces to plan out the track so I can get the look of the layout correct - test running to ensure all works, making tweaks as required. My idea for this layout is for a station, run round loop and goods facility. The entry / exit to the fiddle yard will be definitely be on the left side of the board with the station platform to the rear. The two sidings at the front currently form the goods yard. I may also add a loco storage siding off the loop to the left. This is the current state of play.

New Hornby products arriving in store this week include the retro wagon triple packs announced as part of last year's centenary range. Some of these have sold out on pre-order at larger retailers. Also arriving this week are some of the LSWR and SR four and six wheel coaches.

Evening all. Firstly good wishes to Pete (Trisonic) and hope you are feeling better soon. I am pleased to hear Andy (leopard) is on the mend. To continue the recent theme - number 1 on my 7th birthday was "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. That well known wedding disco staple. News on the vaccine saga. Today was attempt 2 and I am pleased to say that Sarah sailed through the process with no further issues. She had the Oxford one and was allowed to leave straight after (but only because I was driving her). Had she been in her own transport she would have been told to wait. Unfortunately, she has succumbed to the side effects this evening with head ache, aching arms and nausea. I am not surprised, and fully expected this. Sarah is renowned for reacting badly to any jab and is usually ill for a day or so after her flu jab each year. I have dutifully sent her to bed and kept her supplied with drinks and food as required. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. With another "day off" from the adult education work, I have found time to get stuck into a few outstanding domestic jobs. The shower door has been fixed, an old chest of drawers dismantled and a new set constructed all before lunch. The afternoon involved a delivery to a customer in Nottingham before I was required to play "nurse". Tomorrow will see me back at the shop for a delivery from one of my regular suppliers. Throughout lockdown, all others have happily agreed to send stock to my home address so that I can avoid countless drives to Matlock Bath. All of these have done so after a brief phone conversation with the rep or accounts office or following a simple e-mail. One supplier will only send to home address once I have placed my account on hold, and then filled out several forms before awaiting a decision to allow a temporary change of address. Much less hassle to drive to the shop to collect this one. I will leave to guess which supplier it is... Stay safe. Andy

Thanks. I hope it is not a false start too. This project has had plenty of them.

After the majority of the old cork base had finally been scraped off the board yesterday, a new layer has promptly replaced it. Unlike previously, where strips of cork were only laid under the track, I have opted to cover the whole baseboard on this occasion. I have used the cork mat supplied by a company called SPD UK. They sent me a trial of their products a year or so ago and I was very impressed with it. Easy to use, does not break as easily as other cork products I have used and gives a smooth base. I have been stocking their products in the shop ever since. The layout is now being left to dry in the spare room, with plenty of books from my daughter's room placed on top to make sure the cork stays pressed down whilst it dries. Currently, the baseboard is a layout on a layout. It is a sat on the 6ft x 3ft layout which I am building for a customer. This is currently on hold awaiting a couple of delayed items from Peco. Once the glue is dry I will begin to have a play about with the track and settle on the track plan.

Evening all. Best wishes to Andy (leopard) who I note is not at his most healthy. I hope you feel better soon. Also not at their best is our dear daughter who awoke late last night with a sickness bug. She has been lethargic on the sofa most of the day but has not been sick again so hopefully just a 24 hour thing. Thanks to those who offered comments about Sarah's negative vaccine experience on Sunday. She is booked in to try again tomorrow morning. Her boss has contacted the council and she has a different letter to prove her eligibility. We wait and see. If this one fails then I don't think I will be holding off from sharing the experience with the press and MP etc.