NHY 581

Sure but my issue is with the nature of Black and Decker Boy's post. A slap in the face to an already disappointed modeller who has had a rather unfortunate incident with a long awaited and expensive recent purchase. I'm not sure what he was hoping to achieve by saying as such on a public forum. Rob

Morning all, In what is quite a dramatic turn of events, I am absolutely chuffed to beans to see Ewe popping up in the Scalefour journal as part of a lovely article introducing their 50th Anniversary Diorama competition. Rob.

Oh hang on. I'm sure it's not a deliberate act. Accidents happen and inferring it's down to the owners clumsiness isn't helping here. There can be all kinds of reasons how this has come about but the circumstances are irrelevant. It's done and that's that. As for saying, "I think you’ve learned a lesson we all have at some point........... don't break / ruin your new loco" ....how patronising is that ? Rather unfair to say the least. Rob

Evening all, Pottering in the Room of Doom this evening. Nothing outrageous just mooching. Bit of a Welsh soundtrack to proceedings of which, a few samples. Headphones are on, volume at 11. Now, Budgie's bassist, vocalist in fact Budgie was Burke Shelley.................. who played in a trio called the Superclarkes whose occasional guitarist was Mickey Gee, Dave Edmunds regular guitarist. Also on stage with Dave as third guitarist ( glasses) is Andy Fairweather-Low. All good Cardiff boys. And.........the Superclarks were the house band in my local for a number of years in the early to late '90. Needless to say, I rarely missed a gig. The music bar was literally 30ft x 15, maybe 60 people tops. The Capitol was later demolished to make way for a shopping centre, now seemingly failing with most units empty. A bit of modern image as well. Great cover... And up to date with.. Rob

Just bumping this as still have not resolved the lighting issues. Rob.

All it's good for.....

And finally 31027's Dover stablemate ( for a while at least ) 30084.

More shuntling.........This time it's Dover's 31027. {Yes, I'm playing with buildings as well. ) R

Gosh, no ! Not worthy to even attempt a pastiche. Rob

Shunting......... Dapol/Rails Terrier ( ex- Hayling Island ) Rob.

Morning Nick. Spams doesn't update his layout thread here, only WT. Sorry, I forgot the thumbnail thing. Worth joining mind you. There is some very good modelling on there. Rob

Hi Nick, Work back on this thread to see how @2ManySpams is tackling his 7mm buildings. Post in thread 'Pencarrow - Cornish BR(S)' https://www.westernthunder.co.uk/threads/pencarrow-cornish-br-s.5154/post-293291 Stunning. Rob

Roger. Currently presenting EWE.......and possibly having a sniffter the night before. R

Here you go John. Please verify in case I'm mistaken but think they're right. March-Nailsea with Sheep Dip Saturday 23 March and Sunday 24 March 2024. April-NEWGOG representing Lord and Butler. Saturday April 16th. SWAG’24 Sunday April 28th. May Bristol visitor (Friday afternoon) Friday May 3rd. Saturday May 4th Sunday May 5th June-ExmoorRail with EWE Saturday June 1st. Exeter with EWE. Saturday 22nd June. Sunday 23rd June. July-Penarth with EWE Saturday 6th July. Sunday 7th July. Larkrail visitor. Saturday 13th July August-Railwells visitor (Probably Sunday) Saturday 3rd August Sunday 4th August September-Kidlington with Sheep Dip. Sunday 1st September. Derby with EWE. Sunday 22nd September. I’m also looking to visit the Stafford show, probably Saturday. October- Taunton with EWE. Saturday 25th October. Sunday 26th October. Rob

Morning all, Progress slowed on the new “quicky layout” for a variety of reasons. I rejoined the fray yesterday evening and lifted and relayed one of the points which was not quick right. Job for today is to replace the electrical feeds disturbed during the procedure so new wires and fishplates will be attended to. My initial intention of finishing this to an acceptable standard by the end of the month may need revising but I’ll keep plodding on and see where it takes me. In terms of exhibitions, it looks to be as follows, March-Nailsea with Sheep Dip April-NEWGOG representing Lord and Butler SWAG’24 April/May Bristol visitor (Friday afternoon) June-ExmoorRail with EWE Exeter with EWE July-Penarth with EWE Larkrail visitor. August-Railwells visitor (Probably Sunday) September-Kidlington with Sheep Dip Derby with EWE I’m also looking to visit the Stafford show, probably Saturday. October- Taunton with EWE Another busy year. Rob

Thanks Graham. Here's the image I referred to earlier. Taken from The B4 Dock Tanks by Peter Cooper. Kingfisher Railway Publications. ( HC Casserley.) 82 does look quite dark so probably Holly Green as per your earlier post. Rob.

Hi Graham. Thank you. In respect of Jersey/Guernsey Dapol have gone for the green lining so thanks for the clarity. I'll probably add the numbers. I'm working on the basis that these would have been applied using standard L&SWR numerals or was the type face (?) a local style ? The image of Guernsey is interesting as it shows the modified cab sheet to the drivers side and the linseed filtration malarkey behind the dome plus, as uou say, yhe amended lamp irons. A cracker. It's a pity if correct about 82's livery but frankly, I can live with that. It's a pretty thing and looks just right. I hesitate as there is a loverly H.C. Casserly image of 82 at Plymouth and I'm guessing that this is the basis for Dapol's production of the model as is. Obviously hard to tell due to b&w image but it looks lighter than Holly green. If the date of the image ( 1926 ) is correct, I would have thought that by then the Holly green would have weathered to almost black. Rob.

Good points. Certainly there are some for whom RTR, despite the high quality of the recent items, in all scales, emerging onto the market is just not an option, a real anathema. They'd rather purchase a kit of the same item and spend time building it. That's absolutely fine and I tip my hat to you but please don't decry those who prefer the RTR alternative. If they want to move to kit building they will but don't bang on about the satisfaction you will have and imply that there's no satisfaction gained from basing your modelling on RTR products. Good modelling is simply that, irrespective of how it's arrived at and even if it's not up to "your standards", pause and try to understand what it means to the modeller. Don't compromise on your standards but enjoy the modelling for what it is and respect the achievements of the builder. A few kind words cost nothing. Harsh words could cause the individual to loose heart and pack in the hobby. Rob

From the perspective of a small, local model railway shop the run up to and post Christmas period has been really busy. The vast majority of our sales are from visits to the shop, though last few weeks has seen an increase in online orders. But, crucially, we are seeing lots of new customers, lots of youngsters with parents, customers travelling from outside of what would be considered 'our area' to visit and of course our regulars. Of those customers, the youngsters are all ages. Some benefitted from gifts of train sets at Christmas and returned afterwards to add to that initial purchase. Others came in to spend their Christmas money. Those who say the hobby is dying, as already debated here are ill informed and on a personal level, it is lovely to see the youngsters joining the hobby. We are also seeing a number of new adult modellers, some starting from scratch others returning to a childhood hobby now that family/work is settled. We also attend and support shows, large and small and generally attendence is as expected, normally confirmed in conversation with the organisers afterwards. Sometimes, custom exceeds all expectations and we are finding that exposure at these shows brings custom to the shop. The only conclusion to draw therefore, certainly as far as we are concerned, is that the hobby is good. Rob.

I could have fun with that. What else is in the pipeline, Richard ? Rob

That said, there are benefits to going native. For one, you can walk quicker if you speak Welsh. Don’ t knock the natives.........

Totally agree..........what is once seen cannot be unseen......

No.........and.......er.....no. Once again I see right through you.

Morning all. Not much to report as I set to the Rrom of Doom with the best of intentions but became absorbed in further 'testing' and that was that. Swapped the resident B4 with a couple of other locos. The regular Sheep Dip 08 enjoyed itself immensely as did the soon to be Lambsdown pairing of Ex LB&SCR Terrier 751 and SE&CR P Class 27. Even allowing for the fact that they were DCC fitted and obviously running on DC they ran very well. Also enjoying a gallop ( relatively speaking ) were a Beastly Well Tank and a Y3 Sentinel. Basically, anything small and shunty is at home with the 08 being as large as one might want to go though I might try a Pannier later......... In short, this little layout is doing what I hoped it would. Rob.

Hi John. Thanks. Yes they are delightful little chaps. Both run extremely well, despite their short wheelbase. The steam locos are also lovely things. A few assorted wagons and there's your basis for a bit of a European goods yard layout. Nothing fancy or complex. Rob