talisman56

I've stopped using Hattons for many of the above reasons. My 'box-shifter' of choice is now Kernow, who are a little more expensive but have a wonderful habit of getting my weekend orders to me on a Tuesday, and anything I order during the week next day...

Went away for the weekend (by car...), but the journey involved travel down the A420 where it runs parallel to the GWML before diving under the bridge en-route to Oxford. No sign of any vertical structures on that stretch, but there were some circular objects at the top of the embankment which I took for the bases. No sign of any progress on the stretch west of Wootten Bassett junction visible from the M4, either.

The Graffiti 'Artists' have been at the new stock already...

The carriage combination would be reminiscent of a branch line on the far reaches of the 'Withered Arm' - the BCK being the normal branch train and the TK (SK) a strengthener for Market Day...

Slightly... I then thought it must be for the front, otherwise it'd get in the way of the tailgate bar-b-q...

Would the 'Bumper Dumper' be used at the front or rear of the vehicle?

IIRC from my days on the line going to and fro my Alma Mater at Wivenhoe Park, 'I' wasn't used (possible confusion with '1st class'?) and the other two cars were 'J' and 'K'.

Where's the 'unclear/undecipherable' button?

I'm just wondering what the bloke with the ladder is doing in the bottom left corner...

Richard Head... Hat, coat, etc.

Obviously his usual customers are myopic... Google translate?

Or to avoid any awkward and unfortunate questions for the innocent driver who was there when he told his SWMBO he was somewhere else?

'Inside lane'? There are no lane markings on the road...

C4597 A 12-car train, 2x 2-car on the front, followed by 2x 4-car, presumably a Griddle-Car unit and an ordinary set. Strange to see 603 still as a two-car unit in 1979 as it was reported as having converted Mk.1 CK and TSO inserted to make it 4-car in 1978...

The carriage washing plants never got fully round the ends of units, hence the mucky stripe in the middle of the cab end. Looks like the yellow end got a special wash with a bucket and broom. The bit above the cab windows is out of reach from the ground... A similar situation occurred on the SR where the gangway doors never got cleaned and the area above the gangway, painted yellow at overhaul, quickly turned black.

I was touring a National Trust property last year, and there were various rooms set up with authentic-looking furniture, etc, including in one room a discreetly placed bathroom. Next to the toilet was a pack of two Izal Medicated toilet rolls. An old couple were touring with a younger couple and the younger woman was heard to remark that she'd never heard of Izal Medicated. The old gent immediately went off with "Yeah, it needed to be medicated, it scratched your a$$ to bu99ery!"

The only reference to a derailment at Hildenborough I can find is one concerning a freight train on 6th June 1970, which resulted in the line being blocked for 3 days. (GT Moody, Southern Electric 1909-1979 (Fifth ed.))

The difference between who won and who lost...?

J1582 A wealth of detail of years gone by in this one, from the Mark 1 train on the left, long through freight, local DMU, parcels train with one of the ubiquitous ex-SR PMVs leading, through to the various freight wagons in the yard. Brings a tear to my eye, it does...

I have a picture of D.2655 Kitchen/Diner First 7998 in my Gould, as new in 1934 - the only lettering (apart from the usual 'Southern Railway' and running number) is 'Restaurant Car' underneath the windows of the saloon section. There appears to be no class designation lettering on the end doors or any lettering on the recessed double doors in the kitchen section. The lining of the time was panels above and below the windows (the Restaurant Car lettering is inside the waist panel), which is repeated on the doors, including the double doors. Apparently the only difference between D.2651 and D.2655 is the make and type of equipment installed in the Kitchen.

I think there's a letter missing off the caption on C3455...

Unusual place for a signal ('stop' and 'distant' on the same post) in C6245 - hard up against the end of the on ramp of the platform with the main station building. What would be its function there? Can't see in that picture a starter signal at the 'normal' end of the platform...

As Spike Milligan remarked in his North African Memoir - all the desert to p*ss in and they chose the wheels of their lorries...

Of course, if the 'Duff' on your layout showed the above-mentioned variation there would be comment from some quarters...

"Clochemerle", anyone?