big jim

I was thinking Toyota previa? EDIT: and a quick google reveals it is indeed a Toyota previa..... https://www.designboom.com/design/thunderbird-2-toyota-car-for-sale-03-26-2019/

Well it appears to have worked, couple of days curing, cut down the joints with a dremel and with a little bit of gentle persuasion it opened up nicely with the track going no where the other end is still loose so I can position the track when I’ve lined up the fixed bit, glued down the narrow gauge incline Then began to fix down the crossover matrix which will allow me to run on just the lower level should I choose to, also placed the racer point in position to get the idea of how the narrow gauge will separate from the heritage line This is the first bit of non plain line I’ve started to fix down so it’s taken a bit of working out where the insulated fishplates go, I think I got it about right then realised that the points I’d earmarked for it had been modified on the frogs (so they were always live I think) so were unsuitable as I would have had shorts once I tried to wire them up, unfortunately having gone through my points I only had one non modified point and more strangely only 3 left hand points, the other 20+ I have are all right handed so I’ll have to get 3 more over the weekend from trident trains A quick look at the mill, I think the station on the low down cut off bit looks quite good, I can get away with 2 tracks in front one heading up to the mill the other heading off to the left at a shallower angle and back round the loop, the main reason being I think I may have to limit the L&B loco and long wheelbase coaches to the loop as I don’t think it will go round the 1st radius peco curves unlike the Bachmann Baldwin triangle above the mainline toward the mill and back round the loop as for the mill, I sat looking at it after I took the pics and I do think that area will look better as the castle on top of a mound with the mainline going into a tunnel below it and the NG running through the walls and round the back of the main battlements The one bit I forgot to photograph was the NG line heading off towards the lift up door section on a laser cut lattice bridge (which I have 4 of), the plan with that is it will hinge in the opposite direction to the existing board, that was then going to terminate in a small 1st radius loop at what was going to be the castle, however it’s more likely now to be the mill!

someone we had a crash with posted a vid on YouTube of himself a couple of days before our incident doing 130 in a 60 limit, and an older video of himself doing 90 in a 30 limit (amazingly and quite by chance that video was Filmed passing the front of my old house in north wales hence why I knew it was a 30 limit) the videos were downloaded by the police and were going to be used as evidence in court Before he was advised to plead guilty to dangerous driving when they were presented to his lawyer as part of the evidence pack

I did wave honest! Liverpool lime st Horrocksford jn, Mick was lurking behind the wall and that was that

patrick Stewart’s finest performance is definitely his appearance on extras..... ”then her dress falls open, but it’s too late, I’ve seen everything” The outtakes Are brilliant

yep, it was lost on me I’ll be honest.

It was just the fact it was light engine, if it was loaded it have just ran as booked, as I wouldn’t have wanted to run round twice as for the route they wanted to hold me at stafford To take the booked route to bushbury but I just asked to go a different way which they agreed to, I originally asked to go via Cannock but that was shut so came up with a few alternatives that were also closed and ended up with the rugby route

Did an MOD last night but it was light engine so network rail allowed it to run early, supposed to go to Leamington spa for 05:30 but took it through to Oxford for 03:00 to keep it refreshed in my card, I wanted to go to didcot but got told there was a possession on so I couldn’t get that far crewe, freightliner getting relief in the platform then off I went, had to play a game of dodge the possession myself so instead of going direct through Wolverhampton, bescot, stetchford and Coventry I went stafford to rugby where I changed ends back into Coventry where I changed ends again And away to Leamington and Oxford! Clitheroe cement tonight

Back round to the town side of the layout, took the big piece of wood off and cut it down, firstly so the top curve could be used on the lower level to make a new fillet to allow the heritage line to continue in a complete loop Then the upper part was put back in place But with the front sitting cut off and sat at a lower level What will happen then is the narrow gauge line will climb up the outer edge of the board and up and over the main lines, it will then come back along the wall, over a tressle bridge back across the doorway, I may make it Loop back round as per the original plan to join up with the bit where the track will drop back down to ground level then onto the lifting section, trying something out here, it may work or be a dogs dinner but it’s worth a try, instead of soldering the rails to PCB I’m going to have a try at encasing the track to just above sleeper level between the rails and to the top of the rail in epoxy resin first up I secured the rails at the inner end and made a dam out of white tack I then poured the resin in place allowing it to flow below the sleepers, and up to the rail top on the outside, and now it’s a waiting game, let it cure over night and have a look at it tomorrow afternoon with any luck, hopefully it’s then just a case of running the dremel across the join and hoping the track stays in situ!

My finger keeps hovering over the ‘add to basket’ with that item, out of era for my main lines but would look good in the heritage sidings I’ve got planned

lots of secret cranks working on the railway! its funny but I’ve bought bits off eBay recently and when I’ve paid PayPal it’s come up with a couple of my work colleagues names!

South Devon railway on eBay accepts the PICSMALLBIZ code too this one caught my eye, not seen many of these about, TTS hogwarts castle, a shade over £100 with the code https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383574138696

Just one from yesterday, a video courtesy of my dad who went to Gobowen to see my going through with the cement train 66765 flying though at 60mph Crewe to Leamington tonight and a last minute light engine to Clitheroe tomorrow

these are the ones im waiting for a rerun of , they are going for a premium on ebay and ive yet to find a shop with them on the shelf

Im glad someone else has pointed this out, my eldest ‘yoof’ certainly hasn’t done as he pleased during lockdown, he’s stayed home not seen his friends etc yesterday I caught the train to work in Wrexham from crewe and an elderly couple (Who made sure she let everyone around know her 80yr old husband was vunrable) got in at crewe further down the coach and the woman cleaned and scrubbed every inch of the seating bay, windows, table top and bottom where they chose to sit at then demanded someone sat in the back to seat away moved as he was too close (despite him sitting down first) which he did to avoid conflict I think, he certainly rolled his eyes as he passed me looking for another seat! I then listened into them saying they were off to stay with friends in Llandudno for a few days, must admit part of me wanted to go over and remind them of the lockdown rules in wales But what’s the point back to the rubbish point, apparently the maccy D down the road from me has reopened today, right opposite the KFC too, expect to see lots of litter appear again very soon

There was a suggestion that the maccy D drive through packaging have the car reg printed on it when ordering to discourage littering, a good idea if it was possible how how fines could be enforced and by whom I don’t know

Our tip Is open in crewe and I’ve been past it a few times and found no queue, they have set up a set of traffic lights on the road outside and if your going into the tip you wait inside the cones while normal traffic passes by through the lights they have a system of odd and even numbers on your reg no, going by your last number on your reg plate, today for example is odd numbers, so I can take my 53 or 55 plate car a few weeks back I actually bought myself a small high sided trailer off eBay for £120 that I’ve been slowly filling with bigger bits of junk that wouldn’t go in various collected bins such as odd cuts of wood, broken office chair, polystyrene from appliance deliveries, old paint tins etc and I’m just waiting to go to the tip when i can be bothered, ive has to apply for a free permit to allow me to take the trailer there but I think it’s actually just below the size I need one for but better to be safe than sorry than be turned away

@iL Dottore I would have loved him to get into the technical side of the theatre, he says he may look at doing it as a ‘hobby’, not so much theatre though. the holiday park we have a van at has a pretty sophisticated PA and lighting system and he’s been told he could learn to use it, get trained on it properly as well as doing stage work, he could have worked toward an NVQ etc however as you know that’s all gone by the by now as it’s not even known if the park will open this year. the last lad who learned the ropes there had just (pre Covid) started his 2nd year on the cruise ships doing the lighting for shows and he also toured with ‘grease’ the musical doing the same but as with most in the industry is now out of work, as are my friends who Do the entertainment at the parks, I’ve lost work too as I do a few nights every so often DJing in a pub in Stoke, I’m certainly glad I only do it for a bit of pocket money and don’t rely on it as an income, I actually work for my nephew who luckily has a full time job too as his extra income from hiring out PA and DJ equipment has dried up, when the camps and pubs do reopen it’s going to be a completely different experience that’s for sure as you may know I’m a huge west end musical fan (not a euphemism) and I too can’t see how it’s going to easily come back from this pandemic with the social distancing for both the audience and performers as for butchering I really hope he puts his mind to it, I certainly couldn’t do it, I can barely pick up raw bacon but he’s not bothered at all

I must have lead a sheltered life! ive only ever ‘done’ nitrous oxide once and that was at the dentist having 2 teeth pulled, that was no high that’s for sure

My eldest had a call from a local butchers earlier, he has a days trial next week in relation to doing an apprenticeship with them to become a craft butcher he’s left school this year, obviously one of those who’s had his exams cancelled and was looking at going into theatrical lighting and sound etc but with corona virus the whole industry collapsed overnight so it made him think about a proper career his year form teacher put him in touch with a butcher friend who gave him a trail the other week which he really enjoyed but unfortunately he can’t offer him an apprenticeship so he applied for a couple of jobs through the local college who work with a couple of the local butchers to offer the apprenticeships so here’s hoping he does well and gets on the course

What are those gas canisters, I see them all over the place in more ‘salubrious areas’ of various towns

its absolutely sickening, we have a caravan in cumbria, in silloth, and since lockdown we’ve obviously not been allowed to visit, even with the lockdown rules being eased weve not been tempted to even go up for a day just to give it the once over for fear of falling out with the many local friends we have made up there over the last few years, a lot of whom are in the hospitality business at the holiday parks, they dont want us there socially and in all fairness we have no business being there while the hoilday parks are effectively shut, as soon as things return to some sort of normality both on the holiday park and in the town then we will go back, hopefully it will be sometime before the end of summer because im sure missing the area

A different angle view of the HST passing landor st and back in nuneaton this morning thankfully they have reintroduced the 05:55 train back to crewe so I can get home quickly without a drive! cement tonight wrexham to landor st

That’s a strange working ribblehead VQ to Clitheroe? I assume the wagons were parked up there for some reason

At a local farm shop earlier a dragon fly hovered about and landed on my finger, only a baby one by the look of things but managed to get a couple of good pics with the phone!