big jim

66705 was the last class 66 I drove to ironbridge power station for fastline before they went bust a couple of weeks later, she’ll always be a favourite of mine even though it’s now lost its flags

Top service from richard at trident trains, Nantwich, needed some lengths of flexi track, ordered over the phone and delivered today he’s next open for mail order wed-fri next week, he still has peco stuff such as track and fishplates etc but as they are not open For him to reorder stocks are starting to get low but he does have most stuff in, I suggest panic buying and hoarding of peco items immediately, that always helps! disclaimer: do not attempt to wipe your bum with a length of code 75 track!

I just put ‘class 508’ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/362708202941

Check out the first few pages of my garage conversion thread, lots of insulation advice to be had in there and pics of how I lined it etc

One for the album, new st at 18:00 on a weekday, barely a soul in sight!

I’ve been working through lockdown or I’d be doing the same, must get the layout done first though Saying that just had a look on eBay and he has one kit of bits left to do the translators, tempted but I’d need the 508 to go between them too

That will be one of @piranha230 kits, I keep saying I’m going to get myself a couple of coaches to make into Arlington converter vehicles

Captain Tom Moore got a special message from the duke and duchess of Cambridge this morning absolutely wonderful reaction to it from the man calling William ‘my super prince’ video 1/2 way down the page https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52321262 tears in my eyes watching it, lovely

My youngest lad thought it was hilarious too, must admit it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen for a while, I’m easily pleased!

In my opinion it’s one of the best threads in the prototype section, when I see in my activity line that rugd1022 has posted to this thread it normally means there is a cracking photo from a time long forgotten about when mess rooms were card schools, drivers wore flat caps and carried billy cans and all the walls (locos included) were nicotine stained, I only just caught the back end of Using those type of facilities and working with proper old school drivers when I started on the railway (ok this time it didn’t have a picture but you you know what I mean!)

And some more ideas to steal! the last 2 pictures are perfect for me as I have that cutting idea in my head but I was looking at my layout and thinking it would look odd, seeing it done properly on your layout has given me the inspiration to go for it

The problems with wheels are setting them up realistically, short of having some outlandish s+m looking Bondage rig cluttering up your gaming room complete with bucket seat playing games with them on your knee just doesn’t work, that’s why I never picked the one in the charity shop up as it would have just cluttered up the corner of the living room by the PC

Just one from this morning, did a trafford park and got off at Tamworth just before sunrise same Job again tonight

Oh and while I’m here...... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tomswalkforthenhs a true inspiration to us all

Happening closer to (our) home too https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-52109712/coronavirus-goats-take-over-deserted-llandudno

I had a last minute job Easter Sunday, an absolutely clear drive to and from rugby in the hire car, the M6 toll was so quiet that there were 4 deer including a huge stag on the hard shoulder near chase water, glad they didn’t run out onto the main carriageway though! the Trafford park job I’m on has been arriving a good 30 mins early into the terminal as there are no passenger services to delay us between Crewe and Manchester, it’s normally running on yellows from Wilmslow but now we’re greens all the way including the notorious castlefield corridor

working a train into Trafford park earlier, Manchester United’s ground is lit up blue but the finishing touch is they have switched some of the illuminated letters off in ‘Manchester’ so the neon sign reads “N H S UNITED” now that I do like, very clever https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/manchester-united-tribute-nhs-old-trafford-blue-coronavirus-a4415576.html

I managed about 3 minutes on dirt rally VR before feeling sick, same with gran tourismo VR

I was in a charity shop in Cockermouth earlier in the year and there was a steering wheel in there for £30, a quick google said it would work with Xbox 360 and PC not Xbox one so I left it, a Logitech G29, still selling for the best part of £200, gutted I didn’t pick it up as since then I renewed my PC with a higher spec gaming one one than before and have the likes of forza horizon 4 on it! maybe with lockdown it might still be there if the shop has been shut!

Further to the pictures above I took 8 years ago when i worked for chiltern (where does the time go) the photos from the builders yard looking back towards Wembley stadium, that whole area is now all under a big multi storey car park

Funnily enough my wife bought me a welsh dragon chocolate lolly and chocolate bar for Easter which were produced in Bala when I lived there, well Llandderfel, Lilliput models was still on the industrial estate and the old German? Guy was in the process of building a huge model railway in the unit,

Is that a Tipton ‘oss?

going to school in Bala, career advice was pretty much, boys, Ivor Williams trailers or Girls, Ackroyds Pyjama factory and god forbid you ever tried to ride your Push bike down the corwen to Bala ‘back road’ at Ivor Williams knocking off time, like being stuck in the middle of a stage from the world rally championship

As does this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283822909904

Yes, hire cars are becoming few and far between, the companies are struggling to deliver and collect them apparently