big jim

I was the same with 60002 and 60004, had the Lima models When the first came out, wouldn’t have imagined that years down the line if regularly be driving 002 with colas and GBRf

on a diet, so crackerbread and slim fast

Nidge: I can guarantee you will change ends loads of times and forget to flick the cab active switch out and have to do the walk of shame to the rear cab again! One if the useful bits of info I got across while training drivers on them is don’t worry when the ‘alarm’ bell goes off it’s not normally telling you of a problem but it’s letting you know the loco is about to do something (ie Auto shut down) The bell will also go off if you ‘feather the brake’ too much, doing that can stop the dynamic brake coming in which is what it’s warning you of, you are relying purely on the train brakes slowing you, it will come up as a message on the bottom of the screen too (dynamic brake failure or words to that effect), if safe simply take the brake off and wait 5-10 seconds before reapplying and the dynamic brake ‘should’ come back Were you shown ‘plug mode’ on them, are you allowed to use it? (plug mode uses the dynamic brake at slow speeds, below 10mph, to keep you at a set speed downhill, handy in ballast drops!)

I must be an exception to the rule, give me a 70 over a 66 any day of the week! A cracking loco power wise, a few bits are odd/annoying but as long as you get on them regularly you get used to them

Sounds tempting but I don’t think it will be open at 3am!

Just one from last night, trafford park again, 66740 again, this time back in nuneaton possession tomorrow at little Kimble then I thought I was off until the 28th but they accidentally put me down for a few RDW next week on a couple of MOD trains and another chiltern line possession also got my jobs for lined up for Christmas and boxing days

Hawarden looking toward Buckley https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Footbridge,_Hawarden_railway_station_(geograph_3800260).jpg interesting fact 1: the only station on the Wrexham-bidston line with a footbridge, as the railway ran through lord gladstones’’ land he insisted on a footbridge to cross the line so as to not get ran over! the loading gauge was most likely for the factory that used to be next to the station that made aircraft cockpits during the 2nd world war apparently not so interesting fact 2: I got married in hawarden

the couple of occasions I’ve had an emergency stop I’ve not put the brake into emergency but used full service, that way I still had some control of the train If I needed to take the brake off rather than just letting the train come to an uncontrolled stop (ie stopping on an AWS magnet or the wheels locking up during leaf fall) Saying that one occasion I did hit the plunger (Even though the TPWS had tripped me) and was ready to leave the drivers seat was at sponson when I came round the curve at 75mph, flew past a red and saw the crossing barriers splayed across the track then spotted a motorbike and rider lay in the 4ft! Luckily I stopped before it

or you could have a mini version of me having a kip! https://www.modelu3d.co.uk/product/1102/

Funnily enough I just had a look in the Asda in Nuneaton and none in there either, I was going to grab one as a ‘secret Santa’ gift for someone had they had any

As the hattons 66 draws nearer the price of Bachmann 66s drops! just won an ‘andi walshaw’ Professional respray of 66780 in GBRf Cemex livery for £115 Buy it now after it was reduced from £145 overnight pleased with that, 3rd bargain 66 in as many weeks

Annoyingly I also had Chester in my head but the other end of the station! well done, I think that’s pretty conclusive

Does anyone know have hattons done the euro cab interior on the relevant GBRf locos?

A few more gems from the book A prediction from 40 years back!

Another thing to note on the cover of the book is the small map of Preston, it has the line from bamber bridge to Preston (old station side) still showing

found a video and grabbed a still, can’t find any pictures though

Shiny recon gearbox bellhousing clutch in place ready to be put back together once a few other little bits and bobs arrive tomorrow the guy is putting the fast road cam in tomorrow weather dependent then it won’t be far off getting back

Picked up a book from a church Christmas fete last week, published in 1979 (I was 4) To keep kids entertained in the back of the car on king journeys, it’s actually quite interesting in places Note the practically empty M6 through the lune gorge on the cover Proposed and being built motorways, lots of which look to have never happened, looks to be one in the woodhead area and another stoke across to the M1 Nottingham area (current A50 maybe) Cars you may see Registration areas Spaghetti jn

If we are thinking shrewsbury, here’s one of my pics taken from Severn jn box, I’ve marked where I recon it’s taken from and looking towards

Shrewsbury was my thought with the lit up footbridge in the distance above the parcels van being ‘the Dana’ that spans the station but as signal engineer says the platforms don’t match up (if it did the pic would be looking at plat 6 from the current platform 7 looking north)

both useful reviews, suppose id better order one really the everard jn vid shows the rotating axleboxes beautifully on one of the light loco shots crossing the points, something i thought would be gimmicky but seeing it in action it looks damn good

don’t think i did!

I washed it once and I’m not doing it again!

Here we go, one is the new tooling and the other old Bachmann BG to compare colours and a 57 to boot I think they look alright, different shades on the different makes But not too bad

Never leave it to your 10 year old to sort out the nativity! Last year was DR Who, this year Nintendo smash bros Although if I left it to the 15 year old we were having a North American nativity