big jim

Just sat in a hire car about to work an MOD train and was fiddling with the hands free settings, bit worried about who has had the car before me and whether I’m being bugged

Well the foster cat has arrived and already put smiles back in our faces, keep thinking Odin is going to walk through the door any minute though I don’t know what it is about our house and cats but the foster cat came in and within minutes of her being let out if the carrier was sat in the conservatory like she owned the place, found a comfy cushion and claimed it as her own! she must feel so at ease and happy having a fuss off all of us after being unloved and neglected for the latest part of her life (apparently she is 8 years old and the current owner had got bored of her and decided not to feed her any more!) as I say how long we will have her I don’t know, could be days, weeks or years!

What! Hollyoaks isn’t real?

Right, back to things that will make you smile nothing will ever replace Odin but we were sat round last night and we agreed that we should get a cat as soon as we feel up to it as the house feels so empty already without him here running round like a loon anyway my wife had been in conversation with a friend via text message who works in a home for cats that need ‘fostering’ while they wait for a new owner, the place is having to turn cats away due to having no space and by some quirk of fate this afternoon we are getting our first “foster cat” who had been abandoned in a skip by her previous owner how long we will have her I don’t know !

Just can’t stop crying

i put the below post in the "things that make you smile" thread as id put updates from when we got odin in there but unfortunately he died earlier today in a tragic accident he went out this morning and was happily playing in the garden coming and going for food, this afternoon i was a bit concerned i couldn't see him so we looked round the back garden and shouted him, looking down the drive my wife spotted him under a pallet we had something delivered on a while back however when i lifted it up he had been crushed under it, i think it must have fell as he tried to climb it and its fallen on him and crushed him, unfortunately there was nothing we could do as he was dead, he wasn't cold so hadn't been there long but it was pretty obvious he was gone, my wife got him and took him to the vet who have kept hold of the body for a couple of days until we decide what to do with him the hardest part was breaking the news to the kids who like the rest of us are absolutely devastated, im typing this with panda eyes and tears streaming down my face, we have only had him 3 months and nursed him from the brink of death the first night we got him where my wife had to keep him warm and feed him hourly after being found abandoned in a factory to being a beautiful healthy tom cat who quite simply was one of the family and felt like he had always been here despite only being with us a short time, we feeel so gutted to have lost him through a tragic accident in such a short time the night we got him in january after being found purposely abandoned in a factory Playtime and a final pic from this morning with gethin

seems wrong to put this in the things that make you smile thread but the latest Odin the cat update is devastating he went out this morning and was happily playing in the garden coming and going for food, this afternoon i was a bit concerned i couldn't see him so we looked round the back garden and shouted him, looking down the drive my wife spotted him under a pallet we had something delivered on a while back however when i lifted it up he had been crushed under it, i think it must have fell as he tried to climb it and its fallen on him and crushed him, unfortunately there was nothing we could do as he was dead, he wasnt cold so hadnt been there long but it was pretty obvious he was gone, my wife got him and took him to the vet who have kept hold of the body for a couple of days until we decide what to do with him the hardest part was breaking the news to the kids who like the rest of us are absolutely devastated, im typing this with panda eyes and tears streaming down my face, we have only had him 3 months and nursed him from the brink of death the first night we got him where my wife had to keep him warm and feed him hourly after being found abandoned in a factory to being a beautiful healthy tom cat who quite simply was one of the family and felt like he had always been here despite only being with us a short time, we feeel so gutted to have lost him through a tragic accident in such a short time Final photo from this morning with gethin and to slightly ease the somber mood the eldest lad disappears outside and goes in my shed, comes out with a circular saw, gets his breaking bad outfit on and sets to the pallet in a mad man kind of way to make sure something similar doesn’t happen again

Back in the mid to late 90s My stepdad parked at the liver building during the day in his Ford Fiesta van only to come back 30 mins later and find it stolen. he got it back sans alloy wheels (chrome RS2000 alloys) and alpine stereo but worst of all he had hidden the weeks takings from my mums shoe shop/market stalls under the seat as he was worried about walking round with about £3k cash on him before he had a chance to visit the bank i bet the thief couldnt believe his luck when he looked under the seat and found the money bag!

Ah well that’s the teaser, I worked them both! Started in derby with the 37, as it was GBRf first IM train I wanted to be on board in case of issues and it was my trainee’s first run with staff rhen due to illness the ballast job was uncovered between Birmingham and banbury so I got off there and worked it forward (relieving Marcus37 who had bought it in from stud farm) At banbury I got a car from the onward driver and drove to West Ruislip to meet back up with the IM train to conduct it into Marylebone back to ruislip where I got back off and drove home while the train continued to ferme Park via the north london line breathed a huge sigh of relief once the job was over knowing we managed to run the train without issues (we did have a jumper cable issue prior to departure which was rectified quickly) thats me til tomorrow on the bicester train

Bit of a teaser for the my next post later today when I get home, currently sat in a car in the london suburbs waiting for a train!

This is doing the rounds on Facebook, Spalding apparently https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2277593369227219&id=100009297354048 not on there myself but hopefully the link will work

The above suggestions of the royal Scotsman and Cemex livery GBRf 66s have my vote too As for one with different tooling 66750 would make an interesting variation with its odd light housing and double brake pipes etc

Not exactly as expensive, 4p cheaper, to a Yorkshireman that’s a whole teabag he could be drying on the washing line for re-use And yes they are standard features must admit i thought ‘that’s an old livery, not for me’ but seeing the picture it does look rather nice and I may be swayed!

Non classic (but old) car news: I should be getting my BMW cooper s back on Friday from MOT, full service and lowering. assuming it passes its MOT and they don’t find anything major up with it i’ve got a huge box of bits to go on it if the weather is good at the weekend, black cooper S badges and mini logos, 4 spotlights, black Union Jack decal for the panoramic sunroof, side door stripes and probably other stuff I’ve forgotten about too! I’ll get it taxed on 1st April and sorted

Set the Nintendo switch up via the projector last night, got to say mario kart 8 in HD on a 100 inch screen is pretty damn good we have that Nintendo live thing too so I had a go at the original NES version of Mario bros on it too which was quite good huge screen

And by complete contrast here is 60070 this morning in toton

A sad sight earlier today, the last of the dock lines in the trafford Park estate now locked up and lifted the other side of the container terminal headshunt spent many an hour going up and down there in the docks company 08 to and from Barton docks when I worked for fastline, something I can look back on now and say “at least I did it” Wasn’t booked to go there today but as I refreshed the route on New Year’s Eve but didn’t see the shunts within the terminal i went along tonsee the shunt moves so I can work trains there if they are ever stuck for a driver from there I stayed on board backntk Crewe where I was booked to pick the train up in my diagram and worked it through to Doncaster the hexthorpe pic showin someone round Toton tomorrow then IM on Monday night to Marylebone

Hmmm, another cracking announcement that will kill my credit card’ i used to help maintain the cawoods train at seaforth when I worked for my stepdad (c.c. crump) Doing VIBTs, buffer swaps etc but I’ll be going for a pack of DRS ones as my layout is up to date time wise

Your all being very silly now! anyhoo some from yesterday and today, yesterday at Masborough and today a quick run derby to Toton to get the final handling hours in Derby Toton back to derby, paperwork session and job done, going to be on it a couple of times next week by the look if it

Day 2 of IM training, popped over to Doncaster to ‘borrow’ UTU3 for the day for a trip to Toton and back, did static in the yard first then set off 37175 9708 While we were waiting 91119 in intercity livery passed by and away to toton a rose between 2 thorns The Masborough shot! And into Doncaster west yard and stabled until tomorrow hopefully were going to get a run over the hope valley tomorrow to Stockport and back to donny via crewe and derby first day back on 37s and one ruined shirt already, covered in engine room muck and oil!

There is a young driver at Colas who i put forward to go on an instructor course when I left as he is very keen, knowledgeable (I phone him for class 37 advice!) etc sure enough he has done the instructors course and run his first class 67 course the other week but was worried about the “older hand” drivers being funny with him and not willing to listen, take advice etc as he is young and only been on the railway a few years, I just told him that if he gets anyone like that then simply stop the training, speak to management and the driver can then explain to those higher up why training was stopped as it happened he had no issues, he and the trainees enjoyed the course and he’s looking forward to the next one

Eyes like a s##t house rat

I don’t watch real motorsport but do enjoy playing grand tourismo sport for a bit of ‘thrash’ but I must say forza horizon is slowly taking its mantle the more I play it and despite not being a hardcore ‘gamer’ GT (and Sony) has been part of my life from the original on the PS1 right through to ‘sport’ on dom’s PS4, but the game is so involved now you have to devote such a long time on it just to get somewhere worthwhile I don’t play games on line with others and truth be told I find the whole ‘e games’ thing a bit sad, well not sad but ‘beyond me’ having watched clips of various tournaments as GTs loads up, it’s far too serious for me, gaming, especially racing games to me involve going flat out, scraping the wall when you go too fast into a curve then carrying on, just having a laugh, I think I’d last about 5 seconds in the world of on line racing! To paraphrase grandpa simpson ‘I used to be with it, then they changed what “it” was, and now what “it” is is scary and confusing to me’

Depending on your system it’s simple enough to get all locos running the same way, speed matching may be difficult though! personally i’d De-motor the rear 20s if it’s a roundy roundly layout, similarly I’d demotor the s-stock too, when I say demotor, just remove the driveshafts (which is what I’ve done with one of my pair of Colas 67s) it’s a train I’d like to model as well, got the 20s for the job just need the underground stock which I wish I’d bought first time round!

I remember back in the 90s seeing an unmarked police car on the motorway into Blackpool with the reg No M55 COP