big jim

Look what you’ve started, mention yellow stuff and he’s like uncle Albert and his ‘during the war.....’ stories!

I was tipped off about this a few months back off the back of another announcement but sworn to secrecy, certainly gonna get an order in for a Colas one to start with, don’t forget you can get a ‘big jim’ driver for it from Alan at modelu

Forgot to update this last week before I went away for the long weekend, the wood and edging is in place and I was hoping the guy would have fibreglassed it Saturday but he has been busy and promises he will do it Tuesday so when I get home from work tomorrow evening I shoildnwith any luck have a completed roof! Been a long drawn out affair, 2 days has turned into almost 2 weeks but on the plus side it’s almost payday again so I can crack on and get the wood I need next Got someone coming round tomorrow to see about fitting the doors (and removing the garage door too)

Just read on another forum that Albert Seymour, formerly of West Coast Railways has died A true gentleman and proper old school railway man, worked with him on many occasions where he has conducted me around the network over routes I didn’t sign, he retired from west coast railway as their inspector about 5 years ago and was enjoying his retirement Goodbye old friend, you will be missed

In there to have its split boxes removed for a centre head code eh?

Crikey this show has snuck up on me! On the logs Friday night so will try and get over sometime Saturday with any luck

The picture is derby and the train looks to be coming out of the carriage sidings at etches park, running along the pilot line, the ground frame under the loco took you to the slum sidings EDIT: If you look closely you can see on 08 on the back and the 31 has no headlights/markers in so I’d also suggest it’s being dragged back into ‘4 shed’ Nice bit of history as all that lot is now gone and under then new platforms that are being built in the foreground of the picture

That’s leggoman isn’t it? The ‘about us’ page on the wheeltappers site says they are a group of railway enthusiasts

Orange and black, never gonna work!

Having a caravan in silloth there’s nowt worse than on the last day of your break getting Scottish notes in your change or from the cash machine as you know it’s going to be fun trying to spend them back down south without getting funny looks! Regards the o/p saying about ‘smelly’ notes I’ve not experienced that but the factory in Wigton that makes them can smell spectacularly bad at times, even smell it in silloth (10 miles away as the crow flies) if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction

Some from last night, met the NMT in Paddington, rode it to Didcot then took it from there back to derby via banbury, Landor st, nuneaton and Leicester Paddington For once in game in a decent platform for pictures! And into derby at 02:30 And that’s me til Tuesday, back to the logs on the s+c

piccies of it in one piece in the factory in Erie are on Flickr, used as a test bed with safety rails attached https://flic.kr/p/DxDwhm

Only took one pic tonight and it wasn’t even if my train! 67018 in warrington bank quay, not seen this one about for a while and it’s been a good 5 years since I last drove it too

Nice pics, is that up by the horse riding place, the old ‘Shropshire centre’ in arthog?

Interesting start to the job today, apart from a flat tyre on the van when I got banbury that is! Had the cemex train to Washwood heath But all is not as it seems as it is actually detached from the train, 6 handbrakes on and was away to rescue a failed freight at harbury, 66017 had come to a stand after shutting down and as I was the nearest loco I was commendered to rescue it Down to fenny, cross over and ran ‘bang road’ to harbury where the other driver was waiting at the assistance protection for me, coupled up, brake test and away, so as to minimise distruption I told the box to leave the down line open once I was running wrong direction which kept things moving with a couple of voyagers passing by during the rescue, the most important thing is everyone knows the line is ‘live’ and 95mph! And into banbury, uncoupled and moved back over to my own train on the down side, in the grand scheme of things we did well from the initial call to take the engine off the train to getting the failed train out of the way in banbury tonallow trains to run again was just over an hour A better shot from the sunny side And that was that, once in I had to wait for the MOM to come and brake test me, the mom happened to be rmweb’s very own ‘eggsford box’ who obliged and carried out the test, also spoke to markmiller who was in control at chiltern so almost an rmweb mini meet! Didn’t bother with any more pics the rest of the day, just concentrated on getting some of the time back and trying to get the train unloaded!

I shouldn’t be laughing at that at all but FFS!! “He’s a doctor, do you think he’d go round killing people” Best not tell her about Harold shipman then

And some pics Coleham Stone blower we were taking to Barmouth Machynlleth Stopped approaching Barmouth bridge as we needed to pass the block marker to make a wrong direction move into the up platform at Barmouth And into the platform Stoneblower Shunted away into the siding Loco back into the station to wait for the down train to pass and away to coleham Ambition achieved And back to coleham A day away from the Cambrian tomorrow, banbury to Washwood heath with the cemex train

Doesn’t work on the s-stock though unfortunately Tempted by Sarah Siddons at £99 using it though

That code is out of date now, worked for a weekend back in March but invalid now, shame as I tried it on the s-stock they are selling! EDIT: Nope I’m taking through my bum, it is valid on the blue Pullman but not the s-stock, dammit!

My dad has just put me right on the family history, it was my great great grandad who was the wheel tapper, at caersws, he then went on to be in charge of the p-way at Barmouth moving down there, apparently he once opened Barmouth swing bridge in a sunny day and it expanded in the heat and they were unable to close it until the evening when it had cooled down! My great grandad, bob who died either just before or just after I was born moved from Newcastle upon Tyne to Barmouth to run the ‘rymans’ book stall on the station where he met my great grandma (known as grandma Barmouth), The then got a job on the p-way before changing departments (and regions) and becoming the 2nd in command accountant for the LMS in Liverpool lime st, he was so high up he had a ‘gold medal’ for travel, I’ve only ever seen one of those in my time on the railway! As for my mum she was indeed out waving at me at llwyngwril!

And so to the cambrian, maiden solo voyage (ie with Shunter rather than another driver) to Aberystwyth Coleham Into Newtown for the tamper where we sat for 3 1/2 hours! Machynlleth, waiting for an up train Tamper removed at aber and waiting for the path back Followed the passenger service And that was it for photos, back down there again tomorrow but this time going over to Barmouth ,quite excited about that and it’s actually quite significant to me as Once i sign the paperwork off for the coast section i’ll be driving trains down there like my great great grandfather used to for cambrian railways and drive over Barmouth bridge which my great grandad used to be in charge of in great western/British rail days, he used to be a wheel tapper at Barmouth and made his way up the ranks to quite a high position in the p-way department of course I will also get it drive through llwyngwril where I grew up and went to primary school for 4 years in the late 70s-early 80s, my mum lives there now and she’s promised to come out and give me a wave as I pass through, she’s not been well the last few years and it’s been an ambition of mine to sign through the village while she’s still around!

I’m gonna get my moneys worth out of them with the visits that’s for sure!

It seems to be permanently discounted looking at the previous 3 posts to this thread quoting the same price since January! Still really want one but can’t justify it while I’m doing my garage conversion as it’s about the same price as the wood i need to baton up!!

I must admit I’ve developed quite a soft spot for the old 73 recently, never really given them a 2nd glance but they are actually a quite simple attractive loco I’m lucky to have driven most of the GBRf 73/9 and they are an impressive little beast, certainly go like stink in multi with just 4 or 5 coaches, I’ve yet to be passed out on them and I don’t know if and when that is likely to happen but if it doesn’t then I’ve had a go, also driven ‘traditional’ 73138 which wasn’t quite so quick off the mark dragging 3 DVTs and a 67!

The very same local government portal where I ‘enquired’ About what was permitted filled out the on line form and got charged £440 for applying for building regs!