big jim

Yes, I don't think I'll be able to resist when they come out, hopefully the slight delay will take it into another months modelling 'budget' after all the new 66s that have just landed Next question is which one to go for, DRS or chiltern, I've worked for both companies but not driven 68s for either so it's a toss up between them as I have appropriate stock for both both liveries

Is the postcode right on the modelscape website, the one at the bottom of the page sends me to the Upton magma area, SY4 4QU not 4UQ seems to take me to the right place on Google To add to your list of alternatives if your heading north there is always trident trains between Whitchurch and Nantwich or even Dapol in chirk

Just a single pic from today, been road refreshing longsight depot for a job later in the week, This is the old staff platform that is situated on the mainline at the south end of the depot

That's the one, earlier than I thought, I'll be getting on it southbound at 22:30 Anyhoo some pics from last night, couldn't be bothered with the proper camera so just a few iPhone pics, dorridge to crewe via shrewsbury (to keep the rail delivery train facing the right way) then the loco back to Bescot Wolverhampton Basford hall Bescot, almost an identical picture to yesterday (except they are buffered up and it's not raining!) And with 70005 lurking in the distance

The station I think as it's coming in from barrow, it will be about 1am Friday morning though!!

wonder if we can get a full de-cat stainless system for it? some from last night, banbury to bescot, just to annoy my dad, 70801 on it (his last colas 70)! then the sun came up moved up the the possession exit and awaited the road and that was it, off to bescot to stable with 70808 back to it tonight, dorridge to basford hall with 70808

thats it rub it in! just looking at my thursday job ive actually got to take the 37s to windermere, morecambe, blackpool south and blackpool north amongst other places i think on the quiet someone in planning is seeing how many costal resorts i can visit in a month, lowestoft, barmouth, pwllheli, llandudno, blackpool and morecambe so far!

actually im on it thursday, carnforth to blackpool via the world friday is a different train longsight to longsight via nelson, colne etc!

Nope that will be 601/602 I recon, I'm on it though

At 10:48 this morning I was shunting stock round the APTs original home in the RTC, in and out of the EDU and vehicle lab I'm being trained on ertms signalling at the moment and it's very strange the way you pretty much don't have to look out of the window, you could actually drive a route you don't sign without looking up once, on the Cambrian locos have to be double manned as the driver spends most of the time looking at the screen so the 2nd man is there to look out the window and observe the crossings etc, must admit I thought it was an Aslef 'screw' when I first heard about it but having done it I can see why it's needed!

no, not good enough, all bar 37254 were there today (which unfortunatly means ive got DRS examples on my trains later in the week as my workings are already out and about)

Derby shunt today, managed to drive most of the colas fleet (and 37025) in the space of a few hours! This doesn't happen very often, 37175 was just out of view too 37057 arriving in on the rear of a UTU train

I decided against buying the 37 in the end as my car was due it's MOT this week and I knew it was going to need at a minimum new brakes all round and possibly tyres so I had budgeted a few hindered quid for that Anyway, had it done today and all it needs is a £20 set of rear brake pads, I think I may well be getting the 37 after all

I got sent an invoice a few months back even though I pay DD, I've ignored it and still get the models and am up to date with payments

Every time I think 'I'll cancel my subscription as there is nothing of interest' they go and do something of interest!! Maybe just one more month then

You can also have Class 31s, class 97s, blue parcels DMU with wagons, even a deltic

i never saw the 68 model at DEMU on saturday, must have been looking in the wrong place even though i bought stuff off dcc supplies stand which is where others have said it was on show ive not gone one on order but will wait to see it in the flesh before deciding whether to get one or not

make yer mind up!

The arriva 67 is a booked train, it runs south in the morning and returns to Holyhead in the evening, first DB 67 I've seen on it though Just a couple from today, been down as far as Newtown and caught the passenger back to derby to collect my van from Monday's job! One more day of it tomorrow before a week away from it to do other things but Inverness is a no no next week now thankfully!

some from today, ERTMS level 2 training on the Cambrian first stop from coleham was newtown where we waited for this then tallerddig and into macc the new ERTMS signalling centre is the white building on the right, the old box used to be on the left hand side, i believe the buildings to the extreme left used to be transhipment sheds for the old corris railway then we headed back and the first stop was welshpool this time then after a 3D scanning session i got dropped off at the station for my train home, had an hour to wait though! back down there again tomorrow for another trip to machynlleth

The model railway show may have been one organised by a former member on here (bob aka Yorkshire Pullman) and the DRS layout may have been me with my old 'warmington' layout!

You can buy me from Alan at modelu, here is the relevent thread, the link is in there somewhere http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/103896-big-jim-modern-diesel-driver-3d-print-available-through-modelu-soon/?fromsearch=1 As it happens (as mentioned in that thread) we are doing some more 3D scanning tomorrow along with 2 more drivers of different dimensions to me so there will be a lot more in the range very soon

As a slight aside, popped out to tesco earlier and noticed loads of people heading into the heritage centre so I popped over for a look to find "flying scotsman" in there having arrived around 17:00 for an evenings stopover before heading off to Paddington tomorrow You can say what you want about it, and to be honest it has no interest to me but it's certainly a crowd puller, most of the people through the gates were families with primary school aged youngsters or old people, and not your average "spotter" oldies but the likes of groups of old ladies who had come just to see Scotsman My kids of course couldn't give a stuff and opted for the APT and class 40 cab! For a Tuesday evening there was an impressive turnout of 'normals' a few hundred people I recon while I was there at 19:00 and still coming through the gates when I left at 20:15 I've not been the heritage centre for a while but it's noticable that they have swept out a lot of the old 'deadwood', Waterman no longer has a presence in there so the exhibition hall is now that again, not a workshop so it's looking a lot cleaner Also gone are certain 'bad apples' (to put it mildly) which I hope the centre can distance itself from (by a million miles) and bounce back as a family friendly tourist attraction again

It's actually this Basically it transmits radio waves from a Doppler radar to determine the speed of the loco (one of 3 speed pickups on a 97) which has to be turned off if your working in its vicinity