John Isherwood

Like it or not, we're going to have to get used to a new way of doing business - there is no option if h0m0 sapiens is to survive. You and I know that the alternative is not the telephone - if Cabinet meetings and inter-governmental conferences can be done via Zoom, etc., anything is possible. Hand shakes and pats on the back are wholly unnecessary when the future of the planet is at stake. I am fully aware of the importance of mutual trust when negotiating contracts - I was a senior engineer with Cambridge City Council at the culmination of my forty year career there. Producing CO2 simply to be physically in the same room as a colleague / business partner is demonstrably pointless, and WILL have to be abolished, despite the protestations of the those who currently enjoy it. We'd all better get used to the fact! CJI.

Not sure that the ' parcels train' was exactly that - far more likely to have been a test train composed of spare NPCCS stock. I'm not sure, after all this time, if GT3 ever ran in revenue service - I think not. CJI.

Yeah - that's the stuff! Regards, CJI

At the time of the introduction of the Kitmaster kit of DELTIC - around the same time as the prototype - Humbrol produced correctly matched paint. Many years later, from a source which now escapes me, I obtained a full box of tinlets of this original Humbrol DELTIC blue paint, which now sits in my paint drawer. I may have to consider putting the paint on Ebay! John Isherwood.

Why?! In this age of instant, person-to-person communication, we should have seen the end of business travel long ago. Since there is an imperative to reduce carbon-production, business travel should be banned; end of! Let's be honest, it was never about the need to be in the same place at the same time. It was / is an expected / entitled perk of a certain level of business management. Moreover, the transport companies - in particular airlines - rely on being able to charge silly money for first / business class, as it is charged to the employer. Abolish first / business class and see how many business persons want to travel economy. Sooner or later, we will all have to face up to the constraints of reducing carbon output - let's reserve travel for pleasure, and at a realistic price. CJI.

To the best of my knowledge, Black Beetles are still available directly from the manufacturer in Australia. CJI.

Bottom line - Hornby wants all of the cream for itself, but can't bring itself to go wholly direct sales, as it wants retailers to buy the low profit / slow moving stock so that it can recover the value quicker than holding it in its own warehouse. Having your cake and eating it, it's called !!! CJI.

Fluff, it would seem, is not the only hazard when running on the carpet; a uniformly level substrate is a prerequisite of reliable running. CJI

I can only think that the OP was making a deliberate attempt to start a furore .....! CJI.

I would be interested to know what sort of a CV one requires, and how one goes about applying for such a position. John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

.... and therein lies your problem; not really weird at all! CJI.

What is the minimum radius acceptable for the 'floating' inner bogie, please? The recent model of the gas turbine 18000 has this arrangement, and has to be modified by the purchaser in order to handle medium radii . CJI.

No Dunsignalling at CCT - just cctransuk / John Isherwood. John Isherwood.

At 73, I get a man in for the household infrastructure jobs, which included the garage / railway room conversion. When I do need fixings for the odd job, I still use a specialist supplier, mainly for the huge range that they can offer, and I try and keep a small stock of regularly used items. CJI.

Buy fixings of all sorts from specialists, and plan your buying to cover future needs, so that the effect of P&P is minimised. CJI.

Anyone paying £0.10 for a washer needs their bumps felt! CJI.

It would seem that the domain change lost customers' passwords, too. CJI.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how good your product is, or whether you prefer making them to selling them; if customers who wish to buy are effectively prevented from doing do, the products may as well cease to exist. It is abundantly clear from reading this thread that there is a large body of suppressed demand for the excellent Markits products. It is also evident that Mark prefers the challenges of production to the, to him, boring aspects of sales and marketing. I am as sure as I can be that the cost of employing someone to deal with sales, or appointing a sales outlet, would be covered by increased turnover / profit. Mark, though, probably doesn't want the hassle of employing someone or liaising with a sales agent. I do know what I'm talking about - back in 1999 I set up Cambridge Custom Transfers, intending to offer a bespoke transfer service. It rapidly became clear that demand exceeded my ability to handle it, so the bespoke aspect was dropped in favour of selling what I produced for myself. Reality should not be optional; provide resources to match demand or reduce the scope of your business; failing to do so leads to a bad reputation. CJI.

'Cos it has to be big enough for the whitemetal to be poured in! ABS buffers had a 2.3mm. spigot. CJI.

If their absence bothers you, a small rectangle of clear plastic will be more than adequate at normal viewing distances. CJI.

Firstly, a little punctuation would have made understanding your post so much easier. Secondly, your first resort is to your credit card provider; tell them that the amount charged has not been authorised and they should put a hold on the transaction until such time as Markits provide justification. CJI.

A very roughly frame-cut plate, by the looks of it! CJI.

I can tell you what it should be - Sherwood Green, as used on the lower parts of a Brush Type 4 / Class 47. Whether the Precision shade will match the Heljan paint I cannot tell you - I would repaint the entire cab and apply new BR roundels - Heljan's roundels are pretty unconvincing, anyway. The other problem, of course, is that the model is weathered. John Isherwood.

I'm sure that I read that one of these is to be 'borrowed' by the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway. John Isherwood.

Like it or hate it - Cambridge's Guided Busway does, to some extent, serve Cambridge city centre. Cambridge station is, at the insistence of the University, a long walk / inconvenient bus-ride / expensive taxi ride from most destinations within the city. (Historically, the University was opposed to railways per se, on the grounds that they would bring immoral influences to tempt the cream of the aristocracy). 😉 It might well be possible for EW Rail to roughly follow the old Huntingdon Branch - or to reroute the Busway to free-up the old trackbed for EW Rail. The southern approach is bound to be more strongly resisted / politically controversial - that is where most of the more expensive properties are located! John Isherwood.