John Isherwood

...... apart from the raised plank 'grooves'! John Isherwood.

I don't think that this model is for you - why not return it and forget all about it? I, and most other owners, think it's the greatest! John Isherwood.

As per my recent posting - a full list will be posted towards the end of June / early July. John Isherwood.

I trust that my listing will help with this. John Isherwood.

That's my thinking, too. John Isherwood.

Thanks for that - very helpful. John Isherwood.

Be aware that there are NO complete kits - we are talking individual components which MAY, in some cases, amount to part-kits. John Isherwood.

You may think that - but I couldn't possibly comment! John Isherwood.

Now that there has been a significant relaxation of Covid restrictions, it will be possible for me to collect the residual stock of castings from John Talbot, of Appleby Model Engineering; sorry for the unavoidable delay. Firstly, I must repeat my request that no-one tries to approach John Talbot directly concerning what follows - John had intended to dispose of, as refuse, what remains of his stock as he has no desire to enter into the work of distributing it; I have persuaded him to allow me to take on that task. I will collect the castings in mid-June, and would hope to be able to post here a list of what is available, and details of how to obtain items, within a month or so of that time. This will be a no-frills service, but prices will reflect that; P&P will be at cost. Please do NOT contact me in the meantime with wish-lists, enquiries, etc., I have no idea of what the residual stock comprises, and I do not have the time or inclination to engage in general chit-chat. What I can tell you is that John was intending to exclude certain items for which he saw no market; one such item is a roof casting to convert the early Hornby HAA hopper into the china variant. I would have thought that this item would be popular with modellers who might wish to obtain cheap HAA models, and convert / detail them into china clay hoppers - what do you think? Let me know by posting here - not via PM or e-mail. Another comment from John indicates that he has very considerable stocks of the specially commissioned paints that he had produced by Phoenix; some (most?) of these paint colours are not available elsewhere. I will list what could be available at a later date, but I would welcome an indication, in this thread, of the extent of the potential market. Paint has to be despatched via courier - Royal Mail will not carry it - so P&P charges would have to reflect this; however, the item price would not be high. Again - please do not contact either John Talbot or me directly; use this thread. I am looking to help John dispose of his considerable asset with the minimum of fuss for all concerned - I will post further information here as soon as it is available. Finally, please pass on the above information to anyone that you know who may be interested, but who does not frequent this list. Regards, John Isherwood.

I think that the phrase 'call a spade a shovel' was coined to emphasise that Lancastrians (and others) regard 'calling a spade a spade' a bit 'namby-pamby'; it implies an even greater degree of 'directness'! John Isherwood.

I'm sure that you are correct - but it's a common phrase, nonetheless. (G*d preserve us from pedants)! John Isherwood.

...... or encountered a 'Chelsea Tractor' whose driver is convinced that Cornish lanes MUST be one-way, and that that THEY are going the correct way. John Isherwood.

Thank you - your support is greatly appreciated. During the past 72 years, I have heard enough 'flannel', two-faced double talk, and 'pussy-footing-around' to have learned that 'speaking as you find' is always best. I call a 'spade a shovel', as we Lancastrians do, and I make no apology for that. John Isherwood.

Could they be body / chassis or door runner brackets? John Isherwood.

As I now live in Cornwall, all such opportunities involve much travelling; (too much)! John Isherwood.

I'm afraid that I've long-since given up on model railway exhibitions. Once, years ago at the Warley / NEC scrum was enough for me, but I did support the EMGS show at Bletchley - until they moved it! (There was always a good small trader presence at Bletchley). I did go to the MRJ one-off, but that managed to out-do even Warley as an unpleasant customer experience. I attended one local show when we moved to Cornwall - a rather lack-lustre, poorly attended event that convinced me to obtain all my future modelling requirements via mail order, and forget exhibitions. It's a shame

You may well be correct - if I knew what it was! John Isherwood.

I would have agreed pre-Covid. Now I understand that the survival instinct in humans can make huge behaviourable change acceptable. The trick, though, will be to convince the human population that climate change IS a survival issue BEFORE it is too late !! John Isherwood.

Please don't assume that I am anti-HS2 - fast, efficient, less polluting mass transport will always be necessary for some purposes. In order to retain the ability to make face-to-face contact for family purposes, etc., it will however be necessary to eliminate all non-essential travel. The long-term survival of life on this planet will require huge changes in our lifestyles - but that does not mean that humans will have to sacrifice an enjoyable existence; just exchange the current, self-seeking one for a far less stressful, sustainable one. Just my viewpoint, John Isherwood.

I don't - not a single ex-LNER loco. Fortunately, I don't require any - but I would be greatly disincentivised from modelling any ex-LNER location that required me to run RTR Pacifics with wheels that hovered above the rails, or swung out into fresh air. It is possible to produce RTR 16.5mm. gauge / 4mm. scale LNER Pacifics with fixed trailing frames and pivotting trailing trucks for running on sensible radius tracks. As I said, it simply requires a locking screw and an unflanged wheelset to enable such models to run on less-than-sensible radius tracks. John Isherwood.

Out-moded thinking; in-person visiting has got to be a thing of the past if emissions targets are to be met. We need a sea change in how we live our lives - and major investment in the technology to enable this to happen - if we are to leave a survivable legacy for future generations. John Isherwood.

All change has positives and negatives. If home working means that less people have to work within commuting distance of the big cities - particularly London - then this could go some considerable way towards the Government's much-vaunted objective of 'evening-up' the regions. My son works in IT software, and his company has no corporate premises; all staff work from home, with daily conferences on-line. Face-to-face get-togethers with clients take place as required. This enables my son and his family to live in rural mid-Wales and enjoy the benefits of a commute-free, less stressed lifestyle. It also ensures that he and his partner can share childcare duties within a flexible work routine. The principal benefit, though, has to be a very significant reduction in transport emissions - which has to be the overriding priority as far as future generations are concerned. John Isherwood.

Hornby adopting fixed, flangeless trailing trucks on Pacifics was, and is, sheer laziness. I have several such locos that came with fixed, flangeless trailing trucks and have managed to convert all of them to pivotted, flanged condition. It would be simple for Hornby to supply their models as pivotted, flanged; and to supply a locking screw and unflanged wheelset for those who use trainset curves. It should not be necessary to take a piercing saw and milling cutter to a brand-new, 'RTR' model in order to make all of the wheels run on the rails! John Isherwood.

I used to enjoy the spoof annual mrc report - always with a mention of Rollo Gregorian-Chant's latest doings! (Younger list members will not get the joke; see http://www.norgrove.me.uk/Robbo.htm ). John Isherwood.

'Twas ever thus - and I speak after starting in local government highway service some fifty years ago! John Isherwood.