John Isherwood

By no means complete - David Larkin seems to have researched what is known to a remarkable degree; (see his recent 'Acquired Wagons ..." books). John Isherwood.

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Very proactive; good customer service. For those of us who use DC, is this something that we can ignore, or is it still best to remove the suppressor? John Isherwood.

Due to the Covid, I have been unable to travel from Cornwall to Worcester to collect them. As soon as we are permitted to do so, I will make arrangements with John Talbot. Regards, John Isherwood.

..... and in all the minor road crossings further up the Camel valley. John Isherwood.

You miss the point - the spacing of the rivets is specified as prototype inches; if working in 4mm. scale rather than 3.5mm. scale, it is necessary to allow for the difference in order to arrive at the spacing in 4mm. scale. Simples - and NOT splitting hairs. John Isherwood.

I'm afraid that you'd need to find a drawing or clear photo of the prototype to work that out - and remember that these transfers / decals are intended for HO / 3.5mm. scale. John Isherwood.

Archers rivet decals - there are suppliers in the UK : - https://www.archertransfers.com/SurfaceDetailsHOscale.html John Isherwood.

I would refer my honourable friend to my previous comment - any rail-based, or other form of transport relying on an ex-rail formation, was permanently undermined by the location of Cambridge's railway station. Cambs. CC was not responsible for that, it was the historic Nimbys of the University. Read 'Rails to Cambridge'. John Isherwood.

That is expecially pertinent in the case of Cambridge, where re-opening the St. Ives to Cambridge railway would have involved a change from rail to bus / taxi / long walk to get to the city centre. John Isherwood.

You never were able to resist a dig at the Busway, were you Stewart? It seems to keep a fairly low profile, nowadays - presumably doing what it was intended to do; albeit with less panache than a railway. At the end of the day the fault lay with the University, all those years ago, for blocking a railway station convenient to the city centre when the railway came to Cambridge. John Isherwood.

The MRJ show was a one-off, legendary / infamous exhibition, organised by the Model Railway Journal publishers. Legendary for the selection of superb layouts displayed; infamous for the length of the queue, and the density of the crowd once inside. I can vouch for both - I was there! John Isherwood.

18000 was regarded are 'GT1'; 18100 was regarded as 'GT2'. GT3 was regarded as the third gas turbine, hence its number. John Isherwood.

Am I right in thinking that, in the 1950s / 60s, these were marketed under the trade name SKEFCO? John Isherwood.

If we're referring to finish - I'm with you all the way!! Getting the colour correct isn't rocket science, either - Hornby Dublo managed it in the eary 1950s. John Isherwood.

GT3 green was NOT BR green - it was a much bluer shade. John Isherwood.

I believe that they gave access to securing nuts - or some such arrangement. John Isherwood.

Original worksplate; note the single square corner that abutted the horizontal lining... ... and the numberplate - which similarly abutted and continued the lining. John Isherwood.

One thing that I learned in forty years at Cambridge City Council is that officers - and retired officers - do well to steer clear of any political comment, one way or the other! John Isherwood.

Whoa !! Calm down !! As I spent a forty year career in local government, you cannot teach me anything about local / central government politics. I am fully aware that councils, of whatever status or political affiliation, are held to ransom by central government - they are obliged to meet their housing allocations. I also know that councils can and do require developers to provide certain infrastructure as a condition of granting planning consent. This can vary from simply highway, footways, drainage and services for a small development to schools, shopping centre, health centres, etc., etc. for new conurbations. My concern - not whinge - is that councils, all to often fail, to require developers to provide the additional infrastructure that those purchasing the new homes will require. Here in Cornwall there is a huge under-provision of health and education infrastructure, and yet Cornwall Council seem to have no interest whatsoever in requiring developers to provide such facilities. This failure is NOT attributable to central government - it rests firmly at the door of local government. Incidently - the multiple acres that comprise the entire view from our house have been designated for housing and light industrial development by Cornwall Council - much to the delight of a major local landowner! Potential developers are already having trial holes dug to determine how easy it will be to build, despite a very significant gradient across the site. Please - don't try to teach your Granny to suck eggs!! John Isherwood.

Exactly the same here in Cornwall - all the council cares about is meeting the government housing target. Try and get a dentist or doctor, though - no chance!! John Isherwood.

You misunderstood me - I am saying that the lower pair of lights were red tail lights. John Isherwood.

I'm pretty certain that they were - BR woulddn't have let it run on their tracks with additional headlights which could be mistaken for headcodes. John Isherwood.

If PVA tarnishes nickel silver rail, can anyone suggest a better adhesive for fixing ballast? Thank you in anticipation, John Isherwood.

I'd agree that the custard has too much custard powder in it - but the blood looks spot-on. John Isherwood.