drmditch

Excellent! Could you tell us what the volumes are? In parts of my past I have had reassuring contact with Brassey's Naval Annual, but that didn't contain pictures of the quality you have posted All will be well with your cruiser, until Coronel and the Broad 14s

As in ships.

Will the foam underlay have an appropriate life span?

I'm sure that I've read somewhere that sometime in the second half of the 19th century the USA did play cricket, and there were international matches against Canada.

Maldon East & Heybridge please.

If this competition is what I think it is, I could well choose Alnwick, (Thanks to Mr K Hoole.) However, has anyone considered Durham Elvet? Not a lot of goods traffic, but if it was modelled on Gala day......

Except that Polio has now, I think finally been eradicated. As regards 'Use of English', transitive and intransitive verbs, correct use of articles and pronouns, and the degradation of 'weak' verbs and their participles leading to such horrors as 'forecasted', please can we leave this alone on this useful and entertaining thread. The rest of the world is quite depressing enough anyway. I do like the pictures of the Aberdeen layout above. It appears to make some of the same compromises as regards curvature that my own railway does.

Re: Type of Operation. I attend exhibitions selectively, and have never felt any interest (with one small exception) in, or the consistent competence for building anything for exhibition. It is also good to see how people do things, and get ideas for my own railway. The aspects of a railway which attract me are:- - Does the layout look interesting overall, and does the standard of track and infrastructure look effective? - Does it represent trains going from somewhere to somewhere else? - Is the operation interesting and reliable? Depending on what is represented, I would rather see a well-modelled branch terminus being operated well, (within my limited knowledge) than long main lines with easy-to-assemble kit buildings and long uninteresting express trains rushing round and trains of inaccurate goods and mineral wagons running at far to high a speed. - Does the operation in itself cover a variety of railway activities and services, and is there something to observe and learn from? - Does it suit my 'partisan' preferences? (NER/LNER and NEA - and pre-1948 please!) Of the older layouts I remember, Tebay was one of the most interesting. I saw Stoke and Charwelton a couple of times; both excellent but not as interesting. I only saw the Leicester layout once at the end a day with little running, but it looked superb. Grantham has to the best of the existing railways I have seen, and hope to see again Shap is very good, not as interesting, but it's role as part of a permanent large railway is a very good idea. I'm full of admiration for all these talented people who can build railways to entertain us all!

Really excellent. I first expressed an interest in the Bachmann version, but now I think it would be best to go for the Comet version, if it is not too late to change. Thank you for your magnificent work.

Best of luck. Then you can come and enjoy a County Durham summer with us all. (Well, perhaps not yesterday or today, but last week and the week after next!)

The wreck of any ship is sad, even more so a sailing ship. However, I saw a television documentary a few years ago. On South Georgia there are so many bones of Great Whales that the programme really made me cry. Who do we humans think we are?

I had resolved not to post more on this issue. But.... Humans are indeed horrible to fellow humans. The trade from the area of Verdun in the 10th century in castrated children is merely an example of that. The differences between 'chattel', ie 'commercial' slavery and the 'domestic' slavery practiced in many societies are discussed in many of the books on this subject. However, the genocide carried out in central America and the Caribbean when attempting to force the native population into hard labour, which then required their replacement by the hardy and tough peoples from western Africa led to some 12 to 16 million people enduring the horrors of the middle passage and all the degradation that followed. This was industrial; technology-enabled (the three-masted cannon-armed sailing vessel); state-sponsored; religiously approved..... one could carry on and on. (Yes, there were other rigs and by the 1850s even steamships) This was created and maintained largely by people from Western Europe. Our immediate ancestors. As regards what happened to Sub-Saharan Africa - - Does demand not create its own supply? - What happened to the emergent societies and civilisations of the 15th and 16th centuries? - Were those African people who thought that the 'White Men' needed all these people so that they could eat them, ultimately not near an uncomfortable truth? There was a good post on Facebook this morning. (I don't look at, like, or trust FB very much.) A close relative is in pain, and asks 'Do you love me'. Wouild you reply, 'We must love everybody' ? A friend is upset and tells you that their father has died. Would you reply, 'Everybody's parents die' ? Now I must not look at or post any more on this subject or I will have to avoid RMWeb a well!

Excellent to see such rapid progress. As you know, I too have attempted to design for a possibly less physically flexible future. This is described on my (very inadequate compared to yours) thread .... here... My swinging bridge relies on solid abutments screwed to a concrete floor and three heavy-duty stainless steel hinges. It has been in place now for over three years (such is my speed of construction). It continues to work and stay stable. Since I am not an engineer, I tend to over-engineer everything! Please may ask about your design. Does yours rely on a level floor and castors? (I rejected that solution as being more subject to potential wear.) If you will excuse a further interruption to your thread, I have also attached an old picture of my cross-room lift-out viaduct. This was also taken some three years ago, and it's fitting-out with such things as track and electrical supply has had to wait for other work to be done. You will see the 'raised cutout' to give more room. You will also note the totally unprototypical width of the piers. I do have a cunning plan to correct these - but since they form structurally an 8' span girder I am reluctant to weaken them too much. There is also a cunning plan, should age an infirmity demand, to give the viaduct a counter-weighted hoist! I have also taken care to avoid sharp corners which my hips and legs might come into contact with. Sorry not to have more impressive trains to show at the moment. Most of my stock is still packed away, and my A8 that I have been using to track testing with a local train has just succumbed to a second failure of it's Comet gearbox. Very annoying. A High-Level box is about to be ordered. 'When all this is over', you will be very welcome to travel down the line for seven miles and witness my slow progress. (Do you like the conceit of having a Bridge Cabin on the Bridge?)

Re: The colonial era and judgmental history. Just a few points to make before the thunder comes and I can cool down a bit. I think I agree with Mr Edwardian (well nearly) in that it is dangerous to judge past centuries by the standards of our own time - but we must also realise that in judging our forbears we must also judge ourselves. We would regard with horror those Quaker families who in the first half of the 18th Century sent out ships on the Atlantic triangular (and quadrilateral) passage. After 1761 (or so) many of their co-religionists did regard such trade as very wrong. So, what are we doing now that our descendants will regard with equivalent horror? Has 'the rich world' ceased to simultaneously exploit and neglect 'the poor world' ? Was the clothing that I am wearing on this summer day made by people who received a proper reward for their labours? (Or perhaps it would disrupt the world economy too much to do so? That argument was also used to argue both the continuance of the Atlantic slave trade and for North and South American slavery. You may have heard it recently! One point of correction. English involvement in that trade started in 1562 by that good son of Devon John Hawkins, assisted in 1567 by his young cousin one Francis Drake. One shouldn't attempt to 'cherry pick' what we know of history, good or bad. The recent panic about W S Churchill's statue seems to have missed the unpleasant aspects of one O Cromwell, who I think stands near him. I an interested in Mr Edwardian's training and preferences. When I read Modern History in the University of Durham (please note the title), which at that time covered material from the year 312 up to 1939, I understood that I was studying history not being trained in it! Some fifty years on my basic discipline remains that of historical analysis. What happened and/or is happening, how did it develop, and what might happen next. This can be a nuisance sometimes! Please excuse me, now I must revert to dealing with complex double-hipped roof construction.

Re: Colonialism We may be getting fixated with this subject, and may be we should do so. In relation to the US and also the 'civilising mission'. Rudyard Kipling's poem , 'The White Man's Burden' was written to the USA at the time of their war in the Philippines from 1899. In relation to the 19th development of a British 'civilising mission and spreading Christianity', this probably caused even more harm than a straight commercial exploitation did. The assumption of 'we know better' had the effect of making the suppression of the Atlantic Slave Trade more difficult. 'The Slave Trade' - Hugh Thomas (An ebook version is available) also required reading should be:- 'The Scramble for Africa' - Thomas Pakenham (also in ebook form) When you have finished those two, which are well -written and deeply depressing, then you really should also read: 'The Black Man's Burden' - Basil Davidson I expect that more recent works are available, but these and several others which I purchased during my time in West Africa are the ones on my bookshelves. They should be re-read at least once every five years (more frequently would certainly be too depressing). I suspect in some of Mr Edwardian's posts above, (and despite his being a generation or two younger than myself) he may have grown up, as I did, with a view that although Britain has done many reprehensible things in the world 'our hearts were in the right place' and some things did confer lasting benefits. While that me be partially true, possibly with a legal system which gives people in tropical climates the chance to look very smart in white wigs and black gowns, I think that overall view is and should be totally exploded. Sorry everybody, the British are not best. If you need even more evidence, just ask the Irish. (And that last statement may upset some people this side of the water, and that is in itself indicative of the enduring nature of the problems that still and will persist in our society.) And after that rant, for which I do not apologise, here is some progress on the signal cabin which I mentioned some pages ago:-

Canadians Sir? That was the Royal Navy and the British Army. (Would have to look it up to see which units and whether any North American loyalists were involved, although I doubt it.) Just remember that 'the rockets red glare' refers to British missiles. Presumably Congreve Mk1s ? And the President's Mansion became the White House when it was whitewashed to hide the burn marks!

You remind me of a lovely Douglas Adams line, about a small asteroid inhabited by one old man who repeatedly claimed that nothing was true - But was later discovered to be lying.

I do agree. The Law of the Perversity of Natural Events (otherwise known as S**'s Law) means that the most complex derailment problems will always occur in the most inaccessible place, and if you want to stack up the odds even more - it will happen when you have visitors! I only use nylon rail joiners on straight formations. If rail gaps are required on curves I epoxy the rail and sleeper base for two sleepers width, making one fastening to my cork track base. When the epoxy is dry I cut through the epoxy and the rail with a razor saw. Then a small amount of epoxy into the freshly cut metal. It should be tidied up for flangeways when all has set. Obviously, this is far too ugly for track in the 'scenic sections'. There I have another solution. The only other thing to mention is 'test, test and re-test'. I use my most track sensitive locomotives and selected stock for this.

Very sad. One would like to think the RN would have known better. Just one more example, perhaps, of the sometimes inadvertent damage done by colonialism. As you say, no railway content, but I wonder how much damage was done to local cuisine and gastronomy by the 'commercial creep' enabled by railways?

Good Afternoon. Please may I put my name down for a Bachmann chassis variant please. (Although I would be happy with a Comet Chassis variant if that's where the majority of the demand lay.) Thank you for your work and well done.

Sorry - double post by accident

I can also bear witness that Barracuda (which are quite Pike-shaped) are also good to eat. The flesh is quite dark, and a bit like (but nicer) than Tuna. I see no moral principle here. I am happy to eat Barracuda, and if I fall in the water then the Barracuda would no doubt be happy to eat me. (Although I would, no doubt, be quite cross for a very short period of time!)

I am not sure that young women who frequent seminaries would be easily offended at all. One should ask however what relevance 'toy trains' might have to the august followers of this forum? Excuse me. I must abandon this on-line frippery and revert to working on my Railway. Project referred to above is:-

I think that. from the fossil record. there may indeed have been crocodiles in what is now Essex and East Anglia relatively recently. In my own sailing career, now temporarily (I hope) I hope 'on-hold', I have encountered several aquatic denizens, both on the North Sea, and in West African waters. A small selection (before I revert to building a signal box porch and access steps) :- - Flying Fish landing in the boat. - Curious (and presumably juvenile) Seals showing great interest in boats launching. - The Salmon that jumped very close astern, and having failed to land in the boat deprived one of a really good fishy story without even going fishing. - A Barracuda that did likewise. Which was just as well; one really doesn't want a barracuda in the boat - good eating though they are! Then there was the mystery of the anchor that disappeared while we were anchored overnight and therefore was presumably eaten by a Crocodile. (Or at least a Crocodile cut the anchor line.) Most West African Crocodiles, in my experience keep well away from people, although I have seen...........) Other stories for other times and forums!

ALERT ALERT ALERT In the above post, the 'editing code' or whatever it is twice removed the first word of the Latin name for humankind. Assuming that the intention of this is avoid reference to 'homophobia' (which word seems seems to have survived intact so far), is whoever who controls these things not aware that 'h***' as in 'homophobia' is from the Greek root 'Homos' meaning 'the same as', as in 'homogenous' or even the dreaded word 'homosexual' itself. and not the Latin root 'H***' meaning 'Man'. (Even if we have to accept a term which refers to only 49% (ish) of humankind.) If this confusion is commonplace we will by now have a whole generation which cannot tell the difference. I am not sure how this will help in protecting the minority of us who attracted to fellow humans who are on the same side of the sexually dimorphic divide. What it does do is corrupt and pervert language, and eventually thought. This is Orwellian 'Newspeak' and 'Thought Crime'. Giving the policing over to computer technology makes it even worse. I would assume that this software is not unique to this forum. To whom does one report the problem?