Claude_Dreyfus

Only a brief update here as not too much visible progress has been going on. That said, wiring is proceeding apace for the fiddle yards, and the droppers are being added to the tram lines. Last night, we spliced some sections together to get some movement. Good news! A club member's recent recent acquisition did the honours (a Roco model I believe), and managed to navigate the track well. It is interesting how different the running characteristics when the thing is running under its own power as opposed to being pushed along manually. Still, the tram certain looks the part, even if it is an older model. It is now off for DCC fitting... Here it is dodging the various drills and other tools... A very elegant little model... Talking of which, a BR74 tank engine arrived from Darkest Cornwall to take up duties on the Berlin suburban network. Still some detailing parts to add, but a very pretty little loco - ideal for those articulated carriages. We have a full-day work day coming up soon...hopefully some more visible progress, with the aim to have stuff running by our Open day in October.

Been there (before the first of his Stoke stints)...got the chop!

One interesting thing about that table is that Villa and West Brom have the same points tally, the same GD and the same goals scored/conceded figures. Presumably Sky have projected that West Brom will have a better head-to-head this season...

It is interesting how many predictions have Manchester Utd back up in the top-four. Okay, the Moyes era was pretty disasterous, but for me said more about SAF's ability to get more out of ordinary players than Moyes' ability as a manager (although he in no way set the world alight in that line). van Gaal does not have the quality squad of Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal or even (dare I say it) Liverpool, so I do not share the optimism this season (even without European football). I suspect they will do better than last season, and may even grab fourth if lucky. Hull have the distraction of Europe, and that can kill a team, and Southampton may not do as well as predicted here. Palace have no doubt gone from being a solid mid-table bet to being one of the favourites for the drop. It is amazing the influence on a manager in these circumstances and I am pretty sure Pulis will not be out of work for long.

Is a 3-0 defeat a 'set' result for match forfeiture?

Indeed, but I suspect Legia have a very strong case to appeal this decision. As I said, Celtic were absolutely destroyed in the first leg, and well beaten in the second. Uefa have, in my view, disproportionally punished Legia for fielding a player who had absolutely no material impact on the match...a lack of perspective and of common sense that come from an organisation who blindly follow the letter of the law. This is not a straight-forward as the Sion situation a few years back, who fielded ineligible players for the entire match(s). Whilst I don't want to go on too much about racism in football, this punishment of Legia could potentially run into millions of pounds. When was the last time such a fine was imposed by Uefa for clubs whose fans racially abuse players, or assault the opposition fans?

Just as you thought football could not get any more ridiculous... http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28701951 Sure, it was a dumb thing for Legia to do...one would have thought the suspended player would not have even been on the bench...but there can be no way the punishment fits the 'crime'. They were 6-1 up on aggregate and the offending player was on the pitch for the last two minutes or so. Had it made a material difference to the score-line, then fine, but this is just daft! I really hope this was a UEFA referral and Celtic did not raise the complaint. They were annihilated over the two legs, and deserved losers by all accounts. They are very lucky on this occassion, but if it is as a result of a Celtic complaint then that is a very poor show. I accept rules are rules; but then again, this is a sport where the punishment is greater for a player showing their of underwear with a non-approved sponsor than racial abuse from fans. Just goes to show that 'proportion' is just one sense the football authorities are lacking...

A KiHaE131 arrives at a deserted Kanjiyama with an evening train from Kofu.

During August, the carpet bowlers take a break, so the layout was set up in the main hall and the opportunity was taken to use the space we had available to us... Work continued on the tram lines, wiring of the fiddle yard as well as some initial scenic work. Progress on the tram line has been going well, with the circuit being completed last night. Work is now progressing with the inner guard rail, which will take into account tighter inner curves. Fingers crossed there will be something running soon. The eagle-eyed will spot that the river has changed colour. As this will be beneath the bridges, this needed to be done quite early. The walls and steps are in place, and all that is required is some extra detailing a a few coats of varnish... There will also be a boat of some description - probably one of those large, low, river barges, so it can fit underneath the low bridge! Meanwhile, further down the track, slow progress is continuing with 'Ulbricht Towers' This is a basic (very basic!) mock-up to get an idea of the height and overall bulk of this large structure. I don't see this as being a particularly tricky building, just somewhat time-consuming; as it will be made up of any number of 'concrete' modules forming the outer wall. Time for the Scalescenes concrete walling methinks! A rather nice Roco articulated carriage features in that photo. Here are a couple more pictures...they were the subject of much perving throughout the evening! Finally, an overall view with the main track beds reinstalled...

Ah, yes, I think I make the connection now. You will no doubt recognise GRC as well then... See you on the train some time soon then.

Interesting... We take the 7:35 from Billingshurst (Carriage 4) - for me the 7:28 from Pulborough(!) - and the corresponding 17:50 back from London Bridge (Carriage 1). I'm pretty much every day - normally in the company of a loud Mexican - whilst GRC is at best a couple of times a week. Hey, why not? There's a group on the morning carriage who do their knitting, so why not break out the kits?! Claude...actually called Nick as well...

I spent a rather enjoyable couple of hours in the Trappist bar.

Likewise, along with various others. Mrs Dreyfus worked in Brussels for a few months, and would come home armed with a couple of beers complete with glass. I also am fond of Delirium Tremens - anyone in Brussels, check out Delirium itself, the beer menu covers well in excess of 1,000 beers from various parts of the world. My personal favourite is Palm...

I agree with what you say, but for some modellers - myself as a case in point - 00 UK outline is not our primary poison; yet we would like to contribute. As a Japanese N (or even H0) system ain't on the horizon any time soon (perhaps amend that to any time, ever!), any contribution I would make would be scenic boards. That's fine for me, my fleet of UK outline 00 stock is too small and perhaps a little too disparate to warrant anything more than this, and as I normally have fairly operational-heavy layouts, turning up at a meeting and just watching trains go by without too much operation sounds like a nice way to spend a day...

There are a couple of us in the vicinity of Loxwood. I take my car to the mechanic there; a little bit out of my way, but we have used him for years...

It would... However Greenmax are not so easy to obtain outside of Japan (best bets would be Japan Model Railway in Germany - also known as Modellbahn Union - or Wellington Models in Somerset). But these are not guarenteed to stock this. The cost of the unit is about £65.00 based on current exchange rate, so it will probably be around £100.00 all told; which would not be far off the price Bachmann or Dapol would quote.

The pub around the corner from where I work, the wonderfully named 'Hung, Drawn and Quartered' on the junction between East Cheap and Great Tower Street, sells the very nice Summer Ale from Fullers. Perfect in the current warm weather...

That skin-head 31 certainly looks the part!

Okay, so this is a Japanese prototype; however Greenmax are releasing a Plasser & Theurer Multiple Tie Tamper. It comes in two colours; yellow and green (the green livery being common-place around Tokyo). Greenmax have an excellent reputation for quality and reliability. I'm also pretty pleased that there is some ready-to-run engineering stuff coming in N Gauge (1/150, so close enough for UK). I already have a green version on order... http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10285564

Yes; the layout was probably a little too clean...but not by much. As you say, it is remarkably clean in parts of the far-East... I never did get around to toning down that parade of shops...

A pair of JR railcars - KiHa40 and KiHa53 - rest at Yamanouchi Oshika between duties.

I suppose that is one of the compromises that would need to be made. Personally, I would prefer scenic undulations to take place within the module itself having the point of interface with other boards being at board height. It may look a little odd, but in my opinion would look better than a cutting or embankment abruptly finishing at the join.

Indeed, and then you still have a little margin for variation, just so long as a 'standard' G clamp will fit.

If the leg is large enough, and the hole drilled straight, splitting should not be a significant issue. That said, this... ...is a sensible way around any potential pitfalls.

I agree, there has to be some method of adjusting the layout height - even if it is a pile of hardboard offcuts or somesuch like. Even big 'single' layouts require this if a floor is uneven - and oh boy are some floors seriously uneven! I would say that the adding of height adjusters to the bottom of legs need not be technical or expensive; some simple adjusters are only about £1 each.